Upliance AI, a startup in the consumer hardware space specializing in the manufacturing and sale of kitchen appliances, has secured Rs 34 crore (approximately $4 million) in funding. This investment, which values the company at Rs 143 crore ($17 million), comes from a funding round led by Khosla Ventures, an early-stage venture capital firm.
The Bengaluru-based startup plans to utilize the funds to accelerate its product expansion initiatives. This includes investments in tooling and advanced manufacturing techniques, expanding its team, and establishing collaborations with content creators for marketing purposes.
“If we can get young India to cook more at home by making cooking fun, diverse, and convenient, it has a direct impact on health, quality of life, and how good you feel about yourself. We want to be the brand that enables these emotions in our customers,” co-founder and chief executive of Upliance AI, Mahek Mody, said.
Founded in 2021, Upliance AI introduced its first appliance in 2023. This product is an AI-powered cooking assistant that leverages machine learning and artificial intelligence to automate various cooking processes, including chopping, stirring, mixing, and heating. The appliance features a repository of over 500 guided recipes.
Since its launch, the company has successfully sold nearly 1,000 appliances. Notably, 80% of these sales were generated through the company’s official website, while Amazon contributed 15%, and offline retail stores accounted for the remaining 5%, according to Mody.
Upliance AI has set ambitious goals for 2024 to increase its revenue to Rs 150 crore. Additionally, the company plans to increase its production capacity to 20,000 units per annum within six months. As per Mody, the company has achieved a total revenue of approximately Rs 1.5 crore.
“Our growth has come a lot from the word of mouth. The plan is to amplify the voices of our current consumers by spending on organic marketing. As we scale to more markets and increase our revenue, economies of scale will kick in and we will head towards profitability on the overall company front,” Mody added.
In its previous funding round in 2023, Upliance AI secured Rs 11 crore, attracting investments from notable entities like Draper Associates, Rukam Capital, and the Zerodha-backed venture fund Rainmatter.
Rajesh Swaminathan, partner at Khosla Ventures, said, “Mahek and his team have built a product that early consumers love and has the potential to significantly change people’s daily eating routines. We are excited about the health benefits and AI integration capabilities possible with Upliance AI. These are the bold bets we like to take.”
Khosla Ventures has invested in AI-focused startups like OpenAI and Chennai-based Sarvam AI.
