IoT Tech Startup Smartron Secures $200 Mn from GEM Group

Homegrown technology OEM (original equipment manufacturing) brand Smartron on Tuesday said it has secured $200 million from Global Emerging Markets (GEM) investment group, that will help support the company's future growth and potential public listing plans.

Under the agreement, GEM will provide a share subscription facility of up to $200 million, to be drawn at the option of the company.

Hyderabad-based Smartron was founded with a vision to offer AIOT and EV brands powered by tronX, its own AIOT platform, and a wide range of devices.

"Over the next 3-5 years, Smartron will be focused on driving growth by targeting primarily smart Home, Smart Infra, EV, and Energy verticals powered by tronX platform, manufactured by tworks, and cared by tlife," said Mahesh Lingareddy, founder and chairman, Smartron Group.

A former Intel veteran, Lingareddy co-founded chip design company Soft Machines in the US in 2006, and reportedly sold it to Intel for $300 million.

The tronX platform from Smartron is being offered as a B2B service to companies that are targeting various AIoT applications.

Smartron said it is positioned to benefit from huge opportunities across the India-US corridor thanks to the ongoing global supply chain challenges and (re)alignments.

Over the last five years, Smartron has developed a big HW portfolio from smartphones to laptops to wearables to smart home hub to smart things to ebikes to battery packs to IoT modules, all powered by tronX, its own AIOT SW platform built on deep technologies such as 5G, AI/ML, IoT, Robotics and Web3.