Warehouse automation to humanoids: Addverb bets on India, CEO says physical AI race has begun

Homegrown robotics and automation company Addverb's CEO Sangeet Kumar believes humans and robots will increasingly coexist, with people remaining firmly in control even as physical AI reshapes industries over the next two decades. Kumar, who is also the company's co-founder, says regulations will need.

Addverb is now betting on what Kumar calls the next frontier of robotics -- collaborative robots, quadrupeds and humanoids, as he highlighted that the global race in physical AI has begun and India has a strong opportunity to build globally-competitive companies. On the widespread.

What Happened

So humans will always be in the loop, according to me. Regulation has to quickly catch up with what is happening in the world of robotics and automation, but at least for the next 20 years, I don't think there will be.

• The company had a ₹700 crore turnover last fiscal, began the current fiscal with an order book of around ₹1,300 crore, and is bullish about the business outlook.

• We can produce 100,000 robots a year, which is huge.

• The company, which initially derived almost 90-95 per cent of its earnings from the retail and e-commerce sectors, has since significantly diversified its revenue mix.

Key Details

So the 'learnability' portion has to be much better (intense) than the earlier generations, and that is something people have to concentrate on... The company's revenue is split equally between India and the overseas market.

• Today, retail and e-commerce account for about 30 per cent of revenue, with consumer goods and chemicals/petrochemicals contributing a similar share.

• Competing against robotics companies generating $4-5 billion in revenue, in markets where automation has been entrenched for nearly two decades, he believes India's nascent robotics industry is now ready to make its mark.

• We are at a stage where we now know the potential and how much we can grow.

Why It Matters

Addverb has its R&D set up in Noida (a site it calls 'Bot Valley') where some niche manufacturing of collaborative robots and quadrupeds - the robotic four-legged machines - also takes place. The flagship manufacturing operations, Addverb's 'Bot Verse' factory, is located.

• Of course, we have grown; we are one of the fastest-growing companies in the robotic space today, not only in terms of revenue but also in terms of the number of robots, but 10.

• Drawing from the biblical 'David versus Goliath' analogy, Kumar describes Addverb as a nimble challenger taking on global automation giants.

What Reports Say

Coverage of the story so far points to:

• Continued reporting by BusinessLine as more details emerge