Alef Mobitech raises $5M from Tata Capital's VC fund

Tata Capital Innovations Fund (TCIF) has invested $5 million (Rs 33.3 crore) in a unit of New Jersey- and Mumbai-based mobility computing firm Alef Mobitech Inc.

Alef Mobitech will use the money for business development, marketing and R&D initiatives, the company said in a press statement.

Alef has developed a mobility-cloud interconnect platform that increases relevance and responsiveness of mobile internet applications. It has offices in New Jersey, Mumbai and Pune.

Tata Capital Innovations Fund is a SEBI-registered domestic venture capital fund that focuses on 'technology led' Indian ventures. Although it is a sector and stage agnostic fund, its investment sweet spot of $3-8 million makes it an early-stage investor given the rising valuations in the tech space in the country. It has invested in seven ventures to date.

"While smartphones have become ubiquitous, mobile technologies that are available currently are unable to handle the growth in mobile data. Alef's solution enhances customer experience on mobile networks by providing quality mobile content and interactions," said Vineet Chadha, partner at Tata Capital Innovations Fund.

Alef caters to mobile network operators, over-the-top providers and mobile enterprises. It was co-founded by Dr Ganesh Sundaram, who is a mobility industry expert and a Bell Labs Fellow, and Steve Spencer, a serial entrepreneur in the mobile internet space.

In the mobile internet optimisation space, Israeli firm AppsFlyer is a mobile advertising attribution and analytics platform that enables app marketers, brands and ad agencies to optimise marketing spend by measuring their campaigns on its mobile ad networks. It has to date raised $28 million in external funding and is backed by Magma Venture Partners, Pitango Venture Capital and Fidelity Growth Partner, Europe. Its global competitors include the US-based companies Apsalar and Tune. InMobi is another mobile advertising firm which is backed by investors such as SoftBank Corp, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers and Sherpalo Ventures.