Clean-tech solutions firm Skilancer raises money from Dhianu Das’ fund

Alfa Ventures, a proprietary fund launched by angel investor and serial entrepreneur Dhianu Das to make seed investments in startups, said on Monday it has invested in clean-tech solutions provider Skilancer Solar Pvt. Ltd. 

The investment, whose amount remains undisclosed, will help Noida-based Skilancer expedite tech innovation and fortify brand visibility. 

Skilancer provides an artificial intelligence (AI)-powered autonomous robot for cleaning solar panels. A brainchild of IIT-Jodhpur alumni Neeraj Kumar and Manish Kumar Das, the IIM-Lucknow-incubated startup manufactures self-powered robotic arms. The funding by Alfa Ventures will help the clean-tech platform scale up operations and increase market presence.

A company statement said that major losses in operating solar plants result from solar panels gathering dust and debris. Traditional manual cleaning is not effective and hampers the rate at which energy is generated. The autonomous robotic solutions provided by Skilancer address this problem by making provisions for the on-demand cleaning of panels with minimal human intervention.

“I am absolutely bullish on India’s solar energy story,” said Das, who co-founded Luxury Ride. 

“The support of Das and Alfa Ventures will allow Skilancer to invest in design and technology upgrade, geographical expansion, team-building and develop a competitive edge,” said Neeraj Kumar, co-founder, Skilancer.

Started in early 2019, Alfa Ventures is a venture capital fund founded by angel investor Das who aims to support early-stage businesses. It boasts of a corpus of Rs 100 crore (around $14.3 million). Das’ investment portfolio includes GoMechanic and CleanseCar.

Last month, TechCircle reported that Alfa Ventures has made its latest investment in CivilCops, which builds civic-tech and government-tech solutions.

Recent deals in clean-tech:

April 2019: Godrej invested $1.2 million in ZunRoof, a smart energy solutions provider. 

April 2019: Electric utility vehicles maker Pi Beam’s pre-Series A funding was led by Eagle10 Ventures.

September 2018: Artificial intelligence-based energy firm AutoGrid secured $32 million in a Series D round.