Aishwarya Rai, Techstars back environmental intelligence startup Ambee

Bengaluru-based environmental intelligence startup Ambee has raised funds from popular film actor Aishwarya Rai and US-based seed accelerator Techstars.

The collective contribution of Rs 63.83 lakh ($93,138 at the current exchange rate) by Rai and Techstar was part of a larger Rs 2.26 crore ($330,614 at the current exchange rate) infusion the company received between March and May 2019, according to the company’s filings with the ministry of corporate affairs.

The company raised funds from around 18 investors (including Rai and Techstars) in multiple tranches, mostly from individual investors whose credentials TechCircle could not immediately ascertain.

In an e-mailed response to TechCircle, Jaideep Singh Baccher, one of the co-founders of the venture, said that the company does not comment on individual shareholding. 

"We have raised a single round of funding. This funding will be used to build our tech stack and operational abilities," he said.

The development comes seven months after TechCircle reported that the company had raised an undisclosed sum in an angel funding round from incubation platform Venture Catalysts.

Google India’s managing director Rajan Anandan, Raghav Singhania, managing partner at Venture Catalysts, Amit Agarwal and Rahul Gugaliya, director at multi-business conglomerate Transworld Group, who were all part of Venture Catalysts’ network, had participated in the round.

Previous filings revealed that the company had raised Rs 96.11 lakh ($140,237) from 36 investors including the names mentioned.

Ambee

Operated by Datair Technology Pvt. Ltd, the venture was founded in 2017 by Bachher, Akshay Joshi and Madhusudhan Anand. The three founders come with prior experience in different domains like mobile and automotive technology, analytics and legal compliance.

Ambee uses proprietary data and analytics to help end users make informed decisions or take preventive measures in a situation of severe environmental distress.

As per information available on the company’s website, the company’s data can be integrated into platforms, devices and instruments that are used for air purification, smart building, digital health, human health as well as for media & aggregators.

For example, its solution for media networks and aggregators involves using the company’s real-time and location-based data to run campaigns for enabling deeper conversions, improve targeting and maintain the highest relevance.