Renuka Ramnath’s Multiples bets on AI, big data with Quantiphi

Boston and Mumbai-based applied AI (artificial intelligence) and big data services company Quantiphi has raised $20 million in a Series A investment round from Multiples Alternate Asset Management. The deal marks the Renuka Ramnath-led private equity firm’s first bet in a frontier technology startup and a departure from its usual preference for later stage investments.

The six-year old startup will use the capital raised to building vertical expertise, strengthen research and development, and scale its global team to deepen its presence in the North American and European markets, it said in a statement.

Quantiphi provides applied AI and big data solutions to global enterprise clients across sectors such as CPG, insurance, healthcare, retail, media and entertainment, edtech, and technology.  The startup claims its solutions help enterprises build smarter products, offer better customer experiences, automate complex processes, and manage risks. It is an AI partner to Google (GCP), Amazon (AWS), Nvidia and TensorFlow.

Founded by Asif Hasan, Reghu Hariharan, Ritesh Patel and Vivek Khemani, the startup has more than 1,000 employees today across its offices in Boston, Princeton, Toronto, Mumbai and Bengaluru.

“We are ecstatic to back Quantiphi, which is doing cutting edge AI work and having some of the world’s largest companies as their clients,” Multiples founder and CEO Renuka Ramnath said.

The Mumbai-based firm’s key investment areas include financial services, information technology, healthcare, pharmaceuticals and consumer. In the past, the mid-market companies focused firm has also invested in internet companies such as fantasy sports platform Dream 11 and logistics company Delhivery. Its other investments include textile manufacturer Arvind, Indian Energy Exchange, the SAR Group-promoted Livpure, multiplex chain PVR and Vastu Housing Finance.