IoT startup Spintly raises $250,000 from angels, Saltwater Venture Sparks

Bengaluru headquartered Mrinq Technologies, which owns internet of things (IoT) platform Spintly, has raised $250,000 (around Rs 1.9 crore) in a bridge funding round led by undisclosed US-based angel investors and accelerator platform Saltwater Venture Sparks. 

The company plans to use the fresh capital to ramp up production, product development and customer acquisition, a statement said.

Earlier, Spintly had raised close to $100,000 (Rs 75 lakh) from US-based angel investors, it said. 

Additionally, it had received a seed grant of $13,091 from the Goa government, it said, adding that it was incubated at the government-run startup incubator Ignite-EDC Innovation Hub.

Founded in December 2017 by Rohin Parkar and Malcolm Dsouza, it is a wireless cloud-based access control system that allows users to control devices in their homes and businesses with their smartphones. It also sells smart lights, doors and other home appliances that can be connected to smartphones, as well as security appliances and biometrics-based access systems for residential and commercial establishments. 

With operations in Goa, Mumbai, New Delhi and Bengaluru, Spintly has over 2,500 users, it said. 

It counts companies such as OYO, L&T, P&G, MyGate and Simply-guest among its customers, Gautam Verlekar, founding partner at lead investor Saltwater Venture Sparks, said.

“Spintly caters to a wide range of customer segments including medium/large enterprises, co-working spaces, co-living spaces, industrial and logistics segments, and the hospitality sector,” Verlekar said.

“There is a greater demand for touchless alternatives by hospitals, hotels, co-working and large office spaces as organisations want to take all precautionary measures to ensure the safety of their team and guests,” co-founders Parkar and Dsouza said in a joint statement. 

“This investment comes at a time when early-stage startup funding is quickly drying up due to the Covid-19 pandemic. During the period when investors are not keen on taking any financial bets, the funds raised by Spintly shows the confidence of the investors in our business,” they added. 

Read: Coronavirus India LIVE updates

Funding for IoT startups has indeed dried up during the national Covid-19 lockdown. 

Prior to this deal, Singularity Automation, which provides IoT solutions to  shared housing providers, raised a seed funding of $1.14 million (Rs 8.5 crore) from venture capital firm IvyCap Ventures in March. 

In February, early-stage incubator and accelerator platform Venture Catalysts invested an undisclosed amount in Altor, a Kolkata-based startup that makes IoT and artificial intelligence-enabled helmets.