Starfish-Investpad fund piles into bionics firm Makers Hive

Makers Hive, a bionics firm, has raised $9 million (around Rs 65.6 crore) in growth capital from an idea-stage fund established by Starfish Growth Partners and Investpad.

This fund will raise $100 million and focus on idea-stage startups over the next three years.

Starfish Growth Partners is an idea-stage incubator and capital adviser that was set up in 2016. The firm says it provides startups with multidisciplinary expertise and execution support. It has so far incubated more than 25 startups and raised over Rs 125 crore in capital.

In a statement, Makers Hive said that both Starfish Growth Partners and Investpad have been involved with the company since its inception. 

The company, operated by Makers Hive Innovations Pvt Ltd, was set up in 2018 and says it focused on addressing prosthetic assistance needs around the world.

The company’s flagship product is KalArm, a customisable and app-enabled bionic hand. Named after former president Dr APJ Abdul Kalam, Makers Hive says KalArm is a 3D printed device that is targeted at both national and global markets.

“The access to assistive technology can be extremely tough for weaker economic sections of society and that remains our prime focus – to ensure global adoption without compromise in quality,” Makers Hive co-founder and CEO Pranav Vempati said.

The startup says that it is also working on above-elbow solutions, and is developing exoskeletons for use in defence and medical sectors. It will use the capital it has raised to streamline research and development, scale production demands, and optimise its go-to-market strategy.