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AjnaLens, Mumbai-based XR hardware and software company raised Rs. 12 crore from renowned investors like Lets Venture Angel Fund, JITO Angel Network & few visionary angel investors, in another round of a Pre-Series A.
L-R: Abhijit Patil (Co-founder & COO), Abhishek Tomar (Co-founder & CTO), Pankaj Raut (Co-founder & CEO)
The one-of-its-kind Indian player in the XR space has clocked funding in the past from noteworthy angel investors like Vijay Shekhar Sharma, PAYTM; Japan Vyas, Roots Ventures; Chirayu Khimji, Khimji Ramdas Group of Oman; Jay Jesrani, Private Equity Investor; Maharashtra Defence & Aerospace Venture Fund managed by IDBI Capital Markets and Securities Ltd., Chetan Kajaria, Kajaria Ceramics, Manish Bhatia, Bhatia Brothers UAE; MHD Group from Oman among others. The company has seen repeat investors during this current and the last two rounds of funding.
Announcing the investment, Sunil Kumar Singhvi, Vice Chairman JITO Angel Network said, “Its just a few years back, start-up companies were lagging far behind in competing with the established defence companies. But, thanks to the start-up revolution, the Indian defence system is booming with a range of defence start-ups. AjnaLens is one of them where we at JITO Angel Network are proud to back the dynamic team who have developed critical solutions for the security and defence space and at present developing several indigenous technologies, including the appreciation worthy iDex challenges.”
AjnaLens is an OEM who designs and manufactures Virtual, Augmented & Mixed Reality glasses with utility across sectors like enterprise, defence and skill training. In addition to hardware, the company provides end-to-end VR/AR/MR solutions customized to business needs.
“With rapid adoption of technology, deeper internet penetration in India, terms like metaverse will become common tech vocabulary in the near future. We thank the above investors for believing in our vision to augment human intelligence and empowering them to progress towards higher awareness. Focusing on growth, AjnaLens will utilise the funds to propel tech innovation, manufacture in India, expand the team and customer base,” said Abhijit Patil, Co-founder & COO, AjnaLens.
Under the Ministry of Defence’s iDEX initiative, AjnaLens has successfully completed user field trials of their indigenous see-through armour technology AjnaESAS to upgrade the battle tanks of our nation. As pioneers in building intelligent defence solutions using augmented reality, artificial intelligence and sensor fusion, AjnaLens is upgrading India’s existing MANPAD (Man-portable air-defence system) systems by providing the operators with an enhanced vision to effectively engage the target.
“We will continue to create sustainable impact by facilitating digital transformation across public and private sectors. Current projects with the Ministry of Defence’s iDEX initiative and Tata Technologies are examples of effective collaboration for lasting impact,” Abhijit Patil adds.Few noteworthy clients include the Indian Army, Indian Navy, DRDO, Ministry of Defence, President of India, Tata Technologies, Vedanta, L&T, Cymax Infotainment, Forster Consulting, PM Experts, VR Coating, Maharashtra State Innovation Society and many more. In 2021, Tata Technologies onboarded AjnaLens as their ‘Extended Reality’ partner to upgrade 150 Industrial Training Institutes in Karnataka and 149 in Bihar.
About AjnaLens
AjnaLens is a Mumbai-based XR hardware and software company primarily for Defence, Enterprise and Training sectors. Founded in November 2014 in IIT-Bombay, AjnaLens is committed to advancing the capabilities of humans and empowering them to progress towards higher awareness. Being on a mission of making world-class holographic computers in India for the world, AjnaLens is the first XR hardware OEM to manufacture augmented reality glasses in India.
AjnaLens is helping India’s government and fortune 500 companies in their digital transformation journey by providing end-to-end solutions related to VR training simulations, AR-based remote assistance, Digital twin, Enterprise Metaverse as well as providing indigeneous defence solutions like see-through armour to Indian Defence forces. AjnaLens has filed 15+ National and International patents in augmented reality and allied fields. The company has also won accolades like the Graham Bell Innovation Award; CII’s #1 Innovation across India; Top 5 hardware startup by Qualcomm Design Challenge, Innovation Leadership award by Frost & Sullivan, Most promising startup by ECLINA Defennovation for cutting-edge innovations. AjnaLens is a family of 50 people that is growing rapidly and inviting more bright minds to join them to turn their vision into reality.