Avathon, a unicorn AI-led solutions provider for infrastructure companies headquartered in Austin, is ramping up its presence in India, with an investment of $50 million earmarked for the next three years.
The company is looking at expansion of its sales office which will also service other Asian markets, and scaling up its research and development arm in the country, Pervinder Johar, chief executive officer, Avathon (earlier called SparkCognition), told FE.
“Currently, India contributes 10% to Avathon’s global revenue. With our planned expansion and increased focus on local markets, we aim to raise this to 25% in the next three years, driven by strategic investments and scaling of key industry segments,” he added.
Avathon provides AI-led solutions using computer vision (data collected from visual sensors like cameras) across maintenance, and safety in addition to productivity and efficiency improvement.
The company works with oil and gas companies like HPCL in India, and is looking to expand its reach in energy, supply chain, and aviation in the country.
The India unit will also serve as a sales office for other markets in the Asia Pacific region like Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam and Australia as it looks to grow its regional presence beyond the Americas.
Combined with the push to grow sales from the country, Avathon plans to ramp up its Indian work force from 140 currently to 400 in the coming years.
The R&D division will form 70% of the expanded workforce and over the next three years, the company will look to pump in $50 million towards the same.
The company launched its third R&D centre in India after the ones in Austin and San Francisco, and will focus on the vertical going forward.
“AI is not just becoming mainstream; it is fundamentally reshaping industries, and India stands at the forefront of this transformation. The country is establishing itself as a powerhouse of innovation and talent, making this the ideal moment for Avathon to implement our strategic plans,” Johar said.
He added that one of the challenges the company has noticed is getting experienced professionals, especially for the R&D faction who have infrastructure sector and AI expertise. In order to grow its workforce, it is now looking to hire experienced professionals to not only lead the data science discipline at Avathon in India, but also train researchers and engineers.
It is also considering expanding the office footprint of Avathon India to Mumbai where the sales for the country and APAC region will be handled from. Bengaluru will continue to be the base for all R&D.
