Underwater infrastructure testing startup Planys Technologies from IIT Madras Incubation Cell has raised Rs 43 crore equity funding from ace investor Ashish Kacholia with participation from Samarthya Advisors, Golden Birch Investments, Cogniphy Angel Fund, Krishna Defence, and Impact India Investment Partners LLC. The company said existing investors also participated in the round while many first-round seed investors also took exit.
“This strategic investment is expected to accelerate Planys’ mission to revolutionize infrastructure inspections through advancements in marine robotics, underwater testing, and digital analytics and reporting platforms,” the company said.
Speaking on the investment, Kacholia said Planys addresses a large market of underwater asset maintenance with its technology that pinpoints defects with high precision, benefiting various high-value assets like dams, bridges, and refineries to extend their asset life with timely maintenance.
“It is a large, underserved market and will grow thanks to companies like Planys. Planys is a classic case of research in academia getting commercialized for civilian and defence applications.”
Founded in 2015 by IIT Madras alumni and faculty including Tanuj Jhunjhunwala, Vineet Upadhyay, Prof Prabhu Rajagopal, and Prof. Krishnan Balasubramanian, Planys emerged as a spin-out from the Centre for Non-Destructive Evaluation (CNDE), IITM.
It uses proprietary underwater drone technology to collect visual and sensor-based testing data for steel and concrete structures. Leveraging AI, the data is transformed into standardized, insightful information accessible through a digital platform.
The company had raised Rs 1.75 crore through angel investment and developed multiple products in its first year.
The startup is aiming to expand into global markets through collaborations and diversification into oceanographic and defence use cases.
“We intend to grow our operational capacity and enhance the inventory of underwater inspection solutions, covering high-end applications such as non-destructive testing of metal and concrete structures, specialized inspection robotics for the process and hydrocarbon industry, real-time monitoring applications, and advanced digital reporting solutions,” said Upadhyay.
Planys said it has garnered trust from industry leaders such as Reliance Industries, IOCL, BPCL, Dedicated Freight Corridor, and Indian Railways. Their technology has already been deployed at more than 400 structures. The startup caters dams, bridges, ports, oil and gas, petrochemicals, power and defence sectors. It has a portfolio of over 10 products and got more than 30 patents.