Exclusive: Robotics firm Miko raises Rs 100 Cr debt

Child companion robot maker Miko has raised Rs 100 crore or $13.3 million in debt from Stride Ventures. This follows $28 million equity round announced by the company in August last year.

The board at Miko has passed a special resolution to issue 10,002 non-convertible debentures (NCDs) at an issue price of Rs 1,00,000 each to raise Rs 100 crore, regulatory filing shows. The filings further added that the company will use this fund to meet working capital and general corporate requirements in accordance with the approved business plan of the company.

Miko was valued at around $86 million during the equity round as per Fintrackr's estimates. Entrackr was first to report its Series B round in August 2021. It has raised over $50 million across equity and debt since its inception.

Six-year-old Miko creates emotionally intelligent robots which leverage artificial intelligence and the Internet of Things (IoT) in developing its flagship brand Miko. After the success of its first-generation robots, the company launched an advanced version which uses voice-recognition technology to see, hear, sense, express, talk, and recognize faces.

The company also allows child-focused content partners and developers to port their content on Miko and monetise via subscription. Launched by Sneh R Vaswani, Prashant V Iyengar and Chintan S Raikar, Miko claims to have customers across 140 countries.

According to separate filings, Miko also increased its employee stock options (ESOPs) pool from 1,392 options to 2,418 options. According to Fintrackr’s estimate, the company’s ESOP pool is now valued at around Rs 32 crore.

For the fiscal year ending on March 31, 2021, Miko’s revenue from operation increased 42% to Rs 27.51 crore from Rs 19.35 crore in FY20, according to the company’s annual financial statement with ROC. The company posted a loss of Rs 20.55 crore in FY21 as compared to Rs 9.90 crore in the preceding fiscal year (FY20).