Exclusive: Deeptech startup Planys raises $4 Mn

Deeptech startup Planys Technologies has raised $4 million in its ongoing pre-Series A round. The fresh investment tranche has come after a gap of more than two years for the Chennai-based firm.

The board at Planys Technologies has passed a board resolution to issue 8,471 CCPS at an issue price of Rs 41,600 each to raise Rs 35.23 crore, its regulatory filing accessed from the Registrar of Companies shows.

Himalaya Finance, Golden Birch Investments, Krishna Defence, Impact India Investments, SiriusOne Capital, and several individuals including Ashish Ramesh Kacholia, Shalini Chhabra, and Puneet Gupta participated during the new investment tranche.

The company also approved its MSOP pool of 1,445 equity shares amounting to Rs 6 crore (as per the valuation report) in February, a separate filing shows.

Established in 2015 by Tanuj Jhunjhunwala and Rakesh Sirikonda, Planys does underwater inspection by offering secure and adaptable solutions through marine robotics and analytics systems. The company has been working on over 350 projects with its 10 products across 5 countries. It also has more than 30 patents under its belt.

Planys Technologies has raised around $8 million to date including a $1.6 million round led by Keiretsu Forum, LetsVenture in November 2021. According to the startup data intelligence platform TheKredibe, the company has been valued at around Rs 135 crore (post-money) in the new tranche.

Unlike other startups, Planys hasn’t been growing at a rapid clip and this could be evident from its flat scale which grew to Rs 8.63 crore in FY23 as compared to Rs 7.41 crore in FY22. Moreover, the firm’s losses also spiked 3.2X to Rs 3.51 crore in the same period.