Deal focus: NSI Ventures in robot kitchen play

"Even in today's technologically advanced world, [women] still have to come home after long day of work to the tedium of roti-making," explains Pranoti Nagarkar, co-founder and CTO of Singapore-based Rotimatic maker Zimplistic, explains in a polished promotional video. "I have been through it and I have seen so many of my friends go through it."

But not anymore, she adds. Her answer to this problem sits at a convergence of three technology trends - hardware, robotics, and the internet-of-things (IoT) - while simultaneously tapping into the wants of a fast-growing middle class.

A perfect blend for NSI Ventures, which has decided to invest $11.5 million in the company alongside RBVC, the venture capital arm of German electronics multinational Robert Bosch, in Series B round of funding.

"Zimplistic is in the sweet spot of our thesis: that innovative products and services for the emerging middle class are going to be rising opportunities in Asia," says Hian Goh, founder and general partner at NSI. "The fact that Zimplistic is making a robotic hardware device to fulfill the needs of a rapidly urbanizing population is core to the way we think about our portfolio and the companies we invest in."

Zimplistic was set up by Nagarkar, a product designer, in 2008. Its first product claims to be the world's first fully automatic flatbread maker, using a patented technology to mix the correct ratio of flour and water to make one roti per minute. Despite its high price tag - $599 (excluding shipping) - sales of the Rotimatic reached $5 million within the first week of its launch last year.

The waiting list is now said to be worth more than $72 million, with over 5,000 distribution partnership requests.

"As an investor in robotics, IoT and hardware-related companies, we believe that Southeast Asia is a preferred place to start a company focused on such activities," says Goh. "The manufacturing heritage of Singapore as well as its closeness to the manufacturing chain meant that we were bullish on finding great companies here."

The proceeds of the investment will mainly be used to scale up the production capabilities, testing and ultimately the distribution of the Rotimatic. The core technology that underpins the product also has significant potential to be developed for use in further products.

"The opportunity to build a world-class consumer electronics company is there for us to capitalize and we intend to work closely with Robert Bosch VC as well as the management team to achieve this aim," Goh says.

• Tweet  
• Facebook  
• LinkedIn  
• Google plus  
• Save this article  
• Send to  

• Topics
• Southeast Asia
• Consumer
• Technology
• Venture
• Venture
• Southeast Asia
• Consumer
• Technology
• NSI Ventures