ZestIoT raises $6.5 million in Series A round led by IvyCap Ventures

BluSmart Funding

ZestIoT, an Internet of Things (IoT) and artificial intelligence (AI)-powered aviation platform, has raised $6.5 million in a Series A round led by IvyCap Ventures, coming at a time when AI startups are increasingly gaining popularity among investors globally.

A global venture capital firm Loyal VC also participated in the round.

The fresh capital will be utilised to double down on deep tech AI-driven automation, expand its talent pool, expand internationally, and prioritise customer success.

Founded in 2016 by Amit Sukhija, ZestIoT’s GroundRadar platform brings together airlines, airports, and handlers to collaborate and increase the speed of aircraft turnaround while maintaining operational efficiency and safety. The Hyderabad-based startup is managing over 600 flights, 600 equipment, and 9,000 personnel daily. Its NoCodeAI platform also enables manufacturing and oil and gas industries to enhance the safety and security of daily operations.

Post this round, IvyCap’s co-founder and managing partner Ashish Wadhwani will join the startup’s board.

Amit Sukhija, Founder & CEO, ZestIoT, said, “With the help of advancements in sensors, edge computing, and various communication technologies, we foresee a new wave of innovative use cases being developed by our customers using our platform. This new investment will accelerate our mission to empower the aviation ecosystem with last-mile digitization and automation, delivering multiple use cases to airports, airlines, and handlers based on their individual journey of digitisation.”

In addition, ZestIoT is extending its offering to the manufacturing industry, enabling customers to adopt its AI + IoT automation platform to produce high-quality products in a cost-effective manner while ensuring operational safety.

Vikram Gupta, Founder and Managing Partner of IvyCap Ventures Advisors said, “ZestIoT has pioneered the digitisation of last-mile operations, utilising its cutting-edge deep tech platform and niche solution to automate processes and deliver real-time insights…We firmly believe that ZestIoT has the potential to solve this problem at the grassroots level and emerge as a leader in this segment. We are thrilled to support their growth and assist them in becoming the largest player in this sector.”