The Venture Codex

Led · Equity · Apr 2016

Commut runs an app-bookable, high-frequency mini-bus shuttle network serving office commuters across 50 routes in Hyderabad. The service is bookable via an Android app and web apps for iOS and Windows users. Founded in November 2015, the company has operated a fleet of 42 mini-bus shuttles and says it is clocking over 700 rides per day and has served more than 35,000 rides in the last five months. The company plans to use new funding to build the team, improve technology, and expand its reach across the city. Management has set targets to reach over 2,500 rides per day within three months and more than 5,000 rides per day by the end of the year. Redbus co-founder Sudhakar Pasupunuri is joining Commut’s board, reflecting external operational support.

Participated · Equity · Nov 2015

Absentia Virtual Reality is developing Norah AI, an engine intended to create AAA games and other interactive content with minimal human intervention. The platform offers developers in-built tools to design, develop and build interactive content and can generate arcade games, casual games, puzzles, animation and graphics from a few lines of text or pictorial input. R&D trials are being carried out in California, New York and Stockholm, with a roll-out expected by mid-2017. The company says it has monetised the platform in virtual reality, augmented reality and image-processing applications across industries. Absentia was founded in 2014 by Shubham Mishra, Vrushali Prasade and Harikrishna Valiyath, and previously developed a VR head-mount device called Tesseract. The startup will use the fresh capital to build Norah. Absentia was founded earlier this year in Bengaluru by three BITS Pilani-Goa undergraduates — Shubham Mishra, Vrushali Prasade, and Harikrishna Valiyath — who left college to build the product. Its core product, the Tesseract, is a device-agnostic VR headgear that lets users play existing PC games and watch movies in 3D with complete 360-degree head tracking and supports live streaming. The Tesseract is also compatible with mobile phones through devices like Chromecast and is positioned to work with existing PC media and games rather than requiring bespoke content. The company is targeting the global VR market, which the article cites as predicted to cross $15 billion by 2018 and reach $15.89 billion by 2020. Absentia says its novelty and device-agnostic technology will help it compete with larger global VR players. The product was announced to be available for pre-order soon, and the company has completed an initial funding round of Rs 1.2 crore.