Tiger Global has emerged as the lead investor in an Indian IIoT startup, Infinite Uptime, which creates predictive maintenance solutions for factory machinery.

The latest round closed with $18.85 million in funding, with additional investors including Mayfield, GSR Ventures, VenturEast and THK.

Established in 2015, Infinite Uptime was created to help manufacturing facilities combat and avoid equipment failure and disruption, using a range of data analytics tools including real-time monitoring to enable predictive maintenance. 

“This investment is a strong validation of our business strategy and growth potential,” said Raunak Bhinge, Infinite Uptime’s CEO. “This will enable us to invest heavily into fundamental research & product development, expand our capabilities and overall expertise.”

The startup has already attracted international attention, with clients including Hyundai, JSW Steel and Adani. 

Infinite Uptime hopes this latest investment will help the company’s global expansion, and help establish the nation as a leading force in the burgeoning automation industry. The investment comes as there is something of an investment drought for India startups.

“We believe Infinite Uptime will play a key role in increasing the efficiency of factory floors, thus enabling the global south to compete,” said Sanjeev Yamsani, VenturEast’s partner. “Their ability to scale the product globally south from India is a compelling example of innovation that India can build for the world.”

This is the second major investment from Tiger Global in an Indian startup this year alone, with the firm leading an investment round into fintech company PhonePe, which has also received  $200 million from Walmart.