INDIA's SGBI (Sastra Global Business Innovation), formerly known as Sastra Robotics, will invest £8 million in the UK over the next three years, British Trade Secretary Jonathan Reynolds announced on the UK government’s website.
The Hindu Business Line reported that this investment is part of a larger £100m commitment from various Indian companies.
The investment is expected to create 75 jobs in the UK, marking the first such investment from a South India-based robotics company.
SGBI CEO and Co-Founder Aronin Ponnappan said the decision follows an export order received in October 2023 from a UK public sector department for 150 testing robots.
“We delivered the order mainly from our 5000-sq-ft facility in Kochi, employing around 40 people,” he said, as reported by The Hindu Business Line.
SGBI CFO and Co-Founder Akhil Asokan stated that the company has grown from a 2013 start-up at Startup Village into a global leader in specialised robotics and AI solutions.
“The decision to invest further in Europe is backed up with our confidence in those markets where demands for testing robots are on the rise,” he said.
Reynolds, who visited New Delhi and Bengaluru in February with British Investment Minister Poppy Gustafsson, noted that Indian investors are particularly interested in AI, professional services, and textiles.
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