Bengaluru-based Physical AI startup SwitchOn (Abee Research Labs Pvt. Ltd.) has raised $8 million (approximately ₹78 crore) in a Pre-Series B funding round led by IvyCap Ventures, with participation from SIG Tattva and Trifecta Capital. The fresh capital will fuel the company’s international expansion, strengthen research and development in next-generation Physical AI, and scale its go-to-market operations across global manufacturing industries.
The latest investment marks another milestone in SwitchOn’s growth journey, following its $1.1 million Seed round and $4.2 million Series A, reflecting continued investor confidence in the company’s AI-driven manufacturing technology.
Revolutionising Manufacturing Through Physical AI
Founded by Aniruddha Banerjee and Avra Banerjee, SwitchOn integrates artificial intelligence directly into manufacturing equipment to automate quality inspection through its edge-native VisionAI platform.
The founders bring more than a decade of combined experience in computer vision, artificial intelligence, and IoT, having previously worked with global technology companies including NVIDIA, Samsung Electronics, and Schneider Electric.
The company’s flagship platform, DeepInspect, leverages advanced computer vision to identify manufacturing defects with sub-150-micron precision at speeds exceeding 1,200 products per minute. According to the company, the platform delivers over 99% defect detection accuracy while helping manufacturers reduce quality inspection costs by as much as 50%.
Trusted by Global Manufacturing Giants
Since deploying its first production systems in 2021, SwitchOn has expanded rapidly and now powers AI-driven quality inspection across more than 170 production lines in over 60 manufacturing facilities spanning four continents.
Its customer portfolio includes global manufacturing leaders such as Unilever, Bosch, Maruti Suzuki, and ALPA, serving industries including consumer packaged goods (CPG), electronics, automotive, and pharmaceuticals.
The company believes its indigenous AI technology also aligns closely with India’s Make in India initiative and Production Linked Incentive (PLI) schemes by helping domestic manufacturers achieve world-class quality standards.
Funding to Accelerate Global Expansion
The newly raised capital will support SwitchOn’s plans to expand internationally while advancing its Physical AI capabilities and strengthening its presence across key manufacturing sectors worldwide.
Commenting on the funding round, Aniruddha Banerjee, Co-founder of SwitchOn, said:
“We are grateful for the confidence that IvyCap Ventures, SIG Tattva, and Trifecta Capital have placed in our vision. Manufacturing is the backbone of the global economy, yet quality inspection has remained stubbornly manual for decades. Physical AI changes that equation entirely.”
He added that the company aims to build the infrastructure for autonomous quality intelligence and make zero-defect manufacturing a reality across factory floors worldwide.
Investors Back Industrial AI Innovation
Vikram Gupta, Founder and Managing Partner at IvyCap Ventures, said SwitchOn has built a globally relevant Physical AI platform that addresses one of manufacturing’s most critical challenges.
He highlighted the company’s strong technology capabilities, execution, and expanding global customer base as key reasons behind the investment.
Shashvat Somany, Founder of SIG Tattva, emphasized that the future of manufacturing lies in smarter factories rather than simply faster machines. He noted that quality inspection remains one of the last largely manual processes on factory floors, making Physical AI a transformative technology for the sector.
Meanwhile, Abhijit Joshi, Director – Venture Debt at Trifecta Capital, praised the founding team’s deep technical expertise and their ability to combine product innovation with business execution. He added that SwitchOn’s intellectual property-driven defect detection platform addresses a significant global opportunity for enterprise manufacturers.
Strengthening India’s Position in Industrial AI
As manufacturers worldwide increasingly adopt automation and AI to improve efficiency, reduce waste, and enhance product quality, SwitchOn is positioning itself as a global player in the rapidly evolving Physical AI market.
With deployments already spanning over ten countries and backing from leading institutional investors, the company aims to expand its global footprint while advancing AI-powered autonomous quality inspection for some of the world’s largest manufacturers.
By: Arushi Agarwal
