SGBI (Sastra Global Business Innovation), formerly known as Sastra Robotics, a global leader in specialized robotics based in Kochi, is to invest £8 million in the UK in the next three years.
This was announced by British Trade Secretary Jonathan Reynolds in the UK Government’s public sector information website gov.uk. It is one of the recent investment wins for the UK worth over £100 million from various Indian companies.
Reynolds’ statement said SGBI’s investment aiming to expand the company’s robotics innovation and development is expected to create 75 jobs in the UK. This will be the first investment from a robotics company from South India in the UK.
Aronin Ponnappan, CEO and Co-Founder, SGBI, said the decision has been made following an export order received and executed by SGBI from a public sector department in the UK in October 2023 for 150 numbers of testing robots. “We delivered the order mainly from our 5000-sq-ft facility in Kochi, employing around 40 people,” he said.
Global leader
“Within a few years from a start-up in 2013 incubated at Startup Village, the company has emerged a global leader in specialised robotics and AI solutions for real-world device testing. In 2021, SGBI Inc. US spearheaded our global expansion, with headquarters in the US and subsidiaries in the UK and India strategically positioned to serve the European and Asian markets, respectively. 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,” Akhil Asokan, CFO & Co-Founder, SGBI added.
British Trade Secretary Jonathan Reynolds, who visited New Delhi and Bengaluru in February, accompanied by British Investment Minister Poppy Gustafsson, said Indian investors are particularly drawn to sectors such as AI, professional services, and textiles.
