Infuse Ventures, Intellecap Impact Investment Network invest Rs 3 crore in solar startup Surya Power

MUMBAI: Intellecap Impact Investment Network (I3N) and Infuse Ventures have invested $500,000, or Rs 3 crore, in Coimbatore-based solar-agriculture startup Surya Power Magic.

I3N, which is an angel network investing in social enterprises, saw members including solar panel manufacturer Waaree Group and family office Kshatriya Ventures participate in the deal. Infuse Ventures is a Rs 110 crore fund promoted by IIM Ahmedabad’s Centre for Innovation Incubation and Entrepreneurship (CIIE) and focusing on the clean tech sector.

"Angel investors have typically found clean energy as a difficult sector for investment because of the perception of high initial costs, complicated technology, or regulatory issues," said I3N Head Aditi Shrivastava.

Surya Power was cofounded by serial entrepreneurs Abhilash Thirupathy and Karthic Ravindranath. While Thirupathy was cofounder of online medical advisory network Healthcaremagic, which was recently acquired by US-listed Ebix for $18.5 million (Rs 111 crore) while Ravindranath has earlier founded Sakthi Aerospace.

Surya Power Magic provides solar-based irrigation solutions for farmers. The two year old company currently creates and sells affordable solar water pumps. It has installed over 25 water pumps in Tamil Nadu till date.

The funding will be used by Surya Power for strengthening its second line of management, R&D, marketing, and business development over the next 18-24 months.