12th December, 2023: Smart home automation startup Aliste Technologies has raised $1 million in a round led by YourNest Venture Capital and Artha Venture Fund. The round also saw participation from renowned investors like Dholakia Ventures, KRS Jamwal, and Anikarth Ventures, among others. Existing institutional investors in the company include 100X.VC. Aliste, which has built a strong presence in NCR & has now expanded to Bangalore, is seeing phenomenal growth owing to its subscription-based model for its customers.
Founded in 2021 by VIT batchmates Aakarsh Nayyar, Anant Ohri, Bhavya Kansal, Konark Gautam, Shreyansh Jain, and Udit Pandoh, Aliste Technologies is addressing the home automation market to make tech-enabled homes within the reach of homeowners and businesses looking to provide an upgraded customer experience and save energy. The brand offers innovative retrofit automation products allowing users to control their existing appliances via an app or voice assistants with a subscription model starting at ₹1 per appliance per day. Their footprint currently spans over 2,500 residential, commercial and hospitality projects with clients like The Taj group of hotels, Vouchagram India and Stanza living in their portfolio.
Anant Ohri, Co-founder of Aliste, said, “We see a major gap in the consumer IoT segment in India. As aspirations of working Indians soar, we believe our solution has the ability to not only provide a well-packaged automation solution but also result in energy savings. Aliste’s products are designed with the luxury and convenience of its users in mind while providing 10 – 15% savings on their monthly electricity bills. Our aim is to save electricity worth $1 Million by 2025.”
Commenting on the fundraise, Sunil K. Goyal, Managing Director & Fund Manager, YourNest Venture Capital, said, “Aliste’s innovative low capex and subscription model makes it unique and gives it the capability to scale at a rapid pace by targeting young adults in the expanding high-income and upper/middle-income demographics across India. The founding team has already been solving this problem for the last three years since their final year of college and has the motivation and energy to create a large global organisation.”
Anirudh A. Damani, Managing Partner at Artha Venture Fund, adds, “We see unprecedented growth in the automation market from different angles. In the last 5 – 7 years, Indian consumers have warmed up to subscription-based services. Aliste has been able to tap into this changing consumer behaviour and has also managed to keep it affordable. Even on the B2B side, as more Indians resume travel, they expect a high-end experience from the hospitality sector, and hotel chains are well aware of this changing scenario. The surging demand for automation in residential and B2B channels and Aliste’s approach to leverage the market opportunity with a subscription-led model prompted us to invest in the company.”
Ninad Karpe, Partner, 100X.VC, said, “The home automation industry is a rising sector in India. Aliste Technologies has carved a niche for itself with its innovative subscription-based model in this market. The company has achieved the unimaginable by introducing home tech that is not only convenient but also affordable for customers. We are happy to be a part of their progressive journey and are looking forward to extending our support in all ways possible.”
High capex is one of the biggest reasons why smart home adoption in India remains one of the lowest in the world. With sub-1% adoption of smart homes in India, Aliste Technologies is addressing an enormous market opportunity while making home automation affordable and accessible. At a subscription cost of just ₹1 per appliance per day, a typical 3 BHK can now get automated at just ~₹ 500 per month, compared to a conventional automation route requiring homeowners to shell out upwards of ₹ 1 lakh in a single go.
Aliste Technologies is showing phenomenal growth owing to its subscription-based model for its customers. It has a strong presence in the Delhi-NCR region and has recently entered the Bangalore market. With the freshly infused capital, the company intends to spread its footprints pan-India and boost brand awareness initiatives.
