AI-Enabled NDT Robotics Startup Octobotics Raises ~₹10 Crore in Series Seed Funding to Transform Asset Integrity Across Industrial and Rail Sectors

New Delhi, Feb 05: Octobotics Tech Pvt Ltd, an industrial robotics startup focused on AI-enabled Non-Destructive Testing (NDT) solutions, has successfully raised approximately ₹10 crore in a Series Seed funding round. The round was led by Navam Capital, with participation from BYT Capital.

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The funds will be utilised to accelerate product development, strengthen field validation, and support Octobotics’ international expansion across key markets.

Founded in 2020 by Ishan Bhatnagar and Gulshan Kumar, Octobotics designs and deploys vertically integrated, AI-powered NDT robotics platforms engineered to operate in harsh and high-risk environments. The company’s solutions address inspection challenges across asset-intensive sectors including Oil & Gas, Chemicals & Petrochemicals, Marine, Power, Fertilisers, and Railways.

Octobotics currently serves leading organisations such as the Indian Navy, IOCL, Saudi S-Chem, BPCL, HPCL, Aarti Industries, and GSFC, and reported ₹2 crore in annual revenue in the last financial year.

“This capital will support deeper R&D for vertical integration, enable us to pursue IECEx and ATEX certifications, and help scale our operations across India, Singapore, and the Middle East,” said Ishan Bhatnagar and Gulshan Kumar, Co-Founders of Octobotics.
“Our distribution-led approach allows these systems to work alongside human operators, significantly reducing manual intervention in hazardous environments.”

Commenting on the investment, Dr. Anjan Ray, Investment Partner at Navam Capital, said,

“Octobotics is addressing critical maintenance challenges in infrastructure-heavy industries. Their vertically integrated technology stack combined with a scalable distribution model positions them well to serve the global inspection market.”

In industries where safety, operability, and asset uptime are key competitive drivers, conventional manual inspection methods continue to struggle in high-risk zones such as corroded surfaces, confined spaces, elevated structures, and complex geometries. Octobotics addresses these challenges by automating hazardous inspection tasks and transforming raw field data into actionable asset integrity intelligence.

By enabling early detection of defects, corrosion, and material loss, the company helps operators reduce operational risk, minimise unplanned downtime, and improve inspection reliability. Its robotic and sensor-driven workflows generate high-fidelity data, which is analysed using predictive analytics to deliver a unified, decision-ready view of asset health.

Octobotics’ product portfolio includes:

  • PA RailScan – a PAUT-based system for rail track weld inspection, delivering consistent defect detection and repeatable inspection quality at scale

  • Weld Sensei – an automated inspection platform designed for precise data acquisition in hazardous environments where manual inspection is unsafe

  • Reach Master – a specialised NDT solution for inspections in hard-to-reach and high-elevation zones

The founders first connected at MERI Kolkata and later built careers in complex international operations. Ishan Bhatnagar previously managed maritime operations and automation at BW Maritime (Singapore), while Gulshan Kumar worked as an Operations & Maintenance Engineer at Belgian dredging major D.E.M.E. Inspired by the “Make in India” initiative, they returned to build data-driven, field-ready inspection solutions for critical infrastructure.