Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

India robotics firm SGBI announces £8 million UK investment

The investment is expected to create 75 jobs in the UK, marking the first such investment from a South India-based robotics company.

SGBI

SGBI CEO and Co-Founder Aronin Ponnappan said the decision follows an export order received in October 2023 from a UK public sector department for 150 testing robots. (Photo: Linkedin/SGBI)

INDIA's SGBI (Sastra Global Business Innovation), formerly known as Sastra Robotics, will invest £8 million in the UK over the next three years, British Trade Secretary Jonathan Reynolds announced on the UK government’s website.

The Hindu Business Line reported that this investment is part of a larger £100m commitment from various Indian companies.


The investment is expected to create 75 jobs in the UK, marking the first such investment from a South India-based robotics company.

SGBI CEO and Co-Founder Aronin Ponnappan said the decision follows an export order received in October 2023 from a UK public sector department for 150 testing robots.

“We delivered the order mainly from our 5000-sq-ft facility in Kochi, employing around 40 people,” he said, as reported by The Hindu Business Line.

SGBI CFO and Co-Founder Akhil Asokan stated that the company has grown from a 2013 start-up at Startup Village into a global leader in specialised robotics and AI solutions.

“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,” he said.

Reynolds, who visited New Delhi and Bengaluru in February with British Investment Minister Poppy Gustafsson, noted that Indian investors are particularly interested in AI, professional services, and textiles.

More For You

UK economy contracts unexpectedly in January

Chancellor Rachel Reeves speaks while holding roundtable discussion during a visit to RAF Waddington in eastern England. (Photo by YUI MOK/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

UK economy contracts unexpectedly in January

BRITAIN's economy unexpectedly shrank in January, official data showed on Friday (14), piling more pressure on the Labour government ahead of its Spring Statement on the economy.

Gross domestic product contracted 0.1 per cent in the month after GDP rose 0.4 per cent in December, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said in a statement.

Keep ReadingShow less
Pakistan seeks £3.4bn bank loan to tackle mounting energy sector debt

Pakistan’s government is the largest shareholder or owner of most power companies

Pakistan seeks £3.4bn bank loan to tackle mounting energy sector debt

Eastern Eye

PAKISTAN government is negotiating a 1.25 trillion Pakistani rupee (£3.4 billion) loan with commercial banks to reduce its bulging energy sector debt, the power minister and banking association said.

Plugging unresolved debt across the sector is a top priority under an ongoing $7bn (£5.4bn) International Monetary Fund (IMF) bailout, which has helped Pakistan dig its way out of an economic crisis.

Keep ReadingShow less
Deliveroo posts first annual profit after 12 years

A Deliveroo rider near Victoria station in London, England. (Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)

Deliveroo posts first annual profit after 12 years

FOOD DELIVERY app Deliveroo announced on Thursday (13) its first annual profit as orders and revenue rose, while the 12-year old company sees further growth despite exiting Hong Kong.

The milestone follows sizeable full-year losses owing to high investment costs since American Will Shu founded the company in 2013 and made Deliveroo's first delivery in London.

Keep ReadingShow less
JLR-Tata-Getty

JLR had initially planned to manufacture more than 70,000 electric vehicles at the facility. (Photo: Getty Images)

JLR halts plan to build EVs at Tata’s India plant: Report

JAGUAR LAND ROVER (JLR) has put on hold plans to manufacture electric vehicles at Tata Motors’ upcoming £775 million factory in southern India, according to a news report.

The decision was influenced by challenges in balancing price and quality for locally sourced EV components, three of the sources said. They added that slowing demand for electric vehicles was also a factor.

Keep ReadingShow less