Robosoft Technologies, the Udupi-headquartered maker of digital solutions, said on Tuesday it has reached a definitive agreement to sell the business to Japan’s IT services firm TechnoPro for $108 million.
Founded in 1996, Robosoft Technologies started its journey as a software services firm specialising on the Mac platform, and then offered app development as a service. Robosoft was one of the earliest firms globally to be certified as a Mac OS developer by Apple, and has been recognized by the iPhone-maker several times in the decades since.
In a statement, the company said the company knew mobile was going to be big with the launch of iPhone and the App Store ecosystem.
“We began building mobile apps for clients across the globe and there’s been no looking back,” the company describes on its website,” states the company.
Robosoft, which counts Ascent Capital and Kalaari Capital among its investors, has courted clients operating in several categories, including games, news, sports, utilities and lifestyle, and expanded its offerings to include product advisory, and tools for design, engineering and analytics.
The original app for the Indian news network NDTV, for instance, was developed by Robosoft. Some of its other clients include media giant Viacom and McDonald’s India. It has clients in the U.S. and Middle East as well. Since 2017, Robosoft has been attempting to position itself as a “digital solutions” company.
Robosoft Founder and Managing Director Rohith Bhat said the company’s current management team will continue to lead the firm.
“Robosoft has had a phenomenal journey over the last two decades and has grown by leaps and bounds during this period. The partnership with Ascent Capital and Kalaari Capital heralded a strong growth era for us and I am very happy that we are handing over the reins of the Company to a global player like TechnoPro,” said Rohith Bhat.
TechnoPro President & CEO and Representative Director Takeshi Yagi said the company looks forward to a close collaboration with Robosoft in the company’s next phase of growth and see tremendous synergies between TechnoPro and Robosoft.
Robosoft employs more than 800 engineers with a mission of “Simplifying Lives with Delightful Digital Experiences”, providing one-stop digital solutions such as digital advisory, UI/UX design, engineering services, analytics, middle/back-end development to customers located in the United States and Europe, Japan and India.
The Company has accelerated its growth during these three years by succeeding in gaining major accounts in the United States and Japan, and realized the revenue growth of +89% YoY and the EBITDA growth of +165% YoY, with achieving the EBITDA margin of 40%, in the latest fiscal year. And it has offices in the United States and Japan as well and the revenues from the customers in both regions in the latest fiscal year accounted for c. 45% and c. 24% of the total respectively.
Robosoft especially has a reputation in offshore delivery with Design Thinking and UI/UX at its core, leveraging emerging digital technologies such as AI/ML, IoT, 5G and VR/AR, and has following strengths and track records:
Design Thinking based advisory utilizing workshops and expertise in UI/UX design
Strong technical capabilities across front-end, middle/back-end and analytics
Agile and highly mature offshore delivery model
Realization of DX at global companies of Media, BFSI and Retail/EC industries
TechnoPro intends to work in collaboration with Robosoft to generate synergy effects such as:
Gaining and expanding customer base in Japan of Media, BFSI and Retail/EC industries utilizing the existing solutions of Robosoft
Developing and providing TechnoPro’s customers such as manufacturers etc., with digital solutions combining Robosoft’s unique offerings of advisory and UI/UX design and TechnoPro’s existing technologies
Leveraging Robosoft’s engineers at domestic on-site and offshore and nurturing TechnoPro’s engineers in a digital sphere, given the tight supply of digital savvy engineers in Japan
