Founded in 2020, Proxgy is a deeptech startup that specializes in IoT-based solutions and provides smart wearables and safety products designed to enhance workplace safety and worker efficiency.

Since its inception, Proxgy has raised around $6 million from Peyush Bansal of Lenskart, Suhail Sameer of BharatPe, Nikhil Kamath of Gruhas and Bollywood actor Suniel Shetty

In FY24, Proxgy reported a revenue of INR 8.9 Cr and now claims an MRR of INR 70 lakh. With an eye on profitability, Proxgy is targeting a top line of INR 40 Cr in FY25

There is a significant difference that exists in this digitally connected world between white collar and blue collar workforce in India. While advances in technology—from laptops, palmtops, and tablets to software tools like Google, Zoom, Slack, and Microsoft Teams—have made the lives of white-collar workers easier and more productive, there is no limited access to technology that can it makes the professional life of collar workers easier.

This proved to be an eye-opening topic for serial entrepreneur Pulkit Ahuja, who has spent a substantial part of his career developing products for various sectors and felt compelled to address the technology gap for the blue-collar workforce.

“While white-collar workers enjoy tools like Zoho, Slack and Teams, blue-collar workers lack access to such technologies due to the mission-critical nature of industries like oil and gas, mining and construction,” Ahuja said.

To solve this, he vowed to develop products specifically for industrial and blue-collar workers, a quest that eventually led to the creation of Proxgy.

Founded in 2020, Proxy is a deeptech startup that specializes in IoT-based solutions and provides smart wearables and safety products designed to enhance workplace safety and worker efficiency.

It operates on a three-layer technology stack, comprising an industrial IoT hardware layer, a software middle layer, and a SaaS subscription layer. The startup claims to have developed a suite of proprietary IoT products and software tools for industrial workers.

“The core layer consists of IoT products, which act as enablers or connection points for people in various industries to access the other two layers. The second layer is custom software — similar to what Google and Zoom offer — that serves as the software interface. The third layer is our enterprise SaaS layer, which includes Slack-like tools where all the algorithms run, like video AI or any breach detection,” said Ahuja.

The B2B startup targets top players in various industries, including logistics, warehousing, construction, mining, oil and gas and banking. Bank of India, Bank of Baroda and Quality Council of India are among its key partners.

From its beginnings, Proxgy has raised about $6 million from Lenskart’s Peyush Bansal, BharatPe’s Suhail Sameer, Zerodha’s Nikhil Kamath and Bollywood actor Suniel Shetty. The startup’s claim to fame was its appearance on Shark Tank Season 1.

Proxgy: Top feather in Ahuja’s cap?

Proxgy was born from the founder’s passion for developing new products. An engineer by profession, Ahuja has always been a product guy and wanted to make something of his own. A corporate job was never his cup of tea. He wanted to innovate and develop new products to address real-world problems.

Finally, in 2013, he decided to quit his corporate job to launch his first venture, Unlockar, which was a data unlocking app for smartphone apps. The app subsidized data costs and offered a solution that rewarded users for increased smartphone usage.

After two years with his first venture, Ahuja felt his work on the technology side was done, prompting him to exit the stake in 2015.

Immediately after this, he started working on his second venture and co-founded Cabsguru, an app that aggregated Ola, Uber, TFS, Meru, EasyCabs, QuickCabs, MegaCabs, TabCab and others into a marketplace platform that allows users to search , compare and book taxis. .

Within just a year of its launch, Cabsguru was acquired by a Japanese company ORIX Auto Infrastructure Services Limited. After this, Ahuja led product and strategy and marketing teams from ORIX India for four years. During this time, he created 42 products for ORIX.

Then the Covid-19 pandemic hit and while the world rested at home, Ahuja’s restless mind gave birth to the initial idea for Proxgy. At a time when almost everyone worked remotely via phones and laptops, he set out to effectively connect field workers in remote or dangerous locations with their supervisors.

“Whether these workers were 100 feet underground in a mine or working high up on a windmill, they couldn’t communicate with their supervisors,” he said.

With that in mind, he started researching and came across data that showed that over 1 million people globally work outside of traditional office settings, representing up to 70% of the workforce.

Without thinking about it, Ahuja, along with his few colleagues, left ORIX in 2020 and started building and developing his first two products to help the workers. There has been no looking back since. The founder has so far launched more than 10 products for the industrial workforce and has 35 patents under control.

Proxgy products at a glance

The founder started Proxgy with just two SKUs, Sleef and Smarthat, and has since expanded to 10 SKUs. Let’s take a look at Proxgy’s product offerings:

• SmartHat: It is an intelligent safety helmet classified in zone C type 1, designed to increase safety in the workplace. This helmet is equipped with real-time tracking, environmental sensors, human condition monitoring sensors and communication tools to improve situational awareness for workers in industries such as construction, manufacturing, mining and oil and gas.
• Sleeves: It’s a lightweight, easy-to-use smart device that can be attached to any cap to turn it into a smart cap. It is equipped with a camera, speakers and microphone. It is used in industries such as logistics, warehousing, police, surveillance and banking.
• Lock: This is a 4G enabled smart industrial lock that provides on-the-go access control and security solutions for goods, containers and facilities. According to the founder, this lock offers features like geofencing, NFC and RFID unlocking, GPS and speed tracking for shipping containers, satellite connectivity in underserved areas and tamper-proof e-SIMs. It is used in industries such as transportation, logistics and even education.
• AudioPod: It is a 4G compatible sound box used for instant confirmation of payment received from QR codes from all major payment banks. The startup claims the sound box offers premium customizable features like an LED display and a thermal printer.

Ahuja said it took him almost a year and a half to establish a basic infrastructure. The founder faced many challenges in developing this technology stack as his previous projects were software based, so this was his first experience venturing into a hybrid model.

It also faced challenges when all supply chains were disrupted during the pandemic, resulting in shortages of critical components. Once these issues were resolved, the founder shifted his focus to increasing production.

The startup claims to be a fully made-in-India brand, with production being handled through a joint venture with PG Electroplast Limited under contractual arrangements.

What’s next for Proxgy?

The startup’s big break came after it appeared on Shark Tank India and secured INR 1 Cr in funding from Peyush Bansal and Ashneer Grover of Lenskart.

According to the founder, revenue has grown nearly 80 times from around INR 1 lakh in FY22 to nearly INR 78 lakh in FY23. Shark Tank exposure also led Proxgy to pivot from B2C to a pure B2B model.

“Our appearance on national television garnered millions of views and inquiries from Fortune 500 companies seeking industry-specific adaptations of our products,” added the founder.

In FY24, Proxgy reported a revenue of INR 8.9 Cr and now claims a monthly recurring revenue of INR 70 lakh. The founder attributes this growth not only to Shark Tank, but also to strong support from investors. With an eye on profitability, Proxgy is targeting a top line of INR 40 Cr in FY25.

The founder also plans to expand geographies by tapping into the South American and Middle Eastern markets by next year.

In terms of product launches, it already has a few products in the pipeline, including a portable surveillance unit that can operate autonomously in any weather conditions for days.

This product (BirdBox) is currently being tested and certified. The founder anticipates its launch by February 2025.

As Ahuja envisions becoming the ‘Apple’ of the industrial ecosystem, it will be interesting to see how the entrepreneur presents his startup’s journey.

(Edited by Shishir Parasher)