Trifo Aims to Shake Up Robot Vacuum Market in India with AI Technology
Hyderabad: Trifo, a Silicon Valley-based AI home robot company, is set to enter the Indian market with smart robot vacuums outfitted with an AI-powered brain. With plans to introduce its complete product portfolio ranging from entry-level to high-end models, Trifo aims to capture a five percent market share by next year.
“India is the key focus country for Trifo. In addition to the U.S. and Europe, we have confidence in building a successful user experience in India, providing customers with a wide range of innovative and cutting-edge products,” said Zhe Zhang, Founder and CEO of Trifo.
The home robot market in India is estimated to grow 20-30 times this fiscal year, compared to around 10,000 units sold last year, according to recent market and research reports. Trifo’s first home robots are smart vacuums that come with a proprietary algorithm promising deeper sensing, perception of the environment, and decision-making capabilities. The company has filed over 100 patent applications for its technologies in software and hardware worldwide.
“Our robots are built to get smarter over time and interact more with future Trifo home robots. For instance, if the robot senses that its users are away, it can adjust the temperature and humidity levels in the room. As we advance, our robot cleaners would serve as an AIoT hub and act as the primary connector between homes, other smart devices and users, whether they are at home or not”, Zhang explained.
Over the next year, the company aims to roll out a comprehensive product portfolio in India to meet different customers’ needs. Aside from the advanced suction power, Trifo home robots boast unique features such as intelligent vision navigation, innovative human-robot interaction, and AI-powered surveillance. At the International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas this year, Trifo robot was awarded the “CES Editors’ Choice Award” and selected as “The Best Smart Home Tech of CES 2020” by Digital Trends.
Amid concerns around the Covid-19 pandemic, the demand for robot vacuums and other home improvement products has picked up as people face domestic help constraints. Zhang also sees the potential in this fast-growing market as more and more households begin to embrace smart home devices in the country.
Prior to the creation of Trifo, Zhang was co-founder and CEO of PerceptIn, a full-stack visual intelligence company aimed at making scalable hardware/software integrated solutions for autonomous robotics systems. Before PerceptIn, Zhang worked at Magic Leap and Microsoft Research, where he focused on mapping, localization, navigation, and self-recharge solutions for consumer robots.
Trifo has raised a total of $26 million from investors, including Walden International, Matrix Partners, and Samsung Ventures. The raise will fund support for continued hardware and software development on future Trifo AI home robots, global market expansion, and talent acquisition.