BigBasket Acquires Kerala Startup Agrima Infotech to Revolutionize Offline Retail 

BigBasket, India's largest online grocery seller has acquired the enterprise business unit of a deep-tech startup incubated by Kerala Startup Mission (KSUM), with the goal of revolutionizing offline retail in the nation. 

BigBasket, a Tata company, will be implementing Kochi-based startup Agrima Infotech's unique consumer vision technology platform, Psyight, at its self-checkout counters of the former's retail stores. 

BigBasket CEO Hari Menon announced the acquisition on the sidelines of KSUM's two-day virtual Huddle Global 2022', which got underway here on Saturday. 

According to an official statement, Psyight, created by Anoop Balakrishnan, Arun Ravi, and Nikhil Dharman of Agrima Infotech, helps identify all Indian fruits and vegetables uniquely from an image without the need of barcodes. 

KSUM Chief Executive Officer John M Thomas described the acquisition as a "milestone" for any Kerala startup. "It not only reiterates the strength of our startup ecosystem, but shows the great impression firms such as BigBasket have about our startups, "he noted. 

I hope the deal would encourage startups to move ahead strongly in their attempt to scale up their business, he said. 

Anoop Balakrishnan, co-founder and CEO of Agrima Infotech, stated that his company's collaboration with BigBasket will redefine the offline shopping experience in the nation. 

According to Arun Ravi, co-founder and COO of Agrima Infotech, recognizing raw food items such as fruits and vegetables distinctively from an image is a challenging machine vision problem because the appearance of those goods varies depending on their origin and seasons. 

We captured thousands of photographs of each SKU (stock-keeping unit) across seasons and from different locations to achieve 100 per cent accuracy, he added. 

Menon stated that "the acquisition adds a lot of value to our business," and that BigBasket would leverage this expertise in AI (artificial intelligence) and ML (machine learning) to enrich and enhance a lot of technical innovation in the firm. 

We are excited to work with the Agrima team to create solid innovation in the grocery market, he added. 

According to the statement, BigBasket has opened its first technology-driven self-service Fresho' retail outlet in Bangalore. KSUM is the Kerala government's nodal agency for entrepreneurship development and incubation operations in the state.