AI Startup Fractal Joins Unicorn Club After $360 Million Investment From TPG

AI startup Fractal, which is based in Mumbai and New York, has received a $360 million investment from private equity giant TPG’s Asia investment arm, valuing the company at over $1 billion and becoming the latest startup from India to achieve unicorn status.

Fractal develops various software platforms for businesses and hospitals. Its AI programs can be used to accelerate diagnostic decisions from medical imaging data, such as from X-rays, CT scans and ultrasounds. The AI programs also help businesses automate workflow, such as by answering customer and investor inquiries using voice search and real-time data monitoring. 

The company’s clients include AstraZeneca, Kellogg’s and Procter & Gamble. It also has partnerships with tech giants like Amazon Web Services, Google Cloud, Microsoft, ​​Qualcomm and Twitter. 

In 2019, Fractal received a $200 million investment from London-based private equity firm Apax Partners, known for their investments in designer brands Karl Lagerfeld and Tommy Hilfiger.

Fractal was founded in Mumbai by Pranay Agrawal and Srikanth Velamakanni in 2000. Both Agrawal and Velamakanni worked at ANZ and Mumbai-based ICICI before starting Fractal.

Research firm IDC forecasts the global AI market will reach $500 billion by 2024, up from $342 billion last year. Just last week, Hong Kong billionaire Tang Xiao’ou’s SenseTime raised $744 million in an initial public offering on the Hong Kong stock exchange; the company has a market capitalization of $28.3 billion.