How a pandemic pivot led this Kerala startup to near $1 mln turnover

When US-based Malayali Ranjith Antony and his friends launched Perleybrook Labs, a startup based out of Palakkad, his hometown in Kerala, in 2013 their idea was to develop and sell a proactive video management software solutions. Antony’s years-long experience in camera technology was his biggest strength. However, things did not work out the way they expected as in several places they tried to sell their product they also had to set up the necessary infrastructure, including servers, incurring unexpected expenses. Then came Covid which opened up a whole new market of contactless systems, and Perleybrook found a new opportunity there.

Antony and his team gave their technology a hardware avatar and made a visitor management device using the existing software. Key features of the device included face recognition and human detection. However, the real pivot was yet to take place, and it happened with much drama.

“We took our product to a potential customer and did a demo. The client studied the product keenly. He then asked us if our product could stop a forklift in case of an emergency if it is attached to the truck. I could only say yes. A forklift was brought there instantly and our device was tied to it. I made the necessary relay module then and there. It all worked and the forklift got stopped. The client was happy and told us that is what they wanted,” Antony remembered. Melson Zacharias is Perleybrook’s co-founder.

The company thus shifted its focus to computer vision-based industrial safety solutions and launched the product called Flagman. It has over 75 customers across the world now. Antony said all of their customers are Fortune 500 companies. 

“Flagman is an AI-powered computer vision-based industrial safety automation platform. It detects human error in a man-machine interaction scenario and deters them in real-time. In fact, it doesn’t need the internet at all. Hence it is an ideal solution for not just stationary vehicles, but also for moving machines like forklift cranes and Reach trucks,” Antony said.

The company recently became one of the 10 startups selected for the 2024 class of the Techstars Industries of the Future Accelerator programme. The company gets an investment to the tune of Rs 1 crore as part of the programme. It has also won another Rs 1 crore as a grant from Startup Chile. The company is actively looking for investments. 

Perleybrook Labs clocked a turnover near $1 million last fiscal and it is expected to touch the $ 1 million mark this financial year. 

The company has its registered office in Palakkad and two other office spaces in Palarivattom and the Kerala Startup Mission campus in Kalamassery. The manufacturing unit is in Palarivattom. 

Antony said Kerala’s robust electronic supply chain market has been a huge help for the company.

(Startup Saturday is Onmanorama’s weekend series featuring promising startups from Kerala. Find the previous stories here)