Nagpur: MSN Holdings of city-based ammunition maker Solar Group’s managing director and CEO Manish Nuwal has invested Rs190 crore in battlefield AI systems maker TsecondAi. The investment happened in tranches spread over two years. By pumping in Rs50 crore in the latest tranche held last month, MSN Holdings has emerged as the largest investor in the company which makes AI systems that work in air gaps (areas without internet connectivity). Billed to be one of its kind globally by the promoters, TsecondAi’s existing clients include defence players in the US and Europe. American aircraft maker Boeing was one of the early investors in the business and has exited now. The platform can even detect movements and even alert troops of lurking threats during missions, says the promoters. TsecondAi has Nagpur-based entrepreneur Sahil Chawla as a co-founder. Sahil Chawla told TOI that its platform BRYCK is the smallest form factor (computer hardware) that enables use of artificial intelligence in places where there is no internet connectivity. “Even with its small size, it offers functions that would otherwise need a supercomputer or a data centre to achieve,” he said.Established six years ago, the company at present has $400 million of revenue in pipeline. The other major investors include VCats and other Nagpur-based investors, said Chawla. On how the platform works, he explained that BRYCK, which is the size of a hardback book or a small box, can come in handy to soldiers in a remote area with no internet. “It processes all camera and sensor feeds on the spot and can tell the commander exactly where the threat is. It can help process drone’s data right on the ground or even detect movement in far off posts,” he said.
