Access to capital challenging, public listing helped investing in new areas: Kaynes' Ramesh Kannan

Ramesh Kannan, the managing director and founder of electronics manufacturing services firm Kaynes Technology, made his first personal angel investment in Bangalore-based consumer electronics startup Cuzor. The announcement was made today, with Kannan backing the firm with an investment of ₹5 crore in its seed round.

Cuzor Labs is a manufacturer of consumer electronic products in India. With experience in the Mini UPS category, Cuzor is now expanding into GaN-based charging with an emphasis on in-house R&D, supply chain control, and customer-centric design.

Kannan, who founded Kaynes Technology in 1988, took the company public only in 2022. “In India, investors hesitate to fund deep-tech or hardware startups because they look for quick returns in 2–3 years. But such businesses need 5–8 years to scale. Those of us who’ve gone through the long journey understand this, and that’s why I support them (Cuzor),” he told TechCircle.

Kaynes Technology went public in 2022, amid strong demand for electronics system design and manufacturing (ESDM) in India, boosted by the government’s PLI scheme and Make in India push.

“The government’s Make in India and later Make in India for India campaigns have supported companies like ours. Access to capital has always been India’s challenge, but after our public listing, we could invest in new areas. This sector requires deep work, but if done right, margins are sustainable,” Kannan said.

Kaynes offers conceptual design, process engineering, integrated manufacturing, and life-cycle support for industries such as automotive, aerospace, defence, railways, and the Internet of Things (IoT). They specialise in services like Printed Circuit Board Assembly (PCBA), sub-systems, and Original Design Manufacturing (ODM) services for smart devices and other technologies.

Kaynes also has capabilities in semiconductor assembly and testing (OSAT) through its subsidiary, Kaynes Semicon, aiming to support India's semiconductor self-reliance goals. In fact, in September 2024, the Union Cabinet approved Kaynes Semicon to setup a semiconductor unit in Sanand in Gujarat.

“The full-fledged construction is ongoing. By February-March, we’ll complete trials and approvals. When the plant goes live, we’ll be ready to scale immediately,” said Kannan.

More recently, in August, Kaynes Circuits, a wholly owned subsidiary of Kaynes Technology, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Tamil Nadu government. The aim is to explore the establishment of new manufacturing facilities in the state. Under the agreement, Kaynes Circuits plans an investment of approximately ₹4,995 crore over the next six years.