Canaan Partners, SVB Invest $3.1 Million In Remote Computer Support Company iYogi

[Kris Nair]

Canaan Partners, along with SVB Financial Group, has invested $3.1 million in a Delhi-based computer support startup iYogi. The company provides live computer support on the phone and via remote access for home and small businesses. The investment will be used to expand iYogi’s service offerings, sales and marketing programs, and to enhance delivery operations in India, a release said. Alok Mittal, Canaan’s Executive Director in India, will join the board of iYogi.

This is the second investment in India for Canaan. It had earlier invested $8.5 million in BharatMatrimony.com alongwith Yahoo India. Canaan is focused on early stage deals or Series A investments in India.

iYogi is headquartered in Gurgaon, near Delhi, and provides computer support via phone and remote access for home and small business users globally. It charges $9.99 for a single incident and $89.99 for an annual subscription or unlimited incidents.

I am not sure if this pricing can work in India since you anyway get your neigbourhood computer support guy for far less - about Rs 1,200 a year. If it’s a single incident, they come for Rs 200 or so or even less. But as a global model, it may work. But how do they resolve the problem of making an on-site maintenance globally? [Updated: Alok Mittal of Canaan told me that the market is initially the US and the UK. They do only remote customer support, and 90 per cent of the problems can be resolved remotely.]

Deepak Kamra, General Partner at Canaan Partners, said in a statement, “iYogi’s service offering is highly efficient and economical in that it provides very skilled technicians to help diagnose and resolve computer problems that occur across a wide range of different manufacturers’ components and platforms. The company has great traction and we’re confident that this investment will allow iYogi to continue growing and expanding its customer base.”