Legendary badminton player Prakash Padukone and current investors participated in a $1.5 million funding round led by Rainmatter, Zerodha’s investment arm, for Machaxi, a Bengaluru-based sports-tech startup that specializes in digital sports infrastructure and grassroots coaching.
In addition to accelerating the development of its AI-powered coaching platform, which aims to standardize badminton training throughout India, the proceeds will support Machaxi’s expansion into Hyderabad, Pune, and Chennai.
Machaxi, which was founded in 2022 by Pratish Raj and Ankit Raj, provides training programs that guarantee reliable, excellent coaching wherever you are.
The company currently has centers in Bengaluru and plans to open more locations across the country, serving both aspiring professional athletes and novice players.
Aiming to establish over 1,000 coaching centers over the next four years, Machaxi has partnered with the Padukone School of Badminton to launch the “Machaxi x Padukone School of Badminton” program as part of its expansion strategy. Instead of taking the place of human coaching, the system will help with performance tracking and scalability.
