13 February 2024

Newnex Fortnight India: Startups Funded Recently

In the past two weeks, we've observed a total of over $385+ million in fundraising and deal-making activities. Newnex Fortnight India acts as a comprehensive fundraising tracker for the thriving Indian venture capital ecosystem, produced in partnership with the Startup Europe India Network.

BluSmart Mobility, a provider of electric vehicle ride-hailing services and operator of EV charging hubs, has secured $25 million in funding from ResponsAbility, a climate finance firm based in Zurich. The investment will be utilized by BluSmart to enhance its EV charging infrastructure and facilitate expansion efforts.

Electrifi Mobility, a startup specializing in electric vehicle asset management and leasing, has successfully raised ₹25 crore in a seed round comprising a combination of debt and equity. The funding round witnessed contributions from Asian Development Bank (ADB) Ventures, AdvantEdge Founders, and other investors.

Bengaluru-headquartered electric vehicle (EV) startup, River, has secured $40 million (₹335 crore) in Series B funding, with Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd. leading the round. Additionally, existing investors Al-Futtaim Automotive, Lowercarbon Capital, Toyota Ventures, and Maniv Mobility also participated. The company intends to utilize the funds to expand its distribution and service network nationwide and to bolster its investment in research and development (R&D).

Attentive.ai, a startup specializing in vertical software for landscaping and construction services, has secured $7 million in a new funding round. The investment aims to bolster its AI-led solutions and extend them to a broader range of businesses. Vertex Ventures Southeast Asia and India spearheaded the all-equity Series A round, following the earlier $5 million seed investment. Existing investors, including Peak XV's Surge and InfoEdge Ventures, also participated. Moreover, Mumbai-based investment firm Tenacity Ventures has joined the effort through a secondary investment.

JustHomz.com, a prop-fintech B2B2C platform launched by The Black Opal Group, has successfully secured a $3 million investment from prominent financial institutions, including SBI and HDFC Banks. This platform enables the smooth integration of various financing products, such as home equity, renovation financing, and early brokerage.

Grow Indigo recently closed a funding round, raising over $8 million. This round garnered attention from investors worldwide, with contributions from Indigo Ag, Mahyco, and individual investors. Established in 2018 as a joint venture between Indigo Ag and Mahyco, Grow Indigo operates India's largest carbon farming platform for smallholder farmers. The company is recognized as a trailblazer in carbon farming and a frontrunner in biological innovation.

ClearTrust, an innovative ad tracking and fraud detection platform, has secured $1.9 million in its pre-Series A round, led by Ideaspring Capital, with Piper Serica Angel Fund also contributing. Additionally, existing investor Alacrity India participated in the round.

Wishlink, a commerce startup focusing on creators, has secured $7 million in funding from The Fundamentum Partnership Fund and Elevation Capital. Wishlink empowers creators on social media platforms to drive commerce for brands through personalized multi-brand storefronts. The platform has developed a tech stack to guide creators from social media to brands' websites, aiding them in customer acquisition Wishlink boasts partnerships with over 60 brands, including H&M, Westside, Faballey, and more. Previously, Wishlink closed a seed round of $3 million in October 2022, led by Elevation Capital and several prominent angels, including Vidit Aatrey, Sanjeev Barnwal, Rahul Chaudhary, Ankush Sachdeva, and Ghazal Alagh.

Sugar.fit, a startup focused on diabetes management, has secured $11 million in funding during its Series A round, with MassMutual Ventures leading the investment. Existing investors, including Cure.fit (now Cult.fit), Tanglin Venture Partners, and Endiya Partners, also contributed to the round.

Wiz Freight, a supply chain startup, has secured $15 million in a Series B funding round. Japan-based SBI Investment led the investment, with participation from Tiger Global, NIPPON EXPRESS HOLDINGS, Axilor Technologies Fund, Foundamental, Arali Investments, Unikon Shipping Ventures, and several family offices. With this new investment, the company aims to expand its global operations in Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and the US, while also advancing its technology-driven logistics solutions.

Startup p0, named after catastrophic events that can lead to platform crashes and potential security breaches, aims to address these critical issues that can undermine customer trust in businesses. Leveraging large language models (LLMs), p0 helps developers detect serious code issues before deployment. The startup recently annunced a successful funding round, raising $6.5 million from Lightspeed Venture Partners, with participation from Alchemy Ventures.

DevX, a Managed Office Space provider, has secured $7 million in funding, with an equal split between equity and debt financing. The equity round saw participation from family offices such as Urmin family office, Gala family office, and Bidiwala family office, which were already part of the captable. This participation underscores confidence in DevX's growth model. Additionally, high-net-worth individuals (HNIs) like Ajay Patel, Mitesh Patel, and Soham Mehta contributed to the equity round. The debt funding was provided by banks and NBFCs.

Space technology startup EtherealX has secured its initial institutional funding from Campus Fund, BlueHill Capital, and Riceberg Ventures. The investment will support the development of EtherealX's 40 kilonewton semi-cryogenic rocket engine, marking a significant milestone for the company. EtherealX aims to pioneer reusable rocket technology by bringing both stages of the rocket back to Earth after flight. This funding underscores EtherealX's commitment to innovation in the space industry, with aspirations to rival major players like SpaceX in commercial orbital launches with reusable rockets.

Aarogya Tech, a health technology startup based in the US with a presence in Bengaluru, has successfully secured $1.8 million in seed funding. The round was led by Hasu P Shah, the founder and Chairman Emeritus of Hersha Hospitality Trust, contributing $1.5 million in fresh capital. The newly acquired funds will be utilized to expedite product development, bolster the analytics and machine learning team, and expand the company's product.

Spiritual tech startup AstroTalk revealed a significant milestone, announcing a $20 million Series A funding round led by Left Lane Capital, a prominent New York-based venture capital firm specializing in high-growth consumer and internet technology companies. This funding marks one of the largest investments in the spiritual-tech sector in India to date. AstroTalk intends to allocate the funds towards strategic acquisitions aimed at international market expansion, the establishment of new business verticals, and the recruitment of senior leadership positions.

Agritech startup BigHaat has successfully secured $8.4 million in Series C funding, with co-leadership from Ashish Kacholia and RBA Finance and Investment Company. Notable participants in the round include VPK Global, Anshul Anil Goel, Advik Tecnocommercial, Amee Shah Mehta, Rupaben Shailesh Mehta, Viren Ajit Joshi, Rohhan Viren Joshi, and Nishchay Goel. BigHaat specializes in providing data-driven crop advisory services to farmers, aiding them with distribution, marketing, and operational support. Additionally, the company operates a marketplace platform offering a wide array of agricultural products such as seeds, pesticides, fertilizers, pumps, tractors, and growth promoters.

The two-wheeler electric vehicle finance platform OTO has secured $10 million in funding, with GMO Venture Partners leading the round. Turbostart, Indian cricketer KL Rahul, and several family offices also participated. Additionally, existing investors Prime Venture Partners, Matrix Partners, and 9Unicorns funds joined the round.

E-commerce consolidation firm GlobalBees has secured $18 million in a debt financing round from Avendus. This marks the third debt round for the Delhi-based company since its establishment in 2021.

Agetech startup Ivory has successfully raised $500K in a new funding round, with early stage VC fund Capital A leading the investment. TDV Partners (Ujwal Sutaria) and a consortium of angel investors, including Abhishek Kabra (MD, Samara Capital), Tushar Vashisht (co-founder and CEO, HealthifyMe), Abhishek Ganguly (co-founder and CEO, Agilitas Sports), and Rajeev Singh (VP, SAP India), among others, also participated in the round. The capital infusion will enable Ivory to expand its reach to over 15 million elderly Indians who are at risk of dementia.

Neodocs, a provider of affordable smartphone-based test kits, has secured $2 million in its seed funding round, with Omidyar Network India leading the investment. Notable investors include YCombinator, 9Unicorns, Gemba Capital, Titan Capital, as well as prominent angels such as Prashant Tandon and Gaurav Agarwal (1Mg), Rohit MA (Cloudnine), Kunal Shah (Cred), Varun Alagh (Mamaearth), Viren Shetty (Narayana Healthcare), Harshad Reddy (Apollo Hospitals), and Vivek Gambhir (Boat). Neodocs plans to utilize the funds to expand its presence in international markets, with a focus on Europe, Australia, the Middle East, and the Americas.

ControlZ, a premium renewed smartphone brand, has successfully raised $3 million in its seed funding round, co-led by 9 Unicorn and Venture Catalysts. This funding comprises a combination of debt and equity. The startup is dedicated to extending the life cycle of devices, with a focus on reducing the carbon footprint associated with smartphone manufacturing, which accounts for over 85-95% of a device's annual carbon footprint.

Deeptech startup Torus Robotics has secured $470K in its seed funding round, with Tamil Nadu Infrastructure Fund Management Corporation (TNIFMC) leading the investment through the Tamil Nadu Emerging Sector Seed Fund (TNESSF). Forge Innovation & Ventures, Coimbatore, and SINE (Society for Innovation & Entrepreneurship) IIT Bombay also participated in the round. The capital raised will be utilized to accelerate Torus Robotics' research and development efforts, facilitating a seamless transition of their technologies from the laboratory to the market..

Plant-based home care brand Koparo has secured Rs 5.2 crore from 4P Capital Partners, in addition to Rs 70 lakh from Shark Tank India. Notable investors Aman Gupta, co-founder of boAt, and Vineeta Singh, co-founder of Sugar, have also joined the Company. Koparo offers a range of home care products, including floor cleaners, laundry detergent, fabric conditioners, dishwash liquid, handwash, cleaning accessories, fresheners, and fragrances. The brand's focus on naturally made, child-safe, and pet-friendly cleaning products caters to the needs of conscious consumers in India, and it plans to expand its product line to further serve the cleaning needs of modern Indian homes.

Mumbai-based supply chain financing platform Cashinvoice has secured $3.4 million in its Series A funding round from a consortium of institutional investors, including Pravega Ventures, HDFC Bank, and existing investor Accion Venture Lab. Cashinvoice specializes in providing tailored supply chain financing (SCF) solutions to mid and large corporate buyers and suppliers through its digital marketplace for invoice discounting. The startup collaborates with 25 banks and a network of supply chain giants, including Tata Motors, Voltas, and Britannia, to facilitate its operations.

Video commerce platform Swirl has successfully raised $1.1 million in its seed funding round, with Shastra VC (formerly Veda VC) leading the investment and support from a group of angel investors. Notable angels include Aakrit Vaish, Shan Krishnasamy, Mohammed Dewji, Naim Siddiqui, Anil Goteti, Jiten Patri, Arun Prabhudesai, Neha Kulwal, Ratan Ingu, Paresh Chaudhry, and others. Swirl intends to utilize the funds to address its growing global customer demand and expand its go-to-market (GTM) and product teams, with a particular emphasis on the US and Middle East markets.

Electric vehicle financing platform Mufin Green Finance has secured $17 million in its Series B round of equity funding. The equity investment comes from prominent family offices, while the debt funding has been sourced from State Bank of India, IREDA, AU Small Finance Bank, ICICI Bank, and Kotak Mahindra Investments. These funds will be utilized to accelerate Mufin's growth trajectory and further expand its business operations in the western region of the country.

Integrated SaaS platform Rupyz has secured $1.2 million in its seed funding round, led by Merak Ventures, with participation from other angel investors. Rupyz provides a B2B e-commerce SaaS platform that serves as digital infrastructure, allowing brands to map their entire supply chain. This enables them to streamline their supply chain processes and accelerate business growth more effectively and efficiently.

Sports broadcast and talent discovery platform SportVot has successfully raised $ 94 million in a pre-Series A funding round, with Omidyar Network India leading the investment. The round also saw participation from Anicut Capital, StartupLynk, Ventana Ventures, and existing investors Capital A, Ankur Capital, SucSEED Indovation Fund, and Marwah Sports.

Nanotechnology startup Piscium has secured ₹6 crore in a Series A funding round led by Unicorn India Ventures. The raised funds are earmarked for bolstering the sales and marketing team, enhancing brand development, scaling up production and operations, and initiating international business ventures.

Senior citizens' services startup Khyaal has secured $4.2 million in a funding round co-led by 62 Ventures, SVQuad, and early-stage venture capital firm Inventus Capital Partners. Existing investors including Everywhere Ventures, Supermorpheus, and Unpopular Ventures also participated in the round. The raised capital will be directed towards strengthening Khyaal's presence in its current regions, expanding market penetration, and exploring opportunities in new markets.

Clean tech-focused non-banking finance company (NBFC) Metafin has secured $5 million in a new funding round led by Prime Venture Partners and Varanium Capital. The raised capital will support Metafin in offering rooftop solar loans to small businesses in rural and semi-urban areas through its network of lending and installer partners.

Pet care brand Papa Pawsome has successfully raised $400,000 in a seed funding round led by Indian Angel Network (IAN), with participation from IAN investors including Ajay Rajgarhia, KRS Jamwal, Jayant Mehrotra, and Rohit Rajput. Papa Pawsome offers a comprehensive range of products tailored to meet the specific needs of pet-centric households, boasting over 25 SKUs spanning hygiene essentials like shampoos, serums, massage oils, training sprays, and grooming services.

Edtech startup ConveGenius has secured an additional $1.8 million in its ongoing Series A funding round, led by Searce Inc., alongside a strategic partnership announcement. This latest investment comes on top of the $7 million raised earlier in the round, co-led by UBS Optimus Foundation and Mount Judi Ventures in January. ConveGenius collaborates with state governments, CSR initiatives, NGOs, and schools to foster sustainable educational impact within the K-12 space across India.

AI startup Crux has secured $2.6 million in a seed funding round led by Emergent Ventures, with participation from Y Combinator and Neon Fund. The round also saw involvement from First Cheque and other investors. Crux boasts backing from notable individuals and industry veterans, including Tej Redkar (CPTO of SumoLogic), Karthik Ramamoorthy (SVP of Products and GM at Zuora), Aayush Phumbra (cofounder of Chegg), Krishna Mehra (Director of Engineering at Meta), among others. The startup specializes in assisting B2B SaaS teams in rapidly building embedded AI copilots. It achieves this by creating AI models capable of answering questions about business data in plain language, akin to OpenAI's ChatGPT.

Lohum Cleantech, a producer of clean energy transition materials through battery recycling and repurposing, has secured $23 million in its Series B1 funding round. The investment was led by Baring Private Equity Partners, with participation from Cactus Partners, Chhattisgarh Investment Limited, Ventureast Proactive Fund, Michael B Schwab Living Trust, Singularity Growth, Stride Ventures, and several angel investors including Anish Vora, Kunal Babani, Manas Tondon, among others.

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