Here is a list of top funding deals that happened in Indian Startup Ecosystem this week. Check out the brief description about all of them.
Softbank Likely To Invest $1 Billion in Paytm
Japan’s telecom and internet conglomerate SoftBank is reportedly in talks with Alibaba-backed Indian e-wallet company PayTM to invest around $1 billion to $1.5 billion. The possible investment comes on the heels of talks with Flipkart for a merger with Snapdeal. Notably, SoftBank is a major stakeholder in Alibaba and Snapdeal both.
Surprisingly, an all-stock merger of Snapdeal with Paytm is being discussed at the highest level, said sources. This could mean SoftBank investing in PayTM, wherein China’s Alibaba — with 40% — is a maximum stakeholder, and SoftBank in turn is among the oldest investors in Alibaba.
Reliance Capital, who was one of the earliest investors in PayTM, had already sold its stake in One97 Communications — the parent company of digital payments provider Paytm — to Alibaba in a deal estimated Rs 275 crore
Foodtech Startup Holachef Raises $5M In Funding
Mumbai-based foodtech startup Holachef has raised $5 Mn (about INR 32 Cr) in its extended Series B round of funding led by Kalaari Capital. The round also saw participation from SIDBI Venture Capital and India Quotient. The round was completed in two tranches – in April 2016 and October 2016, and values the startup at around $22 Mn.
The startup will deploy the raised funds to strengthen its logistics capabilities to streamline delivery process. The startup is also opening its first customer-facing offline kiosk in Mumbai.
Credihealth Raises $1.5M in Pre-Series A Funding from Tolaram Group and Mountain Pine Capital
Credihealth, India’s leading medical assistance company has successfully concluded its Pre-Series A funding round. The healthcare startup has secured an investment of USD 1.5 million from Tolaram Inc., family office investment arm of Tolaram Group and Mountain Pine Capital. Bala Swaminathan (Ex) KPMG partner, one of the earliest investors in the platform and has invested in this round as well. After growing exponentially within three years of inception, Credihealth has already achieved break even and has been maintaining a positive cash flow from an early stage. With this round of funding, Credihealth aims to expand its operations and fund the new services to address the non-clinical pain points of patients.
AI Startup Innefu Labs Raises $2M from IndiaNivesh
Innefu labs Pvt. Ltd, a startup which develops cybersecurity solutions using artificial intelligence, has raised $2 million (Rs 13 crore) in its Series A investment round from IndiaNivesh Venture Capital Fund. The New Delhi-based company plans to use the capital for enhancing its AI platform, talent acquisition and expansion. Innefu also intends to enter Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.
Absentia VR Raises Rs 8 Crore from Exfinity Venture
Bengaluru-based startup Absentia VR that offers a tool to create virtual reality content, has raised Rs 8 crore in a round led by early-stage fund Exfinity Venture Partners.
The round also saw participation from Sprout Venture Partners and Krishnamoorthy Ananthasivam (former vice-president at Infosys Ltd), while Venture Catalysts, a Mumbai-based seed fund, picked up stake through secondary share purchase.
Absentia VR has developed Norah AI, an artificial-intelligence powered engine that creates 360 degree panoramic content from 2D videos or images. The company was started by Birla Institute of Technology, Goa, drop-outs Shubham Mishra, Vrushali Prasade and Harikrishna Valiyath in early 2015. In November last year, it raised Rs 1.2 crore from Astarc Ventures, 50k Ventures and a few independent angel investors.
Video Learning Platform VideoKen Raises $1M Funding in the Seed Round
VideoKen, an artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning based platform for video based collaborative learning, has raised $1 million from a bunch of angel investors.
Started in January 2017 by Manish Gupta, former VP & Director, Xerox Research India and Ashish Vikram, former VP of Engineering at Flipkart, the company has raised funds from LG Chandrasekhar, chairman of Sutures India and Sashi Reddi, partner at US based SRI Capital LLC, along with a few current and former executives of Flipkart including Ravi Garikipati (CTO), Hari Vasudev (SVP), Surojit Chatterjee (SVP) and Ashish Agrawal (SVP). Ajay Lavakare, president and co-founder of Stanford Angel Network has also participated in this round. Other investors include Akash Garg (Angel investor and Director of engineering at Uber San Francisco) in addition to other US and Hong Kong based investors.
Tech Enabled Salon Chain Be U Salons Raises Rs 4 Cr in Seed Funding
Be U Salons, an Asset-Light Tech Enabled Salon Chain, a part of the Delhi-based Gingerpan Swapkart, announced today that it has raised Rs 4 crore (US$600k) from a consortium of investors from UAE, Singapore and India.
The fund raise was led by Gaurav Kachru from 5 ideas Startup Superfuel and has received participations from Sundeep Singh Sahni, Founder Lazada Group and former VP Ola New Initiatives Jatin Aneja, Partner at Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas Bikramjiet Kukreja (owner of one of the first Be U Salon outlets) and Arun Malhotra, a serial entrepreneur, among others.
Ideaspring Capital Invests in Homegrown AR Startup ‘Whodat’
Early stage venture fund Ideaspring Capital has invested $600,000 in Whodat. This is Ideaspring’s third investment, and the first in the Augmented Reality technology domain. The investment will be Whodat’s first institutional round of capital funding, following four years of bootstrapped and profitable growth.
“Whodat is building a proprietary hybrid SLAM (Simultaneous Localization and Mapping) system to seamlessly place digital content within indoor environments without markers. Their system handles advanced features like – fast initialization, accurate ground plane estimation, real world scale estimation and re-localization.
Actress Jacqueline Fernandez Invests in Rakyan Beverages A Juice Making Startup
Bollywood’s hottest actress Jacqueline Fernandez has invested in Mumbai- based Rakyan Beverages Pvt. Ltd, a startup that makes juices under the Raw Pressery brand. With this funding deal she has become India’s first celebrity to part finance a consumer products firm, and help drive sales.
The company produces juices and serves customers through its offline stores in the cities including Mumabi, Gurgaon, Pune, New Delhi and other cities. It is serving pan India’s consumers via its online platform. The startup was founded by Anuj Rakyan in 2013. Anuj Rakyan said, “While professional investors take calculated risks, celebrities are believers and users of the brand. Jacqueline has about 13 million followers just on instagram and can influence buyers. Hence, she is not an ambassador but an evangelist who can have an impact on the top line.”
Health-Snack Startup Snackible Raises $175K in Angel Funding
Mumbai-based Snackible, has raised $175,000 (around Rs 1.12 crore) in an angel round of funding led by a clutch of individual investors and high-net-worth individuals (HNIs). The investors, who participated in the round, include Nibhrant Shah (founder of Isprava and Themis), Anandbir Singh (founder of Anandini Financial Services), Anirudh Sheth (founder of Wealth Whispers), Pratik Singhi (CEO of Lakshya Consulting), Jitendra Mahnot (CEO of Startech Engineers India) as well as Mastercard executives Vikram Mehta and Murali Nair.
Apart from these top 10 funding deals, here are a few startups which have also secured funding for their growth and expansion:
Delhi-based IoTrek Technology Pvt. Ltd, which provides industrial Internet of Things (IoT) solutions for telecommunications, energy and solar grid management, has secured $154,000 (Rs 1 crore) in seed funding from a consumer goods maker.
Fashion discovery platform Wooplr Technologies Pvt. Ltd has raised an undisclosed amount in funding from Ankit Nagori, co-founder of healthcare start-up CureFit and former chief business officer at Flipkart Ltd. Nagori will join Wooplr’s board following the investment.
Digital integrated platform connecting tutors and students GuruQ has raised an undisclosed amount in seed funding from High Net Worth Individuals.
Delhi-based healthcare technology startup Navia Life Care Pvt. Ltd has raised angel funding from Benori Ventures LLP, which is led by former Evalueserve chief operating officer Ashish Gupta.
Softbank Likely To Invest $1 Billion in Paytm
Japan’s telecom and internet conglomerate SoftBank is reportedly in talks with Alibaba-backed Indian e-wallet company PayTM to invest around $1 billion to $1.5 billion. The possible investment comes on the heels of talks with Flipkart for a merger with Snapdeal. Notably, SoftBank is a major stakeholder in Alibaba and Snapdeal both.
Surprisingly, an all-stock merger of Snapdeal with Paytm is being discussed at the highest level, said sources. This could mean SoftBank investing in PayTM, wherein China’s Alibaba — with 40% — is a maximum stakeholder, and SoftBank in turn is among the oldest investors in Alibaba.
Reliance Capital, who was one of the earliest investors in PayTM, had already sold its stake in One97 Communications — the parent company of digital payments provider Paytm — to Alibaba in a deal estimated Rs 275 crore
Foodtech Startup Holachef Raises $5M In Funding
Mumbai-based foodtech startup Holachef has raised $5 Mn (about INR 32 Cr) in its extended Series B round of funding led by Kalaari Capital. The round also saw participation from SIDBI Venture Capital and India Quotient. The round was completed in two tranches – in April 2016 and October 2016, and values the startup at around $22 Mn.
The startup will deploy the raised funds to strengthen its logistics capabilities to streamline delivery process. The startup is also opening its first customer-facing offline kiosk in Mumbai.
Credihealth Raises $1.5M in Pre-Series A Funding from Tolaram Group and Mountain Pine Capital
Credihealth, India’s leading medical assistance company has successfully concluded its Pre-Series A funding round. The healthcare startup has secured an investment of USD 1.5 million from Tolaram Inc., family office investment arm of Tolaram Group and Mountain Pine Capital. Bala Swaminathan (Ex) KPMG partner, one of the earliest investors in the platform and has invested in this round as well. After growing exponentially within three years of inception, Credihealth has already achieved break even and has been maintaining a positive cash flow from an early stage. With this round of funding, Credihealth aims to expand its operations and fund the new services to address the non-clinical pain points of patients.
AI Startup Innefu Labs Raises $2M from IndiaNivesh
Innefu labs Pvt. Ltd, a startup which develops cybersecurity solutions using artificial intelligence, has raised $2 million (Rs 13 crore) in its Series A investment round from IndiaNivesh Venture Capital Fund. The New Delhi-based company plans to use the capital for enhancing its AI platform, talent acquisition and expansion. Innefu also intends to enter Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.
Absentia VR Raises Rs 8 Crore from Exfinity Venture
Bengaluru-based startup Absentia VR that offers a tool to create virtual reality content, has raised Rs 8 crore in a round led by early-stage fund Exfinity Venture Partners.
The round also saw participation from Sprout Venture Partners and Krishnamoorthy Ananthasivam (former vice-president at Infosys Ltd), while Venture Catalysts, a Mumbai-based seed fund, picked up stake through secondary share purchase.
Absentia VR has developed Norah AI, an artificial-intelligence powered engine that creates 360 degree panoramic content from 2D videos or images. The company was started by Birla Institute of Technology, Goa, drop-outs Shubham Mishra, Vrushali Prasade and Harikrishna Valiyath in early 2015. In November last year, it raised Rs 1.2 crore from Astarc Ventures, 50k Ventures and a few independent angel investors.
Video Learning Platform VideoKen Raises $1M Funding in the Seed Round
VideoKen, an artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning based platform for video based collaborative learning, has raised $1 million from a bunch of angel investors.
Started in January 2017 by Manish Gupta, former VP & Director, Xerox Research India and Ashish Vikram, former VP of Engineering at Flipkart, the company has raised funds from LG Chandrasekhar, chairman of Sutures India and Sashi Reddi, partner at US based SRI Capital LLC, along with a few current and former executives of Flipkart including Ravi Garikipati (CTO), Hari Vasudev (SVP), Surojit Chatterjee (SVP) and Ashish Agrawal (SVP). Ajay Lavakare, president and co-founder of Stanford Angel Network has also participated in this round. Other investors include Akash Garg (Angel investor and Director of engineering at Uber San Francisco) in addition to other US and Hong Kong based investors.
Tech Enabled Salon Chain Be U Salons Raises Rs 4 Cr in Seed Funding
Be U Salons, an Asset-Light Tech Enabled Salon Chain, a part of the Delhi-based Gingerpan Swapkart, announced today that it has raised Rs 4 crore (US$600k) from a consortium of investors from UAE, Singapore and India.
The fund raise was led by Gaurav Kachru from 5 ideas Startup Superfuel and has received participations from Sundeep Singh Sahni, Founder Lazada Group and former VP Ola New Initiatives Jatin Aneja, Partner at Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas Bikramjiet Kukreja (owner of one of the first Be U Salon outlets) and Arun Malhotra, a serial entrepreneur, among others.
Ideaspring Capital Invests in Homegrown AR Startup ‘Whodat’
Early stage venture fund Ideaspring Capital has invested $600,000 in Whodat. This is Ideaspring’s third investment, and the first in the Augmented Reality technology domain. The investment will be Whodat’s first institutional round of capital funding, following four years of bootstrapped and profitable growth.
“Whodat is building a proprietary hybrid SLAM (Simultaneous Localization and Mapping) system to seamlessly place digital content within indoor environments without markers. Their system handles advanced features like – fast initialization, accurate ground plane estimation, real world scale estimation and re-localization.
Actress Jacqueline Fernandez Invests in Rakyan Beverages A Juice Making Startup
Bollywood’s hottest actress Jacqueline Fernandez has invested in Mumbai- based Rakyan Beverages Pvt. Ltd, a startup that makes juices under the Raw Pressery brand. With this funding deal she has become India’s first celebrity to part finance a consumer products firm, and help drive sales.
The company produces juices and serves customers through its offline stores in the cities including Mumabi, Gurgaon, Pune, New Delhi and other cities. It is serving pan India’s consumers via its online platform. The startup was founded by Anuj Rakyan in 2013. Anuj Rakyan said, “While professional investors take calculated risks, celebrities are believers and users of the brand. Jacqueline has about 13 million followers just on instagram and can influence buyers. Hence, she is not an ambassador but an evangelist who can have an impact on the top line.”
Health-Snack Startup Snackible Raises $175K in Angel Funding
Mumbai-based Snackible, has raised $175,000 (around Rs 1.12 crore) in an angel round of funding led by a clutch of individual investors and high-net-worth individuals (HNIs). The investors, who participated in the round, include Nibhrant Shah (founder of Isprava and Themis), Anandbir Singh (founder of Anandini Financial Services), Anirudh Sheth (founder of Wealth Whispers), Pratik Singhi (CEO of Lakshya Consulting), Jitendra Mahnot (CEO of Startech Engineers India) as well as Mastercard executives Vikram Mehta and Murali Nair.
Apart from these top 10 funding deals, here are a few startups which have also secured funding for their growth and expansion:
Delhi-based IoTrek Technology Pvt. Ltd, which provides industrial Internet of Things (IoT) solutions for telecommunications, energy and solar grid management, has secured $154,000 (Rs 1 crore) in seed funding from a consumer goods maker.
Fashion discovery platform Wooplr Technologies Pvt. Ltd has raised an undisclosed amount in funding from Ankit Nagori, co-founder of healthcare start-up CureFit and former chief business officer at Flipkart Ltd. Nagori will join Wooplr’s board following the investment.
Digital integrated platform connecting tutors and students GuruQ has raised an undisclosed amount in seed funding from High Net Worth Individuals.
Delhi-based healthcare technology startup Navia Life Care Pvt. Ltd has raised angel funding from Benori Ventures LLP, which is led by former Evalueserve chief operating officer Ashish Gupta.
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