Pluckk, a fresh produce foodtech startup based in Mumbai, announced today that it has raised $5 million (Rs 37 crore) in seed funding to build the team and expand its presence in key metro cities. The new round was led by Exponentia Ventures, a fund focused on emerging business ideas in both the B2C and B2B space. Pratik Gupta’s startup, which launched in 2021, aims to build India’s first digital commerce business to meet the growing demand for lifestyle-oriented fresh produce. Pluckk is interested in the ‘farm-to-table’ concept. The startup’s…

VerSe Innovation, the parent company of vernacular news aggregator Dailyhunt and the creator of short video entertainment app Josh, has raised Rs 207.7 crore (approximately $28 million) from The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board. In August of last year, the Bengaluru-based company raised $450 million in a Series I round led by Siguler Guff, Baillie Gifford, and Carlyle Asia Partners. To date, the company has raised approximately $678 million, including the current tranche. According to regulatory filings, Vesre Innovation has approved the allotment of 10 equity shares and 50,148 Series…

Bijak, an agritech startup, has raised Rs 144.2 crore (nearly $20 million) in Series B funding from new and existing investors. The new funds come after a more than 20-month wait for the Gurgaon-based startup. Surge Ventures, a subsidiary of Sequoia Capital India, Omidyar Network, and others invested $12 million in Bijak’s Series A round in April 2020. Bijak has approved the distribution of 393 equity shares and 2350 Series B preference shares in order to raise Rs 144.2 crore (approximately $20 million) from five investors. Bertelsmann led the investment…

Platform for Buy Now and Pay Later In 2021, ZestMoney saw a 300 percent increase in transactions, driven primarily by young borrowers. According to the firm’s report, borrowers in tier-1 and tier-2 cities borrowed to buy fashion, lifestyle, and electronics, as well as to spend on online education courses to improve their skills. While the majority of customers (median) were between the ages of 23 and 26, BNPL emerged as the preferred option for people of all ages, with the youngest customer being 18 and the oldest being 66. The…

La Renon Healthcare, a pharmaceutical company backed by Sequoia Capital and A91 Partners, has acquired a 51 percent stake in Enaltec Labs. The transaction values Enaltec at Rs 180-200 crore post-money. “This is a structured deal where—based on Enaltec’s performance between October 2021 and September 2022, and after achieving about 15-18% Ebitda—the conversion of stake will be ascertained..,” La Renon’s Chief Financial Officer Amit Jain said. La Renon will end up with a higher stake than 51% if Enaltec fails to achieve those business targets, he said. “This is entirely…

M2P Fintech, based in Chennai, provides API infrastructure solutions to banks primarily in Asia, and has raised $56 million in a C1 series round led by Insight Partners. The Mitsubishi Group’s MUFG Innovation Partners, as well as existing investors Tiger Global and Better Capital, took part in the round, according to a press release from M2P. M2P recently raised $35 million in a Series C round led by Tiger Global. Since early 2021, the company, formerly known as Yap, has raised more than $100 million. The firm did not disclose…

Corporate learning and development (L&D) will thrive in 2022 as companies invest more in upskilling their executives in high-tech domains such as artificial intelligence and machine learning. According to a survey conducted by edtech firm Simplilearn on January 20, AI and machine learning are the highest priority skill domains for 2022, followed by cyber security, project management, digital marketing, cloud computing, and data science. “These skills will receive the highest budget priority from organisations for internal upskilling initiatives and external hires,” the survey added. According to Simplilearn, at least 80%…

Fyp, one of India’s fastest growing neobanks for teenagers, has acquired EdTech startup Edunify as part of its expansion plans. With this acquisition, the company hopes to broaden its user base through school collaborations across India. Edunify, which was founded in 2018, operates a pan-India school discovery platform with 1.2 lakh schools in 725 cities, has assisted 1.5 million parents in their admissions journey since its inception, and has empowered 100+ schools in 7 cities with admission and fee management services. Commenting on the acquisition, Kapil Banwari, Founder and CEO,…