FutureTech

Bengaluru-based Finsall, an insurtech startup focused on insurance premium financing, has raised Rs 12 crore (approximately $1.6 million) in a new pre-Series A round to scale its technology platform and increase its market share in the insurance premium financing market. The round included existing investors Unicorn India Ventures and SEA Fund, as well as a slew of other investors, according to a statement from the startup. Unicorn Indian Ventures is well-known for its investments in high-growth fintech firms such as Open Bank and SmartCoin. Finsall, founded by Promod Khanna, Tim…

Hero Electric, India’s leading EV company, today announced a partnership with Anand Mahindra-led Mahindra to serve the country’s growing electric vehicle market. The collaboration is part of Hero’s EV growth and expansion plans. According to a company statement, the partnership will enable Mahindra Group to manufacture Hero Electric’s electric bikes – Optima and NYX – at their Pitampur plant to meet the growing EV market demand. Furthermore, with this collaboration and the expansion of its existing Ludhiana facility, Hero will be able to meet its growing demand of producing over…

CRED has increased the size of its employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) pool to $500 million, joining the ranks of several growth-stage startups that have done so in the last year. According to regulatory filings, CRED passed a special resolution to increase its ESOP pool by 112,504 stock options to a total of 392,958 stock options. The new ESOP pool has been increased from 10% to 12.5% of its paid-up capital. CRED has increased the size of its ESOP pool by Rs 1071.3 crore or $143 million, bringing the company’s…

Shares of One97 Communications, the owner of the Paytm brand, hit a lifetime low on Wednesday, falling as much as 5% in a weak market. For quite some time, the stock has been declining. It has closed in the red 11 times in the last 12 sessions, losing 26% of its value. The stock is down about 54% from its IPO price. The stock is now even closer to Macquarie analysts’ most bearish target price of Rs 900 on the counter, which also set the tone for Paytm’s initial fall…

Shopify, a Canadian e-commerce giant, announced a partnership with China’s JD.com on Tuesday to allow merchants in the United States to sell to JD’s customers in China. The strategic partnership comes amid fierce competition in China’s e-commerce space from players such as Pinduoduo, Alibaba Group Holding, and Douyin. The agreement’s financial terms were not disclosed. According to the companies, the agreement will allow Shopify merchants to sell on JD’s cross-border platform JD Worldwide and gain access to its 550 million active customers in China. Shopify merchants in the United States…

Pluckk, a fresh produce food-tech venture owned by Fruveggiie Tech Pvt Limited, has raised $5 million in seed capital from Exponentia Ventures, a fund focused on emerging B2C and B2B business ideas. Pratik Gupta founded Pluckk in 2021 with the goal of creating India’s first digital commerce business to meet the growing demand for lifestyle-oriented fresh produce. The company’s proposition revolves around global food trends such as veganism, carb alternatives, gut health, immunity, and plant-forward eating to prevent diabetes and mental health. “This round of funding will be utilised towards…

Digit Insurance has raised new funds for its general insurance company from Wellington Hadley Harbor and Ithan Creek Master Investors. According to regulatory filings, Digit has approved the allotment of 165,77,070 equity shares at an issue price of Rs 314 per share in order to raise Rs 520.52 crore ($70 million). Wellington Hadley Harbor, based in Boston, has contributed $55 million to this round, with the remaining funds coming from Ithan Creek Master. The Bengaluru-based company also passed a special resolution to change the terms of the employee stock appreciation…

Meesho, an e-commerce company, has implemented a ‘gender confirmation’ leave policy that allows employees who want to transition their gender to take up to one month of paid leave for gender reassignment surgery and other medical procedures. The new policy adds to the Bengaluru-based company’s recent initiatives aimed at increasing inclusivity within the organisation. The company, which joined the unicorn club last year with a valuation of more than a billion dollars, is also considering allowing employees to include same-sex and live-in partners in their insurance coverage. “Over the past…

Reliance Retail Ventures Ltd, the retail arm of Reliance Industries, has acquired a 54 percent stake in robotics company Addverb Technologies for $132 million, according to a senior company official. This round of funding, a mix of primary and secondary capital, will help the company expand in Europe and the United States, as well as establish a large robotic manufacturing facility. With this strategic partnership, the six-year-old company has raised a total of $143 million to date. Addverb previously received $11 million in funding led by Jalaj Dani, co-promoter of…

Evenflow Brands, a third-party online seller aggregator, has acquired four consumer brands in India as part of a larger strategy to significantly expand its reach, portfolio, and demand. The acquisition includes two sports and fitness brands, Vifitkit and Yogarise, as well as Frenchware, a kitchen label, and Cingaro, a gardening brand, all with annual run rates ranging from $500k to $2 million. The founders of Frenchware and Cinagro will also join Evenflow as consultants as part of the deal. “We are looking to triple the growth for each of these…