Start-Ups

Enkash, a corporate spend management business backed by fintech entrepreneurs Amrish Rau and Jitendra Gupta, has acquired $20 million in a new round of funding led by Ascent Capital, Baring India Private Equity Partners, and Singapore-based White Ventures. Other backers already on board Axilor Ventures and Mayfield India also took part in the investment round. The fintech firm provides a payments management platform for businesses, including corporate card issuance. The Mumbai-based firm plans to utilise the capital to expand its offerings around banking-as-a-service, scaling up its ‘plug and play’ cards…

Even as the global startup ecosystem begins to talk about a slowdown in dealmaking due to macroeconomic challenges, Indian companies raised more than $10 billion in the first quarter of 2022, up from $5.7 billion in the same time of 2021, according to Venture Intelligence statistics. Because official deal announcements often take a few months after closing, the record-breaking first quarter funding data does not account for the present downturn. A rise in US interest rates, rising geopolitical tensions as a result of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, record-high fuel prices,…

Pixxel, a spacetech startup, has successfully launched its first full-fledged commercial satellite, dubbed ‘Shakuntala,’ using SpaceX’s Falcon-9 rocket, which is run by Elon Musk. ‘Shakuntala,’ Pixxel’s first fully-fledged satellite, hosts one of the highest resolution hyperspectral commercial cameras ever flown to orbit, putting the company one step closer to developing a 24×7 health monitor for the globe, according to the company. This launch, which took place on Friday on SpaceX’s Transporter-4 mission from Cape Canaveral, Florida, gets the business closer to completing its ambitious aim of assembling one of the…

GarageWorks, a Pune-based technology-enabled B2C startup that provides two-wheeler servicing to customers through a convenient at-home process, announced that it has raised $1 million (Rs 7.5 crore) in a pre-Series A funding round led by Hiten Shah, Gowri Narayanan, Ram Trichur, Fred Towfigh, Abhijeet Kumar, and Munendra Singh (ex-founders of BB Daily). Following an initial angel round, this is the company’s second round of funding. Dr. Aniruddha Malpani, Pawan Sharma (ex-CEO of KPIT Technologies), Gautham Radhakrishnan, and Gaurav Malhotra were among the existing investors who took part in this round….

Vedantu, an edtech startup, announced on Thursday that it is on pace to be “IPO-ready” in 18-24 months and is optimistic about India’s market prospects, which give plenty of room for expansion. The scorching pace of growth in online learning has slowed a little as COVID-19 cases fade and offline learning modalities emerge, but the business is still producing impressive growth numbers, according to the report. According to the business, 90-95 percent of the industry is still untapped, giving edtech companies plenty of room to grow. Vedantu stated that it…

Stanza Living, a coliving operator, has acquired Singularity Automation, an enterprise Internet of Things (IoT) platform, in an all-cash purchase to strengthen its technological ecosystem. The sale value was not disclosed by Gurugram-based Stanza Living, which provides managed lodgings to students and working people. Stanza Living stated in a statement that the acquisition will improve its in-house technology ecosystem, which acts as the company’s backbone. It will also help the company focus more intensely on building highly customised IoT-based solutions for the managed accommodation sector. Singularity Automation, backed by IvyCap…

OneCode, a platform that connects financial businesses with on-the-ground resellers, has raised $13 million (about Rs 100 crore) in a new round of funding headed by General Catalyst, according to a prepared statement released on Thursday. Existing investors in the round included Sequoia Capital India’s Surge, Nexus Venture Partners, and Waterbridge Ventures. Angel investors included Vidit Aatrey and Sanjeev Barnwal, cofounders of Meesho; Madhusudanan R, inventor of M2P; Vikas Choudhary, president of Reliance Jio, DSP Family Office, and Reddy Futures Fund, among others. The funds will be used to hire…

Healthfab, a Bengaluru-based femtech direct-to-consumer (D2C) firm, announced today that it has raised Rs 2.17 crore in a seed fundraising round headed by Singapore-based Beyondseed, with angel investors Goh Ee Fann and Abhijit Datta participating. Healthfab was formed in 2019 by Kiriti Acharjee, Saurav Chakraborty, and Satyajit Chakraborty with the goal of providing cheap solutions for a healthy and sustainable human life. The company’s primary product, ‘GoPadFree,’ was created to provide comfort to women while also promoting a more plastic-free society. In a statement, the company stated that these panties…

Wiz Freight, a Chennai-based tech-enabled freight management platform for exporters and importers, announced today that it has raised Rs 275 crore ($36 million) in a new financing round led by Tiger Global, a US-based venture capital firm. Other investors who took part in the round included Axilor Foundamental, Arali Ventures, Stride Ventures, and Alteria Capital. Wiz Freight is a tech platform that allows exporters and importers in emerging markets to book and manage cross-border shipments. It was founded in August 2020 by serial entrepreneurs Ramkumar Govindarajan and Ramkumar Ramachandran. Shippers…

AgroStar, a farm advisory and input platform, announced on Thursday that it has acquired INI Farms Pvt Ltd to expand its operations. In the coming fiscal year, the firm wants to increase its income to more than Rs 1,000 crore. INI Farms, based in Mumbai, is a significant exporter of fruits and vegetables, and its products are sold under the ‘Kimaye’ brand. Pankaj and Purnima Khandelwal launched INI Farms in 2009, and the company now handles over 50,000 tonnes of fruit per year. “We have acquired INI Farms through a…