Start-Ups

Gramophone, an Indore-based Agritech startup, has raised INR 75 Cr (about $10 Mn) in its Series B funding round. The round was led by Z3 Partners, with existing investors Infoedge, Asha Impact, and Siana Capital also participating. Amit Sharma of Sunrise Group, Sumeet Kanwar of Verity, and Chona Family Office are among the new investors in the round (Havmor Group). The funding will be used to expand the startup’s technology platform. It intends to grow geographically while also exploring inorganic growth possibilities like mergers and acquisitions. “With this investment, we…

Forty-five health-tech startups were included in the federal policy think tank NITI Aayog’s initial compilation of enterprises nurtured under a scheme to encourage innovation and entrepreneurship. These companies’ technologies include portable health care devices that can be used at home, such as electrocardiogram (ECG) equipment, robotic arms capable of performing surgery, and a wearable device that alerts parents 24-hours before a pregnancy turns into a stillbirth, as shown in a list of innovative solutions released by these companies. The compilation, titled ‘Innovations for You,’ covers the start-ups fostered under the…

FarMart, a B2B Agritech startup, has raised $10 million in a Series A funding round headed by Matrix Partners India. Innoven Capital, as well as existing investors Omidyar Network India, Avaana Capital, and 500 Startups, joined the round, along with a few angel investors. Angel investors including Amit Lakhotia (Founder, Park+), Jitendra Gupta (Founder & CEO, Jupiter), KP Balaraj (Ex-founder, WestBridge Capital and Sequoia Capital India), Of Business Founder’s Fund, Revant Bhate and Dhyanesh Shah (cofounders, Mosaic Wellness) also participated in the round. The funds will be used to extend…

Digital media and lifestyle content platform ScoopWhoop has been acquired by Good Glamm Group, which is continuing its acquisition binge in the content and commerce space. Noting that the New Delhi-based digital media platform caters mostly to men, Good Glamm group said that it will invest INR 500 crore in the men’s category over the next three years. ScoopWhoop will continue to operate as an independent brand and media house under the Good Glamm Group, and its founders Sattvik Mishra, Rishi Pratim Mukherjee, and Sriparna Tikekar will remain in charge,…

Microsoft launched a new initiative called Microsoft AI Innovate on Wednesday for nurturing and scaling startups that use artificial intelligence (AI). The 10-week project will assist startups in India that are leveraging AI technology by helping them in scaling operations, driving innovation, and developing industry expertise. This programme’s quarterly batches are open to both B2B and B2C companies from a variety of industries, including financial services, healthcare, education, agriculture, space, manufacturing and logistics, retail, and e-commerce. The launch cohort, which will be supported by TiE Mumbai, will begin in November…

Yellow.ai, a conversational CX automation startup, has witnessed a significant increase in clients during the pandemic, according to Raghu Ravinutala, the company’s co-founder and chief executive officer.Yellow.ai has 60% of its customers in India including Mi, Food Panda, Tata Motors, Bajaj Finserv, Byju’s, Adani Capital, Sephora, Renault, and Siemens. “Before the start of the pandemic, we had about 100 customers. Over the last 18 months, we have seen the customers grow from 100 to about 900,” Ravinutala said. “Our technology almost became a must-have solution during the pandemic. There was…

Edtech startup ConveGenius secured $5 million investment in a funding round led by BAce Capital, Heritas Capital and 3Lines Venture Capital to expand its product range and also to launch conversational AI platform, ConveGenius AI in India and global markets. Founded in 2013 by Jairaj Bhattacharya and Shashank Pandey, the edutainment startup plans to scale its vision beyond education to all knowledge services and expand globally, targeting 1 Bn households globally, with ConveGeniusAI platform. The startup intends to develop its product portfolio on the WhatsApp ecosystem and other conversational AI-…

Onato, a fresh fruit supply chain startup based in Bengaluru, has raised $2.2 million in a seed round headed by Vertex Ventures. Agritech investor omnivore also participated in the round. Onato is a developing a digital platform to address inefficiencies in fresh produce supply networks founded in 2021 by Vedant Katiyar and Ashish Jindal. Jinesh Shah, a managing partner of Omnivore, said, “Onato’s well-crafted digital intervention and robust fulfilment process are easing the burden of credit in the supply chain. The startup is also solving the issue of income instability…

OPPO’s India entity has launched an accelerator program named Elevate to promote technology and innovation’ by engaging with early-stage startups in the country. The Chinese consumer electronics giant expects that by launching the initiative, it would be able to drive innovation in India and mentor startups that will bring about significant technological breakthroughs in the sector of consumer electronics. The program is focused on startups in the field of image processing, battery tech, network systems, payments, AI, gaming, etc. It also collaborates with the governments of Kerala and Telangana, as…