Page 6 - Start- Ups

Nasdaq-listed Freshworks launches unified CRM solutions for start-ups

As part of Freshworks Startup Program, companies can get going with up to $3,000 in credits for Freshstack

Nykaa CEO Falguni Nayar is India's richest self-made woman promoter

FSN E-Commerce, the promoter company of Nykaa, closed on Wednesday with a market capitalisation of Rs 1.043 trillion

Healthtech startup Mosaic Wellness raises $24 mn at valuation of $135 mn

Mosaic Wellness' Series A round was led by Sequoia Capital India with participation from Elevation Capital and Matrix Partners India

HR tech start-up Advantage Club raises $5 million from Jetty, YCombinator

The company aims to expand its operations abroad and add more products and features to compete in the $13 billion global HR tech market

Delhi govt likely to roll out start-up, film policies within a month

The Delhi government is likely to roll out the policies within a month to create job opportunities

Cactus Venture Partners plans to invest $100 mn in start-ups over 3 years

Cactus Venture Partners is planning to invest USD 100 million, mostly in start-ups based in India, over the next 3 years. Cactus Venture Partners founder and General Partner Anurag Goel told PTI that the company will invest between pre-Series A to B funding rounds. The venture capital company aims to invest USD 100 million in fast-growing direct-to-consumer (D2C) brands and technology start-ups. "Almost all of our investments will be in Indian start-ups but we will look closely for those companies that can leverage our networks to grow and expand internationally," Goel said. Cactus Venture Partners (CVP) portfolio includes Auric, an Ayurveda brand targeting millennials; AMPM, a global lifestyle brand with a modern Indian aesthetic, and Vitraya Technologies, a business-to-business service-as-a-product player that functions at the intersection of health technology and insurance technology. Last month, the fund had announced an investment of around USD 1 million in Rubix Data Science

Decoded: What are the various types of start-up investors?

You hear about various kinds of fundraising - angel investments, series A, B, C, and more. And then there also are incubators, accelerators, PE-VC investors, etc. How do these differ from one another?

D2C healthy kitchenware startup The Indus Valley raises $1.1 million

The Indus Valley provides alternatives to chemically coated kitchenware products

3D printed construction startup Tvasta receives Rs 3 cr investment

Tvasta is an IIT-Madras incubate, started in the 3D printed home segment

Microsoft launches programme for nurturing, scaling startups leveraging AI

AI adoption can add more than $90 billion to the Indian economy by 2025, says Microsoft India president Anant Maheshwari

What are Thrasio-style startups and what's driving their appeal in India?

Using a model pioneered by Thrasio in the US, several startups like Mensa Brands and GlobalBees were born in India during the pandemic. Let us understand the appeal of these Thrasio-style startups

Meesho to host biggest festival sale event after crossing $4.9 bn valuation

Social e-commerce startup says shopping gala will help local businesses across country to sell online.

BP leads $25 mn funding round in EV ride-hailing start-up BluSmart

BP Ventures has made its first direct investment in India by pumping in USD 13 million in integrated EV ride-hailing and charging company BluSmart. It led a USD 25 million Series A round that also saw support from Mayfield India Fund, 9Unicorns and Survam Partners, alongside other existing investors, the firm said in a statement. "BluSmart will use the capital to expand its fleet of electric vehicles and charging stations from its home city of Delhi to five additional Indian cities in the next two years," it said. The statement, however, did not say the funding will translate into how much equity holding in BluSmart. Sophia Nadur, managing partner at BP Ventures, will join BluSmart's board. To date, BP Ventures has invested almost USD 800 million in more than 60 companies across seven geographies. BP Ventures was set up more than 10 years ago to identify and invest in private, high growth, game-changing technology companies, accelerating innovation across the entire energy ...

Y Combinator-backed fintech Karbon raises $12 mn in pre-Series A round

Karbon will use the funds to step up its product development, hiring plans and operations. It expects to double its headcount to 60 over next 6 months

Muscle & Strength India plans to open 100 stores in the next one year

The company is eyeing to launch outlets through franchisee route with an investment of Rs 20 crore as it seeks to deepen its presence in India's growing nutritional supplement space

Gigforce raises $3 mn from Endiya Partners, Unitus Ventures and others

On-demand staffing platform Gigforce on Tuesday said it has raised USD 3 million (about Rs 22 crore) in funding, led by Endiya Partners. Existing investor Unitus Ventures and key angels also participated in the pre-series A round, a statement said. Unlike classifieds, lead sharing and job-search platforms, Gigforce offers full-stack staffing solutions and provides pre-screened and pre-trained gig workers to various enterprises. "The market is underserved today because of the lack of suitable technology to manage scale. India's top five staffing companies together manage a workforce of one million," Gigforce co-founder and CEO Chirag Mittal said. He added that this is set to change with strong tailwinds, including the proliferation of inexpensive smartphones, ubiquitous Internet access for blue and grey collar workers, maturing technology platforms, simplification of labour codes, and the huge growth trajectory that India will witness in the next 10 years. "With this fundraise, we

RevFin Services looks to raise around $40 mn via securities this fiscal

RevFin Services Pvt Ltd plans to raise around USD 40 million through debt and equity by the end of this fiscal to accelerate its lending, according to a top company official

Amarinder launches 'Innovation Mission Punjab' to boost start-up sector

CM Amarinder Singh on Wednesday launched 'Innovation Mission Punjab' (IMPunjab), a public-private partnership that brings in global investors and experts to catalyze start ups, a release said.

2am VC plans to invest $10 mn in over 50 Indian startups by 2022-end

US-based venture capital firm 2am VC on Wednesday announced plans to invest USD 10 million in more than 50 Indian startups by the end of next year. 2am VC has already made 10 investments in the first four months of this financial year. It has also made commitments to complete five more investments by the end of this quarter. "Our family has been backing young Indian entrepreneurs for over 10 years, we are and always will be unreasonably long in India. "We aspire to be our US VC investor base's boots on the ground and eyes and ears for decoding the Indian startup ecosystem. We aim to win, and win big with Indian entrepreneurs," 2am VC co-founder and partner Hershel Mehta said in a statement. The VC's portfolio includes Bimaplan, Karbon Card and BurnCal. In addition, it has co-invested with Titan Capital, 3one4 Ventures, Inflexor VC, 100X.VC, LSIP, Y-Combinator, India Quotient, Orios Ventures and iSeed.

Govt launches schemes to support 300 start-ups for creating 100 unicorns

The government on Wednesday launched a programme to support 300 IT start-ups under which it will provide seed funding, mentorship and market access with a view to creating 100 unicorns out of the selected start-ups. Ministry of Electronics and IT special secretary Jyoti Arora said that the concept of the Startup Accelerator of MeitY for Product Innovation, Development & Growth (SAMRIDH) has been developed on the lines of silicon valley based accelerator YCombinator. IT and Telecom Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said that he has mentored over 20 start-ups earlier and understands the need of mentoring them during the most important part of their journey when their idea is getting converted into products. He said that lack of funds for start-ups is not a big issue. "Lack of getting the idea into a real product or lack of collecting the skill sets which are needed to convert an idea into an enterprise is a bigger challenge for most of the start-ups. If we are able to start-up in that ...