Funding Galore: Startup Fundings Of The Week [3 October – 8 October]

Enterprise cloud platform Nutanix Inc’s shares showed a 130% jump at close of business. It was the best first day pop for a tech startup since Castlight Health Inc. gained 149% in June 2014, and overall the largest since Seres Therapeutics gained 186% in June 2015, with their respective IPOs.

In another development, Matrimony.com Pvt Ltd, which owns Bharatmatrimony.com revealed its plans to get listed by November. The company had already filed a draft of its red herring prospectus with SEBI in August last year.

This week 26 startups raised about $42.5 Mn in funding altogether. (Funding amount is based on the startups that disclosed their funding.)

Startup Fundings of The Week

Indian Gifts Portal: Online gifting platform Indian Gifts Portal (IGP) secured $2 Mn from Naveen Arya, promoter, Karamchand Appliances and Tarun Joshi, Director, PE firm, 3i. The funding will be used to develop machine learning technology and to scale up senior management.

Muhuratmaza: Pune-based online puja booking service Muhurtmaza raised an undisclosed amount of Seed funding from a US-based HNI investor. The startup will use the funds towards scaling up its presence and promotional activities.

AppsDaily: Mobile app development and distribution company, AppsDaily Solutions Pvt. Ltd raised $3.75 Mn from existing investors and founders of the company. Existing investors that participated in the round include Zodius Capital, Kalaari Capital, Qualcomm Ventures, Russian venture capital fund, Ru-Net, and Mumbai Angels. The newly raised capital will be used to scale its growth plans.

Giftxoxo: Leisure hospitality provider Mahindra Holidays acquired 12% stake in Bengaluru-based Nreach Online Services Pvt. Ltd, which runs two brands, namely, Giftxoxo and Frogo. The transaction details remain undisclosed. The move aims to expand Mahindra Holiday’s offerings and increase their reach to over 2 Lakh Club Mahindra members.

InnerChef: Online food ordering platform InnerChef secured $2.5 Mn in a funding round led by Japanese fund Mistletoe. Its existing investor M&S Partners also participated in the round. The raised funds will be used to enhance operations in its market in the cities including Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, and Hyderabad. It will also be used to enhance technology on both front and back ends.

Moglix: Global marketplace for business and industrial supplies, Moglix raised $4.2 Mn in Series A round of funding led by Accel Partners with participation from Jungle Ventures and SeedPlus. The company has also added Anurag Srivastava, Founding & Managing Partner, Jungle Ventures to its advisory board. The funds will be deployed to expand operational footprint across major industrial hubs, increase the SME customer base by 5X to 100K+ and large manufacturing buyers to 1000+ in the next 18 months.

UE LifeSciences: Mobile-based health technology developer, UE LifeSciences, raised $1.2 Mn in an investment round led by Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, Chairman and MD, Biocon. Existing investor Unitus Seed Fund also participated in the round. The funding will be used to increase its operations in India and expand development in the mobile-based health devices segment.

MyFareBox: Japanese private equity firm Recruit Holdings infused $5 Mn in global airfare marketplace MyFareBox, owned by Mystifly for a minority stake. Masterkey Holdings Pat. Ltd was the advisor to Mystifly for the deal. The raised funds will be infused for in technology enhancement, sales, and marketing to expand its global presence and grow in terms of transactions.

BharatBazaar: Mumbai-based White Shadow Technology Pvt. Ltd that operates online B2B marketplace Bharat Bazaar, has raised an undisclosed amount of Seed funding from BeeNext, TV Mohandas Pai, Kunal Shah and Sandeep Tandon (FreeCharge co-founders). Other investors who participated include Rohit Bansal and Kunal Bahl (Snapdeal co-founders); Anupam Mittal (co-founder, Shaadi.com); Amit Gupta (co-founder of Inmobi); Tracxn Labs and others. The funding will be used to increase team size and presence across multiple Indian cities.

GOQii: Mumbai-based wearable healthtech startup, GOQii raised an undisclosed amount of funding from Ratan Tata. The company’s app can integrate with 35 major fitness bands including Jawbone, Fitbit, Garmin, Moov, Misfit, and Sony.

Remitr: Cross-border payments platform Remitr raised $1 Mn in Seed funding from Paytm’s Vijay Shekhar Sharma. Other investors who participated in the round included Pravin Gandhi, founder, Seedfund; UAE-based Smart Start Fund; Kunal Shah and Sandeep Tandon of Freecharge; Vishal Gondal, Nasreddine Benaissa, Laurent Nordin, Japan Vyas, Yezdi Lashkari, Nirmal Bhogilal, Singapore Angel Network, Operator VC, Germinators Fund, among others. The funding will be used for product development and expansion into other countries.

Scandid: Pune-based shopping and savings discovery app Scandid secured an undisclosed amount in a Pre-Series A funding round led by Mohandas Pai’s fund, 3One4 Capital. Scandid’s existing investors – the smartphone maker Micromax and a few Silicon Valley-based investors also participated in the round. The funding will be utilised to accelerate user acquisition, engagement, and monetisation in the next six-nine months. Also, a part of the money will be infused to expand the current 30 member team.

Nettlinx: Internet service provider company Nettlinx secured $3 Mn in a funding round led by Netherlands-based EXchange Investors NV and Dubai-based TransGlobal FZC. The funding will be used to enhance its client base in European companies in the industrial space.

MeraKisan: Mahindra Univeg invested an undisclosed amount in ecommerce startup MeraKisan. With this move, Prashanth Patil, founder of MeraKisan, has been roped in to spearhead its online grocery services. Prashanth has brought his online property under the newly incorporated firm and has picked up 66.83% stake in MeraKisan Pvt. Ltd, through a fresh issue of shares.

World Art Community: Gurugram-based online platform for art and craft goods World Art Community raised $200K in a new round of funding led by Viraj Tyagi, and others. The raised funding will be used to automate its online platform and expand to new cities across the country and overseas.

Uniphore: Chennai-based speech recognition startup Uniphore raised $2 Mn in a bridge round of funding. The investment was led by IDG Ventures. Existing investors Indian Angel Network (IAN) and YourNest Angel Fund also participated in this round. Other investors include Ray Stata, co-founder and chairman of Analog Devices Inc; IIT Madras’ Rural Technology and Business Incubator (RTBI); Villgro Innovations Foundation; and National Research Development Corporation.

Neurosynaptic: Bengaluru-based telehealth technology startup, Neurosynaptic Communications secured an undisclosed amount in Series A round of funding from Indian Angel Network (IAN), healthcare-focussed venture fund Healthquad, and Axilor Ventures. Post-investment, members of Healthquad and IAN will join the board of Neurosynaptic. The funding will be used for international certifications and to expand business in Africa and Southeast Asia. It will also be divested in scaling its operations in India.

Azuro: Real estate management startup Azuro raised an undisclosed amount of funding from Mumbai-based early-stage investment firm White Unicorn Ventures, Kae Capital, and Mumbai Angels. The startup will utilise the funds to expand its operations across Mumbai, and invest further in building the technology.

Ray IoT: Bengaluru-based baby monitoring solutions provider Ray IoT raised $100K from HAX, a China-based accelerator focussed on hardware startups. As a part of the deal, Ray IoT has relocated to Shenzhen for around three months to be a part of HAX’s Accelerator Programme.

Sportido: Noida-based sporting app Sportido that enables participation in sports and fitness activities raised an undisclosed amount of angel funding from Sumpoorna Group. The startup will use the funds to scale up operations including partnering with service providers, vendors, and customer acquisition.

Realbox: Data analytics startup Realbox raised $300K in Pre-Series A funding round led by Hyderabad Angels. Other investors in the round included Alok Mittal, Dharamveer Singh Chouhan, and Shubranshu Pani. The funding will be used to develop the company’s idea of a ‘smart store’ that would cater to its growth and management.

FlexiLoans: Online lending platform FlexiLoans raised $15 Mn from Sanjay Nayar, CEO of KKR India; Vikram Sud, former Head of Operations and Technology at Citibank; Anil Jaggia, Chief Investment Officer at HDFC Bank; and Narayan Seshadri, former MD at KPMG’s advisory business. EpiMoney, a non-banking finance company (NBFC) founded by Nayar, Jaggia, Sud, and Sheshadri, will acquire a stake in FlexiLoans, which will be the product platform. The startup will use the funding for expansion and to invest in its technology and marketing platform.

KOOH Sports: Tech-enabled sports startup KOOH Sports raised $2.2 Mn from existing investors including HDFC, Faering Capital, and Elevate Sports. The founders of the company also participated in the round. The raised funds will be used to expand into the international markets, product development, and marketing. It will also be used to expand its team.

GoZefo: Bengaluru-based ecommerce portal GoZefo, for second-hand and factory seconds goods raised $1.05 Mn in funding led by Helion Venture Partners. Singapore-based early-stage technology venture fund Beenext also participated in the funding round.

SIBIA Analytics: Kolkata-based SIBIA Analytics raised an undisclosed amount of Seed investment from a group of investors in India and USA, including Radhakrishnan Natarajan. It plans to invest the newly raised funding for scaling up its marketing and sales and capture new markets in India and overseas. A part of the fund will also to be used on improving the products.

ChicsConnect: Global women community startup ChicsConnect raised an undisclosed amount of funding from Scale Ventures. The startup is part of the India Network Co-Working Space. The raised funds will be used to build the community, accelerate hiring and international expansion.

Acquisitions Of The Week

• Bengaluru-based omnichannel engagement and commerce platform Capillary Technologies acquired ecommerce platform SellerworX. The acquisition will help Capillary to further strengthen its services. Brands/retailers can scale online sales and reach the 5-10% online sales/overall sales benchmark – through getting access to marketplaces along with own brand store front.
• Online jobs and career community for women, SHEROES acquired Gharkamai, an online platform that assists professional women to find work from home opportunities. This move comes with a view to capitalise on the market that comprises 300 Mn women looking to reconnect themselves with work opportunities.
• Zoffio.com has been sold to a Chinese firm for an undisclosed amount after operating for nearly three years. Zoffio has not been operational since April this year.
• Indore-based MSG91, a flagship product of enterprise messaging solutions provider Walkover, has acquired ToSMS, a mobile messaging solutions company for an undisclosed amount. Post-acquisition, ToSMS will be will be integrated with MSG91 and operate under it.

Also, online pharmacy brand NetMeds is reportedly in advanced talks to acquire Gurugram-based on-demand delivery startup for medicine, healthcare and wellness products, Pluss in an all-stock deal. This move comes with a view to ante up against competitor 1mg.

Other Developments

• Nasscom 10,000 Startups announced TechMarch – an initiative to bring together smart hardware startups driving innovation. During an eight-city tour, the team reached Mumbai on October 3. The selected startups were J Group Robotics, Soul & Protector, Faclon Labs Pvt. Ltd, SoundRex, Innovisiontech, CareNx Innovation Pvt. Ltd, BleeTech Innovations, E14 Technologies Pvt. Ltd, Intuit Things, Saral Designs, and Seven. So far, 300+ applications have been received and 27 startups have been selected from Bengaluru (14), Hyderabad (7), and Cochin (6). The next stops in the series are Ahmedabad, NCR, Coimbatore, and Kolkata.
• Target India  held its Demo Day this week. The event featured seven startups that were selected for its current batch of the Target Accelerator Programme. The list included Preksh, MintM, Uncanny Vision, Lechal, Lawbot, Charmboard, and StoryXpress.
• BC-GSV Accelerator hosted its first cohort in Gurugram at the ‘Demo Days,’ the inaugural ceremony of BC-GSV Accelerator Summer 2016 Programme, where it featured 15 enrolled startups. The list included Clorik, Enytime, FinUp, GeeksDemy, GrokCare, LivSharbati, Mate, MindIQ, OneLease, Original4Sure, Perpule, Ping2Park, Puzzelo, WrapUp, and Zaprest.
• RBI Governor, Urjit Patel announced that startups can now raise $3 Mn of external commercial borrowings(ECB’s) in a year. The move aims to boost innovation in the country and promote job creation as well.
• Early-stage venture capital firm Ventureast announced the first closing of its sixth fund – Ventureast Proactive Fund II (VPF2). The fund targets a final closing in the next six months.
• State Bank of India (SBI) signed  a MoU with IIT Kharagpur to foster innovation in the financial technology space. The deal aims to bring the benefits of synergy and to complement each other’s capabilities.
• The Madhya Pradesh Government has created a venture capital fund that will be invested in the equity of startups and small and medium-sized enterprises. The initial size of the fund has been fixed at $15 Mn.
• Japan’s SoftBank Corp is in talks to invest in FreeCharge, the digital payments unit of the online marketplace Snapdeal. The deal is expected to close at $150-$200 Mn.
• Unitus Seed Fund joined hands with the Delhi Angels as their official Institutional Investment Partner. Under this partnership, Delhi Angels led by Shivam Ahuja, and USF together will provide a host of benefits to early stage startups like curation and mentorship.
• Uber has announced a startup initiative, UberPitch, in collaboration with the Ministry of Commerce and Industry. It aims to bring together venture capitalists and startups looking for a fund raise on a single platform.
• IvyCamp and NASSCOM 10000 Startups have announced the second season of Rendezvous IoT (RIOT-2). Supported by the Government of Maharashtra and Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation, the event will be central for IoT-focussed startups to connect with seasoned mentors, angel investors, and venture capitalists.
• Pitney Bowes Accelerator Programme in India has partnered with SonderConnect, a not-for-profit trust focussed on helping women entrepreneurs succeed. With this partnership, SonderConnect will help mentor and nurture women entrepreneurs in Pitney Bowes’ Accelerator Programme through extensive entrepreneurship programmes, webinars, and networking opportunities.

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