Koo Cofounder Mayank Bidawatka Bags $4 Mn For His New Venture

Koo founder Mayank Bidawatka has secured $4 Mn (around INR 33.7 Cr) for his consumer tech venture.

The startup Billion Hearts Software Technologies has bagged the seed capital from Blume Ventures, General Catalyst and Athera Venture Partners.

“We just raised $4 Mn (~INR 33 Cr) in seed from Blume, General Catalyst and Athera but that’s not the best part. The exciting part is the people we’ve partnered with to support our dreams, and what this fund raise enables for a small venture like ours,” Bidawatka said in a LinkedIn post.

The latest round came close on the heels of Bidawatka raising $250,000 in a funding round for his consumer tech startup from the cofounders of redBus, Ola, InMobi and Myntra, along with Flipkart’s former CTO among others in September. 

In the LinkedIn post, he also mentioned dedicating a 25% ESOP (Employee Stock Ownership Plan) pool to its employees. “We’ve set aside a 25% ESOP pool for the team and I’ll do everything I can to ensure that they benefit immensely when this does well,” he wrote.

After Koo ceased operations and announced shutdown in July, its cofounder Bidawatka in September unveiled Billion Hearts aimed at building consumer products for global users. 

Currently, it is operating in stealth mode and is slated for roll out in a few months. It was reported earlier that the company will be rolling out the beta version of the product between December and January next year for select users.

Within a few days of Koo’s shutdown, its cofounder hinted at a comeback in July, with a new consumer tech venture “that’s been close” to him for years. At the time, he claimed to have a team of seven working behind the idea.