Tag: Startup funding

LetsTransport, a leading trucking aggregator catering to enterprises, has secured $22 million in its Series E funding round, spearheaded by Bertelsmann India Investments. The round also saw participation from Rebright Partners, NB Ventures, Ales Global, Stride Ventures, CAC Capital, and other prominent investors.

Pushkar Singh, the co-founder and CEO of LetsTransport, expressed the company’s ambitious vision, stating, “Our vision is to change the way India’s trucking landscape looks like. Post-COVID what we have observed is, that there is a stronger digitisation ask which is coming in from both truckers as well as the clients that we work with. We are a marketplace aggregator, which works with large to medium blue scale companies, and about two and a half lakh truckers engage with us to find demand from these enterprises.”

Singh highlighted that the funds would be allocated towards expanding the company’s market presence across India. He said that market expansion would not only open up new geographies for existing clients but would also allow the company to develop more enhanced product offerings for their core customer base.

This latest funding round follows the company’s previous raise of $25 million in July last year, bringing LetsTransport’s total funding to $77 million.

Rohit Sood, Partner at Bertelsmann India, underscored the strategic significance of investing in LetsTransport, citing favourable macroeconomic trends driving growth in India’s logistics sector. Sood noted governmental efforts to streamline logistics processes, with a target to reduce logistics expenses to 8% of GDP. He emphasised LetsTransport’s alignment with these trends, particularly its emphasis on leveraging technology and data to enhance efficiency and compliance, resonating well with enterprise clients’ demands.

Looking ahead, LetsTransport aims to achieve a revenue run rate of approximately $150 million and anticipates achieving profitability by the end of the fiscal year.

In a separate development, Kalaari Capital, in collaboration with Avendus Capital and Foster Ventures, hosted the India Alpha Summit 2024 in Silicon Valley. With a focus on seizing India’s once-in-a-generation $30 trillion opportunity, the summit convened over 200 key stakeholders, including founders, technologists, investors, and policymakers from India’s vibrant startup ecosystem.

Vani Kola, Managing Director of Kalaari Capital, emphasised the transformative potential of Indian startups, stating, “We feel the Indian economy can see a 10x jump due to startups over the next couple of decades.”

The summit aims to showcase India’s burgeoning startup landscape to a global audience, with a particular emphasis on technology-driven sectors, Kola added.

Highlighting the pivotal role of startups in India’s digital GDP story, Kola projected the startup contribution alone to be at $1.5 trillion over the next decade.

“The Indian digital GDP is a very exciting story. And startups and innovation are at the center of that. If you look at the startup contribution, I think the startup contribution alone to the economy over the next decade, we estimate to be $1.5 trillion. So I think the startup disruption, and employment opportunities as well as reset on creating better and newer efficiencies in many sectors will see an unprecedented growth led by innovation,” Kola stated.

Kola also expressed optimism regarding deep tech, Software as a Service (SaaS), sustainable solutions, and consumer technology sectors in India, recognising them as key drivers of future growth and innovation.

Moreover, Fincfriends, the non-banking financial company (NBFC) arm of the digital lending platform RupeeRedee, has secured $7.8 million in a strategic funding round. Led by Incred Finance and Grow Money Capital, the round comprised a mix of debt and equity financing.

Established in 2017, Fincfriends specialises in providing quick short-term personal digital loans. Ajay Chaurasia, vice president and head of business, Product, and Marketing at RupeeRedee, revealed that the funds would be utilised for propelling the NBFC’s growth and expanding its product portfolio. Chaurasia highlighted that the strategic partnership with Incred would enable Fincfriends to reach a broader underserved audience across the country.

Watch the accompanying video for the entire discussion.

Nat Habit, a Direct-to-Consumer (D2C) beauty and personal care brand, has achieved a significant milestone by crossing the ₹100 crore mark in annualised revenues in the last two fiscals.

Co-founder Swagatika Das told CNBC-TV18 in an interview the brand has plans for further expansion, emphasising its intent to diversify its product portfolio into categories like shampoo and hair colour. Das also hinted at the brand’s upcoming venture into offline retail, marking a strategic shift in its distribution channels.

Established in 2019, Nat Habit secured $10.2 million in Series B funding in December 2023, facilitating its growth trajectory and strengthening its presence across various online marketplaces. Das highlighted the brand’s focus stating, “Currently, personal care is a very big focus for us. We just have about 1.5-2% market share in the online market. We are looking to build that piece up first. Of course, there are segues into baby products, it’s a natural segue. But the focus is still very, very heavily on hair and skin products.”

In a separate development, Ultraviolette Automotive, a Bengaluru-based electric vehicle (EV) startup, unveiled its upgraded bike, the F77 Mach 2, priced at Rs 2.99 lakh for the first 1,000 customers.

Narayan Subramaniam, Co-Founder & CEO of Ultraviolette, spoke to CNBC-TV18 about the features of the F77 Mach 2, which include enhanced torque and an impressive range of 323 kilometres, setting new benchmarks in the two-wheeler electric vehicle industry.

“F77 electric bike already was the fastest, the most powerful, and came with the highest range in the country. And that was already setting the benchmark for electric vehicles. Now with F77 Mach 2 we have sort of shattered all of those barriers and have gotten further advancements in every one of those categories. So the torque now stands at 100Nm, and that is an incredible amount of power, the range today stands at 323 kilometres which is 2x of the rest of the two-wheeler industry in India,” Subramaniam stated.

While the company currently operates in Bengaluru, Subramaniam highlighted plans to expand to about 20 different locations across the country over the next few quarters.

With production already underway, the availability of the F77 Mach 2 is expected to be as early as May 2024.

Meanwhile, revenue operations startup Clientell secured $2.5 million in seed funding, with Blume Ventures leading the investment. The funding round also witnessed participation from notable investors like Chiratae Ventures, Artha Venture Fund, and Silicon Valley-based Z5 Capital. Founder & CEO Saahil Dhaka said, “We will be utilising the funds mainly for R&D and building products. But along with that, we’re also going to be spending a lot of this capital on expanding our team, as well as on our go-to-market initiatives.”

Watch the accompanying video for the entire conversation.

Uniqus Consultech, a global consulting firm specialising in ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) & climate advisory and accounting, has announced a successful closure of a $10 million Series B funding round. The investment round was spearheaded by Nexus Venture Partners, accompanied by Sorin Investments.

Jamil Khatri, the co-founder & CEO of Uniqus Consultech, expressed his enthusiasm for the company’s trajectory, highlighting the remarkable growth achieved within a relatively short span. Khatri stated, “Since the inception of Uniqus approximately 15 months ago, we’ve witnessed substantial business expansion. Our journey from a nascent startup in December 2022 to a team of 350 professionals servicing 150 clients across eight offices underscores our commitment to excellence.”

Reflecting on the rationale behind the fundraising initiative, Khatri emphasised the imperative of preparing Uniqus for its next phase of growth. “Generative AI capabilities are pivotal in our decision to raise funds at this juncture. We remain dedicated to advancing our proprietary technology, leveraging the transformative potential of AI to redefine traditional consulting paradigms,” he added.

Uniqus Consultech’s Series B funding follows a successful Series A round in December 2022, which secured $12.5 million from Nexus Venture Partners and Sorin Investments. Khatri outlined ambitious growth projections, aiming to surpass initial targets of $100 billion and propel Uniqus towards a $150 billion valuation by 2027, a year ahead of schedule.

Looking ahead, Uniqus Consultech is poised to diversify its service offerings, with a strategic focus on AI-driven solutions, technology risk consulting, and geographical expansion.

In a separate development within the startup ecosystem, D2C (Direct-to-Consumer) health and wellness brand Traya has secured an investment of ₹75 crore from Xponentia Capital.

Saloni Anand, the co-founder of Traya, shared insights into the brand’s exponential growth trajectory, noting a 2.5x revenue surge in the past year. Anand highlighted Traya’s achievement of profitability in FY24, with revenues reaching Rs 242 crore.

Founded in 2019, Traya has garnered a user base exceeding 10 lakh individuals, with a strategic emphasis on regional expansion initiatives.

Anand underscored the brand’s significant impact in addressing hair loss concerns among Indian consumers, citing impressive clinical trial results wherein 93% of participants witnessed tangible improvements over a five-month treatment period.

Looking ahead, Traya aims to further augment its market presence while exploring potential offline retail channels to complement its existing digital platforms.

Watch the accompanying video for the entire conversation.

Recykal, a startup in sustainable waste management, has successfully secured a pre-Series B investment of ₹110 crore from a category II scheme managed by 360 One Asset Management.

Founder and CEO of Recykal, Abhay Deshpande, shared insights into the company’s ambitious plans with the newly acquired funds. Recykal operates across three core business verticals – the circularity marketplace, the sustainability platform, and the digital deposit return system platform.

Deshpande revealed that a substantial portion of the investment would be dedicated to advancing technology, particularly in building hardware for the digital deposit return system, leveraging cutting-edge AI and ML technologies.

Recykal has been making strides in its efforts to combat India’s waste management challenges. With a focus on scalability, the company aims to expand its operations geographically.

Deshpande outlined plans to penetrate new markets, including Goa and Uttarakhand, while also eyeing international expansion into countries such as Sri Lanka and Nepal for the deposit return system.

The recent funding round brings Recykal’s total funding to $35 million, underscoring investor confidence in its mission to drive sustainability and foster a circular economy.

Deshpande emphasised the enormity of India’s waste management problem, stating, “Indian waste management problem is very large. Whatever we are doing is not even scratching the surface yet. The market is very big and it needs lot of disruption in the coming years to solve the problem even to 10% of its ability.”

According to CII, the circular economy space is estimated to grow to a $2 trillion opportunity in India by 2050.

In a separate development within the Indian healthcare landscape, Mumbai-based omni-channel pharmacy Zeno Health has announced its acquisition of Tablt Pharmacy. This strategic move aims to bolster Zeno Health’s presence in semi-urban and rural regions of Bengal, Odisha, Bihar, and Jharkhand.

Co-founder of Zeno Health, Girish Agarwal, highlighted the significance of the acquisition in facilitating the company’s expansion into Bharat, enabling efficient distribution and advancing its mission to democratise healthcare access.

Agarwal disclosed that Tablt Pharmacy, currently generating ₹50 crore in revenue, primarily operates in West Bengal, with plans to expand into other regions in collaboration with community partners.

Zeno Health’s recent Series C funding round, led by Korean private equity firm Stic Investments, injected $25 million into the company, further fuelling its growth trajectory.

Agarwal outlined ambitious targets for user expansion, aiming to serve 5,00,000 users monthly by the end of the financial year, with a substantial contribution expected from the Tablt Pharmacy acquisition.

Watch the accompanying video for more.

Posist, a prominent player in cloud-based restaurant technology solutions, has recently rebranded itself as Restroworks. This rebranding marks a significant evolution for the company since its establishment in 2012.

Initially known for its point of sale (POS) services, Restroworks has transformed into a comprehensive technology platform catering to global restaurant chains such as Taco Bell, Subway, Belgian Waffle Company, and conglomerates like Dabur, ITC, and Reliance, operating across various formats.

In an interview with CNBC-TV18, Ashish Tulsian, co-founder and CEO of Restroworks, explained the need for this rebranding. He stated, “What started as a point of sale solution company and hence called Posist in 2012, I think over time we became a full stack restaurant tech.

So we started working for startups, building restaurant billing software, automating their kitchens, backend inventory control, and recipe control, and started integrating services like Zomato and Swiggy across the board to bring everything that a restaurant chain requires to run their operations, we realised that we are not a POS anymore and our customers want to hear more from us.

They want us to build more that can power their chains. So this renewed purpose with Restroworks is that it encompasses everything that happens within the realm of restaurant operations. And our objective with this new plan is to look at the restaurant industry as a whole and not just as the piece of their operations that we empower.”

With a global presence spanning across the Middle East, Asia Pacific, North America, and Latin America, Restroworks serves as a technology partner to leading restaurant chains in over 50 countries. The company has experienced remarkable growth, boasting a clientele of 20,000 customers and achieving over 80% year-on-year growth.

Tulsian further emphasised that India continues to be its top market followed by the Middle East, Southeast Asia, the US and then Latin America.

In a separate development, Nivara Home Finance, a housing finance startup founded in 2015, has secured a $10 million investment from Baring Private Equity in an entirely primary round. CV Rao, founder and CEO of Nivara highlighted that the infusion of funds is aimed at fueling the company’s expansion initiatives, both within its existing markets and into new territories.

“The funds will be utilised predominantly for expanding into the existing markets as well as expanding into other states. Currently, we have 63 branches in five states- four southern states excluding Kerala and Maharashtra. We believe the next phase of growth will come from penetration in these existing markets and by expanding the number of branches to 200 over the next four years,” Rao stated.

Nivara Home Finance focuses on providing affordable housing finance solutions to micro-entrepreneurs and salaried individuals. Boasting assets under management (AUM) of ₹500 crore, CV Rao emphasises the company’s commitment to doubling its AUM and customer base within the next year.

In another entrepreneurial endeavour, Shoffr, an electric ride-hailing startup, has recently raised over a million dollars from its users to bolster its team and enhance its offerings in the competitive market. Founded by Vikas Bardia, Shoffr aims to expand its operations while prioritising the development of its core team and strategic partnerships.

Watch the accompanying video for more.

Scrut Automation, a Software as a Service (SaaS) provider specialising in governance, risk, and compliance solutions, has successfully raised $10 million in growth capital from its existing investors, including Lightspeed, MassMutual Ventures, and Endiya Partners.

The primary focus of this funding round is to further enhance Scrut Automation’s platform capabilities and integrate advanced generative AI use cases. By leveraging cutting-edge technology, the company aims to streamline manual processes for risk and compliance teams, enabling them to operate more efficiently and effectively.

Aayush Ghosh Choudhury, Co-Founder & CEO of Scrut Automation, emphasised three core areas of investment with this fundraise.

Firstly, the company aims to reinforce its position as a “risk-first compliance platform,” prioritising the identification and mitigation of risks, particularly for organisations operating in regulated industries.

Secondly, Scrut Automation plans to invest significantly in enhancing collaboration features within its platform, recognising governance, risk, and compliance (GRC) as a collaborative endeavour, especially for mid-market companies.

Lastly, the company intends to leverage generative AI (GenAI) to bridge knowledge gaps, simplify compliance processes, and ensure alignment with the latest regulations.

Since its inception in 2021, Scrut Automation has raised a total of $20.5 million in venture funding.

In a parallel development, Aye Finance, a micro-lending platform dedicated to serving underserved micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in India, announced the successful closure of a €15 million (approximately ₹137 crore) debt funding round.

Sanjay Sharma, MD & CEO of Aye Finance, highlighted the significance of this funding in bolstering the company’s capacity to provide crucial financial support to MSMEs across India. The additional capital will not only enable Aye Finance to expand its lending operations but also empower these businesses to thrive and grow.

Aye Finance boasts an active client base of over 4,50,000 micro-enterprises and manages assets worth over ₹4,000 crore. With the infusion of fresh capital, Sharma aims to further accelerate the company’s growth trajectory, targeting an asset under management (AUM) of ₹6,500 crore by the end of FY25.

Watch accompanying video for entire conversation.