Turbostart announces Rs 50-crore Series-II funding round for startups

Business accelerator firm Turbostart on Thursday announced a second series of funding round, 'Cohort II', with a Rs 50-crore corpus for start-ups.

The accelerator will select 25 start-ups in this round, beginning from August 15, and fund up to Rs 2 crore to each of the entities.

"Turbostart opens applications for Cohort II. Twenty-five start-ups have a chance to win up to Rs 2 crore funding each," the accelerator said in a statement.

The firm said the funding programme is conducted bi-yearly, under which it invites early-age start-ups that are looking for funding to commence their businesses.

Winners will also receive mentorship by industry stalwarts, such as Jyothy Laboratories joint MD K Ullas Kamath and Novozymes former regional president and MD G S Krishnan, who are part of the advisory, investment and governance boards of Turbostart, the statement said.

Turbostart founder and CEO Ganesh Raju said last year's programme received over 1,000 applicants from over 30 countries globally and 300 cities, including start-ups from various sectors such as edutech, healthtech, and internet of things.

"Taking into account the current dynamic situation of the start-up ecosystem, funding has become even more challenging," Raju said.

He added that the Cohort programme, Turbostart aims to provide a platform for budding start-ups whrere they get not only funding but also encompassed guidance from industry stalwarts and advisors.