Page 125 - Start Ups
Ronnie Screwvala's edtech startup upGrad a unicorn; valuation tops $1.2 bn
Closes a series of raises from Temasek, IFC and IIFL, mopping up a total of $185 million
 "Ronnie Screwvala's edtech startup upGrad a unicorn; valuation tops $1.2 bn")
Log 9 Materials raises $8.5 mn as part of Series A+ round led by Amara Raja
Amara Raja Batteries invests $5 mn; existing investors Exfinity Ventures and Sequoia Capital India's Surge Programme, alongside a clutch of new investors also participate
 "Log 9 Materials raises $8.5 mn as part of Series A+ round led by Amara Raja")
Edtech firm upGrad becomes new unicorn at $1.2 billion valuation
The company raised fresh funds to tune of $185 mn from Temasek, IFC and IIFL
 "Edtech firm upGrad becomes new unicorn at $1.2 billion valuation")
Log 9 Materials raises $8.5 mn in funding round led by Amara Raja Batteries
Advanced battery-tech start-up, Log 9 Materials on Monday said it has raised USD 8.5 million (around Rs 63 crore) in a funding round led by Amara Raja Batteries.
 "Log 9 Materials raises $8.5 mn in funding round led by Amara Raja Batteries")
Best platforms seeing biggest spike in new users: Zerodha's Nithin Kamath
Nithin Kamath says that a lot of first-time users, who have entered the markets after Covid are increasingly investing in mutual funds, exchange-traded funds, and stocks for their long-term goals
 "Best platforms seeing biggest spike in new users: Zerodha's Nithin Kamath")
Bike taxi startup Rapido aims to add 500,000 autos across India by year-end
The firm said it is expanding its auto service to Bengaluru, taking the service to a total of 26 cities in the country
 "Bike taxi startup Rapido aims to add 500,000 autos across India by year-end")
Post fundraise, bicycle sharing startup MyByk eyes public transport linkage
Looks to partner with state govts in its endeavour to transform into a Mobility as a Service (MaaS) platform
 "Post fundraise, bicycle sharing startup MyByk eyes public transport linkage")
Sonu Sood launches rural B2B travel tech platform Travel Union
With a mission to support, digitally empower and build a leading travel agent community in rural India at zero investment, the firm aims to be the largest rural digital travel services platform
 "Sonu Sood launches rural B2B travel tech platform Travel Union")
Eat Better raises undisclosed funding from GetVantage to fuel expansion
The funds will be invested to fuel expansion by focusing on marketing and new product launches in the coming months
 "Eat Better raises undisclosed funding from GetVantage to fuel expansion")
SoftBank Group funding turns India start-up Mindtickle into unicorn
The latest funding takes the total capital raised to $281 million, including a $100 million round last November that was also led by SoftBank
 "SoftBank Group funding turns India start-up Mindtickle into unicorn")
Karan Bajaj, who sold WhiteHat Jr to Byju's for $300 mn, decides to move on
Hands over baton to Trupti Mukker, a top executive at WhiteHat Jr and his classmate from IIM-Bangalore
 "Karan Bajaj, who sold WhiteHat Jr to Byju's for $300 mn, decides to move on")
Conversational AI firm yellow.ai raises $78.15 mn in Series C round
The company's AI-powered bots deliver automated customer experience on over 35 chat and voice channels, across more than 100 languages, handling over a billion interactions every quarter
 "Conversational AI firm yellow.ai raises $78.15 mn in Series C round")
Employee health benefits startup Onsurity raises $16 mn from Quona, Nexus
The round also saw participation from healthcare entrepreneur Vivek Garipalli, the founder and CEO of Clover Healthcare
 "Employee health benefits startup Onsurity raises $16 mn from Quona, Nexus")
Youth apparel brand The Souled Store raises Rs 75 cr in Series B funding
The company, which makes apparels from pop-culture themes like superheroes, movies, and cartoons, says it aims to cross Rs 1,000 crore GMV (gross merchandise value) by 2025
 "Youth apparel brand The Souled Store raises Rs 75 cr in Series B funding")
StockGro raises $5 mn in pre-series A round, to use funds to get more users
StockGro now has leading fund managers, F&O traders, and algo traders driving their social groups, helping users learn various trading strategies
Bhavin Turakhia's email startup Titan raises $30 mn, valued at $300 mn
It's the first funding raised by Titan. Along with investment from Automattic, Titan will also be able to leverage the huge presence of WordPress across the globe
 "Bhavin Turakhia's email startup Titan raises $30 mn, valued at $300 mn")
Infra.Market raises $125 mn funding led by Tiger Global, valued at $2.5 mn
Online marketplace for construction materials Infra.Market has raised USD 125 million (about Rs 928 crore) in Series D round led by Tiger Global, valuing the platform at USD 2.5 billion.
New crop of niche edtech players help solve less obvious problems
Some use behavioural science and cognitive skills to help execs level up across crucial career cusps, others bank on AI-enabled counselling for students
 "New crop of niche edtech players help solve less obvious problems")
Cricket legend Virender Sehwag's brand 'VS by Sehwag' gets into e-commerce
The brand is set to acquire 5 mn customers across India in 5 years; is looking to achieve Rs 100 cr revenue via Omni-channel retail, over next 3 years
 "Cricket legend Virender Sehwag's brand 'VS by Sehwag' gets into e-commerce")
StackBox raises $1.2mn funding from Ecosystem Ventures, others
With the fresh funding, the company plans to set up more fulfillment centres to service customers in different geographies and tech development.
 "StackBox raises $1.2mn funding from Ecosystem Ventures, others")