blume ventures

The late Rakesh Jhunjhunwala was known was for his eccentric personality and his utmost belief in Titan.

#karthikreddy #CaratLane #TATA

Diamonds are forever.
But in 2008, they also went online. In our first ever video episode of the Blume Podcast, which happens to the last episode of Season 2, Karthik Reddy sat down with Mithun Sacheti, the CEO of CaratLane who spilled some gems on the glitzy yet laborious world of being a D2C jewellery brand. In a traditionally ‘low-trust’ society like India, Mithun and his team went from his early days selling jewellery with the family-owned Jaipur Gems to becoming an indispensable part of the Titan group. The journey has is fair share of ups and downs, including a riveting conversation with Rakesh Jhunjhunwala, the topsy-turvy process of raising capital, and solving for trust through brand-building.

You can find Transcripts on Blume's official website - https://blume.vc/podcasts/blume-podcast

Join us as we delve into the remarkable story of R.G. Chandramogan, who went from selling ice cream on pushcarts in the 1970s to becoming the chairman of India's largest private-sector dairy company, Hatsun Agro. Discover his pioneering journey in the world of dairy, entrepreneurship, and resilience. With a 7,000+ crore revenue company, Chandramogan's insights and determination to build a generational business are truly inspiring. 

#HatsunAgro #DairySuccess #EntrepreneurJourney #Resilience #GenerationalBusiness #PodcastEpisode

In this exclusive teaser, we delve into the inspiring journey of R.G. Chandramogan, the mastermind behind Hatsun, one of India's leading dairy companies. Discover what fueled his courage to embark on this incredible journey and how he turned a barren village into a hub of prosperity. Join us in uncovering the invaluable lessons that shaped the early years of Hatsun's rise to success. Stay tuned for the full episode on November 1st at 10 AM.

#HatsunAgro #HAP #IBACO #ArunIcecream #Entrepreneurship #SuccessStory #PodcastTeaser

In this episode, Manish Sabharwal from TeamLease discusses the origins of the staffing company and the key traits that contributed to its success. He shares his memories of India Life and how it eventually led to the creation of TeamLease. Additionally, he talks about the differences in decision-making between the two companies and the advantages of being a second-time founder.

Manish discusses the key areas that need attention for India's development. He emphasizes the need for civil service reform, as it plays a crucial role in regulatory reform and ease of doing business. The conversation also touches upon the significance of human capital for a country's growth. Manish cites India's achievements in software exports and the pharma industry as examples of successful utilization of human capital. However, he acknowledges the need for basic school education to ensure a strong foundation for the entire population.

Manish discusses the concept of balancing short-term and long-term goals, drawing on the distinction between Amanat and Jagir from his Kashmiri upbringing. He explains that Amanat refers to a trusteeship, where one is expected to pass on something in better condition to the next generation, while Jagir represents personal ownership and consumption. Drawing on this analogy, Manish highlights the importance of expanding time horizons beyond immediate gains and optimizing for long-term growth, rather than focusing solely on short-term profits by emphasizing the achievements of companies like HDFC, Infosys, and TCS, which have built lasting value through decades of consistent growth and compounding.

In this conversation with Karthik B. Reddy, Manish discusses why, for long-term growth, a company should adhere to certain principles. Firstly, it should differentiate between a "baby" company poised for growth and a "dwarf" company that remains small, based on a balance between short-term and long-term goals. Manish emphasizes the importance of the cap table and funding sources to secure perpetual capital for future aspirations. Additionally, he stresses the need for cognitive diversity within the team to incorporate different perspectives and skills. Lastly, Manish advises companies to avoid making detrimental decisions, such as diversification, excessive debt, or non-compliance and recommends having safeguards in place to prevent such mistakes.

Check out the entire episode for lessons on building a long-lasting business.

“The universe is not made of atoms, but it is made of stories” – Maya Angelou Manish Sabharwal, co-founder and vice chairman of @TeamLease Services Limited, one of the largest human resources companies in the world, believes that the success of companies depends largely on who their role models are and the stories they tell. He attributes the success of tech companies in Bengaluru to selecting the right role models like @NandanNilekani and Azim Premji. Their advice of not caring about valuation or how much of the company one owns but rather focusing on building a great organization has been crucial in their success. Catch Manish Sabharwal in conversation with Karthik Reddy (@BKartRed) on Blume Podcast's Episode 5 on September 27th, where they delve deep into the compounding of India in the next decade, the importance of the legacy created by founders and the 'unfair' advantages of a second-time founder. Join our Spotify or YouTube channel to be notified when the episode is released. Links in the first comment.

In this podcast episode, Dinesh talks to Karthik B. Reddy of Blume Ventures about his journey starting a business in India around the time the internet was first introduced there. He was passionate about doing some business that would be centered around the internet and in India. He waited for the internet to be announced in India, and as soon as the announcement was made on August 15th, 1995, he asked his manager to transfer him back to India.

Dinesh also shared his thoughts on business growth and profit margins. The compounding can come to you when your margins are expanding. He encourages entrepreneurs to aspire to this kind of compounding. He also talks about the importance of having a mix of talent in a team, including those who are operationally strong and can focus on present problems, as well as those who are forward-thinking and consider future trends.

On India’s growth story, he emphasizes the importance of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in creating employment and income in India. He argues that ignoring SMEs could lead to disastrous consequences for the country. Dinesh's thoughts on SMEs and the importance of employment highlight his commitment to building a successful business in India that benefits all stakeholders.

In this episode, Varun & Suchita start by talking about the ongoing Women's IPL, F1 streaming which was on Hotstar but this season, it will be on the independent app; What is an overpaid CEO, Razorpay's profits, Ashneer Grover's CricPe, Blinkit's new venture, and more. 
They deep dive into the Indus Valley Report by Blume Ventures, YouTube's agenda for 2023, and Curated Marketplaces. 

The articles referred were as follows: 
Blume Ventures' Indus Valley report

YouTube's 2023 Agenda 

Suchita Recommends an Article written by her on Medium.

Varun Recommends a food item: Delight Food's Gongura Pickle

Varun & Suchita also answer a few listener questions on the show.
Do share yours on the below-mentioned handles.

You can follow Varun Duggirala on Twitter & Instagram 
You can follow Suchita Salwan on Twitter & Instagram 

Check out video episodes on the Think Fast YouTube Channel.

Find the show across audio streaming apps:
Spotify | Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | JioSaavn | Gaana | Amazon Music

Do follow IVM Podcasts on social media.
We are @ivmpodcasts on Facebook, Twitter, & Instagram.

You can listen to this show and other awesome shows on the new and improved IVM Podcasts App on Android or iOS. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Welcome back to India Tech Weekly Deals Roundup, a weekly podcast by Tracxn for key startup deals in India from last week. 

In this edition, we will cover funding rounds of CRED, PW, Kissht, and more. In exits, we will cover the acquisition of Lybrate by Pristyn Care.

Starting with our deep dive into funding rounds, tech companies in India raised around $476 million of funding across 26 funding rounds during this week.

In a major funding round event, FinTech startup, CRED, raised $140 million in a Series F funding round led by GIC with participation from Alpha Wave Global, DF International Group, Tiger Global Management, and others. CRED is a provider of an app-based and reward-enabled payment platform for credit card bills. It allows credit card users to pay their bills and earn cred coins, which can be redeemed for prizes from partner companies. It helps users manage various credit cards, keep a track of credit ratings in real-time, and utilise calculators for home loans, EMIs, PPFs, and other financial products. The app is compatible with both iOS and Android devices. Founded in 2018, Bangalore-based CRED has raised around $1 billion till date.

Noida-based PW, an EdTech startup, raised $100 million in a Series A funding round from WestBridge Capital and GSV Ventures. PW is a provider of an app-based tutoring platform for students. It offers tutoring on subjects like physics, math, chemistry, botany and economics. Additionally, PW provides study resources for exams like notes, recorded videos, and reference books. Its app is available for Android devices. Founded in 2016, PW has raised $100 million till date.

FinTech startup, Kissht, raised $80 million in a Series E funding round led by Vertex Growth with participation from Endiya Partners and The Solvent Extractors' Association of India. Kissht is an online marketplace for consumer loans. It offers loans such as personal loans, point-of-sale financing, credit lines, and more. It allows users to register through the KYC process by uploading their Aadhar card. Founded in 2015, Mumbai-based Kissht has raised $131 million till date.

In another funding round event, E-commerce startup, Cashify, raised $50 million in a Series E funding round led by Prosus with participation from Paramark, American Electric Power, Bessemer Venture Partners, and others. Cashify is an online platform offering pre-used gadgets and accessories. It enables users to sell phones, tablets, gaming consoles, cameras, TVs, audio devices, and laptops. Founded in 2013, Gurgaon-based Cashify has raised $90 million till date.

Mumbai-based Purplle, a Beauty Tech startup, raised $33 million in a Series E funding round led by Paramark with participation from Premji Invest, Blume Ventures and Kedaara Capital. Purplle is an online marketplace for multi-category beauty products. Its offerings include makeup, fragrances, grooming kits, and products for facial, skin, body, hair and eye care, as well as beauty appliances. Founded in 2011, Purplle has raised $309 million till date.

FinTech startup, FlexiLoans, raised $27 million in a Series B funding round from Maj Invest and Fasanar. FlexiLoans is an online marketplace for business loans. It offers multiple types of business loans including vendor financing, term loans, business credit lines, and purchase order financing. To apply for a loan, businesses must add the required details and obtain approval which is based on proprietary credit assessment. Once approved, the funds are transferred to the registered bank account. Founded in 2015, Mumbai-based FlexiLoans has raised over $62 million till date.

This was all from the funding updates, moving on to the exits. India Tech observed 4 exits during the week of 12 Jun 2022.

In another acquisition event, Media & Entertainment startup, Mitron, was acquired by Koo App. Mitron is a social platform for sharing short videos. It allows users to create short, humorous videos using various filters, and share them with other users on the platform. Founded in 2000, Bangalore-based Mitron has raised around $9 million till date.

Delhi-based HealthTech startup, Lybrate, was acquired by Pristyn Care for over $15 million. Lybrate is a multi-speciality telemedicine platform. It enables patients to consult with doctors over chat, phone or video call. Users can search for doctors based on their specialisation, ratings, and reviews. It also offers appointment booking for physical visits to the doctor, and an online marketplace for diagnostic tests. Lybrate includes a practice management solution for doctors. Founded in 2013, Lybrate has raised over $14 million till date.

This was all for today, we will be back next Monday with more updates. You can subscribe to our podcast on Google Podcasts, Spotify, and Apple Podcast to stay updated. If you have any feedback, please reachout to us at podcast@tracxn.com. Thank you for tuning in today, see you next week.

Welcome back to United Kingdom Tech Weekly Deals Roundup, a weekly podcast by Tracxn for key startup deals in the United Kingdom from last week. 

In this edition, we will cover funding rounds of Creditspring, uMotif, Urban Jungle, and more. In exits, we will cover the acquisition of Ai London by Lumera, among others.

Starting with our deep dive into funding rounds, tech companies in the United Kingdom raised close to $215 million of funding across 33 funding rounds during this week.

In a major funding round event, London-based FinTech startup, Creditspring, raised $60 million in a Series A funding round. Creditspring is a platform for personal loans. Creditspring offers a product to improve its customers' financial well-being and present them with an alternative to overpriced loans. Creditspring has applied to the FCA for permission to grant consumer credit. Founded in 2016 by University of Oxford alumni, Creditspring has raised $79 million till date.

HealthTech startup, uMotif, raised over $25 million in a Series B funding round led by Athyrium Capital Management with participation from LP. uMotif is a cloud-based application for patient engagement and care coordination. uMotif offers a SaaS application that allows patients to track their own health and progress using a mobile app. uMotif quantifies a patient's activity between visits through self-reporting and provides reminders and alerts for adherence. Founded in 2012, London-based uMotif has raised over $35 million till date.

Urban Jungle, an InsurTech startup, raised over $20 million in a Series A funding round led by Intact Ventures with participation from Ingka, Eka Ventures, and Rob Devey. Urban Jungle is a home content insurance platform for renting and sharing economies. Urban Jungle provides cover against flood, fire, storm damage, theft, vandalism, and accidental damage. Founded in 2016 by an ex-Facebook employee, London-based Urban Jungle has raised over $41 million till date.

London-based Real Estate and Construction Tech startup, Converge, raised close to $19 million in a Series A funding round from OGCI. Converge provides connected sensor networks for monitoring construction projects. Converge uses a combination of hardware sensors, AI, and cloud software that helps in improving visibility and reducing cost. Founded in 2014 by University of Cambridge alumni, Converge has raised close to $19 million till date.

Life Sciences startup, Nature Metrics, raised $15 million in a Series B funding round led by 2150 with participation from SYSTEMIQ, BNP Paribas, Ananda Impact Ventures, and others. Nature Metrics is a developer of molecular methods for biodiversity assessment. The company offers solutions for environmental management by providing GCN eDNA service for water, metabarcoding that generates diverse data for entire communities using genomics, and metagenomics studies. Founded in 2014, Egham-based Nature Metrics has raised over $27 million till date.

This was all from the funding updates, moving on to the exits. United Kingdom Tech observed 7 exits during the week of 29 May 2022.

London-based FinTech startup, Ai London, was acquired by Lumera. Ai London is a provider of wealth management solutions. The company builds and manages CRM, PAS, and data analytics solutions. Ai London offers solutions such as Ai-CRM for customer relationship and risk management, Ai-PAS for insurers to optimize business outcomes, and Ai-BDA which uses artificial intelligence, Blockchain, external data sources, and investment systems to build and test engagement type products. Ai London was founded in 2014.

This was all for today, we will be back next Monday with more updates. You can subscribe to our podcast on Google Podcasts, Spotify, and Apple Podcast to stay updated. If you have any feedback, please reachout to us at podcast@tracxn.com. Thank you for tuning in today, see you next week.

Welcome back to India Tech Weekly Deals Roundup, a weekly podcast by Tracxn for key startup deals in India from last week. 

In this edition, we will cover funding rounds of 1K Kirana Bazaar, Blu Smart, Wint Wealth, and more. In exits, we will cover the acquisition of CareerSocially by Aurum House among others.

Starting with our deep dive into funding rounds, tech companies in India raised around $92 million of funding across 20 funding rounds during this week.

E-commerce startup, 1K Kirana Bazaar, raised $25 million in a Series B funding round led by Alpha Wave Global with participation from Kae Capital, Infimomentum Venture, Info Edge Ventures, and others. 1K Kirana Bazaar is a provider of retail store aggregation solutions for grocery stores. 1K Kirana Bazaar offers a distribution system and in-house technology-enabled platform with features like branding, store infrastructure upgrades, merchandising, pricing communication, billing, real-time inventory management, promotions, and a business dashboard. Founded in 2018, Gurgaon-based 1K Kirana Bazaar has raised around $34 million till date.

In another funding round event, Blu Smart, an Auto Tech startup, raised $15 million in a Series A funding round led by BP Ventures and Green Frontier Capital with participation from Stride Ventures, Alteria Capital and Black Soil. Blu Smart is an app-based provider of electric vehicle ride-hailing services. Blu Smart enables users to book their rides by providing details like location and passenger details, with services like local rides, airport transfers, hourly rentals, and more. Blu Smart also offers EV-charging host services. Founded in 2018, Ahmedabad-based Blu Smart has raised close to $57 million till date.

Wint Wealth, a Bangalore-based FinTech startup, raised over $14 million in a Series A funding round led by Eight Roads Ventures with participation from Billionbrains Garage Ventures, Blume Ventures, Nxg Innovation, and others. Wint Wealth is an online investment platform focused on fixed-income funds. Wint Wealth allows users to buy, sell, and invest in fixed deposits, bonds, MFs and gold assets. Wint Wealth is regulated by RBI and assists users in investing in gold-backed debts. Founded in 2020, Wint Wealth has raised around $26 million till date.

This was all from the funding updates, moving on to the exits. India Tech observed 7 exits during the week of 29 May 2022.

Noida-based Real Estate and Construction Tech startup, CareerSocially, was acquired by Aurum House. CareerSocially is a provider of AI-driven lead generation software for real estate professionals. CareerSocially enables members to generate leads using AI, automatically assign them to the befitting person, as well as save leads into the CRM, nurture leads, and connect with them to improve conversions. CareerSocially also offers solutions to manage and track tasks. Founded in 2016 by BITS Pilani alumni, CareerSocially has raised $1 million till date.

Online Grocery startup, True Elements, was acquired by Marico. True Elements is a provider of healthy snacks and supplements. True Elements offers ready-to-eat items like seed and nut mixes, protein-rich, plant-based eatables, and snacks for weight loss, PCOS and diabetes patients. True Elements also provides natural supplements in the form of teas, honey, super grains and alternative medicine. Founded in 2015, Pune-based True Elements has raised over $3 million till date from SIDBI Venture Capital, Vinners, Amit Bhuchar, and others.

In a major development this week, Transportation and Logistics Tech startup, Delhivery, went public. Delhivery is a provider of end-to-end fulfillment services for e-commerce companies. Delhivery offers last-mile deliveries, third-party and transit warehousing, reverse logistics, payment collection, vendor-to-warehouse and vendor-to-customer shipping, cross-border services, supply chain and tracking services for shipments. Founded in 2011 by IIT Bombay alumni and IIT Kanpur alumni, Gurgaon-based Delhivery has raised $1.7 billion across several funding rounds. Major investors who backed the company in its early stages include enterprises like Tiger Global Management, SoftBank Vision Fund, Fidelity Investments, and others. 

This was all for today, we will be back next Monday with more updates. You can subscribe to our podcast on Google Podcasts, Spotify, and Apple Podcast to stay updated. If you have any feedback, please reachout to us at podcast@tracxn.com. Thank you for tuning in today, see you next week.

Welcome back to India Tech Weekly Deals Roundup, a weekly podcast by Tracxn for key startup deals in India from last week. 

In this edition, we will cover funding rounds of Lenskart, Medikabazaar, Medfin, and more. In exits, we will cover the acquisition of Siddhi Vinayak Agri Processing by WayCool among others.

Starting with our deep dive into funding rounds, tech companies in India raised over $209 million of funding across 11 funding rounds during this week.

In a major funding round event Delhi-based eCommerce startup, Lenskart raised $100 million in a Series G funding round from Alpha Wave Incubation. Lenskart achieved unicorn status on July 19, 2021 when it raised $220 million from Temasek and Falcon Edge Capital with participation from International Finance Corporation and Bay Capital among others. Lenskart is an online retailer offering eyewear for men, women, and kids. Lenskart's product catalog includes computer glasses, sunglasses, contact lenses, etc. Lenskart also provides at-home eye-testing and frame trial services. The Lenskart mobile app is available on Android and iOS platforms. Founded in 2010 by IIM Bangalore alumni, Lenskart has raised around $915 million till date.

HealthTech startup, Medikabazaar raised $65 million in a Series D funding round led by Lighthouse with participation from KOIS, Creaegis, and Ackermans & van Haaren. Medikabazaar is an online marketplace platform for medical equipment. Healthcare providers can search, compare, and buy medical products and devices using a voice-based search engine and an online payment portal. Medikabazaar's product categories include hospital devices, materials, medical consumables, dental tools, and customer service on product specification and usage. Founded in 2014 by IIM Calcutta alumni, Mumbai-based Medikabazaar has raised over $165 million till date.

HealthTech startup, Medfin raised $15 million in a Series B funding round led by Sony with participation from HealthXCapital, Blume Ventures, and Axilor Ventures. Medfin is an online platform for listing medical procedures, hospitals, and clinics. Categories of procedures covered in Medfin include dentistry, vascular surgery, cosmetology, and orthopedics. Medfin allows users to search for the required surgery and get information about relevant surgeons, hospitals, costs, and EMI options. Users can also book a consultation with the listed doctors by entering details on the Medfin portal. Founded in 2017, Bangalore-based Medfin has raised $92 million till date.

Bangalore-based FinTech startup, MyShubhLife raised around $13 million in a Series B funding round from Gojo. MyShubhLife is an app-based platform for personal loans. MyShubhLife uses traditional and non-traditional data to compute the credit score assessment in order to provide financing solutions to borrowers. MyShubhLife also provides solutions for credit score checks, mutual funds, insurance, tax filing, and more. MyShubhlife App is available on Android devices. Founded in 2016 by IIT Madras alumni, MyShubhLife has raised close to $28 million till date.

This was all from the funding updates, moving on to the exits. India Tech observed 3 exits during the week of 17 Apr 2022.

Pune-based Crop Tech startup Siddhi Vinayak Agri Processing was acquired by WayCool. Siddhi Vinayak Agri Processing is a provider of supply chain and agri processing solutions with a focus on potatoes. Siddhi Vinayak Agri Processing supplies cultivators with farm inputs including seeds, organic fertilizers, and expertise on cultivation through its network of village storefronts. Siddhi Vinayak Agri Processing works with small hold potato farmers and supplies to potato-based snack makers. Siddhi Vinayak Agri Processing's infrastructure offerings include extruder machines and cold storage solutions provided to SMEs. Founded in 2008, Siddhi Vinayak Agri Processing has raised over $9 million till date from SIDBI Venture Capital, Lok Capital, and Aspada Investments.

Kolkata-based Enterprise Applications startup Opportune was acquired by Wondrlab. Opportune is a platform offering software for influencer marketing. Opportune enables brands to collaborate with influencers to promote the brand or products. Brands can find and filter influencers as per preferences on the Opportune platform and can collaborate with them to launch campaigns. 

This was all for today, we will be back next Monday with more updates. You can subscribe to our podcast on Google Podcasts, Spotify, and Apple Podcast to stay updated. If you have any feedback, please reachout to us at podcast@tracxn.com. Thank you for tuning in today, see you next week.

Welcome back to India Tech Weekly Deals Roundup, a weekly podcast by Tracxn for key startup deals in India from last week. 

In this edition, we will cover funding rounds of Games24x7, Vivriti Capital, Pine Labs, and more. In exits, we will cover the acquisition of Saankhya Labs by Tejas Networks, among others.

Starting with our deep dive into funding rounds, tech companies in India raised close to $415 million of funding across 24 funding rounds during this week.

Games24x7, an Online Gaming startup, raised $75 million in a Series C funding round led by Malabar Investments with participation from Raine Group and Tiger Global Management. With this funding round, Games24x7 achieved unicorn status on 30th March 2022. Games24x7 is a provider of a multi-gaming platform. Games24x7 uses behavioural science and artificial intelligence to develop cross-platform games like RummyCircle and My11Circle. Founded in 2006, Mumbai-based Games24x7 has raised $107 million till date.

Chennai-based FinTech startup, Vivriti Capital, raised $55 million in a Series C funding round led by Lightrock with participation from Creation Investments. Vivriti Capital is a debt financing platform for corporates, SMEs and individuals. Vivriti Capital offers a range of financial products including loans, receivables finance, working capital, structured debt, and capital market instruments to users. Vivriti Capital also provides webinars, blogs, and insights to assist in making lending decisions. Founded in 2017 by IIT Kharagpur alumni and IIM Bangalore alumni, Vivriti Capital has raised close to $163 million till date.

In another funding round event, FinTech startup, Pine Labs, raised $50 million in a Series E funding round from Temasek, Sequoia Capital, PayPal, and others. Pine Labs achieved unicorn status on 24th January 2020 when it raised $85 million from Mastercard. Pine Labs is a provider of POS terminals for businesses and merchants. Pine Labs offers products like hardware and software-based payment terminals, point-of-sale financing, working capital loans, loyalty and gift card solutions, as well as analytics for business decisions. Pine Labs caters to hospitals, grocery stores, electronics and automotive businesses. Founded in 1998 by IIM Bangalore alumni and IIT Delhi alumni, Noida-based Pine Labs has raised around $1.6 billion till date.

Enterprise Infrastructure startup, LambdaTest, raised $45 million in a Series C funding round led by Sequoia Capital and Premji Invest with participation from Telstra Ventures, Blume Ventures and Leo Capital. LambdaTest is a provider of cloud-based cross-browser testing solutions. LambdaTest includes features like integrated debugging, geolocation testing, bug detection, live and automated testing, collaboration, as well as live testing of public or hosted websites and web applications. Founded in 2017, Bangalore-based LambdaTest has raised over $70 million till date.

Qure.ai, a HealthTech startup, raised $40 million in a funding round led by Novo Holdings with participation from MassMutual Ventures and HealthQuad. Qure.ai is a provider of AI-based decision support tools for diagnostic images. Qure.ai offers a radiology solution that assists doctors with diagnosing diseases from CT Scans, MRIs and X-rays. Qure.ai enables them to outline and quantify regions of interest such as tumours or lung disease patterns and offers a digital pathology solution that can distinguish malignant from benign biopsies, and grade a variety of tumour types. Founded in 2016 by IIT Delhi alumni, Mumbai-based Qure.ai has raised close to $60 million till date.

In another funding round event, Chennai-based Transportation and Logistics Tech startup, Wiz, raised $36 million in a Series A funding round led by Tiger Global Management with participation from Stride Ventures, Arali Ventures, Alteria Capital, and others. Wiz is a provider of tech-enabled freight forwarding services. Wiz provides services like booking, live tracking, shipping, and task management with features like full container and partial container load shipping, door-to-door shipping, cargo insurance, customs and trade management. Founded in 2019, Wiz has raised around $40 million till date.

Crop Tech startup, FarMart, raised $32 million in a Series B funding round led by General Catalyst Partners with participation from Omidyar Network India, 500 Global, Matrix Partners India, and others. FarMart is a provider of a P2P rental platform for farm equipment. FarMart offers features like vernacular language support, transparent pricing, doorstep delivery of equipment, and cashless payment. Founded in 2015, Gurgaon-based FarMart has raised $48 million till date.

GIS startup, Pixxel, raised $25 million in a Series A funding round led by Radical Ventures with participation from Sparta Group, Blume Ventures, Inventus Capital India, and others. Pixxel is a provider of satellite-based Earth-imaging solutions. Pixxel develops and operates a network of small Earth-imaging satellites to provide real-time insights for monitoring purposes in agriculture, oil, gas, and climate sectors. Founded in 2019 by BITS Pilani alumni, Bangalore-based Pixxel has raised around $61 million till date.

This was all from the funding updates, moving on to the exits. India Tech observed 8 exits during the week of 03 Apr 2022.

Bangalore-based Semiconductors startup, Saankhya Labs, was acquired by Tejas Networks for over $37 million. Saankhya Labs is a provider of software-defined radio-based modules for video and data communication. Saankhya Labs offers software-defined demodulation IC solutions for universal digital and analogue TV, radio, and other broadcasting media, with applications in TV, TV dongles, tablet devices, and surveillance systems. Founded in 2007, Saankhya Labs has raised over $18 million till date.

In another acquisition event, InI Farms, a Crop Tech startup, was acquired by Agrostar. InI Farms is a provider of farming services to the horticultural sector. InI Farms offers services like technical guidance, access to inputs and markets, orchard management, and contract farming for farmers, investors, and growers. Founded in 2009 by IIT Kanpur alumni, Mumbai-based InI Farms has raised over $14 million till date.

Bangalore-based Auto Tech startup, Vogo, was acquired by Chalo for over $37 million. Vogo is a provider of an app-based self-drive scooter rental service. Vogo enables users to search, discover, lock, unlock and book on-demand rentals through its platform, with features like keyless entry, vehicle pick-up and drop-off by the user at pre-designated locations. Founded in 2016, Vogo has raised close to $180 million till date.

This was all for today, we will be back next Monday with more updates. You can subscribe to our podcast on Google Podcasts, Spotify, and Apple Podcast to stay updated. If you have any feedback, please reachout to us at podcast@tracxn.com. Thank you for tuning in today, see you next week.

Welcome back to India Tech Weekly Deals Roundup, a weekly podcast by Tracxn for key startup deals in India from last week. 

In this edition, we will cover funding rounds of Pixis, INDMoney, M2P and more. In exits, we will cover the acquisition of Payswiff by Cholamandalam Investment and Finance Company among others.

Starting with our deep dive into funding rounds, tech companies in India raised around $501 million funding across 42 funding rounds during this week.

In a major funding round event, Enterprise Applications startup, Pixis, raised $100 million in a Series C funding round led by SoftBank Vision Fund with participation from Premji Invest, Celesta Capital, Chiratae Ventures, and others. Pixis is a provider of codeless AI infrastructure for marketing. Pixis offers over four-dozen proprietary AI models that are deployed across an ecosystem of products and plugins. Pixis provides marketers with no-code plug-and-play AI products. Founded in 2018 by BITS Pilani alumni, Bangalore-based Pixis has raised $124 million till date.

INDmoney, a FinTech startup, raised $76 million in a Series D funding round led by Steadview Capital, Tiger Global Management and Dragoneer Investment Group. INDmoney is an app-based comparison and advisory platform for financial products. INDmoney enables the comparison of consumer loans such as personal loans and mortgage loans, investments such as mutual funds, fixed deposits, stocks and bonds. INDmoney uses machine learning to provide offers on the basis of savings and expenses. INDmoney offers an app for iOS and Android devices. Founded in 2019 by an ex-Google employee, Gurgaon-based INDmoney has raised $133 million till date.

Chennai-based FinTech startup, M2P, raised $56 million in a Series C funding round led by Insight Partners with participation from MUFG, Better Capital and Tiger Global Management. M2P is a provider of open banking APIs for banking and payment. M2P allows the design and implementation of neo-banks and deposit products. M2P also offers lending systems with lending and credit cards for multiple lender servicing, as well as local and cross-border payment systems with real-time control. Founded in 2015 by an ex-Paypal employee, M2P has raised $106 million till date.

E-commerce startup, Purplle, raised $34 million in a Series D funding round led by Sequoia Capital with participation from Blume Ventures and Sangeeta Pendruka. Purplle is an online marketplace offering multi-category beauty products. Purplle includes products from various brands, such as makeup, fragrances, body care, hair, skin and facial care products, in addition to beauty appliances. Purplle offers an app for Android and iOS platforms. Founded in 2011 by IIT Kharagpur alumni and IIT Delhi alumni, Mumbai-based Purplle has raised $275 million till date.

In another funding round event, Bangalore-based StockGro, a FinTech startup, raised $32 million in a Series A funding round led by BITKRAFT Ventures, General Catalyst Partners and Itai Tsiddon with participation from CreedCap Asia Advisors and Roots Ventures. StockGro is a social trading platform for stocks. StockGro allows users to access, evaluate, copy, and implement trade strategies for investing in stocks. StockGro also offers training sessions and games to assist new users. StockGro offers an app for Android and iOS platforms. Founded in 2019 by Indian School of Business alumni, StockGro has raised $49 million till date.

Media & Entertainment startup, VerSe, raised $27 million in a Series I funding round led by CPP Investments. VerSe achieved unicorn status in December 2021 when it raised $100 million of funding from Google, Microsoft and Falcon Edge’s Alpha Wave Incubation. VerSe is a provider of an app for sharing short videos and news. VerSe enables users to share funny, entertainment-based videos on its platform in English and vernacular languages like Hindi, Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu, and Kannada. VerSe also allows users to read news aggregated from multiple sources, and uses AI to offer engaging content to users. Founded in 2007 by an ex-Facebook employee, Bangalore-based VerSe has raised $942 million till date.

Blinkit, a Gurgaon-based Online Grocery startup, raised $24 million in a Series G funding round from KTB Asset Management. Blinkit, formerly known as Grofers, achieved unicorn status in August 2021 when it raised $120 million of funding from Zomato and Tiger Global Management. Blinkit is an online platform for on-demand grocery ordering and deliveries. Blinkit allows users to order fruits and vegetables, meat products, bakery supplies, dairy products, snacks and spices, drinks and beverages, stationery and gifting items, as well as personal care, household supplies and cleaning essentials. Blinkit claims to deliver within 10 minutes from the point of order, and uses its own fleet of delivery bicycles to complete orders around the city. Blinkit offers an app for Android and iOS platforms. Founded in 2013 by Columbia Business School alumni and IIT Bombay alumni, Blinkit has raised $24 million till date.

In another funding round event, FinTech startup, Scripbox, raised $21 million in a Series D funding round led by Accel, Transpose, Innoven Capital, Trifecta Capital and LetsVenture with participation from Sparkle Fund, KPB Family Trust, YY Capital Partners and others. Scripbox offers an online platform for investing in mutual funds. Scripbox uses algorithms and tools to invest in equity and debt funds, avail returns, automate SIPs, and customise plans for retirement and education, among others. Scripbox provides an app for iOS and Android platforms. Founded in 2012 by IIT Kharagpur alumni and IIT Delhi alumni, Bangalore-based Scripbox has raised $67 million till date.

This was all from the funding updates, moving on to the exits. India Tech observed 7 exits during the week of 23 Jan 2022.

Hyderabad-based Payswiff, a Payment Tech startup, was acquired by Cholamandalam Investment and Finance Company. Payswiff is a provider of POS and MPOS solutions for businesses to accept card payments. Payswiff offers merchants a POS device to accept contact and contactless card payments, as well as POS software to create and send payment links, accept payments, provide card-on-delivery and EMI options, and to email receipts. Payswiff also offers a mobile card reader, e-way bill software, and an Android and iOS app. Founded in 2013, Payswiff has raised $12 million till date from True Global Ventures, Yadu Corporation, Ramesh Chandra Majithia, and others.

In another acquisition event, Addverb, a Robotics startup, was acquired by Reliance Retail. Addverb is a provider of AI-enabled robotics and warehouse automation solutions. Addverb offers intra-logistics automation solutions for industries, and assists in managing warehouse operations like material handling, loading, unloading and object lifting. Founded in 2016 by LEAD School, Noida-based Addverb has raised $66 million till date from GAIL, Reliance Retail, Atul Kumar, and others.

The Label Life, a Mumbai-based Fashion Tech startup, was acquired by G.O.A.T Brand Labs. The Label Life is an internet-first brand of multi-category fashion products for women. The Label Life includes products like apparel, footwear, handbags, home furnishing products, accessories, and others. Founded in 2012, The Label Life has raised $5 million till date from Kalpavriksh Fund, Kalaari Capital, Utpal Sheth, and others.

This was all for today, we will be back next Monday with more updates. You can subscribe to our podcast on Google Podcasts to stay updated. If you have any feedback, please reachout to us at podcast@tracxn.com. Thank you for tuning in today, see you next week.

Welcome back to India Tech Weekly Deals Roundup, a weekly podcast by Tracxn for key startup deals in India from last week. 

In this edition, we will cover funding rounds of Slice, Bugworks Research, and more. In exits, we will cover the acquisition of Happay by CRED among others.

Starting with our deep dive into funding rounds, tech companies in India raised around $264 million of funding across 20 funding rounds during this week.

FinTech startup, Slice, raised $220 million in a Series B funding round led by Tiger Global Management and Insight Partners, with participation from Sunley House Capital Management, Moore Venture Partners, Blume Ventures, and others. Slice is a provider of credit cards for consumers. Slice offers credit cards for bill payments, cash withdrawals, online or offline purchases, and app-based virtual credit card for online transactions. Slice enables users to avail cash loans and make repayments in installments. Founded in 2016, Bangalore-based Slice has raised $281 million till date.

Bangalore-based Life Science startup, Bugworks Research, raised $16 million in a Series B funding round. Bugworks Research is a developer of drugs for antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections. Bugworks Research offers, ELUDE, an efflux avoidance platform. Bugworks Research's lead compound is being developed as an intravenous and oral treatment for multi-drug resistant infections. ELUDE  inhibits two essential targets in the replication machinery and has been designed to by-pass efflux resistance mechanism of the bacteria. Founded in 2014, Bugworks Research has raised $34 million till date.

EdTech startup, 21K School, raised $5 million in a Seed funding round from Ronnie Screwvala. 21K School operates K-12 school. 21K School provides solutions for computational thinking, languages, summer school program, and skill-based programs. 21K School also provides courses for blockchain, data science, cloud computing, cyber security, and others. Founded in 2020 by IIT Delhi alumni, bangalore-based 21K School has raised $5 million till date.

This was all from the funding updates, moving on to the exits. India Tech observed 3 exits during the week of 05 Dec 2021.

Bangalore-based FinTech startup, Happay, was acquired by CRED for $180 million. Happay provides expense management software and corporate card for businesses. Happay offers solutions for tracking fleet operations, approving invoices, tracking payments, account payables automation, cash flow management, expenditure tracking, and more. Happay also offers prepaid cards, virtual credit cards and provides a travel booking platform for employees. Founded in 2012, Happay has raised $22 million till date from Times Internet, Prime Venture Partners, Sequoia Capital, and others.

Bangalore-based enteprise application startup, Algopixel Technologies, was acquired by AUS. Algopixel Technologies is a provider of mapping software solutions for the drone industry. Algopixel Technologies offers, WebODM, an open-source drone mapping software. Algopixel Technologies also offers iDronePort Management Server, which is a Flight Module Management Server for drone manufacturers to register their drones. 

FinTech startup, Telr, was acquired by Cashfree for $15 million. Telr is a payment gateway API and online shopping store. Telr provides a set of APIs which can be integrated into merchant's website to start accepting web and mobile based payments. Telr also provides a platform for building online and mobile stores. Telr offers solutions such as hosted gateway, recurring billing, fraud protection, merchant cash advance, data analytics, and insights. Founded in 2013, Mumbai-based Telr has raised $3 million till date from Hatcher, iMENA Group, and more.

This was all for today, we will be back next Monday with more updates. You can subscribe to our podcast on Google Podcasts to stay updated. If you have any feedback, please reachout to us at podcast@tracxn.com. Thank you for tuning in today, see you next week.

In today’s episode, we talk with Sanjay Nath, Co-founder and Managing Partner of Blume Ventures, one of India’s leading early-stage venture funds. Sanjay also represents Blume on the boards of Arka Venture Labs and the Draper Venture Network. Blume focuses on Seed to Pre-Series A stages of funding and has made over 100 investments across its 10-year history across multiple funds. Sanjay has invested in and advises a wide portfolio of startups including GreyOrange Robotics, Dataweave, Locus, Tricog, LBB, Lulu, Lambdatest, TapChief (acquired by Unacademy), Nektar.ai, and Obviously.ai amongst others.

What is the trajectory for Indian startups expanding abroad? How do they start in India and move to the US and SEA? How can startups build and sell remotely and operate in a virtual world? What are the repercussions of localization when internationalization? Sanjay, as an active investor in the space, brings his experience in answering all these questions and more!

Sign up for Chinaccelerator 20 Demo Day Nov 24 at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/chinaccelerator-demo-day-20-livestream-20-tickets-188035859317?aff=podcast

Show Notes

02:10 Introduction to Sanjay Nath
02:55 Sanjay’s transition from consulting to VC
07:41 The trend of Indian startups expanding overseas
11:20 Overcoming the barriers of  cross-border expansion
16:38 How Blume VC supports startups with their expertise and best practices
24:10 Localisation vs Internationalisation from Day 1
28:22 Popular revenue models among Indian startups
31:04 The second-order effect of Covid19 on cross-border expansion
38:22 Opportunities for Indian SaaS companies in China
41:05 Leveraging diaspora and ecosystems to expand to the US and Europe
45:17 Sanjay’s final thoughts 

Many thanks to our guests  Sanjay Nath; host Oscar Ramos; producers Eva Shi and  Sagar Chaudhary; editor David Xu; organizer Chinaccelerator; and sponsor People Squared. Be sure to check out our website www.chinaccelerator.com

Share, subscribe, review, enjoy!

To join our listener group on WeChat, please add SOSV Helper (WeChat ID: sosvhero) and ask for the group  invitation.

To subscribe to our newsletter, please visit  www.asiastartuppulse.com

Follow us on LinkedIn:  https://www.linkedin.com/company/asia-startup-pulse

Email us: asp-team@asiastartuppulse.com

In today’s episode, we invite Sanjay Nath, Co-founder and Managing Partner of Blume Ventures, one of India’s leading early-stage venture funds. Sanjay also reprerepresents Blume on the boards of Arka Venture Labs and the Draper Venture Network. Blume focuses on Seed to Pre-Series A stages of funding and has made over 100 investments across its 10-year history across multiple funds. Sanjay has invested in and advises a wide portfolio of startups including GreyOrange Robotics, Dataweave, Locus, Tricog, LBB, Lulu, Lambdatest, TapChief (acquired by Unacademy), Nektar.ai, and Obviously.ai amongst others.

What is the trajectory for Indian startups expanding abroad? How do they start in India and move to the US and SEA? How can startups build and sell remotely and operate in a virtual world? What are the repercussions of localization when internationalization? Sanjay, as an active investor in the space, brings his experience in answering all these questions and more!

Show Notes

01:35 Introduction to Sanjay Nath

02:20 Sanjay’s transition from consulting to VC

07:06 The trend of Indian startups expanding overseas

10:54 Overcoming the barriers of  cross-border expansion

16:03 How Blume VC supports startups with their expertise and best practices

23:35 Localisation vs Internationalisation from Day 1

27:47 Popular revenue models among Indian startups

30:29 The second-order effect of Covid19 on cross-border expansion

37:47 Opportunities for Indian SaaS companies in China

40:30 Leveraging diaspora and ecosystems to expand to the US and Europe

44:42 Sanjay’s final thoughts 

Many thanks to our guests  Sanjay Nath; host Oscar Ramos; producers Eva Shi and  Sagar Chaudhary; editor David; organizer Chinaccelerator; and sponsor People Squared. Be sure to check out our website www.chinaccelerator.com

Share, subscribe, review, enjoy!

To join our listener group on WeChat, please add SOSV Helper (WeChat ID: sosvhero) and ask for the group  invitation.

To subscribe to our newsletter, please visit  www.asiastartuppulse.com

Follow us on LinkedIn:  https://www.linkedin.com/company/asia-startup-pulse

Email us: asp-team@asiastartuppulse.com