Weekly Funding Report - 10th to 16th December 2022
Synchron raises $75 Mn in Series C round
Endovascular brain-computer interface (BCI) startup Synchron raised $75 million in a Series C round led by ARCH Venture Partners along with participation from existing investors Khosla Ventures, METIS, and Forepont Capital Partners among others. The funds will be used to expedite the development of its platform product, Synchron SwitchTM BCI, as well as to start a crucial clinical trial. Synchron has been working on a BCI platform that uses a minimally invasive technique to circumvent the requirement for open brain surgery.
Source: YourStory
Bumble Bee Flights raises $37 Mn
Autonomous air mobility solutions provider Bumble Bee Flights raised $37 million from the UK-based technological conglomerate SRAM & MRAM Technologies and Resources Limited. The funds will be used to create an assembly plant in Odisha for the production of air taxis, with the first prototype scheduled to launch in April 2023. Bumble Bee Flights aims to design air mobility solutions for various applications such as Air Taxi, Air Ambulance, Recreational use, payload drop, etc. The start-up plans to collaborate with operators from all around the world to service, maintain, and run the operations while designing and manufacturing air taxis.
Source: YourStory
NeoGrowth raises $36 Mn in Series D round
MSME-focused digital lender NeoGrowth raised $36 million in a Series D equity round headed by the Dutch bank FMO, along with participation from existing investors. The funds will be used to increase its presence in current markets, enter new ones, and speed up product innovation. NeoGrowth is a cutting-edge lender with a focus on MSME that provides a variety of products designed to address the changing needs of small businesses.
Source: EnTrackr
myTVS raises $24.49 Mn in Series C funding
Automotive aftermarket player myTVS raised $24.49 million from the Lingotto-managed Exor fund. The money will be used by myTVS to grow its online-to-offline business model, invest in technology to improve its services and spares platform, in addition for debt repayment, acquisition finance, brand development, and international expansion. MyTVS brings together the whole ecosystem of consumers, retailers, service garages, and fleet operators on its digital properties, offering parts and services to B2B and B2C clients through its franchise network, roadside help, owned outlets, and at-home services.
Source: YourStory
Zype raises $17.6 Mn
Fintech platform Zype raised $17.6 million in a fresh round of funding that was spearheaded by the private equity fund Xponentia Capital, along with participation from Vivek Vig. The funds will be used to expand the workforce, develop its tech platform, and attract new customers.
Zype is a financial well-being and lifestyle app that wants to make credit more accessible to millennials and assist them in developing long-term financial habits.
Source: EnTrackr
Wellbeing Nutrition raises $10 Mn in Series B funding
D2C nutraceutical firm Wellbeing Nutrition raised $10 million in a Series B fundraising round headed by Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL) and Fireside Ventures. They plan on using the funding to expand and introduce new product categories, hire a senior management team, develop R&D and build a skilled channel network. Wellbeing Nutrition provides a variety of dietary supplements like oral thin strips, slow-release capsules, Korean marine collagen peptides for beauty, and vegan protein for everyday health and fitness.
Source: Inc42
82°E raises $7.5 Mn in seed funding
D2C personal care firm 82°E secured $7.5 million in seed funding from DSG Consumer Partners and IDEO Ventures, as well as numerous ultra-high net worth individuals (UHNIs) and angel investors. The company will use the capital to expand its staff, speed up research and development (R&D), and introduce new products. 82°E is a modern Indian self-care company that is on a mission to make self-care a simple, enjoyable, and valuable part of their users' daily life.
Source: Inc42
SafeHouse Tech raises $6 Mn in pre-Series A round
Cybersecurity firm SafeHouse Tech raised $6 million in a Pre-Series A round of funding headed by Gonpo Tsering. SafeHouse intends to use the funds to advance its growth strategies in India and its business expansion goals in Europe and Southeast Asia along with creating new product offers and conducting R&D. SafeHouse Tech is an Indo-Israeli cybersecurity firm that is revolutionising cyber defence for customers with its flagship mobile security software, BodyGuard.
Source: YourStory
BlackSoil invests $5 Mn debt in three startups
Venture debt company BlackSoil invested $5 million in EV battery swapping startup Battery Smart, NBFC startup Upmove Capital, and fintech startup Revfin. Battery Smart is supported by Tiger Global and offers cutting-edge lithium-ion batteries for electric two- and three-wheelers. App-based lending platform Upmove Capital backed by Lightrock offers small-ticket personal loans to salaried people and enterprises. Banking platform called Revfin specialises in financing electric vehicles.
Source: EnTrackr
LEAD raises $4.2 Mn in debt round
Edtech unicorn LEAD raised $4.2 million in debt financing from venture debt company Alteria Capital. LEAD makes it possible for schools to create an integrated learning and teaching system by fusing technology, curriculum, and pedagogy and is the sixth Indian ed-tech startup to be valued at over a billion dollars. It supplements schools' current infrastructure by providing digital resources, books, and curriculum design, as well as teacher training, teacher manuals, ERPs, and math science kits, among other things.
Source: Inc42
Contlo Raises $3.5 Mn in seed funding
AI-powered customer data and marketing platform Contlo raised $3.5 million in seed funding led by Kae Capital. The round also saw participation from Better Capital, Titan Capital, Varun Alagh, and others. The funds received will be used for its worldwide marketing agency-led partnership programme, R&D, expanding go-to-market operations, and strengthening product capabilities. Contlo is a client relationship and data platform that helps e-commerce stores increase revenue while also improving customer loyalty and retention through omnichannel customer engagement.
Source: The Startup Lab
GalaxEye raises $3.5 Mn in seed round
Spacetech startup GalaxEye raised $3.5 million in a seed round headed by Speciale Invest. The round also saw participation from investors like Artha India Ventures, Veda VC, Anicut Capital and others. The funding will be used to hire more top talent and help launch their multi-sensor satellite for earth observation. GalaxEye's technology will allow the production of exceptionally high-resolution photographs using a tiny satellite constellation that, once operational, will give worldwide coverage in less than 12 hours.
Source: EnTrackr
In-Med Prognostics raises $2.13 Mn
AI-based image processing firm In-Med Prognostics raised $2.13 million from Exxora, with participation from several other angel investors. The funds will be used to diversify the company's product offering and access international markets. In-Med Prognostics enhances the workflow of radiologists and supports the decision-making of neurologists by using their proprietary AI-powered image processing software. It combines machine learning and deep learning algorithms to give neuro analysis, which further helps with the assessment and early identification of neurological problems like dementia, Alzheimer's disease, and Parkinson's.
Source: EnTrackr
Kredmint raises $2 Mn in an angel round
Fintech startup Kredmint raised $2 million from angel investors and startup founders including Kunal Shah, Ashneer Grover and Amit Lakhotia. Two venture capital firms from India and one from Singapore have joined this round however Kredmint did not reveal their names. Kredmint aims to support MSMEs by understanding their business models and utilising data to provide them with totally transparent and flexible supply chain finance solutions through smart contracts and tokenization.
Source: EnTrackr
Zoivane Pets raises $603 K in seed funding
Pet training and grooming startup Zoivane Pets raised $603,000 in a seed round led by GVFL, Ahmedabad. They will utilise the funding for product development, expanding their skilled labour force, and promoting their different product lines. Zoivane Pets has introduced products that are made with natural ingredients, are paraben-free, and have undergone vet testing. The toilet training spray, stay away spray, pet stain and odour remover, and other formulas are among the patent-pending products in Zoivane's training line.
Source: EnTrackr
ThingsUp raises $600 K in seed funding
Internet of things (IoT) startup ThingsUp secured $600,000 in a seed funding round from angel groups GSF Accelerator, Lead Angels and Udyat Ventures. The funds will go towards product development and expanding the sales and operational teams. ThingsUp is a low-code platform that assists companies in quickly developing and deploying IoT applications. It is an enterprise-grade, fault-tolerant, and secure IoT platform that enables users to link their gadgets and applications with ease.
Source: The Startup Lab
Bharat Krushi Seva raises $520 K in seed funding
Agritech firm Bharat Krushi Seva (BKS) raised $520,000 from investors like S Amit Group, Upaya Social Ventures, Criyagen Agri and Biotech, in its first round of seed funding. The funds will be utilised in improving technology and expanding into other sectors. BKS's flagship product, the automated weather alerting system is designed to aid farmers in increasing their quality production, extending shelf life, and obtaining a higher market price, additionally reducing food waste.
Source: YourStory
Vama raises $500 K
Virtual spiritual platform VAMA.app secured $500,000 as a follow-up to its seed round earlier this year. The round was led by Filipino investor Lisa Gokongwei-Cheng and saw participation from The Fund, a US-based pre-seed fund, and existing investors such as 7Square Ventures and Supermorpheus. The startup wants to use the funds to expand its service portfolio with the introduction of services such as live streaming of 'darshan' and 'aartis' and online donations. VAMA gives devotees from all over the world convenient access to e-pujas, e-darshans, and astrology services.
Source: EnTrackr
Hexo Raises $270 K in Pre-Seed Funding
Generative AI startup Hexo raised $270,000 in a pre-seed round headed by Antler India under the VC firm's Antler India Residency programme. Hexo provides a comprehensive set of controls that make picture production more predictable and precise. Its main corporate solution, Fine Tuner, enables customers to simply construct unique image-generating engines based on the company's design language, goods, characters, and intellectual property.
Source: EnTrackr
Blod raises pre-seed funding
Healthtech startup Blod.in raised an undisclosed sum in pre-seed funding from angel investors, including Prabhu Rangarajan, Ashok Vardharajan, Savitha Ramasamy and Bhopan Krishnan.
The healthtech firm plans to scale up and invest the capital raised in infrastructure, growth, and technological stacks. Blod.in is trying to revolutionise and assist the healthcare sector in supplying patients with blood by establishing a centralised blood management system that links blood banks and hospitals.
Source: YourStory