Startup news and updates: daily roundup (Feb 18, 2021)

Shiprocketraises $27M in Series C from Tribe Capital and March Capital Partners

Shiprocket, a tech-enabled logistics aggregator for D2C sellers, has announced on Thursday that it has raised $27 million (Rs 200 crore) in Series C3 funding round. The round was co-led by Tribe Capital, a leading Silicon Valley-based venture capital firm, along with March Capital, a Santa Monica-based venture growth firm. Rahul Mehta of DST Global also participated in the round along with existing investor Bertelsmann India Investments.

Tech firm OutSystemsraises $150M investment at $9.5B valuation

Tech firm OutSystems on Wednesday said it has raised $ 150 million (about Rs 1,092 crore) capital, co-led by Abdiel Capital and Tiger Global, valuing the company at $ 9.5 billion. The funding will be used to expand investments in its R&D and GTM (go-to-market) strategy, a statement said. Founded in Portugal in 2001, OutSystems' modern application platform tools help developers rapidly build and deploy a full range of applications.

Vogo Automotiveraises $11.5M to focus on growth and EV expansion

VOGO, a Bengaluru-based tech-enabled self-ride two-wheeler rental service startup, on Thursday announced it has raised $11.5 million capital as an extension of Series C round, from its existing investors including Lightrock, Kalaari, Matrix Partners, and Stellaris Venture Partners. Founded in 2016 by the alumni of IITs and IIMs — Anand Ayyadurai, Padmanabhan Balakrishnan, and Sanchit Mittal — VOGO is a personal mobility solution provider that offers two-wheeler rides to daily commuters. 

Amazonurges NCLT to not allow any meeting of Future Group's shareholders, creditors for approving RIL deal

Amazon has approached the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), urging it not to allow the convening of any meeting of Future Group's shareholders or creditors for approval of its proposed Rs 24,713 crore deal with Reliance Industries. Amazon had last week filed the application before NCLT's Mumbai-bench.

Ex-Ola Advisor Srinivas Chunduru invests in Mumbai startup SnackAmor

Mumbai-based SnackAmor on Thursday said it has secured a second round of undisclosed funding from Srinivas Chunduru, Founder of VANS Group. Earlier, Srinivas served as a senior advisor at Olaand was the CXO at the Piramal Group. With this investment, Srinivas will be inducted into SnackAmor's Board of Directors.

India sees 60pc rise in fintech deals amidst COVID-19; surpasses China, says report

India has emerged as Asia's biggest destination for financial technology (fintech) deals, leaving behind China in the quarter ended June 2020, a research report said. With around 33 deals valued at $647.5 million, India has the highest investment in the fintech segment compared to China's $284.9 million during the quarter ended June 30, 2020, a report released by RBSA Advisors said.

Oxford Economics ups India growth forecast to 10.2 pc for 2021

Global forecasting firm Oxford Economics on Wednesday revised India's economic growth projection for 2021 to 10.2 percent from the earlier 8.8 percent, citing receding COVID-19 risks and the shift in the monetary policy outlook. It further said Budget 2021-22 will create positive externalities for the private sector, and forecast slower fiscal consolidation in FY22 than the government projections.

Epic Games files EU antitrust complaint against Apple

Epic Games said on Wednesday it filed an antitrust complaint against Apple with European Union regulators, opening a new front in its war with the tech giant over app store payments. Epic — which makes the popular video game Fortnite — is locked in a battle with Apple over the app store, which takes a 30 percent cut from all in-app purchases.

EV logistics startup eBikeGoraises $1.5M in pre-Series A round

Amritsar-based EV logistics platform eBikeGo on Thursday said it has raised $1.5 million in pre-Series A round from a group of overseas and Indian investors. eBikeGo plans to scale to 30 cities, touch 20 million deliveries, and save 4,000 tons of carbon dioxide emissions by 2022 while continuing to be an asset-light business.

Five Indian-origin persons, Indian activist feature in TIME magazine's list of 100 emerging leaders

Five Indian-origin personalities, including Twitter's top lawyer Vijaya Gadde, and UK's finance minister Rishi Sunak, and an Indian activist feature in TIME magazine's annual list of 100 emerging leaders who are shaping the future". The 2021 TIME100 Next, released on Wednesday, is an expansion of TIME's flagship TIME100 franchise of the most influential people in the world and highlights 100 emerging leaders who are shaping the future.

Leverage Edu raises Rs 47 Cr investment led by Tomorrow Capital and others

Leverage Edtech has raised Rs 47 crore ($6.5 million) Series A funding led by Tomorrow Capital, who invested Rs 26.5 Crore. Existing investors Blume Ventures and DSG Consumer Partners pumped in the additional Rs 20.5 crore. A statement shared by the company said half of the Rs 20.5 crore had been infused couple of quarters ago, with the remaining half invested alongside Tomorrow Capital. With this, the company has now raised about Rs 60 Crores across three rounds.

Genetic diagnostics player Lilac Insights raises Rs 50 Cr

Lilac Insights, a genetic diagnostic laboratory, has raised Rs 50 crore from various investors for expansion activities. The round was led by banker Rajiv Dadlani, and also saw participation from Allana Group, Sajid Fazalbhoy, Rahul Talwar, Rockstud Capital, and Kaayenne Ventures among others.