Startup news and updates: daily roundup (April 5, 2021)

Meesho raises $300 M investment led by Softbank Vision Fund 2

Social commerce platform, Meesho, has raised $300 million in new funding led by Softbank Vision Fund 2. With this investment, Meesho's valuation is at $2.1 billion. The round also saw participation from existing investors Prosus Ventures, Facebook, Shunwei Capital, Venture Highway, and Knollwood Investment. With this funding, Meesho plans to build a single digital ecosystem for 100 million small businesses, and hire the best talent in the industry. 

India Accelerator plans to select 100 startups for seed funding in 2021

Startup nurturing platform India Accelerator plans to expand its startup portfolio by over three-folds in 2021 with investment in around 100 such ventures. The company invests Rs 25 lakh in select startups every year then mentors them and connects them with other investors as they mature, India Accelerator founder Ashish Bhatia told PTI.

SBI Card sees over 50 pc transaction from online payments: CEO

SBI Cards and Payment Services (SBI Card) has been seeing over 50 percent of its transactions via online payments such as on groceries, utility bills, insurance premium, and hopes the trend to go up further as point of sale purchases are yet to pick up, a top company executive said. Keeping a watch on the recent coronavirus resurgence in the country across some key locations, SBI Card MD and CEO Rama Mohan Rao Amara said it would be too early to say whether it will have any bearing on people's purchasing behaviour.

CareerLabs raises $2.2 M from Rocket Internet's VC fund GFC, angel investors (Funding)

CareerLabs, a profile building platform for college students and working professionals, has raised $2.2 million in a new financing round as it looks to scale its platform, including a new product. CareerLabs is developing a profile builder platform to help college students and working professionals discover their career paths and prepare for a life beyond college at scale and at an affordable price.

IvyCap Ventures sells stake in Pharmarack at 104 pc IRR

Homegrown venture capital (VC) fund IvyCap Ventures on Monday announced the sale of its stake in business-to-business (B2B) healthcare platform Pharmarack at an annual internal rate of return (IRR) of 104 percent. IvyCap had invested Rs 21 crore in Pharmarack in 2019. 

Influencer marketing platform Do Your Thng raises $150K led by Mumbai Angels (Funding)

Do Your Thng (DYT), a branded content marketplace, has raised fresh funding of $150,000 led by Mumbai Angels with participation from Faad Network and Angel Bay. This marks the second investment for Angel Bay in DYT. The funding would help DYT to fuel the next growth phase and help accelerate the expansion of its influencer marketing tech platform.

BYJU'S completes Aakash Educational merger; founders become shareholders

BYJU'S, the world's most valuable edtech startup, has completed the acquisition of test prep service provider Aakash Educational Services Ltd (AESL). The reportedly $1 billion deal has been in the works since January. Following the merger, AESL founders JC Chaudhry and Aakash Chaudhry, and Blackstone Group stand to become shareholders in BYJU'S, whose valuation is nearing $15 billion.