Startup news and updates: daily roundup (April 20, 2021)

Tech Mahindra acquires hybrid cloud and DevOps services provider DigitalOnUs for $120M

IT major Tech Mahindra on Monday said it has acquired DigitalOnUS, a hybrid cloud and DevOps services provider, for $ 120 million (about Rs 898 crore) to augment hybrid-cloud offerings for enterprise customers globally. Tech Mahindra acquired 100 percent stake in the organisation to strengthen cloud-native development, hybrid cloud infrastructure and Site Reliability Engineering (SRE) automation, a statement said.

SaaS startup Chargebee becomes unicorn after raising $125M in Series G round (Funding)

San Francisco-based SaaS startup Chargebee on Tuesday announced that it has raised $125 million in series G funding, co-led by new investor Sapphire Ventures and existing investors Tiger Global and Insight Venture Partners, along with participation from another existing investor, Steadview Capital. The new round of funding will allow Chargebee to expand its global footprint and further add to its partnership network.

Plant-based egg startup Evo Foods signs on new investors Shaun Neff, Ryan Bethencourt's Sustainable Food Ventures in $850K pre-seed round

Foodtech startup EVO Foods, which produces 'clean' liquid egg replacers, has raised $850,000 (or Rs 6 crore) in its pre-seed round to be deployed for its India market launch as well as to scale its R&D and marketing team and expand in the plant-based egg category ahead of its planned overseas launch next year. Through the startup's pre-seed round -- touted to be one of the largest-ever to be raised by an early-stage Indian startup -- Evo Foods has onboarded prominent names in the Indian and global startup ecosystems as new investors.

Samsung launches chargeable pickup-and-drop facility for smartphones, tablets servicing

Tech major Samsung on Monday said it has expanded its contactless service offerings in the country with a new pickup-and-drop service for mobile devices. The pick and drop service, which will be charged at Rs 199, will ensure that consumers do not have to step out to get their devices serviced, a statement said. Consumers visiting Samsung service centres can also opt for drop-only service to get their smartphones and tablets delivered to their home post-repair.

Healthtech startup Pristyn Care raises $53M in Series D round led by Tiger Global Management (Funding)

Gurugram-based healthtech startup Pristyn Care raised $53 million in its Series D round of funding led by US investment fund Tiger Global Management. Existing investors, including Sequoia Capital, Hummingbird Ventures, and Epiq Capital, also participated in the round. According to the official statement, with this round, Pristyn Care’s valuation has crossed over $550 million.

Feminine hygiene products maker Sirona Hygiene raises $3M from NB Ventures, IAN Fund (Funding)

Sirona Hygiene, makers of innovative feminine hygiene products like PeeBuddy and Sirona Menstrual Cups, on Tuesday announced that it had raised $ 3 million in Series A round from NB Ventures and IAN Fund. According to the official statement, the fresh funds will be used to expand business along with a focus on R&D as innovation remains at the forefront of Sirona.  

Edtech startup CoLearn raises $10M Series A investment led by AWI, GSV (Funding)

Indonesian edtech startup CoLearn has raised $10 million Series A funding led by Alpha Wave Incubation (AWI) and US-based edtech investor GSV Ventures. Existing investors, including Sequoia Capital India’s Surge and AC Ventures, also participated in the round. This round of funding has made CoLearn one of the most well-funded edtech startups in Indonesia. This fresh infusion of capital will help the company invest in product, technology, development, hiring, and marketing.

Startup India seed fund scheme to support domestic entrepreneurs: Piyush Goyal

Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal expressed hope that the Startup India seed fund scheme would support domestic entrepreneurs and their business ideas that often cannot take off due to the absence of critical capital at an early stage. The scheme was announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in January to support startups and help budding entrepreneurs pursue innovative ideas.

Qapita raises $5M in pre-Series A round led by MassMutual Ventures (Funding)

Qapita, a Singapore headquartered SaaS startup with a technology centre in India, has raised $5 million in a pre-Series A round of funding led by MassMutual Ventures. The round saw participation from Endiya Partners and angel investors such as Udaan co-founder Sujeet Kumar, and Anjali Bansal, founder of Avaana Capital. According to a statement, this fresh funding will be used by Qapita to add engineering talent, accelerate product development and build clientele in India, Indonesia and Singapore.

Pristyn Care raises $53 million in Series D round led by Tiger Global Management (Funding)

Healthtech startup Pristyn Care raised $53 million in its Series D round of funding led by US investment fund Tiger Global Management. Existing investors, including Sequoia Capital, Hummingbird Ventures, and Epiq Capital, also participated in the round. The funds will be utilised to advance its offering in medical technology and offer all kinds of minimally invasive procedures while expanding the India footprint.

Zoom launches $100M venture fund

Zoom announced the launch of Zoom Apps Fund, a new $100 million venture fund, created to stimulate growth of Zoom’s ecosystem of Zoom Apps, integrations, developer platform, and hardware. Through this fund, the company will invest in portfolio companies looking to revolutionise the way Zoom customers meet, collaborate, and communicate on the platform.

TrulyMadly raises Rs 16 Cr in pre-Series A round (Funding)

Dating app TrulyMadly has raised Rs 16 crore ($2.1 million) in pre-Series A fund. The round saw participation from Venture Catalysts, 9 Unicorns, early stage investor advisor Jana K Balan, Neil Bahal from Negen Capital, angel investor Ruchi Sihare, and existing investors Inflection Point Ventures, The Chennai Angels and AngelList. The fundraise follows an overall revenue growth by 4X and a 10X growth noted from many Tier II and III cities like Bhubaneswar, Gwalior, Kanpur, Patna, Rajkot, Varanasi, and Vijayawada among others.

Flipkart expands its hyperlocal service to six new cities

India’s leading ecommerce marketplace Flipkart has expanded its hyperlocal service – Flipkart Quick – to six new cities - Delhi, Gurugram, Ghaziabad, Noida, Hyderabad, and Pune. Flipkart Quick was launched in Bengaluru in 2020 to widen the accessibility of products and enable quick delivery for consumers who order products from Flipkart hubs in their location.

Twitter expands engineering team in India, appoints Apurva Dalal as Director of Engineering

Twitter on Tuesday announced the appointment of former Uber executive, Apurva Dalal as Director of Engineering. Twitter is also hiring for several other positions across engineering, product, research, and design.

Government to provide Rs 4,500 Cr booster to vaccine manufacturers for ramping up capacity

The government has approved a payment of about Rs 4,500 crore as advance to vaccine makers like Serum Institute of India (SII) and Bharat Biotech against future supplies, sources said. SII will supply 200 million doses and Bharat Biotech is to supply another 90 million doses to the government by July at a pre-agreed rate of Rs 150 per dose.

Mobile Premier League acquires GamingMonk to widen e-sports portfolio

Mobile gaming platform Mobile Premier League (MPL) on Tuesday said it has acquired city-based e-sports gaming platform, GamingMonk. GamingMonk hosts e-sports tournaments across multiple platforms including PC, console, and mobile phones. It has a registered user base of over 1.3 million users.

Cyber agency asks Indian FB users to enhance account privacy

India's cybersecurity agency CERT-In has advised Facebook users to strengthen their account privacy settings after a recent global 'data scraping' incident in the social media platform was detected that affected about 61 lakh Indians. Facebook has also recommended account holders to enable two-factor authentication also known as 2FA.

Microsoft launches cloud business management solution for Indian SMEs

Microsoft India announced that it was making the general availability of Dynamics 365 Business Central, a comprehensive business management solution for small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs). An all-in-one cloud solution, Dynamics 365 Business Central helps companies ensure business continuity by connecting sales, service, finance, and operations teams to help them transform faster and deliver better results.