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

Pune-based Mylab receives ICMR approval for COVID-19 self-testing kit

Pune-based molecular diagnostics startup Mylab Discovery Solutions has received Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) approval for its self-use Rapid Antigen Test (RAT) for COVID-19.

Named CoviSelfTM, the test will be useful for symptomatic individuals or those who were in contact with positive cases.

Dunzo aims to launch 250 micro-fulfilment centres to serve 700-plus neighbourhoods

The pandemic has seen the growth of several hyperlocal platforms like Dunzo. The hyperlocal delivery startup said since January 2021, it had witnessed a growth of 350 percent in medicine orders alone, while consumables like groceries, fresh produce, and daily staples had grown 318 percent as of April 2021.

Dunzo is now aiming to expand its micro-fulfilment centres to address the growing demand. It is looking to deploy over 250 micro-fulfilment centres to serve 700-plus neighbourhoods.

Spacetech startup Agnikul Cosmos raises $11M in Series A round (Funding)

Chennai-based spacetech startup Agnikul Cosmos has raised $11 million in its Series A funding round led by Mayfield India. Its existing investors, including pi Ventures, Speciale Invest, and Artha Venture Fund also participated in the round.

Agnikul Cosmos will be deploying the funds for expanding its team and scale up its technology and infrastructure. The startup is targeting to launch its first mission in the second half of next year.

Spacetech startup Skyroot Aerospace raises $11M in Series A funding (Funding)

Hyderabad-based spacetech startup Skyroot Aerospace has raised $11 million in Series A funding round led by Greenko Group founders Anil Chalamalasetty and Mahesh Kolli. 

The round also saw participation from the Solar Group and former WhatsApp CBO Neeraj Arora. Existing investors Mukesh Bansal, Founder of Myntra and CureFit; Worldquant Ventures, Graph Ventures, Sutton Capital, Vedanshu Investments, and few other angels also participated in the round.

Dun & Bradstreet India, BSE sign MOU to boost MSME growth

Dun & Bradstreet Information Services India, a global provider of B2B data, insights, and AI-driven platforms, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with BSE to create an ecosystem for promoting, aiding, and fostering the growth of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in the country, it said in a statement.

Women’s activewear brand BlissClub raises $2.25M led by Elevation Capital (Funding)

BlissClub, a community first women's activewear brand, has raised $2.25 million in seed funding led by Elevation Capital (previously SAIF Partners). The round also saw participation from Neeraj Arora, ex CBO, WhatsApp; Kunal Shah, Founder, CRED; Rahul Mehta, Managing Partner, DST; Pam Lee, Ex-Lululemon Executive; Ashish Goel, Founder, Urban Ladder; Chakradhar Gade, Founder, Country Delight; and Good Capital.

Wipro expects to access about one lakh doses of COVID vaccine for employees

IT major Wipro Technologies on Wednesday said it expects to have access to about one lakh doses of COVID-19 vaccine for its employees and their families, beginning early June.

The Bengaluru-based company said it has partnered with top-tier hospitals and a tech-enabled online-to-offline delivery platform, which specialises in primary care and urgent response services, to provide COVID-19 vaccination support to its India-based employees.

Proptech startup BricSpaces raises $350K in pre-seed round from angel investors (Funding)

Bengaluru-based proptech startup BricSpaces, which caters to end-to-end real estate streams with digital transactions, has raised $350,000 in a pre-seed round.

Incubated by Embassy-backed WeWorkLabs, the startup raised funding from marquee unicorn Co-founder of Freshworks, Shan Krishnasamy; serial tech investor Bharat Kapoor from 50k Ventures; and Eeva developer Vishal, with other angels.

ANSR raises $15M in Series B round from Sistema Asia Fund and Evolvence (Funding)

ANSR, a consulting firm that helps set up global capability centres (GCCs), on Thursday, announced that it has raised $15 million in its Series B financing round from Sistema Asia Fund and Evolvence India Fund. 

With this funding, ANSR will expand beyond its current geographies to newer and emerging technology hubs like Eastern Europe, Canada, the UAE, and KSA.

Reccy Adventures raises Rs 3 Cr from Rebel Foods founders (Funding)

Reccy Adventures, an adventure sports startup, raised Rs 3 crore in a seed round from Jaydeep Barman and Kallol Banerjee, founders of cloud-kitchen startup Rebel Foods. 

The seed money will be used to add an ecommerce arm for selling activewear, accessories, and gears needed in adventure activities. The platform will also offer coaching, training, recovery and local sports for “sport-specific communities”. Another focus is also on launching their own line of outdoor-focused activewear range.  

Healthtech startup MedPiper Technologies launches online prescription builder tool MScribe

Bengaluru-based healthtech startup MedPiper Technologies announced the launch of its online prescription builder tool MScribe.

In an official note, the company stated that Mscribe designed with features to track patient history, unique patient IDs, and medicine consumption slots to help doctors provide the right treatment.

Pune-based Keito raises seed round from LetsVenture, others

Pune-based enterprise AI startup Keito has raised an undisclosed amount in a seed round from LetsVenture, SumaSoft Pvt Ltd, Rajesh Agarwal, CEO of SP Investments; lifestyle investor Jaideep Sippy; angel investor Nandkishore Mundada; Gautam Ramchandani, Former SP Group & Marcomm Consultant; Hemant Uttam Selmokar from Infosys; Yogesh Veerkumar Parulekar, Former Head of Visual Analytics, LTI; and SadaSiva Swamycharan Avunooru, Director of Data & Analytics, Columbus.

IISc startup PathShodh gets regulatory approvals for COVID-19 Test

PathShodh Healthcare, a startup incubated at the Society for Innovation and Development (SID) and Indian Institute of Science (IISc), has announced a significant breakthrough in developing a first-of-its-kind, semi-quantitative electrochemical ELISA test for COVID-19 IgM and IgG antibodies.

The startup has received the license to manufacture the test for sale from the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO), after due diligence validation at the Translational Health Science and Technology Institute (THSTI), Faridabad, as per the requirements of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR). 

Colive to provide 25,000 free meals to delivery workers in Bengaluru

Co-living operator Colive on Wednesday said it will provide 25,000 free meals to delivery workers in Bengaluru as part of its corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The company launched 'SaluteTheHero' campaign, under which it aims to provide 25,000 free meals for 'delivery heroes' for 25 days in more than 10 locations in Bengaluru.