Startup news and updates: daily roundup (June 7, 2021)

[YS Exclusive] Mental health startup Now&Me raises $1M led by Saama and Whiteboard Capital (Funding)

Delhi-based mental health startup Now&Me has raised $1 million in seed funding led by Saama Capital and Whiteboard Capital. The startup is working on how people seek mental health support globally, through a free-to-use community platform. 

Paytm loss narrows to Rs 1,704 cr in FY21

Digital payments firm Paytm has narrowed its consolidated loss to Rs 1,704 crore in 2020-21 from Rs 2,943.32 crore in 2019-20, according to the company's annual report.

The company has reported narrowing of loss for the second consecutive year in FY21. Paytm slashed marketing cost by about 62 percent to Rs 533 crore in FY21 from Rs 1,397 crore a year ago.

Yuvraj Singh calls for startups, innovators to join his mission to fight against COVID-19

Former international cricketer Yuvraj Singh urged startup, innovators and research institutions to join his mission to fight against the COVID-19 pandemic by providing innovative, affordable and scalable healthcare solutions.

Singh, through his venture YouWeCan, has launched a mission to set up 1,000 beds for critical care of COVID-19 patients across the country in government and army hospitals.

Bengaluru-based agritech startup Fyllo raises Rs 3Cr in seed round from IAN (Funding)

Fyllo, the Bengaluru-based agritech startup, on Monday said it raised Rs 3 crore from Indian Angel Network (IAN), Titan Capital, and Lead Angels.

The startup will use the capital for its expansion to new markets and research and development to support more crops. It had earlier received funding from 100X.VC.

Second COVID-19 wave will not impact India's agri sector in any way: Niti Aayog

Niti Aayog Member (Agriculture) Ramesh Chand recently said the second COVID-19 wave will not impact the Indian agriculture sector in any way as rural areas saw the spread of infections in May when agriculture activities remained at a bare minimum.

Cora Health raises undisclosed amount from angel investors

CORA Health, a Bengaluru-based health and wellness marketplace startup, has raised an undisclosed amount of funding. 

The round was led by angels in their personal capacity, including Apurva Parekh (‎Executive Director, Pidilite Industries Limited), KRS Jamwal (Executive Director, Tata Industries), along with Dhanpal Jhaveri (Vice Chairman, Everstone Group), Amit Chaudhary (Lenskart Founder), Kushagra Pant (Nomura MD), Neha Saraf (Visa Director), Anusuya Roy (Flipkart Director), Ajay Mian (Founder and CEO, All e Technologies), and Headstart Investor Circle.

Kaagaz Scanner crosses 5M downloads-mark in one year

Kaagaz Scanner, an Indian document scanning and storage app, on Monday said it hit the 5 million downloads-mark within a year of its launch. Kaagaz Scanner is one of the top document scanning apps on the Android Play Store and is used by over 1.5 million users every month.

The Made in India document scanner app rose to prominence after the Indian government banned 59 Chinese apps in June last year, including the popular CamScanner. 

Launched in the same month, the app was created by three serial entrepreneurs pursuing their second startup together — Snehanshu Gandhi, Gaurav Shrishrimal, and Tamanjit Singh Bindra. The startup is backed by Pravega Ventures, Axilor Ventures, Better Capital and First Cheque, along with a few notable angels.

Swiggy's COVID-19 relief and support measures for delivery partners

On-demand delivery platform Swiggy announced that it had launched ‘Swiggy Suraksha’, a special care package that prioritises the health and safety of over 1.5 lakh delivery partners and their families.

The programme covers a host of services such as stronger financial support and hospitalisation cover for delivery partners and their families affected by COVID-19.

It has already helped delivery partners/their friends and family in cities like Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Delhi, Mumbai, Noida, Kolkata, Trivandrum, Kanpur, Jaipur, Pune and Modinagar with oxygen cylinders, oxygen beds, ambulance and Covid medicines.

Blaer Motors raises Rs 2.61 Cr from The Chennai Angels (Funding)

Angel investment group, The Chennai Angels (TCA) announced an investment of Rs 2.61 crore in Blaer Motors, an NIT-Trichy incubated startup based in Chennai.

Blaer Motors will be utilising this fund mainly for infrastructure development, strengthening of its R&D team and technology development. Its focus is to further optimise hybrid technologies for motorcycles, and expand its product portfolio into three-wheelers and LCVs.

JioMart gets over 50 pc orders from Tier II, III cities

Reliance's hyperlocal commerce platform JioMart now gets more than half its orders from India's Tier II and III cities. The platform, which launched in May 2020, has seen an accelerated rollout in the pandemic to help people 'shop from home'.

From grocery and essentials, the platform expanded to selling apparels and electronics as well. JioMart Kirana partnerships also expanded, reaching over 33 cities by the end of March 2021, Reliance stated in its FY20-21 annual report.

Paytm Insider’s online event raises over Rs 50 lakh for COVID-19 relief

Paytm Insider organised The Fundraiser Week which concluded on May 30, 2021 with a special online event, All For One. The week-long multi-event fundraiser saw heartwarming support from the audience whose collective donations amounted to over Rs 50 lakh. 

As part of the campaign, Paytm Insider streamed an array of shows by popular creators, covering genres like theatre, film, comedy, and dance. The artists contributed their time and talent to help raise funds for the many organisations working to combat the COVID-19 pandemic.

PhonePe announces COVID-19 relief measures for employees

Homegrown fintech giant PhonePe has undertaken several employee welfare measures to help its teams navigate the deadly second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, including creating a database of ICU beds, oxygen cylinders, and medicines via local networks.

The startup also announced a relief package of Rs 2 lakh as a COVID-19 allowance for employees who need emergency medical fund. The sum is not required to be repaid.

Breakthrough Global Foundation, Saurabh Gupta donate $1M towards BYJU'S Covid efforts

BYJU'S on Monday said it has received $ 1 million (about Rs 7.2 crore) from Breakthrough Global Foundation and Saurabh Gupta to support the edtech major's COVID-19 initiatives in India.

With 'Education for All', BYJU'S will provide equal learning opportunities and empower children across the country through its tech-enabled learning programmes, it added.