Startup news and updates: daily roundup (July 14, 2021)

[Funding alert] PEO platform Multiplier raises $4M from Sequoia's Surge

Multiplier, a Professional Employment Organisation (PEO) platform that simplifies international hiring, has raised $4 million in funding led by Sequoia Capital India’s Surge, with participation from co-investors Golden Gate Ventures, MS&AD Ventures, Picus Capital, and angel investors.

Patanjali Group clocks Rs 30k Cr turnover in FY21; aims to be debt-free in 3-4 yrs

Baba Ramdev on Tuesday announced that Patanjali group's turnover touched Rs 30,000 crore last fiscal on the back of the acquisition of Ruchi Soya, and said it is being evaluated when to list his flagship firm Patanjali Ayurved. Ruchi Soya, which the Patanjali group acquired through the insolvency process, contributed more than half to the overall turnover of the group.

Amazon launches 'Spotlight North East' storefront

Amazon India has announced the launch of the 'Spotlight North East' storefront on its marketplace. The storefront will enhance visibility of unique local products and hidden gems from the region, and showcase them to millions of Amazon customers across India, a statement said. Customers will be able to discover unique products from the region such as Chakshesang Shawls from Nagaland, Muga Silk from Assam, different types of weaves like the Moirang Phee from Manipur, varieties of teas and spices like the Mizo Chilli, amongst others, it added.

[Funding alert] JITO Angel Network invests $300K in SaaS startup BHyve

Mumbai-based BHyve, a future of work platform for diffusing employee tacit knowledge and enabling peer learning networks, on Wednesday said it raised $300,000 from JITO Angel Network, LetsVenture, and other angel investors. Backed by 100X.VC earlier in May 2021, BHyve will use the freshly infused capital for marketing to increase its sales and build the brand. It will also use the funds for enhancing the technology and building its clientele.

Zomato IPO: Deepinder Goyal beats stress with ‘triple breakfast’

Zomato founder Deepinder Goyal ordered a "very heavy breakfast" as a way to beat the stress as his company starts the journey of going public with the opening of its IPO on Wednesday.

Early on Wednesday morning, Deepinder tweeted about ordering a “triple breakfast” as stress eating with a huge smiley, and there were responses from CRED founder Kunal Shah with a GIF of people clapping. Snapdeal founder Kunal Bahl replied: "You will rock."

Mumbai Angels Network invests in energy storage startup Indi Energy (Funding)

Mumbai Angels Network, a premium startup investment platform for early-stage venture investments, has invested in Indi Energy, an energy storage startup committed to developing energy storage technologies such as Lithium-ion and Sodium-ion batteries, solid-state batteries, supercapacitors, etc. as a part of its seed round. 

While the funding amount remains undisclosed, Indi Energy will be utilising the funds in bolstering its R&D, and scaling up its proprietary Sodium-ion battery technology.

Meesho becomes the top-ranked app on Google Play Store India

Meesho, which became India's first social commerce unicorn in April after raising a $300 million round from SoftBank, has climbed to the top of app charts.

It ranked #1 across categories on Google Play Store India, going past usual suspects like Instagram, WhatsApp, Snapchat, Facebook, and other social media apps. Meesho (which stands for 'Meri Shop') has crossed over 50 million downloads on Android.

Zomato IPO: Retail portion fully subscribed within an hour of opening

The Initial Public Offering (IPO) of foodtech unicorn Zomato got off to a great start with the retail portion of the public issue getting fully subscribed within an hour of the opening. It was oversubscribed 1.76 times by around 12:45 pm, as per information from the stock exchanges.

The price band of Zomato’s IPO has been fixed in the range of Rs 72-76 per share, which is open from July 14 to 16.

The Ayurveda Co raises undisclosed sum from GetVantage, Velocity, Shiprocket Capital (Funding)

The Ayurveda Company (TAC), a science-backed Ayurveda startup, has raised undisclosed funding in various rounds from GetVantage, Velocity, and Shiprocket Capital through revenue-based financing.

The startup said it will deploy the capital for growth marketing, inventory capital, and employee/workplace benefits.

Prashan Agarwal, Aniket Lila launch online spiritual and wellness platform OMI

Former Gaana CEO Prashan Agarwal, along with Aniket Lila from Nexus Venture Partners, has announced the launch of an online spiritual and wellness platform, OMI.

According to the official statement, OMI has raised an undisclosed amount of funding from Nexus Venture Partners. The platform aims to combine ancient Vedic methods with a new-age lifestyle to help people find solutions to their problems.

Pratilipi raises $48M from Krafton Inc, Omidyar, and others (Funding)

Online storytelling platform Pratilipi on Wednesday said it has raised $48 million (about Rs 358 crore) in funding led by South Korean gaming giant Krafton Inc.

Existing investor Omidyar Network India also participated in the series D round along with a number of startup founders including Hemesh Singh and Gaurav Munjal (Unacademy), Nishith Rastogi (Locus), Sahil Barua (Delhivery), Vidit Aatrey (Meesho), Mekin Maheshwari (Udhyam), and Amit Agarwal (NoBroker).

Autonomous industrial vehicle maker Ati Motors raises $3.5M in pre-Series A round (Funding)

Bengaluru-based all-electric autonomous industrial vehicle maker Ati Motors has raised $3.5 million (about Rs 26.12 crore) in a funding round led by Blume Ventures and Exfinity Venture Partners, among others.

The pre-Series A funding will be deployed for manufacturing and deployment of a large fleet of autonomous vehicles in factories and warehouses, in both domestic and global markets, the company said on Wednesday.

Zomato IPO subscribed 1.05 times on day one

The first day of the initial public offering (IPO) of foodtech unicorn Zomato saw the issue subscribed by 1.05 times, with the strong participation from retail investors.

Zomato received bids for 75,57,47,850 shares as against the IPO issue size of 71,92,33,522, as per information available on the stock exchanges.

India Blockchain Alliance, Adfactors PR sign MoU to help the country lead in blockchain adoption

Non-profit India Blockchain Alliance (IBA) and public relations consultancy Adfactors PR today announced the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to foster conversations around blockchain technology to see the country leads the world in its adoption.

Snapdeal, FLO ink pact to launch online programme to digitise women-owned businesses

Ecommerce player Snapdeal on Wednesday said it has signed an agreement with FICCI Ladies Organisation (FLO), and has launched an online programme to help women-led small and medium businesses (SMBs) in the country digitise their operations and bring them online.