Startup news and updates: daily roundup (July 19, 2021)

Lenskart raises $220M led by Temasek and Falcon Edge (Funding)

Lenskart, the omni-channel D2C eyewear brand and a unicorn startup, has raised $220 million led by Temasek, the sovereign wealth fund of Singapore, and Falcon Edge Capital. This funding round takes the total capital raised by Lenskart to $315 million where global private equity player KKR had put in $95 million in a secondary transaction. Lenskart is now valued at $2.5 billion.

Droom founder, his family office to invest in 10 to 12 startups

Droom founder Sandeep Aggarwal and his family office have invested over Rs 25 crore in 18 startups, and they are looking at backing about 10 to 12 companies a year to support the burgeoning startup ecosystem in the country.

Healthtech startup Eka.Care raises $4.5M from angel and early-stage investors (Funding)

Eka.Care, a Bengaluru-based connected healthcare platform founded by former co-founders of Goibibo, has raised seed funding of $4.5 million from a clutch of leading angel and early-stage investors. The round also witnessed participation from early-stage venture capital firms – 3one4Capital, Eximius Ventures, and Speciale Invest.

Razorpay acquires TERA Finlabs

Fintech startup Razorpay on Monday said it has acquired TERA Finlabs, a Bengaluru-based startup that provides technology, risk and capital solutions to enable embedded financing solutions for businesses.

TERA Finlabs is an Indian subsidiary of UK-based digital lender, GAIN Credit.

Captain Fresh raises $12M in Series A round led by Accel Partners, Matrix India (Funding)

Captain Fresh, the B2B tech marketplace for seafood, on Monday said it raised $12 million in a Series A round led by Accel Partners and existing investor Matrix Partners India. Ankur Capital and Incubate Fund also participated in the round.

The B2B online seafood marketplace will use the capital to continue making deeper investments on the supply-side tech, expand distribution globally, and invest in its team.

Agritech startup Otipy raises $10.2M Series A investment led by SIG (Funding)

Otipy, the community group buying platform for fresh produce, has raised $10.2 million in a Series A round led by SIG. The round also saw participation from Omidyar Network India, Innoven Capital, and existing investors IPV (Inflection Point Ventures), Pravega, and FactorE. The agritech startup had earlier raised $2 million in 2020 led by IPV.

Edtech startup Braingroom raises Rs 1.5 Cr from IAN, Social Alpha, and Startup Oasis (Funding)

Braingroom, a multilingual online learning platform focussed on students from lower and middle-income families, has raised Rs 1.5 crore from IAN, Social Alpha, and Startup Oasis.

The Chennai-based startup will use the funding to develop new courses and content in different languages and new product features. The company is also eyeing market expansion with a vision to train one million rural students and make them job-ready in the coming three years.

Zomato CEO Deepinder Goyal joins magicpin board as independent director

Zomato co-founder and CEO Deepinder Goyal has joined Gurugram-based fintech app Magicpin as an independent director.

Founded by Anshoo Sharma and Brij Bhushan, savings app magicpin connects hyperlocal merchants and brands with customers. It is backed by Lightspeed Venture Partners, Waterbridge, and Samsung.

Venture Catalysts acquires India operations of US-headquartered accelerator and Seed fund, Z Nation Lab

Mumbai-based Venture Catalysts, an integrated incubator and accelerator, has acquired the India operations of US-based seed and early-stage fund and accelerator Z Nation Lab for an undisclosed sum.

Anuj Golecha, Co-Founder of Venture Catalysts (VCats), said that since its inception, Venture Catalysts has had a collaborative approach in supporting the India Startup Ecosystem.

Blackstone to acquire majority stake in Simplilearn for $250M

NYSE-listed Blackstone has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire a controlling stake in Bengaluru-based edtech startup Simplilearn. According to sources, the deal size is pegged at $250 million.

Bengaluru-based Edvizo raises $1M in pre-Series A round led by Inflection Point Ventures (Funding)

Bengaluru-based edtech startup Edvizo on Monday said it raised $1 million in a pre-Series A round led by Inflection Point Ventures.

According to the official statement, the proceeds will be deployed for enhancing the technology stack, acquire more users, strengthening the tech and sales team, and expand to more cities. 

Credenc raises $25M from Capital India (Funding)

Finance company Capital India has invested $25 million via equity and debt in education loans platform Credenc.

Delhi-based Credenc will use the funds from Capital India to build a loan book of Rs 3,000 crore by 2025, and enable more education loans. The founders of the startup, Avinash Kumar and Mayank Batheja, will continue to run the operations for Credenc, as per the deal, Capital India said.

GlobalBees raises $150M in Series A to build a Thrasio-like house of brands (Funding)

New Delhi-based investment venture GlobalBees on Monday said it raised $150 million in a mix of equity and debt in a Series A funding led by FirstCry and some of its investors, with additional participation from Lightspeed Venture Partners. This claims to be the largest Series A funding round by an Indian Thrasio style startup.

Spinny raises $108M in Series D round led by Tiger Global (Funding)

Spinny, the Gurugram headquartered used car retail platform startup, has raised $108 million in Series D round of funding led Tiger Global. The round also saw participation from Avenir Growth, existing investor General Catalyst, and others.

Redcliffe Life Diagnostics launches 4 new labs to cater to home-based diagnostics needs amid COVID-19

Noida-based Redcliffe Life Diagnostics — a unit of Redcliffe Lifetech US and India — on Monday said it launched four new labs in Patna, Indore, Raipur, and Noida to meet the increasing demand for diagnostic solutions from home amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.

[Funding Alert] Mynvax raises $4.2M in Series A round; will bring its warm COVID-19 vaccine to market

Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, incubated startup Mynvax signed definitive agreements to raise $4.2 million in its Series A funding round led by Accel. LetsVenture, 1Crowd, Kotak Investment Advisors, and a few early-stage angel investors also participated in this round.

[Funding alert] RiseBird raises Rs 4.1 Cr from SAB Holdings

HR tech startup RiseBird on Monday said it raised Rs 4.1 crore in funding from SAB Holdings. The startup — part of the Microsoft for Startup programme — also received Rs 1 crore worth of Azure credits.