Startup news and updates: Daily roundup (September 22, 2021)

Blume and Montane-backed Hybrent combines with Procurement Partners

E-procurement solution provider Hybrent has announced that it is combining with Procurement Partners, a provider of procure-to-pay (P2P) solutions for post-acute care and senior living communities. The combination of the two companies yields one of the largest procure-to-pay organisations in healthcare.

ZestMoney raises $50M in Series C investment from Zip Co (Funding)

Buy now, pay later platform ZestMoneyhas raised $50 million Series C funding from global Buy Now, Pay Later provider Zip Co Limited. This is part of a larger Series C fundraise, which will see participation from existing investors. Zip will acquire a minority shareholding in the company and a board seat as part of the investment.  

FrontRow raises $14M in Series A led by Eight Roads Ventures and GSV (Funding)

Learning and community platform FrontRow has announced that it has raised $14 million in Series A round led by Eight Roads Ventures and GSV, with participation from existing investors Lightspeed and Elevation Capital. The round also saw participation from angels such as Vishal Dhadlani, Raftaar, Kunal Shah, Gaurav Munjal, Farid Ahsan, and multiple leaders across the startup and entertainment world. 

Online sellers plan to invest in hiring, launch new products this festive season, says Amazon India study

A number of sellers on Amazon India's marketplace are planning to launch new products and invest on seasonal hiring to meet the increase in demand during the upcoming festive season, a study by the ecommerce platform said on Tuesday.

Amazon India shared findings of a study it commissioned (conducted by Nielsen) to understand the expectations of small and medium businesses (SMBs) selling on its marketplace from the upcoming festive season.

Fintech startup HappyCredit raises Rs 5 Cr in pre-seed round (Funding)

Bengaluru-based fintech startup HappyCredit, an instant cashback rewards application, has raised Rs 5 crore in a pre-seed round to accelerate its growth.

The funding round saw participation from Kunal Shah (Founder and CEO, CRED), Krishna Kumar (Founder and CEO, Simplilearn), as well as US and Canada based investors like Goodwater Capital, Magic Fund, MyAsiaVC, Alex Lin (CEO, Outlier), Jeremy Cai (CEO, Italic), Chris Ye (CEO, Uken Games), Saad Siddiqui (CEO, Bonsai), Andrew Ladouceur (COO, Bonsai), Charlie Feng (Co-founder, Clearco), among others.

Healthcare AI startup Endimension raises Rs 2.3 Cr from Inflection Point Ventures (Funding)

Healthcare AI startup, Endimension, incubated at IIT Bombay in 2018, has raised Rs 2.3 crore in a seed round from Inflection Point Ventures, an angel investment platform. The funds raised will be utilised to acquire talent for new product development, R&D and for boosting the sales team to fuel further growth.

Streaming social app Frenzi raises seed round from SucSEED Indovation Fund (Funding)

Streaming social app Frenzi secured an early-stage investment from Hyderabad-headquartered SucSEED Indovation Fund as part of its seed round. 

Launched in July 2020 by Balkrishna Singh and Harvinderjit Singh Bhatia, Frenzi is the gateway to the OTT world, providing a blend of recommendations based on one's social circles and layered with tech capabilities built on an AI/ML foundation.

Leverage Edu raises undisclosed amount from Vijay Shekhar Sharma, OYO's Rohit Kapoor, Mohit Garg and others (Funding)

Edtech startup Leverage Edu has raised an undisclosed amount of growth capital from Vijay Shekhar Sharma (Founder of Paytm), Rohit Kapoor (CEO of Oyo - India and Southeast Asia), Amanpreet Bajaj (Southeast Asia Head, Airbnb), Lalit Singh (Former COO at Udacity), and Mohit Garg (Founder of MindTickle), and others.

Pentathlon Ventures announces final close of maiden fund at Rs 76 Cr

Pentathlon Ventures, an early-stage B2B SaaS focused VC firm on Wednesday announced final close of its first Fund, which has secured investments totalling Rs 76 crore. The Fund has been oversubscribed.

According to an official statement, Pentathlon plans to invest in 20+ B2B SaaS startups in a year and make investments between Rs 75 lakh and Rs 3 crore on an average.

BeepKart raises $3M led by Stellaris Venture Partners, Chiratae Ventures (Funding)

BeepKart, a Bengaluru-based full-stack online retailer of used two-wheelers, has announced that it has raised a $3 million seed round led by Stellaris Venture Partners and Chiratae Ventures.

The round also saw participation from angel investors including tech founders like Varun Alagh (Mamaearth), Sahil Barua (Delhivery), Vivekananda Hallekere (Bounce), Kunal Shah (CRED), Ramakant Sharma (Livspace) and Rajesh Yabaji (BlackBuck). 

Google to spend $2.1 B on Manhattan, New York City campus acquisition

Google is planning to buy St. John's Terminal in New York City for $2.1 billion, making it the anchor of its Hudson Square campus. The announcement arrives with the city buffeted by the COVID-19 pandemic and most offices still largely unpopulated.

EVRE ties up with parking solutions brand Park+ to set up 10k charging stations

Leading EV charging infrastructure player EVRE on Tuesday said it has joined hands with smart parking solutions brand Park+ to set up 10,000 charging stations across the country over the next two years.

The long-term partnership will include collaboration in acquiring spaces for setting up smart charging and parking hubs for logistics and people mobility segments.

Unicorns Unacademy, Udaan, CRED top 2021 LinkedIn Top Startups India list

Learning platform Unacademy has topped the 2021 LinkedIn Top Startups India list followed by B2B ecommerce platform Udaan, and fintech firm Cred , as a predominantly remote reality during the pandemic accelerated digital transformation for firms and consumers alike.

Determined by the actions of more than 76 million professionals in India on the platform, the annual LinkedIn Top Startups list reveals 25 young emerging companies, where India wants to work now.

Flipkart launches Flipkart Xtra', aims to create over 4,000 jobs this festive season

Walmart-owned Flipkart on Wednesday said it is introducing a separate marketplace model 'Flipkart Xtra' to offer flexible earning opportunities to individuals, service agencies, and technicians.

Through the 'Flipkart Xtra' app on Google Play Store, Flipkart will provide a simple and seamless onboarding experience to interested individuals.

SaaS startup Lio raises $5M from Lightspeed, Sequioa (Funding)

SaaS startup Lio raised $5 million in a seed round led by Lightspeed India Partners and Sequoia Capital India, according to a release shared by the company.

The firm plans on using the funds to hire more engineers and increase users on its mobile app. Currently, the app claims to have over one million downloads and has also launched in Indonesia. The platform also operates in 10 Indian languages as it has 45 percent non-English speaking user base.

Flipkart to host the Big Billion Days from October 7-12

Walmart-owned Flipkart said it will host the eighth edition of its flagship event, The Big Billion Days (TBBD), from October 7-12 this year.

The six-day event will see millions of consumers, sellers, small businesses, artisans, Kiranas, brands and ecommerce ecosystem partners participating, a statement said.