Startup news and updates: Daily roundup (October 20, 2021)

CredAble raises $30M in Series B from Plutus Wealth, Oaks Asset Management (Funding)

Fintech firm CredAble on Wednesday said it has raised $30 million (about Rs 225.4 crore) in a Series B funding round, co-led by Plutus Wealth Management and its associates and existing investor Oaks Asset Management.

The funds raised in this round will be used to enhance CredAble's platform to innovate and penetrate deeper into the ecosystem, to provide working capital solutions that are tailor-made for small businesses, and to create innovative debt capital market products for corporates and financial institutions, a statement said.

Microsoft AI Innovate empowers startups in India to accelerate with artificial intelligence

In its efforts to support the startup ecosystem in the country, Microsoft has launched a programme for nurturing and scaling startups that are leveraging Artificial Intelligence (AI). 

Microsoft AI Innovate is a 10-week initiative that will support startups in India leveraging AI technologies, helping them scale operations, drive innovation, and build industry expertise. 

Total value of transactions up 23 pc QoQ to Rs 921,674 cr in Sept quarter: PhonePe

Fintech major PhonePe on Tuesday said the total payments value (TPV) of transactions processed by its platform grew 23.3 percent sequentially to Rs 921,674 crores, while the number of transactions grew by 33.6 percent to 526.5 crores in the September 2021 quarter.

Also, money transfers with UPI and merchant payments hit a new milestone of 200 crore transactions.

Global, domestic investors eager to invest in J-K: Goyal

Union minister Piyush Goyal on Tuesday said concerted efforts made by the government of Jammu and Kashmir have started showing results, with investors from India and abroad eager to invest in the Union Territory.

The Minister for Commerce and Industry; Consumer Affairs and Food and Public Distribution; and Textiles concluded his two-day visit to Pahalgam as part of the public outreach programme of the central government.

MarketWolf raises $5.5M in seed round (Funding)

MarketWolf, an intra-day options only trading app, on Tuesday said it has raised $ 5.5 million (about Rs 41.2 crore) in seed funding from a clutch of high profile individual investors.

MarketWolf had raised $1.7 million during its angel round, and has mopped up a total of $7.2 million to date, it added.

The latest funding will be utilised to build new products, expand the user base and attract top talent, the company said.

European drone developer FIXAR ties up with Paras Aerospace to enter Indian market

European commercial drone and software developer FIXAR on Tuesday announced its entry in the fast emerging domestic unmanned aerial vehicle market in collaboration with Paras Aerospace, a subsidiary of Paras Defence.

As a first step towards this partnership, the company will launch its flagship fixed wing drone FIXAR007 in the country, a release said.

Reliance Retail acquires majority stake in Ritu Kumar's firm Ritika

Reliance Retail Ventures Ltd (RRVL) has acquired a 52 percent stake in veteran couturier Ritu Kumar's firm Ritika Pvt Ltd for an undisclosed amount.

"RRVL's majority equity acquisition in Ritika Pvt Ltd included completely acquiring Everstone's 35 percent stake in the company," a joint statement said.

Wondrlab raises $7M in Pre-Series A round (Funding)

Martech startup Wondrlab has raised $7 million in Pre-Series A funding. The round was led by Pi Ventures LLP, Tanas Capital, Prodapt Holdings, and several independent investors including Priyamvada Balaji of Lucas Indian Service and Gopal Srinivasan of TVS Capital. 

The startup aims to use the funding towards driving inorganic growth, with a focus on tech, digital, programmatic advertising, and the building of martech platforms. Malabar Capital Advisors were the bankers for the fund raise.

IMF Chief Economist Gita Gopinath to leave job and return to Harvard University

IMF's Chief Economist Gita Gopinath will leave her job in January next year and return to the prestigious Harvard University, according to the global financial institution.

The 49-year-old prominent Indian-American economist had joined the International Monetary Fund (IMF) as the Chief Economist in January 2019.

SUN Mobility raises $50M from Vitol (Funding)

Electric vehicle energy infrastructure firm Sun Mobility on Wednesday said it has closed $50 million (nearly Rs 370 crore) funding by Vitol, a global independent energy trader and investor in zero-emission and renewable energy assets.

This strategic investment by Vitol will enable significant acceleration and expansion of Sun Mobility's services across India and select global markets, the company said in a statement.

Trifecta Capital invests Rs 400Cr in 4 Indian tech companies (Funding)

Trifecta Capital on Wednesday said it has invested Rs 400 crore (about USD 53 million) across four companies from its maiden equity fund, Trifecta Leaders Fund - I.

The fund has invested in ixigo, Good Glamm Group (MyGlamm), API Holdings (Pharmeasy), and Meesho, in line with its strategy to back growth to late-stage category-leading tech companies, a statement said.

Social gaming app Tamasha raises $3M led by Chiratae Ventures (Funding)

Social gaming app Tamasha has raised $3 million (Rs 22.5 crore) in pre-Series A funding led by Chiratae Ventures. The round also saw participation from prominent global venture capitalist and angels investors such as Incubate Fund India, 9Unicorns, Good Capital, Founderbank Capital, FirstCheque, PointOne Capital, Ice.vc, Nitish Mittersain (Founder, Nazara Technologies), Siddharth Jain (Founder, PlaySimple), Navkiran Singh (Founder, Baazi Games), Harsh Shah (Co-founder, Fynd), and Ramakant Sharma (Co-founder, Livspace). 

Govt to roll out 5-year strategic perspective plan to make India big tech player

The government is looking at rolling out a five-year strategic perspective plan to make India a significant tech player, Minister of State for Electronics and IT Rajeev Chandrasekhar said on Tuesday.

The minister added that the Ministry of Electronics and IT (MeitY) will partner with the private sector in areas not just limited to soliciting business for them but for future technology developments like quantum computing, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity and semiconductors, according to an official statement released by the ministry.

Digital lending platform Revfin raises $4M in pre-Series A round (Funding)

RevFin, a Delhi-based digital e-mobility consumer lending platform underwriting financially excluded and underserved segments, has recently raised $4 million in pre-Series A funding round in both equity and debt.

The funds will be utilised for extending loans to drive growth from the current monthly disbursement run-rate of Rs 3 crore to Rs 15 crore per month.