[Funding roundup] Metadome, Keka HR, Flo Mobility, Yodacart raise early-stage deals

Today has been an extremely buzzing day for the Indian startup ecosystem when it comes to funding deals.

While B2B ecommerce startup Bizongo raised $110 million led by Tiger Global at a valuation of $600 million, payment gateway Razorpay has raised $375 million in a Series F round at a valuation of $7.5 billion. Also, Cars24 raised $400 million led by Alpha Wave Global at a $3.3 billion valuation. 

Now, let's take a look at smaller deals: 

Metadome raises $4 million from Chiratae Ventures, Lenskart, others

Metadome, a metaverse and AR builder platform for creators and brands, raised a $4 million pre-Series A funding round from Chiratae Ventures, eyewear retailer Lenskart’s Lenskart Vision Fund, and others. 

Founded in 2016 as Adloid by Kanav Singla, Prashant Sinha and Shorya Mahajan, Metadome focuses on bringing life-like augmented reality (AR) experiences to all smartphones. The firm will use the funds to expand its tech and product team and invite more creators to build a metaverse. 

Metadome aims to hostone1 billion experiences per day by 2023.

Keka HR raises $1.6 million through revenue-based financing from Recur Club

KekaHR raised $1.6 million from Recur Club, a platform where companies generating recurring revenue can access growth capital. 

The Hyderabad-based firm was founded in 2015 by Vijay Yalamanchili, a computer science graduate from the University of Delaware. Keka HR provides its software solutions to players including Hitachi, edtech unicorn Upgrade, fantasy gaming player Dream 11, and Ritesh Agarwal-led OYO. 

The firm will use the revenue generated from Recur Club in sales and marketing efforts for expansion outside India. 

Esah Tea raises $400,000 from NEDFi Ventures in pre-series A round

Mangaldoi-based Esah Tea raised $400,000 (Rs 3 crore) from NEDFI Venture Capital Ltd, a Guwahati-based financial institution. 

Founded in 2019 by Bijit Sarma, a mechanical engineering graduate, Esah Tea sources teas from local tea gardens across Assam and sells them through digital and physical stores. The firm currently sells Whole Leaf Black Tea, Green Tea, Oolong Tea, and White Tea, among others. 

Esah Tea will use the funds for the marketing and operations team. It also plans on launching new products and entering new markets.

Flo Mobility raises $400,000 from DevX Venture Fund, Blume Founder Fund, others

Bengaluru-based Flo Mobility raised $400,000 from DevX Venture Fund — a co-working space and accelerator, Venture Garage Angels and Blume Venture’s Blume Founder Fund, among others. 

Founded in 2019 by serial entrepreneurs Manesh Jain and Mohan Kumar, Flo Mobility builds stacks, which can be retrofitted into existing vehicles and equipment. The firm will deploy its stack to electric scooters, delivery bots, agri-weeders, surveillance bots, golf carts, and lawnmowers, among others. 

Flo Mobility will also use the funds to expand in other territories including the US, MIddle East, Europe, and East Asia.

Yodacart raises $225,000 pre-seed round from angel investor Ajith Daneil

Yodacart, which enables same-day delivery among other ecommerce services, raises $225,000 from Ajith Daniel, a New York-based angel investor. 

Started in 2019 as Adofix by Vikas Sharma, an MBA-graduate from XLRI Jamshedpur, Yodacart majorly provides last-mile and same-day delivery logistics services to ecommerce firms. The firm also eases decision-making on product purchasing using artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML).

The firm’s angel investor, Ajith, is also an XLRI alumnus. Yodacart is currently operational in Mumbai, Navi Mumbai and Thane district. The funds will be used to expand product categories, services in more markets apart from Maharashtra, and improve the platform.