Startup news and updates: daily roundup (Jan 8, 2022)

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella joins fintech unicorn Groww as investor and advisor

Bengaluru-based online trading platform Groww on Saturday announced that Chairman and CEO of Microsoft Corporation Satya Nadella has joined the company as an investor and advisor.

“Groww gets one of the world’s best CEOs as an investor and advisor. Thrilled to have @satyanadella join us in our mission to make financial services accessible in India,” Groww Co-founder and CEO Lalit Keshre said in a Twitter post.

The startup has not disclosed the financial details of the deal yet.

Agility Ventures to launch SEBI-approved Rs 450 Cr angel fund

Angel investor network Agility Ventures has received approvals from the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) for an angel fund with a total corpus of Rs 450 crore ($60 million).

The Agility Ventures network, which is known to invest in startups or early-stage businesses in industries such as education, technology, healthcare, ecommerce, automobiles, electric vehicles, robotics, agritech and manufacturing among others, is looking to deploy the entire corpus in the next three to four years.

For the year 2022, the company set a target of increasing their network, which currently stands at 1,500+ angel investors by 4,000. With the AIFs, it is looking at deploying Rs 75 crore this year in over 50 startups, which will also include fintech, cybersecurity, and crypto.

The Yarn Bazaar bags Rs 1 Cr at Shark Tank India

Mumbai-based The Yarn Bazaar, a one-stop yarn solution, has raised Rs 1 crore in funding in the first season of Shark Tank India.

The investors included Peyush Bansal (Lenskart), Ashneer Grover (BharatPe), Anupam Mittal (People Group) and Aman Gupta (Boat).

This funding will allow the startup to further offer better service to yarn buyers and suppliers PAN India.

Started operations in 2019, the company has done a business worth Rs 230+ crore on 100 percent advance payment.