Startup news, funding and updates: daily roundup (Feb 18, 2022)

Cashify strengthens leadership team by elevating core employees

Cashify, a re-commerce marketplace for smartphones and old gadgets, has elevated Siddhant Dhingra to the role of Co-founder and Chief Business Officer - Global Markets. The startup has also promoted Akash Chauhan to the role of Chief Operating Officer (COO) and Shubh Darpan to Chief Revenue Officer, it said in a statement.

Nakul Kumar, Co-founder and former COO, will be taking charge of the marketing portfolio as the newly appointed Chief Marketing Officer.

The Gurugram-based company was founded in 2013 by Nakul, Mandeep Manocha, and Amit Sethi, with a focus on refurbishing old phones. The move will strengthen the leadership team at Cashify for its next phase of growth. The startup will expand its marketplace to include more categories, it said in the statement.

GreyOrange launches in-store inventory tracking SaaS app

GreyOrange, which offers Artificial Intelligence (AI)-driven software and robots for warehouse management, launched its mobile-first Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) product for retail stores called gStore.

The app, available on Android and iOS, offers a tablet-based store operations feature for store and area. Other features include a real-time view of inventory, omnichannel tasks and, backend store activities.

The app stores and manages in-store pickups besides providing tech-enabled personalisation for in-store shoppers, the company said in a statement.

The gStore backend integrates and acts on real-time data from the Internet of Things (IoT) devices, including RFID readers, digital tags, overhead cameras, and smart mirrors. The subscription SaaS platform also integrates data from existing retail systems to improve daily work and inventory decisions in stores.

More than 65 pc students prefer classroom learning: Shiksha MBA Outlook Report

Over 65 percent of MBA students preferred classroom learning over online lectures, and over 60 percent of business schools are likely to start offline classes by February 2022, the latest MBA Outlook Report released by InfoEdge-backed college selection platform, Shiksha, said.

It added that MBA aspirants were willing to look beyond B-schools in major cities due to a change in priorities driven by the COVID-19 pandemic. Many of them are also willing to study MBA in their home state or town rather than relocating.

While MBA in finance continues to be a top choice for aspirants, MBA in human resources has replaced marketing as the second most popular course compared to the previous year.

Among the MBA aspirants, CMAT is the second most popular MBA entrance exam after CAT. Entrance examinations, including CAT, MAT, SNAP, NMAT, and IBSAT, saw a decline in popularity among aspirants, ranging between 15 to 50 percent, the report added.

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[Funding alert] Education focused fintech startup Propelld raises $35M in Series B led by WestBridge Capital

Open world metaverse platform Bullieverse raises $4M in funding

Open world metaverse platform Bullieverse raised $4 million from a clutch of investors, including OkxBlockdream Ventures, Fundamental Games, 6th Man Ventures, C2 Ventures, Gate Labs, GravityX, Roark Fund, LD Capital, Rainmaker Games, Good Games Guild, Gen Block, Shima Capital, DWeb3, and ExNetwork.

The company will use the capital to expand its ecosystem and increase its customer base. It will also build intuitive features, create utility, and NFTs.

The open metaverse of Bullieverse allows gamers, digital creators and investors to seamlessly interact with each other. Users can make decisions about the future virtual ecosphere, earn rewards, and share their gaming experience in an immersive environment.

Fundfina raises $1.3M in seed round

Fundfina, a digital lending platform for medium and small enterprises, raised $1.3 million in a seed round from LetsVenture AIF Syndicate led by Pratekk Agarwaal, former CBO at BharatPe. Other investors, including Telama Investment, NAFA Capital, Hem Angels, and all returning investors, also participated in the round.

In January 2020, the startup had raised $0.3 million from a group of angels and impact investors.

Founded in 2019 by Rahul Tripathy, Nishant Bhaskar, Bikram Bajaj, and Abhijit Naik, Fundfina offers marketplace services to bank and NBFC partners to extend financing to MSMEs. The company offers its API to enterprises to set up a lending platform for customers and works with financial advisors, offering them commissions on referrals and matching their customers to suitable financing needs.

The startup will use the funds to scale up its marketplace and to roll out new products, including business-to-business checkout, MSME credit cards, small business insurance, and micro-savings, it said in a statement.