[Funding roundup] EdgeGrid, FairPlum, Molitics, Paperplane, Yoro raise funds

EdgeGrid raises seed round led by Lightrock India

Hyderabad-based clean-tech platform for energy transition for last-mile users, EdgeGrid, has announced raising $6 million in a seed round of funding led by Lightrock India. The round also saw participation from Theia Ventures and other angel investors.

Founded in 2020 by Sunil Talla and Prasad Yerneni, EdgeGrid is a fully-integrated technology platform connecting sellers of clean energy generated from solar and wind resources with individuals, businesses and distribution companies that need energy services. 

The EdgeGrid platform enables last-mile customers such as households, small businesses, commercial building owners and electric vehicle charging networks to consume energy efficiently and generate it locally. It also works closely with energy distribution companies and distributed energy generators to reduce their costs and  helps increase the penetration of renewable energy.

 Cloud kitchen brand FairPlum raises $2 million

Cloud kitchen company FairPlum has announced raising $2 million in a seed round led by Unicorn India Ventures. The round also saw participation from Vivek Sirohi, Vice President of R&D at Unilever, Amith Agarwal, Co-Founder and CE of Agri-Bazaar, Dinshaw Family Office, and Anisha Subandh.

Founded in 2020 by former Unilever executives Rupesh Agarwal and Mitesh Thakkar as well as F&B specialist Mayank Tandon, FairPlum will use the capital for marketing, brand building, improving organisation facility and meeting working capital needs. The company plans to set up 100 cloud kitchen locations, a physical experience centre and five to ten kiosks in 2022, starting with Delhi NCR and Mumbai.

At present, FairPlum has launched five brands including Street Food Karvaan, Rollz Karvaan, Kebabi Karvaan, Unmarried Kitchen and Crafted. It also partners with popular food brands and food entrepreneurs across India to make available authentic food specialities and operates e-commerce as well as channel sales platform. 

 T-Hub invests Rs 1.5 crore across three startups

Hyderabad-based T-Hub has invested Rs 1.5 crore across three startups from Telangana government-backed T-Fund. 

A co-investment fund under the State Innovation Policy to support early stage startups in Telangana, T-Fund will disburse Rs 15 crore for the year 2021-22 across 15-20 startups every year with an average cheque size of Rs 25 lakh to Rs 1 crore each. The funding will be sponsored by the state ITE&C Department and T-Hub has been appointed the investment manager of the fund. 

Talent recommendation tool Perspect.ai has raised Rs 1 crore from the fund while millet-based protein shake brand Millet Bowl and nutraceutical brand Lauriko have raised Rs 25 lakh each.

Media company Molitics raises $1.5 million

Gurugram-headquartered Molitics Infomedia has raised $1.5 million from Dinesh Pandey led trading firm, SAAMAG Group.

Founded in 2017 by Anudeep Jaglan, Molitics has two apps – Molitics for journalists, social activists and political commentators, as well as Molitics+, a subscription based app connecting political leaders with common people. The latter allows people to put forward their issues to a particular leader or group of leaders. 

Molitics Infomedia has a presence across media, online publishing, political consultancy and public relations industries. The company will utilise the capital to expand its media, social and political application business. 

 Digital clinic Paperplane raises $400,000

Bengaluru-headquartered ‘digital clinic’ Paperplane has announced raising $400,000 in a funding round led by Cornerstone Venture Partners. The round also saw participation from LV Angel Fund and other seed investors. The company is backed by 100X.VC and was a part of its Class 05 cohort. 

The platform automates and simplifies clinic operations including appointment booking, prescription generate, and follow-ups, making patient management efficient for doctors, dentists, and medical practitioners. It also helps doctors engage with patients remotely.

Founded by Devansh Swarup, Dhruv Upadhyay, Aryan Pandey, and Varun Goel, Paperplane also enables patients to book lab tests and order medicines online. The platform claims to serve over 1000 medical practitioners, with over 11,000 consultations every day. 

Edtech platform Saarthi Pedagogy raises Rs 16 crore

Ahmedabad-based edtech company, Saarthi Pedagogy, has announced raising Rs 16 crore as part of its pre-Series A round of funding led by Pinnacle Investments, the family office of promoter Irfan Razack and CEO Venkat K Narayana of real estate group, Prestige. 

The funds will be used by the company for product enhancement, ramping up the technology team, content creation, and sales. 

Founded in August 2021 by Sushil Agrawal, Saarthi helps affordable schools bridge the digital gap, focusing on the K-12 segment. Its AI-based learning management system (LMS) can measure and improve learning outcomes and helps with auto-homework-generation customised for each student. Currently, it claims to be used by nearly 850 schools, covering 85,000 students.

Micro-social network Yoro raises an undisclosed amount from ah! Ventures

News-driven micro social media app Yoro has raised an undisclosed amount in a seed round from ah! Ventures’ angel platform. 

Yoro app lets users choose news-based content depending on their interests, share it with friends in their private space, and exchange information over chat within the private network. Founded in March 2021 by former Goldman Sachs executive Sapan Shah, Yoro is available across Play Store and Apple’s App Store.