Startup news and updates: daily roundup (March 10, 2022)

Ninjacart acquires SaaS-based smart solutions provider Tecxprt

Ninjacart, an agri-platform that leverages technology to organise the agriculture ecosystem, has acquired Tecxprt.

Tecxprt has extensive experience integrating SaaS-based end-to-end solutions, enabling the creation of powerful networks. With the acquisition of Tecxprt as well as their team under its umbrella, Ninjacart hopes to expand the opportunities for participants, thereby contributing towards the enhancement of the agri–ecosystem. 

As part of the acquisition, Ninjacart will obtain direct access to Tecxprt's technology suite, which will accelerate the digitisation within the organisation's ecosystem. Tecxprt's technology-focused solution enables agri participants to digitise their operations and communicate more efficiently with their stakeholders. On the other hand, their social network software will facilitate real-time communication across the food supply chain, from farmers, resellers, retailers, consumers to supply chain participants.

In light of the acquisition, Thirukumaran Nagarajan, Co-founder and CEO of Ninjacart said, ‘‘Ninjacart aims to build the largest agri platform. We are investing significantly and accelerating the technology-driven disruption in agri commerce space. Our acquisition of Tecxpert is a first step towards the same. Over the last five years, Tecxprt has demonstrated excellence in technology, customer understanding and relentless execution. We are thrilled to have the Tecxprt team onboard this journey and transform the lives of agri value participants together.”

SUN Mobility appoints Anant Badjatya as new India CEO

Sun Mobility, one of the leading providers of energy infrastructure and services for electric vehicles (EVs), on Thursday announced the appointment of Anant Badjatya as the CEO for its India business. 

“With over 21 years of professional experience and a stellar career record in scaling up and growing businesses, we are confident Anant will surely lead SUN Mobility into the next phase of growth and help us in our aim to position the company as an industry leader in the Electric Vehicle energy infrastructure space”, said Chetan Maini, Co-founder and Vice-Chairman, SUN Mobility speaking about the appointment.

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Anant is a general management professional and comes with over two decades of global experience across diverse industries. In his last role, Anant served as the Group CEO with Stallion Group, a 51-year-old diversified conglomerate in West Africa with interests in automotive assembly and distribution, steel, packaging, fertilizer blending, and rice milling.

Curefoods acquires majority stake in Frozen Bottle

Cloud kitchen company Curefoods, which houses brands like EatFit, YumLane, CakeZone, and Great Indian Khichdi, announced a majority stake acquisition of the leading milkshake brand, Frozen Bottle. 

Started in 2017 by first-time entrepreneur Pranshul Yadav, Frozen Bottle is one of the leading brands in the cold milkshakes and dessert space and is now one of India’s trendiest milkshake brands. It is currently present in over 25 cities with over 110 outlets, and offers a wide selection of signature thick shakes, milkshakes, and one-of-its-kind ice cream jars that are completely vegetarian.

Under Curefoods, Frozen Bottle is set to expand its dessert portfolio, becoming the single stop-shop for all cold dessert products. More snack-based brands are expected to augment the Frozen Bottle portfolio to cater to a wider audience with varying needs, both via physical and online channels. Curefoods also aims to expand Frozen Bottle’s footprint taking it to a total of 50 cities with over 250 outlets. 

With this significant development, Curefoods claims to be India’s largest dessert company in the cloud kitchen space. Curefoods’ dessert portfolio now houses brands like CakeZone, Frozen Bottle, Lubov Patisserie, Cupcake Noggins, and Iceberg.

Actyv.ai launches ‘Working Students’ programme in India

Actyv.ai, an AI-powered Enterprise SaaS platform with BNPL for B2B embedded, announced the launch of ‘Working Students’ programme in India. The company plans to create an environment for students to gain professional experience as they pursue their studies, thereby enabling them to network and shape their future careers.

Commenting on the development, Raghunath Subramanian, Co-founder and Global CEO, Actyv.ai said, 

“We at Actyv.ai have always believed in breaking the traditional boundaries and building something unique for the upliftment of the businesses and society at large. In sync with the same and to create a strong foundation for India’s Techade, we believe now is the time to handhold and engage with our country’s emerging talent pool straight from the classes and groom them for a better future.”