[Funding roundup] CynLr, PlayVerse, CultYvate, Wagr raise early-stage capital

CynLr raises $4.5M to help build “universal” factories of the future

Deeptech startup CynLr raised $4.5 million in funding. The visual-robot platform eliminates the painful trap of machinery customisation that manufacturing — from electronics to automotive to consumer as well as warehouses — endure today. 

The startup aims to establish its business presence in the US, scale their team to 50+ members and build capacity to address the current pipeline of customers and deliver 100 robots annually.

Notable industry leaders including Srivats Ram (MD, Wheels India, TVS Group), Shriram Vijayaraghavan (President, Wheels India, TVS Group), Arvind Vasu (former Asia Head, ABB Technology Ventures), Nalin Advani (former CEO, Asia Pacific, GreyOrange Robotics), and Jayaram Pillai (former MD - India, Russia, Arabia, NI) also participated in the round.

Nazara invests $2.5M in US-based game fund BITKRAFT Ventures

Nazara Pte. Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of Nazara Technologies Limited, announced its investment in US-based game fund BITKRAFT Ventures. Nazara will invest $2.5 million in BITKRAFT Ventures out of which $0.875 million will be invested upfront, while the balance investment amount of $1.625 million will be deployed over a period of three years.

Nazara, with the above proposed investment, aims to build a network with Limited Partners (“LP”) as well as the investee companies to gain access into the global gaming ecosystem. Nazara aims to leverage the BITKRAFT Ventures network for three strategic initiatives. a) Potential partnerships and/ or potential investment into the company and its subsidiaries. b) Securing deal flow for future M&A from the current portfolio of the funds as well as inflow of deals coming to funds. c)Co-investment opportunities into highly sought-after founders/ companies.

ALSO READ

Trends in Web3 gaming that will change the dynamics of the industry completely

PlayVerse raises seed funding of $1.5M from Japan’s Akatsuki Inc

Technology-enabled entertainment company PlayVerse has raised $1.5 million as seed funding from Japanese gaming company Akatsuki Inc. The platform will be focusing on its mission of providing an enriching experience to the end consumers of the country. With an aim of increasing cross-border collaborations between India and Japan, PlayVerse looks to maximise the monetisation potential of popular Japanese IPs and brands in India.

SaaS platform Futwork raises $1M led by Blume Ventures, Simile Venture Partners

Frapp (Futwork) has raised $1 million led by Blume Ventures and Simile Venture Partners. Other participants include Silicon Valley based Riverside Ventures and key angels such as Shivakumar Ganesan (Founder - Exotel), and Phanindra Sama (Founder - RedBus). 

The funds will be used to build product and grow the team to provide the best on-demand sales as a service engine for companies, powered by work from home tele-callers. The company will focus on enterprise customers and large outbound calling use cases.

Futwork supports more than 20 customers including Khatabook, Tata, Shyplite, Growth School, Upgrad, Meesho, and Cashify.

CultYvate raises Rs 4.5 Cr in a Pre-Series A round from Sunicon Ventures, others

CultYvate, an IoT-enabled agritech platform by Farms2Fork Technologies Pvt Ltd, raised Rs 4.5 crore in a Pre-Series A round. The round was led by Sirius One Capital Fund, alongside other marquee investors, including Sunicon, The Chennai Angels, LV Angel Fund, and Prodapt Technology Holding.

The freshly-infused fund would be leveraged towards refining the technology to make the services more accessible, affordable and simpler. It would also be utilised for the expansion of geographical presence in Punjab, Haryana, and Maharashtra, as well as talent acquisition for developing AI/ML and remote sensing. 

CultYvate is also poised to devise solutions on monetisation opportunities that can minimise the cost of ownership for the farmers.

ALSO READ

This online petcare startup teaches you how to train your pets

Petcare startup Wagr raises Rs 4.2 Cr led by Inflection Point Ventures

Petcare super app Wagr has raised Rs 4.2 crore in a funding round led by Inflection Point Ventures and participation from IvyCap Ventures. The round also saw participation from Stanford Angels and Ashish Sharma (MD, Innoven Capital). 

The capital will be used to expand the pet products available on its ecommerce platform and scale the scope of vet consultations and healthcare offerings. The company will also be expanding its team and scaling up customer acquisition efforts.

Blue-collar recruitment portal WorkIndia raises funding from PERSOL Group

WorkIndia recently raised funding led by PERSOL Group. The fresh capital will be used to expand WorkIndia’s superior product across PERSOL’S operations in 13 countries and regions globally.

Launched in 2015 by Moiz Arsiwala, Kunal Patil, and Nilesh Dungarwal, WorkIndia not only aims to build a cavernous socio-economic impact on the 23.7 crore blue-collar individuals in India but also to the 120 crore blue-collared people across the globe.

It leverages a fully automated system rooted deep in dynamic algorithm-based hiring and geo-tagging that helps them to connect recruiters and job seekers without human intervention effectively.

Dawaa Dost first Indian startup to raise debt funding under UN SDG-3

Dawaa Dost, an omnichannel pharmacy retail chain for branded generic medicines, announced that it has become the first private company in India to raise funds from Grameen Impact for the social impact it is creating by contributing to the UN’s SDG-3 targets. The startup has raised debt funding from Grameen Impact, an impact-focused NBFC promoted by Grameen Capital.

Dawaa Dost has been granted funds for its efforts towards SDG-3, ‘Good Health and Well Being’. The SDG includes several sub-targets including 3.8 which pertains to access to safe, effective, quality, and affordable essential medicines and vaccines for all, and 3.D, which focuses on strengthening the capacity of all countries for early warning, risk reduction and management of national and global health risks.