Startup news and updates: daily roundup (August 15, 2022)

The Health Factory raises Rs 2 Cr in seed round

The Health Factory, a Mumbai-based food brand, raised Rs 2 crore in a seed round of funding from Venture Garage, Happilo founder Vikas Nahar, and other angel investors.

Founded by Vinay Maheshwari, Jos Vast and Mohit Sankhala, The Health Factory has introduced a range of bread which come in the form of whole wheat, multi-protein, and zero maida bread.

“We will use the funds raised to scale and streamline our operations and manufacturing process, improve our IT infrastructure, build a talented team, and ramp up our marketing efforts. We are excited to take this much-loved range of food products to other cities soon,” said The Health Factory co-founder and CEO Vinay Maheshwari.

Healthcare drone pilot project launched in Arunachal Pradesh

Redwing Labs, a startup that makes vertical take-off and landing drones in association with SAMRIDH Healthcare Blended Financing Facility, has started a trial to utilise drones to provide healthcare services in Seppa, a town in Arunachal Pradesh.

The healthcare drone pilots in Arunachal Pradesh are an outcome of the state’s partnership with the World Economic Forum’s ‘Medicines From the Sky’ (MFTS) initiative. Supporting this initiative is also the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and implemented by IPE Global.

The drone network is being set up on a limited experimental basis to pilot aerial healthcare deliveries in the state. The network would enable diagnostics and emergency treatments in the local health centers, a statement noted.

By delivering medical supplies up to eight times faster than road-based logistics, the drone network would serve the population of East Kameng by offering a better quality of care in the interior blocks.

The SAMRIDH initiative was established during the COVID-19 pandemic to support healthcare enterprises and innovators across India implementing market-based health solutions. It provides grants and facilitates debt financing to healthcare initiatives to support scale-up of high impact health solutions that can improve access to quality healthcare for vulnerable communities.

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Glance targets viewer base of 25M for Hyperlive shows

Softbank-backed Inmobi's Glance expects the viewer base of its Hyperlive shows to touch 25 million within a year, according to a report by PTI.

The company at present has 10 million viewers of Hyperlive shows which run on the lock screen of mobile phones.

"Currently, around 10 million viewers watch Hyperlive shows daily. Over the next few months, Glance expects the number to go up to 25 million daily," Rohan Choudhary, Vice President and General Manager, Glance Feed said.

Glance claims to have a presence on around 90% of smartphones in the country.

The company's Hyperlive platform has been rolled out on select smartphones of Xiaomi, Samsung etc, and will be gradually rolled out on devices of around seven to eight brands. On Independence Day, Glance hosted 30 Hyperlive shows on Independence day to celebrate the spirit of India, including a show featuring Commonwealth Games medal winners including Tulika Maan, Eldehose Paul, Sushila Devi, Sagar Ahlawat etc.

In order to commemorate the occasion, Glance lit up all its lock screens with India's national flag making.

Trell eyes break even by end of the current fiscal

Influencer-led video commerce platform Trell is not being investigated for any financial irregularity, said its co-founder Pulkit Agrawal, as he looks to steer the startup to reach break-even by the end of the current fiscal, according to a report by PTI.

Opening up on reports of a cohort of investors ordering a forensic audit of Trell, Pulkit said speculations about any financial irregularities are "totally baseless and unfounded".

"There was no investigation but an internal review done by the company itself. Growing at a rapid pace has its challenges, and after an independent review, we have been further realigning our systems and processes to ensure more robust and sustained growth," he said.

Founded by Pulkit Agrawal, Bimal Kartheek Rebba, Arun Lodhi, and Prashant Sachan (who exited the company in mid-2020), Trell allows users to create content related to beauty or lifestyle products and post it on the platform.

The startup makes money from its 'Trell Shop', which is an ecommerce marketplace that lists more than 600 beauty and lifestyle products. It also takes a cut from collaborations between brands and content creators.