[Funding roundup] Automovill, Up, Spintly raise early-stage deals

Automovill raises Rs 2.15 Cr in pre-Series A round

Full-stack mobility solution provider Automovill has raised Rs 2.15 crore in a pre-Series A round led by Inflection Point Ventures. 

Following a hybrid and flexible business model, Automovill says it has the third-largest presence across India, catering to over 0.15 million customers. The startup has enhanced its technology offerings to strengthen and organise the auto after-service and maintenance industry.

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[Funding Alert] Bengaluru full-stack mobility startup Automovill raises $500K in bridge round

The startup will use the funds to expand its current scope of capital expenditure. Furthermore, it will strategically channel and smoothen operations and broaden its marketing scope, including carrying out ongoing research to fix the challenges of car servicing by introducing a hassle-free, open, and affordable solution via a technological platform and assisting in the accumulation of orders and creating direct and indirect jobs within the ecosystem. 

Founded in 2015, Automovill is present in 20 Indian cities, catering to retail customers and pan-India clients from used car sellers, ride-hailing, and auto insurance companies through its network of over 200 workshops.

Zerodha’s Rainmatter invests in smart connected home appliance company Up

Consumer hardware startup Up (previously React Labs) raised $500,000 as part of its pre-seed funding round from Nithin Kamath-led Rainmatter. Founded by Mahek Mody and Mohit Sharma, the Bengaluru-based startup closed its pre-seed round at a total of $1.3 million. 

Up received investment from co-founders of Ather Energy, Unacademy, the Stanford Angels, and Entrepreneurs India. Additionally, early Tesla investor Tim Draper was an early participant in the company’s pre-seed funding round. Moreover, consumers from the brand’s beta testing programme have also turned into mini-angel investors.

The startup will utilise the capital to execute its go-to-market strategy of ‘upliance’-delishUp. The device used at nearly 250 Bengaluru homes features a cutting-edge touch screen with unlimited in-built guided recipes, coupled with a jar that heats and cooks and offers controlled chopping, stirring, and other culinary functions.

Up is part of Qualcomm’s 2022-23 accelerator programme through the Qualcomm Design in India Challenge (QDIC). The technical collaboration will help unlock its potential in smart connected consumer technology in Indian homes.

IoT tech startup Spintly raises $2.5M in pre-Series A round

SaaS-based physical access control and smart buildings startup Spintly has raised $2.5 million in a pre-Series A funding round. The round saw participation from Lets Venture, Accel Nest, SucSEED Indovation, RiSo Capital, Defang Technology, 91 Ventures, Kyto Technology and Life, and a few other notable angel investors and groups, including Dheeraj Pandey, Co-founder and CEO of DevRev, and former Founder and CEO of Nutanix.

Spintly will use these funds to focus on its growth in the global market, including the US, and strengthen its R&D capabilities. So far, the startup has raised $3.5 million.

Started in 2018 by Rohin Parkar and Malcolm Dsouza, Spintly launched its first products in early 2020. It offers a frictionless, wireless, smartphone-based physical access control solution to commercial and residential buildings.

The adoption of Spintly products increased in the post-pandemic phase due to the increased need for contactless and cloud-based solutions. Its products are adopted by co-working spaces, managed commercial office spaces, and small to medium-sized enterprises.

The startup says its revenue has grown by 500% in 2022 compared to 2021 and has more than 100,000 users on the platform.

Fintech startup Bold Finance raises $1.5M in seed round

Fintech startup Bold Finance raised $1.5 million in a seed round led by Kae Capital, with participation from existing investor Antler India and several angel investors, including Nitin Gupta (Uni Cards), Ishpreet Gandhi (Stride Ventures), Shashikant Dola (McKinsey & Company), Tushar Mehndiratta (Avail Finance), and Vadiraj Kulkarni (CEO, ITC PSPD), among others. 

Founded by IIT Roorkee alumni Nikhil Jain and Durgesh Suthar, the Mumbai-based startup aims to enable financial freedom for Bharat by improving credit availability for users from the lower and middle-income segments of Tier II and III cities.  

Bold Finance, which offers gold loans, is building a tech platform and operations layer that empowers jewellers to work with multiple banks to dispense loans in a regulated manner and grow their businesses sustainably. These jewellers operate as Bold Finance branches. The benefits to customers are low-interest rates, easy access to capital, transparency, and convenient repayments via mobile app.

The company has opened 50+ branches in Mumbai suburbs within seven months.

Ayu Health receives additional funding, enters Hyderabad

Ayu Health Hospitals, a healthcare startup with a network of 100+ hospitals across India, on Thursday announced its maiden entry into Hyderabad. With the aim of providing healthcare for all, the company will be adding more hospitals to its existing portfolio of 19 hospitals and 1,500 beds in the region.

Recently, the company secured an additional $5 million on the heels of its Series B funding secured earlier in the year by investors such as Fundamentum Partnership, Stellaris Venture Partners, and Vertex Ventures. The company is making its entry into the Hyderabad market through its asset-light business model with the objective of building a network of high-quality hospitals through transparent pricing, insurance provision, and standard treatment protocols. 

Ayu Health will soon start working with a few of the top hospitals, such as Sia Life, TX Uppal, and Vrinchi hospitals in Hyderabad, to bring quality healthcare to the masses through the standardisation of healthcare services provided by neighbourhood hospitals.

InPrime Finserv raises $1.45M in seed round from InfoEdge Ventures, others

Bengaluru-based tech-enabled financial services startup InPrime Finserv has raised $1.45 million in a seed round from InfoEdge Ventures, Titan Capital, Kettleborough VC, and other investors.

InPrime will focus on the emerging financial needs of the prime layer of customers within the informal segment. The firm plans to channel this fundraise to ramp up hiring, conclude product development and initiate the process to apply for an NBFC license from the Reserve Bank of India.

Some of the notable angel investors are senior industry leaders like Samit Ghosh (Founder and former MD, Ujjivan SFB), Pritesh Gupta (Managing Partner, MyAsiaVC), Shashank Kumar (Co-founder, DeHaat), Satish Perala (Co-founder, Cybrilla), as well as Amit Mantri and Savi Jain (Co-founders, 2point2 capital).

(This article will be updated with the latest news throughout the day.)