[Funding roundup] The Meat Chop, Mocero Health, Trace, others raise early-stage capital

The Meat Chop raises Rs 7 Cr from clutch of angel investors

Chennai-based local butcher stores sourcing startup The Meat Chop raised Rs 7 crore in a seed funding round, which saw participation from Mohan K, Meenakshi Sundaram, and Jaikumar R (Co-founders, IppoPay), Ankur Agarwal (Co-founder, Dunzo), Rahul Mahipal (Founder, Capitar Ventures), Omar Bin Brek (Founder and CEO, Foloosi), Amith D’Souza (Google), and other global angel investors.

The startup will use the funds to expand, enhance technology and supply chain infrastructure, and build a strong team and brand. The platform sees a 50 to 60% growth in sales volume, reducing dump by 90% and clocking nearly Rs 1.5 crore on average in annual sales.

Founded in January 2021 by four friends Appaas, Kalyan, Navas, and Yasar, The Meat Chop manages procurement, marketing, promotions, and merchandising for the butcher stores on its platform through tech systems and a standard operating plan.

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Fintech startup Decentro raises $4.7M in Series A funding round

NeoGrowth raises $20M via ECBs from DFC

NBFC company NeoGrowth Credit has secured funding from the United States International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) for $20 million via an External Commercial Borrowing (ECB) route.

DFC has a large investment portfolio in India, including in health, agriculture, renewable energy, climate solutions, and other critical sectors. This funding commitment is for five years with a two-year moratorium on principal payment and will be utilised for onward lending to SME customers as per ECB guidelines.

Play-to-earn NFT metaverse Trace raises $3.5M

Play-to-earn NFT metaverse project Trace raised over $3.5 million in a seed round through private investments by HNI investors.

Additionally, Trace also raised an additional $500,000 through NFT sales on the platform. These investments will be used to develop the metaverse, work on marketing and acquisitions, and brand development.

The project, currently a host to over 100,000 members across local communities, has announced the appointment of Indian crypto influencer, Abhyudoy Das, as its advisor. Trace is a geolocation-based metaverse, which utilises AR technology and is accessible via smartphones.

Healthtech company Mocero Health raises Rs 1.3 Cr in seed round

Healthtech startup Mocero Health—which assists hospitals in going omnichannel and expanding their services beyond physical catchment areas—raised Rs 1.3 crore in a seed round led by Inflection Point Ventures (IPV).

The startup will use the funds for product development and widen its sales channel to build a digital health platform with seamless data and service interchange.

Started in 2017 by SPJIMR alumnus N. Palaniappan, Mocero Health is incubated at the Healthcare Technology Innovation Centre (HTIC), IIT Madras Research Park (IIT-MRP).

The startup helps through digital transformation in care delivery, engagement, and connected care, focusing on patient-centric and personalized care, telehealth, at-home care, omnichannel connectivity, transparency, and interoperability.

Optiwise.ai raises $1.3M led by StartupXseed Ventures

California-based marketplace optimization platform Optiwise.ai raised $1.3 million led by StartupXseed Ventures.

With this, Optiwise.ai will continue to invest in its product, build a world-class team, and expand its current customer base beyond North America to other emerging ecommerce regions globally.

Optiwise.ai assists brands and retailers in scaling their ecommerce business across multiple marketplaces by combining the power of machine learning and artificial intelligence to provide actionable insights and optimize performance across marketplaces.

Supply Port secures undisclosed pre-seed funding

SupplyPort, a B2B brand providing supply chain solutions for restaurants, raised undisclosed pre-seed funding from Anant Agrawal and Sanjeev Agrawal (Directors of MMG Restaurants).

Founded by Samarthya Bhargava and Manoj Malhotra, Supply Port offers technology-based inventory management, just-in-time inventory replenishment, and a one-stop-shop for restaurant supplies.

At present, the startup services in Delhi-NCR to about 200 restaurants, and plans to expand to over 30,000 restaurants across the top 40 cities in India in the next three years.

Through this investment, Supply Port plans to focus on technology upgradation to ensure an efficient supply chain system specifically designed for the hospitality industry. Expansion plans will require the acquisition of a professional team to build an organisation that doesn’t crumble under the burden of exponential growth.

Inflexor Ventures invests in A5G Networks

Tech-focused VC fund Inflexor Ventures invested an undisclosed sum in A5G Networks that develops cloud-native 4G, 5G, and WiFi converged core software. This investment is an extension of the seed round raised in June 2022 from the Bharat Innovation Fund.

The startup will use the funds to augment its team, enhance its technological architecture, and expand its business across international markets such as North America, Latin America, and APAC.

A5G has developed an autonomous and distributed 5G packet core infrastructure, microservices-based, ultra-lightweight, plug-and-play, and allows multi-cloud deployment.

It is founded by Rajesh Mishra, Kaitki Agarwal, Kartik Raval, and Ravi Nathwani – a team of serial entrepreneurs who pioneered the OpenRAN revolution as the founders of Parallel Wireless. The founders hold 170+ patents between them.

Tajurba raises $100K through private placement funding 

Gurugram-based startup Tajurba raised $100,000 in its first round of private placement funding, where the investors were primarily members of the Tajurba community.

The startup will use the funding to expand its geographical reach and collaborate closely with MSMEs in Tier II towns and cities. It also plans to set up a special wing for women entrepreneurs for mentoring and coaching.  

Tajurba was founded in 2017 by Suresh Mansharamani and Uma Mansharamani, and its members are present across more than 70 Indian cities, New Zealand, and the Middle East.

With a focus on training and up-skilling MSMEs across sectors, Tajurba also offers networking, marketing, and community commerce assistance, and one-on-one coaching to family businesses, first-generation business owners, and startup founders, who work closely with prominent mentors on board.

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