Cometchat, Metastable Materials, Moneyboxx, Vigyos Centre close funding deals

DMI Finance closes $400M equity round led by Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group

Pure-play digital lender, DMI Finance Private Limited, has closed a $400 million equity investment round led by Japanese player Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group through its consolidated subsidiary MUFG Bank. 

Existing investors Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank Limited (SuMi TRUST Bank) also participated in the round, which included primary and secondary transactions. 

Delhi-based DMI Finance provides consumption, personal and MSME loans. The company says it covers 95% of India's pin codes and has an accessible customer base of 25 million, which is expected to grow to over 40 million in FY24. It is projected to disburse over $2.5 billion in FY24 across products.

Avanti Finance raises $24M in Series B funding round

Avanti Finance—a Bengaluru-based technology-led NBFC focused on financial inclusion—has raised $24 million in Series B funding from Rabo Partnerships and IDH Farmfit Fund. Existing investors Oikocredit and NRJN Trust also participated in the round. 

The investment will support Avanti's mission to provide frictionless, affordable, and hyperlocal credit products to smallholder farmers in India, it said in a statement. The investment in Avanti is in line with Rabo Partnerships' 'smallholder ecosystem' strategy, which focuses on providing data-driven finance solutions to smallholder farmers through local cooperatives and service providers. Rabo Partnerships is a wholly owned subsidiary of Rabobank Group, which is focused on financial inclusion and rural development.

Avanti, which was founded in 2016, says it has co-created more than 180 customised loan products to cater to different types of livelihood and income flows. The company has 75 partners including social enterprises, financial institutions, business correspondents, agritech players, and farmer producer prganisations, covering 24 states and 300 districts across India. 

User engagement startup CometChat raises Rs 40 Cr in venture debt

User engagement platform CometChat has raised Rs 40 crore in a venture debt round led by Utah-based Zions Venture Fund.  

The funds will be used to scale its product offerings, strengthen its presence in Europe, and expand data centres in the APAC region, CometChat said in a statement. "The aim is to raise capital for an extended runway of five years," said Anuj Garg, Co-founder and CEO, CometChat. 

Founded by brothers Anuj and Anant Garj in 2019, the Denver and Mumbai-based startup has raised Rs over 145 crore till date. It is backed by investors including Signal Peak Ventures, Matchstick Ventures, Range Ventures, and Unbound Ventures. 

The communications-platform-as-a-service (CpaaS) startup works with global enterprises to give them a full-fledged messaging and communications platform within apps and websites to improve user engagement.

Battery recycling startup Metastable Materials raises seed funds from Sequoia Surge

Bengaluru-based battery recycling startup, Metastable Materials, has raised a seed funding round led by Sequoia Capital India’s scale-up programme, Surge, along with the participation of Speciale Invest and Theia Ventures. 

Angel investors Akshay Singhal and Kartik Hajela (Co-founders at Log9), Archana Priyadershini (Co-founder at fwdSlash Capital), and Sanjeev Rangrass (Venture Partner of Unitus Ventures) also participated. 

The new funding will be channelled into recruitment to support Metastable’s manufacturing and industrial engineering functions, as well as for managing its supply chain and day-to-day operations, it said in a statement. 

Started in 2021 by Manikumar Uppala, Saurav Goyal and Shubham Vishvakarma, the battery recycling startup is developing storage and packaging solutions to safely move used batteries from consumers to recycling facilities. The company claims that its packaging is designed to mitigate fire risks using a multi-layered heat resistant structure, allowing batteries to be transported in bulk safely.

Last year, it opened a 21,000 sq ft urban mining facility located on the outskirts of Bengaluru. The facility can process 1,500 tonnes of material annually, which accounts for up to 6% of India’s recycling demand for Li-ion batteries, it added. 

Moneyboxx Finance raises over Rs 24 Cr equity to fund AUM growth

Moneyboxx Finance Limited, a BSE-listed Non-Banking Finance Company (NBFC) that provides unsecured and secured business loans to micro-entrepreneurs, said it has raised equity capital of over Rs 24 crore by way of private placement from non-promoter investors. 

With this, the company has raised capital of Rs 48.4 crore in FY23 (including warrants of Ra 3.36 crore) and total capital of Rs 93.5 crore since its inception.

The company plans to use the funds to expand its operations and tap growth opportunities in the loan segment under Rs 10 lakh. 

The company’s asset under management (AUM) reached Rs 345 crore in March 2023, growing by 185% over last year, driven by improving branch productivity and expansion, it said. Moneyboxx doubled its branch network to 61 branches across six states in FY23 and is targeting 100 branches and AUM of Rs 1,000 croresby FY24.

Started in 2019, Moneyboxx currently has 61 branches spread across six states: Rajasthan, Punjab, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, and Chhattisgarh. It provides unsecured and secured business loans ranging from Rs 100,000 to Rs 700,000 to individual borrowers for income generation purposes in essential and important segments (livestock, kirana, traders as well as micro-manufacturers) in Tier III and below towns.

Vigyos Centre raised seed funding from Japanese investors

Vigyos Centre, a fintech and adtech startup, secured seed funds to the tune of Rs 1 crore from Japanese investors, including employees from Softbank.

The funds will be invested in strengthening the research and development department, recruiting quality manpower, and building robust technology infrastructure. 

Incubated by Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Bangalore, Vigyos Centre was founded by Kanishq Gupta and Faiz Khan. The startup provides over 200 financial services in offline and online modes, in Tier II and III cities by the means of franchise setup, to small and middle enterprises. 

This includes loans, advertisement solutions, and consultancy services like assistance in filing patents, registering trademarks, etc. Further, a software portal is offered that allows businesses to advertise extra services to their customers, and also manage loan status, disbursed amount, loan repaying terms, taxation status, reminders around tax filing, and other features.

The company has a team of 30 experts who specialise in providing the businesses with the latest tools and utilities to enhance customer’s experience. 

“Many times the SMEs are not able to grow due to lack of funds. We have also found them developing cutting-edge technologies, but unfortunately due to a lack of procedural knowledge, they haven’t patented their innovation. This makes them vulnerable to theft and exploitation,” said co-founder Kanishq Gupta. 

“This funding will help us in upgrading our technological infrastructure that will help in reaching out to more SMEs,” he added.

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