Startup news and updates: daily roundup (July 19, 2023)
YourStory presents daily news roundup from the Indian startup ecosystem and beyond. Here's the roundup for Wednesday, July 19, 2023.
Funding
Blitz raises $3M in seed round
Logistics startup , previously known as Grow Simple, has raised $3 million in a seed round led by India Quotient. The round also saw participation from Better Capital, First Cheque, Titan Capital, and other angel investors such as Farid Ahsan, Abhinav Jain, Rahul Dash, and Kunal Shah.
Founded by Gaurav Piyush, Yash Sharma, and Mayank Varshney two years ago, Blitz provides fast and cost-effective delivery services for sellers. It offers same-day delivery for orders placed before 3 pm.
“With simple-to-use products and high levels of operational excellence, we enable enterprises and medium-size brands with the ability to orchestrate faster deliveries at efficient costs,” Mayank Varshney, Co-founder and CEO, Blitz, said in a statement.
Going forward, Blitz plans to simplify the growth journey of ecommerce sellers in India by implementing advanced technologies such as GenAI (Artificial Intelligence) and AR (Augmented Reality).
Other news
Indian EV startup partners with Saudi Venture Studio
Bengaluru-based , an Electric Vehicle (EV) Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM), has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Saudi India Venture Studio. The MoU, signed at the G20 YEA summit in New Delhi, aims to deepen the private sector's strategic investment relationship with India.
"We are delighted to join hands with Saudi India Venture Studio, founded by Mansour Alsanooni, under the aegis of His Royal Highness Prince Fahad Al Saud at the G20 YEA summit in New Delhi, India," said Siddhartha Bagri, CEO, Pravaig Dynamics.
One of the key objectives of the partnership is to establish a robust left-hand drive production base capable of manufacturing up to one million units of vehicles, which can effectively catering to the demands of the GCC, Europe, and the USA.
Tiger Analytics appoints Radhakrishnan Rajagopalan to lead data engineering, tech practices
Tiger Analytics, an AI and advanced analytics consulting services provider, has appointed Radhakrishnan Rajagopalan as the head of Tiger's Data Engineering and Technology Practices. Radhakrishnan will be responsible for driving innovation and development of data and AI solutions for enterprise clients.
In his new role, Radhakrishnan will shape Tiger's data and AI offerings for modern enterprises, focusing on enhancing existing capabilities and exploring new areas. He will also provide strategic guidance for customers' data & AI journeys.
Previously, Radhakrishnan held the position of Senior Vice-President and Global Head of Technology Services at LTIMindtree, where he led various service lines including data and insights, interactive, digital engineering, and quality engineering. He has also held leadership positions at Cognizant, PWC, and IBM, overseeing programme management, technology delivery, product engineering, competency, and leadership development on a large scale.
Park+ joins hands with Google Cloud
Gurugram-based super-app for car owners, , has partnered with Google Cloud to access unique integration of open source software needs and other Google Cloud offerings including Cloud SQL, Google Kubernetes Engine, Anthos, and Global Load Balancer.
Park+ is using Google Cloud services to build custom integrations, dashboards, or orchestration pipelines. It also aims to create solutions for unique digital and conversational commerce experiences for its customers using machine learning and artificial intelligence.
“With Google Cloud, the latency of our applications decreased by more than 12% from 100 minutes to 88 minutes. We will be saving more than 900 hours in a year, which we previously invested in maintaining and managing open source infrastructure,” said Hitesh Gupta, Co-founder and Chief Technology Officer, Park+.
LEAD to enter the low-fee school segment
LEAD, a school edtech company, plans to enter the low-fee school segment in India. The company's decision aligns with its mission to cater to a student base of over 25 million and 60,000 schools by 2028.
The company said that it is well-equipped to cater to various school segments, including low-fee schools in Tier III and Tier IV towns and villages, as well as medium-fee and premier schools in metropolitan areas and large cities.
“We've got to design solutions for the low-fee schools so that every child can access an excellent education. With this latest innovation, now has a solution that will serve the needs of over 1 lakh schools in India,” said Sumeet Mehta, Co-founder and CEO, LEAD.
LEAD takes a comprehensive approach to education, offering a teacher capability system to equip teachers with internationally benchmarked tools and resources, smart class solutions, an integrated curriculum to enhance student learning and confidence, and smart school systems to optimise administrative tasks.
Power Gummies invests $2M to establish a manufacturing plant in Gurugram
Health supplements provider Power Gummies has made an investment of approximately $2 million in the establishment of a new manufacturing plant in Manesar, Gurugram. The company aims to expand its production capabilities in response to the growing demand for its innovative supplements, while also reinforcing its commitment to maintaining high standards of quality and excellence, the company said.
The plant has a manufacturing capacity of 10,000 bottles per day and is equipped with all the latest technology required for production. This is the company's first move into in-house production of vitamin gummies specifically designed for kids.
“This investment represents a significant step forward in our journey to offer top-notch health supplements that cater to diverse needs,” said Divij Bajaj, Founder and CEO, .
Brigade REAP onboards 5 startups for its 14th cohort
Proptech-focused real estate accelerator programme Brigade REAP has onboarded five startups from 150 applications for its 14th cohort. The domains covered include robotics, alternate construction material, retail, plastic waste management, and hospitality. According to a statement, this cohort stands as one of the most diverse for Brigade REAP. The startups that were chosen are Vividobots, Uni-Am, Spatic, Paving+, and Raho.
“We are excited to welcome the new startups to Brigade REAP's 14th Cohort. Their innovative ideas and solutions align perfectly with the evolving needs of the real estate industry,” said Angie Mahtaney, Chief Business Mentor, REAP.
Of the 62 startups that Brigade REAP has mentored since inception, 40% have been successful in raising funds from external sources, all of them having received orders from the real estate business ecosystem.
Simplilearn appoints three senior leaders to key positions
, an online bootcamp for digital skills training, has appointed three senior leaders to key roles. Priyam Sachan has been appointed as Vice President-Marketing in India, Kevin Adams as Vice President-Commercial Sales in America, and Todd Schuster as Associate Director of Programme Management.
Sachan, an alumnus of IIT Kanpur, has a decade of experience in marketing and has previously worked with Sahicoin, Zomato, and Gaana. Adams brings a wealth of experience in business development and sales and has worked for 15 years in the edtech industry. Schuster has 12 years of expertise in customer success and retention.
SaaS startup Plus91Labs acquires Pixely
, a cloud consulting and IT service provider in India, has acquired Pixely (Internet X Pte Ltd), a company specialising in customised solutions for the Southeast Asian market.
The acquisition of Pixely enhances Plus91Labs' existing product and service offerings, benefiting customers across various industries. Pixely's expertise in the financial services industry, fintech, NGOs, and education sectors will enable Plus91Labs to deliver tailored Salesforce solutions that address specific needs and challenges faced by organisations in these sectors.
“By leveraging combined expertise and resources, the company can drive innovation, deliver transformative solutions, and shape the future of the digital transformation landscape,” Tushar Dhawan, Partner, Plus91Labs said
(The copy will be updated throughout the day with the latest news.)
