Startup news and updates: daily roundup (Aug 8, 2023)

Funding

Singer Sukhbir Singh and LC Nueva founders lead pre-Series A round in wellness startup Fitspire

Vegan health and personal care brand, Fitspire, has secured an undisclosed amount in a pre-Series A funding round led by investors, including LC Nueva's founders and singer Sukhbir Singh.

Family Office of Jaipurias, represented by Ruchirans and Anuraag Jaipuria, as well as Ivor Braganza from Next5 Ventures Oman, Dheeraj Jain from Redcliffe London, and existing investors Amit Singhal and others also participated in the funding round.

The funding will help boost the company's health and personal care ecosystem, help it expand its presence in Tier II and III cities, introduce new products, and diversify revenue sources. The company aims for Rs 300 crore in revenue in three years.

The Delhi-based nutrition startup, founded in 2020 by IIM Lucknow alumnus Vipen Jain, had previously raised $1 million in seed and bridge rounds.

GoZero raises $1 M in pre-Series A DSG, Saama, and V3 Ventures

Sugar-free ice cream maker, Go Zero, has raised $1 million in its pre-Series A funding round.

The round was led by DSG Consumer Partners, Saama, and V3 Ventures, along with participation from angel investors such as Shantanu Deshpande, CEO of the Bombay Shaving Company; Arjun Purkayastha, Regional Head Greater China at Reckitt Benckiser; Nikhil Vora, Founder & CEO of Sixth Sense Ventures; Krishi Fagwani, CEO of Thrive; and several other founders and CEOs.

“With this fundraise, we will look at expanding our presence in all major cities and on all ecommerce and q-commerce channels such as Swiggy, Zomato, Blinkit, Instamart, and Zepto. The funds will also be used for marketing and creating awareness about the brand,” said founder and CEO Kiran Shah.

Founded by Kiran Shah, Go Zero offers guilt-free delight through its range of ice creams that cater to health-conscious individuals seeking healthier dessert options. The brand's offerings include zero-sugar, high-protein, low-calorie ice creams, as well as options suitable for vegans and those following a keto diet.

Prior to Go Zero, Shah turned his family business Apsara Ice Cream from a single-store operation to a nationwide chain with over 100 outlets between 2014 and 2022.

Bidso raises $1.5M Seed and pre-Seed round led by PeerCapital and DeVC

Bidso, a technology-driven product procurement platform, has successfully secured $1.5 million in a recent funding round.

Leading the investment was PeerCapital, contributing $1.2 million as part of the seed round, while DeVC and Angel Investors, including Mohit Sadaani (The Mom's Co.), Nishit Garg (Partner- RTP Global), OfBusiness Founders Fund, Saurabh Jain (CEO – Livspace), and Revant Bhate (CEO – Mosaic Wellness), collectively invested a pre-seed amount of $300,000.

The raised funds will be strategically allocated to several key areas: expanding Bidso's operational reach to new geographies and demand channels, enhancing its network of manufacturers, and further developing its technology stack.

"With the funds raised, we aim to double down our efforts and serve at least 100 brands by enabling sourcing for a minimum of 50 different product categories in the next six months." Vivek Singhal, Co-founder, Bidso, said.

The technology stack growth will encompass the creation of a Quality Adherence module, aimed at ensuring manufacturers adhere to strict quality standards.

Other news

Kristen to lead anti-money laundering operations at Binance as Deputy compliance officer

Binance has appointed Kristen Hecht as Deputy Chief Compliance Officer (CCO) and Global Money Laundering Reporting Officer (GMLRO).

Kristen brings 17 years of experience, including roles in the U.S. Department of the Treasury, where she supported anti-terrorism and anti-illicit financial activity efforts. She also served as CCO at Novi Financial, Meta's crypto asset wallet project, and contributed to compliance transformation at HSBC.

In her new role at Binance, Kristen will collaborate with the Chief Compliance Officer, Noah Perlman, to enhance the company's compliance program using innovative technology while upholding anti-money laundering and counter-financing of terrorism principles. As GMLRO, she will oversee regional MLRO teams, providing them with compliance risk-management tools to adhere to international best practices and jurisdictional requirements.

OfficeBanao appoints Aman Agarwal as Senior VP and Head of Digital Growth

OfficeBanao, a technology-led workspace interiors platform, has appointed Aman Agarwal as Senior Vice President and Head of Digital Growth. In this role, Agarwal will drive strategic initiatives to enhance digital awareness and secure clients for the company.

With a degree from IIT Kanpur, Agarwal brings more than 12 years of experience to the position, having held key roles at industry giants like Flipkart, OYO, and Airtel.

Ransomware threat grows

There was a 204% increase in ransomware victims recorded between Q1 2022 and Q1 2023 in the Asia Pacific and Japan region (APJ), according to Akamai Technologies.

Akamai Technologies, Inc. has unveiled its latest "State of the Internet" report, shedding light on the escalating threat posed by ransomware. The report's findings underscore the need for heightened vigilance and fortified cybersecurity measures across the APJ region.

This dramatic increase has been attributed to the exploitation of Zero-Day and One-Day vulnerabilities, with adversaries adeptly capitalising on unknown security threats. The shift from traditional phishing tactics to these vulnerability abuses has allowed cybercriminals to infiltrate business internal networks and deploy ransomware more effectively.

The top five critical industries at heightened risk in APJ include manufacturing, business services, construction, retail, as well as energy, utilities, and telecommunications.

Among the ransomware variants dominating the APJ landscape, LockBit stands out as the most subscribed Ransomware-as-a-Service, accounting for a substantial 51% of attacks between Q3 2021 and Q2 2023.

Freshers' hiring intent improves 3%, overall job market rises: TeamLease

The intent to hire freshers has improved by 3% compared to the first half of the year, according to TeamLease's Career Outlook Report 2023.

The hiring intent for freshers is now at 65%. The report also highlighted a positive job market trend, with an overall rise in hiring intent for all jobseeker categories, reaching 73% from 68%.

The report also highlighted a positive job market trend, with an overall rise in hiring intent for all jobseeker categories, reaching 73% from 68%. Notably, ecommerce and technology startups (59%), telecommunications (53%), and engineering and infrastructure (50%) are the top three industries showing significant hiring intent for freshers.

However, the IT industry's hiring intent for freshers has decreased by 18% compared to the first half of 2023 (from 67% to 49%). Interestingly, sectors like travel and hospitality have seen a 5% increase in hiring intent in the second half of 2023 compared to the first half.

Vegh Automobiles to expand presence through 100 new stores

EV startup, Vegh Automobiles, is aiming to open over 100 retail stores across 12 states and union territories by the end of the fiscal year 2023-24.

Although currently established in states like Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, and others, Vegh is now targeting areas including Delhi NCR, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, and Chandigarh through a mix of company-owned and franchise-driven retail outlets.

With a fresh injection of $5 million in funding the company will work towards enhancing the sales and service network, advancing research and development endeavors.

Beyond expanding its retail footprint, Vegh is gearing up to introduce two new high-speed scooter models. Additionally, the company plans to upgrade its existing S60 and L25 models

Kyvos partners with Merative

Cloud analytics acceleration platform Kyvos Insights has entered into an OEM partnership with Merative, a prominent data, analytics, and software technology partner focused on health and social care organisations.

The partnership's primary objective is to revamp Merative's Health Insights product, leveraging Kyvos's capabilities scalability and speed. Kyvos enables instantaneous analytics regardless of scale, allowing Merative to execute complex queries on substantial data volumes for clients while maintaining control over cloud expenses.

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