Startup news and updates: daily roundup (October 12, 2023)
YourStory presents the daily news roundup from the Indian startup ecosystem and beyond. Here's the roundup for Thursday, October 12, 2023.
Funding news
OORJAA raises Rs 5.35 Cr in pre-Series A round 2 led by Inflection Point Ventures
, a logistics solutions company, raised Rs 5.35 crore in its pre-Series A round 2 from (IPV), Vinners Platform, Soonicorn Ventures, and HEM Angels. It will use the funds to scale the PiE KART platform, advance its technology, and expand the team.
OORJAA utilises technology to drive efficiency, visibility, and sustainability in last-mile and mid-mile deliveries. Its recently launched app-based product, PiE KART, offers affordable, reliable, and eco-friendly intra-city delivery solutions. It accomplishes this by employing shared trucks for same-day delivery, catering specifically to the needs of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
OORJAA operates in more than 40 cities across India, managing a monthly delivery volume of 22 million tonnes.
Proxgy raises Rs 16 Cr in pre-Series A round
Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) startup raised Rs 16 crore (about $2 million) in a pre-Series A funding structured as a blend of primary and secondary fund infusions.
The pre-money valuation of the startup for the pre-Series A round was Rs 150 crore (about $18 million). This significant capital injection comes at a pivotal time as Proxgy aims to fulfil a current order book of over Rs 60 crore from clients, including ICICI Bank, Bank of India, and Bank of Baroda, among others.
The latest funding round was led by prominent investors such as LetsVenture, Planify Angel Fund, Mach Tech Fund, Cogniphy Angel Fund, Madhuram Papers Family Office, and AKGVG & Associates, among others.
Agri fintech KiVi closes seed round of Rs 15 Cr
Agri-fintech startup , operated by Agrosperity Tech Solutions, raised a seed round of Rs 15 crore led by Caspian Leap for Agriculture Fund, Piper Serica Angel Fund, YAN Angel Fund, Impact Innovators, and Entrepreneurs Foundation, among others.
KiVi, which stands for kisan vikas (farmer development), is incubated at IIT Madras Research Park and aims to make farming a livelihood of choice by enabling credit, commerce, and distribution to the farmgate ecosystem.
Operational in Tamil Nadu and Bihar, KiVi has helped 1,500+ farmers get access to credit, launched MSME loan offerings to agri entrepreneurs, and enabled commerce and trade finance in commodities, including wheat, paddy, and maize.
Aye Finance announces raising Rs 2,100 Cr in FY24, plans to raise Rs 3,400 Cr by year-end
has raised Rs 2,100 crore in debt from leading global and Indian banks and financial institutions since April 2023. After having raised Rs 2,000 crore in the last financial year, the MSME lender has kept an aggressive target of Rs 3,400 crore for FY24 and is well on its way to achieving it.
To date, the fintech lender has offered working capital and fixed capital loans of Rs 8,000 crore to over seven lakh micro enterprises in India using its unique underwriting method, which basis risk selection on the data collected from clusters and corroborates it with various machine learning algorithms.
Other news
Digital lending platform LoanTap launches co-lending for after-pay merchant
Fintech firm launched co-lending for the after-pay segment and has partnered with financial institutions such as Muthoot Finance and Mirae Asset as co-lending partners.
This move will allow LoanTap to broaden its support to a wider array of retailers, thereby fostering growth opportunities for businesses of all sizes. By extending credit to this segment, both LoanTap and its co-lending partners share the risk involved, ultimately empowering them to allocate funds to a broader spectrum of retailers.
LoanTap is transforming MSME financing by offering retailers a flexible and secure short-term revolving credit line ranging from Rs 25,000 to Rs 5,00,000, with repayment periods spanning 7 to 30 days.
Presently, LoanTap collaborates with prominent retail giants such as Saveo, Vaayu, L&T Sufin, and BigBasket for vendor finance.
ShipEase Technologies plans to double team size
Technologies, a Gurugram-based logistics company, announced its plan to bolster its workforce by hiring twice the number of employees currently on staff. This strategic expansion comes on the heels of the company's successful pre-Series A funding round, where it raised $1 million led by Inflection Point Ventures.
This funding will be instrumental in propelling the company's growth and innovation efforts, enabling it to enhance its existing suite of products and services while expanding its global reach.
ShipEase plans to hire top talent across various departments, including software development, data analytics, customer support, and sales and marketing. By scaling up its team, ShipEase Technologies aims to accelerate product development, improve customer service, and drive innovation in the logistics sector.
D2C ayurveda brand Kapiva strengthens R&D; hires R Govindarajan as Chief Innovation Officer
, a holistic wellness brand, appointed Dr R Govindarajan as its Chief Innovation Officer (CIO). He is a distinguished figure in research and development, with a portfolio of 10 patents and 75 research papers published in many esteemed peer-reviewed journals.
He has also played pivotal roles at prestigious government research institutions like CSIR and has held leadership positions in the R&D departments of prominent organisations.
With over 23 years of experience in research and development, Govindarajan aims to empower the brand to improve health outcomes with enhanced product quality and expand its range of Ayurvedic offerings, the company stated.
TATA Starbucks opens first island store in Alibaug
TATA opened its first island store in India at Alibaug located at a vantage spot at the M2M Ferry Terminal. With Alibaug turning into a preferred second-home address and weekend getaway for people from Mumbai, the coastal town has seen rapid growth in both infrastructural and economic development. These factors have given rise to the demand for premium beverage and food experiences, creating the opportunity for TATA Starbucks' first store in Alibaug.
L:R - Michael Conway, Group President for Starbucks International & Channel Development,Sushant Dash,CEO,TATA Starbucks & Emmy Kan, President,Asia Pacific Starbucks
Aurionpro Solutions acquires loan management system Omnifin
has acquired Omnifin, a comprehensive loan management system, catering to 45+ banks and financial institutions in the Indian domestic market, from AS Software Services, a Noida-based company. The total deal value of the transaction is close to Rs 82 crore.
This acquisition will cover all the assets and liabilities of the target business, including the intellectual properties, 150+ employees and contracts, and such transfer and payment of consideration will be governed by the Business Transfer Agreement (BTA) between the parties.
[24]7.ai will onboard over 7,000 professionals in FY24
, an intent-driven customer solutions and contact centre services provider, has ramped up recruitment at its Bengaluru and Hyderabad centres. The company is actively hiring customer support advisors for both voice and chat services.
The company wants to target talent from key Tier II and III cities like Mysore, Mangalore, Hubli, Dharwad, Chittoor, Tirupati, Coimbatore, Vizag, and Vijayawada. It already has hired over 40% of its talent needs with candidates from Tier II cities.
With the recruitment drive already underway, the company is proactively collaborating with educational institutions to leverage the growing pool of nascent fresher talent, who will account for one-third of the company's talent needs.
Atlassian appoints Paranth Thiruvengadam as India site leader, head of engineering ITSM
Atlassian Corporation has appointed Paranth Thiruvengadam as its India Site Leader and Head of Engineering ITSM (IT Service Management). In the new dual role, Thiruvengadam will lead Atlassian’s 1700-strong India-based workforce and drive its ITSM customer-centric approach.
Thiruvengadam joins with 20+ years of experience across technology and business leadership roles, including as Chief Technology Officer at Clear (formerly ) and , and senior positions at Yahoo!, IBM Labs, and Walmart Labs.
He has a rich background in developing SaaS platforms, web applications, infrastructure, and transaction platforms that span across finance, supply chain, healthcare, taxation, and regulatory compliance.
Atlassian is a team collaboration and productivity software provider and the maker of Jira Software, Confluence, Bitbucket, and Trello.
Canara HSBC Life Insurance partners with Artivatic.ai to simplify insurance process
Canara HSBC Life Insurance has partnered with AI-based insurtech company, Artivatic.ai (Part of D2C Consulting Services Private Limited), to streamline and simplify its insurance processes, including policy onboarding, quotations, ease of payments, pre-insurance verification, etc. The processes will be backed up by Artivatic’s tech-integrated insurance platform.
Canara HSBC Life Insurance offers life insurance products through bank partners and other distribution channels across Tier I, II, and III Indian cities.
Access Healthcare acquires Envera Health
, a revenue cycle management (RCM) and healthcare service provider, has acquired Envera Health, a patient engagement service, for Rs 263 crore (about $31.7 million).
This acquisition, a testament to Access Healthcare’s focus on providing innovative and superior revenue cycle solutions, broadens its service portfolio to include enhanced patient engagement capabilities.
By leveraging Envera’s patient engagement capabilities, the company will strengthen its end-to-end RCM services delivery, further enhance its proprietary workflows, and process intelligence platform.
With delivery capabilities across upstream and downstream processes, Access Healthcare is uniquely positioned to unlock insights derived from operational processes to prevent claim denials, maximise collections, and enhance the overall patient experience.
(This article will be updated with the latest news throughout the day.)
Edited by Suman Singh