Startup news and updates: Daily roundup (October 17, 2023)

Funding news

Game Theory raises $2M to reinvent sports experience

Game Theory, a brand that makes real sports more engaging, accessible, and habit-forming using technology, has secured $2 million in a pre-Series A funding round, attracting investments from prominent names such as Nithin Kamath’s Rainmatter, Rohan Bopanna, WEH Ventures, Prequate Advisory, and notable angels, including Balakrishna Adiga.

The funds will be used for technology development, skill-based matchmaking, coaching offerings, and the expansion of smart sports facilities featuring gamified habit creation and advanced on-field experiences using computer vision and AI.

Game Theory aims to expand its reach by increasing the number of centres. The brand will soon introduce tennis, table tennis, and football. 

Prequate Advisory acted as the sole strategic and financial advisor to Game Theory on this transaction. Prior to this funding round, Game Theory had raised about $500,000 from Techstars and other notable angel investors in its angel round.

Omnivio raises $1.02M in seed round      

Omnivio, an omnichannel enablement company, has raised $1.02 million (Rs 8.4 crore) in its latest seed round of funding. The investment was led by Caret Capital, formerly known as Supply Chain Labs, with participation from prominent investors including Blume Ventures, Eximius VC, SuniconVenture Fund, Misfits, and several angel syndicates and individual investors from India, Middle East, and South East Asia. 

The latest round also saw participation from existing investors 91 Ventures, Dexter Angels, and Supermorpehus, bringing the total funds raised by Omnivio to approximately Rs 12 crore ($1.5 million).

Omnivio said it will utilise the funds towards the development of its omnichannel visibility and orchestration product suite. Additionally, the company plans to expand its enterprise go-to-market teams in India and the Middle East. 

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Other news

Unicommerce collaborates with Tasva

Unicommerce, an ecommerce enablement SaaS platform, has collaborated with Tasva, a men’s ethnic wear brand from Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail Ltd (ABFRL) and designer Tarun Tahiliani. 

Tasva will utilise Unicommerce’s omnichannel application to enhance the shopping experience for its customers across its stores in the country. Unicommerce with its state-of-the-art application, will integrate the brand’s online and offline channels, leading to an efficient order and fulfillment process, which will reduce delivery time and costs.

Yatra Online, Inc partners with Welspun World 

Yatra Online, Inc, a corporate travel services provider, has partnered with Welspun World to manage their domestic travel requirements. 

Yatra is partnering with Welspun to provide custom travel solutions for its corporate staff. This includes a user-friendly self-booking tool for flights, hotels, trains, and more. Yatra's expertise and technology will enhance Welspun's travel logistics and employee experiences.

Raptee appoints C Suresh as head of operations

Premium EV motorcycle startup Raptee has appointed C Suresh as the head of operations. He will handle operations including manufacturing, engineering, quality, sourcing and supply chain, and projects, with a focus on setting up the processes and team development.

He will also handle the planning and rolling out of products in the near future and focus on constructing additional facilities to cater to the projected demand for Raptee Motorcycle.

Suresh comes with over 25 years of experience and has worked with major auto brands like TVS Motors, Royal Enfield, Mahindra, Ather Energy, and Ola Electric. He played an integral role in rolling out products like RE Classic 500, Ather 450, and Ola S1.

Gupshup.io unveils advanced AI-powered features

Gupshup, a conversational engagement platform, has launched a series of new features. These features will help businesses to engage in personalised, two-way conversations with their customers at scale, especially as the festive season approaches.

The update includes features for personalised and interactive campaigns on WhatsApp, automated remarketing for leads acquired through conversational ads, AI assistance for helpdesk agents, and full-funnel analytics.

RACE Energy partners with LOHUM for sustainable EV battery recycling

RACEnergy, a deeptech electric vehicle (EV) infrastructure company for battery swapping, has partnered with LOHUM, a producer of sustainable energy transition materials via recycling, repurposing, and refining, to tackle EV battery waste, and identify second-life use applications.

In compliance with EPR guidelines for responsible battery management, this partnership guarantees over 90% recycling/refurbishing of RACE's used batteries.

RACE Energy's new 50 MWh facility, opened in June this year, enhances sustainability by extending battery life by approximately 40% through innovative charging algorithms and internal cooling systems.

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Decoding EV adoption: Early-stage startups on subsidies, range anxiety, charging infra, funding

IIT Madras Pravartak Technologies partners with startups to advance emerging technologies

IIT Madras Pravartak Technologies Foundation is partnering with startups for various initiatives in emerging technologies.

This partnership emphasises skill development in niche technologies by startups and project execution in fields like AI, ML, and data science. It aims to provide new insights into cutting-edge technologies through startup content and platforms, while also creating specific solutions for problems in these areas.

An MoU was signed recently between IITM Pravartak and five startups, Crion Versity, Dataswitch, Neekan Consulting, Rudram Dynamics, and Skill Angels.

Faad Network invests in InsurStaq.ai

Faad Network, an early-stage fund, has invested in InsurStaq.ai, a GenAI insurtech startup.

This investment comes as part of Faad Accelerator Labs 'FinShastra', which is a fintech-focused cohort. It aims to support and nurture innovative startups in the financial technology sector.

The company is focusing on insurGPT, a specialised language model for insurance, currently in beta testing. It will use the funding for team expansion, GenAI solutions, and reaching 10,000+ customers this year.

InsurStaq.ai aims to create tailored B2C, B2B, and B2B2C solutions, driving innovation and industry growth.

Safexpay launches NeuX to digitise MSME and B2B payments and business operations

safexpay, a digital payments company, has launched NeuX, an enhanced neo-banking platform for MSMEs, corporations, and B2B businesses. 

The platform seeks to digitise B2B operations, transforming payment and workflow processes with a holistic banking and business management solution.

The company is targeting 50-70 million merchants (distributors and retailers) in key sectors to provide comprehensive B2B digital solutions.

Safexpay aims to onboard 2,000-4,000 MSMEs and B2B businesses across the country annually through bank partnerships, fintech partnerships, and collaborations with distributors/suppliers/retailers. Additionally, the platform has been developed to manage approximately Rs 100 crore per year in payment transactions.

Mela Ventures appoints Viju George as partner

Mela Ventures, a SEBI-approved category-2 alternative investment fund (AIF), has appointed Viju George, a technology industry veteran in investment analysis, as a full-time partner. 

George has a decade of experience in market trends, financial modelling, and investment analysis. He served as senior vice president of the finance team at Mphasis. He is an alumnus of IIT-Madras and IIM-Calcutta.

Cashfree Payments partners with Global Trade Plaza

Cashfree Payments, a payment and API banking company, has partnered with Global Trade Plaza, a global B2B marketplace, to provide Indian exporters with an improved cross-border payment experience.

As part of this partnership, the 'Global Collections' solution by Cashfree Payments will enable Indian exporters to collect payments in over 15 foreign currencies. The funds received will be converted into INR and sent to the local Indian bank accounts within 48 hours.

Exporters will also be able to get auto-generated foreign inward remittances advice (e-FIRA). They will also be able to share their global collection account details with their international clients over email, SMS or WhatsApp, and buyers will be able to make payments using local rails like automated clearing house and Single Euro Payments Area.

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