Startup news and updates: Daily roundup (October 23, 2023)

Funding

GigaML raises $3.6M in seed round led by Nexus Venture Partners

Giga AI, which helps enterprises secure on-prem deployment of large language models (LLMs), has raised $3.6 million in a seed round. The funding was led by  Nexus Venture Partners, with participation from Y Combinator, Liquid 2 Venture, 8vdx, and prominent angels like Garry Tan (President and CEO of Y Combinator).

Giga ML was founded three months ago by Varun Vummadi and Esha Manideep Dinne who graduated this year from IIT Kharagpur. 

Since its launch, the company said it has witnessed interest from a diverse range of enterprises, with many companies, including healthcare, legal, and finance firms, on a waitlist.

Other news

Beyoung announces Bhuvan Bam as first brand ambassador

D2C fashion brand Beyoung has signed entertainer, actor, and content creator, Bhuvan Bam, as its brand ambassador. The collaboration aims to inspire the youth, set trends, and make fashion more accessible than ever, the company said. 

The collaboration will bring forth exclusive fashion content, behind-the-scenes insights, and interactive experiences, keeping fashion enthusiasts and fans engaged and informed.

"Bhuvan Bam is not only a celebrated icon but also a fashion influencer whose unique style resonates with millions. The collaboration seeks to merge his distinctive fashion sense with Beyoung's user-friendly features like ‘Combo’ and ‘Shop The Look’ delivering a fresh, dynamic and convenient shopping adventure for all," the company said. 

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Startup news and updates: daily roundup (October 20, 2023)

Rockingdeals Circular Economy aims to raise Rs 25 Cr from proposed IPO

Rockingdeals Circular Economy (RDCEL), a B2B re-commerce player, plans to list on NSE Emerge in November 2023 and raise about Rs 25 crore from its initial public offering (IPO), including a successfully completed pre-IPO round of Rs 4.80 crore. 

The company also has its eyes set on multi-fold growth in the next two years, riding on expanding brand partnerships and wider national footprints. It already has four warehouses and is further planning to expand its footprints in Northeast India, a high-growth consumer retail market.

RDCEL, the Faridabad-headquartered sourcing specialist across unboxed, excess inventory, and refurbished products, filed its Draft Red Herring Prospectus (DRHP) with NSE Emerge in September 2023 and plans to offer up to 15,00,000 equity shares of face value Rs 10 each through the book-building process.

BAM Digital Realty appointed CB Velayuthan as its Chief Executive Officer

BAM Digital Realty, a joint venture between Brookfield Infrastructure and Digital Realty, has appointed CB Velayuthan (“CB”) as its Chief Executive Officer.

In July 2023, BAM Digital Realty shared that Reliance Industries will be joining this entity as an equal partner to form a three-way joint venture. Post this transaction, which is currently under regulatory approval, the venture will operate under the brand name “Digital Connexion: A Brookfield, Jio and Digital Realty Company”.

CB will helm this joint venture entity as CEO to lead and drive the growth of the platform and deliver the value proposition of the three shareholders to the Indian market.

Mufin Group secures RBI’s PPI ‘Go Live’ approval for Prepaid Wallets

Mufin Group—an ecosystem offering multi-diversified financial businesses in India—has received the RBI’s nod to go live with its PPI-licensed prepaid wallets in India. The grant stands as a historic achievement, demonstrating the group's successful attainment of all major critical RBI licenses for its diverse range of regulated entities, including Mufin Green Finance, Rupee Circle, and Hindon Mercantile. The group is ready to launch its PPI product, which will be branded as "Mufinpay."

The PPI license will also allow MufinPay to offer a comprehensive range of financial services, including a PPI Wallet, Prepaid Gift Cards, UPI, FastTag, and multiple value-added services on MufinPay. It is further planning to launch its revolutionary product—the MufinPay “Super App”, a comprehensive financial services application to further simplify financial transactions and enhance the user experience.

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