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

Funding

Hanto Workspaces raises Rs 15 Cr

Managed commercial real estate solutions provider Hanto Workspaces has raised Rs 15 crore in a mix of equity and debt funding from investors and angels. The round was led by KredX's founder, Anurag Jain, and other angels across India.

Hanto said it will use the money to fund growth and expansion across India.

Founded by Aashit Verma in 2019, Hanto operates close to 70 office floors across Bengaluru. Its clients include CREDand Chaipoint. It hopes to expand its operations to Tier II cities like Hyderabad and Pune in the next five years and cross Rs 700 crore in revenue by 2028.

"The amount raised will be used to expand the team and acquire new buildings. We also plan to double our revenue in FY2023-24, given the strong demand for commercial real estate in the market," said Verma.

Kotak Mutual launches fund to invest in healthcare

Kotak Mahindra Asset Management Company, also known as Kotal Mutual, has launched a healthcare fund to invest in pharma, healthcare, and other related sectors.

The open-ended scheme will open for public subscription on November 20 and close on December 4.

The diversified portfolio will include investments in stocks of pharma, healthcare, hospitals, diagnostics, wellness, and other ancillary companies in the sector, the company said.

"Additionally, the scheme may look to invest in new and emerging areas of healthcare. The fund would be agnostic to market capitalisation and may take concentrated exposure to certain stocks," said a statement from the company.

IAN, IIM Alumni Singapore partner to fund India and Singapore startups

Indian Angel Network and IIM Alumni Singapore have partnered to enable startups in both countries access capital, mentoring and market access.

IIM Alumni Singapore will help IAN investors fund Singapore-based startups, as well as provide the latter's members access to the Indian and Southeast Asian startup ecosystem.

"IIM Alumni Singapore-linked startups will also receive access to the required financial assistance and mentorship to grow and build profitable businesses through IAN’s VC Funds and members comprising the who’s who of successful entrepreneurs/CXOs around the world," said Suresh Shankar, President of IIM Alumni Singapore.

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Other news

YES Bank names new chief risk officer

Yes Bank has appointed Tushar Patankar as its new Chief Risk Officer.

Patankar will be responsible for the bank's enterprise risk, credit policy, market risk, and other Pillar II risk operations.

He will report to YES Bank's CEO and Managing Director, Prashant Kumar, the company said.

Patankar was previously at L&T Financial Services where he was Group Chief Risk Officer for the company's retail, microfinance, corporate, infrastructure, real estate and mutual fund businesses.

KidZania names new marketing head

Entertainment and learning platform KidZania India has named Hasmukh Gorava as its new marketing head to lead the company's India marketing strategies.

Gorava previously worked with Imagicaa, Mumbai.

His responsibilities will include building campaigns and communication strategies in interactive media and direct marketing programs, as well as increasing visitors' attendance and developing new pricing strategies.

Fintech company Niyo appoints new CBO and CPO of key businesses

Digital banking fintech startup NIYO SOLUTIONS has promoted Sai Sankar M, one of the company's first leaders, as the chief business officer of its global banking business. It also named Tushar Verma as the chief business officer for mass and affluent banking and Mrigank Shekhar as its chief product officer.

The appointments will help bolster Niyo's international expansion plans, as well as double down on its mass banking operations, said the company.

L&T Tech collaborates with NVIDIA to develop medical devices platform

L&T Technology Services Limited has partnered with NVIDIA to develop a scalable platform for medical devices, particularly in the field of endoscopy, which utilises software-defined architectures.

The collaboration aims to improve the image quality and scalability of medical products, as well as focus on addressing industry challenges related to the availability, cost, and dependencies associated with custom and proprietary hardware components.

The architecture includes advanced features such as a sophisticated image processing pipeline, which addresses issues like noise reduction, edge and contrast enhancement, texture and colour enhancement, and speckle correction.

The company says its AI/ML models are also designed to detect, identify and classify abnormal growth it may encounter during medical investigations.

The collaboration "accelerates the development of AI-powered medical imaging solutions by enhancing image quality and real-time clinical decision-making support, making clinicians more efficient and improving patient outcomes," said Amit Chadha, CEO and Managing Director, L&T Technology Services.

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Canva opens applications for $50 million Developer Innovation Fund

Design platform Canva is accepting applications for its $50-million Developers Innovation Fund to support and incentivise developers.

The innovation fund aims to reward developers who help Canva make design accessible to everyone and build a diverse collection of free apps on the platform.

"Apps are playing an increasingly significant role in Canva's all-in-one strategy, and we recognise the immense potential they hold for our mission to empower the world to design," said Anwar Haneef, Head of Ecosystem, Canva.

The company will distribute funds in two ways. First, through App Adoption Awards, where developers of free public apps can receive cash rewards based on user milestones. Second, through Developer Grants, available until March 2024, for cash support in developing free-to-use apps, prioritising AI innovations and design apps that enhance user experiences with Canva.

TVS Capital Funds appoints new board member

TVS Capital Funds has appointed Mahindra Finance's Vice Chairman and MD, Ramesh Iyer, as a board member.

"Ramesh Iyer brings a wealth of experience in financial services providing credit across sectors and promoting the core values of inclusivity within organisations," said Gopal Srinivasan, Chairman and Managing Director of TVS Capital Funds.

"Financial services is a sector we have a deep presence in, and this sector focus has helped us generate attractive alpha for our client partners. Ramesh’s deep insights into the financial services space will further help us deepen our investing in the sector," he added.