Startup news and updates: Daily roundup (November 27, 2023)

Funding

Frendy raises new $2M round

Frendy, a startup building a digitally connected convenience store network for smaller towns and rural India, has raised a bridge round of Rs 16 crore ($2 M).

This round is led by Auxano Capital, AT Capital Singapore, Metara Ventures - Priya Joseph, Rohan Jain and Rishabh Jain - founders of “The Wellness Co.”, Apurva Salarpuria family office and existing investor Desai Ventures. The firm may extend the round up to ₹24 crores via a follow-on rights issue.

The raised capital will be used to expand their tech offerings, enhance the private label product portfolio, and facilitate store expansion. The founders aim to achieve a revenue of Rs 300 crore and profitability within the next 24 months.

The company achieved a revenue of Rs 82 Crores in FY23 and Rs 40 Cr in FY22. Its last funding round was in May 2022.

Elivaas raises $2.5M in seed funding 

Elivaas, a tech-driven villa and luxury apartment management company, has raised $2.5M in seed funding. The round was led by Peak XV’s Surge with participation from angels including Naveen Kukreja, CEO & and Co-founder of Paisabazaar; Kunal Shah, Founder of CRED and Mohit Gupta, Co-Founder of Zomato.

This newly-raised fund will be used to establish a larger market presence across high-footfall cities in India and scale its technology platform

The company is responsible for the upkeep and close monitoring of rental properties for homeowners. Since its inception in January 2023, Elivaas has signed on to more than 50 properties across Goa, Udaipur, Delhi NCR, and Kufri.

Other news

Rapido offers free rides to 2600 polling booths across Hyderabad

Ahead of the Telangana state elections on November 30, 2023, Rapido, a ride-sharing platform, has launched free rides to over 2600 polling stations in Hyderabad on election Day.

The company’s move aims to boost the participation of people in the election process, ensuring that there are no transportation hurdles.

Ex-MD of Xerox India and Walt Disney India appointed as Chairman of Fino Payments Bank

Fino Payments Bank Limited has appointed Rajat Kumar Jain, an Independent Director, as Part-time Chairman of the Bank.

Jain, an IIT Delhi and IIM Ahmedabad alum transitioned from a corporate executive to an entrepreneur, business mentor, and angel investor. He is also a non-executive director for group companies of Aditya Birla and Mahindra. He holds over three decades of leadership experience in Consumer, Telecom, Media, and Technology. As Founder Director of PadUp Ventures, he facilitates deep mentoring and incubation for early-stage tech startups, especially in Fintech.

DriveX launches 10 new dealership stores on a single day

DriveX, a fully integrated pre-owned two-wheeler platform, has launched ten new dealership stores across India in a single day.

The expansion initiative is geared towards establishing a trusted network, providing consumers with a credible buying experience. This strategic move aims to strengthen DriveX's position as a leader in the used two-wheeler space, emphasising affordability and reliability in mobility solutions.

The Bengaluru store was launched in collaboration with Sree Sukra Automobiles. Additionally, other stores were launched today in Chidambaram, Kacharapaliyam, Patna (2 stores), Darbhanga, Chengalpettu, Thirukannur, Nanded and Aruppukottai.

Also Read

Amazon to bolster logistics and delivery to cash in on festive season fervour

Amazon India launches programme to support people with learning disabilities

Amazon India has launched–Aurora, a program which will leverage the talent of individuals with learning disabilities and provide employment to them.

Amazon India plans to increase training sessions for existing staff to enhance their awareness and sensitivity toward this group. Global best practices will be adapted to suit the Indian context, and 'Listening Sessions' will be conducted to gather feedback from associates, ensuring targeted interventions for a positive experience.

This move comes after the successful pilot with Sol's ARC, focusing on vocational training for disabilities

E-buses to account for 11-13% of new bus sales by FY2025: ICRA

ICRA expects electric buses (e-buses) to be at the forefront of India’s electrification drive, with e-buses accounting for 11-13% of new bus sales by FY2025. 

E-bus adoption in India has seen a steady rise, reaching 7% in FY2023, fueled by state policies, government schemes, and bid aggregations by Convergence Energy Services Limited. Challenges like payment security need to be addressed for sustained growth.

The government has also recently announced the PM e-Bus Sewa scheme, which aims to provide 10,000 e-buses to 169 cities under a public-private partnership (PPP) model. 

HDFC Securities launches HDFC SKY mobile trading app on AWS,

Amazon Web Services (AWS), an Amazon.com company, announced that HDFC Securities Ltd., one of the leading investment service providers in India, launched its new mobile trading app, HDFC SKY.

HDFC Sky says it serves 75 million customers and all HDFC Group companies, investors, and traders worldwide with user-friendly trading of shares, commodities, futures, currencies, initial public offerings (IPOs), mutual funds, and exchange-traded funds (ETFs). 

HDCF, operating on AWS, facilitates stock market access at a rapid scale. Leveraging AWS, HDFC Securities anticipates a 50% reduction in annual IT infrastructure costs compared to on-premises setups.

Additionally, the company aims to enhance customer experiences through machine learning on AWS, offering personalised services and optimizing document processing with AWS's generative artificial intelligence solutions.