Startup news and updates: daily roundup (November 8, 2023)

Funding news

Offee raises Rs 5.25Cr in funding

Edtech platform Offee said it has raised Rs 5.25 crore in funding from JITO Incubation and Innovation Foundation Investors, Bombay Industry Association, and Riidl.

The company said it will use the funds to scale operations and expand to new markets.

The Mumbai-based startup offers a platform that helps conduct exams easily and fairly, across India. It has been deployed at several institutions already, including Jai Hind Colleage, Somaiya University, and KES Shroff College, among others.

It allows students to bring their own devices to undertake exams on, specifically in airplane mode.

"This is not just an app for us; we are building a movement," said Amit Shah, founder of Offee, in a press statement.

Fintech startup BranchX raises $900K in funding

AI-powered Branchx has raised $900,000 from HNIs and angel investors to fast-track its expansion plans.

The neobanking startup, which aims to serve the middle-class population in semi-urban cities and towns, said it will also use the funds to catalyse the development of its AI voice assistant product, Xenie.

"The latest infusion of bridge capital will contribute to stabilising the existing operations, the development of Xenie as a comprehensive loyalty and reward programme, and the establishment of a strong foundation for the upcoming Series A," said Rajesh Johnny, CEO and Co-founder of BranchX.

The neobank has over 30,000 wallet users and a network of 3,000 agents. It has conducted transactions exceeding $20 million on its platform, in the first half of the current financial year.

SaaS platform LivSYT raises $2.5M

SaaS construction management company LivSYT has raised $2.5 million in a seed round from SV Quad and Inventus Capital.

In total, it has raised $4.5 million to date.

LivSYT said it will use the funds to expand into the U, explore new AI/ML use cases, and invest in developing its current product.

It aims to achieve $5 million in annual recurring revenue within 24 months.

"This investment is a testament to the value our software brings to the construction industry," said LivSYT's CEO Karthik Thumu.

Quickwork raises $2.5M from DMI Sparkle Fund

No-code platform Quickwork has raised $2.5 million in funding led by DMI's Sparkle Fund and NIS Ventures Group.

The company will use the funds to support its global expansion plans, enhance features on its platform, and invest in R&D, among other things.

"With the backing of DMI Sparkle Fund and NIS Ventures Group, we are poised to accelerate our product development both around enhancing user experience and hyper scaling our cloud DevOps infrastructure, expand our market presence across the globe, and continue empowering businesses worldwide to harness the power of automation," said Dr Milind Agarwal, Founder and CEO of Quickwork, in a press statement.

Founded in 2015 by Dr Agarwal, Deepak Arjan Bhatia and Krish Advani, Quickwork is a no-code automation and API integration platform that helps businesses automate workflows, integrate applications, and enhance productivity.

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Other news

Mswipe elevates CEO to co-founder, appoints new CMO

Digital payment platform Mswipe named Ketan Patel, its chief executive officer, Co-founder of the startup, and appointed Harita Desai as chief marketing officer.

Nayantara Bhargava, who was earlier in charge of banking and partnerships, has been appointed as the company's chief business officer, the company said.

Whatnot India picks 50% stake in Gadget Store

Distribution and marketing company Whatnot India has bought a 50% stake in airport ecommerce store, Gadget Studio.

The deal will give Gadget India access to Whatnot's supply chain network and presence in high-traffic locations, as well as help offer a broader range of tech products.

"It not only expands our reach but also allows us to serve a diverse and dynamic customer base," said Ankit Kothari, Co-founder and Director of Whatnot India, in a press release.

Classplus unveils platform to help educators and creators publish their own books

Edtech company Classplus has launched a platform 'Classplus Publishing Labs' to help educators and content creators publish their books.

The publishing unit will help creators design, print, publish, and ship their books, the company said, adding that to date, over 50 authors have already received support, and netted educators a total of Rs 2 crore.

"Publishing a book is regarded as the hallmark of expertise and solidifies an educator's status as an expert in their field. But it is often a complex and daunting endeavour for them," said Mukul Rustagi, Co-founder and CEO of Classplus.

"With Classplus Publishing Labs, we are breaking down the barriers to publishing for educators and content creators, making it more accessible and hassle-free for them."

PayGlocal receives in-principle approval for payment aggregator license

Cross-border payments platform PayGlocal has received in-principle approval from India's central bank to operate as a payment aggregator.

The payment aggregator license will allow the company to onboard merchants onto its platform for online payment processing.

Founded in 2021 by Prachi Dharani, Rohit Sukhija, and Yogesh Lokhande, PayGlocal enables cross-border payments and has raised capital from Peak XV Partners and Tiger Global Management.

The Reserve Bank of India has granted the payment aggregator license to companies such as Amazon (Pay) India, Razorpay, Pine Labs, Google India, CAMS, etc.

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Meta launches programme to protect children online

Meta has launched a new programme called Lantern to enable tech companies to share instances of people violating children's safety online.

The company launched the programme in partnership with Tech Coalition.

Lantern will help companies share a variety of signals about accounts and behaviours that violate child safety policies. Using the information, companies will be able to conduct investigations on their own platforms and take action.

Lantern will also help companies communicate with each other to track the activity and accounts of people who exploit children.

"Because this activity spans across platforms, in many cases, any one company can only see a fragment of the harm facing a victim. To uncover the full picture and take proper action, companies need to work together," Tech Coalition's blog read.

The 'signals' Meta refers to can include email addresses, usernames, child sexual exploitation and abuse (CSEA) hashes, and keywords used to groom, buy and sell child sexual abuse material.

"Lantern fills this gap and shines a light on cross-platform attempts at online child sexual exploitation and abuse, helping to make the internet safer for kids," the blogpost read.

Jio phones go on sale; launches Swiggy One Lite subscription on prepaid plans

Jio has launched its new 4G-based keypad smartphone which runs on the Kai-OS platform, and provides users access to social media platforms.

The phone retails for Rs 2,599 and will be available across ecommerce platforms.

Separately, Jio also launched prepaid plans that come bundled with Swiggy One Lite subscriptions.

Shipyaari partners with India Post for last-mile deliveries in India

SaaS-based logistics company Shipyaari has partnered with India Post to provide last-mile delivery services, especially in lower-tier cities.

The partnership will also aim to make deliveries, particularly in rural areas, more economical.

"This collaboration will not only provide extensive coverage but also ensure faster and more cost-effective delivery for businesses of all sizes, thus enabling us to take a significant step towards our mission to empower D2C businesses, big and small, to reach their customers and to deliver to every address in the country,” said Vishal Totla, COO and Co-founder of Shipyaari.