Startup news and updates: Daily roundup (November 15,2023)

Funding

Settlin raises undisclosed amount from investors

Proptech digital broker Settlin has raised undisclosed funding from Powerhouse Ventures, Kyt Ventures, Investo Monk, Guptaji Invests, Ah Ventures, and PV Rao (PVR Cinemas).

The company manages about 12,000 unique buyers every month and sells about 100 homes monthly, it said in a statement.

"We have grown 5X in the last 15 months, post our Pre-series A and have successfully proven the model," said Sudhanshu B, Co-founder and CTO in a statement. In the next 12 months, the company plans to expand to Mumbai in all kinds of residential properties, aims to sell 4,000 units and is currently raising growth capital.

Other news

DeHaat has acquired Freshtrop Fruits' export business

Agritech platform DeHaat has entered into a business transfer agreement with Freshtop Fruits Limited. Under this agreement, DeHaat will absorb Freshtrop Fruit’s export network and grading, packing and precooling centres as well as manpower—which includes the latter's top management.

"We established our export business 18 months ago and are today exporting more than 20 agri-produce from India to the Middle East, UK & EU. We see strong synergies around the complementary core competencies between DeHaat and Freshtrop," said Shashank Kumar, Co-founder and CEO, DeHaat.

Zoho unveils new project management solution Zoho Practice

Tech firm Zoho unveiled Zoho Practice—a free end-to-end practice management solution for chartered accountants (CAs). As per the company, this solution allows firms to streamline workflows and allows for collaborations both internally and with clients.

"Today, we have launched Zoho Practice to serve one of the most critical stakeholders in the financial ecosystem—the Chartered Accountants. Our aim is to help them increase productivity and achieve operational efficiency so that they can focus on growing their firm," said Sivaramakrishnan Iswaran, Global Head, Zoho Finance and Operations Suite. 

The solutions include features like AI-driven anomaly detection to identify inconsistencies in transactions, so that the issue can be rectified quickly. It also comes pre-installed with  Zoho Books (accounting app), Zoho Expense (travel and expense management app), and Zoho Payroll (payroll management app), providing a comprehensive central repository while enabling seamless interoperability between an accountant's practice and their client’s finance and operations.

Stock broker Angel One now has 17.78M clients

Listed retail stock broking house Angel One crossed a milestone by exceeding 17.78 million in its client base. This is a 49.6% expansion in its base on a year-on-year basis, the company said in a statement. The stock broking house also grew its average client funding book to  Rs 1,884 crore. October 2023 saw 105.90 million orders being executed on the platform, demonstrating a 52.5% YoY rise at 5.30 million average daily orders.

"We are excited about extending our tech-enabled investment solutions to more investors in tier II and tier III cities, aiming to empower them in making informed investment decisions and realising their financial goals," said Prabhakar Tiwari, Chief Growth Officer of Angel One.

LetsShave inks partnership with Looks Salon

Personal care startup LetsShave has entered into a strategic partnership with salon chain Looks Salon. Through this partnership, Looks Salon will have access to LetsShave's portfolio of products including shaving and grooming products.

At the same time, LetsShave will be able to place its products at the over 150 locations where Looks Salon is present. The partnership is expected to boost the presence of LetsShave as well as give the personal care startup an opportunity to present its premium grooming products to a new set of customers, as per Sidharth S Oberoi, Founder and CEO of LetsShave.

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A 21-year-old entrepreneur is bridging the credit gap plaguing India’s SME sector

About 50% of employees waste time on mundane tasks shows new study

About a quarter of the workforce present in the UK and the US spend up to four hours of their workday on mundane tasks which can be easily automated, as per a study by artificial intelligence firm Kore.ai.

These tasks like searching or gathering information make up about 19% of the time spent, which could be improved with access to generative AI or conversational AI.

As per Kore.ai's findings, lack of access to such advanced AI technologies is hampering employee productivity, leading to poor experience and lack of job satisfaction even as global businesses brace themselves to compete in an increasingly unstable economy.

"From the survey, it’s clear that employees are crying out for advanced AI-powered experiences to be empowered to get tasks done quickly, efficiently, and accurately,” said Kore.ai CEO and Founder Raj Koneru.

Paytm inks partnership with travel firm Amadeus

Fintech player One97 Communications, which owns Paytm, will partner with travel firm Amadeus. For the next three years, Paytm will integrate Amadeus's travel platform. This single API will provide the users with access to diverse travel content, including Global Distribution Systems (GDS), Low-Cost Carriers (LCC), hotels, and more, the company said in a statement.

"It [the partnership] will automate travel operations for users by enhancing efficiency and scalability by leveraging cutting-edge technology," said Vikash Jalan, Chief Business Officer, Paytm Travel.

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