Startup news and updates: Daily roundup (June 20, 2024)
YourStory presents the daily news roundup from the Indian startup ecosystem and beyond. Here's the roundup for Thursday, June 20, 2024.
Funding
Distil raises $3.1M in seed round from Jungle Ventures, India Quotient
Distil, a specialty chemicals platform, has secured $3.1 million in a seed funding round led by Jungle Ventures and India Quotient, with participation from other prominent investors and operators.
This is Jungle Ventures' first India seed investment since the launch of First Cheque@Jungle, its programme for partnering with second-time entrepreneurs and seasoned operators at ideas, pre-seed, and seed stages.
Founded by IIT Bombay alumni Atanuu Agarrwal, Karan Hirani, and Viraj Shah, Distil offers fully customisable and scalable solutions through a tech-enabled platform for the procurement of these specialty chemicals.
Distil will use this capital to expand its teams across sales, R&D, technical/procurement, marketing, and technology development. Additionally, Distil plans to develop proprietary products including flavours and fragrances, food ingredients, pharma, and personal care, across India and key international markets such as the US, EU, and MENA region.
Centre Court Capital leads Series A investment in Quidich Innovation Labs
Centre Court Capital, a venture capital firm focused on India's sports and gaming ecosystem, has invested in Quidich Innovation Labs, a sports broadcast technology company co-founded by Rahat Kulshreshtha and Gaurav Mehta.
The Series A funding round aims to help expand its footprint across new sporting ventures in diverse geographies.
Quidich enhances live sports broadcasts using advanced technological solutions with specialised camera systems, computer vision, and augmented reality. It pivoted in 2019 to specialise exclusively in sports, starting with cricket.
“We are thrilled to have Centre Court Capital come on board as investors. We are united in our goal to redefine the global sports viewing experience and are confident that with Centre Court Capital by our side, the game is about to change," said Rahat Kulshreshtha, Co-founder of Quidich.
Beauty brand Asaya secures $1.5M in seed funding
Eeti Sharma, Mandeep Bhatia and Neeraj Biyani, Co-founders, Asaya
Skincare brand Asaya has raised Rs 12 crore ($1.5 million) in a seed funding round led by OTP Ventures and Huddle Ventures, with additional investments from Eternal Capital.
Significant investment will be directed towards melanin-centric research and developing more products that cater to melanin-specific needs. Part of the funding will also be utilised to enhance market reach, aiming to increase both market knowledge on differed melanin skin requirements, and product availability across various marketplaces and pin codes.
"This funding will help us go from 20,000 to over 250,000 consumers in the next 12 months," said Neeraj Biyani, Co-founder of Asaya.
"We plan to significantly enhance our communication efforts and service capabilities to provide faster and more informed service to our growing customer base."
Nirwana.AI secures seed round
Nirwana.AI has secured seed funding at a valuation of over Rs 100 crore. The investment comes from a Canadian company and HNI Family Offices and marks a turning point for the company.
Founded by Kapil Gupta, Shashank Jain, Arpit Jain and Adit Sing, the company empowers interior designers and homeowners to visualise design concepts, slashing traditional project time and costs.
“We are poised to expand into new markets like exterior, outdoor, and event design, significantly amplifying our market potential. We want to not just capture these markets but propel them forward through relentless innovation," said Adit Sing.
Other news
Tech professionals get 150% median salary hike post upskilling: Scaler report
Education provider has informed that the learners from its upskilling programmes—Scaler Academy and Scaler DSML (data science and machine learning)—have secured a median salary hike of 150% and 110% respectively in the last two years, according to an audited Career Transition Assessment report.
The report, assessed by B2K Analytics, the agency that audits IIM Ahmedabad's placement reports, disclosed that the top 25% of software development programme learners secured an average package of Rs 48 lakh per annum (LPA), while the middle 80% received an average package of Rs 25 LPA. For the data science programme, the numbers were Rs 35 LPA and Rs 18 LPA for the respective categories.
The report highlighted a substantial jump in the average salaries of learners. Pre-upskilling, the average CTC of learners stood at Rs 17.77 LPA, which has now surged to Rs 33.73 LPA post-upskilling. Parallelly, the average salary of learners from the data science cohort prior to upskilling stood at Rs 15.47 LPA. Post upskilling, the average CTC secured by them shot to Rs 30.68 LPA.
Equirus appoints Sahil Shah as Chief Investment Officer
Equirus has appointed Sahil Shah as the new Fund Manager of Equirus Long Horizon Fund (ELHF) and Chief Investment Officer (CIO).
With a career spanning over 17 years in the financial industry, Shah served as a fund manager at Edelweiss Small Cap Fund, overseeing assets under management (AUM) of Rs 3,300 crore. He also co-managed the midcap and multicap funds at Edelweiss.
In his role as CIO, Shah will be responsible for managing the asset management business and leading the Equirus Long Horizon Fund. He will also provide strategic leadership to other equity funds, encompassing investment, research, and management, working closely with other fund managers.
BharatPe, Invest India join hands to drive financial inclusion among ODOP
has partnered with Invest India to promote digital financial inclusion and digital financial literacy across One District One Product (ODOP) producers and sellers across ODOP districts in the country. The partnership aims to contribute to the government’s efforts towards increasing digital financial inclusion and literacy, and will enhance access to digital payment mediums amongst ODOP merchants in Tier III-IV cities and rural areas of India.
BharatPe and Invest India’s partnership is structured around a customised information, education, and communication programme to impart knowledge on digital payments and focus on increasing awareness about cyber fraud, and how one can ensure the protection of personal data while using digital payments.
Additionally, the programme will be designed to digitally enable ODOP stakeholders to accept digital payments by providing them with BharatPe QR and PoS devices.
Swiggy launches new initiative to tackle staffing challenges in restaurants
Swiggy has launched a recruitment support initiative designed to assist its restaurant partners with staff recruitment. For this initiative, has teamed up with staff hiring experts like , , Kaam, and Shiftz to help restaurants connect with qualified candidates across various roles.
The initiative will help restaurants connect with qualified candidates across various roles, including cooks/chefs, kitchen helpers, and service and cleaning staff. Whether restaurant partners are looking to fill a single position or build out their entire team, recruitment partners can help restaurants find the right talent quickly and efficiently.
Swiggy has integrated this tailored staffing solution into the Swiggy Partner app. This feature provides restaurant owners direct access to job listings and candidate databases from third-party vendors with exclusive discounts. This initiative aims to simplify the hiring process and reduce costs.
Beaconstac unveils new brand name and identity as 'Uniqode'
, a QR Code-based solution provider, has unveiled its new brand name and identity as Uniqode.
Uniqode’s distinctive digital codes will empower businesses to create a dynamic 'phygital' experience, the company said in a statement. By bridging the gap between in-person interactions and online engagements, Uniqode aims to ensure that brands can engage with their audience precisely.
“The company’s commitment to rewriting the rules of connection will create meaningful experiences for both businesses and consumers,” says Sharat Portharaju, Co-founder and CEO of Uniqode.
(The copy will be updated with the latest news throughout the day)
Edited by Kanishk Singh
