Startup news and updates: daily roundup (July 11, 2024)

Funding news

Jugyah raises $1.5M from White Venture Capital, others

Tech-based real estate broker, Jugyah, raised $1.5 million in a round led by White Venture Capital, QED Investors, and Godrej Properties.

The round also saw participation from Whiteboard Capital, Singularity Ventures, and angels Kunal Shah (CRED), Harsh Jain (Dream 11), and Ramakant Sharma (Livspace).

The Mumbai-based company will use the funds to expand in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region, capture cement market share and work with high-demand localities before it expands to other cities.

Founded in 2023 by Arshad Balwa and Ansuman Mohanty, Jugyah aims to solve the absence of high-quality, end-to-end, digital experiences available for rentals.

"We realised that listing platforms are very surface level and barely solve the search and discovery problem. What happens after, that is the visit, negotiation, transaction and post-move-in experience, is completely offline and unstandardised," said Balwa.

Inflection Point Ventures makes seed investments in Bloq Quantum, Medront Datalabs, Telkes Technologies

Bloq Quantum, Medront Datalabs, and Telkes Technologies bagged Rs 80 lakh each as seed investment after emerging as the winners of Inflection Point Ventures early-stage accelerator programme, IPV Ideaschool Batch 1.0.

The six-week nationwide programme involved a rigorous multi-level selection process, starting with over 1,000 applications.

The programme had intensive masterclasses, bootcamps, and mentorship sessions conducted by industry experts with 15 finalists pitching to a jury, which included Sukhmani Bedi (Partner at Orios Venture Partners), Jaideep Singh Kalra (Director and Head Business Banking at HSBC), and Karan Kumar (Business Development Manager at AWS).

Sreekuttan LS's Bloq Quantum is an AI-enabled collaborative solution for quantum data and algorithm pipelines. Nitesh Singh's Medront Datalabs is a secure data pods and consent platform and allows users to control their personal data and enables secure data exchange with D2C brands. Abhijeet Jagtap's Telkes Technologies (My Pickup) provides subscription-based electric auto-rickshaw services for daily commutes.

IPV also launched IPV Ideaschool Batch 2.0 that will start from August 1. Interested startups can apply for Batch 2 from August 1 till August 20.

Other news

PhonePe's Pincode adds popular Mumbai stores to its app

PhonePe-backed Pincode said popular local stores in Mumbai will now be available on its mobile app. 

These include Provilac Milk, Patel's R Mart, Haiko Supermarket, Desi Farms, and Punjab Sind, etc., enabling customers to shop for groceries, dairy products, fresh fruits and vegetables, along with other daily essentials on the app. 

According to Pincode CEO Vivek Lohcheb, retailers like Patel's R Mart and Haiko Supermarket are seeing over 50% monthly growth since onboarding. "This growth showcases how omni-channel is the way forward for local retailers,” he said.

Pincode has over two million registered users and offers merchants free delivery, seasonal incentives, and reliability in order fulfilment, allowing them to seamlessly transition into the digital marketplace.

Petzzco adds Ravi Shastri as Principal Advisor and Brand Ambassador

Pet care service provider Petzzco on Thursday added former cricketer Ravi Shastri as principal advisor and brand ambassador.

“Our expansion plans are ambitious as we look to onboard major corporations and an additional 750 service providers in Maharashtra, Telangana, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, and Haryana" added Raj Kantak, Founder, Petzzco.

According to the company, since its inception, it has achieved 29,000 lifetime downloads, with a community of more than 5000 members.

Indium appoints Basab Pradhan as Board Chair

AI-based digital engineering services company, Indium Software, appointed Basab Pradhan as the new chairman of the board. 

Basab has spent more than 10 years at Infosys. He also served as a board member at Hexaware and the board chair at Coforge Ltd. In his new role, Basab will oversee the functioning of Indium, alongside other board members, including Vijay Balaji, Co-founder of Indium, and Ram Sukumar, Co-founder and CEO of Indium.

Grip appoints founder Nikhil Aggarwal as group CEO

Investment platform Grip said it is expanding into fund management and portfolio management distribution services with the launch of investment platform, Grip Invest. 

The company also announced the transition of Grip Founder, Nikhil Agarwal, as the Group CEO to lead the expansion and co-lead Grip-promoted full-lifecycle management platform for EVs, Electrifi Mobility. 

It also appointed the Chief Business Officer of Grip Invest, Vaibhav Laddha as the CEO of the investment arm.

Grip will continue to host its existing suite of investment products, corporate bonds, and securitised debt instruments (SDIs), which will be available via a managed structure. During May 2024, Grip Invest facilitated 12% of pan-India retail investments in the high-yield fixed-income products category and 80% of all investments in SDIs. 

Adrenalin eSystems appoints Sanjay Kamath as VP of SASIA region

HR technology firm Adrenalin eSystems appointed Sanjay Kamath as Senior Vice President and Business Head for the SASIA region. 

Prior to his appointment, Kamath was the business head and senior director for growth in India and South Asia at ZingHR. He also served as Vice President at Adrenalin eSystems from October 2003 to November 2012.

Myntra partners with Twid to integrate “Pay with Rewards” system

Myntra has partnered with Twid to enable customers to use their reward points for purchases on the platform with the “Pay with Rewards” construct. 

“By increasing the share of prepaid orders, we've seen a notable improvement in order fulfillment rates and reinforcing our commitment to providing exceptional value and convenience to our customers," noted Santosh Kevlani, Head of Monetisation, Payments and Fintech, Myntra

Twid is a rewards-based payment network. Its collaboration with Myntra allows the platform’s customers to leverage loyalty and reward points from various banks and brands directly at checkout. It boosts users’ purchasing power by helping them save a notable amount on their purchases. 

WinZO partners with FGV Brazil, plans to invest $50M for LATAM expansion

Interactive entertainment platform WinZO partnered with LATAM-based educational institution, Fundação Getulio Vargas (FGV EAESP), for research projects and hiring local talent.

The company, which has a vernacular entertainment platform, also plans to invest $50 million to expand presence in LATAM.

“Partnering with FGV Brazil marks a significant milestone in WinZO's journey to deepen its footprint in the Brazilian market. By hiring local talent and fostering research collaboration, we aim to not only enhance our operational capabilities but also integrate more seamlessly into the local culture,” said Paavan Nanda, Co-founder of WinZO.

The company launched its app in Brazil in October 2023, allowing its 100+ partner game developers to export games and gain free access to the Brazil market.

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