Startup news and update: daily roundup (August 20, 2024)

Funding news

Acadru raises funding led by AIG Direct LLC

ACadru , a SaaS company focusing on content, interdisciplinary learning, and curiosity for middle and high school students, raised about $ 0.5 million led by AIG Direct LLC and other investors for market expansion and creating new content avenues.

The Gurugram-based platform offers contextual explorations, providing background material, projects, content flow ideas, and linkages for individual and team projects. It also provides resources for research, analysis, and evaluation skills.

It has a weekly repository of over 5,000 projects covering 500 topics, used by top schools worldwide to enhance learning outcomes. It serves as a teacher resource and student-learning tool, particularly beneficial for project-based learning and 21st-century skills.

Other news

IKEA achieves 100% EV deliveries in major Indian cities, expands green initiative

Home furnishings brand IKEA achieved its first 100% EV-powered deliveries across Bengaluru, Hyderabad, and Pune. It plans to expand Mumbai operations and enter new markets with an EV-first approach, starting with Delhi NCR.

IKEA India has reduced its carbon footprint by 88% in 2023. The company is partnering with local manufacturers to develop innovative mobility solutions, fostering the local economy and job creation.

Its diverse EV fleet, equipped with advanced technology, can handle loads ranging from 680kg to 1700kg. IKEA aims to achieve 100% EV deliveries by 2025, drive continuous innovation, and collaborate with the government. The company also aims to become climate-positive, halve greenhouse emissions by 2030, and reach net zero by 2050 globally.

Ultraviolette appoints Vinayak Bhat as CPO

Ultraviolette Automotive Pvt Ltd (UV), an electric vehicle and battery technology platform, promoted Vinayak Bhat to Chief Product Officer. With over a decade of experience in aerospace and electric mobility, Bhat will oversee UV's product portfolio expansion from inception to market introduction, aiming to broaden its product range and drive innovation in the high-performance electric vehicle sector.

Founded in 2016 by Narayan Subramaniam and Niraj Rajmohan, it is supported by global investors like Lingotto, Qualcomm Ventures, Zoho Corporation, TVS Motor, and Speciale Invest.

Veefin Group appoints Shantanu Bairagi as CEO of Veefin Capital

Veefin Group appointed Shantanu Bairagi as CEO of Veefin Capital, a subsidiary focusing on creating a new asset class in supply chain finance for MSMEs.

Bairagi, with over 20 years of banking and finance experience, is set to drive the company's growth and innovation in his new role.

Veefin Capital, a subsidiary of the Veefin Group, plans to create a new asset class in supply chain finance for MSMEs, addressing the financial system's lack of support due to factors like collateral-backed risk under-writing, high acquisition costs, and lack of credit history. It plans to leverage corporate relationships, digitise, and broaden its investor base through debt capital instruments.

IIMA Ventures launches second cohort of People and Culture Accelerator

IIMA Ventures launched the second cohort of its People and Culture Accelerator, designed to help startups address people and culture challenges. It selected eight startups, including Third Wave Coffee, Toprankers, Riskcovry, and Roopya, among others, for the programme.

The three-day programme, focusing on seed-stage startups, aims to help founders, team leaders, and people leaders address gaps in their people strategy and culture, including hiring interventions, performance management, formalisation, culture building, and leadership.

Aditya Birla Finance, AU Small Finance Bank launch co-branded credit cards with Visa, RuPay

Aditya Birla Finance, a subsidiary of Aditya Birla Capital, and AU Small Finance Bank launched Aditya Birla Finance AU credit cards, available on Visa and RuPay payment networks.

The co-branded cards are available in four variants and offer comprehensive reward benefits to cater to the financial needs of individual customers and business owners.

It also offers lifetime-free benefits with the 'Flex' and 'Nxt' cards, which customers can personalise through the Aditya Birla Finance mobile app. The 'Pro' variant provides accelerated reward points and reduced forex markup fees, while the 'Biz' card is designed for business customers with accelerated rewards points and discounts across select dining partners.

Zapcom appoints Prasanth Nair as CTO

ZapCom Group Inc. appointed Prasanth Nair as its new Chief Technology Officer (CTO), who will oversee engineering activities and resources, leveraging his extensive experience in global team leadership.

With over 24 years of experience in business, product, customer, and stakeholder roles, Nair has worked at Amazon, Flipkart, Alibaba, Yahoo!, and ClearTax. His expertise in innovation and building high-performance tech teams will be a significant asset to Zapcom as it continues to drive industry-leading solutions.

Zapcom, a US-based product development and engineering firm, provides customer-centric software solutions in various industries. It has a strong presence in India, Europe, Canada, and MENA.

Ruloans, UGRO Capital partner to expand into rooftop solar finance market

Ruloans has partnered with UGRO Capital, an MSME lending platform, to tap into the growing renewable energy finance market. With this, Ruloans will include rooftop solar finance products in its loan portfolio.

Ruloans, a lender and financial services distribution company, generated a revenue of Rs 26,833 crore in FY23. The company plans to target Rs 100 crore in solar business in FY25, leveraging its RUCONNECT app for easy access.

Flutter Entertainment opens $3.5M global capability centre in Hyderabad

Flutter Entertainment, an online sports betting and iGaming operator, opened a new global capability centre in RMZ Spire in Knowledge City, Hyderabad, with a $3.5 million investment.

The 80,000 sq. ft hub spans three floors and can house over 700 employees across data engineering, game integrity services, HR operations, procurement, safety and security, and customer operations.

Flutter is investing in a new workspace in Hyderabad, India, to support its global growth and sustainability agenda. The Flutter Edge, a competitive advantage, will be used by teams based in the new location.

The workspace, gold-certified by the US Green Building Council, is recognised for its Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design. It is also making a contribution of GBP 30,000 for 2024 to support local initiatives in Hyderabad, demonstrating its commitment to making a positive impact in the communities where it operates.

BharatPe launches secured loans for merchants, partners with OTO Capital, Volt Money

BharatPe partnered with OTO Capital for two-wheeler loans and Volt Money for loans against mutual funds (LAMF) for merchant partners on its platform.

The company plans to expand its offering to include a multi-product and multi-lender option in the next phase.

BharatPe's merchants can now get two-wheeler loans of up to Rs 2.5 lakh at competitive interest rates from OTO Capital, with a 100% digital application process and repayment period of 12-48 months. Additionally, with LAMF in partnership with Volt Money, merchants can get loans of up to Rs 1 crore.

udaan to transform fair price shops into Jan Poshan Kendras

udaan partnered with the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution and the Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) to transform fair price shops (FPSs) into Jan Poshan Kendras (JPK).

The initiative aims to boost FPS dealers' income and improve nutritional outcomes for beneficiaries. It will also provide upskilling, credit access, and financial support to enable FPS dealers to offer nutrition-dense non-public distribution system commodities.

udaan's initiative will allow Jan Poshan Kendras to access a wider range of food products through its eB2B platform. Under a new pilot initiative, 60 FPS (15 from each of four states: Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Telangana, and Gujarat) will be tested.

If successful, the model will expand to nearly 1.3 lakh Jan Poshan Kendras for modernisation. SIDBI will provide credit facilities to these centres, enabling them to purchase food grains and FMCG products through udaan’s platform.

KPMG, Zscaler collaborate to enhance cloud security

KPMG and Zscaler have partnered to jointly offer zero trust principle-aligned data security services. The partnership includes cloud-delivered protection of endpoints, workloads, identity, and data.

KPMG will provide a unified technology solution to consolidate and simplify cloud security operations, enabling companies to transition from legacy models to a modern zero trust approach designed for the cloud.

The partnership will offer Zscaler Zero Trust Exchange platform capabilities, including Zscaler Private Access, Zscaler Internet Access, and Zscaler Data Protection, along with KPMG's transformational advisory services and digital trust services. The alliance aims to improve management and visibility, enabling customers to leverage ZIA for cloud-native, AI-powered cyber threat protection, and zero trust access to the internet and SaaS apps.

Metastable Materials appoints R U Srinivas as HR advisor and executive coach

Metastable Materials, a lithium-ion battery recycling startup, appointed R U Srinivas as HR Advisor and Executive Coach. With over three decades of experience in scaling organisations, building a culture of process excellence, and coaching leadership teams, Srinivas will play a crucial role in driving Metastable Materials' growth and success.

Metastable Materials transforms hazardous battery waste into valuable resources through innovative recycling processes.

Under Srinivas' strategic guidance, the company is poised to accelerate growth, expand operations, and strengthen its leadership position in the industry.

K-SAP moves to phase II with new goals for biotech startups in Karnataka

The Karnataka Startup Advancement Programme (K-SAP) completed phase I, involving 50 biotech startups from healthcare, agriculture, and environment. The government and Centre for Cellular and Molecular Platforms (C-CAMP) are now collaborating for phase II, targeting 85 startups to enhance their chances of market success.

K-SAP is a comprehensive mentorship programme for life sciences startups, involving industry veterans as mentors. It offers mentorship, funding access, knowledge, and networking opportunities to help startups navigate their early stages towards sustainable scalability, manufacturing, and commercial success.

The programme includes IP, regulatory, administrative support, funding assistance, networking events, and domain-specific workshops.

Plugzmart secures ARAI certification for innovative EV charging solutions

Plugzmart, a smart EV charger manufacturing company in IIT Madras, received certification from the Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI) for its 60kW DC fast charger and proprietary controller card.

The certification demonstrates compliance with operational safety and efficiency norms in India, a significant step towards advancing India's indigenous EV infrastructure, and reflects Plugzmart's commitment to innovation and quality in EV charging infrastructure.

Plugzmart, incubated in IIT Madras Research Park in 2019, aims to create a sustainable energy ecosystem and transform commuting into a more sustainable resource. The company has developed a charging management system that works with EV charging stations to create a sustainable future of commuting, making it more efficient and reliable.

SAWiT launches AI training for 10M South Asian women

South Asian Women in Tech (SAWiT) will train 10 million women in Generative AI (GenAI) skills across India, starting with Hyderabad. The initiative aims to equip women with the necessary expertise to contribute to India's technological and economic growth.

SAWiT, in partnership with T-Hub and HYSEA, held an event in Hyderabad to upskill 500,000 women in the first phase of its programme. SAWiT.AI, which aims to increase women's participation in India's workforce, is set to launch on September 21, 2024.

The initiative, supported by an advisory council, including Roshni Nadar Malhotra, Samantha Ruth Prabhu, and Farzana Haque, will be divided into three phases: the SAWiT.AI Learnathon, SAWiT.AI Hackathon, and SAWiT.AI Festival.

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