Startup news and updates: Daily roundup (September 11, 2024)

Funding

HROne secures $4M in a pre-Series B funding 

HROne has secured $4 million in a pre-Series B funding round led by current investors, Insitor Partners and Prudent Investment Managers.

This investment will go into building more high-value add features that can transform the impact an HR function can deliver for the organisation, the company said, adding that the funds will also be used to scale up its operations.

“The team’s focus on maintaining a customer-first philosophy positions them uniquely to lead the HR tech revolution,” said Nicholas Lazos, Co-founder and CIO of Insitor.

The startup claims to serve more than 1,500 clients across 20 industries, including Haier, Muthoot Microfin, Lux Industries, Pathkind Labs, Sula Vineyards, Mr. DIY, Magicpin, and Hero Housing Finance.

Nazara acquires 15.86% stake in esports platform STAN for Rs 18.4 Cr

Nazara Technologies Limited, through its wholly-owned subsidiary Nazara Dubai FZ, has acquired a 15.86% stake in esports community platform GetStan Technologies Pte. Ltd (STAN) for approximately Rs 18.4 crore in an all-cash secondary transaction.

Founded by Parth Chadha, Nauman Mulla, and Rahul Singh, STAN is a prominent player in the Indian esports and fan engagement sector. The mobile-first platform connects gamers and supports content creators with essential tools. 

As of July 2024, STAN boasts over 12 million users, with more than 80% acquired through organic and referral channels, and has over 500,000 paying users with a strong 30-day retention rate of over 60%.

“STAN’s mobile-first approach and focus on community engagement align perfectly with our vision to become a leading player in the global esports ecosystem. This acquisition allows us to expand our reach while empowering content creators and fostering a stronger gaming community,” said Nitish Mittersain, Founder and CEO of Nazara Technologies.

Zivy raises $1.2M in pre-seed round led by Blume Ventures

Zivy, an AI-driven tech startup, has raised $1.2 million in the pre-seed round led by Blume Ventures and co-investors Paradigm Shift Capital, iSeed, Everywhere Ventures, Indian Silicon Valley, and Marsshot Ventures. 

The round also saw participation from many marquee angel investors such as Ashwin Bhatnagar and Anand Balaji from Xflow, Harshil Mathur and Shashank Kumar from Razorpay, and Kunal Shah.

With the recent fundraising, the tech startup plans to allocate the funds towards its product development and expanding its R&D team.

Founded in 2023, Zivy aims to build a personalised copilot for managers and leads, that helps them stay organised and manage their work more effectively. Zivy’s initial release integrates directly with Slack, analysing the context of your conversations and tasks.

Mitra bags Rs 11 Cr in pre-Series A funding

Mitra, an FMCG direct-to-consumer startup, has raised Rs 11 crore in its pre-Series A funding round led by Bestvantage Investments, with participation from a Dubai-based strategic family office.

The funding round included Ah! Ventures, Soonicorn Ventures, Beej Network, Planify, 1000 Unicorns, and individual investors like Arjun Vaidya, Ashok, and Ajay Kumar, ex-COO of Pizza Hut, along with support from strategic mentors and advisors.

The funds will be used for the startup’s plans for expansion, starting with its newly established manufacturing unit in Mathura and Gurgaon, spanning over 40,000 square feet.

The recent funding will enable Mitra to strengthen its supply chain further, explore export opportunities in European markets, and participate in strategic government tenders, including NAFED and Bharat Aata.

The company has built a distribution network of more than 300 distributors and 15,000+ retailers, with operations across 14 locations.

Supersquad secures Rs 2.1 Cr in pre-seed round

Creator monetisation startup Supersquad has secured Rs 2.1 crore led by WLDD, with participation from angel investors including Nitin Rajput and Jivraj Singh Sachar. 

The company intends to use the funds to strengthen its technology platform and grow the team. This investment will fuel the company's mission to transform how creators connect with their audiences and monetize their passions through unforgettable travel experiences.

Co-founded in 2024 by Akash Kadyan and Anushrut Khare, Supersquad helps creators unlock a new income stream through community-led travel experiences.

Supersquad aims to onboard more creators and build strategic partnerships with travel providers.

Other news

Accel to invest up to $1M in pre-seed startups with Accel Atoms 4.0

Accel, a leading global venture capital firm, has launched Accel Atoms 4.0, the fourth edition of its pre-seed scaling programme, designed to make a founders’ 0 to 1 journey as frictionless as possible. 

Accel Atoms 4.0 is calling for applications from two types of pre-seed startups: 1) those focused on ‘Bharat’—middle-income households in Tier II, Tier III, and rural India—and 2) those specialising in AI.

Accel Atoms 4.0 is a rigorous three-month hybrid program open to pre-seed startups, including those at the idea stage and pre-product stage.

Selected startups will receive up to $1 million in funding via equity or convertible note, along with over $5 million in perks from Accel’s network partners. Founders will also gain access to Accel’s global community of over 200 founders, mentors, and potential customers.

Since its inception in 2021, Accel Atoms has supported 32 startups, which have collectively raised over $200 million so far. Companies like DhiWise, Material Depot, Nymble, Ripik, Rigi, and Spendflo were part of prior editions of Accel Atoms.

G42 to launch Hindi LLM

G42, the UAE-based leading technology holding group, has announced that it will soon launch NANDA—a Hindi large language model. 

It is a 13-billion parameter model trained on approximately 2.13 trillion tokens of language datasets, including Hindi.

NANDA is the result of a collaboration between Inception (a G42 company), Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence, and Cerebras Systems. 

The model was trained on Condor Galaxy, one of the world’s most powerful AI supercomputers for training and inferencing built by G42 and Cerebras.

Zoomcar partners with Mappls

Zoomcar has partnered with Mappls MapmyIndia to enable users to seamlessly book a Zoomcar while planning their trips with the Mappls App, enhancing the end-to-end travel planning and booking experience.

“Our partnership with Zoomcar brings added convenience and freedom to travellers and marks a significant milestone in our mission to simplify and enhance the travel experience for users,” said Rohan Verma, CEO and Executive Director of MapmyIndia.

Zoomcar, with over 25,000 cars across 99+ cities, is now fully integrated into the Mappls app, offering a seamless experience for all types of travellers. Mappls, an all-in-one app for navigation, hyperlocal discovery, and travel planning, allows direct Zoomcar bookings while offering features like 3D junction views, real-time safety alerts, and an AI-powered platform for tailored travel solutions, including destination selection, hotel bookings, and itinerary planning.

Porter joins ONDC Network

Porter, an on-demand logistics provider, has joined the ONDC network, which is rapidly expanding, with significant growth in same-day hyperlocal deliveries. 

Currently, the Open Network processes approximately 53,000 orders per day across various categories, including food and grocery. 

To support this growth and boost efficiency in the Food and Beverage sector, Porter, which has a fleet of over 7.5 lakh drivers across more than 22 cities, will provide its two-wheeler services in 20 cities across India, optimising delivery speed and reliability. 

ONDC is a network of 99 apps, 24 buyer apps and 75 seller apps. Shoppers can choose from one of the 24 buyer apps to buy their desired products based on the categories of products those apps have enabled. Sellers can choose from one of the 75 to be listed on the Network. 

India Accelerator launches Impact Labs

India Accelerator has launched a new vertical, Impact Labs, in association with UNTILs (United Nations Technology Innovation Labs) dedicated to supporting startups focused on creating positive impact and promoting social inclusion.

The accelerator aims to help innovators and social entrepreneurs turn their early-stage startups into sustainable and scalable ventures.

Impact Labs aims to create an innovation ecosystem promoting resilience in climate action and cleantech, assistive healthcare, substitute and alternative materials, social development and welfare, agriculture, land, water and waste, sustainable ecommerce, microfinance and financial inclusion, and DEI and gender tech.

Impact Labs has invested $2.5 million in over 20 impact and SDG-driven startups in India, spanning DEI, climate innovation, financial inclusion, and healthcare sectors.

Origin to deliver 250 fresh vegetables, fruits across Bengaluru

Origin has announced the delivery of over 250 varieties of fresh vegetables, fruits, herbs, and exotic produce across Bengaluru through its platform. The brand guarantees delivery within 12 hours of harvest, ensuring freshness with every order.

Origin offers an omnichannel approach, combining offline, online, and quick commerce delivery modes to cater to a wide range of customers. The focus is on providing a seamless experience with convenient delivery, consistent quality, and a diverse selection of fresh produce.

GIA of Karnataka govt unveils new initiatives for Bengaluru Tech Summit

The Global Innovation Alliance (GIA), an initiative of the Department of Electronics, Information Technology, Biotechnology, and Government of Karnataka to create partnerships with leading countries in the field of technology and innovation unveiled new initiatives to promote the forthcoming Bengaluru Tech Summit 2024 to be held between November 19 and 21.

As part of this initiative, International partners were invited to bring their country delegations, including both ministerial, academic, R&D, and corporate representatives, to participate in the exhibition by setting up country pavilions to showcase their technological capabilities, holding meetings with representatives from various nations, and conduct focused sessions under the Global Collaboration Track in the conference.

The Global Innovation Alliance Market Access Programme (GIA MAP) has also facilitated exploratory visits for growth-stage Karnataka startups to five countries—the UAE, Singapore, Belgium, Australia, and Germany—across various tech segments, supporting 42 startups.

Established in 2017, the GIA partners network has grown from 10 countries in 2018 to over 30 in 2024.

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