Startup news and updates: Daily roundup (October 7, 2024)

Funding news

Beauté Secrets raises Rs 1.6 Cr from Velocity

Beauté Secrets, a Gurugram-based beauty tools brand, has raised Rs 1.6 crore from Velocity, a financing platform backed by Peter Thiel's Valar Ventures.

The funding will help Beauté Secrets expand its operations on quick commerce platforms and add new products to its lineup.

Founded by Harnika Aneja in 2010, Beauté Secrets provides high-quality, affordable beauty tools. The brand has a vast product portfolio, including manicure/pedicure kits, tweezers, cuticle trimmers, foot scrubbers, hair brushes, scissors, etc., across basic, essential, and premium categories.

AI startup Nayan Tech raises $2M

AI startup Nayan Tech has raised $2 million in its pre-Series A round led by BEENEXT, We Founder Circle, Venture Catalysts, Let's Venture, and FAAD Capital.

Founded by Jayant Ratti, the AI startup provides smart city solutions for traffic monitoring, municipal automation, urban infrastructure management, driver behaviour monitoring, fleet management, and passenger safety through its AI-powered dashcam. It will use the funds to expand Nayan’s AI and IoT-powered solutions business and operations in India and globally.

JSW Ventures invests $1.8M in Aereo’s Series B round

JSW Ventures has invested $1.8 million in Aereo, an aerial intelligence platform, as part of its Series B funding round. This investment aims to strengthen Aereo’s position in providing innovative commercial drone solutions and accelerating its growth in international markets.

Aereo leverages advanced drone technology and AI-driven data analytics to enhance asset management in sectors, such as mining, infrastructure, urban and rural development, and land records. The company’s comprehensive offerings include inventory assessments, quality inspections, and land record digitisation.

Other news

Zaggle appoints ex-Kotak Mahindra Bank exec as additional director

Zaggle, a SaaS fintech solution provider, appointed Virat Sunil Diwanji, the former Head of Consumer Banking at Kotak Mahindra Bank, as an additional director (non-executive, non-independent) to its board, effective October 4, 2024.

Diwanji is a seasoned banker with over 30 years of experience building, managing, and growing businesses cutting across liabilities and assets. He worked with Kotak Group for almost three decades in various roles across segments, including retail banking and other businesses.

He also served as a non-executive director for over nine years on the board of Kotak General Insurance Ltd. He was also a member of the group management committee at Kotak Group besides being a member of several other operating committees.

The Sleep Company appoints Kamaljeet Singh as CHRO

The Sleep Company (TSC) appointed Kamaljeet Singh as its new Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO).

With over 15 years of extensive experience in human resources and operations, Singh brings a wealth of expertise from his previous role as vice president of HR operations at Rebel Foods, where he led HR initiatives across a network of over 350 kitchens, managing the entire employee life cycle for 7,000 staff.

Before joining TSC, Singh held various senior HR roles at Reliance Industries Limited, where he was instrumental in spearheading business transformation projects and aligning talent management with organisational goals.

Marwari Catalysts invites startups for Thrive 9.0 of Acceleration and Funding Cycle

Marwari Catalysts opened the applications for Thrive 9.0, the latest batch of its acceleration and funding programme. The 9th cohort builds on the achievements of the previous eight successful batches and aims to empower early-stage startups across sectors with essential resources, mentorship, and funding opportunities to elevate their growth and entrepreneurial journey.

Sushil Sharma, Founder and CEO of MCats, said, "Building on the success of our previous batches, we are excited to leverage our diverse experience to launch a new cohort that supports startup founders coming out of Tier II and III markets, as an accelerator and growth partner in their journey."

EatSure announces industry-first loyalty programme “ELITE” to reward customers

EatSure, the D2C platform of Rebel Foods, launched a loyalty programme for customers, EatSure Elite.

As the first-of-its-kind in the industry, EatSure Elite goes beyond the typical offerings of free delivery and rewards its loyalists with free food, giving customers exclusive access to some of the most craved dishes across multiple brands.

The loyalty programme is points-based, allowing customers to accumulate SurePoints with every order placed through the EatSure app or website.

Upon reaching 1,000 SurePoints, customers can unlock the coveted EatSure Elite status and access a suite of rewards, including free delivery and complimentary dishes that amplify their food-ordering experience.

IndiaGold eyes major expansion In India's gold loan market

IndiaGold, a fintech company specialising in gold loans, is eyeing the gold loan industry with its expansion plans and innovative product offerings.

With a vision to become the preferred choice of lender for small business owners and individuals, especially those operating micro and small enterprises outside the GST framework, IndiaGold is committed to providing swift, discreet, and convenient gold loan services.

"We aim to streamline the gold loan process and eliminate the stigma associated with the use of family gold as a monetisable asset. This will empower small business owners to access the financial support they need. In this financial year, we will not only strengthen our presence in existing markets but also foray into new cities with significant potential," said Nitin Misra, Co-founder of Indiagold.

Afthonia Labs, New South Wales govt partner to offer fintech accelerator programme

The New South Wales (NSW) government has initiated a fintech accelerator programme in collaboration with Afthonia Labs, aimed at empowering Australian startups to successfully enter and thrive in India.

These efforts are part of the push from the Australian and Indian governments to strengthen trade ties, with a particular focus on fostering collaboration in the fintech and cybersecurity sectors.

The accelerator programme has been designed to help remove the complexities of navigating a large, diverse, and highly regulated market like India, especially in domains such as fintech.

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