Startup news and updates: Daily roundup (December 10, 2024)
YourStory presents the daily news roundup from the Indian startup ecosystem and beyond. Here's the roundup for Tuesday, December 10, 2024.
Funding News
Sustainiam raises $1.45 million in its pre-series A funding
Carbon management and sustainability solution provider, Sustainiam has raised $1.45 million in its Pre-Series A funding round led by Orios Venture Partners.
The round saw participation from investors including Shilpa Shetty Kundra, Rajesh Sawhney, Harsh Vardhan Bhachandka, and Vinit Bhansali.
The funding will support the launch of Sustainiam’s fully digital, technology-driven exchange for environmental assets, positioning it as a leader in global carbon credit management. It will also help expand its workforce and operations internationally.
Netrasemi raises Rs 10 Cr in pre-Series A round from Unicorn India Ventures
Semiconductor startup Netrasemi has raised Rs 10 crore in a pre-Series A round from Unicorn India Ventures to build Edge AI for IoT products.
The Kerala-based company plans to use the funds for fabrication of two ML SoC chips, namely, Netra A2000 and Netra R1000.
These chips enable motherboards to perform advanced AI analytics locally, making products smart, affordable, responsive, and independent without relying on servers or the cloud.
The company, co-founded by Jyothis Indirabhai, Sreejith Varma, and Deepa Geetha in 2020, has generated about $0.75 million in revenue and profits from chip design and porting services for strategic partners. It is expecting growth to reach 150% in FY25 from IP revenue, and exponential growth starting in FY27 with chip volume production.
Wafeq raises $7.5M in Series A funding
Wafeq, an accounting platform for SMEs in the MENA region, has secured $7.5 million (SAR 28 million) in its Series A funding round.
The round was led by Chris Corbishley of 9900 Capital, with participation from Gary Turner, former CEO of Xero’s EMEA operations, and existing investors Raed Ventures and Wamda Capital.
The company plans to expand its workforce and enhance its product to support SME growth, aligning with Vision 2030's digital transformation.
Kreedo Early Childhood raises Rs 10 Cr in debt funding
Edtech startup Kreedo Early Childhood Solution has raised Rs 10 crore in debt funding from Recur Club to support its growth and expansion plans across India as well as enhance its product offerings.
The funding is structured as a curated debt stack that strategically combines short-term and long-term debt lines and includes both secured and unsecured debt instruments.
Kreedo co-founders Mridula Shridhar and Manikandan Krishnan
Founded in 2012 by Mridula Shridhar and Manikandan Krishnan, Kreedo has achieved over 35% annual revenue growth for the past three years.
It raised $4 million in Series A funding, co-led by Heritas Capital and UBS Optimus Foundation, to improve educational ecosystems in schools.
MeitY grants Rs 2 Cr in funding to 5 startups
The Birla Institute of Management Technology (BIMTECH) is supporting startup growth through the SAMRIDH program, an initiative by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY).
Its incubation center, AIC-BIMTECH, has helped eight startups, five of which secured Rs 2 crore in funding from MeitY.
The funded startups—Cunomial, Credit Siddhi, Origin Connect, Transport Simple, and Vacus—have a combined valuation of Rs 75 crore. The programme aims to foster innovation and entrepreneurship in alignment with India’s vision of Viksit Bharat 2047.
Other News
Cloudflare sees 17% YoY increase in global internet traffic
US-listed cloud connectivity firm Cloudflare today released its 2024 Year in Review, highlighting key global internet trends and security insights.
According to the report, Cloudflare noted a 17% year-over-year increase in global internet traffic, emphasising a growing dependence on the web for daily activities, from social media to online banking and gaming.
Google remained the most popular internet service, followed by Facebook, Apple, and TikTok, with WhatsApp entering the top ten for the first time.
In the generative AI space, OpenAI maintained its lead, while new entrants like Codeium, Claude, and CoPilot secured spots in the top ten.
The gaming sector saw Steam and Minecraft joining the top rankings, while Roblox remained at the forefront.
WhatsApp launches Bharat Yatra initiative for small businesses
WhatsApp launched its WhatsApp Bharat Yatra initiative, which provides on-ground, in-person training to small businesses across India.
The mobile bus tour aims to help small businesses maximize WhatsApp's capabilities, boosting their digital skills and growth potential.
After its Delhi-NCR tour, the WhatsApp-branded bus will travel across India to cities including Agra, Lucknow, Kanpur, Indore, Ahmedabad, Surat, Nashik, and Mysore. The initiative will offer small and medium businesses interactive demos, personalised training on setting up a Business Profile, catalog, and ads, and guidance on using WhatsApp Business features to boost sales, and grow operations.
Vilcart opens new office space in Bengaluru
Rural economy-focused technology startup opened a new 10,000 sq. ft. office in Rajarajeshwari Nagar, Bengaluru.
Founded in 2018, Vilcart operates in 30,000 villages across Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, and Tamil Nadu, serving 85,000 kirana stores. The company plans to expand across South India by the end of 2024.
In January 2023, Vilcart raised $18 million (Rs. 144 crore) in Series A funding led by Asia Impact SA.
Shiprocket appoints Vivek Sharma as VP of International Shipping
Ecommerce enablement platform Shiprocket has appointed Vivek Sharma as Vice President of International Shipping. Sharma will focus on developing ShiprocketX and CargoX, expanding new verticals, line hauls, categories, products, and geographies, the company said.
Sharma boasts an expansive career with global exposure across UK, Hong Kong, Germany, the USA and Dubai, managing imports, exports, warehousing air and sea freight.
MVM Entertainment acquires stake in US ticketing company Flite
MVM Entertainment, led by Vedant Mahajan, said it had acquired a stake in US-based ticketing platform Flite, which is currently valued at $14 million.
“One big challenge we faced was finding the right ticketing partner. We tried a bunch of the top players in the U.S., but kept running into issues—late payments, no guest profiling, no dynamic pricing, and zero useful insights. That’s when we found Flite. Their tech completely changed the game, fixing all those issues and giving us insights we didn’t even know we needed,” noted Mahajan on the synergies from acquisition.
Flipkart-backed super.money sees growth in UPI transactions
UPI fintech platform super.money secured the 6th rank in UPI transactions with a volume of 78.49 million amongst Third-Party Application Providers (TPAP).
This is a 57.9% increase from October 2024, when it ranked 12th, according to NPCI data. The platform has risen to the 7th rank in terms of transaction volume in less than 6 months.
Scaler School of Technology enters partnership with eGov Foundation
Scaler School of Technology (SST) has partnered with eGov, a non-profit founded by Nandan Nilekani and Srikanth Nadhamuni, to launch a specialized GovTech credit course on Digital Infrastructure for Governance and Inclusive Transformation (DIGIT).
The course will focus on public service delivery through a practical, project-led approach. The partnership also aims to establish a joint innovation lab, nurturing a new generation of tech talent dedicated to improving public services.
Honasa Consumer appoints Meetu Mulchandani as VP and Head of Brand Factory
Mamaearth parent Honasa Consumer promoted Meetu Mulchandani to Vice President and Head of Brand Factory to facilitate the creation and growth of new brands.
Mulchandani will oversee all aspects, including ideation, market research, and strategy development for new brands. She spearheaded success of brands like Aqualogica and Dr. Sheth’s, driving them to Rs 100 crore milestones.
Mulchandani has had 2 decades of experience in the beauty and personal care industry. Prior to her four year stint at Honasa leading the growth of emerging brands she held key roles at Nyumi, The Mom’s Co., Healthkart, Alteus Biogenics, and Mankind Pharma.
ISB DLabs unveils third cohort of its healthcare accelerator programme
DLabs at the Indian School of Business unveiled the third cohort of its flagship healthcare accelerator programme, ‘I-HEAL @ ISB 3.0’ in partnership with Citius Tech.
Out of 173 applications, 15 startups were selected, covering areas like digital health, women and children’s healthcare, diagnostics, healthcare management, and geriatric care.
CAST AI looks at strategic expansion in India
Automation platform CAST AI has expanded into India with a new office in Bengaluru as part of its growth plan across the Asia-Pacific region.
This comes amid increasing demand for CAST AI’s solutions in India, particularly from companies like 6Sense, ShareChat, and Yubi, looking to optimize cloud costs and improve operational efficiency.
The company plans to leverage Indian talent to drive innovation and expand its global workforce.
ChargeZone appoints Pritesh Kumar as Director of Business Development
EV charging network provider ChargeZone has appointed Pritesh Kumar as Director of Business Development.
Kumar will focus on strengthening B2B and B2C operations, scaling Battery-as-a-Service (BaaS) solutions, and improving infrastructure efficiency. He will also work on increasing the accessibility of ChargeZone's services across India.
Kumar's career includes leadership roles at Mahindra & Mahindra, where he expanded institutional sales, launched digitization initiatives, and secured major government contracts.
(This article will be updated with the latest news throughout the day.)
Edited by Megha Reddy