Startup news and updates: Daily roundup (August 29, 2024)

Funding news

Serigen Mediproducts secure Rs 10 crore funding

Serigen Mediproducts, a Pune-based biomedical products manufacturing company has raised Rs 10 crore from IAN Alpha Fund & Colossa Ventures, along with existing and new angel investors. It is also one of BioAngels' portfolio companies.

Serigen develops tissue regeneration products using silk proteins. The company aims to revolutionise regenerative medicine through cutting-edge research and development.

Serigen has developed three products: Serioss, an osteoconductive bone void filler; Seriderm, an absorbent wound dressing designed using silk protein to accelerate wound healing; and Serimat, a silk protein mesh used in reconstruction surgeries of various organs, including breast reconstruction, abdominal wall reconstruction, and dural repair.

Medront raises Rs 1.06 Cr in pre-seed round

User data storage startup Medront raised Rs 1.06 crore in a pre-seed round led by Inflection Point Ventures for product development, growth efforts, user acquisition, onboarding DaaS clients, and miscellaneous expenses, ensuring efficient user acquisition and strong retention.

Medront Datalabs, founded in 2023 by Nitesh Singh and Saurav Suman, empowers its users with control over their data through innovative data pods, offering brands an alternative to the monopolies of the tech giants. 

The startup also launched its MVP on the Play Store and has built a comprehensive data pipeline for mining, classifying, and generating insights from diverse sources. With over 20,000 users and 20 data partners, Medront is focused on expanding its user base in India.

Other news

Veera Vahana and Exponent Energy announce the World's first 15-minute charging intercity bus

Veera Vahana, a bus manufacturer and provider has partnered with Exponent Energy, an energy-tech company to announce a 15-minute rapid charging long-haul intercity electric bus.

The ‘Veera Mahasamrat EV’ powered by Exponent is said to be the world’s first 13.5m electric bus on 2-axles.

The Veera Mahasamrat EV, powered by Exponent's 320 kWh battery pack, offers virtually unlimited range with 15-minute rapid charging via Exponent's 1MW network. The battery comes with a warranty of 6,00,000 km or 3,000 life cycles, improving financing options and ownership ease.

This EV reduces fleet operating costs by 30% compared to ICE buses, enabling long-haul inter-city travel with quick charging along highways.

Currently, Exponent Energy is focused on electrifying the Bengaluru-Hyderabad route, deploying four 1MW charging stations to ensure a seamless transition from ICE to electric.

Their technology stack ensures optimal battery performance with advanced BMS, charging algorithms, and active thermal management, even in high temperatures.

NODWIN Gaming forms a strategic multi-year partnership with Insider.in

NODWIN Gaming, a new-age youth entertainment, gaming and esports company has formed a multi-year strategic partnership with Insider.in, a ticketing and events platform.

Through this partnership makes Insider.in the official ticketing partner in India for NODWIN Gaming’s key IPs, including DreamHack, NH7 Weekender, and Comic Con India.

Insider.in's ticketing solutions will help NODWIN Gaming provide quick and easy access to top live entertainment for its audiences. Additionally, Insider.in will play a key role in building long-term brand partnerships for NODWIN Gaming's IPs.

Also Read

Nazara's NODWIN Gaming set to acquire Berlin-based Freaks 4U Gaming

CredAble introduces next-gen credit line for MSMEs

CredAble, a fintech company launched revolving short-term loans at the Global Fintech Fest (GFF 2024).

Revolving Short-Term Loans solution is designed to alter how credit is delivered to small businesses and set new standards of excellence in this space.

CredAble’s revolving short-term loan is a flexible, pay-as-you-use working capital credit line for small businesses, where interest is charged only on the funds used. This collateral-free, dynamic financing product offers quick digital assessment and significantly reduces credit turnaround time, rapid disbursement of funds, making it agile and adaptable for small businesses.

EnKash joins forces with NPCI BharatBill Pay (NBBL)

EnKash, a company dealing in corporate payments and business innovation across Asia, has collaborated with NPCI Bharat BillPay Limited (NBBL) to launch B2B invoice payments on the platform at the Global Fintech Fest 2024.

The partnership leverages the Olympus platform by EnKash to enhance business efficiency by streamlining invoice management and payments through the BBPS platform.

Businesses can access financing via TReDS and financial institutions, with Olympus supporting various payment methods like UPI, net banking, cards, NEFT, and IMPS.

Olympus's real-time processing improves operational efficiency and reduces administrative overheads. By integrating with BBPS, EnKash simplifies compliance, reconciliation, and business operations.

In this innovative framework, ‘The Seller’ will upload invoices to the Olympus platform, while ‘The Buyer’ can conveniently retrieve and pay invoices online. The payment details are shared with sellers in near real-time. EnKash, as the Operating Unit, manages B2B invoice payments and KYC processes.

Amazon Pay ICICI Bank credit card now has 5M users.

Amazon Pay ICICI Bank credit card has become India’s first co-branded credit card to onboard over 5 million customers nationwide, the company announced today at the Global Fintech Festival in Mumbai.

The Amazon Pay ICICI Bank credit card, powered by VISA, offers benefits like unlimited cashback, lifetime free access, and instant issuance within 30 minutes through video KYC.

With a digital-first approach, it boasts one of the highest NPS scores and an average spend per user 22% higher than industry standards. The card provides exclusive six-month no-cost EMI on millions of Amazon products and is popular for tap-and-pay transactions.

Cardholders enjoy 5% cashback on Amazon purchases for Prime members, 3% for non-Prime, 2% on bill payments, and 1% on other non-EMI transactions, with rewards credited to Amazon Pay Balance. There are some limited-time offers like 5% cashback on flights and hotels for Prime members and three months of free Prime membership for new cardholders.

Customers can apply for the Amazon Pay ICICI Bank credit card directly from the Amazon website or mobile app.

RBI Deputy Governor unveils product offerings for transforming ATM Infrastructure at GFF 2024

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Deputy Governor Shri T., Rabi Sankar launched the product offerings aimed at transforming the ATM infrastructure in the country.

Unveiled in association with the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) at the Global Fintech Fest (GFF) 2024, the initiatives include UPI Interoperable Cash Deposit (UPI-ICD) and banks showcasing Digital Banking Units (DBUs).

The introduction of UPI ICD allows customers to deposit cash at ATMs operated by banks and white-label ATM operators (WLAOs) using UPI to their own bank account or any other bank account without the need for a physical card. These ATMs are cash recycler machines which are used for both cash deposits and withdrawals.

Leveraging their mobile numbers linked to UPI, virtual payment addresses (VPA) and account IFSCs, customers can now do cash deposits. Consumers will be able to access these features as the banks gradually roll them out. ATM machines with open architecture can host bank apps positioning them as DBUs offering cash deposits, withdrawals and other banking services such as opening bank accounts, applying for credit cards, initiate fixed deposits, applying for safe deposit lockers, etc.

Additionally, Shri Vivek Deep, Executive Director, RBI announced rebranding of Bharat Bill Payment System (BBPS) to Bharat Connect.

OPEN launches Bharat BillPay for Business

SME-focused fintech startup OPEN launched Bharat Billpay for Business in partnership with NPCI Bharat BillPay Limited (NBBL). 

OPEN has become one of the first Indian fintechs to offer Bharat Billpay for Businesses.

Bharat Billpay for Business, created by NBBL, simplifies B2B transactions by connecting ERP systems, accounting software, and banks.

Businesses using Open Money can now easily generate invoices that are instantly accessible to clients for quick payment. Incoming bills from vendors automatically appear in the payable section, eliminating the need for manual entry or downloads.

PayMate partners with NBBL to launch BBPS-B2B platform

PayMate, a digital B2B payments company, has partnered with NPCI Bharat BillPay Ltd (NBBL) to launch the PayMate BBPS-B2B platform. 

The platform aims to standardise and digitise invoicing, payments, and collections across India, connecting 634 lakh MSMEs and 16.6 lakh corporates.

NBBL's platform addresses the entire invoice lifecycle, offering features like business background checks, real-time invoice tracking, access to multiple financiers, and easy reconciliation for corporate and SME clients.

PayMate is integrating with NBBL to ensure seamless interoperability between different systems, enabling digital ordering and e-invoicing. PayMate customers can connect with multiple lenders for the best financing rates, access a pan-India network of verified businesses, and receive real-time invoice updates.

Cashfree Payments launches Secure ID at Global Fintech Fest

Cashfree Payments, a payment and API banking solutions company, launched its Secure ID solution at the Global Fintech Fest.

Secure ID is an end-to-end identity verification and fraud prevention solution, which has crossed over 100 crore verifications and prevented fraud worth over Rs 50 crore.

Using AI and LLMs, Secure ID integrates smoothly into business workflows, enhancing onboarding, user verification, and fraud detection. It offers reliable fraud detection, data-driven risk scoring and monitoring for potential risks in the user’s journey.

Cashfree Payments has unified all its verification services—Aadhaar, PAN, DL, Voter ID, Passport, Face Match, Liveness Detection, GeoLocation, Bank Account, and UPI ID—into the Secure ID suite for improved efficiency.

Kotak Life Insurance, Bajaj Finance, Tata AIG, CRED, BookMyForex, Meesho, and Acko General Insurance are part of the Secure ID portfolio. 

Also Read

Credit growth is crucial but requires cautious management, say fintech entrepreneurs

NxtWave, NSDC announce tech upskilling initiative  

NxtWave, a tech education company, and the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) will launch the ‘NxtWave SkillUp India 4.0’ initiative on September 3, which aims to empower over 30 lakh students in India.

The initiative will go beyond traditional learning by conducting employability tests, workshops, and hackathons at 3,000 colleges, impacting millions of students nationwide.

With over 500 companies at job fairs and 1,000+ partners offering jobs, NxtWave connects students directly to the job market. It also offers deserving students free access to premium tech programmes, including a two-year full stack + AI/ML course worth Rs 2 lakh.

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