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.

Suraasa secures funding from Reach Capital, ETS, and strategic investors

Suraasa, a platform for teacher workforce development, closed an undisclosed funding round led by Reach Capital, with participation from ETS and other prominent strategic investors.

The investment will help Suraasa's mission to enhance teacher quality, ensuring educators are equipped to meet global standards and get integrated into diverse educational systems worldwide.

Suraasa ensures teachers are not just classroom-ready but globally competitive. Its innovative approach aims to bridge the gap between educational systems worldwide, allowing educators to seamlessly integrate into schools globally, and raising the bar for teacher preparation and mobility.

Travel tech startup Holiday Tribe raises Rs 5.4 Cr

Travel tech startup Holiday Tribe raised Rs 5.4 crore in seed funding led by Powerhouse Ventures and GSF, with participation from Dinesh Agarwal and Dinesh Gulati of India Mart, Murugavel Janakiraman of BharatMatrimony.com, and actor Gaurav Kapur.

It will use the funds to strengthen the brand’s tech capabilities, supply network, and brand building initiatives. Headquartered in Gurugram, Holiday Tribe was founded by ex-MakeMyTrip executives Anshu Sharma and Chirag Goyal in 2023. 

Holiday Tribe has also been a part of GSF’s Founders Academy  S23 cohort. The brand offers customisable holiday experiences across destinations, catering to family and friends, couples and honeymooners, adventure-seekers and those looking to explore newer or unexplored destinations.

Nupur Recycler invests Rs 13 Cr in subsidiary 'Frank Metals'

Nupur Recycler Ltd., a recycling and waste management company, has made a second round of investment of over Rs 13 crore in its subsidiary, Frank Metals. For the first time in March 2024, NRL invested Rs 27.97 crore for 44,40,000 shares and acquired an 80% stake in Frank Metals.

In addition to meeting its working capital requirement, Frank Metals will utilise this fresh infusion of funds to enhance its production capacity from the present level of 1,500-2,000 tonnes per year to 5,000-6,000 tonnes per year.

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.

Amazon India launches comprehensive safety and wellness initiatives for delivery associates

Amazon India launched ambulance services for delivery associates in partnership with Dial 4242 to enhance safety measures and prioritise the health of delivery associates. Additionally, Amazon rolled out a comprehensive six-month health campaign, benefiting over 50,000 delivery service associates across I Have Space and Flex programmes.

The campaign aims to provide free health check-ups to delivery associates, including eye and dental check-ups, besides creating awareness among delivery associates for their ongoing comprehensive health and accidental coverage, including maternity cover for female delivery associates.

Mintoak, Axis Bank partner to enable SMEs with merchant payments, business solutions

Mintoak and Axis Bank have partnered to support small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), where Axis Bank will use Mintoak's white-labelled mobile SaaS platform, enabling SMEs to accept payments, access transaction reports, and submit service requests directly through the neo for merchants app, a payment acceptance and commerce enablement app.

The partnership also seeks to promote financial inclusion and expand the adoption of digital payments within the merchant ecosystem.

BAXY Mobility partners with EV-focused fintech Perpetuity Capital

Gurugram-based BAXY Mobility has partnered with Perpetuity Capital to secure financing for its electric three-wheeler vehicles. The companies have formalised their partnership through a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), with an initial target of financing at least 300 vehicles within the next year.

The partnership aims to establish a robust sales and distribution network, particularly in rural regions. Perpetuity Capital, renowned for its support of clean-tech mobility, contributes its expertise in financing to help first-time borrowers secure formal credit efficiently. This collaboration capitalises on BAXY Mobility's established reputation for reliability and durability in the market.

Samsung India announces winners for ‘Solve for Tomorrow 2024’

Samsung India has announced the winning teams, Eco Tech Innovator and METAL, for the third edition of ‘Solve for Tomorrow 2024’, the company’s flagship national education and innovation competition.

While Eco Tech Innovator from Golaghat, Assam was declared the Community Champion in the School Track. METAL from Udupi, Karnataka was announced as the Environment Champion in the Youth Track.

In addition, the school of the ‘Community Champion’ will receive Samsung products, including a Smart Display Flip 75”, Freestyle Projector, and 10 Galaxy Tab S10+. Similarly, the college of the ‘Environment Champion’ will receive a Smart Display Flip 75”, Freestyle Projector and 10 Galaxy Book 4 Pro laptops to promote social entrepreneurship.

India Exim Bank partners with New India Assurance, VoloFin

India Exim Finserve IFSC Pvt Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of Export-Import Bank of India (India Exim Bank), has partnered with VoloFin, to provide comprehensive receivables finance solutions for Indian exporters.

This partnership will support the underserved SME exporters, who play a key role in the economic growth of the country, and it shall also address critical trade finance gaps and enable incremental open account trade between India and its trade partners.

New India Assurance is the credit insurance partner, with reinsurance support from Atradius (one of the world’s largest credit insurers) and leads the initiative with the first bank policy from GIFT City.

Rocket Learning is developing Saheli, an AI-powered study buddy

Announced at the 10th edition of Google for India, Rocket Learning shared that it has received additional support from Google.org to launch a new fellowship aimed at developing a personalised AI tutor for underserved children, designed to make early childhood education interactive and tailored to each child's understanding and pace.

Google.org Fellows will work pro bono for six months to develop Saheli, an AI-powered study buddy that will be delivered as a web application.

Saheli can adapt to each child's unique needs andl will deliver unique and impactful learning experiences for young children from three to six years of age, with the objective of adoption across the country for children in government-run Anganwadis and pre-schools.

The $1.5-million Google.org grant awarded to Rocket Learning as part of the AI for Global Goals Impact Challenge has already enabled Rocket Learning to develop an AI/ML system that automatically grades over 50,000 homework images daily with 90% accuracy, the company stated. 

Growth-bound India Global Forum makes top BBC hire 

India Global Forum (IGF), the platform advancing contemporary India’s story and forging impactful global partnerships, has appointed a senior BBC executive. 

Uday Karan Verma, with over seven years at BBC India, lately as Country Manager, brings deep expertise in building business opportunities and nurturing strategic alliances to his new role as President - Business Relations at India Global Forum.

On his new role, Uday said, “As a member of this dynamic team, I hope to unlock many new opportunities to shape impactful global dialogues, fostering innovation and sustainable growth across markets and industries.” 

Groww Mutual Fund introduces Groww Gold ETF

Groww Mutual Fund has introduced the Groww Gold ETF, offering investors a new, cost-efficient, and convenient way to invest in gold. The New Fund Offer (NFO) will be available from October 7 to October 18, 2024.

The Groww Gold ETF is an open-ended Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) that seeks to replicate the domestic price of physical gold.

By investing in gold bullion with high purity (99.5%), this ETF provides investors with exposure to the gold market without the hassles associated with buying, storing, or insuring physical gold.

JetSynthesys onboards Nikhil Kamath, Ankit Nagori, Prashant Prakash as franchise team owners for Global e-Cricket Premier League Season 2

JetSynthesys, a digital entertainment and technology company, has announced the first franchise team ownership for Season 2 of its popular IP, Global e-Cricket Premier League (GEPL). Industry leaders Nikhil Kamath, Co-founder of Zerodha, Ankit Nagori, Founder of Curefoods, and Prashanth Prakash, Partner at Accel, will serve as joint team owners of the Bengaluru franchise.

Last year’s tournament attracted over 200,000 registrations and culminated in a rigorous selection process that identified the top 64 players who formed eight teams. The action-packed finale saw these eight teams play off each other in Real Cricket, JetSynthesys’ category-leading cricket video game, and compete for global esports glory.

With a cumulative multiplatform reach of 70 million+, GEPL S1 was also streamed on JioCinema and witnessed a significant viewership of over 1.1 million mins.

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