Page 2 - Startup Funding

Bihar govt, SIDBI join hands to collaborate on enhancing startup ecosystem

The Bihar government and the Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) have signed an MoU in a bid to boost the startup ecosystem in the eastern state, officials said. The initiative is aimed at creating a conducive environment for startups and transforming Bihar into a startup hub, a SIDBI release said. "The Bihar Startup Fund Trust (BSFT) and SIDBI entered into an MoU to administer the Rs 50-crore Bihar Startup Scale-up Financing Fund' (BSSFF), it said. The BSFT is the nodal agency constituted by the Industries Department for implementation of the Bihar Startup Policy. Under the policy, the state government has set up the BSFT with an initial corpus of Rs 500 crore. Out of this, BSSFF has been established with an initial corpus of Rs 50 crore for scale-up funding support to startups, the release said.

Spyre PropTech Venture rolls out the first phase of Rs 400 crore fund

The maiden fund is set to invest in early and growth stage companies with ticket sizes ranging from Rs 2-8 crore in early stages and Rs 15-40 crore in growth stage series A and B rounds

Pure EV raises $8 mn from consortium of investors in latest funding round

Electric two-wheeler firm Pure EV on Monday said it has raised USD 8 million (around Rs 66 crore) from a consortium of investors. The funding was led by Bennett Coleman and Company Ltd, Hindustan Times Media Ventures, alongside Ushodaya Enterprises Pvt Ltd, existing investors and high net-worth individuals, Pure EV said in a statement. The Hyderabad-based company said it is currently in the final stage of concluding its Series A1 funding round, amounting to USD 25 million with the participation of a foreign institutional investor. Concurrently, ongoing discussions are taking place with potential investors from Dubai, Hong Kong, and Singapore for Series A2 funding, targeting an infusion of USD 15 million, it added. "We will be rapidly expanding our pan-India sales network from 140 to 300 dealers in the next six months," Pure EV Co-Founder & CEO Rohit Vadera stated. The company sells a range of electric motorcycles and scooters and has already sold over 70,000 units.

AI sales platform Kanlet raises $400,000 in pre-seed funding led by Suvan

Company that provides data and insights for B2B sales will use the financing for product development, marketing

Startup funding in India fell 62% to six-year-low in 2023: PrivateCircle

The funding deal volume fell by a sharper 72% in 2023 to 1,444 deals as compared to 5,114 deals in 2022

Musk's AI startup secures $500 million toward $1 billion funding goal

Elon Musk's artificial intelligence company, xAI, has secured $500 million in commitments from investors toward a $1 billion goal, according to people with knowledge of the talks

Ex-Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal raises $30 million for new AI startup

The funding was led Khosla Ventures, which was an early backer for Open AI, as well as Index Ventures and First Round Capital

SalarySe secures $5.25 million in seed funding from Peak XV Surge, Pravega

The company has plans to develop a tech stack for the credit-on-UPI (Unified Payments Interface) product and drive its adoption in the country with the latest round of funding

Venture debt gains ground in Indian startups amid equity fund raising dip

Though demand for venture debt is rising, players are becoming more cautious. Many hope that 2024 will offer good opportunities

Startups hope for strong growth in 2024 after unicorns, funds fall in 2023

Funding winter and corporate governance woes separated the men from the boys in the country's startup space in 2023 that saw funds into the segment tapering to just around USD 8 billion. All said, investors are hopeful of strong growth of the maturing startup ecosystem in the new year. Edtech and health tech segments that grew exponentially during the pandemic plunged into an abyss of financial uncertainties, with several firms shuttering their business, and valuation of prominent players like BYJU'S and PharmEasy plummeting 85-90 per cent. Indian startups are estimated to have laid off over 15,000 employees in 2023. Startups with sustainable business models as well as the well-capitalised ones are expected to weather the current turmoil. And the horizon in 2024 is expected to be "exciting" as well as "challenging". Venture capital firm Lightspeed, which has invested in firms like BYJU'S, Magicpin and OYO, said a high cycle or a low cycle of two years does not really impact the ..

Escrowpay raises $6 million in fresh funding from existing investors

Escrowpay, which offers digital escrow platforms, has raised USD 6 million in fresh funding from existing investors. The latest funding is through the series-A round and is part of the ongoing round targeting USD 15 million. The company recently secured the first digital escrow regulatory fintech authorization from the IFSCA in the Gift City. Currently it serves over 3,000 clients, including SMEs, unicorns, listed enterprises, and emerging digital-first businesses. Escrowpay has processed transactions exceeding Rs 15,000 crore. The fresh capital injection will be strategically utilized to accelerate its initiatives, support key growth areas, and foster innovation within the payments ecosystem, its MD Ashwin Chawwla said in a statement on Wednesday.

EV financing startup RevFin raises Rs 115 cr in Series B funding round

EV financing digital platform RevFin on Tuesday said it has raised USD 14 million (Rs 115 crore) in Series B funding round. Omidyar Network led the round with a USD 5 million investment, joined by the Asian Development Bank, Companion Capital Ltd, and existing investors Green Frontiers Capital and LC Nueva, the company said in a statement. With this funding, Revfin's total capital raised through debt and equity stands at Rs 625 crore, it said. Angel investors such as Dhiiraj Jain (Redcliffe Labs), Anuraag Jaipuria, Ruchi Rans Jaipuria, Rishi Kajaria, Let's Venture Angel Fund, Harash Jain, and others supported this journey, Revfin said. "This funding will empower us to further enhance the EV ecosystem and contribute to the growth of all types of electric vehicles in India. Our unwavering commitment to revolutionise digital lending remains strong, and we look forward to the opportunities ahead," Revfin Founder and CEO Sameer Aggarwal said. The latest capital infusion represents Revf

TMS 589: Funding winter, IT defer hikes, markets, two-state solution

Is India's funding winter thawing? Why is IT sector facing painful readjustments? Do IT stocks have more steam left? What is the two-state solution? All answers here

Battery recycling startup BatX Energies raises $5 mn in early stage funding

Battery recycling startup BatX Energies on Tuesday said it raised USD 5 million (over Rs 40 crore) in an early stage funding round led by Zephyr Peacock. Lets Venture as well as existing investors JITO Angel Network and family offices of Mankind Pharma, Excel Industries, and BluSmart also participated in the pre-Series A funding round, BatX Energies said in a statement. The infusion of fresh funds will help scale up recycled battery-grade lithium, nickel and cobalt production and establish a secured nationwide reverse logistics network for sourcing, it added. "Through strategic allocation of these funds, we're poised to power our vision of sustainable energy solutions. We're directing resources towards pioneering R&D initiatives, elevating the production of superior battery-grade materials," BatX Energies Co-founder & CTO Vikrant Singh said. He further said, "This investment propels our mission to expand globally and establish micro facilities nationwide, fostering a future ...

Indian-American VC urges govt to reduce rules, regulations for startups

A top Indian-American venture capitalist from Silicon Valley has urged India to create a short-term inter-ministerial commission to review the rules and regulations governing the startups to facilitate them to be the next Google and Facebook of the world. The (Indian) government should focus on reducing the compliance burden on startups and businesses, Venkatesh Shukla, the former president of TiE Silicon Valley, told PTI in a recent interview here in California. I think the most important thing he could do is to create either a short-term commission or a committee, inter-ministerial, inter-departmental, to take a fresh look at the rules and regulations governing startups across all departments and figure out what makes sense and what is just a nuisance without adding a whole lot of value to the country, he said. A seed-stage investor, Shukla is the founder and general partner of Monta Vista Capital and has a proven track record of leading companies through rapid growth in his roles

Indian startup funding winter shows signs of thaw as large deals resurface

October saw a resurgence in significant funding rounds, setting the stage for a thaw in investment climate

Startups reflect force shaping economy in the networked age: LG Sinha

Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha on Wednesday reiterated that the administration is committed to creating a start-up ecosystem and ready to provide access to capital and other resources to start-ups and investors. LG inaugurated 'Igniter' start-up festival of J&K organised by Jammu University in collaboration with J&K start-up association, Tourism department, J&K Bank and J&K Rural Livelihood Mission. The mega event has brought together various stakeholders and investors on one platform. "I strongly believe start-ups reflect the force shaping the economy in the networked age. University and college campuses are known as a liquid platform of ideas and the best we can do is to create an environment so that great ideas can be realized", Sinha said while addressing the function here. LG said that the administration is committed to creating a start-up ecosystem and is ready to provide access to capital and other resources, fostering innovation and ...

DIEZ launches AED 500 mn venture capital fund to finance tech startups

The new fund was launched on the sidelines of the Dubai Business Forum, which is being organised by Dubai Chambers under the patronage of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid

Banks considering rating framework to assess risk profile of startups

The plan to set up this mechanism has come up at a time when the government has asked banks to play a more active role in financing startups

Focused on cutting costs, Byju's to skip campus placements this year

Even if Byju's were to visit their campuses, it is unlikely that students would be keen to sit for their placements, an official aware of the matter said