Page 38 - Start Ups

What are Thrasio-style startups and what's driving their appeal in India?

Using a model pioneered by Thrasio in the US, several startups like Mensa Brands and GlobalBees were born in India during the pandemic. Let us understand the appeal of these Thrasio-style startups

Pine Labs enters online payments with three products under one platform

Firm says its 'Plural' platform is built to disrupt payments gateway space, make offline-to-online shift easier for merchant base and other online businesses

Arrivae raises Rs 50 crore in funding round led by Rakesh Jhunjhunwala

Furniture startup Arrivae on Thursday said it has raised Rs 50 crore in the first external funding round led by ace investor Rakesh Jhunjhunwala

Aiming for $25 bn annual payments processed on Plural: Pine Labs CEO

Company says it now plans to disrupt the payments space through a suite of online payment products focused on speed, security, and user experience

Edtech startup Creative Galileo raises $2.5 mn in seed funding

The round was led by Kalaari Capital with an investment of $2.1 mn and remaining from well-known angels, such as Harish Bahl, Shashin Shah, Jinesh Patel, Atul Nishar, Ashwin Puri and Giridhar Malpani.

Education startup Playto Labs raises Rs 4 cr in seed funding from IPV

The funds raised will be used in building a strong team and expanding its customer base

Google, Temasek back Indian neo-banking firm Open with $100 mn investment

Open plans to use the funds to strengthen its leadership in SME neo-banking space. taking the total SME base from 2 million at present to 5 million in India and expand its services to South East Asia

Niche businesses take centre stage with $20 bn in unicorn funding this year

Startup sectors like specialty e-commerce, enterprise subscription software and standalone business models are attracting funds and higher valuations

How Grip Invest is making lease finance an attractive investment option

The platform aims to give retail investors an option other than FDs and stocks, and also wants make lease finance a popular choice for firms seeking asset-light business models

Virtual events platform Hubilo raises $125 mn for global expansion

The investment signals a change in ways people engage and share experiences at a time when uncertainty about Covid-19 has seen cancelled events and delayed a return to traditional office environment

Venture debt firm BlackSoil provides Rs 35 cr growth capital to 5 startups

Investor says unique business positioning of the five firms and ability to survive through adversities like Covid is what made them attractive propositions for BlackSoil

M2P Fintech raises $35 mn from Tiger Global to expand API platform globally

M2P's platform powers some of the leading banks, fintechs, and consumer internet companies across Asia becoming the leading fintech enabler in the region

ReshaMandi raises $30 million from Creation Investments, others

Founded in May 2020, ReshaMandi provides a full-stack digital ecosystem, starting from farm to fashion

F5 raises Rs 5 cr in pre-series A funding round led by Auxano Capital

F5 is building a hyper-local ecosystem around the daily workplace needs of the consumer

ForeignAdmits raises Rs 3.4 cr in seed round led by Unicorn India Ventures

ForeignAdmits makes use of data-backed counseling process and peer-to-peer mentorship by international graduates and alumni networks

Shift Freight plans to raise $20-30 mn by next fiscal; dilute 10-15% stake

The Noida-based startup currently has presence across 25 cities and carries out around 70 movements per day with majority of them being inter-city.

Instasafe eyes expansion in Middle East, Europe for cybersecurity solution

Cybersecurity solutions provider InstaSafe Technologies is looking to expand its presence in the Middle East and Europe, a top company official said.

New-age pharmacy start-ups tap 'kirana' networks, eye US market

New entrants in the largely unorganised Indian pharmaceuticals market are trying out innovative ways to tap a vast market that lies in hinterland

Robotics startup Ishitva raises $1mn in pre-series A funding led by IPV

Ishitva offers a range of solutions including SUKA (AI powered air sorting), YUTA (AI powered robotic sorting) and Netra AI vision system, which helps in identifying waste and smart bins

Cloud kitchen startup Rebel Foods is 31st Indian unicorn, raises $175 mn

The Mumbai-based firm, which operates over 4,000 internet restaurants and has built over 45 brands across 10 countries, is now eyeing an IPO