Early-stage startups Hypd, Janitri, others bag funding

By K Amoghavarsha

  • 02 May 2023
(L-R) Ashwarya Garg and Akshay Bhatnagar, co-founders of Hypd | Credit: Hypd

Creator-focussed platform Hypd, healthtech startup Janitri, electric vehicle financing firm Ohm Mobility and quick service restaurant chain Zomoz have secured early-stage funding, the companies said on Tuesday.

Hypd 
 
Hypd Marketing Technologies Pvt Ltd, which operates creator-owned platform Hypd, has raised $4 million (Rs 32.7 crore) in a pre-Series A funding round led by Orios Venture Partners, with participation from existing investors Sauce VC and Better Capital.  
 
The New Delhi-based startup will use the fresh funds for product development, hiring, product expansion and onboarding more creators onto its platform.  
 
Founded in 2021 by Ashwarya Garg and Akshay Bhatnagar, Hypd provides a platform for content creators to set up their stores or businesses based on their content. It also works with brands to invest their influencer marketing budgets more effectively, based on data analytics and insights. 
 
In 2022, the startup raised $1.5 million in a seed funding round led by venture capital funds Better Capital, Sauce VC; creators and influencers Bhuvan Bam, Tanmay Bhatt, among other investors. Prior to that, the platform also raised an undisclosed sum in a strategic pre-seed investment from digital media company ScoopWhoop. 

Janitri 
 
Healthtech startup Janitri has secured $1.1 million (Rs 9.01 crore) in a pre-Series A funding round led by India Accelerator, with participation from a host of investors including C-camp, Namita Thapar, O2 angels, Ashish Kacholia, IKP and others.

The Bengaluru-based startup will use the capital for scaling up its current product offering in hospitals and homes and acquiring relevant international regulatory approvals.

Founded in 2016, Janitri is a healthtech startup that provides wearables and artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled solutions for pregnancy and labor vitals monitoring. It claims to be working with over 300 hospitals to date.

“Janitri’s devices are compact and portable, making it easier for expecting mothers to manage their pregnancy through these device,” said Mona Singh, co-founder, India Accelerator.

Ohm Mobility 
 
Electric vehicle financing platform Ohm Mobility has raised $366,278 (Rs 3 crore) in a pre-seed funding round led by Antler India.

The round also saw participation from Blume Founders Fund and other angel investors such as Sagar Gubbi (Ecoforge), Anshuman Bapna (Terra.do), Mathew Chako (Spice Route Legal), and Karishma Menon.

The startup plans to deploy the fresh proceeds to develop its technology platform along with hiring talent.

Founded in 2020 by Nikhil Nair, Ohm aims to provide a platform for EV players to secure institutional capital while enabling lenders to discover, verify and deploy capital to EV companies. 

The technology platform has onboarded multiple EV businesses which are looking to raise capital from financial institutions and a host of financing institutions (banks, NBFCs, leasing companies) that can discover, verify and disburse capital to such companies.

The startup counts companies such as Race Energy (battery tech), Eveez (EV Fleet), Hala Mobility (E-MaaS platform)as part of its client portfolio. The startup claims to have facilitated Rs 5 crore worth of financing on its platform within the first two months of going live.

It is also backed by fintech and climate finance accelerator Catalyst Fund and angel investors like Kunal Shah. 

Prabhati Foods Pvt Ltd, which operates quick service restaurant chain Zomoz, has secured additional funding from Kyt Ventures as part of its ongoing $2 million (Rs 16.4 crore) bridge round. The firm however did not disclose the amount it has invested in the round. 

The round also saw participation from undisclosed angel investors and existing investor Rebel Foods. 

In November last year, Zomoz secured funding from Rebel Foods as part of the bridge round. According to people close to the development, Rebel Foods invested around Rs 4 crore in the platform.

The Hyderabad-based startup plans to use the fresh funds to increase production capacity, launch new brands, and geographical expansion across India and overseas. It plans to run 90 outlets across India in the next 8-12 months along with operating 13 outlets in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). 

Founded in 2015 by Shouvik Dhar, Akash Singh and Shreyash Darne, Zomoz which is focused on momos and baos, has cloud outlets spread across Bangalore, Chennai, Kolkata, Mumbai, Pune, Mysore and Mangalore.

“We are aiming to clock Rs 3 crore in monthly sales by year end while achieving company-level EBITDA profitability by July 2023,” said Dhar.

The startup is planning to raise $4-5 million in Series A in the third quarter of next year.