Software-as-a-service startup Kapture CX, FMCG brand Beyond Snack, virtual restaurant operator Dil Foods, fintech startup LeRemitt, deeptech startup Immersive Labz, business-to-business commerce startup Beyobo and software firm Selligion Technologies have secured early-stage funding, the companies said on Thursday.
SaaS startup Kapture CX has raised $4 million (Rs 32.8 crore) in a Series A funding round from Cactus Venture Partners (CVP).
The Bengaluru-based startup will use the fresh capital to expand its presence in the international markets, improve its product offerings and further strengthen its team.
Founded by Sheshgiri Kamath and Vikas Garg, Kapture CX is a SaaS-based customer support automation platform offering a suite of solutions to enterprise customers. The platform helps improve their customer experience by streamlining and automating customer support over calls, e-mail, chat, WhatsApp and other direct channels.
It currently operates in the US, UAE, Indonesia, Philippines, and India and counts Meesho, BigBasket, Tata1MG, Reliance, Unilever, and ITC as part of its client portfolio.
This is the sixth investment made by Cactus Venture Partners. In 2022, the Mumbai-based venture capital firm made the first close of its maiden fund by securing commitments worth Rs 350 crore. The startup plans to mark the final close of its fund by December 2023.
The fund which plans to make 15-18 investments through the fund focuses on sectors like climatetech, healthtech, and business-to-business (B2B) SaaS.
Beyond Snack
FMCG brand Beyond Snack has raised $3.5 million (Rs 28.6 crore) in a pre-Series A funding round from venture capital firm NAB Ventures Fund.
The Kerala-based startup will use the funding to scale up production capacities, strengthen distribution networks, and invest in research and development (R&D) for new product lines.
Founded in 2020, Beyond Snack is a Kerala banana chips maker, which had appeared in Shark Tank 2022 and secured investments from Ashneer Grover, (ex-Bharat Pe), and Aman Gupta (boAT).
Dil Foods
Virtual restaurant operator Dil Foods has secured $2 million (Rs 16.4 crore) in a pre-Series A funding round co-led by V3 Ventures and Mount Judi Ventures. In addition, Revant Bhate (Mosaic Wellness) and Arjun Vaidya ( Dr. Vaidyas) participated in the funding round as angel investors.
The Bengaluru-based company plans to use the funding for growing its portfolio of brands, geographical presence and new partner kitchens. Additionally, strategic investments will be made in data analytics and supply chain optimization to improve efficiency and operations.
Founded by Arpita Aditi, Dil Foods is a platform that partners with small to medium independent food businesses and restaurants in which the restaurants have control over the food and Dil Foods handles the logistics of their curated brands.
Cross-border fintech startup LeRemitt has raised $1.25 million (Rs 10.2 crore) in a seed funding round led by Axilor Ventures. The round also saw participation from Capital A and angel investors such as Ram Govindarajan (Wizfreight) and Sumit Agarwal (Vyapar).
The proceeds will be deployed for hiring talent, global expansion, improving product capabilities and strategic partnerships.
Founded by Sheetal Jain, Mahesh Kumar Barate and Hari Ambati, LeRemitt is a cross-border platform that streamlines financial transactions aimed at micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) by helping them navigate overseas financial transactions by providing a platform that ensures easy and prompt international remittances.
"Traditional remittance methods are burdened with high costs, slow processing times, and limited accessibility. These obstacles particularly impact MSMEs, which often lack the resources to navigate complex financial systems, leading to time-consuming operational hurdles on a day-to-day basis. LeRemitt aims to reinvent cross-border business transactions, ensuring hassle-free, and prompt international remittances," said Barate.
Immersivision Technologies Pvt Ltd, which operates deeptech startup Immersive Labz, has secured $1 million (Rs 8.2 crore) in a pre-Series A funding round from ah! Ventures Angel Platform, Hyderabad Angels, with existing investors such as Marwari Catalysts, Hem Angels and Cognify, among others.
Founded by Amit Ranjan, Navin Mandal and Amresh Sharma, Immersive Labz provides learning solutions in practical science education. At present, they have built two products – SimuLab, which is a 3D virtual science lab and Cadaviz, which is a virtual human dissection table.
"This funding round will ensure that we can scale up and deliver the products to a larger audience," said Sharma.
Meanwhile, ah! Ventures has done 184 investments in 120 startups to date taking its total investment portfolio to Rs 385 crore with 16 exits and 48 follow-on rounds. In 2023, the platform has undertaken 30 investments.
Beyobo
B2B commerce enabler Beyobo has raised $609,835 (Rs 5.5 crore) in a pre-Series A funding round led by Inflection Point Ventures. The round also saw participation from other early-stage operators such as SAN Angels, Indian Angel Network and Hyderabad Angels along with undisclosed angel investors.
The company plans to use the fresh funding for developing its technology stack and improving its supply chain logistics.
Founded by Anil Agrawal, Shikha Agarwal and Kunal Jain, Beyobo addresses the challenges of product discovery and sourcing in the offline retail market by providing solutions for discovering imported products. The startup currently operates in the beauty and personal care, consumer electronics, and fashion accessories categories.
Beyobo claims to serve 35,000 retailers, and claims to have clocked Rs 95 crore in revenue in FY23.
Selligion Technologies
Consumer cloud computer maker Selligion Technologies has raised $610,236 (Rs 5 crore) in a pre-Series A funding round led by VC firm Malpani Ventures, with participation from undisclosed investors based out of India, Singapore, and the US.
The funds raised will be used for research and development and to improve the manufacturing capabilities of Selligion.
Founded in 2020, Selligion Technologies designs and develops consumer cloud computers, which is the Selligion Praho.
"Our research efforts will focus on enhancing our offerings, to increase our manufacturing capacity, which will allow us to reach more than 1 lakh students by March 2024," said Apeksha Mehta, co-founder, Selligion Technologies.
