Electric vehicles maker Kyte Energy, software-as-a-service startup Skills Caravan and online biofuel-based products marketplace Buyofuel have secured early-stage funding, the companies said on Monday.
Kyte Energy
EV two-wheeler maker Kyte Energy has raised $363,854 (Rs 3 crore) in a funding round from ah! Ventures' angel platform, Soonicorn Ventures, among others.
The Nashik-based startup will use the fresh capital to expand its distribution channels, marketing and geographical expansion within India.
Founded by Yash Arora, Kush Arora and Nikhil Sethi, Kyte Energy currently produces two EV scooters and plans to launch a third one in a few months. It claims to have sold 5000 scooters through its 30 dealer stores across Maharashtra and Gujarat and with the recent product launch and the revised subsidy policy, it claims to have seen a 200% surge in demand.
Meanwhile, ah! Ventures has done 183 investments in 121 startups to date taking its total investment portfolio to Rs 376 crore with 16 exits and 47 follow-on rounds. It has three platforms namely First Gear, which helps startups raise upto $150,000, Angel Platform, which helps startups raise upto $1 million and High Tables Platform, which helps startups raise $1-10 million.
Last month, the firm invested $440,185 in FMCG brand Sugar Watchers.
Business-to-business (B2B) SaaS startup Skills Caravan has raised an undisclosed amount in a seed funding round from a host of angel investors including Abhishek Poddar (Macquarie Group), Paras Berwala (Investec India), and Deep Bajaj (Sirona).
The New Delhi-based startup will use the funding to expand its operations in the US.
Founded in 2022 by Sarita Chand, Skills Caravan is a startup that uses artificial intelligence (AI) to deliver individualized educational resources, optimizing learning roadmaps for organizations, and thereby improving employee potential and job performance. It currently serves the financial services sector but aims to expand to other domains as well.
Before Skills Caravan, Chand had also co-founded Edupristine, a venture aimed at bridging the skills gap among professionals, that subsequently secured Series A and B funding from Accel Partners and Kaizen Private Equity. Edupristine was acquired by Adtalem Global Education, a Fortune 1000-listed US-based company.
Buyofuel, an online marketplace for biofuel-based products, has raised $550,000 (Rs 4.5 crore) in a funding from revenue-based financier Recur Club.
The fresh proceeds will be deployed for geographical expansion and developing its technology stack.
Founded in 2020 by Kishan Karunakaran, Buyofuel offers all types of biofuels and organic wastes which helps fuel consumers to switch to biofuels and allows biofuel manufacturers to access organic wastes, thus connecting raw material aggregators, biofuel manufacturers, consumers and waste generators.
In 2022, the Coimbatore-based startup raised Rs 11.5 crore in a pre-Series A funding round led by Inflection Point Ventures, with participation from Venture Catalysts, LetsVenture, Lead Angels Fund and Gruhas Proptech.
“Buyofuel has demonstrated potential in bridging the demand and supply gap in the industry and we believe in their mission to promote sustainable and low-carbon energy solutions." said Eklavya Gupta, co-founder, Recur Club.
