Proptech startup Elivaas, retail-technology startup Frendy, social commerce firm Woovly, ayurvedic cannabis maker HempStreet and two other companies have raised early-stage funding, the companies said.
Elivaas has raised $2.5 million (Rs 20.8 crore) in a seed funding round led by Surge, the rapid scale-up programme of venture capital firm Peak XV Partners (formerly Sequoia India and Southeast Asia).
The round also saw participation from a host of angel investors including Naveen Kukreja (Paisabazaar), Kunal Shah (Cred), Mohit Gupta (Zomato), Amit Lakhotia (Park+) Ravi Singhvi, (Ares Asia), Parag Aggarwal (Gobolt) and Toranj Mehta (De beers).
The startup will use the funding to develop its technology stack and expand its presence across India.
Founded in 2023 by Ritwik Khare and Karan Miglani, Elivaas is a luxury vacation home management company. It uses technology to help owners monetize their properties through short-term rentals. It also offers end-to-end management and monitoring of their vacation homes while running loyalty and referral programs in tandem to incentivise bookings.
The company claims to have brought on board around 50 properties across India in places like Goa, Udaipur, Delhi-NCR, and Kufri in Himachal Pradesh.
Frendy has raised around $2 million (Rs 16 crore) in a bridge funding round led by Auxano Capital. The round also saw participation from Singapore’s AT Capital, Metara Ventures, Apurva Salarpuria’s family office and existing investor Desai Ventures.
The Ahmedabad-based startup intends to extend the round up to Rs 24 crore via a follow-on rights issue, it said in a statement.
The capital raised will be utilized to expand the tech offering, private label product portfolio and expand its stores.
Founded by Sameer Gandotra, Gowrav Vishwakarma and Harshad Joshi, Frendy is an omnichannel convenience store network focused on smaller towns and rural parts of India.
The startup has a team of 80 individuals including its in-house technology team. It claims to be operational in around 40 towns in Gujarat, serving 50,000 customers and offering around 4,500 products.
The company said it managed to clock Rs 82 crore in revenue in FY23, up from Rs 40 crore in FY22.
Woovly has raised an undisclosed amount from Sony Innovation Fund, Real Time Angel Fund (RTAF), ViNners and existing investor SOSV.
The Bengaluru-based startup plans to use the funding to improve its platform, expand its presence geographically as well and explore new market segments such as fashion, home decor, and lifestyle categories.
Founded in 2017 by Neha Suyal and J Venkat, Woovly is a social commerce platform focused on Tier 2 and Tier 3 millennials. Through Woovly, users can discover and shop lifestyle products through short video content created by micro/nano influencers.
In 2019, Woovly raised $2.5 million in a pre-Series A funding round which was led by Duane Park, an investment firm set up by India Equity Partners co-founder Anurag Bhargava. SOSV, a US-based venture capital firm, and Xelpmoc Design & Tech Ltd also participated in that round.
HempStreet has raised $1 million (Rs 8.3 crore) in a pre-Series A funding round led by existing investor Carl Waahlin. Existing investor Andre Rodrigues and a clutch of high-net-worth individuals (HNIs) from Southeast Asia joined the round.
The startup will use the funding to expand its activities around clinical trials for proprietary formulations and undertake research and development (R&D) to develop its Ayurveda-based products.
The startup has raised $3 million in funding to date and claims to work with around 20,000 doctors across India.
HempStreet, founded in 2019, says it helps individuals tackle ailments such as chronic pain epidemic and menstrual health by way of responsibly dispensed cannabis-based medication.
“With no venture capital participation within the hemp/cannabis space in India, it's the foresight of our investors that has propelled the sector forward. We aim to achieve 100% revenue growth in the current fiscal year,” said Abhishek Mohan, founder and chief executive officer, HempStreet.
SustVest
SustVest has raised $250,000 (Rs 2.08 crore) in a funding round led by WEH Ventures. The round also saw participation from Asav Partners and a host of undisclosed angel investors.
The Gurugram-based startup will use the funding to expand its user base and targets to increase its assets under management to Rs 100 crore in the next 12 months.
Founded in 2022 by Hardik Bhatia and Devansh Shah, SustVest is an investment platform that allows users to purchase fractional ownership in renewable energy projects like solar with a minimum ticket size of Rs 25,000.
SustVest earlier raised $160,000 and was backed by Gruhas Proptech, DLF Family office and Anthill Ventures. It has also received Rs 30 lakh as grant from the Ministry of Electronics and IT under its Technological Incubation and Development of Entrepreneurs (TIDE) 2.0 scale-up programme.
Miraggio
Fashion accessories brand Miraggio has raised $1.2 million (Rs 10 crore) in a pre-Series A funding round co-led by Seven Rivers Holding and former JM Financial Services Ltd chief executive officer and managing director’s investment firm Magnetic.
The funds will be allocated to expand product categories such as backpacks, wallets and small leather goods along with marketing initiatives.
Founded in 2020, Miraggio is a luxury fashion accessories brand. The brand aims to clock Rs 100 crore in annual recurring revenue by 2024.
“The women’s handbag category is largely unorganized and fragmented making it an opportunity for a differentiated fashion brand to capture a part of the market. Miraggio, was able to grow 3x in revenue over 12 months while remaining profitable making it a good investment opportunity,” said Devavrat Jatia, chief information officer, Seven Rivers Holding.