Electric mobility-focused startups Fresh Bus and Kazam; contemporary ethnic wear brand Fashor; marine robotics deeptech startup EyeROV; AI-driven B2B sales enablement platform MiClient and AI-powered corporate travel and expense management platform Ziptrrip raised early-stage funds, companies said on Tuesday.
All-electric intercity bus startup Fresh Bus raised Rs 87.5 crore ($10.5 million) in its series A funding round, led by early-stage transportation-focused VC fund Maniv, with participation from Shell Ventures, Alteria Capital and existing investor Riverwalk Holdings.
With its fleet of 20 electric buses, Fresh Bus provides travel on its current Bengaluru-Tirupati and Hyderabad-Vijayawada routes.
With this new injection of funding, Fresh Bus will expand its route network by adding 15 new routes and launching 150 e-buses soon.
Moreover, it will use the funds to scale its operations, enhance its technological capabilities and strengthen team.
Fresh Bus was previously backed by industry leaders including Kunal Shah (Cred); Sudarshan Venu (TVS Motors) and Deepak Garg (Rivigo).
Earlier, Fresh Bus also secured Rs 16 crore from online travel agency ixigo.
Kazam, an e-mobility enabler, raised $8 million in its series A3 funding round, led by Vertex Ventures Southeast Asia and India. The funding round also saw participation from Avaana Capital, Alteria Capital and several other notable investors.
Kazam offers software and hardware solutions, designed to support charge point operators, fleet operators, and electricity grids to the EV ecosystem. The startup intends to digitize the entire e-mobility value chain, from managing grid energy to fueling EVs and overseeing fleet operations.
Kazam’s software enables a range of vehicles, including two-wheelers, commercial electric vehicles (CEV) three-wheelers, and city buses. It claims to have served more than 25,000 charging points.
With the fresh infusion, Kazam plans to deploy in technology and product teams, enhance its platform offerings, and expand its market presence.
Fashor, a contemporary ethnic wear brand, raised $5 million from Blume Ventures. This investment will be utilized by the company for omni-channel expansion, brand building and strengthening its supply chain.
The funding will help Fashor to expand its retail footprint. It plans to open over 100 exclusive brand outlets (EBOs) in the coming years.
Founded by Vikram and Priyanka Kankaria, Fashor is a traditional and contemporary fashion company.
EyeROV, a marine robotics deeptech startup providing products and solutions in the field of underwater domain raised Rs10 crore ($1.2 million) in a pre-series A round, led by Unicorn India Ventures.
The funds deployed will strengthen EyeROV's geographical expansion into international markets and develop advanced marine robotics products and solutions to augment EyeROV’s current offerings, the company said in a statement.
Founded in 2016 by IIT Alumnus Johns T Mathai and Kannappa Palaniappan P, EyeROV specializes in marine robotics and AI. The company claims that it developed India's first commercial underwater drones/ROVs and launched an unmanned surface vehicle (USV) that provides solutions in both India and the MENA region.
EyeROV plans to triple its revenue by the end of the financial year by boosting sales in both domestic and international markets, the company said in a statement.
MiClient, an AI-driven B2B sales enablement platform, raised Rs 3.9 crore in seed funding round, led by IAN Group with participation from Anicut, GSF, RTAF and Keiretsu. Vikas Kuthiala and Pratik Mathurkar from IAN led the round. The new investment will help build a stronger team and increase market reach.
MiClient is addressing the need for efficient Configure, Price, Quote (CPQ) solutions. It helps sales teams close deals three times faster with the average deal now closing in just 10 days, the company claims.
This funding round follows an initial pre-seed investment in October 2023 from 100x.VC.
Ziptrrip, the innovative AI-powered corporate travel and expense management platform, closed its pre-seed funding round. It raised Rs 2 crore from a clutch of angel investors. including Anil K Jha (ex-Coal India ex-JSPL chairman), Prantik Dasgupta (Coeclerici) and others.
The fresh funding will help the company with market expansion, enhance its team-building efforts and drive product innovation.
Founded by Shan Prabhakaran, Ziptrrip offers end-to-end solution that integrates travel bookings and expense management. The company said in a statement that it achieved break-even in January 2024 and has maintained profitability since then.
