Electric vehicle (EV) maker Pure EV, fintech startup QuiD, consumer brand Basil and fashion brand Beyoung raised early-stage funding, the companies said on Monday.
Two-wheeler EV manufacturer Pure EV has raised $8 million from a host of investors. The funding was led by Bennett Coleman and Company Ltd, Hindustan Times Media Ventures, alongside Ushodaya Enterprises Pvt Ltd, existing investors and HNIs.
In a statement, the startup also said that it is in the advanced stages of closing its Series A1 funding round at $25 million, which has seen contributions from a foreign institutional investor whose name was not disclosed.
Founded by Rohit Vadera, Pure EV is a Hyderabad-based company that makes a range of EV scooters and motorcycles. It claims to have sold 70,000 vehicles through a network of 140 outlets.
The brand has a pan-India presence and also exports its products to other countries in South Asia.
The startup will be expanding its pan-India sales network from 140 to 300 dealers in the next six months. Further, the firm plans to expand into Middle-east and African markets.
QuiD
Business-to-business (B2B) embedded supply chain fintech startup QuiD has secured $602,443 (Rs 5 crore) in a pre-seed funding round from a host of investors, including Mint Cap Enterprises and Stone Park Capital. Angel investors, including Sushant Kumar of Omidyar Network, India, participated in the round.
The funding will be used to improve the technological stack of the company as well as improve engagement with current clients and partner lenders.
QuiD provides solutions to optimise the finances of distributors, retailers, manufacturers, and direct-to-consumer (D2C) brands, such as tech-driven financial float strategies, working capital financing discovery, accelerated collections through decision science systems and analytics-driven retailer discovery and profiling.
Consumer houseware brand Basil has raised $433,758 (Rs 3.6 crore) in a seed-funding round, co-led by IIMA Ventures and Appreciate Capital. The round also saw participation from angel investors such as Mohit Sadaani (The Moms Co.), Aprameya Radhakrishna (Koo), Abhishek Goyal (Tracxn), Malini Adapureddy (Deconstruct) and Brij Bhushan (Magicpin).
The funds will be used to expand product portfolio, improve reach through e-commerce channels and for research and development initiatives, according to its statement.
Founded in 2023 by Harini Rajagopalan and Mahesh Muraleedharan, Basil is a houseware startup offering tailored products targeted towards Gen Alpha. It currently offers stainless steel water bottles and Bento boxes and aims to expand its product categories to include lunch boxes for kids and Bento boxes for working professionals.
Its products are currently available on their D2C platform as well as on marketplaces such as Amazon.
Beyoung
Apparel-focused e-commerce brand Beyoung has raised an undisclosed amount in a strategic funding round from the Royal Office of Sheikh Tahnoon Bin Saeed Bin Tahnoon Al Nahyan of Abu Dhabi.
The startup will use the funding to expand its presence across geographies across offline and online channels.
"Partnering with the Abu Dhabi royal family opens doors not only to the GCC & MENA regions but also paves the way for a global expansion strategy,” said Soni, co-founder, Beyoung.
Founded in 2018 by Shivam Soni and Sakshi Soni, Beyoung offers affordable clothing and accessories. The company claims to have achieved an annualized recurring revenue (ARR) of Rs 150 crore in FY23 and aims to reach Rs 600 crore in ARR by 2026.
In 2023, the Udaipur-based startup had raised Rs 40 crore in an undisclosed funding round from revenue-based financier Klub.
