DevDynamics, two others raise early-stage funding

By K Amoghavarsha

  • 11 Sep 2023
Aravind Reddy, Arpit Dave, Viral Chhajer and Gnanesh Chilukuri, founders of Smartstaff

Analytics startup DevDynamics.ai, blue-collar workforce management platform Smartstaff and edtech startup Navars Edutech have raised early-stage funding, the companies said on Monday. 

DevDynamics.ai 

Analytics startup DevDynamics.ai has raised $600,000 (Rs 4.97 crore) in its maiden funding round led by Powerhouse Ventures, with participation from Sunn91 Ventures, PointOne Capital, and undisclosed angel investors. 

The startup plans to use the funding to develop its technological stack.  

Founded in 2022 by Pruthviraj Haral and Rishi Saraf, DevDynamics is an engineering analytics platform that assists users in optimizing engineering operations. By identifying bottlenecks throughout the software development lifecycle, the product provides insights to improve developer productivity and shipping velocity. 

It integrates with engineering tools such as Jira, Github, Pagerduty, amongst others. It serves customers across sectors like retail, fintech, online marketplaces. 

Meanwhile, Powerhouse Ventures is an early-stage venture capital firm with an investment focus on startups in India, the US and Southeast Asia. Currently, the company manages an active portfolio of over 30 companies which includes Whatfix, Slintel, Gamezop, NewsBytes and DailyRounds, among others.

Bengaluru-based Smartstaff has secured an undisclosed amount in a strategic funding round from Japanese human resources service provider Persol.  

The investment comes a few months after Smartstaff raised $6.2 million in a Series A funding round from existing investors Nexus Ventures, Arkam Ventures and Blume Ventures, along with new investor Alteria Capital.    

Founded in 2021 by Arpit Dave, Viral Chhajer, Gnanesh Chilukuri and Aravind Reddy, Smartstaff aims to help businesses hire and manage their blue-collar workforce by digitising workforce management practices.  It offers end-to-end solutions for recruitment, workforce management and retention.  

The startup claims to have deployed 11,000 workers across 50 manufacturers to date. The company, with an employee headcount of 140 counts brands like Raymonds, Cotton World, SuperDry, and Marks & Spencers as part of its client portfolio.  

In 2021, the startup had secured $4.3 million in funding from Blume Ventures, Nexus Venture Partners and Arkam Ventures, as well as Gemba Capital and some angel investors. 
 
Navars Edutech 

Navars Edutech has secured an undisclosed amount in a funding round from Jito Incubation and Innovation Foundation (JIIF).  

Founded in 2019, Navars Edutech focuses on imparting space-related education through its courses, space lab setups, and global contests in student satellite programs through school-level engagement along with colleges, technical institutes, and companies.  

It claims to have reached out to 100,000 students across 1,000 schools in 13 countries. 

JIIF, as a subsidiary of the Jain International Trade Organization (JITO), is a community-based angel network and has invested Rs 150 crore in 80 companies and incubated 25 Jain entrepreneurs to date.  

In July, the early-stage operator invested an undisclosed amount in vehicle servicing platform VehicleCare in a pre-Series A funding round.