Enterprise software firm DynamoFL, direct-to-consumer (D2C) brand Aretto, traveltech startup Teleport and fintech startups Plus and BizPay have secured early-stage funding, the companies said on Thursday.
DynamoFL, a startup that allows enterprises to train their artificial intelligence (AI) models without collecting user data, has raised $15.1 million in a fresh funding round led by Nexus Venture Partners and Canapi Ventures.
Formus Capital, Soma Capital, and angel investors Vojtech Jina, Apple’s privacy-preserving machine learning lead; Tolga Erbay, head of governance, risk and compliance at Dropbox; and Charu Jangid, product leader at Snowflake, among others, participated in the round. This follows DynamoFL raising $4.5 million in a seed round from Y Combinator last September.
DynamoFL said it will use the funds to grow its team of ML (machine learning) scientists and privacy experts.
“This investment validates our philosophy that AI platforms need to be built with a focus on privacy and security from day one in order to scale in enterprise use cases,” Vaikkunth Mugunthan, DynamoFL chief executive and co-founder said. “It also reflects the growing interest and demand for in-house Generative AI solutions across industries.”
Aretto has secured $550,000 (Rs 4.56 crore) in a seed funding round from a clutch of angel investors including cricketer Hardik Pandya; Abhineet Singh (VegNonVeg), Shyam Raichura (Aan Group), Raunak Munot (Ex-Bombay Shaving Company), Vinayak Shrivastav (Videoverse), and Kunal Sumaya (Julius Bear) along with investment banking firm Veromint Advisors.
The company will use the money to expand its market presence, expand its team, and increase research and development efforts to introduce newer product ranges.
Founded in 2020 by Satyajit Mittal and Krutika Lal, Aretto is a kids-focused footwear maker. Since its inception, it has been granted a patent for its sole technology.
The brand plans to open its first retail store in Pune, as well as establish stores and partner with multi-brand outlets in key metropolitan cities, catering to a wider customer base in India.
Teleport has raised $500,000 (Rs 4.15 crore) in a pre-seed funding round from a host of investors including Appreciate Capital, Superb Capital, 888vc, and Faad network, along with angel investors like Kunal Shah (Cred) and Vidit Aatrey (Meesho) among others.
The fresh capital will be used to develop Teleport’s technology stack along with setting up distribution strategies and hiring talent.
Founded by Nikita Dresswala, Teleport offers solutions that streamline visa applications. It features automated flows and data-led decisions to maximize visa approval rates. The startup claims to provide visa services for 40 countries.
“At Teleport, we aim to simplify the visa process and make it anxiety-free using technology,” said Dresswala.
Plus has raised $350,000 (Rs 2.9 crore) in a seed funding round from EvolveX, WeFounderCircle, Venture Catalyst, Jito Angel Network and angel investors such as Vineet Saxena (Card91) and Sunil Singhvi (South Handlooms), among others.
The startup plans to deploy the proceeds for expanding its operations by way of acquiring jeweller partners.
Plus is a jewellery savings application that allows users to save for their jewellery while claiming to provide a 10% annual interest.
“With the completion of this fundraise, we have made strides on the supply side and are now poised to improve our demand side,” said Veer Mishra, co-founder, Plus.
BizPay
Bizpay has raised an undisclosed amount in a seed funding round from Inflection Point Ventures.
The company will mainly use the fresh funding for product development and marketing.
Founded in 2021 by Mikdad Saleem Merchant, BizPay is an expense management platform that offers a prepaid card solution integrated with software-as-a-service (SaaS) software, enabling corporates to streamline expense management, gain insights through analytics, and enforce policy compliance.
It is currently operational across India and plans to expand to enter the Middle East and North Africa markets in the near term.
“By integrating a software suite with corporate cards, digital wallets, and travel management solutions, BizPay provides a solution to track spends, curb wastage, and drive savings for businesses of all sizes," said Merchant, founder, BizPay.
