Turno, four others secure early-stage funding

By K Amoghavarsha

  • 30 May 2024
Sudhindra Reddy, co-founder, Turno

Commercial electric vehicle startup Turno, fintech startup Vegapay, agritech startup Fyllo, cold-pressed oil maker Gramiyaa, and drone logistics startup TechEagle Thursday said they have raised early-stage fundings.  

Turno  

Turno has raised $6 million (Rs 50 crore) in an extended Series A funding round, co-led by British International Investment (BII) and existing investor Quona Capital.   

The round also saw participation from existing investors Stellaris Venture Partners and B Capital. Prior to this funding round, Turno had cumulatively raised $16.9 million.   

Founded by former Zoomcar executives Hemanth Aluru and Sudhindra Reddy in 2022, Turno offers financing and distribution of three-wheeler cargo EVs. It has eight retail outlets in the country and sells these vehicles under a multi-brand format through partnerships with leading manufacturers like Bajaj, Mahindra Electric, Greaves and Piaggio Euler Motors, among others.  

The company currently has operations across Karnataka, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Delhi-NCR and Maharashtra. 

Vegapay  

Vegapay has secured $5.5 million (Rs 45.8 crore) in a seed funding round led by Elevation Capital.  The round also saw participation from existing investor Eximius Ventures.   

The funding will be used to improve Vegapay’s product suite along with product development and regulatory compliance updates. A significant portion of the funds will also be allocated to hiring developers, designers, and engineers.  

Founded in 2022 by Gaurav Mittal, Himanshu Agrawal, Puneet Sharma and Abhinav Garg, Vegapay is building a lending tech stack and card management system that enables regulated entities as well as fintechs to issue and further increase card as well as lending penetration in India.  

In 2023, the startup raised $1.1 million in a pre-seed funding round led by Eximius Ventures. DSP HMK, Capri Global, Upsparks Capital, MGA Ventures, Climber Capital, Arun Venkatachalam (Murugappa Group) and Pratekk Agarwaal (GrowthCap Ventures) among others also participated in the pre-seed round.  

Fyllo  

Agrihawk Technologies, which operates the agritech startup Fyllo has raised $4 million (Rs 33.3 crore) in a funding round, co-led by IndiaQuotient and SIDBI Ventures.  

Existing investors Triveni Trusts, IAN, and Kiaora also participated in the round.   

The startup will use the funds to expand into new geographies and crops and develop more precision agriculture products, according to its statement.  

Founded in 2019 by Sudhanshu Rai and Sumit Sheoran, Fyllo’s 360-degree view dashboard - backed with real-time farm data - uses the Internet of Things (IoT), artificial intelligence and agronomy to provide farmers with insights aimed at improving the quality and quantity of their produce while reducing the overall cost of production.  

In 2022, the startup raised $2 million in a funding round co-led by India Angel Network, Triveni Trust and Ninjacart. The round also participation from new investors including Venture Catalysts, StarAgri, Kia Ora Ventures, Singularity Ventures Mastermind Capital and some angel investors.   

Cold-pressed oil maker Gramiyaa has raised $1.1 million (Rs 9.5 crore) in a mix of equity and debt infusion. The round was led by UAE's Homegrown Ventures and saw participation from Mumbai Angels and Campus Fund.   

The exact split of the equity and debt investment, however, was not disclosed.  

The funding will support Gramiyaa’s expansion efforts in the Indian and US markets.  

Founded in 2017 by Sibi Manivannan, a third-generation traditional oil maker, Gramiyaa initially operated offline through brand outlets in Trichy, Tamil Nadu. The company pivoted to an online-first model in 2020, following the addition of co-founders Mohamed Yaseen and Naveen Rajamaran.   

The startup now distributes its products through its website and other marketplaces. It has its micro warehouses in six cities Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Delhi and Pune and has its in-house manufacturing unit in Tamil Nadu.  

TechEagle has raised an undisclosed amount in a bridge funding round co-led by Navam Capital and Inflection Point Ventures (IPV).   

The round also saw participation from Paytm Founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma, Venture Catalysts, and undisclosed high-net-worth individuals.  

Founded in 2017 by IIT Kanpur alumni Vikram Singh Meena and Anshu Abhishek, TechEagle Innovations is a drone logistics company based out of Gurugram. It specializes in Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) drone operations.  

"We aim to expand our operations across the country. This funding will fuel our efforts to launch higher payload drones for mid-mile and inter-city deliveries,” said Meena, founder and chief executive officer, TechEagle.