Edtech platform Vidyakul has raised $500,000 from We Founder circle, JITO Angel Network and Thinkuvate, among others.
The funds will be deployed in expanding the Vidyakul team and enhancing the startup's functionality.
“With the growing internet penetration, the scope of digital learning has widened, and we are exploring the possibilities of the same. E-learning can address long-standing challenges of access to quality education, reaching remotest of the areas, student-teacher ratio, among others.
We, on top of that, have made it easier for students by helping them understand concepts in their language. So far, we are providing courses for 10th board and plan to add three more languages as well as add courses for three state boards by the end of this fiscal,” Tarun Saini, founder, Vidyakul, said.
Vidyakul said it provides after-school e-learning for the state board students in vernacular languages.
The edtech company is currently delivering education in four languages and has already enabled the same for 10 lakh students across 10 states.
Goodmylk
Goodmylk, a plant-based dairy startup, said it has raised $1 million (Rs 7.3 crore) in an extension of their seed round from Jinisha Sharma and Aditya Agarwal of AIprime Nutritions.
The round also saw participation from Victoria and Abhishek Shroff of Sustainable Food Ventures, Ice Breakers Technologies Syndicate via Angellist and Bento Box, Sid Kothari and VegInvest Trust.
The company said it will use the fresh funds towards expanding its product portfolio and distribution. Goodmylk has a presence in Mumbai, Hyderabad, Delhi and Chennai, in addition to strengthening operations in Bengaluru.
The platform has raised $1.8 million till date.
“This fundraise signals the increasing acceptance of the plant-based space. Consumers can only make better choices when they are available and that's what we're here to do,” Radhika Datt, CFO, Goodmylk, said.
Deeptech SaaS startup NeuroPixel.AI has raised $825,000 in a seed round led by Inflection Point Ventures.
The round also saw participation from Entrepreneur First, Huddle, Dexter Angels and Rishaad Currimjee.
The company said it will use the funds to scale up its research and development team to accelerate the transition of its product from beta to production.
“As e-commerce will expand, so will the need to put up quality and realistic product pictures online. In fashion commerce, it is a big part of the buyer’s purchase decision.
However, it is not a seamless process and is both time-consuming and expensive, especially for SMEs and social sellers, two segments that are growing exponentially,” Ankur Mittal, co-founder, Inflection Point Ventures, said in a joint statement.
They further said, “It will save the businesses both time and money and will allow them to bring their products faster to the market helping them generate higher revenue and lower returns. The product has huge international appeal as well.
The strong founding team, the uniqueness of the approach adopted by NeuroPixel and their high-caliber R&D team comprising PhDs and postgraduates from the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) were the key factors influencing our decision to invest in the company.”
Founded in the late 2020 by Arvind Nair (CEO) and Amritendu Mukherjee (CTO), NeuroPixel.AI enables their clients to shoot any apparel on just a mannequin and their technology will render the apparel on models of different sizes in different poses.
In the near term, the company said it can reduce cataloging spends by 30%, and reduce process times by 90%.
Salud Beverages, an urban lifestyle brand, has raised $1.1 million from actor Rana Daggubati, Srinivas Koppolu, former MD of Microsoft India and Prasad Vanga’s Anthill Ventures, among others.
The company said funds were used to establish a retail presence with flagship brand Salud G&T 2.0, a bottled gin and tonic cocktail, as well as to build a diverse product portfolio.
Salud said it will expand into Goa and Orissa markets. Currently, it expects to triple its current sales by the end of FY 2021-22, as well as to tap the international markets in the middle east and Europe.
The brand was launched in Karnataka with ready-to-drink cocktails. It had also launched fashion and lifestyle merchandise -- Salud Merch and music label Salud Sessions.
"We are a focused brand striving to put India on the global map, alongside the best countries in the world, with some of the finest spirits including bottled cocktails, craft spirits, non-alcoholic beverages, and more.
And not to stop there but continue to innovate with products and experiences that will lead to a loyal consumer base, on the way to our big-picture goal of becoming an aspirational global lifestyle brand," Ajay Shetty, founder-director, Salud Beverages, said.
Fintech startup Neokred has said it is set to raise $500,000 in its extended seed round from Virenxia Group, Rajesh Jain, Nitin Agarwal and CapNetic Consulting Group.
The fresh funds will be used to grow its workforce, accelerate the development of its technology and data platform and broaden its product offerings.
Founded by Tarun Nazare and Rohith Reji in 2019, Neokred is an infrastructure company that enables corporates, fintech and startups to start their banking services with the help of modified tools.
"Indian banking landscape tells us that access to financial services is still a lot to be caught up with. This extension of capital brings us a little closer to fulfilling that vision for corporates and customers,” Rohith Reji, co-founder and CBO, Neokred, said.
Elixia Tech
Elixia Tech Solutions Ltd, a tech-based supply chain startup, has raised $1 million (Rs 7.3 crore) led by RVCF and other angel investors.
The company said it will use the funds to scale up its presence in both domestic and international markets.
“The growth of supply chain is majorly dependent on the growth of supply chain software solutions market.
Supply chain solutions give the power and visibility to monitor processes, identify the exact underperforming areas and gain reliable data-driven insights to efficiently run operations,” Gaurav Chowdhry, VP, RVCF, said.
Founded by Sanket Sheth, Elixia Tech provides interlinked softbots for all segments of logistics, warehouse and inventory that control supply chain planning and execution to reduce costs and bring visibility for goods-in-transit and provide actionable business intelligence using machine learning.
TheRollNumber, a blockchain startup focused on digitising educational institutions' records, has closed an undisclosed amount in a pre-seed financing round led by India Accelerator, Artha Venture Fund and Rudraksh ventures.
The company said it will use fresh funds for product development and deployment.
Founded by Sai Raghavendra Sharma in 2020, TheRollNumber aims to digitise educational institutions' records.
“India’s credential system is extremely sensitive and fragmented area. We believe blockchain could bring a huge impact and help reduce the fake and fraudulent credentials circulating in the market. Bringing a decentralised system would benefit a lot in such sensitive areas.
The Indian government has recognised the need for stronger technology-led interventions for the increasingly critical digitization space,” Sai Raghavendra Sharma, founder, TheRollNumber, said.
TheRollNumber was selected in the top 100 startups in MSINS MSW organised by the Maharashtra government in the space of governance.
ISB gets Rs 5 crore under Startup India Seed Fund Scheme
The ISB's DLabs Incubator has been awarded Rs 5 crore under the Startup India Seed Fund Scheme by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT).
The funds will be used for financial assistance to startups for proof of concept, prototype development, product trials, market entry and commercialisation.
Startup India Seed Fund Scheme enables startups to graduate to a level where they will be able to raise investments from angel investors or venture capitalists or seek loans from commercial banks or financial institutions.
"Many good ideas don't see the light of the day because they could not get early-stage funding. This grant will help us fix it, “ Bhagwan Chowdhry, faculty director, ISB DLabs, said.