Funding
Go Zero raises $1.5M
Ice cream brand has raised $1.5 million in a follow-on pre-Series A funding round.
Investors including DSG Consumer Partners, Saama, and V3 Ventures, as well as notable angel investor Arjun Purkayastha, among others, participated in the round, the company said.
Go Zero plans to use the funds to continue growing on quick commerce and ecommerce platforms, expand to Tier I cities like Jaipur, Chandigarh, and Ahmedabad, and launch new flavours and formats for its consumers.
“The growth that we have seen in the past 12 months has been phenomenal and proves that there is a strong demand for ‘better for you’ ice creams that taste really good,” said Kiran Shah, Founder of Go Zero.
Arjun Vaidya, Co-founder of V3 Ventures, said, “In <1 year, we have seen >10X growth in Go Zero. It speaks about the quality of execution by the team and the wave of better eating we are seeing in India.”
Supermoney raises $3.4M
Digital lending platform has raised $3.4 million (Rs 28.6 crore) in a Series A funding round.
Investors including Capital 2B and Capria Ventures participated in the round, the company said.
Supermoney plans to use the funds to accelerate platform growth, expand disbursements, and leverage technology to optimise operations.
“By partnering with industry leaders, our aim is to reach 500,000 MSMEs within the next two years and drive invoicing volumes in excess of $5 billion on the platform,” said Nikhil Banerjee, Co-founder and director of Supermoney.
“This investment will also facilitate the expansion of our insights engine for strategic enterprise partners. While we are already serving over 30,000 customers, we believe we’ve barely scratched the surface and just begun to tap into the potential, with more growth ahead of us,” said Zafar Imam, Co-founder and Director of Supermoney.
Supermoney is a digital platform that provides working capital solutions to businesses by offering customised payment and finance solutions designed specifically for their supply chain.
Currently, Supermoney operates in 40+ locations and has over 30,000 retailers/dealers, 50+ anchors, and more than 500 distributors across India.
Aviotron raises $250,000
Noida-headquartered edtech startup Aviotron Aerospace has raised $250,000 in a funding round from Enrission India Capital Inc, at a valuation of Rs 100 crore, the company said in a press release.
The company had earlier raised $600,000 from Enrission.
“This significant milestone not only validates our vision and potential but also marks a pivotal moment in our journey towards achieving our goals,” the company’s CEO and Founder Neha Chauhan said.
Enrission owns a 6.85% stake in Aviotron as of May 31, 2024.
HealthPresso is looking to raise $1M
Healthtech startup HealthPresso is gearing up to secure $1 million in a pre-Series A funding round.
Investors have expressed significant interest in HealthPresso, acknowledging the potential of its custom AI-engine (HumetaTM) and extensive distribution network, the company said in a statement.
The startup plans to use the capital to catalyse its growth, scale its operations, and augment its service offerings.
“The investor community has shown significant interest in HealthPresso, recognizing the potential of its custom AI engine (HumetaTM) and extensive distribution network. This infusion of capital will accelerate the growth trajectory, enabling the scaling of operations and enhancement of service offerings,” said Co-founder and CEO Daleep Manhas and Founder and Chief Belief Officer Dr Swadeep Srivastava.
HealthPresso uses AI to cater to a diverse audience, including individual doctors, hospitals, healthcare brands, and PR/media agencies.
Praan raises undisclosed funding
Deeptech startup has raised an oversubscribed round from investors Dhaval Shroff (Autopilot AI from Elon Musk’s Special Projects team at Tesla), Vikas Taneja (Managing Director – BCG), Kirloskar Family, ThyssenKrupp India family, Aaryaman Vir, Riddhima Yadav (Brookfield), and Gaurav Kapur.
Existing investors including Paradigm Shift Capital, Maulik Majmudar, Akshat Rajan, Surya Panditi, and Shailesh Bhat also participated in the round.
The startup plans to use the funds to accelerate the deployment of Praan’s technologies in key areas, including enhancing production capacity, scaling business operations, and bolstering industrial tech sales in India.
“Praan is building the entire atmospheric purification stack—sensing, AI-based automated solving, best-in-class purification, software, and carbon capture—bringing clean air to homes, offices, schools, as well as hazardous shop floors,” said Angad Daryani, Founder of Praan.
Praan was founded in 2017 and operates in the deeptech sector. It specialises in AI-based air pollution solutions, filterless air purification, and an enhanced user experience. It helps mitigate climate change by controlling particulate matter, toxic gases, and carbon emissions, and restoring biodiversity.
The startup added that it plans to create more types of air purifiers for different places like factories, homes, offices, and outdoor spaces. They’ll also include their latest AI-Engine, called EDITH, to better tackle air pollution problems.
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BioCompute raises Rs 31.4 lakh in grant
BioCompute, a startup utilising DNA-based data storage, clinched an early-stage climate startup grant of Rs 31.4 lakh at SusCrunch 2024, organised by The Sustainability Mafia (SusMafia).
The grant, jointly provided by PIEDS and SusMafia, aims to propel BioCompute in the fight against global climate change. The event, backed by Invest India, GPS Renewables, and Dexler Energy & Lucro, among others, aims to unite the climate entrepreneurship ecosystem for insights and collaborations.
Angel investors, including Chandrasekaran J, Arjun Gupta, Aditya Bhat, and PIEDS, committed to on-the-spot funding. The event also featured startups mentored by SusMafia, including AgriVolt, Positive Zero, JouleLess, SwiLato, and BioCompute.
Established in 2020, The Sustainability Mafia is a community of 80+ climate entrepreneurs aiming to make sustainability the default choice through collaborative efforts.
Other news
Levitate Labs, CoinSwitch, Coinbase launch programme to boost India’s Web3 startups
Levitate Labs has launched the “OnChain India” programme in collaboration with CoinSwitch and Coinbase, aiming to elevate the Indian Onchain ecosystem by fostering innovation and providing support.
The programme will involve initiatives such as grants and funding, ecosystem partnerships, community events, and more, with the support of Base. The goal is to empower developers and startups to create groundbreaking solutions leveraging Base—CoinBase’s Ethereum Layer 2 network.
“Base has carved a niche for itself by focusing on being a consumer-first chain and has tremendous scope for growth in India’s large digital market. We hope to see several builders explore unique Dapps, as they innovate to bring masses on-chain and make Web3 mainstream in India,” said Ashish Singhal, Co-founder of CoinSwitch.
Canon India rejigs its apprenticeship training program under Skill India initiative
Canon India is enhancing its apprenticeship training programme by collaborating with the Japan-India Institute for Manufacturing (JIM).
The collaboration brings a more structured curriculum designed to equip engineering graduates and diploma holders with essential skills, facilitating standardised training at the Canon Technical Excellence Centre (CTEC) in Noida.
“Through our partnership with the Japan-India Institute of Manufacturing, we are striving to nurture future experts who will drive progress in the service and manufacturing sectors,” said Manabu Yamazaki, President and CEO, Canon India.
“The programme, designed by experts in the business, reflects our commitment to bridging the gap between theoretical knowledge and practical application, ultimately contributing to the growth of India,” Yamazaki added.
The training will include four weeks of online learning, four weeks of classroom instruction, and 40 weeks of on-the-job training.
Astrikos.ai names new CPO
AI startup Astrikos.ai has appointed Guruprasad Nagaraj as its new Chief Product Officer to spearhead the development of its product suite and ensure robust performance in critical foreign markets.
Nagaraj has occupied several leadership positions at Optiv Inc., Hewlett Packard, Boeing, McAfee, and Cisco, among other renowned companies.
His most recent role was Vice President of Engineering at AppViewX, a US-based organisation specialising in automated certificate lifecycle management and PKI solutions.
“Astrikos.ai is a pioneer in developing advanced AI/ML platforms, revolutionising key infrastructure sectors globally by driving innovation, efficiency, and delivering customer-focused solutions,” Nagaraj added.
(The story will be updated throughout the day.)
Edited by Kanishk Singh
