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Funding

SwitchOn raises $4.2M led by Axilor Ventures, Pi Ventures, and prominent angels 

SwitchOn, a Vision AI company, has raised $4.2 million in its Series A round led by a Singapore-based fund, Axilor Ventures, Pi Ventures, and prominent angels such as Anuj Bihani, Laxmi Narayan, and others.

The company stated that the fund will allow SwitchOn to continue its rapid growth in India, scale internationally with large enterprises, make key hires in sales and technology, and invest in research and development.

Launched in 2020 by Aniruddha Banerjee (ex-Nvidia, ex-Samsung) and Avra Banerjee (ex-Schneider, ex-Team Indus) to eliminate defects in manufacturing, SwitchOn helps precision manufacturing industries reduce their manufacturing defects through the use of a one-of-a-kind field-trainable AI system.

Global manufacturers such as SKF, ITC, Unilever, and others use the SwitchOn platform to give quality superpowers to their Inspectors and ensure zero defects in their plants, the company said in a statement.

Other news

Rockstud Capital forays into portfolio management services

Rockstud Capital, an alternative asset management firm, has forayed into portfolio management services. The firm will launch its core equity strategy called Rockstud Capital Yuva Bharat, an open-ended concentrated PMS portfolio, with a focus on the mid and small market cap.

The fund aims to invest in companies based on the theme of India’s GDP growth contributing to rising middle-class income, consumption, and digital wave to cater to the aspirational set of the population by identifying and investing in those high-growth sectors, the company stated.

According to a statement, the fund will be managed by a dedicated team with more than a three-decade of experience and will leverage its successful track record of Rockstud Capital Investment Fund–Series I hybrid equity venture capital fund, where few of the investments had generated multi-baggers returns over ~5x. It has received the final licence from the SEBI to start its PMS business operations. 

IVCA launches #VC101 learning programme for first-time fund managers

Indian Venture and Alternate Capital Association (IVCA) has launched a one-of-a-kind learning and knowledge-sharing programme on fund management—#VC101—for emerging venture fund managers.

“The growth of entrepreneurship in India has been accompanied by the rise of PE-VC, both of which have contributed substantially to the country’s rapid economic progress. IVCA’s #VC101 Series, with sessions led by seasoned venture capital investors, should be of great value to budding venture capitalists in India” said Rajan Anandan, MD, Sequoia India and Southeast Asia, and Surge and Chair, VC Council, IVCA.

#VC101 will be a month-long, on-ground programme spanning three fortnights in June. The programme is divided into three modules with in-person learning sessions in each of the cities—Mumbai, Bengaluru, and New Delhi.

Specifically, the programme will discuss fundraising, formation and portfolio management fund strategy, raising, and firm building; fund setup and deployment; and portfolio management, governance, exits, returns, n+1 fund strategy, and more.

Some of the industry veterans and experts of IVCA’s Venture Capital Council who will mentor the participating fund managers include Rajan Anandan (Managing Director, Surge and Sequoia Capital India), Rahul Khanna (Co-founder and Managing Partner, Trifecta Capital), Manish Kheterpal (Founder and Managing Partner, WaterBridge Ventures), Ruchi Khajanchi (Chief Financial Officer, A91 Partners), Priyanka Chopra (Chief Operating Officer, Managing Partner, Seed Investing, CIIE.CO, IIM Ahmedabad, and Venture Partner, Bharat Innovation Fund), Anil Joshi (Managing Partner, Unicorn India Ventures), Sameer Brij Verma (Managing Director, Nexus Partners), and Sehraj Singh (Managing Director, India, Prosus Ventures). 

CleverTap launches Scribe, an OpenAI-integrated content creation assistant

CleverTap on Monday announced the integration of OpenAI with the CleverTap platform and launched its AI-generated content creator Scribe. The AI content feature can generate campaign creatives, analyse emotions, and rewrite them keeping in mind a specific emotion that resonates with the brands’ users. The feature will be rolled out to customers in April. 

Scribe can interpret the emotion of messages and suggest the best alternative that users are more likely to engage with, the company stated. 

The technology enables brands to automatically determine the tone of their messages. Marketers can leverage user engagement data based on emotion analysis to develop hyper-personalised content consistent with the brand and also resonates with the user. Scribe is available to CleverTap enterprise customers on an invite basis.

PwC India to invest over Rs 600 Cr towards employees’ well-being

PwC India is committed to investing over Rs 600 crore towards the holistic growth, development, and well-being of its people through its new People Experience Framework, where they can experience infinite opportunities. 

The framework enables employees to access personalised opportunities to live their lives how they want to, including meeting the needs of their families and finding work that aligns with their purpose and values, thereby creating an environment where they are building the skills needed for the future. 

“We want to enable limitless possibilities and infinite experiences for our people. Towards this, our new People Experience Framework will bring in an increased emphasis on growth and development, customised rewards, benefits and well-being stitched into our daily experiences, and where we have the flexibility to support our people as their lives and needs shift over time,” said Sanjeev Krishan, Chairperson, PwC in India.

(The copy will be updated throughout the day with the latest news.)