Aerem raises $2.5 million in pre-Series A funding
Solar financing platform Aerem said it has raised $2.5 million in a pre-Series A funding round led by Blume Ventures.
The startup will use the funds to grow its loan book, build out its tech platform, and hire across portfolios such as tech, product, finance, and operations.
Founded in 2021 by Anand Jain, Aerem provides financing for rooftop solar projects for MSMEs, helping them reduce costs and become profitable sooner.
“Their full-stack solution provides end-to-end engagement and is ahead of the market by one to two years. Solar is in a sweet spot where macro (top-down) and micro (bottom-up) factors are incredibly aligned,” said Ashish Fafadia, Partner at Blume Ventures.
HDFC Life invests in VC firm Z3Partners Tech Fund
Life insurance company HDFC Life said it has invested in tech and digital investments-focussed venture capital company called Z3Partners Tech Fund, which is currently putting together a new Rs 500 crore fund.
Z3Partners has backed startups such as Shipsy, Gramophone, DealShare, and Cyfirma, to name a few.
It was founded by Gautam Patel who has also invested in BigBasket, Pepperfry, OfBusiness, etc.
Z3Partners closed its second round of Rs 250 crores last year and says it is on track for the final close this year. Its average ticket size is around Rs 35-80 crore, which it invests in early growth stage tech startups.
Skilling platform Disprz appoints Sabari Viswanathan as CTO
AI-powered digital skilling platform said it has appointed Sabari Viswanathan as its chief technology officer-in-residence.
Sabari is an IIT-Madras alumnus who currently lives in Pennsylvania, US, and has worked for 20 years in the enterprise software space, with companies such as Siebel, Zoom Systems, Arris, Cvent, and Vertex, among others.
Sabari also has a keen interest in tennis and has won many amateur tournaments in the Bay Area.
ConveGenius inks deal with Goa govt to drive education reforms
Education startup says it has signed a deal with the government of Goa to drive education reforms across schools in the state as part of the Vidhya Samiksha Kendras project.
As part of the deal, the Goa education department will launch academic, administrative and registry management chatbots on ConveGenius’ SwiftChat conversational AI platform to record attendance, and facilitate digital home learning, among other things.
