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The UK and India-based SaaS platform Wurkr on Tuesday announced that it has raised over £1 million in seed funding led by Hindustan Media Ventures Limited (HMVL).

According to the press statement, HMVL made an investment of £700,000, and £188,000 was raised through equity crowdfunding platform Seedrs, where Wurkr beat its original funding target by 25 percent with over 200 investors taking part. Angel investor Yan van de Velde committed £100,000 as part of the Seedrs lead investment round, and an additional £100,000. Wurkr also exercised a Convertible Loan Note to secure further cashflow.

The capital of this seed funding round will be used by the platform to accelerate global growth, expand the team, further develop the product and maximise advertising and marketing activities, the company stated.

Speaking about the development, Annil Chandel, CEO and Founder, Wurkr, stated,

“We’re delighted with the outcome of our fundraising efforts. Wurkr is emerging as a startup success story, as we worked to expand during the pandemic crisis in an economically challenging landscape. Since our launch, we were able to develop the business without government grants, and this seed funding round helps to position us strongly for the next phase of our growth strategy. The incredibly high calibre of our investors is testament to the very real and needed solution that Wurkr’s platform brings to the market.”

Launched in 2018 by Annil Chandel, ‘Office in the Cloud’ startup – Wurkr  has expanded in the UK and Indian markets, with 88,000 subscribers and 2,400 organisations now using its product. 

The work from home trend increased exponentially over the past decade, driven by advancements in digital technology, and the COVID-19 crisis precipitated a more fundamental shift in the future of the workplace.

Wurkr’s virtual workplace management platform addresses this gap in the market by replicating a physical office environment in the Cloud, backed by video technology. The startup claims that its solution solves the productivity and isolation constraints associated with traditional ‘remote’ working models, allowing distributed teams to work together in a fully engaged and collaborative way.

Commenting on the investment, Anirudh Singhal, Head of Strategic Investment, HMVL, added,

“We are delighted to lead the seed funding round of Wurkr. I believe Wurkr is a revolutionary platform that will change the way in which we operate. It will help companies rationalize their cost structure and yet allow employees to collaborate seamlessly and freely from anywhere. We are excited to partner with the company in its growth journey.”

“We are in a new digital age and the world is still catching up with this new way of working – transitioning to the future of course comes with a lot of new challenges. Wurkr is helping businesses adapt to the future and is addressing these challenges to make remote working easier and more efficient for everyone, something that bigger players out there often overlook,” added Yan van de Velde, Angel investor.