Startup news and updates: daily roundup (August 31, 2023)

Funding

MyWays.ai secures Rs 80 lakh investment in seed round

HR Tech startup MyWays has raised Rs 80 lakh in a recent funding round led by Realtime Angel Fund (RTAF). It will utilise the investment to expand the startup’s user base and extend offerings in software solutions, the company said. 

“We are proud to have invested in MyWays.ai…their pioneering work in the deployment of AI-based solutions is set to streamline the corporate training, hiring, and deployment process, significantly cutting down the timeframes from months to a few weeks,” said Pranay Mathur, CEO, RTAF.

MyWays.ai is an AI-driven platform that streamlines and automates the recruitment process for organisations by helping them with talent discovery, screening, interviews, and more by reducing manual efforts by up to 90%. It currently has a network of over 110,000 candidates, 800 colleges, and 150 companies.

ShipEase raises $1M in pre-Series A round

Logistics platform ShipEase has raised $1 million in a pre-Series A round led by Inflection Point Ventures. It will use the funds to expand the team, improve technology, develop new efficient products, and further brand building.

“For new and emerging brands to build their own supply chain pan-India is a multi-crore commitment. However, ShipEase’s platform and their tech approach can help brands reach their customers faster while keeping logistics costs low,” said Vikram Ramasubramanian, Partner, Inflection Point Ventures. 

ShipEase is a SaaS-based logistics provider helping D2C brands and SME e-tailers to make their supply chain efficient. The company offers automated shipping services and ships to more than 28,000 pin codes with smart courier allocation.

MrMed raises $500K from Tamil Nadu Emerging Sector Seed Fund

Chennai-based online pharmacy MrMed raised $500,000 from the Tamil Nadu Emerging Sector Seed Fund (TNESSF), managed by Tamil Nadu Infrastructure Fund Management Corporation Ltd. The round also saw the participation of angels from BEEJ Network and Vish Entrepreneurs LLP

MrMed will use the funds for marketing initiatives, expanding the team, and exploring new ventures within the pharma supply chain and healthcare service provider sectors.

Started in 2021, the platform caters to over 50,000 users across India, providing super-speciality medicines for critical conditions like cancer, kidney diseases, heart disorders, HIV/AIDS, transplants, hepatitis, and more.

Other news

InMobi’s festive season report

InMobi in a report said 54% of Indian consumers will engage in hybrid shopping during the festive season.

In a report titled, The Marketer’s Guide to the Festive Season 2023, InMobi highlighted that about 84% of the survey participants said they have increased their online shopping budgets compared to last year, and 63% said they know what item to buy and are only left to finalise the brand of their choice.

Among the women surveyed, 68% see themselves as the main decision-makers for festive shopping, prioritising personal needs first, followed by family and business associates.

The report also found that 58% of the participants plan to shop around Dusshera and Diwali, whereas about one in three shoppers are looking to start as early as September. Nearly 66% of the participants plan to allocate a budget between Rs 25,000 to Rs 50,000 towards their festive purchases.

The survey saw the participation of 1,000 Indian mobile users. The aim was to gain insights into their festive spending intentions and preferences.

Xenesis adds Ex DARPA Biotech Director to its advisory board

Xenesis, the R&D arm of Delhi-based bioscience company Absolute, has added former US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) biotechnology director, Dr Bradley Ringeisen, to its advisory board.

Bradley is the Executive Director at Innovative Genomics Institute (IGI) in Berkeley, California, which aims to bridge revolutionary gene-editing tool development to affordable and accessible solutions in human health and climate. He has over 20 years of experience and 18 patents to his name.

The Xenesis Advisory Board hosts scientific, entrepreneurial, and industry veterans in agritech, crop transformation, bio-protection, plant molecular farming, carbon sequestration, gene editing, biomaterials, and biocare.

One of the board’s main goals is to advocate for scientific authority, pioneering innovation, and support policy changes that will help address the needs of farmers and end-consumers.

GOQii partners with Modality to launch operations in the UK

California-based healthcare startup GOQii launched its patient care operations in the UK in collaboration with Modality Partnerships, a provider of community care services across the UK.

Established in 2014, GOQii Smart Healthcare offers various services focused on improving the health of patients by addressing lifestyle and medical conditions. Vishal Gondal, Founder and CEO of GOQii, expressed enthusiasm for the partnership, highlighting its potential to enhance the health outcomes of numerous patients in the UK.

Within GOQii's health ecosystem, a comprehensive care team is assembled, including personal coaches, health experts, doctors, and diagnosticians. This ecosystem integrates all of the user's health data onto a unified platform, enabling thorough analysis by the care team.

MobiKwik partners with Cashfree Payments to offer ZIP payment option

Fintech company Mobikwik has partnered with Cashfree Payments to offer interest-free credit for its users by integrating ‘ZIP Pay Later’ with Cashfree Payments’ payment gateway.

It will enable users to use their ZIP credit limit of up to Rs 60,000 to pay at over 20,000 online merchants, the company said. The ZIP Pay Later option will be launched with a 10% supercash on a minimum transaction value of Rs 499.

The ZIP pay later option allows users to pay bills, shop for clothes, groceries, and electronics, order food, medicines, and other commodities with their credit limit. With ZIP, users can shop at over one lakh brands using MobiKwik at the checkout and just pay later.

AICTE and EMBIBE partner to help 3.5 lakh tribal students

AI-led edtech platform EMBIBE has partnered with the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) of the Ministry of Education to improve the learning outcomes of the youth and equip them with the skills needed for a changing job market. 

The collaboration aims to benefit more than 3.5 lakh tribal students and 40,000 teachers from 740 Eklavya Model Residential Schools across India. Through this, EMBIBE has become the first edtech company to enter into a strategic partnership with AICTE to improve learning outcomes in schools, the company said. 

As a result of this partnership, students from classes 6th to 12th will gain access to EMBIBE’s learning solutions and personalised platform.

Grip secures SEBI’s OBPP licence from NSE

Investment-tech startup Grip has received the Online Bond Platform Provider (OBPP) licence under the new regulatory framework from the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI). It is now registered as a stock broker in the debt segment with the National Stock Exchange (NSE), the company said in a statement. 

In November 2022, SEBI introduced the OBPP regulations to democratise investment options for retail investors and deepen the corporate bonds market while protecting the interest of retail investors.

In compliance with the OBPP regulations, Grip also became the first platform to launch securitised debt instrument-driven products such as LeaseX, InvoiceX, LoanX, and BondX. These investment products provide investors a secured opportunity to earn fixed returns by investing in receivables from one or more entities either in the form of lease rentals, discounted invoices, or loan repayments.

Kapiva elevates its COO and CRO as co-founders

Kapiva, a homegrown D2C Ayurveda brand, has revamped its founding team. As a part of this announcement, COO Shantanu and CRO Anuj Sharma will be elevated as co-founders.

In their new roles, Shantanu’s key focus will be on building the brand along with the curation of science-backed products and Anuj will closely work on integrating technology to seamlessly deliver holistic health outcomes.

“Shantanu and Anuj have contributed enormously to Kapiva’s journey in the past two years. Their expertise and experience have shaped the brand’s growth trajectory quadrupling the brand’s sales in the last two years,” said Ameve Sharma, Co-founder of Kapiva.

In June 2023, the startup also announced a wholly-owned subsidiary in the US, Kapiva Inc.

MathCo launches suite of GenAI offerings

Global data analytics and engineering firm TheMathCompany (MathCo) has introduced a suite of Generative AI offerings for its clients. The full-service suite includes GenAI advisory, LLM engineering, toolkit engineering, and business insights and solutions. 

"We have meticulously crafted this suite of offerings that ranges from insightful guidance and consultation to establishment of LLM models tailored for their distinct requirements,” said Anuj Krishna, Co-founder and Chief Product Officer, TheMathCompany.

TheMathCompany partners with Fortune 500 and equivalent organisations to enhance their analytics capabilities, using IP-led assets, talent, and processes to deliver accelerated and human-centric solutions.

DPIIT, Vilgro selects participants for National Incubator Capacity Development Programme

The National Incubator Capacity Development Programme by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) has announced the selection of 25 incubators. The selected candidates will go through an intensive three-month mentorship, advisory, and capacity-building programme. 

The programme, over a period of 12 weeks, adopts a cohort-based hybrid approach to enhance the skills and abilities of the incubators. It includes a comprehensive set of self-learning modules, virtual and physical boot camps, exposure visits, and customized learning for incubator heads and sessions dedicated to efficiently managing the Startup India Seed Fund Scheme (SISFS). 

These sessions will be provided by a distinguished group of incubator business advisors, including PR Ganapathy, Chand Das, Rama Kannan, Sandeep Jain, etc.  

The initiative, in association with Villgro, is a part of the Startup India campaign. It is dedicated to nurturing social startups and entrepreneurs and propelling the rapid expansion of India's thriving startup ecosystem.

(This article will be updated with the latest news throughout the day.)

(The copy was updated to correct a factual error in MrMed funding news.)