Startup news and updates: Daily roundup (June 13, 2024)

Funding news

Eduport bags funds to boost tech infrastructure and multilingual content development

Eduport, an edtech firm, has secured its latest funding round, involving an undisclosed amount from Dr Tom M Joseph, with Verso Capital playing a crucial role in connecting the two entities.

The startup plans to use a significant portion of the funds to enhance its tech infrastructure, catering to the growing student base across various regions, and to create and curate content in multiple languages to address challenges faced by non-English students.

Dr Joseph, who serves as the New Initiatives Director at Jain University, has been appointed to the board of Eduport through this investment.

Eduport, founded in 2020 by NIT alumni Ajas Mohammed Jansher, is an edtech startup providing online and offline NEET, KEAM, CUET, and JEE classes to thousands of students.

Hour4u raises $420,000 led by Apptad Technologies

Hour4u, a rental marketplace for booking venues and on-demand hourly workers, has raised $420,000 in its latest seed funding round, led by Apptad Technologies Private Ltd.

It plans to use the new funds to expand its services to major Indian metro cities, including onboarding new customers, increasing sales, and hiring key staff.

Hour4u, launched in Pune in 2019, is a WhatsApp group designed to assist college students in finding legitimate hourly part-time jobs.

It also provides Workorbits—software for agencies to create digital portfolios, streamline operations, and enhance client experience through digital contracts, KYCs, and real-time staff tracking.

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Crème Castle raises Rs 7 Cr; targets expansion across India

Noida-headquartered customised bakery startup Crème Castle has closed seed funding round at Rs 7 crore. The funding came from V3 Ventures, led by veteran D2C venture capitalist Arjun Vaidya, Amit Jain (CEO and Co-founder of CarDekho), Indian Silicon Ventures, and other angel investors.

Established in 2013, Crème Castle said it has garnered 10 lakh loyal customers nationwide with a 60% repeat rate. Operating across 20+ pin codes, the company plans to expand to Delhi-NCR, Jaipur, and Chandigarh, followed by 15 Tier I and II cities, and multiple Tier III locations by FY2025.

With over 65% revenue from its digital channels and partnerships with platforms like Zomato and Swiggy, Crème Castle aims to scale to 80 locations by 2026, focusing on states like Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh.

Other news

Samsung Partners with Paytm

Samsung has partnered with One97 Communications Limited to launch ticket bookings for flight, bus, movies, and events on Samsung Wallet.

Samsung Wallet now integrates Paytm's services, including flight, bus, movie ticket, and event bookings, for seamless access for Galaxy smartphone users.

The partnership aims to enhance consumer convenience by integrating booking services directly into Samsung Wallet, providing seamless access to various Paytm services.

Galaxy smartphone users can now add their tickets to Samsung Wallet using the 'Add to Samsung Wallet' functionality, allowing them to conveniently access airports, bus terminals, cinema halls, and event venues. Samsung India and Paytm will soon introduce discount offers of up to Rs 1,150 on first bookings across the newly launched services.

Twid and GoKwik partner to boost D2C brand growth

TWID and GoKwik have partnered to expand loyalty and reward programmes across GoKwik's D2C brands' network.

GoKwik has partnered with over 90 brands, including Snitch‎, Adilqadri, Bacca Bucci, Neemans, and Sanfe, to enhance discounts and loyalty points, boost customer satisfaction, and drive revenue growth.

The partnership allows 100 million GoKwik shoppers to use Twid's reward points (like Flipkart SuperCoins and credit card points) at checkout for extra savings, enhancing prepaid conversions and reducing RTO. D2C brands will let shoppers redeem the highest available points, boosting customer lifetime value by up to 30%. Twid's partners also gain access to GoKwik's vast D2C network, expanding their reach and revenue.

The partnership integrates reward points into merchants' platforms via GoKwik's one-click checkout, simplifying loyalty management and enabling direct point use at checkout for a superior shopping experience.

Unifi Capital launches two funds through its recently established subsidiary in GIFT City

Unifi Capital, a portfolio management firm, has launched two new fund offerings through its subsidiary, Unifi Investment Management LLP, in GIFT City, International Finances Services Centre.

The primary offering, Rangoli India Fund, is an Inbound Cat III AIF registered with SEBI as a Category 1 FPI, focusing on value-oriented investments in Indian growth businesses. It targets companies benefiting from middle-class growth, sector formalisation, and emerging competencies.

The second fund, G20 Portfolio, an Outbound PMS, aims to offer Indian high net-worth individuals access to 20 leading global businesses for portfolio diversification and optimized risk-adjusted returns.

Unifi IM, a subsidiary of Unifi Capital, is a fully-owned entity based in Gift City, IFSCA, that specialises in serving international investors seeking Indian and global equities investments, and is registered with the US SEC as an Exempt Reporting Advisor.

Meesho to host internal hackathon to spur innovation and team collaboration

Meesho, an ecommerce marketplace, is launching a 24-hour internal hackathon on June 13 at its headquarters. The event aims to spark creativity, foster teamwork, and generate innovative ideas among its talented employees.

The hackathon will involve employees from various departments, including tech, product, marketing, supply chain and logistics, IT, and operations, competing in a high-energy environment.

The participants will be evaluated based on creativity, impact, technical excellence, practicality, scalability, and presentation quality.

The hackathon is organised in partnership with Redis, Confluent, and Google Cloud. 

Snitch to open 7 new stores

Snitch‎, a clothing brand, plans to open seven new stores in June, expanding its offline retail presence across various Indian regions, including Pune, Ahmedabad, and Hyderabad, to enhance the shopping experience.

The brand has opened nine new stores across India. The expansion includes locations in Bel Road, Koramangala, Mantri Square, Pune, Shymal, Sarath City, and Earth Euphoria.

Aurionpro Payments receives authorisation for online PA licence  

Aurionpro Solutions Private Limited, a subsidiary of Aurionpro, has received final authorisation from the Reserve Bank of India to operate as an online payment aggregator under the Payments Settlements Act, 2007, through its payments brand AuroPay.

Aurionpro Solutions Limited is a Mumbai-headquartered advanced technology solutions company serving the banking, mobility, payments, and government sectors. It provides a unified platform to help businesses adapt to the new digital paradigm.

It has a global presence and a team of over 2,300 dedicated professionals.

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