A daily newsletter summarizing interesting Indian startups and recent activity both in India & globally.
INTERESTING STARTUPS
Cingulariti (2016, Mumbai), customer interaction analytics platform. Founder is ex- Exponentia Data DataLabs and alumnus of ISB. Local comparable is Dartboard (2016, Delhi). Global comparable is Glassbox Digital (2010, London).
INDIA INTERESTING NEWS
Aye Finance (2013, Delhi), MSME lending platform in North India, raises $8M in funding from Blue Orchard. Link
Genext Students (2011, Mumbai), hybrid tutoring and digital content platform, raises $580k in pre Series A round of funding from undisclosed investors. Link
Ebix (1976, Atlanta), software and e-commerce solutions provider to the insurance & healthcare industry, acquires 80% stake in ItzCash (2006, Mumbai), provider of prepaid payment cards, for $123M. Link
Razorpay (2014, Bangalore), payment gateway solutions provider, partners with Telegram (2013, St. Petersburg), open source messaging platform, for chatbot payments. Link
Niki.ai (2015, Bangalore), AI based automated order taking app for concierge services, partners with BookMyShow (2007, Mumbai), online ticketing portal for movies, concerts and entertainment events, to provide smart movie booking experience to its users. Link
Snapbizz (2013, Bangalore), technology solutions provider for offline retailers, enters into Andhra Pradesh & Telangana. Link
Pi Ventures, Bangalore-based early stage fund focused on investing on disruptive ideas leveraging machine learning, AI and IoT, raises $3M from International Finance Corporation (IFC). Link
GLOBAL ROUNDUP
Peloton (2012, NYC), on-demand streaming platform to attend live bike fitness classes, raises $325M in Series E round of funding led by Wellington Management, Fidelity Investments, Kleiner Perkins and True Ventures with participation from Comcast NBCUniversal, GGV Capital, Balyasny and QuestMark. Link
99 (2012, Sao Paulo), taxi-booking app, raises $100M in funding from SoftBank of Japan. Link
Smartsheet (2005, Bellevue), online project management platform, raises $52M in Series F round of funding led by Insight Venture Partners with participation from Madrona Venture Group, Sutter Hill Ventures and Summit Partners. Link
OrphoMed (2014, SF), clinical stage biopharmaceutical company developing dimer therapies, raises $39M in Series A round of funding led by New Enterprise Associates, Takeda Ventures with participation from Pappas Capital and others. Link
Medrio (2005, SF), integrated eclinical SaaS platform, raises $30M in funding from Questa Capital Management. Link
PolicyGenius (2014, NYC), online insurance shopping platform, raises $30M in Series C round of funding led by Norwest Venture Partners with participation from Revolution Ventures, Karlin Ventures and others. Link
G2 Crowd (2012, Highland Park), crowd-sourced business software & services review, raises $30M in funding led by Accel with participation from LinkedIn and Pritzker Group Venture Capital. Link
Microsoft (1974, Redmond), multinational computer software company, acquires Hexadite (2014, Tel Aviv), provider of automated cyber incidence response solution, for $100M. Link