A daily newsletter summarizing interesting Indian startups and recent activity both in India & globally
INTERESTING STARTUPS
Curricooler (2015, Bangalore) Career guidance and mentorship platform. Founders are ex-Cognizant, Career Launcher, CricInfo and Nexus Consulting and alumni of University of Kansas and ISB. Local competitor is NextKadam (2015, Chandigarh). Global companies operating in the same space are Evisors (2010, NYC, $2.55M) and Zoony (2011, Rio de Janeiro, $300K)
INDIA INTERESTING NEWS
WithMe (2015, Gurgaon) Social fashion discovery app raises $250K in angel funding from a group of investors comprising Alex Kuruvilla (MD, CondeNast India) Pradeep Guha (ex-Head, Zee Group), Saket Dhankar (Head, Lakme Fashion Week) and Rajan Pandhare Link
Gapoon (2015, Bangalore) Online platform to hire verified personnel for home services raises $178K in angel funding from investors Chandrashekar Tallapragada and other angel investorsLink
Persistent Systems (1990, Pune) Software services firm acquires PRM Cloud Solutions (2006, Brisbane) Cloud application development firm for an undisclosed amount Link
Exotel (2011, Bangalore) Cloud telephony service provider sets up a research division called Exotel Labs to tackle voice quality issues Link
Ola (2011, Bangalore) App-based asset-light cab operator announces business restructuring to step up focus and investment into its core taxi service Link
FreeCharge (2010, Mumbai) Online recharge and wallet platform in partnership with Yes Bank launches FreeCharge Go card, a digital wallet with 1M active users in 60 days Link
BankBazaar (2008, Chennai) Online financial services marketplace appoints Murari Sridharan (ex-GM Engineering, Microsoft Redmond) as CTO Link
Amazon (1994, Seattle) E-commerce platform applies for a semi-closed wallet licence Link
IFMR Holdings raises $1.85M from French capital firm Proparco for expansion and development of new range of financial products Link
Nasscom sets up a warehouse in Visakhapatnam to offer co-working space for start-ups under its 10,000 Startups initiative Link
Barclays along with 91springboard announces ‘Rise in Mumbai’ a coworking space Link
GLOBAL ROUNDUP
Spirox (2013, Menlo Park) Developer of medical device for nasal obstruction treatment closed a $45M series C round of financing from KKR with participation from new investor HealthQuest Capital and existing shareholders Link
Outpost Medicine (2016) Newly formed biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of treatments of urologic and gynecologic disorders raises $41M financing from Frazier Healthcare Partners with participation from Adams Street Partners, Novo A/S, and Vivo Capital Link
Couchbase (2009, Mountain View) Provider of a database for the digital economy raises $30M in series F funding in a round led by Sorenson Capital with participation from current investors Accel Partners, Adams Street Partners and others Link
Next Insurance (2016, Palo Alto) Solution provider for small businesses to find insurance online raises $13M in seed funding from Zeev Ventures, TLV Partners and Ribbit Capital Link
Librestream (2003, Winnipeg) Video collaboration platform raises $8M in funding from Emerald Technology Ventures, with participation from BDC Capital’s Industrial, Clean and Energy Venture Fund Link
Terminus (2014, Atlanta) Provider of B2B marketing platform raises $7.5M in series A funding from Edison Partners, with participation from existing investors including Hyde Park Venture Partners, Arthur Ventures and Knoll Ventures Link
Instarem (2013, Gold Coast) Business and personal purpose remittance service provider raises $5m in Series A funding from Vertex Ventures, with participation from Fullerton Financial Holdings and Global Founders Capital Link
Noodle Analytics (2016, SF) Enterprise artificial intelligence company raises series A funding of undisclosed amount in a round led by TPG Growth with participation from the founders of the company Link
Goldman Sachs Investment Management division acquires Honest Dollar (2014, Austin) Digital retirement savings platform for an undisclosed amount Link
Landesk (1985, Salt Lake City) Provider of platform that integrates and automates IT tasks acquires AppSense (1999, Sunnyvale) Provider of secure user environment management solutions for an undisclosed amount Link
HealthQuest Capital a Menlo Park-based venture fund closes its latest healthcare fund at $225M Link