[Weekly Deals Roundup] Instoried, Elevation Capital, Vianai System & others raise funds

Instoried, Early-stage venture capital firm Elevation Capital, AI startup Vianai System and other startups & venture capital raised funding in this week.

AI-based content creation startup Instoried raises $200 mn

Web platform, Instoried has raised $200 mn in funding round from global investment group GEM Global Yield.

The startup will use the funds to expand operations globally and develop artificial intelligence (AI) based content creation tools.

The platform will also invest in its own technology to add a Google Chrome extension, a WordPress plug-in, and other elements to its product portfolio.

Elevation Capital raises $670 million India Fund VIII

Early-stage venture capital firm Elevation Capital (formerly SAIF Partners) has raised $670 million, the largest ever fund for India, to accelerate partnerships with early-stage companies in India.

The company will use the funds to invest in areas such as consumer internet, fintech, SaaS, in addition to emerging topics such as Web3 and cryptocurrencies.

AI startup Vianai System raises $200 mn funding

Vianai Systems, a Silicon Valley-based AI platform has raised $200 million so far and also added key members to its leadership team.

Founded in 2019 by Indian-American IT expert Vishal Sikka, Vianai Systems customers, which include many of the world’s largest and most respected businesses, to whom it distributes artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), and data science platforms and products.

EnKash raises $20 mn in funding from Ascent Capital, others

EnKash, a fintech startup has raised $20 million in new funding round from Ascent Capital along with Baring India Private Equity Partners and Singapore-based White Ventures.

The Mumbai-based firm was founded in 2017 by former Citrus Pay executives – Naveen Bindal, Hemant Vishnoi, and Yadvendra Tyagi, It operates a payment management platform for enterprises such as corporate card issuance.

Agritech venture capital Omnivore launches $130 mn fund

Agritech venture capital firm Omnivore said it is setting up a new $130 million (Rs 1000 crore) fund to invest in early-stage technology-driven startups focusing on agriculture, food, climate change, and rural development.

With this new fund, the company aims to deepen the reach and impact of OmniX Bio and help improve the agri-food life science ecosystem in India.

Blockchain platform Kandola raises $450K from AlphaWave Global, others

Kandola, a blockchain startup has raised $450k in its pre-Seed funding round from AlphaWave Global, Sandeep Nailwal (founder of Polygon), and Harsh Rawat (EPNS) among others.

The firm will use the funds to strengthen the underlying technologies through research and development and to expand the team.

Agritech startup Agrizy raises $4 mn in funding

Agrizy, an agri-tech startup has raised $4 mn (around Rs 30 crore) in seed funding round from Ankur Capital, with participation from Omnivore and angel investors like Rajesh Yabaji (CEO, BlackBuck), Zetwerk’s cofounders Srinath Ramakkrushnan, Amrit Acharya, Rahul Sharma, Vishal Chaudhary & among others.

The startup plans to use the funds to grow its business and engineering teams. It will also invest funds to develop a digital services suite for the processed agriculture market and increase the number of customers.

Gaming Startup Bombay Play raises $7 mn in series A round

Hypersocial gaming startup Bombay Play has raised $7 million in its Series A funding round from Kalaari Capital with participation from investors including Winzo, AdvantEdge VC, and AMEA Ventures.

The startup plans to use the funds to enhance its existing hypersocial game offerings, supporting upcoming projects while also devoting an amount to innovation in the segment. With this fundraise Bombay Play’s total funding has reached over $9.5 million.

Gaming platform OWN raises $2 mn seed funding                                

One World Nation (OWN), a crypto gamification platform has raised $2 million in seed funding round from Better Capital, Polygon Studios, Cloud Capital, and Indigg.

The startup is planning to launch its NFT-based game to earn games on crypto markets by next month.

Fintech platform Tortoise raises $2.3 mn in seed funding

Gurgaon-based fintech startup Tortoise has raised $2.3 million in a seed funding round from Vertex Ventures, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Temasek Holdings.

The startup said that we plan to partner with more brands and merchants to offer customers a wider choice of savings options and ‘Save Now, Pay Later’ model for better returns instead of the ‘Buy now pay later’ model.

SaaS startup Futwork raises $1 mn funding from Blume Ventures, others

Futwork, a sales-as-a-service (SaaS) platform has raised $1 million in funding round from Blume Ventures and Simile Venture Partners.

The startup plans to use the funds to build the product and grow the team to provide the best on-demand sales as a service engine for companies driven by work-from-home tele-callers. Futwork will also focus on enterprise customers and larger outbound calling use cases.

Phool raises $8 mn in series A round from Sixth Sense Ventures

Kanpur-based Phool, a biomaterial startup & fragrance-focused wellness brand, has raised $8 million in its series A funding round from consumer fund, Sixth Sense Ventures.

The startup plans to use this fund to further scale up operations, explore untapped domestic and global growth opportunities and build India’s largest fragrance brand. In addition, it will also accelerate R&D efforts to make animal leather obsolete with feathers, a revolutionary vegetarian alternative to animal leather.

We360.ai raises $500k in seed funding

We360.ai, a cloud-based employee monitoring software, has raised $500k in Seed funding round from GSF Accelerator, HEM Angels, SucSEED Indovation Fund, Vishal Gondal (Founder & CEO GOQii), ah! Ventures and Campus Fund VC.

Bhopal-based We360.ai was founded in 2020 by Arnav Gupta, Sandeep Panda and Swapnil Tripathi, It is an award-winning employee monitoring software that provides real-time workplace analytics to enhance employee productivity.

Agritech startup CultYvate raises Rs 4.5 cr from Sunicon Ventures, others

CultYvate, an agritech platform by Farms2Fork Technologies Pvt Ltd, has raised Rs4.5 crores in a pre-Series A funding round from Sirius One Capital Fund, Sunicon, The Chennai Angels, LV Angel Fund, and Prodapt Technology Holding.

The startup plans to use the funds to refine the technology to make services more accessible, affordable, and simple. It will also be used for talent acquisition for the development of AI, ML, and Remote Sensing. The startup aims to expand its geographical presence in the states of Punjab, Haryana, and Maharashtra.

Pet care platform Wagr raises Rs 4.2 cr

Pet care platform Wagr has raised Rs 4.2 crore in a funding round from Inflection Point Ventures and IvyCap Ventures.

The startup plans to use the funds to expand the pet products available on its e-commerce platform and expand its veterinary consultation and healthcare offering to users across India. The startup will also expand its team and enhance its customer acquisition efforts.

SaaS platform Rattle raises $26 mn from Insight Partners, others

The San Francisco-based Software-as-a-service startup, Rattle has raised $26 million in Series A funding round from New York-based venture capital firm Insight Partners, and participation from Global Ventures and existing investors Sequoia Capital India and Lightspeed India Partners.

The startup plans to use the new capital to grow its marketing team and expand the platform ecosystem.

Venture capital firm Speciale Invest raises Rs 286 crore

Speciale Invest, an early-stage venture capital firm has raised Rs 286 crore towards the final close of its second fund.

The Chennai-based firm was founded in 2017 by Vishesh Rajaram and Arjun Rao, Speciale Invest backs companies creating disruptive technologies in the areas of Software as a Service. These include developer tools and frontier technologies including climate, advanced materials, space technology, robotics, photonics, and alternative energy, among others.

Aavishkaar Capital raises Rs 1,000 crore

Aavishkaar Capital, the impact investing arm of the Aavishkaar Group, has raised $130 million (about ₹1000 crore) first close of its eighth impact fund.

The executive said the fund will also actively invest in companies that address issues such as climate change.

Mumbai-based Aavishkaar Capital was started in 2001 by Vineet Rai, It provides private equity and microfinance solutions for early-stage startups.

Agritech platform TraceX raises $1 mn led by NABVENTURES Fund

TraceX Technologies, a blockchain-powered agritech platform has raised $1 million in its pre-Series A funding round from NABARD backed NABVENTURES Fund.

The startup plans to use the funds to scale operations in India and international markets, scale up the technology platform, enter other value chains and build high-performance teams across functions.

Startup enabler platform PedalStart raises funding from AngelBay

Delhi NCR-based PedalStart, an agnostic platform-driven startup accelerator and founders’ community has raised undisclosed amount in a strategic round from AngelBay.

With this fundraising, the company will aim to connect the core team and build the technology, with the goal of growing this community to 5,000 startup enthusiasts over the coming 12 months.

CynLr raises $4.5 million in pre-series A funding

CynLr, a visual object intelligence platform has raised $4.5 million in funding round from Speciale Invest and growX Ventures.

The startup will use the new capital to establish its business presence in the US, grow its team to more than 50 members, and build capacity to address an existing pipeline of customers and deliver 100 robots annually.

Healthtech startup Doceree raises $11 million funding

Doceree, a physician engagement startup has raised $11 million funding round from Eight Roads Ventures, a global investment firm backed by Fidelity.

The startup plans to use the fresh capital to expand its global operations, expand partnerships, expand its product offering, and improve the platform’s measurement and practical lift capabilities to improve transparency. In addition, this investment will also help in strengthening communication with health professionals (HCPs) for pharma and life sciences companies, agencies, and health information technology platforms.

Healthtech Startup Rises.ai raises Seed Funding led by Angel Investors from Kuwait and USA

Pune-based health-tech company Rises.ai, today announced that it has raised seed funding led by Angel Investors from Kuwait and USA.

Rises Analytics Solutions is an AI (artificial intelligence) and Blockchain integrated high-tech start-up focused on healthcare-oriented solutions. Rises has developed medical treatment response assessment modules and AI solutions for Cancer, TB, COVID-19 and other pulmonary conditions. Rises’ algorithm analyses medical data like X-Ray, CT, MRI and EMR.

Beverage brand Jimmy’s Cocktails raises ₹14 crore

Gurgaon-based beverage brand Jimmy’s Cocktails has raised Rs 14 crore in Series A funding led by Roots Ventures and 7Square Ventures.

The startup said that fund will use to expand its distribution footprint in India and overseas.

D2C brand WickedGüd raises $1 mn in seed round

Mumbai-based WickedGüd, a D2C brand has raised $1 million in a Seed funding round from Mumbai Angels and other marquee investors.

The startup plans to use the funds to build a brand and community across D2C channels, acquire more customers by resonating with GenZ and younger millennials, support its growth, and strengthen its core team and international expansion.

Rural commerce platform Rozana raises $2.5 mn

Peer-to-peer (P2P) rural commerce startup, Rozana has raised $2.5 million in its Pre-Series A funding round from 3one4 Capital and Europe’s IEG – Investment Banking Group.

The startup plans to use this fund to improve the technical capabilities of the platform and increase its presence in Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, and Karnataka over the next 12 months. Rozana says it brings rural India within the ambit of e-commerce.

Live video & audio platform Dyte raises $11.6 mn

Live video and audio SDKs platform Dyte has raised $11.6 million in seed funding round from Unbound, Sequoia Capital India’s Surge, and Nexus Venture Partners.

The startup plans to use the funds to expand its product and engineering team and focus on international hires while building a global market.

Fintech platform BeyondIRR raises seed funding

Mumbai-based B2B fintech platform BeyondIRR has raised undisclosed amount in seed funding round from Zerodha’sRainmatter and Sujeet Kumar (co-founder of Udaan).

The startup plans to use the funds to expand its team, build a stronger technology platform and expand its presence across geographies.