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Mygate Expands into Consumer Devices with Launch of Smart Door Locks for Enhanced Home Security

By
Garima Bansal
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Housing society management app Mygate has expanded into the consumer electronics market with the launch of Mygate Locks, a range of smart door locks aimed at enhancing home security with digital convenience. These smart locks enable users to manage home access remotely, offering keyless entry and features like remote unlocking via OTP, end-to-end data encryption, user management, real-time notifications, and integration with Mygate’s existing app for gated communities.

This move marks Mygate’s entry into the consumer device segment, broadening its product offerings beyond its core software solutions. The smart locks will be available to users across India, reflecting the company’s strategy to address the growing demand for smarter, more convenient home security solutions.

Abhishek Kumar, Mygate’s co-founder and CEO, expressed confidence in the new venture, projecting that the consumer device business could generate several hundred crore in revenue within the next two to three years. Kumar noted that Mygate identified a market opportunity for smarter home solutions, which led to the launch of Mygate Locks, expanding the company’s reach beyond gated communities.

Founded in 2016 by Abhishek Kumar, Vijay Arisetty, and Shreyans Daga, Mygate has grown significantly, with its community management app now serving over 4 million residents across 25,000 housing societies in India. The company reported a revenue of more than ₹100 crore in FY24, a 35% increase from ₹77 crore in FY23, primarily driven by subscriptions from resident welfare associations (RWAs) and advertising partnerships.

In addition to its foray into consumer devices, Mygate has also been diversifying into other sectors, including the insurance distribution business. The company recently obtained an aggregator license from the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) and partnered with Acko General Insurance to offer insurance products.

Sarvagram Eyes Over $50 Million in New Funding Round for Rural Credit Expansion

By
Garima Bansal
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Sarvagram, a Mumbai-based digital lending firm focused on rural households, is in advanced discussions to secure nearly $50 million in funding from both new and existing investors. The company’s valuation is projected to reach between $170 million and $200 million, nearly doubling since its last funding round in January 2023.

Key investors in this round include Peak XV, Apis Partners, Beams Fintech Fund, and Creation Investments Capital Management LLC. The funding is expected to comprise a mix of primary and secondary transactions, with existing investors such as Elevar Equity, Elevation Capital, Temasek, and TVS Shriram Growth Capital also participating.

Sarvagram operates through a franchisee model, with local franchisees known as Sarvamitras facilitating access to credit and non-credit products. The company runs 125 branches across Gujarat, Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Rajasthan, and plans to expand further into new states while deepening its presence in existing ones.

Founded in 2018 by Utpal Isser and Sameer Mishra, Sarvagram targets aspirational semi-urban and rural households, offering a variety of loans including gold, housing, personal, farm, and consumer durable loans. The firm uses a household-centric lending model, which assesses the economic potential of entire households rather than individual income.

Sarvagram Fincare Private Limited (SFPL), the company’s non-banking finance arm, has recently achieved profitability with a reported profit after tax of ₹7.6 crore for FY24. Meanwhile, Sarvagram Solutions Private Limited (SSPL), another group entity, has reduced its net loss by 65% to ₹11.6 crore for the same fiscal year, with assets under management growing 1.5 times to ₹1,166 crore.

Fampay Launches Namaspay, a UPI Payment App for Foreign Travelers in India

By
Garima Bansal
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0

Fampay, under its parent company Trio, has launched a new unified payment interface (UPI) app called Namaspay, specifically designed for foreign travelers visiting India. This strategic move aims to explore new revenue streams for the company by tapping into the growing UPI ecosystem.

Namaspay is a dedicated app that allows travelers from various regions, including Europe, Africa, Australia, and the US, to make UPI-based payments in India. The app charges a one-time registration fee of ₹1,650, with additional charges of 4% for money loading and 1% for withdrawal. This makes Namaspay a viable payment option for tourists looking to avoid carrying cash while traveling in urban India, where UPI-powered apps have largely replaced cash transactions.

UPI, owned by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), processed nearly 15 billion transactions in August, demonstrating its widespread acceptance across the country. Given that UPI is nearly universally accepted, an app like Namaspay provides a strong use case for foreign tourists who may prefer a seamless, cash-free payment method. Despite UPI’s vast usage, it has contributed minimally to the revenues of companies associated with it. Apps like Namaspay could potentially fill this profitability gap by targeting foreign travelers. Currently, Cheq is the only other notable competitor in this space, indicating a largely untapped market.

India received around 92 million foreign tourists in 2023, many of whom rely on cash or card payments. This presents a significant opportunity for UPI-based apps like Namaspay and Cheq to capture market share. However, experts caution that if the “UPI for foreigners” segment proves profitable, major players like PhonePe and Paytm may also introduce similar offerings, intensifying competition. The NPCI’s response to monetization efforts in this space could also shape the market dynamics, potentially setting new benchmarks.

Originally launched as a neo-banking platform targeting teens, Fampay pivoted to become a comprehensive UPI app, similar to PhonePe and Paytm. The company spent over ₹200 crore to build its fintech offering for users below 18 years of age but reported less than ₹15 crore in lifetime revenue despite raising $38 million in a Series A round. Nonetheless, Fampay has shown impressive growth, processing 52 million UPI transactions in July and reaching the top 10 in its category within a year of its pivot.

Namaspay is managed by Pehe through its subsidiary TrioTech, with Fampay’s co-founders, Sambhav Jain and Kush Taneja, listed as owners in regulatory filings. This latest venture indicates Fampay’s ongoing efforts to explore more use cases within the UPI ecosystem and potentially carve out a profitable niche by targeting foreign travelers.

Hindustan Composite Acquires Minority Stake in Swiggy Ahead of IPO

By
Garima Bansal
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Hindustan Composite, an auto ancillary firm, has acquired a minority stake in Swiggy, an online food delivery company preparing for its initial public offering (IPO). This development follows a recent investment by Amitabh Bachchan’s family office in the Bengaluru-based company.

The board of Hindustan Composite has agreed to acquire 1,50,000 equity shares of Swiggy, amounting to an investment of ₹5.17 crore. This transaction was disclosed through a filing with the National Stock Exchange (NSE). The company’s net worth was reported at ₹9,810 crore (approximately $1.18 billion) as of March 2023. Hindustan Composite aims to complete this acquisition by November 30, 2024, with plans to reap both short-term and long-term benefits from the investment.

Swiggy has reportedly filed for an IPO via a confidential route in May. The company plans to raise up to ₹3,750 crore ($450 million) through a fresh issue of equity shares and an offer for sale aggregating up to ₹6,664 crore ($800 million) in its IPO. The company is expected to file draft IPO papers with SEBI shortly.

In preparation for its IPO, Swiggy launched its fifth ESOP (Employee Stock Ownership Plan) liquidity program worth $65 million in July. Over five such events, the company claims to have facilitated over ₹1,000 crore of ESOP liquidity, benefiting 3,200 employees.

Additionally, the Prosus-backed firm strengthened its leadership team last month with the appointment of a new Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Chief Operating Officer (COO), signaling its readiness for the upcoming IPO.

Financially, Swiggy reported a revenue of ₹5,476 crore in the first three quarters of FY24, with a loss of ₹1,600 crore. The company has yet to file its audited financial results for FY24.

In comparison, Swiggy’s competitor, Zomato, is currently valued at $28.3 billion, according to stock exchange data. The Deepinder Goyal-led company reported ₹4,206 crore in revenue and ₹253 crore in profits for the first quarter of FY24.

Moneyview Secures $30 Million in Debt through Private Placement

By
Garima Bansal
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Lending platform Moneyview is set to receive Rs 250 crore (around $30 million) in debt through private placements, marking its first significant debt round in the last three years. The Bengaluru-based company’s board approved a special resolution to issue non-convertible debentures up to this amount, as per documents from the Registrar of Companies. This debt infusion is aimed at supporting the firm’s growth, working capital needs, and general corporate purposes.

Moneyview is also close to achieving unicorn status, with ongoing discussions to raise an additional $50-60 million. This funding round will involve both new and existing investors, including Apis Partners, Accel Partners, and Evolvence India. The Tiger Global-backed company has raised about $190 million so far, including a $75 million Series E round led by Apis Partners, valuing the firm at $900 million in its last equity round. Major stakeholders in Moneyview include Accel with a 22.28% share, Tiger Global holding 12%, and co-founders Puneet and Sanjay Agarwal collectively owning 24% of the company. Other significant investors include Ribbit Capital, Apis Partners, Winter Capital, and Evolvence.

Founded in 2014, Moneyview specializes in personal and home loans, credit cards, credit score viewing, motor insurance, and loans against property. The company also offers credit through its own NBFC, Whizdm Finance, and claims to have disbursed loans totaling Rs 12,000 crore over its decade-long operation. While FY24 financials are yet to be disclosed, Moneyview’s revenue from operations grew 2.6 times to Rs 577 crore in FY23, with profits surging 27 times to Rs 163 crore during the same period.

Indian Startups Secure $1.47 Billion in August 2024, Marking an 89% Year-on-Year Growth

By
Garima Bansal
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0

In August 2024, startups raised approximately $1.47 billion in funding, representing an 89% increase from the same month last year when they secured $779 million across 123 rounds. Most of the funding this month came from early and late-stage rounds, totaling 86 rounds, according to data from Tracxn, a private market intelligence platform. In comparison, July 2024 saw startups raising around $718 million through 72 rounds.

From August 24 to August 30, the deal value climbed to $442.8 million across 23 rounds, up from $351 million raised during the same period last year through 32 rounds. Key deals in August include:

Zepto: The Mumbai-based quick commerce firm Zepto raised $340 million from investors like General Catalyst, Mars Growth Capital, and Epiq Capital, bringing its total funding in the past two months to $1 billion. Zepto’s valuation has now surged to $5 billion.

DMI Finance: Delhi-based digital lending company DMI Finance secured $334 million from Mitsubishi UFG Financial Group through its subsidiary MUFG Bank.

Bluestone: Jewellery retailer Bluestone raised Rs 900 crore, doubling its valuation to Rs 8,100 crore as it prepares for an initial public offering (IPO).

Ather Energy: Electric scooter manufacturer Ather Energy received $71 million in funding from the National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF), elevating its valuation to $1.3 billion. This makes Ather Energy the fourth unicorn in India this year and the second in the mobility sector after Rapido.

Neo Group: Wealth and asset management startup Neo Group raised around $47.7 million in a fresh equity funding round led by MUFG Bank and New York-based Euclidean Capital, with participation from Peak XV Partners.

Nutrabay Secures $5 Million Investment from RPSG Capital Ventures

By
Garima Bansal
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0

Nutrabay, a direct-to-consumer (D2C) sports nutrition retailer, has raised $5 million in a Series A funding round led by RPSG Capital Ventures, with participation from Kotak Alternate Asset Managers Limited. This is Nutrabay’s first institutional funding and will be used to expand its omnichannel presence and drive new product innovation.

Founded in 2017, Nutrabay operates as a D2C multi-brand retailer, offering products from over 100 brands along with its own private label under the Nutrabay name. The company sells its products through its D2C website, various e-commerce platforms, and offline supplement stores. Nutrabay aims to establish a horizontal brand encompassing sports nutrition, vitamins, minerals, and supplements (VMS), as well as health food and drinks.

Shreyans Jain, founder of Nutrabay, stated that the company was established to provide high-quality nutrition products to help consumers achieve holistic nutrition. Jain expressed enthusiasm for the support from RPSG and Kotak PE, and the opportunity to leverage this partnership for the company’s next growth phase. Nutrabay currently offers over 70 products and experienced 80% growth in fiscal 2024 compared to the previous year. The company plans to introduce more than 50 new products by the next fiscal year.

Abhishek Goenka, managing partner at RPSG Capital Ventures, highlighted the strong potential in the nutrition, health, and wellness sector, noting that demand for sports nutrition is growing beyond metropolitan areas and gaining traction in tier 2 and smaller markets. Nutrabay competes with companies like HealthKart and HyugaLife in this expanding market.

BigEndian Semiconductors Secures $3 Million in Funding Led by Vertex Ventures SEA & India

By
Garima Bansal
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0

BigEndian Semiconductors, a fabless-semiconductor design startup based in Bengaluru, has secured $3 million in a funding round led by Vertex Ventures SEA & India. The funds will be utilized to expand the company’s engineering team, boost research and development, and scale its operations. CEO Sunil Kumar emphasized that the company aims to leverage local market opportunities, government initiatives, venture capital support, and favorable global geopolitical conditions to position itself as a competitive provider of quality semiconductor solutions globally.

Founded in 2024 by Sunil Kumar, Renuka Prasad, Harpreet Wadhawan, Dinesh Annayya, Kanagaraju Ponnusamy, and Jansen Cheng, BigEndian Semiconductors is focused on developing indigenous semiconductor IP in India. The startup plans to launch its own surveillance system-on-chip (SoC) solution and currently employs around 18 people. Kumar highlighted that the company’s goal is to create a “Make in India” chipset, fully designed and manufactured in India, with significant revenue generation expected by 2026.

BigEndian Semiconductors intends to begin operations in India, with plans to expand into the Global South and eventually into developed markets like Europe and the United States. Their initial chipsets will target the Global South, with a focus on AI inference engines and enhancing machine learning capabilities on the edge. Ben Mathias, managing partner of Vertex Ventures SEA & India, noted that the realignment of electronics supply chains presents a unique opportunity for India to emerge as a global leader in semiconductors. He added that BigEndian’s approach to developing a surveillance SoC aligns with the increasing global demand for advanced security solutions.

Apple and Nvidia Eye Investments in OpenAI, Pushing Valuation Beyond $100 Billion

By
Garima Bansal
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0

Apple and Nvidia are reportedly in discussions to invest in OpenAI as part of a new funding round that could value the ChatGPT creator at over $100 billion. This potential investment would significantly boost OpenAI’s valuation and comes amid reports of Thrive Capital planning to invest approximately $1 billion in the company, leading the latest fundraising round. Apple and OpenAI have not commented on the reports, while Nvidia, Microsoft, and Thrive Capital declined to respond.

OpenAI has become increasingly central to Apple’s artificial intelligence strategy, with Apple integrating OpenAI’s ChatGPT into its devices under “Apple Intelligence.” Apple may also gain an observer role on OpenAI’s board. Microsoft, which is OpenAI’s largest strategic investor with more than $10 billion invested, is also expected to join the funding round. However, the specific amounts to be invested by Apple, Nvidia, and Microsoft have not been disclosed.

OpenAI’s soaring valuation reflects its pivotal role in the AI landscape, driven by the rapid adoption of ChatGPT since its launch in late 2022. This has spurred companies across various sectors to pour billions into AI to maintain a competitive edge. The firm, led by Sam Altman, was reportedly valued at $80 billion in February after a deal involving the sale of existing shares in a tender offer led by Thrive Capital. The latest investment talks highlight the ongoing AI arms race, with tech giants like Apple, Nvidia, and Microsoft vying to capitalize on OpenAI’s innovations to expand their market influence.

Zepto Secures $340 Million in Latest Funding Round, Boosting Valuation to $5 Billion

By
Garima Bansal
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0

The quick commerce firm, Zepto, has raised an additional $340 million (Rs 2,850 crore) from General Catalyst, Mars Growth Capital, and Epiq Capital, and the startup says it has raised more than $1 billion in the last two months. The most recent funding that involved funding from Sequoia capital, which was a part of the previous round alongside other investors, including StepStone, Lightspeed, DST Global, and Contrary, has taken Zepto’s valuation to $5 billion, setting it at 3x. It may also rise to 5 time within one year among other devastating impacts that the disease has on humanity. This has been due to factors such as fast-growing quick-delivery market and a large amount of capital invested in this area. Before, Zepto has received $665m in funding at $3 billion company valuation. 6 billion in June and got to unicorn status in August 2023 with $1. Business ousted it to $4 billion valuation after it secured $200 million in funding.

Zepto has been growing its operations very fast to new markets and new Dark stores, or mini-warehouses. Currently running 400 dark stores, Ocado hopes to have 700 dark stores and then review its expansion model, primarily focusing a scale that results in break-even point. That is amid rising competition from other large players in the quick commerce segment like Tata’s BigBasket, Flipkart Minutes, and Amazon India that are introducing or ramping up their own quick-delivery operations. Blinkit, one of the main competitors of Zepto, as well as Swiggy Instamart, are also actively growing: Blinkit by June had 639 dark stores more and planned to reach 1,000 by March 2025.

The chief executive of Zepto, Aadit Palicha, continued this focus on the execution and highlighted that the company is on course of achieving an annualized gross sales run rate of $1. Ago, it reported total sales of $5 billion and has set its target to achieve $3 billion. 5 billion by December of 2025 of the cumulative inflows and outflows of foreign direct investment to and from developing countries. The last round of funding was motivated by a chance to enter into partnership with Neeraj Arora of General Catalyst that became the board member of Zepto and the necessity of the company’s balance sheet shoring up with the constant growth.
Quick commerce, initially focused on grocery delivery, has expanded into multiple categories, now offering over 10,000 stock keeping units (SKUs) and aiming to increase this to 20,000-25,000 SKUs ahead of the festive season. According to industry estimates, quick commerce could account for 40-50% of e-commerce in certain categories within the next three years, growing from the current 10-15% of the total segment. A recent Nomura report projects that the quick-commerce market will achieve 100-110% year-on-year growth in gross order value by FY26, driven by substantial dark-store additions by leading companies.

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