Rabbitt AI, a company specializing in generative AI solutions, has secured $2.1 million in seed funding. This investment round was spearheaded by TechCurators along with several angel investors.
Rabbitt AI offers a comprehensive suite of tools that enable businesses to develop and deploy AI applications. Their offerings include custom large language model (LLM) development, retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) fine-tuning, and data-centric AI solutions.
The platform is equipped with advanced generative AI capabilities, custom LLM development, RAG fine-tuning, data-centric AI, machine learning operations (MLOps) integration, and voice bot AI agents.
With these features, Rabbitt AI empowers businesses to create sophisticated AI solutions that are specifically designed to meet their unique requirements.
TechCurators is the leading entity within the TC Group of companies, which is globally renowned for its expertise in education, e-learning, assessments, HR technology, cybersecurity, cloud development, and generative AI.
API infrastructure platform M2P Fintech, formerly known as Yap, is nearing the completion of a new funding round involving both new and existing investors, according to sources familiar with the matter.
This new round marks the first major investment for the Bengaluru-based company in over two and a half years. Previously, M2P Fintech raised $56 million in an equity round led by Insight Partners, achieving a post-money valuation of $650 million. The upcoming funding round is expected to raise $80 million, led by a new investor, with participation from existing investors like Insight Partners.
The fresh capital will be used to enhance the company’s technological infrastructure and accelerate growth in both domestic and international markets. M2P Fintech’s API platform enables businesses to offer branded financial services through partnerships with fintech companies, ensuring regulatory compliance. The company operates in multiple countries, including Nepal, UAE, Australia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Bahrain, and Egypt.
With the new funding round, M2P Fintech’s valuation is projected to be between $880 and $900 million post-money. The company has already received the term sheet, and the deal is expected to be announced publicly soon.
To date, the Tiger Global-backed firm has acquired six companies, including Goals101, Syntizen, and BSG ITSOFT, to strengthen its offerings. According to data intelligence platform TheKredible, M2P Fintech has raised approximately Rs 864 crore so far. Beenext is the largest shareholder with over 13% ownership, while co-founders Madhusudhan R, Muthukumar A, and Prabhu R collectively hold 34% of the company.
Although M2P Fintech has not yet disclosed its financial results for FY24, its operating revenue surged 2.26 times to Rs 440.7 crore in FY23 from Rs 194.74 crore in FY22. This growth also led to a 3.35 times increase in losses, amounting to Rs 134.26 crore in FY23. M2P Fintech remains a leader in the API infrastructure sector, competing with notable players such as Setu, Signzy, and Decentro.
Game Theory, a real sports gaming platform, has secured an undisclosed amount of funding from prominent figures in Indian sports. Among the investors are Padma Bhushan awardee and former India No. 1 badminton player Pullela Gopichand, former world No. 10 squash player Saurav Ghosal, and Khel Ratna Awardee and current India No. 1 table tennis player Sharath Kamal.
The funds will be allocated towards advancing the company’s technology infrastructure to enhance their coaching programs. Sudeep Kulkarni, the founder of Game Theory, revealed that the investment will be used to improve the delivery and quality of their services.
Headquartered in Bengaluru, Game Theory focuses on connecting individuals who play physical sports with skilled players and organizing matches. The company is seeing notable growth in its badminton and swimming programs, and has plans to expand city-wide across India within the next year. Currently, Game Theory operates 15 venues in Bengaluru, with five more set to open soon.
Kulkarni emphasized the company’s commitment to youth training, aiming to provide consistent and effective sports education at the grassroots level. The use of technology will help identify key areas for improvement and provide ongoing feedback to parents, fostering greater interest and progress in sports.
In recent developments, Game Theory acquired sports analytics startup Matchday.ai. Additionally, the company raised $2 million in funding in October 2023 from Rainmatter, a startup accelerator fund founded by Nithin Kamath’s Zerodha, Indian tennis player Rohan Bopanna, WEH Ventures, Prequate Advisory, and angel investors including Balakrishna Adiga.
Electric two-wheeler startup Simple Energy has announced a successful Series A funding round, securing $20 million. This funding round included contributions from both existing and new investors.
The company plans to use the newly acquired capital to enhance its production capabilities, enter new markets, and develop additional products.
Suhas Rajkumar, Founder and CEO of Simple Energy, expressed gratitude for the strong support from their initial customers in Bengaluru and the trust shown by their investors. He noted that the funds will be strategically utilized to increase production and expand their dealership network across the country.
Simple Energy currently offers two models: Simple One and Simple Dot One. The company is in the pilot phase in Bengaluru, where it has started deliveries. Additionally, Simple Energy is gearing up to launch dealership stores in several cities, including Bengaluru, Mysore, Chennai, Vijayawada, Goa, Vizag, Kochi, Mumbai, Pune, Ahmedabad, Surat, Delhi, and Hyderabad in the near future.
Logistics company BookMyCargo has expanded into the domestic business-to-consumer (B2C) sector to enhance its market presence, with a target of achieving a Rs 100 crore topline by FY30, according to a company official.
Established in 2016 and headquartered in Gurugram, BookMyCargo (BMC) has primarily operated in the business-to-business (B2B) sector, serving industries such as FMCG, consumer goods, and pharmaceuticals. The company has recognized the growing demand for same-day deliveries, which was less than 1% in 2016 but is expected to rise to 22% by 2025. To capitalize on this growth, BMC has ventured into the B2C segment.
In addition to its domestic expansion, BookMyCargo has launched B2C services in Thailand, now covering 75 provinces in the Southeast Asian country. This international move marks a significant step in the company’s growth strategy.
As of March 2024, BookMyCargo reported a turnover of Rs 12.3 crore. With the new B2C segment, the company aims to nearly double its turnover within the current fiscal year and achieve a Rs 100 crore turnover over the next five years.
The company also commented on the Union Budget, noting that the Rs 11.11 lakh crore capital expenditure announced by the Finance Minister for infrastructure is expected to boost investment in development projects and create numerous employment opportunities. Additionally, the government’s initiative to establish more e-commerce export hubs and integrated industrial parks is anticipated to enhance manufacturing output, stimulate domestic consumption, and bolster trade and logistics activities in the country.
Hyperlocal e-commerce platform Magicpin has announced plans to invest ₹100 crore over the next three months to onboard over 100,000 new restaurants and cloud kitchens onto the government-supported e-commerce network ONDC. This initiative aims to enhance the digital presence of food merchants by eliminating traditional entry barriers such as high commissions and onboarding fees.
The investment will be directed towards offering several onboarding incentives, including zero commission, no onboarding fees, and free home delivery services. Magicpin’s goal is to provide a risk-free entry for new restaurant partners, thereby encouraging greater participation in the digital economy.
As one of the leading seller apps on ONDC, Magicpin’s foodtech vertical competes with established food delivery services like Swiggy and Zomato. The company aims to accelerate the adoption of online food delivery across a diverse range of restaurant partners, which is expected to benefit the overall ONDC ecosystem and translate into cost savings for consumers.
To facilitate the onboarding process, Magicpin has introduced a self-onboarding tool that allows restaurants and small to medium-sized food delivery merchants to join ONDC in under five minutes. This tool is designed to streamline the registration process and make it easier for new merchants to get started.
The Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) supports the initiative, emphasizing its mission to democratize digital commerce. The National Restaurant Association of India (NRAI) has also highlighted the significance of Magicpin’s partnership with ONDC, noting that it represents a major step towards digital transformation for member restaurants and encourages increased visibility and growth.
FirstCry is set to file its red herring prospectus (RHP) this week for an initial public offering (IPO), aiming for a valuation between $3 billion and $3.5 billion, according to sources familiar with the matter. This move will make Brainbees Solutions, the company behind FirstCry, the second major venture-backed, modern firm to enter the capital markets this year, following Ola Electric.
The offer size for FirstCry remains consistent with its draft IPO papers, targeting a primary fundraise of $217 million (Rs 1,816 crore). Additionally, the IPO will include an offer-for-sale (OFS) of 54 million shares. The startup, backed by Premji Invest and SoftBank, was valued at $2.8 billion in its last private funding round.
According to one source, “FirstCry will officially launch its IPO for subscription this week and plans to close it before August 15,” noting that the company has received significant interest from institutional investors for its anchor book.
Recent Indian internet IPOs have generally been priced at or below their last private round valuation, a trend seen with Go Digit and Ola Electric. This is a shift from the 2021 startup IPOs like Zomato, Nykaa, and Paytm, which were priced at substantial premiums. The volatility in global stock markets and caution from private investors regarding high valuations have caused technology-focused firms to steer clear of public markets and private funding over the past few years.
Ola Electric’s IPO, opening on August 2, is expected to be priced at a 25% discount to its last funding valuation of $5.4 billion. Meanwhile, FirstCry conducted a secondary transaction in August last year, where three family offices—Ranjan Pai’s Claypond Capital, Harsh Mariwala’s Sharrp Ventures, and Hemendra Kothari’s DSP family office—invested around Rs 435 crore.
FirstCry has been facilitating secondary financing over the past couple of years to provide early investors an exit. Valuation has not been a major issue, as new investors can exit at a higher price within a year. The OFS will see partial divestments from SoftBank Vision Fund, Premji Invest, Mahindra Retail, TPG Growth, and others.
The company refiled its IPO papers after the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) requested additional key performance indicators. According to the revised draft red herring prospectus (DRHP), FirstCry reported operating revenue of Rs 4,814 crore for the nine months ending December 2023, with a net loss of Rs 278 crore. It recorded gross sales of Rs 5,650 crore, with nearly 77% coming from online sales.
FirstCry operates 1,018 stores under the FirstCry and BabyHug brands in 508 cities, with 386 owned and the rest franchised. The company also manages in-house brands like Pine Kids, Cute Walk, and Babyoye. Proceeds from the IPO are intended for setting up stores and warehouses and expanding into Saudi Arabia. Globalbees, its brand aggregator subsidiary, reported a Rs 70-crore loss on revenue of Rs 910 crore for the first nine months of FY24.
Monarch Networth Capital, an integrated financial services firm, plans to raise Rs 300 crore through a preferential share allotment and a 1:1 bonus share issue. The shares will be priced at Rs 560 each, representing an 8.5% discount from the last traded price on the BSE.
The fundraising will be led by Monarch Infraparks Pvt Ltd, a promoter group entity, contributing Rs 99 crore, with the company’s CEO, Gaurav Bhandari, adding Rs 25 crore. Other investors involved in the preferential allotment have not been disclosed.
Monarch Networth Capital intends to use the new funds for strategic initiatives across its diverse business segments. The company aims to accelerate its growth initiatives, innovate its offerings, and continue delivering exceptional value to its stakeholders.
The firm also plans to launch a portfolio management service, expand its margin trading book, initiate a pre-IPO fund, apply for a mutual fund license, enhance its debt capital market division, and underwrite IPOs. Additionally, Monarch Networth Capital has appointed MSKA & Associates as its auditor, pending shareholder approval at the upcoming AGM.
With this fundraise, Monarch Networth Capital’s net worth is expected to surge to Rs 700 crore by September 30, 2024. The company’s net profit increased to Rs 123 crore in FY24 from Rs 43 crore in FY23, with a net profit of Rs 40 crore recorded in the first quarter of FY25.
Ather Energy is continuing to raise debt funding ahead of its potential public listing, securing Rs 60 crore (over $7 million) from Stride Ventures through its trustee Vistra ITCL. This marks the second debt infusion for the Bengaluru-based electric scooter manufacturer in the last two months, following a Rs 200 crore investment via debentures from Stride Ventures in May.
Although the timeline for Ather’s IPO remains unclear, the company took a significant step towards public listing by converting into a public company in June. To date, Ather has raised approximately $450 million from investors such as Tiger Global and Hero MotoCorp. According to startup data intelligence platform TheKredible, Hero MotoCorp is an associate company of Ather and holds around a 38% stake.
Despite experiencing a four-fold growth during FY23, Ather’s revenue from operations slightly decreased to Rs 1,754 crore in FY24 from Rs 1,781 crore in FY23, based on disclosures made by Hero MotoCorp. The primary revenue source for Ather was scooter sales, with after-sales and subscription services contributing additional income.
Ather maintained its position as the fourth largest two-wheeler EV manufacturer, selling 6,097 units in June 2024 and achieving a market share of 7.66%, according to Vahan data. Its main competitor, Ola Electric, led the market with sales of 36,716 units and a 44% market share.
Additionally, Ather recently announced plans to establish its third manufacturing plant in Maharashtra with an investment of Rs 2,000 crore. This new facility will produce electric two-wheelers as well as battery packs, further expanding Ather’s production capabilities and solidifying its position in the EV market.
Ola Electric, a prominent electric mobility company, has announced that it will launch the anchor book for its initial public offering (IPO) on August 1. The IPO will open to the public on August 2 and close on August 6.
Last month, Ola Electric received approval from SEBI for its IPO, following the submission of its Draft Red Herring Prospectus (DRHP). The company aims to raise Rs 5,500 crore ($660 million) through the issuance of new shares and an offer for sale of up to 84,941,997 shares. Led by Bhavish Aggarwal, Ola Electric was valued at $5.5 billion during its most recent equity round in October of last year. However, reports indicate that the company is seeking a lower valuation of $4.2-4.4 billion for its IPO.
Ola Electric has secured over $1 billion in equity and debt funding from investors including SoftBank, Temasek, Blue Investments, DIG Investments, Tiger Global, and the State Bank of India (SBI).
For the fiscal year ending in March 2024, Ola Electric reported revenue of Rs 5,009.8 crore from operations and a net loss of Rs 1,584.4 crore. In the previous fiscal year (FY23), the company’s revenue was Rs 2,631 crore with losses amounting to Rs 1,472 crore.
In June, Ola Electric led the electric two-wheeler market with sales of 36,716 units, capturing a 44% market share. TVS, Bajaj, and Ather Energy followed, according to data from Vahan.
A report mentioned that Ola Electric has shelved its electric car project to concentrate on electric scooters and motorcycles.
