The Weekly Startup Funding

Dear Grizmo subscribers,

Welcome to the latest edition of our newsletter! In this issue, we bring you some exciting news from the world of startups and innovation. From e-commerce to vision AI and cloud mobility, we have curated a range of stories that showcase the diversity and potential of the startup ecosystem. We also take a look at ScaleUp Malaysia's Cohort IV and the nine innovative companies that have been selected for its accelerator program. So, sit back and enjoy our roundup of the latest news and developments from the world of startups.

1. PhonePe secures an additional $100 million from General Atlantic.

PhonePe, a decacorn fintech firm, has received an additional $100 million from General Atlantic as part of its ongoing fundraising round of $1 billion at a pre-money valuation of $12 billion. The Walmart Group firm has raised $750 million to date. The new funding will be used to build and scale new businesses like insurance, wealth management, lending, stockbroking, ONDC-based shopping, and account aggregators.

2. GenWise , an online community for Indian elders, raises seed funds, led by Matrix.

Former executives of the digital payment platform BharatPe founded the Delhi-based startup GenWise, which has raised $3.5 million in its initial funding round. Matrix led the round along with other individuals from the fintech sector. The startup offers a dependable companion to seniors, helping younger family members stay connected with their parents or senior ones while giving elders the independence to use technology and access customised solutions on their own. GenWise will offer products across finance, wellness, commerce, payments, and social networking.

3. Novatr , an ed-tech startup, raises $1.2 million in seed funding.

Oneistox, an ed-tech startup based in Gurugram, has raised $1.2 million in seed funding from Y Combinator, Powerhouse Ventures, and Soma Capital, as well as angel investors Amit Ranjan and Deepak Menon, among others. The startup offers courses and upskilling programmes for architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) professionals to help them build industry-relevant skills.

4. @Proost Beer raises Rs 8.5 crore in equity and debt from angel investors.

Mumbai Angels, Hyderabad Angels, Speed Fund, GetVantage, and Finnvolve, among other well-known angel investors, led a funding round that raised Rs 8.5 crore for Proost Beer, a Delhi-based beer brewing company and Shark Tank India startup. With this latest capital infusion, the company intends to expand its production capacity, venture into new markets, and fulfil its working capital requirements.

5. Purple Style Labs (PSL) Labs raises $14 million in a Series C round.

The parent company of Pernia's Pop-Up Shop (PPSU), Purple Style Labs (PSL), has raised $14 million in Series C funding from ValueQuest S C A L E Fund, Singularity Growth Opportunities Fund I, ValPro, and Masaba Gupta. The round also saw the participation of existing investors. Founded in 2015, PSL is an omnichannel luxury fashion platform where people can discover and buy Indian designer wear.

6. @Barcelona raises Rs 5 crore from GetVantage.

Barcelona, a fashion and apparel brand for men, has raised Rs 5 crore in equity-free capital from GetVantage, a non-dilutive funding marketplace and growth platform. The funds will be used to open around 50 outlets across the country in the new financial year and step up its marketing efforts. The company has also roped in Sonu Sood as its brand ambassador to create a brand recall in towns beyond the metros.

7. Inflection Point Ventures led the seed funding round for Direct2U , a B2B2C e-commerce startup, at Rs 1.8 crore. The funds will be used for technology development, recruitment, marketing, and expansion plans. Founded by Gaurav Ahlawat and Anshuman Maheshwari in December 2022, Direct2U is a Gurugram-based consumer durables marketplace that brings together lead generation, order fulfilment, cash and credit purchase options, and doorstep delivery for the demand-rich, underpenetrated rural Indian consumers in the deep rural pockets of India.

8. A Singapore-based fund, Axilor Ventures , Pi Ventures, and angel investors like Anuj Bihani, Laxmi Narayan, and others helped SwitchOn, a Vision AI startup, raised $4.2 million in its Series A round. The investment will allow SwitchOn to continue its growth in India, ramp up internationally with large enterprises, make key hires in sales and technology, and invest in research and development. SwitchOn helps manufacturing industries reduce defects and improve product quality. Customers like Unilever, ITC, SKF, and others have integrated the SwitchOn platform to train deep-learning quality control models within hours.

9. A Dubai-based VC firm has led a US$3.8 million Series-A round of funding for Datamotive.io , a Cisco cloud mobility startup, for the Startups Cohort of 2022. YourNest Venture Capital, 3one4 Capital, and Patni Group also participated in this round. The company's hybrid, multi-cloud workload mobility platform enables seamless migration, protection, and recovery of entire workloads from any source virtualization platform to any target cloud platform.

10. ScaleUp Malaysia has announced its @Cohort IV and investments in seven innovative companies. The companies selected for Cohort IV are BeeBag, Docspe, Huddle, Petotum, Stayhere, and Kabel, who will receive a $100,000 investment each, while the seventh company, Sonicboom, will receive an undisclosed strategic investment. These companies will undergo a rigorous 12-week accelerator programme aimed at refining their business models and developing regional scalability, which will culminate in a demo day with investors from all over the world. We are delighted to welcome Cohort IV to our accelerator programme," said Andre Sequerah, Managing Partner at ScaleUp Malaysia.

That's it for now. Stay tuned for more updates on the world of startups and funding.