Rapido joins unicorn club🦄
MapMyIndia sues Ola Electric, Lowered IPO price for more investors: Bhavish, Gruner Renewable Energy raises $60 mn, Funding Deals and more.
Good morning and welcome to Tuesday’s edition of Rise & Shine!
“Be less curious about people and more curious about ideas.”
— Marie Curie
Today, Marie Curie’s words encourage us to shift our focus from idle curiosity about others to a deeper interest in ideas and knowledge.
Tech Updates
Rapido rolls into the unicorn club with $120 million from WestBridge
Swiggy-backed mobility startup Rapido has turned unicorn with a $120 million Series E funding round led by its largest backer WestBridge Capital which has pumped in money through three different investment vehicles - Setu AIF Trust, Konark Trust, and MMPL Trust. Rapido is the third unicorn to be minted this year, after Perfios and Ola founder Bhavish Aggarwal’s Krutrim AI.
Lowered IPO price to rope in a wider set of investors: Bhavish Aggarwal
Just days before Ola Electric’s initial public offering (IPO) opens for subscription, founder and CEO Bhavish Aggarwal spoke to us about the IPO’s lowered valuation, the EV industry's dependency on FAME subsidies, competition from legacy players in the EV space, and more.
MapMyIndia sues Ola Electric for ‘copying’ data
Homegrown digital mapping services company MapMyIndia has sued Ola Electric for allegedly stealing its data and breaching the license agreement to create Ola Maps.
Gruner Renewable Energy raises $60 million to expand CBG Projects in India
Gruner Renewable Energy, a sustainable biogas solutions provider has secured $60 million in funding to further expand its presence in the green energy domain as it moves ahead to establish new Compressed BioGas (CBG) plants across the country.
Funding Deals
Electric vehicle and clean energy startup Simple Energy has raised $20 million in its Series A funding round which saw participation from high-net-worth individuals (HNIs) from family offices like the Haran family office, Dr. A Velumani’s family office, Vasavi family office, and the Desai Family office—promoter group of Apar Industries, among others.
Wedding services startup Meragi has raised $9.1 million in a funding round led by venture capital fund Accel. The round also saw participation from existing investors like Peak XV Partners and Venture Highway.
D2C haircare brand Moxie Beauty has raised Rs 17.3 crore or $2.1 million in a new round led by Fireside Ventures. The round also saw participation from a group of angel investors, including Samir Singh (ex Unilever CMO Personal Care, Chair Unilever Asia), Arjun Purkayastha, Suhasini Sampath (founder, Yoga Bar), Navin Parwal and Sangeet Agrawal (founders, Mokobara).
Rabbitt AI, a generative AI solutions firm, has raised $2.1 million in its seed round led by TechCurators and various angel investors.
Digital sports platform KheloMore has raised $2 million in latest funding round led by Rajdip Gupta, Clear Bridge Ventures LLP and Ashwin Damera, Founder Eruditus.
Beverage startup Latambarcem Brewers (LB Brewers) has secured $1.5 million (Rs 12.5 crore) in a pre-Series A round co-led by SPV, Dhruv Agarwala, Sheba Venture Holdings and others.
EQ-focused edutainment startup EMoMee has raised $1 million in a pre-seed funding round co-led by Whiteboard Capital, Gruhas Collective Consumer Fund, and DeVC.
ToyStack.ai, a platform that enables developers and technology teams to deploy their code to the cloud, has raised $325,000 in pre-seed round from angel investors including D. Devaraj, founder of SDU LLP Chartered Accountants and Asit Shetty of Aveda Ventures.
Real sports gaming platform Game Theory has secured an undisclosed amount of funding from Padma Bhushan awardee and former India No. 1 badminton player Pullela Gopichand, former world squash No. 10 Saurav Ghosal, Khel Ratna Awardee, and current India No. 1 table tennis player Sharath Kamal.
🧑🔬 Short Story: The Inspired Scientist
Emily, a young chemist, found herself often distracted by the personal dynamics and politics within her research team. This focus on interpersonal issues was draining her energy and stifling her creativity.
Remembering Marie Curie’s advice, she decided to redirect her attention to the research topics that excited her.
She began spending more time in the lab and less time worrying about office gossip. Her shift in focus led to a breakthrough in her research on renewable energy sources.
This not only advanced her career but also contributed to important developments in clean energy.
Emily’s story illustrates how fostering a curiosity for ideas over people can lead to significant personal and professional growth.
Tweet of the day🐥
Let today be a day where you channel your curiosity into ideas and learning.
Rise & Shine encourages you to explore new concepts, ask questions, and seek out knowledge that sparks your intellectual passion.
Have an inquisitive and idea-filled Tuesday!
Thanks for reading till the end!