Week in Review📊 (Jan 20 - Jan 25)
Catch up on the week's biggest tech advances and funding milestones – your ultimate guide to what’s new and noteworthy!
Hey, Rise & Shine family!
Get set to dive into this week’s tech marvels and funding triumphs.
Let’s explore the latest breakthroughs and celebrate our shared passion for innovation and progress!
Let's dive into the tech marvels that dominated the headlines:
Quick Recap of the Week
Spencer’s Retail forays into quick commerce
Bounce Infinity launches 15-min charge scooter at Bharat Mobility Expo
Zomato invests Rs 500 Cr in Blinkit
HUL acquires 90.5% stake in Minimalist at Rs 2,955 Cr valuation
SoftBank, OpenAI launch $500 billion AI infrastructure project, Masayoshi Son named chairman
UPI-enabled credit cards see 20% monthly transaction growth: Report
Ather Energy introduces multi-language dashboard
DroneAcharya announces strategic merger with AVPL
AWS plans $8.3 billion investment in Maharashtra by 2030
OpenAI and SoftBank each commit $19 billion to Stargate AI data centre: Report
Let’s move on to the top funding deals from the week.
Funding Deals
Infra.Market, an online marketplace for construction materials, has raised $121 million in a funding round led by existing investor Tiger Global.
Nazara Technologies Limited has raised Rs 495 crore (nearly $60 million), led by Axana Estates LLP, whose designated partners include Arpit Khandelwal, founder and managing partner of Plutus Wealth Management LLP, and Mithun Sacheti, founder of Caratlane.
Industrial robotics company Ati Motors has raised $20 million in its Series B round, led by Walden Catalyst Ventures (WCV) and NGP Capital (NGP), with participation from current investors including True Ventures, Exfinity Venture Partners, Athera Venture Partners, and Blume Ventures.
Aris Infra Solutions, another Mumbai-based tech-enabled procurement platform, raised Rs 80 crore. This pre-initial public offering (IPO) round was led by Mukul Agrawal, founder of capital market investment and trading firm Param Capital.
D2C skincare brand Deconstruct has secured Rs 65 crore ($7.7 million) in funding from L’Oréal’s VC fund BOLD, V3 Ventures, and DSG Consumer Partners, with additional participation from existing investors Kalaari Capital and Beenext.
Business journey observability provider VuNet Systems has raised Rs 60 crore (around $6.94 million) in a Series B funding round led by Pravega Ventures. The round also saw participation from Kotak Securities and existing investors such as Mela Ventures, Athera Venture Partners, Dallas Venture Capital, and TVS Capital Funds.
Beer maker Medusa Beverages has raised Rs 56 crore in series A to expand manufacturing and distribution capabilities. The equity round was led by Amal N Parikh & Ashwin Kedia, along with co-investments by Ramesh Damani, Nikhil Garg, Crest Opportunities, and high-net-worth individuals (HNIs) based in Singapore, the UK, and the UAE.
Snabbit, a quick service app providing on-demand home services, has raised $5.5 million in a Series A round of funding, led by Elevation Capital, with participation from Nexus Venture Partners.
Property title search engine platform Landeed has raised $5 million in its Series X round led by 10x Founders Fund. Oliver Jung, Paradigm Shift, Pioneer Fund, Jeffrey Epstein, Founder of Onboard and Aaron King, founder of Snapdocs, among others, have also participated.
Direct-to-consumer (D2C) brand KisanKonnect has raised $4.5 million in a Series A funding round led by Mistry Ventures. The round also saw participation from Times Group’s Brand Capital, Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty, VC-Grid, Vishwang Desai, and prominent family offices.
BPR Hub, a San Francisco and Bengaluru-based AI-powered compliance management platform for manufacturers, has closed its $2.6 million seed funding round, co-led by Accel and Kae Capital.
AI infrastructure startup Pipeshift has raised $2.5 million in a seed round led by Y Combinator and SenseAI Ventures. The round also saw participation from Arka Venture Labs, Good News Ventures, Nivesha Ventures, Astir VC, GradCapital, and MyAsiaVC.
Omni-channel healthcare brand Zeelab Pharmacy has raised $2.4 million in its maiden funding round led by OTP Ventures.
As we wrap up this edition, let's reaffirm our commitment to positivity, resilience, and seizing every opportunity.
In the vast canvas of the tech world, let's pick up our brushes and paint a masterpiece of optimism and innovation together.
Here's to Rising & Shining Together! 💡
