The National Human Right Commission (NHRC) has reportedly slammed labour officials for failing to adequately investigate reports of alleged employment discrimination at Foxconn plant.

The human rights body has asked the authorities to re-examine the matter , Reuters reported.

The story goes back to last year, when Foxconn was alleged of following discriminatory hiring practices and excluding married women from jobs at its iPhone assembly facility in Tamil Nadu’s Sriperumbudur. 

After that, a five-member team from the regional labour department visited Foxconn’s factory and spoke to company directors and executives from the human resources department.

Back then, the regional labour commissioner cited Foxconn and said that the Chennai factory employs a total of 41,281 workers, including 33,360 women. Among these women, approximately 2,750, or about 8%, are married, according to the information provided by Foxconn.

In August, Foxconn chairman Young Liu said that the company hires employees regardless of gender. 

Later in November 2024, the company instructed its recruitment agents in the country to remove age, gender, marital status criteria and the company’s name from job advertisements for iPhone assembly positions.

While the controversy ignited the debate of gender discrimination at the workplace, Foxconn continued to move ahead with its developments in the country.

Last year, Foxconn’s Singapore arm bought 1.203 Bn ordinary shares from its Indian unit for around $144 Mn.

Additionally, the manufacturing giant is also in discussions with the Tamil Nadu government to expand its battery manufacturing business in India. Additionally, the company is gearing up to  start making iPhone 16 Pro Series at its Tamil Nadu.

During his visit to India last year, Liu said that the Taiwanese electronics manufacturer has invested $10 Bn in India so far and has plans to infuse more capital in the country in the coming year. 

The post NHRC Calls For Fresh Probe Into Alleged Discriminatory Hiring At Foxconn Plant appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Manufacturing giant Blue Energy Motors has inked a pact with the Maharashtra government to set up an electric truck manufacturing plant with an initial investment INR 3,500 Cr (around $400 Mn)

The memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed yesterday (22 January) at the World Economic Forum in Davos. Under this agreement, Blue Energy is aiming to build around 30,000 EV trucks, the Pune-based manufacturing company said in a statement.

“Blue Energy Motors will invest approximately INR 3,500 Cr to establish a state-of-the-art manufacturing facility dedicated to the production of its advanced electric (EV) trucks that will house advanced R&D capabilities, battery-pack line, motor manufacturing unit and set up charging stations as well,” the statement added.

Additionally, the project is expected to generate more than 4,000 job opportunities. 

This development comes at a time when the Indian government is pushing EV manufacturing in the country.

Last year, the Ministry of Heavy Industries (MHI) rolled out the INR 10,900 Cr PM Electric Drive Revolution in Innovative Vehicle Enhancement (PM E-DRIVE) scheme, which aims to foster adoption of EVs by offering subsidies to manufacturers, shoring up charging infrastructure and spurring local EV manufacturing capabilities. 

The Centre is also bullish on expanding incentives to automakers building models at existing factories. Additionally, to maintain a fair chance for all the manufacturers, the government is also planning to set a minimum EV revenue target for any product line or plant to qualify for the scheme.

However, earlier this month, union commerce minister Piyush Goyal said that India’s electric vehicle industry doesn’t need more subsidies as it has matured enough. At that time, he added  that the existing subsidies will continue for some more time to help players in the EV segment strengthen their presence. 

The post Blue Energy Motors Sets Aside INR 3,500 Cr To Build EV Truck Manufacturing Plant appeared first on Inc42 Media.

The Centre has reportedly selected ten tech giants for the final bidding process to procure 10,000 graphic processing units (GPUs) under the IndiaAI Mission.

Companies like Jio Platforms and Tata Communications have been shortlisted for this tender, Moneycontrol reported, citing sources close to the matter. 

Other companies bidding for the tender are CMS Computers India Pvt Ltd, Ctrls Datacenters Ltd, E2E Networks Limited, Locuz Enterprise Solutions Ltd, Orient Technologies Ltd, NxtGen Datacenter and Cloud Technologies Private Ltd, Vensysco Technologies Limited and Yotta Data Services Limited. 

The bidding process began today (January 22) and the results are expected in a week.

Last week, the Ministry of Electronics and Information and Technology (MeitY) received offers for 20,000 GPUs to build AI computing capacity by these companies.

The government opened the second round of bids last month. The IndiaAI Mission aims to create an AI ecosystem, offering supercomputing capabilities comprising over 10,000 GPUs to various stakeholders. The government has allocated INR 10,371 Cr for this project over the course of five years.

Out of this amount, around INR 200 Cr has been reserved for the IndiaAI datasets platform, while INR 689 Cr has been kept for the IndiaAI application development initiative. Besides, the government is planning to  allocate INR 4,563 Cr towards building a compute capacity of 10,000 or more GPUs and INR 1,971 Cr has been earmarked for setting up the new IndiaAI Innovation Centre.

While the government is bullish on inviting bids from tech giants this time, the scenario differed in the previous bidding round. In August last year, it invited bids from selected empaneled agencies like data centres and cloud service providers to offer artificial intelligence services on cloud for academia, startups, researchers, and government bodies.

The post Govt Selects 10 Companies For Final GPUs Bidding Under IndiaAI Mission: Report appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Electronics manufacturer Dixon Technologies is in discussions to set up a $3 Bn display fabrication facility in India to boost its venture into the electronics components sector.

Dixon’s managing director Atul Lall made the announcement during the Q3 earnings call.

The Noida-based giant is in talks with a global tech company to build this unit, he added.

“We are in active discussion with a global technology partner for setting up a world class display fab, which is critical component, it’s a fab, in mobiles, IT hardwares and consumer electronics segment,” Lall said.

With this unit, the manufacturing giant is aiming to localise production,bring control over supply chain and cost reduction. Additionally, Dixon is also waiting for the centre’s guideline on the India Semiconductor Mission (ISM) phase 2 to take this project forward.

Talking about the capital expenditure, Lall said that around $3 Bn will be infused in the project initially with 60% allocation to televisions and 15%-12% allocation to mobile phone manufacturing. It is pertinent to note that the company is looking to take government subsidies to fuel this project. 

On the financial front, Dixon claims that its consolidated revenues during the quarter that ended in December 2024 surged 117% to INR 10,461 Cr, against INR 4,821 Cr during the same quarter in the previous fiscal year.

This development comes at a time when Dixon and manufacturing giant Foxconn recently urged Indian authorities to clear their pending dues to the tune of INR 700 Cr. Both the giants are liable to these subsidies under the Centre’s production-linked-initiative (PLI) scheme.

Dixon has been bullish to boost manufacturing in the country lately. For instance, last month, it inked a pact with Vivo India to launch an original equipment manufacturer (OEM) facility via a joint venture.

In September 2024, Dixon’s subsidiary Padget Electronics signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with HP India to manufacture personal computers (PCs) and laptops. 

The post Dixon In Talks To Build $3 Bn Display Fab Facility In India appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Listed drone solutions provider DroneAcharya has bagged a contract worth INR 7.53 Lakh from the defence ministry to provide drone-centric training courses.

As per the contract, the startup will provide a drone pilot training course and drone building course for 8 Indian Army Officials, DroneAcharya said in a BSE filing.

“DroneAcharya Aerial Innovations Limited has been awarded a contract valued at INR 7,53,040 by the Ministry of Defence, Department of Military Affairs, Mechanised Army Courses Group Ahmednagar,” the filing added.

The training programme will commence on February 3 and will conclude on February 12.

Notably, this is not the first time that DroneAcharya has received a contract to provide drone training. In August 2024, the Pune-based startup received  a service order worth INR 50.44 Lakh from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Ropar, to upskill 150 individuals in drone technology. 

Around the same time, the listed dronetech startup received the approval from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to open its fifth Remote Pilot Training Organization (RPTO) in Karnataka’s Dharwad to train 240 officials from the Karnataka forest department. The contract is worth INR 96 Lakh.

Before this, DroneAcharya also bagged a contract from the Adani Group to provide DGCA certified drone pilot training.

Earlier this month, DroneAcharya announced securing an order worth INR 5.5 Lakh from Tata Communications for building customised drone solutions.

Last month, the company also partnered with Canada-based Volatus Aerospace to manufacture drones for the latter in India.

On the financial front, DroneAcharya’s consolidated profit after tax (PAT) dropped 62.1% to INR 1.50 Cr during the six months ended September 2024 (H1 FY25), against INR 3.96 Cr during the same period in the previous fiscal.

The post DroneAcharya Bags Contract To Offer Training Courses For Army Officials appeared first on Inc42 Media.

In an attempt to boost startup-centric employment, the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with professional networking platform Apna. 

With this collaboration, DPIIT-registered startups will have access to top-tier talent with the help of Apna, said DPIIT’s joint secretary Sanjiv Singh in a LinkedIn post.

Furthermore, every company registered on the government’s BHASKAR platform will receive hiring credits worth INR 2000 on Apna’s platform.

“This initiative, currently valued at INR 140 Cr, is poised to grow alongside the startup ecosystem, potentially reaching an impressive INR 300 Cr,” Singh added.

In an attempt to boost startup-centric employment, the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with professional networking platform Apna. 

With this collaboration, DPIIT-registered startups will have access to top-tier talent with the help of Apna, said DPIIT’s joint secretary Sanjiv Singh in a LinkedIn post.

Furthermore, every company registered on the government’s BHASKAR platform will receive hiring credits worth INR 2000 on Apna’s platform.

“This initiative, currently valued at INR 140 Cr, is poised to grow alongside the startup ecosystem, potentially reaching an impressive INR 300 Cr,” Singh added.

The minister also said that Apna will enhance connectivity between skilled workers and the startup ecosystem. Additionally, the networking platform will also facilitate startups with  AI-driven matching features for efficient hiring and job posting on its platform. 

Founded by Nirmit Parikh in 2019, Apna claims to be connecting more than 5.9 Cr job seekers and 7 Lakh employers across India. The startup counts Tiger Global, Lightspeed, GSV Ventures, Rocketship, Insight Partners, Owl Ventures, Maverick Ventures and Greenoaks as its investors.

It has Zomato, Paytm, Flipkart and Axis Bank, among others as its key customers.

The Bengaluru-based startup posted an operating revenue of INR 180.2 Cr in FY23, an increase of 182% from INR 63.8 Cr in the previous fiscal year. 

On the other hand, last month, the government announced that DPIIT-registered startups created over 16.67 Lakh direct jobs across more than 55 industries. It is pertinent to note that this data is as of October 2024.

At that time, commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal said that startups in IT services created the highest number of direct jobs followed by healthcare,commercial services, education,among others.

The post DPIIT Inks Pact With Apna To Boost Employment In Startup Ecosystem appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Reliance Industries Ltd’s (RIL’s) digital giant Jio Platforms has roped in former Disney+ Hotstar head Sajith Sivanandan as the president of Jio Mobile Digital Services.

With this appointment, Sivanandan is expected to build AI-based digital services for Jio Mobile.

Prior to this, he served as the chief executive officer (CEO) at Disney+ Hotstar for 2 years. 

Besides, Sivanandan’s portfolio includes tech giant Google, where he served at various leadership positions including managing director for Google Malaysia, business head for India and Asia Pacific. His 15 years of tenure at Google ended in 2022.

This appointment comes at a time when Reliance Jio has been bullish on expanding its tech offerings by leveraging AI and Web3.

For instance, a few days back, Jio partnered with Sandeep Nailwal-led Polygon Labs to bring Web3 capabilities to some of its existing applications and services.

Talking on the AI front, last year, Jio rolled out ‘Jio Phone Call AI’, facilitating users to record and save any phone call on the Jio Cloud. Additionally, the feature enables users to transcribe speech into text and translate them across multiple languages.

Back then, the tech giant also announced that it is developing an AI service platform called Jio Brain, which will be a comprehensive suite of AI platforms and tools. Currently, the platform is in the testing stage.

Last month, Jio also submitted a bid to the electronics and IT ministry (MeitY) to provide artificial intelligence (AI) compute and cloud services under the INR 10,738 Cr IndiaAI Mission. Besides Jio, several service providers including Tata Communications, Sify Digital Services, Yotta, CMS Computers India, among others also submitted the bids.  

In October 2024, Jio’s parent Reliance announced partnership with US-based AI chip giant NVIDIA to build AI infrastructure in India.

The post Jio Mobile Digital Services Hires Ex-Disney+ Hotstar Head As President appeared first on Inc42 Media.

India is renowned for its rich culinary delights, with each state offering a diverse array of food and beverage (F&B) experiences. Despite this, the Indian palate craves more for fresh and exotic cuisines and flavours.

With over 140 Cr people having such affinity for a variety of food and beverages, Indian entrepreneurs have seemingly found a lucrative market, which, as per Inc42, is expected to grow to $68 Bn by 2030. Notably, startups have picked up this opportunity by catering to the requirements of people, through the D2C channels.

According to Inc42, the F&B industry is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 25% by 2030. This is why the space is receiving a lot of traction from investors. 

Last month, revenue-based financing platform Velocity launched an INR 200 Cr (around $23.5 Mn) fund for F&B brands. The fund has been floated to offer fast, scalable and flexible financing solutions to such brands.

From established brands like Pedigree Petfoods, Amul, Baskin Robbins, and McDonald’s to startups like iD Fresh Foods, Chaayos, Coolberg, and Paper Boat, there is no dearth of choices for Indian consumers, and still, there is enough headroom for both the existing and new players to flourish in the sector.

The above statement can be substantiated by the fact that several F&B startups, including Blue Tokai Coffee Roasters, Plix, Pluckk, and TagZ have been making waves in the industry, backed by investors’ trust.  

The influx of new startups with innovative product ranges has revitalised the sector, prompting Inc42 to compile a list of the F&B brands that are disrupting the Indian market.

With that said, here are the F&B D2C brands reshaping the Indian consumer market.

(Note: The list below is not meant to be a ranking of any kind. We have listed the Indian F&B startups in alphabetical order.)

1. Beyond Snack

• Year Of Inception: 2018
• Founders: Manas Madhu, Jyoti Rajguru, Gautam Raghuraman
• Funding Raised To Date: $15.30 Mn
• Investors: NABVentures, 100X.VC
• Headquarters: Kerala

Beyond Snack was incorporated to commercialise the popular South Indian snack, banana chips. The startup claims its banana chips are healthy because the nutrients are preserved during the manufacturing process. 

The bananas are sourced directly from farmers and the chips are prepared in under two minutes to retain their natural nutrients, unlike the usual 15-20 minutes of frying. This ensures the products go from farm to plate in less than 24 hours.

To ensure availability across the country, the startup has opened warehouses in Mumbai, Delhi, and Kolkata. As an omnichannel brand, its products are available on ecommerce platforms like Amazon, Flipkart, BigBasket, and Zepto, as well as in over 10,000 retail outlets, including DMart and Reliance stores.

The F&B startup recently raised $8.3 Mn (about INR 71.3 Cr) in its Series A funding round led by consumer business-focussed fund 12 Flags Group.

Beyond Snack aims to become a leader in the banana chips market and reach INR 100 Cr in revenue by FY25.

2. Biryani By Kilo 

• Year Of Inception: 2015
• Founders: Kaushik Roy, Vishal Jindal 
• Funding Raised To Date: $ 53.24 Mn+
• Investors: Pulsar Capital, Falcon Edge Capital, IvyCap Ventures
• Headquarters: Gurugram

Founded by Kaushik Roy and Vishal Jindal in 2015, Biryani By Kilo sells biryanis, kebabs, kormas, and desserts. The Gurugram-based startup claims to have more than 100 outlets in more than 45 cities across India.

Biryani By Kilo, which competes with the likes of Rebel Foods’ Behrouz Biryani and Biryani Blue, acquired a majority stake in healthy dessert startup Get-A-Way in 2022.

It counts Alpha Wave Ventures, IvyCap Ventures and Pulsar Capital among its key investors. The startup has raised more than $50 Mn of funding to date.

In November 2024, Biryani By Kilo raised $2 Mn from Pulsar Capital at an estimated valuation of $100 Mn.

The startup also managed to cull its loss by 30% to INR 70.81 Cr in FY24 versus INR 100.7 Cr in FY23. Besides, revenue from operations jumped 23% to INR 268.30 Cr in the year under review from INR 218.10 Cr in FY23.

3. Blue Tokai Coffee Roasters

• Year Of Inception: 2013
• Founders: Matt Chitharanjan, Shivam Shahi, Namrata Asthana
• Funding Raised To Date: $72.09 Mn
• Investors: Verlinvest, Anicut Capital, A91 Partners.
• Headquarters: Gurugram

Blue Tokai Coffee Roasters operates four roasteries and over 80 physical outlets across Delhi NCR, Mumbai, Bengaluru, and Hyderabad, among others. The startup also claims to have an outlet in Tokyo, Japan.

The startup, which was founded by Matt Chitharanjan, Shivam Shahi and Namrata Asthana in 2013, counts Verlinvest, Anicut Capital, A91 Partners and Bollywood actor Deepika Padukone among its key investors. It claims to have raised more than $70 Mn amount of funding to date.

Blue Tokai received a lot of traction from investors last year. In April 2024, Rakesh Kapoor’s 12 Flags Group made its maiden investment in India by backing Blue Tokai. 

The startup also bagged $35 Mn  (about INR 293 Cr) in its Series C funding round led by Verlinvest to deepen its presence in existing metro cities and expand its footprint to new Tier I & II cities over the next three years.

Apart from its D2C outlet, the company offers B2B services by collaborating with different retail outlets, luxury hotels, restaurants, corporates, and coworking spaces. 

4. Boba Bhai

• Year Of Inception: 2023
• Founder: Dhruv Kohli
• Funding Raised To Date: $3.35 Mn+
• Investors: Titan Capital, Arjun Vaidya, Varun Alagh
• Headquarters: Bengaluru 

Launched as a passion project by Dhruv Kohli in late 2023, Boba Bhai has swiftly become a notable player in the bubble tea market, capitalising on the growing trend for this popular Taiwanese drink.

Offering a diverse range of products priced between INR 99 and INR 219, Boba Bhai sets itself apart with its broad product selection and user-centric approach, distinguishing itself from competitors like Chai Point and Cha Bar.

In just one year, the startup has built a substantial customer base of over 4 Lakh and achieved revenues of INR 8 Cr. With plans to significantly expand its presence, Boba Bhai aims to increase its offline footprint to 150 stores by the end of 2025. 

In January 2025, the startup secured INR 30 Cr (around $3.4 Mn) to expand into newer cities such as Pune and Ahmedabad, scale operations, roll out new Korean offerings and develop new sub-brands.

5. Burger Singh

• Year Of Inception: 2014
• Founders: Kabir Jeet Singh, Nitin Rana, Rahul Seth
• Funding Raised To Date: $5.10 Mn+
• Investors: RB Investments, Rukam Capital, KCT Family Office, and V.M. SALGAOCAR family office
• Headquarters: Gurugram

Established in 2014 by Kabir Jeet Singh, Nitin Rana, and Rahul Seth, Burger Singh is a Gurugram-based quick-service restaurant (QSR) chain.

In 2019, the company secured an undisclosed amount of funding from RB Investments, based in Singapore. Subsequently, in 2022, Burger Singh successfully raised INR 30 Cr in its Series A funding round. The round was led by Negen Capital, accompanied by LetsVenture, Mumbai Angels, Old World Hospitality, and musician Jasleen Royal.

Following the fundraising in 2022, the fast-food chain announced its plan to utilise the funds for opening 120 new food outlets by the end of FY23.

In December 2023, Burger Singh raised pre-Series B funding in a round led by trading company Turner Morrison, which increased its valuation to $52 Mn (approximately INR 433 Cr) from its last valuation of $23 Mn in July 2022. 

As of December 2023, Burger Singh boasted more than 150 exclusive food outlets across various cities in India.

In the competitive QSR industry, Burger Singh faces competition from well-known brands such as Burger King, McDonald’s, Subway, Domino’s, and KFC.

6. Chaayos 

• Year Of Inception: 2012
• Founders: Nitin Saluja, Raghav Verma 
• Funding Raised To Date: $98 Mn
• Investors: Alpha Wave Ventures, Elevation Capital, Think Investments, Tiger Global, Integrated Capital, SAIF Partners, InnoVen Capital, Pactolus, Sachin Shukla, Bhavish Aggarwal, Ankit Bhati
• Headquarters: Delhi

F&B brand Chaayos sells multiple types of teas and pre-packaged food products via offline and online marketplaces and uses new-age technologies like AI and IoT to run its operations efficiently.

Earlier, it had shared that its online tea deliveries account for 45% of its revenue. It operates 190 retail outlets across six Indian cities. In June 2022, it secured $53 Mn in its Series C funding to develop tech infrastructure and expand its presence.

Its cap table includes Alpha Wave Ventures, Elevation Capital, Think Investments, Tiger Global, SAIF Partners, InnoVen Capital, Pactolus, and Ola cofounders Bhavish Aggarwal and Ankit Bhati, among others.

Chaayos’ narrowed its net loss by 50.59% to INR 54 Cr in FY24 from INR 109.3 Cr in FY23. 

7. Charcoal Eats

• Year Of Inception: 2015
• Founders:  Krishnakant Thakur, Anurag Mehrotra, Mohammed Bhol
• Funding Raised To Date: $9.8 Mn+
• Investors: Lokmat Media, Girish Patel, Anil Singhvi, Ajinkya Firodia
• Headquarters: Mumbai

Founded in 2015, Charcoal Eats is a quick-service restaurant chain that delivers “high quality, consistent, authentic, modern Indian flavours to its patrons across the country across snack and meal times at affordable prices” via its app. 

The company operates brands such as Charcoal Eats for Biryani and B Burger across Mumbai, Pune and Delhi NCR.

While the company started with six biryani variants, the company claims to be offering 50 different all-day food options across snack and meal times, including biryanis, starters, curries, rice bowls, and rolls among others.  

It has around 40 outlets, mostly cloud kitchens, across Mumbai, Pune and Delhi-NCR.

Through these outlets, customers can dine-in, take away or order for delivery, as per their convenience. Charcoal Eats is also available on leading food platforms, Zomato and Swiggy. It also recently launched a new product line under the brand name Khichdibaba.

Among QSR restaurants, Charcoal Eats competes with Wow! Momo Foods, Faasos and Hello Curry, among others. 

The startup recently raised $5.3 Mn to boost its brand operations and expand its footprint across India and overseas.

8. Coolberg 

• Year Of Inception: 2016
• Founders: Pankaj Aswani, Yashika Keswani
• Funding Raised To Date: $3.5 Mn
• Investors: RB Investments, India Quotient, Ashish Goenka, Indian Angel Network
• Headquarters: Mumbai

Coolberg is a non-alcoholic beer brand, which sells cranberry, peach, ginger, malt, strawberry, mint, and cranberry beverages via its website and offline distribution channels. Currently, it has a presence in India, Africa, Maldives, Bhutan, and Nepal. 

In 2019, Coolberg raised $3.5 Mn in its Series A funding round from RB Investments, India Quotient, Ashish Goenka from Suashish Diamonds, and Indian Angel Network. Prior to that, it bagged an undisclosed sum from India Quotient and Indian Angel Network’s maiden fund.

The beverage startup was acquired by Ghodawat Consumer in 2022 for an undisclosed amount. The startup said that this acquisition would help it develop a portfolio of new-age premium beverage brands as part of the deal. 

9. Desi Farms

• Year Of Inception: 2022
• Founders:  Sunil Sahi, Prateek Gupta
• Funding Raised To Date: $6 Mn
• Investors: NAV Capital Emerging Funds, Venture Catalysts, Cummins India’s founder and MD Ashwath Ram
• Headquarters: Pune

Founded in 2022 by Sunil Shahi, the Pune-based farm-to-table D2C brand offers fresh and chemical-free milk and dairy products.

Currently operational in Pune, the brand claims to offer milk within 12-24 hours of the milking process. Other than milk, its product category includes A2 milk, ghee, paneer and more, with each product passing through 20 quality checks. 

It has developed a tech-enabled in-house system, which takes care of production, delivery and franchise modules to ensure product provenance, tracking the entire journey from farms to customers.   

Desi Farms has an omnichannel presence. Its products are sold via its app and portal, on ecommerce marketplaces under the Manchar Farms brand and through 50+ Desi Farms outlets. 

Since inception, it has secured INR 50 Cr funding from investors like NAV Capital Emerging Funds, Venture Catalysts, Cummins India’s founder and MD Ashwath Ram, among others. 

The startup also made it to the list of Inc42’s 2024 edition of Fast42.

10. Dogsee Chew

• Year Of Inception: 2015
• Founders:  Bhupendra Khanal, Sneh Sharma
• Funding Raised To Date: $13.9 Mn  
• Investors: Mankind Pharma, Sixth Sense Ventures
• Headquarters: Bengaluru

Dogsee Chew offers vegetarian dog treats that are natural, human-grade, and protein-rich. These treats are made from yak milk cheese by residents of villages in Nepal, Sikkim, and Darjeeling. 

In 2022, the startup secured $6.7 Mn in its Series A funding round from Mankind Pharma and Sixth Sense Ventures.

In November 2021, it raised $7 Mn in its Pre-Series A funding round from Sixth Sense Ventures. Currently, it has a presence in over 30 countries. 

11. DropKaffe

• Year Of Inception: 2019
• Founders: Rakshit Kejriwal, Lakshmi Dasaka, Chaitanya Chitta and Amar Yashlaha 
• Funding Raised To Date: $ 850 K
• Investors: Fireside Ventures, Brigade Group, GrowthStory, Sidharth Pansari, Nirupa Shankar, Hitesh Oberoi, Kanwaljit Singh, Apurva Salarpuria, Manish Singhal P39 Capital
• Headquarters: Bengaluru

Beverage startup DropKaffe sells ready-to-drink cold coffee, fresh coffee beans, coffee powders, and gourmet foods under the brand SLAY Coffee through its website and cafe chains.

According to its LinkedIn page, the startup has a presence in over 160 locations across 19 Indian cities.

In 2016, its parent company raised $550K in a funding round led by Fireside Ventures’ Kanwaljit Singh, Srini Anumolu & Meena Ganesh of GrowthStory, Apurva Salarpuria from Salarpuria Group, Sidharth Pansari from Primac, Rahul Gidwani, Hitesh Oberoi from Naukri, Nirupa Shankar from Brigade Group, and Bhupen Shah also participated in the round. 

The venture claims to serve more than 500K customers across 20 cities across the country.

12. Eat Better

• Year Of Inception: 2020
• Founders: Mridula Kanoria, Shaurya Kanoria, Vidushi Kajaria
• Funding Raised To Date:  $725K
• Investors: Java Capital, Mumbai Angels, Shiprocket Ventures, CapierCapital, Plan B Capital, Harpreet Grover, Arjun Vaidya, Bhavik Vasa, Radhika Ghai, Vishesh Khurana, Bimal Kartheek Rebba, Ishank Joshi, Venus Dhuria, and Divij Bajaj
• Headquarters: Jaipur

Organic food startup Eat Better sells healthy snacks such as coffee and almond laddoos, hazelnut chocolate laddoos, and vanilla, and cacao laddoos, among others, through its website and other ecommerce platforms. 

The startup has a manufacturing facility in Jaipur and manages a base of over 50 female employees.

In March 2022, it secured INR 5.5 Cr seed funding to strengthen its team, expand offerings and develop marketing and distribution channels. 

A slew of investors, including Java Capital, Mumbai Angels, Shiprocket Ventures, CapierCapital and Plan B Capital, participated in the funding round.

Earlier, it claimed to have reported over 10x growth in revenues between October 2020 and March 2022.

13. Farmley

• Founded In: 2017
• Founders: Akash Sharma, Abhishek Agarwal
• Funding Raised To Date: $12 Mn+
• Investors: BC Jindal Group, Alkemi Partners, Omnivore, DSG Consumer Partners
• Headquarters: Delhi NCR

Farmley, a direct-to-consumer (D2C) snacking brand founded in 2017 by Akash Sharma and Abhishek, specializes in offering an array of flavoured dry fruits and nuts. Their product range includes enticing options such as roasted peri peri makhanas, Thai chili cashews, and date bites.

With a presence across various ecommerce platforms like Amazon, Flipkart, Blinkit, Zepto, Instamart, and Big Basket, Farmley has established itself as an omnichannel brand. Additionally, it boasts a wide distribution network of over 10,000 retail outlets across India. 

It claims to have crossed an annual recurring revenue (ARR) of INR 300 Cr, growing by over 400% in the past two years. The startup also claims to have turned EBITDA positive.

In December 2023, the startup secured $6.7 Mn in a Pre-Series B funding round led by BC Jindal Group.

Since its inception, Farmley has raised more than $12 Mn from a number of investors, including DSG Consumer Partners, Omnivore, and Alkemi Partners. 

14. Good Flippin’ Burgers 

• Year Of Inception: 2019
• Founders: Viren D’silva, Sijo Mathew, Sid Marchant
• Funding Raised To Date: $8.69 Mn
• Investors:  Karan Bhagat, Yatin Shah, Nikhil Bhardwaj, Tanglin Venture Partners
• Headquarters: Mumbai

Burger chain Good Flippin’ Burgers has 23 outlets across Mumbai and Delhi, of which 16 are in Mumbai. The brand entered the Delhi market with seven new outlets earlier this year.

In 2023, the startup raised $4 Mn in its Series A round, which was led by Tanglin Venture Partners. It has also raised $1.1 Mn in a seed round led by Kerala Blasters Football Club’s director Nikhil Bharadwaj, IIFL Wealth’s Karan Bhagat and Yatin Shah.

With outlets in only two cities in India, the startup is aiming to expand its footprint in India. It is also in the process of adopting cloud, hybrid, and dine-in formats with a focus on malls and airports. 

15.  Go DESi

• Year Of Inception: 2018
• Founders: Vinay Kothari, Raksha Kothari
• Funding Raised To Date: $12.31 Mn
• Investors:  Aavishkaar Capital, Rukam Capital, DSG Consumer Partners, Roots Venture
• Headquarters: Bengaluru

The startup was founded by a brother-sister duo to commercialise traditional Indian treats and confectionery, all while empowering women in rural villages.

With an omnichannel presence, the startup’s products are available in over 40,000 stores nationwide, and it claims to have sold over 15 Mn units since inception.

In southern India, the products are available both online and offline. In cities like Mumbai and Delhi NCR, they are available only on quick commerce and online grocery apps.

The startup recently secured INR 41 Cr in funding led by Aavishkaar Capital. The round also saw participation from existing investors Rukam Capital, Roots Ventures and DSG Consumer.

16. Go Zero

• Year Of Inception: 2022
• Founders: Kiran Shah
• Funding Raised To Date: $2.5 Mn
• Investors: DSG Consumer Partners, Saama, V3 Ventures
• Headquarters: Mumbai

Founded in 2022 by Kiran Shah, Go Zero manufactures zero-sugar and low-calorie ice creams. The startup claims to offer high-protein choices to its health-conscious consumers as against traditional sugar-laden ice creams. 

The startup claims to have a presence in more than 16 Indian cities including Mumbai, Pune, Bangalore, Delhi NCR, Hyderabad and Chennai among others. 

The startup has raised more than $2.5 Mn in funding to date and competes with players such as NIC, Get-A-Way and Amul. It is backed by names such as DSG Consumer Partners, Saama and V3 Ventures. 

17. Happilo 

• Year Of Inception: 2016
• Founders: Vikas Nahar
• Funding Raised To Date: $38 Mn
• Bb Investors: Motilal Oswal Private Equity, A91 Partners
• Headquarters: Bengaluru

Happilo is a healthy snack brand that offers nuts, dried fruits, seeds and dry roasted snacks. It has a manufacturing unit at Yeshwantpur, Bengaluru. It follows an omnichannel approach to selling its products across the country. 

Happilo’s products are non-GMO verified, gluten-free, vegan and fat-free. The startup offers EMI options to customers if they cannot pay for products at once. 

In February 2022, Happilo raised $25 Mn from Motilal Oswal Private Equity to expand its business and offerings and acquire other firms. Before this, it secured $13 Mn from A91 Partners.

18. Hocco

• Year Of Inception: 1944
• Founders: Satish Chona (Ankit Chona, Pradeep Chona)
• Funding Raised To Date: $ 23.95 Mn
• Investors: Sauce.vc, Chona family
• Headquarters: Ahmedabad 

Hocco, which began as an ice cream parlour in Karachi, was founded by Satish Chona in the pre-independence era. The first QSR was launched in Ahmedabad after Independence. Years after serving the country with its ice cream, the Chona family sold their legacy brand Havmor to South Korean conglomerate Lotte for INR 1,020 Cr.

In 2019, the family launched Hocco again, which today claims to have around 100  restaurants and eateries across India and one in the US. 

The company’s portfolio includes Hocco Eatery, 1944 The Hocco Kitchen, Hocco Ready-to-Eat, Huber & Holly, and Hocco Ice Cream.

In June 2024, the brand raised INR 100 Cr ($12 Mn) in a fresh funding round led by its promoter group Chona family and existing investor Sauce.vc. The round also saw participation from film producers Ritesh Sidhwani and Farhan Akhtar. With this round, Hocco’s valuation touched the INR 600 Cr valuation mark.

19. iD Fresh Food

• Year Of Inception: 2006
• Founders: PC Musthafa, Abdul Nazer, Shamsudeen TK, Jafar TK, Noushad TA
• Funding Raised To Date: $99.20 Mn
• Investors: NewQuest Capital Partner, Premji Invest, Peak XV Partners, Helion Ventures, Azim Premji
• Headquarters: Bengaluru

iD Fresh Food sells ready-to-make food such as dosa and idli batter, and rice rava idli batter, among others, in domestic and international markets. 

It has a presence in over 45 cities across the globe including Mumbai, Bengaluru, Pune, Hyderabad and Dubai, among others.

In 2022, the Bengaluru-based D2C startup announced its seventh round of ESOPs worth INR 46 Cr for 27 employees.  

“In the coming months, we are excited to augment our 2,000+ workforce as we explore new markets and continue to create new opportunities for a diverse set of professionals, while actively creating a more inclusive workplace,” Musthafa said while announcing the ESOPs.

In January 2022, the startup secured $68 Mn in its Series D funding round from NewQuest Capital Partner and Premji Invest.

The F&B startup turned profitable in FY24 after posting a net profit of INR 1.84 Cr against a loss of INR 23.25 Cr in FY23. 

20. Jade Forest

• Year Of Inception: 2019
• Founders: Shuchir Suri, Punweet Singh
• Funding Raised To Date: $1.25 Mn
• Investors: Mumbai Angels Network, Gaurav Kapur, Rohan Abbas, Ashish Tulsian, AngelList India 
• Headquarters: Delhi 

Jade Forest offers a slew of non-alcoholic beverages to customers via its website, ecommerce marketplaces and last-mile delivery platforms. Its products are priced between INR 80 and INR 85.

In 2021, it secured $1 Mn from Mumbai Angels Network. Before this, it secured $250,000 in its seed funding round from angel investors such as Gaurav Kapur, Rohan Abbas, Ashish Tulsian, and AngelList India. 

Its products are certified by the US FDA. In the last two years, it has expanded to 23 Indian cities.

21. Jimmy’s Cocktails

• Year Of Inception: 2019
• Founders: Ankur Bhatia and Nitin Bhardwaj  
• Funding Raised To Date: $8.56 Mn
• Investors: Roots Ventures, 7Square Ventures, Vishesh Khurana, Varun Alagh, Keki Mistry, Vidur Talwar, Anirudh Somani, Vinay Agarwal, Ankur Bhatia, Mirza Baig, Ekcle Ventures, Angad Bhatia
• Headquarters: Gurugram

Jimmy’s Cocktails offers a slew of cocktail mixers including gin cherry sour, bloody mary, lime margarita, and mango chilli mojito, among others. 

In 2023, the startup raised $1.3 Mn as a part of its extended Pre-Series A round. 

In April 2022, Jimmy’s Cocktails secured $1.8 Mn in its Pre-Series A funding round from investors such as Roots Ventures, 7Square Ventures, Vishesh Khurana from Shiprocket, Varun Alagh from Mamaearth, Keki Mistry from HDFC, among others. 

The startup then said that it sold over 6 Mn cocktails in the first three months of 2022. 

In the financial year 2021-22, it posted a 3X revenue growth. About 40% of its revenue came from Tier II and III cities.

This year, Radiohead Brands, the beverage maker’s parent company, secured $1.3 Mn and announced the launch of its energy drink brand Hustle. 

22. Kapiva Ayurveda

• Year Of Inception: 2016
• Founders: Ameve Sharma, Shrey Badhani
• Funding Raised To Date:  $51.50 Mn
• Investors: Vertex Ventures, Fireside Ventures, 3one4 Capital
• Headquarters: Bengaluru

Kapiva Ayurveda offers a slew of ayurvedic products for building immunity, improving digestion, strengthening the body and controlling diabetes, among others. 

The startup aims to raise an internal funding round of INR 300-330 Cr (around $40 Mn), which is to led by its existing investor, OrbiMed, to scale its operations and strengthen its market presence. 

In October 2021, it got an undisclosed amount of funding from Bollywood actor Malaika Arora.

Kapiva‘s loss widened 34% to INR 64.6 Cr in FY23 from INR 48.2 Cr in the previous fiscal year as the startup’s expenses shot up in line with its growing business. Its total revenue including interest income, stood at INR 116.5 Cr in FY23 as against INR 62.4 Cr in the previous year.

23. Lahori

• Year Of Inception: 2021
• Founders: Saurabh Munjal, Saurabh Bhutna, Nikhil Doda
• Funding Raised To Date: $15 Mn
• Investors: Verlinvest
• Headquarters: Mohali

Lahori offers traditional Indian beverages across the country. Currently, it offers Indian drinks in four flavours – jeera (cumin), nimboo (lemon), kacha aam (raw mango) and shikanji (lemonade). 

Lahori’s parent company, Archian Foods, manufactures nearly 1 Mn bottles in its fully automated manufacturing facility, which is spread across 1,50,000 sq ft. Its manufacturing unit is accredited by FSSAI, ISI, HACCP, RoHS and Make In India (offered by GeM). 

In January 2022, Belgium-based Verlinvest infused $15 Mn in Lahori in exchange for a minority stake.

24. Licious 

• Year Of Inception: 2015
• Founders: Abhay Hanjura, Vivek Gupta, Varun Sadana
• Funding Raised To Date: $ 554.22 Mn
• Investors: Amansa Capital, Kotak PE, Axis Growth Avenues AIF – I, Nithin Kamath, Nikhil Kamath, Aman Gupta, Haresh Chawla, Temasek, Brunei Investment Agency, 3one4 Capital, Bertelsmann India Investments, Vertex Growth Fund, and Vertex Ventures
• Headquarters: Bengaluru

Licious offers a host of meat and seafood including prawns, kebabs and mutton, among others. Besides, it also offers an end-to-end supply chain of products that it sells to customers, right from their procurement to processing to delivery. 

In March 2022, the foodtech unicorn secured $150 Mn from Amansa Capital, Kotak PE, Axis Growth Avenues AIF – I, Nithin and Nikhil Kamath of Zerodha, boAt’s Aman Gupta and Haresh Chawla from True North. 

Before this, it raised $52 Mn in October 2021. In the financial year 2020-21, it had an annual revenue rate of INR 1,000 Cr and operations in 14 Indian cities. Its customer base stood at over 2 Mn in the fiscal year 2020-21.

Its loss declined 44% to INR 293.77 Cr in FY24 from INR 528.5 Cr in the previous fiscal year. Additionally, its revenue declined 8.4% to INR 685.05 Cr from INR 748 Cr in FY23. 

25. MasterChow

• Year Of Inception: 2020
• Founders: Vidur Kataria, Sidhanth Mada
• Funding Raised To Date: $.6 Mn
• Investors: Anicut Capital, WEH ventures, Fluid ventures 
• Headquarters: Delhi

D2C brand MasterChow offers ready-to-cook noodles, dipping sauces, and sticky rice, among others. 

In November 2024, MasterChow raised $6.5 Mn in its Series A round led by Singapore-based Tanglin Venture Partners.

In May 2022, MasterChow raised $1.2 Mn from Anicut Capital, WEH ventures and Fluid ventures.

Prior to this, it had raised around $462K in its seed funding round from WEH Ventures and some angel investors. The startup had then claimed that it had grown 10x over the previous 12 months and shipped products to over 17,000 pin codes across India.

26. Namhya Foods

• Year Of Inception: 2019
• Founders: Ridhima Arora
• Funding Raised To Date: Undisclosed
• Investors: Aman Gupta 
• Headquarters: Jammu

Headquartered in Jammu, Namhya Foods specialises in snacks and beverages made from Indian herbs and natural ingredients.

The startup was established in 2019 by Ridhima Arora. To secure funding, she participated in Shark India’s inaugural season and successfully secured INR 50 Lakh against a 10% equity. Additionally, she obtained an additional INR 50 Lakh in debt funding from Aman Gupta, the cofounder of boAt.

Namhya Foods positions itself as a provider of nourishing food products designed to assist individuals with various health conditions such as diabetes, heart issues, high blood pressure, cholesterol, thyroid problems, as well as chest congestion. The company offers a diverse range of products.

In addition to its presence in India, Namhya Foods operates in the United States and has plans to expand into the UAE, Australia, and Canada.

27. Nourish You

• Year Of Inception: 2015
• Founders: Rakesh Kilaru, Krishna Reddy, Brahma Teja Kilaru, Giridhar Kilaru, Prasad Kilaru
• Funding Raised To Date: $2 Mn
• Investors: Y Janardhana Rao, Rohit Chennamaneni, Nikhil Kamath, Abhijeet Pai, Abhinay Bollineni
• Headquarters: Hyderabad

Nourish You sells nutrient-rich breakfast food products and snacks to consumers via its website and ecommerce marketplaces, including Flipkart, BigBasket, and Amazon, among others. 

Besides selling products directly to consumers, the startup exports food items to countries like Singapore, Nepal, Kenya, Dubai, Mongolia and Maldives. Some of its products are quinoa flour, chocolate & banana muesli, and cranberry walnut mix. 

Earlier, the startup shared that it had 5,000 acres of quinoa and chia farms in Rajasthan, Karnataka, and Madhya Pradesh. 

In January 2023, it secured $2 Mn in seed funding for research and development activities, brand marketing and fortifying its distribution and market presence. As a part of this round, it also secured an undisclosed amount of funding from actress Samantha Prabhu. 

28. Oziva

• Year Of Inception: 2016
• Founders: Aarti Gill and Mihir Gadani
• Funding Raised To Date: $17 Mn
• Investors: HUL, Eight Roads Ventures, Z47, Stride Ventures
• Headquarters: Mumbai

Founded in 2016 by Aarti Gill and Mihir Gadani, OZiva is a D2C platform that sells plant-based products across categories such as women’s health, skin, hair, and general wellness, among others. 

The startup has raised more than $17 Mn in funding till date and is backed by the likes of Eight Roads Ventures, Z47 (formerly Matrix Partners India), Stride Ventures, among others. It competes with the likes of Origin Nutrition, GoodDot, among others. 

In December 2022, Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL) acquired a 51% stake in the plant-based supplement brand. The FMCG at the time said that it would completely buy out the startup in multiple tranches for a cumulative price of INR 264.28 Cr.

29. Paper Boat

• Year Of Inception: 2009
• Founders: Neeraj Kakkar, Niraj Biyani, Suhas Misra, James Nuttal
• Funding Raised To Date: $ 142.06 Mn
• Investors: Peak XV Partners, Hillhouse Capital Group, GIC, Advent International, Trifecta Capital, Sofina SA, A91 Partners, Catamaran, Footprint Ventures
• Headquarters: Gurugram

Paper Boat sells a slew of fruit-based drinks in Indian flavours including aam panna (raw mango), rose tamarind (tamarind juice), chilli guava (guava juice), ‘jaljeera’ (spicy, tangy lemonade), among others.

In August 2022, the startup raised $50.1 Mn in funding from GIC-owned sovereign fund Lathe Investment Pte Ltd.

At the time, it used to have a presence in the metro cities, Tier II towns and beyond. Paper Boat saw its net loss widened 71% to INR 90.6 Cr in the financial year 2022-23 (FY23) from INR 53 Cr in FY22 due to higher cash burn. However, its revenue from operations rose 56% to INR 504 Cr during the year under review from INR 324 Cr in FY22.

30. Plix

• Year Of Inception: 2018
• Founders: Rishubh Satiya, Akash Zaveri
• Funding Raised To Date: $5 Mn
• Investors: Guild Capital, RPSG Ventures
• Headquarters: Mumbai

Based in Mumbai, Plix specialises in plant-based nutrition supplements, offering a range that includes gummies, superfood powders, and effervescent tablets. Plix asserts that its products effectively address concerns related to weight loss, hair fall and skin, daily wellness, women’s health, and workout requirements.

In July 2023, FMCG giant Marico acquired a majority 58% stake in Plix for INR 369.01 Cr, marking its inaugural foray into the D2C arena. Under the terms of this deal, Marico assumed control over Plix’s board, and Plix became a subsidiary of Marico.

Competing alongside players like OZiva, Setu Nutrition, and Fast&Up, Plix boasts a customer base exceeding 1.5 Mn individuals. The omnichannel brand offers a diverse portfolio of 60 products spanning six categories. 

31. Pluckk

• Year Of Inception: 2017
• Founders: Pratik Gupta
• Funding Raised To Date: $5 Mn+
• Investors: Exponentia Ventures, Kareena Kapoor Khan
• Headquarters: Mumbai

Pluck is an ecommerce platform which aims to serve the growing demand for lifestyle-oriented fresh produce. It focusses on the global food trends ranging from vegan, carb alternatives, gut health and immunity to plant-forward eating to prevent diabetes and mental health. 

The startup has a 400+ product range across 15+ categories including essentials, exotics, hydroponics, cuts, and mixes. The startup claims that the products are chemical-free. Further, the products are customised following different food trends, suitable for gut and heart health, and diabetes. 

Pluckk’s products are available on its own D2C website along with partner ecommerce platforms, including Blinkit, Swiggy, Zepto, Dunzo, and Amazon. While it is currently operational in Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru and Pune, it plans to expand to more geographies in the coming quarters.

In 2022, it secured its seed funding of $5 Mn from Exponentia Ventures to develop farm-to-fork infrastructure, customer acquisition and expansion into key metro cities. It also said that parts of the fund would go towards the acquisition of B2B and B2C company Indus Fresh. 

In 2023, it acquired DIY meal kit platform KOOK for $1.3 Mn in a combination of cash and equity.

Following this acquisition, it also secured an undisclosed amount of funding from actress Kareena Kapoor Khan and appointed her as a brand ambassador. 

In September last year, the startup acquired D2C nutrition brand Upnourish for $1.4 Mn. 

32. Samosa Singh

• Year Of Inception: 2016
• Founders: Nidhi Singh, Shikhar Veer Singh
• Funding Raised To Date: $2.7 Mn
• Investors: Fireside Ventures, AL Trust, AET Fund, She Capital, Equanimity Investments, ANME
• Headquarters: Bengaluru

Food snack brand Samosa Singh sells Indian food snacks such as samosa, kachori, pani puri, and matar kulcha, among others, to its customers via cloud kitchens and kiosks.

It had earlier shared that its manufacturing unit holds the capacity to produce 25K food items daily.

In 2020, the startup secured $2.7 Mn (INR 17 Cr) in a Series A funding round to develop the capacity of its Bengaluru-based central kitchen. The round was led by She Capital.

As of March 2020, it had a presence in over 25 locations in Hyderabad and Bengaluru. It claims to have set up 100 cloud kitchens in prime cities of South India.

33. Skippi 

• Year Of Inception: 2021
• Founders: Ravi Kabra, Anuja Kabra
• Funding Raised To Date: $1.3 Mn
• Investors: Venture Catalysts, Hyderabad Angel Network
• Headquarters: Hyderabad

When the husband-wife duo of Ravi and Anuja Kabra returned to India after a seven-year-long stint in Australia, they sat down to start something of their own. While looking for ideas, Ravi remembered that his sister would pack ice popsicles from local Australian brands during her return back to India.

Looking to satiate the Indian craving for ice lollies, the duo founded Skippi in 2021. The D2C startup offers different flavour popsicles, cream rolls and cornsticks via an omnichannel retail business model. 

Skippi founders claim to provide ice popsicles that are 100% natural and free from artificial colours, flavours, and preservatives.

The startup event featured on the first season of the hit TV show Shark Tank and secured a deal from all five judges on the show for INR 1.2 Cr in exchange for a 5% equity.

Also backed by Venture Catalysts and Hyderabad Angel Network, Skippi raised INR 10 Cr ($1.2 Mn) in a Pre-Series A funding round in May 2024.

34. Slurrp Farm 

• Year Of Inception: 2016
• Founders: Meghana Narayan, Shauravi Malik, Umang Bhattacharya
• Funding Raised To Date: $17.18 Mn 
• Investors: Anushka Sharma, Investment Corporation of Dubai, Fireside Ventures
• Headquarters: Gurugram

Slurrp Farm is a children-focussed healthy snack brand. It offers a variety of cereals, milk mixes and snacks such as ready-to-mix pancakes, cakes, dosas, noodles and various kinds of pasta. For first-time users, it offers these products in trial packs. 

Slurrp Farm’s parent, Wholsum Foods, sells the products via its website and ecommerce marketplaces. Currently, it has a presence in India, the UAE, the US, and the UK. 

In the financial year 2021-22, it reported over INR 50 Cr annual revenue rate (ARR) and witnessed a 10X growth between June 2020 and December 2021. It further aims to achieve a revenue of INR 500 Cr by 2025.

In April 2022, Bollywood actress Anushka Sharma backed Slurrp Farm. Prior to this deal, the D2C brand raised $7 Mn from the Investment Corporation of Dubai and Fireside Ventures and also bagged $2 Mn in a Series A round from Fireside Ventures.

35. Smoor

• Year Of Inception: 2015
• Founders: Vimal Sharma
• Funding Raised To Date: Undisclosed
• Investors: Rebel Foods
• Headquarters: Bengaluru

Smoor was incorporated to provide a premium range of products, including chocolates, desserts, lounges/cafes and corporate gifting across the country.

Founded by Vimal Sharma in 2015, Smoor bagged funding from foodtech unicorn Rebel Foods in 2022. With this investment, Rebel Foods bought the majority stake in the F&B startup. 

Back then, the startup aimed to build its omnichannel distribution strategy by expanding its physical centres across Tier I cities in India and accelerating its online presence across digital platforms. The chocolate brand is available in more than 50 cities in India.

It is looking to achieve a scale of $100 Mn in annual revenue by 2026.

36. Storia

• Year Of Inception: 2016
• Founders: Vishal Shah
• Funding Raised To Date: $6 Mn 
• Investors: Sixth Sense Ventures
• Headquarters: Mumbai

Storia offers a range of processed fruit juices, coconut water, and shakes to customers. 

In 2021, it raised $6 Mn in its Series A funding from Sixth Sense Ventures. It currently has a presence in 33 Indian cities via its 50K retail outlets.

At the time of the announcement of its Series A funding round, the startup said it planned to launch new offerings, expand its distribution network and foray into packaged food. 

37. Sweet Karam Coffee

• Year Of Inception: 2015
• Founders: Anand Bharadwaj, Nalini Parthiban, Srivatsan Sundararaman, Veera Raghavan
• Funding Raised To Date: $1.5 Mn 
• Investors: Fireside Ventures
• Headquarters: Chennai

Sweet Karam Coffee sells South-Indian delicacies, including filter coffee and ready meal mixes, which it claims to be free from palm oil and preservatives. 

In October 2023, the startup announced that it raised $1.5 Mn from Fireside Ventures to expand its offline play, enter new geographies, and strengthen its product portfolio. 

The startup also aims to address the problem of poor availability of well-packaged traditional South Indian sweets and snacks.  

The startup sells its products primarily through its website and app, and claims to deliver them to more than 30 nations. 

The Chennai-based startup has also partnered with Tamil Nadu farmers to offer a range of millet-based products.

38. TenderCuts

• Year Of Inception: 2016
• Founders: Nishanth Chandran, Sasikumar Kallanai, Varun Prasad Chandran, Venkkatesan R.
• Funding Raised To Date: $19 Mn
• Investors: Stride Ventures, Paragon Partners, Nabventures 
• Headquarters: Chennai 

D2C brand TenderCuts offers meat and seafood products including chicken, mutton, seafood, marinades, pickles, and eggs and ready-to-cook products such as cold cuts, sausages, kebabs, shawarmas, etc.

In 2021, it secured approximately $4 Mn in a debt funding round from Stride Ventures. Prior to this, it raised $15 Mn from Paragon Partners and Nabventures and closed a seed funding round worth $759K in 2017. 

It follows an omnichannel marketing strategy and has been serving customers across Chennai, Hyderabad and Bangalore via its 50 retail stores. 

In September 2023, omnichannel meat brand Good To Go was reported to be planning the acquisition of TenderCuts along with Happy Chops. 

39. The Divine Foods 

• Year Of Inception: 2019 
• Founders: Kiru Maikkapillai
• Funding Raised To Date: Undisclosed 
• Investors: Nayanthara, Vignesh Shivan
• Headquarters: Chennai

The Divine Foods is a D2C foodtech startup that specialises in manufacturing products from traditional Indian superfoods such as turmeric, moringa, millet, and others. 

Its portfolio includes products such as turmeric oil, turmeric golden milk, masks, turmeric drinks, turmeric powder, honey, among others. 

Under the flagship seed funding scheme of the Tamil Nadu government called TANSEED 4.0, the startup received a grant of an undisclosed amount. 

In 2023, the startup secured an undisclosed amount of funding from actress Nayanthara and her husband Vignesh Shivan. Back then, founder Maikkapillai told Inc42 that the funding would be used for scaling up the infrastructure, expanding the startup’s product line, creating brand awareness among the masses and encouraging other celebrities to support the growth of native businesses. 

40. The Filling Station

• Year Of Inception: 2021
• Founders: Mahua Ghosh, Suvankar Ghosh
• Funding Raised To Date: Undisclosed 
• Investors: NA (Not Available)
• Headquarters: Mumbai 

Healthy food snack startup The Filling Station sells nutrient-rich laddoos, oil-free snacks, and nutrient-rich spreads, among others, via its website and ecommerce marketplaces such as Amazon and Flipkart.

In snacks, it uses ingredients such as palm, oats, makhana, seeds, nuts, and date fruit. Its cofounder Mahua Ghosh holds 11 years of experience in the food industry. She has previously worked with many fast food joints, cloud kitchens and retail brands. The venture is recognised by the Centre’s Startup India Initiative, according to the website.

41. The Good Bug

• Year Of Inception: 2022
• Founders: Keshav Biyani, Prabhu Karthikeyan
• Funding Raised To Date: $ 7 Mn
• Investors: Fireside Ventures
• Headquarters: Mumbai

The Mumbai-based startup, The Good Bugs, offers a range of products that are designed to promote and maintain gut health for consumers. Its primary focus lies in addressing the health concerns of individuals aged 25-60 who may be grappling with the negative consequences of unhealthy dietary and lifestyle choices.

Currently, the startup operates as an omnichannel brand, with approximately 70% of its revenue coming from its website and the remaining 30% from various online marketplaces. Notably, the startup has recently initiated partnerships with pharmacies to expand its offline presence.

Since its inception, the brand claims to have catered to over 2 Lakh customers. It also proclaims to have strong repeat rates of 40-45%. To expand its product offerings, the startup is planning to introduce 20 new products to its portfolio over the next six to twelve months.

42. The Whole Truth

• Year Of Inception: 2019
• Founders:  Shashank Mehta
• Funding Raised To Date: $17 Mn
• Investors: Sequoia Capital India, Matrix Partners India, Sauce.vc, Kalyan Krishnamurthy, Sujeet Kumar, Ashneer Grover, Shashvat Nakrani
• Headquarters: Mumbai 

The Whole Truth sells dark chocolate, muesli, protein bars, nut butter and energy bars via its website and other ecommerce marketplaces.

The F&B startup is looking to raise around $25 Mn in its Series C funding round at a valuation of INR 2,000 Cr (about $240 Mn).

In July 2021, the D2C snack brand secured $6 Mn in its Series A funding round from Sequoia Capital India, Matrix Partners India, Sauce.vc, Flipkart’s Kalyan Krishnamurthy, Udaan’s Sujeet Kumar, Ashneer Grover and Shashvat Nakrani.

The startup had then claimed that it had grown 12x in the last 18 months. Besides, The Whole Truth said it receives 50% of its sales via its website and the rest from ecommerce marketplaces. 

In 2023, the startup secured $15 Mn to boost its manufacturing capacity, hire talent, and expand its retail distribution. 

43. Troo Good

• Year Of Inception: 2018
• Founders: Raju Bhupati 
• Funding Raised To Date: $26.39 Mn
• Investors: OAKS Asset Management
• Headquarters: Hyderabad

Troo Good offers a slew of millet, peanut, chocolate, and dry fruit snack bars and mixtures. In the year of its inception, it clocked a revenue of INR 12 Cr, while in 2019, it posted a revenue of INR 24 Cr. 

In 2024, the startup raised $9 Mn (INR 75 Cr) in a fresh funding round led by Puro Wellness, along with participation from existing investors Oaks Asset Management and V Ocean Investments.

In November 2021, Troo Good secured $7.4 Mn from OAKS Asset Management to expand its business in the domestic market.

44. True Elements 

• Founded In: 2017
• Founders: Puru Gupta and Sreejith Moolayil
• Funding Raised To Date: $2 Mn
• Investors: Marico, Maharashtra State Social Venture Fund
• Headquarters: Bengaluru 

True Elements offers millet, grains, and seeds-based breakfast and snack foods. It follows an omnichannel marketing strategy, selling products via its website, ecommerce marketplaces and brick-and-mortar stores. 

In May 2022, consumer company Marico acquired a 53.98% stake in True Elements’ parent HW Wellness Solutions for an undisclosed sum. Prior to this, True Elements secured INR 10 Cr from the Maharashtra State Social Venture Fund last year. 

In the financial year 2021-22, it recorded sales of over INR 54.3 Cr as compared to INR 36.3 Cr in the previous fiscal year. 

Currently, it sells over 70 products and more than 200 stock-keeping units (SKUs) across 12,000 retail outlets in India. It claims to earn over 75% of its revenue from online distribution channels.

45. Twigly

• Year Of Inception: 2015
• Founders: Sonal Minhas, Rohan Dayal, Naresh Kumar Kachhi
• Funding Raised To Date: $800K 
• Investors: Tracxn Labs, Hyderabad Angels, Kunal Shah, Aditya Verma, Gaurav Bhalotia, Amit Gupta, Sahil Barua, Mukul Singhal 
• Headquarters: Gurugram 

Twigly provides freshly cooked food at consumers’ doorstep via its website and mobile app. It currently delivers orders in Delhi NCR. Some of its products are burgers, pasta, grill platters, desserts, and various types of beverages. 

According to its founders, the startup is modelled on San Francisco-based food delivery startup Sprig, which used to offer freshly cooked meals to its consumers. However, Sprig closed down its operations in 2017. 

In September 2018, Twigly was acquired by its competitor for an undisclosed amount.

46. Vahdam India

• Year Of Inception: 2015
• Founders: Bala Sarda
• Funding Raised To Date: $38.71 Mn
• Investors: Sixth Sense Ventures, IIFL Asset Management, Mankind Group Family Office, SAR Group Family Office, Kris Gopalakrishnan, White Whale Ventures, Urmin Group
• Headquarters: New Delhi 

Vahdam offers an assorted range of teas, including herbal, white, oolong and iced teas, among others in India and across the world. Its other offerings include teaware and instant lattes.  

In September 2021, the startup secured INR 174 Cr in its Series D Round led by IIFL AMC’s Private Equity Fund. Post the fundraising, it was valued at INR 700 Cr. 

As od 2022, the startup claims that it has a presence in more than 100 countries and also turned profitable in the fiscal year 2021 after clocking a net revenue of INR 160 Cr+.

47. Wellbeing Nutrition

• Year Of Inception: 2019
• Founders: Avnish Chhabria, Saurabh Kapoor 
• Funding Raised To Date: $12.20 Mn
• Investors: Rakulpreet Singh, Mira Kapoor, Fireside Ventures, HUL, etc.
• Headquarters: Mumbai

Founded in 2019, Wellbeing Nutrition is a direct-to-consumer (D2C) nutraceutical company based in Mumbai. Cofounded by Avnish Chhabria and Saurabh Kapoor, the startup specialises in offering healthy food products with a primary focus on women’s health.

Its product portfolio includes Melts, which are vitamin-based thin strips, Korean Marine for collagen, and Daily Fiber for plant-based prebiotic fibre.

In December 2022, Wellbeing Nutrition secured $10 Mn (INR 85 Cr) in its Series B funding round led by Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL) and Fireside Ventures. HUL currently holds a 19.8% stake in the startup.

The company’s list of investors includes Bollywood actor Rakulpreet Singh, Mira Kapoor; Ashutosh Valani and Priyank Shah from RENEE Cosmetics, Nikhil Gandhi from MX Player, Harsh Vardhan Bhandari and Jeenendra Bhandari, among others.

Wellbeing Nutrition operates in the D2C segment and faces competition from brands such as Power Gummies and Fast&Up.

48. WickedGud

• Year Of Inception: 2021
• Founders: Bhuman Dani, Soumalya Biswas, Monish Debnath 
• Funding Raised To Date: $4.61 Mn
• Investors: Mumbai Angels, NB Ventures, Dholakia Ventures, Jalaj Dani Family Office, Ashutosh Valani, Priyank Shah, Ravi Shroff, Ravi Nigam, Ashwini Deshpande, Jorge Fernandez Vidal, Akshay Gurnani, Titan Capital, Archana Priyadarshini, Gaurav Ahuja, Amit Chaudhary, Aman Gupta, Sameer Mehta, Harsh Vakharia, Jorge Fernandez Vidal
• Headquarters: Mumbai 

WickedGud sells pasta, noodles, malted beverages and other snacks via its website and ecommerce marketplaces. According to its website, its products are wholly vegan and contain plant-based protein. 

In December 2024, the startup raised INR 20 Cr (around $2.3 Mn) in a Pre-Series A funding round led by Orios Venture Partners.

In April 2022, WickedGud secured $1 Mn from Mumbai Angels, NB Ventures, Dholakia Ventures, Jalaj Dani Family Office, Ashutosh Valani and Priyank Shah from Renee Cosmetics, Ravi Shroff from Excel Industries, Ravi Nigam from Tasty Bite, Ashwini Deshpande from Elephant Design, among others. 

Prior to this, it secured $340K in its pre-seed funding round from Titan Capital, Archana Priyadarshini from Point One Capital, Gaurav Ahuja from Chrys Capital, and Amit Chaudhary from Lenskart, among others. 

The startup targets customers aged 26 to 42 and claims to have an average order value of INR 450.

49. Wingreens Farms 

• Year Of Inception: 2011
• Founders: Anju Srivastava, Arun Srivastava
• Funding Raised To Date: $53.87 Mn
• Investors: Sequoia Capital, Investments AG, Investcorp, Omidyar Network
• Headquarters: Gurugram

The startup offers a diverse range of packaged food products spanning various categories such as healthy snacks, sauces, spreads, spice mixes, speciality bakery items, breakfast cereals, non-dairy milk, protein shakes, and a broad selection of organic products.

It faces competition from brands like Veeba Foods, while in the established FMCG brands segment, it competes with well-known names such as Nestle and Amul.

In July 2024, Wingreens Farms raised $4.3 Mn (INR 36.2 Cr) in debt funding from over a dozen investors. 

In 2022, the startup acquired a 100% stake in the Bengaluru-based snacks startup, Postcard. At the time, the startup stated that the acquisition would contribute to the expansion of its product portfolio under the ‘Wingreens World’ category. 

In an earlier acquisition in 2021, the startup acquired Raw Pressery during a distressed sale. The acquisition aimed to broaden its product portfolio and venture into the cold-pressed juices segment.

Last updated: January 20, 2025

The post From Slurrp Farm To Paper Boat: Here Are 49 F&B D2C Brands Reshaping The Indian Consumer Market appeared first on Inc42 Media.

VC firm Chiratae Ventures has roped in Orios Venture Partners’ Saharsh Sharma as the vice president of investments.

With this appointment, Sharma will lead investments across the Northern India region, the VC firm said in a LinkedIn post. 

Additionally, he will focus on deal flow across seed to Series B funding rounds, sub-sectors, portfolio management, LP engagement, divestments and other strategic initiatives for the firm.

Prior to this, Sharma served as the assistant vice president at Orios Venture Partners, where his 5-year-tenure ended in 2024.

Sharma announced his departure from the company in December 2024.

He also worked with notable players, including Ola and RIVIGO. It is pertinent to note that Sharma founded the healtech platform Haplo Health in 2017.

This appointment comes at a time when Chiratae Ventures is facing challenges legally. A few days ago NestAway’s cofounder and former CEO Amarendra Sahu filed a criminal case against its investors including Tiger Global, Goldman Sachs, Chiratae Ventures, as well as cofounders Jitendra Jagadev and Smruti Parida for committing fraud during the sale of the company.

It is pertinent to note that the home rental platform was sold in a fire sale back in 2023. 

In August 2024, the VC firm announced the third cohort of its flagship seed investment programme Chiratae Sonic. The programme targets early stage startups operating in sectors like deep tech, generative AI, climate tech and manufacturing tech and looking to raise up to $2 Mn in funding.

Founded by Sudhir Sethi and TC Meenakshisundaram in 2006, Chiratae Ventures claims to have  invested in more than  130 startups, of which 8 have turned unicorn and 4 have gone public via an IPO. Some of its early bets include names such as Myntra, MyGlamm and GlobalBees.

Chiratae Ventures’ portfolio includes notable companies like  Flipkart, Lenskart and Policybazaar. 

The post Chiratae Ropes In Saharsh Sharma As VP Of Investments appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Fintech major Paytm has roped in Bimal Julka as the non-executive independent director.

“The term of appointment as an independent director shall be five (5) consecutive years w.e.f. January 20, 2025, subject to the approval of members of the company,” Paytm said in a BSE filing.

Julka is an IAS (Indian Administrative Services) officer of 1979 batch of Madhya Pradesh cadre. Later, he also served as the director of industrial development at the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.  

Besides, he served at various notable positions for the Government of India in ministries including Ministry Of Civil Aviation, Ministry of Defence of India, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of External Affairs and Ministry Of Information & Broadcasting. He also worked as Chief Information Commissioner.

The appointment comes at a time when Paytm’s board approved the sale of its 100% stake in its wholly owned subsidiary, Xceed IT Solutions Private Limited.  In this transaction, Xceed’s existing directors Vineet Narang and Sabina Kamal, will buy these stakes for consideration worth INR 60,728.  

The fintech company also disclosed its financial results for the December quarter of the financial year ending March 2025. Paytm managed to narrow down its loss by 6% to INR 208.5 Cr in the quarter under review, against INR 221.7 Cr in the Q3 of FY24. 

Revenue from operations declined 36% to INR 1,827.8 Cr during Q3 FY25 from INR 2,850.5 Cr in the year-ago period. 

Additionally, Paytm recently expanded its employee stock option plan (ESOP) pool by allotting 2.03 Lakh stock options under its ESOP Plan 2019.

At 12:41 PM, the shares of Paytm were trading at INR 906 apiece during the intraday trading session on BSE, marginally up by 0.7% from its previous close at INR 899.65. 

The post Paytm Ropes In Bimal Julka As Independent Director appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Zomato’s founder Deepinder Goyal has apologised to one of the users for charging a “veg mode enablement fee” of INR 2 on its platform and called it stupid.

The user took this issue to his LinkedIn handle yesterday (16 January), when it caught Goyal’s attention. 

“Zomato’s latest masterstroke—introducing an “extra charge” for the veg enablement fleet—has officially turned us into a premium subscription plan,” the user said in his post.

He further added that it has gone from “green and healthy” to “green and pricey.”

Commenting on the post, Goyal accepted that the fee for enabling veg mode is “stupid”. Furthermore, he assured that it would be taken down on the same day. Later, the founder commented that the fee was removed “45 minutes ago”.

While Zomato has been on an expansion spree since last year, the foodtech major has seen several ups and downs during this time.

The company bought Paytm’s movie and event ticketing business for INR 2,048 Cr in August 2024. However, the platform saw backlash after the tickets for Diljit Dosanjh’s Dil-Luminati tour sold out in a short time but were later spotted on secondary platforms at inflated prices.

As per Inc42’s report, Zomato also issued a formal notice to Viagogo for selling tickets without authorisation and filed multiple complaints against other scalping or secondary sales sites.

Last year, the company also launched a ‘pure veg fleet’ with green uniforms to cater to customers with ‘100% vegetarian dietary preference’. The service sparked conversation on social media as many users questioned the introduction of a fleet with a separate uniform. 

Additionally, the users cited concerns that many resident welfare associations (RWAs) might put a complete ban on the entry of Zomato delivery partners who are not in the green-coloured uniform.

In 2023, Zomato also took down its World Environment Day advertisement, “Kachra” after it faced widespread backlash from users online for allegedly showcasing caste discrimination.

The post ‘Stupid On Our Part’: Zomato CEO Apologises For Charging Veg Mode Fee appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Geotech giant MapmyIndia has partnered with US-based original equipment manufacturer Qualcomm Technologies to offer automotive connectivity solutions in India and overseas.

The collaboration aims to fuel ‘Make in India’ initiatives for the automotive sector, the company said in a BSE filing.

“Qualcomm Technologies, Inc., a global leader in wireless technology innovation , and MapmyIndia, India’s leading advanced digital maps and deeptech company, today announced a technology collaboration aimed at supporting the ‘Make in India’ initiative for the automotive sector,” the filing added.

As per the statement, MapmyIndia will integrate Qualcomm’s Snapdragon Digital Chassis solutions including its auto connectivity platform to develop telematics solutions and facilitate efficient connectivity for Indian automakers.

Additionally, it will also integrate Qualcomm’s car-to-cloud services with MAPPLS automotive services to build a platform, aimed at managing device, data, maps, navigation and services.

“Our work with Qualcomm Technologies allows us to bring affordable, state-of-the-art telematics solutions to a broader segment of vehicles. This will enhance the driving experience for Indian consumers by enabling features that were previously available only in premium vehicles,” said MapmyIndia’s founder and chief managing director Rakesh Verma.

This partnership comes at a time when MapmyIndia is on an expansion spree. Last month, the listed major infused $4 Mn (around INR 33.8 Cr) to pick up 40% stake in its joint venture (JV) with Hyundai AutoEver, called PT Terra Link Technologies.

During the same time, MapmyIndia also picked up a 19.84% stake in location intelligence platform Kaiinos Geo Spatial Technologies Private Ltd by infusing INR 2 Cr.

Additionally, the board of MapmyIndia also approved the company’s proposal to invest an additional $0.5 Mn in its subsidiary CE International in one or more tranches. Besides, the company will also invest INR 3 Cr to acquire 9.37% stake in SaaS platform for automobiles SimDaaS Autonomy Private Ltd.

In November 2024, MapmyIndia’s chief executive officer and executive director Rohan Verma resigned from his position to form a new B2C business.

The geotech startup posted a 8% decline in its consolidated profit after tax (PAT) to INR 30.35 Cr in the second quarter of FY25 from INR 33.09 Cr in the year-ago period. Meanwhile, its revenue from operations rose 14% to INR 103.67 Cr in the quarter under review, against  INR 91.08 Cr in Q2 FY24.

The post MapmyIndia Partners Qualcomm To Fuel ‘Make in India’ Automotive Solutions appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Audio entertainment platform Pocket FM is undertaking yet another restructuring exercise, which will result in about 75 employees losing their jobs. 

The startup said that the exercise is necessary “to ensure the long-term sustainability” of the organisation. 

“As part of our commitment to building a more efficient and profitable organisation, we have made the difficult decision to part ways with close to 75 of our valued team members,” a spokesperson of Pocket FM said in a statement. 

However, Inc42 has learnt that the number of employees likely to be impacted by the restructuring exercise could be much higher than the number quoted by Pocket FM.

Moneycontrol was the first to report the development. It said that the tech department would be the worst hit by the layoffs.

This would be the second restructuring exercise at Pocket FM within a few months. In October, it was reported that the startup fired 50 employees. Prior to that, it laid off about 200 US-based writers in July 2024.

Founded by Rohan Nayak, Nishanth KS and Prateek Dixit in 2018, Pocket FM is an audio streaming (series) platform that offers diverse content across multiple languages and genres, including romance, science fiction and action thriller among others. 

Last year, Pocket FM bagged $103 Mn (around INR 857 Cr) in its Series D funding round led by Lightspeed, with participation from Stepstone Group. Back then, the startup said it would use the capital to strengthen its position in the US market as well as expand its offerings in Europe and Latin American markets.

The startup claims to get 70% of its revenue from the US, followed by 15% from India, and the remaining from other markets. 

In November last year, Pocket FM claimed that its global revenue soared 496% to INR 1,051.97 Cr in FY24 from INR 176.36 Cr in the previous fiscal year. Additionally, its global loss declined by 21% to INR 165 Cr during the year under review from INR 209 Cr in FY23.

The post Pocket FM To Fire 75 Staffers In Another Layoff Round appeared first on Inc42 Media.

The shares of gaming major Nazara spiked as much as 5.52% to reach INR 983.30 during the intraday trading session on the BSE today (January 16) after the company announced that it is planning to raise an undisclosed amount of funding via issuance of preference shares.

The listed company has scheduled the board meeting on 20 January, seeking approval for the funding, it said in a BSE filing yesterday (January 15).

“.. approve the issuance of equity shares / securities of the company on a preferential basis, to one or more persons, in accordance with the Companies Act, 2013 read with the rules notified thereunder, each as amended, and the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Issue of Capital and Disclosure Requirements) Regulations, 2018,” the filing added.

This comes at a time when Nazara recently raised INR 855 Cr from SBI Mutual Fund, Caratlane founder Mithun Sacheti, Aamara Capital, among others via issuance of preference shares. Back then, the company said that it was planning to fuel “strategic acquisitions, fund business expansion, and enhance the company’s ability to seize new growth opportunities” with the freshly raised capital.

Last year, Nazara was bullish on acquisitions to strengthen its gaming portfolio and expand global footprint. In August, the gaming major acquired London-based gaming studio Fusebox Games for £21.18 Mn (around INR 234.55 Cr). 

It also picked up additional stakes in companies like Paper Boat Apps Pvt Ltd (PBA), Pokerbaazi, and GetStan Technologies Pte. Ltd (STAN).

Last month, the company announced its plan to acquire additional stake in three of its subsidiaries – NODWIN Gaming, Absolute Sports, and adtech Datawrkz. Additionally, it announced its aim to make investments in kids-play centre company Funky Monkeys and edtech Learntube.ai. 

While two of these deals including NODWIN and Absolute Sports were done last month, other three are yet to materialise. 

Nazara posted a 33% decline in its consolidated net profit to INR 16.24 Cr in the Q2 FY25, against INR 24.18 Cr in the corresponding quarter last fiscal. However, its operating revenue grew 7% to INR 318.94 Cr in the quarter under review from INR 297.24 Cr in the year-ago quarter.

The post Nazara Shares Jump Over 5% On Plans To Raise Funding Via Preferential Issue appeared first on Inc42 Media.

With the fourth edition of the National Startup Day this week, there is a lot to unpack, from achievements of the Indian startup ecosystem to the “to-do list” for the next few years. Since the unveiling of Startup India back in 2015, the ecosystem has seen a tremendous jump in the number of startups as well as funding, with the number of recognised startups now nearing the 1.6 Lakh mark.

The centre has evidently been bullish on bolstering the growth of these startups with various initiatives, facilitating startups with funds, simplified compliance and collaboration.

These initiatives include the Fund of Funds for Startups (FFS) with an allocation of $1.4 Bn to boost early-stage fundings, followed by Startup India Seed Fund Scheme and the Credit Guarantee Scheme. 

Discussing the role of policies in transforming the Indian startup landscape, EaseMyTrip founder Rikant Pittie told Inc42, “Together, these policies are not only driving growth but also inspiring entrepreneurs to build a brighter, innovation-driven future.”

He added that the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) recognition for startups has also contributed in this growth trajectory by “simplifying compliance, offering tax benefits, and fast-tracking intellectual property rights, allowing startups to prioritise innovation.

Looking Ahead, This National Startup Day

The past decade has seen policy frameworks shaping the journey of Indian startups. In the Union Budget of 2024-25, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman abolished angel tax, finally clearing a big hurdle for Indian startups. Besides this, the government has looked to encourage investments in spacetech, semiconductors and AI development in 2024.

While all these policies and even the ones from previous years have strengthened the startups in India, there are many challenges which stand unanswered. Pittie told Inc42 that startups in India continue to face compliance burdens which hinders their growth.

Indeed, one of the core objectives of the Startup India mission is to reduce the compliance burden, but startups continue to face such challenges, even as they laud government efforts, including the National Startup Day.

Talking about the necessary policy changes, Pittie added, “A key priority is streamlining regulatory frameworks. Simplifying regulations and reducing compliance burdens will allow startups to operate more efficiently.”

Additionally, the EaseMyTrip CEO put emphasis on sector-specific funding programs. It is pertinent to note that in 2024, the central government focused on empowering sectors like deeptech and spacetech by allocating funds, liberalising FDI policy and planning to launch sector-specific policies.

With initiatives like Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC), startups have got an opportunity to expand their customer base and collaborate with a government-backed product. 

“Policymakers should also encourage public-private partnerships to build robust ecosystems for startups. Events like the ONDC Startup Mahotsav highlight how collaboration can unlock opportunities and support growth,” added the EaseMyTrip cofounder.

Safeguarding Indian Tech With Infrastructure 

Majority of the Indian startups capitalise on their tech. As per the Inc42’s ‘Indian Tech Startup Funding Report 2024’, homegrown tech startups bagged more than $12 Bn in funding during the year. These startups are not only promoting competition amongst themselves but are also challenging the tech majors across the world. 

Pittie shares that these startups need more funding and supportive infrastructure to keep them rooted in India. Last year, US-based chip giant Nvidia announced a partnership with Reliance to build AI infrastructure in India.

Additional government push on infrastructure will enable tech companies to stay competitive at a global level by “more grants, tax breaks, and procurement incentives.”

While such ẻnablement can help startups in overcoming many barriers and safeguarding their innovation, India is also putting efforts in establishing itself as a manufacturing player to avoid dependency on other countries. Promoting local manufacturing by incentivising design and research within the country, could reduce reliance on foreign tech, Pittie said.

For instance, a few days earlier, commerce minister Piyush Goyal announced the launch of the ‘Bharat Cleantech Manufacturing Platform’ to unify stakeholders from private and public sectors. 

Apart from core tech, EaseMyTrip founder highlights the importance of maintaining a balance between AI innovation and data protection. 

He recommends a risk-based regulatory framework for AI which promotes transparent and explainable AI systems. On the other hand, Pittie strongly believes that “a solid data governance framework will safeguard user privacy while supporting AI growth.”

The post National Startup Day: EaseMyTrip’s Rikant Pittie Calls For Sharper Focus On AI Infrastructure appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Fintech major PhonePe continued its dominance over the Indian digital payments ecosystem as it clocked 798.4 Cr transactions in December 2024, up 7.8% from 740.1 Cr transactions in November 2024.

The Walmart-owned digital payments platform reported transactions worth INR 11.76 Lakh Cr last month compared to INR 10.88 Lakh Cr in the preceding month. PhonePe accounted for half of the total transaction value and more than 47% of the total number of UPI transactions in December.

Following its lead was Google Pay, which clinched 37.22% market share in terms of UPI transactions in December. The fintech platform recorded 614 Cr transactions during the month under review as against 573 Cr in November 2024. 

Paytm continued to be the third largest UPI app. However, the listed fintech major’s market share dwindled to 6.97% in December from 7.03% in the previous month. Paytm recorded a marginal increase in its transactions to 115 Cr during the month under review as against 107 Cr in November.

Meanwhile, Sachin Bansal-led Navi continued to gain traction, with its market share rising to 1.02% from 1% previously. It recorded around 20.25 Cr transactions last month versus 15.2 Cr in November. 

Overall, UPI transactions reached a new monthly high of 1,673 Cr in December 2024, up 8.08% from 1,548 Cr transactions in the preceding month. As per the National Payment Corporation Of India (NPCI) data, the value of these transactions was worth INR 23.25 Lakh Cr, a growth of 7.9% from INR 21.55 Lakh Cr in November.

The surge in transactions came as authorities continue to give impetus to the Indian fintech sector, especially the UPI ecosystem. In December, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) increased the wallet limit for UPI Lite to INR 5,000 from INR 2,000 previously. 

The central bank also increased the offline transaction limit for UPI Lite service to INR 1,000 per transaction from INR 500 previously. 

The central bank also allowed small finance banks (SFBs) to offer pre-sanctioned credit lines through UPI. This move aims to  support underserved groups, including small businesses, micro-entrepreneurs and individuals in rural and semi-urban regions.

Last month, RBI also announced that Prepaid Payment Instruments (PPIs) with full KYC will now be able to make UPI payments through third-party apps. 

The post PhonePe Continued To Dominate UPI Landscape In December 2024 appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Digital banking startup Freo narrowed its net loss by 64.54% to INR 14.16 Cr in the financial year 2023-24 (FY24) from INR 39.94 Cr in the previous year, on the back of improvement in its EBITDA margin.

Revenue from operations rose 11% to INR 111.46 Cr in the financial year ended March 2024 from INR 99.80 Cr in the previous year. 

The startup reported an EBITDA loss of INR 12.3 Cr during the year under review as against an EBITDA loss of INR 36.6 Cr in FY23. As a result, EBITDA margin improved 26 percentage points to -11% in FY24 from -37% last year.

Founded by Kunal Varma, Anuj Kacker, and Bala Parthasarathy in 2015, Freo previously operated under the name MoneyTap. Later, MoneyTap became a part of Freo, a digital banking . platform. It provides credit under the name MoneyTap. 

The neobanking startup offers a range of products such as personal credit line, cards, loans, bill payments, credit on UPI, digital savings accounts, deposits, insurance solutions, and financial utilities.

In October last year, the Bengaluru-based startup forayed into the insurance space after receiving a corporate agent licence from the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI). 

As a digital banking firm, Freo primarily earns revenue from the sale of services. This includes income generated from technology development services, credit processing services, credit line setup services, portfolio linked services, commission, strategic marketing services, service fee, among others. 

The revenue from this segment grew almost 9% to INR 99.54 Cr during the year under review from INR 91.60 Cr in the previous year.

Other operating revenue jumped 45% to INR 11.92 Cr in FY24 from INR 8.20 Cr in the previous fiscal year. 

Where Did Freo Spend In FY24?

The digital banking startup managed to bring down its expenses by 10.28% to INR 125.58 Cr from INR 139.97 Cr in FY23. 

Employee Benefit Expenses: The spending under this head declined 15.14% to INR 39.56 Cr in FY24 from INR 46.62 Cr in the previous fiscal year. 

Information Technology Expenses: Freo spent INR 4.30 Cr under this head in FY24, up 18.78% from INR 3.62 Cr last year.

Miscellaneous Expenses: The startup reported a 6.38% decline in its miscellaneous expenses to INR 73.26 Cr during the year under review from INR 78.26 Cr in the previous year. This was the biggest expense head for Freo during the year under review. However, it did not give a breakdown of these expenses.

Freo is among the growing list of startups looking to shift their domicile back to India as it looks to capitalise on India’s booming economy, access to a deeper pool of investors, better initial public offering (IPO) prospects, among others. 

In February 2024, Freo raised an undisclosed amount of debt from Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI).

The post Freo’s FY24 Loss Declines 65% To INR 14 Cr appeared first on Inc42 Media.

BigBasket-acquired grocery delivery platform Morning Cart’s cofounder Anuj Bishnoi’s new B2B SaaS venture RePut.ai has emerged out of stealth mode and raised close to $1 Mn (INR 8.6 Cr) as a part of its Pre-seed funding round led by GrowthCap Ventures.

The round also saw participation from multiple angel investors, including BigBasket cofounder Vipul Parekh, TableSprint’s Abhijeet Kumar and Deloitte India partner Vishal Jain among others.

The Bengaluru-based startup plans to deploy the freshly raised capital to shore up its tech stack, hire more and expand its footprint globally.

Founded in April 2024 by Bishnoi, Rohit Mahatma and Amit Bishnoi, RePut.ai is a B2B SaaS platform that leverages AI and blockchain to offer supply chain management solutions for businesses. The startup’s offerings enable companies to track product procurement, gauge real-time analytics, monitor supplier watchlist, among others. 

RePut.ai’s unique selling proposition (USP) also lies in helping businesses track carbon emissions across the supply chain. In addition, the Bengaluru-based SaaS startup also offers a verified recycling network.

GrowthCap Ventures’ founder and general partner Pratekk Agarwaal said, “RePut.ai stands at the forefront of climate tech innovation,tackling some of the most pressing challenges of our time. Their pioneering SaaS platform redefines supply chain transparency, enabling brands to seamlessly align profitability with sustainability, “ 

Bishnoi has founded his new startup at a time when more and more seasoned entrepreneurs are floating their new venture. Just days ago, B2B marketplace Udaan’s cofounder Amod Malviya also launched his new startup ‘Pre6’. 

In November 2024, Koo cofounder Mayank Bidawatka secured $4 Mn in seed funding for his consumer tech platform Billion Hearts Software Technologies. 

Prior to that in October, PaySense cofounder Prashanth Ranganathan also launched his new overseas education-focussed fintech startup Zinc and raised $25.5 Mn in a seed round. In the same month, upGrad’s cofounder and managing director Mayank Kumar also stepped down from his executive role at the edtech unicorn to launch a new venture.

Notably, RePut.ai has also raised capital at a time when India’s SaaS ecosystem is getting a lot of traction from the investors on the back of the AI revolution. 

For instance, in November, AI SaaS startup Ennoventure secured $8.9 Mn in a Series A round led by Tanglin Venture Partners. Prior to this in September, B2B SaaS platform Zintlr raised INR 7.5 Cr in a seed round led by Jain Investment Advisors’ founder Om Jain. Around the same time, SaaS startup Pepsales secured $1.1 Mn in a pre-seed round to help B2B SaaS companies create personalised product demos. 

As per Inc42 data, Indian SaaS startups raised a cumulative $2.1 Bn in funding in 2024, up 31.25% from $1.6 Bn in 2023. Overall, the SaaS opportunity in the country is estimated to surpass the $70 Bn mark by 2030.

The post Exclusive: Morning Cart Founder’s RePut.ai Bags Funding To Provide Supply Chain Management Solutions appeared first on Inc42 Media.

The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has reportedly argued at the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) that Google’s 10-30% service fee on app purchase via Play Store hinders app developers’ ability to invest in technology and service improvements.

As per ET, CCI’s comments came on the final day of its arguments at the NCLAT where Google’s parent Alphabet Inc has appealed against an earlier order of the competition watchdog.

The app developers on Google Play Store are required to use the Google Play Billing System (GPBS) to receive payments for buying apps and other digital products, including audio, video and games. Additionally, It also charges a fee for certain in-app purchases. 

“If developers are given the choice to use other payment processors, they would be charged around 1%, and it would have left the app developers with more money to invest in producing better content and developing better technology,” the CCI counsel told NCLAT.

The counsel further said that GPBS seizes the choice from app developers as well as the users.

The Google vs CCI saga began back in 2022, when the competition watchdog imposed two major fines of INR 936 Cr and INR 1,337.6 Cr on the tech giant for allegedly abusing its dominant position by leveraging 15-30% service charge on its play store and for its anti-competitive practices in the Android devices market.

After the imposition of the penalty, Google made changes in its billing system which reduced its commission rates to 11-26%, giving a rebate of 4%. However, as per CCI, the fee still remained high and the authority ordered a probe into the tech giant’s contentious user choice billing system in March 2024.

Besides, a few months back, gaming startup WinZO accused Google of abusing its dominant position in the app store and digital advertising markets. The startup blamed that the tech giant’s policies unfairly harmed real-money gaming (RMG) apps. On the back of it, CCI ordered an investigation into Google.

The post Google’s 10-30% Service Fee On App Purchase Hindering App Developers: CCI Tells NCLAT appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Listed fintech SaaS company Zaggle has signed an agreement to offer its solutions to quick commerce major Zepto’s parent KiranaKart Technologies. 

In an exchange filing, Zaggle said it will provide its expense management platform “Zaggle Zoyer Petty Cash” and employee benefits platform “Zaggle Save” to Zepto. 

“.. this is to inform you that Zaggle Prepaid Ocean Services Limited (Zaggle), has entered into an agreement with KiranaKart Technologies Private Limited,” said the fintech SaaS startup. 

Zaggle Zoyer Petty Cash helps businesses manage minor expenses in a streamlined and automated way. The startup claims that this software assists companies with real-time tracking, preventing cash-leakage, pre-checking spendings and provides high control and transparency. 

On the other hand, Zaggle Save is an employee expense management software which helps employees save tax with flexible benefit plans. Additionally, the software helps the employer manage employee benefits, such as meal allowance, fuel card, among others, with a single card.

The customer service agreement with Zepto will further boost Zaggle’s order book and add a major homegrown player to its client list. 

The development comes close on the heels of Zaggle raising INR 594.84 Cr via qualified institutional placement (QIP) last month. The fintech SaaS platform issued 1.13 Cr equity shares to eligible qualified institutional buyers. 

Recently, Inc42 reported that the company is eyeing three acquisitions and investments by March this year.

Notably, in September 2024, Zaggle acquired a 26% stake in Mobileware Technologies for INR 15.6 Cr. 

Founded in 2011 by Raj Narayanam, Zaggle provides a spend management and corporate employee benefits platform. Its offerings help businesses automate their accounts and issue prepaid cards. Its portfolio of SaaS products also includes tax and payroll software. 

Meanwhile, on the financial front, Zaggle’s consolidated net profit jumped 167.67% to INR 20.29 Cr in the second quarter (Q2) of the financial year 2024-25 (FY25) from INR 7.58 Cr in the year-ago period. Operating revenue zoomed 64.21% to INR 302.55 Cr in the quarter under review from INR 184.24 Cr in Q2 FY24. 

Shares of the company closed Wednesday’s (January 8) trading session 2.47% lower at INR 532.25 on the BSE. 

The post Zaggle Inks Pact To Offer SaaS Solutions To Zepto appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Amid the quick commerce race in the F&B category, foodtech giant Swiggy has rolled out a new app to deliver quick bites, beverages and meals in 15 minutes.

Currently, SNACC is available only on select pincodes in Bengaluru.

Inc42 has reached out to Swiggy for comments on the development. The story will be updated based on its response.

The SNACC app displays a comment saying “ Serving select spots in Bengaluru” on its home page, if the user tries to add an address from any other city.

The home page of the app has various food options including “homestyle meals”, meal bowls, beverages and quick bites.

It is pertinent to note that this is not Swiggy’s first attempt to foray into the quick food delivery segment. In September 2024, the freshly listed startup piloted the ‘Cafe’ option to deliver snacks and beverages in 15 minutes. Back then also, the option was available only in a few localities in Bengaluru. However, instead of launching a separate application, this option was integrated in Swiggy’s food delivery app.

Recently, Swiggy also launched its new service, “Swiggy Bolt” to deliver quick-to-prepare dishes in 10 minutes. While Swiggy Bolt aims to deliver food from popular restaurants and QSR chains within two kilometre radius of the consumer, SNACC offers food under its own brand name.

With the launch of SNACC, Swiggy will take on Zepto Cafe and Zomato’s Bistro. 

Quick commerce giant Zepto launched its cafe offering back in 2022. Last month, the company announced a separate application for Zepto Cafe along with expansion plans of this service into major cities including Delhi NCR, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Chennai and Pune among others. 

This was followed by Zomato-owned Blinkit launching Bistro to deliver meals, snacks, and beverages like tea and coffee in up to 15 minutes. This service is currently available in some areas of Gurugram.

Swiggy’s shares made their stock market debut on November 13, 2024. Back then, the shares were listed at INR 420 on the NSE, a premium of nearly 8% from its IPO issue price of INR 390 per share.

At 3:12 PM, the shares of Swiggy were trading at INR 491.20 apiece during the intraday session on BSE, down 3.49% from its previous close at INR 508.95. 

The post Swiggy Rolls Out SNACC App For 15-Minute Food Delivery appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Deeptech startup Enlog has elevated its chief technology officer Ayush Gupta to the position of cofounder.

With this move, the company is looking to strengthen its position in the energy sustainability ecosystem.

Gupta joined Enlog in 2023 as the CTO of the company. Prior to this, he worked with ecommerce platform OhLocal at various leadership positions including vice president of engineering. 

As per Enlog, Gupta leveraged artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) to create IoT devices that facilitate real-time energy monitoring, optimise energy consumption, and identify faults. 

The company further claims that under his leadership, Enlog expanded its infrastructure which can now handle heavy data logs, provide energy efficiency to its users and scale up to 10 Mn IoT devices.

“Our trust and confidence in Ayush’s leadership extend beyond his technical contributions. Ayush has played a vital role in the rapid growth of Enlog, and his vision will be instrumental in shaping the company’s future,” said Enlog’s founder and chief executive officer Bharath Rnkawat.

This elevation aligns with the startup’s vision to promote sustainability through deep-tech and innovative leadership, said the company in a release.

“My vision for the future is to drive innovation and position Enlog as a leader in this industry,” said Gupta on his elevation.

Founded by Rnkawat and Jharna Saha in 2017, Enlog leverages AI and IoT to offer end-to-end energy management solutions like optimising energy usage, reduction in the cost of electricity and reducing carbon emissions. The company claims to have partnered with more than 700 co-living properties and 35 sustainable hotels and offices. 

This comes at a time when Indian startups offering energy efficiency solutions are getting a lot of traction from the investors.

A few months back, KARBAN Envirotech, a startup which makes energy-efficient electronic appliances,raised $1.07 Mn (INR 8.93 Cr) in a seed funding round co-led by All in Capital, Titan Capital and  Rainmatter.

Similarly, in February 2024, energy efficiency startup Smart Joules bagged a debt funding of $8 Mn (about INR 66 Cr) from the Denmark government’s Investment Fund for Developing Countries (IFU) under a green strategic partnership between India and Denmark. 

The post Enlog Elevates Its CTO Ayush Gupta To Cofounder appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Fintech giant Paytm has allotted 1.48 Lakh equity shares to its eligible employees under various employee stock option plan (ESOP) schemes.

“… We wish to inform that… the Company… approved the allotment of 1,48,313 equity shares having face value of INR 1 each, as fully paid-up, to the eligible employees, upon exercise of vested options,” the company said in an exchange filing.

Under this, 1,48,243 equity shares have been allotted under the ESOP 2019 scheme and the remaining 70 equity shares under the ESOP 2008 scheme. With this fresh issue, the total paid-up capital of the company has increased to INR 63.75 Cr from INR 63.73 Cr previously.

The company has set an exercise price of INR 9 per share. As per the fintech major’s closing price on Tuesday, the new shares are worth over INR 14.57 Cr. 

This comes at a time when Paytm has seen a number of developments related to ESOPs in recent months. Last month, the fintech major allotted 2.44 Lakh equity shares to eligible employees under its ESOP 2019 and ESOP 2008 schemes. Additionally, it also set aside 4 Lakh equity shares for its eligible employees under ESOP 2019 in November 2024.

The allotment of the new equity shares comes a week after Paytm’s head of compliance Srinivas Yanamandra resigned from the company to pursue academic research opportunities.

Paytm has been on a rollercoaster ride for the past one year. In January last year, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) dealt a major blow to it by imposing restrictions on Paytm Payments Bank Limited (PPBL) over “persistent non-compliances” and “continued material supervisory concerns”.

However, Paytm quickly got back on its feet afterwards as it received National Payments Corporation of India’s (NPCI) nod to onboard new Unified Payments Interface (UPI) users in October 2024. The fintech major also trimmed its workforce and sold its entertainment ticketing business to Zomato for INR 2,048 Cr to focus on core digital payments. 

On account of the regulatory turbulence, Paytm saw its market share in the UPI ecosystem nearly halve to 7.03% in 2024 from 14.1% in the preceding year.

However, the fintech major has continued to expand its offerings. Paytm recently rolled out UPI Lite automatic top-up facility for daily payments under INR 500, which do not require a pin. The fintech company also rolled out “UPI International” in select overseas markets, facilitating Indian tourists travelling abroad to make UPI payments via Paytm.

Shares of Paytm closed 1.41% higher at INR 982.60 apiece on the BSE on Tuesday (January 7).

The post Paytm Allots 1.48 Lakh Shares Under ESOP Schemes appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Months after the shutdown of SaaS startup Toplyne, its cofounder and chief executive officer Rishen Kapoor has joined back the investment team of VC major Peak XV Partners.

Kapoor took to LinkedIn to make the announcement. “Building Toplyne was rewarding but challenging. We worked with amazing customers and teammates, but ultimately decided to wind down the business. Peak XV has always felt like home. I’m excited to be back, working with founders building the future,” he said.

Before founding Toplyne, Kapoor worked with Peak XV Partners’ (Sequoia Capita India & SEA then) Surge, a seed stage platform for early stage startups.

Founded by Kapoor, Ruchin Kulkarni, and Rohit Khanna in 2021, Toplyne offered an AI-powered platform to help product-led companies convert their free users into paid ones. It claimed that its AI learns from customer data to generate audiences that can be converted with ads, in-app nudges, email, sales, and more. The startup counted Canva, Grafana, InVideo, BrowserStack, and Gather.Town among its key customers.

Toplyne shut operations in October 2024 citing its inability to scale and find product-market fit.

Before Peak XV, Kapoor worked with notable companies like customer engagement platform CleverTap as the lead product manager.

This marks another instance of a startup founder dawning the investor hat in the Indian startup ecosystem. Last year in August, hyperlocal delivery startup Magicpin’s cofounder Brij Bhushan joined VC firm Prime Venture Partners as a full time partner. Prior to that, ex-SuprDaily founder Puneet Kumar joined Nexus Venture Partners as a partner in May. 

Meanwhile, Kapoor’s entry in Peak XV comes after two top deck exits at the firm last year. In November, Anandamoy Roychowdhary, who was a partner in the Surge team, quit the VC firm. Prior to that, Peak XV also saw its managing director Piyush Gupta exit to float his own secondaries focussed VC firm Kenro Capital.

The post After Shutdown, Toplyne Cofounder Rishen Kapoor Returns To Peak XV appeared first on Inc42 Media.