Hiring has been in a state of flux since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic. Recruiters have wrestled with evolving options, from fully remote, tech-driven interviews to in-person interactions triggered by the current back-to-office mandates. Jobseekers, too, have seen tectonic shifts, as the ‘Great Resignation’ has given way to mass layoffs, with tech giants amid widespread cuts. But despite a volatile job market, getting suitable candidates through the door remains as challenging as ever. Consequently, companies and hiring managers want to future-proof recruitment and build a talent pipeline efficiently and cost-effectively.

A successful talent hunt has many components, from searching for the right candidate to building an engaging application experience to offering personalised growth plans. Moreover, staffing needs to be fast and scalable, or companies tend to lose out on top talent, revenue and brand credibility. In essence, nothing works better than swiftly finding best-matching candidates for job roles and getting tasks automated to stay ahead of the curve.   

Ajay Goyal, a fashion student at Amity University, saw the other side of the coin, though, when volunteering for his university’s campus-to-corporate programme in 2019. At the time, it was evident that traditional hiring would require fixing due to its lengthy cycles, delayed responses to candidates and overall impersonal approach that failed to attract or cater to top talent. 

Not one to let things drift, Ajay approached his father, Dr Ravinder Goyal, who had nearly three decades of professional experience in vocational training and placement. Together, they set up Erekrut in 2020, which uses advanced technology to connect recruiters,  jobseekers and campuses on a unified platform, automates tasks and streamlines the hiring and placement process to mitigate delays.

A key feature of this platform is a remote pre-hiring assessment tool that identifies the best-fit talent for a specific job role. A recruiter can customise the pre-employment test based on their requirements and quickly determine who has met the threshold, which will speed up their candidate search. The platform also uses ethical AI and data analytics to evaluate job applications and match those with suitable openings for bias-free candidate matching. Earlier, hiring teams had to sift through résumés manually for hours and might still miss an excellent candidate.  

Erekrut’s hiring tech solutions have resonated well with employers/recruiters (B2B segment) and jobseekers (B2C). It claims a talent pool of more than 4.6 Mn and has partnered with 1.7K+ companies, including industry giants like Paytm, Zomato, Amazon India, Swiggy, Myntra, Indigo and more. The startup has also onboarded 700+ academic institutions to facilitate campus recruitment. 

The startup focusses on several industry segments such as marketing and advertising, consumer service, human resources, programme development, sales and more. 

In May 2022, the startup raised INR 35 Cr in its pre-seed funding round, which included an INR 1 Cr fund infusion from its founders. 

As part of its ongoing bridge funding round, Erekrut plans to raise INR 2.5 Cr in the next two months and another INR 25 Cr in the next six months in its pre-series A funding round to scale and grow.

How Erekrut’s Proprietary AI Tech Matches Employers With Top Talent

Using AI algorithms, Erekrut has developed its proprietary solution for precision-matching candidates with jobs that fit their skills and preferences. 

At the B2B level, access to these talent analytics is vital for companies and recruiters to ensure fast candidate screening and spearhead their organisations’ growth. They can customise the assessment process, guide candidates through different assessment levels. Additionally, one can manage candidate profiles using the platform’s application tracking system (ATS) and can effectively communicate via SMS and email by sending notifications using Erekrut tools. Erekrut has also set up a student and alumni management tracker system similar to ATS to enable hassle-free campus recruitment and placement. 

Here is a look at how jobseekers and recruiters can leverage the platform to make hiring easy.

A jobseeker’s journey on Erekrut: After signing up, one must create a detailed profile, which will feature qualifications, skills, experience, preferences, personality traits and learning styles. Next, they can explore the featured jobs and the pre-employment assessment tool on Erekrut helping jobseekers gauge their aptitude and benchmark their competence. When candidates write the pre-hiring test, their responses are automatically analysed, providing the recruiter insights into their skills and readiness for the job. This leads to a faster and more efficient hiring process.

Ajay claims that the startup’s integrated database has 102K questions customised for 1.29K distinct job roles to deliver comprehensive assessments. In the next four months, the startup aims to create another set of 80K questions for 1k job roles. The startup deep-dives into candidate data and uses analytics to provide a nuanced understanding of a candidate’s suitability, the CEO added. Using the premium features, candidates may even reach out to recruiters directly through SMS-to-Recruiter.

A recruiter’s journey: Recruiters must register and set up their profiles to post jobs on Erekrut. The platform offers an ATS to facilitate quick and efficient application screening while hiring professionals can customise pre-hiring assessments or add tests to conduct a thorough evaluation of candidates. The startup provides candidate data analytics to offer data-driven insights, enabling hiring teams to refine their strategies. Additionally, recruiters can use communication tools to interact with applicants and potential candidates for better reachout. Once the selection process is complete, a recruiter can extend a job offer by issuing a letter of intent (LoI) directly through the platform, expediting the hiring process.

The platform has also developed Campus Connect, a feature connecting recruiters with educational institutions for hiring freshers. Some of the features of Campus Connect are SMS and email notifications to connect with potential candidates, access to a vast pool of pre-hiring assessment questions (100k+), a library of 2500+ job description templates, advanced filters in ARDEX (advanced candidate database search) for precise candidate searches. 

Revenue generation: Erekrut generates revenue from B2B and B2C users – recruiters, campuses and jobseekers – through various subscriptions and service offerings. For recruiters, it offers four subscription plans: Amateur (free for 90 days), Startup (INR 8K for 365 days), Pro (INR 15K for 180 days) and Enterprise (INR 35K for 365 days). These plans enable job posting, email alerts, access to applicants/talent pool and other plan-specific features.

Campuses can use the Campus Connect tool for free or pay for a Pro plan (INR 25K for 180 days) to access limited company invites.

Jobseekers can opt for Pro Candidate (INR 300 per month) and Erekrut Premium (INR 500 per month). They pay for job applications, video resume uploads and contacting recruiters via SMS. 

Erekrut plans to earn from promotions and advertisements on its website, expanding its revenue channel.

From Initial Hiccups To Product-Market Fit: How Erekrut Hit Its Hiring Nous

Even before the beta version was launched in 2020, the Goyals were aware of the fundamental challenges the startup would face – namely, market penetration, rapid adoption of a tech-driven hiring process and creating brand credibility among corporate users and jobseekers. A lack of resources in terms of workforce and finances also hit them hard.

It meant that the new kid on the HRtech block had to be frugal and identify the areas that would yield the highest return on investments. Given the ground realities during the pandemic, Ajay knew that ‘online’ and ‘remote’ would be the buzzwords, at least for the next few years, and companies ready to recruit would prefer tech-driven platforms and automated tools to future-proof hiring. In essence, falling behind in technology could hinder Erekrut’s growth potential.    

Keeping up with the latest technology trends was a challenge in pandemic times. However, Ajay decided to counter it by instilling a culture of continuous learning within the organisation. This involved organising regular training sessions and workshops to keep the team up-to-date with the latest developments in the hiring sector and maintain a competitive edge in the market.

Building brand credibility was not easy, though, for a new player. But throughout Erekrut’s journey, its founders have focussed on a positive user experience and robust customer support to ensure operational excellence. The CEO recalled how customer care responded with a swift resolution as soon as a glitch occurred. 

“We want our users to have faith in our UX design. A smooth, seamless user experience keeps people engaged, leading to greater usage and adoption,” he added. 

Ajay is optimistic that Erekrut will scale up without compromising user experience due to increasing traffic. To ensure excellent UX even during traffic spikes, the startup has invested in robust backend infrastructure and adopted scalable cloud solutions. 

Achieving a successful product-market fit required strategic marketing campaigns, extensive digital outreach and constant product enhancement powered by feedback from Erekrut’s fast-expanding user base, according to Ajay. 

For instance, when the platform was in alpha, it started reaching out to corporations and campuses via digital giants like Google, Meta and the like. As technology increased its reach and fit as a hiring enabler, Erekrut saw daily registrations of jobseekers between 500 and 1K and more than 15K individuals started writing assessment tests.

How The Future Will Pan Out For Tech-Assisted Smart Hiring

In a global market flooded with HRtech/worktech solutions, technology is dramatically changing the entire hiring process, and the number of digital job searches is growing phenomenally. For instance, 61 Mn users look for jobs on LinkedIn every week and Erektut’ founder-CEO, Ajay Goyal, puts it at 300 Mn per month on Google. More importantly, almost all job search portals now offer premium services to corporate houses for screening and vetting candidates.

Globally, the online recruitment tech market is estimated to grow from $11.9 Bn in 2023 to $30.9 Bn by 2030. By that time, India will be home to 1 Bn working-age adults, according to an EY estimate, which is likely to drive tech-assisted smart hiring further.                

The Erekrut CEO thinks there will be excellent growth opportunities in the near future and has set his eyes on ambitious goals. By the end of Q4 FY24, the startup aims to reach 10 Mn jobseekers from the current 4.6 Mn, a 117% jump, and 100K daily visitors. It will also engage with 3K+ recruiters and 2K+ academic institutions for corporate and campus hiring. 

Additionally, it will expand its network through strategic partnerships, participate in career fairs and drive word-of-mouth marketing to effectively promote the platform among students, alums and campus hiring teams. These endeavours are part of Erekrut’s multifaceted strategy to drive growth.

Ajay thinks that in the next two to three years, the hiring landscape will witness significant transformation driven by next-generation AI/ML, virtual reality and augmented reality, which will enhance UX for jobseekers and recruiters. 

“Erekrut will further integrate various methods such as psychometric, adaptive and gamification assessments to improve its measuring standards,” he added.

Industry experts also believe that future focus will be more on the quality of automated solutions, and companies with limited resources may find it challenging to match up.

“Think of the era of print resumes and how candidates thrived on years of experience. Now it is all about skill acquisition and problem-solving, how fast new skills are acquired and contextually used,” said the senior manager of a Pune-based HRtech firm. 

“Similarly, companies specialising in hiring tech will need to track not only a candidate’s competence and aptitude but also their potential cultural fit. The use of new-age tech like generative AI can play a pivotal role here.”        

Emerging at the forefront is an overarching trend where big players with deep pockets are creating unified platforms for finding jobs and hiring talent – all in one place. Competing with the likes of LinkedIn, Indeed, Glassdoor, or Naukri could be tough for Erekrut, ZingHR, HYRGPT, CredoHire and the rest of the innovative startups trying to reimagine recruitment as we know it.

Can they emerge as powerful disruptors?  

The post How HRtech Startup Erekrut Is Changing The Way Companies Hire, People Job-Hunt appeared first on Inc42 Media.

As the world has become an interconnected global village, it not only poses fewer barriers to trade and commerce but also drives the free flow of culture and education. But there is a catch. Although technology has become ubiquitous in new-millennium learning and students can access a few courses online, higher education from premier institutions has yet to witness the much-desired blurring of borders. In-person classroom learning is still the best option for aspiring youth keen to pursue the global curricula of their choice from world-class foreign universities.

Closer home, India has seen a record number of students heading out to study abroad. According to government data, more than 13 Lakh students were studying in 79 countries in 2022, and the number will likely reach 18 Lakh by 2024, per a Redseer report. Although most global universities spend a sizable sum to attract international students, the US remains the most preferred destination for Indians, and the country hosted more than 4.65 Lakh students in 2022. 

According to industry experts, the attraction of the elite Ivy League, along with economic and societal factors (career growth, better pay, quality of life), initially triggered the exodus. Currently, India is the second-largest sending country to the US after China, underscoring the young people’s intent to grow globally. However, making the cut becomes increasingly difficult due to a competitive and complex selection procedure.

This is where Athena Education comes in with its holistic solutions, preparing applicants for admission to top university programmes while helping them stay aligned with their passion and educational interests. The aim is to ensure that all their goals and aspirations reach a culmination through these courses and the promise that these students bring is fully realised in the long run. This is an innovative approach, unlike many overseas admission consultancies that rarely explore students’ interests or activities to understand their life’s purpose.         

The decade-old consultancy was set up by Princeton University graduates Rahul Subramaniam and Poshak Agrawal. It claims to have trained and mentored more than 800 Indian students, helping them get into their preferred universities across 15 countries. Students also get help with academic scores and English proficiency, which is needed for writing killer essays and compelling letters of intent. In 2022, as many as 68 Athena Education students were accepted by Ivy League schools, while 30 were admitted to MIT, Stanford University, Caltech and 20 other universities in 2023. 

A Leap Of Necessity From Offline To Online

Upon their return to India, the founders began to mentor the children of their friends and relatives for overseas admissions. At first, it was done informally, but the duo soon noticed that the country’s startup ecosystem was picking up the pace. They swiftly transitioned their offerings to a structured business and Athena Education was born. 

The onset of Covid-19 in 2020 put international admissions into turmoil as borders closed and lockdowns were extended to cope with multiple pandemic waves. Undeterred by the massive disruption, Athena Education shifted to the online mode and focussed on building student profiles and their applications to stay prepared for the future. 

Once the offline mode started picking up, the startup invested extensively in state-of-the-art facilities, including an in-house robotics laboratory, a design studio and a recording studio to provide students with hands-on learning experiences. 

Recalling the chaos, Subramaniam said the real challenge lay in helping students transition from offline to online learning as the seismic shift psychologically impacted them. To address this, Athena Education created engaging online modules and tailored its coaching style to service individual requirements. 

In addition, it started a YouTube video series titled Your Friendly Neighborhood College Counselor in 2023 to explain the intricacies of college admissions to its target audience. Clearly, the online reachout has worked well as the student community has grown 2.5x and the team strength has gone up 5x to manage the growth. 

A Deep Dive Into Athena Education’s Training Modules & Core Philosophy

Talking to Inc42, Subramaniam detailed the eligibility criteria to qualify for an Athena programme, the screening tests post onboarding and the mentor-driven preparation procedure. 

To begin with, students approaching Athena Education must secure a minimum of an aggregate  80% of all subjects and qualify in the interview conducted by Team Athena to gauge their potential.

During the orientation week, selected students have to write two psychometric tests. One has been designed to gauge their interests, strengths and goals, while the other delves deep into one’s life experiences to understand what has shaped the personality.

Subramanium emphasises that these assessments leverage the Japanese philosophy of ikigai (raison d’être or life purpose). Mentors hold one-on-one sessions with students to find their ‘purpose’ that will be nurtured throughout their journey and included in their curricula. 

These mentors at Athena Education are individual subject matter experts to work with based on their subject interest. “For example, a CS student would work with our senior technology and data science mentors, while an economics student would work with an economics researcher and expert.” said Subramaniam. 

A customised curriculum is thus developed based on the test outcomes that combine aptitude, interests, earning potential and societal value creation. Mentor-matching is also done, keeping these factors in mind. Each student is assigned a mentor for the rest of the journey until applications are sent to universities.

Mentors play a crucial role at Athena Education as they create ‘student brands’ (read profiles), help them execute capstone projects and keep track of their weekly progress. They also supervise SAT preparations, writing skill development and composition of college essays. For context, a capstone project demonstrates how well a student can put subject expertise to practical use, underscoring the person’s involvement and adding value to the profile. 

According to Subramaniam, academics are a foot in the door for Ivy League aspirants. What differentiates the crème de la crème is the social impact they create outside of school education. Based on Athena’s interdisciplinary courses (say, a combination of liberal arts and STEM subjects) and experiential learning, the capstone projects done by its students can create that kind of real-world impact. 

Athena Education’s founder shared how a capstone project achieved this goal. A student at Athena Education was passionate about music and had an academic interest in mental health (he had studied psychology in school), but lacked coding skills. So, the mentors from Athena Education’s Knowledge Center trained him and the student came up with an app that recommends therapeutic music to lift the mood of individuals suffering from mental health issues. Subramaniam claims that a Gurugram-based hospital is now using the app.

Admission Consultancy Is Booming, But Here’s The Caveat  

While the Ivy League and other premier universities will always be the first preference, the competition gets more challenging every day. For instance, Cornell University (ranked 13th on the QS World University Rankings 2024) has an acceptance rate of around 9%, the highest among Ivy League schools. Moreover, non-STEM students find fewer job opportunities in a slowing market, while those pursuing STEM programmes also face a tough environment as tech companies have resorted to mass layoffs due to macroeconomic headwinds.

But pitted against these realities is the prestige associated with foreign degrees (regardless of the education quality) and the lure of working and settling abroad.

According to recent industry reports, India has seen a 35% YoY jump in students admitted to US universities. More interestingly, American institutions also prioritise Indian students for undergraduate and graduate recruitment (70% and 80%, respectively) per the Fall 2023 Snapshot survey for the academic year 2023-24. Therefore, it is not surprising that more Indians, especially aspiring youth from Tier II and III locations, will be flocking overseas to study in not-so-premier institutions.  

This may result in an immediate boom for edtech startups (both marketplaces and pure-play entities) like Leverage Edu, iSchool Connect, AdmitKard, Admission Overseas and Athena, and the Indian market will only keep growing. A study by HolonIQ further predicts that the international education market is set to reach $433 Bn by 2030, while 70% of the global demand is in Asia and Africa. This is expected to grow exponentially and admission consultancy players will grow in sync.      

However, growth will depend on various factors such as the quality of solutions, worldwide reach and success rates across elite institutions like Ivy League schools. Too much focus on Tier II and III universities may backfire as candidates soon realise that those degrees will not fetch a significant premium in the job market despite the high cost of overseas education.

Technology, too, will play a pivotal role as many players are rapidly adopting cutting-edge SaaS solutions and emerging tech like generative AI to increase their efficiency. Although tech adoption across education businesses empowers all stakeholders and ushers in a seamless knowledge flow, a holistic approach involving diverse interdisciplinary learning, personalised training and focus on achieving social good through education may help students power ahead.

As the Harvard guidelines say: Our Admissions Office chooses carefully from a broad range of applicants who seem to us to offer the most promise for future contributions to society. Not all of the students who are best prepared for college will be among those with the most future promise, nor are all of the most promising well prepared academically. 

The post How Athena Education’s Three Pillars Of Training Prepare Ivy League Aspirants As Overseas Admission Gets Tougher appeared first on Inc42 Media.

In a post-pandemic world, regulated industries and new-age businesses have jumped on the digital bandwagon to optimise reach and maximise profits. Consumers have evolved in sync, happy to access every convenience with a click or a tap. But super-exposure to cyberspace leaves the world increasingly vulnerable to cybercrimes, and businesses, ranging from SMEs to BFSI leaders, tend to suffer the most. 

Consider this. Cyber-financial fraud accounted for 77.4% of the cybercrimes in India between January 2020 and June 2023, per a survey by the Future Crime Research Foundation (FCRF). A 2023 India Threat Landscape report by Cyfirma says startups and SMEs top the ‘most targeted’ list in 2023, while banking and financial services institutions saw 9.5% of all cyberattacks in the last three years. The losses of India Inc. are still not quantified, but globally, cybercrime costs can reach $10.5 Tn annually by 2025, according to industry research and media organisation Cybersecurity Ventures.   

As businesses across industry segments, especially those in the financial sector, are compelled to navigate a fast-growing digital minefield, they require cutting-edge financial crime solutions for protection against sophisticated cyberfraud.

To help tackle online fraud at scale, serial entrepreneur Ranjan R Reddy launched the B2B SaaS startup Bureau ID, a global, real-time risk decisioning platform for identity verification, fraud prevention and compliance management in sync with country-specific cybercrime laws and anti-money laundering (AML) checks. It primarily enables banks, fintechs, financial institutions (FIs) and enterprises to fight fraud, and compliance abuse across the customer journey, using its proprietary fraud detection suite. 

Using link analysis (examines data connections and relationships for potential fraud) and its predictive AI models, Bureau employs an identity graph to detect fraud networks. This is a critical step when securing a business against use-cases such as fraud rings, money mules and synthetic identity frauds amongs others. Bureau uses its proprietary technology and alternate data points to validate and match digital identifiers to physical identities and analyse their unique behaviour patterns to track anomalies in real-time.     

An identity network is thus built over time, securing businesses against cyberfraud throughout users’ life cycles and protecting users when they interact and transact with businesses. Bureau monitors all transactions in real time and provides data insights to companies via a unified dashboard. 

The startup’s mission is to provide an all-in-one risk decisioning platform for fraud detection and prevention that ensures digital trust. With its no-code workflows and a single API integration, businesses can validate their customer’s identities, and get continuous fraud monitoring at onboarding,  as well as the transaction stage. Reddy claims businesses can reduce fraud by 80% and speed up identity decisioning time by 95% using Bureau solutions.

The startup claims to have serviced organisations worldwide including banks, NBFCs, micro-finance institutions, BaaS platforms and companies in the gig economy, insurance, gaming and payments. Bureau’s customer base spans India, South-east Asia, Middle east and North America. According to Reddy, the startup has successfully verified 400 Mn+ identities and protected over $500m of digital transactions against vulnerabilities to date. Some of Bureau’s customers include US-based FIS Global and Enformian, KSA’s Tweeq and companies like Goibibo, Rapido, Bajaj Finance, IIFL and others from India.

Bureau has raised over $20 Mn since inception, most recently from a clutch of global investors such as GMO VenturePartners, Quona Capital and Commerce Ventures. Noted angel investors, including Mark Britto, EVP-chief product officer at PayPal, and Bobby Mehta, former president and CEO of TransUnion, also supported the cyber fraud prevention platform. 

Inside Bureau’s State-Of-The Art Fraud Prevention Offerings 

Going by its overarching cybercrime prevention strategy, it is clear that Bureau was not built in a day. For starters, Reddy dedicated much of his career to building and scaling businesses in the mobile payment space. In 2012, he founded Qubecell, a Mumbai-based payments startup, acquired a year later by San Francisco-based mobile payments company Boku. At Boku, a now publicly listed company, he served as chief business officer in his last leadership role.

Reddy elaborated that during his time at the company, he incubated and scaled its identity division which was later sold to Twilio. This experience made him realise that the existing cybersecurity solutions were fragmented and  siloed when it came to crucial components like compliance, fraud and security.

“I aspired to build a single platform, with a single API integration, that proactively and holistically monitors identities and transactions against fraud and abuse by providing real-time decisions,” said Reddy.

Hence, Bureau ID was set up in 2020 to accomplish that through its comprehensive fraud detection suite that includes no-code workflows, device intelligence, behavioural AI, compliance APIs, alternate data solutions, visualised through an identity graph. 

Regarding the issue of increasing cyberfraud, Reddy stresses that smart identity decisioning should consider how fraudsters use mule accounts to launder stolen money. Money mules are mostly individuals typically recruited by fraudsters to transfer huge sums between accounts and across locations until all links to the eventual receivers are lost (however, some mule accounts are also opened by bots). 

As human mules use multiple phone numbers, email IDs, stolen or spoofed identities for these activities, mapping digital and physical identity verifications through alternate data solutions plays a critical role in detecting them, especially when businesses onboard new customers.

Next comes device intelligence, making the procedure more foolproof. Bureau cross-checks device fingerprints, which are unique patterns generated through device configurations and usage. Pitting a device ID/fingerprint against a specific user helps prevent a fraudster from switching devices too frequently. The platform also validates IP addresses, operating systems (to analyse if they are genuine or spoofed), VPN and tracks remote desktop and malware, which are commonly used by  mules to bypass security measures.

“Mules open multiple accounts for money transfers from different devices in a very short period. With data intelligence, we can identify anomalous activity,” explained Reddy.

Bureau identifies bots in action and scans user behaviour with behavioural AI tools that look at unique human behaviour patterns such as, typing speed, scrolling patterns, and hesitation percentage to successfully authenticate an identity.

“A criminal using stolen identities to open accounts is unfamiliar with personal data. Hence, the person may display hesitation or rely on copy-pasting to enter account details,” the Bureau CEO said. 

Finally, an identity network is created with the help of link analysis. “The risk associated with an identity is assessed based on the type and number of such links while factoring in indications of past fraudulent activities reported by Bureau’s customers,” he added. 

Bureau’s no-code solutions can be easily integrated with business backends via API, allowing companies to set up customised security features as easily as dragging and dropping pre-configured blocks created for every step of the customer journey. 

According to Reddy, the startup has secured SOC2 compliance, a voluntary compliance standard developed by the American Institute of CPAs (certified public accountants) that specifies how service organisations should manage customer data. More importantly, unlike many data brokers, Bureau does not store personally identifiable information (PII) and only relevant, tokenised insights are generated for identity verification.

The startup has set up a pay-per-API revenue model, where businesses pay for the APIs and workflows tailored to suit their specific needs. It also generates revenue through a fixed monthly/annual platform fee for essential functions like building workflows, transaction monitoring and continuous screening, regardless of API usage. 

Tapping Into Investors’ Network For Growth

Although Bureau’s strong value proposition positioned it well in the niche space, raising awareness and onboarding B2B customers proved difficult for the early stage startup. Promotion through digital marketing is a common but costly tactic. What if a startup could capitalise on its investors’ network to expand its customer base? That’s precisely what Bureau did.

The startup recently raised additional capital in a Series A funding round in July 2023. Japan’s GMO VenturePartners (GMO-VP) was the lead investor in this round, and its sister company GMO Payment Gateway, the largest payment service provider in Japan, also pitched in along with existing investors. As part of the Japanese internet conglomerates GMO Internet Group, both firms specialize in fintech investments within the Indo-Pacific region, promoting cross-border innovation. GMO Payment Gateway also runs an AIF in India, providing debt funding to fintech startups.          

While the funding helped Bureau enhance its data and AI capabilities, Reddy was more than impressed when his investors stepped in to help with customer acquisition.

Leveraging GMO-VP’s connections, Bureau serviced Jai Kisan, GroMo, OTO, Niro and MobiKwik of its portfolio companies. 

“GMO has been an invaluable partner in our journey. Its extensive scale and unique perspective make it an exceptional guide and partner. Bureau has already reaped significant benefits due to its impressive portfolio and network,” he said.

Asked about this holistic hand-holding, Ryu Muramatsu, director and founding partner from GMO-VP said the benefits were mutual. “Digital trust is pivotal for all financial transactions where many challenges originate, especially the upsurge in fraudulent activities. Tackling these hurdles is crucial for the entire fintech sector. That’s why we think Bureau is a significant player [in the identity decisioning space].”

Bureau has reportedly agreed to a strategic partnership with GMO Payment Gateway. Bureau is eyeing expansion across the Middle East and Southeast Asia and aggressively marketing its solutions to increase awareness. It will also cater to more institutional players, especially in the banking sector. This makes ample sense as the BFSI sector remains the primary target for cyberattacks and accounted for more than 70% of the spend on anti-fraud measures in 2022. 

To speed up its operations, Bureau completed its strategic acquisition of Delhi-based inVOID in 2023. The digital identity verification and KYC authentication platform typically works with fintechs and FIs.

“This is a timely acquisition as the convergence of new regulations and a sharp uptick in fraud cases in recent years have escalated the demand for robust compliance and risk management solutions,” said Reddy.

The Future Is Now For Fraud Detection Businesses

Globally, the fraud detection and prevention market is estimated to reach $66.6 Bn by 2028 from $27.7 Bn in 2023, growing at a CAGR of 19.1%, a report by MarketsandMarkets says. Although this augurs well for FDP players, businesses are still not looking at the problem in its entirety. 

As a Deloitte report points out, most organisations depend on homegrown systems where fraud detection rules are framed on an ‘if-then’ scenario. This logic works well in a structured data environment. However, given the humongous and complex data in circulation, complete automation and advanced AI/ML will be required instead of the traditional logic.  

Moreover, organisations still seek use-case-specific solutions or try to integrate authorisation logic in disparate tools instead of opting for a centralised ecosystem. Unless identity decisioning is embedded as a core solution, it cannot secure the end-to-end digital journeys of businesses and their customers in real time.    

Reddy seconds this, saying businesses must leverage tools and technologies to champion consumer trust and proactively prevent fraud, instead of waiting for the regulators to introduce and enforce penalties that focus more on compliance. 

Currently, Bureau does not face direct competition from Indian players, although startups like HyperVerge and Helloverify exist in niche segments of fraud detection. The platform also holds a distinct advantage with a global presence across three regions.

Nevertheless, there is no shortage of global players in the market, including Bureau ID, New York-based Alloy, London-based Onfido and others that provide comprehensive fraud detection solutions. This also highlights that the West has recognised the need for comprehensive identity verification due to the increasing financial fraud.

Will the homegrown startup ecosystem gear up similarly and emerge as a major FDP hub, catering tailored solutions that align with the unique compliance needs of Indian banks and FIs?

The post How GMO Backed Bureau ID Is Helping Businesses Curb Financial Fraud, Protect Their Users appeared first on Inc42 Media.

As businesses must embrace tech-driven strategies in times of rapid digitalisation and industrial automation, adopting digital escrow services is increasingly sought for fast and reliable digital payments. 

The traditional escrow infrastructure has been here for a long time, though. Put simply, it is a legal arrangement where a neutral third party (usually a bank/financial institution) holds assets/funds on behalf of the transacting parties until the deal is closed satisfactorily after meeting the terms and conditions mutually agreed upon. Escrow keeps transactions safe and protects buyers and sellers from financial fraud or non-fulfilment of obligations. However, the traditional route to escrow operations has been inconvenient and time-consuming all along.

It was early 2020 when Vineet Singh (former CBO of the fintech unicorn MobiKwik) sold his car to an online platform that promised a fund transfer within 30 minutes. But after numerous follow-ups and a 10-day payment delay, frustration peaked, prompting him to find a way out of transaction mismanagement. But setting up an escrow account via the traditional route could have taken up to 140 days due to the enormous paperwork and lengthy verification procedures.

Taking note of the growing demand for plug-and-play digital escrow capabilities, Singh and Dinesh Kumar (former sales head at MagicBricks) launched Castler in 2021, a cloud-based EaaS (escrow as a service) web platform offering domestic and cross-border solutions for enterprises. In May 2023, Kumar Amit (former VP of enterprise business at Razorpay) joined the startup as cofounder & COO. Five months later, Ritesh Tiwari (former senior executive at Visa, the UK and Ireland) came in as cofounder and chief product officer. 

The core mission of Castler is to significantly reduce the turnaround time required to open escrow accounts and provide quick and secure digital escrow solutions for B2B and B2C customers. The startup takes 14 business days to open a fully functional digital escrow account as it automates sign-ups, handles identity verification through eKYC, enables online e-agreement signing via eStamp and verifies the merchant’s identity at the time onboarding using AI/ML once the merchant is onboarded.

Post these procedures, it opens an escrow account on behalf of the transacting parties. Next, buyers can deposit the money in the escrow accounts; sellers can monitor the fund status, and the money is finally released from escrow accounts and sent to sellers’ accounts when buyers get their products.   

The fintech SaaS startup has a subscription-based revenue model and caters to various industry segments such as logistics, retail, real estate, fintech and more. It has partnered with nine leading banks to help customers operate escrow accounts. Castler also raised $7 Mn from marquee investors, including Venture Catalysts++, Flipkart Ventures, Capital 2B (an Info Edge fund) and IIFL Fintech Fund, Zerodha’s Rainmatter, 9Unicorns among others.

According to Singh, the platform has more than 5K active escrow accounts and completed 5 Lakh transactions in November 2023. The fintech SaaS boasts a customer retention rate of 80%, clocked INR 1 Cr in revenue in FY23 and targets 6x revenue growth in the current financial year. 

Bridging The Trust Gap: The Castler Way

“Globally, escrow has been proven effective in addressing trust deficits, securing financial transactions and verifying identities. With India poised to become a $5 Tn economy by 2025, the potential for escrow to solve key challenges faced by businesses and consumers is immense,” said Singh.

A look at India’s global status further solidifies his statement. According to a World Bank report, India ranked 163 in 2020 out of 190 countries in the ‘enforcing contracts’ category. To climb the ladder further and be in the top echelon, the country will require more streamlined processes, seamless payments management and enhanced transparency to iron out trust issues. Digital escrow could be the ideal solution to achieve these and more.

The startup lists various use cases demonstrating how customers can benefit from a fast and secure transaction ecosystem. Castler covers each service component, from business verification and opening escrow accounts (for sales, business deals, property leasing, lending, brokerage and more) to transaction processing and transaction management through a dedicated CRM system. In addition, transacting parties have constant access to a web dashboard for real-time status tracking.

Castler enables seamless API integration, allowing a user to sync its escrow solutions with existing systems and applications. Besides, API integration with partner banks helps it service various business requirements, such as cash collection or invoice discounting.

The startup has built multiple layers of protocols to ensure compliance and risk management per banking norms. Each transaction on the platform undergoes verification and approval by a SEBI-backed trusteeship company responsible for safeguarding assets or funds until the pre-set terms and conditions are fulfilled by all parties and the deal is completed.

Additionally, it is a PCI DSS-certified startup working closely with leading banks, which have in-house data security and compliance audit systems. For context, PCI DSS, short for Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard, is a compliance standard mandatory for any organisation handling card payments.

“Our PCI and bank partners conduct audits per defined time intervals to ensure there is no security or compliance gap in the system,” said Singh.

Apart from digital EaaS, the startup caters to B2B customers in various capacities. For example, it works like a trusted intermediary in digital lending scenarios, ensuring that loan disbursals and repayments are processed smoothly and securely. In the case of invoice discounting, it can assist lenders in securing their receivables. 

In the B2C space, Castler currently provides escrow services for tenants’ security deposits. When a tenant moves into a rental property, a security deposit is typically paid to the landlord to cover potential damages or unpaid rent at the end of the lease. Now, a landlord can open a digital escrow account on Castler to safeguard this amount until the lease ends.

Castler has two revenue streams. On one hand, it operates like any other SaaS platform and charges a monthly or annual subscription fee to its customers. On the other hand, it works as TSP to banks.

Pitfalls And Growth

At first, Castler’s chances to hit it big dwindled as incumbent banks were sceptical about partnering with a digital escrow startup. The founders also realised that hard-selling their business pitches would not get a stamp of approval from these banks. To win them over, they sought investors who could validate the startup’s credibility. Once the startup proved its potential to the marquee investors, the banks followed the suit.

“We reached out to Venture Catalysts++ (VCats) during our idea stage in Jan 2021 and raised $1 Mn at the ideation stage,” said Singh.

Set up in 2016, Mumbai-based VCats is a sector-agnostic and multi-stage VC investor with BluSmart (EV ride-sharing), Beardo (D2C brand for men’s grooming), fintech unicorn BharatPe, Shiprocket and others in its portfolio. Given its track record, VCats’ backing turned out to be a game-changer for Castler, increasing its credibility among bankers and providing lucrative opportunities to expand its customer base through the VC firm’s extensive industry connections. 

“VCats’ vast and active founders’ network enabled us to offer our escrow services to many startups seeking funding through the VCats syndicate,” added Singh.

Additionally, the VC firm gave access to top funding events attended by large domestic and global VCs and family offices. 

Castler leveraged this exposure well and raised two more rounds of funding. In May 2023, it raised $5 Mn in a pre-Series A round led by Capital 2B (an Info Edge fund) and IIFL Fintech Fund. This round also saw participation from Venture Catalysts along with Stride Ventures, Rainmatter, 9Unicorns and FAAD Network. In September, it bagged an additional $5.5 Mn as part of its ongoing pre-Series A and got Flipkart Ventures to be part of this funding. 

Castler aims to bolster its expansion strategy for both domestic and cross-border escrow services and establish partnerships with over 25 banks, targeting substantial growth in the coming years with the fresh funding. 

Can New Entrants Dominate The Digital Escrow Market In India?

Globally, the SaaS escrow market is estimated to reach $18.4 Bn by 2031 from $5.4 Bn in 2021, growing at a CAGR of 13.4% for the projected period, a report by Allied Market Research says. It also suggests that the growth was fuelled by the Covid-19 pandemic when an increase in digital payments prompted the need for secure and cloud-based solutions.

Closer home, things could only get better. According to a Redseer report, India’s overall B2B payments market is estimated to grow from nearly $8 Tn in FY22 to $10-11 Tn by FY26. However, 50-60% of the current payments are done via cash and cheque. Given the growing adoption of digital payments, escrow transactions can rise exponentially, enhancing contract compliance and quickly resolving business disputes. 

Aware of the shape of things to come, homegrown fintech super-apps like Razorpay and Cashfree Payments or proptech startup Square Yards have diversified into the digital escrow space, challenging a host of pure-play startups like Castler and Escrowpay. 

One way to survive the growing competition is to move away from the broad-range escrow space and develop specialised services for niche customers. After all, various escrow markets are now emerging fast, dealing in M&A, real estate or even intellectual property. Others may look at focus and technology shifts and explore the scope of a decentralised escrow payment system, as blockchain technology is a core element triggering escrow growth. Think of Descrow and its community-driven solutions, which can give banks and big fintechs a run for their money.

However, industry insiders are still betting big on digital escrow players like Castler and its ilk, as this sub-industry is still scratching the surface. With the rise in digital-first enterprises and borderless business transactions, winners will be those who can improve and diversify their escrow services, prioritise data security and keep expenditures on a tight leash. 

That’s a tall order, but certainly not undoable.

The post How Ex MobiKwik & Razorpay Execs’ Escrow As A Service Startup Castler Is Transforming B2B Payments appeared first on Inc42 Media.

There is hardly any middle-income family in India that may not be familiar with the challenges that parenthood brings with it, especially when it comes to burning holes in the not-so-deep pockets of an average Indian household. 

Well, if you think that education is the biggest expense that every Indian parent has to bravely endure, then consider speaking with the ones with newborns, infants or even toddlers. Ranging from expensive vaccines and baby food to high-priced nifty infant clothing and diapers, there is hardly any relief for parents.

While the challenges are galore, baby care brand Bumtum aims to give a much-needed respite to the pockets of Indian parents by offering economical and quality baby diapers. However, this Rome, too, was not built in a day.     

Post his return from the UK, Mayank Beria, a business student, closely observed the Indian baby care market, only to discover the opportunities waiting to be untapped. 

With a family background in manufacturing, it was natural for him to stay away from third-party manufacturers, as he planned to foray into the baby care segment.

Finally, Beria joined forces with his siblings, Chirag Beria and Neelima Beria Bhimsaria to launch Bumtum. While Bumtum has been present in the market since 2017, it was officially launched in 2021.

However, later, the founders ventured into adult hygiene care with Elduro, feminine hygiene care with Freeme and preteen skin care with Amigo, all operating under their parent company, Familycare Consumer.

Initially, Bumtum products were manufactured and sold on the parent company’s website. However, to boost visibility, the founders later started selling the baby care products on Flipkart and Amazon.

Meanwhile, the baby care brand, Bumtum, strengthened its ties with retailers across Lucknow, Kanpur, Patna, Ranchi, Indore and Ahmedabad. The company claims to have sold its baby care products to 60K customers to date.  Along with 500+ SKUs, Bumtum has baby products across 30 categories, including diapers, baby wipes, lotions, fleece coverings and more. 

The founders claim that the parent company has generated a revenue of INR 150 Cr in FY23, up 150% YoY from INR 65 Cr in FY22. Beria has now set his eyes on garnering INR 500 Cr in revenue by the end of FY24, which would be a gigantic leap of 233% YoY. 

To achieve the set target, Bumtum’s parent company, Familycare Consumer, partnered with 3PL player Emiza to deliver the Bumtum, Eduro, Freeme and Amigo range of products. 

Standing Tall Against Established Brands

Bumtum emerged as a brand with the core purpose of simplifying the lives of parents, particularly in India, where the expense of baby care products is equal to spending on luxury. This is why Beria envisioned Bumtum primarily serving Tier II and III regions, where household incomes may not match those of Tier I counterparts. 

However, a major challenge before its launch was that the market was dominated by bigger brands. Speaking with Inc42, Beria said that brands such as Mamy Poko Pants, Huggies and Pampers hold a market share of no less than 96%. 

“To stand tall against these brands, we decided to launch Bumtum as a private label and started manufacturing and selling products under the brand name on marketplaces like Flipkart and Amazon. We took the brands offline, targetting smaller towns and positioning ourselves as ‘small town India’s favourite diaper brand’,” the founder said, looking back on his journey.

As the founders forged their journey, another challenge awaited. This time the founders were struck with the dilemma of creating with brand recall while competing with established players in smaller cities and towns.

After much deliberation, the founders decided to keep the communication simple. They even picked a cartoon character, Chota Bheem, to go on the packaging of baby diapers, solving the brand recall issue. Further, every marketing campaign they did was in Hinglish. 

“For our Father’s Day campaign, we launched one of our digital ads in a Hinglish title, while the rest of the content was in Hindi. The campaign garnered 2 Mn views,” Beria said, adding that the brand recall strategies have worked wonders and the brand’s customer retention has grown by 50% since its launch. 

Quality Meets Affordability

The founders of Bumtum were quick to identify that they could increase customer stickiness with just the right pricing strategy. According to Beria, the brand’s products are at least 25% cheaper than bigger brands. He, however, stressed that despite offering competitive pricing, they do not compromise on quality. 

Interestingly, to ensure that all their products are of good quality, they have set up a manufacturing plant fully certified by International Organization Standardization, Sedex, Good Manufacturing Practice and Conformité Européenne (CE) in Pithampur, Indore. Moreover, the brand has a dedicated R&D team with its labs set up in the manufacturing unit. 

Mayank revealed that the brand generates 65% of its revenue from marketplaces such as Amazon and Flipkart, while offline sales account for 35% of its total sales. 

In terms of sharing revenue with ecommerce and logistics partners, it pays a commission to its partners. The cost for logistics partners is approximately 5-6% of their overall sales. Further, Mayank said that 90% of Bumtum’s revenue is generated from Tier II and III cities and towns, with the remaining 10% originating from Tier 1 users. 

Banking Big On Third-Party Order Fulfilment

Bumtum understands the importance of adopting an omnichannel approach to cater to the essential needs of its customer base in Tier 2 and 3 regions. While it has a robust online presence, it acknowledges that offline presence is equally significant.

Bumtum recognises that this helps in building trust and confidence in the brand. It’s also worth noting that users in these regions may not be comfortable making online orders. By taking an omnichannel approach, Bumtum has ensured that it remains accessible to all its online and offline customers.

Meanwhile, to ensure that Bumtum has an efficient offline presence, it is focussed on strategic warehousing. For this, it partnered with Mumbai-based 3PL warehousing company Emiza, which provides tech-driven warehousing management with a network of over 22 fulfilment centres across Tier 2 regions such as Indore, Lucknow, Patna and more. These tech-enabled warehouses offer multi-tier shelving systems for easy order processing and a host of safety and security features. 

Founded in 2015 by Ajay Rao and Jitendra Kumar, Emiza claimed that it works with 200 clients including Marico, Mamaearth, Clovia, The Souled Store and more.

The strategic partnership with Emiza helps the baby care product brand leverage the former’s efficient SDD/NDD deliveries and cost-effective fulfilment specifically tailored for low-priced daily consumption items.

Emiza also serves Bumtum’s parent company Familycare Consumer and provides warehousing services for the brands Freeme, Amigo and Elduro. 

When Familycare Consumer joined hands with Emiza in October 2022, it had a warehouse only in one location. Since then, the company has expanded its warehouses to 17 locations, with three more in the pipeline. Rao claimed that Emiza handles 80% of Familycare Consumer’s total volume. 

Rao said that Familycare Consumer had three prerequisites for its fulfilment partner before onboarding them as a 3PL partner. Firstly, the partner needed to execute SDD/NDD deliveries, given the parent company focusses on selling daily consumption items like toiletries. Secondly, the fulfilment services provided by the 3PL partner had to be cost-effective, considering the relatively low average selling price of these products. Lastly, the selected partner should be experienced in delivering products across diverse categories. Rao said, “Emiza fit the bill,” indicating Emiza’s suitability for the role.

Emiza also manages fulfilment services for Familycare Consumer and ensures same and next-day deliveries. Ajay Rao, founder and CEO, Emiza said that until September 2022,  Familycare Consumer’s delivery duration stretched to four to five days in remote areas. In the toiletries category, deliveries now reach customers within 24-48 hours.

What Does The Future Hold For Bumtum?

For decades now, people have been buying baby care products from legacy players like Huggies, Pampers and Mamy Poko Pants. This allowed white space for smaller brands like Super Bottoms and Bumtum to experiment with packaging and materials. 

For instance, Super Bottoms uses organic cotton jersey fabric in its diapers, which is safer for toddlers, while Bumtum leverages a popular Indian cartoon character to establish its brand recall.

Not just this, Bumtum’s playbook to penetrate deeper into the nation with affordable yet quality products appears to be a great strategy to woo Indians in the long run. Given that the company saw a 150% YoY growth in its revenues, the founders’ projections to clock in INR 500 CR in revenues looks achievable. This is more because of the market in which they are operating.  

According to a report, the baby care market is projected to reach $38.51 Bn by 2029, growing at a CAGR of 17.5%. This mirrors an immense opportunity for smaller baby care brands, which can leverage the white space created by bigger brands and continue experimenting with their products. Not to mention, technology will also play a key role in giving a much-needed boost to baby care product manufacturers going ahead. Given the tailwinds, brands like Bumtum seem poised to thrive and carve out a successful niche in the evolving market.

The post How Bumtum Is Making Quality Baby Care Accessible in India’s Tier II and III Regions appeared first on Inc42 Media.

No business can survive without book-keeping and accounting, as these help organisations record, streamline and analyse financial data for efficient operations. India is home to 63 Mn MSMEs (micro, small and medium enterprises), collectively contributing nearly 30% to the country’s GDP but lacking the deep pockets to set up the operations in-house or opt for expensive full-service solutions. Even now, many companies do billing and accounting manually or rely on traditional spreadsheets.  

Aware of the techno-financial requirements of new-age small businesses, many SaaS (Software as a Service) startups in India have ventured into the accounting space with a wide range of affordable and scalable solutions based on pay-as-you-grow subscription models. However, meticulous tracking and calculation of expenses and earnings tend to get more complex when small businesses expand their customer pools, explore cash flow management through business forecasting or seek improved workforce management for cost optimisation.

Gurugram-based Unesync is a new kid in the accounting space. But unlike pure-play SaaS players in this segment, the startup has adopted a holistic approach and put together a wide range of services to empower small and midsize enterprises (SMEs) in more ways than one. 

Set up by serial entrepreneurs and childhood friends Rohan Chopra and Ujjwal Agarwal, the two-month-old startup provides end-to-end accounting services and inventory and team management tools to streamline processes. Plus, it helps SMEs communicate with external stakeholders such as vendors and customers instead of subscribing to a full-fledged (and expensive) CRM system.

Ever since starting its operations in October 2023, the startup has onboarded partners like Delhi-based café Chai Lelo, edtech platform Victory Point and advertising agency Span Advertising, among others. Furthermore, it aims to onboard 1K+ B2B customers by the end of FY24.

The web-based platform is also developing Unesync Capital, a tool to predict when companies may require credit, and provides them easy access to small-ticket business loans. Unesync uses data analytics and AI to enable these predictive analyses.

“Rather than businesses realising [at the eleventh hour] that they need credit for orders or projects, our platform helps them understand these requirements at the invoicing/purchase stage,” explained Chopra.

The credit market typically operates in a flow, from inquiry to approval, and raising back-to-back loans is not easy. However, the initial amount requested by a business often fails to suffice, as cost projections are not always reliable. Unesync aims to assist SMEs with more accurate calculations so they do not fall short or borrow more than needed.

To ensure easy access to small business loans, the startup has partnered with credit aggregators like Recur Club and Inca Fintech. The focus is on the micro-lending segment to help businesses raise capital for day-to-day operations.

Unesync Capital is still a nascent offering, available to a few B2B customers. Chopra says the service is still in the testing phase. Based on customer feedback, the platform will tie up with more fintech partners to open the feature to a bigger user base. The startup aims to onboard 1,000+ businesses by the end of FY24 and will also look for seed funding in 2024.

How Unesync Layers Tailored Solutions For Critical Tasks, Plans To Thrive On Scalability 

Before starting Unesync, the founders set up Decimal Space in 2019. While running the software development firm, the duo acquired diverse businesses from the fintech sector and observed a crucial gap in terms of accounting solutions in the market. 

According to the founders, most SMEs are compelled to outsource payment processing, tax compliance or credit line management in the absence of trained in-house staff. A few also purchase software programmes for digital accounting. However, aligning these critical tasks at the end of a financial year could be challenging for the uninitiated. 

Recognising the necessity for a unified approach, the duo started Unesync to offer one-stop accounting solutions for SMEs with a yearly turnover of INR 5 Cr – INR 25 Cr. The revenue bracket has been strategically chosen to drive growth as Indian businesses with an annual turnover of INR 5 Cr or more must do e-invoicing for B2B transactions under the GST regime. 

Queried about the core tech used for accounting, Chopra likens Unesync to Tally, which helps users generate E-Way bills and e-invoices (payable and receivable) without any hassle. The startup, too, has designed a data engine to gather information from various financial sources such as the GST E-Invoice portal, the GST E-WayBill portal and bank statements from account aggregators to streamline and automate a number of compliance procedures typically handled by chartered accountants.

For instance, a CA performs various tasks at the invoice level, including verifying GST returns and checking if suppliers have uploaded GST information correctly for credit processing. As the platform has enabled GST data integration, it can gather vendor data and retrieve their returns directly from the portal without requiring manual intervention.

The platform can track payments dues and manage payments. Besides, it provides various value-added solutions, including inventory management, team management and its proprietary credit prediction tool.

 The startup’s ability to scale and conform to all new policies will also help it serve businesses of all sizes – a key differentiator that sets it apart from the rest. Chopra explained it with a simple use case.

“A business, starting with modest revenues, may opt for a product like Khatabook, which primarily caters to companies with an annual turnover of less than INR 5 Cr. It makes ample sense, given their limited requirements. As they progress, they may move up to a solution like myBillBook that focusses on SMEs [those earning INR 5 Cr and above a year, as per government definition]. But when these businesses reach a certain level, these products may be inadequate to address their requirements,” he pointed out.

Although Unesync is currently targeting the same clients as myBillBook, it will soon introduce enterprise-level solutions to serve the entire spectrum of businesses and gain a cutting edge.

Like most SaaS platforms, Unesync earns revenue through a pay-as-you-grow business model, spanning monthly, quarterly and yearly subscriptions. For basic accounting solutions like e-invoicing, the monthly fee starts at INR 250 and goes up to INR 900 if customers want to add additional features such as inventory and workflow management.

The Way Ahead For Unesync 

Initially, enterprise tech incumbents paid scant attention to SaaS disruptors, predicting that old-timers (businesses minus digital-age tech exposure) would not find implementing brand-new technology easy. However, small, cash-strapped entities learnt to ‘adapt’ quickly after tasting the cost-efficient, consumption-based success sauce whipped up by SaaS players.

According to industry experts, the accounting and finance landscape is becoming digital worldwide, and the Asia-Pacific will witness the highest growth in this space. SaaS accounting software is driving this digital transformation to a large extent, given the emergence of small businesses and increasing investments by SMEs in the SaaS and cloud market. Globally, the market for online accounting software is estimated to reach $38 Bn by 2030, expanding at a CAGR of 8.1%.     

Small businesses in India are also leaning towards digital tech and getting ‘SaaSy’ in a post-Covid world. An IDC report predicts that 30% of small and medium enterprises will shift one-third of their core workload to the cloud by 2024. This will broaden the integration of SaaS-based digital accounting (including data analytics and reporting) and lead to value-added offerings such as data-driven advisory services, business valuation, budgeting, financing and more.

However, scripting a success story in this space may be difficult due to an intensely competitive landscape. Think of the homegrown and bootstrapped unicorn Zoho, which claims India may soon become their second-largest market (after the US), powered by SMB and enterprise growth. Essentially, the market is rapidly getting crowded as desi and global firms like Zoho, FreshBooks or Vyapar have made successful inroads.    

Chopra is not unduly worried. He insists that the market is wide open and the competition is healthy as more businesses adopt billing and accounting software. Unesync also recognises untapped potential as companies are willing to experiment with new products and services that correspond with their fast-changing requirements.

Aware of this evolving market, the founder has tweaked the startup’s promotional strategy and did not go for a marketing blitzkrieg. “SaaS-based offerings in our niche [accounting] is not a novel concept. End users are well versed in this model and have adopted it over the past decade, allowing us the freedom to do away with excessive marketing,” he said.  

Instead, Unesync has gone ahead with word-of-mouth promotion and involved chartered accountants working with small businesses. The platform encourages CAs to sign up for free trials. After that, its customer support team guides them and helps them understand how the platform works. 

 Chopra says this approach has yielded positive results, and Unesync aims to onboard 1 Lakh customers in the next two years.

Amid the growing demand for digitalised business processes, SaaS-based accounting solutions are gaining traction among Indian SMEs. Moreover, SaaS providers can attract a diversified customer base with increased verticalisation or never-before silo-breaking. While established players cater to mainstream requirements, newcomers like Unesync seek to stand out with their unique value proposition – a combination of accounting, process management, and financing capabilities.

Of course, opportunities to innovate in SaaS are far from over. But savvy businesses that can develop more unified solutions to meet broader needs may have the potential to corner success. It will also benefit the SaaS industry, which can seize the future by evolving in sync with emerging trends.

The post How SaaS Startup Unesync Is Simplifying Accounting, Streamlining Processes For Indian SMEs appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Where would social media go next? Will it unlock more disruptive innovations or go round in circles like fashion, bringing back old formats in red hot garb? Among social media startups, repeats and replications with some incremental value additions are not uncommon, but the outcomes are far from satisfactory. If Dispo enthralled Insta fans before the pandemic, the hype is gone, and Lapse from the same genre is taking over (both are photo-sharing platforms with a tweak). If text messaging was discarded as uncool after WhatsApp and Snapchat, think again. Text message company Community (founded by Ashton Kutcher and Guy Oseary) is making big strides again, thanks to the business value of the older format. 

True to the see-saw ride their counterparts experience worldwide, a handful of Indian social media startups also had a chequered performance when they emulated their wildly popular global peers. As their growth momentum faltered after a while, the field has been left wide open for novel initiatives like Khul Ke. The new kid on the block is looking beyond user-created content and targeting core ecosystems, including education, healthcare and the law, to generate value.

Made-in-India social media platforms had their moment in the sun after the Indian government banned more than 200 Chinese apps and websites from 2020 onwards following geopolitical tensions. As around 150 Mn monthly active users from India were forced to stop using Chinese-owned short video-sharing app TikTok, the likes of Moj, Josh and Roposo gained significant traction as they used local languages and tried to capture the country’s diverse cultural nuances. 

The landscape got bigger as vernacular social networks like ShareChat (run by the unicorn owner Mohalla Tech, which is also operating Moj), Koo (India’s answer to X) and Trell (short video-driven social commerce app) played the India card well.

But by 2023, the made-in-India sheen nearly wore off and funding winter hit most social media apps. Inadequate cash flow and a stringent focus on profitability resulted in various cost-cutting measures such as mass layoffs. Even key stakeholders (read cofounders) exited from leading startups like ShareChat and Chingari. 

So, when a new social platform hits the market at the fag end of the calendar year (Oct. 2, to be precise) amid the chaos of dwindling downloads and shrinking engagement, one is bound to wonder how different it is from existing players. 

For the record, Mumbai-based Khul Ke (which means ‘speak freely’ in Hindi) was set up by serial entrepreneur Piyush Kulshreshtha in 2021 but spent nearly two years in the ‘test zone’ to do its homework before tapping into people’s power to generate a positive impact across its target ecosystems. Simply put, the social networking platform enables informed discussions among experts and users, deals with misinformation and eliminates fake news to ensure the quality of its content.  

Currently available in English, Hindi and Tamil, Khul Ke’s app and website offer a host of cutting-edge communication tools to keep conversations flowing. Its key features include Roundtable, which enables live-streaming online discussions and accommodates several participants; Khul Ke Meetup, an online meeting application similar to Google Meet, and Yapp, a private messaging feature akin to Facebook Messenger. Users can also share text, images, audio, upload documents, run polls and share short video content.

Although it has been operational for a little over a month, Khul Ke’s founder claimed that the startup has secured funding in a Series A funding round. However, the details regarding the funding amount and participating investors were not disclosed by him. 

Why Khul Ke Wants To Build Large-Scale Ecosystems For ‘Social’ Success  

Ask the founder what inherent value is generated by free social media resources and he gets sceptical. “Although half the global population is on social networks, the industry seems to have made minimal positive and productive contributions to society,” said Piyush Kulshreshtha. 

The reason? The algorithms running these platforms tend to create echo chambers and constantly circulate content that aligns with a user’s perspective. This limits our exposure to different viewpoints, reinforces our beliefs and often leads to confirmation bias and the spread of misinformation.

The Covid-19 pandemic is a case in point. According to the World Health Organization, an infodemic, or overabundance of information (both accurate and inaccurate), triggered misinformation ranging from downplaying the severity of the health crisis to promoting conspiracy theories that said vaccines could modify human DNA.

More alarmingly, a 2023 Reuters Institute survey found that 30% of respondents relied on social media as their primary news source. 

Khul Ke has adopted a holistic, ecosystem-oriented strategy to contain misinformation and benefit its users. The platform connects domain specialists with individuals across its target sectors (education, healthcare and law) to foster meaningful interactions and promote information-gathering from credible sources instead of browsing through random data that may not be reliable. Khul Ke’s content team is responsible for curating topics and inviting speakers and experts. 

Kulshreshtha mentioned an education sector use case to detail the potential benefits of an ecosystem/expert-centric approach. Think of a scenario where an engineering student wants to present a project to a startup incubator. However, it is often difficult to find specific information about a suitable facility or helpful connections on social media platforms, given its humongous data volume. Again, incorrect or misleading information will further waste one’s time and effort. 

“To address these issues, we foster a conducive environment and enable interactions between incubators and students through sessions, open mic events and similar initiatives,” the founder said. “Cultivating an empowering atmosphere will inspire students to showcase their talent confidently and this will help them land better opportunities.”

Although Khul Ke is headquartered in Mumbai, the team has started onboarding schools and colleges in Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh by leveraging their personal networks. The platform has registered around 20 schools in Chennai around 12K college students from Muzaffarnagar, Saharanpur and Khurja in Uttar Pradesh. Next, it will invite mentors and educators and host interactive educational sessions on the platform.

Eventually, Kulshreshtha aims to build a pan-India educational ecosystem to bring schools, colleges and university faculty members and students on a single platform. “We are already receiving a positive response as institutions understand and approve our value proposition,” he added. 

The startup is still finalising its revenue model, but the founder anticipates earnings from advertisements and user subscriptions (the platform will turn freemium in the long run).

More On The To-Do List: Curbing Fake News, Promoting Quality Content

Despite its targeted ecosystem strategy and focus on relevant content, Khul Ke has enthusiastically welcomed what is known as the lifeblood of social media – user-generated content. Kulshreshtha emphasises that the startup will stick to freedom of speech and expression and does not intend to monitor public posts unless they violate user guidelines. 

“At times, user content may not be what we would like to see. But we will work patiently on these issues to ensure that users on this platform generate quality content,” he said.

To weed out content that violates broad social media guidelines, including fake news and disinformation, hate speech and material promoting bullying, violence or illegal activities, the platform has established a robust framework with five distinct labels: Verified, verifiable, unverified, unverifiable and fake. While fake news is immediately removed, Khul Ke’s fact-checking team refrains from deleting other content pieces. Instead, it contacts users whose content breaches guidelines and requests them to take it down. The platform uses an open source code for content fetching and category detection. While the system doesn’t give a direct score for fake news, it gives a headway to the team that ultimately weeds out fake news. 

Khul Ke also completed its geo-tagging project in November to set up hyperlocal content-sharing similar to Public, a social network for local information. When the feature goes live, it will provide users with more relevant content that directly impacts their daily lives. The platform is also building a report-and-feedback mechanism for posts and Roundtables to access user requests and responses without delay.

Additionally, it will broaden its ecosystem approach by including more domains such as government policies, business, sports, movies and entertainment in the coming months and enter 12 more states in the next four to six months.  

“We anticipate 60-80 hours of long videos, 125 hours of short videos and nearly 50% user-generated content daily in the next six to eight months,” said Kulshreshtha.

Can Homegrown Platforms Reimagine Social Media? 

Social media has reshaped our culture and communication, giving birth to the much-touted attention economy and making people prone to vulnerabilities and manipulations. But there is another side to this social coin. The fact that many are now trying to disengage from it (much like the early cord-cutters) to claim back their privacy and personal time underscores that mass social media is ripe for redemption.

The only glitch: People have conflicted relationships with social media, and the fear of missing out on all that’s happening and important keeps them detachedly attached without abandoning it altogether. 

It may sound like a catch-22 situation, but social media/behavioural science experts have already recognised a way out. It is all about ‘changing’ the current format into a streamlined, value-generating, user-friendly experience that can gradually eliminate exploitative and manipulative elements and establish a positive impact. Of course, technology plays a key role here, as owning the servers gives tech giants full-fledged access to user data and activities. In contrast, the likes of Mastodon (popularly known as a Twitter alternative) leveraging decentralised servers can free users from overwhelming control of social networks.              

Although Khul Ke is not using new tech capabilities like Mastodon or IndieWeb to usher in much-needed changes, its distinctive focus on leveraging ecosystems for use case-driven value creation could transform the traditional social media landscape. Over time, it may resemble Reddit and become a valuable source of trustworthy information but with additional capabilities spanning audio, video and interactive features.

“Existing technologies are well-established, and social media giants excel in that space. We are not in direct competition with them. Instead, our priority lies in content quality and authenticity, as that will be the ultimate measure of our success,” explained Kulshreshtha.   

This also makes sound business sense. 

According to Mordor Intelligence, the social networking market size is expected to grow from $69.54 Bn in 2023 to $153.06 Bn by 2028, growing at a CAGR of 17.09%. Moreover, India remains one of the largest social media markets, although only a little over 41% of its population is on social media. 

Given this data, it is pretty clear that the ‘social’ business is not going away anytime soon. But the walled-garden networks are bound to change in terms of technology, interface, usage and value generation. That is what new-age social networks across the globe are trying to achieve. 

Will Indian platforms like Khul Ke or its global peers, with their novel USP, find the product-market fit? Will they generate the stickiness that fuelled the success of global giants like Facebook, X (Twitter) or Instagram? 

It is still too early to predict how social media will change and whether newbies can adapt and grow in sync. Meanwhile, creating a true sense of community, especially among young people and across major ecosystems, providing access to unbiased data and ushering in the proverbial appeal of freethinking will help them pave the path to success.

The post How This Startup Wants To Redefine Social Networking With Its Ecosystems Approach appeared first on Inc42 Media.

The Indian startup ecosystem has been on a rollercoaster ride since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, oscillating between exhilarating highs and disheartening lows. 

While the initial years of the pandemic were marked by a massive capital influx, the prolonged funding winter, since 2022, has forced many startups to re-evaluate their strategies and adapt to the changing landscape. 

Indian startups managed to raise a mere $7 Bn in funding between January and September 2023, a figure even lower than the $8 Bn that they secured during the corresponding period way back in 2020.

Needless to say, startup funding has reverted to pre-pandemic levels, and this, according to investors, is the new normal. Amid the current scheme of things, bootstrapping appears to have emerged as a major undercurrent within the world’s third-largest startup ecosystem. Focused on innovation and customer-centricity, a new breed of more resilient and frugal homegrown ventures are carving their niche in the startup ecosystem.

It is this resourcefulness that forms the core of the 42nd edition of Inc42’s 30 Startups To Watch, as a third of this month’s cohort is bootstrapped. More so, a mere five startups have raised more than $1 Mn in funding. 

This trend mirrors the fact that the country’s new-age ventures are shedding their reliance on VC and PE capital, a lesson that almost every investor wants Indian startup founders to learn. Well, better late than never!

Moving on, another recurring theme playing out within the early-stage startup ecosystem appears to be the B2B shift, a segment that is loaded with high-ticket billing. Continuing our tradition of identifying some of the most pathbreaking startups every month, we bring you 30 startups that caught our attention in November.

Editor’s Note: The list below is not a ranking of any kind. We have listed the startups alphabetically.

Actofit

Helping You Start Your Fitness Journey

Founded in 2015 by Pratik Saraogi, Tushar Patil, and Dr Ateeb Shaikh, Actofit helps individuals track the progress of their healthcare journey. The startup offers smartwatches, smart scales, chest straps, continuous glucose monitors (CGM) and smart rings, along with a companion app that offers deep insights based on data collected by Actofit devices.

The startup’s smart scales use advanced sensors to measure body composition metrics, including weight, body fat percentage, muscle mass, bone density, and visceral fat. These scales sync with the companion app, allowing users to track progress, receive personalised insights and recommendations, and access guidance from a team of personal trainers. The other devices operate, as the label says, with all devices feeding data into the Actofit app for insights.

The Mumbai-based startup primarily makes money from its smart devices and subscription fees for its premium app features. Additionally, the startup generates revenue through partnerships with healthcare providers, corporate wellness programmes, and fitness centres. The company also explores opportunities for data monetisation, leveraging its vast repository of user data to provide valuable insights to research institutions and pharmaceutical companies.

ANMER London

The Scent Of Luxury

Noticing a discernible gap in the Indian luxury body care and perfumes market, Jagrattan Singh Anand and Pravneet Kaur Anand established ANMER London in 2022. 

ANMER’s product line includes premium body care offerings such as perfumes, body washes, hand and body hydration, and shower oils. Their formulations, meticulously crafted in the UK, boast clean beauty ingredients. ANMER London’s commitment to sustainability extends beyond its formulations to eco-friendly packaging with recycled materials and refillable glass bottles. 

The Delhi NCR-based startup has crafted a revenue model that blends direct-to-consumer (D2C) channels, online marketplaces, offline exhibitions, and potential brand collaborations. With a 70% D2C and 30% marketplace sales ratio, ANMER London ensures a direct and personalised connection with customers while expanding its reach through renowned platforms like Ajio Luxe, Tira Beauty, Amazon, and Flipkart.

As part of its strategic focus for 2024, ANMER London plans to expand its range of fragrances, diversify its product portfolio with body mists and soap bars, and foray into the burgeoning market of home fragrances. By 2026, the brand plans to enter new segments like home and car fragrances, and establish offline stores for a tangible and immersive brand experience. It also has celebrity endorsements on the cards.

AquaAirX

India’s First Amphibious Drone

Founded in 2021 by Gouthami T S and Jitendra Kumar Purnmal Saini, AquaAirX has built an AI-powered amphibious drone capable of operating underwater and on land. This feature makes it ideal for offshore search and rescue missions, environmental monitoring, asset monitoring and military operations, among other amphibious applications.

At the heart of AquaAirX lies its groundbreaking multiplane propulsion system, designed to enable the drone to manoeuvre with precision in both air and water. The multiplane propulsion system can transition between media within seconds. The startup also has multiple model options designed for a variety of applications and services, each model being equipped with a customised array of sensors.

While AquaAirX is yet to make its commercial debut, Aeronuts has a clear vision for its future. The company plans to adopt a drone-as-a-service (DAAS) model, partnering with government contractors to provide access to AquaAirX’s capabilities on an as-needed basis.

Basil

Smoothies Stirred With Health & Taste

Healthier lifestyle choices often start with food, and it is a general perception that healthy food is tasteless and boring. Founded in 2020 by IIT Delhi graduates Harshita Kejriwal and Karan Dwivedi, Basil resolves this with its tasty health drinks and smoothies.

The healthtech startup offers a selection of 28 drinks through nine locations across Delhi NCR. Basil’s range of refreshers, smoothies, shakes, health-conscious coffee, hot beverages, pressed juices, and other drinks are made with fresh natural ingredients.

The startup claims that there is no added sugar or preservatives in its drinks. Basil also ensures that the drinks are ready to be consumed within five minutes of ordering. Its drinks start at INR 69 and go up to INR 299.

Chatclient.ai

Offering Tailor-Made AI Chatbots

In the ever-advancing universe of AI & ML, Indian chatbots are not exactly setting the best examples. This is because many are being built with pre-programmed responses, resulting in inaccuracies and unhelpful interactions.

After keenly observing the white space in the existing chatbot technologies and what consumers are being offered in the form of AI-driven customer support, Vikas Kookna and Navjot Singh Cheema founded Chatclient.ai this year. 

Unlike traditional bots, the Bengaluru-based startup leverages advanced LLMs, enabling instant, autonomous, and personalised customer support. According to the startup’s website, the startup helps businesses create custom AI chatbots based on the company data, just like ChatGPT, and seamlessly integrate it as a widget on their sites. 

Operating on a subscription-based SaaS model, Chatclient.ai caters to diverse business needs. The model ensures a steady revenue stream while offering flexibility and scalability to businesses, ranging from startups to large enterprises. Currently operating globally with a focus on English-speaking markets, the technology supports around 95 languages, providing room for future expansion.

In the last three months, the startup claims to have seen a 25% increase in the customer base. In the short term, the startup wants to expand language offerings, improve contextual understanding, and double its customer base. Chatclient.ai’s long-term vision is to enable chatbots to process audio and video inputs and integrate with more platforms.

CogniTensor

AI-Driven ESG Solutions

ESG (environmental, social, and governance) reporting is a crucial aspect of performance evaluation for enterprises, especially in the context of climate change and other related issues. However, the intricate process of collecting and analysing data on the environmental impact of a company proves to be challenging. As a result, only a few companies successfully execute ESG reporting, contributing to significant confusion within the industry.

Founded in 2018 by Arun Aggarwal, Pankaj Mathur and Ashish Airon, CogniTensor offers AI-driven solutions focused on ESG compliance and sustainability management. 

CogniTensor’s flagship product, Sustain3P, ingeniously combines data analytics, AI insights and performance tracking. The startup’s unique selling proposition (USP) lies in AI-powered analytics, offering energy optimisation, predictive maintenance, and robust ESG reporting. This product addresses key industry needs such as real-time energy management, predictive insights for sustainable practices, and comprehensive ESG compliance reporting.

The revenue model is structured on a subscription basis with tiered pricing, tailored to the unique needs and sizes of client organisations. In the past three months, CogniTensor has onboarded three major corporate clients. In the short term, CogniTensor aims to strengthen its presence in India, initiate operations in the Middle East and augment its AI capabilities for predictive analytics.

Concur

Harmonising Data Compliance

Founded in 2023 by Gaurav Mehta, Concur has been incorporated to play a pivotal role in the data protection space. The startup positions itself as a Digital Personal Data Protection Act compliance solution provider and is on a mission to harmonise data protection compliance for digital nagriks. 

Concur has its eyes set on safeguarding personal data. Its innovative suite of enterprise solutions is designed to simplify compliance and protect sensitive information, ensuring that businesses and individuals can navigate the complex world of data protection with ease and confidence.

The startup’s solutions encompass automated data discovery, Personally Identifiable Information (PII) categorisation, data lifecycle management, content management, systems integration, and DPO office operations. 

With a freemium model, Concur has successfully onboarded seven diverse organisations, ranging from NFBCs to technology enterprises. By 2026, Mumbai-headquartered Concur wants to enter the markets of Saudi Arabia and Brazil.

Curve Electric

E-bike Rentals In The Heart Of Kashmir Valley

Despite being a renowned tourism destination and a culturally significant region in India, the union territory of Jammu and Kashmir still needs to improve on the technology and innovation front.

However, Curve Electric aims to disrupt the status quo. Established in Srinagar in 2022 by Sheikh Yameen, the startup introduces a fleet of e-bikes through an extensive rental programme inclusive of maintenance, insurance, and 24/7 support. With 11 strategically placed docking stations across the valley, Curve Electric is dedicated to transforming the local landscape.

Beyond the conventional rental model for individual users, the startup also enables businesses to advertise on their e-bikes, creating an additional revenue stream.

DoubtClear AI

Personalised AI Teacher

Founded in 2023 by Abhishek Verma, Bengaluru-based DoubtClear AI utilises advanced ML and Gen AI models to instantly resolve doubts of students — ranging from third graders to PhD candidates.

The edtech startup claims to be combating the challenges of accessibility and socio-economic disparities in the Indian edtech space by developing scalable solutions that are affordable and cater to diverse learning styles.

Operating on a subscription-based Software as a Service (SaaS) model, users can ask unlimited doubt. Already operational on Android and serving 174 countries in APAC, Europe, and the Americas, the platform is gearing up for an iOS deployment by 2024.

A key highlight of DoubtClear AI’s 2024 roadmap is the customisation of its ML algorithms for specific exam types. DoubtClear AI’s revenue model revolves around monthly and annual subscriptions. The startup has ambitious plans to introduce immersive learning courses by 2026.

Equity Address

The New Way To Own A Second Home

India’s holiday homes market is projected to reach $8 Bn in the next 3-4 years. Amid this, the share of fractional ownership of holiday homes, too, is anticipated to rise to 5% from a mere 1% currently.

Founded in 2021 by Mohit Prem Gupta, Puneet Gupta, Abhishek Madhukar, and Aashish Raj, Equity Address wants to be the key force behind redefining the Indian holiday homes market, making it a compelling choice for investors seeking modern and accessible avenues for real estate investment. This tech-enabled marketplace facilitates co-ownership of second homes, democratising access to this asset class.

The platform seeks to simplify the investment process in second homes, making it more accessible to a broader audience. By allowing fractional ownership, Equity Address tackles the traditional barriers associated with owning holiday homes. The model involves a 5% revenue share on each fraction sold and 3% on fraction re-sale, ensuring a sustainable and mutually beneficial ecosystem.

Equity Address and The Venya are two of its vertically integrated technology platforms. Equity Address offers a modern investment approach, allowing individuals to co-own second homes through a tech-enabled marketplace. Meanwhile, The Venya serves as a global marketplace for luxury vacation home rentals.

The startup has already secured mandates of INR 50 Cr worth of assets in Goa. Looking ahead, the company projects an AUM of INR 100 Cr by 2024 and envisions an AUM of INR 400 Cr by 2026.

Fleetroot

Simplifying Last-Mile Deliveries For Businesses

Even though India’s third-party logistics ecosystem comprises a healthy mix of big and small players, issues like limited visibility into fleet operations, inaccurate delivery time estimates and high delivery costs continue to sour the overall customer experience.

Set up in 2021 by Moidu Chandanam, Motilal Keshavdas, Javokhir Vapaev, Nabeel Abdul, and Dattatray Kanaki, Fleetroot has built a logistics SaaS solution that enables enterprises to control their supply chain more efficiently by allowing them to optimise their delivery routes and operations. The startup’1s automated route planner helps businesses save time and money by efficiently managing their delivery fleet.

Fleetroot uses predictive analytics to anticipate delays and disruptions, helping businesses avoid missed deliveries and customer dissatisfaction. The startup further provides real-time tracking of deliveries, allowing businesses to monitor the progress of their shipments and keep their customers informed. Fleetroot’s APIs can integrate with almost all the popular CRM and ERP platforms, enabling businesses to easily get started.

The startup offers its solution for free for the first 14 days, following which users can select any one of the three plans it offers, based on the size of their business and the number of deliveries they expect to make in a given month.

Frendy

Leveraging Homemakers’ Potential With Micro-Commerce

India’s booming startup ecosystem has created a new wave of women entrepreneurs who are now driving economic growth. With the country’s GDP set to reach $5 Tn by the end of 2025, these women are breaking barriers to lead diverse industries.

One such venture is Ahmedabad-based Frendy. Founded in 2019 by Sameer Gandotra and Gowrav Vishwakarma, the startup is a convenience store network for India’s small towns that leverages existing micro-stores such as family-run kirana stores and new home-based stores set up by housewives as a last mile distribution point.

The platform sells household items with the help of its women community leaders or Frendy Partners. It claims to have expanded to over 40 Tier II- Tier VI towns in Gujarat, serving 50K customers with over 4.5K products. 

Frendy, which sells beauty, cleaning, grocery, and kitchen products, among others, under its private-label portfolio, claims that its revenue doubled to INR 82 Cr in FY23 from INR 40 Cr in the previous fiscal.

Furrl

New-Age D2C Brands At Your Fingertips

Anticipated to account for a significant chunk of the $400 Bn ecommerce opportunity by 2025, the D2C arena is one of the fastest-growing segments in India, as per an Inc42 report.

However, many of these businesses are new, therefore customers face a hard time discovering and trusting these new D2C brands. Furrl, established in 2022 by IIT Kanpur and Harvard Business School alumna Esha Tiwary, provides a platform for D2C brands to showcase their products and sell them to customers.

Furrl’s handpicked selection of brands undergoes a rigorous vetting process, ensuring that only authentic and high-quality brands make it onto the platform. This curation sets the startup apart from traditional ecommerce marketplaces, offering a more personalised and discerning shopping experience. 

Further, Furrl offers a seamless one-click ordering system, comprehensive product information, and hassle-free returns and exchanges. Consumers can browse through a diverse range of categories, from fashion and accessories to home décor and lifestyle products, all curated to cater to the tastes of discerning shoppers.

Furrl monetises its platform via two channels – earning a commission on each sale made through its platform and allowing brands to pay to have their products prominently featured on its homepage or within specific categories.

ImagoAI

Food Testing Takes A Deeptech Turn

For large-scale food production, testing remains an important final step before any food shipment goes out. However, the process of manual food testing also does not detect adulterants beyond a certain point.

To solve this, ex-Snapdeal research engineers Shweta Gupta and Abhishek Goyal founded ImagoAI in 2019. The startup claims to have developed the world’s fastest non-destructive food test – Galaxy. The test uses hyperspectral imaging and AI to detect mycotoxins, pathogens, vitamins, proteins, and other micronutrients in food. 

ImagoAI combines digital imaging with spectroscopy to give 3D imaging. Further, the startup’s proprietary AI micro models use each pixel’s spectral bands as a chemical signature. They extract features from each chemical signature and these extracted features are fed into its AI to generate test results in seconds.

ImagoAI claims to serve multiple Fortune 500 food companies and monetises its products through direct sales.

IndiaCharts

Cutting-Edge Analytics To Enhance Your Stock Market Returns

Even though India has the largest number of stock market traders in the world, a significant chunk of them do not possess the know-how to make informed trading decisions. This is probably why many end up losing a lot of money in the market. 

Acknowledging this, seasoned stock market investors Rohit Srivastava and Chavan Krishna founded IndiaCharts in 2022. The startup offers analytics on India’s stock markets via its platform STRIKE.

The platform provides data visualisation to easily spot trends and allows scanning and searching of data with predefined setups and analysis of trends and sentiment.

Indiacharts provides subscribers with daily, weekly, and monthly updates on the stock market, including analysis of Nifty50, Bank Nifty, commodities, currencies, individual stocks, and Indian and global economic trends. The startup also offers a mentorship programme and a discussion forum, enabling users to become better traders.

STRIKE is currently being offered for free by Indiacharts, with the startup planning to launch the paid version by 2024. In the long term, Indiacharts wants to throw open its platform to the world. It plans to foray into the US and European markets by 2026.

Jodaro

Sell Local Products To The World

While India has generated several multimillion-dollar manufacturing enterprises, a significant portion of them are highly localised and do not look outside their local markets, let alone the country, for prospective buyers. Though many Indian brands have global ambitions, a lack of connections to global buyers is often their undoing.

Founded in 2023 by IIT Kharagpur alumni Rajiv Patki and Sambuddha Adhikari, Jodaro provides global commerce solutions to manufacturers. The startup specialises in identifying supply gaps across geographies and automating global commerce operations.

Jodaro’s core product includes four key elements – storefront management, inventory management, global logistics and marketing and social media management. The startup also allows manufacturers to build an omnichannel presence globally, enabling them to sell efficiently across both online and offline sales channels.

It offers its products via a SaaS-based revenue model, with custom-built plans for each customer. By 2026, Jodaro envisions expanding operations to 10 global markets, collaborating with over 500 manufacturers, and curating 15,000 diverse products.

OnFinance AI

Foundational LLM For Finance and Banking

India’s banking, financial services and insurance (BFSI) sector is often characterised by inefficiencies. Even though this sector is considered to be the backbone of the economy, technology adoption has been slow in this space.

Bengaluru-based OnFinance envisions a future where Gen AI can revolutionise the BFSI sector. Founded in 2022 by Anuj Srivastava and Priyesh Srivastava, the startup is committed to leveraging the power of Gen AI to deliver solutions that enhance efficiency, productivity and customer experience for BFSI institutions.

At OnFinance AI’s core is NeoGPT, an in-house LLM, tailored for the BFSI domain. NeoGPT can understand and generate human-quality text, translate languages, craft creative content, and respond to questions. 

The startup has developed AI copilots, which integrate with existing BFSI workflows to support internal teams across various functions such as research, relationship management, sales and customer support. It offers custom AI solutions and provides consultation services to assist BFSI companies in seamlessly integrating the startup’s AI solutions into its existing infrastructure and processes.

Procurabl

Turning Supply Chain Into Your Competitive Advantage

Even though new-age industries like electric vehicles (EVs) and drones are growing at a break-neck speed, companies working in these areas continue to be bogged down in supply chain issues. 

Seamless sourcing of complex machinery, components and technology is the need of the hour for sustained growth of these burgeoning industries. Founded by Ninad Kashid in December 2020, Procurabl does exactly this. The startup unclogs supply chain bottlenecks with its solutions. Drawing on his experience as a founding team member at a battery pack manufacturing startup, Kashid navigated the intricacies and risks associated with establishing supply chains for the EV industry.

The company offers end-to-end supply chain solutions for powertrain, electric drive systems, chassis assemblies, and their components. Procurabl claims to have an impressive 98% perfect order rate for its powertrain supply chain solutions. The business model also includes engaging in local manufacturing projects with Indian MSMEs. Revenue is generated through a project/milestone-based model. Procurabl collaborates with OEMs, offering contract manufacturing, white-labelling, and standardised part sourcing tailored to the specific needs of its clients. 

The startup positions itself as a strategic partner in addressing challenges faced by OEMs in areas like optimising projects for enhanced visibility, reducing time-to-market, and cost management. Procurabl aims to propel its business growth by 10X by next year. In the medium term (by 2026), the startup has plans to collaborate with over 100 OEMs in five countries.

Pulse Energy

Smart EV Platform For Fleet Operators

Founded by Akhil Jayaprakash in 2019, Pulse Energy is a SaaS platform dedicated to enhancing energy systems. The company’s primary offerings comprise a charger management solution designed for operators overseeing chargers remotely. 

Additionally, there is a fleet EV charger management product, enabling seamless access and payment for EV fleets at charging stations nationwide. Catering to EV OEMs, Pulse Energy provides a charger interoperability product, facilitating access and payment at any charger across India.

Central to Pulse Energy’s ecosystem is its “EV Charger Marketplace”, a one-stop solution for EV fleets, OEMs, and charge point operators. Through this platform, EV fleets and OEMs gain easy access to chargers, while operators increase charger utilisation by listing on the marketplace. 

Its D2C charging app, InstaCharge, directly serves EV drivers, enabling them to locate, access, and pay for public chargers. Billing is structured on a per-energy-dispensed basis, creating a revenue stream for Pulse Energy. A significant achievement for Pulse Energy has been the onboarding of Uber Green, with approximately 80% of Uber Green cabs now relying on Pulse Energy’s EV charging platform for hub and public charging. 

The company aims to expand its market share by leveraging partnerships with renowned brands like Moeving, Everest Fleet (Uber Green), Log9, and Tork Motors. In the long term, the startup aims to extend services to individual EV users.

Quoality

Managing Guests Made Easy For Hoteliers

Despite major advancements in the field of software development, India’s hospitality industry has often found itself tethered to outdated software.

This is precisely where Quoality, founded in 2022 by Akshay Dekate and Tejaswi Chawla, steps in to fill the gap in the Indian hospitality sector. The startup offers an all-in-one guest experience platform, addressing the need to digitise guest-facing processes. The startup offers a cloud-native platform that simplifies operations for hoteliers. 

One of the key features of the Quoality platform includes guest messaging, which automates communication through channels like WhatsApp and email. Further, its ‘ancillary upsell’ functionality offers additional services to guests, maximising revenue streams. Quoality also offers contactless check-in and checkout, reducing wait times. The platform’s payments feature allows hotels to collect ancillary sales and other payments online, mitigating revenue pilferage.

Quoality’s subscription-based pricing model includes the base platform and communication credits. As of now, the platform is active across 5,500 rooms, with ambitious plans to expand to 20,000-25,000 rooms by the end of 2024. The startup claims to have onboarded prominent players in the USA and Middle East markets, with recent collaborations including Choice Hotels India.

SecurWeave

Next-Gen Cybersecurity Platform

India is one of the world’s most adversely affected countries when it comes to cyberattacks. A recent report by Singapore-based cybersecurity firm Cyfirma shows that India is the most-targeted nation globally in state-sponsored cyberattacks, with 13.7% of all global state-sponsored attacks aimed at India.

To combat this, Hyderabad-based SecurWeave is building cybersecurity solutions for the future. The startup develops hardware-enforced security solutions to protect against advanced malware attacks. Its flagship product, CHESS (configurable hardware-enforced safety & security), is a platform that can be integrated into various devices, including endpoints, mobile phones, data centres and embedded systems. 

CHESS works by using hardware extensions to monitor and control the execution of software, preventing malicious code from gaining access to sensitive data and systems. The startup is collaborating with Intel to improve its advanced malware detection capabilities and protect operating systems from malware attacks. Another focus area for SecurWeave is to leverage its collaboration with Intel to provide security for the Industrial IoT (IIoT) segment.

The firm monetises its platform through strategic partnerships with device manufacturers and software vendors. By integrating CHESS into their products and solutions, these partners gain a competitive edge by offering enhanced security to their customers. 

Skydo

Simplifying Cross-Border B2B Payments

Indian companies working with overseas clients often face challenges related to remittances and receiving payments due to complications with setting up a FEMA-compliant system.

Founded in February 2022 by Movin Jain and Srivatsan Sridhar, Skydo is a fintech startup that aims to simplify cross-border B2B payments by enabling businesses to create a global virtual account within five minutes. Skydo’s platform facilitates invoicing, payments, and accounts receivable. By partnering with leading global banks, it offers businesses their foreign virtual accounts for receiving payments, eliminating taxation and compliance burdens.

Currently serving 750+ Indian businesses and exporters, Skydo claims to have witnessed a robust month-on-month growth rate of 25%, processing over $11 Mn in forex payments since its launch. The company aims to reach 2 Lakh small businesses, targeting $1 Bn in export payment flows over the next year.

Plans include providing financing options, introducing payout cards and offering treasury services to facilitate multi-currency payments, signalling a strategic approach to secure a strong foothold in the market.

StepChange

Enterprise Sustainability Management Platform

ESG reporting is one of the most important undertakings an enterprise engages in, second only to financial reporting in many instances. However, the lack of standardised reporting within the segment has led to much debate about the true performance of a given enterprise during a given time, and the arbitrary and subjective nature of ESG data can also be challenging.

Several startups are emerging to revolutionise ESG reporting for enterprises and Bengaluru-based StepChange is one of them. Founded in 2021 by ex-Ola executive Ankit Jain and MIT alumnus Sidhant Pai, PhD, StepChange offers a one-stop solution for enterprise sustainability, ESG reporting, financed emissions, portfolio climate risk management and product sustainability.

The startup’s software is employed by banks, asset managers, insurance companies, and corporations to measure their ESG performance, track progress towards their ESG goals, report ESG performance to stakeholders, identify and manage ESG risks and develop and implement ESG strategies. StepChange’s software is based on the latest ESG standards and frameworks, including the GHG Protocol, the TCFD, and the SASB. The company’s software is also cloud-based and easy to use.

The startup monetises its software through a subscription-based pricing model. Businesses can choose from various subscription plans that fit their specific needs. StepChange also offers a host of consulting and advisory services to help businesses implement and optimise their ESG programmes.

Sugarcane AI

AI For Everyone

In the AI universe, LLMs have emerged as powerful tools capable of generating text, translating languages and creating various types of creative content. However, using these models effectively hinges on the ability to craft effective prompts.

Sugarcane AI, founded in 2023 by NIT graduates Ravinder Kumar and Ankur Agarwal, addresses this challenge by introducing an open-source node package manager-like package ecosystem, specifically designed for prompts. In simple words, the platform enables developers to create, package and share prompt packages, akin to reusable modules that encapsulate prompt templates, datasets and LLM configurations.

The startup offers four components – Sugar Factory (a no-code playground for prompt developers to build and share prompts), Sugar Hub (a marketplace where developers can discover and access prompt packages), Sugar Bakery (a software development kit that simplifies the integration of LLMs into applications) and Sugar Farm (a tool for data scientists to streamline the process of building and training Micro LLMs).

Sugarcane AI monetises the platform through the sales of prompt packages on Sugar Hub, through subscriptions for Sugar Factory, Sugar Bakery and Sugar Farm, as well as support from the community.

Surplus

Keep Spending To Maximise Your Savings

Managing expenses can be a daunting task, often consuming valuable time and susceptible to errors. Despite the availability of numerous spending management tools, a persistent gap appears to exist. Moreover, entrusting third-party apps with access may jeopardise the security of personal data.

After witnessing this issue first-hand, Rajkumar Desai launched Surplus, a full-stack expense management platform, in 2021. The Mumbai-based startup helps users track their expenses, optimise spending and make informed financial decisions. The platform links with users’ bank accounts to offer features such as expense tracking, personalised insights and a live budget tracker. Surplus also enables users to buy and manage their subscriptions, providing discounts and trial packs based on their spending patterns. 

On the B2B side, the startup collaborates with brands to offer discounts, exclusive deals and more. Surplus claims that it enables companies to reduce their Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC) and target the right niche of users. The app also allows companies to pay based on the performance of their campaigns instead of a blanket fee.

The startup operates on a B2B2C model and has two revenue streams –  transaction fees and other related charges from B2B customers and a subscription fee from B2C users. Currently, the startup is working on rolling out its app on the Google Play Store and Apple’s App Store.

Swashaa

Affordable And Quality-Focussed Fashion

Founded in 2021 by Bhaavan Ramani, Swashaa has forged a distinct path in the fashion industry after learning from the collapse of a previous business. This close-knit team of friends and family has crafted a brand that offers stainless steel jewellery, offering unique design, affordability, and quality. Its flagship products include the Shiny Clover Necklace and Bree Band Bracelet, which embody the brand’s ethos.

Swashaa’s working model revolves around meticulous product management, media, and marketing strategies. The team curates products backed by a robust media and marketing plan executed by an in-house team of photographers, videographers, and influencers. The post-order process, managed by the CRM team, ensures swift communication and resolution, coupled with efficient shipping through selected partners.

Swashaa’s revenue model focuses on direct sales and an advertising model, while strategic decisions like eliminating local vendors and introducing leather handbags showcase a commitment to innovation. The brand’s expansion plan includes the launch of stores at domestic airports and a targeted entry into international markets, with a keen eye on the US, UK, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.

Univest

Master The Stock Market With Impactful Insights

While millions of people in India invest in public markets, they require greater access to new-age investment vehicles and crucial insights that could contribute to their success on the bourses.

Founded in 2022 by Pranit Arora, Avneet Dhamija and Vikash Agrawal, Univest is a mobile app that offers investors a suite of investment solutions. It provides users with personalised investment recommendations based on their risk tolerance and financial goals. 

The app features AI-powered ‘Buy/Sell/Hold’ insights, advanced screeners and daily pre-market analysis. Additionally, it provides financial news and educational resources to assist users in making informed investment decisions.

The startup generates revenue through a combination of transaction and subscription fees. For each investment transaction initiated through the platform, Univest charges a small commission. Additionally, the company offers a premium subscription service that gives users access to in-depth research reports and personalised investment guidance.

Vance

Digital Banking Redefined for NRIs

Indian expatriates constitute one of the primary contributors to foreign remittances flowing into India. Goldman Sachs estimates net inward remittances to India to hover around the $104 Bn mark in calendar year 2023. Despite this, there are several challenges NRIs face while transferring money home.

Founded in 2022 by Stanford dropout Parth Garg, Bengaluru-based Vance is a neobank that streamlines remitting money to India from foreign lands. The startup also provides access to a free international debit card while enabling NRIs to invest in Indian stocks and mutual funds.

Vance charges a flat fee regardless of the transaction size. For instance, the startup charges £3 per transaction from the UK to India, regardless of the amount. The startup also offers NRE NRE (non-resident external), NRO (non-resident ordinary), and FCNR (foreign currency non-resident) accounts, allowing Indians living abroad access to the Indian banking systems.

The startup claims to have nearly 50K users across the US, the UK, Singapore, the UAE and Canada.

WorqHat

Revolutionise Businesses With Customisable Apps And Workflows

While proficiency in coding and programming is crucial for developing customised apps and workflows, a significant number of companies entering the technological landscape lack individuals with the requisite technical expertise to create applications from the ground up. This concern has grown exponentially in light of the escalating demand for applications.

Founded in 2022 by Sagnik Ghosh and Susmita Ghosh, WorqHat is a no-code platform that empowers companies to construct enterprise-grade web applications without coding. The platform, inspired by Photoshop’s user-friendly interface, guides users through a conversational journey of crafting data, components and security features.

WorqHat has developed in-house LLMs tailored to enterprise data, thereby enhancing the platform’s capabilities. The Pune-based startup enables companies to design bespoke applications for various departments, including sales, marketing, finance, operations and more.

Adopting a subscription-based monetisation strategy, WorqHat provides businesses with tiered pricing plans that cater to their specific requirements and usage patterns. This approach ensures a flexible and scalable solution for companies seeking to meet their diverse application development needs.

Xobox

Smart IoT Delivery Lockers

While India’s last-mile logistics services have made significant progress over the past decade, challenges persist, with issues such as products being damaged or stolen during the delivery process.

Enter Kiran Shivappa and Ravindra Nayaka, who founded Xobox in 2021, a startup that addresses these concerns by offering smart IoT lockers made of durable MS material. Xobox manages the entire process, from in-house designing and manufacturing of printed circuit boards to outsourcing the fabrication of metal lockers. 

With a focus on large apartment complexes, Xobox offers an end-to-end solution, and residents can opt to have their packages securely stored in the smart lockers, with the convenience of self-checkout or assistance from Xobox’s dedicated personnel, XMEN. The service aims to benefit elderly residents by reducing traffic within gated communities and instilling a sense of security. Xobox’s business model includes charging residents a nominal fee per transaction and providing an efficient and secure delivery process.

In addition to its primary focus on delivery services, Xobox empowers women entrepreneurs by enabling them to provide logistics services within the community for a reasonable fee. With a successful pilot programme at a 1,650-flat community and 6,000 customers, Xobox aims to replicate its model in 30 societies by the end of 2024.

Edited by Shishir Parashar.

The post 30 Startups To Watch: Startups That Caught Our Eye In November 2023 appeared first on Inc42 Media.

It’s not every day that one gets to listen to the stories of entrepreneurs who carved a niche for themselves in a sector highly dominated by either unorganised or legacy giants. Well, the entrepreneurial journey of Vijender Reddy Muthyala and Manas Ranjan Hota, the founders of Bengaluru-based watertech startup, DrinkPrime starts with a similar hook and an epiphany, of course, one of the most common ingredients in the story of any entrepreneur.

Founded in 2016, DrinkPrime provides subscription-based water purification services to Indian households at costs as low as INR 333 a month, installation and maintenance included. The startup’s RO machines come loaded with IoT tech and are customised to cater to the water purification needs of families living in different localities. 

Since its inception, the startup has raised more than INR 70 Cr from the likes of Venture Catalysts++, PeakXV and Omidyar Network which reflects investors’ trust in the founders’ business model.   

 Interestingly, had it not been for the water-scarce city of Bengaluru and their daily struggle to find safe drinking water, Muthyala would still be working as a software developer and Hota as a marketing professional. But destiny had different plans for them.

The story of the duo’s entrepreneurial journey starts with their heavy reliance on plastic drinking water cans. While they were not alone in lamenting about the quality of water they had been exposing their bodies to for quite a long time, they were surely the ones who stood up to bring about change.

The Genesis Of DrinkPrime

Interestingly, DrinkPrime did not come into existence right away. Before its launch, the founders floated an app, Waterwala, to deliver drinking water cans to people. This small-time gig helped the founders study the market closely and comprehend what had yet to be done in a bid to provide access to safe drinking water to families. 

But much had yet to be done, as the idea of a more scalable solution to address this challenge kept them awake at night. However, much to everyone’s chagrin, the issue was grimmer than the founders’ anticipation. This is because the water quality varied area-wise, which also meant different contamination levels to deal with and the one-size-fits-all approach would hardly be of any value if they truly wanted to bring change.  

The duo then decided to offer subscription-based customisable water purifiers, leading to the incorporation of DrinkPrime. But as they were still in their nascent stages, they knew that investor funding was not an option for them at the outset.

Therefore, as they say, “Innovation is the hallmark of entrepreneurship,” the founders got into revenue-sharing agreements with water purifier manufacturers. 

Under this regime, the duo saved themselves from incurring upfront manufacturing costs, a strategy that worked as a major growth catalyst for their newly formed venture. 

Today, the founders claim to be EBITDA positive, with the startup catering to more than 1 Lakh Indian households, several hospitals, corporations and schools like Government Higher Primary School, Bidaraguppe, YMC Kayaking Training Centre and Government Lower Primary School, Suggatta.

“We found that many brands used technical terms and technicalities of water purifiers to sell their purifiers, which confuses buyers. But we kept it simple. Our marketing has been all about promising safe drinking water,” Hota said, underlining the core principle of DrinkPrime’s marketing strategy that has helped the startup scale so far.

DrinkPrime’s Hi-Tech Water 

The startup’s water purifiers not only offer a seven-stage filtration process but also come with several tech-loaded features. DrinkPrime claims to reduce germs in drinking water while preserving essential minerals. Users can also monitor water quality with the help of the DrinkPrime app.

DrinkPrime’s purifiers are IoT-enabled and employ data analytics to continuously monitor and maintain water quality, all while enhancing user experience. The startup gathers water quality data on parameters like pH levels, total dissolved solids (TDS) and water hardness from different areas. This helps the startup understand the specific purification needs of each area.

The startup’s mobile app is a significant part of its service, as it simplifies the process of renting and managing water purifiers. The app allows users to recharge purifiers, track water usage, and renew or cancel subscription plans. It also enables direct communication with the support team, ensuring users receive prompt free-of-cost assistance.

DrinkPrime also uses analytics to gain insights into improving services and maintaining water quality. It incorporates customer feedback around the clock to improve its services.

Meanwhile, on the support end, DrinkPrime has employed a ticketing system. Subscribers raise inquiries or concerns on the app, enabling its support team to respond swiftly. 

Providing Access To Affordable Clean & Safe Drinking Water 

DrinkPrime’s value proposition lies in its pricing strategy. It offers purified water with zero purchase, installation and maintenance costs. In contrast, other similar-quality purifiers can cost more than INR 20K, excluding installation and annual maintenance between INR 4K and 5K. 

According to the founders, DrinkPrime stands out as the more affordable choice for users, as the company does not charge even a single penny over and above its subscription cost. 

“We have crafted well-researched subscription models under which users pay as per their consumption needs. For instance, solo consumers can take a yearly subscription for INR 4K, giving access to 1,500 L of purified water. While a family of more than four can opt for the unlimited supply of purified water for INR 6,400 L,” Hota said, adding that the startup currently has four subscription plans in place.

DrinkPrime’s Future Roadmap  

The founders told Inc42 that they approached Venture Catalysts++ in 2022, as the investment firm has a proven track record of supporting successful companies. 

“The investors liked our business model and went beyond offering just financial aid. The mentorship and strategic insights have helped us sharpen our business strategies and effectively navigate challenges,” the founders said.

With the ongoing support from Venture Catalysts++, the founders plan to expand their footprint to new geographies. Currently operational in seven cities, including Delhi-NCR, Mumbai and Bengaluru, the startup is also running a CSR campaign, #DonatewithDrinkPrime, under which it is providing safe drinking water to over 750 students in Bengaluru’s government schools.

“Moreover, we plan to diversify our offerings to cater to a broader audience,” said Hota. To do this the founders said that they aim to launch water purifiers that could dispense sparkling water or get you a glass of water as per your desired temperature. In the near term, the startup also plans to offer vitamin and protein-based drinks.

According to the founders, this is the right time to make waves in the industry as the investor sentiment is currently ripe towards the Indian water tech space, with quite noteworthy innovation happening in the sector.

It is pertinent to mention that DrinkPrime competes with the likes of Swajal, OwO, OCEO, Livpure, et al. to tackle the challenge of water contamination across India. 

“Investors recognise the potential for innovation in addressing this widespread issue. They understand that the major growth drivers for this sector are tech innovations and people’s growing awareness of having access to clean and drinking water, which is also increasingly becoming a basic human need,” the founders said, adding that only 10% of Indians today have access to water purifiers, which makes for a huge white space to be filled in a country where clean drinking water is just another pressing issue. 

According to a 2021 report, freshwater resources, vital for the survival of humans, are deteriorating rapidly due to increasing pollution and contamination and disappearing at an alarming rate due to human interventions. Not just this, waterborne diseases affect millions annually, causing serious illness and even death.

Another report, published by the Telegraph in 2022, highlighted the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) data, which revealed concerning levels of at least one heavy metal that is deemed toxic to human health in the waters of 117 rivers of India.

In the larger scheme of things, startups like DrinkPrime, incorporated to solve real-world problems, seem well-poised to grow in the long run. Some of the factors that will play a crucial role in their success will be investors’ trust, cheaper solutions, and tech innovation.  

In addition, other things that constantly peeved the two were inconsistent deliveries, unhygienic containers and unreliable water suppliers – and this was besides the questionable water quality that they, and many others like them, were exposed to.     

The household drinking water segment was crying a disruption — for there wasn’t even a single startup that was offering access to safe and affordable clean water solutions to the masses back in 2016 , the founders reminisced. 

“This got us thinking about how to eliminate the reliance on harmful plastic cans for drinking water, which usually remain exposed to the Sun, resulting in water getting contaminated with microplastics,” Hota said. 

That was the time when the duo decided to get their hands dirty and synergised to provide safe drinking water to families heavily reliant on plastic cans. According to the cofounders, at the time when they were still fidgeting with the idea of floating their startup, less than 10% of Indians owned water purifiers.   

At this first beacon of opportunity, the duo decided to take the leap of entrepreneurial faith, committed to the intent of providing safe drinking water to many like them.

The post Here’s How DrinkPrime Is Quenching The Thirst Of Indians For Safe Drinking Water appeared first on Inc42 Media.

What was the biggest challenge manufacturers of all sizes used to face even before Covid-19 hit the world? A less-than-optimum supply chain plagued by procurement risks and costs – a good many companies would tell you. If procurement was challenging earlier, the global supply chain was really and truly broken during the pandemic. Even now, many businesses are working on future-proofing their sourcing and procurement operations to boost bottom-line growth.

But long before the global debacle, brothers  Akash and Akshay Hegde, who joined their family business to make industrial tools and tackles in 2015, knew the challenges of a small manufacturer. With meagre buying volumes, limited resources, and a lean team of 30, they often ended up negotiating sub-optimally with suppliers. But what hit them most was the lack of price transparency and reliability in fulfilment, resulting in low net profit, inventory challenges, quality issues and production loss. 

Large enterprises did not fare well, either. Most struggled with managing multiple vendors, lack of product standardisation and on-time delivery. 

Consider this. Even in 2022, 60% of small and medium businesses lost up to 15% or more in revenue due to supply chain delays, per a survey commissioned by the supply chain visibility platform Anvyl. Worse still, 56% of the SMBs had reportedly changed their suppliers/vendors due to costs and consistent delays.    

Knowing first hand that an inadequate procurement process could do more harm than good, the Hegde brothers decided to build a technology-enabled platform to transform B2B commerce. Their goal was to create an agile and efficient process for easy transactions and a seamless customer experience. The duo teamed up with Santhosh Reddy, a product development architect, and ShakeDeal was launched in 2016.

The B2B marketplace connects enterprises and MSMEs with OEMs and bulk suppliers of industrial goods and business supplies. It also provides a host of proprietary tools, enabling quick and quality procurement, purchase and payment visibility and extensive savings through price analysis. 

The platform deals in a broad range of industrial products, including safety equipment, hand and power tools, pumps and motors, testing and measuring instruments, IT and electronics, electricals, automotive, agricultural products and many more. Currently, it features more than 40 categories, offers 5 Lakh SKUs and also sells a vast selection of customised corporate gifts.

Procuring via the ShakeDeal website is simple, thanks to the platform’s fully digitalised  workflows and robust customer support. As in Amazon’s B2B marketplace, buyers can find product specifications on the site and manage their inventories easily with ShakeDeal’s procure-to-pay platform and Mozart, a vendor management system (more on that later). 

But ShakeDeal offers more than just operational ease. The platform consolidates bulk orders from buyers to ensure discounted pricing that is 8-10% lower than current market rates.  Further, to reduce fulfilment costs, shipment consolidation is achieved by combining multiple orders from different sellers into a single shipment when a buyer places several orders. 

Also, managing a large number of suppliers can be a challenging task for enterprises, as it takes up a lot of time and effort. To simplify this process, the platform has introduced ShakeDeal Mozart, an all-in-one vendor management system (VMS) that streamlines the downstream supply chain and ensures seamless operations (more on that later). 

ShakeDeal currently serves more than 10K MSMEs and 250 large enterprises and has a network of 4K+ suppliers. Among its notable enterprise customers are industry giants such as Adani and Vedanta groups, Siemens, Nayara Energy and Bharat Heavy Electricals (BHEL). 

The B2B platform has partnered with reputed third-party logistics (3PL) companies and ships to more than 20K pin codes across India, ensuring accessibility for businesses nationwide.

How ShakeDeal Mozart, OTIF Deliveries Are Powering E-Procurement

ShakeDeal’s journey started with a vision to create a strong procurement network of B2B buyers and suppliers. Although the Hegde brothers were familiar with industrial goods and supply chains, they were looking for a tech-savvy cofounder who could help them redefine B2B commerce. They met Santhosh Reddy at a networking event and bonded over the challenges and opportunities in the supply chain. Eventually, the three of them set up ShakeDeal in 2016.

In 2018, Mahendra Vora, founder of the PE firm Vora Ventures, joined the board as chairman and entrepreneur Kris Nair joined as president and CEO. Vora and Nair have brought their expertise in SaaS and enterprise domains. Nair has run an AI-focussed technology company, Ascendum, while Vora’s company, Acquiire, a P2P software company was acquired by Coupa, a business spend management company.

A year later, the startup ventured into the corporate gifting, and rewards and recognition space. Its goal was to help companies retain its valued customers, business partners and employees. According to Akash, businesses often face difficulties in managing their corporate gifting programmes, ensuring reliable delivery and handling multiple suppliers transparently. However, it is an essential brand-building exercise that should not be overlooked. Hence, ShakeDeal optimises procurement costs and ensures timely delivery of physical gifts and digital rewards to help maintain crucial relationships.  

The platform faced its biggest challenge during the pandemic. Much like online shopping, procuring industrial supplies and businesses digitally was the need of the hour when physical markets were shut down for months. However, a large number of enterprises and MSMEs still needed to be technologically equipped to initiate that process.

Undaunted by the turn of events, the platform helped businesses of all sizes with easy order-placing and transactions and pushed a robust CRM for constant hand-holding. It also rolled out ShakeDeal Mozart, a comprehensive vendor management system (VMS) powered by a rules engine, which serves as a supply chain control tower for carrying out critical tasks. 

For instance, it syncs with various ERPs to understand enterprise-specific purchase order (PO) formats, interacts with several business software programmes for data exchange, routes orders accurately and provides end-to-end order and shipment tracking. The VMS also features a single dashboard for complete visibility of POs and payments. These vendor management and supply chain optimisation services on ShakeDeal Mozart are available for a subscription fee.

To ensure timely delivery, ShakeDeal has built a network of fulfilment centres (FCs) for specific tasks. Urgent procurement is the priority here and the platform works closely with top suppliers for drop shipping (sellers shipping directly to customers). Just-in-time (aka JIT, where inventory does not need to be stored or managed until a purchase has been made online) model is available for less time-sensitive orders, while sellers’ fulfilment centres serve as inspection/quality control hubs for standard orders before packages are shipped out. 

Additionally, ShakeDeal keeps an inventory of fast-selling items in dedicated FCs, mainly near B2B buyers, especially those who prefer vendor-managed inventories (VMIs). This has helped it achieve on-time and in-full (OTIF) delivery rates consistently exceeding 95%, claims Akash.

The startup works with logistics players handling land and air freight across India to maximise OTIF. When an order is placed, ShakeDeal website automatically selects the most suitable shipping company for the job based on the shipment type and volume. This approach keeps shipping costs low, guarantees safe and timely delivery and allows customers to track their orders from start to finish.

How ShakeDeal Negotiates & Analyses Pricing To Trigger Up To 10% Savings

ShakeDeal stands out among B2B marketplaces due to its unique focus on price negotiations and cost savings for MSME buyers. The startup collates purchase requirements on its website and aggregates the vast demand (given its 10K+ customer base), thus paving the path for negotiations with sellers and securing cost-saving deals. In return, it retains a part of the savings as commission while passing on the rest to its buyers. All transactions are 100% GST-compliant and save 5-18% compared to B2C market rates, claims Akash.

On the other hand, enterprise customers can access a product catalogue with pre-negotiated rates and pay portal charges based on transactions. 

Sellers, too, have to pay a commission on every successful deal. 

This means ShakeDeal has a three-tier revenue model – earning transaction-based commissions from buyers and sellers and a fee for its Mozart services. According to Akash Hegde, ShakeDeal has always focussed on unit economics to drive growth. 

It is worth noting that base prices on the site remain competitive due to ShakeDeal’s Intelligent Engine. This tool rationalises costs by comparing product prices on websites/apps, as well as tracking sales history, supply chain expenses and other relevant market data. As a result, base prices for MSME customers are 8-10% lower than the average market rate, creating a win-win situation for buyers and sellers.

Have these measures enhanced buyer and seller stickiness?

Akash says that the startup initially used outbound marketing to reach out to vendors. But they are now voluntarily signing up to access the fast-growing customer pool. ShakeDeal aims to expand its vendor network further to improve overall engagement.

It will also enter new categories, such as production consumables and raw materials, opt for cross-selling to add value and target a revenue of INR 1,000 Cr in the next few years.

Bringing in new buyers is the most critical task to reach those ambitious goals. So, the startup is using organic and inbound marketing to gain traction in the long term. ShakeDeal hopes to disrupt the market more with content and brand campaigns. It also attends industry events to network with decision-makers and supply chain professionals, sharing insights and successful case studies to attract bigger clients. This approach has paved the path for chaperoning enterprise clients in their digital transformation journeys and deepening relationships with the existing ones. 

Could B2B Marketplaces Reshape The Future Of Procurement?  

The world has gone off its traditional trajectory in a post-Covid world and the procurement/supply chain segment has changed for good. However, not all MSMEs can develop in-house e-procurement systems, and many look forward to seeking help from enablers like ShakeDeal, IndiaMART, TradeIndia and the rest. With the country’s online B2B marketplaces expected to present a $200 Bn opportunity by 2030, compared to $20 Bn in 2022, per a Bessemer Venture Partners report earlier this year, the growth path is wide open. 

Akash of ShakeDeal also believes that B2B ecommerce focussed on industrial goods and business supplies procurement is growing exponentially as the right growth drivers are present at the right time. In fact, the rise of digital marketplaces is a given across B2B and B2C sectors due to maturing digital technologies, their fast adoption since the Covid-19 pandemic and favourable regulatory measures pushed by the government.

Tech enablement in supply chains is further driving user expectations, the founder says. As in the B2C space, B2B buyers are also looking for easy-to-use, customised solutions to meet their specific requirements. Options (read multiple suppliers), value and efficiency are key to unlocking that buyers’ market. Again, sellers can access a humungous customer pool without adding too much to operational costs if enablers help them navigate the initial hurdles of e-procurement.    

With their evolving technologies and business models, the likes of ShakeDeal have the potential to reshape the future of procurement and B2B ecommerce in India. But as Akash said, the outcome will depend on utilising the capability of these marketplaces to enhance operations and reduce costs.

Getting the digital environments, operational models and specialised scenarios for buyers and suppliers right at the first go is crucial in a nascent market like India (B2B ecommerce accounted for just 1% of the total B2B market in 2022, says Bessemer). Otherwise, the early mover advantage and trust in the brand may not work out as expected.

The post How ShakeDeal’s Tech Transformed Industrial Procurement For 10K+ MSMEs, 250+ Enterprises appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Who isn’t familiar with the horrors that the Covid-19 pandemic brought upon humanity? While the initial days were fun to stay inside the confines of the homes, everything started getting out of hand after that.  

And while the 21-day nationwide lockdown hardly did the trick to contain the spread of the deadly variant of the coronavirus family, it certainly led to behavioural and mental health issues among the population, with the elderly being hit the most.

According to a study by the Agewell Foundation, the elderly went through high degrees of Covid-19-related anxiety, insomnia, panic attacks, depression and chronic stress. 

“The pandemic took a heavy toll on the elderly due to their weak immunity. To make matters worse, many fell prey to depression due to loneliness at the time when social distancing was the new norm,” said Lavender Singh Rathore, the founder and CEO of healthtech startup Sarathi Healthcare, which provides holistic care to the elderly.

According to Rathore, the situation was all the more gruesome for the elderly, whose children or other family members were away and couldn’t travel as transportation services across the country came to a screeching halt. And then there was a flow of negative news from all possible means — TV channels, WhatsApp groups and social media platforms.

“My friends living away from their parents in different cities constantly asked me to keep a check on their parents and it was painful for me to see them in a constant state of fear,” Rathore said, adding that it proved to be the tipping point that triggered him to do something for the old. 

It was then that Rathore joined forces with Sushil Sharma, CEO and founder of Marwari Catalysts to launch Sarathi Healthcare in September 2020 to give the elderly the care they needed, both physical and mental, as the virus wreaked havoc. Rathore raised INR 5 Lakh seed funding from Marwari Catalysts, paving the way for the startup’s launch.  

Later,  in September 2023, dentist Saloni Munot joined Rathore’s startup as the cofounder and COO, while Rathore assumed the role of CEO and cofounder. Meanwhile, Sharma is the director of Sarathi Healthcare.

The Jodhpur-based healthtech startup provides the elderly access to medical services like health monitoring, homecare assistance, doctor consultations and other medical facilities (more on this later). Besides physical health services, the startup provides nutritionists, ‘concierge’ services (caretakers), wellness and health counsellors.

All these services and facilities can be accessed by the elderly (and their caregivers) 24/7 via the company’s website. The startup is also working on its app, HealthSarathi, which will be ready by March 2024. 

Meanwhile, the users can leverage the Sarathi website to book blood tests and body checkups and order health supplements. For this, the startup has a network of 12 hospitals, 38 super speciality doctors, 13 healthcare providers (concierge), 3 nutritionists, 3 counsellors and 12 healthcare brands.

Further, the services of the startup, which predominantly operates in Jodhpur, have already been used by over 6K individuals across Rajasthan. The startup also has the state government’s support under the iStart initiative. 

According to Rathore, iStart has been one of the earliest supporters in their journey. Under the state’s initiative, not only did the startup receive financial aid when it was in its nascency but also expert assistance in understanding the legalities of starting a company. 

The iStart programme of the state government proved to be a shot in the arm for the healthtech startup, which then soon lapped up investments from Ah! Ventures and a clutch of high-networth individuals based in Jodhpur, Nashik and Pune. To date, Sarathi Healthcare has raised INR 93 Lakh in Seed funding. 

Pertinent to mention that the startup clocked INR 1.02 Cr revenue in FY23 and is now looking at a 145% YoY increase in the metric. 

Meanwhile, without divulging many details, Rathore hinted that the startup was working on building a proprietary tech stack that would help bridge the communication gap between senior citizens and their families.

From Catering To Legacy Pharmas To Creating A Social Impact

Before embarking on his entrepreneurial journey, Rathore served the pharma sector for three decades, working with legacy players like Zydus Cadila, USV and Boehringer Mannheim.

It was not until the pandemic that the gaps in the country’s healthcare system started making sense, inspiring him to set up Sarathi Healthcare. 

Upon the startup’s launch, the founders encountered their first major challenge, which was navigating the complex legal and regulatory requirements associated with establishing a private limited company. Understanding legal compliance proved to be a daunting task.  However, Rathore said he was fortunate that the Rajasthan government intervened to simplify the processes for Sarathi Healthcare.

Now, the next challenge was to optimise the company’s operational systems. This obstacle was addressed by assembling a team of experts, addressing core issues and systematically tailoring solutions. 

Rathore said that this combination of experience, dedication and strategic problem-solving boosted Sarathi Healthcare forward, enabling it to have a meaningful impact in the healthcare sector.

The results of their efforts became evident when the startup onboarded the first 100 patients within three months of its launch and 800 users in the first five months. 

How Sarathi Healthcare Became A True Companion For The Elderly

Rathore told Inc42 that Sarathi Healthcare was founded based on the core belief that elderly care goes beyond just medical needs. Therefore, the Sarathi Healthcare team has been focussed on providing holistic care, encompassing all aspects of human well-being.

“Emotional well-being is just as crucial as physical health. If ignored, this could manifest in physical ailments,” the founder said, adding that Sarathi Healthcare harnesses the power of technology to provide round-the-clock healthcare services to the elderly.

While the startup understands the importance of wellness and emotional and medical care, it has not overlooked the social needs of the elderly. To further inculcate a sense of belonging, the startup has created a WhatsApp group for those who have signed up on the website to foster peer-to-peer interaction. The group also has doctors who share medical advice with the group. 

Moving on, Rathore and his team also acknowledge the fact that a lot of senior citizens may not be tech-savvy, and this is why Sarathi Healthcare provides 24/7 customer service to its users via a number on its site. 

Meanwhile, here’s a brief snapshot of the startup’s array of services for the elderly.

In addition to these services, users can order essential supplements, basic medical gadgets and first aid supplies. 

While talking about the startup’s plans, Rathore said that users can subscribe to all their services for INR 3K for three months, INR 5.4K for six months and INR 9.9K for a year.

According to the founder, 15% of the startup’s revenue is generated from caretaking services, 10% from nutrition consultancy and physiotherapy services, 15% from well-being and emotional counselling, lab and radiology services, and the remaining 60% from retail.

What’s On The Horizon? 

As of now, the founders of Sarathi Healthcare have set their eyes on setting their footprint in Tier  II and III cities of the country, with better healthcare facilities for the elderly.

To fuel its expansion plans, Rathore said, the startup is actively engaging with potential investors and VC platforms like GSK, Hello Tomorrow, PadUp Ventures, Build3 Accelerator and Goa Angels. 

Recognising that the startup cannot replace the role of actual family and children in the lives of the elderly, Rathore said that his team is laser-focussed on providing professional care tailored to meet the needs of senior citizens.

The need to address substantial gaps in elderly care, particularly in underserved areas and Tier II and III cities, cannot be undermined. This is because the country’s elderly population today accounts for more than 35% and the need to give them access to high-quality healthcare, both mental and physical, is greater than ever.

Fortunately, a growing number of startups like Sarathi are committed to tackling this issue with an iron hand. For instance, Sarathi Healthcare competes with names like 60Plus India, Alserv, ElderAid, and GetSetUp in the country’s geriatric care market, which is expected to become a market opportunity of more than $41 Bn by 2028.

The post How Sarathi Healthcare’s Holistic Care Approach Is Elevating The Lives of Senior Citizens In Rajasthan appeared first on Inc42 Media.

When Richa Kar and Kapil Karekar took the bold step to enter the little-promoted and largely untapped lingerie market with Zivame, they quietly transformed how women in India shopped for innerwear. It started in 2011 as an online aggregator of well-known lingerie brands like Enamor, Amante and Jockey, became a private label business by 2016 (in-house brands were launched since 2013) and was acquired by Reliance Retail (RRL) in 2020 for $160 Mn.

Zivame (Actoserba Active Wholesale Pvt. Ltd) has set women free from the ordeal of in-store lingerie purchases, providing a hassle-free online shopping experience and a good fit-finder. But breaking the mould could not save it from the turbulence that followed its initial success. By FY16, it struggled to cope with dwindling growth while net losses piled up. After Kar’s departure in 2017 and multiple leadership changes, the company is finally on the path to profitability under the guidance of Lavanya Pachisia, Zivame’s chief operating officer.

For starters, the brand lowered its YoY losses by 10.64% and 16.13% in FY21 and FY22, respectively. In FY22 (ended March 2022), it also generated an operating revenue of INR 221.85 Cr, its highest so far, as the FY23 (ended March 2023) numbers are not out yet. However, in a recent conversation with Inc42, Pachisia disclosed that all its sales channels (online and offline) were profitable in FY23.

“The brand recorded 150% revenue growth post-Covid (FY2022-2023), with its offline expansion playing a significant role, especially in Tier II markets and beyond,” she added.

For perspective, RRL set up 3.3K new stores in FY23, taking the total number of its retail outlets to a little over 18K, two-thirds of which are in Tier II and III locations. The company’s drive to make retail thus inclusive and omnichannel is understandable as it aims to reach the next billion people (even those without internet access) who are just entering the traditional consumer market. Brands like Zivame under the RRL are bound to gain from this business focus as the retail giant works on online-to-offline expansion through all possible touchpoints.

Additionally, Reliance Brands (an RRL unit partnering with global luxury brands) has helped expand Zivame’s retail footprint across large format stores and premium venues with high real estate costs. According to Pachisia, the smaller brand might have faced challenges accessing these markets, but collaboration with Reliance Brands has helped establish its presence in high-end markets.

In essence, the lingerie brand’s exposure to premium and mass markets across formats has given it a huge head start in clearing the omnichannel hurdle that often trips up competitors.

“Historically, Zivame operated as a digital-first brand, primarily functioning from Zivame’s own website and selling through marketplaces, thus upholding its retail presence. But there has been a significant development in the past two to three years [post its acquisition]. Zivame has set up more than 170 proprietary retail stores, from its earlier count of fewer than 50. This marks a substantial expansion in our retail footprint,” said Pachisia.

Decoding Zivame’s Omnichannel Growth Strategies

Women’s innerwear has traditionally been a largely unorganised sector, marked by the prevalence of local brands and a spattering of international players like Jockey, Enamor, Calvin Klein and H&M. But of late, the Indian market is growing exponentially, as lingerie is no longer considered a piece of essential clothing but part of self-expression, body confidence and a fashion statement of sorts. The market size was around $4.4 Bn in 2022 but is estimated to reach $8.2 Bn by 2028, growing at a CAGR of 10.9% during 2023-2028.

Akin to other direct-to-consumer (D2C) categories, much of this growth is driven by new and existing shoppers willing to trade up and improve their lives. Therefore, the Zivame team has recognised the imperative of staying aligned with consumer presence at every touchpoint, said Pachisia. Over the past three years, the brand has cultivated its capabilities and fortified its visibility online and offline to establish a distinct market identity.

Nevertheless, ensuring well-coordinated online and offline sales requires a delicate balance.

While online accounts for a larger revenue pie, retail stores have higher unit per transaction and average order value. On the flip side, returns mainly occur when people buy online, while customers tend to try products in-store before making a purchase. Even the percentage of online returns may be lower than 15%, as many customers prefer exchanging the goods instead of returning them. Simply put, optimising and managing every sales format is critical for driving growth and profitability.

To achieve this goal, the brand (in its new avatar) has explored and adopted various measures that strike a chord with all customers, whether they are online or offline, experimenting with products, buying voguish things or going with trusted voices (trained offline staff helping women with their purchases).

Here are the key growth strategies Zivame is leveraging to drive omnichannel growth.

Creating The Right Lingerie Line

Innovation is the key. Understanding the fast-evolving needs of consumers and making them aware of how a brand can help are the two major challenges for D2C brands. According to Pachisia, women struggle to pick lingerie due to unsuitable fabrics, size misfits and zero privacy when these are sold offline. However, Zivame is constantly innovating its product range, aiming to provide comfortable intimate wear for women of all sizes, shapes and ages, she added.

For instance, when the company launched True Curve, it was a distinct product line designed for curvier women. The Miracle series uses exceptionally lightweight fabric, offering a sensation akin to a second skin. Among other specialised products, Zivame has created mastectomy bras to cater to breast cancer survivors. During the team’s research, the brand found that Indians usually consider cotton a safer choice for their skin in a hot and humid climate. Hence, products have cotton interiors (the part in direct body contact) complemented by polyimide exteriors for a sleek finish.

Recognising the desire for a great fit and affordability among Indian women, Zivame has introduced the Rosaline range, which provides comfortable, well-fitting innerwear at great prices.

Differentiation for inclusivity is the goal. Gone are the days when women used the ubiquitous white in traditional sizes. Body inclusivity is the rule of lingerie play and products are now designed for all stages of life. It was not the case when Zivame was set up 12 years ago, as it initially targeted modern working women. But the brand has now invested in technology to determine the ‘right fit’ for various life stages – teenage, college-going, marriage, pregnancy, nursing and menopause.

Online shoppers need to answer a number of questions to find their ideal fit. An algo at the backend does it for them. Plus, the more the data, the smarter it becomes, and suggestions become even more accurate. Besides this crucial differentiator, Zivame has developed a breadth of sizing to meet unique requirements.

“More than 70% of women do not wear the right size,” emphasised Pachisia. “Zivame is one of the pioneers in addressing this issue and offers an extensive range. It can be as small as 28 and as large as 50. This is a capability traditional players often lack.”

Category additions attract users. Zivame has diversified its offerings to include sleepwear, activewear, office wear, shapewear and more. Its strategic expansion resulted in a notable 25% increase in repeat business, said Pachisia.

Keeping Tabs On Operations To Maximise Growth

Technology, local production drive cost advantages. Escalating costs of raw materials, manufacturing and fuel pose challenges for clothing brands, creating a dent in gross margins and hindering expansion. To counter this, Zivame adopted a two-pronged strategy.

First, it has shifted most of its manufacturing operations to domestic facilities, a departure from its earlier centralised approach. As Pachisia explained, with the Make in India initiative they have moved it to manufacturing in India with more vendors, as opposed to a few vendors earlier outside of the country. Its warehouses (on lease) are also spread across the country to ensure quick delivery in Tier II and III locations.

Then again, the brand has embraced advanced technology to broaden its user base and enhance the shopping experience on the app. These innovations have made the lingerie line popular and helped reduce customer acquisition costs (CAC). The company also leverages data and metrics to reassess its marketing efforts, focussing on targeted approaches to reach the most profitable customer segments.

A distinctive advantage for a digital-first brand, or one that has transitioned from digital-first to omnichannel retail, lies in the abundance of available data and the subsequent analyses allowing them to discern consumer pain points and requirements. This data-driven approach has also helped Zivame determine good store locations, identify high-selling products and maximise profitability in brick-and-mortar outlets.

It makes the best of the seasonal boom. Big-time online events like the Flipkart Big Billion Days and Amazon Great Indian Festival have made ecommerce popular and accessible among the masses. Zivame launched the Grand Lingerie Festival online in 2018 in tune with this trend. And this year (2023) saw a strategic expansion of the same offline, marking the beginning of an omnichannel extravaganza. The biannual event has been consistently profitable, said Pachisia.

In-store Buying Made More Lucrative 

Prices are the same online and offline. Online businesses find it easy to attract customers and grow the top line by offering huge discounts. Yet, knocking 10, 20, or even 50% off the price tag can kill ecommerce. After all, the dollars fall off the bottom-line profit for every discount a business offers.

Zivame, on the other hand, sticks to the concept of ‘true’ pricing over discounts, said Pachisia. It means whether a purchase is made online or offline, in a Tier I or a Tier II location, prices and discounts remain the same across all channels. Therefore, its online business is not losing more in margins than is permissible (which may or may not be compensated by sales volume), and profit margins remain uniform across all formats.

Channel expansion helps Zivame fire on all cylinders. Besides selling on its official website and app, the brand is now available on various digital platforms such as Amazon, Nykaa and Flipkart. It also runs standalone offline stores and is stocked in Reliance Brand outlets. Its offline retail footprint spans 57 cities in Tier I and II locations.

Pachisia further underscored the evolving preferences of Tier II women, noting a shift towards urbanised experiences and heightened digital awareness. “About 30-40% of our revenue comes from Tier II and III cities. A [retail] revolution is underway and we must be accessible to our customers wherever they prefer to shop. The line between online and offline shopping is becoming increasingly blurred,” she said.

Creating a safe space to talk & shop brings more customers. Indians still harbour a taboo when it comes to anything related to women’s underwear. Also, most lingerie brands fail to challenge longtime industry norms, and the female perspective is often missing from the product range, be it material, comfort or fit. (Think of the size zero fanatics or how a global brand like Victoria’s Secret refused to feature plus-size models until 2018.)

Pachisia says that Zivame is committed to breaking such taboos by fostering conversations and incorporating those into brand messages, campaigns and offline store operations. For instance, these stores steer away from an open-design concept and provide safe and covered spaces for women.

Moreover, all sales personnel are women, extensively trained to comprehend the diverse requirements of shoppers without judging anyone for their body type or personal choice. This approach creates a secure environment for customers who can easily share their preferences and needs.

Can Zivame Help Women Love Themselves Inside Out?

Following its acquisition, Zivame has added all essential components to the brand’s journey to adopt a profit-oriented perspective. Its mantra is to achieve growth with profitability, prompting the team to enhance its business model and overall process sustainability. The company will continue to expand its offline presence to strike an online-offline revenue ratio of 50:50 instead of the current 60:40.

The only glitch: Reliance houses many prominent lingerie brands (Clovia, Zivame, Amante, Hunkemöller and more). Some industry experts think it may result in market cannibalisation and the inevitable killing of a few brands.

Pachisia did not think so, saying all brands under the parent and they are trying to maintain that position as a group.

The COO asserts that the intimate wear category is one of the fastest-growing, generating significant buzz. Despite a largely unorganised market minus best-in-class manufacturing standards and age-old taboos limiting the freedom to dress as one likes, new-age players like Zivame are crucial in educating women about the importance of wearing the right fit and looking good, irrespective of age or size.

“Zivame will continue to invest in consumer education because, as a brand and a category leader, we bear the responsibility of guiding consumers towards the right fit and addressing common challenges. The market is vast, with room for more players to enter. We are just scratching the surface and there’s more potential ahead,” said Pachisia.

The brand makes an insightful case study featuring business model pivots, investor-founder conflict and a narrative showcasing rise, fall and rise from the brink. Now that it endeavours to emerge as a leading brand in a growth sector, it is time to watch how Zivame copes with future challenges and helps women choose their lingerie beyond the traditional.

[Edited by Sanghamitra Mandal]

The post How Reliance Owned Lingerie Brand Zivame Cracked The Omnichannel Code appeared first on Inc42 Media.

The auto financing landscape is driving a wealth of opportunities at home and abroad, thanks to the rise in vehicle demand and tech-powered business models. Of late, a growing number of lenders have shown interest in this consumer asset class propelled by online marketplaces, innovative loan service platforms, robust analytics (to determine creditworthiness) and rapidly growing dealership networks, increasing customer stickiness by assuring them auto loans. 

Globally, the market for car loans is projected to grow at a CAGR of 6.5% to reach more than $385 Bn by 2028, per a report published by Fortune Business Insights. But car ownership is still significantly low in India – only 8% of Indian families or one in 12 Indian households own four-wheelers. 

This is not likely to deter the overall growth of the auto loan segment, as used car financing has become popular among cost-conscious or first-time buyers, especially from Tier II and III cities. The market is growing at a fast clip, given many lucrative options such as zero down payment, attractive interest rates and flexible repayments. In fact, the used-to-new car ratio may reach 1.9 by FY27 and the number of pre-owned units in circulation may surpass 8 Mn by FY27, per a report jointly published by IndianBlueBook and Das WeltAuto. 

To ensure that loans for used and new cars, two-wheelers and electric vehicles (EVs) are accessible and affordable throughout the country, digital lending platform Rupyy was launched in April 2022 by CarDekho, a unicorn that has consolidated its position as a reliable marketplace for new and used cars and other personal vehicles. Rupyy also offers personal loans and loans against cars, but unlike many lending tech startups, it has a long backstory.  

CarDekho’s financial arm was set up in 2016 to service India’s steadily growing auto loan market. During the Covid-19 pandemic, the autotech group took note of the rollicking party witnessed by the used vehicle segment (buying one was a surefire way to stay off public transportation and health risks) and anticipated a long-term spike in demand across India, especially in non-metro regions. Also, CarDekho’s parent company, Girnar Software, obtained an NBFC licence in 2022 

Interestingly, the bet was not so much on the pandemic boost, which would cool off in time, but a deep dive into India’s rising socio-economic aspirations to own personal vehicles. Therefore, an end-to-end digital lending platform was built to connect buyers, dealers (deemed as owners of the vehicles in their respective inventories) and lenders (banks and other FIs), aligning hassle-free financing options with one’s budget and requirements and providing superior customer support. 

CarDekho Financial Services (CDFS) has merged with Rupyy to create an efficient ecosystem that covers the entire loan process – from application to approval to quick disbursal. The group’s NBFC arm also lends from its books, providing automotive loans to individuals and short-term financing to car dealers for acquiring inventories. 

Speaking to Inc42, Rupyy founder Namit Jain said that the platform has tied up with car dealers hailing from 90% of India’s pin codes and onboarded more than 37 lending partners such as HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Axis Bank, Kotak Mahindra and YES Bank. It claims to have a strong presence in more than 1500 locations, including Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Jaipur, Kolkata, Pune, Surat, Coimbatore, Chandigarh, Kochi and more. 

As of August 2023, Rupyy claimed an annualised run rate of disbursement of INR 12,000 Cr loans and served an annualised customer  base of  2 Lakh+ customers. Jain did not reveal the numbers but said that Rupyy’s revenue soared by 88% YoY and its customer base increased by 82% in the same time.

The Rupyy Blueprint For Loans  

“Before 2016, securing a loan to purchase a used car was a rare occurrence in India. Only two to three out of every 100 used cars were sold with financing plans,” recalled Jain.

Rupyy was set up to address the need for a targeted solution, especially as the market for used car financing was largely fragmented and dominated by unorganised players. 

The leadership team at the erstwhile CarDekho Financial Services had already ventured into that space with a similar vision and tasted success. It was introduced to bring convenience and transparency to automobile loans when individuals buy pre-owned vehicles. But what started as a modest project soon evolved into a major business in the vehicle financing space. With further rebranding and reinforcements in place for Rupyy’s launch, the combined team has taken its efforts to the next level.

“Rupyy is committed to removing all traditional barriers across automobile financing. We offer a platform that is as accessible in bustling metros like Delhi as in quieter, semi-rural areas of Kerala,” said Jain. 

According to CarDekho, CDFS had a monthly run rate (MRR) of INR 400 Cr in used car loan disbursements at the time of Rupyy’s launch and an annualised run rate of INR 5K Cr in total loan disbursements in FY22.

In the past 19 months, Rupyy has expanded its loan offerings beyond the used car segment and explored new verticals. After successful pilots in new car financing in FY22, the platform has turned it into a full-fledged category and also entered other segments like two-wheeler loans.  

As a financial product distributor, Rupyy gets a commission from lending partners on every loan disbursed through its platform. According to Jain, the used car loan vertical is the most popular now, accounting for 91% of Rupyy’s revenue in FY23.  

To secure a loan from Rupyy, customers can apply on its website providing necessary documents like income proof and ID. They are then required to complete video KYC and sign the digital loan agreement. Rupyy partners with major banks, providing up to 90% of the asset’s value as a loan and subsequently, customers receive the money in your bank within 48 hours. In addition, Rupyy handles the transfer of ownership papers to the new owner through the regional transport office (RTO).

Riding on the tech wave, the brand had also launched a QR code-based onboarding system built on a microservices architecture (needed for developing and deploying a collection of services for ease of use). This solution helps users scan a QR code at any partner dealership and apply for a loan. Rupyy also uses AI/ML algorithms to automate document verification.

How Rupyy Navigated Speed Bumps To Carve A Niche

The car financing landscape has undergone a remarkable transformation in terms of scale and convenience, thanks to a strong focus on digitalisation. But ask Jain about the initial hurdles, and he would say it was not a large enough market at first. 

“As finance penetration was less than 3% in the pre-owned car segment, there wasn’t a slice of the pie to grab [in that niche space]. A whole new pie had to be baked,” he said.

Add to that a host of incumbents dominating the market – the likes of CARS24 Financial Services (a wholly owned subsidiary of the used car marketplace CARS24) and legacy players, including Mahindra Finance, the State Bank of India, Bajaj Finserv and Tata Capital. Undoubtedly, it was difficult for CDFS and its successor, Rupyy, to carve a niche.

But the biggest hurdle is the risk-averseness of lenders, as rising credit card and car loan defaults are hitting even developed economies like the US. In India, too, credit card dues surpassed INR 2 Lakh Cr in April this year, while outstanding personal loans increased by 20% in FY23 (INR 40 lakh Cr in February 2023), driven by vehicle and home loans.

Understandably, banks and other FIs were reluctant to tie up with a new lendingtech platform, although car loans are primarily secured – the automobile being the collateral. However, Rupyy has developed a data-backed asset pricing engine to help its lending partners calculate loan risks more accurately.

The intricacies of title transfer from the seller to the buyer were another critical challenge. The legal obligation lies with the buyer to transfer vehicle registration and pay all relevant fees. But processing these documents requires a lot of time and effort, especially when the parties concerned live in different cities. 

Rupyy has built a massive network of agents who cover more than 1,100 RTOs across India to address this issue. The platform has also developed proprietary software to set up a hyperlocal network of car dealers and display the nearest ones to potential buyers. Powered by these initiatives, customers can quickly pick up their vehicle documents and transfer car ownership without hassles.  

“Also, our platform gives visibility to small dealers previously overlooked by customers,” said Jain. “This has created a win-win-win situation. Lenders have expanded reach; dealers do more business and consumers have a bigger inventory to choose from.”

Tier II And Beyond Fuelling Pre-Owned Auto Loans, But Will It Be Sustainable?

Rupyy’s primary market research shows that the Indian used car financing market, valued at $ 6.82 Bn, is projected to reach a value of $13 Bn at a CAGR of approximately 24% during the forecast period from FY2024 to FY2027.

“This heightened demand for used car loans is poised to continue its upward trajectory, presenting significant opportunities for us,” said Jain. Rupyy is bullish about the burgeoning market and aims to achieve a 100% YoY revenue growth in FY24.

The platform has an ambitious growth plan of expanding its geographic coverage up to 97% of pin codes in next three-four quarters. It aims to capture more than 20% market share in the used car loan segment and will also focus on the new car loan category.

As a KPMG report points out, “motor finance is at the crossroads between the automotive and finance sectors”, evolving fast in sync with users’ requirements. With the loan market for used cars getting more organised, powered by the entry of more OEMs, new dealerships and tech-enhanced lending platforms, there will be more traction for certified pre-owned vehicles in India. But the bet on quality and reliability may drive up the price. 

Besides, people change cars more frequently nowadays – within three to five years – which means pre-owned cars are usually in good condition and will cost more. Some buyers are also open to pre-owned luxury vehicles due to their features and value for money. Essentially, used car prices are expected to rise as raw material and production costs go up, along with inflation and interest rates.  

Will it signify fewer sales in the long run, more loan defaults and neck-and-neck competition among digital lenders keen to leverage a booming yet affordable used car market? Will low-income earners-turned aspirational buyers be compelled to leave due to surging prices?  

Industry insiders think there is little risk of a sales crunch just now, as the Indian market for new and used cars is far from saturated. In fact, the latter has significant potential for growth and innovation if it can provide price transparency and ensure an excellent customer journey. More importantly, lending continues to play a critical role in both segments, as 65-75% of the cars in metros and non-metros are now purchased with financing. 

That is good news for finance providers like Rupyy who want to grow. Meanwhile, they must understand unique needs, build trust and tailor customer journeys to stand out.

The post How CarDekho’s Rupyy Is Democratising India’s Auto Loans Landscape appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Ever since the centre liberalised the policy governing drones operation in India via the Drones Rules 2021, the unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) ecosystem heaved a sigh of relief. 

A slew of positive announcements related to the segment. For example, the Cabinet’s approval of INR 120 Cr PLI scheme, a ban on the import of drones – intended to boost domestic manufacturing, and the drone certification scheme to ensure safety and quality requirements are a few positive steps. Besides, the establishment of digital airspace mapping for drones alongside announcements such as Drone Shakti and Kisan drones have been touted as a step in the right direction by experts.

All of these point in one direction – the developments will enable more jobs and help support an industry that has long been struggling due to bureaucratic hurdles. Finally, the segment can focus on building an investment-friendly ecosystem, as well as work with the government on programmes that incentivise local manufacturing.

In fact, India has witnessed a 34.4% surge in the number of drone or UAV startups between August 2021 (157 startups) and February 2022 (221 drone startups). 

Earlier, Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said that India has the potential to become a global drone hub by 2030 since a large number of industries will adopt drone innovation. Prior to this, he also estimated that the Indian drone industry would have a turnover of around INR 15,000 Cr by 2026.

In this article, Inc42 has compiled a list of 28 Indian drone startups, detailing their journeys – from what they do to their plans amid the booming deeptech segment.

The list below is not meant to be a ranking of any kind. We have listed the Indian drone startups in alphabetical order.

Aereo

• Founded In: 2013
• Founders: Vipul Singh, Suhas Banshiwala
• Funding Raised To Date: $748K
• Investors: GrowX, 500 Startups, StartupXseed, 3one4 capital, Valpro
• Headquarters: Bengaluru 

Launched in 2013, Aereo (earlier Aarav Unmanned Systems) offers end-to-end drone solutions. AUS is building commercial-grade drones and provides drone-based solutions for enterprise applications in Mining, Infrastructure, Urban Planning, Irrigation, Energy and Agriculture. 

It also offers integrated solutions for drone applications, providing the drone, an operator and a cloud platform for data analysis. It was also amongst the three companies that were shortlisted to map India’s 600,000 villages by the government.

In July 2022, it signed an MoU with Tata Steel to develop and offer integrated drone solutions for open cast mining operations.

Prior to that, it got into a lease financial deal worth INR 3.75 Cr with Grip to build new revenue streams by leveraging lease financing for more than 50 drones.

Aero360

• Founded In: 2017
• Founders: Pragadish Santhosh
• Funding Raised To Date: NA
• Investors: NA
• Headquarters: Chennai

Founded in 2017, Chennai-based Aero360 builds autonomous hybrid drones to enhance aerial surveying, surveillance and rescue applications. The startup has developed six unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) for the aforementioned applications.

All its UAVs are equipped with multiple features like infrared sensors, thermal cameras, magnetometers, and fail-safes mechanisms such as return to home on communication breakdown.

It has also built an agricultural spraying drone – Agri – which features a 17 L storage tank for pesticides, fertilisers and other agrochemicals for precision spraying.

While the startup has yet to raise equity funding, Aero360 has partnered with Indian Coast Guard and Indian Army for surveillance purposes.

Amber Wings

• Founded In: 2019
• Founders: Prof. Satya Chakravarthy
• Funding Raised To Date: NA
• Investors: NA
• Headquarters: Chennai

A brainchild of Professor Satya Chakravarthy, Amber Wings is an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) startup incubated at IIT Madras. It operates as a sister company to ePlane, which is developing flying taxis and other aerial vehicles for passenger mobility logistics.

Unlike ePlane, Amber Wings specialises in the development of cargo electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) drones, designed with versatile capabilities catering to imaging and logistics requirements.

Unveiled in September 2023, Amber Wings showcased its latest innovation, the hybrid VTOL and fixed-wing drone named Atva. The drone comes with AI capabilities, and the company claims that it offers up to 10X faster flight times, ideal for long-range imaging solutions.

Additionally, the drone features superior battery life and a range of versatile payload options. Atva’s commercialisation is currently underway.

Amber Wings is focussed on addressing the mid and last-mile cargo transport segment, positioning itself as a key player in the Indian UAV industry.

AOTOM TECHNOLOGY

• Founded In: 2018
• Founders: Krunal Kalbende
• Funding Raised To Date: $100K
• Investors: Krunal Kalbende
• Headquarters: Nagpur

Aotom Technology works in the field of drone technology, geophysical services, AI, data analytics, face recognition and blockchain technology.

The startup offers machine learning services, regression techniques, deep neural networks, pattern recognition, cognitive intelligence, NLP/text mining, visual/audio entity tagging, and text captioning, among others to examine a human face and the surface of the earth. 

Its expertise helps it select an appropriate algorithm based on the data structure, patterns and desired outcomes. Coupled with its experience in digital technologies, platforms and the business domain, the startup offers comprehensive solutions and services for business and technology teams of enterprises to apply AI/ML in various lines of business.

Asteria Aerospace

• Founded In: 2011
• Founders: Neel Mehta, Nihar Vartak
• Funding Raised To Date: INR 23.12 Cr
• Investors: Reliance Industries
• Headquarters: Bengaluru

Asteria is a robotics and AI startup that offers drone-as-a-service (DaaS) solutions and builds drones for industries such as defence, agriculture, oil and gas, mining and construction, telecommunications, and energy.   

Its products include DGCA-certified micro-sized drone A200, small-sized multirotor drone A410, and a vertical take-off and landing aircraft drone AT-15. 

In December 2019, Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries (RIL) bought 51.78% equity in Asteria for INR 23.12 Cr. During that time, RIL shared that it would infuse an additional INR 125 Cr in the startup to increase its stake to 87.3% by December 2021. 

In the financial year 2021, its operating revenue stood at INR 8 Cr and net loss was at INR 8.2 Cr. 

BharatRohan

• Founded In: 2016
• Founders: Amandeep Panwar, Rishabh Chaudhary
• Funding Raised To Date: $0.33K
• Investors: Upaya Social Ventures, Acumen Fund Inc 
• Headquarters: Hyderabad 

BharatRohan is a tech-enabled agri-enabler that provides drone-based advisory services to around 6K farmers across 30K acre farms in Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan. The startup provides a four-part service that is intended to optimise input usage, minimise crop losses and maximise profit margins. 

The startup also enables a marketplace where farmers can collaborate with different companies via contract farming. While farmers can buy raw materials such as pesticides and seeds from sellers, the FMCG, retail and exporter companies can buy agri-commodities from the farmers’ fields.

While BharatRohan is categorically an agritech startup, the use of drones is the product’s USP. With a drone, the startup generates a detailed map of a farm that characterises specific agronomic issues including nutrient deficiencies, disease infections, as well as pest and weed infestations. 

Its drones and satellite-based remote sensing imagery of fields, along with the corresponding historical climate and weather records, helps BharatRohan provide value addition to farmers to optimise their outputs. 

In March 2022, it raised an undisclosed amount of seed funding from Upaya Social Ventures and Acumen Fund Inc.

Dhaksha Unmanned Systems

• Founded In: 2019
• Founders: Ramanathan Narayanan
• Funding Raised To Date: Undisclosed
• Investors: Dare Ventures 
• Headquarters: Chennai 

Dhaksha Unmanned offers seven drone-based solutions for sectors such as agriculture, mining, defence and surveillance. It manufactures battery-operated and petrol engine-based drones. 

In September, the startup received an undisclosed amount of funding from Coromandel International’s venture capital arm Dare Ventures. 

Prior to that, the Chennai-based startup along with 13 other drone companies got selected for the government’s PLI scheme that stimulates manufacturing drones and drone components in India. 

Interestingly, its drone named AgriGator has received ‘Type Certificate’ from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), according to its website.

It reported a revenue of INR 3 Cr while its profit stood at INR 2.3 Cr in the financial year 2020, according to Tofler. 

DroneAcharya Aerial

• Founded In: 2017
• Founder: Prateek Srivastava 
• Funding Raised To Date: NA
• Investors: Shankar Sharma, Aegis Investment Fund, Maven India Fund, Nav Capital VCC-NAV Capital Emerging Star Fund, Zinnia Global Fund
• Headquarters: Pune

DroneAcharya offers drone-based enterprise solutions to several industries such as oil and gas, mining, infrastructure, and agriculture. It also provides training for drone piloting, drone building, drone data processing, and using industrial drone applications, among others. 

In early December 2022, the listed drone startup secured INR 9.66 Cr in a pre-IPO round from Aegis Investment Fund, Maven India Fund, Nav Capital VCC-NAV Capital Emerging Star Fund, and Zinnia Global Fund. 

On the first day of its IPO, it saw a positive response and got subscribed 22.94 times. It was trading at INR 156.25 on the BSE as on 10 February 2023. 

EndureAir Systems

• Founded In: 2019
• Founders: Dr. Abhishek, Rama Krishna, Chirag Jain, Dr. Mangal Kothari
• Funding Raised To Date: INR 13.5 Cr
• Investors: Sangeet Kumar, Prateek Jain, Bir Singh, Satish Kumar Shukla, Amit Kumar, Jalaj Dani
• Headquarters: Noida

Endure Air Systems offers personalised unmanned drones that can be utilised for various functions including border surveillance, logistics and aerial mapping, among others. 

In July, the drone startup secured INR 13.5 Cr in its seed funding round from Jalaj Dani from Asian Paints and founders of Addverb Technologies.

During that time frame, it claims to have manufactured more than 10 products. The startup holds five patents in landing technology and vertical takeoff segments. 

Additionally, it has collaborated with various government agencies including Uttar Pradesh Police, Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) and National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), among others to date. 

Enercomp Solutions

• Founded In: 2013
• Founders: Jatin Patel
• Funding Raised To Date: $660K
• Investors: ah! Ventures 
• Headquarters: Ahmedabad

AI drone startup Enercomp offers service with UAV ‘drones’ and a variety of sensors for efficient and reliable data acquisition and processing, providing high standards analytics to gain insights into the data. 

“We had around 90% of revenue coming from the B2B sector and from the drone services business. We are launching our drones and our GIS platform and in fact, we have booked orders of around INR 35 lakh for products. With our strong positioning in the survey/inspection business, we aim to achieve the target of INR 2.5 crore in the current financial year with an increased share in the B2G business as well (around 40% of target revenue),” said Jatin Patel.

With its proprietary tech, Enercomp’s solutions have capabilities to cater to diverse sectors ranging from agriculture to industrial services to defence. 

Enord

• Founded In: 2021
• Founders: Muhammad Anas, Zain Saeed
• Funding Raised To Date: NA 
• Investors: NA 
• Headquarters: Delhi

Enord designs and develops an AI pilot drone, INSPECTOR, for B2B sector and government agencies. Its drone mainly conducts inspection of high-power transmission lines, telco-towers and thermal lines. Its drone also carries out inspections of day-to-day operations in various sectors.

Explaining its product offering, the startup shared that its AI drone INSPECTOR is operated in confined spaces without GPS or human intervention. It gives insights into how to improve operational efficiency of its clients. 

The startup is recognised by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) and is being incubated at IIITD Innovation and Incubation Center, according to its LinkedIn profile.

FlytBase

• Founded In: 2017
• Founders: Nitin Gupta 
• Funding Raised To Date: NA   
• Investors: NA
• Headquarters: Pune 

FlytBase offers drone-as-a-service (DaaS) solutions for surveillance and security, public safety, and construction. It also offers cloud-based software solutions to manage drone deliveries.

In November last year, it partnered with avionics tech company Iris Automation to integrate Iris’ Casia G ground-based detect and alert system with FlytNow. 

In December 2020, it had secured an undisclosed amount of seed funding from early-stage VCs and angel investors. 

Garuda Aerospace 

• Founded In: 2015
• Founders: Agnishwar Jayaprakash
• Funding Raised To Date:$25 Mn+
• Investors: Ocgrow Ventures, Mahendra Singh Dhoni
• Headquarters: Chennai 

Garuda Aerospace designs, builds and customises drones for multiple purposes such as event photography, agricultural survey, reconnaissance and surveillance. Its product offerings include agri mapping, surveillance (drone), solar panel cleaning, seed dropping, loudspeaker, UGV, and Fixed-wing VTOL drone, among others. 

Notably, Garuda is one of the four drone startups that have partnered with the foodtech unicorn Swiggy for drone grocery delivery trials in Bengaluru and Delhi-NCR. Besides, it has received orders of more than 8,000 drones from several countries including Malaysia, Panama, and UAE. 

In 2020, it carried out sanitisation operations in PM Narendra Modi’s electoral constituency. Its drones and pilots were also employed for disinfecting hospitals, public spaces and societies in Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and Chattisgarh. 

In June 2022, Indian cricketer Mahendra Singh Dhoni invested in Garuda Aerospace. As a part of the deal, Dhoni joined its cap table and also became its brand ambassador. Prior to that, the drone startup had secured investment from Ocgrow Ventures along with a few angel investors from the banking sector. 

Recently, its founder shared plans of raising $100 Mn-$150 Mn in Series B funding in 2023 at a valuation of $500 Mn-$600 Mn. In October 2023, the startup raised about $3 Mn in a bridge funding round led by Venture Catalysts and WeFounderCircle.

The startup also aims to sell 25K drones by the end of FY24.

General Aeronautics

• Founded In: 2016
• Founders: Abhishek Burman, Kota Harinarayana and Anutosh Moitra
• Funding Raised To Date:  INR 6.5 Cr
• Investors: Mela Ventures, Adani Defence 
• Headquarters: Bengaluru

General Aeronautics, which was incubated at the Indian Institute of Science, offers drone-based solutions for crop protection services, farming, and yield monitoring services in the agriculture sector. Besides, it also offers medical solutions to government agencies and private organisations. Its team holds decades of experience working in research and development organisations across the globe. 

General Aeronautics provides an end-to-end crop protection solution that comprises agri drones named Krishak, an agri app and hub, as well as mapping and survey drones. Krishaks are employed for spraying agrochemicals, fertilisers and speciality nutrients. It sprays 50 droplets per sq cm and has the ability to cover 100 acres of land in a day. 

In May, Adani Enterprises’ subsidiary, Adani Defence Systems and Technologies acquired a 50% stake in General Aeronautics in an all-cash deal. Prior to this, the drone startup secured INR 6.5 Cr in its Pre-Series A funding round from Mela Ventures. 

ideaForge

• Founded In: 2007
• Founders: Ankit Mehta, Ashish Bhat, Rahul Singh, Vipul Joshi
• Funding Raised To Date: $45 Mn +
• Investors: Blacksoil, Infosys, Qualcomm Ventures, Indian Army
• Headquarters: Mumbai

Drone manufacturing startup ideaForge makes UAV systems for inspection, surveillance and mapping. Its solutions are used across sectors such as defence, homeland security, mining, construction, agriculture, energy and utilities.

As per its website, ideaForge has 20 patents and has completed more than 220K end customer missions. Its customers include the Indian Army, Navy, Air Force, all CAPFs (CRPF, BSF, NSG, etc), state police forces and Indian Railways, Survey of India, TAFE, NTPC, DRDO and L&T.

It has designed its vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) UAVs to help the Indian Army to have access to clear airspace or a runway. As a part of its contract with the Indian Army, the drone startup shall deliver 200 systems soon to augment the Army’s surveillance capabilities.

Thus, its high altitude version has a service ceiling of 6,000 mtr therefore, can do high altitude missions across even the high tension borders in the north and west. Its flagship product is SWITCH UAV, a 6 kg VTOL that can fly for more than two hours on a single charge.

In July 2023, ideaForge made a stellar debut on the Indian bourses at around 94% premium to its issue price. The company’s IPO comprised an offer for sale (OFS) component of 48.7 Lakh shares and a fresh issue of shares worth INR 240 Cr. 

Indrones

• Founded In: 2015
• Founders: Pravin Prajapati
• Funding Raised To Date: INR 7 Cr
• Investors: MapmyIndia
• Headquarters: Mumbai

Founded in 2015 by Pravin Prajapati, Indrones is a mapping startup that deploys drones to carry out topographic surveys, volumetric estimations, 3D modelling, and data collection.

Indrones manufactures three drones: the Sigma 25, Sigma 75, and Vector VTOL. The three drones have a flight ceiling between 400 m and 5,000 m, making them useful for different types of use cases, including construction, railways, disaster management, agriculture, mining and oil & gas.

Apart from manufacturing drones, Indrones also has a Drone as a Service (DaaS) platform. Indrones has raised a total funding of INR 7 Cr to date from MapmyIndia.

IoTechWorld 

• Founded In: 2017
• Founders: Anup Kumar Upadhyay, Deepak Bhardwaj
• Funding Raised To Date: $4 Mn 
• Investors: Dhanuka Agritech
• Headquarters: Delhi NCR

IoTechWorld is a drone Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) that makes drones for applications in agriculture, survey and surveillance. The startup has four products – an Agribot (a-DGCA approved agri-spray drone); a Surveybot (a DGCA-approved drone with LiDar and high-resolution camera, typically useful for defence purposes, Drishti comes with a range of payloads including EOIR, thermals, zoom cameras, radars, LiDars and Heavybot is used for logistics. Heavybot can carry up to 10 Kg payload. 

IoTechWorld plans to encourage indigenous products under the ‘Make In India’ initiative. It intends to expand its sales network and company-owned service stations in 10 states in India. It has about 25 dealers across India and would raise the number to 100 in future. IoTechWorld would launch its high-endurance drone models which can go up to 50-100 km. 

Marut Drones

• Founded In: 2019
• Founders: Prem Kumar Vislawath, Sai Kumar, Suraj Peddi
• Funding Raised To Date: NA
• Investors: Kiran Darsi and Parusharam
• Headquarters: Hyderabad

Founded by three IIT alumni, Marut Drones is one of the pioneering agricultural drone manufacturers in the country. 

The startup has developed drone-based agri-intelligence and agri-automation solutions for precision agriculture and the early detection of crop disease. Marut has been extensively collaborating with the Indian government to further facilitate the usage of Kisan drones for better agricultural productivity and more sustainable farming.

The startup has so far built four different drone models – Agricopter, Seedcopter, Marut ZAP, and Hepicopter. Its DGCA Type certified Agricopter, AG 365, serves across multiple applications – from seeing to harvesting. The startup claims to have sprayed over 10K acres of land.

Meanwhile, its Seedcopter solution has been made for rapid afforestation. The drone has planted over 50 Lakh seed balls across three states. Recently, the startup launched drone seeding in and around Agra and Ferozabad districts in UP.

Besides agri drones, Marut has built ZAP – a mosquito eradication drone. Further, its Hepicopter is a Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) medical delivery drone.

NewSpace Research & Technologies

• Founded In: 2017
• Founders: Rajinder Rana and Sameer Joshi.
• Funding Raised To Date: $21 Mn
• Investors: Pavestone Capital
• Headquarters: Bengaluru

Bengaluru-based NewSpace also has an office in Delhi-NCR. It has signed contracts with the Indian government for delivering products to the armed forces. The startup specialises in swarm drones and is associated with Hindustan Aeronautics Limited to develop products for surveillance and communications.

NewSpace has already delivered SWARM drones to the Indian Army. A swarm of 100 drones can be used for hitting targets at least 50 km into enemy territory.

The startup also plans to manufacture drones for civil uses. NewSpace uses technologies such as unmanned aerial systems, collective robotics, GPS-denied operations, augmented reality, virtual reality, machine learning and artificial intelligence.

Omnipresent Robot Technologies

• Founded In: 2010
• Founders: Aakash Sinha
• Funding Raised To Date: NA
• Investors: Gruhas Proptech (Nikhil Kamath, Abhijeet Pai)
• Headquarters: Delhi

Omnipresent Robot Technologies is an industrial drone and robotics solutions provider that became the first drone company in the country to receive full clearance from the Ministry of Home Affairs to conduct trials for long-range BVLOS operations in 2020.

Operational since 2010, Omnipresent has developed drone solutions for varied use cases, including survey, surveillance, and inspection, automated mapping, and precision agriculture, as well as in ecommerce, food, and medical delivery. 

During the pandemic, it worked with some government bodies to deploy drones for ensuring social distancing.

Omnipresent has also become one of the beneficiaries of the Indian government’s Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme for drone and drone components.

In 2022, the startup raised an undisclosed amount of funding from Nikhil Kamath and Abhijeet Pai’s investment firm Gruhas Proptech. The round also saw the participation of Kavin Shah and other high-net-worth individuals (HNIs).

As a robotics firm, Omnipresent has also worked on the Chandrayaan-2 project by developing navigation software for the Chandrayaan-2 rover.

Optimized Electrotech

• Founded In: 2017
• Founders: Anil Yekkala, Dharin Shah, Kuldeep Saxena, Purvi Shah, Sandeep Shah
• Funding Raised To Date: $2.8 Mn
• Investors: Starburst Accelerator and Venture Catalysts
• Headquarters: Ahmedabad

Defence tech startup Optimized Electrotech produces indigenous surveillance systems for security forces, national assets, defence and aerospace companies. 

It provides accurate, actionable and real-time insights about surroundings through autonomous, field-upgradable, secure platforms, as claimed by the startup.

The startup would like to design new-age surveillance systems, product innovations, and build more prototypes to be used in the railways sector, smart city and intelligent border projects.

Passenger Drone Research

• Founded In: 2018
• Founders: Anil Chandaliya and Vishal Dharankar
• Funding Raised To Date: ~$600K
• Investors: Bestvantage Investments, BizDateUp
• Headquarters: Nashik

Passenger Drone Research (PDRL) is a drone software company, which provides a SaaS platform, AeroMegh, that transforms drone data into actionable insights.

Its proprietary software is designed to deliver an end-to-end stack for flying and capturing, processing and analysing drone data.

One of its products, AeroGCS GREEN, enables improved precision spraying in agricultural lands. PDRL claims that the product makes it easy to plan and execute a spraying mission using an optimised and well-designed user interface.

Conversely, AeroGCS KEA seamlessly integrates with the cloud, serving as an efficient drone mission planner.

Another offering is DroneNaksha, a SaaS solution within the AeroMegh platform, catering to various photogrammetry needs.

Earlier in 2023, PDRL successfully secured INR 3.5 Cr in its Pre-Series A funding round.

Redwing Labs

• Founded In: 2018
• Founders: Anshul Sharma, Arunabha Bhattacharya, Rishabh Gupta
• Funding Raised To Date: $120K
• Investors:  Asymmetry Ventures and Techstars 
• Headquarters: Bengaluru

Redwing Labs, the Bengaluru-based drone logistics system startup designs, manufactures and operates autonomous drone logistics systems. It aims at enhancing the last-mile healthcare supply chains. 

The initial idea behind the formation of the startup was to create drones for medical supplies and deliveries. Currently, the startup does around 80 deliveries a day. The last-mile delivery drone features climate control to enable temperature-sensitive deliveries such as vaccines.

According to the company’s website, the team has received a total of 15 awards in the United States of America and Asia-Pacific for best-performance drones and has been felicitated by key government agencies and industry giants in the US such as NASA, Lockheed Martin, Boeing and Airbus.

Skye Air

• Founded In: 2019
• Founders: Swapnik Jakkampudi, Ankit Kumar and Chandra Prakash
• Funding Raised To Date: $1.7 Mn
• Investors: LetsVenture, Chiratae Ventures, Lead Angels, O2 Angels, Agility Ventures 
• Headquarters: Delhi

Skye Air is a drone delivery startup largely focussed on healthcare, ecommerce, quick commerce, and agri commodity sectors. Its first BVLOS flight took off in September 2021.

Skye Air operates across several Indian states, including Kerala, Maharashtra, Haryana, and Meghalaya, from its shared and dedicated hubs. Since 2021, it has done numerous trials with companies such as Dunzo, Flipkart Health+, Curefoods, Tata 1mg, and Redcliffe Labs.

In June last year, Aster DM Healthcare and Skye Air initiated trials for essential medicines and critical lab sample delivery using drones from Kozhikode to Areekode in Kerala.

The startup claims that its drones have taken 2,150 flights so far, covering a total of 11,500 km and delivering 7,500 kg of items.

In November last year, Skye Air raised $1.7 Mn in its seed funding round led by Chiratae Ventures. 

Skylark Drones

• Founded In: 2015
• Founders: Mrinal Pai, Mughilan Thiru Ramasamy
• Funding Raised To Date: $3 Mn 
• Investors: InfoEdge Ventures, IAN Fund, AdvantEdge Founders, Fowler Westrup, Redstart Labs, IKP, Vimson Group 
• Headquarters: Bengaluru

Skylark Drones provides end-to-end drone-based solutions that offer insights to help businesses scale. 

Its drones provide business intelligence to enterprises and believe industries ranging from infrastructure, mining, agriculture, utilities to oil & gas could benefit immensely from the reach, efficiency and productivity that drones offer. 

Skylark aims to provide geospatial intelligence to enterprises with its product called Spectra and Drone Mission Ops. Spectra enables worksite intelligence, several platform integrations and API access. Drone Mission Ops, on the other hand, enables project and fleet management for large enterprises and individual operators to plan and execute drone missions. 

Skylark’s computer vision software analyses aerial imagery to offer industry-specific insights to its clients.

The startup plans to further enhance insights from its drone data, to aid and simplify superior business decisions and strategy for its clients. It also intends to spur international product expansion and development of its drone data analytics-based products. 

TechEagle Innovations

• Founded In: 2015
• Founders: Vikram Singh Meena, Anshu Abhishek
• Funding Raised To Date: $500K
• Investors: India Accelerator, Vinners Group, Sitics Logistics 
• Headquarters: Delhi NCR 

TechEagle is a drone logistics airline startup for last and mid-mile deliveries. To make its vision a reality, TechEagle has already received approvals from the government of India (MoCA) and the regulators (DGCA) to conduct package delivery BVLOS (beyond the visual line of sight) flights in various parts of the country. 

The startup plans to launch new indigenous products, scale operations in India, and hire across functions.

Throttle Aerospace Systems

• Founded In: 2016
• Founders: Nagendran Kandasamy
• Investors: Neosky
• Headquarters:  Bengaluru

Throttle Aerospace offers drone solutions to the mining and agriculture sectors. Besides, its drones are also employed for capturing aerial images, and surveillance purposes. Its team holds over 15 years of experience in designing, engineering, manufacturing, software development and supply chain in the aerospace and defence industries. 

As per the website, Throttle is the first DGCA-approved drone manufacturer for civil drones. It has also got a licence from the Ministry of Defense for manufacturing military drones. Its manufacturing facility is spread across 10,000 sq ft in Kolar, Karnataka. 

In May, RattanIndia Enterprises’ subsidiary NeoSky acquired a 60% stake in Throttle Aerospace for an undisclosed amount. The acquisition would facilitate Neosky in offering all types of drone solutions including drones as a product (DAAP) and drone as a service (DAAS) etc to customers.

TSAW Drones

• Founded In: 2019
• Founders: Kishan Tiwari, Rimanshu Pandey
• Funding Raised To Date: INR 2.5 Cr
• Investors: We Founder Circle, Soonicorn Ventures, Chandigarh Angels Network, POD World, Qubit Capital, Zypp Electric, PedalStart, Kartik Hajela
• Headquarters: Delhi

TSAW Drones is a drone manufacturing startup based out of IIT Delhi, which works with companies to enable logistics via drones. The startup participated in the recently concluded Aero India Show 2023.

TSAW Drones’ logistics arm, DRONECO, facilitates a point-to-point drone delivery supply chain in urban and remote or rural areas of the nation. Users can also track their deliveries in real-time.

The startup provides last-mile delivery services via its three drones – Adarna V2, Adarna Mini and Maruthi 3.1. These drones have a range of 40 to 120 km and a payload capacity of 2 to 20 kg.

UrbanMatrix

• Founded In: 2019
• Founders: Rishabh Verma, Ashutosh Kumar, Divyanshu Pundir, Chitransh Chauhan
• Funding Raised To Date: $497K
• Investors: Sara Elgi, Laxminarayana 
• Headquarters: Bengaluru

Urban Matrix Technologies specialises in micro drones and enables industries to easily leverage the power of aerial data by building compliant drone hardware, with proprietary software solutions. 

The founders spotted a gap between the available drone options and industry requirements. Taking photos and videos was not enough, industries require seamless integration of aerial data with their ongoing workflow in order to make real-time decisions that can save time and cost. The startup addressed this by generating actionable data via a dedicated cloud-based platform – UMT Console.

“For a long time, drone technology was limited to military applications. But now, commercial drones are rising with industries adopting them. A time when drones will become an essential part of human civilisation is much nearer than you have imagined,” said Rishabh Verma, CEO of UrbanMatrix Technologies.

UrbanMatrix has expertise in designing and manufacturing industrial drone systems along with world-class proprietary software infrastructure. It allows enterprises to not only control and manage drones but also effortlessly draw functional insights using integrated aerial data processing tools. 

The startup plans to work towards strengthening research and development, deepening market penetration and delivering industry-oriented solutions across verticals. 

The startup lately set a record by flying a drone from a distance of 3,000 Km via 4G technology. It flew the drone in Bengaluru while controlling the whole flight from Dubai.

VECROS

• Founded In: 2018
• Founders: Besta Prem Sai, Sai Allu
• Funding Raised To Date: $68.49K 
• Investors: IIT Delhi, NSRCEL-IIMB, STARTUP OASIS, 100xVC, NVIDIA 
• Headquarters: Delhi NCR

Vecros is a drone tech startup. Its drones have embedded cameras and CPUs that can mimic human behaviour which help them achieve greater autonomy.

The startup that specialises in ML, aerial robotics, control system, robotics sensor tech, and autopilots began as a small student group working on drones from the IIT Delhi campus, where its first aerial robot was developed. Today, Vecros has developed JETPIX, an operating system for drones, that uses AI and computer vision algorithms to make intelligent decisions so that the drones can match the capabilities of a pilot.

Vecro’s solutions are intended for industrial AI applications that centralise around surveillance and optimising and providing enhanced stack or fleet management. It provides solutions to agriculture, mining, construction and oil and gas industries.

Vecros claims its drones can fly without any pilot input around complex environments. The drone startup aims to sell at least 1,000 drones by the end of 2022 and would expand its team and resources to help achieve its goal. 

Further, it is planning to establish a manufacturing plant and an R&D centre with the help of IIT Delhi and DST to boost further state-of-the-art technology in drones. 

This is a running article, we will keep adding more names to the list

Last updated on November 20, 2023.

The post Eyes In The Sky: 30 Indian Drone Startups Looking For A Major Pie appeared first on Inc42 Media.

India, which until a few years ago was seen as shying away from splurging on space missions, recorded a historic 2022 with its first private rocket launch by Skyroot and multiple other satellite launches, grabbing eyeballs the world over.

Not to mention, behind this is the government’s willingness and trust in the country’s private spacetech players, who have massive backing from the Centre in all key areas ranging from funding, technology access, and infrastructure support, among others.

In July, the GST Council set the launchpad for spacetech startups with a 0% GST regime. During the 50th meeting of the Council, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman highlighted that the initiative was aimed at fostering emerging startups in the rapidly growing spacetech sector.

The buzz in this burgeoning sector has been such that last year alone as many as 100 spacetech startups got registered with the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). Further, Microsoft joined hands with ISRO in January 2023 to fuel the growth of spacetech startups in India.

The growth has come on the back of approximately $233 Mn in funding raised by India’s spacetech startups across 30+ deals between 2014 and July 2023, according to data compiled by Inc42.

According to Inc42’s Indian Spacetech Startup Landscape & Market Opportunity Report 2023, the spacetech sector is estimated to reach a market size of $77 Bn by 2030. 

At a time when India is inching closer to unravelling the secrets of space and what lies beyond horizons, let’s take a closer look at the 18 Indian spacetech startups that are expected to write the next chapter of the Indian growth story in the nascent but ever-growing spacetech domain. 

(Note: The list is not meant to be a ranking of any kind and will be updated from time to time. We have listed the Indian spacetech startups in alphabetical order.)

Here’s The List of Spacetech Startups In India

Here’s The List of Spacetech Startups In India

1. Aadyah Aerospace

Founded in 2016 by Shaju Stephen, Aadyah Aerospace is a provider of aeronautics, space, and defence engineering and technology solutions. Headquartered in Bengaluru, this innovative aerospace startup aims to revolutionise computer vision, communication, and motion control through the integration of AI.

The startup operates in both the space and aerospace sectors, specialising in self-designing satellites, launch vehicle subsystems, and drones. 

The startup’s primary focus lies in manufacturing cutting-edge electro-mechanical actuators, control actuation systems, and electro-optic systems for missiles and launch vehicles. 

Notably, the spacetech startup has successfully developed a cube set dispenser that securely holds satellites in position during launches until they are deployed into Low Earth Orbit (LEO).

Within one year of its establishment, Aadyah Aerospace secured nearly $1 Mn from the US-based Keiretsu Forum.

2. Agnikul

Established in 2017, Agnikul achieved a significant milestone by constructing its own launchpad and mission control centre at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota.

Founded by Srinath Ravichandran, Moin SPM, and SR Chakravarthy, the spacetech startup has raised a total of $40 Mn across seven funding rounds. Its most recent funding round of $26.7 Mn was held in October 2023 with participation from Celesta Capital, Rocketship.vc, Mayfield India, among others. 

The spacetech startup has garnered support from notable angel investors, including Sriram Krishnan of Andreessen Horowitz, Anand Mahindra, Nithin Kamath of Zerodha, and Naval Ravikant of AngelList.

Agnikul has secured a significant achievement as one of the first Indian private enterprises to forge partnerships with both ISRO and IN-SPACe for the development of its projects.

Operating in the fiercely competitive space industry, Agnikul faces competition from players such as Skyroot, Dhruva Space, Pixxel and Astrome.

3. Astrogate Labs

Headquartered in Bengaluru, Astrogate Labs is at the forefront of enabling high-speed communications for small satellites. The startup, established in 2017 by Aditya Kedlaya and Nitish Singh, is dedicated to unveiling its groundbreaking space-to-ground laser communications link. 

After getting an undisclosed amount of funding from Speciale Invest in 2019, Astrogate secured $200K from 9Unicorns Accelerator Fund in 2020. With a vision to address the challenge of high-speed communication in space, the startup initially planned to establish a comprehensive chain of optical communication systems. 

The spacetech startup’s strategy includes managing a network of optical ground stations and in-space relays to support the increasing demands of satellite downlink operations.

4. Bellatrix Aerospace

Spacetech startup Bellatrix Aerospace was established in 2015 by Rohan M Ganapathy and Yashas Karanam. To date, the company has successfully raised a total of $11.1 Mn in funding across four rounds, with the latest round led by ANIC-ARISE in 2022.

The primary focus of Bellatrix Aerospace lies in the development of advanced in-space propulsion systems and rocket propulsion technologies. The startup is dedicated to making space more accessible and affordable for various applications. 

One of its key areas of emphasis is the development of propulsion systems, or thrusters, for heavy (>2 ton), micro, and nanosatellite. The startup primarily targets satellite operators engaged in observation, imaging, navigation, and technology applications within the spacetech industry.

5. Blue Sky Analytics

Founded in 2018 by siblings Abhilasha Purwar and Kshitij Purwar, Blue Sky Analytics is a geospatial data intelligence company that is leveraging cloud and AI to build an API-based catalogue of environmental datasets.

Using its proprietary AI and ML models, Blue Sky provides data analytics for various environmental indicators such as greenhouse gas emissions, climate risks (floods, droughts, wildfires, and extreme heat), and environmental monitoring, among others.

The startup’s use cases include monitoring and measuring climate risks, calculating climate VaR (value at risk) and stress testing for various warming scenarios.

Backed by names such as Rainmatter and BEENEXT, the startup has secured $1.5 Mn since its inception.

6. Dhruva Space

Established in 2012 by Sanjay Nekkanti, Dhruva Space is a spacetech startup based in Hyderabad. The startup specialises in providing integrated solutions for space-based applications by offering satellites, earth stations, and launching services as a comprehensive package.

In 2021, Dhruva became the first Indian entity to secure an order for the design and development of space-qualified solar arrays from inception. The startup claims that it stands as the sole private spacetech firm in India to possess both satellite and launcher interfaces.

The startup further successfully tested and space-qualification of its ‘3U and 6U Satellite Orbital Deployers’ and ‘Orbital Link’ in April 2023. These advancements were accompanied by a launch in April, where Dhruva Space independently constructed satellite deployment systems that are compatible with the PSLV (Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle) launch vehicle.

7. Digantara

Founded in 2018, the spacetech startup is focused on a sustainable space environment and working on developing a space debris detector.

Founded by Anirudh Sharma, Rahul Rawat, and Tanveer Ahmed, the Bengaluru-based startup aims to create an ecosystem for small satellites in India and has networked with local partners as well. This year, it launched the satellite Pushan-Alpha which will serve as a space weather testbed in a sun-synchronous orbit.

Digantara is also developing an end-to-end infrastructure to resolve the difficulties of space operations and manage space traffic through its Space Mission Assurance Platform.

Having closed its last funding round in August 2022, Digantara has raised a total funding of $2.5M to date.

8. Eon Space Labs

Founded in 2022 by Punit Badeka, Manoj Kumar Gaddam and Sanjay Kumar, Eon Space Labs manufactures optical payloads for satellites, UAVs and Drones. 

Eon’s proprietary technology allows its clients to capture high-resolution images using a smaller SWaP (size, weight and power) factor. Its range of offerings include miniaturised optical imagery payload for cubesats DEGA and another under-development prototype Tuniga.  

Further, Eon aims to develop a constellation of satellites with its partners for real time monitoring and surveillance of infrastructure and geographies. 

9. GalaxEye Space

GalaxEye was founded in 2020 by Denil Chawda, Kishan Thakkar, Pranit Mehta, Rakshit Bhatt, Satyanarayanan Chakravarthy and Suyash Singh. Based out of Chennai, the startup provides multi-sensor imagery via satellites.

Since its inception, the startup has raised around $4 Mn from investors, including Speciale Invest, Artha India Ventures, Anicut Capital, Veda VC, Zerodha founder Nithin Kamath, EaseMyTrip’s Prashant Pitti, and Tracxn founder Abhishek Goyal, among others.

The startup claims that it can provide all-weather imaging at any time, without any atmospheric interference. It is also capacitated to produce high-resolution images using a small satellite constellation.

Equipped with its Drishti sensors, built in-house, the startup aims to launch its first-ever satellite in space in the second quarter of FY24.

In a bid to help insurance companies better scrutinise the damage from natural disasters and artificial crises on the insurance claimants, GalaxEye plans to empower them with its satellite data and images.

10. InspeCity

Founded in 2022 by Professor Arindrajit Chowdhury and Dr Tausif Sheikh, Mumbai-based and IIT Bombay-incubated InspeCity is a satellite servicing startup that offers satellite life-enhancing and deorbiting services, positioning itself as the ‘space mechanics’. 

The spacetech startup is working on developing an autonomous robotic platform on top of ISRO’s polar satellite launch vehicle (PSLV) stage four’s module, the PSLV Orbital Experimental Module (POEM). This will allow InspeCity to service satellites in space and is a step towards a larger plan of building an orbital habitat around Earth’s orbit.

InspeCity is working towards a larger vision of building space-based cities – based on O’Neill cylinders – across major bodies of the solar system, capable of housing 1 Mn people at any given time. For now, the startup has set a timeline of 2030 to deploy an orbital habitat to demonstrate proof of concept of a technology, which would be scalable to house millions of people in the future.

The startup has raised $1.5 Mn in pre-seed funding recently from a clutch of investors, including Speciale Invest, Antler India, Veda VC, Anicut Capital and DeVC India.

11. Kawa Space

Founded in 2019 by Bala Menon and Kris Nair, Kawa Space builds critical earth observation infra. The Mumbai-based startup has raised a total of $1.2 Mn in four rounds. The latest round was announced in April 2023 and led by AWS Space Accelerator. It has brought on board 30 strategic suppliers, which contribute to manufacturing, payloads and rocket construction.

In the year of its inception, it had launched one satellite orbit, while 18 more were underway. Kawa Space aims to make satellite imagery accessible to all. The startup is focused on powering multiple use cases for our agriculture, infrastructure, and environment-focused customers.

12. Newspace Research & Technologies

Headquartered in Delhi NCR and Bengaluru, Newspace Research & Technologies is an aerospace startup that claims to be building next-generation aerospace technology, including unmanned air systems, collective robotics, GPS-denied operations, augmented reality, virtual reality, machine learning and artificial intelligence. 

Founded in 2017, the startup is run by a former IAF officer, Sameer Joshi. NewSpace raised $21 Mn in a funding round led by Pavestone Technology Fund in February 2022. 

The startup has also bagged a deal from the Ministry of Defence to develop a High-Altitude Pseudo Satellite (HAPS), which is an unmanned aircraft that operates at altitudes over 65,000 feet and is capable of conducting surveillance operations by staying airborne for months at a stretch.

The startup has bagged a total funding of $33 Mn to date. According to the company’s website, it is pushing for the use of cutting-edge solutions for aerospace in industrial UAVs, collective robotics, AI, and augmented & virtual reality simulations.

13. Omnipresent Robot Technologies

Omnipresent Robotech was launched by Aakash Sinha and Jyoti Sinha in 2010. The startup deals in robotics, electronic sensing and intelligent electronics. The startup develops drones for agriculture, defence and environment and software for operations. 

The startup uses computer vision, machine learning and virtual reality to cater to the various needs of its clients. It bagged an undisclosed amount of funding in 2022 from Gruhas Proptech’s Abhijeet Pai and Zerodha’s Nikhil Kamath.

During the project planning of ISRO’s Chandrayaan-2, the startup presented a concept note on the orientation mechanism design of the Vikram Lander. Additionally, it also designed Perception Navigation Software to create 3D images from data collected by the rover’s cameras and help in navigation.

These images would help the rover to navigate across the lunar surface by allowing accurate assessment of distances from rocks, while also mapping the lunar landscape.

While Chandrayaan-2 was unsuccessful, Omnipresent’s tech is being used on Chandrayaan-3’s Pragyan Rover to map the lunar surface and enable the rover’s navigation via 3D imaging.

14. Pixxel

Founded in 2019 by BITS Pilani alumni Awais Ahmed and Kshitij Khandelwal, Bengaluru-based Pixxel is building a high-resolution hyperspectral imaging satellite constellation to offer its clients AI-powered insights that discover, solve and predict climate issues in real time.

Pixxel mainly operates in the hyperspectral imaging sphere that gives a better analysis of the Earth’s surface and captures high-resolution images for data analysis. It is looking to launch six commercial satellites, which will be the first set of satellites that will sell data commercially.

The startup launched its third hyperspectral satellite, Anand, in November 2022. The microsatellite weighs 15 kg and has a total of more than 150-plus bands that enable it to see Earth in more detail as compared to non-hyperspectral satellites, the cofounders said. The startup secured $25 Mn in March 2022, along with a strategic round in August 2022 from Accenture.

15. Satellize

Established in 2018 by Mahesh Murthy and Ashhar Farhan, Satellize, formerly known as Exseed Space, specialises in the development of customised nanosatellites. The startup also offers a comprehensive suite of allied solutions and services to its global clientele.

Satellize currently has two satellites orbiting the Earth and the startup plans to soon launch an experimental satellite designed for high-frequency radio transmission. Satellize also helps other spacetech businesses flight-test their products.

The startup also leveraged its space technology to address the challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic. Responding to the increased demand for ventilators, Satellize utilised its expertise in creating reliable electronics control systems to develop a ventilator control system capable of transforming any household vacuum cleaner into a fully functional ventilator.

16. SatSure

Founded in 2017 by Prateep Basu, Rashmit Singh Sukhmani and Abhishek Raju, the Bengaluru-based spacetech startup, SatSure, uses satellite data to offer ‘decision intelligence’ across the BFSI, agriculture, and infrastructure sectors.

The startup claims to be making space data easily consumable for all its users. It also offers a SaaS product that enables financial institutions to offer on-demand credit to farmers. 

This year, the spacetech startup has received investment from banking giants ICICI Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank and HDFC, as part of its INR 120 Cr Series A funding round. It plans to use the funds to own a fleet of four high-resolution data-producing satellites by 2024.

17. Skyroot

Founded in 2018 by Pawan Kumar Chandana and Naga Bharath Daka, Skyroot builds space launch vehicles.

Skyroot became the first private Indian company to launch a rocket into space on November 18, 2022, creating history. The startup successfully launched its Vikram-S rocket from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota. The launch took place a year after Skyroot tested India’s first privately developed cryogenic rocket – Dhawan 1.

Skyroot has three different rockets in production, Vikram I, II and III. The startup claims that its rockets can be assembled and ready for launch within 24-72 hours, depending on the rocket and the size of the payload. The rockets can carry between 290 kg and 815 kg of payload, depending on the rocket’s size and the target orbit.

The startup has raised more than $66 Mn in funding so far, with $51 Mn coming in Skyroot’s Series B funding round in September 2022.

18. Vasundhara Geo Technologies

Founded in 2017 by Aditya Tekale, Vasundharaa is a data mining startup that specialises in the acquisition and analysis of data sourced from satellites, aerial platforms, and field sensors.

Employing cutting-edge proprietary deep learning algorithms, Vasundharaa navigates through vast and complex datasets, delivering swift and incisive insights. 

The startup boasts a dedicated ensemble of skilled data analysts, software developers, geologists, and business professionals, collectively driving the successful completion of over 75 projects since its inception.

The startup’s impact spans diverse sectors, including agriculture, environment, defence, disaster management, and urban development, effectively catering to the unique needs of its clientele. 

Last updated: November 19, 2023, 11:00 AM

The post To Infinity & Beyond: Meet The 18 Spacetech Startups Winning The Space Race For India appeared first on Inc42 Media.

With sustainability becoming one of the top priorities for countries and businesses alike, the narrative around increasing the usage of electric vehicles (EVs) has taken centre stage in the past few years. Though the electrification of vehicles started a bit late in India compared to some European countries, the US, China, and Japan, the country’s EV adoption has grown exponentially on the back of more startups joining the segment and government policies.

Many Indian EV startups such as Ather Energy, Altigreen, BluSmart, and Exponent Energy have now come up with sustainable solutions for mobility. The Indian EV market houses various small as well as large EV startups and is estimated to reach $15,397 Bn by 2027.

Indian EV startups offer services such as sustainable mobility, energy infrastructure, commercial mobility and battery management system, among others, to the general masses and enterprises. Besides, they are also helping reduce carbon emissions and offering a cheaper alternative to fossil fuels.

Let’s take a look at some of the Indian startups that are helping keep the earth healthy and green through their technology and products. The list below is not meant to be a ranking of any kind. The Indian EV brands have been listed in alphabetical order.

Startups In The EV Segment 

1. 3EV Industries

• Founded In: 2019
• Founders: Peter Hartmut Voelkner, Suman K. Mishra
• Funding Raised To Date: $2 Mn
• Investors: Credence Family Office
• Headquarters: Bengaluru

3EV Industries was founded in association between RUGGED Solar Products Pvt Ltd and ReBatt Limited in 2019. It offers last-mile hyper-local connectivity to customers across India. 

In November 2021, 3EV Industries raised $2 Mn in its seed funding round from several family offices including Credence Family Office. The startup originally aligns with the Indian government’s ‘Make in India’ ambitions.

It manufactures vehicles across cargo and passenger segments, along with kits to convert conventional vehicles to electric. It aims to use renewable energy and off-grid power systems to optimise last-mile logistics. 

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2. Altigreen Propulsion Labs

• Founded In: 2013
• Founders: Amitabh Saran, Shalendra Gupta 
• Funding Raised To Date: $40 Mn 
• Investors: Reliance New Energy Limited, Xponentia Capital, Accurant International and Momentum Venture Capital
• Headquarters: Bengaluru

Altigreen offers last-mile transportation through two-wheeler, three-wheeler and four-wheeler EVs for commercial use.

In February 2022, Altigreen raised INR 300 Cr ($40 Mn) in a Series A funding round led by Sixth Sense Ventures. The round saw participation from Reliance New Energy Limited (RNEL), Xponentia Capital, Accurant International and Momentum Venture Capital.

The startup has a presence in 60 countries, along with 26 global patents. It had a turnover of INR 1.04  Cr in FY21 against INR 61.62 lakh in FY20.

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3. AMO Mobility

• Founded In: 2018
• Founders: Sushant Kumar
• Funding Raised To Date: Bootstrapped
• Investors: NA
• Headquarters: Noida

AMO Mobility is an MSME-registered and ICAT-certified electric mobility startup. It is also certified by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT). 

The original equipment manufacturer follows a business model for both B2C and B2B customers. Besides selling its electric two-wheelers through dealerships, AMO also has partnerships with OEMs, sub-dealerships, channel partners, and B2C partners to distribute its products. 

Some of its most noteworthy B2B partnerships include JustDial, Indiamart, the ecommerce platform of Paytm, and BikeDekho.

Recently, AMO Mobility signed a pact with EV-as-a -service platform, Trigo Electric, to provide its advanced electric mobility solutions to the company.

AMO Mobility has a range of escooter models, including Jaunty, Feisty, and Inspirer. Its customer base comprises corporates, ecommerce players, and CSR segments.

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4. Ather Energy

• Founded In: 2013
• Founders: Tarun Mehta, Swapnil Jain
• Funding Raised To Date: $400 Mn+
• Investors: Hero Motocorp, Department of Science and Technology, IIT Madras, Binny Bansal, Sachin Bansal, Tiger Global, NIIF Limited
• Headquarters: Bengaluru

Ather Energy offers sustainable mobility and energy infrastructure solutions. It manufactures two-wheeler electric vehicles, 450X and 450 Plus, that are sold on its website and offline retail stores. 

In May, Ather secured $128 Mn in its Series E funding round from sovereign fund NIIF Limited and existing investor Hero MotoCorp. With this round, it also closed its Series E round. In September 2023, it raised INR 900 Cr from existing shareholders Hero MotoCorp and GIC through a rights issue.

The startup claims to have installed more than 1,000 charging stations across 80 cities in India. It aims to have around 2,500+ charging stations by the end of 2023.

It was earlier reported that the EV startup had set up its second manufacturing plant in Hosur to meet the demand for electric scooters. In October 2021, its annual revenue rate (ARR) rose by 12X to $100 Mn.

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5. Baaz Bikes

• Founded In: 2019
• Founders: Karan Singla, Abhijeet Saxena, Shubham Srivastava 
• Funding Raised To Date: $2 Mn
• Investors: Kalaari Capital, AdvantEdge, 9Unicorns, Sumant Sinha
• Headquarters: New Delhi

Baaz Bikes, a subsidiary of ElecTorq Technologies, offers micro-mobility solutions to gig workers. It helps gig workers earn money by using its electric scooters for deliveries for companies such as Zomato, Amazon and Grofers.

Baaz Bikes raised $2 Mn in Pre-Series A funding round from Kalaari Capital along with the participation of AdvantEdge, 9Unicorns and Renew Power’s Sumant Sinha.

The EV startup’s scooters can cover a distance of 60 km on a single charge. It also has built battery swapping infrastructure in India. It claims that its swapping infrastructure is live in two zones in Delhi.

As per its website, its tech stack includes Baaz, Baaz Swap, Baazigar Platform and Baaz VU.

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6. Battery Smart

• Founded In: 2019
• Founders: Pulkit Khurana and Siddharth Sikka
• Funding Raised To Date: $65 Mn
• Investors: Blume Ventures, Orios Ventures, Green Frontier Capital, TradeCred, Baring Private Equity India, Srinivas Anumolu, K Ganesh, Niraj Singh, Amit Bhasin  
• Headquarters: New Delhi

Battery Smart allows customers to swap their EV batteries at its stations, called Swap Stations. It currently offers its services to e-rickshaw owners. 

Battery Smart claims to operate more than 850 Swap Stations across Delhi-NCR and says it has completed more than 220 lakh battery swaps. Currently, it has 35,000 active vehicles on its platform and makes 80,000 swaps on a daily basis as of November 2023.

In November 2021, Battery Smart raised $7 Mn in a Pre-Series A funding round led by Blume Ventures and Orios Ventures. The round saw participation from investors including Green Frontier Capital, TradeCred, Baring Private Equity India, and angel investors such as Bluestone’s Srinivas Anumolu, and GrowthStory.in’s K Ganesh, Spinny’s Niraj Singh and GoMechanic’s Amit Bhasin.

Prior to this, Battery Smart raised an undisclosed amount of investment in a seed funding round from Orios Venture Partners in February 2021. The startup has further raised $25 Mn in its Series A round in June 2022 led by Tiger Global, Blume Ventures and Orios Ventures and two debt rounds from Stride Ventures and BlackSoil.

In its pre-series B funding round in July of 2023, Battery Smart raised $33 Mn led by investors Tiger Global and Blume Ventures, with participation from the Ecosystem Integrity Fund and British International Investment.

Battery Smart claims to have live swap stations across 27 cities and it works with 35,500 vehicles.

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7. BGauss

• Founded In: 2020
• Founders: Hemant Kabra
• Funding Raised To Date: $7 Mn
• Investors: Darshan Patel
• Headquarters:  Mumbai

BGauss, which is promoted by RR Global, offers sustainable mobility solutions. The startup manufactures two EVs – BGauss B8 and BGauss A2 – which are sold on its website as well as in offline stores. It is currently expanding its product portfolio by launching two new EV scooters in 2022. 

According to an Inc42 report, BGauss’ new EV scooter D15 will be launched in May 2022, while the other scooter will be launched later this year. The startup claims that these scooters will be 100% ‘Made in India’ at its production facility located in Chakan near Pune.

Recently, the EV startup got $7 Mn in funding from Vini Cosmetics’ Darshan Patel to expand retail and manufacturing capacity in India, perform R&D and develop in-house products across various EV components. It claims to have 100 dealer networks across India and is planning to enter Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities by the end of 2022. It is further looking to scale up operations and focus on the export market.

As per its website, it has a presence in more than 85 countries. It also has 13 manufacturing facilities and over 25K retail stores. ______________________________________________________________________________________________

8. BluSmart 

• Founded In: 2019
• Founders: Anmol Singh Jaggi, Punit K Goyal
• Funding Raised To Date: $67 Mn
• Investors: Stride Ventures, Alteria Capital, BlackSoil, UCIC, BP Ventures, Green Frontier Capital, Mayfield India Fund, 9Unicorns, Suvan Partners,  Mumbai Angels, Inflection Point Ventures, Venture Catalysts
• Headquarters: Gurugram

BluSmart offers electric ride-hailing mobility services through its mobile-based app. It primarily provides sustainable mobility solutions to urban customers.

In May, BluSmart secured $25 Mn through equity and debt financing in its Series A funding round. Investors who participated in the round include BP Ventures, Green Frontier Capital, Stride Ventures, Alteria Capital, BlackSoil and UCIC.

Recently, it started intercity EV services from Delhi NCR to Jaipur and Chandigarh. It has also scaled EV services at Delhi IGI Airport. It is currently looking to expand its EV charging hubs across Delhi NCR and expand its fleet to over 5,000. 

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9. BOLT

• Founded: 2017
• Founders: Jyotiranjan Harichandan and Mohit Yadav
• Funding Raised To Date: $4 Mn 
• Investors: ITI Growth Opportunities Fund, SUN Mobility, Union Square Ventures, Prime Venture Partners
• Headquarters: Bengaluru 

BOLT, previously known as REVOS, is an AI-based IoT platform that helps people operate EVs. It essentially tracks and monitors motor controllers as well as batteries on the platform. 

In September 2021, BOLT raised $4 Mn in its Series A round led by Union Square Ventures (USV) and Prime Venture Partners. It claims to have sold about 1,000 devices, including EVs and chargers in 30 original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), across India, China, Nepal, Egypt and Vietnam to date. The startup claims it has installed 10,000 EV charging stations in India in the past six months. 

BOLT is reportedly aiming to deploy 100K charging stations in the coming six months to meet the demand in cities like Jaipur, Ahmedabad, Lucknow, Nagpur, Nashik, Chandigarh, Surat, and Bhubaneswar, among others.

Recently, BOLT also partnered with the Delhi Capitals cricket team for the IPL.

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10. Cell Propulsion

• Founded In: 2017
• Founders: Nakul Kukar, Paras Kaushal, Supratim Naskar
• Funding Raised To Date: $4 Mn
• Investors: growX ventures, Micelio, Endiya Partners, CIIE.CO, Sangam Ventures
• Headquarters: Bengaluru

Cell Propulsion offers sustainable mobility solutions and charging infrastructure. The startup develops high-voltage powertrains technology for commercial vehicle applications. Besides this, it manufactures electric commercial vehicles – Oryx Electric and Beluga Electric. While Oryx Electric is available for sale, Beluga Electric has not been officially launched yet by the startup. 

As per its website, GrowX Ventures, Endiya, Micelio and CIIE.CO and Sangam Ventures are among its investors. It has covered over 200K emission-free distance and onboarded five fleets to date. It is currently managing over 10 fast-charging stations.

In 2021, it reportedly secured $2 Mn of funding from a cohort of private equity investors including Endiya Partners, GrowX Ventures, Huddle Accelerator and Micelio. Prior to this, it raised $1 Mn in a pre-Series A funding round in September 2020. 

In 2019, it was also a part of Huddle and growX Ventures’ EV accelerator program.

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11. CHARGE+ZONE

• Founded In: 2018
• Founders: Kartikey Hariyani and Pavan Bakeri
• Funding Raised To Date: $17 Mn
• Investors: Venture Catalysts, Mumbai Angels, Keiretsu Forum, Ramakrishnan Family Office
• Headquarters: Gujarat

CHARGE+ZONE offers an OEM charging network through its app-based charging stations. Its app provides an array of services to EV drivers, such as finding charging points, and booking them in advance. 

In December 2021, CHARGE+ZONE raised $10 Mn in a bridge funding round led by Venture Catalysts. Prior to this, it raised $4 Mn in the same round. CHARGE+ZONE currently aims to raise another $50 Mn in a Series A funding round in 2022. 

In November 2021, CHARGE+ZONE raised $3 Mn in a Pre-Series funding A round led by Venture Catalysts. The round saw participation from Mumbai Angels, Keiretsu Forum and Ramakrishnan Family Office. Earlier in May 2021, it raised an undisclosed amount from Mumbai Angels. 

CHARGE+ZONE is reported to have started the distribution of AC-Type2 EV charging networks and intercity fast DC charging networks for 1,500 new points over the next 150 days.

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12. Chargeup

• Founded In: 2019
• Founders: Varun Goenka and Ankur Madan
• Funding Raised To Date: $2.5 Mn
• Investors:  Capital A, Anicut Capital, MapmyIndia,  Sameer Mehta, Aman Gupta, Tiger Shroff, Shraddha Kapoor  
• Headquarters: New Delhi

Chargeup offers battery swapping services for three-wheeler EVs in India. 

In February 2022, Chargeup reportedly raised $2.5 Mn in Pre-Series A funding round led by Capital A and Anicut Capita. 

The round also saw participation from angel investors including boAt’s Sameer Mehta, Aman Gupta, Tiger Shroff and Shraddha Kapoor. The startup claims to have expanded to 100 stations and onboarded 800 drivers on its platform. It further says that it has 100 dealers working with the platform.

As per its website, Chargeup has an AI and ML-based platform that provides services such as subscription-based usage, delivers 5,000 MwHr, forecasts demand hotspots, predicts energy demand, and operates 10K charging stations. The startup claims to have 800 satisfied users and 100 dealers associated with it. It also aims to power 1 Mn EVs by 2027.

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13. Corrit Electric

• Founded In: 2020
• Founders: Mayur Misra
• Funding Raised To Date: $9 Mn 
• Investors: SphitiCap
• Headquarters: Noida

Corrit Electric offers sustainable mobility solutions to consumers and B2B customers. It sells three electric bikes – Hover 1.0, Hover 2.0 and Hover 2.0+. The company has recently launched an electric bike, Transit, for B2B deliveries. It has a top speed of 70 kmph and payload capacity of 200 Kg. 

In November 2022, it secured $9 Mn in funding from venture capital fund SphitiCap to ramp up its production facility and manufacture electric bikes to resolve issues related to last-mile connectivity.

Earlier, it had shared plans to build 1.5 Lakh electric bikes in the next three years.

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14. ElectricPe

• Founded In: 2021
• Founders: Avinash Sharma, Raghav Rohila
• Funding Raised To Date: $8 Mn
• Investors: Blume Ventures, Micelio Fund, Anshuman Bapna, Anupam Mittal, Arjun Ravi Sheth, Ashish Goel, Bhuvan Gupta, Green Frontier Capital, NB Ventures, Anchorage Capital Partners, Supermorpheus, and Climate Angels
• Headquarters: Bengaluru

ElectricPe offers charging infrastructure to customers. Through its app, EV owners can locate charging stations near them.

In November 2021, ElectricPe raised $3 Mn in a seed funding round led by Blume Ventures and Micelio Fund. The round saw participation from Terra.do’s Anshuman Bapna, Shaadi.com’s Anupam Mittal, Anchorage Capital’s Arjun Ravi Sheth, Urban Ladder’s Ashish Goel, and OfBusiness’ Bhuvan Gupta, among others.

Recently, Hero Electric partnered with ElectricPe to set up charging points pan-India for its customers. The charging infrastructure would be built in residential complexes, offices, malls, and other establishments. The partnership aims to strengthen the charging network and support EV adoption across India.

Prior to this, NoBroker had also partnered with ElectricPe to set up 1 Lakh electric charging stations in residential communities across India in 2022.

In January 2022, ElectricPe raised $5 Mn in its pre-series A round led by Green Frontier Capital, Blume Ventures and Micelio Fund, with participation from NB Ventures, Anchorage Capital Partners, Supermorpheus and Climate Angels.

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15. Emflux Motors 

• Founded In: 2016
• Founders: Ankit Khatry, Varun Mittal, Vinay Raj Somashekar
• Funding Raised To Date: $648K
• Investors: Meher Roy, Nikhil Arora, Meet Kanodia, Krit Sankalp, Nitish Singh and Risabh Gupta
• Headquarters: Bengaluru 

Emflux Motors offers sustainable mobility solutions and other tech solutions for EVs. It sells an electronic bike Emflux One that has a maximum speed of 200 kmph and can cover up to 200 km on a single charge. Besides this, it sells technology stack such as battery management system, motors, motor controller, charger circuit, EVSE, master controller, and battery pack. 

In 2017, Emflux Motors raised $648K in an angel funding round. The round saw participation from Meher Roy, Nikhil Arora, Meet Kanodia, Krit Sankalp, Jugnoo’s Nitish Singh, and Risabh Gupta.

The EV startup aims to create 10 Mn two-wheeler EVs in India by 2027. It primarily focuses on building brand and loyalty by creating high-performance electric vehicles.  It also plans to build an ecosystem of partner OEMs and become their tech and component supplier. 

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16. EMO Energy

• Founded In: 2022
• Founders: Sheetanshu Tyagi and Rahul Patel
• Funding Raised To Date: $1.5 Mn
• Investors: Transition VC, Gruhas
• Headquarters: Bengaluru

With its integrated tech stack for two- and three-wheeler EVs and heavy-duty vehicles, deeptech startup EMO Energy is addressing two challenges adversely affecting EV adoption in India – safety and charging efficiency. 

The startup calls its technology platform ZEN, which comes with different applications such as ZEN PAC (swappable battery packs for two- and three-wheelers), ZEN Ctrl. (battery management system and connected software), ZEN Rig (battery packs for heavy-duty vehicles), and ZEN Wall (fully integrated battery inverter system for residential and light commercial use).

EMO Energy has successfully conducted pilot programmes with nearly 10 electric vehicle (EV) companies in the country, deploying approximately 100 batteries to date. The startup is rapidly expanding its network of partnerships. While most of its offerings are still in the pilot phase, EMO Energy has already started generating revenue by selling its battery packs, ranging from 2 kWh to 3 kWh, for two- and three-wheelers.

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17. EMotorad

• Founded In: 2020
• Founders: Rajib Gangopadhyay, Kunal Gupta, Aditya Oza, Sumedh Battewar
• Funding Raised To Date: $5.9 Mn
• Investor: Basant Lohia from TaraSafe, Green Frontier Capital (GFC), LetsVenture, Ivy Growth associates
• Headquarters: Pune
• EMotorad sells electric cycles for daily commuting and casual rides. The startup uses local sourcing and manufacturing facilities in India to build electric cycles.

In October, the Pune-based startup secured $2.9 Mn (INR 24 Cr) in its Pre-Series A funding round. During that time, it asserted that it sold more than 16K electric cycles in India since its inception

It raised $3 Mn in its seed funding round in late 2021. Its cap table includes Green Frontier Capital (GFC), LetsVenture, Ivy Growth associates and Basant Lohia from TaraSafe.

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18. ETrio 

• Founded In: 2016
• Founders: Sathya Yalamanchili, Deepak M V 
• Funding Raised To Date: $3 Mn
• Investor: Janardhan Rao
• Headquarters: Hyderabad

Etrio offers commercial and non-commercial electricity mobility solutions. Its product portfolio includes electric kits, retrofitted electric light commercial vehicles (eLCVs), a three-wheeler EV named Touro, and two bicycles – Ashva and iSwitch. eLCVs have been launched to transform and electrify the logistics segment, while bicycles were launched to meet the demands of cargo and personal segments. 

In 2020, ETrio raised $3 Mn in a Series A funding round led by Triumph Global’s Janardhan Rao. The round saw participation from a cohort of Singapore-based HNIs. 

As per its website, ETrio has partnered with various companies including Amazon, BigBasket, Flipkart, DIAGEO, Lightning Logistics, Amplus Solar, and ZYPP Electric. 

It has also received certifications from various government bodies such as ARAI, the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, and the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, among others. 

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19. Euler Motors

• Founded In: 2018
• Founders:  Saurav Kumar
• Funding Raised To Date:  $100 Mn+ 
• Investors: Blume Venture, Emergent Ventures, Andrew Lee, Inventus India, Jetty Ventures, Srinivas Anumolu, K Ganesh, Sujeet Kumar, QRG Investments and Holdings, ADB Ventures,
• Headquarters: New Delhi 

Euler Motors offers commercial electrical mobility solutions through three-wheeler EVs, energy infrastructure, app and web-based software solutions. Its three-wheeler EV, Euler HiLoad, has the capacity to hold up to 688 Kg. The company claims it can get charged in 15 minutes and cover a distance of 151 Km on a single charge.

In the charging infra, the EV startup offers three types of chargers – Flash2, onboard charger, and Charge on Wheels. In the software segment, its app provides an array of services such as real-time GPS tracking, learning analytics, geo-fencing, and battery temperature, among others. 

In October 2022, Euler Motors raised about $60 Mn in its Series C round led by Singapore’s sovereign fund GIC. In November 2023, the startup raised about $14.4 Mn in its ongoing Series C extension round from British International Investment (BII) and Green Frontier Capital.  Existing investors, including ADB Ventures, Blume Ventures, Athera Venture Partners, Alteria Capital, GIC Singapore, and QRG Holdings, also participated in the round.

It claims to have supplied more than 250 three-wheeler EVs to various companies including Ecom Express, BigBasket and Udaan.

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20. EVage

• Founded In: 2014
• Founders: Inderveer Singh, Pulkit Srivastava, Harnoor Kaur
• Funding Raised To Date: $28 Mn
• Investors: RedBlue Capital
• Headquarters: Chandigarh

EVage offers commercial solutions for sustainable mobility. It plans to supply electric commercial vehicles to the delivery fleets of logistics companies. 

Recently, Evage raised $28 Mn in a seed funding round from RedBlue Capital. Its first model, X, is a one-tonne truck built for the commercial delivery market.

The startup claims to be the supplier to Amazon India’s delivery partners. 

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21. Evera

• Founded In: 2019
• Founders: Nimish Trivedi, Vikas Bansal, Rajeev Tiwari
• Funding Raised To Date: $7 Mn
• Investors: Westova Capital, Devonshire Capital, IEG – Investment Banking Group
• Headquarters: New Delhi

Evera is a New Delhi-based electric cab services provider that operates in both B2B and B2C verticals. Founded in 2019, the startup claims to have taken more than 40,000 rides, with a network of 43 charging stations in the national capital region. Its parent entity is Prakriti E-Mobility.

Unlike many ride-hailing companies, Evera employs full-time drivers rather than working with gig workers. The startup says the drivers can’t cancel rides since they’re paid by the startup.

In early 2023, Evera raised $7 Mn in multiple tranches as part of its Pre-Series A funding round, led by IEG Investment Banking Group, Direct Capital, and Westova Global.

Evera competes directly with BluSmart, which raised $42 Mn in May 2023.

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22. Exponent Energy

• Founded In: 2020 
• Founders: Arun Vinayak, Sanjay Byalal
• Funding Raised To Date: $18 Mn 
• Investors: YourNest VC, 3one4 Capital, AdvantEdge VC, Motherson Group, Rajesh Yabaji, Pushkar Singh
• Headquarters: Bengaluru 

Exponent Energy offers energy solutions to EV owners. The startup claims that its lithium-ion battery and charger combo can charge EVs up to 100% within 15 minutes.  

In December 2021, the EV startup raised $5 Mn in a Pre Series A funding round led by existing investor YourNest VC. The round saw participation from other investors including 3one4 Capital, AdvantEdge VC and Motherson Group. 

As per an Inc42 report, it also raised an undisclosed investment in September 2021 from investors including YourNest, 3one4 Capital, AdvantEdge, BlackBuck’s Rajesh Yabaji, and LetsTransport’s Pushkar Singh among others.

Before launching Exponent Energy, its cofounder Arun Vinayak worked with Ather Energy for seven years, while the other cofounder Sanjay Byalal had earlier worked with Ather Energy as well as HUL.

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23. Fresh Bus

• Founded In: 2022
• Founders: Sudhakar Reddy Chirra
• Funding Raised To Date: ~$3 Mn
• Investors: ixigo, Kunal Shah, Sudarshan Venu, Deepak Garg
• Headquarters: Bengaluru

Founded by former AbhiBus founder Sudhakar Reddy Chirra, Fresh Bus is an electric bus (ebus) platform that operates in the intercity bus travel market.

The startup, backed by traveltech major ixigo, launched its ebus service in early 2023 by unveiling its first route between Bengaluru and Tirupati in Andhra Pradesh. Currently, the bus service is also functional on the Hyderabad-Vijaywada route while the startup plans to start its intercity ebus service on newer routes like Bengaluru-Chennai, Mumbai-Ahmedabad, and Goa-Pune.

Fleet operator Fresh Bus has collaborated with EV manufacturer Olectra to procure its buses. 

In the growing ebus market, Fresh Bus competes with NueGo, Zingbus, and other major intercity bus platforms in the market. The startup has also built its own charging station network.

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24. Fyn Mobility

• Founded In: 2013
• Founders: Visakh Sasikumar
• Funding Raised To Date: $2.4 Mn 
• Investors: Eagle10 Ventures, Bluehill Capital, Sattva Group, Nanavati family, Sincere Syndication, Conscience Multi-Family Office, GAIL (India) Ltd,  Arshad Sayyad, Vijay Ratnaparke, Shaji Koshy and IITM Research Park’s Ashok Jhunjhunwala, among others.
• Headquarters: Bengaluru

Fyn Mobility, which was earlier known as Pi Beam, offers micro-mobility EV solutions and data analytics services for the EV ecosystem. Its product portfolio includes PIMO Utility two-wheeler, E-Trike, E-Kart, and E-Auto.  

In March 2022, Fyn reportedly raised $1.7 Mn in a Pre-Series A round led by Inflection Point Ventures. 

The round saw participation from investors including Sattva Group and Nanavati family, Sincere Syndication and Conscience Multi-Family Office, and angel investors Fidelity Investments’ Arshad Sayyad, Robert Bosch’s Vijay Ratnaparke, Royal Enfield’s Shaji Koshy and IITM Research Park’s Ashok Jhunjhunwala, among others.

Prior to this, the EV startup raised $705K in a bridge funding round from GAIL (India) Ltd. Currently, it has a presence in Bengaluru and Chennai. It plans to add 2,000 EVs by FY23. 

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25. goEgoNetwork

• Founded In: 2021
• Founders: Sayantan Chakraborti, Dheeman Kadam, Pravin Kumar 
• Funding Raised To Date: $2 Mn
• Investors: Olivier Guillaumond, Rishi Bagla
• Headquarters: Pune

goEgoNetwork offers energy solutions to customers. With its goME app, EV owners can locate the nearest charging stations and use them. 

In August 2021, goEgoNetwork raised $2 Mn (nearly INR 15 Cr) in seed funding to expand its existing electric charging network. The round saw participation from Bagla Group’s Rishi Bagla and Global Innovation Labs’ Olivier Guillaumond.

In 2021, goEgoNetwork is reported to have partnered with TVS Motor to promote EV infra in Himachal Pradesh. Following this, it set up an EV charging facility at Kaza in Spiti Valley to cater to the needs of EV scooters and cars in the region.

The EV startup has got certifications from various government bodies including ARAI and OCA.

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26. Grinntech 

• Founded In: 2013
• Founders: Nikhilesh Mishra, Puneet Jain
• Funding Raised To Date: $2 Mn  
• Investors: V Sumantran, Lakshmi Narayan, KS Manian
• Headquarters: Chennai

Grinntech offers energy storage solutions to customers. It claims to provide an array of lithium-ion batteries such as IC Engine starter batteries, e-cycle and robotics batteries, two-wheeler batteries, three-wheeler batteries, small commercial vehicle batteries, light commercial vehicle batteries, and MHCV batteries, among others.

In 2020, Grinntech raised $2 Mn in an angel funding round. The round saw participation from investors including Ashok Leyland’s V Sumantran, Cognizant’s Lakshmi Narayan, and NAPC’s KS Manian. During the same year, the startup also graduated from the IIT Madras Incubation Cell.

In 2020, Grinntech inked an MoU with the Tamil Nadu government involving an investment of INR 100 Cr. In the following year, it established a manufacturing facility in Chennai that can meet the demand of up to 400 MWh.

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27. Kabira Mobility

• Founded In: 2019
• Founders: Jaibir Siwach, Akash Siwach, and Sagar Siwach
• Funding Raised To Date: $52 Mn
• Investors: Al-Abdulla Group, Classic Group
• Headquarters: Goa

Kabira Mobility is a Goa-based electric motorcycle manufacturer, which started a fledged sales of its ebikes in April 2022. It targets young bike enthusiasts. 

The startup has so far launched two models of its flagship bikes – KM3000 and KM4000. While its KM3000 bike model comes with a 4.14 kWh battery capacity and a range of 120 km per charge, the KM4000 model has a battery capacity of 4.60 kWh and offers a range of 150 km. 

Kabira Mobility also has plans to launch pro variants of its KM3000 and KM4000 models this year. Next year, the ebike startup is expected to launch a new model – KM5000 – in the cruiser bike category.

Earlier this year, the startup raised $50 Mn (around INR 412 Cr) in its Series A funding round Qatar-based Al-Abdulla Group, taking its total funding received to INR 430 Cr.

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28. Kazam EV

• Founded In: 2020 
• Founders: Akshay Shekhar, Vaibhav Tyagi
• Funding Raised To Date: $4.53 Mn
• Investors: Inflection Point Ventures, We Founder Circle 
• Headquarters: Bengaluru

Kazam EV offers software solutions for energy infrastructure. Besides aligning with its own charging stations, the startup’s software supports charging stations of other EV companies as well. It additionally helps micro-entrepreneurs earn money by setting up charging stations in their parking areas. 

In 2021, Kazam raised INR 7 Cr ($0.93 Mn) in a seed round led by Inflection Point Ventures. Besides, it raised an undisclosed amount of investment from We Founder Circle. Earlier in May 2023, the startup picked up $3.6 Mn in a round led by Avaana Climate Fund.

As per its website, Kazam has set up over 7,000 charging stations in India. It has a presence in Karnataka, Maharashtra, Delhi-NCR, Telangana and Tamil Nadu. Its products are essentially utilised by EV OEMs, EV fleet operators and micro-entrepreneurs.

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29. Lithium Urban Technologies

• Founded In: 2014
• Founders: Sanjay Krishnan
• Funding Raised To Date: $58 Mn
• Investors: IFC, EverSource Capital 
• Headquarters: Bengaluru 

Lithium Urban offers sustainability solutions and charging infrastructure to business organisations. The startup essentially offers transport service through its fleet of EVs and associated charging stations.

As per its website, the startup is certified by ISO for implementing guidance on social responsibility. It presently has a fleet size of 2,000 vehicles and operates in over 15 cities, including Bengaluru, NCR, Hyderabad, Pune, Chennai and Mumbai. 

Through its tech stack, the startup claims to deliver 2X productivity, reduce carbon footprint and cut down transportation costs by 40%. As per Tofler, its revenue from operations stood at INR 53.6 Cr in FY20 as against INR 41.8 Cr in FY19. However, its loss widened to INR 21.1 Cr in FY20 as compared to INR 15.3 Cr in the previous fiscal year. 

A few days ago, it reportedly partnered with Tata Motors to deploy 5000 XPRES T Electric Sedans across India for employee transportation.

In March 2022, EverSource Capital, which manages India’s largest climate impact funds, acquired a majority stake in the startup for about $50 Mn. Prior to this, the startup raised $8 Mn from World Bank’s investment arm, International Finance Corporation (IFC), as an equity investor. It raised additional capital from other investors as well. 

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30. Lohum

• Founded In: 2017
• Founders: Rajat Verma, Justin Lemmon, Gazanfar Safvi
• Funding Raised To Date: $20 Mn+
• Investors: Baring Private Equity Partners, Talbros Automotive Components, Stride Ventures
• Headquarters: Noida

Lohum is a producer of lithium-ion battery raw materials, which it achieves by recycling, repurposing, and low-carbon refining.

Working in a closed-loop recycling model, Lohum acquires used lithium-ion batteries from electric vehicles, stationary storage, and consumer electronics. These batteries are then tested and, if deemed reusable, they are given a second life. If the batteries reach their end-of-life, Lohum recycles the battery materials and sells the resulting metals and chemicals to various customers across the supply chain.

Since its inception, the startup has raised over $20 Mn in funding. Lohum recently said that it has collaborated with insurtech unicorn ACKO to optimise the battery insurance and financing costs for the customers.

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31. Magenta Mobility

• Founded In: 2018
• Founders: Maxson Lewis
• Funding Raised To Date: $35 Mn
• Investors: bp Ventures, Morgan Stanley India, JITO Angel Network
• Headquarters: Mumbai

From being a solution provider in the EV charging ecosystem, Magenta Mobility has pivoted to becoming an end-to-end integrated emobility solution provider. 

Currently, it operates over 1,550 electric three-wheelers in the L5 category for last-mile delivery, which it is planning to expand to more than 3,000 vehicles by the end of FY24. Magenta Mobility runs its cargo delivery and logistics services in nine cities, including Bengaluru, Mysuru, Pune Mumbai, Delhi NCR, and Hyderabad. The startup is not a manufacturer and sources its three-wheeler EVs from Piaggio, Altigreen Propulsion Labs, Euler Motors, and Mahindra.

In its charging ecosystem, Magenta Mobility manages 39 charging depots to cater to the charging needs of its EV fleet.

Besides, it also develops software technology to enable this entire emobility ecosystem.

In April 2023, Magenta Mobility raised $22 Mn (about INR 180.6 Cr) in its Series A1 funding round from bp Ventures and Morgan Stanley India infrastructure.

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32. Matter

• Founded In: 2019
• Founders: Mohal Lalbhai, Arun Pratap Singh, Kumar Prasad Telikepalli, and Saran Babu
• Funding Raised To Date: $100 Mn
• Investors:  Info Edge’s Capital 2B Fund 1, Climate Angel Fund
• Headquarters: Ahmedabad

Founded in 2019 by Mohal Lalbhai, Arun Pratap Singh, Kumar Prasad Telikepalli and Saran Babu, Matter is an electric mobility and energy storage-focussed startup. 

The startup boasts a fully functional electric motorcycle AERA, which it launched earlier this year. The ebike has two variants – AERA 5000 and AERA 5000+ – which come with a range of up to 125 km.  

Not just this, Matter, last year, also unveiled what it claims is the country’s first active liquid-cooled two-wheeler EV battery MatterEnergy 1.0. It also closed a $10 Mn in an initial funding round in 2022, having raised nearly $100 Mn in funding since inception.

Further, Matter plans to raise around $200 Mn by 2025 as it looks to establish a new factory for the production of its EVs.

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33. Metastable Materials

• Founded In: 2021
• Founders: Shubham Vishvakarma, Saurav Goyal, Manikumar Uppala
• Funding Raised To Date: Undisclosed 
• Investors: Sequoia Capital’s Surge,  Speciale Invest, Theia Ventures, Akshay Singhal, Sanjeev Rangrass
• Headquarters: Bengaluru

Metastable Materials has developed a one-of-its-kind mechanism, a chemical-free integrated carbothermal reduction process, for extracting and recycling materials from lithium-ion batteries in a more economical and efficient manner. 

The startup was part of the eighth cohort of Sequoia’s Surge accelerator program.

In April 2023, the cleantech startup raised an undisclosed amount of funding in its Seed round from Sequoia Capital’s Surge and other venture capitalists like Speciale Invest and Theia Ventures. 

Metastable Materials is now setting up a 21,000 sq ft battery recycling facility on the outskirts of Bengaluru.

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34. MoEVing

• Founded In: 2021
• Founders: Mragank Jain, Vikash Mishra
• Funding Raised To Date:  $10 Mn 
• Investors:  D.S. Brar, Anshuman Maheshwary, Srihari Raju Kalidindi, Ashish Goel, Krishnadeva Veerareddy, BeyondTeq, GCC family offices, StrideOne, TradeCred, N+1 Capital, and Nitish Mittersain
• Headquarters: Gurugram

MoEVing offers intra-city last-mile delivery solutions, energy infrastructure and fintech solutions. It provides delivery services to companies operating in ecommerce, e-grocery, FMCG, logistics and D2C. Besides, it also works along with OEMs, drivers and financial institutions to address the problems of EV owners when they adopt EVs.

In May, the EV startup secured $5 Mn through equity and debt financing in its ongoing seed funding round. Investors like BeyondTeq, GCC family offices, StrideOne, TradeCred, N+1 Capital, and Nitish Mittersain from Nazara Technologies participated in the round. 

MoEving has a presence in 10 cities in India including Delhi-NCR, Pune, Mumbai, Chandigarh, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Kolkata. It aims to add 10,000 EVs and 100 charging hubs in 30 cities by 2023. 

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35. Motovolt Mobility

• Founded In: 2018
• Founders: Tushar Choudhary 
• Funding Raised To Date: $1.9 Mn 
• Investors: Wami Capital, PPAP Automotive, Vikrampati Singhania, Ankur Agarwal, Vikas Bagaria
• Headquarters: Kolkata

Motovolt offers sustainable mobility solutions to consumers. Some of its electric bikes are URBN e-Bike, Kivo Easy, Ice, and Kivo 24. 

Recently, the startup also launched an electric bike called URBN for its consumers. The new electric bike has removable twin batteries, weighing about 10 kg each.

In November last year, it bagged $1.9 Mn in Pre-Series A funding round led by Wami Capital. Earlier, it had shared plans to invest INR 200 Cr into its business (in 2023) to enhance product offerings and expand its facility as well as sales network. It claims to have more than 100 POS across the country.

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36. Oben Electric

• Founded In: 2020
• Founders: Madhumita Agrawal, Dinkar Agarwal, and Sagar Thakkar
• Funding Raised To Date: $10.7 Mn
• Investors: Stride Ventures, Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency, Mumbai Angels, We Founder Circle
• Headquarters: Bengaluru

Currently, the electric two-wheeler market is predominantly dominated by escooter manufacturers. However, the electric motorcycle sector is relatively limited, with only a few companies operating in this space.

Oben Electric is one of those few startups that are manufacturing electric bikes to make a major shift in a market ruled by the stalwarts like Bajaj Auto, TVS Motor, Hero MotoCorp, and Eicher Motors.

Its flagship electric motorcycle Oben Rorr comes with a top speed of 100 km per hour and a 4.4 kWh battery capacity that can fully charge in two hours.

In the electric motorcycle manufacturing space, Oben Electric currently competes with Revolt Motors, Ultraviolette, Matter, Odysse, Hop Electric, Kabira Mobility, and Orxa Energies.

The startup has raised around $10.7 Mn (over 88 Cr) in total funding so far. In its extended Pre-Series A funding round, it raised $4.88 Mn (INR 72 Cr) in June 2023.

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37. Odysse Electric

• Founded In: 2020
• Founders: Nemin Vora
• Funding Raised To Date: Bootstrapped
• Investors: NA
• Headquarters: Mumbai

Electric mobility startup Odysse is a part of the Vora group of companies that has a vast line of businesses with a primary focus on automobile-based products. As a two-wheeler EV manufacturer, Odysse makes both electric scooters and motorcycles.

In the motorcycle category, the startup has two models – Evoqis and Vader. In the escooter category, Odysse’s main two-wheeler models are E2go, Hawk, and V2.

Odysse also manufactures a last-mile delivery escooter electric scooter, TROT.

Hence, the startup competes with the major players across the EV two-wheeler market, including Revolt, Oben Electric, Ola Electric, TVS Motor, Hero Electric as well as the likes of Yulu.

The company has set up its EV manufacturing facility in Ahmedabad, Gujarat.

In July 2023, Odysse announced a strategic partnership with Flipkart to help customers pre-book and purchase Odysse’s EVs more seamlessly from the marketplace.

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38. Ohm Mobility

• Founded In: 2020
• Founders: Nikhil Nair
• Funding Raised To Date: $400K
• Investors: Antler India, Blume Founders Fund, Catalyst Fund, Kunal Shah
• Headquarters: Bangalore

Ohm Mobility is an end-to-end EV-focussed financing platform, which aims to help EV players to get easier access to institutional capital while enabling lenders to discover, verify, and deploy capital to EV companies. It is building a technology platform to connect EV buyers with capital providers.

In May 2023, Ohm Mobility raised INR 3 Cr in a pre-seed funding round led by Antler India. The funding round also saw participation from Blume Founders Fund and angels like Sagar Gubbi, Anshuman Bapna Mathew Chako, and Karishma Menon.

Its current client portfolio includes Race Energy, Eveez, and Hala Mobility, among others. The startup competes with the likes of Vidyut and Turno in the space.

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39. Okinawa Autotech

• Founded In: 2015
• Founders: Jeetender Sharma 
• Funding Raised To Date: Bootstrapped 
• Investors: NA
• Headquarters: Gurugram

Okinawa offers sustainable mobility solutions. The startup offers EV vehicles–RIDGE+, PRAISE PRO, IPRAISE+, R30, Okinawa R30 and LITE. Its high-speed scooters hold various features such as detachable batteries, fast charging, central locking, app connectivity, etc. Its EV vehicles are priced at INR 50K-INR 1.14 Lakh.

As per LinkedIn, it has over 350 dealerships across India so far. It has received a FAME II subsidy from the Indian government and also, got IATD certification for design and manufacturing. It also partnered with the Indian Navy, Delhi Transport Corporation and Tirupati Smart City.

It claims to have sold more than 1 lakh EV scooters since its inception. It has two manufacturing plants in Rajasthan; one plant with a capacity of more than 1 lakh units is in Bhiwandi while the other with 0.5 Mn units is in Alwar. 

Since It’s a bootstrapped venture, the startup has not got external financing so far. However, it is reportedly looking at raising INR 400-INR 500 Cr from American and European private equity players.

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40. Ola Electric 

• Founded In: 2017
• Founders: Bhavish Aggarwal
• Funding Raised To Date: $1 Bn  
• Investors: Tekne Private Ventures, Alpine Opportunity Fund, Edelweiss, Tiger Global and Matrix India, SoftBank, Hyundai, Kia Motors, Bank of Baroda, Falcon Edge, IIFL PE, Cars 24, Moglix, Dealshare, VSS Investco, Pawan Munjal, Ratan Tata, Rahul Mehta
• Headquarters: Bengaluru

Bhavish Agarwal-led Ola Electric offers two-wheelers EVs and energy infrastructure. Founded in 2017, the EV startup manufacturing facility, Ola Future Factory, has a production capacity of 10 Mn two-wheeler EVs per annum and deploys over 3000 robots. 

Recently, Ola Electric was also selected for receiving incentives from the Indian government under the $2.4 Bn PLI scheme to manufacture advanced chemistry cell batteries. A few days later, it also invested in Israel-based battery technology company StoreDot to have access to its XFC battery technology that charges batteries in five minutes. 

In January 2022, Ola Electric had completed its $200 Mn Series C funding round at a valuation of $5 Bn. The round saw participation from investors including Tekne Private Ventures, Alpine Opportunity Fund, and Edelweiss, among others. In October 2023, the company announced closing a $384 Mn funding round in a mix of equity and debt led by Temasek and the State Bank of India.  

Ola Electric, which is currently leading the electric two-wheeler market, is now preparing to get listed on the bourses in 2024.

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41. Pure EV 

• Founded In: 2015
• Founders: Rohit Vadera, Nishanth Dongari
• Funding Raised To Date: NA
• Investors: VC Nannapaneni
• Headquarters: Telangana

PURE offers sustainable mobility solutions and energy storage systems. It manufactures Lithium batteries and five EVs including eTryst 350, epluto, epluto7G, ETranceNEO and ETrance+.   

Its electric bike, eTryst 350 is powered by 4.0 KW peak and 3.0 KW nominal motors. The EV bike’s top speed is 85 kmph and has a load capacity of 160 kg. The epluto scooter is powered with 250 Watt brushless hub motor, and has a top speed of 25 kmph. The epluto7G is powered by 2.2 KW peak and 1.5 KW nominal motors and has a top speed of 60 kmph. 

The ETranceNEO scooter is powered by 2.2 KW peak and 1.5 KW nominal motors and has a top speed of 60 kmph. It has a loading capacity of 150 kg. The ETrance+ is powered by a 250-watt motor and has a top speed of 25 kmph.

The startup graduated from IIT Hyderabad. In 2019, it reportedly secured an undisclosed amount of funding from VC Nannapaneni, chairman and managing director of Natco Pharma, at a valuation of $35 Mn.  

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42. RACE Energy 

• Founded In: 2018
• Founders: Arun Sreyas, Gautham M
• Funding Raised To Date: $6 Mn
• Investors:  Huddle, Prophetic Ventures, Micelio, growX Ventures
• Headquarters: Hyderabad

RACE Energy builds retrofit kits for transforming conventional three-wheeler vehicles into EVs. It also provides energy infrastructure via its battery-swapping stations.

The startup raised $1.3 Mn in a seed funding round led by Micelio Fund and growX ventures in 2021. The round saw participation from Huddle, Prophetic Ventures and BITSian Angels, among others. 

The capital, raised from the round, was infused in research and development (R&D), enhancing the startup’s swapping technology and infrastructure. Prior to this, it raised $500K in a seed funding round from growX ventures, Prophetic Ventures and some angel investors.

The company raised $3 Mn in a pre-series A round led by growx Ventures with participation from Micelio Mobility, Huddle and other angel investors in 2023. The funds will be used for market expansion and for building a new facility.

It aims to set up an extensive battery-swapping network in India and foray into other continents by ​2023.

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43. Revfin

• Founded In: 2018
• Founders: Sameer Aggarwal
• Funding Raised To Date: $15.4 Mn
• Investors: DFC, Lets Venture, Dheeraj Jain, Dheeraj Jain
• Headquarters: Delhi

Revfin is a Delhi-based startup that is trying to make EV financing easier. It provides loans for two-wheelers, three-wheelers, and other small EVs.

The startup is focussed on helping individual drivers in Tier II and III towns get loans for commercial EVs. It largely provides financing for passenger transportation, ecommerce, and cargo delivery EVs.

Revfin has its own NBFC to issue loans. In June 2023, the startup raised $5 Mn in debt from the US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC). Revfin claims to be witnessing almost 4X year-on-year growth in its loan book currently.

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44. Revolt Motors 

• Founded In: 2017
• Founders: Rahul Sharma 
• Funding Raised To Date: $20 Mn+ (approx)
• Investors: RattanIndia Group
• Headquarters: Haryana

Revolt offers sustainable mobility solutions across India. The startup manufactures AI-enabled EV bikes – RV 400 and RV 300. Its EV bikes are equipped with onboard charging and portable charging features. The RV 400 has a 3.24 kWh lithium battery while RV 300 has a 2.7 kWh lithium battery. 

The startup also offers app-based battery swapping stations named Revolt Switch Stations where EV bike owners can exchange their batteries for a charged one. It has retail stores in multiple cities of India, including Jaipur, Surat, Bengaluru, Delhi, Pune, Ahmedabad, Kolkata, Noida, Hyderabad, Chennai, Mumbai, Coimbatore, Madurai, Visakhapatnam, Lucknow, Kochi and Hubli. 

In April 2021, it secured INR 150 Cr (around $20.12 Mn at then exchange rates) from RattanIndia Group to expand its footprint in India and the South Asian market. With this investment, RattanIndia acquired a 43% stake in the Haryana-based EV startup, while Rajiv Rattan, chairman of RattanIndia Enterprises, joined its board as a non-executive chairman.

Earlier this year, RattanIndia acquired Revolt entirely, making it a wholly-owned subsidy.

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45. River

• Founded In: 2021
• Founders: Aravind Mani and Vipin George
• Funding Raised To Date: $28 Mn
• Investors: Al Futtaim Group, Lowercarbon Capital, Toyota Ventures, Maniv Mobility
• Headquarters: Bengaluru

River is an electric two-wheeler manufacturer that launched its first escooter model India in February this year. The startup ran operations in stealth mode for the last two years while working on its product development and R&D.

River’s Indie comes with a motor that has a peak power of 6.7 kW and can reach a top speed of 90 km per hour. The current vehicle model has a 4 kWh battery with a range of 120 km. 

River throws direct competition to the escooter majors like Ola Electric, Ather Energy, TVS Motor, Pure EV, and others.

In June, River raised $15 Mn (INR 124 Cr) and is looking to start its vehicle delivery in August this year. So far, the startup has raised $28 Mn in three funding rounds.

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46. SmartE 

• Founded In: 2015 
• Founders: Goldie Srivastava 
• Funding Raised To Date: $18.3 Mn 
• Investors: Mitsui and Co, Ecotransit Investments International, Shell Foundation
• Headquarters: Delhi

SmartE offers last-mile connectivity to commuters. The startup operates a fleet of electric vehicles in more than 10 cities in India, including Faridabad, Noida, Gurugram, Delhi, Lucknow, Kolkata, Mumbai, and Bengaluru. 

In January 2022, SmartE along with Revfin, an EV-focused lending startup, got an undisclosed amount of investment from the Shell Foundation to extend new loans to three-wheelers EVs on its platform. In July 2019, it raised INR 100 Cr in a Series B funding round from Mitsui and Co. Prior to this, it had raised $5 Mn in Series A round from Ecotransit Investments International.  

According to its website, SmartE has partnered with 17 companies such as Kinetic Green, NTPC, SBI, HSIIDC, ACME, Sun Mobility, Exicom and AMARA RAJA. It further claims to have worked with more than 25 clients, including BigBasket, Flipkart, SpicXpress, Milkbasket, and Blowhorn.

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47. Snap-E Cabs

• Founded In: 2022
• Founders: Mayank Bindal and Jaydip Mukherjee
• Funding Raised To Date: Bootstrapped
• Investors: NA
• Headquarters: Kolkata

The 2022-founded Snap-E Cabs is an electric ride-hailing business that competes with the likes of BluSmart as well as Uber and Ola in the fast-evolving Indian ride-hailing market.

The bootstrapped startup initiated its operations in August 2022 and achieved a total fleet size of 600 electric cars by November 2023. 

Currently running in Kolkata only, Snap-E plans to deploy 2,000-3,000 more cars in the city in the next two years. However, instead of expanding its operations further in Tier-I cities, Snap-E aims to bring its electric cab services to cities in Raipur and Bhuvaneshwar.

It achieved a gross merchandise value (GMV) of INR 11 Cr in just six months till October 2023. Snap-E is in talks with some VC firms and angel investors to raise some external funding.

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48. Sheru

• Founded In: 2019
• Founders: Ankit Mittal, Nakul Mehan, and Shikhar Sharma
• Funding Raised To Date: $2 Mn
• Investors: Micelio, Smile Group, AdvantEdge
• Headquarters: Delhi

A brainchild of Ankit Mittal, Nakul Mehan and Shikhar Sharma, Sheru is a new-generation energy storage startup that has integrated vehicle-to-grid (V2G) technology with battery swapping infrastructure. 

The startup initially operated battery swapping infrastructure for e-rickshaws. In 2023, Sheru launched a virtual cloud storage network, NetBat, which aggregates idle EV batteries to create energy storage facilities for utility companies. 

Power producers can simply tap into Sheru’s platform to store energy virtually as per their demand and on a pay-per-use basis. 

Sheru’s range of products and services also cater to battery manufacturers, financiers, resellers, and distribution companies. 

In June 2023, Sheru announced a partnership with intercity bus service provider, zingbus. Recently, Sheru also launched EnergyBox, a battery charging dock designed to charge detachable electric two-wheeler batteries at home, while also providing power backup for homes.

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49. SUN Mobility 

• Founded In: 2016
• Founders: Chetan Maini, Uday Khemka
• Funding Raised To Date: $50 Mn 
• Investors: Vitol
• Headquarters: Bengaluru

SUN Mobility, a joint venture of Maini Group and Sun Group, offers energy infrastructure. It manufactures lithium-ion batteries, named Smart Batteries, for two-wheelers, three-wheelers, and buses. 

Through its app, EV drivers can locate its battery swapping stations and Quick Interchange Solutions, and swap their batteries. 

As per its website, the startup has partnered with various companies such as Omega Seiki, Vitol, Zypp Electric, Tata Power-DDL, Zyngo, Bosch, Piaggio, IndianOil, Uber, SmartE, Microsoft, and Ashok Leyland. It presently has 65 swapping stations in 15 cities in India, including Delhi, Noida, Faridabad, Chandigarh, Amritsar, Gurugram, and Bengaluru.

In October 2021, it reportedly secured $50 Mn in funding from Vitol to expand its footprint in India and abroad. 

It aims to set up 500 battery-swapping stations in the country by the end of the current year. It further plans to launch new products to improve the battery-swapping experience and strengthen its leadership.

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50. TSUYO

• Founded In: 2020
• Founders: Lalit Baid, Vijay Kumar 
• Funding Raised To Date: $12 Mn+
• Investors: Ramkrishna Forgings
• Headquarters: Delhi

TSUYO Manufacturing, a subsidiary of JYVA Engineering, makes powertrain solutions for electric vehicles (EVs) in India and other Asian nations.  

The startup produces BLDC motors and controllers for three-wheeler electric vehicles. It also builds customised EV solutions for companies, according to its website.

In December last year, Kolkata-based supplier Ramkrishna Forgings Ltd. acquired a 51% stake in TSUYO for around INR 100 Cr (around $12.07 Mn at the then exchange rates). 

Ramkrishna Forgings had said that it would invest heavily in TSUYO in the next five years to increase its turnover to around INR 500 Cr by the end of the fifth year. 

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51. Ultraviolette Automotive

• Founded In: 2016
• Founders: Narayan Subramaniam and Niraj Rajmohan  
• Funding Raised To Date: $20.56 Mn
• Investors: TVS, Zoho Corporation, Kumar Vembu, 
• Headquarters: Bengaluru

Ultraviolette Automotive offers sustainable mobility solutions and energy infrastructure to customers. The EV startup sells a zero-emission electric bike named F77 and batteries on its website. 

In December 2021, Ultraviolette Automotive raised INR 112.5 Cr (about $15 Mn) from TVS Motor and Zoho. While TVS invested INR 75 Cr, Zoho pumped INR 38 Cr into the startup.  

Prior to this, Ultraviolette Automotive got an investment of INR 30 Cr from TVS in Series B funding round. In October 2020, it got an undisclosed amount of investment from GoFrugal’s Kumar Vembu as a part of a Series B round. Vembu also invested in the EV startup’s Series A round.

In 2018, Ultraviolette Automotive raised $862K (INR 6 Cr) in Series A round from TVS Motor Company. Earlier in 2017, TVS invested $700K (INR5 Cr) for a 14.78% stake in the EV startup.

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52. Vecmocon

• Founded In: 2016
• Founders:  Peeyush Asati, Adarshkumar B and Shivam Wankhede 
• Funding Raised To Date: Funding: $5.2 Mn
• Investors: Tiger Global, Blume Ventures, Tessellate Ventures
• Headquarters: Delhi-NCR

Vecmocon offers battery management systems, vehicle intelligence services, chargers and instrument clusters. Its plug-and-play service integrates into electric vehicles’ OEMs. It is currently offering these services to electric two-wheelers, three-wheelers, forklifts and tractors.

According to its website, the EV startup will soon begin offering motor controllers and fleet management for electric vehicles. 

In October, the EV startup secured $5.2 Mn in its Pre-Series A funding round from Tiger Global, Blume Ventures and other angel investors. The startup said it powered 5K EVs to date and aims to power more than 500K electric vehicles by 2025.

In 2019, it secured $300K in its seed funding round led by Tessellate Ventures.

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53. Vidyut Tech

• Founded In: 2021
• Founders: Xitij Kothi and Gaurav Srivastava
• Funding Raised To Date: $4 Mn+
• Investors: Force Ventures, Veda VC, Kunal Shah, Sahil Barua
• Headquarters: Bengaluru

Founded in 2021, Vidyut Tech is a commercial EV financing and vehicle lifecycle management platform, which aims to make commercial EV ownership more accessible and affordable.

The startup is trying to solve some of the biggest problems in the EV financing space by decoupling batteries from vehicles while underwriting loans for EVs. Given there is a gap in the longevity of EV batteries and vehicle chassis, Vidyut Tech believes that this approach works better for most customers in the L5 category of vehicles that it caters to.

Besides a traditional term loan plan, Vidyut provides buyers with a hybrid financing model for vehicle loans with a battery subscription. This brings down the upfront cost of the EVs by 40%-50%.

Using battery health data and its proprietary underwriting model, Vidyut extracts a high residual value for EVs, enabling customers to get an effective interest rate of 7% while buying the vehicles.

In December last year, the startup raised $4 Mn in Seed funding round.

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54. Yulu

• Founded In: 2017
• Founders: Amit Gupta, RK Misra, Naveen Dachuri, Hemant Gupta
• Funding Raised To Date: $27.4 Mn
• Investors: Blume Ventures, 3One4 Capital, Wavemaker Partners, Incubate Fund India, Grey Cell Ventures, Bajaj, Rocketship
• Headquarters: Bengaluru

Yulu offers sustainable mobility solutions and charging infrastructure. The startup uses IoT, ML and AI for demand-supply management and efficient operations. It manufactures three EVs – Yulu Miracle for urban commuters, Yulu Move for short-distance commutes, and Yulu DEX for commuters carrying goods. Besides this, it offers rental services to commuters for up to 90 days in a few Indian cities, including Bangalore, Delhi, Mumbai, Ahmedabad and Pune. 

It is currently operating in cities like New Delhi, Bengaluru, Mumbai, Pune, Ahmedabad and Bhubaneswar in India. In November 2021, it reportedly started a wide network of battery and swapping stations – Yulu Max Network. 

In December last year, it reportedly raised $7 Mn in a debt funding round from Magna International INC through non-convertible notes. It has secured a total funding of $27.4 Mn to date. It claims to have swapped 3 Mn batteries to date and will expand its fleet to 100K units by the end of 2022. It further aims to start a franchise model and offer services to individual buyers over the next year.

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55. Zypp Electric

• Founded In: 2017
• Founders: Akash Gupta, Rashi Agarwal
• Funding Raised To Date: $12 Mn
• Investors: Northern Arc, 9Unicorns, Anthill Ventures, Nanavati Family Office, We Founder Circle, Riso Capital Fund, Dholakia Ventures, Venture Catalysts, IAN Fund, Tarun Saraf, Rahul Khera, Arjun Seth, Mark Joseph
• Headquarters: Gurugram

Zypp Electric offers B2B delivery and shared mobility services to consumers. It provides electric scooters for last-mile delivery to more than 50 companies, including Zomato, Swiggy, BigBasket, Amazon, Flipkart, Myntra, PharmEasy, Delhivery, and Spencers, among others. 

Earlier, it had shared that with 6,000 electric vehicles on the road, it helped its partners complete more than 5 Mn deliveries in the financial year 2021-22.

In September 2021, it bagged $7 Mn in a Series A funding round led by 9Unicorns and Anthill Ventures. 

It has a headcount of 400 employees and plans to double its employee base by September 2023. 

This is a running article, we will keep adding more names to the list.

Last updated on  Nov 18, 2023

The post 55 EV Startups That Are Helping Keep The Earth Healthy And Clean appeared first on Inc42 Media.

The personal finance situation of a common middle-class Indian is tougher than ever, and this is despite the country’s economy growing by leaps and bounds. According to an April 2023 report published by PwC, around 74% of Indians are concerned about their financial situation, as opposed to 50% globally. 

Further, the dilapidating situation of the financial health of Indians has resulted in 63% of Indian consumers cutting back on non-essential spending altogether, per the study.

So, who is to blame?

Well, for one, a sheer dearth of financial education is one of the most critical factors behind the current state of financial affairs of middle-class individuals in the country. Another factor worth noting is that qualified professionals are scarce in the realm of financial planning.

Noticing this key gap, finfluencer Sharan Hegde (aka Finance with Sharan) and Raghav Gupta (cofounder and CEO at Futurense Technology) founded The 1% Club in 2022 to help Indians become financially independent.

According to Hegde, there are merely 1,300 financial planners operating on a fixed fee model in India — and this is alarming for a country which is home to a big chunk of middle-class households and individuals.

Speaking with Inc42, Hegde said that the capacity of these professionals to assist individuals is limited, as they can only work with a select number of clients.

Further, the financial influencer said that even though there are 2 Lakh mutual fund distributors in the country, they are heavily reliant on commissions, and it has been seen that distributors prioritise their earnings over customer interest, compromising the entire investment journey of an individual.

“This is where The 1% Club comes into the picture. With our initiatives, we aim to offer cost-effective financial solutions to Indians. We have decided to take the Registered Investment Advisor (RIA) route, wherein we will collect a fee directly from the customer rather than charging a percentage of their investments. This approach will help prevent potential negative incentives for financial planners to promote high-commission products,” Hegde told Inc42.

The 1% Club initially started as a member-only educational platform for financial management. While the founders recognised that education was the basic step in guiding them, they also toiled to build a community that encouraged peer-to-peer learning and drew inspiration from the experiences of others.

“When someone talks to their CA, they don’t properly understand what they are saying, and they are not in a position to question them. This is a significant issue today. In India, financial literacy is around 24% compared to over 50% in the United States,” Gupta said.

Catering To The Aspiring Rich Class

According to Hegde, the startup’s key target demography is the rising middle class of the country and anybody who is making more than 5 Lakh per annum or living in a metro or a Tier II city.

The startup currently boasts users from over 100 cities. However, nearly 70% of its users reside in Tier I cities. The 1% Club’s user base primarily comprises the middle class or individuals who have recently begun their careers or have been employed for five to ten years but have yet to effectively manage their finances.

The ideal users of The 1% Club are the people who tend to earn a minimum annual income of 5 Lakh. However, on average, the current audience consists of around 30,000 individuals with an annual income ranging from INR 12-15 lakhs.

The 1% Club currently provides a lifetime membership for INR 16,999, the company’s sole revenue stream for now. Zerodha cofounder Nikhil Kamath-backed venture capital (VC) firm Gruhas recently invested INR 10 Cr ($1.2 Mn) in the startup.

Following the introduction of their fintech service, they anticipate additional revenue streams, with a focus on their financial planning service. The pricing structure for this service is still under consideration, potentially incorporating variations based on an individual’s net worth and income.

“We want to make middle-class Indians richer. The pathway to increased wealth narrows down to two fundamental methods: earning more income or optimising your investments. The focus currently revolves around enhancing investment strategies,” Hegde said.

While the cofounders of The 1% Club have plans to diversify into wealth-creation opportunities in the long term, they want to become the personal chief financial officers (CFOs) of as many Indian households as possible in the medium term.

Meanwhile, the founders’ ultimate mission is to revolutionise and democratise financial planning, ensuring mass availability in an industry where such solutions are scarce, and helping Indians attain financial freedom.

What’s On The Cards?

The 1% Club currently claims to have enlightened approximately 30,000 individuals with fundamental knowledge of financial planning. Now, the venture plans to foray into fintech services, provide products and launch offerings for more informed users.

The 1% Club will soon launch a personalised financial planning service for its users. This one-on-one service involves a dedicated human financial advisor, who will assess the user’s financial situation and goals to provide tailored advice on investment products, including mutual funds, government bonds, real estate, and debt funds.

Additionally, the cofounders also want to help individuals with insurance and tax planning to optimise cash flows and effective tax-saving strategies.

The 1% Club is in the advanced stages of seeking registration with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) as a registered investment advisor (RIA) to elevate its credibility and regulatory compliance in the finance sector, the founders said.

Against the backdrop of India’s financial literacy crisis, with only 27% of adults meeting basic standards, the 1% Club enters an arena that demands a solution.

Even though competition arises from emerging startups like Piggy and MahaMoney, striving to enhance financial literacy, The 1% Club seems well poised to capture the Indian investment market with its holistic solutions aimed at making the common man rich.

The post How Finance With Sharan Is Taking Middle-Class Indians Toward Financial Freedom With The 1% Club appeared first on Inc42 Media.

In the burgeoning eyewear market of India, organised players such as Lenskart, Fastrack, and Titan Eye Plus have been gaining ground on the back of a diverse range of stylish and high-quality eyewear solutions. Despite this, a stark visual disparity persists throughout the country.

A significant portion of India’s population, particularly those from low-income communities and from Tier III parts of the country and beyond, have vision impairment and hardly any access to affordable eyewear. It is worth noting that an estimated 270 Mn people in the country face vision issues, with up to 40% lacking access to a basic pair of spectacles.

Interestingly, Ghaziabad-based ClearDekho has been addressing this issue since 2017. It offers affordable glasses and eye check programmes via its stores in small towns and cities to address the scarcity of eye care facilities and essential vision care services.

The Vision Behind ClearDekho

Before starting ClearDekho, founder and CEO Shivi Singh worked with VisionSpring, a programme aimed at delivering affordable and high-quality eyewear services across Southeast Asian markets, including India.

During his tenure with VisionSpring, where he managed the supply side and sourcing for Warby Parker’s social initiative, he recognised that low-income families were not getting access to affordable eyewear.

“At the time, LensKart was doing very well and I was inspired by their growth and their disruption in Tier-I cities. Then I recognised a significant gap in the eyewear market at Tier III & IV levels. That’s when ClearDekho was born, and the idea behind its incorporation was to standardise eyewear accessibility for consumers in smaller towns and cities, providing a value-for-money experience,” Singh said.

ClearDekho started its journey focussing on online presence, and as it aspired to offer a cost-effective eyewear experience, it realised the importance of reliable eye testing and also looked at offline expansion in 2018. Due to financial constraints, they had to engage in frugal marketing activities.

Navigating The North

The eyewear startup, which commenced its journey from Ghaziabad, has been focussed on the North Indian market since inception, particularly Uttar Pradesh (UP).

This is because the state (UP) lags in the number of total optical stores, Singh said. Recognising the untapped potential in the state, the founder has solidified ClearDekho’s presence across Ghaziabad and Noida, and smaller towns like Meerut, Hardoi, and Moradabad where larger brands are not present.

Currently, ClearDekho operates in 100 stores across India under the franchise-owned company company-operated (FOCO) model. Of these, a total of 50 stores are in UP and Delhi NCR region.

ClearDekho also has its presence in northern states, including Punjab, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, and Rajasthan. It is now looking to establish its footprint in states like Bihar, Chhattisgarh, West Bengal, and Assam.

“This is again a market where you will not find many of the eyewear brands. We look at small pockets and small towns to deliver eyewear experience and leverage the first-mover advantage,” Singh said.

The key USP of ClearDekho lies in its affordable price range for eyeglasses and sunglasses, ranging from INR 200 to INR600. However, Singh emphasises that pricing is not the sole dimension, as the business model focusses on delivering high-quality products in the convenient vicinity of small towns.

Singh gave an example of the Saharanpur district, which has a dearth of eyewear brands. “In a district where over 5 Lakh people lacked access to optical stores, ClearDekho became the first to deliver eyewear services,” he added.

Balancing Margins, Quality & Profitability

Speaking with Inc42, Singh emphasised that ClearDekho never compromised on profit margins while offering budget-friendly glasses.

Despite the high cost typically associated with eyewear, ClearDekho aimed to provide a quality product priced at 500 rupees.

For Singh, the focus isn’t solely on maximising profit margins; the primary objective is to encourage widespread adoption of the product, thereby organically expanding the user base.

With a staggering 600 Mn Indians requiring eyeglasses, the fact that 50% of this demographic lacks access to affordable eyeglasses highlights the enormous opportunity for ClearDekho.

Additionally, there is a growing demand in the kids’ eyewear and protective eyewear segments. Currently, protective eyewear contributes 10% to the total eyewear business in India, Singh added.

In FY22, ClearDekho reported an operating revenue of INR 7.5 Cr, marking a 1.7X year-on-year increase from INR 4.4 Cr in FY21, according to Tofler. However, the company incurred a loss of INR 6.4 Cr in FY22, compared to INR 3.4 Cr in FY21. The financial results for FY23 are yet to be disclosed.

Meanwhile, Singh is confident that the company will achieve profitability in the next two years.

The eyewear market in India is projected to reach $5.58 Bn in 2023, with prescription glasses dominating at an expected $2.52 Bn. Notably, 94% of sales are anticipated in the non-luxury category, indicating the country’s increasing demand for affordable yet stylish eyewear, including frames and prescription lenses. This presents significant tailwinds for startups like ClearDekho going ahead.

The post How Eyewear Brand ClearDekho Is Becoming The Lenskart For Tier III & IV Indian Cities appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Jewellery has been an integral part of Indian culture for centuries. From wedding ceremonies and family gatherings to festivals or regular wear, Indians just can’t do without it. This is probably one of the key reasons that has propelled India to secure a prominent position in the global jewellery industry.

According to a Statista report, the Indian jewellery industry garnered a staggering revenue of $76.77 Bn in 2023, making it the world’s leading market in the sector, surpassing China, the US, Japan, and Russia. Furthermore, the industry is projected to maintain a compounded annual growth rate of 4.93% by 2026.

Another notable study from Inc42’s State of Indian Ecommerce Report 2023 reveals that 47% of cross-border sales on Amazon pertain to jewellery.

Moving on, the jewellery industry has lately undergone a paradigm shift, with the new generation now seeking lightweight, minimalist, and customised jewellery to complement the contemporary lifestyle.

However, what has fuelled this shift is worth understanding. Per Ishendra Agarwal, the founder of D2C jewellery brand GIVA, “Earlier people used to look at jewellery as an investment, but today, it is more about fast fashion, justifying Indians inclination towards lightweight jewellery. Notably, this trend entered the US and China a few years ago and has started impacting India of late.”

Moving on, traditional jewellers, on the other hand, have today transitioned to understanding their customers through data-driven insights. Moreover, we today have SaaS startups that offer end-to-end tech solutions tailored to fit all key requirements of jewellers. Further, many jewellery stores, both online and offline, are today using augmented reality (AR) to woo customers. And we have barely scratched the surface here.

Notably, at the forefront of the Indian jewellery industry’s current state of affairs are the increasing number of startups in the space, which are leaving no stone unturned to set the latest industry.

Consider Metaman for example — the Bengaluru-based startup is determined to shake up the men’s accessories and jewellery market. Similarly, Jaipur-based Voylla started with women’s jewellery but ventured into the men’s jewellery space in 2015. Today, the startup takes pride in crafting contemporary accessories per the current fashion trends.

According to Inc42, India currently has more than 15 funded jewellery startups, which have together raised more than $288.6 Mn since 2014. These new-age ventures are not only addressing the evolving taste of Indians but also playing a key role in writing the next chapter of the Indian jewellery industry.

A day ahead of Dhanteras, we have compiled a list of 10 startups that are making waves and setting new trends in the glamorous Indian jewellery industry.

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

1. Bluestone

Founded in 2011, BlueStone is an omnichannel jewellery startup that offers a diverse range of over 8,000 exquisite designs, spanning categories like rings, pendants, and earrings.

The company generates revenues from online sales and a network of both company-owned and
franchise-operated retail stores.

This direct-to-consumer (D2C) jewellery brand recently secured INR 550 Cr from existing and new investors. Some of the key names that backed the startup include Nikhil Kamath of Zerodha; Ranjan Pai, the chairman of the Manipal Group; Amit Jain, the CEO and cofounder of Cardekho Group; Deepinder Goyal of Zomato, etc.

In the financial year 2022-23 (FY23), the Bengaluru-based startup’s operating revenue stood at
INR 770.7 Cr, up 67% year-on-year (YoY).

Furthermore, there are reports that Singapore’s Temasek Holdings is poised to invest $100 Mn in the Tata-backed startup for an approximately 20% stake. The investment deal is expected to confer a valuation of nearly $500 Mn upon BlueStone.

2. Caratlane

Chennai-based CaratLane is an omnichannel jewellery brand, which offers a diverse selection
of loose diamonds. Incorporated in 2008 by Mithun Sacheti and Srinivasa Gopalan, CaratLane functions as a subsidiary of Titan. Over the years, the company has successfully secured a total of $617.8 Mn in five funding rounds.

Titan is poised to acquire a 27.18% stake in CaratLane for INR 4,621 Cr. This investment places a valuation of over INR 17,000 Cr ($2 Bn) on CaratLane, officially elevating the omnichannel jewellery brand to unicorn status.

CaratLane operates in both India and the United States. Two years ago, the startup launched international shipping to overcome existing geographical and economic barriers.

Today, as part of the Tata Group heritage, the company boasts an extensive presence with over 123 retail stores spanning 45+ Indian cities.

Additionally, it is equipped to ship globally to 132 countries, including the USA, the UK, Singapore, Dubai, Australia, and Canada.

3. GIVA

Ishendra Agarwal, Nikita Prasad, and Sachin Shetty founded GIVA in 2019 to provide exquisite silver jewellery. However, the startup has since pivoted to offering gold jewellery to its customers.

As of July 2023, the D2C jewellery brand boasted its presence in over 50 stores in major Indian cities, along with plans for nationwide expansion over the next five years. Committed to innovation, GIVA launches more than 250 new designs every month.

Currently, the Bengaluru-based startup ships to Australia, Cambodia, the Caribbean, the Netherlands, France, Germany, Hungary, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, New Zealand, Philippines, Portugal, Singapore, the US, Spain, Thailand, the UK, and Vietnam.

It last raised INR 270 Cr ($32.9 Mn) in a Series B funding led by Premji Invest in July.

4. GoldSetu

Incorporated by Vikas Verma and Anuj Sachdev in 2021, GoldSetu is a B2B jewellery startup, which enables jewellers to purchase, organise, market, and sell jewellery.

The startup also takes pride in its mission to revolutionise the Indian jewellery business with its end-to-end tech solutions tailored to fit all key requirements of jewellers.

The startup also showcases itself as a one-stop B2B jewellery store for jewellery retailers and claims to have an extensive inventory, comprising more than 50,000 products across categories like gold, diamond, platinum, and other high-quality jewellery items.

Since its inception, the company has secured a total of $2.3 Mn across four rounds. Notably, the SaaS startup strengthened its presence in the space by acquiring BuymyJewel, a B2B jewellery ecommerce company, last year for an undisclosed amount. Simultaneously, it raised $1.1 Mn in October 2022 to support its growth initiatives.

5. Melorra

Founded in 2016 by Saroja Yeramilli, Melorra offers lightweight and fashionable gold and diamond jewellery for a contemporary wardrobe.

The Bengaluru-based startup sells jewellery through its website and offline stores. It delivers across 26,000 pin codes across India, the US, the UK, Europe and the UAE. In India, the startup has a presence in 718 districts and over 2,800 towns.

Since its inception, Melorra has secured $94.4 Mn in nine funding rounds. It last raised $16 Mn in a Series D round in May 2022.

The company enjoys the backing of 23 investors, with the SRF Family Office and Axis Growth Avenues AIF-I being its most recent backers. Melorra claims to have grown at a CAGR of 200% in the past few years and asserts to have clocked revenue of more than INR 360 Cr in FY22. In the short term, the D2C jewellery brand aims to generate $1 Bn in revenue by FY26.

6. MetaMan

Founded in 2022 by Anil Shetty, MetaMan sells men’s jewellery like bracelets, pendants, chains, earrings, and rings. Its investors include Nikhil Kamath from Zerodha, Prashanth Prakash from Accel Partners, and cricketer KL Rahul.

Its entire product range is priced below INR 10,000, targeting the increasing demand for men’s jewellery. Initially launching with 25 designs priced under INR 2,000, the startup’s current emphasis is on men’s fashion jewellery and essential product categories.

However, the D2C brand envisions expanding in various directions and branching into additional product Recently, Shetty told inc42 that he plans to sell the company’s products via online marketplaces such as Nykaa Man, AJIO Live, and Flipkart, among others. Going forward, Metaman plans to foray into the fine jewellery segment by launching its gold jewellery line and building variations on top of it, such as a line for different occasions.

Additionally, the brand recently acquired millennial-focussed luxury jewellery brand Drip Project for $1 Mn to strengthen its presence in the growing Indian online men’s jewellery market.

7. Pipa Bella

Founded by Shuchi Pandya in 2013, Pipa Bella is an online store that offers custom and ready-made fashion jewellery at affordable prices.

The startup, which was acquired by Nykaa in 2021, launched approximately 100 new styles of fashion accessories every week that are all priced well between INR 500 to INR 3,000. Its target audience consists of fashion-conscious urban women aged between 22 and 35 who are active on social media and quick to adopt the latest trends.

Pipa Bella draws its name from two European terms that mirror the company’s product range and its diverse customer base. A typical “Pipa” woman is bold, edgy and always ready to experiment and a typical “Bella” woman is a classicist, graceful, and more conservative.

The startup has secured a total of $1.6 Mn in two funding rounds since its inception from investors like LionRock Capital and Fireside Ventures.

8. Priyaasi

Gurugram-based Priyaasi, which started by selling just a few hundred fashion jewellery pieces in 2015, witnessed remarkable growth, reaching over 90,000 pieces sold per month in 2020.

The bootstrapped startup achieved a turnover of more than INR 35 Cr in the same year.

Despite having a minimal social media presence, this D2C brand successfully expanded its operations across various online marketplaces. Priyaasi’s journey began when its founder, Priyanka Khandelwal, launched the startup on Myntra in 2018. As of today, Priyaasi has established a strong presence on major fashion platforms, including Nykaa, Amazon, and Flipkart.

Mensa Brands acquired Priyaasi on October 6, 2021. The D2C brand currently operates across online marketplaces and has expanded its presence on the international stage by recently launching on Amazon US.

According to Khandelwal, the brand’s revenue experienced remarkable growth, increasing by over 100% from INR 16 Cr in FY20 to INR 35 Cr in FY21.

9. Sukkhi

Established in 2012, Sukkhi Jewellery is a retail startup that specialises in the design and sale of jewellery collections for women.

Founded by Bhavesh Navlakha, Sukkhi was incorporated with a vision to provide quality and trendy fashion jewellery at competitive prices.

Initially started as an exclusively offline brand, the company expanded its horizons by introducing its website in October 2016 and then scaled its presence to 27 diverse online marketplaces and made foray into two international markets.

As of 2018, online sales accounts for 33% of its revenues. The company claims to have grown at a CAGR of over 100% since its inception. The Mumbai-based jewellery startup raised $7 Mn in funding from Carpediem Capital and Duane Park in 2018.

10. Voylla

Founded in 2011 by Vishwas Shringi and Jagrati Shringi, Voylla is a Jaipur-based fashion jewellery startup. Voylla is an omnichannel brand with a presence across multiple online channels and 250 offline stores across India.

Voylla started with women’s jewellery, further venturing into the men’s jewellery space in 2015. The brand now offers women’s jewellery across 11 categories and men’s jewellery across 10 categories, in materials such as gold, silver and pearl, among others. Since its inception, the jewellery brand has secured over $15.5 Mn in funding from Peepul Capital and Snow Leopard Technology Ventures.

The startup claims one of its USPs is the traditional art-inspired designs, crafts and narratives to create contemporary accessories per the current fashion trends.

The post Shining Brightly: Meet The 10 Indian Startup Gems In The Homegrown Jewellery Industry’s Crown appeared first on Inc42 Media.

From horse wagons to iconic black and yellow Fiat Padmini cruising through the bustling streets of Indian metropolises, the evolution of taxis in India is rich and quite elaborate. It’s a journey that has also seen transformative changes, from the emergence of Ola and Uber to the current era of hassle-free electric vehicle cabs. 

The history of taxis in India also tells us that the highly unorganised sector underwent a major transition 10 years ago when Uber entered the country in August 2013 and Android smartphones were baptising Indian telecom users at a break-neck speed.

Up until the entry of Uber in India, autorickshaws (three-wheelers), too, remained the dominating force for passenger intracity transit. However, by the time 2013 ended, a majority of Indians were seen ditching traditional taxis, only to shift to the new ones – Ola and Uber. This is because Indians could now book cabs with a single tap on their smartphone and get discounts and free rides while using these services. 

On the other hand, a wave of new drivers entered this segment and joined Ola and Uber, lapping up handsome monthly earnings. Finally, the market was disrupted, dominated and captured by these new players, outpacing traditional taxis.

A decade later, history seems to be repeating itself, as a new race of taxi service providers has now started disrupting the ride-hailing market, freeing customers from inconveniences such as ride cancellations, surges, and subpar quality of services in many cases.

At the forefront of this seismic shift are Mayank Bindal and Jaydip Mukherjee, who want to address the existing pain points in urban transportation with their electric cab service, Snap-E Cabs.

Incorporated in 2022, the Kolkata-based startup offers several unique value propositions — from no-cancellation policies to no-surge fees — to passengers, who rely on the duopoly of Ola and Uber to move from point A to point B in the city.

Since its inception, the e-cabs provider has expanded its business significantly in Kolkata, with hardly any commitment to pipeline emissions. 

With a push from the government to increase passenger and commercial EVs in the country, the sector is expected to witness unprecedented growth soon. 

As per Vahan data, of the total 1.77 Lakh motor cabs registered till November 1 this year, more than 8K vehicles are electric. In 2022, the number stood at 1.14 Lakh versus 4.9K+ units.

Humble Beginnings Of The Bootstrapped Snap-E

When Snap-E initiated its operations in August 2022, the startup did not have an app and instead partnered with Uber to deploy its e-taxis on the streets of Kolkata.

Acquiring customers is one of the most challenging parts of app-based B2C businesses, cofounder and CEO Bindal told Inc42, reminiscing how the startup began its humble journey.

This very dilemma led Snap-E to opt for collaborating with Uber’s platform but with Snap-E’s branding on vehicles. This strategic decision helped the startup curtail the initial expenses associated with managing an app, customer relationships, and onboarding.

Much to everyone’s surprise, the startup witnessed a demand surge within two months of its operations. This also proved to be a huge learning curve for Bindal, who told Inc42 that they were able to disrupt the market and establish themselves just by streamlining the supply side of the sector. 

“After seeing an unexpected demand surge, we realised that the real problem was in supply and not demand, following which we launched our app in October 2022, which received 30K downloads within weeks, giving us the window to emerge as a separate brand,” Bindal said.

The Snap-E app today has 4-5 Lakh downloads, and the startup receives close to 12K-15K ride requests daily in and around Kolkata.

“Unfortunately, with supply being a challenge, we are only able to do anywhere between 2,500-3,000 rides a day,” he added.

To resolve the demand side of the issue, the cofounder wants to take his current fleet of around 600 EVs to 1,000 by March next year.

An Uber challenger, Snap-E has procured about 160-170 cars from leasing firms like Mahindra and Muffin Green. For the remaining cars in its current fleet, the startup has taken bank loans. 

According to Bindal, with about INR 20-22 Cr internal investment, Snap-E is bootstrapped so far. 

Snap-E’s Always On Roads 

 In addition to its B2C taxi service model, Snap-E also operates a B2B business segment. The company has established partnerships with corporations such as TCS, Wipro, Cognizant, and several others to offer pick-and-drop services to their employees.

“Compared to cities like Delhi, Mumbai, and Bengaluru, Kolkata is still more of a day city and there is little traffic post 11 PM. That is predominantly the reason that we thought B2B was going to give us a steady stream of revenue with the maximum utilisation for our cars. And since the IT companies need cars for employee transportation, we decided to tie up with them,” Bindal said.

Snap-E effectively deploys all its vehicles during the day, with approximately 30-35% of them dedicated to providing employee pick-and-drop services during the nighttime hours.

Currently, around 75% of the company’s total revenue is derived from its B2C operations, while the remaining 25% originates from its B2B engagements.

In terms of its overall business performance, Snap-E achieved a gross merchandise value (GMV) of INR 2.45 Cr in September alone. Over the past six months, the total GMV has amounted to INR 11 Cr.

Snap-E follows a pricing structure that entails a flat fee of INR 150 for journeys up to 5 Km. Beyond this initial distance, the charge increases by INR 22.5 per km.

Building The Ecosystem

We cannot ignore the fact that building a robust charging infrastructure is the most important aspect when it comes to increasing the number of EVs and boosting the overall EV ecosystem. 

Staying one step ahead in ensuring that its business runs seamlessly, Bindal said that Snap-E has established partnerships with various charge point operators (CPOs) such as Jio-bp, Tata Power, Chargezone, Evre, and others.

However, in the long run, the startup wants to do more than just depend on these CPOs. It wants to operate its own charging stations. 

Snap-E has already signed an MoU with Kolkata Port Trust for building the charging stations, and the authority is ready to give them parcels of land on lease for 20-25 years.

Furthermore, the startup has commenced the process of entering into contracts with various potential parking aggregators to facilitate the operation of its vehicles in key locations, including airports and railway stations.

Meanwhile, Snap-E aims to deploy 2,000-3,000 more cars in Kolkata in the next 18-24 months. Moving forward, the startup aims to expand to other cities that have less access to ride-hailing platforms.

Raipur in Chhattisgarh and Bhuvaneshwar in Odisha are the two Indian cities Snap-E is currently planning to foray into, all while expanding its footprint in Kolkata.

Meanwhile, the startup is in talks with some VC firms and angel investors to raise funds. If the talks move through, Snap-E may announce the news in the next few months. The cofounder, however, has not disclosed the amount that he wishes to pick.

It’s worth noting Snap-E competes with players like BluSmart, Uber, Ola, and others, making significant strides in the EV ride-hailing space. 

BluSmart, for instance, promotes customer-friendly features such as no surge fees and a no-cancellation policy, although its operations are currently limited to Bengaluru and Delhi-NCR.

Notable, Snap-E, too, is part of this rapidly evolving landscape and seems to be carving a niche for itself as one of the pioneering e-cab service providers.

However, going ahead, it will be fascinating to observe how the startup positions itself in the market in the years to come, especially when it comes to operating alongside established ride-hailing giants.

The post How The Uber Challenger Snap-E Cabs Is Disrupting Kolkata’s Ride-Hailing Market appeared first on Inc42 Media.

No one can see the future, yet millions of Indians turn to fortune tellers, astrologers and seers to get a glimpse of their days to come. It’s no wonder then that astrology marketplace Astrotalk has emerged as an outlier in the sea of loss-making growth stage startups.

Of course, it would be folly to think of this as a business based around espousing superstitions. In many cases, this is akin to counselling or one-on-one guidance rather than completely relying on the stars, according to founder and CEO Puneet Gupta.

In the past, Gupta has been known to have said that he did not believe in astrology, till one such consultation in 2014 during a tough time in his career proved fortuitous.

It was this happenstance that led to Astrotalk, which first achieved profitability in FY20 and has scaled up exponentially in the past couple of years. Today the company believes that it is poised to be the ‘Uber’ for astrology.

Astrotalk’s Fortune Grows

As per Astrotalk’s audited FY23 financials, accessed by Inc42, the company has reported revenue of INR 282 Cr with a profit of INR 27 Cr in the last fiscal year. That’s 2X-plus growth on the revenue front, as well as a remarkable near 4X surge in profits. And even though the company’s net profit fell in FY22 in comparison to FY21, the FY23 profit is higher than FY21.

In many ways, FY21 was an anomaly, which explains the drop in profit in FY22. It was of course during the pandemic (2020-21) that the demand shot up for online consultations in astrology and related services.

During the first month of lockdown, AstroTalk saw a drop of about 10% in revenue but since then, it saw MoM growth rate of 10% throughout FY21. Daily revenue grew from INR 14 Lakh to INR 19 Lakh within six months. The startup latched onto this momentum by signing up astrologers in droves and connecting them to customers. It gave the company enough cash flow to continue adding more service providers.

And the way this segment is growing, Astrotalk expects to touch INR 600 Cr in revenue by the end of FY24, with a 16% EBITDA margin or INR 100 Cr projected.

Such EBITDA efficiency is not unprecedented but rare. Astrotalk cofounder and chief business officer Anmol Jain believes this is simply because the startup figured out that the quality of the service providers is paramount.

This is especially relevant in a sensitive field such as astrology, where often it’s a one-on-one service and not a company providing services to an end customer.

Seller-First Marketplace Approach

“We chose to go with a curated marketplace where the ‘inventory’ side of the marketplace grows slowly and steadily. There’s a vetting process before astrologers are on-boarded and we typically have a 70% selection rate for astrologers, with four to five rounds of interviews,” cofounder Jain told Inc42.

The model is dependent on verified professionals, since 90% of Astrotalk’s revenue comes from one-on-one consultations, where users pay per minute to talk to astrologers. About 5% of the revenue comes from live streaming fees where astrologers answer questions from multiple users and the rest comes from the ecommerce vertical including the ad revenue and sale of products for rituals and poojas.

Another distinct advantage for Astrotalk with its curated marketplace approach was that sellers or astrologers in this case do not pay to be a part of the marketplace. Instead, Astrotalk charges a commission for each transaction between customers and astrologers. Customers deposit funds, a portion of which is used for their one-on-one or group calls.

The company did not disclose details of how much commission it charges. Per-minute pricing for calls ranges from INR 10 to INR 200 per minute.

The evaluation criteria also involve setting the initial price of each astrologer. The pricing is then regulated based on quality parameters, review as well as demand for particular astrologers.

While some astrologers can pay to advertise and promote themselves to boost discovery, others choose to use YouTube and other affiliate links to bring customers on to Astrotalk.

“We took a conscious call to not charge the astrologers even from a point of view of training because it creates a lot of mistrust when we want to grow our brand and also asking for money to be part of the model. It’s like getting a job somewhere but you have to pay for it,” Jain added.

This allowed the startup to retain most of its astrologers and service providers even though competition has emerged in the space, as we will see.

Astrotalk’s Unit Economics 

So far the startup has raised around $800K from CRED founder Kunal Shah’s QED Innovation Labs, but it is in talks with investors to raise between $30 Mn – $40 Mn in what is being reported as a pre-IPO round.

While Astrotalk cofounder Jain did not specify the size of the upcoming round, he did confirm that the startup is in talks to raise significant funding, which along with its cash flow will hold it in good stead for the expansion on the cards.

The biggest expense for the company is in the form of the astrologer payouts, followed by marketing, largely performance marketing with some degree of social media promotions thrown in.

Currently, Astrotalk sees about 2.2 Lakh to 2.3 Lakh customers coming through paid campaigns every month, which is a mix of Indian and international customers. The total base of monthly transacting users is currently around the 5 Lakh mark.

The blended customer acquisition cost for each customer is in the $6-$9 range. From a contribution margin perspective, this cost is recovered in six to eight months.

In this case, repeat usage becomes vital to unlock profitable growth, and Jain claims that the platform sees 80% of its revenue from repeat customers. “We see people who have been transacting with us for the last three, four years,” he added.

Building The ‘Uber’ For Astrology 

While the CAC may seem to be on the higher side, that’s because the startup spends a lot on performance marketing in international geographies, where ad rates are higher. But the international market has been a major growth driver for Astrotalk, Jain added.

“Right now, about a sixth of our marketing spend is on the international markets, 1/6th of the revenue also comes from these geographies, primarily from non-resident Indians in the US, the UK, Canada, Australia and other English-speaking countries.”

To cut down on the acquisition costs within India, Astrotalk has partnered with a major nationwide publication, which would act as a distribution channel for the startup.

Given the company’s target of reaching INR 2,000 Cr in revenue before an IPO in 2025-26, curbing marketing spends will be a significant challenge, particularly as it looks to expand internationally, acquire non-Indian users and increase the revenue share from international customers.

But as the startup has shown, this particular model works and the competition is moving in this direction as well. Those astrologers who have not partnered with platforms also use WhatsApp and Telegram for digital services.

Plus despite digital platforms, astrology consultation in the offline space is also booming. An EMR study pegs the Indian religious and spiritual market at a value of $ 58.56 Bn in 2023. This is further expected to grow at a CAGR of 10% between 2024-2032 to reach around $150 Bn in less than a decade.

Astrotalk competes with the likes of Astrosage, AstroYogi, AstroBuddy, Ganeshaspeaks, AppsForBharat, and other unorganised players as well as independent astrology service providers.

But the international market remains the holy grail, and Astrotalk plans to add so-called non-Indian horoscopes and astrology-related practices such as tarot, psychic reading or shamanic counselling. Internationally, the startup competes with keen.com, as well Kasamba, both of which offer psychic readings.

Cofounder and CBO Jain believes that Astrotalk is poised to be the ‘Uber’ for astrology, as the core product has use cases and parallels worldwide, and the problem of trustworthiness is universal.

The post Decoding Astrotalk’s Fortunes: How The Astrology Startup Hit 4X Profit Growth  appeared first on Inc42 Media.

The year so far has thrown many challenges at Indian startups, yet founders have emerged more powerful than ever in the face of adversities.

Well, speaking about adversities, the startup funding has regressed to 2020 levels. The $8.3 Bn raised in 2023 so far is nearly one-fourth of what the Indian startup ecosystem had raised during the same period in 2021.

From a macro lens, things may look quite challenging for Indian startups and new-age sectors, however, a closer glance would unravel the dark horses of the Indian startup realm. 

One such example is the Indian SaaS market, which is scaling quite impressively and is projected to become a $50 Bn market opportunity by 2030, quadrupling its current size. Notably, Indian SaaS startups have raised more than $899 Mn so far this year. 

Not only this, even though the funding winter engulfed most of 2023, the month of October infused some hope, as Indian startups raised $1.1 Bn during the month, up from $846 Mn raised in the corresponding month last year. 

While this was hardly any respite for Indian startups, who continue to see a funding famine, we decided to stick to our tradition of bringing some of the most past-breaking startups to the fore every month.

In this edition of ‘30 Startups To Watch’, we have endeavoured to shine the spotlight on SaaS startups, accounting for the maximum number of startups in the list, followed by AI, edtech and fintech startups.

Amid the current scheme of things, we yet again raise a toast to Indian founders for their resilience as we bring you the 41st edition of ‘30 Startups To Watch’.

Editor’s Note: The list below is not a ranking of any kind. We have listed the startups alphabetically.

AccioJob

Unlocking India’s Tech Potential

In today’s tech-driven world, data analysts and software developers are in high demand. This is because businesses have increased their reliance on data-driven strategies and software-powered solutions. These fields offer promising career prospects, luring a significant number of undergraduates to seek and cultivate the requisite skills.

Based in Gurugram, AccioJob has positioned itself to cater to this burgeoning market by providing structured online learning programmes, which are tailored to help recent college graduates launch their careers in software development and data analytics.

At the heart of its offerings are comprehensive, live training courses in areas like Java full-stack development, MERN full-stack development, and data analytics.

Established in 2018 by Yashwardhan Burad, Priyanshu Agarwal, Vishu Bansal, and Harsh Sharma, AccioJob has plans to include high-demand domains such as DevOps, Testing, and Data Science by 2024.

AccioJob’s vision for the future includes exploring opportunities in formal education. This entails potential collaborations with colleges to integrate their programmes into undergraduate and postgraduate degree curricula. Additionally, AccioJob is considering establishing its proprietary degree offerings, either in partnership with institutions or with its physical infrastructure.

Algomage

The AI-Powered Photography Companion

In a bid to help fellow photographers ease their workloads and deliver images to their clients faster and with greater efficiency, Anand Rathi, Canon India ambassador, founded Algomage in 2021.

The startup, which also made an appearance on Shark Tank India, has three flagship products – AlgoCull, AlgoEdit and AlgoShare.

AlgoCull automates the culling and rating of thousands of images within an hour, based on user-defined parameters. AlgoEdit, on the other hand, uses AI to edit images in Lightroom, learning a photographer’s style and preferences over time as it receives user input. AlgoShare employs facial recognition to ensure that all event attendees receive their images.

The startup monetises its products through a freemium subscription model, allowing photographers to subscribe to any of Algomage’s three apps on a monthly or annual basis. Algomage also offers a free plan with limited features.

Altitude

Invest In Modern Assets With Mutual Funds-Like Ease

While there is a growing number of Indians who are making investments across a wide variety of assets, alternative assets like private credit, agronomy, real estate and private equity remain one of the most attractive classes of assets. While they promise high returns, only a few have the acumen to invest in such assets.

The gap in knowledge and the absence of a platform to help users invest in such assets prompted Krisha Maggo to build Altitude, a fixed-income platform enabling investments in alternative assets. The startup is set to soon launch its first investment opportunity, Prism Fund, on the National Stock Exchange.

The fund is a multi-asset structured investment opportunity designed as a diversified basket of 10+ modern assets, including real estate, private credit, litigation, inventory and revenue-based finance, structured notes, and private equity, among others. Altitude is also in the middle of establishing thematic investment schemes within the alternative asset category.

While Altitude has yet to receive SEBI’s approval for the Prism Fund, it claims to have 35K+ investors waiting for the fund launch.

It is looking to reach INR 100 Cr ($12 Mn) in assets under management (AUM) by November 2023, with an eye on scaling the number to $30 Mn (INR 250 Cr) AUM by December 2024.

AuditCue

Streamlining Audits With Flexible Solutions

Effective solutions for risk and audit programs have often proven elusive for many companies. Legacy options tend to complicate processes, while other established players often offer one-size-fits-all solutions that fail to address specific challenges.

AuditCue aims to disrupt this paradigm by delivering tailor-made solutions that boost process resiliency and agility for its clients. Founded in 2022 by entrepreneurs Gaurav Kulkarni and Naren Janakiraman, AuditCue wants to redefine the audit experience for both auditors and auditees.

What sets this Chennai-based startup apart is its flexible and modular platform. AuditCue understands that each organisation has unique challenges and needs, and it is committed to tailoring its services to meet those specific requirements.

AuditCue’s SaaS solution not only streamlines audit lifecycles but also enhances process resiliency and agility. It accelerates audit cycles, allowing organisations to stay ahead of the ever-evolving risk landscape.

Avidii

On-Demand Personalised Learning Platform

Amid the rapid growth of edtech platforms in India over the past five years, Switzerland and Bengaluru-based Avidii, which is now expanding in the Indian market, distinguishes itself through its unique approach. Avidii offers immediate, personalised, and commitment-free educational services, catering to individual preferences and needs, setting it apart from the crowd of other edtech platforms.

Founded in 2021 by Deepak Subbarao, Avidii claims to have onboarded over 400 expert tutors across India and has garnered more than 5,000 downloads within a short period. Avidii, which is active in four countries, has plans to reach 1 Mn users and downloads in India by the end of the year.

Avidii’s core offering is a 24×7 on-demand learning service, providing customised support in subjects such as mathematics, physics, chemistry, biology, commerce, and arts, primarily aimed at students aged between 11 and 18.

The platform operates with two primary business models. While its B2B segment focusses on partnerships with educational institutions to enhance the learning experience within schools and colleges, the startup’s B2C segment enables direct one-on-one interactions between students and tutors, creating a personalised deep-learning experience.

BellyRubs

Comprehensive Pet Supply With Care

In a country like India, where pet ownership is on the rise, the pet care industry plays a pivotal role. The significance of this industry extends beyond convenience; it underscores the bond between humans and their pets. The growing awareness of pet care reflects an evolving society that values its four-legged members as family. BellyRubs understands this shift and stands at the forefront, offering a curated selection of high-quality products sourced from around the world.

BellyRubs, an online pet supply store founded by Shirin Lamba and Ridhi Verma, is a one-stop shop for all your pet-related needs. The startup boasts an extensive array of products, spanning grooming essentials, premium food, engaging toys, and fashionable clothing for dogs.

At BellyRubs, the focus is clear: happy owners, happy pets, and a happier world. It is not just about pet products; it is about improving the lives of beloved animals, ensuring they receive the best care possible.

Brown Living

Providing Easy Access To Sustainable Products, Deliveries

With the growing environmental concerns, businesses are increasingly acknowledging the need to minimise their environmental impact and maximise social contributions. However, challenges such as limited capital, small-scale production, and building brand credibility persist in the ever-expanding eco-conscious market, hindering the growth of sustainable businesses.

Established in 2019 by Chaitsi Ahuja, Brown Living aims to bridge this gap by making sustainability a mainstream choice through the doorstep delivery of eco-friendly everyday-use products via its ecommerce platform. The company follows a drop-ship model to ensure plastic-free deliveries and support remote businesses.

The ecommerce startup hosts over 500 brands on its platform, offering more than 65,000 SKUs across various sectors, including fashion, home decor, lifestyle, food, and kitchen essentials. Using its proprietary curation method, The Brown Lens, the company claims to have physically assessed over 1,200 businesses.

Beyond being an ecommerce platform, Brown Living provides knowledge and education to support a sustainable lifestyle through its media service content. According to the company, 78% of its GMV comes from its online platform, followed by B2B orders and offline sales.

ClearFeed

AI-Powered Conversational Support Platform

Incorporated in September 2021, Bangalore-based ClearFeed is a conversational support platform designed to improve customer service and streamline internal communication for enterprises. Cofounded by Ankit Jain, Joydeep Sen Sarma, and Lalit Indoria, the startup leverages the power of AI and deep integration with popular tools like Slack and Microsoft Teams to revolutionise how businesses handle customer and employee requests.

As remote work has become the norm, communication platforms like Slack and Microsoft Teams have become integral to business operations.

ClearFeed recognises the growing need for efficient conversational support tools to bridge the gaps across various departments. The startup uses AI models to track and escalate inquiries and requests. This allows different departments to interact seamlessly, enabling service teams to manage high query volumes and provide quick responses.

ClearFeed has introduced innovative features such as triage channels, one-click ticket filing, and live two-way syncing of data. The startup’s platform also integrates OpenAI’s GPT-4, which indexes product documentation, knowledge bases and wikis. This system can automatically generate answers in response to user queries, assisting agents in resolving user issues.

With a strong focus on product development, ClearFeed has experienced exponential growth since its launch. The platform is now used by over 100 organisations globally, including industry leaders like Atlan Data, Last9, Sprinto, and Plum Insurance.

Clinikally

Expert Dermatology At Your Fingertips

India’s professional skincare market has experienced significant growth, driven by an increasing awareness of the benefits of skincare. While this market initially focused on women, it now attracts a growing number of men who recognise the significance of maintaining healthy skin and addressing skin and hair-related concerns.

Founded in 2021 by Arjun Soin, Clinikally is a healthtech startup that addresses the scarcity of dermatologists in India by offering a comprehensive and convenient telehealth platform. The company connects consumers with licenced dermatology practitioners, who create personalised treatment plans for various skin conditions.

In addition to its core services, Clinikally has expanded into pharma distribution with private-label products under the Clinikally brand for aesthetic conditions and the Soteri Skin brand for chronic skin conditions. The platform offers dermatologist consultations at an affordable rate of INR 199 and presents innovative skincare products to its customers.

Clinikally’s short-term objectives revolve around strengthening its telehealth services, broadening its nutrition and nutraceutical offerings, and increasing the number of private-label partnerships from 175 to 500+ doctor clinics. Looking ahead to 2026, the company aspires to become a comprehensive platform for dermatology and nutrition care, featuring telehealth services, an online pharmacy, premium consumer brands, a nationwide network of dermatology specialists, and offline clinic partnerships.

Contiinex

High-Accuracy Private Cloud Speech AI Platform

In an era of automation, speech AI has a crucial role to play in improving user experiences and aiding data-driven decision-making. Founded in December 2020 by Prateek Mehta and Vijay Krishna BS, Contiinex is looking to target the English-speaking global speech market.

With its proprietary speech-to-text engine and the Contiinex Open Framework for Insights (COFI), driven by Language Model (LLM) technology, the company has already made progress in the healthcare and insurance sectors.

The startup is focussed on transforming customer experience, enhancing business productivity, and optimising costs for companies in India, the US, and Australia. Contiinex’s Speech AI platform can analyse voice files and empower businesses to understand their customers better and make strategic business decisions.

The Bengaluru-based startup is also looking at expanding its Gen AI product offerings to address the space of unstructured data across all mediums like voice, chat, email, videos and visuals. With its in-house LLM capabilities, Contiinex wants to expand its horizons to other verticals like banking, retail and utilities.

DPDzero

Debt Collections Made Stress-Free

In recent years, India has witnessed numerous instances of debt recovery gone awry, leaving both lenders and borrowers in distress. The use of unscrupulous tactics by collection agencies employed by banks and NBFCs has exacerbated the situation, sometimes pushing borrowers to take extreme measures.

Recognising that the tech-enabled intervention in this domain has been limited, Ananth Shroff and Ranjith Ramachandra founded DPDzero, an AI-powered collections and debt recovery platform, in 2020. The startup serves both secured and unsecured products while maximising collection efficiency, especially for unsecured lending products.

In recent months, DPDzero has forged partnerships with major NBFCs, including Tata Capital, KreditBee, Cashe, LazyPay and Snapmint, witnessing an impressive 7X growth in revenue within the past ten months. The startup generates revenue by earning a share of collections.

In the short term, DPDzero aims to assemble a high-calibre team, bolster information security measures, and optimise its processes. By 2026, the company plans to invest in advanced AI models to introduce hyper-personalisation, expedite default prediction, and implement advanced borrower negotiation models.

Dressfolk

Ethical Fashion, Sustainably Sourced

The state of child labour in the fashion industry is appalling at best. According to a report, nearly 60% of the workers in Indian mills were under 18 when they were first hired.

Dressfolk, founded in 2017 by Nitin Mehrotra, specialises in creating traditional Indian dresses from across the country. The startup has partnered with 720+ artisans to empower the local weavers’ community, focussing on sourcing its products responsibly and free of child labour at any stage of its supply chain.

Dressfolk is also focussed on building collaborative relationships with artisans to understand craft regions and traditions.

The startup sells its products across categories such as sarees, blouses, fabrics, dupattas and suit sets via its website and several offline multi-brand and online marketplaces in the premium price category. Dressfolk claims to have a user base in 20 countries and boasts that it has increased the income of its partner artisans by more than 150%.

Equal

Consumer Verification Platform

Founded by Keshav Reddy and Rajeev Ranjan in 2022, Equal is a pioneering startup that envisions a world where access to essential services and opportunities is based on merit, not identity. In a nation as diverse as India, where numerous individuals are denied access to credit, housing, benefits, and products due to various factors, Equal seeks to level the playing field for over a billion Indians.

At the heart of their mission is the Equal ID Gateway, a product that empowers businesses to establish seamless and secure identity-sharing workflows for consumers. Much like a payment gateway facilitates financial transactions, the Equal ID Gateway facilitates the exchange of personal identification information when requested, all while maintaining privacy and security.

It spans a wide array of use cases, from healthcare to education, employment, and travel, essentially anywhere a consumer needs to share their identity with a business.

Equal’s revenue is generated through a pay-per-verification model. It claims to have over 1 Mn consumers currently.

Fairdeal

Revolutionising Retail Distribution With Data-Driven Insights

D2C brands have gained substantial traction in recent years, but expanding beyond online channels has been challenging due to high costs. The primary issue is establishing efficient offline distribution networks.

Fairdeal, founded by Prateek and Yash Bansal, aims to disrupt the retail distribution landscape in India with its innovative data-driven approach. The startup provides comprehensive offline distribution services to D2C brands, enabling them to tap into the vast potential of the Indian market.

Fairdeal connects D2C brands with a network of over 10,000 retailers. Leveraging data, Fairdeal ensures optimal brand-to-retailer matching, resulting in faster and more substantial sales. Additionally, the company helps brands co-create new products and develop pricing strategies. This approach benefits not only emerging D2C brands but also established local brands seeking expansion into new territories.

Figr

Next-Gen Design Tools On Offer

The user interface (UI) is a critical component of app and website design, serving as the initial point of interaction for users. However, many design teams struggle with a lack of inspiration, motivation, resources, or time, resulting in subpar UI and disappointing user experiences.

Founded in 2023 by Chirag Singla and Moksh Garg, Figr aims to address these challenges with its AI-driven tools, including Lookr, Flash UI, and Prokit.

Lookr provides users with a vast database of high-quality design work, helping them find design inspiration through a search-based method and recommendations for needed elements.

Flash UI takes that inspiration and offers editable templates, enabling users to create customised apps or websites. Prokit provides design resources such as icons, fonts, and colour palettes, allowing users to develop a unique design language for their brand.

Figr is also in the process of launching two new products, Identity and Construct, which will enable users to build a brand identity from scratch and visualise concepts in a UI format. The startup operates on a subscription-based model, monetising its platforms through monthly or annual subscriptions.

FlexifyMe

Curing Postural Syndrome With Technology

According to a 2023 report, approximately 19% of India’s adult population is grappling with chronic pain, often stemming from poor postural habits and a sedentary lifestyle. Additionally, India witnesses nearly 2 Lakh cases of spinal injuries every year, with the majority attributed to chronic bad posture and habits.

In response to these pressing health concerns, Manjeet Singh, who successfully recovered from Lumbar Spondylitis in 2016-17, joined forces with his long-time friend and tech veteran, Amit Bhayani, to launch FlexifyMe in 2021.

FlexifyMe is an AI-powered platform designed to assist individuals in correcting their posture and alleviating chronic pain. Utilising advanced AI motion tracking, it can detect postural defects, muscle inflexibility, and musculoskeletal disorders (MSD).

The startup claims its AI motion coach generates the world’s first physical posture analysis report that identifies the root cause of chronic pain and creates a custom plan combining the latest physiotherapy postures with yoga and meditation. FlexifyMe offers personalised subscription plans, with an average cost of INR 16,000 for six months.

Currently, FlexifyMe claims to have attracted 2,000 paying clients from India and 24 other countries. They have ambitious plans to expand their user base to over 10,000 by the end of 2024, establishing partnerships with over 200 doctors in the process.

Giga ML

On-Premise Custom LLMs For Enterprises

One of the biggest problems is that most LLMs are only available as cloud-based services, meaning enterprises need to share data with third parties to use LLMs. That is not a viable option for many enterprises due to privacy concerns or compliance requirements.

Solving these problems is Bengaluru-based Giga ML, set up by Varun Vummadi and Esha Manideep Dinne in 2023. The startup provides on-premise deployment, fine-tuning and privacy for LLMs. Its X1-Large model is currently the most powerful LLM available for on-premise deployment. Giga ML also offers an API compatible with OpenAI’s API, so users can switch to the startup’s API seamlessly without rewriting code.

The startup targets enterprises that need to use LLMs for internal purposes but don’t want to use cloud-based services or share their data with third parties. Giga ML’s on-premise deployment option gives enterprises full control over their data and their LLMs. The startup also offers fine-tuning services for LLMs, so enterprises can train LLMs on their data to perform specific tasks. This allows enterprises to create LLMs that are tailored to their specific needs.

Giga ML’s privacy features are designed to protect the confidentiality of enterprise data. The startup does not use any data its customers upload to its platform. Giga ML monetises its product through a subscription model. Enterprises can pay a monthly fee to use Giga ML’s platform to deploy, fine-tune, and use LLMs on their servers.

Novatr

Empowering AEC Professionals

India has witnessed a significant surge in the edtech sector, primarily focussed on K-12 education, test preparation, and upskilling in areas like data science and marketing. However, Novatr, formerly known as Oneistox, stands out as an educational technology startup with a unique emphasis on transforming the architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) industry.

Founded in 2021 by a team of architects and engineers, including Harkunwar Singh, Vipanchi Handa, Mehul Kumar, and Chaithanya Murali, Novatr aims to bridge the gap between traditional AEC education and the rapidly evolving technological landscape, equipping learners to become future-ready professionals.

The platform offers a diverse range of courses and programmes, including Building Information Modeling (BIM) and Computational Design, to help learners develop essential skills and stay at the forefront of industry advancements.

Established by accomplished professionals with backgrounds from prestigious institutions such as SPA Delhi and IIT Madras, Novatr empowers learners to become forward-thinking AEC professionals. It achieved remarkable net revenue growth of 30% MoM in FY23 and is projected to experience a 12X revenue growth in FY24.

Oyela

Empowering The New Wave Of Digital Entrepreneurs

There is an emerging trend of millennials and Gen Z starting online businesses on social media. Recognising the potential and challenges, two IIT Bombay alumni Rahul Gope and Anjan Kumar Patel launched Oyela in 2021 to empower the creative entrepreneurship explosion in India by providing essential tools and opportunities through social media.

Oyela assists emerging businesses, product creators, and artists in effectively selling their products and expanding their online presence. It offers features such as digital storefront management, collaboration tools for wider exposure, and seamless integration with Instagram for automated sales through social media.

A core focus of Oyela is building trust among Indian consumers by providing transparent ratings and reviews, instilling confidence in sellers’ digital storefronts. Furthermore, Oyela prioritises operational efficiency by offering tools to streamline operations and logistics, ultimately enhancing the overall selling process and delivering a more personalised and efficient shopping experience to buyers.

Oyela currently operates across India, charging a 6-10% commission on orders, thereby facilitating seller collaborations and benefiting them. The platform boasts over 20,000 sellers who have joined at no cost and facilitates more than 1 Mn seller collaborations each month.

This Gurugram-based startup has set its sights on reaching $1 Mn in revenue and empowering 200K social stores by 2024. Its long-term aspirations encompass nurturing entrepreneurship and empowering 2 Mn social stores to capture a substantial market share in the Indian ecommerce and social commerce arena.

Pep

Social-first Content Marketplace

Founded in early 2023 by IIT alumni Nav Agrawal and Swapnil Upadhyay, Bengaluru-based Pep aims to revolutionise the content creation landscape in the era of Gen AI. The rapid evolution of technology has made content creation more accessible, but it has also inundated the internet with a deluge of low-quality content. Pep addresses this challenge through a unique approach, emphasising curation, categorisation, and content credibility.

Pep’s mission is to establish a social-first online marketplace for content that empowers users to explore, purchase, and monetise a wide variety of content and services. The platform offers a one-stop destination, granting users access to live sessions, one-on-one consultations, and the ability to purchase various content formats, including PDFs, videos, and audio.

Recognising content discovery as a major pain point for online users, Pep employs personalised machine learning algorithms to facilitate tailored content discovery at reasonable prices, making it effortless for users to discover valuable and relevant content.

Its core concept revolves around user-generated content, with a focus on micro-courses and micro-payments. The marketplace offers content ranging from INR 29 to INR 2,000, catering to a wide spectrum of user interests, from cooking and DIY crafts to fashion and health and fitness.

Pep empowers users to easily monetise their expertise by selling content through a commission-based model, with fees varying from 20% to 50%, contingent on the content category. With its machine learning algorithms, the startup ensures that customers discover and purchase content at affordable prices, fostering a no-regret approach to content consumption.

Platos

Simplifying Cafeteria Management

Running cafeterias without the use of technology often leads to operational inefficiencies such as manual order processing, inventory mismanagement, and a lack of transparency. To address these challenges, Arjun Subramanian and Raj Jain founded Platos in 2019.

At the heart of Platos’ vision are three distinct applications designed to create a smarter cafeteria experience for customers, food partners, and cafeteria managers. The Platos App empowers customers to effortlessly place orders, track their food, and provide feedback.

The Platos Partner App, tailored for on-site vendors, simplifies inventory management and order cycle control. Meanwhile, the Admin Web Dashboard offers comprehensive real-time data and financial insights, enabling administrators to efficiently manage cafeterias.

The journey of Platos began with thorough market research and hands-on experience running cafeterias without technology. Before the pandemic, the founders operated cafeterias in Chennai which clearly illustrated the imperative need for technological solutions to optimise and elevate cafeteria management.

Platos aims to tackle issues such as high aggregator commissions, cafeteria management inefficiencies, and transparency gaps, ultimately enhancing the cafeteria experience for clients and food partners. With its commitment to seamless technology and professional food partnerships, Platos is set to reshape the corporate catering landscape.

QuriousBit

Redefining Casual Gaming

Casual gaming has gained immense importance in recent years, reflecting the changing dynamics of the gaming industry, which like many other sectors and industries has greatly benefited from the widespread availability of affordable mobile data. Even those with basic smartphones can easily access and contribute to the growing mobile gaming community through app stores.

Founded by Ramakrishna Reddy Y L and Shubham Joshi in 2023, QuriousBit, a gaming studio based in Bengaluru, is on a mission to revolutionise the mobile gaming industry by offering high-quality casual puzzle games. In a genre largely dominated by match3 and blast-themed games, QuriousBit seeks to introduce a fresh and personalised gaming experience.

The founders bring a wealth of experience, having previously developed and managed games for PlaySimple Games, a global leader in word games that was acquired for over $500 Mn in 2021. QuriousBit is fuelled by the ambition to put India on the map of hit puzzle games globally.

With the global mobile casual games market valued at around $18 Bn in 2023 and projected to reach $25 Bn by 2027, QuriousBit is well-positioned to tap into the growing casual gamers of the country.

SYSOTEL.AI

Transforming Hospitality with AI, ML Solutions

Founded in 2021 by Raj Sahu, Kiran and Ravish, SYSOTEL.AI is on a mission to revolutionise the hospitality industry through innovative technological solutions. At the heart of SYSOTEL.AI’s product suite is a platform, Intelligent Booking Engine (IBE), that not only ensures secure online reservations but also simplifies the booking process for guests.

This engine integrates with Google’s extensive travel services, making it the preferred choice for hotels seeking to solidify their online presence.

The company also has a fully automated revenue management system, Intelligent Yield Automation (IYE), that harnesses the power of AI and ML to recommend competitive rates based on real-time market data and native demand trends. It also provides invaluable insights into market dynamics, event planning, and reputation management.

The 1% Club

Helping Indians Achieve Financial Freedom

Today, a majority of Indians are worried about their financial well-being, and there are several reasons behind this. One such reason is that India, despite being a savings-first nation, saw its household savings hit a 47-year low in FY23, according to the RBI data.

Amid the current scheme of things, many individuals get stuck in situations, be it poorly paying investment cycles or even investment scams, which only deteriorate their financial health further.

Having been in this space for a long time, finfluencers Sharan Hegde and Raghav Gupta set up The 1% Club in 2022 to address the challenges budding investors face in their investment journey.

The 1% Club is a members-only financial education platform that offers educational resources, mentorship, entrepreneurial opportunities and networking avenues to its members looking to achieve financial independence.

The platform offers curated courses across personal finance and the stock market. Each module starts with the basics and then goes deeper. For instance, the personal finance segment goes from investments across different asset classes to insurance planning and, finally, tax planning. Similarly, the stock market module starts with the stakeholders and moves to IPOs, financial statements, annual reports and the psychological aspects of investing.

The startup claims to be the first influencer-backed venture to delve into entrepreneurship. In the short term, The 1% Club is looking to get registered with the market regulator SEBI.

The Cube Club

Weights, Workouts, Tech & More

India is fast becoming the world capital for lifestyle diseases such as obesity and diabetes. Despite this, a lack of motivation to pursue a healthier lifestyle continues to grip most individuals.

Having sensed the underlying problem, Pratik Agarwal, Siddhesh Ghuge and Yash Thakur came together to launch The Cube Club in 2020. The Cube Club is an online marketplace from where users can buy fitness equipment and accessories such as dumbbells and weights, benches, pull-up bars, yoga mats, and more.

In October 2023, the startup launched its fitness app, Dopamine, which allows users to embark on their fitness journey with friends from the comfort of their own homes. Users can create workout channels on the app, allowing them to track their progress and stay motivated. The Dopamine app uses AI-based tech to track a user’s workout routine, which then can be shared with friends in a gamified manner.

Currently, The Cube Club generates revenue by selling fitness equipment on its website, Amazon, and over 100 offline stores. Looking ahead, the startup plans to diversify its revenue streams by monetising Dopamine.

Valo

Invest In The Stock Market And Earn Rewards

At the end of January 2023, Indians held more than 11 Cr demat accounts, up from around 8 Cr accounts a year ago. The high number still translates to a mere 3% of India’s total households actively investing in the stock market. The market’s complexity and the lack of substantial returns have made it a daunting prospect for many.

Recognising the challenges, Ayush Agarwal, Mihir Verma, Hemant Patil and Ajay Sharma, all avid stock market investors, seized the opportunity to create a platform that rewards investors for their consistent participation in the stock market. Thus, Valo was born in 2023.

The startup has formed partnerships with numerous brands, including Domino’s, Spotify, Netflix, Swiggy, Zomato, and others, to incentivise users for their stock market investments. Valo also offers a dedicated finance community where investors can engage, learn, and grow together in the personal finance domain. Additionally, it features a finance marketplace similar to the Google Play Store but for finance-only apps.

The platform utilises broker API to access investment data, providing users with rewards and key metrics without the need for email or SMS access, thus safeguarding user privacy.

Valo generates revenue through brand partnerships and commissions from trades, without imposing any charges on its users. Despite its recent launch in September 2023, the platform has already attracted over 1,000 users within a month. Valo’s ambitious plans involve expanding its user base to 10,000+ by the end of 2024.

Vegapay

Streamlining Credit Card Issuance For Enterprises

Credit cards are rapidly gaining popularity in India. This has prompted many companies across segments to launch co-branded credit cards with major banks and networks. However, the process takes anywhere between 12 and 15 months and requires 10+ tech integrations across processes.

With the NPCI and banks targeting 300 Mn credit cards in the next five to seven years, banking and technology veterans Gaurav Mittal, Abhinav Garg, Himanshu Agrawal and Puneet Sharma founded Vegapay in 2022. The startup offers a core Credit Card Management System (CCMS) for both the supply side (banks) and the demand side (co-brand partners).

Vegapay enables hyper-configurable solutions for credit card offerings, alongside white-label dashboards for the issuers to create and manage programmes without any dependency on tech.

Currently, Vegapay has established partnerships with a bank to oversee all aspects of credit card management and aims to onboard four banks by the end of the coming year. Vegapay has also recently introduced a multi-currency card in collaboration with two issuers and a co-branding partner.

Vegapay’s revenue model relies on a one-time fee and subsequent commission from minimum monthly billing done by the user banks. The startup is now working to expand to Middle East and North African regions and reach 15+ banking partners by the end of 2025.

Wootz.work

Custom Engineering Procurement Simplified

Founded by Karan Anand and Himanshu Uniyal in 2023, Wootz.work is a global sourcing platform specialising in custom engineering equipment and solutions. It is dedicated to streamlining the cross-border buying experience for light engineering products through technology and ownership of the entire process, from design to delivery.

The platform not only connects buyers with sellers but also offers a unique capability to link them directly to products and solutions tailored to their specific needs. The startup’s technology leverages an understanding of basic parameters, the buyer’s geography, industry, and application to instantly customise products. This approach reduces the procurement timeline, providing quotations within 24 hours.

In a rapidly evolving engineering equipment industry valued at $1.7 Tn, Wootz.work addresses the challenges faced by Western buyers looking to source from Southeast Asia. The platform simplifies the complex landscape of SME suppliers, overcoming language barriers, long pre-sales times, and other complexities. Wootz.work aims to bridge this gap and create a reliable global procurement channel for SMEs, allowing them to access value-driven capital expenditure.

Wootz.work emphasises value engineering, offering products optimised for easy installation and efficient shipping, with components chosen for end-market serviceability and compliance. The platform also provides virtual factory tours, comprehensive fulfilment dashboards, and round-the-clock after-sales support.

Zeron

Enhanced Cybersecurity For Enterprises

Cybersecurity challenges persist as threats become increasingly sophisticated. Issues such as data breaches, ransomware attacks, and vulnerabilities in technology infrastructure remain prominent. Addressing these challenges demands robust defence strategies, threat intelligence, and innovative solutions.

Founded in 2020 by Sanket Sarkar, Zeron, the cyber risk posture management platform, is working on cybersecurity for enterprises. It offers a comprehensive suite of solutions, following an ABCD framework, to address various aspects of cyber risk management. These modules include attack surface automation, business posture assessment, compliance automation, defence automation, and a cloud monitor.

Zeron’s flagship product serves as the single source of truth for cybersecurity, providing real-time insights into an organisation’s vulnerabilities, strengths, compliance alignment, and defence effectiveness. Zeron’s compliance automation and AI solutions automate workflows, technical evidence mapping, and policy enhancements, reducing compliance time and errors, improving audit readiness, and ensuring proactive policy improvements.

Zeron operates on a subscription-based revenue model, granting clients flexibility in payment terms. The company’s presence extends globally, with its headquarters in Mumbai, India, and outreach in the ASEAN, MENA, the Americas, and the EU regions through strategic partnerships.

In the short term, Zeron aims to onboard 50 customers and strengthen its presence in the MENA and ASEAN regions. In the long term, the company envisions creating an ecosystem for cybersecurity trust among organisations, simplifying their business journey.

Zopnote

Giving A Tech Boost To Local Commerce

India had 2.79 Cr formalised jobs as of August 2023, according to the latest data from the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation. However, this figure represents only about 5% of the 52.4 Cr Indians actively participating in the labour force. The vast unorganised sector is gradually recognising the potential of technology and its transformative capabilities.

At the forefront of this transformative movement is Zopnote, a B2B2C SaaS platform dedicated to local commerce. Founded in 2019 by Rajesh Badgeri and Chengappa Chottera, this innovative startup offers two distinctive apps — a merchant mobile app and a customer app.

The former empowers small local businesses with features like customer engagement, automated billing, online collection, bookkeeping, and business intelligence. The latter enables end customers to discover and purchase products and services in their vicinity, track expenses, and make payments seamlessly. For instance, businesses can list their products and services on the platform, allowing users to explore and place orders directly from the app.

Although currently operational only in Bengaluru, Zopnote has successfully garnered over 52,000 B2C customers across 1,000+ communities in the city, processing more than 2.3 Cr bills each month. The startup monetises its platform through a subscription fee that merchants pay to utilise its services.

In the short term, Zopnote aims to achieve product-market fit (PMF), with long-term plans involving the creation of a decentralised model to leverage the Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) and expand its reach across India.

[Edited by Shishir Parasher]

The post 30 Startups To Watch: Startups That Caught Our Eyes In October 2023 appeared first on Inc42 Media.

From bullet trains to state-of-the-art maglev (magnetic levitation) systems, countries across the globe have long been obsessed with making their locomotives run at break-neck speeds, all while maintaining safety. 

However, this fascination reached new heights in 2013 when Tesla CEO Elon Musk, in one of his research papers, introduced the concept of hyperloop. 

This innovative technology envisions trains hurtling through low-pressure tubes at more than 1,200 km/h, paving the way for a new era of rapid transit. For context, the fastest train in the world is the Shanghai Transrapid Maglev Train in China, which is capable of reaching speeds of over 400 km/h.

Despite intriguing the interest of many nations across the globe, the technology, which today is being envisioned as the fifth mode of transportation, continues to be a distant dream even a decade later.

Meanwhile, something quite interesting is happening back home. Well, several entities, including state governments and private players, have been mulling the development and deployment of hyperloop technology in the country for a few years now. And at the forefront of this paradigm shift is a Pune-based startup, Quintrans.

Founded in 2021 by Pranay Luniya, Kartik Kulkarni, Aniruddha Atigre, and Prasanna Kadambi, Quintrans is developing the country’s very own hyperloop technology, aiming to connect the Pune-Mumbai route. 

Notably, the startup is already in discussion with the Maharashtra government to deploy its tech on the route. The project, if sees the light of day, has the potential to reduce the 3-hour journey to just 30 minutes. 

Amid this, the most interesting part of the Quintrans story is that it is working in a space that is yet to become fully tangible. Nevertheless, with several projects and research across the globe, the hyperloop technology is expected to soon cater to an increasing need for a faster and cheaper transportation system.  

As per a research report, the global Hyperloop train market size is projected to achieve a market size of $57.5 Bn by 2032.

Quintrans: The Genesis

Before becoming a fully functional business, a startup if you will, Quintrans was initially a research unit, which the then engineering students of MIT Pune (now the cofounders of Quintrans) started in 2018.

Speaking with Inc42, the CEO of Quintrans, Luniya, said that the research unit got a startup makeover after the team realised the commercial viability of the project were working on.

Taking clues from Musk’s research, the cofounders developed their Hyperloop technology, which they showcased at several global competitions, including the SpaceX Hyperloop pod competition and European Hyperloop Week.

These competitions gave them a major push and they were able to attract the attention of companies like IBM India, Festo India, and Aeron Systems, which gave them financial backing. 

Currently, Quintrans has reached a stage where it is developing a 30-metre full-scale pilot setup of its Hyperloop in Pune to showcase the technology and its potential to different authorities, including the Railway Ministry, NITI Aayog, the Maharashtra government, and others. The startup aims to develop the prototype by the end of 2024.

Quintrans has so far received around INR 80 Lakh-INR 85 Lakh as grant money. Luniya said that currently, an agreement for another INR 60 Lakh-INR 80 Lakh government grant is under process, which is expected to happen by December this year or January 2024.

Unlocking New Avenues In Cargo Movement

As per Luniya, the proposition for passenger hyperloops is going to take at least another decade. Hence, Quintrans is not limiting itself to only speeding up the Pune-Mumbai route railway movement with its technology.

The startup has already started exploring alternate ways of generating revenue from industries that require guided movement of vehicles for cargo, particularly in the logistics space.

The company is already in talks with a few port authorities in India where Quintrans’ technology can power the movement of shipping containers from ports to cargo hubs. 

Besides, the startup is also in talks with some industrial corridors to help them fast-track the transportation of goods from one corridor to the other, built 30-40 km apart.

Quintrans has held discussions with the Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC) and the National Industrial Corridor Development Corporation (NICDC) for the same. It is also looking to collaborate with Bengaluru International Airport to help the authority in exploring ways to connect the airport with the centre of the city.

While most of these entities are interested in deploying the technology, they require a better understanding of Hyperloop, Luniyas said, adding that the startup’s 30-metre pilot track is a step in that direction.

Forging Ahead In The Hyperloop Frontier

While Quintrans aims to keep itself open to various other channels for generating revenue, its research to further develop the 30-metre track will continue. Also, the company is in talks with a few VCs to raise funds.

Establishing Hyperloops is cost-intensive, which has also been one of the barriers to deploying it at scale anywhere in the world.

Today, the 30-metre pilot set up by Quintrans in India costs around $1 Mn. “Going ahead, the per km cost of the hyperloop would be somewhere around INR 150 Cr,” Luniya said.

While regulatory challenges in the implementation and execution of Hyperloops, particularly due to safety concerns, also remain a major roadblock, Luniya believes that more tests carried out by tech players like Quintrans would help prove the merits of the technology.

In India, the startup competes with DGWHyperloop and research units like Avishkar Hyperloop. In the global market, some of the startups working on this tech include Europe’s Zeleros Hyperloop and Hardt Hyperloop.

While many, including Richard Branson’s Hyperloop One (Virgin Hyperloop), have failed to make the technology a reality even after millions of dollars of investment, it will be interesting to see how Quintrans pulls it off.

[Edited by Shishir Parasher]

The post The Need For Speed: Pune-Based Startup Quintrans Wants To Bring Hyperloop To India appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Behind the glimmer and shimmer of the  most polished brands that we see every day are often the stories whose chapters were once written with sweating blood. And it is not every day that we tend to learn about the struggles of the founders in forging such brands, especially in the era of easy access to capital.

We believe that such stories should come to the fore to fuel the spirits of founders and aspiring entrepreneurs during the direst of times.

Similar is the narrative of Manish Chowdhary, now the cofounder of WOW Skin Science, whose retail electronics business incurred a loss of $1 Mn due to unsold inventory. Much to his chagrin, he had to call it quits, but only to start afresh. 

Some may see it as a failure, however, had it not been for the lost $1 Mn, the country would have been short of a soonicorn today.

Well, after having traded his electronics business for key learnings in the school of hard knocks, Chowdhary, along with his brother Karan and two friends Arvind Sokke and Ashwin Sokke, decided to wade into uncharted territories — the Indian beauty and personal care (BPC) segment. 

After a year of research and pilots, the team, spearheaded by Chowdhary, incorporated Fit&Glow in 2014 and launched its first brand WOW. 

The founders made the foray into the segment at a time when it was dominated by deep-pocketed big players like HUL, Patanjali, Himalaya, Lotus, VLCC, and Biotique, just to count a few names.

So, what chances of survival did a bunch of Davids (the founding team) have in front of the Goliaths in command of the industry?  

“We realised that despite the presence of giants, the Indian beauty and personal care space was highly under-penetrated, leaving plenty of opportunity for young companies like us to enter the market and provide consumers with outstanding products and a compelling story,” Chowdhary reminisced during a fireside discussion at Inc42’s recently held D2C Summit.

Not sure if the founders deeply studied the market data back then, but they ended up tapping into the Indian beauty and personal care market at the right time. 

For context, the Indian beauty and personal care segment was a $26.3 Bn market opportunity in 2022 and is expected to reach $38 Bn by 2028. On a global scale, the segment is expected to touch $783.49 Bn by 2028.

Nine years on, the company, which is now registered as Body Cupid Private Limited, fosters four brands — WOW Skin Science (its flagship brand), WOW Life Science, Body Cupid, and Nature Derma — and has a portfolio of over 500 products.

Today, the BPC brand has a presence in more than 200 Indian cities and has expanded itself to 22 countries, with a focus on the US and South Asia as anchor markets. In 2022, it also expanded to the UAE market and in 2023 to Saudi Arabia.

“We are also seeing robust growth in the UAE. Saudi is a big opportunity and we are focussing our efforts to build our presence there,” Chowdhary said in an exclusive conversation with Inc42.

The new-age D2C brand today has its eyes fixed on achieving INR 1,000 Cr in revenue, and according to Chowdhary, the company is well on track for this.

Notably, the INR 1,000 Cr revenue journey seems to be a long one from where the company is standing right now. According to the company’s MCA filings, it reported a total income of INR 273.01 Cr in FY23 against INR 343. 94 Cr a fiscal year ago. 

The slump in revenues could largely be attributed to the relatively tougher 2022 which was headlined by adverse market conditions, rising inflation and curbing of discretionary spending by users. 

On top of that, renewed competition from incumbents as well as new entrants, which also included deep-pocketed conglomerates, could have also weighed heavily on WOW Skin Science.

Additionally, despite offering frequent discounts, the beauty brand also faced headwinds in FY23 as demand for premium products saw an uptick over the course of last year – a segment which offers higher margins. 

However, according to Chowdhary, this is the part that many fail to understand as, after a point, the trajectory of business changes and challenges increase for founders. 

“In a startup’s journey, whether it’s going from 1 to 10, 10 to 100, or 100 to 500, founders are bound to encounter obstacles at every milestone. However, it’s precisely at these times that they mustn’t give up. They need to maintain patience, recalibrate, and continue innovating to stay competitive,” the cofounder said.

WOW Skin Science’s Scaling Strategies

Currently, there are over 5,500 skincare companies in India, and more brands are realising the untapped potential in this sector, which is keeping founders on their toes. 

According to Chowdhary, most founders can successfully launch a brand from zero to one, but it’s when they attempt to go beyond that point that they encounter challenges and hit mental barriers. 

This is probably why 45% of new business startups don’t survive the fifth year, and 65% of new startups fail during the first 10 years.

For a business model like Body Cupid, where minimum order quantities (MOQs) are small, it’s relatively easier to experiment with products based on anticipated customer needs. In this context, it is extremely crucial to tap on the market beats and consumer interests and pivot whenever it feels necessary.

During his journey, Chowdhary asserted, he embraced aggressive pivoting, not just quarterly but as frequently as every 15 days to a month. For instance, WOW initially started as a dietary supplement brand in 2014 but within a year, it quickly recognised a shift in consumer preferences toward skin and haircare needs. 

Before 2016 hit, not only did the company meet the new demands of consumers for herbal, paraben and sulfate-free products, but it also made these products accessible at an affordable price range.

Speaking with Inc42, Chowdhary gave deep insights into his building and scaling strategies, which are as follows:

Brand Building Is Paramount

For Chowdhary, the core value proposition for WOW Skin Science and other brands is online – everything, including innovations, starts with ecommerce or digital platforms. However, unlike a few years ago, the competition has intensified, which has made it challenging for D2C brands to retain customers, thereby spiking their customer acquisition costs.

“In the last 18 months, we have been recalibrating our story, with a significant focus on brand marketing rather than performance marketing. After all, a brand’s products are manufactured in a factory, but brands are built in the minds of consumers,” he added.

While digital marketing can drive consumer reach faster, the ultimate goal is to build a brand with lasting impact and a high repeat-customer ratio. Over the last three years, market dynamics have changed significantly, compelling brands like WOW Skin Science to adjust their strategies, with supply chain and distribution being the primary challenges.

Chowdhary also acknowledges that despite their focus over the past two years, they have yet to streamline their branding fully. However, over the next 12-18 months, the team has planned substantial brand-building activities, although he didn’t share the specifics.

Celebrities Don’t Guarantee Success

One trend, which has emerged in the last few years, is the growing collaboration between celebrities and D2C brands. According to the WOW cofounder, it’s a common belief that onboarding celebrities increases brand adoption, but the reality is that one can not be too sure about it. 

After experimenting with celebrity-based endorsements and campaigns for 24 months, he realised that modern consumers prioritise influencers and relatability over traditional celebrity endorsements. 

He advises brands to incorporate a few campaigns without celebrities and then reintroduce celebrity endorsements based on consumer responses. However, the timing should be flexible and based on consumer feedback.

Moreover, the longevity of celebrity endorsements can be uncertain, as celebrities have a limited shelf life. The strategy should be to organically acquire customers based on the brand’s products, story, and roots.

“Returning to basic strategies, we will soon launch three new campaigns without celebrities, focussing on showcasing the true essence of our brand. However, the approach varies depending on the category,” he added.

Pricing Is Crucial

Finding the right pricing balance is paramount for a D2C brand. High competition demands startups to keep a competitive yet affordable pricing. 

According to Chowdhary, overpricing can deter consumers, while underpricing can increase the time and cost required to achieve desired results. Access to analytics and data science enables startups to determine the best times to adjust pricing based on market dynamics. 

“We’ve witnessed this in action. In today’s era, if you sell on Amazon, you can experiment with pricing by gradually increasing or decreasing it until you find the right match,” he added.

He also emphasised the importance of data collection, highlighting that startups now have access to robust analytics and data science to determine the ideal times to adjust pricing based on market intensity.

“Less Is More” In Critical Situations

Regardless of the category, innovation is crucial, whether for a new-age company or an established organisation. However, there are limits to how much innovation can be introduced in sectors like beauty and skincare.

Customers who have found a product that serves their skincare regime may be hesitant to switch to another. Differentiation is crucial and striking the right balance between innovation and product stability is essential.

“In our case, we focussed on a core set of ingredients, ensuring that even as we expanded our product range, it wouldn’t confuse consumers. Remember, it’s better to be highly focussed on innovation, support those innovations for three to four years, and then reinvent along the way. Ultimately, ‘less is more’ often proves more effective,” he added.

Packaging Will Set You Apart

For any D2C brand, packaging plays a huge role in creating the first positive impression and the initial excitement for the product. Many brands are choosing different ways to offer products in a more personalised and customised packaging. Chowdhary also experimented with different strategies to differentiate themselves in a saturated market, including opting for unique packaging. 

For example, the founders discovered that gold, in particular, captured consumers’ attention for a few extra seconds. So, while most products in India are packaged in white, WOW chose amber and gold packaging to stand out. 

Don’t Rush Into Offline Expansion

Although D2C brands are increasingly considering omnichannel strategies, Chowdhary advises caution when expanding offline. He suggests that a brand should wait until it achieves INR 100 Cr in revenue within two to three years of online operations before contemplating offline expansion.

While online offers flexibility in growth strategy, offline requires a substantial commitment. Brands should view offline as just another channel to gain repeat customers, allowing founders to track “top of mind” metrics quarter by quarter. Only when the brand is well-established digitally should offline expansion be considered.

“It may seem appealing in the short term due to initial sales, but unsold stock can negatively impact profitability. This is a story that needs to be added at the right time and revenue,” he added.

What’s Next For WOW Skin

According to an Inc42 report, the beauty and personal care segment is projected to be a $28 Bn market opportunity by 2030. In 2022, the segment was a $4 Bn market only. 

This market opportunity has kept many players on their toes. While some well-funded entities have managed to pour substantial resources into marketing and branding efforts, leading to increased revenues and eventual profitability, many others are saddled with losses. 

Mamaearth reported profitability in FY22, boasting a net profit of INR 19.8 Cr on a standalone basis, compared to a net loss of INR 1,332.2 Cr in FY21. 

Meanwhile, companies like The Ayurveda Company, Purplle, and mCaffeine, among others, have continued to grapple with mounting losses. Interestingly, WOW Skin Science last saw profits in FY20.

Given the current landscape, it’s imperative for startups to maintain a steady flow of backup funding while concurrently trimming expenses. WOW Skin Science recently secured $48 Mn from Singapore’s GIC in June 2022, adding to a total funding of $125 Mn across multiple rounds to date. 

In light of FY23 financials, Chowdhary has continued to remain optimistic. He places his faith in innovation and anticipates that growth will be propelled by both national and international sales in the near future. 

As he shared with Inc42, apart from focussing on growing the top line and profitability of the India business, the company will restart its US business. Also, the cofounder is looking at investing heavily in digital capabilities, using AI in marketing, data analytics, and implementing SAP for future readiness.

Lastly, from Chowdhary’s spectacle, the company is on track for double-digit growth and has eyes on achieving INR 1,000 Cr revenue in the short term.

The post The WOW Factor: WOW Skin Science’s Blueprint For Breaking Through In The $783 Bn BPC Segment appeared first on Inc42 Media.