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Startup Street: Yuvraj Singh’s YouWeCan To Invest In 3 Startups

Here’s what went on this week on Startup Street.

(Source: BloombergQuint)
(Source: BloombergQuint)

This week on Startup Street, we look at where one of Yuvraj Singh’s companies is looking to investment in. Technology veteran Anand Chandrasekaran has also made an investment in a visual solution startup. Another home rental startup has bought one of it peers and two dozen biotech startups also got a grant from the Karnataka government.

Yuvraj Singh’s Investment Plans

Indian cricketer Yuvraj Singh poses for a photograph on field. (Source: Instagram/yuvisofficial)
Indian cricketer Yuvraj Singh poses for a photograph on field. (Source: Instagram/yuvisofficial)

The Indian cricketer’s cancer initiative ‘YouWeCan’ is at the cusp of investing in two-three startups.

The firm, which also provides seed funding to startups, is interested in fintech and food and beverage startups, said the company’s co-founder Nishant Singhal, in a phone interview with BloombergQuint. While Singhal refrained from naming any of the startups, he said that the deals would be closed within a week or two.

Startup Buddy, another company that Yuvraj Singh has invested in has shortlisted nearly a dozen startups for YouWeCan to choose from.

Anand Chandrasekaran Invests In Visual Solutions Startup



Anand Chandrasekaran (Source: Anand Chandrasekaran’s Facebook page)
Anand Chandrasekaran (Source: Anand Chandrasekaran’s Facebook page)

Anand Chandrasekaran, who was earlier the chief product officer at Snapdeal and now heads Facebook’s Messenger app development team, has invested in ‘Uncanny Visions’. Ranjith Parakkal, the chief executive officer of the startup confirmed the news to BloombergQuint on the phone.

Chandrasekaran, however, is not the only investor in this round of funding, Parakkal said. But refused to divulge the names of the other investors.

The startup which works on visual recognition technology, mainly focuses on video surveillance right now, but has other products for robotics, driver assistance and android applications. The company did not disclose the amount raised.

Ratan Tata Backed NestAway Acquires Zenify

A screenshot of the NestAway home page. 
A screenshot of the NestAway home page. 

Home rental startup NestAway has acquired its peer Zenify. NestAway which so far catered only to singles, will now expand into listings for families as well.

“This acquisition further solidifies NestAway’s position by making them 10 times larger than it’s nearest competitor in the managed home rental space in India,” the startup said in a statement.

Both companies will maintain their individual brands, and operate separately. The acquisition, however, will add 4,000 options for family tenants to choose from, the release added.

Founded in 2015, NestAway has been backed by a number of well known investors and companies like Ratan Tata, Tiger Global, IDG and Yuri Milner.

Karnataka Government’s Boost To Biotech Startups

The Karnataka government has invested nearly Rs 11 crore in 26 biotechnology startups in the country, in a bid to “nurture innovative ideas that can bring change in the society”.

These startups had won at the Idea2PoC (proof of concept) initiative organised by the Karnataka Startup Cell, according to a release by the state government. The 26 winners have already received up to Rs 50 lakh in the first tranche of funding.

Apart from providing funding, the government IT department also plans to provide guidance. “We use a team-approach in mentoring and that gives the entrepreneurs different perspectives,” said Priyank Kharge, Minister of  IT, BT & Tourism, Government of Karnataka.

The list includes startups like Bendflex Research & Development, Nesa Medtech, Aprus Biomedical Innovation, among others.