Deal Street: Sony Arm Bets On Zoomcar, Purplle Tops Up $30 Million Funding Round

Five Indian startups raised $51 million or about Rs 360 crore in venture funding across sectors such as mobility, fintech logistics, among others last week. Bengaluru-based startups led the funding pack.

Zoomcar Gets $30 Million In Ongoing Funding Round

Self-drive car rental startup Zoomcar raised $30 million in its ongoing growth round led by Sony Innovation Fund, the venture arm of Japanese electronics major Sony Corp.

Zoomcar, which is looking to close the funding round at $100 million, or about Rs 720 crore, also saw participation from existing investors, the Greg Moran-led startup said in a statement, without sharing details.

The Bengaluru-based company aims to use the funds to strengthen technological and data science infrastructure, upgrade its Internet of Things layout and boost its shared subscription service, the statement said. A part of the investment will also be used to expand its business and to have over one lakh vehicles on the road within the next 18-24 months.

Founded in 2012, the self-drive car rental platform has also launched a vehicle model-agnostic driver score feature. The artificial intelligence-based algorithm assigns driving score by tracking the mechanical specifications of a car and the driving style of the customer, it said.

Chiratae Ventures Leads Series A Funding In Logistics Startup

Online logistics firm Pando raised $9 million, or about Rs 64 crore, in a fresh round of funding led by Bengaluru-based Chiratae Ventures.

Siemens AG-backed Next47 and existing investor Nexus Venture Partners also participated in the round, Pando said in a statement. Angel investors—including VMWare India executive Ramkumar Narayanan, Indifi CEO Alok Mittal and xto10x Ventures’ Saikiran Krishnamurthy also participated.

The Chennai-based firm said the funds will be used to strengthen its offering, scale the business for global markets and boost its technological platform. A part of the investment will also go into hiring talent.

“Pando has helped shippers and transporters address this need through a full-stack solution. Their quality of execution at marquee customers, where Pando has become indispensable within a few months of adoption, is remarkable,” TCM Sundaram, founder and managing director of Chiratae Ventures, said.

Founded in 2017, the firm said it helps enterprises digitise, monitor and optimise their supply chain operations. Some of its clientele include firms like Britannia Industries Ltd., Marico Ltd. and Philips AG.

Online Cosmetics Startup Tops Up Its $30 Million Funding Round

Purplle.com, an online marketplace for cosmetics, and beauty products and services, has raised $8 million, or about Rs 56 crore, from Belgian private investment firm Verlinvest SA.

That comes after Purplle raised $30 million in a funding round led by Goldman Sachs in December. The fresh investment will be an extension of the last round.

The e-commerce firm said it aims to use the capital to strengthen its supply chain, innovation and technology capabilities, besides investing in brand-building.

“We are happy to welcome Verlinvest, a long-term high-quality investor, intothe Purplle family,” Manish Taneja, founder of Purplle, said. “This investment aligns with our intent of creating a sustainable multi-decade enterprise.”

Founded in 2012, Purplle aims to tap into India’s $7-billion online beauty and personal care market. The firm said it has 47,500 stock-keeping units across more than 1,000 third-party and its own brands.

Others

• TechnifyBiz, a business-to-business food commodity marketplace, has raised around $2 million, or about Rs 14 crore, in a seed funding round from agri-tech focused venture capital firm Omnivore and social venture capital fund Insitor Impact Asia Fund, the company said in a statement.
• Wysh, a celebrity engagement and wishing platform, raised $2 million in growth funding led by Kalaari Capital. Other investors include Akatsuki Entertainment Technology Fund, AngelList, Touchstone Equities, Whiteboard Capital, IIM Kozhikode Alumni Fund and Gemba Capital.