Deal Street: InMobi Founder, Goldman Sachs Executives Back Ride-Sharing Startup For Kids
Four startups raised $47 million in angel seed or venture capital funding across sectors such as mobility and healthcare.
Four Indian startups have raised $47 million in angel seed or venture capital funding across sectors such as mobility, healthcare among others.
Bengaluru startups led the funding pack.
PiggyRide Raises $1 Million In Its Seed Round
PiggyRide, a Bengaluru-based startup that want to pick your kids from school or coaching via car-pooling model, raised $1 million in its seed round of funding from investors, including Singapore’s Jafco Asia, Singularity Ventures and Mehta Ventures.
As many as 21 other angel investors participated in the funding, including InMobi Founder Naveen Tewari; Livspace Founders Anuj Srivastava and Ramakant Sharma; Niladri Mukhopadhyay, managing director at Goldman Sachs; and Sulabh Arya, executive director at Goldman Sachs Private Equity; to name a few, Manish Tewari, co-founder of PiggyRide, told BloombergQuint in an interview.
The startup does not offer on-demand ride hailing like cab aggregators Uber or Ola, and allows parents to arrange scheduled pickups and drops for kids. Rides from home to school or school to soccer or coaching practice are Piggy Rides’ bread-and-butter, the company said. Parents essentially book a seat for their kids and they pool with other kids in the nearby area.
Tewari said PiggyRide aims to use the investment in setting up the team and strengthening technology. A portion of the funds raised will be used to hire more vehicles on lease, besides spending on marketing.
Currently operational in Bengaluru, the six-month-old startup has nearly 70 drivers on board and ferries nearly 400 kids monthly by doing 4,500 rides a month. The startup which is also looking to raise nearly $5 million, plans to expand operations to Hyderabad, Pune and Mumbai in six months, Tewari said.
Watch the full interview here:
Japan’s Spiral Ventures invests in pre-owned cars marketplace Truebil
Mumbai car marketplace Truebil raised $1 million from Japanese venture capital firm Spiral Ventures.
The company said in a statement it will use the funds to strengthen its technological infrastructure.
Founded in 2015, the firm operates an online portal to sell pre-owned cars and offers services such as affordable car loans, paper transfer, warranty servicing, emergency roadside assistance and insurance renewal.
The startup is currently operating in Mumbai, Delhi and Bengaluru.
Rajan Anandan, other IAN investors back health-tech startup PlusPin
Health-tech startup PlusPin Healthcare raised $708,720 in its seed round of funding from a clutch of investors of the Indian Angel Network, including Rajan Anandan, managing director of Sequoia Capital.
Other IAN investors who funded the venture include Sanjay Jesrani, Vinay Tulla and Kiran Peddi, the network said in a statement.
Investors such as Munjal Group and early-stage investment firm Axilor Ventures and existing investor Ambicare Clinics, too, participated in the round, the startup said.
PlusPin Healthcare said it will use the investment for geographical expansion, upgrading technology and enhancing customer experience.
Founded in September 2017, the startup runs a digital platform for retail pharmacy stores to enable them to offer customers personalised healthcare services, including diagnostics and healthcare at home.
The company said it has over 200 pharmacies in Hyderabad and over 70 healthcare providers on its platform.
Others
Peter Thiel’s venture capital firm is investing $45 million into Glance, a part of InMobi Group, which uses artificial intelligence to personalise content for smartphones. Mithril Capital, co-founded by Silicon Valley investors Thiel and Ajay Royan, is putting in the money as part of a larger financing round, the company said in a statement.