Deal Street: Startup That Turns Air Conditioner Into Purifier Gets Angel Funding For Growth
A startup that converts air conditioners into air purifiers secured angel funding.
Five Indian startups raised nearly $200 million in angel, seed or venture capital funding last week across sectors such as baby products, used-car market, fintech, among others.
SoftBank Invests $150 Million In FirstCry
Pune-based online-first baby products retailer FirstCry, raised $150 million (Rs 1,097 crore) in a fresh funding round from Japanese tech conglomerate SoftBank, according to filings with the Registrar of Companies.
The investment is part of a larger round of about $396.34 million (or Rs 2,825 crore) the firm is raising from SoftBank’s Vision Fund, the filings said. The round set the company’s pre-money valuation at around $450 million and its post-money valuation is likely going to more than double, the filings added.
Founded in 2010, FirstCry is the most heavily funded baby products e-tailer in the country and counts investors such as Ratan Tata, IDG Ventures, Valiant Capital Partners, New Enterprise Associates and SAIF Partners and others.
The company is said to offer over two lakh baby and kids products across categories, including diapering, feeding and nursing, skin and healthcare, toys, clothes, footwear and fashion accessories. It also has offline stores across the country, as per the company's website.
Clovia Raises $10 Million In Fresh Funding
Delhi-based online-first lingerie and sleepwear retailer Clovia raised $10 million (Rs 71 crore) in its growth funding round led by AT Capital. Existing investor IvyCap Ventures and private investors also participated in the round, the company said in a statement.
The company said the funds will be used for product and technology development. A part of the investment will be used to scale up brand portfolio, expand to newer geographies, increase operational efficiencies and strengthening its team.
Founded in 2013, the startup designs, manufactures and sells fashion lingerie, innerwear, nightwear, and shapewear through its websites and other e-commerce portals like Myntra, Flipkart and Amazon. The brand currently has 12 exclusive brand outlets.
The company said it sells over 500,000 pieces of lingerie a month.
Startup That Converts ACs Into Air Purifiers Bags Angel Funding
A Bengaluru-based startup that converts air conditioners into a purifier for businesses, Clairco, raised an undisclosed amount in angel funding from angel investor and senior director at Ola, Arvind Subramanian.
The company aims to deploy the funds for hiring talents, strengthen technology and also to expand its operations in all the Tier 1 cities, Aayush Jha, founder of Clairco, told BloombergQuint in an interview. Jha said the firm is also in talks to raise $1 million in funding.
Founded in 2018, the firm uses its in-house patent pending non-technology air filters that can be fitted to any air conditioner. It also provides real-time air quality monitors and uses machine learning to maintain air quality.
“The information can be accessed over an app or a web browser and allows users to track air quality in real time. The device can purify and eliminate upto 2.5 micron particulate. In Delhi recently when the air quality PM2.5 was around 980, we were able to bring it down to 40-45,” Jha said.
Individual customers might have to wait, as the company says the first product is only available for enterprises now. “We might roll out something for individual customers in about a year.”
So far the firm has roped in fitness centers, tech parks, office spaces and hotels for the pilot, and they are charged based on capacity. The company said it charges around Rs 2/square feet per month.
At present the firm is present in four cities—Hyderabad, Delhi, Bengaluru and Mumbai—covering 120 locations with roughly 5 lakh square feet space in total.
Others
Mumbai-based online marketplace for pre-owned cars Truebil raised $14 million (around Rs 100 crore) in a mix of equity and debt funding led by Japanese investor Joe Hirao, the founder of multi-business firm ZIGExN, the company statement said. Existing investors Kalaari Capital, Inventus Capital, Kae Capital, Chinese venture capital firm Shunwei Capital and San Francisco-based Tekton Ventures also participated in the funding round.
Bike taxi startup Rapido raised $10 million (Rs 71 crore) in growth funding round led by Hong Kong-based multi-strategy private investment firm Integrated Capital. Existing investors US-based Skycatchr, AdvantEdge and Astarc Ventures also invested, the startup said in a statement.
Groww, an online platform which sells mutual funds, raised $6.2 million (Rs 44 crore) in growth round led by Sequoia Capital India, the company said. The round also saw participation from US-based seed investor and accelerator Y Combinator, Propel Venture Partners and Kauffman Fellows, the startup said in a statement.