investment | Pixr8 News

1Oct By Gauri SinghNo Comments

FUNDING

Vahdam Teas Secures $2.5 million in a Fresh Funding Round

An Indian online tea brand called Vahdam Teas has reportedly raised funds amounting to $2.5 million (Rs 16 Crore) in its third institutional round of fundraising. This round was led by existing investor Fireside Ventures. With this funding round, the company plans to expand its presence in the US which is one of the largest markets of the company. Also, a part of the funds will be used towards customer acquisition and brand building and also in exploring new markets in India. The company is based in New Delhi and was founded in 2016 by Bala Sarda. Vahdam Teas is a vertically-integrated, online-first tea brand. The tea is procured directly from 150-200 plantations and tea growers in India and Nepal within 24-48 hours of production. Bala Sarda, Founder, Vahdam Teas, said, “We are exci...

29Sep By Gauri SinghNo Comments

FUNDING

AI Startup Netradyne Raised $21 million in Series B Funding

Artificial Intelligence startup Netradyne that is concerned with driver and commercial fleet safety has reportedly raised funds amounting to $21 million in Series B funding. The round was led by Microsoft’s corporate venture arm M12 (formerly Microsoft Ventures). It also saw participation from backers like Reliance Industries and Point72 Ventures. Following the funding round, M12 will join the company board and "bring additional resources and expertise focused on scaling the company". The funds so raised by the company are being planned to be used in making a sizable investment in the application of AI and deep learning in new industry segments. This includes areas like Dynamic 3D or HD Mapping, Data Analytics and Insurance. "We’re excited about our investment in Netradyne, an innov...

Reliance Industries Acquires 37.4% Stake in California’s AI Startup

27Sep By Gauri SinghNo Comments

ACQUISITION

Reliance Industries Acquires 37.4% Stake in California’s AI Startup

Reliance Industries has invested an amount of $8 million in California-based NetraDyne. NetraDyne is an artificial intelligence company that focuses on the driver and commercial fleet safety. Prior to this, Reliance invested $16 million in June 2016 in the startup, thus, this marks as its second investment in the firm. With this investment, Reliance now has taken over around 37.4% stake in the startup. According to the statement, the investment was made through its subsidiary Reliance Industrial Investments and Holdings (RIIHL). It has subscribed to 4.06 million shares (4,058,647 shares) at Rs 1.9711 per share. Reliance said this investment has potential synergies with its "digital services and communications initiatives, apart from commercialization benefits in India." NetraDy...

Sequoia Capital Backs Indian Student Housing Startup Stanza Living

26Sep By Gauri SinghNo Comments

FUNDING

Sequoia Capital Backs Indian Student Housing Startup Stanza Living

Student housing startup Stanza Living has reportedly raised funds amounting to Rs 73 crore (over $10 million) in a funding round led by venture capital firm Sequoia Capital India. This funding round also saw participation by existing investors Matrix Partners and Accel. With this fundraising, the total capital raised by Stanza Living has reached Rs 86 crore as of now. With these funds, the startup is planning to strengthen its technology engine, beef up its core leadership team as also establish its network of operations across multiple markets. “With 2000 beds across the Delhi-NCR region itself, we are positioning this business for scale. We are in advanced conversations to expand to educational hubs such as Bangalore, Pune, Hyderabad and a few more cities by the end of this ongo...

Chinese E-Scooter Startup Filed For an IPO on Nasdaq

25Sep By PriyankaNo Comments

Market

Chinese E-Scooter Startup Filed For an IPO on Nasdaq

Electric scooter startup called Niu Technologies which is based in China has filed for an initial public offering (IPO) on Nasdaq. The company has planned to raise up to $150 million through this IPO. Niu claims to be the largest lithium-ion battery-powered e-scooters company in China. Founded in 2014, the company is based in Beijing and currently holds a market share of 26% in China on the basis of its sales volume. Niu’s scooters connect with an app that gives drivers maintenance and performance data and along with that delivers firmware updates. The firm stated that it had sold more than 431,500 smart electric scooters in China, Europe and other markets as of June 2018. According to the reports, China has been termed as the largest market for electric two-wheeled vehicles, wher...

Indian Hotel Chain Oyo Raises $1 billion at $5 billion Valuation

25Sep By Gauri SinghNo Comments

FUNDING

Indian Hotel Chain Oyo Raises $1 billion at $5 billion Valuation

Indian hospitality chain Oyo Hotels which is soaring high with success these days has planned to secured funds amounting to $1 billion for the purpose of expansion into China and other global regions. This round is expected to be led by existing investors including SoftBank Vision Fund, Sequoia Capital and Lightspeed Venture Partners. The existing investors have currently put in $800 million, with commitments for another $200 million. About $600 million of the total will be deployed into China where Oyo had forayed just 10 months back. “With this additional funding, we plan to rapidly scale our business in these countries, while continuing to invest further in technology and talent,” Agarwal stated. “We will also deploy fresh capital to take our unique model that enables small hotel ow...

20Sep By Gauri SinghNo Comments

FUNDING

ShareChat’s Latest Funding Round Brings Seven-fold Rise in its Valuation

The social platform for regional language known as ShareChat has secured funds amounting to Rs 720 crore ($99 million) in a funding round. The particular round was led by existing backer Shunwei Capital. The other investors that participated in the round included Morningside Ventures of China and Jesmond Holdings, an affiliate of Russian billionaire Yuri Milner’s DST Global. Following this funding round, the valuation of the company will get a boost and will reach to Rs 3,332 crore ($460 million) according to the documents filed with Registrar of Companies. With the funds raised, the company plans to foray deeper in markets like the Northeast, and also start working on monetizing its service next year through activities like advertising, influencer marketing, and in-app transactions....

Matrix Partners India Backs Bengaluru-based DailyNinja

20Sep By Gauri SinghNo Comments

FUNDING

Matrix Partners India Backs Bengaluru-based DailyNinja

A startup that delivers milk and grocery called DailyNinja has reportedly raised an undisclosed amount in a funding round led by Matrix Partners India. The particular round also saw participation from existing investors including Sequoia India and Saama Capital. The funds raised will be used to accelerate growth, expand its footprint and hire professional talent. Also, the company aims to achieve a target of 1,00,000 daily transactions in the next six months, almost tripling its current daily volumes of 35,000. “We want to grow as fast as we can and have the maximum number of customers on our platform,” said Sagar Yarnalkar, chief executive of DailyNinja. “We also want to expand our team and hire talent for operations and tech.” DailyNinja is a Bengaluru-based company that was founded...

19Sep By Gauri SinghNo Comments

CHINA

China to Invest $14.6 Billion to Develop Digital Economy

The digital space all over the globe is emerging at a great pace, and thus, China has decided to invest $14.6 billion (100 billion yuan) for developing the digital economy in the next five years. According to an agreement signed by China Development Bank and the National Development and Reform Commission, this investment will be done on projects like big data, internet of things (IoT), cloud computing, smart cities and the digital Silk Road. The development of China’s digital economy has been stated as an important task for building a modern economic setup in the country. China has got a considerable progress in the cause over the past years by way of rolling out a raft of measures, including a national big data strategy. A report released by the Cyberspace Administration of China...

18Sep By Gauri SinghNo Comments

FUNDING

UK-Based Setoo Raises $9.3 million in Series A Funding

A UK-based startup Setoo that turns insurance into a powerful business accelerator, transforming the online customer experience and generating new revenue streams, has reportedly secured funds amounting to $9.3 million in Series A funding round. The particular funding round was led by AXA’s ‘Insurtech’ startup studio, Kamet. This funding round has brought the total amount raised to date to $12 million. With these funds, the company plans to expand in every aspect and give an aggressive fight to its rivals such as ZhongAn, Moonshot and Qover. “In French ‘c’est tout’ means ‘that’s it’. My chose the name Setoo to symbolise how simple and quick it is to create effective new protections products using the platform, and the simplicity of the products created for the consumer. This investment...

Uber to Invest $154 million to Boost Canadian Operations

15Sep By Gauri SinghNo Comments

BUSINESS

Uber to Invest $154 million to Boost Canadian Operations

Global cab aggregator Uber has announced that it would invest up to $154 million (Can$200 million) over five years for the purpose of expanding its Toronto lab which is concerned with developing artificial intelligence for self-driving cars. Along with this, the company is planning to open a new engineering office in Canada's largest metropolis in early 2019. Uber's new engineering hub will join the company's efforts to launch the new features for its app. Also, they would expand into other modes of transportation such as electric bikes and scooters, as well as partnerships with public transit. In the 15 months since the Uber lab led by University of Toronto professor and machine learning expert Raquel Urtasun opened, it has delivered "significant technical breakthroughs towards m...

Tech Giant Cisco Plans to Step Up Investment in India

15Sep By Gauri SinghNo Comments

BUSINESS

Tech Giant Cisco Plans to Step Up Investment in India

One of the biggest technology companies Cisco has announced that it is stepping up investments in the Indian market. This is being done as part of the second phase of its 'Country Digital Acceleration' (CDA) programme. With this, the company will focus on accelerating innovation and entrepreneurship, 5G use cases for citizen services as well as transportation modernization. Cisco claims that India is among its few markets where the company has made the second round of investment as part of its CDA programme. "India is an important market for us. While we are not disclosing the amount we would be investing, it is clear that we are betting on India as a key market. We are adding four more states to our existing initiatives towards areas like innovation, smart cities. We have also signed ...