Startup news and updates: Daily roundup (May 7, 2024)

Funding

Woman-led trackNOW secures seed funding

TrackNow, a woman-led award-winning fleet management and advanced telematic tracking solution company, has raised seed funds of an undisclosed amount. The round was raised from GI Ventures and BluSmart co-founder Anmol Jaggi as lead investors. 

The fund will be used to accelerate the expansion of its already profitable business and proprietary product development. It plans to allocate the funds towards furthering its research and development initiatives, focusing on enhancing its suite of proprietary products. It is founded by Pooja Khemka and Suyash Khemka.

Suniel Shetty-backed REGRIP raises $2M in funding  

REGRIP, backed by Suniel Shetty, the Rajasthan government and Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), has raised $2 million in funding led by Qatar-based venture capital Sirious One, Inflection Point Ventures, and Let's Venture. 

The round also included prominent angel investors such as EaseMyTrip Co-Founder Rikant Pitti, Shobitam Co-Founder Aparna Thyagarajan, Bombay Chemical & Rubber Product's Managing Partner Vishal Jhunjhunwala, and TIE Angels Chairman Mahavir Pratap Sharma.

The raised funds will be used to expand the brand's collection network for discarded tyres. It also aims to accelerate its impact on the environment. It has also announced an exit to seed investor IIMA Ventures.

SaaS startup Knit secures $1M seed funding

Knit, a unified API platform for SaaS businesses, has raised $1 million in a seed funding round led by Endiya Partners, along with participation from Axilor Ventures and angel investors.

The startup will use the capital to enhance the product capabilities and incorporate Gen AI technologies. Additionally, it will used in expansion and scaling its customer base in the US market and beyond.

Founded in January 2024, Knit offers a plug-and-play integration platform for SaaS companies to help them build and maintain integrations with other SaaS tools with minimal effort.

Luggage and travel accessories startup ICON picks up $1.2M in seed funding

ICON, a premier internet-first direct-to-consumer luggage and travel accessories (LTA) startup, has raised $1.2 million in seed funding. The round was led by DSG Consumer Partners with participation by a host of angel investors.

The capital will be used to augment ICON’s existing product line, expand its team, strengthen its distribution network, and boost its innovative portfolio. The brand caters to the mass premium segment in the LTA category.

BharatRohan raises $2.3M in funding

BharatRohan, an agritech firm specialising in drone-based hyperspectral remote sensing, has raised $2.3 million in a pre-IPO round from notable investors, including Villgro Innovation Foundation, Caspian, RevX, and Venture Garage (with a group of Ultra High Net Worth Individuals as investors), marking a blend of debt and equity financing.

The capital will be used in developing proprietary edge computing drones specifically for precise crop monitoring and variable pesticide application. These drones will be made available to rural entrepreneurs through franchise-based models, enabling them to offer CropAssure services to farmers. Additionally, the company plans to design and develop compact hyperspectral and multispectral sensors for drones.

Founded by Rishabh Choudhary and Amandeep Panwar in 2016, BharatRohan currently supports 50,000 farmers covering 200,000 acres in five states with its advanced drone-based decision support system known as BharatRohan CropAssure.

Parseable raises $2.75M in seed round

Bengaluru-based Parseable has raised a seed funding round of $2.75 million led by Surge and NP-Hard Ventures

This investment is set to fuel Parseable's mission to innovate in handling the surging volumes of log data generated by modern digital businesses.

The platform uses the benefits of cloud computing, including scalability, reliability, and flexibility. It leverages fundamental cloud components like storage and computing that allow it to dynamically adjust resources to meet demand. This scalability ensures that businesses can manage their data effectively, regardless of volume, without worrying about the infrastructure overhead.

Fodder Ecosystem Builder Cornext raises $2.2M from Omnivore

Cornext, which is building a fodder ecosystem to support dairy cattle farmers, has raised $2.2 million in a seed round from Omnivore.

The startup is solving the fodder deficit through its patented silage baling technology. It is a preservation technique wherein nutrient-rich green fodder is cut fresh, chaffed, and tightly packed, allowing it to be used year-round without spoilage. Cornext’s baling technology makes compact 50 kg silage bales sold to dairy farmers through a network of village-level fodder entrepreneurs.

Cornext has, so far, launched 400+ fodder entrepreneurs across India and has begun exporting its silage baling machines across Asia, Africa, and Latin America.

Other news

Firstsource Solutions announces Hasit Trivedi as President & Chief Digital and AI Officer

Firstsource Solutions Limited, a global provider of Business Process Management (BPM) services and an RP-Sanjiv Goenka Group company, has appointed Hasit Trivedi as President & Chief Digital and AI Officer.

Trivedi will oversee the scaling and deployment of Firstsource’s digital capabilities including elevating its platforms, data & analytics, automation, and AI ecosystem.

He comes with nearly three decades of experience in technology. He is widely recognised for his contributions to the field of artificial intelligence and has played a key role in helping leading Indian SIs establish and operate their AI, automation, and platform practices.

Subham Banerjee appointed as Chief Delivery Officer at Clover Infotech

Clover Infotech, a global technology services and consulting firm, has appointed Subham Banerjee as its Chief Delivery Officer.

With over 25 years of experience in IT services delivery across BFS, Subham Banerjee has worked at firms like Citibank Overseas Software Ltd., Virtusa/Polaris, Value Labs, and Yash Technologies. He is an engineering graduate from the National Institute of Technology – Durgapur.

Genpact partners with TeamLease Degree Apprenticeship to hire 5000+ graduate apprentices

Genpact, the global professional services and solutions firm and TeamLease Degree Apprenticeship (TLDA) have come together to employ over 5000 graduate apprentices through the Ministry of Education apprenticeship program. 

This partnership aims to promote the growth of apprenticeships in India by providing graduates with on-the-job training and hands-on experience in their respective fields. 

In the last 5 years, through its partnership with TeamLease Degree Apprenticeship, Genpact has trained over 18,000 apprentices, with 95% joining its workforce post-program completion. The 12-month Graduate Apprenticeship Program offers both work experience and formal education, emphasizing soft skills like communication and leadership. TLDA collaborates with academic institutions and industry leaders to design course modules and improve assessments, ensuring apprentices' progress is closely monitored.

YES BANK and EBANX enter into strategic partnership to empower cross-border commerce in India

YES BANK, a private sector bank in India, and EBANX, a global fintech company specialised in payment solutions for emerging markets, have formed a strategic partnership for payment processing in India, for the global digital economy. 

This move aims to streamline cross-border payment processing and enhance global commerce opportunities for global merchants and Indian customers in India.

This partnership will leverage EBANX's extensive global experience and proficiency in cross-border payments alongside YES BANK's digital prowess, to provide global merchants with access to a suite of scalable payment solutions. 

The partnership announcement comes at a time when EBANX is actively working to reinforce its position in India, following its expansion announcement into Asia last year. This strategic partnership aims to benfit not just the two entities but also the wider ecosystem of merchants, consumers, and the digital economy in India and beyond. 

Sinton, Agribid partner to transform agri procurement

Sinton, a global commodity trading company headquartered in Singapore, and Agribid, an agritech startup, have partnered to transform the procurement of commodities in the agriculture sector. The partnership will raise up to $50 million in equity and debt for building warehousing and bringing facilities to the top four seaports in India

This partnership will begin with the founding of Sinton Agribid Indonesia to supply and deliver high-quality agricultural commodities to Indonesian government-linked companies for the next five years. This project will aim to boost the export of agri commodities through PACS and FPOs.

F5 appoints Pratik Shah as India and SAARC MD

F5 has appointed Pratik Shah as Managing Director for its operations in India and the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) region.

Shah will lead F5's growth strategy in India and SAARC, focusing on comprehensive solutions and competitive security offerings.

With nearly two decades of industry experience, he's known for driving impactful business results and sales growth. He joined F5 in 2019, initially overseeing sales in Western India before being promoted to Director of Sales for the India Enterprise business in 2022. Previously, he held leadership roles at Palo Alto, Juniper Networks, and Extreme Networks.

New Relic announces Katrina Wong as Chief Marketing Officer

New Relic, the all-in-one observability platform, announced Katrina Wong as the company’s next Chief Marketing Officer. Wong will oversee the company’s brand, demand, and communications initiatives with a focus on driving growth and market expansion.

Wong brings over 20 years of experience in marketing, go-to-market, and community development. Wong most recently served as Divisional CMO and VP of Marketing at Twilio Segment. She has also held marketing leadership and go-to-market positions at Hired, Zuora, Salesforce, and SAP.

(This copy will be updated with the latest news throughout the day.)