Karbon raises $12 mn in pre-Series A round

Fintech startup Karbon Card has raised $12 million in a pre-Series A funding round from investors including US fintech unicorn Ramp, Rainfall Ventures, Roka Works, and Y Combinator, among others.

The startup expects to use the funds to step up its product development, undertake hiring to double its headcount in the next six months, and bolster its operations. It had earlier raised $3.5 million from Orios Venture Partner and US-based venture capital company 2AM VC.

Karbon Card is focused on small businesses and startups. It enables startups to access credit of up to Rs 5 crore with no fixed deposits or personal guarantee, offers rewards such as AWS credits, expense management via WhatsApp, and seamless payments transactions through corporate cards, among others.

Fittr raises $11.5 mn in Series A round led by Dream Capital, Elysian Park Ventures

Fitness and wellness startup Fittr raised $11.5 million in Series A funding round co-led by Dream Capital, the corporate venture capital, and M&A arm of Dream Sports, and Elysian Park Ventures, the private investment arm of the LA Dodgers ownership group.

Existing investor Sequoia Capital’s India Surge also participated in the funding round, while Ambit acted as the exclusive financial adviser to Fittr.

Before this, the startup had raised $2 million in its pre-Series A round from Sequoia Capital’s India Surge last year.

The startup will use the capital for growth and expansion into new markets, including North America, UK and Singapore, which currently account for 30 percent of the company’s overall revenue.

Fintech startup ePayLater secures $10 mn from investors

Fintech startup ePayLater has raised $10 million in its Series B round from Responsibility Investments, Blue Ashva Capital, Pravega Ventures and other investors.

Previously, the startup had raised funding from Pravega Ventures, ICICI Bank, and Japan’s GMO Global Fintech Fund.

The startup plans to use the funding to reach out to more customers and retailers across locations, and enhance the offering to become a one-stop-solution for all financing needs of the small businesses -- wholesalers/traders/kiranas.

“In the last two years we have transformed the lives of over 70,000 retailers in India and this round of funding helps us to reach out to many more retailers and help them in improving the efficiency, profitability of their businesses by giving them the best tools that technology can provide,” said Aurko Bhattacharya, Founder, ePayLater.

The startup, which specialises as a pay later firm for small businesses, counts Pravega Ventures, ICICI Bank and Japan’s GMO Global Fintech Fund as existing backers.

Neobank startup Chqbook raises Rs 40 cr in pre-Series B round

Chqbook, a neobank platform, has raised Rs 40 crore in a pre-Series B round led by existing investor Aavishkaar Capital and Rajiv Dadlani Group.

The new round also saw participation from Earlsfield Capital UK, and family offices and HNI investors, including Jeremy Lim, Bhupesh Kumar, Nilesh Srivastava, and others.

Chqbook enables access to current accounts, bookkeeping services, lending, and insurance to small merchants or SMEs. Most of its customers are either banking with public sector or cooperative banks.

In March 2020, Aavishkar Capital had led a $5-million Series A round for Chqbook. The fresh proceeds will be utilised for ramping up user acquisition and strengthening technology, Chqbook said in a press release.

The company claims to have over 650,000 transacting customers and Rs 3,000 crore of annualized transaction value. The company aims to lend over Rs 30,000 crore, open one million accounts, and insure 10 million customers over the next few years, it said in a statement.

Artha Venture Fund earmarks Rs 225 cr for investment in Indian startups

Venture capital firm Artha Venture Fund (AVF) on September 23 announced a corpus of Rs 225 crore under the Artha Access programme for early-stage investment in Indian startups.

The firm plans to invest in 40 startups, with a limit of up to Rs 25 lakh per deal, by 2025.

AVF has collaborated with accelerator Huddle and IIM Calcutta Innovation Park to roll out its investment plan.

"AVF has earmarked a corpus from its recently-closed fund of Rs 225 crore and will invest up to Rs 25 lakh in each deal. Artha Access will invest in 40 deals by 2025, with a four-time quicker turnaround time than the current industry norm," the firm said in a statement.

AVF will provide the startups with access to its network and ecosystem, besides co-investing with the accelerators.

Under the Artha Access programme, select startups will have an opportunity to secure funding upwards of Rs 18 crore in follow-on rounds from AVF.

Artha claims to have backed six unicorns and 15 startups cumulatively, valued at over Rs 2.95 lakh crore

Auntie Fung’s secures angel funding of Rs 3.35 cr from IAN and others

Quick service restaurant (QSR) startup Auntie Fung's raised Rs 3.35 crore in an angel round led by India Angel Network.

The funding round was led by angel investors Anjali Malhotra, Ajay Rajgarhia, and Nitin Jain. It also saw participation from Lead Angels, Lets Venture, and Chandigarh Angels.

The startup had earlier raised its seed funding from marquee investor Raja V, former vice chairman & MD of Philips India and former president & CEO of GE Healthcare, India.

The startup is looking to deploy a major part of the capital for opening new cloud kitchens. The remaining fund will be used to build back-end capability around supply chain and technology, hire key talent from the culinary world, and build brand awareness, it said in a statement.

(Edited by : Shoma Bhattacharjee)