NFX Digital Bags $1M Led by Indian Angel NetworkNFX Digital, which owns and operates gamified consumer insights portal, Adytude. com, has raised $1 million (Rs. 6.6 crore) in funding led by Indian Angel Network (IAN), the country’s oldest and largest angel investor group. IAN member Vikas Kuthiala was the lead investor for the transaction and will be joining the New Delhi-based company’s board. With this funding, the startup will expand its footprint across the country and plans to kickstart operations in the UK by the end of the year.
It will also invest some part of the capital raised towards marketing and research, as per ET report. Previously, the startup had secured had raised about Rs 3 crore from ad film makers Prahlad Kakkar and Abhinay Singh Deo, among others.
Pitstop Secures Undisclosed Amount of Funding from Angel InvestorsCar repair and servicing startup Pitstop has raised an undisclosed amount in funding from Alex Chua, chief operating officer of Singapore-based Goldbell Group; and the founder of Moglix, Rahul Garg. With this funding, the company plans to enter into new markets including Mumbai, Pune, Chandigarh, Chennai and Hyderabad over the next quarter.
The Bengaluru-based company had raised an initial round of funding from multiple investors including Ashutosh Lawania, co-founder of Myntra; and LivSpace cofounders Anuj Srivastava and Ramakant Sharma. The company works through tie-ups with local garages.
On-Demand Beauty Service Chain Enrich Acquires India Quotient Backed BelitaMumbai-based Enrich Salon, an on-demand beauty service has acquired India Quotient backed Belita. The amount and terms of the deal has been left undisclosed.
Post-acquisition, Belita brand will be merged to Enrich Salon and will provide services under Enrich brand, as per Inc42 report.
Founded in September 2011 by Akshay and Garima Jain, Belita is a Mumbai-based beauty & wellness services company that delivers beauty & spa services to women at the comfort of their home.
Enrich Salon is currently operational in cities such as Ahmedabad, Bengaluru and Pune apart from Mumbai.
Treebo in Talks with Bertelsmann India to Raise FundsTreebo Hotels, a budget hotel room-booking platform, is in advanced talks with Bertelsmann India Investments, the strategic investment arm of German media conglomerate Bertelsmann SE and Co. KGaA, for its latest round of fundraising, as per DealStreetAsia report.
The company is looking to raise up to $20-25 million in this round and the deal will also see participation from Treebo’s existing investors, SAIF Partners and Matrix Partners. The negotiations are at an advanced stage and are expected to be closed by early next month.
China’s Hax Accelerator Plans to Invest In Indian Hardware StartupsChina-based accelerator, Hax that focused on hardware startups is planning to invest $100K each in Indian startups working in the hardware segment. The announcement was made during an event organized by IoT Bangalore for internet-of things (IoT) startups, as per VCCircle report.
Benjamin Joffe, general partner at Hax Accelerator, also launched a global report on the hardware space during the event. As per report, currently, US leads in terms of investments in hardware space, followed by China and France.
Hax Accelerator organises a 4-month programme for around 12 early-stage hardware startups in China’s Shenzhen district and Silicon Valley. Since it’s launch in 2012, it has invested in over 160 startups in fields such as IoT, robotics , and health.
Mindshare India Partners With Vidooly To Co-Create An Online Video Data Tracking Tool - ‘Kyve’ Mindshare India has partnered with Noida-based video analytics startup Vidooly to co-create and launch ‘Kyve’ in India. Kyve is a platform for brands and advertisers to track online video viewership. The ‘Kyve’ tool will be part of the core Mindshare planning framework in India.
With this tool, Vidooly aims to be the go-to-tool for any brand or advertiser who wants to execute an online video campaign effectively and yield an optimal ROI. With this initiative, Mindshare wants to leverage this platform for precise brand targeting on online video, to eliminate audience spillage, and further measure the success of video campaigns.
Stayzilla Signs MOU with UTDB for Promotion of Homestays in the RegionStayzilla.com, the largest aggregator for verified homestays in India and Uttarakhand Tourism Development Board (UTDB) signed an MOU to jointly promote and market homestays in Uttarakhand. The MoU was signed in the presence of Hon’ble Chief Minister of Uttarakhand, Shri Harish Rawat, Mr. Shailesh Bagauli, Secretary Tourism & CEO, Uttarakhand Tourism and Mr. Ankit Rastogi, Vice-President, Marketplace, Stayzilla.com. The region’s beauty and hilly terrain lends itself as ideal place for increasing homestays since tourist demand outnumbers the stay options available. Increasing and promoting homestays in mountainous areas will help fulfill demand and support local economy.
The company is closely working with various state tourism departments for joint promotion of homestays. Stayzilla recently signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Madhya Pradesh State Tourism Development Corporation for joint promotion of Homestays.
Under this agreement, Stayzilla will support verification procedures and jointly boost homestays across Uttarakhand. All homestays registered with UTDB will receive technological and operational support to run the homestays. Also, Stayzilla & UTDB will jointly conduct education and training sessions for UTDB registered homestays on best practices such as online usage, content management, operations and expense management.
AppsDaily Raises $2M in Bridge Round from Kalaari, OthersMobile app development and distribution company AppsDaily Solutions Pvt. Ltd has raised $2 million (around Rs 13.5 crore) in a bridge round of funding, as per VCCircle report.
The Mumbai-based company received funding from existing investors Kalaari Capital, Qualcomm Ventures, Russian venture capital fund ru-Net and Zodius Technology Opportunities Fund with participation from Ambrosia Infotech Ltd.
The company had earlier raised Rs 100 crore (around $16 million) in a Series C round of funding led by Zodius Capital with participation from existing investors. It focuses on developing and distributing software for mobile phones. Some of its products include mobile anti-virus, mobile insurance, backup solutions, mobile privacy, SOS, mobile utilities and games.
Amazon India Invests in 6 New Fulfilment CentresAmazon India has invested in six new fulfilment centres ahead of the upcoming festive season.
The additional capacity will open up 5.5 million square feet of storage space for sellers on the marketplace who use the Fulfilled by Amazon service. The new fulfilment centres situated across Chennai, Coimbatore, Delhi, Jaipur and Mumbai takes Amazon's footprint across 10 states, as per ETTech report.
