The Venture Intelligence Blog

Nityaa Labs, a Pune-based developer of AirStream , an app using which users can stream media content and other files from their PC to smartphone, has been selected to be a part of GSF Accelerators second batch.  Venture Intelligence is the leading provider of data and analysis on Private Company Financials, Transactions (private equity, venture capital and M&A) & their Valuations in India. Click Here to view our products list including the Free Deal Digest Weekly: India's First & Most Exhaustive Transactions Newsletter.

Udupi-based mobile application developer Robosoft Technologies has raised Rs 22 crore in a first round of funding from Kalaari Capital. Robosoft creates mobile applications for external clients and also creates its own apps through its 99Games and Global Delight units. The company, which has developed apps for brands like The Times of India, Sony, HP, Disney, Reliance and Vodafone, is now aiming to be an end-to-end service provider The company is planning to expand its sales team and set up offices globally, strengthen its design and product teams and invest in product development. The company is also looking to go in for a further round of funding of up to $10 million (about Rs 60 crore) by the next fiscal. Source: Economic Times Venture Intelligence is the leading provider of data and analysis on Private Company Financials, Transactions (private equity, venture capital and M&A) & their Valuations in India. Click Here to view our products list including the F...

Businessworld has a Cover Story on why "Everyone wants to own a hotel in India. And that is leading to a complex mating ritual between all sorts of players". Everyone wants to own a hotel in India. And that is leading to a complex mating ritual between all sorts of players - See more at: http://businessworld.in/en/storypage/-/bw/the-great-hotel-swayamvara/r937929.37490/page/0#sthash.GdLjwMI1.dpuf The home-grown warriors, including the big three — the Taj, ITC and Oberoi — and others such as the Leela, the Lalit, the Park, are all feeling the heat of foreign competition. They too are re-strategising, planning expansions, and pitching enticing propositions to hotel owners, even as some of them have tie-ups with global chains (ITC-Starwood). Add to this mélange a rising crop of fleet-footed hotel companies such as Lemon Tree, Sarovar, Pride Hotels, Lords Hotels & Inns, Ferns, Keys, SAMHI, Royal Orchid and Duet Smart Hotels. Each brings a unique selling proposition t...

Bangalore-based impact investment bank Unitus Capital has raised capital from a consortium of investors led by social venture capital firm Gray Matters Capital. The proceeds from the second round of institutional funding will be used by Unitus to expand operations in India and South-East Asia. Unitus works across sectors including microfinance, renewable energy and healthcare and education. Gray Matters Capital participated in the capital raising round through its investment firm First Light Ventures. In 2008, Unitus Capital had raised $5.5 million (Rs. 32.8 crore). It also counts William S Price, the founding partner of PE firm TPG, and Steven Funk, founder and chairman of real estate-focused Grand Marais Investments, as its investors. Source: Economic Times Venture Intelligence is the leading provider of data and analysis on Private Company Financials, Transactions (private equity, venture capital and M&A) & their Valuations in India. Click Here to view our ...

Drug maker Cipla  has launched Cipla Ventures, a new in-house division to invest in companies internationally, including from start-up hubs like Boston and London, in areas such as biotechnology, medical devices and new chemical entity. The venture will be led by Chandru Chawla, who has been appointed head of the new business ventures, and helping him will be Samina Vaziralli, who is the daughter of Cipla's joint managing director MK Hamied. Source: Economic Times Venture Intelligence is the leading provider of data and analysis on Private Company Financials, Transactions (private equity, venture capital and M&A) & their Valuations in India. Click Here to view our products list including the Free Deal Digest Weekly: India's First & Most Exhaustive Transactions Newsletter.

GrowthStory.In,  the investment arm of serial technology entrepreneurs, K Ganesh and Meena Ganesh, has picked 35% stake in OnlinePrasad, a Bangalore-based venture that delivers religious merchandise from temples to people's doorsteps. Founded by former Bain & Co analyst Goonjan Mall, the one year-old portal now provides puja facilities at more than 30 well-known temples from Vaishno Devi to Palani Murugan. The staff, sometimes pundits, are on the company rolls in these locations conducting puja on special occasions for Rs 501. The logistics, managed through FedEx and DHL, will deliver the prasad home within three days.  OnlinePrasad was incubated by Chandigarh-based startup accelerator The Morpheus.  Source: Times of India Venture Intelligence is the leading provider of data and analysis on Private Company Financials, Transactions (private equity, venture capital and M&A) & their Valuations in India. Click Here to view our products list inc...

Bangalore-based Minjar Cloud Solutions has acquired start-up venture Adepto Solutions, which offers a platform to launch customized applications on Facebook and other social media. Adepto had “pivoted” its business from being a social app for e-commerce platform (Trolly) to helping build instant apps under its new service Crowdnub. The three year old Adepto was part of the Microsoft Accelerator batch in Feb 2013. In 2011, Blume Ventures and Rajiv Dadlani Group had invested about $300,000 (about 1.8 crore) in Adepto Solutions. The investors are likely to get an exit with the transaction.  Source: Economic Times   Venture Intelligence is the leading provider of data and analysis on Private Company Financials, Transactions (private equity, venture capital and M&A) & their Valuations in India. Click Here to view our products list including the Free Deal Digest Weekly: India's First & Most Exhaustive Transactions Newsletter.

While June began with the IPO of  JustDial, the second "pure play" Internet company to list publicly in India, mid-month has been all about Naspers/ibibo acquiring redBus . Some interesting takes: A VC-loving, Uber Entrepreneur's (read: Mr.Rodinhood, Alok Kejriwal) view of why the deal is super news Former Seedfund (redBus investor) member Anand Lunia's take on why the deal is not as much of a "super news" (at least for VCs with large-sized funds)   Seedfund Partner Mahesh Murthy's - typically flair-filled - Quora post on redBus My 2-bit: Huge or not for Indian Venture Capital  the success of redBus is a hugely well deserved one for Founder-CEO Phanindra Sama , an entrepreneur who probably defines " disarmingly winning smile ".  (Other keywords I would use: Down-to-Earth; Razor-Sharp and Truly Caring about Entrepreneurship in India.) Go Phani! Goibibo!! Update: Sumanth Raghavendra, founder of Q-Prize winner Deck App Technolog...

Online taxi aggregator Taxiforsure has raised its Series A round from its seed investors Accel Partners, Helion Venture Partners and Blume Ventures. Taxiforsure claims to clock around 2000 bookings per day across Bangalore and Delhi The company has partnered with around 25 cab operators in Bangalore and around 15 in Delhi and claims to have reached operational profitability in Bangalore. It has also done its own branding on about 550 cabs that are operated by small local operators. The firm now intends to expand to 15 locations including Mumbai, Pune, Chennai, Hyderabad and Jaipur by 2015. From the Venture Intelligence PE Deal database: In May-12, Taxiforsure has raised its seed round from Accel Partners, Helion Venture Partners and Blume Ventures. Source: Economic Times Venture Intelligence is the leading provider of data and analysis on Private Company Financials, Transactions (private equity, venture capital and M&A) & their Valuations in India. Click He...

Holiday recommendation startup, WeAreHolidays, has raised a seed round of funding from Blume Venture Capital, Mumbai Angels, MakeMyTrip co-founder Sachin Bhatia and another undisclosed angel group. The company is developing an artificial intelligence driven online platform aimed at the customized holiday market and offers pre-designed packages based on the customer’s interest. The money raised will be used for product development, content and back-end integration. WeAreHolidays was founded in 2011 by Deepak Wadhwa and Harkirat Singh, both former employees of MakeMyTrip, along with Mohit Piplani, who was earlier with Michael Page International.  Source: Economic Times Venture Intelligence is the leading provider of data and analysis on Private Company Financials, Transactions (private equity, venture capital and M&A) & their Valuations in India. Click Here to view our products list including the Free Deal Digest Weekly: India's First & Most Exhaustive Tr...

Saraplast, India’s leading portable sanitation services company, receives investment from a fund of responsAbility. Saraplast is India’s leading provider of portable toilet sanitation services that cater to the underserved segment of the society. It services portable toilets across major cities in the country through its brand 3S. Over half of India’s population do not have access to sanitation facilities. Most of these people reside in urban slums or rural areas. In addition to health issues, poor sanitary measures set India back by an equivalent of 6.4% of its GDP every year, as estimated by a recent study by the Water and Sanitation Program of the World Bank. The investment will help the company increase its footprint, thereby helping improve living standards of the underserved. The no human touch approach employed in the cleaning and servicing of the toilets is also helping reduce the stigma for this industry. Earlier, in 2009, Aavishkaar Ventur...

Asian Healthcare Fund (AHF), along with existing investors, has invested Rs. 22 crore in Wellspring Healthcare, which operates a chain of primary healthcare clinics under the brand name Healthspring Community Medical Centres. Wellspring Healthcare plans to raise about Rs 50 crore over the next six months. Wellspring, which has a network of seven clinics in Mumbai, seeks to provide modern family medicine through a chain of community medical centres. These centres serve as a one-stop shop for patients with a pharmacy, diagnostics and routine minor procedures all under one roof. From the Venture Intelligence PE Deal database: In June 2011 Reliance Venture, Catamaran Ventures and BlueCross BlueShield Venture Partners had invested $5 million in Wellspring Healthcare. Source: Business Line Venture Intelligence is the leading provider of data and analysis on Private Company Financials, Transactions (private equity, venture capital and M&A) & their Valuations in I...

CloudByte Raises New Funding to Meet Increasing Customer Demand in the Cloud Service Provider and Enterprise Private Cloud Markets  Fidelity Worldwide Investment Leads Series B Funding Round to Help Storage QoS Company Expand CloudByte , the first company to guarantee quality of service (QoS) to every application from a shared storage platform, announced today that it has raised $4 million in its second round of funding, bringing the total funding to $6.1 million. The Series B funding round was led by Fidelity Growth Partners India, the private equity arm of Fidelity Worldwide Investment (Fidelity), with participation from existing investors Nexus Venture Partners and Kae Capital. Funds from this new investment will be used for expanding global sales and marketing in addition to product development. Headcount additions will help the company support the growing customer demand and increase the market awareness of its award-winning software-defined storage sol...

Amagi Media Labs which offers advertisers to buy ad spots on TV channels in India has raised close to Rs 30 crore from Mayfield Fund and existing investors, Nadathur Group and Ojas Ventures. Vikram Godse, from Mayfield will join the board. Amagi had previously raised about Rs 37 crore from Nadathur Group and Ojas Ventures. Amagi is now functional in 35 cities in India including the metros and has signed up nearly 400 small and medium scale businesses to use its platform to buy ad spots on TV. Its clients include Chevrolet, Cuppa, Fast Track and YLG and broadcast partners include TimesNow, CNBC Awaaz, IBN7 and UTV Movies.  Source: Medianama   Venture Intelligence is the leading provider of data and analysis on Private Company Financials, Transactions (private equity, venture capital and M&A) & their Valuations in India. Click Here to view our products list including the Free Deal Digest Weekly: India's First & Most Exhaustive Transactions Newslette...

Omnivore Partners has invested in Bangalore based Barrix Agro Sciences Pvt Ltd , a maker of fruit and vegetable fly traps. Subhadeep Sanyal , Investment Manager at Omnivore Partners, has joined the board. Venture Intelligence is the leading provider of data and analysis on Private Company Financials, Transactions (private equity, venture capital and M&A) & their Valuations in India. Click Here to view our products list including the Free Deal Digest Weekly: India's First & Most Exhaustive Transactions Newsletter.

Online media and events firm YourStory.in has acquired social enterprise platform ThinkChange India . ThinkChange India will be merging with SocialStory, YourStory.in’s online platform focusing on the social enterprise and impact investing sectors.  Venture Intelligence is the leading provider of data and analysis on Private Company Financials, Transactions (private equity, venture capital and M&A) & their Valuations in India. Click Here to view our products list including the Free Deal Digest Weekly: India's First & Most Exhaustive Transactions Newsletter.

Berlin-based global online food ordering and take-out service Delivery Hero has invested $ 5 million in Pune-based food delivery site TastyKhana at a $16-18 million valuation. Prior to this, DeliveryHero had invested in a seed round in early 2012. TastyKhana was launched in 2007 in Pune by Shachin Bhardwaj and Sheldon D’Souza. It claims to have scaled from 2 cities in 2012 to 7 cities with over 3000 restaurants, posting a 300% increase in order volume rate. Source: iamwire.com Venture Intelligence is the leading provider of data and analysis on Private Company Financials, Transactions (private equity, venture capital and M&A) & their Valuations in India. Click Here to view our products list including the Free Deal Digest Weekly: India's First & Most Exhaustive Transactions Newsletter.

Recruitment solutions start-up InterviewMaster has raised an undisclosed amount of funding from angel investors linked to startup accelerator, VentureNursery. The Bangalore-based company provides automated video clips to screen candidates before job interviews and was selected for acceleration by VentureNursery in December 2012. Recruitment managers can set up interviews on the company’s platform, which candidates can access online. The recorded video responses can then be evaluated by the company doing the hiring. The venture claims to have bagged a few clients like ABB, Allegis, Randstad and Wockhardt Pharma.  Source: Economic Times Venture Intelligence is the leading provider of data and analysis on Private Company Financials, Transactions (private equity, venture capital and M&A) & their Valuations in India. Click Here to view our products list including the Free Deal Digest Weekly: India's First & Most Exhaustive Transactions Newsletter.

HDFC Holdings, a wholly owned subsidiary of publicly listed Housing Development Finance Corporation (HDFC), has invested in PeopleStrong, a HR outsourcing and technology company. Apart from HDFC Holdings, existing PE investor Lumis Partners also invested in the round. Gurgaon-based PeopleStrong was started in 2006 and services client across business segments such as BFSI, IT/ITES, automobiles, pharma and education.   From the Venture Intelligence PE Deal database: In February 2011 Lumis Partners had invested $2.43 million in PeopleStrong. Source: Business Standard   Venture Intelligence is the leading provider of data and analysis on Private Company Financials, Transactions (private equity, venture capital and M&A) & their Valuations in India. Click Here to view our products list including the Free Deal Digest Weekly: India's First & Most Exhaustive Transactions Newsletter.

Tabtor, an iPad based e-learning solutions company has closed a $1 million seed round led by New Jersey based SoundBoard Angel Fund and including Bangalore based Aarin Capital Partners, BITS Spark Angels Sand Hill Angels and other individual investors. The New Jersey-based startup was founded by Raj E Valli, a former Wabco Holdings executive. Tabtor tracks a student’s learning path using various techniques including metrics like learning velocity and confidence levels. The company’s learning software is now used by students in the US and India.  Source: Nextbigwhat.com   Venture Intelligence is the leading provider of data and analysis on Private Company Financials, Transactions (private equity, venture capital and M&A) & their Valuations in India. Click Here to view our products list including the Free Deal Digest Weekly: India's First & Most Exhaustive Transactions Newsletter.

Looks like this is say-it-as-I-see-it season! Here's Manoj Gupta, formerly a Principal at Nexus Ventures and now Founder of Craftsvilla (which is backed by VCs including Nexus), in Economic Times : Here (in India) entrepreneurship is like standing in a sandstorm - you do not know your path ahead and are constantly buffeted by strong winds. In the US, it is more like a foggy day - the path ahead is unclear, but you have a strong support system. One key cog of entrepreneurship seems to be doing more to hinder than help startups in India: venture capitalists.  ...Fifteen minutes into a pitch with a top VC, he started quizzing me on financial services, when I was pitching my e-commerce business. A meeting with a VC is enough for entrepreneurs to feel discouraged and demoralised. ...Nine out of 10 technology entrepreneurs I have met told me that VCs were clueless about what they were doing and told them to copy a US-based idea and implement it in India. Very few have the gu...

Vijay Anand of accelerator The Startup Centre has an interesting post on how entrepreneurs often end up wasting precious time by getting all excited about the research expeditions of associates at VC firms. When you get an email or a call from a VC Firm, the first question to ask is to get them to introduce themselves. If its an associate – or if you are getting an email, check up on the site of the firm and see if their name or picture is listed anywhere – just ignore them. They are timesinks and just doing their homework for the monday meeting where they have to present a list of companies. ...It takes us (at the startup centre) atleast three weeks to get a team back and focused on the product and business, once they get one of these stupid emails. The team thinks they are already fundable, and someone from a VC firm reached out to THEM! OMG. ...I came across another startup earlier this week which is chasing a fund that does typically series B rounds, and the indivi...

Intel Capital has made three investments totaling $16 million in Asia’s e-commerce segment. These include Delhi-based SnapDeal, owned by Jasper Infotech, Gurgaon-based Bright Lifecare and Singapore-based Reebonz.com. The funds will be used by the three companies to scale up their operations and extend their businesses in Asia.  The investment in SnapDeal is part of the $50 million Series D round announced by the company recently. The other investors in the round include eBay, Ru-net, Saama Capital, Bessemer Venture Partners, Nexus Venture Partners and Kalaari Capital. Intel Capital joins eBay, Saama Capital and Ru-net as new investors in the ecommerce company. Bright Lifecare is a consumer health company engaged in the distribution of nutrition and health products. It sells products across fitness, health and wellness categories such as nutrition, diabetes, home devices, eyecare and personal care. The company also operates an e-pharmacy network under the brand HealthKartP...

Mumbai-based gaming company Games2win India Pvt Ltd has acquired Backyard Game FactorRy, a casual games studio based in Delhi. Backyard Game FactorRy was founded in 2010 and builds web and mobile casual games. Its promoter Rahul Jaiswal will continue to head the company.  Games2win raised $2 million in its third round of financing from US-based Clearstone Venture Partners two months ago. Source: Nextbigwhat.com Venture Intelligence is the leading provider of data and analysis on Private Company Financials, Transactions (private equity, venture capital and M&A) & their Valuations in India. Click Here to view our products list including the Free Deal Digest Weekly: India's First & Most Exhaustive Transactions Newsletter.

The Internet and mobile-based search company Just Dial gained about 19% in intraday on its first day upon listing. The company’s opening price on listing was Rs 590 on the NSE compared to the IPO price of Rs.530 (and Rs.483 for retail investors). Mumbai-based Just Dial, which offers search for local businesses through Internet and mobile platforms, sold 17.5 million shares through the IPO, or 25% of its total equity, which was subscribed 11.6 times. The retail portion was subscribed three times, QIB over ten times, and HNI over 22 times. Citigroup and Morgan Stanley were the book running lead managers to the issue with the company listing on the NSE, the BSE and the MCX-SX. Goldman Sachs India Fund, HSBC Mauritius, Birla Sunlife Trustee company DSP Black Rock Opportunity Fund, Deutsche Securities Mauritius picked up 39.37 lakh shares at Rs 530 each totalling over Rs 208 crore. Source: Business Line Venture Intelligence is the leading provider of data and analysis on Priv...

Delhi-based digital ad network AdFederal Media has merged its operations with Gurgaon-based Dynamis Partners backed proprietary digital advertising start-up Lyxel Digital. Founded in 2010, AdFederal focuses on behavioural analytics based digital advertising. Nishith Srivastava, Founder and CEO, AdFederal will continue to work with Lyxel as Chief Technology Officer, to drive the Data management platform and strengthening in-house ad serving capabilities and operations.  The combined entity will focus on developing proprietary algorithms to provide targeted digital solutions for its clients in India, Middle East, Asia Pacific and Africa. The combined entity is looking at raising Series A funding for its data management platform and expanding its sales team across South East Asia.  Source: Money Control Venture Intelligence is the leading provider of data and analysis on Private Company Financials, Transactions (private equity, venture capital and M&A) & ...

Housing.co.in secures $2.5m funding from Nexus Venture Partners To establish Data Science Lab (DSL) and develop breakthrough new technologies Housing.co.in , the fastest growing completely map based real estate search portal announced that it has raised $2.5mn of funding from Nexus Venture Partners, India’s leading VC fund. Housing.co.in has revolutionized house hunting through its unique and exceptional user interface which empowers users with the ability to view a house without necessitating physical presence. Housing.co.in was founded eleven months ago by a group of IIT Bombay students who chose to invest in their brainchild with the intention of disrupting the online real estate market with best in class data and technology. The current round of funding will allow the company to aggressively expand its technology and data sciences teams with over 30+ IITians in these teams. Housing is perceived as a unique portal thanks to its outstanding UI and interface. But it...

Online luxury publication, BornRich.com, has been acquired by the Canadian-based internet firm Valnet Inc. The online magazine, featuring lifestyle content, has a global reach of over 2.5 million readers with around 4 million impressions a month in the luxury niche. BornRich.com was founded in January, 2006 by Nandini Rathi who previously co-founded Instamedia network and Betaout.com. With the majority of its readership based in the U.S. (60%) the site caters to anyone looking for insight into the world of the rich and famous.  Source: Yourstory.in    Venture Intelligence is the leading provider of data and analysis on Private Company Financials, Transactions (private equity, venture capital and M&A) & their Valuations in India. Click Here to view our products list including the Free Deal Digest Weekly: India's First & Most Exhaustive Transactions Newsletter.

Wipro has made a $5-million investment for a minority stake in Axeda, a provider of cloud-based service and software for managing connected products and delivering machine-to-machine (M2M) applications. Wipro has already partnered with US-based Axeda which is among the top three service providers specialising in M-to-M software, which facilitates communication between connected devices such as a refrigerator and smartphone. The investment in Axeda comes a little after Wipro signed an agreement with US telecom major AT&T to offer machine-to-machine solutions using the Axeda platform. This is the second such minority investment Wipro is making within a month. In May, it announced a $30-million minority investment in US-based big data analytics firm Opera Solutions. Source: BSE , Economic Times Venture Intelligence is the leading provider of data and analysis on Private Company Financials, Transactions (private equity, venture capital and M&A) & their Valuation...

Bangalore-based ZoomCar India Pvt Ltd, which operates the membership-based car rental service ZoomCar.in, has raised $30,000 in angel funding from the former US treasury secretary Larry Summers in the form of warrants. Prior to this, Zoom had raised an angel round of $215,000 from Empire Angels (New York), Lady Barbara Judge and several other angel investors last month. The company has raised around $325,000 funding until now. ZoomCar is a membership-based car sharing service, which allows users to book cars on a hourly or a daily basis and drive them anywhere in the country. The user will have to drop the vehicle back at the same place from where the vehicle was picked up. The company is currently operational in Bangalore with plans to expand to Mumbai and Delhi by the end of this year and later to Chennai, Hyderabad and Pune. Source: Medianama Venture Intelligence is the leading provider of data and analysis on Private Company Financials, Transactions (private equity, ...

Publicly listed Software services and solutions provider Star Infotech has bought a stake in Activecubes Solutions India. Started in 2007, Bangalore-based Activecubes provides business intelligence and analytics services to clients across financial services, consumer packaged goods, retail, telecom and healthcare.  Source: Press Release   Venture Intelligence is the leading provider of data and analysis on Private Company Financials, Transactions (private equity, venture capital and M&A) & their Valuations in India. Click Here to view our products list including the Free Deal Digest Weekly: India's First & Most Exhaustive Transactions Newsletter.

Network18's online news portal FirstPost.com has acquired FakingNews.com, a satire portal, for an undisclosed amount. FakingNews.com will remain as a standalone entity and founder Rahul Roushan will remain its editor.  Source: Medianama.com Venture Intelligence is the leading provider of data and analysis on Private Company Financials, Transactions (private equity, venture capital and M&A) & their Valuations in India. Click Here to view our products list including the Free Deal Digest Weekly: India's First & Most Exhaustive Transactions Newsletter.

Online group buying service Snapdeal.com has acquired the assets of Shopo.in, a portal for Indian designer and handcrafted products. Shopo’s investors included Sequoia Capital and Sashi Reddi, among other angels. In a span of two years, the company, started by Theyagarajan S and Krithika Nelson, has built a wide assortment of handcrafted products across categories such as apparel, accessories, home décor, among others. From the Venture Intelligence PE Deal database: In April-13, Snapdeal raised a fresh round of $50 million led by eBay with participation from existing VC investors Kalaari Capital, Nexus Ventures, Samaa Capital and Recruit Strategic Partners, Junglee founders Venky Harinarayan and Anand Rajaraman and The Entrust Group. Source: Yourstory.in Venture Intelligence is the leading provider of data and analysis on Private Company Financials, Transactions (private equity, venture capital and M&A) & their Valuations in India. Click Here to view our produ...