29/08/2022
Summary
- Fintech startup Perpetuity Capital has raised Rs 1 crore in a funding round from Sungrace Finvest.
- ApniBus, an intercity bus platform, has secured an undisclosed amount of funding in a pre-seed round led by Antler India.
- Home interiors brand HomeLane has roped in Aveek Nandi as senior vice president (VP) – product and head of customer experience.
Perpetuity gets Rs 1Cr funding from Sungrace Finvest
Fintech startup Perpetuity Capital announced today that it has raised Rs 1 crore in a funding round from Sungrace Finvest.
The Kolkata-based company intends to use the additional funds to expand its technological capabilities. Additionally, it seeks to deepen its partnerships with EV OEMs and support its B2B and retail sales financing.
“We are looking to fund this green revolution that is taking place in India. A society-altering shift is happening as we speak with EVs in India. Currently, only 1.3% of all vehicles sold in India are EVs. Once this figure crosses the 5% threshold, it will signal the start of mass EV adoption….Perpetuity Capital is hoping to enable the adoption of a greener and cleaner mobility solution,” said Karamveer Dhillon, co-founder, and CEO of Perpetuity Capital.
Intercity bus platform ApniBus secures funding
ApniBus, an intercity bus platform, has secured an undisclosed amount of funding in a pre-seed round led by Antler India.
The company will use the money to ramp up its operations across the country.
GoodWater Capital and angels including Niraj Singh (founder and CEO at Spinny) and Asish Mohapatra (founder and CEO at OfBusiness) also took part in the round.
“ApniBus is going to significantly improve this experience with tech intervention. We are digitizing the bus journey and have built solutions to manage their real-time schedules with real-time inventory so that commuters don’t have to wait at bus stops for hours or travel on long journeys with no seats. We are already seeing great traction in the cities we live in and have ambitious plans for ramping up operations across the country,” said Sumit Gupta, co-founder ApniBus.
Metalbook gets $5M in seed funding led by Axilor Ventures
Metalbook, a digital supply chain platform, has received $5 million in seed funding led by Axilor Ventures.
Other investors who participated in the round include Foundamental, RTP Global, Stride Ventures, and a few angel investors.
Metalbook will use the fresh funding to expand to 12 additional countries, grow its global network of processing facilities, hire personnel, and improve its cloud manufacturing platform.
Meta & Jio Platforms introduce grocery shopping on Whatsapp
Grocery buying is now available on WhatsApp thanks to Meta and an e-commerce partnership between Reliance Retail and Jio Platforms, in what the companies described as a world-first end-to-end purchasing experience on the popular instant messaging platform.
JioMart was introduced on WhatsApp after Meta and JioMart started testing interaction with a small group of customers two years ago. A commerce engine might prove to be a significant source of income for WhatsApp, which has generally avoided offering app users adverts if it is successful.
According to the companies, customers in India will be able to explore the complete JioMart grocery catalog on WhatsApp, add products to their shopping carts, and make payments via the local payment network UPI without ever leaving the instant messaging service.
Reliance Jio to roll out low-cost 5G smartphone
Mukesh Ambani, chairman and managing director of Reliance Industries Limited (RIL), said during the company’s 45th annual general meeting that Reliance Jio is collaborating with Google on a low-cost 5G smartphone.
“We are working with Google to develop ultra-affordable 5G smartphones for India. We will also leverage the advanced capabilities of Google Cloud to offer Jio’s Private 5G stack and other 5G-enabled solutions to both domestic and global users at scale,” said Ambani.
HomeLane hires Aveek Nandi as senior VP – product
Home interiors brand HomeLane has roped in Aveek Nandi as senior vice president (VP) – product and head of customer experience.
Nandi joined HomeLane from Vedantu where he was working as their AVP – product and with Yulu as head of product.
As the senior VP of product in his new position at HomeLane, he will aim to create a more competitive product and technology-led organization. Nandi’s additional responsibility as the head of the customer experience is to guarantee that HomeLane continuously gives its clients a seven-star experience.
BBC Studios signs deal with BookMyShow
BBC Studios informed that a TVOD India exclusive content agreement between BBC Studios and BookMyShow Stream has been signed.
With the help of this groundbreaking agreement, BookMyShow Stream will debut a widget with a specific BBC First brand, complementing its unique and intriguing portfolio with a dash of high-end, audacious British drama.
Amazon India expands infra footprint in Pune
In advance of the forthcoming holiday season, Amazon India today announced the expansion of its sortation and delivery network in Pune.
With this development, Amazon India will have six sorting facilities totaling more than 5 lakh square feet, as well as almost 220 delivery sites run by Amazon India and its partners across Maharashtra. This infrastructure upgrade would enable the state’s more than 1.3 lakh retailers to reach a broader customer base while providing a larger assortment of goods and quicker deliveries throughout the holiday season.
Fitmint to roll out Initial Dex Offering (IDO)
Fitmint, a Bengaluru-based move-to-earn startup, has announced that it will launch an ‘Initial DEX Offering (IDO)’ aka ‘token sale’ for its native crypto token named ‘FITT token’.
Fitmint will offer 300 million FITT tokens for sale to the general public as part of its next three-day token sale activity to establish an open, decentralized, and community-driven game economy.