India Funding Roundup: An Electric Motorcycle Maker, Bitcoin Trading Platform, and More
Our latest funding roundup compiles investments in an auto rickshaw aggregator, platforms for lifestyle product discovery, Bitcoin trading, expert advice, and a maker of electric motorcycles.
Jugnoo
Paytm announced Monday that it led the Series B funding of $10 million in Chandigarh-based Jugnoo. The auto-rickshaw hailing and hyperlocal delivery mobile app received $5 million from Paytm and the remaining from existing investor Snow Leopard and a new investor named Rocketship.vc. At present, the auto-rickshaw aggregator and hyperlocal delivery service provider operates in 30 cities and 11 villages across the country, and has a network of around 10,000 auto-rickshaw drivers.
Smytten
Smytten, a discovery platform for premium lifestyle products, has received an undisclosed sum of funding from Rajan Anandan, MD of Google India and South East Asia. The startup said it will use this round of funding to enhancing user experience and product development, apart from expanding its user and brand base, with a focus on AI and personalisation. Founded by ex-Unilever and Google executives, Siddhartha Nangia and Swagata Sarangi – Smytten provides a curated discovery trial and shopping experience for over 80 domestic and international brands on its platform.
Coinsecure
Indian Bitcoin trading platform Coinsecure announced a fund raise of $1.2 million (roughly Rs. 7.9 crores) as part of its ongoing ‘Series A’ investment round, the company said it expects expects to close the round soon. Founded in July 2014 by Mohit Kalra and Benson Samuel, Coinsecure launched its Bitcoin exchange on January 1, 2015. Coinsecure offers an algorithmic trading Bitcoin exchange, a Blockchain explorer, a mock trading platform for users to try trading without real money, and a number of integrations with global partners.
Lenskart
Ratan Tata, chairman emeritus of Tata Sons Ltd, has reportedly invested an undisclosed sum inLenskart Solutions Pvt. Ltd, as the company looks to raise an additional Rs. 400 crores in its latest round, in order to set up a manufacturing, processing, and assembly facility that can produce 20,000 pairs of eye glasses daily.
Tork Motors
Pune-based electric motorcycle maker Tork Motorcycles has raised an undisclosed sum in angel funding from Ola founders Bhavish Agarwal and Ankit Bhati, apart from a group of angels. Founded by Kapil Shelke, the startup said that the T6X motorcycle will be the first Indian smart motorcycle, with features like GPS, cloud connectivity, and phone charging.
Tapchief
Bengaluru-based Tapchief, a Web platform for users seeking expert advice, won $150,000 (roughly Rs. 1 crore) in funding from Paytm CEO Vijay Shekhar Sharma after winning the Mind Batteries, Chase Your Dreams – Ideathon’ Contest. Founded in 2016 by Shashank Murali, the platform lets you find an expert in a category of your choosing, and get a response within 72 hours.
