Tuesday, 30 June 2020

Startup News: How this serial entrepreneur started up during COVID-19 lockdown and raised funding too


As I said earlier, most of the edtech startups looking at teachers or trainers as a commodity. But, only a few startups like BitClass are giving value to teachers and their teaching proficiency.

Bengaluru-based BitClass, co-founded by Gunjan Kejriwal and Utsav Tiwary enables independent teachers and coaches to schedule and conduct live classes in less than five minutes. Started in April this year, the platform has already delivered 35,000 minutes of live classes.

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How this serial entrepreneur started up during COVID-19 lockdown and raised funding too

Bengaluru-based BitClass enables independent teachers and coaches to schedule and conduct live classes in less than five minutes. Started in April this year, the platform has already delivered 35,000 minutes of live classes.

Just Released, Startup Genome Report Ranks Top 30 Global Startup Ecosystems


Startup Genome recently published The Global Startup Ecosystem Report 2020 with some interesting findings. Startup Genome has been tracking the growth of startup ecosystems around the globe since 2012.

It ranks the top ecosystems by a number of metrics including performance, funding, connectedness, talent and knowledge.

Silicon Valley is at the No. 1 position. New York remains at No. 2, now newly tied with London. Beijing is at No. 4, and Boston is No. 5. Tel Aviv and Los Angeles tied at No. 6.

Bangalore is the only city from India finding place at 26th rank in Top 30 startup hubs of the world.

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Just Released, Startup Genome Report Ranks Top 30 Global Startup Ecosystems

Startup Genome recently published The Global Startup Ecosystem Report 2020 with some interesting findings. Startup Genome has been tracking the growth of startup ecosystems around the globe since 2012.

Indian Government launches PM FME scheme to help micro food processing enterprises


The Indian government on Monday launched a Rs 10,000 crore scheme for micro enterprises which offers 50% subsidy for storage and transportation to prevent distress sale by farmers.

The scheme, called Pradhan Mantri Formalisation of Micro Food Enterprises (PM FME), aims to bring in new technology, apart from affordable credit to help small entrepreneurs penetrate new markets.

The scheme will be implemented for five years until 2024-25. It will generate investment of Rs 35,000 core, generate 900,000 jobs and help 800,000 units.

Under the PM FME scheme, micro enterprises will get 35% subsidy on project cost, with a ceiling of Rs 10 lakh. The beneficiaries will have to contribute at least 10% of the project cost while the balance will come from loans. Nearly 200,000 micro enterprises will get credit-linked subsidy support.

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Govt launches PM FME scheme to help micro food processing enterprises

New Delhi: The government on Monday launched a Rs 10,000 crore scheme for micro enterprises which offers 50% subsidy for storage and transportation to prevent distress sale by farmers.

Covi-19: Bharat Biotech's Covid vaccine gets DCGI nod for clinical trials


Indian vaccine manufacturer Bharat Biotech has announced obtaining the approvals of the Drug Controller General of India to initiate phase-I and II human clinical trials for the vaccine candidate for Covid-19 it developed in collaboration with the National Institute of Virology, part of the Indian Council of Medical Research.

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Bharat Biotech's Covid vaccine gets DCGI nod for clinical trials

Indian vaccine manufacturer Bharat Biotech has announced obtaining the approvals of the Drug Controller General of India to initiate phase-I and II human clinical trials for the vaccine candidate for Covid-19 it developed in collaboration with the National Institute of Virology, part of the Indian Council of Medical Research.

India’s digital strike on China amid LAC tensions: Govt bans 59 Chinese apps including TikTok, SHAREit


Breaking news!

Due to data security issues, the Indian government on Monday took an unprecedented step and decided to ban at least 59 Chinese apps.

The list of 59 mobile apps with their origin in China include TikTok, SHAREit, US Browser, Baidu map, Helo, Mi COmmunity, Club Factory, WeChat, UC News, Weibo, Xender, Meitu, CamScanner, and Clean Master - Cheetah Mobile.

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India’s digital strike on China amid LAC tensions: Govt bans 59 Chinese apps including TikTok, SHAREit

Amid the heightened tensions with China along the Line of Actual Control (LAC), the Indian government on Monday took an unprecedented step and decided to ban at least 59 Chinese apps.

Startup Funding Alert: Food startup Samosa Party raises Pre-Series A round from Inflection Point Ventures


Inflection Point Ventures has invested an undisclosed amount of funding in snacking startup Samosa Party, which the company says it will utilise to scale, and open cloud kitchens across Bengaluru and other Tier-I cities.

Founded by Amit Nanwani in 2017, Samosa Party’s USP is freshly fried samosa in 14 different varieties. The brand claims to have become the go-to snack solution in Bengaluru for personal consumption, and groups and gatherings alike, with more than 80 percent repeat customers.

The startup said that it has scaled to serving 1.5 lakh samosas per month.

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[Funding alert] Food startup Samosa Party raises Pre-Series A round from Inflection Point Ventures

Inflection Point Ventures has invested an undisclosed amount of funding in snacking startup Samosa Party, which the company says it will utilise to scale, and open cloud kitchens across Bengaluru and other Tier-I cities. Samosa Party said it will also use funds to improve its production technology.

Inc42: Shared Mobility Startup Royal Brothers Adds Long-Term Subscriptions To Hourly Rentals


The shared mobility space which finally resumed its operations recently is going through a complete overhaul. Considering that consumers will be wary of sharing vehicles with others, in recent weeks, many bike rental and two-wheeler ride-sharing platforms have pivoted their offerings. Bengaluru-based Royal Brothers, a two-wheeler rental startup, revised its hourly rental model to add monthly subscriptions.

Co-founded by the professor-student duo of Manjunath T N and Abhishek Chandrashekar in July 2015, Royal Brothers claims to be South India's first RTO authorised self-ride bike rental platform. It has since established presence across eight states and 25 cities and claims to be the first player in the category to start the subscription model. The new monthly subscription model is meant to counter the health risks posed by public transports, while also helping the customers practise social distancing. The subscription model has been adopted by a slew of bike-sharing companies as the market adapts to the new reality post the lockdown.

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Shared Mobility Startup Royal Brothers Adds Long-Term Subscriptions To Hourly Rentals

From airlines to trains, to even local transportation — everything came to a standstill as India tried to flatten the coronavirus infection curve. But economies have to function and this would need people to step out of their homes, and so with the third phase of the lockdown in early May, the Indian government allowed mobility startups to resume operations with extra protection and safety measures.

Reliance Jio: Reliance Looks To Conquer Farm-To-Fork Supply Chain Market With JioKrishi


Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries and Reliance Jio Platforms are banking on the new partnership with Facebook to expand into the agritech domain with the JioKrishi app. The JioKrishi app will offer farm-to-fork supply chain support as well as data analytics.

Reliance recently launched the JioKrishi app to help farmers undertake precision farming aided by farmland data. The app, which is currently in beta mode, will use data analytics to alert the farmers about the right time to sow, irrigate, and fertilise the crops. The company believes that this will increase their productivity and yield.

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Reliance Looks To Conquer Farm-To-Fork Supply Chain Market With JioKrishi

Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries and Reliance Jio Platforms are banking on the new partnership with Facebook to expand into the agritech domain with the JioKrishi app. The JioKrishi app will offer farm-to-fork supply chain support as well as data analytics.

Monday, 29 June 2020

Meet the world's newest architects: algorithms


Today, computers are poised to change buildings once again, this time with algorithms that can inform, refine and even create new designs. Even weirder shapes are just the start: algorithms can now work out the best ways to lay out rooms, construct the buildings and even change them over time to meet users’ needs. In this way, algorithms are giving architects a whole new toolbox with which to realise and improve their ideas.

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Meet the world's newest architects: algorithms

From the deigns stages, to the finishing touches, AI is helping buildings become bigger and better than ever before.

Amazon Buys Self-Driving Company Zoox For $1.2B And May Rule The World


Reports have emerged that Amazon.com will purchase self-driving startup Zoox for “more than $1.2B” with exact details of the deal not disclosed.

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Amazon Buys Self-Driving Company Zoox For $1.2B And May Rule The World

Reports have emerged that Amazon.com will purchase self-driving startup Zoox for " more than $1.2B" with exact details of the deal not disclosed. Amazon says they plan to have Zoox realize its vision of passenger transport (robotaxi) service, which I will dub " AMAZOOX."

Indian Ecommerce: Amazon Increases Its Kirana Bet, Introduces Digital Storefronts


Global ecommerce giant Amazon has been trying hard to create a mark in India’s unorganised retail market despite continued war-cries from retailers for vying the market share. In the latest attempt, Amazon has launched Smart Stores.

Under this, the company is providing physical stores with software to maintain a digital log of the inventory they have in the shop and supplying them with a QR code. The company claims that more than 10K shops, ranging from mom and pop stores to big retail chains, including Big Bazaar, MedPlus and More Supermarkets, have deployed the company’s system.

The Smart Store feature allows a local shop to display its products on the Amazon app, allowing users to discover products, read reviews, evaluate offers while in the store or from anywhere using the app. After selecting the products they wish to buy their checkout with Amazon Pay, they can avail the option of UPI, balance, credit or debit cards.

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Amazon Increases Its Kirana Bet, Introduces Digital Storefronts

Global ecommerce giant Amazon has been trying hard to create a mark in India's unorganised retail market despite continued war-cries from retailers for vying the market share. In the latest attempt, Amazon has launched Smart Stores.

1000 Km Range, 30% Cheaper: Bengaluru Firm, Log 9 Materials, Overhauls Charging Tech for Electric Cars!


The electric vehicle segment in India has indeed come a long way, with limitations of mass adoption. As per data compiled by Bloomberg, a little over 8,000 EVs were sold locally in the past six years, while India currently imports almost all of its lithium ion batteries that predominantly power these vehicles.

According to an analysis by BloombergNEF, in early 2019 there were 316 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of global lithium cell manufacturing capacity. China is home to 73% of this capacity, followed by the U.S., far behind in second place with 12% of global capacity. In order to avoid our dependence on China for these batteries, we have to encourage alternative battery technology.

In this direction, a Bengaluru-based nanotechnology company specialising in Graphene called Log 9 Materials, founded by Akshay Singhal along with his father in 2015 , have developed their own brand of aluminium fuel cells (AFCs) that offer five times the range than an average lithium ion battery can offer, costs 30 per cent cheaper, is easier to use and doesn’t require the hassle of constantly recharging it.

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1000 Km Range, 30% Cheaper: B'luru Firm Overhauls Charging Tech for Electric Cars!

Better than Lithium Ion batteries, this innovation runs on water, air, aluminum and graphene. #DriveGreen #ElectricVehicles The electric vehicle segment in India has indeed come a long way. However, there remains limitations when it comes to mass adoption.

Startup Technology: Walkcar, a Portable vehicle that looks like a laptop with wheels


Micro-mobility devices present an environmentally friendly and traffic-free means of commuting in urban centers. Little wonder they are becoming more popular in this age. Unfortunately, portability has been a significant drawback of the standard micro-mobility options.

The people that need them the most also need to get on buses or trains to get to their destination. However, most of the available devices are either impossible to carry along or too bulky to carry conveniently. COCOA MOTORS. Inc. hope to solve this problem with the Walkcar, a commuting device that’s just about the size of your laptop.

Walkcar is currently priced at around $1,800 excluding tax. This price looks pretty steep, especially when you consider the fact that there are more powerful electric scooters or skateboards in the same price range. However, portability is the major selling point of Walkcar, and there’s hardly any as portable. For now, the device is only available in Asia, but COCOA MOTORS. Inc. hope to scale to other continents soon.

A short video on Wlakcar

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Walkcar: Portable vehicle that looks like a laptop with wheels

Micro-mobility devices present an environmentally friendly and traffic-free means of commuting in urban centers. Little wonder they are becoming more popular in this age. Unfortunately, portability has been a significant drawback of the standard micro-mobility options. The people that need them the most also need to get on buses or trains to get to their destination.

Covid Research: IIT Delhi, National Chemical Laboratory working on home-based testing kits for COVID-19


Home-based COVID-19 testing kits could soon be a reality with the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi and the National Chemical Laboratory (NCL) Pune working on an alternative testing method which can not only be performed by individuals at home but will also deliver quick results.

The collaborative project with the NCL, which comes under the aegis of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), has also received financial support from Microsoft India and is expected to be ready in a month's time.

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IIT Delhi, National Chemical Laboratory working on home-based testing kits for COVID-19

Home-based COVID-19 testing kits could soon be a reality with the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi and the National Chemical Laboratory (NCL) Pune working on an alternative testing method which can not only be performed by individuals at home but will also deliver quick results.

Sunday, 28 June 2020

Startup Technology - Can We Build Homes the Same Way We Build Cars? - Pininfarina


David Carvalho, SVP Experience Design & Industrial Design at Pininfarina explains how we can build affordable prefab homes the same way they build cars.

Affordable housing is a challenging crisis. Prefab housing can be the solution. The concept of prefab housing is not new; in fact, it’s been around for centuries. They’re often seen as costly, unattractive and overly uniform. But using design and technology, we can make create housing that’s affordable, sustainable, attractive, and comfortable.

How car manufacturers have done this?

Create a base and then add mass customization in terms of body style, color, features, etc. It is not difficult to translate this idea to housing development. Pininfarina can cross-fertilize their deep experience in car manufacturing and architecture to provide a scalable solution that can be sustainable, budget-conscious, and still fully customizable with high quality standards.

He says that Pininfarina can design a new generation of homes aligned to future generations’ needs and expectations of a connected and sustainable lifestyle.

Any founder interested in these technologies can talk to Pininfarina further to offer a Pininfarina design to it.

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Can We Build Homes the Same Way We Build Cars? - Pininfarina

While the current crisis caused by the global coronavirus pandemic has demanded our attention in recent months, there are two crises that have been rapidly developing in recent years. If left unaddressed, we will likely see human suffering on an even larger scale than we have during the current situation.

India: Google Pay says it works with banks to allow payments via UPI, transactions fully protected

Google Pay on Wednesday said it works with banks to allow payments via UPI, and all transactions made through its platform are fully protected by redressal processes laid out by guidelines of RBI and NPCI. 

The clarification came after a buzz on social media that issues arising while transferring money through Google Pay are not protected by law as the app is unauthorised. 

"Some quotes on social media, wrongly attributed to the RBI, claim that issues arising while transferring money through Google Pay are not protected by the law, since the app is unauthorised. This is incorrect and can be verified on NPCI's website," a Google spokesperson said.

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Google Pay says it works with banks to allow payments via UPI, transactions fully protected

Google Pay on Wednesday said it works with banks to allow payments via UPI, and all transactions made through its platform are fully protected by redressal processes laid out by guidelines of RBI and NPCI. The clarification came after a buzz on social media that issues arising while transferring money through Google Pay are not protected by law as the app is unauthorised.

StartUS Insights Research: 5 Top Emerging Speech Recognition Startups


StartUs Insights analyzed 109 speech recognition startups. Speak, MeetScribe, gnani.ai (from India), Picovoice, and AudioTelligence develop 5 top solutions to watch out for.

The Indian startup gnani.ai creates a speech-to-text engine that decodes speech and transcribes it in English and multiple Indic languages. The engine also detects dialects and separates the agents from the customers. Using advanced analytics, the engine measures sentiment predicts churn rate and tracks agents’ performance to provide useful insights for management.

Learn more in StartUs Insights' Global Startup Heat Map!

5 Top Emerging Speech Recognition Startups | StartUs Insights Research

Our Innovation Analysts recently looked into emerging technologies and up-and-coming startups. As there are many startups working on a variety of applications, we want to share our insights with you. This time, we take a look at 5 promising speech recognition startups.


Startup Payment Technology: PayID - Open Source, Universal Payment Identifier


In June, leading technology, finance and nonprofit companies announced the launch of PayID, a universal payment ID to simplify the process of sending and receiving money globally – across any payment network and any currency. GoPay, Ripple, Blockchain.com, BitPay, Brave, Flutterwave, Mercy Corps and others have collaborated on the development of PayID.

PayID allows individuals to send and receive money across any payment network using an easy-to-read address versus one that’s awkward and unintuitive - such as a bank account, routing or credit card number. With PayID, sending money is as simple as sending an email directly to friends and family, no matter which provider is used, at a lower cost.

Whether a bank, payment provider or processor, digital wallet, or remittance provider, PayID is designed for any business that sends or receives money. Implementing PayID is simple.

For money transfer across currencies, Indian companies need to take Full Fledged Money Transfer (FFMC) license from RBI. More details about FFMC license at: https://lnkd.in/gBgzr2K

Read more about PayID at

Open Source, Universal Payment Identifier

PayID provides a single ID for anyone needing to send or receive money. Learn about PayID's open-source protocol & how to connect users on any payment network.

Startup News: Edtech startup Bada Business aims to train 10M entrepreneurs in 6 months


Education technology startup Bada Business on Friday said it aims to train 10 million entrepreneurs over the next six months as part of its 'India Revival Mission' for micro, small, and medium enterprises.

Addressing a virtual press conference, Bada Business founder and CEO Vivek Bindra also said it plans to double its presence to 150 offices in the country by the year-end, from 75 offices at present.

The 'India Revival Mission' offers hand-holding solutions to MSMEs and skill training for digital transformation to lakhs of such businesses.

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Edtech startup Bada Business aims to train 10M entrepreneurs in 6 months

Education technology startup Bada Business on Friday said it aims to train 10 million entrepreneurs over the next six months as part of its 'India Revival Mission' for micro, small, and medium enterprises. Addressing a virtual press conference, Bada Business founder and CEO Vivek Bindra also said it plans to double its presence to 150 offices in the country by the year-end, from 75 offices at present.

Startup Technology: Physiotherapy could be done at home using virtual reality


Virtual reality could help physiotherapy patients complete their exercises at home successfully thanks to researchers at WMG, University of Warwick, who managed to combine VR technology with 3-D motion capture.

Currently prescribed physiotherapy often requires patients to complete regular exercises at home. Outside of the clinic, patients rarely receive any guidance other than a leaflet of sketches or static photographs to instruct them how to complete their exercises. This leads to poor adherence, with patients becoming anxious about not getting the exercise right, or simply getting bored by the repetitiveness of the movements.

Key takeaway:

They found that participants struggled to keep in time if only visual information was present. However, when they added realistic footstep sounds in addition to the visual information, the more realistic multisensory information allowed participants to accurately follow the virtual avatar.

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Physiotherapy could be done at home using virtual reality

February 28, 2020 University of Warwick Virtual reality could help physiotherapy patients complete their exercises at home successfully thanks to researchers at WMG, University of Warwick, who managed to combine VR technology with 3-D motion capture. Currently prescribed physiotherapy often requires patients to complete regular exercises at home.

Forbes: We’re About To See The Golden Age Of Drone Delivery – Here’s Why


The way the world views drones is changing. Once a nuisance buzzing around our heads, drones are now life-saving tools in the battle against Covid-19. Instead of nuisance or novelty, drones are becoming necessary.

New aerial technologies are set to play a major role in an economy looking for innovative ways to meet the demands of the coronavirus crisis – and looking toward a global reset.

The times call for new technologies that connect the disconnected, provide resilience to at-risk supply chains and promote social distancing in last-mile delivery.


Giving Back to India: IIT Alumni Council launches Rs 21,000 Cr fundraising for MegaLab


The #IIT Alumni Council, which is setting up the world's largest viral infection testing lab, MegaLab Mumbai, with one crore monthly capacity in Mumbai, on Thursday launched the country's largest social initiative with a targeted investible corpus of Rs 21,000 crore for the proposed MegaLab.

The #IIT Alumni Council, along with its institutional partners Mumbai University and the ICT Mumbai, which are the two initial institutional partners for the MegaLab project, has over five million alumni and the corporate investment vehicles managed and controlled by these alumni have assets under management of over Rs 5 lakh crore, the council said.

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IIT Alumni Council launches Rs 21,000 Cr fundraising for MegaLab

The IIT Alumni Council, which is setting up the world's largest viral infection testing lab with one crore monthly capacity here, on Thursday launched the country's largest social initiative with a targeted investible corpus of Rs 21,000 crore for the proposed MegaLab.

Saturday, 27 June 2020

Weekly funding roundup: Startup investments rise to touch $65M during the week June 22-27, 2020


Weekly funding roundup June 22-27, 2020 [YourStory Media]: Startup investments rise to touch $65M

During the week June 22-27, 2020, following startups raised funds, as per YourStory Media -

1. Aye Finance Pvt. Ltd - Rs 210 cr
3. slice - Rs 46 cr
4. 91springboard - Rs 45 cr
5. Milkbasket - $5.5 mn
6. OZiva - $5 mn
7. Yulu - Rs 30 cr
9. Bombay Play - $1.5 mn

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[Weekly funding roundup] Startup investments rise to touch $65M

After two weeks, there is a positive uptick for the Indian startup ecosystem as the investments into these young companies have doubled and also the edtech unicorn Byju's received a strong note of endorsement from a leading Silicon Valley-based investor.

Startup Funding Alert: Byju's becomes third decacorn from India with latest fundraise


Edtech firm BYJU'S has finally entered the decacorn club after raising an undisclosed sum from a global technology investment firm Bond Capital at an estimated valuation of $10.5 billion.

While the company was reportedly in talks to rake in around $400 million in the new financing round, the company has secured today an undisclosed amount from Mary Meeker’s VC firm, said a Business Insider report.

The latest investment for the Bengaluru-based company has come within three months after it had secured $200 million from New York-based existing backer General Atlantic at a valuation of nearly $8.2 billion. In 2020, it has managed to raise over $400 million in the ongoing round.

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Byju's becomes third decacorn from India with latest fundraise

Byju's has finally entered the decacorn club after raising an undisclosed sum from a global technology investment firm-BOND at a valuation of $10.5 billion.

Startup Funding: Indian Startup Funding Of The Week [June 22-27, 2020]


Inc42 Media: Indian Startup Funding Of The Week [June 22-27, 2020]

Overall, 15 startups raised around $75.13 Mn (based on startups that disclosed funding amounts) funding in the Indian startup ecosystem during the week, .

The startups that raised funding as per Inc42 Media are:-

1. Aye Finance Pvt. Ltd ($27 Mn)
2. NextBillion.ai.in ($7 Mn)
4. slice ($6 Mn)
5. 91springboard ($5.9 Mn)
6. Milkbasket ($5.5 Mn)
7. Infra.Market ($5.2 Mn)
8. OZiva ($5 Mn)
9. Yulu ($3.9 Mn)
10. Instasolv ($2 Mn)
11. Bombay Play ($1.5 Mn)
13. Rusk Media (Undisclosed)
14. Ather Biomedical (Undisclosed)
15. BYJU'S (Undisclosed)

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Funding Galore: Indian Startup Funding Of The Week [June 22-27]

Aye Finance has raised $27 Mn (INR 210 Cr) in Series E funding round from existing investors Milkbasket closes its last fundraise as it may turn profitable this year Yulu has raised $3.9 Mn from US-based VC firm Rocketship and existing investors We bring to you the latest edition of Funding Galore: Indian Startup Funding Of The Week!