AI-based tech startup Active.ai raises $3M from Spanish banking group

Artificial intelligence startup Active.ai has raised $3 million from Innocell, the venture capital arm of Spanish banking group Banco Sabadell, in an extension of its Series A funding round. With this, its total funding from the current round has touched over $11 million.

The Singapore-headquartered startup raised its Series A back in 2017 when Vertex Ventures led a $8.25 million round, along with CreditEase, Dream Incubator, Kalaari Capital and IDG Vetures.

The existing investors have participated in this round as well to retain their respective shareholdings.

This is Banco Sabadell’s first investment in the fintech space in India, and highlights a growing trend among banks to not only partner with fintech companies, but also invest in them.

• Biryani By Kilo secures Rs 30 Cr funding led by IvyCap Ventures

The funding will primarily be used to fuel geographic expansion across West and North India, and improve technology, reach and efficiency

Biryani By Kilo (BBK), a delivery-led biryani brand, has raised Rs 30 crore in its Series A funding round led by IvyCap Ventures, indicating rising investor interest in cloud kitchen brands.

The funding will primarily be used to fuel geographic expansion across West and North India, and improve technology, reach and efficiency, the company said in a statement.

Cloud kitchen is a term used for kitchens situated in remote areas — with food delivered via orders placed on an app.

Investors say building restaurant supply is a huge opportunity in India since the number as well as density of restaurants is limited when compared to other economies such as China and the United States. Other cloud kitchen brands include Freshmenu, Eat.fit, and Rebel foods owned Faasos, Lunch Box, Oven Story, and Behrouz.

• Wysa secures Rs 15 Cr funding led by pi Ventures

The company plans to use funding raised to further strengthen its technology stack and fuel expansion

Wysa, mental health wellness app powered by an Artificial Intelligence-based bot, has raised about Rs 15 crore led by pi Ventures, with participation from Kae Capital and other investors.

Wysa has raised an earlier round of $1.3 million in seed funding from Kae Capital and angel investors including Alok Mittal, Anuj Srivastava, and Raghunandan G in 2017. The company plans to use funding raised to further strengthen its technology stack and fuel expansion.

Founded by Jo Aggarwal and Ramakant Vempati three years ago, Wysa is an AI-based ‘emotionally intelligent’ bot, a virtual coach that combines empathetic listening with evidence-based therapeutic techniques like CBT, meditation and motivational interviewing, to make mental health accessible at scale.

• Finech startup Finwego raises $ 1.7M from SAIF Partners, others

Finech startup Finwego has raised $ 1.7M from SAIF Partners along with a group of high net-worth individuals and angels in a seed round of funding.

Finech startup Finwego has raised $ 1.7M from SAIF Partners along with a group of high net-worth individuals and angels in a seed round of funding.

Incubated at the Harvard Innovation Labs, Finwego works to deliver tech-enabled lending products to all stakeholders of the school ecosystem including management, parents, teachers and vendors.

The startup which is currently operational across key markets in Tamil Nadu will use the funds to strengthen their data infrastructure and the technology platform. The company intends to expand operations to other states and build a profitable book.

• Postman secures $50M funding led by CRV, Nexus Venture Partners

Postman plans to utilise the fresh funding to accelerate its product development roadmap, sign up more enterprise customers and build better customer support for its global clients in the coming months.

Postman, the San Francisco and Bengaluru-based collaboration platform for API development, has raised $50 million in fresh funding led by CRV, with participation from Nexus Venture Partners, as it looks to accelerate the product roadmap and grow its community across enterprise users.

APIs are a set of tools for building software applications.

The company, which claims it has over 7 million users on its platform across 300,000 firms, plans to utilise the fresh funding to accelerate its product development roadmap, sign up more enterprise customers and build better customer support for its global clients in the coming months.

• French photo startup Meero joins unicorn club after $230M funding

Meero’s fundraising is the second-biggest on record in France so far this year after Doctolib’s 150 million-euro fundraising.

French startup Meero, which offers online editing and production tools for photographers, has raised $230 million in a boost for the country’s technology and startup scene that President Emmanuel Macron hopes will boost the overall economy.

Meero’s fundraising is the second-biggest on record in France so far this year after Doctolib’s 150 million-euro fundraising.

• Razorpay lands $75M funding led by Ribbit Capital

The company plans to use the proceeds on strengthening its two new business lines – neo-banking platform Razorpay X and its lending arm Razorpay Credit.

Razorpay has raised $75 million (about Rs 525 crore) in its latest round of equity financing, led by financial technology-focused investment firm Ribbit Capital, which will see the Bengaluru-based business-to-business payment solutions company double down on its new business lines.

“Marquee venture capital firm Sequoia Capital has also co-led the latest equity financing round in the five-year-old company, with existing backers New York-based Tiger Global Management and Y Combinator’s Continuity Fund also participating in the Series C funding round, according to Harshil Mathur, chief executive of Razorpay.”

• Scooter rental startup Bounce raises $72 million from B Capital, Falcon Edge, others

The investment will fund the startup’s expansion out of Bengaluru into ten new cities over the coming months.

Scooter rental startup, Bounce has raised $72 million in fresh funding led by Singapore-based B Capital Group and New York-based hedge fund Falcon Edge Capital, valuing the company at little over $200 million. The investment will fund the startup’s expansion out of Bengaluru into ten new cities over the coming months.

The Series C investment, which brings the total equity raised by Bounce to $92 million so far, also saw the participation from existing investors Accel Partners India, Chiratae Ventures, Omidyar Network, Sequoia Capital and Qualcomm Ventures. Accel Partners US and Mavericks Ventures also joined Bounce’s investor list in the round.