The Indian startup ecosystem has set a new record by bagging another round of funding in a few sectors like Transportation & Delivery, QSR, Smart-Appliances, B2B, Space-tech & Logistics marking another win for the startupreneurs by raising funds and updating the growth probability and standardizing the products and services. The week went by successfully witnessing funds in every stage of funding from Bridge Funding to Seed Funding to Series A to Series E.

Sector: Transportation & Delivery

Funding Round: Bridge Funding

Startup: BluWheelz

Established Year: 2023

Funding News: BluWheelz seizes $1 million from Venture Catalysts in Bridge Funding round

Technology-driven delivery firm, BluWheelz has secured $1 million in a bridge funding round.

Investors: Venture Catalysts, LetsVenture, Chakra Growth Fund & FAAD

The innovative electric fleet provider, BluWheelz has being a forerunner of electrifying the transportation realm of India & fosters to underscore the risks such as prices & timelines for quick-commerce, e-commerce & food tech industries whereas keeping the environmental impact as a primary factor.

Within a short span of time, the company has accomplished a significant milestone such as expansion of fleet surpassing 1,200 vehicles, functionalities in more than 18 cities & a various customer base catering more than 40 billable users across diverse sectors.

Speaking to this achievement, Apoorva Ranjan Sharma, Co-Founder, & Managing Director of Venture Catalysts, expressed his enthusiasm on the significant investment by saying, “We are delighted to support BluWheelz in their mission to redefine logistics through sustainable mobility solutions. Their innovative approach, combining cutting-edge technology with a commitment to environmental responsibility, aligns perfectly with our investment philosophy”.

Sector: QSR

Funding Round: Seed Funding

Startup: Boba Bhai

Established Year: 2023

Funding News: Bengaluru based Boba Bhai fetches 12.5 crore in its seed round funding A Quick service Restaurant brand Boba Bhai, which is specialized in Bubble tea has recently raised 12.5 crore fresh fund in its seed funding round

Investors: Snapdeal founders' venture fund, Titan Capital and Global Growth Capital UK,  V3 Ventures cofounder Arjun Vaidya, Marsshot VC (RazorPay founders fund), DeVC, Warm Up Ventures, Mamaearth cofounder Varun Alagh and Peercheque, among others.

Currently the startup is operating 25 QSR outlets across metro cities like Bengaluru, Delhi, Hyderabad, and Chennai. All the outlets are company owned.

The founder of Boba Bhai, Dhruv Kohli told in a media statement, "We are building the brand for today’s youth. They eat what's trending and want to try new things. I believe foreign cuisines, especially Korean food, are going to have a lot of market in India.”

Kohli said that with this newly fetched fund they will open 100 more outlets within the next 12 months. He also added that their goal is to expand in tier-1 cities within the next six months and then they would go to tier-2 and tier-3 cities.

He also explained that, the company is bearing an annual revenue run rate (ARR) of 24 crore. Their projected annual revenue based on the current performance with an average monthly order volume of 50,000. In the next 12 months, it aims to reach an ARR of 100 crore.

More than 70% of Boba Bhai’s orders they receive online through the company website and online platforms such as Zomato, Swiggy and ONDC, with the remaining 30% from its outlets.

Sector: Smart-Appliances 

Funding Round: Seed Funding

Startup: Karban

Established Year: 2021

Funding News: Smart-Appliances maker Karban lifts 8.93 crore in Seed Funding round

Karban Envirotech, an innovative start-up that makes energy-productive smart electronic appliances & machines, has bagged 8.93 crore ($1.07 million approximately) in a seed round.

Investors: Titan Capital, Rainmatter & All In Capital, Urban Company, JK Family Office, & other key Angel investors such as Kunal Shah, Anupam Mittal, Bharat Jaisinghiani, Atul Gupta, Abhishek Goyal, Sumer Sethi, Natasha Malpani Oswal, Sarang Iyengar, and Karan Jindal

KARBAN will utilize these raised funds to fuel its development, reinforce its group, support development and new product development, the organization said in a public statement.

Airflow, air purification, & lighting are just a few of the many uses it can serve in homes, offices, hotels, and restaurants with distinctive designs. India’s smart consumer appliances market is estimated by Karban to be worth 50,000 crore. It faces competition from emerging start-ups like Atomberg and well-established firms like Crompton, Havells, & Superfan.

Speaking to the significant investment, Kushal Bhagia, Founder of All In Capital, says, “While India witnesses a splurging demand for Air Purifiers, a separate unit plugged in one corner of the room is inefficient, and Air Purification solutions have seen little innovation. Karban’s Airzone is the 2024 alternative to existing Air Purifiers and ceiling fans both. It is a 3-in-1 Air Purification solution which integrates a ceiling light and a ceiling fan offering consumers an amazing value proposition. Being design-forward, the Airzone is poised to blend seamlessly into the next generation of home interiors”.

Sector: Space-tech

Funding Round: Series A

Startup: Dhruva Space

Established Year: 2012

Funding News: Dhruva Space nets &15 million fund & set to build New Spacecraft Units

Dhruva Space, a space technology startup has secured $15 million, or approximately 123 crore

Investors: Indian Angel Network – IAN, Alpha Fund & Blue Ashva Capital, Silverneedle Ventures, BIG Global Investment JSC (BITEXCO Group), IvyCap Ventures, Mumbai Angels, and Blume Founders Fund.

According to a press release, the proceeds will be used to improve product offerings, make strategic business acquisitions, and build new spacecraft manufacturing facilities.

Dhruva Space, which was founded by Sanjay Nekkanti & Chaitanya Dora, has launched as many as eight payloads in the last 24 months.

The Hyderabad-based space-tech start-up serves civilian & defence clients worldwide and operates in the diverse verticals such as space, launch, & ground sectors. It provides technology solutions to power up the space-based applications on Earth and in space, either in combination with Earth Stations and Launch Services or on their own.

Sector: Logistics

Funded Round: Series E

Startup: LetsTransport

Established Year: 2015

Funding News: Logistics startup LetsTransport cracks a deal of $22 million in Series E funding round

Bengaluru based Logistics startup, LetsTransporthas recently raised $22 million Investors: Z3 Partners, Indian Angel Network and Lighthouse Funds

Investors: Bertelsmann India Investments, Rebright Partners, NB Ventures, ALES Global, Stride Ventures, CAC Capital

The startup raised $25 million during July last year. This freshly injected fund increased their total amount of funding to $77 million. In a company press release they said that after the latest funding round LetsTransport has planned to expand their market presence, by scale adjacent business verticals and reaching profitability.

The startup was established by Pushkar Singh, c’s plug and play platform allows it to offer its clients multiple assets across use cases in last-mile, mid-mile, and EV space. They assure a safe delivery of products for brands and owing to this they consistently enhanced earnings for its truckers. It counts the majority of India’s blue-chip enterprises across sectors among its clients.

According to the company statement, it has grown approximately 4x between FY21 to FY23. The firm is yet to file annual financial statements for FY23. The revenue of the company registered 98% jump in their operating revenue to 403 crore in FY22 as compared to 207 crore in FY21. The losses of the firm went up 32% to Rs 73 crore in FY22 from Rs 55 crore in FY21.