Aker Foods raises funding from Mumbai Angels Network

Aker Foods raises funding from Mumbai Angels Network

28th April, 2020: Aker Foods, an AI-ML Driven Supply chain platform, has raised undisclosed funding from Mumbai Angels Network. Aker Foods was founded in Feb 2019, headquartered in Pune by serial entrepreneurs Suraj Saste, Nihal Surve, Manoj Jadhav & Adarsh Kedari. Aker Foods is building an AI-ML Driven Supply chain platform for Hotels and commercials kitchens with end to end traceability with a set of private labels to solve problems of Quality, Reliability, Tracking analytics with technology. The company counts Swiggy, Zomato, Subway, Farzi Cafe & others as its esteemed clients. Suraj Saste, Co-Founder of Aker Foods, said, "We are focused on building India’s largest Supply chain technology platform for Restaurants and Delivery kitchens.  Besides helping us raise funds in such precarious & unprecedented times , Mumbai Angels has bestowed their faith on us & also got us connected to its vast network of Investors across cities in India. This current funding will help us service more customers across selected cities also accelerate onboard new clients & supply network. We will continue to add value across the journey with the continuous refinement of our supply chain.”

Nandini Mansinghka, Co-promoter and CEO Mumbai Angels Network, commented, “Aker foods uses end-to-end technology driven platform for the food value chain to ensure that high quality ingredients reach the kitchens  We are happy to onboard Aker Foods in our diversified portfolio & look forward to be part for their growth story and this sector.”

About Mumbai Angels Network: Started in 2006, Mumbai Angels Network (MA Network) is India’s premier platform focused on new venture investing. The network is today 450+ members strong, across 9 chapters (Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Goa, Pune, Jaipur, and Chennai). It has a 135+ strong portfolio with 30+ exits and has invested 150+ crores. About Aker Foods: Aker Foods builds AI-ML Driven Supply chain platform for Hotels and commercials kitchens with a set of private labels to solve problems of Quality, Reliability, Tracking analytics with technology. Aker's ordering platform for restaurants helps them with predictive ordering, understand the wastage, spending’s and optimize the resources accordingly. Along with the Raw Food ingredients supply, Aker provides the Pre-made and processed food ingredients thus saving the food preparation time and manpower cost to the restaurants. These are private labels owned by Aker Foods.

AsknBid raises funding from Mumbai Angels Network

View this email in your browser

Investment Tech startup AsknBid raises funding from Mumbai Angels Network The startup has recently launched Lambda - India’s first Algo Trading Tournament for the Indian Markets Bengaluru-based Investment tech startup AsknBid has raised an undisclosed amount in a recent round of funding carried out by Mumbai Angels (MA) Network and other external angel investors. The investment was led by Ravikanth Reddy, Partner, Regentway Ventures. Regentway is a Hyderabad based family office that invests in Deep Tech companies.  Commenting on the funding, Ravikanth said, "Our family office has been tracking deep-tech innovations in global capital markets for years and foresee several whitespaces in India in this regard. I’m happy to be associated in the growth story of AsknBid. We have a strong belief that technology will have a deeper say in the Indian Markets in the coming few years and are excited to back the talented team at AsknBid in this mission." The startup builds Algorithmic Investing based tech products and has recently launched Lambda - a tournament for quant researchers to research & submit trading strategies and compete with peers around the globe for cash prizes. The company will soon be launching competitions for the Indian Stock Market. AsknBid was founded in 2018 by Suresh Bavisetti and Paarth Dhar.   Speaking about the fundraise, the founders said, “We’re excited by the set of Investors & Advisors that we have on board. Not only do they bring Industry expertise & experience, but also passionately believe in the vision of the company. Algo - Investing is still in its infancy in Indian Markets and we believe that India will see multiple players & products emerging in this space over the next few years." The company said it will be utilising the money for scaling up the research platforms of the company and strengthening existing technology systems. Nandini Mansinghka, Co-promoter and CEO Mumbai Angels Network, commented, “We are happy to welcome AsknBid in our expanding diversified portfolio. We are seeing increasing activity in AI-based Algo-Trading space and are hoping that AsknBid becomes a star in our Al-ML portfolio. We are extremely bullish about participating in this industry defining the near future.” The company had previously onboarded Industry veteran Vinod Chandrashekaran as an Advisor and is also part of the Nvidia Inception Program for ML / DL startups. About Mumbai Angels Network:  Started in 2006, Mumbai Angels Network (MA Network) is India’s premier platform focused on new venture investing. The network is today 450+ members strong, across 9 chapters (Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Goa, Pune, Jaipur and Chennai). It has a 135+ strong portfolio with 30+ exits and has invested 150+ crores

EV tourism start up BLive raises funding from Mumbai Angels Network

EV tourism start up BLive raises funding from Mumbai Angels Network

April 15th, 2020: BLive, an eco-tourism start-up which has pioneered the concept of Electric Vehicle Tourism in India, has raised an undisclosed amount from Mumbai Angels Network in its pre Series A funding round. BLive offers unique, experiential, guided tours on smart electric bikes thus promoting zero carbon tourism in India.  The funds raised will be used for expansion to new locations. Previously, BLive has raised a strategic investment of INR 4 crore from DNA Networks in September 2019 and a seed capital fund of Rs 1 crore led by Shrinivas V Dempo, Chairman of Goa’s leading business house Dempo Group, and Shivanand V Salgaocar, Chairman and Managing Director, Vimson Group. Founded in 2018 by Samarth Kholkar and Sandeep Mukherjee, BLive works closely with the government bodies & hospitality chains to encourage early adoption of electric vehicles across all tourist destinations in India. The company envisions bringing in an eco-tourism revolution in the country through curated experiences powered by electric vehicles.

Speaking about the investment, Samarth Kholkar & Sandeep Mukherjee Co-Founders, BLive, said, "Travel and tourism industry has taken a big hit due to the present pandemic crisis and that was expected to happen. Securing an investment amidst the present situation shows the confidence of investors in the potential of our business model and boosts our confidence to bounce back quickly. Mumbai Angels not only helped us raise funds seamlessly, but it also connected us to its vast network of Investors across cities in India.”

Ajay Pandey, Independent Director & Angel investor commented “E Vehicles are now an integral part of our eco system. There are many innovative solutions that are emerging on a regular basis all across. What I found interesting around the Blive venture is the fact that a services element linked revenue model has been wrapped around the e bikes, which makes it a sustainable and healthy business option.”

Nandini Mansinghka, Co-promoter and CEO Mumbai Angels Network, said, “We are happy to welcome BLive in our expanding diversified portfolio. We are seeing a dynamic shift in how travel takes place and are hoping that BLive becomes a star in our portfolio. We are extremely bullish about participating in this industry that will redefine mobility in the near future.”

BLive experiences are available in Gujarat, Kerala, Karnataka, Rajasthan, Puducherry, Tamil Nadu, and Goa (North and South). B: Live is the official EV tourism partner for GTDC (Goa Tourism Development Corporation) . The company also has several marquee names as partners including Taj Hotels, Grand Hyatt and Airbnb. Since its inception, B: Live has completed 6000+ rides, saving more than 600 tonnes of carbon generated by tourist vehicles.

About Mumbai Angels Network:  Started in 2006, Mumbai Angels Network (MA Network) is India’s premier platform focused on new venture investing. The network is today 450+ members strong, across 9 chapters (Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Goa, Pune, Jaipur and Chennai). It has a 135+ strong portfolio with 30+ exits and has invested 150+ crores.   About BLive BLive- India's first electric-bike tour brand offers curated, authentic and immersive local tours that can be experienced on smart, savvy, electric bikes. With BLive electric bike, one can cover longer distances and scale greater heights, almost anywhere in India. Powered by battery packs, our electric bikes can whizz through in a flash. Experience the joy of effortless riding and collect memories as you ride a new adventure to off beaten trails. Our well trained and informed captains ensure an informative, enjoyable and safe ride for all. See an unseen-local side of culture, history, food and festivals without leaving a carbon footprint behind. The guided e-Bike tours have been designed to help discover the hidden treasures of a destination while showcasing the best art, culture and cuisine.

Azuro acquired by prop-tech giant Square Yards

View this email in your browser

Azuro acquired by prop-tech giant Square Yards February 10, 2020 Mumbai Angel Network’s prop-tech startup Azuro was acquired by Reliance group backed SquareYards in a full share swap deal.  Founded in 2016 by IIT Bombay alumni - Altaf Ahmad, Sushant Kumar, Sudhanshu Mishra, Ayush Agrawal, Vishal Chauthmal, Azuro, which current operations are primarily out of Mumbai, has grown significantly across the city. The startup uses in-house tech solutions to help house owners find tenants in a shorter time span and manages the property throughout the lifecycle of renting unlike the traditional rental brokerages. MA invested in Azuro in late 2016 along with Kae Capital and White Unicorn Ventures. "We are extremely excited to execute our end to end property management vision with Squareyards, we aim to catalyse the next phase of growth leveraging the Squareyards expertise in driving on ground transaction at a massive scale using the operational tech, and the platform Squareyards.com ", Altaf Ahmad, co-founder of Azuro. Abhishek Bhatewara, Mumbai Angels Investor and Director of Rohan Builders, commenting on the acquisition said,  “We invested in Azuro at a very early stage as we believed urban rental landscape was ripe for change. Personally, it was great to be involved as a board director and engaged investor, guiding the team in the early days and watching the company grow. At Rohan Builders, we work with Square Yards as well, and in my view, the acquisition will add synergies to the current operations of both Azuro and Square Yards." Nandini Mansinghka, Co-promoter and CEO at Mumbai Angels Network commented, “We are very excited about the acquisition of Azuro by  SquareYards which gives the investors an association with a profitable startup in the prop-tech sector. It has been a pleasure to partner with Team Azuro from their very early days and we wish Azuro founders the very best in their future journey.”

Mumbai Angels Network launches the first of its kind: Lifeline Infusion Program

Mumbai Angels Network launches the first of its kind: Lifeline Infusion Program "We understand that the current circumstances are completely unprecedented and it's getting increasingly difficult for Startups to defend and grow what they have nurtured all this time. Mumbai Angels understands its responsibility as the leading angel investing platform in the country to create innovative solutions for both our startups and investors and believes in leading from the front. We stand together with our startups as they weather through these turbulent times and adapt to the new reality. As a first step, we are proud to announce the Startup Lifeline Infusion Program. Key highlights Program: - - Detailed documents data room shared with members - Investments via SAFE, Convertible securities - Min Investment INR 50,000/- (No upper cap) - 40% Discount to the next round As a pioneering Angel Investing Network in India, we are a group that is unequivocally bullish on the long term outlook for the startup ecosystem. We believe in our founders and teams, and wish everyone the best in navigating through this extremely turbulent and stressful time. This too shall pass and we hope you emerge from this crisis stronger than ever before. Stay safe, healthy and informed. " - Nandini Mansinghka, Co-Promoter & CEO, Mumbai Angels Network

Mumbai Angels portfolio company, AdOnMo raises pre-series A of $3 mn led by BAce Capital

Mumbai Angels portfolio company, AdOnMo raises pre-series A of $3 mn led by BAce Capital

January 31, 2020 AdOnMo has recently raised $1.5 mn from BAce Capital backed by Ant Financial. BAce Capital is led by Mr. Kshitij Karundia (KK), who is a esteemed Mumbai Angels Networks member, along with Benny Chen. The company now has raised a total pre-series funding of $3mn after adding the funds raised by Mumbai Angels, Astarc Ventures and other Angel investors.

AdOnMo, started in 2017 by Sandeep Bommireddi and Sravanth Gajula in Hyderabad, specialises in OOH digital advertising, enabling targeted ads at relevant localities using Hyperlocal Intelligence & patented tech. AdOnMo provides outdoor advertising solutions that allow clients to display advertisements on LED screens mounted on taxis. AdOnMo will use the fresh funding to finance product development, talent recruitment, and team construction. The startup plans to further expand its operations in the Indian market. It currently has a presence in Mumbai, Hyderabad, New Delhi and Bengaluru.

“We wanted to take a radically different approach to the problems in the advertising industry. We have invested and would continue to invest heavily in technology advancements and make the media-tech space not just accountable, but constantly evolving and contextual,” said Sravanth Gajula, Co-founder of AdOnMo, in the statement.

Benny Chen, Managing Partner of BAce Capital, commented “Drawing parallels from the China story, we see a lot of potential in this space and we think it's very early times for it in India. AdOnMo is taking a unique approach to truly unify online and outdoor advertising using cutting edge technology. We are really excited to join hands with young & passionate AdOnMo team to digitalize India's growing smart cities and support the growth of it's digital economy.”

Gita Nayyar, Mumbai Angels Investor, said, “I had invested in AdOnmo as the founding team impressed me with their proposition and I believed there was considerable  growth potential. The association with BAce capital will help them grow significantly in new markets and segments. I would like to congratulate the team on securing this round of funding.”

Vijay Hede, Mumbai Angels Investor commented, “I am pleased with AdOnMo’s performance as the founders have delivered what they had promised when I invested. The additional funding from BAce Capital will help them expand into new geographies at a faster rate and further product development.”

Raj Rughani, Mumbai Angels Investor also added "It is a pleasure to be associated with able and dedicated promoters like Sravanth and Sandeep. The introduction of BAce Capital will greatly enhance commercialization opportunities with its international outreach. I look forward to supporting the business in its growth initiatives to cement its position as an enduring OOH Digital Advertising company, built in India",

Nandini Mansinghka, Co-promoter and CEO at Mumbai Angels Network commented, “We are very happy to be a part of the AdOnMo journey which will change the face of outdoor media. AdOnMo Digital OOH is an innovative technology which will disrupt the outdoor advertising industry in India. We wish AdOnMo the very best.”

About Mumbai Angels Network: Started in 2006, Mumbai Angels Network (MA Network) is India’s premier platform focused on new venture investing. The network is today 400+ members strong, across 8 chapters (Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Goa and Pune). It has a 135+ strong portfolio with 30+ exits and has invested 150+ crores.