Wednesday 29 April 2020

RoomSoom raises funding from Mumbai Angels Network

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Student Housing and Coliving start-up RoomSoom raises funding from Mumbai Angels Network
RoomSoom, a coliving and student housing company has raised funding from Mumbai Angels Network. RoomSoom was founded in 2016, headquartered in Noida by Nitin Agrawal and Garima Agrawal.
RoomSoom believes that it’s not into the business of providing houses to those who need it, but into providing living experiences to those who will be delighted by it. Its dynamic growth lies in its ability to quickly identify the needs of a young and demanding population and provide quick solutions that they never thought existed.
Nitin Agrawal Co-Founder of RoomSoom, said, "MA not only helped us raise funds seamlessly but also connected us to its vast network of Investors across cities in India. With these funds, we plan to tap every market, reach every individual, and identify every need. So that we can provide them with a solution they will not find anywhere else."
Anshuman Ranjan, MA Investor shares his thoughts on RoomSoom, “From an investor's perspective RoomSoom had the right ingredients; a scalable and profitable business model, experienced and innovative management, and a resilient business that can recover quickly from the pandemic impact.”
Nandini Mansinghka, Co-promoter and CEO Mumbai Angels Network, commented, “RoomSoom specializes in designing coliving accommodations for the youth and makes house hunting easy for bachelors and families. We are delighted about having RoomSoom as a part of our portfolio, we wish the team success, growth and expansion of the business across more cities in India.”
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.

Tuesday 28 April 2020

NewsReach raises funding from Mumbai Angels Network



NewsReach raises funding from Mumbai Angels Network
Ahmedabad based start-up NewsReach raised an undisclosed amount in the recent round of funding carried out by Mumbai Angels (MA) Network. NewsReach is founded in 2018 by Darshan Shah
NewsReach encourages digitalize local newspaper publishers, reporters, stringers & PGCs, to aggregate their content on one platform & monetize their content not only through advertisements but also through innovative news marketplace, where such publishers & original content providers can sell/license/syndicate their content in an open market to big media houses, fellow publishers and/or to any content buyer. 
Founder Darshan Shah on the funding raised by MA, “We are highly impressed with the speed of working & professionalism shown by Mumbai Angels. We took part in the pitching on 10th April, investors showed interest & money was wired in our bank amount in less than 3 days post signing the agreement. Thank you, Mumbai Angels, for all the support in the difficult times of Covid-19.”
MA Investor Seshadri Nathan, "It gives me a great pleasure to be part of Mumbai Angels' innovative lifeline for start-ups during this time of uncertainty. "
Nandini Mansinghka, Co-promoter and CEO Mumbai Angels Network, commented, “NewsReach plans to revive the local news industry by digitizing it and creating visibility & marketability to publishers. We are happy to onboard NewsReach in our diversified portfolio & look forward to be part for their growth.”
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.

Monday 27 April 2020

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 SasteNihal 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.

Sunday 26 April 2020

AsknBid raises funding from Mumbai Angels Network

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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

Wednesday 15 April 2020

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.

Thursday 9 April 2020

Azuro acquired by prop-tech giant Square Yards

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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 AhmadSushant KumarSudhanshu MishraAyush AgrawalVishal ChauthmalAzuro, 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.”