Hemp Horizons, a hemp seed processing company raises funds from Mumbai Angels Network

 

Hemp Horizons, a hemp seed processing company raises funds from Mumbai Angels Network Hemp Horizons is a GMP certified hemp seed processing company. It was founded by Rohit Shah, Kartikey Dadoo, and Kanishk Yadav in April 2017. Company contract manufactures hemp products and owns a brand called Health Horizons. Under its USFDA approved brand “Health Horizons'', the company sells top of the line hemp products. They manufactured their first machine which helps in making hemp products in India after eight months of extensive research. The company launched three products including the Sativa Hemp Nubs (Hemp Hearts), Sativa Hemp Powder, and Sativa Hemp Oil. Quickly its product range grew to ten, all made from hemp and in the personal care range. The company is launching:  Two new hemp seed based products in 45 days.   The company will use funds towards launching and marketing of Cannabis extracts, second gen hemp seed products. Rohit Shah, CEO of Hemp Horizon says, "A plant that can feed us, cloth us, provide us medicine and give us shelter on top of being carbon negative. What other miracles are we seeking!! We are happy to see more and more individuals understanding the benefits of this plant and investment funds looking at companies like ours as a potential game changer in the health and wellness space. Cannabis/Hemp can be a category in itself. In the next 5 years no industry will be left untouched by Cannabis/Hemp and its derivatives. 2021 is an exciting year for Cannabis/Hemp in India and the world". Nandini Mansinghka, Co-promoter & CEO, Mumbai Angels Network commented, "We believe Hemp Horizons to bring change in the way people see Hemp and its uses. We are excited to welcome Hemp Horizons to our portfolio and look forward to seeing them amaze everyone with their new products specially in the health and wellness space".

Portfolio Spotlight January 2020

 

Spacetech Startups like Dhruva Space geared to meet future demand In a recent announcement, the Indian government has opened up the space sector for private players and has also formed a dedicated unit - Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre. Dhruva Space has sought permissions for space-based applications, satellite making and development and launch of rockets. Read More

Unlu launches learning & entertainment platform: Unluclass Unlu makes it possible for everyone to learn from celebrity experts. The platform brings equality in non-academic learning, by blurring the boundaries of availability and reach of celeb mentors such as Johny Lever. Read More Logistics Company Trukky launches low cost cargo insurance Trukky has partnered with Bharti AXA as their Insurance Partner to offer user friendly and convenient insurance solutions for retails shippers. They can now buy single transit insurance on demand, at the lowest rates and with end to end support. Read More Migrate your sales team members from WhatsApp to ODIGO, a secure enterprise messaging platform With Privacy and confidentiality becoming a major concern for businesses now, Talent Bridge are offering Odigolive free for businesses/ teams with 100 users. 3 steps to unlimited possibilities with total privacy and confidentiality. 1. Download Odigolive now: 2. Enter the promocode: OD3R6M 3. Add 99 users from your team and use it for free Download Now Job Openings

Agro2o Digital Marketing Intern Apply Now Hotelogix Senior Web Developer Apply Now

Exotel raises funds and provides an 18x exit to Mumbai Angels

 

Exotel raises funds and provides an 18x exit to Mumbai Angels

Bengaluru-based Exotel, Cloud telephony service provider, co-founded by Shivakumar Ganeshan, Ishwar Sridharan, Siddharth Ramesh, Vijay Sharma, has closed growth capital INR 40 crore funding round led by venture capital firm A91 Partners.  Founded in 2011, the startup had raised a seed round from Mumbai Angels in 2012, co-invested by Blume. This is their first fund raise after the seed round in 2012 and some of the early MA investors have exited in this round, realising over 40% IRR, ~18x multiple.  Exotel offers a number to a company on which they can receive and make calls and SMSes — all at the same time, without having to invest in any infrastructure. The product is a dashboard with sales tools, marketing tools, customer support tools, business intelligence, analytics etc.

Shivakumar Ganesan, Founder, Exotel said, “Mumbai Angels investors had supported us when we were building the platform. I am happy that I was able to deliver and provide a good exit to them. It is a matter of pride for us at Exotel that we have grown organically after the first fundraise from Mumbai Angels. Exotel has helped enterprises migrate to cloud-based customer communication and build personalized and timely customer engagement across customer support, marketing, operations and sales.”

Gautam Shewakramani, Investor Board Member at Exotel representing Mumbai Angels shareholders said "Since our investment in 2012 Exotel has shown remarkable growth in a sustainable and capital efficient manner. We are thrilled to have A91 partner with the company for its next stage of growth."

Nandini Mansinghka, Co-promoter & CEO, Mumbai Angels Network commented, "Exotel through its cloud technologies has helped more than 4000+ customers across Asia Pacific. It is very rewarding to see Exotel’s journey from seed round investment to a phenomenal 18x exit to our Investors and we acknowledge the effort of Shivku and his team. We are excited that Exotel is an MA Portfolio company and wish Shivku and the team continued success.”

MA Portfolio Gegadyne raises ~$5 Mn in Series A from V-Guard

MA Portfolio Gegadyne raises ~$5 Mn in Series A from V-Guard

Mumbai Angels (MA) Network backed energy startup Gegadyne which provides game changing energy-efficient and eco-friendly alternatives to conventional lithium-ion batteries, has received a strategic investment of approximately USD 5 million from electrical appliances giant V-Guard. Gegadyne was founded in 2015 by Jubin Varghese and Ameya Gadiwan and in 2017, they raised an angel round from Mumbai Angels Network.   The Mumbai-based startup has developed a technology which allows batteries to charge from 0 to 100% in around 15 minutes; unlike lithium ion batteries that charge at longer intervals. Their batteries are developed from supercapacitors having an energy density similar to that of lithium ion batteries. This innovative approach is a landmark development, as according to research data, the market for batteries is slated to grow globally at a CAGR of 15% over the next seven years.   This investment will enable Gegadyne to scale up its operations and further enhance research and development. Vishamitra Hariharan, Mumbai Angels Deal Lead Gegadyne, said, "We have great expectations from Gegadyne to become the leader in the world of sustainable technologies and look forward to the company playing a pivotal role in transforming EVs, as well as sustainable energy products as a whole. Gegadyne has onboarded the right investor in this journey of revolutionizing battery technology". Jubin Varghese and Ameya Gadiwan, Co-founders, Gegadyne commented "We are elated to have V-Guard Industries as an Investor  on our mission to build the next generation of Battery Technology that will revolutionize the field of Energy storage and catapult India to be self-reliant in advance battery chemistry. We also would like to acknowledge the tremendous faith demonstrated by our seed investors – Mumbai Angels Network in our capabilities & enabling us to get to where we are today".

Nandini Mansinghka, Co-promoter and CEO Mumbai Angels Network, commented, "Worldover, there is a steady rise in the demand for energy-efficient solutions like the one Gegadyne provides. It's great to see how products like these are helping us move towards a sustainable lifestyle with the same level of convenience. We are thrilled to see that our portfolio company is now raising additional funds in their Series A Round, validating our faith in them".

MA Portfolio Company Exotel raises INR 40 Cr from A91 Partners

 

MA Portfolio Company Exotel raises INR 40 Cr from A91 Partners

Mumbai Angels Network’s portfolio company Exotel Techcom Pvt Ltd has raised fresh funding from venture capital firm A91 Partners. The Company was launched in 2011 by Shivakumar Ganesan, who teamed up with Ishwar Sridharan, Siddharth Ramesh and Vijay Sharma to start the venture. In early 2012, it raised seed funding from Mumbai Angels and Blume Ventures. Exotel plans to use these funds to capitalise on the enterprise digital adoption wave in the aftermath of the pandemic and invest in new-age technologies to power chatbots, voice translation services, caller sentiment analysis, automatic call quality assessment and more. In addition, the Company plans to deploy the funds raised to accelerate the product development and enter new markets overseas. In particular, they are looking at the growing revenue contribution from markets such as Southeast Asia to plot its expansion in the coming years.

Shivakumar Ganesan, Founder, Exotel said, “The pandemic has changed the way companies conduct business. People are now increasingly moving away from an office setup. This has made digital transformation and migration to the cloud a priority.  Exotel has helped enterprises migrate to cloud-based customer communication and build personalized and timely customer engagement across customer support, marketing, operations and sales.”

Gautam Shewakramani, Investor Board Member at Exotel representing Mumbai Angels shareholders said "Since our investment in 2012 Exotel has shown remarkable growth in a sustainable and capital efficient manner. We are thrilled to have A91 partner with the company for its next stage of growth."

Nandini Mansinghka, Co-promoter & CEO, Mumbai Angels Network commented, "Exotel through its cloud technologies has helped more than 4000+ customers across Asia Pacific. It is very rewarding to see Exotel’s journey from seed round investment to exit to our Investors.”

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 500+ members strong, across 9 chapters (Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Goa, Pune, Jaipur, Chennai) & 25+ cities across the globe. The network today has one of the strongest portfolios in the country with 150+ companies, 70+ exits plus next round investments.

CHARGE+ZONE; EV charging start-up raises INR 3.2 Cr from Mumbai Angels Network

 

CHARGE+ZONE; EV charging start-up raises INR 3.2 Cr from Mumbai Angels Network

The Company CHARGE+ZONE  has established electric vehicle charging technology based on IOT and using cloud services to provide anywhere-anytime charging solution by making it smart, open platform configurable & flexible. It uses technology which is powered by IOT, through over-the-air flow of data and use of cloud base solutions to give a smooth customer experience. The company aims to build software solutions which will have Unmanned charging stations providing quality charging services, with remote control and monitoring, thus making them 24x7 available to EV drivers. The company has proved its effectiveness by establishing over 108 charging stations across India, in a span of less than 1 year for billing clients like Ashok Leyland, Bajaj, Glyd (Mahindra Initiative), Blu Smart Mobility, Shuttl, amongst others.

Kartikey Hariyani, Founder & CEO, Charge+Zone said, “The investment by Mumbai Angels, as well as other family offices  represents the belief of investors in the promise of EMobility in India. We shall leverage the capital infusion to scale our operations towards early 2021 deployment plans and to keep us motivated as we work towards building 1 Mn unmanned charging points in the next ten years in India.”

Sanit Patel, Lead Investor at Charge+Zone said, "The team has been successful in forging strategic partnerships with the likes of Microsoft, iCreate, & EDF France to create its strong unique position in the industry while making sure to keep this an asset light business model. The proprietary in-house cloud based technology that can facilitate seamless connectivity between users, charging hubs and power grids has been instrumental in giving the company an edge over its competition by creating extremely strong unit economics, adding an extra revenue stream to cross sell this SaaS technology to other players in the market and a possibility to gather data for analytical".

Nandini Mansinghka, Co-promoter and CEO Mumbai Angels Network, commented, "As Electric Vehicle as a sector gains wider adoption over the next decade. Our Investors see a lot of long term potential throughout the entire EV space and the battery charging ecosystem plays a vital role . We welcome Charge+Zone in our diversified portfolio."

Instoried raises INR 3.2 Cr led by Mumbai Angels Network

Bangalore based start-up Instoried is the interception of deep-tech and content, which leverages deep-tech to augment content with emotional capabilities has raised INR 3.2 Crores led by Mumbai Angels Network and participated by other investors. Instoried provides end-to-end solutions to content marketers, helping them target a particular emotion based on its identification of the brand’s emotional quotient. The company has in-house developed, novel NLP models. It works in two content formats : text and video analysis. In text, Instoried supports two languages: English and Hindi. The company has launched a web app and sells licences of the tool for multiple language users. It is currently available in English and Hindi and will expand to cover a larger set of vernacular languages in the foreseeable future. Sharmin Ali, Founder & CEO, Instoried "We, at Instoried, are experiencing a phenomenal growth curve this year. We started selling only from March 2020 and have grown tremendously hence at a 60% MOM. With a very lean team, we did not expect to scale at this speed. With the MA investment, we want to hire more people and also expand our operations globally and invest on various marketing channels to be able to acquire more customers and diversify our portfolio of product offerings." Shantanu Bhowmick, Deal Lead, Mumbai Angels Network "The start-up certainly checks a few critical parameters in terms of tech, passionate founders and a large global marketplace for their services. With online global sales poised to touch $5 trillion, advertising rates going higher and digital noise getting louder, content efficacy is paramount - Instoried is well poised to capture this market." Nandini Mansinghka, Co-promoter & CEO, Mumbai Angels Network, commented “Instoried has built an AI platform which analysis emotion quotients in your content. It will offer brands, marketers and researchers content that appeals to readers or users by providing smart recommendations in real time which can influence consumer behaviour. We welcome Instoried to our expanding portfolio and are excited to see how this platform will help large companies.”