India & Australia - The Ties That Bind

 The India-Australia relationship is an interesting one, both were erstwhile British Colonies and both often go toe-to-toe on the cricket field with a legendary rivalry spanning decades. Urban India is crazy about Masterchef Australia and follows the show religiously, thereby celebrating another common interest in food! But, beyond the obvious cultural exchanges, there is something more concrete that is developing between the two nations when it comes to bilateral ties.

 

Just last year, the Australia India Business Exchange (AIB-X) was held, which was one of the largest trade missions to India in the past five years. This was followed by the historic virtual summit between the Australian and Indian prime ministers in June, which led to the elevation of the bilateral relationship to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. Australia has participated in the Malabar exercises while coming together with India again for the Supply Chain Resilience Initiative (Australia, India, and Japan) and the Quad grouping (United States, India, Japan, and Australia). While the signing of a free trade agreement between the two countries has not transpired, in the future this might also materialize. The Ministry of External Affairs also now has a dedicated division looking into Oceania which includes Australia, ASEAN countries, and other Indo-Pacific regions. The overwhelming evidence goes to show that in the years to come the Australia-India relationship will become a deeper and more significant one not just strategically but economically as well.

 

India and Australia have yet another commonality that we are yet to touch upon - a thriving startup ecosystem. While India has been adding unicorn after unicorn to its kitty, Australia has been working towards going up the ranks in the Ease of Doing Business index where it ranks in the top 10. While the two countries are yet to collaborate at a national level when it comes to the startup ecosystem, Mumbai Angels Network, the premier platform for new venture investing and leading global accelerator inQ, are joining hands to showcase 6 Australian startups on 22nd May to the Indian investor and entrepreneur for investment and partnership opportunities.

 

We hope to have you join us for this exciting event that celebrates this confluence of the startup ecosystem and the burgeoning relationship between the two nations! To register, simply RSVP at at this link: http://bit.ly/MA_AUS

 

About MA Global Platforms:

MA Global Platforms is an exciting new offering by Mumbai Angels Network, that brings you the best in startups from across the globe. Learn more about the process of investment and explore partnership opportunities that can help you grow your business! The startups that we bring to you are looking to demonstrate their technology, look for sales partners, business development, or investments. MA Network’s platform continues to introduce global companies to the Indian investor, to enable their India entry in the most efficient manner. Through this channel, MA plans to continuously introduce innovative and unique offerings from across the world to its investors as well as to the larger ecosystem in its role as a leading angel investing platform. MA is equipped to handhold through the entire investment and post-investment process.

 

For more information, please feel free to reach out to chandni@mumbaiangels.in

/ sonalisingh@mumbaiangels.in 

 

 

 

Mumbai Angels Network, CIIE.CO – IIM Ahmedabad’s incubation centre and multiple eminent angel investors invest in smart video analytics startup Pixuate

 

While the investment amount remains undisclosed, a bulk of it would be invested in Pixuate’s R&D for accelerated product development and market expansion.

11 May, 2021: In a new development, Mumbai Angels Network, a premium startup investment platform for early-stage venture investments, along with CIIE-IIMA and a group of eminent angel investors, has invested in intelligent video analytics startup Pixuate by Cocoslabs Innovative Solutions Pvt. Ltd. While the investment amount remains undisclosed as of now, Pixuate has also recently received debt funding support from the Technology Development Board (TDB), a nodal agency of the Govt. of India. A brainchild of technology enthusiast Prathvi Palekar, Pixuate uses proprietary algorithms in AI, Deep Learning, and Computer Vision to deliver real-time and actionable insights from high-volume video and image data. Pixuate offers a wide range of capabilities for security intelligence, compliance audits, and automation, which includes analytics for people (such as facial recognition and thermal scanning), vehicle analytics (like ANPR, vehicle classification, and violation detection), and object recognition (including safety gear check and object detection). Powered by world-class analytics capabilities, the platform provides a complete suite of deep-tech enterprise solutions for a safer today and a smarter tomorrow.   Having delivered AI solutions to marquee clients such as L&T, Unilever, ITC, Bigbasket, along with several clients in the UAE, Pixuate now offers video analytics solutions specifically designed for industries such as Pharma, Logistics, Oil & Gas, and Food & Hospitality. Besides this, the platform’s video analytics capabilities are also applicable for smart cities and highway traffic management. With Pixuate having an exciting line-up of new product features in the pipeline, this freshly infused funding will largely be invested in R&D for accelerated product development and feature engineering. The company also plans to fast-track its growth through market expansion and adding more industry use cases and applications.

Commenting on the investment, Nandini Mansinghka, Co-Promoter, and CEO of Mumbai Angels Network said, “There is no doubt that the future will be driven almost entirely by technology and given that video-based analysis is a rapidly growing and evolving field, our investment will help Pixuate scale up swiftly to cater to the growing demand for tech-powered video analytics across various sectors. This funding is a testament to the Pixuate team’s in-depth expertise in the field to build a robust platform that India needs.”

Speaking about the new investment in his company, Prathvi Palekar, co-founder of Pixuate said, “Our mission is to create real value for enterprises by deploying cutting-edge AI since it is unquestionably the best way ahead. Over the past 5 years, our R&D team has worked relentlessly to develop an enterprise-class analytics engine that can make sense of any video stream or image database. High availability and scalability are inherently built-in in Pixuate’s system. We are extremely grateful to receive strong support from eminent platforms such as Mumbai Angels Network, CIIE.CO, and the Technology Development Board, and hope to take Pixuate to new heights with this fresh infusion of capital.”

“Our platform has been a boon for enterprises in both private and public sectors and we are overwhelmed by the response received so far. Pixuate helps industries prevent workplace hazards, ensure compliances, track inventory at high efficiency, and reduce pilferage of goods drastically. Most importantly, the company enables top-notch automation without the need for heavy upfront investment by the clients. We can enable existing CCTV cameras, with our software that runs on low-cost GPU devices that can scale from 5 to 5000 cameras frictionlessly. Further, all our analytics have API connectors available for data that needs to be passed on to existing systems like HRMS. Lastly, our system can alert for any camera downtime, inform if an intruder or fire or any mishap is happening on the premises through instant email/SMS/API alerts. We are excited to have joined hands with reputed investors Mumbai Angels and CIIE.CO and look forward to breaking new barriers in enterprise-tech with our product”, added Akshata Kari, Co-Founder of Pixuate.

Pixuate also recently developed a unique video analytics-based traffic count and classifier system for highway audits and efficient toll management, which was successfully tested by L&T. The product reduces the turnaround time for highway audits by up to 90% which can be used by NHAI and the Government of India. Furthermore, last year, Pixuate’s temperature checking solution was utilized by the Department of Urban Land Transport (DULT) and the Government of Karnataka at Church Street – one of Bangalore’s busiest areas - for the ‘Clean Air Street’ initiative. With advanced tech-driven systems, Pixuate also helped identify 3000 mask violators and checked over 200,000 people for instances of increased body temperature.

In a Covid-affected World, Healthtech and Edtech drive Growth and Innovation

 As we countdown the days to MA Global Platforms Presents Australia, we are happy to announce that the startups that will be presenting on the 22nd will be from a variety of sectors including Healthtech, EdTech, Digital Media and more!

When it comes to the pandemic, it can be said that healthcare and education have in many ways been affected the most. If there is anything this pandemic has helped us realise - it is the true value of healthcare. Healthcare has become a sector that is no longer confined to hospitals and clinics, but has become a vibrant space in the startup ecosystem, wherein entrepreneurs are taking it upon themselves to devise path-breaking solutions, revolutionizing the way we look at health and well-being. The marriage of healthcare and technology or ‘healthtech’ as it is now known is driving not just innovation but is playing a key role in improving human life, in general. With the use of artificial intelligence, start-of-the-art sensors, blockchain technology and more, healthtech is growing at breakneck speed, having raised $8.3 billion in funding just last year! It is estimated that the enterprise healthtech industry will grow to $1.3 trillion by 2025. 

Before the pandemic, many sat on the fence about studying from home and while the facility existed, many chose to stick to more conventional forms of education involving classroom teaching at physical venues. However, a year into the pandemic, online education has allowed millions of students from all over the world to continue learning. It has also given professionals the opportunity to continue to sharpen their skills by taking a variety of online courses. In lieu of this, the global edtech market is set to reach $404 Billion by 2025, growing at an estimated 16.3% CAGR. These forecasts suggest that the world is placing more faith in EdTech and this area is about to explode with more possibilities than ever before.

 

As spaces to invest, Healthtech and Edtech are promising by the looks of it as their future looks immensely bright. We hope that you will tune in on 22nd May to witness Australian startups from Healthtech and Edtech, among others take centre-stage as they pitch for investment and partnership opportunities! 

RSVP here to attend MA Global Platforms Presents Australia: http://bit.ly/MA_AUS

India & Australia - The Ties That Bind

The India-Australia relationship is an interesting one, both were erstwhile British Colonies and both often go toe-to-toe on the cricket field with a legendary rivalry spanning decades. Urban India is crazy about Masterchef Australia and follows the show religiously, thereby celebrating another common interest in food! But, beyond the obvious cultural exchanges, there is something more concrete that is developing between the two nations when it comes to bilateral ties.

Just last year, the Australia India Business Exchange (AIB-X) was held, which was one of the largest trade missions to India in the past five years. This was followed by the historic virtual summit between the Australian and Indian prime ministers in June, which led to the elevation of the bilateral relationship to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. Australia has participated in the Malabar exercises while coming together with India again for the Supply Chain Resilience Initiative (Australia, India, and Japan) and the Quad grouping (United States, India, Japan, and Australia). While the signing of a free trade agreement between the two countries has not transpired, in the future this might also materialize. The Ministry of External Affairs also now has a dedicated division looking into Oceania which includes Australia, ASEAN countries, and other Indo-Pacific regions. The overwhelming evidence goes to show that in the years to come the Australia-India relationship will become a deeper and more significant one not just strategically but economically as well.

India and Australia have yet another commonality that we are yet to touch upon - a thriving startup ecosystem. While India has been adding unicorn after unicorn to its kitty, Australia has been working towards going up the ranks in the Ease of Doing Business index where it ranks in the top 10. While the two countries are yet to collaborate at a national level when it comes to the startup ecosystem, Mumbai Angels Network, the premier platform for new venture investing and leading global accelerator inQ, are joining hands to showcase 6 Australian startups on 22nd May to the Indian investor and entrepreneur for investment and partnership opportunities.

We hope to have you join us for this exciting event that celebrates this confluence of the startup ecosystem and the burgeoning relationship between the two nations! To register, simply RSVP at at this link: http://bit.ly/MA_AUS

About MA Global Platforms:

MA Global Platforms is an exciting new offering by Mumbai Angels Network, that brings you the best in startups from across the globe. Learn more about the process of investment and explore partnership opportunities that can help you grow your business! The startups that we bring to you are looking to demonstrate their technology, look for sales partners, business development, or investments. MA Network’s platform continues to introduce global companies to the Indian investor, to enable their India entry in the most efficient manner. Through this channel, MA plans to continuously introduce innovative and unique offerings from across the world to its investors as well as to the larger ecosystem in its role as a leading angel investing platform. MA is equipped to handhold through the entire investment and post-investment process.

For more information, please feel free to reach out to chandni@mumbaiangels.in

/ sonalisingh@mumbaiangels.in

April Spotlight

 

CarterX partners with Indigo, Vistara for baggage transfer service IndiGo and Vistara in partnership with MA portfolio company, CarterX have launched luggage transfer service which will ensure customer baggage being delivered from the first to the last destination. IndiGo’s “6EBagPort” will be launched in Mumbai and Bangalore while Vistara will be operational in Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad and Bengaluru. Read More

ixamBee Onboards Dr Sanjeev Sharma As Senior Advisor  MA portfolio company ixamBee wishes to strengthen its leadership team and aims to leverage its position to groom 5 million students and hence has appointed Dr Sanjeev Sharma as Senior Advisor-Career Guidance. Dr Sharma was Ex-Regional Director at RBI and holds a PhD in English from IIT-Kanpur. Read More         BLive bringing childhood joy to eco-conscious travellers BLive, an e-bike startup company funded by MA, is a travel tech platform that provides experiential tours driven by the locals and powered by smart and savvy electric bikes . In a post-Covid world, the company aims to focus on sustainable tourism. Being an Airbnb Experiences Host, its tours can now be booked on the Airbnb platform. Read More AdOnMo surpasses 2000+ HD digital advertising screens  Breaking the shackles of innovation scarcity, MA backed AdOnMo with its Digital Taxi Toppers and Residential Lift Lobby Screens, has surpassed the count of 2000+ HD digital advertising screens across the cities of Hyderabad, Delhi, Chennai and Bengaluru. Read More Hemp Horizon creating awareness about the ‘trillion dollar crop’ Regarded as a trillion dollar crop, hemp seeds from the cannabis plant is widely used as a pharmaceutical drug, fibre and healthcare in foreign countries. Creating waves in India, Hemp Horizon backed by MA, is the country’s first and leading hemp seed producers who are Ayurveda-licensed, GMP and ISO certified. Read More Job Openings

Gegadyne Sector - EV Business Analyst Apply Now Dr Sheths Sector - Consumer Social Media Executive Apply Now Blive Sector - Travel & Hospitality Business Manager Apply Now Leegality Sector - Legal Multiple Roles Apply Now

Cloud Kitchen platform ZFW Hospitality raises nearly USD 150,000 pre-seed funding from Mumbai Angels Network, Expert DOJO & other angels

 

The funds will be directed towards expanding the company’s footprint in the western region, hire top talent, and bolster its network to 300+ cloud-based restaurants.

19th April, 2021: Mumbai Angels Network, along with California-based accelerator Expert DOJO and 3 other marquee angel investors, has invested close to USD 150,000 in India’s first cloud kitchen platform and Huddle-backed ZFW Hospitality to add to the armour of early supporters and advisors. ZFW will be utilizing the funds to expand its presence in the western region, hire top talent, and increase its network to 300+ cloud-based restaurants before raising a larger amount of funds in the next round. ZFW also revealed that it will deploy a part of the proceeds to improve AI and Data Analytics Capabilities on the ZFW-OS platform that helps streamline operational efficiency and overhead costs.

Speaking on the freshly infused funds for his company, Madhav Kasturia, Founder of ZFW said, “Having witnessed the rapid shift towards delivery & asset-light models on the front lines over the past 6 years, we’re excited to play a key role in the consumer ecosystem. Humbled to receive the confidence of investors and strategic angels who’ve joined us early on in our exciting journey. As ZFW focuses on its next chapter, our team remains committed to our mission of helping partners drive attractive incremental unit economics.”

Commenting on the investment, Nandini Mansinghka, Co-Promoter, and CEO of Mumbai Angels Network said, “Cloud Kitchen and Fulfilment Network ZFW will help recognized F&B brands maximize utilization of kitchen space and enable their asset-light expansion. This will help them scale up rapidly to cater to the growing consumer demand across geographies. It will also help brands that are on the path to profitability and have already figured out their unit economics”.

“The F&B space is getting more competitive by the day due to daunting tasks, more players, and the rising costs of customer acquisition, new geography expansion, and operations. ZFW addresses that by not only scaling brands into newer markets but with 360-degree support to speed up learning curves without any cost. This pre-seed round is a testament to Madhav’s expertise and vision to build the gold-standard platform, needed by the industry in India,” added Sanil Sachar, Founding Partner at Huddle.

ZFW helps F&B & D2C brands grow sustainably through its vast network of cloud kitchens & fulfilment centers. The company has been in the news for its partnerships with notable brands like Baskin Robbins, Keventers, Tibbs Frankies, The Brooklyn Creamery, & Beijing Street to help boost profitability through its 50+ cloud restaurants across 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 550+ members strong, across 9 chapters (Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Goa, Pune, Jaipur, Chennai) & 40+ cities across the globe. The network today has one of the strongest portfolios in the country with 160+ companies, 70+ exits plus next round investments.

About ZFW:  ZFW started as a takeout store - ‘Beijing Street’ in South Delhi back in 2015. Beijing Street’s first store at Vasant Kunj did well for ZFW & it was followed by the launch of it’s second store at Greater Kailash, New Delhi. Mid 2018 was when Madhav Kasturia (Founder @ ZFW) graduated from College & decided to scale up ZFW in the cloud kitchen space. By 2019, ZFW was successfully running 4 Pan-Asian Cloud Kitchens across the city & that’s when something as small in size as the Corona virus, hit the economy of 200+ Countries on this planet & ZFW was one of the millions of ventures that got affected by this pandemic. On March 22 2020, A nation-wide lockdown was declared, ZFW had to pause operations of all 4 Cloud Kitchens & that’s when Madhav came up with the ‘Kitchen-in-Kitchen’ model. Within 56 days of the commencement of the Lockdown, ZFW launched it’s first set of 8 Cloud Kitchens in the ‘KIK’ Format. Today, ZFW is running 50+ Internet Restaurants across 22+ Cloud Kitchens in NCR. ZFW OS platform was launched in December 2020 & ZFW has signed up with a couple of notable International & domestic brands such as Baskin Robbins, Keventers, The Brooklyn Creamery, Tibb’s Frankies, NOTO Ice-cream, Artinci, Only Bowl. etc.

Explore Partnerships and Investment Opportunities in Australia with MA!

MA Global Platforms is back with an exciting new country to explore in terms of investment and partnership opportunities! This time we will be bringing you Australia - the Land Down Under. Famed for its breathtaking beaches and unique wildlife, Australia is also fast emerging as a new hub for startups. Government policies have made a huge difference to the ease of doing business in Australia which has seen the nation rank in the top 10 in the list of nations friendliest to startups. 

The Land Down Under has also seen a spurt in the rise in the number of successful startups in recent years being home to Unicorns like graphic design startup Canva,  cross-border payments startup Airwallex and tech company Atlassian. Just this year, Canva raised a round of $71 million at a valuation of $15 billion. 

On the 22nd of May, MA in partnership with leading global accelerator inQ, will be showcasing 6 Australian startups who will be pitching to you for investment and partnership opportunities. This session will also feature a segment on Overseas Direct Investment (ODI) so that the investor can make an informed decision and fully grasp the tremendous opportunity that awaits them. 

About MA Global Platforms:

MA Global Platforms is an exciting new offering by Mumbai Angels Network, that brings you the best in startups from across the globe. Learn more about the process of investment and explore partnership opportunities that can help you grow your business! The startups that we bring to you are looking to demonstrate their technology, look for sales partners, business development, or investments. MA Network’s platform continues to introduce global companies to the Indian investor, to enable their India entry in the most efficient manner. Through this channel, MA plans to continuously introduce innovative and unique offerings from across the world to its investors as well as to the larger ecosystem in its role as a leading angel investing platform. MA is equipped to handhold through the entire investment and post-investment process.

For more information, please feel free to reach out to chandni@mumbaiangels.in

/ sonalisingh@mumbaiangels.in 

If you’d like to attend, please RSVP at this link: http://bit.ly/MA_AUS