Our weekly column summarizes the tech financing highlights in India this week.
This week, VR (virtual reality)-oriented Smaaash and Foyr drew major investment with USD 14 million and USD 3.8 million, respectively. Smaaash is an offline sports and VR-focused gaming center while Foyr is a real estate and home design visualization platform. The single largest tech financing amount this week was that of Amazon-Patni joint venture vendor Appario Retail with USD 15.7 million in capital infusion. Additionally, ecommerce & online gifting portal IGP.com secured Series-A funding while SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) fintech platform Lendingkart Finance landed USD 3.8 million.
VR and sports-oriented entertainment center Smaaash lands USD 14 M for expansion
Smaaash
Founded: 2012
Founders: Shripal Morakhia
Financing status: USD 14 million
Virtual reality (VR) gaming and entertainment arcade Smaaash has raised USD 14 million in funding from HNI (high networth individual) clients of Avendus Wealth Management Pvt. Ltd. This comes less than a month after the company secured USD 3.9 million in funding from consumer-focused investment firm Six Sense Ventures. The newly raised funding will go towards further expansion of its arcade and event centers.
Mumbai-based online gifting platform IGP secures pre-Series A funding for branding & infrastructure enhancement
IGP.com
Founded: 1999
Founders: Manan Sharma
Financing status: Undisclosed Pre-Series A
Mumbai-based online gifting platform IGP has raised an undisclosed amount in a pre-Series-A funding round led by incubator Venture Catalysts.
Amazon-Patni joint venture vendor Appario Retail receives USD 15.7M capital infusion
Appario Retail
Founded: 2017
Founders: Amazon & Ashok Patni Group
Financing status: USD 15.7 million in recent capital infusion
Appario Retail, the retail entity formed under the recent joint venture (JV) between Amazon and Ashok Patni Group, recently received a USD 15.7 million capital infusion.
Virtual reality-oriented home décor & design startup Foyr lands USD 3.8 M in Series-A funding round led by JLL
Foyr
Founded: 2014
Founder: Shailesh Goswami
Financing status: USD 3.8 million in Series-A Round
Hyderabad-based virtual-reality (VR) home décor and design visualization platform Foyr has landed USD 3.8 million in Series A-Funding led by property consultancy Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL) among others.
SME lending platform Lendingkart Finance secures USD 3.8 M in cash credit from State Bank of India
Lendingkart Finance
Founded: 2014
Founders: Harshvardhan Lunia & Mukul Sachan
Financing status: USD 3.8 million in cash credit
Ahmedabad-based small and medium-size enterprise (SME) lending startup Lendingkart Finance has raised USD 3.8 million in cash credit from the State Bank of India. This funding comes just months after securing USD 10.9 million in a funding round led by Sistema Asia Fund. The newly raised capital will be allocated.
(Top photo from 699pic.com)
