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Exclusive: Ex-ShareChat CXO Shashank Shekhar’s new startup to raise $4 Mn led by Peak XV

EntrackrEntrackr · 1d ago
Exclusive: Ex-ShareChat CXO Shashank Shekhar’s new startup to raise $4 Mn led by Peak XV
Medial

Exclusive: Ex-ShareChat CXO Shashank Shekhar’s new startup to raise $4 Mn led by Peak XV Shashank Shekhar, a former head of content strategy and operations at ShareChat, is raising $4 million for his new startup focused on AI-led learning, according to two sources familiar with the development. “Peak XV Partners is leading the round with participation from a few early-stage institutional and angel investors,” said one of the sources requesting anonymity. “Shekhar has been quietly building this for the last few months and has early prototypes in place.” According to sources, the startup is currently in stealth and is expected to go live later this year. While details remain limited, its model draws similarities to Seekho, a career-focused learning platform. Entrackr recently reported that Seekho is in talks to raise $25-30 million. Shekhar was Head of Content at ShareChat between December 2016 and May 2018. He then co-founded the hyperlocal information platform Circle Internet, which was acquired by ShareChat in August 2020. Following the acquisition, he served as Head of Content Strategy and Operations at the Google-backed company until his resignation in March this year. “The round is expected to close in the coming weeks. The startup is likely to use the capital to expand its AI and product team, continue development and prepare for an initial rollout,” said another source. The startup’s name could not be confirmed. Queries sent to Shekhar and Peak XV did not elicit a response until the time of publication. While Shekhar’s startup will be the first direct rival to Seekho, platforms like YouTube Shorts and Instagram offer indirect competition through creator-led educational content aimed at the same audience.

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Exclusive: Peak XV in talks to lead new round in visa startup Atlys

EntrackrEntrackr · 1y ago
Exclusive: Peak XV in talks to lead new round in visa startup Atlys
Medial

Online visa application platform Atlys is in talks to raise a new round to the tune of $15-18 million, sources aware of the development told Entrackr. The Mumbai and San Francisco-based firm is raising its Series B round within a year of Series A fundraise. “Atlys has initiated talks with existing backer Peak XV and others to raise Series B round. The talks are early and may take a couple of months to materialize,” said a source who requested anonymity. In September last year, Atlys scooped up $12 million in a Series A round led by Elevation Capital and Peak XV Partners with participation from existing investors Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), Musical Duo Chainsmokers, South Park Commons, Pinterest Founders and other investors. To date, it has raised over $17 million. “The round will be led by Peak XV and value Atlys anywhere at around $70 million or even more,” said another source. Launched in 2021, Atlys makes visa process visa-related processes easier in a quick time. It has built a tech which aims to reduce visa rejection rates. The platform covers more than 150 destinations and with an average time of just over 4-10 minutes spent to apply for a visa. As per sources, Atlys facilitates around 30,000 visa applications per month and India contributes more than 60% (20,000) visa applications. Earlier this year, the firm launched a new refund feature aimed at providing financial security to its users if their visa gets rejected. In a response to Entrackr’s queries, Atlys founder and CEO Mohak Nahta said, “We would like to clarify that we are currently not engaging in any fundraising activities, and reports or rumours indicating otherwise are inaccurate.” Queries sent to Peak XV did not elicit any response. Atlys competes with Gurugram-based Visa2Fly and Mumbai-based StampThePassport. While Visa2Fly raised $414K in its pre-seed round from ODX (On Deck), MarsShot VC (Razorpay Founders) and others in July 2022, StampThePassport raised $500K in September last year.

Exclusive: Peak XV to lead new round in GoodScore parent

EntrackrEntrackr · 4m ago
Exclusive: Peak XV to lead new round in GoodScore parent
Medial

Exclusive: Peak XV to lead new round in GoodScore parent Arthvit 1809 Tech Pvt. Ltd, the parent company of Rupicard and GoodScore, is all set to raise $15-20 million in a fresh funding round, sources aware of the development told Entrackr. "Peak XV is leading a $15 million investment in Arthvit 1809 Tech (parent of GoodScore and Rupicard), with participation from existing investor Stellaris. The terms of the deal have been finalized, and the company is expected to announce it in the coming weeks," said a source familiar with the matter, requesting anonymity. Founded in 2022 by Rakshit Agarwal and Sanchit Bansal​, GoodScore helps users improve their credit scores to 750 and above. It provides monthly tracking, detailed reports, and expert guidance. Its core product Rupicard offers a secured credit card linked to a fixed deposit (FD), allowing users to build or improve their credit scores. Users can open an FD starting from Rs 5,000 and receive a credit limit equal to 90% of their deposit. Queries sent to Peak XV and Bansal didn’t elicit an immediate response. Last year, Bajaj Markets, a Bajaj Finserv subsidiary, partnered with Rupicard to expand credit card access across India. Arthvit 1809 Tech (parent company of Rupicard and Goodscore) is backed by Stellaris Venture Partners, Saison Capital, and Sprint VC, as per PitchBook's data. Interestingly, Peak XV is already an investor in OneCard, which operates OneScore, a similar app to GoodScore. The Anurag Sinha-led company is a unicorn, and Peak XV is its largest stakeholder. Arthvit 1809 Tech began monetizing its operations in FY24 and its operating revenue surged to Rs 2.5 crore in the last fiscal year from Rs 4 thousand in FY23. Collection from services was the sole source of the company’s revenue in the last fiscal year. However, the firm’s losses also expanded significantly, increasing 7.7 times to Rs 7 crore in FY24.

Exclusive: OneCard to secure $28.5 Mn in new funding round

EntrackrEntrackr · 7m ago
Exclusive: OneCard to secure $28.5 Mn in new funding round
Medial

Mobile-first credit card startup OneCard is raising Rs 239.4 crore or $28.5 million from Better Tomorrow Ventures, Peak XV (previously Sequoia Capital), and Z47 (previously Matrix Partners). While this is the first equity investment for the Pune-based company in 2024, it received debt funding in January this year. The board at OneCard has passed a special resolution to issue 72,048 cumulatively preference shares at an issue price of Rs 33,228.3 per share to raise Rs 239.4 crore or $28.5 million, its regulatory filing accessed from the Registrar of Companies (RoC) shows. According to the filings, the company has already secured Rs 71.4 crore from Better Tomorrow Ventures, Peak XV Partners, and Matrix Ventures as part of the above-mentioned fundraising. The breakdown includes Rs 42 crore from Better Tomorrow Ventures, Rs 8.4 crore from Peak XV, and Rs 21 crore from Matrix Ventures. The remaining Rs 168 crore is expected to be received by OneCard in one or more tranches. As per the startup data intelligence platform TheKredible, OneCard has been valued at around Rs 11,747 crore or $1.4 billion post-allotment. In September 2023, Entrackr exclusively reported that the Bengaluru-based company was seeking $100 million at flat valuation. OneCard (FPL Technologies) offers co-branded credit cards to mostly first-time users with banks such as IDFC First Bank, Federal Bank, and SBM Bank. It has a credit score tracking cum credit management app called OneScore. In Sept 2023, the firm announced its partnership with Indian Bank to empower users with full digital control over their credit card interactions such as real-time transaction tracking, spending management, and EMI conversion, among others. On the revenue front, OneCard managed over six-fold year-on-year growth in FY23 as its operating revenue soared to Rs 593 crore in FY23 from Rs 97.8 crore in FY22. At the same time, its losses also spiked 2.2X to Rs 405.6 crore in FY23. It has yet to file its annual results for FY24. OneCard turned unicorn after a $100 million round in July 2022. It has raised more than $350 million to date. According to TheKredible, Peak XV and Z47 collectively control 40% stake in the company.

Exclusive: Neo kicks off Series B with $26.5 Mn

EntrackrEntrackr · 11m ago
Exclusive: Neo kicks off Series B with $26.5 Mn
Medial

Wealth and asset management company Neo has raised Rs 220 crore or $26.5 million in its Series B led by Crystal Investment. This is the second significant round for the Mumbai-based company in the past 9 months. The board at Neo has approved issuing Series B preference shares at an issue price of Rs 3,12,421 each to raise $26.5 million, its regulatory filing accessed from the Registrar of Companies (RoC) shows. Crystal investments pumped in Rs 140 crore (approximately $16.8 million) while Mufg Bank and individual investor Deepak Agarwal participated with Rs 78 crore and Rs 2 crore, respectively. This seems to be part of an ongoing round and the firm may raise more funds.. As per TheKredible’s estimates, the company has been valued at around Rs 1,920 crore or $231 million post-allotment. Neo has raised around $104 million to date including its $35 million Series B round led by Peak XV in October last year. According to the startup data intelligence platform TheKredible, Peak VV was the largest external shareholder, holding 22.22% of the company. Meanwhile, its co-founders—Nitin Jain, Varun Bajpai, and Hemant Dogra—collectively held 63.81% prior to this funding round. Neo provides advisory and yield-based investment solutions to high and ultra-high net worth individuals including indigenous family offices. The three-year-old firm demonstrated supper growth in the fiscal year ending March 2023 as its revenue ballooned 9X to Rs 65.1 crore. Neo achieved such growth with a mere loss of Rs 3.6 crore during FY23. The company is yet to disclose its FY24 results.

Exclusive: SriMandir’s parent AppsForBharat in talks to raise $15-20 Mn

EntrackrEntrackr · 1y ago
Exclusive: SriMandir’s parent AppsForBharat in talks to raise $15-20 Mn
Medial

AppsForBharat, the parent company of devotional app SriMandir, is in talks to raise a new round from new and existing investors, according to three people aware of the development. “AppsForBharat is in late-stage discussion with three new investors to raise $15-20 million,” said one of the sources requesting anonymity. “An Indian growth stage fund and a Singapore-based investor are in the race to lead the round.” Sources outline that the Bengaluru-based growth stage fund has backed companies including Spinny, Pharmeasy, FarEye and Probo. The Bengaluru-based startup had scooped up $10 million Series A in September 2021 and $4 million Seed round in August. As per sources, AppsForBharat is seeking a valuation of close to $100 million. “Existing investors including Peak XV and Elevation will also join the round on a pro-rata basis. The contours of the deal are being chalked out and the deal is likely to materialize later this month,” said another source who also wished not to be named as discussions are private. Queries sent to AppsForBharat didn’t elicit any response. AppsForBharat’s flagship product SriMandir allows users to create their personalized shrines, consume devotional content, connect with prayer groups, and access a large library of spiritual texts, scriptures and videos. Users can also consult with astrologers and priests. It claims to have over 10 million downloads since its inception in 2021. AppsForBharat’s long list of investors includes Peak XV, BEENEXT, Matrix Partners and angels such as Scott Schleifer, Ankush Sachdeva, Farid Ahsan and Bhanu Pratap Singh, Utsav Somani, Vidit Aatrey and Sanjeev Barnwal, Kunal Shah and Sai Srinivas. AppsForBharat registered Rs 3.53 crore in revenue with Rs 45 crore loss in FY23, according to startup data intelligence platform TheKredible. The firm is expected to post a better result in the last fiscal year (FY24). It competes with DevDham, Utsav App, Sutradhar, and 27 Mantra. As per data compiled by TheKredible, astro and spiritual tech startups have raised around $25 million in the past 12 months. Besides Ustav App and DevDham, InstaAstro, AstroTalk, Vama, and Melooha also raised decent funding during the period.

Exclusive: Scaler to raise $40 Mn at reduced valuation

EntrackrEntrackr · 1m ago
Exclusive: Scaler to raise $40 Mn at reduced valuation
Medial

Exclusive: Scaler to raise $40 Mn at reduced valuation Upskilling platform Scaler is finalizing a $40 million fundraise, according to people familiar with the matter. This would be its first funding round in over three years, with the last one, a Series B, in February 2022. “Lighthouse is likely to lead a new funding round in Scaler, with some existing investors also participating. The deal is in its final stages and, barring any last-minute changes, is expected to close in a few weeks,” said a source requesting anonymity due to the private nature of the discussions. Scaler has so far raised over $75 million across rounds from the likes of Lightrock India, Peak XV Partners, and Tiger Global. The firm last raised $55 million in Series B in February 2022 at a valuation of $710 million. However, sources indicated that this will be a down round, with Scaler's valuation expected to plunge to $350–$370 million after the new funding. In response to Entrackr’s queries, Scaler said it does not comment on market speculation, while Peak XV declined to comment. Lighthouse had not responded by the time of publication. Scaler specializes in upskilling college students and technology professionals by offering an intensive six-month computer science program. The course is delivered through live classes led by experienced tech leaders and subject matter experts. While Scaler has yet to disclose its FY25 numbers, the company’s revenue from operations grew to Rs 384.5 crore in FY24 from Rs 316.7 crore in FY23. Optimization of major expense categories helped the company reduce its overall losses by 58% to Rs 139 crore in FY24. At the beginning of FY25, Scaler laid off around 150 employees citing long-term growth and sustainability. It competes with Newton School, Masai School, and to some extent with Simplilearn. Many growth and late-stage startups are operating in a challenging funding environment, raising capital at flat or reduced valuations.

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