🚀 Medial Secures Investment on Shark Tank India - Fueling the Future of Professional Social Networking. 🔥
Login

News on Medial

Related News

Exclusive: Subko Coffee raises Rs 80 Cr led by NKSquared

EntrackrEntrackr · 1y ago
Exclusive: Subko Coffee raises Rs 80 Cr led by NKSquared
Medial

Subko Coffee has raised Rs 80 crore in a new round led by Zerodha co-founders-backed NKSquared, said two sources aware of the investment. Several individuals along with Blume Ventures and Progressive LLP also participated in the financing round. “NKSquared has put in around Rs 70 crore whereas the remaining Rs 10 crore came from other investors,” said one of the sources requesting anonymity as talks are yet to be public. The company has received $5.5 million (Rs 45 crore) and NKSquared has already invested Rs 34.2 crore, according to the Subko Coffee regulatory filings with the Registrar of Companies (RoC). Blume Ventures and Progressive Strategies LLP collectively invested Rs 4.75 lakh. Pallavi Dempo, Suprapadh S Manohar, John Abraham, Kalpathi Ratna, and Suparna Gupta also took part in the financing round. As per sources, NKSquared has also acquired a 25% stake in the Mumbai-based firm. Subko Coffee has been valued at around $35-40 million (post-money), said the person quoted above. Queries sent to Subko Coffee NKSquared and Subko Coffee didn’t elicit any immediate response. We will update the story in case they respond. NKSquared was incorporated by Kamath brothers in 2019 but it became active last year and backed a few companies, including Nazara Games. Subko Coffee provides caffeinated drinks along with baked bread-pastries and coffee roasters. According to its filings, several celebrities such as Gauri Khan, Tiger Shroff, and others invested in the company between June 2022 to December 2023. Subko Coffee has been growing at a rapid clip and this could be evident from its growth in the last fiscal year. Its revenue spiked 94% to Rs 13.57 crore in FY23 from Rs 7 crore in FY22 while the firm’s losses stood at Rs 9.86 crore in the same period. Subko Coffee competes with Third Wave Coffee, Blue Tokai, Rage Coffee, Slay Coffee, Sleepy Owl, and Seven Beans Co. Notably, Third Wave Coffee is also backed by Zerodha’s co-founder Nikhil Kamath.

abCoffee raises $3.4 Mn in Series A round

EntrackrEntrackr · 2y ago
abCoffee raises $3.4 Mn in Series A round
Medial

Specialty coffee QSR chain abCoffee has raised $3.4 million in its Series A round led by Nexus Venture Partners, with participation from existing investor Tanglin Venture Partners. Earlier to this round, the startup had raised $2 million in its seed round led by Tanglin Venture in September last year. The proceeds will be used to enable abCoffee to ramp up its supply chain and technology stack to bring on-demand coffee beverages at lower prices in quicker time, abCoffee said in a press release. Founded in 2022 by Abhijeet Anand, abCoffee offers a wide variety of freshly brewed coffees at affordable prices and provides all the traditional blends including Americano, Latte, Flat White, Iced Latte, and Irish Cold Coffee. The company boasts a customer loyalty rate of 61%, nearly double the industry average, reflecting its commitment to exceptional service with a turn around time (TAT) of 1.5 minutes. Recently, the brand opened 25 outlets across Mumbai and Delhi within a span of 20 months. The brand is targeting 150 stores by end of 2024. Its competitors include Third Wave Coffee, Blue Tokai, Rage Coffee, Slay Coffee, Sleepy Owl, and Seven Beans Co., among others.

Toffee Coffee Roasters raises pre-Series A round led by IPV

EntrackrEntrackr · 3m ago
Toffee Coffee Roasters raises pre-Series A round led by IPV
Medial

Toffee Coffee Roasters raises pre-Series A round led by IPV Coffee brand Toffee Coffee Roasters has raised Rs 5 crore in pre-Series A funding round led by IPV along with participation from 66 bridge partners, Abhijit Vemuganti and Invesst. The startup was also featured on Shark Tank India and backed by Ritesh Agarwal. The proceeds will be utilized for expansion of operations, enhancing and expanding the backend roastery, improving packaging quality, and new product development as the brand continues to expand its portfolio. Co-founded in 2019 by Rishabh Nigam and Nandini Shrivastava, Toffee Coffee Roasters started as a specialty coffee cafe in Mumbai. During the 2020 lockdown, the brand pivoted to delivering freshly roasted coffees across India. It has since scaled to over 2 lakh customers through various channels and operates out of a 10k sqft roastery. The global coffee market is valued at $150–200 billion, while India’s coffee market stands at around $2 billion, showing a promising CAGR of over 20 percent. The company focuses on high-quality sourcing, roasting, and blending, ensuring better quality at competitive prices. Toffee Coffee Roasters currently produces over 5 tonnes of coffee monthly, aiming to scale production to 50 tonnes, which could support Rs 8-10 crore in annual revenue and reach 8-10 lakh customers. The company holds around 1-2% market share in the overall coffee category.

Blue Tokai raises $35 Mn in Series C led by Verlinvest

EntrackrEntrackr · 1y ago
Blue Tokai raises $35 Mn in Series C led by Verlinvest
Medial

Global investment platform Verlinvest has led a $35 million round in specialty coffee and bakery brand Blue Tokai. Existing investors Anicut Capital and A91 Partners also joined the Series C funding. This strategic partnership will enable Blue Tokai to deepen its presence in existing metro markets and expand into new tier I and tier II cities in India over the next three years, the company said in a press release. In January 2023, Blue Tokai raised $30 million in its Series B funding round led by A91 Partners. Led by co-founders Matt Chitharanjan, Namrata Asthana, and Shivam Shahi, Blue Tokai has partnered with several retail outlets, luxury hotels, restaurants, top corporates, and co-working spaces, among others. In the past 12 months, the company claims to have more than doubled its store count to 130 outlets. The funds will also be used to expand to over 350 locations in the next 30-36 months. Blue Tokai’s revenue from operations surged 72% to Rs 127.45 crore in FY23 from Rs 74 crore in FY22. According to startup data intelligence platform TheKredible, its losses also increased nearly 3.5-fold to Rs 43 crore in FY23, compared to Rs 12.3 crore in FY22. The company is yet to file its annual report for FY24. It competes with Rage Coffee, Third Wave Coffee Roasters, Slay Coffee, Sleepy Owl, and Seven Beans Co., among others. Among venture-funded startups, Third Wave Coffee was the largest brand in terms of revenue in FY23. However, the firm also experienced layoffs of more than 100 employees shortly after a $35 million fundraise in September last year. In March this year, Third Wave Coffee’s CEO Sushant Goel was replaced by Rajat Luthra from KFC. Earlier this week, GRM Overseas acquired a 44% equity stake in Rage Coffee through a combination of primary infusion and secondary buyouts.

Admission startup Ambitio raises $2 Mn in seed round

EntrackrEntrackr · 1y ago
Admission startup Ambitio raises $2 Mn in seed round
Medial

Admission startup Ambitio raises $2 Mn in seed round Admissions startup Ambitio has secured $2 million in a seed funding round led by BLinC Invest along with participation from Ritu Bapna and other investors. Prior to this, the startup raised $187K in the same round from First Cheque and others. The fresh funds will be used to invest in technology and scale distribution channels, Ambitio stated. Co-founded in 2022 by Dirghayu Kaushik and Vikrant Shivalik, Ambitio is an AI-driven admissions platform leveraging over 10 million data points to provide a personalized admissions experience. It aims to match students to best-fit universities using real admission data. Ambitio claims successful admissions in top colleges like Harvard, Stanford, Columbia, and Oxford. It plans to help over 500,000 students access global education in the next two years and competes with startups such as Yocket, Gradvine, and MiMEssay.

Kettleborough VC launches fund II with Rs 80 Cr target, closes Rs 35 Cr in first tranche

EntrackrEntrackr · 8m ago
Kettleborough VC launches fund II with Rs 80 Cr target, closes Rs 35 Cr in first tranche
Medial

Venture capital firm Kettleborough VC, founded by early-stage investor Nisarg Shah, has launched its second fund with a target corpus of Rs 80 crore and announced a first close at Rs 35 crore. The fund is backed by a mix of family offices and entrepreneurs from India and the US. According to Kettleborough, Fund II will continue to invest in deeply experienced founders at the earliest stages, typically those with over 10 years of domain expertise and a strong execution focus. The firm will write initial cheques of $300,000–$500,000 in about 10 startups, with significant follow-on reserves for high-performing bets. Founded in 2021, Kettleborough VC has built a name as a conviction-led, construct-specific fund. Its Fund I backed 12 startups including Zippmat, InPrime, Finhaat, and Elivaas, nine of which received their first institutional cheque from Kettleborough. These portfolio companies have since raised follow-on rounds from investors like Omnivore, Lightspeed, 3one4, and Bessemer. “We only back founders for whom the startup is a natural outcome of a decade-long journey in their domain. Fund I has validated this thesis with strong portfolio traction and early PMF. Fund II doubles down on this conviction,” said Shah. Kettleborough added that it focuses on “Dhandha-first” businesses, with interest across financial services, commerce infrastructure, and vertical SaaS/AI platforms. Shah has personally backed over 30 startups, with 10 exits and 80 follow-on rounds, including hits like Foxtale, Onebanc, and Homeville.

Blue Tokai raises $25 Mn in a bridge funding round from existing investors

EntrackrEntrackr · 6m ago
Blue Tokai raises $25 Mn in a bridge funding round from existing investors
Medial

Blue Tokai raises $25 Mn in a bridge funding round from existing investors Speciality coffee chain Blue Tokai Coffee Roasters has raised $25 million (around Rs 220 crore) in a bridge funding round from existing investors A91 Partners, Anicut, Verlinvest, and 12 Flags. The proceeds will be used to scale retail operations, strengthen back-end infrastructure, and expand into international markets such as Dubai and Japan. In India, the funds will also support new store launches and the expansion of its roasteries and bakery facilities in Bengaluru and Gurugram. Blue Tokai currently operates cafes across multiple Indian cities and has positioned itself as a premium coffee brand. The founders said they are revising their growth targets upwards. Earlier, the plan was to achieve Rs 1,000 crore in revenue and Rs 100 crore EBITDA by 2027. Now, the company aims for over 800 stores and Rs 2,000 crore revenue within the next four years. Blue Tokai has raised over $105 million to date, including its $30 million Series C round led by Verlinvest in August last year. According to the startup data intelligence platform TheKredible, A91 Partners was the largest external stakeholder with 22.77% followed by Verlinvest. As per TheKredible, Blue Tokai Coffee Roasters achieved over five-fold growth in the past four fiscal years. The brand's revenue grew from Rs 41 crore in FY21 to Rs 75 crore in FY22, Rs 127 crore in FY23, and Rs 216 crore in FY24. It competes with Rage Coffee, Third Wave Coffee Roasters, Slay Coffee, Sleepy Owl, and Seven Beans Co., among others.

Health-tech startup Biopeak raises $2.7 Mn led by Nikhil Kamath’s NKSquared

EntrackrEntrackr · 1m ago
Health-tech startup Biopeak raises $2.7 Mn led by Nikhil Kamath’s NKSquared
Medial

Snippets Health-tech startup Biopeak raises $2.7 Mn led by Nikhil Kamath’s NKSquared Health-tech startup Biopeak has raised $2.7 million in a follow-on funding round led by NKSquared, the investment vehicle of Zerodha cofounder Nikhil Kamath. This is Kamath's second investment in the company after he deployed $1.43 million into the health optimisation startup in August 2024. The proceeds will be utilized to expand its operations, including the new clinic, and enhancements to its diagnostics, proprietary artificial intelligence (AI) tools, research initiatives, and clinical programmes, Biopeak said in a press release. Co-founded in 2025 by Rishi Pardal and Shiva Subramanian, Biopeak uses AI-driven molecular diagnostics, imaging, and expert-led programs to optimize healthspan. The startup focuses on longevity that provides a "family health office" approach, offering personalized plans for healthspan expansion. The platform integrates organic acid profiling, microbiome mapping, whole-exome functional genomics, salivary cortisol rhythms, and imaging (MRI, CT, DXA, ECHO). The startup’s in-house clinics provide specialized care based on data-driven, actionable insights on nutrition, sleep, and stress. The Bengaluru-based startup targets high achievers, executives, and women, relying on programmes mixing advanced diagnostics, specialist teams, wearable data, and AI insights tailored to Indian biology and disease patterns. The model stresses on early risk detection, longitudinal tracking, and interventions to improve performance and resilience. Over the past year, Biopeak says that it has grown its client base and clinical offerings amid rising demand for structured longevity services. It opened a clinic in Bengaluru last year and plans to open a second one in the coming month.

Download the medial app to read full posts, comements and news.