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Blue collar recruitment platform Vahan raises $10 Mn in Series B

EntrackrEntrackr · 10m ago
Blue collar recruitment platform Vahan raises $10 Mn in Series B
Medial

Blue collar recruitment platform Vahan.ai has raised $10 million in its Series B funding round led by Khosla Ventures. The round also saw participation from Y Combinator, US-based VC firm Gaingels, and Paytm founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma. In September 2021, the Bengaluru-based startup had raised $8 million in a Series A round led by Khosla Ventures. Vahan was a part of Airtel’s Startup Accelerator Program and the telecom giant also picked up an 8.82% stake in the Madhav Krishna-led firm in October 2019. The fresh funds will be used to develop AI recruitment technology that supports eight major Indian languages, Vahan said in a press release. Currently, Vahan’s AI recruiter conducts interviews in English and Hindi. It also plans to expand into industries such as manufacturing and retail. Since its launch in 2016, Vahan claims to have recruited over 500,000 workers in more than 480 cities with leading companies such as Zomato, Swiggy, Flipkart, Zepto, Blinkit, Amazon, Rapido, and Uber. With over 25,000 recruits each month, Vahan reduces costs and turnaround time for recruitment. For the fiscal year ending March 2023, Vahan reported Rs 29.7 crore in operating revenue with a loss of Rs 17.71 crore. While the firm has yet to file its annual report for FY24, it expects to grow 2X or more in FY25. In the blue-collar recruitment sector, Vahan had faced initial competition from the likes of Baba Jobs and Aasaan Jobs. However, both struggled to grow and eventually merged with Quikr and OLX in 2017 and 2019, respectively. Tiger Global-backed Apna, which became a unicorn in 2021, emerged as a major competitor after the pandemic.

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Vahan.ai secures strategic investment from Temasek’s LemmaTree, acquires L.earn

EntrackrEntrackr · 3d ago
Vahan.ai secures strategic investment from Temasek’s LemmaTree, acquires L.earn
Medial

Vahan.ai, a recruitment platform for blue-collar workers, has announced a strategic investment from LemmaTree, an investment firm founded by Temasek. Alongside this transaction, Vahan.ai has also acquired L.earn, the digital learning and upskilling tech platform of GoodWorker, which was backed by LemmaTree. The proceeds will primarily be used to enhance Vahan.ai’s proprietary tech stack, including the development of advanced AI capabilities tailored for large-scale, multilingual recruitment. Based in Bengaluru, the company says that acquiring L.earn adds a powerful skilling layer to its offering. L.earn provides mobile-first, vernacular content tailored for gig and frontline workers in sectors like logistics, manufacturing, and retail. By embedding modular skilling journeys directly into the job-seeking process, Vahan.ai will empower workers to improve employability, access better-paying roles, and build long-term careers. According to market research, India’s blue-collar workforce is set to drive 70% of the country’s new employment growth by 2030. This segment is also experiencing wage increases, with blue-collar jobs growing at a rate of 5.7% annually. Vahan has placed over 1 million workers across more than 920 cities and currently facilitates approximately 40,000 job placements per month for employers such as Zepto, Swiggy, Blinkit, and Zomato. The platform plans to expand support to eight additional Indian languages, enabling deeper access for job seekers in Tier 2 and Tier 3 markets. Vahan.ai also aims to enter new high-growth sectors while accelerating its footprint across India and select international markets such as Southeast Asia and the MENA region. Vahan bridges gaps in digital literacy, language barriers, and infrastructure. At its core is a voice-based AI recruiter powered by OpenAI’s GPT-4o, capable of conducting human-like conversations with job seekers in English and Hindi over a simple phone call. This AI layer streamlines the hiring journey—from job discovery and application to interview scheduling—overcoming traditional barriers like digital literacy, language, and infrastructure. To date, Vahan has raised $23.7 million from Khosla Ventures and others.

Blue-collar staffing platform Smartstaff receives strategic investment from APAC leader Persol Group

IndianStartupNewsIndianStartupNews · 1y ago
Blue-collar staffing platform Smartstaff receives strategic investment from APAC leader Persol Group
Medial

Blue-collar staffing platform Smartstaff has secured a strategic investment from PERSOL Group, a leader in APAC. PERSOL Group recognizes India as a crucial market and was drawn to Smartstaff's innovative approach to staffing, which includes recruitment, management, and retention through modern technology and inventive strategies. Smartstaff focuses on enhancing workforce productivity while prioritizing worker welfare through various benefits, resulting in reduced turnover rates. The platform has raised $10.5 million in funding from investors such as Nexus Venture Partners and Blume Ventures. The partnership aims to establish a prominent presence in India's blue-collar staffing solutions space.

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

EntrackrEntrackr · 11m 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.

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