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Exclusive: Chai Shots to raise $5 Mn from General Catalyst and InfoEdge

EntrackrEntrackr · 3m ago
Exclusive: Chai Shots to raise $5 Mn from General Catalyst and InfoEdge
Medial

Exclusive: Chai Shots to raise $5 Mn from General Catalyst and InfoEdge Hyderabad-based microdrama over the top (OTT) platform Chai Shots is raising $5 million in its maiden funding round, two sources aware of the development told Entrackr. “General Catalyst along with Info Edge are in advanced stages of closing a new funding round in Chai Shots,” said a source requesting anonymity. “A few angel investors may also participate.” Chai Shots is a short-video streaming platform with episodes under two minutes, available in several Indian languages. The platform is created by the team behind Chai Bisket, a popular digital media and storytelling company. The Chai Bisket team has built a content ecosystem over nine years, covering reels, podcasts, films, and regional stories through platforms like First Show, Mutiny Talent, Studio Panchatantra, and Chai Shots. The Chai Shots platform is still being developed and is expected to launch soon. “The official launch and funding announcement might take a few weeks,” said another source. The person also mentioned that interest in this space is growing, and a few more startups are likely to raise funds soon. Earlier this week, Flick TV, a similar startup, raised $2.3 million in seed funding led by Stellaris Venture Partners, with participation from Gemba Capital and Titan Capital. Chai Shots will also face competition from Kuku FM’s Kuku TV, ShareChat’s QuickTV, Reel Saga, and Reelies. Queries sent to Chai Shots, General Catalyst, and Info Edge did not elicit a response until publication of the story.

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Exclusive: CityMall to raise $38 Mn in Series D round at flat valuation

EntrackrEntrackr · 10d ago
Exclusive: CityMall to raise $38 Mn in Series D round at flat valuation
Medial

Exclusive: CityMall to raise $38 Mn in Series D round at flat valuation Grocery-focused social e-commerce platform CityMall is set to raise Rs 334 crore ($38 million) in a Series D round from existing investors led by Accel with the participation of Waterbridge Ventures, Elevation Capital, Norwest Capital, Citius, and General Catalyst. This is the first major funding for the Gurugram-based company in 3.5 years since it raised $75 million in the Series C round in March 2022. The board at CityMall passed a resolution to approve the issuance of 7,278 Series D CCPS and an equity share at an issue price of Rs 4,58,716 each to raise the aforementioned sum, its regulatory filing accessed from Registrar of Companies (RoC) shows. Accel will lead the round with an investment of Rs 173.2 crore ($19.7 million), followed by Waterbridge Ventures at Rs 52 crore ($5.9 million). Citius and Norwest Capital will participate with Rs 48.38 crore ($5.5 million) and Rs 25.96 crore ($2.95 million), respectively. Elevation Capital (Rs 21.65 crore), General Catalyst (Rs 8.67 crore), and angel investor Rohit Agarwal (Rs 4 crore) will also join the round. The proceeds will be used for capital expenditure, marketing, and other general corporate purposes, the filing added. According to Entrackr’s estimates, the company’s valuation remained flat at Rs 2,780 crore or $316 million. The company might raise more funds in this round and its valuation will vary accordingly. Founded in 2020, Grocery-focused social commerce startup CityMall offers daily essentials including grocery, FMCG, and home and kitchen products, and plans to expand into new categories such as beauty and accessories through its network of community resellers in tier II and III cities. According to the startup data intelligence platform TheKredible, Citymall has so far raised over $110 million across multiple funding rounds. The Accel-backed company has not yet filed its FY25 financials. In FY24, it reported over 23% year-on-year growth in gross revenue (GMV) to Rs 427 crore compared to Rs 346.4 crore in FY23. However, its losses rose 10% during the same period to Rs 159 crore.

Exclusive: Spinny in talks to mop up over $100 Mn in internal round

EntrackrEntrackr · 7m ago
Exclusive: Spinny in talks to mop up over $100 Mn in internal round
Medial

Exclusive: Spinny in talks to mop up over $100 Mn in internal round Tiger Global-backed Spinny is in talks to raise over $100 million in a new round mostly financed by existing investors, said three sources aware of the contours of the deal. Used car platform Spinny is preparing for a new round almost after a gap of over three years. The Tiger Global-backed company is in talks to raise over $100 million in a new round mostly financed by existing investors, said three sources aware of the contours of the deal. “Spinny could raise up to $120 million from internal investors including Elevation Capital, Abu Dhabi Growth Fund, General Catalyst and Accel among others,” said one of the sources on condition of anonymity. Sources assert that the talks are in an early stage and it may take a quarter to materialize. If the deal gets through, Spinny would be the first used car platform to raise a new round since late 2021. As per sources, its valuation more or less remains unchanged in the potential round. Market analysts point out that Spinny has emerged as a clear leader with a large delta in the used car retail space as the company appears to have cracked demand first transaction model. It has achieved this on the back of one of the lowest consumer acquisition costs and better gross margin. The Gurugram-based company also scaling auction-based verticals for dealers and car-financing businesses. Most of the money from the new round is likely to be deployed to grow the lending biz, said sources. “Spinny sells close to 7,000 cars every month with an average transaction size of around 6 lakhs. It also sells around 5000 more cars every month on its B2B auction platform,” said the source mentioned above. Queries sent to Spinny, Accel, Elevation and General Catalyst did not elicit an immediate response. According to startup data intelligence platform TheKredible, Spinny has raised around $500 million to date. Tiger Global and Accel are its largest stakeholders with 14.25% and 13.25% holding respectively. For the fiscal year ended in March 2024, Spinny’s revenue from operations increased to Rs 3,725.02 crore from Rs 3,259.78 crore in FY23​. During the period, its losses reduced by 28% to Rs 590.37 crore.

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