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

News on Medial

Related News

Exclusive: Former KKR India CEO’s VC firm leads Windo’s Series A

EntrackrEntrackr · 4m ago
Exclusive: Former KKR India CEO’s VC firm leads Windo’s Series A
Medial

Exclusive: Former KKR India CEO’s VC firm leads Windo’s Series A E-commerce enablement platform Windo is raising Rs 54.2 crore (approximately $6.45 million) in its Series A round. The board at Windo has passed a special resolution to issue 4,928 Series A compulsory convertible preference shares at an issue price of Rs 1,10,124 each to raise Rs 54.26 crore, its regulatory filing sourced from the Registrar of Companies (RoC) shows. Sorin Investment Fund, an early-stage VC firm founded by former KKR India CEO Sanjay Nayar, led the round with an investment of Rs 27.56 crore. JAFCO Asia and Athera Ventures contributed Rs 12.53 crore and Rs 8.35 crore, respectively. The remaining amount will be invested by Unicorn Ventures and individual investors, including Sai Kiran Murali, Sumit Jain, Chhaya Sawhney, Srikrishnan Ganesan, and Jayant Prasad Paleti. The company plans to utilize these funds for growth and expansion, according to filings. Entrackr estimates its post-allotment valuation to be approximately Rs 245 crore ($29 million). Founded by Rakesh Vaddadi and Silus Reddy, Windo enables solopreneurs, influencers, and small to midsize businesses to launch online stores within minutes. The platform is designed for ease of use and provides essential features such as marketing tools and mobile responsiveness through its app. Previously, Windo raised $2 million across Seed and pre-Series A funding rounds in June 2021 and July 2022, respectively. In the previous fiscal year (FY24), the company reported a revenue of Rs 20.4 lakh, while incurring a loss of Rs 2.8 crore. Prior to this, it was in the pre-revenue stage, according to its annual financial statements. The e-commerce enablement sector experienced intense competition during the 2020-21 period, with B Capital-backed Khatabook and OKCredit launching their own platforms. However, both companies abandoned their e-commerce ventures after a couple of years. Windo also competes with several others in the space, including Dukaan, Shopify, Dot, and Bikayi. Following a near shutdown, Bikayi pivoted to become Bik, shifting its focus to serving larger enterprises.

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.

Exclusive: CoinDCX CTO, Finance and Legal heads set to resign

EntrackrEntrackr · 1m ago
Exclusive: CoinDCX CTO, Finance and Legal heads set to resign
Medial

Exclusive: CoinDCX CTO, Finance and Legal heads set to resign Crypto exchange CoinDCX is facing a fresh round of exodus at the top level, with multiple senior executives set to exit the company, according to two sources familiar with the matter. “CoinDCX’s Chief Technology Officer (CTO), Head of Finance, and Head of Legal are exiting the company as part of broader structural changes aimed at streamlining operations and cutting costs,” said a source requesting anonymity. CoinDCX has also initiated a new round of layoffs, though the number of affected employees remains unclear. In August 2023, the Bengaluru-based firm had laid off around 12% of its workforce, impacting around 70 staff. As per sources, the changes come as CoinDCX continues to grapple with declining trading volumes and increasing compliance headache. Confirming the top-level exits, a CoinDCX spokesperson said, "We are ramping up our teams and strengthening our leadership bench across key functions. We currently have over 100 open positions, including new senior leadership roles such as CFO and General Counsel. Our business has scaled significantly across geographies, and we expect this momentum to continue as the crypto industry gains broader recognition…” Seven-year-old CoinDCX claims to be the largest cryptocurrency exchange in India, with more than 15 million registered users. The company recently began operations in Bahrain through its subsidiary BitOasis as part of its expansion into the MENA region. Led by Sumit Gupta, CoinDCX is aiming to generate over 30% of its revenue from this market. CoinDCX turned unicorn in August 2021 when the firm raised $90 million in Series C round. The company scooped up another $135 million to go past the $2 billion valuation mark in April 2022. However, it has not raised any external funding over the past three years. Crypto platforms in India have been under scrutiny as the country has yet to establish a regulatory framework for the sector. In the past, the Enforcement Directorate summoned several cryptocurrency firms, including CoinDCX, to investigate potential violations of the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA). An ET report suggests that India is expected to publish a discussion paper in June to examine potential policy options for crypto assets. The paper will reportedly incorporate insights from a joint report by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the Financial Stability Board (FSB).

Exclusive: InCred Capital to raise $50 Mn led by family offices

EntrackrEntrackr · 9m ago
Exclusive: InCred Capital to raise $50 Mn led by family offices
Medial

InCred Capital, the wealth and institutional arm of the InCred Group, is in advanced discussions to raise $50 million, according to two sources familiar with the details of the deal. “The new funding round is driven by the company’s strong performance in the first half of FY25, with an average revenue run rate of Rs 800 crore and a profit before tax of around Rs 200 crore,” said one of the sources, who requested anonymity as talks are private. As a full-stack financial services platform, InCred Capital integrates wealth management, asset management, M&A, capital markets, equity research and broking, as well as equity derivatives. InCred Capital’s investment banking division has been in the news recently for several notable transactions, including capital raises for Oyo, E2E, Ugro, and Indiabulls. The platform has amassed over $5 billion in AUM, spanning family offices, high net worth individuals, corporate treasuries, and institutional clients. Lead investors in InCred Capital’s new round include Ranjan Pai, through the Manipal family office, the Motherson Sumi family office, MMG family office, as well as the founder Bhupinder Singh himself, according to another source who also spoke on the condition of anonymity. “The company’s valuation is expected to range between $550 million and $600 million,” said the above-mentioned source. Entrackr’s queries to InCred on Friday remained unanswered at the time of publication, while inquiries to the aforementioned investor did not receive immediate responses. InCred Group’s lending arm, InCred Finance, was one of two companies to achieve unicorn status in 2023, raising $60 million in a Series D round led by Ranjan Pai of MEMG and others. Entrackr had exclusively reported on the firm’s unicorn round, which valued the company at $1.03 billion. In FY24, InCred Finance’s assets under management (AUM) saw a 49% increase, exceeding Rs 9,000 crore across personal, MSME, and educational loans, with overseas education loans experiencing rapid growth. In an interview with Entrackr, InCred Group founder and CEO Bhupinder Singh highlighted the strong demand for studying abroad, fueled by better exposure and overall growth prospects. In 2022, InCred Finance completed a reverse merger with KKR India’s credit arm, acquiring KKR’s corporate loan book. However, the corporate loan book was wound down shortly after, allowing InCred to shift its focus to building a tech-enabled retail and MSME franchise.

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