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Exclusive: Propelld to raise $30 Mn from WestBridge and Stellaris

EntrackrEntrackr ยท 2m ago
Exclusive: Propelld to raise $30 Mn from WestBridge and Stellaris
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Exclusive: Propelld to raise $30 Mn from WestBridge and Stellaris Propelld, an education-focused lending platform, is set to secure Rs 260 crore (around $30.5 million) in its Series D round led by WestBridge Capital with the participation of Stellaris Venture Partners. Propelldโ€™s board passed a special resolution to allot 20,732 Series D compulsory convertible preference shares (CCPS) at an issue price of Rs 1,25,408 each to raise the aforementioned sum, its regulatory filing accessed from the Registrar of Companies (RoC) shows. Westbridge Capital will invest Rs 240 crore ($28 million) via Setu AIF Trust, Konark Trust, and MMPL Trust while Stellaris Venture Partners will contribute Rs 20 crore. The investment will be utilized to meet the companyโ€™s working capital needs and capital expenditure for business expansion, the filing added. According to Entrackrโ€™s estimates, the company is valued at around Rs 860 crore or $101 million post-allotment. Founded in 2019 by Bibhu Prasad Das, Victor Senapaty, and Brijesh Samantaray, Propelld provides education loan financing through 'Study Now, Pay Later' products and Income Sharing Agreements (ISA) via its NBFC arm. The company also offers collateral-free education financing options. Following the latest fundraise, WestBridge will hold a 46.9% stake in the company while Stellaris Venture Partners will hold a 15.69% stake. Propelld competes with other education loans-focused fintech startups like Leap Finance and Grayquest.

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Exclusive: PhysicsWallah set to raise $150 Mn at $2.8 Bn valuation

EntrackrEntrackr ยท 1y ago
Exclusive: PhysicsWallah set to raise $150 Mn at $2.8 Bn valuation
Medial

While the edtech space has been going through a long spell of the so-called โ€˜funding winterโ€™, PhysicsWallah (PW) appears close to raising a new large round. Fresh funding will be led by new investors whereas existing investors including Westbridge and GSV Ventures will also participate, three sources aware of the discussion told Entrackr. โ€œPhysicsWallah is set to raise $150 million from new and existing backers,โ€ said one of the sources requesting anonymity. โ€œThe terms of the deal have been sealed and the transaction is likely to be public soon.โ€ This will be the second financing round for the Alakh Pandey-led firm in the past two years. PhysicWallah raised $100 million in a Series A round led by Westbridge and GSV Ventures in June 2022. โ€œPhysicsWallah will be valued at around $2.8 billion in the new round,โ€ said another source who also wished not to be named. This will be over a 2.5X jump in the companyโ€™s valuation as PhysicsWallah was valued at $1.1 billion in its Series A funding. Queries sent to PhysicsWallah and Westbridge didnโ€™t elicit any immediate response. We will carry their comments in case they respond. According to the startup data intelligence platform TheKredible, WestBridge held a 2.4% stake in PhysicWallah while GSV owned 1.44% as of the Series A round. Its co-founders Alakh Pandey and Prayeek Maheshwari cumulatively command 86.54% of the company. PhysicsWallah started with online coaching for IIT/JEE but has now become a full-fledged education firm, offering offline coaching, schools, colleges, and upskilling programmes. According to sources, about 30% of its revenue comes from JEE and NEET coaching whereas offline coaching (via Vidyapeeth and Pathshala) contributes 35% of the collection. While the company is yet to disclose FY24 numbers, PhysicsWallahโ€™s revenue surged 3.3X to Rs 779 crore in FY23. At the same time, the firmโ€™s profit declined more than 90% to Rs 8.87 crore in FY23. In November last year, the company laid off 120-150 employees as a cost-cutting measure. Entrckr was the first to report the development. As per data compiled by TheKredible, edtech startups raised only $138 million across 21 deals during the first half of 2024. This is a sharp fall from $456 million in 2023, $2.3 billion in 2022, and $5.8 billion in 2021. The funding news is the strongest testament yet to the investor conviction in PhysicsWallahโ€™s long-term strengths. This incredible loyalty and credibility with the student community other edtechs have simply not been able to earn for love or money. The valuation also indicates a relatively long time investors are willing to wait it out for the firm to deliver on its potential and declared ambitions. A funding round in this environment will not just buy PhysicsWallah time, but also provide the gunpowder to scale up at a much lower cost thanks to the emasculated state of the competition.

Exclusive: Matrix and Stellaris-backed Dashtoon in talks to raise $10-12 Mn

EntrackrEntrackr ยท 1y ago
Exclusive: Matrix and Stellaris-backed Dashtoon in talks to raise $10-12 Mn
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AI assisted comic creation platform Dashtoon is in talks to raise a new round from new and existing investors, sources aware of the development told Entrackr. This will be the second funding round for the San Francisco and London-based startup which has offices in Bengaluru. โ€œNew investors along with existing ones Matrix Partners India and Stellaris Venture Partners are in late-stage talks to invest around $10-12 million in Dashtoon,โ€ said a source requesting anonymity. In November 2023, Dashtoon had raised $5 million in a seed round led by Matrix and Stellaris with participation from prominent angel investors. Founded in December 2022 by Sanidhya Narain, Lalith Gudipati, and Soumyadeep Mukherjee, Dashtoon leverages Generative AI to turn storytellers into comics artists. Using its proprietary product Dashtoon Studio, storytellers can create digital comics. Narain and Gudipati were part of the founding team of audio entertainment startup Pocket FM and helped the company building and growing the product in the US. Mukherjee also built and scaled deep-tech teams at various startups including solving cancer diagnosis at Morphle Labs. Dashtoon also enables published authors or aspiring writers to distribute and monetize their comics and graphic novels. โ€œThe terms of the deal have been agreed upon and itโ€™s likely to get materialized in a few weeks from now,โ€ said another source who also requested anonymity. โ€œDashtoon is likely to be valued in the range of $5-60 million during the Series A financing.โ€ Queries sent to Dashtoon, Matrix and Stellaris did not elicit any response. Weโ€™ll update the post in case they do. In November, the company said that it started monetising in October and expects to make $15,000 in revenue during the first month, with plans to grow to $100,000 per month over the next two to three months. In a long haul, Dashtoon aspires to be a global IP powerhouse by partnering with thousands of creators and readers. Currently, Japanese Manga and Korean Webtoons have been dominating the global comics market which was worth $15.5 billion in 2022 and is expected to be valued at around $27 billion by 2032, according to Allied Market Research.

Exclusive: Mobility unicorn Rapido set to raise $60 Mn from Prosus

EntrackrEntrackr ยท 9m ago
Exclusive: Mobility unicorn Rapido set to raise $60 Mn from Prosus
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Mobility firm Rapido is set to raise $50-60 million in a mix of primary and secondary capital from Prosus, according to three sources familiar with the deal. This tranche is part of its ongoing $200 million round. โ€œProsus will acquire a $60 million stake in Rapido. The terms of the deal have been finalized, and it will also enable partial exits for early backers,โ€ said one of the sources, requesting anonymity. Rapido has already secured $120 million in its Series E funding round from WestBridge Capital, through investment vehicles including SETU AIF and Konark. Entrackr had exclusively decoded this tranche in August. โ€œWith Prosusโ€™s $60 million, Rapido will conclude its Series E round,โ€ said another source, who also wished to remain anonymous. Sources indicate that the companyโ€™s valuation will remain unchanged. According to estimates from startup data intelligence platform TheKredible, Rapido was valued at around $1.02 billion in the initial tranche of the Series E round, funded entirely by WestBridge. Queries sent to Rapido and Prosus didnโ€™t elicit any immediate response. We will update the story in case they do. Itโ€™s worth noting that Prosus is the largest stakeholder in food delivery and quick commerce major Swiggy. Swiggy acquired over a 12% stake in Rapido after leading its $180 million funding round in November 2022. Prosusโ€™s interest in Rapido comes at a time when Rapido has surpassed Ola and Uber to become the largest player in the overall ride-hailing space (covering bikes, autos, and cabs), according to Rapidoโ€™s internal documents reviewed by Entrackr. Rapido has yet to disclose its FY24 numbers, but the firmโ€™s operating revenue tripled to Rs 443 crore in FY23. This steep growth in scale also led to a 54% increase in losses, reaching Rs 675 crore in FY23.

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

EntrackrEntrackr ยท 1m ago
Exclusive: Chai Shots to raise $5 Mn from General Catalyst and InfoEdge
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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. โ€œGeneral Catalyst along with Info Edge are in advanced stages of closing a new funding round in Chai Shots,โ€ said a source requesting anonymity. โ€œA few angel investors may also participate.โ€ 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. โ€œThe official launch and funding announcement might take a few weeks,โ€ 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 FMโ€™s Kuku TV, ShareChatโ€™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.

Exclusive: upGrad raises $35 Mn debt from EvolutionX

EntrackrEntrackr ยท 1y ago
Exclusive: upGrad raises $35 Mn debt from EvolutionX
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Edtech unicorn upGrad has raised Rs 287.5 crore (approximately $35 million) from EvolutionX. This is the first debt funding for the Mumbai-based company this year. The board at upGrad has passed a special resolution to issue 28,75,000 debentures at an issue price of Rs 1,000 each to raise Rs 287.5 crore or $35 million, its regulatory filing accessed from the Registrar of Companies shows. The company will use these funds for growth, operating expenses, and general corporate purposes, according to the filings. upGrad has raised over $650 million to date including $36.5 million via right issue from Teamsek, founder Ronnie Screwala, and other in March last year. The Temasek-backed company was reportedly in talks to raise $100 million to close the acquisition of online education firm Udacity. According to the startup data intelligence platform TheKredible, Temasek is the largest external stakeholder with 20.7% while Upgradโ€™s co-founder and chairperson Ronnie Screwvala holds a major 22.4% of the company. upGrad forayed into the offline higher education space in 2022 and invested $30 million to set up ten global campuses across India, the US, and other regions. upGrad experienced notable growth as its operational revenue increased by 72% to Rs 1,194 crore in FY23, up from Rs 692 crore in FY22. However, alongside this growth, the companyโ€™s losses also rose by 82% to Rs 1,114 crore in FY23. The company is yet to file its annual results for FY24.

Exclusive: AstroTalk raises $9.5 Mn at a valuation of $300 Mn

EntrackrEntrackr ยท 1y ago
Exclusive: AstroTalk raises $9.5 Mn at a valuation of $300 Mn
Medial

Online astrology platform AstroTalk has raised Rs 78.3 crore or $9.5 million in an extension of its Series A round from existing investors Left Lane Capital and Elev8 Capital. The board at AstroTalk has passed a special resolution to issue 5,067 compulsory Convertible preference shares to raise Rs 78.3 crore or $9.5 million, its regulatory filing accessed from the RoC shows. Left Lane Capital pumped Rs 58.3 crore while Elev8 Capital participated with Rs 20 crore. This seems to be the tranche of a larger round. AstroTalk is reportedly in talks to raise $30 million. As per TheKredibleโ€™s estimates, the company has been valued at around Rs 2,478 crore or $300 million post-money which is a 33.3% increase from its last round. The valuation will go up with the flow of funds. AstroTalk has raised Rs 172 crore to date including Rs 166 crore or $20 million in its Series A round in February. Entrackr was the first to report the development. AstroTalk is a platform to consult astrologers via the internet, call, and chat and claims to have 13,000 astrologers, tarot readers, numerologists, and Vastu experts. The platform lets users connect with the aforementioned experts for future predictions related to marriage, love life, career, and health among others. Left Lane Capital baked firm had demonstrated strong financial performance in FY23 as its revenue grew 146% to Rs 283 crore. At the same time, AstroTalkโ€™s profits spiked 41.7% to Rs 8.5 crore. As per the current average revenue run rate, the company is projected to end FY24 with Rs 650 crore in revenue and Rs 100 crore in profit. The company is yet to file its audited financial results for FY24. As per data compiled by TheKredible, astro and spiritual tech startups have raised around $25 million in the past 12 months. The notable names include Ustav App, DevDham, InstaAstro, AstroTalk, Vama, and Melooha also raised decent funding during the period. SriMandirโ€™s parent company AppsForBharat is also in talks to raise $15 million in a new round. Entrackr exclusively reported the development last month.

Exclusive: Kunal Shah-backed Punch to raise fresh funds

EntrackrEntrackr ยท 4m ago
Exclusive: Kunal Shah-backed Punch to raise fresh funds
Medial

Stock broking platform Punch is raising Rs 26 crore (approximately $3 million) in its extended seed round from new and existing investors. This comes just after 7 months of its $7 million seed round. The board at Punch has passed a special resolution to issue 1,27,650 pre-Series A4 CCPS at an issue price of Rs 2,036 each to raise Rs 26 crore, its regulatory filing accessed from the Registrar of Companies (RoC) shows. Existing investors Stellaris Venture Partners and SIG Venture Partners will invest Rs 8.66 crore each, while new investor Four SB Ltd (Mauritius-based) will also participate with Rs 8.66 crore during the round. The company will use the proceeds for growth, expansion, and general corporate activities, as per filings. Entrackr estimates that Punch will be valued at around Rs 157 crore or $18.5 million (post-money). According to the startup data intelligence platform TheKredible, existing investors Stellaris Venture Partners and SIG Venture Partners will each hold a 15.9% stake in the company, while Four SB will own 5.5% (post-allotment). Punch is a mobile-first stock trading platform designed to make options trading seamless for both beginners and seasoned traders. It enables users to trade index options, stock options, and equities on the NSE and BSE exchanges. Punch has raised over $13 million to date across rounds including its $7 million seed round from Stellaris Venture Partners, Susquehanna Asia VC, Prime Venture Partners, and Innoven Capital. Its notable angel investors include Kunal Shah (Cred), Vatsal Singhal (Ultrahuman), and Nitish Mittersain (Nazara). For the fiscal year ending March 2024, Punch reported an operating revenue of Rs 7.2 crore, up from Rs 6.96 crore in FY23, while incurring a loss of Rs 1.68 crore during the last fiscal year.

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