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Krafton leads Rs 29 Cr round in Shuru at Rs 135 Cr valuation

EntrackrEntrackr · 7m ago
Krafton leads Rs 29 Cr round in Shuru at Rs 135 Cr valuation
Medial

For the fiscal year ending in March 2024, Shuru reported Rs 26.84 lakh in revenue and Rs 3.31 crore in losses. It has yet to file its FY25 financials. Shuru, a location-based social networking platform, has raised Rs 29 crore in a fresh funding round, sources aware of the development told Entrackr. South Korean gaming major Krafton has acquired around 16% stake by investing Rs 21 crore in Shuru, according to sources cited above. Founded in 2021 by Mayank Bhangadia and Harsh Chhabra, Shuru has expanded its presence, reaching over 2 million active users across more than 600 cities and 8,000 sub-districts. The platform enables real-time engagement, civic participation, and support for local businesses, with the goal of connecting citizens to their neighborhoods. While Shuru had previously secured backing from investors such as Omidyar Network India, Titan Capital’s Kunal Bahl and Rohit Bansal, Eximius Ventures, and Shastra VC, the investment from Krafton is expected to support its next phase of growth and scaling. Shuru’s regulatory filing with MCA also shows that it is raising Rs 29 crore from Krafton, Omidyar Network, and Eximius Trust. As per Entrackr’s estimates, the firm will be valued at around Rs 135 crore (post money). For the fiscal year ending in March 2024, Shuru reported Rs 26.84 lakh in revenue and Rs 3.31 crore in losses. It has yet to file its FY25 financials. Krafton's interest in Shuru is part of its strategy to invest in Indian startups, reflected in its recent plans to invest over $200 million in the country's gaming and digital sectors. In August 2023, BGMI-maker Krafton committed to invest $150 million in India over the next two to three years. Some of its notable bets include Kuku FM, Cashfree, One Impression, Bobble AI, Pratilipi, and Nautilus, among others.

Krafton, Naver and Mirae Asset plan Rs 6,000 Cr India focused fund

EntrackrEntrackr · 7d ago
Krafton, Naver and Mirae Asset plan Rs 6,000 Cr India focused fund
Medial

Krafton, Naver and Mirae Asset plan Rs 6,000 Cr India focused fund South Korean gaming company Krafton, known for Battlegrounds Mobile India (BGMI), has announced a new India focused technology investment fund in partnership with Naver and Mirae Asset, with a target corpus of up to Rs 6,000 crore. The vehicle, named the Unicorn Growth Fund, will place India at the core of its Asia investment strategy and signals Krafton’s intent to deepen its presence beyond gaming into wider technology and innovation sectors. The fund is expected to begin operations in January 2026. The announcement builds on Krafton’s established footprint in India, where it has invested over $200 million across gaming and digital startups since 2021. Its portfolio in the country spans companies such as hyperlocal community platform Shuru, fintech firm Cashfree Payments and game studio Nautilus Mobile, where Krafton acquired a controlling stake. Battlegrounds Mobile India has further strengthened the company’s position in the market, recording hundreds of millions of downloads and playing a central role in the growth of India’s mobile gaming ecosystem. Krafton’s broader investment narrative in India dates back to August 2023, when it committed to deploy $150 million into Indian gaming and entertainment startups over a two to three year period. The focus at the time was on early stage studios, esports platforms, multimedia content ventures and allied segments. Prior to that, between March 2021 and mid 2023, Krafton had invested around $140 million across 11 Indian startups such as Nodwin Gaming, Loco, Kuku FM and Pratilipi. With the new fund, Krafton is widening its investment lens to technology companies with scalable innovation potential. The partnership brings together NAVER’s platform and content expertise and Mirae Asset’s capital management capabilities to form a structured investment platform aimed at backing India’s tech ecosystem and supporting Krafton’s long term objectives in the market.

Way2News raises $14 Mn in Series B led by WestBridge

EntrackrEntrackr · 1y ago
Way2News raises $14 Mn in Series B led by WestBridge
Medial

Hyperlocal news platform Way2News has raised $14 million in its Series B round led by WestBridge Capital, with participation from venture capitalist Sashi Reddi. With the fresh proceeds, Way2News will focus on scaling operations, enhancing technology, and expanding its presence in the South Indian market, the company said in a press release. In June 2022, the Bengaluru-based firm scooped up $16.75 million in Series A round. Founded in 2015, Way2News claims to have 6.5 million daily active users, 13 million monthly active users, and more than 50 million downloads across app stores. Hyderabad-based Way2News offers short, relevant, and reliable news stories extending beyond districts to villages and mandals in their local language such as Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Bengali, and Gujarati from trusted local sources. According to startup data intelligence platform TheKredible, Way2News increased its operating revenue by 6% to Rs 29 Cr in FY23 from Rs 27.35 Cr in FY22. Way2News had a loss of Rs 15.14 Cr in FY23 whereas it made a profit of Rs 4.78 Cr in FY22. In the news aggregation space, Way2News faces competition from InShorts, Dailyhunt, Inshorts’ Public app and Feedly.

Exclusive: Bobble AI to raise fresh funds at 30% valuation dip

EntrackrEntrackr · 4m ago
Exclusive: Bobble AI to raise fresh funds at 30% valuation dip
Medial

Exclusive: Bobble AI to raise fresh funds at 30% valuation dip Xiaomi-backed Bobble AI is raising $1.5 million or Rs 12.9 crore from its existing backer gaming giant Krafton in its Series D round. The new round seems to be an ongoing one and the firm may mop up more capital. The board at Bobble AI passed a resolution to approve the issue of 600 Series D2 compulsory convertible preference shares at an issue price of Rs 2,14,940 each to raise the aforementioned amount, its regulatory filing accessed from Registrar of Companies (RoC) shows. The proceeds will be used for general corporate purposes. Entrackr estimates the company’s valuation at Rs 834 crore ($98 million), down nearly 30% from its Rs 1,172 crore ($138 million) Series C valuation. Founded in 2012, Bobble.ai provides an AI-powered Indic keyboard supporting over 120 languages, with facial recognition for personalized GIFs and stickers. Integrated with apps like WhatsApp and Facebook, it captures real-time user intent. The company earns through targeted ads, consumer data insights, subscription features, and branded merchandise. According to startup data intelligence platform TheKredible, the Gurugram-based company has raised around $35 million including Rs 206 crore ($26 million) in a mix of primary and secondary capital from Krafton Inc in September 2022. During the round, it acquired a 12.34% stake from Affle. Following the latest infusion, Krafton will be commanding a 24.84% stake in the 12-year-old company. For the fiscal year ended March 2024, Bobble AI reported a 25% growth in revenue to Rs 37.67 crore. However, its losses also widened by 40% to Rs 60.88 crore in the same period. The firm is yet to report its FY25 numbers. BGMI-maker Krafton recently invested in the social networking platform Shuru and the Sachin Tendulkar-backed JetSynthesys. Its other notable investments include Kuku FM, Cashfree, One Impression, Pratilipi, and Nautilus, among several others.

Cashfree Payments raises $53 Mn led by KRAFTON

EntrackrEntrackr · 10m ago
Cashfree Payments raises $53 Mn led by KRAFTON
Medial

Cashfree Payments raises $53 Mn led by KRAFTON The capital will strengthen Cashfree’s payments and market reach while enabling synergy with KRAFTON to drive innovation across digital sectors. Payments firm Cashfree Payments has raised $53 million (Rs 450 crore) in a funding round led by Korean digital entertainment giant, KRAFTON and existing investor Apis Growth Fund II, a private equity fund managed by Apis Partners Group. The capital will strengthen Cashfree’s payments and market reach while enabling synergy with KRAFTON to drive innovation across digital sectors, the Bengaluru-based company said in a press release. According to TheKredible, Cashfree has raised approximately $95 million over its nine-year journey from investors including Y combinator, Smilegate Investments and State Bank of India (SBI). This is the first external fundraise for the company since June 2021. Cashfree Payments provides businesses with a fast and easy way to collect payments online, make payouts, improve conversions, and verify identity and detect fraud during KYC and onboarding. With popular merchant platforms like Shopify, Wix, WordPress, WooCommerce, and WhatsApp, Cashfree enables businesses to start transactions in 24 hours. The Akash Sinha-led company claims to enable large businesses to process 12,000 transactions per second during peak demand. It has also introduced Embedded Payments, allowing platforms, ERPs, and SaaS businesses to easily and compliantly integrate payments as a feature into their products. Cashfree recently launched Secure ID, an identity verification stack with a comprehensive suite of APIs and KYC components, addressing the surge in fraud. As per the company, SecureID has completed more than 1 billion identity and user verifications to date. Besides India, Cashfree Payments is expanding its footprint in the UAE and sees significant growth potential offering payments and related products across the Middle East. Despite facing a ban on onboarding new merchants for most of FY24, Cashfree's revenue from operations grew by 4.7% to Rs 642.7 crore from Rs 613.8 crore in FY23. However, the company's net loss remained unchanged at Rs 135 crore for the fiscal year ending March 2024. It majorly competes with Razorpay, PayU, BillDesk, and CCAvenue.

10 min food delivery startup Swish raises $14 Mn

EntrackrEntrackr · 9m ago
10 min food delivery startup Swish raises $14 Mn
Medial

Exclusive: 10 min food delivery startup Swish raises $14 Mn Swish, a 10-minute food delivery startup, has secured Rs 122.32 crore in its Series A funding round, led by Hara Global Capital and existing investor Accel India. This follows just three months after its $2 million seed round. The board at Swish has passed a special resolution to issue 4,762 Series A compulsory convertible preference shares at an issue price of Rs 2,56,334 each to raise Rs 112.3 crore or $14 million, its regulatory filing accessed from the Registrar of Companies shows. Hara Global Capital led the round with Rs 69.56 crore while Accel India invested Rs 52.18 crore. Kunal Shah-led QED innovation, and Gaurav Munjal (CEO of Unacademy) and Sumer Juneja, investment advisor at SoftBank, participated with Rs 20.5 lakhs, Rs 5 and Rs 30.7 lakh respectively. According to Entrackr's estimates, the company has been valued at around Rs 522 crore or $60 million post-allotment. After the new funding round, Hara Global Capital will own 13.33%, while Accel India will hold a 27.24% stake in the company. Co-founders Aniket Sunil Shah, Sureshkumar Sarana, and Ujjwal Sukheja will each retain a 16.38% share following the Series A round. Founded in 2024, Swish’s 10-minute delivery model operates within a 1.5–2 km radius using cloud kitchens called ‘delight centers,’ ensuring fresh and hygienic food is delivered swiftly through its optimized full-stack approach. Swish is competing in the fast-expanding instant food delivery market, where Zomato, Swiggy, and Zepto are leading the charge. Zomato-owned Blinkit has also launched Bistro, a standalone app for instant food delivery. In December, Bhavish Aggarwal-led Ola entered the segment, while emerging players like Magicpin and Zing are gaining traction. The latest entrant to the space is cloud kitchen unicorn Rebel Foods, which has introduced a new app called QuickiES.

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