Deal Street: Former Formula One Driver Karun Chandhok Backs Scooter Rental Startup

Startup funding fell to lowest in a month last week as six startups raised $8 million. That compares with nearly $82 million raised the week before by the same number of ventures.

Former Formula One driver Karun Chandhok joined the club of sportspersons turning investors. He made an undisclosed investment in scooter rental startup Vogo.

Digital Marketing Startup Synup Raises $6 Million

Synup Inc., which helps local businesses manage their web presence with its software-as-a-service-based solutions, raised $6 million (Rs 39 crore) in an early-stage round led by Vertex Ventures and existing investor Prime Venture Partners.

It will use the money for product development and to expand its sales and marketing initiatives, Bengaluru- and Delaware-based company said in a press statement.

Synup offers local marketing solutions for businesses to manage their location data, presence, reputation and analytics. It works with digital agencies and offline businesses to manage their listings across over 50 local search destinations. The startup says it has assisted over 50,000 local businesses so far.

Synup is also looking to expand to Europe and the U.K. by mid-2018. “Synup has been able to solve a difficult problem in a market that is largely under-penetrated. Their strong early customer traction is a testament to the efficacy of their approach to address this massive market opportunity,” Ben Mathias, managing partner, Vertex Ventures, said.

Geospatial Technology Startup Transerve Raises $1.6 Million

Transerve Technologies, which offers geospatial software services for sustainable growth and urban planning, raised $1.6 million (Rs 10.5 crore) from IL&FS Investment Managers Ltd. and Omidyar Network, a company statement said.

The startup helps users derive business insights from visualisation and analysis of location and geographic information systems data.

Transerve's data collector, location intelligence and precision mapping tools help businesses use geo-location data to make smart decisions. Its core technology is being used by the municipal revenue administration in multiple cities in Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh and Goa, it said.

The investment was facilitated by angel network Tribe Impact, previously known as Intellecap Impact Investment Network, the statement said.

E-Commerce Enabler Ace Turtle Raises Venture Debt From Innoven

E-commerce solutions provider Ace Turtle raised an undisclosed sum from venture debt firm Innoven Capital India Pvt. Ltd.

The funds will be used to expand the customer-base, especially in South East Asia, the Bengaluru-based company said. “We aim to gain leadership position in the omni-channel enterprise solutions space in Asia,” Nitin Chhabra, Ace Turtle co-founder and chief executive officer, said in the statement.

The startup helps offline brands go online by providing technology, customer support, marketing solutions and analytics through an integrated platform. Its flagship offering, Rubicon, provides services such as order, inventory, logistics and catalogue management.

The company, which works with more than 20 large fashion brands, counts Puma, Ed Hardy, Arrow, Flying Machine, US Polo, Fossil and Ray-Ban as its clients.

Scooter Rental Startup Vogo Raises Seed Funding

Scooter rental startup Vogo Automotive secured an undisclosed amount in a seed round led by Ajit Thomas, chairman of AV Thomas Group; Hari Thiagarajan, executive director at Thiagarajar Mills; and Muthu Murugappan, business head- nutraceuticals at EID Parry.

Sriram Viji of Brakes India, Vishesh Rajaram of venture capital fund Speciale Invest, former Formula One driver Karun Chandhok, and other high-net-worth individuals also put in money, the Bengaluru-based company said in a statement.

The firm will use the capital for building its automated technology platform, to expand the technology team and for marketing.

Vogo said it's India's first automated pickup-and-drop scooter rental platform. It can remotely track and monitor scooters in real time, making them an Internet of Things (IoT) device. It is currently operational in Mysore, Manipal, Bangalore and Hyderabad.

Others

Language learning startup Multibashi raised an undisclosed amount in seed funding from angel investor Aniruddha Malpani and Startup Oasis. The Jaipur and Bengaluru-based startup will spend the funds to strengthen its team, scale up the core technology and add new courses, it said in a statement.

Agritech startup CropIn raised an undisclosed amount in an early-stage round from Singapore-based Beenext. Existing investors Ankur Capital and Boston-based organisation Invested Development also participated in the round, the Bengaluru venture said in a press statement said. Last year, the startup had raised $2 million from Denmark-based Sophia Investment.