Source: Startups Magazine
The startup ecosystem in India is rapidly growing with new companies pursuing exciting ideas, ranging from drones for defense and electric vehicles, to online shopping tools and trendy jewellery. This week, six startups raised significant funding to grow and upscale their businesses. Here’s a closer look at the six startups and what they are working on.
1. Raphe mPhibr – Making High-Tech Drones for Defence
- Founders: Vikash Mishra, Vivek Mishra, Nitin Katiyar
- City: Noida
- Money Raised: $100 million
- Investors: General Catalyst, Think Investments, Amal Parikh, and others
Military and security organizations use Raphe mPhibr’s unique drones. Their drones are capable of flying in swarms, transporting cargo at high altitudes, and surveilling oceans and borders. This capital will allow Raphe mPhibr to continue to develop even more advanced technology for national defense.
2. GIVA – Stylish and Eco-Friendly Jewellery
- Founders: Ishendra Agarwal, Nikita Prasad
- City: Bengaluru
- Money Raised: $63.86 million
- Investors: Creaegis, Premji Invest, Epiq Capital, Edelweiss Discovery Fund
GIVA offers modern jewelry made with silver, gold, and lab-grown diamonds. They offer classy designs that are made with sustainability in mind. The additional funding should help them grow and create the ability to reach additional customers.
3. EKA Mobility – Building Electric Buses and Trucks
- Founder: Sudhir Mehta
- City: Pune
- Money Raised: $24 million
- Investor: ENAM Holdings
EKA Mobility specializes in manufacturing electric vehicles such as buses, trucks, and other modes of transportation. They intend to reduce emissions, while also making travel cleaner and less expensive in and around urban environments. These funds will be used to scale their electric vehicles across India.
4. Battery Smart – Fast Battery Swapping for EVs
- Founders: Pulkit Khurana, Siddharth Sikka
- City: Gurugram
- Money Raised: $21 million
- Investors: Rising Tide Energy, ResponsAbility, Acacia Inclusion, Ecosystem Integrity
Battery Smart operates battery-swapping stations for electric two- and three-wheeled vehicles. Rather than charging, drivers simply swap an empty battery for a full one. This makes it easy to use electric vehicles in busy cities.
5. ShopOS – Using AI to Help Online Stores
- Founders: Sai Krishna V K, Ajay P V
- City: Bengaluru
- Money Raised: $20 million
- Investor: 3STATE Ventures
ShopOS is an intelligent platform that empowers online brands to manage their products, catalogs, and marketing using Artificial Intelligence(AI). It allows brand owners to run their online stores quickly and easily. The founders previously sold their startup Scapic to Flipkart, they are now back with their new idea.
6. GoKwik – Making Online Shopping Better
- Founders: Chirag Taneja, Vivek Bajpai, Ankush Talwar
- City: Gurugram
- Money Raised: $13 million
- Investors: RTP Global, Z47, Peak XV Partners, Think Investments
GoKwik supports online and D2C (Direct-to-Consumer) brands for better checkout and customer experience. Their tool helps decrease returns, make payment more likely to succeed and help shopping be smooth and easy. GoKwik’s mission is to help online stores get more loyal customers.
In closing: All six of these startups are successfully advancing in their respective markets in industries such as defense, retail, transportation, and jewelry. They are addressing actual issues and drawing in large capital investments. As they develop, they are also advancing the future of India to be contemporary, safe, and sustainable.
