STARTUP DIGEST: Top stories of the day
There were several developments in the startup space during the day on Wednesday. Here’s a wrap of all the top stories from the startup universe.
Uniphore raises $140 million in Series D funding
Conversational Service Automation company - Uniphore has raised $140 million led by Sorenson Capital Partners and new investors Serena Capital and Sanabil Investments, and strategic investor, Cisco Investments. Existing investors March Capital Partners, National Grid Partners, Chiratae Ventures, Iron Pillar Fund, and Sistema Capital also participated in the Series D round, the company said.
The new round of funding is Uniphore’s largest to date. The funds will be used to extend Uniphore’s technology in AI, Automation and Machine learning across the enterprise, it added. Uniphore also plans to increase its focus on video-based AI applications stemming from Uniphore’s acquisition of Emotion Research Labs earlier this year as well as applications in Trust, Security and RPA markets.
Uniphore expects to reach $100 million in contracted annual recurring revenue (ARR) in fiscal 2022.
Amazon acquires Perpule to aid kirana-tech
Amazon Technologies has acquired retail tech startup Perpule for its PoS business for ₹107.6 crore. With this, the ecommerce firm plans to up its game in the kirana-tech space as it would now leverage Perpule’s cloud-based point-of-sale (PoS) offering ‘UltraPoS’ and offer a new suite of technology products to kirana partners, while digitizing neighbourhood stores. UltraPoS, which is the tech startup’s primary product is a full-fledged store management solution that helps small businesses digitally manage and automate inventory, purchase orders from distributors, and billings.
Amazon is expected to pay additional remuneration to Bengaluru-based Perpule’s employees, which may bump up the overall deal value to about Rs 150 crore, according to two individuals aware of the discussions, as per Mint.
HealthPlix raises $13.5 million led by Lightspeed
Health-tech start-up HealthPlix Technologies has raised $13.5 million as part of its ongoing Series B funding led by Lightspeed, with participation from existing investors JSW Ventures, Kalaari Capital and Chiratae Ventures.
The startup plans to grow five times by expanding the doctor base in existing geographies, adding new towns and medicine specialties and bolstering its team and product, it said in a statement. Healthplix helps doctors digitise clinical operations and clinical treatment methodologies. It provides electronic medical record (EMR) software to medical practitioners, assisting them with clinical decision support, generating e-prescriptions and digitally managing the operations of their clinics.
Uable raises $3.5M pre-series A round led by JAFCO Asia and Chiratae Ventures
Life skill development platform for kids- Uable has raised $3.5 million in pre-series A round led by JAFCO Asia and Chiratae Ventures. Existing investor 3one4 Capital also participated in this round.
The funding will help Uable build a global team, scale the product globally and add more real-world domains for teenagers to explore, the company said. Founded in 2020 by Saurabh Saxena, (who formerly co-founded Vedantu) Uable seeks to reimagine career discovery for GenZ and help young learners find their passion, it added.
The platform will empower teens between 13 and 18 years of age to discover and design their own career pathways in the 21st century domains including but not limited to AI, Climate Change, Gig Economy, Space Tech and Robotics, the company said.
Rapido offers free rides to citizens heading for COVID 19 vaccination
Bike taxi platform Rapido will provide free Rapido Auto rides to and from COVID- 19 vaccination centres for Delhi NCR citizens. The #RideToVaccinate initiative is aimed at providing a safe and accessible commute option to senior citizens eligible for vaccination across Delhi NCR, the company said.
The offer will be auto applied on Rapido Auto ride once the commuter chooses the 12 eligible hospitals as their destination, it said.
Airtel receives CERT-IN empanelment for cybersecurity services
Telecom major Bharti Airtel has said that has been empanelled by Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-IN), which will allow the firm to offer its cyber security solutions to the government and public sector companies. Airtel provides end-to-end managed security services to enterprise customers under Airtel Secure, which combines Airtel’s robust network security with cutting-edge solutions delivered through global partnerships, the company said in a statement.
Airtel Secure has set up a state-of-the-art Security Intelligence Centre with access to advanced technology and AI / ML tools to track and mitigate potential online threats. “From end point protection, email protection to cloud DDOS protection and more, Airtel Secure has created the most comprehensive solutions portfolio through strategic partnerships with global leaders such as Cisco, Radware, VMWare, and Forcepoint”, it said.
GetWork raises seed funding from Artha Venture Fund
Early-stage micro-VC fund Artha Venture Fund has invested in HRtech platform, GetWork.India. The round also saw participation of Angel investors of India Accelerator.
GetWork enables corporates, SMEs, and startups to directly hire from its network of 18,000 placement cells in institutes and colleges, a statement said. It plans to use this funding to grow its reach with employers and build tools that will help closing positions directly on its platform, it added.
Deliveroo dives 30% as debut of the decade turns torrid
Shares of Deliveroo plunged by as much as 30% in their trading debut on Wednesday, slicing more than 2 billion pounds off the company’s valuation in a blow to the food delivery group and the London market for initial public offerings (IPO).
The highly-anticipated listing, the biggest in the London market in a decade, had been hailed by British finance minister Rishi Sunak as a “true British tech success story” that could clear the way for more IPOs by fast-growing technology companies, Reuters reported.
But the debut had already been overshadowed as some of Britain’s biggest investment companies shunned the listing, citing concerns about gig-economy working conditions and the share structure.
The 390 pence price tag gave an overall valuation of 7.6 billion pounds ($10.46 billion) and was already set at the bottom of an initial range.
Google to contribute $29 million to new EU fund to fight fake news
Google will contribute 25 million euros ($29.3 million) to the newly set up European Media and Information Fund to combat fake news, the company said on Wednesday, amid criticism tech giants are not doing enough to debunk online disinformation. The COVID-19 pandemic and the U.S. election last year spurred a massive spike in misinformation, with some blaming social media for not being more proactive in tackling the issue while regulators have indicated they may take action via heavy-handed restrictions.
The European Media and Information Fund, launched by the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation and the European University Institute last week, aims to enlist researchers, fact-checkers, not-for-profits and other public interest-oriented bodies to help in the fight against fake news. “While navigating the uncertainty and challenges of the last year, it has proven more important than ever for people to access accurate information, and sort facts from fiction,” Matt Brittin, head of Google’s EMEA Business & Operations, said in a blog post. The fund has a duration of five years. The European Digital Media Observatory, which is a European Commission project set up last year and whose members include fact checkers and academic researchers, will evaluate and select the projects.
Self-driving truck startup Plus raises extra $220 million
U.S. autonomous truck startup has raised an extra $220 million from investors in an extension of a $200 million funding round in February, as the global auto industry looks to a driverless future.
A source with direct knowledge of the matter also said Plus was in advanced talks with a few special purpose acquisition companies (SPAC) over a potential merger, adding an announcement was expected within weeks, Reuters reported.
SPACs are becoming an increasingly popular way for private companies to seek public listings as a cheaper and less administratively burdensome alternative to an initial public offering (IPO).
The latest funding round was led by FountainVest Partners and ClearVue Partners, Plus said in a statement. Other investors included Quanta Computer Inc and Millennium Technology Value Partners, as well as existing investors including Sequoia Capital, SAIC Motor and Full Truck Alliance.
Plus raised $200 million in February from investors such as Guotai Junan International, CPE, and Wanxiang International Investment.
Plus did not disclose its valuation after the fundraising.
The Cupertino-based startup, which was founded in 2016, has a joint venture with China’s state-owned automaker FAW to develop and build autonomous trucks. It is testing trucks in the United States, China and Europe. With the funding it will accelerate its production and deliveries of autonomous trucks and improve research capabilities.
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