Funding Rundown: Ex-Flipkart exec's new startup catches global investor attention, Shilpa Shetty invests in Hunar & Gamerji raises $3 million

Founded by former Flipkart senior vice president, Ranjith Boyanapalli, Flash had raised $5.8 million in a seed funding round led by global funds like Global Founders Capital (GFC), White Venture Capital (a fund by Jitendra Gupta & Amrish Rau), Zinal Growth, Soma Capital, Emphasis Ventures and Peer Capital.

The funding round also saw the participation of India’s top angel investors including Binny Bansal (Ex-co-founder, Flipkart), Kunal Shah (Founder, CRED), Arpan Sheth (Senior Partner, Bain & Co), Sujeet Kumar (co-founder, Udaan), Nikhil Srivastava (PAG Venture), Lalit Keshre (CEO, Groww), Rishi Vasudev (Co-Founder, GOAT Brand Labs) and others.

Launching in India initially, Flash aims to cater to the top 25 million power shoppers, who contribute to nearly 70 percent of the online shopping revenue and are estimated to further grow to 65mn by 2030. Flash looks to address the potential challenges for these power shoppers around post-order experience, lack of rewards, and cluttered communication.

Vetic, a tech-enabled chain of modern clinics focusing on overall pet health care, has raised $3.7 million in a seed funding round led by Lachy Groom.

The round also saw participation from angel investors including Utsav Somani (Partner, AngelList India), Nitin Saluja (Founder Chaayos), Ritesh Agarwal (CEO, OYO), Abhinav Sinha (COO OYO), Shiva Singh Sangwan (Founder,1947 Rise), Maninder Gulati (CSO OYO), Revant Bhate (CEO, Mosaic Wellness), Anuj Tejpal (CBO OYO), Revant Bhate (CEO, Mosaic Wellness), Abhishek Gupta (CFO OYO) and Manu Gupta (Founder, Blue Lion VC) amongst others.

Started in August 2022 by Gaurav Ajmera (ex-COO OYO and ex-CBO Pristyn Care), Vetic offers a full stack pet care experience through a combination of technology platform and a network of physical clinics offering services ranging from OPD, in-house diagnostics, surgeries, emergency care, grooming, online consultation, quick commerce and more. The Start-up currently has 4 clinics in Gurgaon and plans to scale to 15 clinics across Delhi NCR and Bengaluru by June 2023.

Esports tournament platform Gamerji has raised $3 million in a Pre-Series A round from GVFL (formerly Gujarat Venture Finance Limited) and Unicorn India Ventures, an early backer of the startup.

Funds raised will be used for growing the platform in recently launched international markets within the MENA region along with launch plans for Southeast Asia, starting with Indonesia and the Philippines.

The company also plans to use these funds towards developing tech solutions and EaaS (E-sports as a service) to enhance the online gaming experience. Gamerji claims to have grown from 1 million to 4 million+ users in 12 months, along with serving tournaments for more than 22 core esports titles.

CBREX, a global B2B driven talent sourcing platform connecting enterprises and recruitment agencies, has raised $3 million in a pre-Series A round led by WaterBridge Ventures. The freshly raised funds will be used to ramp up the US go-to-market, fuel product development, and accelerate client and partner growth.

With the platform processing more than 1,000 resumes a week with a shortlist ratio of 83 percent, CBREX claims to have enabled hiring across 22 countries in a quick time.

Bollywood actor Shilpa Shetty Kundra becomes an investor and brand ambassador for Hunar Online Courses, a skilling platform with a community of over 20 lakh women.

Students of Hunar Online Courses have access to 55+ video-based online skill courses in the fashion, food, and beauty segments. These basic-to-advance courses are pre-recorded classes with live virtual masterclasses and webinars by certified teachers and industry experts.

Hunar Online Courses has a growing community of more than 20 lakh women and over 45,000 students, out of which 30 percent are running solopreneurs or micropreneurs, earning up to Rs 50,000 every month.

ClassMonitor, an edtech startup that offers home learning programs for early learners in the age group of 0-8 years, has raised Rs 10 crore in a Pre Series A round. Frontline Strategy Funds and Khimji Family (Muscat) led the round with participation from existing investors Sarvann & Calega Family Office.

ClassMonitor is set to use the fresh funds to leverage AI-ML-based technology to enhance learning experiences for young children. The platform plans on strengthening its hybrid model by establishing a large network of franchised after-school learning centres.

Additionally, the startup wants to add more channels including offline stores & schools while building organic traction from international markets with a strong focus on the UAE markets.

Burma Burma, a popular Burmese vegan restaurant chain, has raised more than $2 million in a seed round led by Negen Capital. The fundraising round also saw participation from Bbigplas Poly Private Ltd among other angel investors.

Having started operations in Mumbai in 2014, Burma Burma has a presence in five other metros — Delhi, Noida, Gurgaon, Bengaluru, and Kolkata. With the fresh funding, the restaurant chain is looking at expanding its presence across the country.

"We are looking at opening 8 new outlets within the next 15 months taking our total count to 14 outlets. With our 450+ member strong team, our next target is to take Burma Burma beyond India, we’re now ready more than ever,” said Chirag Chhajer, co-founder, Burma Burma.

Cinnamon Homes, a new-age home furniture and home décor brand, has raised an undisclosed amount of angel funding from multiple angel investors in its maiden fundraising round.

The funding round was jointly led by Rahul Dash, co-founder of Purplle (a unicorn start-up in beauty space) and Chetan Jajoria, Vice President at Deutsche Bank.

The funds raised through this angel round will be utilized by Cinnamon Homes towards bolstering its marketing and product development efforts as well as for driving immediate business growth and expansion in the Delhi-NCR region.