Funding Rundown: OYO boss Ritesh Agarwal invests in Magicpin, says report, VC firm Accel launches Atoms programme & Elevar raises Rs 19 crore in Series A

Through the initiative, Accel is also looking to offer one-to-one mentoring for startups, instead of a cohort approach taken by the accelerator programmes of VC firms such as Sequoia Capital and Lightspeed Venture Partners, the company said in a blog post. The company has invested in 150 companies so far in India. Some of its portfolio companies include Flipkart, Swiggy, Urban Company, Vedantu, Spinny, Freshworks, BrowserStack, Mindtickle, Zenoti, Chargebee, FalconX, Rupeek, Acko, Samunnati, MoneyView, Zetwerk, BlackBuck, Moglix, Agrostar, Infra.market and MyGlamm.

Also read: Startup culture now vibrant in India: PM Modi

D2C sports brand Elevar has raised Rs 19 crore in a Series A round of funding, led by Kalaari Capital, with participation from Dream Capital, the corporate venture capital and M&A arm of Dream Sports. Elevar will utilise the funds towards expanding its product portfolio, increasing its marketing efforts, and building its team, the company said in a statement. Launched in 2018, Elevar is a direct-to-consumer sports brand that currently has two core product categories — Athletic Performance Footwear and Cricket bats.

Zeekr, the electric vehicle (EV) brand by Geely, has raised $500 million in its first external funding round that saw the participation of investors Intel Capital, battery maker CATL and online entertainment firm Bilibili. According to Reuters, led by chief executive officer Andy An, who is also Geely's president, Zeekr said investors would jointly hold a 5.6 percent stake in the company, valuing it around $9 billion. Chief financial officer Yuan Jing said that Zeekr does not currently have a clear plan for its initial public offering. The company makes the Zeekr 001 model in China’s eastern city of Ningbo and is expected to start delivering them later this year. It aims to sell 650,000 vehicles a year by 2025.