Upliance AI secures $4 million in funding to fuel product expansion

Upliance AI, a consumer hardware startup specialising in kitchen appliances, has successfully raised approximately $4 million in its latest funding round. The funding was led by Khosla Ventures, an early-stage venture capital firm.

The company's Co-Founder & CEO, Mahek Mody, in an interview with CNBC-TV18, explained that the newly acquired funds would be strategically allocated to propel Upliance AI's product expansion initiatives. The key areas of focus include investing in advanced manufacturing techniques, tooling, team expansion, and collaborative efforts with content creators for enhanced marketing strategies.

Having achieved revenue exceeding ₹1.5 crore so far, Mody highlighted the company's past challenges, stating, "Till now, we have been in pre-product development and predominantly supply-limited. Since we have unlocked that earlier this year, we expect to reach ₹150 crore in revenue in 2024."

The company is currently producing 500-600 units monthly but plans to significantly scale production to over 1,000 units in the next 4-5 months.

In another development, SportVot, a sports broadcast and talent discovery platform, successfully secured ₹9.4 crore in a pre-Series A funding round led by Omidyar Network India.

Sidhhant Agarwal, Co-Founder of SportVot, shared the company's vision to use the funds to create more opportunities for emerging sports talent and enhance sports participation across all levels in India. Agarwal emphasised the goal to livestream 1 lakh matches annually, a notable increase from the current 70,000 matches.

Adding to the series of successful funding rounds, Singapore-based B2B fintech firm, Aspire, recently received an impressive $79.15 million in funding from its US-based holding company.

Established in 2018, Aspire provides a comprehensive suite of financial services tailored for small businesses.

Andrea Baronchelli, Co-Founder & CEO of Aspire, outlined the company's plans to utilise the raised capital for technological advancements, research and development, as well as marketing and distribution strategies.