Xebia appoints Preetpal Singh as Group MD of Product & Platform Engineering Xebia, a global IT and software consultancy firm, has appointed Preetpal Singh as the Group Managing Director of Product & Platform Engineering. Singh, based in Atlanta, Georgia, will oversee the company’s global service lines and lead efforts to accelerate Xebia’s go-to-market transformation. A key part of his role will be to expand Xebia’s offerings by integrating artificial intelligence (AI) across its portfolio and collaborating closely with the company’s partner network to deliver innovative, industry-specific solutions. Preetpal Singh’s experience Before joining Xebia, Preetpal Singh held multiple senior leadership positions at Persistent Systems, where he spent 21 years. As the Senior Vice President of Intelligent Automation, he spearheaded initiatives that improved operational efficiency and increased revenue for global enterprises. His experience as a technology architect and his expertise in hyper-automation and AI have made him a leader in driving digital transformation. Singh’s commercial and technical skills will now contribute to shaping Xebia’s future strategies in areas such as cloud, data, intelligent automation, applied AI, and generative AI (GenAI). Xebia’s growth strategy Xebia’s decision to bring Singh on board aligns with its broader strategy to integrate AI-first solutions and scale its industry-specific offerings. Singh’s role will involve overseeing the company’s efforts to provide advanced solutions that cater to a variety of sectors, including finance, healthcare, and retail. His primary respo Xebia, a global IT and software consultancy firm, has appointed Preetpal Singh as the Group Managing Director of Product & Platform Engineering. Singh, based in Atlanta, Georgia, will oversee the company’s global service lines and lead efforts to accelerate Xebia’s go-to-market transformation. A key part of his role will be to expand Xebia’s offerings by integrating artificial intelligence (AI) across its portfolio and collaborating closely with the company’s partner network to deliver innovative, industry-specific solutions. Preetpal Singh’s experience Before joining Xebia, Preetpal Singh held multiple senior leadership positions at Persistent Systems, where he spent 21 years. As the Senior Vice President of Intelligent Automation, he spearheaded initiatives that improved operational efficiency and increased revenue for global enterprises. His experience as a technology architect and his expertise in hyper-automation and AI have made him a leader in driving digital transformation. Singh’s commercial and technical skills will now contribute to shaping Xebia’s future strategies in areas such as cloud, data, intelligent automation, applied AI, and generative AI (GenAI). Xebia’s growth strategy Xebia’s decision to bring Singh on board aligns with its broader strategy to integrate AI-first solutions and scale its industry-specific offerings. Singh’s role will involve overseeing the company’s efforts to provide advanced solutions that cater to a variety of sectors, including finance, healthcare, and retail. His primary responsibility will be to leverage Xebia’s expertise in consulting and software development, with a particular focus on AI and cloud technologies, to help clients navigate the digital landscape and achieve better business outcomes. Leadership comments Xebia’s Global CEO, Anand Sahay, said, “Preetpal’s leadership is a critical part of our strategy to build an integrated value proposition to solve our customer’s industry-specific problems and help them achieve business outcomes. His extensive experience in both technology and business will ensure Xebia continues to deliver cutting-edge, AI-first solutions that meet the evolving needs of our clients. We are confident that his leadership and vision will drive extraordinary outcomes for Xebia and our partners.” “I am excited to kickstart this chapter at Xebia at a time when it is experiencing impressive growth. Our mission is crystal clear – to leverage our authority in consulting and software development services in key areas like Intelligent Automation, Applied and Gen AI, Data and Cloud to help our clients transform their business for improved outcomes. What stood out to me most about Xebia is its commitment to quality without compromise – it sets a high bar for itself and the industry,” Singh added.

AI startup Scribenote raises $8.2 million in Andreessen Horowitz-led funding round Scribenote, a startup that uses AI to generate medical records for veterinarians, said on Monday it has raised $8.2 million in an early-stage funding round led by venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz. The fundraise also saw participation from venture capital firm Inovia Capital and Velocity Fund, which invests in early-stage startups. It wasn’t immediately clear at what valuation the funds were raised. Startups deploying artificial intelligence have seen strong investor interest this year, with five such companies raising more than $1 billion in 2024. Generative AI heavyweight OpenAI is also in talks to raise $6.5 billion in a funding round that would value the company at $150 billion. Scribenote, founded in 2019, uses artificial intelligence to automate documentation of medical records for veterinarians. It has automated more than 1.5 million medical records in less than a year, the company said. In March this year, Reuters reported Andreessen Horowitz was nearing a $7 billion fund that would target startups in multiple industries, including AI. It participated in the $6-billion series B funding of Elon Musk’s AI startup xAI in May.

Kapiva raises $10 Mn from existing investors Homegrown D2C ayurvedic nutrition brand Kapiva has raised Rs 83.5 crore (approximately $10 million) led by OrbiMed Asia with the participation of 3One4 Capital and Vertex Ventures. The board at Kapiva has passed a special resolution to issue 5,62,631 compulsory convertible preference shares to raise the aforementioned sum, its regulatory filing sourced from the Registrar of Companies shows. OrbiMed Asia led the round with Rs 52.2 crore, while 3One4 Capital and Vertex Ventures participated with Rs 11.96 crore and Rs 19.33 crore, respectively. The fresh funding appears to be part of Kapiva’s Series C round, in which the firm is aiming to raise a total of Rs 250 crore. Entrackr exclusively reported about Kapiva’s Series C round in Nov 2022. With the fresh tranche, the firm has raised Rs 132 crore in the ongoing round. It had already raised Rs 48.75 crore ($6 million) in Series C from OrbiMed and other existing investors back in October 2022. Kapiva has also increased its ESOP size by adding 1,415,00 new employee stock, bringing the total ESOP pool to 4,47,741, separate filing shows. As per the Entrackr estimates, its ESOP pool size is now worth Rs 66 crore. Kapiva will use these funds for the expansion and development of the company. Kaviva has raised over $30 million to date and has notable investors including Jetty Ventures, Fireside, OrbiMed, 3One4Capital, and others. According to the startup data intelligence platform TheKredible, the company has been valued at around $80 million post-allotment. Founded in 2015, Kapiva is an ayurvedic nutrition brand that offers natural and organic health and skincare products for hair fall, weight loss, digestion, diabetes in the form of juices, tea, oils, shakes et al. During the fiscal year ended March 2023, Kaviva registered 87% year-on-year growth to Rs 116.48 crore with a loss standing at Rs 64.5 crore in the same period. Kapiva is yet to file its annual results for FY24. While the D2C ayurveda space is crowded with plenty of organized brands, Upakarma Ayurveda, and Dr. Vaidya’s, Varalife, among others are Kapiva’s notable competitors.

Redcliffe Labs buys Bengaluru-based Celara Diagnostics for $7 million Redcliffe Labs, a growing omnichannel diagnostics service provider, has reportedly made its second acquisition of the year by purchasing Bengaluru-based Celara Diagnostics.  According to Entrackr’s report, The company’s board has passed a resolution of approval for the acquisition of shares of Celara Diagnostics Pvt Ltd for an amount not exceeding Rs 60 crore ($7 million). What does Celara Diagnostics do? Celara Diagnostics offers a broad range of diagnostic services across radiology and pathology, with advanced facilities such as MRI, CT scans, and ultrasonography. The company also provides specialty services in gastroenterology, cardiology, and neurology. It reported revenue of Rs 25 crore and a profit of Rs 1.5 crore for the financial year 2023 (FY23). Redcliffe’s acquisition strategy The acquisition aligns with Redcliffe Labs’ ongoing strategy of acquiring financially stable labs to improve its cash flow and profitability. In March, Redcliffe’s founder, Dheeraj Jain, said the company seeks to acquire laboratories with strong financial performance as part of its growth plan.  Earlier in 2023, Redcliffe-owned Medicentre acquired Prime Sonography & Diagnostic Centre, based in Kota, although financial details of that transaction remain undisclosed. Funding and investors The report comes a week after Redcliffe Labs raised $42 million in a Series C funding round led by Denmark’s Investment Fund for Developing Countries (IFU). IFC invested $20 million, followed by LeapFrog Investments with $15 million. The remaining capital came from the existing investors HealthQuad and Spark Growth Ventures. Founded by Aditya Kandoi and Dheeraj Jain, Redcliffe Labs claims to own and operate more than 80 state-of-the-art labs, processing tests from 2,000+ collection centres and home collection services powered by 1,000+ phlebotomists across 220+ cities in India.

MobiKwik Gets SEBI Nod For INR 700 Cr IPO Fintech unicorn MobiKwikMobiKwik Datalabs_in-article-icon has secured approval from the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) for its INR 700 Cr initial public offering (IPO) aimed at expanding its financial services and payments business. The markets regulator issued the observation letter to the Delhi NCR-based unicorn on September 19. In SEBI’s parlance, issuance of observation is a green light to go ahead with the public issue. MobiKwik’s IPO will entirely comprise a fresh issue of equity shares, with no offer for sale component. Of this, the startup plans to use INR 250 Cr to fuel the growth of its financial services segment. While INR 135 Cr will be used to support the expansion of its payments business, another INR 135 Cr will be invested in data, machine learning (ML), artificial intelligence (AI), and product development. An additional INR 70.28 Cr will go towards capital expenditure for payment devices, with the remainder earmarked for general corporate purposes. MobiKwik, which refiled its IPO documents in January, may also pursue a pre-IPO placement of INR 140 Cr. Should this placement occur, the size of the fresh issue will be adjusted accordingly. The fintech unicorn became profitable in the financial year 2023-24 (FY24), reporting a net profit of INR 14.1 Cr, a significant turnaround from a net loss of INR 83.19 Cr in the previous year, driven by strong business growth. Revenue from operations surged 62% to INR 875 Cr from INR 539.5 Cr in FY23. Founded in 2009 by Bipin Preet Singh and Upasana Taku, MobiKwik is a digital banking platform offering a comprehensive suite of financial products for both consumers and merchants. Its revenue streams include services such as online checkout, Kwik QR scan and pay, MobiKwik Vibe (Soundbox), MobiKwik EDC Machine, and merchant cash advances, among others. As of September 2023, MobiKwik had 146.94 Mn registered users and facilitated payments for 3.81 Mn merchants across online and offline platforms. Notably, the fintech unicorn has slashed its IPO size by 63% when compared with the first filing of its DRHP in 2021. At the time, it was looking to raise INR 1,900 Cr, out of which INR 1,500 Cr was to be raised from a fresh issue of shares and INR 400 Cr via offer for sale (OFS). The 2021 DRHP was filed amid the startup IPO boom. However, with the crash in Paytm share price, MobiKwik’s share price also slumped in the unlisted market. With the smaller IPO size, the startup seems to be trying to reduce the risk of overvaluation – a challenge faced by Paytm post-IPO.

Fractional ownership platform FOIP secures Rs 23-Cr for Gurgaon commercial project Fractional Ownership Investment Platform (FOIP), a tech start-up in fractional real estate has secured Rs 23 crore for office space in NEO Square, Gurgaon. This last-mile investment comes from block investors, and NEO Square is a commercial project located in Sector 109, Gurgaon. FOIP accomplished this fundraising through a block deal with a set of High Net Worth Individual (HNI) investors for their 18,000 sqft office space. “The aim is to democratize access to value assets with a smaller ticket size with better return. We are looking for only 100 crore investment raise in the first year of our operations. We hope to meet our target with more value deals soon,” said Aankush Ahuja, CEO and Founder of FOIP. Investors will have direct ownership of the property, expecting a favourable return on their investment. “FOIP has helped us in reaching out to right investors in a quick span and achieved the agreed numbers. We hopefully will be able to meet our commitments and generate value for existing investors in the project,” said Anand Anand, CEO of NEO Square.

Bengaluru based startup Flytant – Influencer Marketplace raises Seed round from ShuruUp New Delhi [India], February 21: Flytant’s strategic move to secure this funding is to be instrumental in the development of cutting-edge technologies, propelling the platform to revolutionize the Influencer Marketing industry with its flagship product. Flytant’s journey began in 2020 with the Influencer Marketplace model, and it has swiftly become the second-largest platform in India and third largest globally, boasting over 600,000 registered influencers and more than 1800 brands internationally. On a global scale, it ranks as the third-largest Influencer Marketplace, attracting top brands and agencies leveraging its capabilities for influencer on boarding. Vivek Rai, the visionary founder of Flytant, envisions making the platform the largest influencer marketplace globally by the end of this year year and will expand in the USA and MENA region as well. Speaking passionately about the platform’s unique offerings, Rai emphasized its scalability and democratized model, ensuring that influencers of all scales, from nano to macro, can monetize their content effortlessly and quality content creators get a substantial number of collabs. He further emphasised that our biggest USP is scalability and ease with which we help brands hire influencers without any commission involved. “We are changing the way the influencer marketing industry works and ensuring influencers can monetize their social media content with great ease,” says Rai.The company has developed an amazing model where the brands and influencers are able to connect directly on their model. Flytant uses AI enabled algorithms to match the influencers and the brands. The typical agency model where brands go to agencies for their influencer campaign is outdated and generally a manual process is involved. With the Flytants AI model brands are able to shortlist influencers for their campaign easily. In the second half of this year, Flytant is looking to launch their flagship product Flytant Ads which will enable Influencers to have even more seamless access to sponsorships from the brands. As per the company’s founder this will be a game changing product in the Influencer industry as the brands and influencers will be able to scale their campaign. Team Shuru-Up said “With the growing trend in number of Influencers and the amount of content creation happening on social media along with content consumption in India, it seems necessary to have a platform that helps Influencers to avail sponsorships directly from brands and monetise their social media content. Flytant helps Influencers to monetise their content through sponsorships from brands, do networking with fellow influencers, create and manage their portfolio and all these without any manual intervention which proves the scalability of the platform. With the growing number of content creators in India, it is time to revolutionise the Influencer Marketplace and ensure the market is well democratised and influencers are paid as per their work.” In the dynamic landscape of Influencer Marketing, Flytant stands as a beacon of innovation. With exponential growth, it has emerged as a global influencer hub, spearheading a transformative journey that redefines the industry. A paradigm shift is underway, envisioning a future where influencers and brands seamlessly unite and thrive in a democratized digital terrain.

Yulu raises $19.25 Mn from Magna, Bajaj Auto Yulu, an electric two-wheeler company, has raised $19.25 million (about Rs 160 crore) in equity funding from existing investors Magna and Bajaj Auto Ltd. The additional capital will enable Yulu to maintain its growth streak and will strengthen its market leadership as it expands in terms of vehicles, operational locations, and product and technology innovation, the company said in a press release. In September 2022, Yulu raised $82 million in equity funding led by US-based Magna International in a Series B funding round. The firm also raised $3 million in debt financing in January this year. Entrackr exclusively reported the development. The startup has scooped up more than $130 million to date. Six-year-old Yulu offers last-mile connectivity through its electric bike and network of EV charging and battery swapping network. It provides urban Mobility-as-a-Service (MaaS) in Bengaluru, Mumbai, and Delhi-NCR. Through Yuma, which is a joint venture between Yulu and Canadian automotive supplier Magna, it has done more than 6.5 million swaps to date. Yulu co-founder and CEO Amit Gupta also confirmed that the firm is on track to raise its Series C round soon. “Yulu will continue to strengthen its leadership in the mobility-as-a-service (MaaS) segment by deepening existing business lines and opening up new use cases and geographies. Hence, we will look to raise additional funds to power our growth. We are gratified to see a lot of inbound interest from institutional investors and will raise additional capital later this year,” he said in a statement. According to startup data intelligence platform TheKredible, Yulu registered Rs 41.74 crore in revenue from operations in FY23 against Rs 29 crore in FY22. During the period, its losses also jumped to Rs 95 crore from Rs 55 crore. As per Yulu, it has seen a nearly 5x leap in revenue over the past five years. The company competes with Zypp Electric, Bounce, Ebikego, and among others.

Fintech SaaS Solutions Provider Trust Fintech Raises INR 5.42 Cr In Pre-IPO Round Fintech SaaS company Trust Fintech said it has raised INR 5.42 Cr ($653k) in its pre-IPO round from Tally Solutions MD Tejas Goenka, Mphasis Canada’s head of business Nitin Sathawane, and ex-HDFC treasury head Ramnath Raikar. Raisoni Group cofounder Siddharth Raisoni, MSMEx cofounderAmit Kumar, among others, also participated in the round, the company said in a statement on Friday (February 23). It is pertinent to note that Trust Fintech filed its draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) with NSE Emerge earlier this month. Its IPO will comprise fresh issuance of 62,82,000 equity shares. The fintech SaaS company is looking to get listed next month. Founded in 1998, Trust Fintech primarily provides core banking SaaS products. It also offers fintech software solutions around ERP implementation and offshore IT services for the BFSI sector. The company’s public listing ambitions are a byproduct of the expansion spree it has undertaken. At the time of filing its IPO papers, the Nagpur-headquartered company said it has been expanding operations in India and abroad while operating through its offices in Nagpur, Pune and Mumbai.

Ashneer Grover backs Dubai based fintech startup – TigerPay New Delhi [India], TigerPay, the Dubai-based fintech startup founded in 2023 by Prabh Singh, is revolutionizing payment solutions for SMEs in the region with its flagship product, softPOS, and QR and link payments. The funds will be used to grow the merchant base, develop a neobank and the largest SME lending platform in the region. In just six months, TigerPay has achieved success with over 2000 merchant sign-ups. New Delhi [India], January 31: TigerPay, the Dubai-based fintech startup founded in 2023 by Prabh Singh, is revolutionizing payment solutions for SMEs in the region with its flagship product, softPOS, and QR and link payments. In a significant development, TigerPay successfully raised a pre-seed round of USD 250k last year and is now entering its second fundraising round, targeting USD 1.5M. Notably, Indian entrepreneur Ashneer Grover, former co-founder and MD of BharatPe, is a key investor. TigerPay is super excited to have Ashneer Grover onboard. We couldn’t have asked for a better angel investor. We aim to be the largest merchant-first fintech in the UAE and the Gulf region,” expressed Prabh Singh, CEO of TigerPay. “Excited about TigerPay solving for small merchants in the UAE!” echoes in Ashneer Grover’s quote, capturing the fintech’s commitment to supporting local businesses. The funds will be used to grow the merchant base, develop a neobank and the largest SME lending platform in the region. In just six months, TigerPay has achieved success with over 2000 merchant sign-ups. TigerPay’s product suite, comprising softPOS, QR, and link payments, offers a seamless experience, eliminating the need for bulky hardware. It converts your smartphone into a POS machine. The current funding round is expected to bolster TigerPay’s market position and contribute to the company’s growth in the fintech industry. As a result of the funding, merchants can anticipate enhanced services and features from TigerPay, dedicated to improving the payment experience. TigerPay has ambitious plans to expand its offerings, form strategic partnerships, and explore new markets, solidifying its role as a leading force in the fintech sector and penetrating other Gulf countries, including Saudi Arabia. TigerPay is poised for an exciting future, driven by innovation and supported by strategic investors. The company remains optimistic about its role in transforming the fintech landscape and providing exceptional payment solutions for SMEs in the region.