Browsing: Industry Updates

Belong, a fintech platform dedicated to Non-Resident Indians (NRIs), has raised $5 million in seed funding led by Elevation Capital. The startup plans to expand its product offerings and operations, starting from the UAE and moving into markets like Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the UK, and the US. Leveraging GIFT City’s regulatory framework, Belong aims to simplify cross-border banking and investment for NRIs with products such as US dollar-denominated fixed deposits, equity, insurance, and international cards.

CIMware, a Bengaluru-based data centre infrastructure startup, has secured $2.3 million in its first funding round led by Transition VC. The company will use the capital to develop a networking smart switch, expand its software team, and cover operational costs.

The funds raised from the consumer-focussed fund will be used for scaling up and expanding farm operations across India, as well as accelerating its technology rollouts. This takes the total amount of funds raised by the agritech startup to around $15 million since its inception. Eeki’s technology enables the farm’s climate to be controlled, allowing vegetables to be grown all year without being affected by seasonal variations.

Regtech startup Zango AI has raised $4.8 million in a round led by Nexus Venture Partners to expand teams in Bengaluru and London and develop AI-native compliance tools. Founded in 2024, Zango uses regulation-specific LLMs to automate compliance tasks, serving clients like Novobanco, Monzo, and Juni.

Nandan Nilekani’s Fundamentum, Elevation Capital and Peak XV Partner also participated in the funding for the parent company of the devotional platform, Sri Mandir. The funds will be used to invest in over 20 temple towns in India, strengthen services and commerce verticals, and set up fulfilment and logistics hubs.

The fresh funds will be used to scale and develop its AI agent workforce across global life sciences enterprises, build its engineering team, and integrate with some legacy platforms within the life sciences segment. The Boston-based startup uses AI agents to automate and raise the level of efficiency of scientific knowledge work within highly regulated industries.

Cloud kitchen operator Curefoods has filed its draft red herring prospectus for an IPO, comprising a fresh issue of Rs 800 crore, alongside an offer for sale of 48.5 million shares. JM Financial, IIFL, and Nuvama are the bookrunning lead managers for the IPO.

Meesho, which completed its domicile shift from the US to India last week, will file its draft IPO prospectus under Sebi’s confidential route, the documents show. Investors Elevation Capital, Peak XV Partners and Prosus are among the largest institutional shareholders in Meesho, owning 13-15% stake each. Japanese investor SoftBank owns close to 10% stake in the etailer focused on value retailing at lower price points.

Zilo, a fashion tech startup, secured $4.5 million in seed funding led by Info Edge Ventures and Chiratae Ventures to expand its quick commerce model. The company plans to enhance its supply chain, brand partnerships, and geographic reach, aiming to deliver fashion and lifestyle products from over 250 brands within 60 minutes.

Existing investors, including stock market investor Amal Parikh, Think Investments, and other family offices, participated. With this, the company has raised a total of $145 million to date. Per founder and CEO Vivek Mishra, the fresh capital will be used for improving its R&D strengths and expanding its manufacturing facility.