It is one thing to know technology as a catalyst for change and a whole another experience to witness modern tech enhance the human experience, one innovation at a time.
A good example for this could be Mumbai-based AjnaLens, who is providing tailored end-to-end AR/VR/MR solutions to solve its clients’ business needs. Also, Gwalior-based MyMandi which is bringing the goodness of internet facility to cart-pusher communities in the city.
India’s entrepreneurial brilliance is getting bigger and realistic. At LetsVenture, we are happy to witness the small but significant events among our portfolio companies that are really harbingers of bigger changes for the startup ecosystem and the country.
Here’s a closer look at what LetsVenture startups have been upto in the month of October.
AjnaLens: Modern tech for the future
Snapshot
Startup Name: AjnaLens
Sector: Technology
Founders: Abhishek Tomar, Pankaj Raut, and Abhijit Patil
Journey so far: Mumbai-based AR/VR hardware startup AjnaLens demonstrated its VR-based skill training solution to Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the India Mobile Congress 2022 that took place in Pragati Maidan Convention Center in New Delhi earlier in the month. The startup showcased the potential of extended reality (XR) with 5G to revolutionize skill development across sectors to make India into a talent hub.
It also received an award for the “Most Innovative Enterprise 5G Use Case Deployed in the year 2022” from a pool of more than 1000 startups.
Founded in November 2014, the startup designs and builds augmented reality glasses for defense, enterprise, and education sectors, along with providing end-to-end augmented, virtual, and mixed reality solutions for various business needs.
Having filed for over 15 national and international patents in augmented reality and allied fields, the startup has served clients like the Indian Army, Indian Navy, Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO), Ministry of Defense, Tata Technologies, and Vedanta, among others.
LeverageEdu: Making study-abroad dreams a convenient reality
Snapshot
Startup Name: LeverageEdu
Sector: Edtech
Founders: Akshay Chaturvedi and Aman Arora
Journey so far: Study abroad platform LeverageEdu gets the green light with license from the Reserve Bank of India for its financial services vertical Fly Finance, which was launched earlier this year.
Fly Finance primarily focuses on student remittances and education loans to enhance customer experience by addressing needs of the student.
LeverageEdu had been conducting B2C forex through third-party license holders. Founder and CEO Akshay Chaturvedi, believes that a solid forex business of its own unlocks a lot of potential in the future to continue engaging with users as the student graduates, looks for a job, pays rent, and so on.
Based in New Delhi, the company claims to have recorded Transactions Processed Value (TPV) of Rs 135 crore on foreign exchange, facilitating education loans worth over Rs 280 crore. Moving forward, it aims to close FY 2023 at $150 million annualized TPV.
EMotorad: Raising the electric vehicle dream
Snapshot
Startup Name: EMotorad
Sector: Electric vehicle
Founders: Kunal Gupta, Aditya Oza, Rajib Gangopadhyay, Sumedh Battewar
Journey so far: Pune-based electric cycle startup EMotorad recently raised Rs 24 crore in a Pre-series A round early last week with participation from LetsVenture.
Founded by Rajib Gangopadhyay, Kunal Gupta, Aditya Oza, and Sumedh Battewar in 2020, the startup is leveraging local sourcing and manufacturing capabilities to make premium quality electric cycles affordable. It is also looking to shape the public perspective on cycling and integrate its users onto a platform for the cycling community.
EMotorad is deploying the new capital to drive its business growth and hiring. The EV startup is present in 58 countries including Japan, the UAE, Nepal and some European countries.
Flickstree: Leading the way for video content
Snapshot
Startup Name: Flickstree
Sector: Content-To-Commerce
Founders: Rahul Jain, Nagender Sangra, Saurabh Singh
Journey so far: Content-To-Commerce platform Flickstree raised an undisclosed amount of funding in Series B round. The fund will be used to strengthen its product and technology as well as for global expansion.
The Mumbai-based startup caters to more than 60 million users across its own platforms and over 150 publisher partners including news portals and reward platforms, among others. Beyond India, it serves a global client base across the Middle East, Southeast Asia, the UK, Australia, and the US.
MyMandi: The cart-pusher community comes online
Snapshot
Startup Name: MyMandi
Sector: Ecommerce
Founders: Suryansh Rana, Mahanaaryaman Scindia
Journey so far: Gwalior-based startup MyMandi raised Rs 40 million in a seed round with participation from LetsVenture within three months of starting up.
Founded in August 2022, MyMandi is a unique B2B marketplace that brings the city’s cart-pusher community online as a one-stop shop for all their needs. In addition to online presence, the platform also helps with online branding, interest free micro-credit for eligible vendors, and low-cost EVs to facilitate convenient store-on-wheels.
Biggies Burger: Taking on the burger giants in India
Snapshot
Startup Name: Biggies Burger
Sector: Quick Service Restaurant (QSR)
Founder: Biraja Prasad Rout
Journey so far: Homegrown burger QSR chain Biggies Burger raised the first seed round of Rs 5.5 crore with participation from LetsVenture after bootstrapping to success for the last decade.
Started by Biraja Prasad Rout with a small kiosk Electronic City in Bengaluru in 2011, it now runs 71 outlets in 25 cities across the country. The fresh fund will be used for geographical expansion and scale the franchising network as well. With more than 150 product designs, the chain hopes to incorporate new products customized to various regions. The founder hopes to build the QSR business into a global brand.
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