InsuranceDekho buys Verak to expand footprint in SME insurance space

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April 5, 2023

Ankit Agrawal, the founder, and CEO of InsuranceDekho, announced that his company had acquired Verak, a Mumbai-based SME insurance distribution startup.

InsuranceDekho’s founder and CEO took to LinkedIn to share the acquisition of Verak. “Since its inception, Verak has had a solid foundation and ventured into the untapped micro-business insurance scheme, bringing small shopkeepers under the insurance umbrella for the first time and registering 30 percent MoM premium growth every month,” Agrawal said.

“With this acqui-hire, InsuranceDekho will have a stronger foothold in this rapidly growing market and a stronger presence in the SME insurance vertical and micro-business insurance schemes,” Agrawal added.

According to media reports, the leading insurtech firm in India will join the Verak team, including its founder Rahul Mathur, who previously held positions at Laka Insurance and Accenture in the UK before launching his startup.

Speaking of Mathur, the InsuranceDekho CEO said, “Rahul holds a strong pedigree in the insurance sector, carrying work experience in the Indian and Global landscape. Both Ish and I are convinced of the sheet of passion he brings to the table.”

“Moving forward, we will explore ways to expand our business operations and provide a wide range of services to our customers to improve their life even further,” Agrawal added further.

The leading insurtech Indian company raised a remarkable $150 million in February of this year in a funding round that included a mix of debt and equity. This was an Indian insurtech company’s largest series A round ever. TVS Capital Funds and Goldman Sachs Asset Management jointly led the equity round. LeapFrog Investments, Investcorp, and Avataar Ventures also participated in the investment round.

In 2016, Ankit Agrawal and Ish Babbar founded InsuranceDekho, the insurance arm of car-selling unicorn CarDekho. The insurtech startup has seen a significant increase in premiums since its inception. By March 2023, the startup aims to achieve ₹3,500 crores in annualized premium run rate.

Currently, the company is in more than 1,300 towns, encompassing 98% of India’s pin codes. About 2 lakh insurance advisors should be engaged on the platform by the end of 2023, according to the insurtech player. Also, the startup’s objective is to achieve 100% penetration across the country.

Spendflo bags $11mn in a Series A funding

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April 4, 2023

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Spendflo —which provides a SaaS buying and management platform—has raised $11 million in a Series A fundraising round led by Prosus Ventures and Accel.

The company plans to use the capital to speed up global expansion and fuel product growth. It aims to increase the size of its North American footprint by hiring employees and conducting on-ground marketing activities.

Investors, including Prosus Ventures, Accel, Together Fund, Signal Peak Ventures, and Boldcap Ventures, have invested Spendflo a total of $15.4 million.

According to Ashutosh Sharma, Head of Investments, India at Prosus Ventures, outsourced SaaS procurement and management is becoming a significant area of interest for organisations due to a complex SaaS stack and the need to rationalise cost bases.

“We’ve tracked Spendflo’s journey since their initial days and are extremely impressed with the team and its pedigree, the evolution of the product platform and features, and a roster of marquee logos across the globe. We are thrilled to partner with and support Spendflo in their ambition to become a global SaaS buying and management platform,” he said.

Spendflo is an all-in-one platform to buy, manage, and secure SaaS, and it was founded in 2021 by Siddharth Sridharan, Ajay Vardhan, and Rajiv Ramanan.

“Spendflo helps businesses at every stage of their SaaS buying and management journey while saving them countless hours and millions in both time and money, respectively. Their continuous upward growth has shown us they’re the right team to tackle and solve this challenge,” said Dinesh Katiyar, Partner at Accel.

Spendflo serves customers across North America, Europe, APAC, and the Middle East. Its customers include Mindtickle, Hasura, Drip, 4G Clinical, and Wodify.

Since the start of 2022, the company claims that it has grown 30% monthly, multiplied revenue by 15 times, increased the number of customers by 5X, and expanded the team by 4X.

“As cost optimisation becomes a priority, Spendflo is becoming the go-to, tailor-made solution for buying, managing, securing, and saving on SaaS from one place. It fits like a glove for growth-hungry businesses and helps them unlock maximum ROI on their SaaS stack,” said Spendflo’s co-founder and CEO Sidddharth Sridharan.

Dozee secures $6mn to strengthen its ambition of ‘HarBedDozeeBed’

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April 4, 2023

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Dozee, a contactless remote patient monitoring & AI-based early warning system firm, has raised $6 million in a Series A2 funding round. New and existing investors contributed to the investment, including the State Bank of India, J&A Partners Family office, and Dinesh Mody Ventures.

Bengaluru-based Dozee plans to use the funds to strengthen its R&D capabilities, expand in the Indian market, and explore global opportunities. The Contactless Vital Signs Measurement system, the flagship product of Dozee, recently received US FDA 510(k) clearance and complied with all applicable global standards for medical devices and algorithms.

“We plan to tap over 2,000 hospitals in more than 100 districts in the next two years to improve the quality of critical care facilities in India,” Mudit Dandwate, CEO & Co-founder of Dozee, said. “The current Series A2 fundraise is a part of the company’s plan to further its reach to every nook and corner of the country and to begin the era of ‘Made in India’ products in the global market.”

“Our growth momentum demonstrates accelerating progress toward our goal of making ‘HarBedDozeeBed’ the future of Indian healthcare Infrastructure,” he added.

Dozee already has a presence in more than 380 hospitals across 50 districts. It most recently worked with British International Investment, a development finance institution and impact investor with headquarters in the UK, to connect 6,000 hospital beds in around 140 public hospitals across India and other regions with its technology.

With Dozee’s technology, healthcare professionals can remotely monitor patients’ vital parameters and identify trends through its early warning system, enabling timely medical intervention. It integrates sensors under the mattress to capture, without physical contact, the minute vibrations caused by every heartbeat, respiration cycle, tremor, seizure, and change in posture.

Dozee makes technology that automates patient monitoring. It was founded in 2015 by IIT graduates Mudit Dandwate and Gaurav Parchani. It claims to save nearly 2.5 hours of nursing time every day per patient.

Capillary Tech acquires US-based Brierley+Partners

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April 4, 2023

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Capillary Technologies, a customer loyalty and customer engagement SaaS platform, has acquired Texas-headquartered Brierley+Partners, a loyalty technology, strategy, and execution company.

This acquisition, Capillary’s second in the US and fifth globally, will help the company expand its presence in North America. Also, it will help Capillary leverage Brierley’s emotional loyalty quotient, improve customer engagement, build loyalty as an outcome, and speed up digital transformation.

As Capillary Technologies continues to expand its presence in the US market, Sameer Garde, CEO of Capillary Technologies, claims that Brierley’s extensive industry expertise will be a valuable asset.

“This acquisition is a testament to our commitment to providing the best possible customer engagement and loyalty solutions to our clients,” he added.

Founded in 2012, Capillary Technologies is an end-to-end customer loyalty platform that offers a comprehensive view of consumers and unified, cross-channel strategies that deliver a real-time, omnichannel, personalized, and consistent customer experience.

Over 250 brands are among those the company works with, including Tata, PUMA, Shell, Al-Futtaim, Petron, Domino’s, Kanmo Group, and Marks & Spencer. It serves over a billion consumers and handles over 5 billion transactions annually. It is in South East Asia, the Middle East, India, the United States, and India.

It is backed by Warburg Pincus, Sequoia Capital, Avataar Ventures, and Filter Capital.

“Our combined expertise will enable us to provide our clients with even more innovative and effective loyalty and customer engagement solutions through Capillary’s next-generation SaaS platform. We are excited to work together to help our clients build stronger, more meaningful relationships with their customers,” said Bill Swift, CEO of Brierley.

CitiusTech appoints Rajan Kohli as Chief Executive Officer

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April 3, 2023

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CitiusTech Healthcare Technology, a provider of healthcare technology services, solutions, and platforms, announced that its board of directors had appointed Rajan Kohli, an experienced technology executive, as Chief Executive Officer.

Kohli joins CitiusTech from Wipro, where he worked for almost three decades and handled $6 billion in annual revenue. Most recently, he was president of the iDEAS (Integrated Digital, Engineering and Application Services) business. He has worked with Wipro in many leadership roles, including Chief Marketing Officer and Head of Banking & Financial Services. In the decade before taking over as the head of the iDEAS global business line, Kohli founded and scaled Wipro Digital.

With more than 140 healthcare and life sciences organizations, including leading healthcare providers, payers, pharmaceutical companies, and medical technology firms, CitiusTech, founded in 2005, develops software and technology solutions.

The company recently acquired Wilco Source, a Salesforce solutions and services leader, to expand its patient- and member-centric digital offerings.

“I would like to extend a warm welcome to Rajan as he joins us as the CEO of CitiusTech. He is a proven leader with a breadth of business experience and a strong track record of driving transformation and scaling successful businesses. He brings tremendous leadership capabilities and expertise in digital, engineering and application services with an innovation-led approach to drive the next phase of growth for us,” said Dr William Winkenwerder, Chairman, CitiusTech. “We thank Bhaskar Sambasivan for his many contributions to CitiusTech, and we will miss him as he steps away from the CEO role owing to personal and family reasons,” Dr Winkenwerder continued.

“I am thrilled to join CitiusTech, a company that has built a strong foundation through dedicated client service and deep healthcare technology expertise,” said Mr Kohli. “With healthcare and life sciences industries undergoing massive digital transformation, we are well positioned to drive meaningful impact for organizations in the sector. CitiusTech has outstanding talent and exceptional leadership, and together with our strong client portfolio and partner relationships, I am confident we will accelerate growth and unlock additional value.”

The firm is owned by Bain Capital Private Equity and BPEA EQT, along with CitiusTech co-founders Rizwan Koita and Jagdish Moorjani.

Jimmy Mahtani, Partner, BPEA EQT, said, “As a seasoned leader with outstanding credentials of transforming businesses and delivering results, we believe Rajan is the right person to take CitiusTech into its next phase of growth.”

Pavninder Singh, Partner, Bain Capital Private Equity, said, “Rajan is a transformational leader, and his deep experience in the Technology Services sector, along with CitiusTech’s focus in the attractive and fast-growing healthcare industry, is a great combination.”

User engagement platform CometChat bags Rs 40-Cr

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April 3, 2023

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User engagement platform CometChat has raised Rs 40 crore in a Venture Debt round led by Utah-based Zions Venture Fund. The funds raised will go towards expanding its product offerings, strengthening its presence in Europe, and significantly expanding its APAC data centres.

CometChat has raised Rs over 145 crores and is backed by marquee investors, including Signal Peak Ventures, Matchstick Ventures, Range Ventures, and Unbound Ventures. Also, this will help CometChat retain its leadership position as it continues to provide enterprise customers with mission-critical real-time engagement infrastructure.

Anuj Garg and Anant Garg, twin brothers, founded CometChat in 2019, with headquarters in Denver and Mumbai. The CpaaS startup collaborates with leading global companies by offering them an integrated messaging and communications platform within apps and websites to improve user engagement with the brand.

Users may engage in real engagement using messaging, voice calls, and HD video chat. The software’s extensive offering supports user-to-user engagement for a growing client base. It saves companies hundreds of developer hours and the associated costs that would otherwise be spent developing this technology from scratch.

Anuj Garg, Co-founder, and CEO, CometChat, says, “We are a revenue-focused business continuously growing in large international markets. Thus, our business fundamentals and strong balance sheet have enabled us to raise this round, as we are in a comfortable position to service the debt. The aim is to raise capital for an extended runway of 5 years as we put our growth plans in the fast lane.”

CometChat’s customer base has risen thrice in the past year, while product usage has increased by 300%. With its B2D (Business to the Developer) strategy, the company has handled over 800 million connections so far. Numerous awards have been bestowed upon the company, including “Best Estimated ROI” by G2 and “Established Product” at the 30th Annual HYSEA Summit.

Sam Clark, MD, Zions Venture Fund, says, “Zions is thrilled to be partnering with CometChat for this debt facility. We have been impressed by the team and what they have accomplished to date. Excited to be a part of the journey and support the Company through its phases of growth.”

CometChat holds a strong position in the North American region and fosters growth by entering new markets with its developer-first strategy. In addition to having strong solutions like Open Sourced UI Kits, SDKs and APIs, and Widgets, the startup has recently integrated with ChatGPT, a chatbot with a large language model.

CometChat, which is currently working with industries like marketplaces, community apps, telehealth applications, ed-tech, as well as any internal messaging or enterprise system, is rapidly establishing itself as a trustworthy communication platform on a global scale.

Suba Group of Hotels launches Comfort Inn Silver Arch in Mussoorie

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April 1, 2023

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Suba Group of Hotels, a master franchisee of Choice Hotels India, has marked another milestone in Uttrakhand with the launch of ‘Comfort Inn Silver Arch‘ in Mussoorie.

The property is conveniently near the entrance of the Picture Palace side of Mall Road in Mussoorie and is accessible by road, rail, and air via Dehradun airport. Malls, Kempty Falls, Lal Tibba, Company Garden, Gun Hill, George Everest Mansion, Cloud End, Bhatta Falls, and Camel Back Road are some popular tourist destinations nearby the hotel.

Announcing the opening, Mansur Mehta, managing director, Suba Group of Hotels, said, “We are delighted to launch Comfort Inn Silver Arch in the picturesque hills of Mussoorie. Popularly referred to as the queen of hills, Mussoorie is a major tourist destination frequented by a huge number of visitors from across the country. With the launch of our new property, we will tap the growing potential of tourist inflow in the region. The hotel perfectly epitomizes the Suba Hotel group’s core values of offering immaculate service and unparalleled hospitality.”

“We are pleased to expand our footprints in North India with the launch of Comfort Inn Silver Arch in Mussoorie. This full-service hotel with all contemporary elements is ideal for leisure tourists, flexible, independent travelers (FIT), and group travellers. It is our endeavour to continue to penetrate our reach across popular destinations across the country,” said Mubeen Mehta, CEO, Suba Group of Hotels.

The Comfort Inn Silver Arch features 4 bamboo huts and 27 rooms, and it can accommodate 80 to 100 guests.

The Cafe, which has an outdoor seating area and is located on the hotel’s ground floor, offers guests a great culinary experience. It is a multi-cuisine restaurant that serves lunch and dinner à la carte and a buffet for breakfast. The restaurant’s team members carefully choose the fresh ingredients for the food and cook it with a lot of love and attention to delight guests.

“Each of our properties boasts luxurious rooms with a host of banqueting and F&B facilities. Suba Hotels serves modern travelers by providing a distinctive stay experience, outstanding quality services, and exceptional facilities at competitive pricing. The company has footprints in all major metros, including tier 1 and tier 2 cities. All of their facilities provide elegant and large rooms, exciting locations for holding weddings, events, and exhibitions, and a fantastic dining experience at iconic restaurants,” said Chandrakant Shetty, COO, Suba Group of Hotels.

Small startups plan to expand in 2023, with 80% actively aiming to hire: Survey

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April 1, 2023

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Despite ongoing layoffs, the FICCI and Randstad India survey found that 80% of early-stage startups with fewer than 20 employees actively seek to hire in 2023.

“Notably, these startups have secured Series A and Series B funding, are well-capitalised, and are actively seeking to hire new talent,” the report said. As many as 300 startups participated in the survey.

According to the survey, new project orders, increased funding from investors, and expansion plans will influence hiring decisions for 92% of startups.

According to the study, most of the jobs will be for junior and mid-level positions. Over 38% of the companies surveyed indicated they planned to hire people at the junior level, while 27% said they would focus on hiring people at the mid-level.

The agri/agritech and automotive industries are a few exceptions to this trend, where companies are expected to prioritize senior-level C-suite hiring.

The survey found that, in comparison to more established organizations, high-growth startup companies experience a much greater attrition rate. These startups have an attrition rate approximately 1.7 times higher than traditional firms, or about 43.7%.

“In our survey, 54.38 % of the startups attributed the high attrition rate to better pay packages by bigger corporates and fear of job security in a startup — besides lack of clarity in career progression clarity and credibility issues,” the FICCI survey said.

Koo provides free lifetime verification for notable personalities

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March 31, 2023

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Indian microblogging app Koo will offer free lifetime verification to all notable personalities who qualify. This announcement aligns with changes to Twitter’s verification policies, following which users should expect to see a verified check mark on their profile.

The company announced the update in a press release: “Koo is committed to building a safe and inclusive platform that provides users equal opportunities to express themselves and be heard.”

“The free lifetime verification will be available to all notable personalities and creators across the world; enabling them to build trust with followers, protect their reputation and avoid impersonation on the platform,” it added.

When a user profile meets the requirements specified on its website, Koo awards a user with a Yellow Tick.

“At Koo, we care about being inclusive in thought and action. We provide free lifetime verification for all notable personalities that qualify as a mark of recognition and protect them from impersonators so that they can share their authentic voice with their followers. We are a merit-based platform and take pride in our platform’s transparent methodology that recognizes and celebrates eminence without a price tag. The Koo Eminence Tick is a prestigious symbol that cannot be bought and we are committed to safeguarding this digital right for all notable personalities,” said Mayank Bidawatka, Co-founder of Koo.

“We have concentrated our efforts for the last 3 years to create a microblogging 2.0 experience and have become the second largest microblog with over 60 million downloads from 100+ countries. Every stakeholder gains from being on Koo. We will never charge for a feature that the internet was supposed to provide for free. Platforms need to enable. Not extract.”

Koo offers several features with Yellow Tick that are all free of cost, including free edit functionality, a longer 500-character post, longer videos, the ability to post in 20+ global languages in one go, ChatGPT prompt, scheduling posts, creating drafts, monetization tools for creators, a loyalty programme for users, and proactive content moderation that is best in class among all social media platforms.

Koo users can apply for the verification check mark via the Koo website, follow the verification process, or directly write to eminence.verification@kooapp.com.

Amazon leases over 6 lakh sq ft of office space in Bengaluru

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March 31, 2023

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Amazon Development Centre has leased 650,000 sq ft of space in Bengaluru in one of the most recent office transactions. The web commerce company registered a 60-year lease in February and will pay ₹62 per sq ft as rent, according to the lease record shared by Propstack.

The new building will rise in a constellation business park on the Outer Ring Road owned by Bagmane Development and is a hub of large technology companies.

The deal follows two large transactions Amazon recently completed, acquiring more than 800,000 sq ft of space in Gurgaon and Hyderabad for web services, development centres, seller services, and transportation services.

The deal provides commercial real estate much-needed relief when many firms hold off on significant transactions because of global uncertainties. Google, JP Morgan, and Deloitte are a few companies with substantial leases that have recently closed.

Despite the global headwinds and other externalities, Colliers predicts that the office market will recover quickly in 2023. In the year’s second half, leasing activity will likely increase.

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