Kiko TV, Plunes, others raise funding

By Narinder Kapur

  • 25 Jan 2021
Credit: 123RF.com

Kiko TV, a video commerce-focused live streaming platform, has raised an undisclosed sum as part of its pre-Series A fundraise, it said on Monday.

The round in the Indore-based startup has been led by the United States-based venture capital firm SOSV. The startup says it will shortly graduate from the venture firm’s Mobile Only Accelerator.

This pre-Series A round is currently open and a few more investors are expected to take part in it, Kiko TV said in a statement. This comes after the company in December last year raised an undisclosed sum from Venture Catalysts’ 9Unicorns Fund and a clutch of angel investors.

Kiko TV, operated by Smooth Tag Technologies Pvt Ltd, was set up last year by Shivam Varshney and Alok Chawla. 

The startup says its mobile application allows brands and influencers to create content, marketing and branding opportunities while allowing for one-on-one live selling sessions with potential buyers.

“Live video is the logical evolution of ecommerce and shopping habits. There are enormous opportunities for mobile-first players,” SOSV general partner William Bao Bean said.

Health-technology firm Plunes has raised an undisclosed amount as part of its pre-Series A round, founder Chander Verma told VCCircle.

Plunes, based in Gurugram, has raised this capital from a prominent family office, Verma said. The startup says it is also in advanced talks with a couple of domestic and international funds.

Along with this investment, Verma said former Tech Mahindra vice-president Mandeep Singh -- who is an existing investor in Plunes -- has joined the company to help accelerate growth. 

Plunes, operated by Plunes Technologies Pvt Ltd, says it offers artificial intelligence and big data-based web and mobile applications for medical facilities to help increase revenue and footfall. For retail customers, it operates a bidding system that lets patients book tests at competitive rates.

Prior to this, the company raised $300,000 (around Rs 2.3 crore) as part of its pre-Series A round in April last year from investors in regions such as Europe and West Asia. Before this, it raised $120,000 (around Rs 83 lakh) in August 2019 from angel investors as part of its seed round.

Quali55Care, a vendor-aggregator of durable medical equipment, has raised an undisclosed amount as part of a seed funding round from India Accelerator’s Angel Investor Network.

Quali55Care, operated by Quali5Care and Consulting Pvt Ltd, was set up in 2018 by Hardikk K Patel and Raj Manta. The company says it focuses on the post-hospitalisation phase.

It will use the capital it has raised in this seed round to strengthen and establish its technological infrastructure for smarter delivery through the use of an artificial intelligence (AI)-based recommendation engine.

“With technology at its core, Quali55Care is enabling faster access to quality medical equipment,” India Accelerator co-founder Mona Singh said.

The Healthy Company, which provides superfoods and consultation, has raised an undisclosed amount from DSG Consumer Partners and GetVantage.

This fundraise, termed by the company as growth capital, has been raised through a mixture of equity and revenue-based financing.

Operated by Alnourish Healthy Foods Pvt Ltd, The Healthy Company was set up by Devansh Jain Nawal and Ackshay Jain. Its offerings include superfood-based products as well as an AI-based health coaching platform that helps users manage diet and lifestyle.

The company will use the capital it has raised to focus on its next growth phase.

Prior to this fundraise, The Healthy Company raised $350,000 (around Rs 2.55 crore) in August last year from a investors including Venture Catalysts and its fund 9Unicorns, First Cheque’s Kushal Bhagia, Beardo founders Ashutosh Valani and Priyank Shah, and early-stage venture capital fund Udtara Ventures.