Scrut Automation, three others secure early-stage funding

By K Amoghavarsha

  • 02 Apr 2024
Aayush Ghosh Choudhury (L), Jayesh Gadewar and Kush Kaushik (R), co-founders, Scrut Automation

Cybersecurity startup Scrut Automation, luggage maker Assembly, juice chain The Fresh Press and ONDC rails infrastructure platform Plotch.ai secured early-stage funding, the companies said on Tuesday.  

Riversys Technologies Pvt Ltd, which runs cybersecurity-focused software-as-a-service (SaaS) startup Scrut Automation, has raised $10 million (Rs 83 crore) in a strategic funding round from existing investors.   

The round was led by multi-stage venture capital firm Lightspeed while MassMutual Ventures and Endiya Partners participated in it.   

The company will use the funds to improve its platform capabilities, incorporate  generative AI use cases to reduce the manual effort for risk and compliance teams and expand  to North American and European markets.   

With this round, the company has now raised $20.5 million in total venture funding since its inception.  

In 2023, the startup had raised $.7.5 million in a funding round led by MassMutual Ventures. The round also saw participation from Lightspeed and Endiya Partners.  

Founded in 2021 by Aayush Ghosh Choudhury, Kush Kaushik and Jayesh Gadewar, Scrut Automation offers an information security monitoring platform that helps small and medium enterprises (SMEs) comply with various information security standards.    

Assembly  

Luggage maker Assembly has raised $2.1 million (Rs 17.5 crore) in a funding round led by consumer startup-focused early-stage investor Prath Ventures. The round also saw participation from Anicut Capital, Blume Founders Fund and undisclosed angel investors.  

The infusion of funds will allow the startup to expand its product range, improve marketing and branding initiatives, and strengthen its product and operations teams.  

Founded in 2019 by Aditya Khanna and Mohit Garg, Assembly offers mass-premium luggage, backpacks and travel accessories.   

"Our focus this year is on expanding our product offerings and reaching a wider audience of travelers," said Garg, co-founder and chief executive officer, Assembly.  

Prath Ventures was established in May 2022 by Piyush Goenka and Harmanpreet Singh. It aims to invest in early-stage consumer businesses and targets to deploy fresh capital into approximately 15 startups.  

Cold-pressed juice chain The Fresh Press has raised an undisclosed amount in a pre-Series A funding round from Gruhas Collective Consumer Fund (GCCF).   

This infusion of capital will support the expansion of their quick service restaurants (QSR) and shop-in-shop presence and build their team and marketing campaigns.  

The startup is also a part of the first Gruhas Gusto FoodTech Accelerator Programme by Gruhas, Jubilant Family Office, DLF Family Office, and Anthill Ventures.  

Founded by Mithil Lodha and Rahul Jain along with actor Dino Morea, who came on board as an investor and co-founder in 2018, The Fresh Press has around 36 stores nationwide. The brand also has partnered with PVR, Inox and Reliance.  

A unit of TFPF Pvt Ltd, The Fresh Press offers juices, smoothies, shakes, fruit platters and desserts. It is currently present in Mumbai, Delhi, Pune and Bhopal.  

ONDC rails infrastructure company Plotch.ai has raised an undisclosed amount in a seed funding round from early-stage investors Venture Catalysts and AC Ventures.   

The startup will use 70% of the funds raised for product development, while 20% of the funding will be used for customer growth and 10% for client acquisition, according to its statement.   

Founded by Manoj and Monica Gupta, the founders of ethnic goods marketplace Craftsvilla, Plotch.ai’s suite of software products streamlines essential processes like transaction flows, payments, and grievance management.   

The platform claims to provide the fastest go-to-market strategy, allowing businesses to join the ONDC network in four weeks.  

Additionally, Plotch.ai offers a suite of ONDC-specific products, encompassing e-commerce, insurance, payments, customer relationship management (CRM), amongst others.