Spark Studio, Tealfeed, 1Bridge, others get funds; GlobalBees acquires the Better Home

By Anuj Suvarna

  • 31 Aug 2021
Credit: 123RF.com

Spark Studio, a Bengaluru-based edtech startup focused on extracurricular activities, has secured new financing round from Y Combinator.  

Spark Studio said it has scaled to 7,000 users across 9 different countries since its launch in 2021.

The company will use the funds to scale up the platform, including broader content and curriculum.   

Founded by Anushree Goenka, Kaustubh Khade, Namita Goeland and Jyothika Sahajanandan, Spark Studio offers over 15 courses across music, communications and visual arts.   

Y Combinator’s belief in the Indian extracurricular learning space is a validation of our model. Learning has shifted online and parents are looking for quality classes that they can meaningfully engage their children in,” Anushree Goenka, co-founder and CEO, Spark Studio, said.

Gurugram-based knowledge sharing platform Tealfeed has secured undisclosed seed financing round from angel investors through ah! Ventures.   

The fresh capital will be used to scale up the platform, which has currently signed up more than 5,000 global creators in the areas of technology, startups, marketing, leadership and design.  

Founded in 2021 by Rohit Garg and Sourabh Kaushik, Tealfeed provides its users the option to customise its feed based on interests and follow creators to learn from them.  

The firm said it has been witnessing 60% growth monthly since starting its operations four months ago.  

1Bridge

RubanBridge Pvt. Ltd which runs 1Bridge, a last-mile supply chain and distribution startup, has raised $2.5 million in a new financing round led by Netherlands-based impact investor C4D Partners.

The round also saw participation from KAAJ Ventures, Prashanth Prakash, of Accel Partners; Puneet Jetli, co-founder of Happiest Minds, and Aradhana D Chatterjee and Prashanth Boccasam.  

With the new round of capital, 1Bridge will deepen its supply chain and distribution network across another 10,000 villages, expand its product and service offerings  

“With this investment, we aim to expand the network, strengthen our technology and data capabilities, roll out 1Bridge Experience Zones at the Taluk-level and deepen our partnerships for last-mile supply chain and distribution – while pursuing profitable growth,” Madan Padaki, founder and CEO of 1Bridge, said.

1Bridge said it has grown at over 75% year-on-year (YOY) growth and has grossed revenue of over Rs 52 crore in FY21. It aims to cross Rs 100 crore in FY22.

To date, 1Bridge has onboarded over 10,000 networks of entrepreneurs.

The firm has turned EBITDA positive in FY22.

The firm also said it has raised working capital facility from Ananya Finance for Inclusive Growth.

Launched by Madan Padaki and Anil Kumar, 1Bridge is a commerce platform focusing on villages. It offers products and digital services at the doorsteps of village consumers.

It works with local rural entrepreneurs or ‘1Bridge Advisors’ to help deliver these products and services through a mobile-based tech platform.  

The company has presence in over 70 districts of Southern India and is operational in states like Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Odisha. 

Rattle  

Rattle, a BizOps automation and orchestration platform, has raised $2.8 million in a seed round from Lightspeed and Sequoia Capital India.   

The round also saw participation from Amy Chang, EVP at Cisco, Ellen Levy, Jake Seid, Krish, and Raman, founders of Chargebee.  

The fresh capital will be used to expand its product offerings including adding integration with more enterprise applications. 

Founded in 2020 by Sahil Aggarwal, Apoorva Verma, and Milan Singh, Rattle aims to make it convenient to engage with business services.  

“Sales and marketing professionals should spend time only with their customers and not on internal process management”, Rattle co-founder and CEO, Sahil Aggarwal, said.

He added “While our growth has been phenomenal, our high NPS is what we care about most, which tells us we are solving a massive problem for our users.

We are in the early stages of a generational shift in how work gets done in the modern enterprise and are very excited to build this new stack from the ground up.” 

SecLogic, cloud security and cyber risk management startup has secured an undisclosed seed financing round from Spanache.vc,   

The fresh funds will be used to strengthen the existing product portfolio and aim to target consolidated revenue of $30 million and above by the end of 2024.  

The firm is developing cloud security and organization risk orchestration products to aid organisations in achieving a secure digital landscape. 

“The unique proposition of building CSPM++ and ORO products is based on a huge market base and demand globally. 

SecLogic is with first-mover advantage and background of the core team interested us to invest in them” said Pankaj Mittal, Lead Investor and technology advisor of Spanache.vc.

Powerhouse91, a thrasio style startup that aggregates and invests in e-commerce brands, has raised an undisclosed amount in a new financing round from multiple investors.   

The funding saw participation from US-based venture firm FJ labs, the venture fund focuses on marketplaces and consumer-focused businesses.

The round also saw participation from Maninder Gulat of OYO, Haresh Chawla of True North Co, Ryan Gnesin of Elevate Brands, Sujay Tyle of Merama and Varun Alagh, founder of Mamaearth.

Founded by Aqib Mohammed, Nikhil Agrawal and Shashwat Diesh, Powerhouse91 acquires high-potential consumer brands to scale them through e-commerce focused optimisations and product innovation.   

“We see this as a significant addition to our knowledge and expertise pool and consequently our ability to scale the acquired brands multifold over next few years.

Our shared vision towards creating an efficient e-commerce growth engine that helps us scale while maintaining healthy profitability is what brought us together in the first place,” Aqib Mohammed, co-founder of Powerhouse91, said in a statement.  

GlobalBees, a thrasio-style venture that aggregates and invests in e-commerce brands, has acquired home care brand The Better Home.  

The acquisition comes after the company raised $150 million in Series A round led by parent company firstcry. This is the firm’s first acquisition.  

The 15-member team will join GlobalBees and continues working towards the firm’s initial goal, The better home Claims to have reached over 70,000 customers in its first year of operation and has delivered across 600+ cities and towns in India.