5ire bagged $100 million from SRAM & MRAM Group
5ire, a layer 1 blockchain startup,
closed a $100 million round from UK-based SRAM & MRAM Group at a $1.5 billion valuation. Started in August 2021, 5ire is a blockchain platform focusing on sustainability, technology and innovation to build the 5th industrial revolution (5IR). The company employs about 100 people and plans to use the funds to improve its tech and expand its employee base.
LifeCell raised $80 million from PharmEasy backer
LifeWell, an entity formed after the merger of healthcare startup Mfine and the diagnostics arm of genetic services provider Lifecell International,
raised $80 million from New York-based OrbiMed. It will use the funds for new partnerships and investments in insurance tech.
Detect Technologies picked up $28 million from Prosus
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AI-based SaaS platform Detect Technologies
raised $28 million in a funding round led by Prosus Ventures. Existing investors like and Elevation Capital also participated in the round. Founded in 2016 by Tarun Mishra and Daniel Raj David, Detect provides intelligence to industries to mitigate high-consequence risks through a suite of cloud-based AI-powered applications. It plans to use the funds to expand its customer base.
B2B Agritech marketplace Vegrow raised $25 million
Vegrow, a B2B agritech marketplace for fruits,
raised $25 million in a Series B funding round led by Prosus Ventures, with existing investors Matrix Partners India, Ankur Capital and others chipping in. Started in 2020 by Praneeth Kumar, Mrudhukar Batchu, Kiran Naik and Shobhit Jain, Vegrow helps bridge demand and supply for fruits across 100 cities. It claims to process about 200 tonnes of fruits daily.
String Bio raised $20 million
Biotech startup, String Bio,
raised $20 million in a funding round from Woodside Energy Group, Ankur Capital and Zenfold Ventures. The startup leverages advances in biology, fermentation technology, chemistry, and process engineering to convert the energy in methane into diverse value-added products like protein ingredients for nutrition and biodegradable polymers.
ETtechFintech, Sewa Grih Rin raised $20 million from NMI
Fintech Sewa Grih Rin
raised $20 million from Norway’s Nordic Microfinance Initiative (NMI) and Women’s World Bank Asset Management. Founded in 2015 by Shruti Gonsalves, Sewa Grih Rin — branded as Sitara — provides loans ranging from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 30 lakh for house construction extension, purchase, and renovation exclusively for low-income households, especially to women in urban and rural areas. It plans to deploy the funds to growing its loan book and digitise its offerings.
Juspay cofounder’s startup Hyperface closed a $9 million seed round
Hyperface, a credit-card infrastructure provider started by Juspay cofounder Ramanathan RV,
raised $9 million in seed funding led by 3one4 Capital. Founded in 2021 by Ramanathan and veteran banker Aishwarya Jaishankar, Hyperface allows businesses to launch credit cards and pay-later issuance products at scale.
Other done deals:
■ Fashion discovery startup Shouto
raised $1.6 million, led by Saama Capital. Whiteboard Capital, Amit Singhal, the former head of search at Google, and 25 direct-to-consumer (D2C) founder angels also participated in the round.
■ DaoLens, a business-to-business (B2B) decentralised autonomous organisation (DAO) service provider,
raised an undisclosed amount in funding from 36 angel investors including CoinDCX cofounders Neeraj Khandelwal and Sumit Gupta, and
CEO Manish Agarwal, among others.
■ Solar financing platform Aerem
raised $2.5 million in funding led by Blume Ventures. Aerem is pioneering a solution to build India’s first asset finance and quality platform for solar energy.
