[Portfolio Watch] Doqfy gets a funding boost to simplify legal ancillary, Zypp Electric and The Energy Company’s drive towards sustainable mobility and more

A growing interest from investors and consumers in India’s Electric Vehicle(EV) space is accelerating India’s drive towards sustainable mobility.  

Meanwhile, amid the Artificial Intelligence (AI) boom innovators continue to adopt the technology for various purposes including matchmaking as done by our portfolio startup Betterhalf which raised a round as part of its pre-Series A funding.  

Here are some of the key funding highlights in the months of February and March from our portfolio startups. 

Zypp Electric: Driving India into an eco-friendly world

Snapshot 

Startup Name: Zypp Electric 

Sector: Electric Vehicle 

Founders: Akash Gupta and Rashi Agarwal

Journey so far: Gurugram-based electric vehicles (EV) logistics player Zypp Electric raised $25 Mn in a mix of equity and debt in its Series B funding round with participation from LetsVenture. The startup raised $20M in equity, and $5M in debt. 

Founded in 2017, it is present in Delhi-NCR and Bengaluru while focusing on expanding operations to Hyderabad, Mumbai, Chennai, among others. In June 2022, the startup made it to Google for Startups Accelerator. 

The Energy Company: EV batteries made hassle-free

Snapshot

Startup Name: The Energy Company

Sector: Sustainable mobility

Founders: Rahul Lamba, Pratik Somani, and Prashant Rathee

Journey so far: Full stack EV battery startup The Energy Company raised an undisclosed amount of funding from LetsVenture, along with other investors. Having tested its flagship product Flexi with multiple fleet operators and EV aggregators in Bangalore and Delhi, the pre-seed investment will enable it to build on this momentum and accelerate its growth. 

The funds will also be used to acquire more customers, expand the team, and certify the product with the new AIS standards.

Nakul Saxena, President, Early Stage, LetsVenture, said: “The Energy Company is bridging a huge gap in commercial use and adoption of EV. The combination of SaaS technology and quality EV batteries adaptable to various vehicles is just a much-needed and game-changing innovation.” 

Betterhalf: Leveraging AI to find life partners

Snapshot

Startup Name: Betterhalf

Sector: Matrimony 

Founders: Pawan Gupta and Rahul Namdev

Journey so far: AI-backed matrimony app Betterhalf secured $8.5 million in a Series A funding last month. Based in Bengaluru, Betterhalf was founded in 2016, targeting urban Indian population and claims to have invented the fastest matching US-patented technology that connects users with matching profiles.

Pawan Gupta, co-founder and CEO, Betterhalf, said. "It is our continued growth momentum across our offering is that Betterhalf's achieved its impressive growth in the market. Our razor focus in becoming the super app of matrimony and full stack tech-enabled wedding services will drive our next set of growth and would like to thank all our investors for being part of our growth journey. With positive cash flow and a super entrepreneurial styled team, we are poised to give an incredible super app experience."

LoanKuber: Helping small businesses thrive

Snapshot

Startup Name: LoanKuber

Sector: Quick Service Restaurant (QSR)

Founders: Gaurav Balhara, Saurabh Nagpal, and Shobha Sridhar

Journey so far: Fintech startup LoanKuber has raised $2 M in its ongoing Series A funding round with participation from LetsVenture, among a host of other investors. The funding will be used to improve its existing tech stack, expand the team, and scale its asset under management (AUM).

Founded in 2017, LoanKuber is a digital mortgage platform providing loans of Rs 3-10 lakh to micro-SMEs, semi-skilled professionals, and everyday services to help expand their businesses.

Its co-founder Saurabh Nagpal said, “We are not just building a mortgage lending business; we are also transforming the lives of the Next 500 million people by unlocking the economic value of semi-urban and rural properties with our mortgage solutions.”

Doqfy: Simplifying legal services 

Snapshot

Startup Name: Doqfy

Sector: SaaS

Founders: Vilaas B V Rao and Aditya Pandranki

Journey so far: Legal ancillary services platform Doqfy raised Rs 7.5 Cr in a pre-Series A funding round with participation from LetsVenture. The fund will be used for tech enhancements of the platform and business growth.

"Our platform, which has undergone changes as we incorporated feedback from our customers and mentors, is now a full stack offering helping companies stay compliant and easing the burden of it to facilitate smooth business operations," said Aditya Padranki, founder, Doqfy.

With an Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR) of Rs 6 Cr, Doqfy works with marquee customers like HDFC Bank, Bajaj Finserv, Ujjivan Small Finance Bank, Axis Bank, DBS Bank, Xiaomi, Swiggy, Meesho, Unacademy and JLL, and Colliers, among others.

peAR: Upgrading restaurant experiences 

Snapshot

Startup Name: peAR

Sector: Deeptech

Founders: Dharmin Vora, Varun Shah, Dhruvesh Mehta, and Parth Vora

Journey so far: Restaurant app peAR raised Rs 4.2 Cr in a Pre-series A funding round this week. Based in Mumbai, peAR is an in-restaurant ordering app using deeptech and augmented reality (AR) technology. 

The fresh funds will be used to scale the company’s suite of solutions across geographies and to build a suite of integrated restaurant-tech solutions to address more challenges restaurants face.

Founded in 2019 by Dharmin Vora, Varun Shah, Dhruvesh Mehta, and Parth Vora, the entrepreneurs aim to change the way people view and order food inside a restaurant.

Finsire: Fulfilling financial desires

Snapshot

Startup Name: Finsire Technologies

Sector: Fintech

Founders: Subramaniam Chintamani and Shreyans Nahar

Journey so far: Lending infrastructure platform Finsire raised $1.3 million in a seed round from a clutch of investors including LetsVenture. The fund will be used for expanding the team, building more products, and serving numerous integrations in the pipeline. 

Started by Shreyans Nahar, Mridul Manhas, and Subramaniam Chintamani in August 2021, the Chennai-based startup builds lending enablement services by permitting digital assets to be taken as collateral. In turn, it allows banks, NBFCs, fintech firms, credit requirement distribution, and depositaries to maximize their lending capabilities.

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