Led · Seed · Nov 2025

Valliance is a newly launched consulting company headquartered in London that guides UK and European organisations in deploying artificial intelligence for clear, quantifiable outcomes. Founded by industry veterans Tarek Nseir, Rad Parvin and Anita Rajdev, the firm operates on a results-based model, earning fees only when clients’ pre-agreed objectives are met. Its services blend strategic advice with AI-driven solutions aimed at boosting operational efficiency, productivity, cost savings and innovation. A recent Valliance study of 1,000 decision-makers in the Netherlands and UK showed that fewer than half of corporate AI projects hit their targets, underscoring the market gap the firm seeks to address. To scale its offering, Valliance plans to hire additional AI specialists and significantly expand its workforce over the next few years. The company is capitalised with a €13 million seed round that will fund these hiring and expansion initiatives, positioning it to bridge the divide between AI potential and real-world impact.

Led · Equity · May 2024

Spandana Sphoorty Financial is a leading microfinance NBFC-MFI headquartered in Hyderabad. The firm specializes in rural income-generation loans, with a primary focus on women borrowers. It reported assets under management of Rs 11,970 crores. Recently the company sold a 3.5% stake to Siguler Guff for INR 240 crores. The transaction underscores institutional investor interest in Indian financial-services opportunities. The company’s scale and AUM position it as a prominent player in India’s microfinance sector. Spandana Sphoorty Financial Ltd is an India-based financial firm. The company has been on a fundraising spree. It recently raised Rs125 crore (about $19.5 million) in equity. The investment came from existing investors Kedaara Capital and Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan (OTPP). The article identifies this as another equity infusion but does not provide operating metrics, use of proceeds, or future plans. No founding year or past-round specifics are disclosed in the article. Spandana Sphoorty Financial, founded in 1998, provides unsecured income‑generation loans, micro‑enterprise loans, farm loans and loans against gold to low‑income segments and also sells solar lanterns, mobile handsets and consumer durables through its network. It operates in 13 states with 540 branches and has over 2 million borrowers. The company’s portfolio outstanding is Rs 1,325 crore, down from about Rs 4,500 crore prior to the Andhra Pradesh crisis. A consortium led by Kedaara Capital has taken a controlling stake via an SPV, and investors cite strong recovery, good growth and profitability over the last three years. Spandana repaid all outstanding dues and has exited the corporate debt restructuring (CDR) process it entered in 2011. The firm’s geographic diversification and branch reach were highlighted by investors as positioning it to benefit from sector tailwinds.

Led · Debt Financing · Mar 2022

Buckle is a digital financial services company that offers affordable insurance for rideshare, delivery, and other gig‑economy drivers. It launched its core rideshare policy in 2019 combining personal and commercial coverages, and through acquisitions in 2020 and 2021 it obtained 49‑state insurance licenses via Gateway, American Service Insurance Company, and American Country Insurance Company. Buckle serves drivers for platforms including Uber, Lyft, DoorDash, Gopuff, Instacart, Amazon Flex, Uber Eats, Grubhub, Favor, Postmates, and Caviar. The company relies on a portfolio of reinsurance partnerships, recently renewing incumbent reinsurance agreements and adding a new reinsurer to support growth. Its business strategy includes expanding its gig product across additional states and broadening into insurance and credit products nationwide. Buckle has raised approximately $115 million of capital to date and used the latest debt upsizing to support distribution and growth on its carriers. Buckle operates a full-stack insurance-as-a-service platform focused on the U.S. gig economy, offering insurance and credit products to lower-income gig workers. Its core hybrid auto insurance policy for rideshare and delivery drivers uses Transportation Network Company (TNC) platform data to underwrite policies, replacing credit-score-based pricing. Buckle runs a multi-carrier insurance platform, has acquired and recapitalized three admitted carriers (Gateway Insurance Company, American Service Insurance Company, and American Country Insurance Company), and works with MGA partners to broaden product coverage. The company recently launched an auto financing product in Georgia with plans to expand credit offerings to other states. The new capital will be used to scale the digital insurance platform nationwide and to introduce additional insurance products and partnerships. Buckle has closed over $100 million in debt and equity funding since inception. Buckle provides total insurance coverage tailored to rideshare and gig-economy drivers, replacing standard auto policies with continuous 24x7 personal and commercial protection. Its core rideshare insurance policy launched in 2019 in collaboration with Munich Re’s Digital Partners and was later expanded through a partnership with Lyft. The company uses new sources of data to underwrite risk with the stated goal of making coverage comprehensive, affordable, and easy to obtain. In June Buckle announced the acquisition and recapitalization of Gateway Insurance Company, bringing 47 state insurance licenses into its operations. Buckle says it will use funding to reinvent the insurance model for drivers and expand coverage to transportation network companies, taxis, limousines, and livery businesses using the Curb app. The company plans to launch additional products and partnerships as it expands nationwide from its Jersey City, N.J. base.

Participated · Series C · Aug 2021

Picsart is a visual content creation platform offering easy-to-use image and video editing tools, a large open-source content collection (photos, stickers, templates), and community remixing features. The app is available free and as a subscription on iOS, Android, and Windows and supports 30 languages. Picsart reports more than 150 million monthly active users in 180 countries, over 1 billion edits each month, and installs on more than 1 billion devices; it also has an annual revenue run rate of over $100 million. The company was founded in 2012 and is headquartered in San Francisco with more than 800 employees across hubs including Bangalore, Beijing, Berlin, Los Angeles, Moscow, New York, Tokyo, Yerevan, and a new UK office. Picsart recently hired its first CFO, launched a new brand, and positions itself as a backbone for Gen Z creators. The company intends to use new funding to expand AI-driven technology, build prosumer tools, explore acquisitions, and continue growing its team. PicsArt is a photo-editing app that combines editing tools with a community for sharing photos and drawings. The app reports about 75 million monthly active users and has added features to boost engagement, including tools to find users with similar tastes and a Flickr migration tool. PicsArt plans to use recent funding to expand its presence in Asia, with a focus on China and Japan. Its Asia strategy includes localization efforts—adding clip art, fonts, and stickers tailored to specific markets—and seeking growth partners in different countries. In Japan, PicsArt is running holiday promotions (eg, Cherry Blossom Festival) and pursuing partnerships with Japanese telecoms. The company faces competition from many locally-made photo apps but aims to differentiate via its large community and engagement features. PicsArt is a photo-sharing service and community centered on creatively editing pictures via a suite of mobile tools. It offers a set of editing tools and a main feed that acts as a discovery engine for shared art. The company monetizes by charging brands and creative agencies to run contests, selling in-app purchases for tools, and running app-install ads and sponsored content. PicsArt originally launched on Android and reports about 65 million users, roughly 80% of whom are on Android. The startup is investing in growth on iOS and employs approximately 100 people in R&D, backend, and product engineering roles. Coverage of the company notes a reported valuation of about $250 million, though company leadership declined to confirm that figure. Picsart is a mobile photo-editing app and community that emphasizes robust editing features (text, stickers and other tweaks) alongside a social network-like feed. The app has been downloaded over 200 million times and claims about 60 million monthly users. The company was founded in Armenia and bootstrapped to profitability before taking outside capital. Picsart operates an engineering base in Armenia with more than 55 engineers while maintaining leadership in the U.S.; its product allows users to post to other services and view photos on Picsart.com. Management says the company will use funding to accelerate user growth, expand partnerships (including handset partners) and grow its U.S. business, and it is actively pursuing expansion in Asia and China. The team has hinted at future product expansion into video editing and broader creative tools.

Participated · Series I · Aug 2021

VerSe Innovation is the parent company of Dailyhunt and the short-video app Josh, operating a large vernacular news aggregation and content platform. Dailyhunt claims over 350 million monthly active users, while Josh reports 68 million daily active users and 139 million monthly active users. The company focuses on scaling vernacular reach and multimedia offerings across its products. VerSe said proceeds from its latest financing will be used for general corporate purposes, supporting business growth and expansion. The Bengaluru-based startup has raised over $1.5 billion to date and was most recently valued at $5 billion in a round led by the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board. In FY23 VerSe reported revenue of Rs 1,809 crore (up 57% YoY) and losses of Rs 2,059 crore. VerSe Innovation operates Dailyhunt (a multi-language news aggregator), Josh (a short-video app) and PublicVibe, and has built a significant adtech business to monetize users outside India’s largest cities. Josh reports over 150 million users, 50 million content creators and more than 80 billion plays per month; Dailyhunt has over 350 million users and PublicVibe serves over 5 million monthly active users. The company monetizes through advertising (with 400 advertisers integrated end-to-end and roughly 50% enterprise advertisers), influencer-led commerce, curated shopping lives, and contextually shoppable videos. VerSe says creators sell goods on the platform and the firm is experimenting with web3 ideas (tokens/NFTs) to expand monetization. The startup plans to deepen AI/ML capabilities across its apps, launch additional apps, and remain focused on growth in the Indian market. Financially, the company has raised substantial capital and says the new funding plus reserves provides runway for several years. VerSe Innovation operates Dailyhunt, a multi-language news and content aggregator, and Josh, a short-video app. Josh has amassed over 115 million monthly active users, including 56 million daily users, while Dailyhunt reports over 300 million monthly active users. The company is backed by Google and Microsoft. VerSe is building a family of apps focused on serving users in scores of local languages and plans to replicate that approach as it expands into international markets. It also plans to invest in broadening its AI/ML stack to offer more personalized user experiences. The startup's valuation has more than doubled in the past five months, having been valued at over $1 billion in its Series H and is reported to be nearing $3 billion in the new round. VerSe Innovation operates Josh, a short-video platform that supports 12 languages and DailyHunt, a local-language news aggregator. Josh, launched in July 2020, has crossed over 50 million downloads and positions itself as "for-Bharat, by Bharat." DailyHunt aggregates local-language content from newspapers and websites and also provides free TV streaming in multiple local languages. The Bengaluru-based company plans to use new funds to augment local-language content, develop its content creator ecosystem, and invest in AI and ML. It achieved unicorn status in December after raising $100 million from Google, Microsoft, and AlphaWave at a valuation above $1 billion. The most recent round adds another $100 million from the Qatar Investment Authority and Glade Brook Capital Partners.