The Venture Codex

Participated · Series A · Jun 2017

Niki.ai, incorporated as Techbins Solutions Pvt. Ltd and founded in April 2015 by four IIT Kharagpur alumni (Sachin Jaiswal, Keshav Prawasi, Nitin Babel and Shishir Modi), runs Niki — a conversational AI personal assistant for commerce. The bot uses natural language processing and machine-learning to converse with customers over a chat interface and places orders with partner businesses across more than 20 categories, including BookMyShow, Redbus, OYO, Ola and Uber. The company works on a channel partnership model and generates revenue for every order processed on its platform, and it reports 35% month-on-month revenue growth. Niki.ai also provides chatbot solutions to brands. The firm plans to use new capital to strengthen its machine-learning capabilities, build voice and multilingual functionality, and expand its distribution network. It has previously received investments from Unilazer Ventures and from Ratan Tata, among others. niki.ai is an AI startup that has launched a chatbot to simplify ordering and guide users to products and services through natural-language interactions. The chatbot understands user intent in context, runs backend algorithms to learn preferences, and personalizes recommendations. In its current avatar the service is available only in India on Android and supports recharge and cab booking, including end-to-end booking and comparison of Ola and Uber. The company says it expands the chatbot’s portfolio of services monthly. Long-term plans include adding voice capabilities, integrations across web and smartphones, and accessibility via calls or SMS. The company was founded in April 2015 by four IIT Kharagpur alumni: Sachin Jaiswal, Keshav Prawasi, Nitin Babel and Shishir Modi.

Led · Equity · Jan 2016

Easypolicy operates as an online aggregator of insurance policies. The company connects consumers with insurance policy options via its platform. It has raised nearly $2.2 million (Rs 15 crore) in a fresh funding round. The round was led by Ronnie Screwvala's venture capital firm Unilazer Ventures and included other investors, according to a statement. The article does not disclose operating metrics, detailed financials, or future plans. No additional information on prior rounds, founding year, or location was provided in the article.

Led · Series A · Dec 2015

Yumist is an Indian food-tech company founded in November 2014 by Alok Jain and Abhimanyu Maheshwari that delivers low-cost meals on demand. The service operates in Gurgaon, South Delhi, and Bangalore and accepts orders through Android and iOS apps as well as its website. Customers place orders online or via mobile and meals are dispatched quickly. The company raised $2M in seed funding and intends to use the proceeds to expand to other locations. Yumist is hiring to support its planned expansion.

Participated · Series C · Sep 2015

Zivame operates an e-commerce business selling lingerie, loungewear, swimwear, nightwear and fashion apparel and shifted from an aggregator model to private-labels in mid-2016. The company runs several private labels including Penny and Coucou and is managed by Actoserba Active. Funding is earmarked to boost retail presence, technology, product development and omnichannel initiatives, and the firm has signaled plans to raise a larger round later in the year. Zivame was founded in 2011 by Richa Kar. The company reported increased revenue and reduced its loss in the financial year 2017–18. According to media reports in the article, the company has raised $57.5 million to date. Zivame is an omni-channel lingerie start-up selling intimate wear across online and offline channels. The company offers over 3,000 exclusive designs and more than 100 sizes to serve a wide range of body types. Digital accounts for roughly 80% of its business, while it maintains 35 company-owned stores in Tier‑1 cities, distribution through over 800 mom‑and‑pop hosiery stores, placements in large-format stores like Shoppers Stop, and presence on popular marketplaces. The company plans to double its store count to 60, is exploring social commerce channels (Snapchat, Instagram, Facebook) and evaluating an MLM channel, and aims to become profitable by the fiscal end. Zivame intends to use new funding for retail expansion, technology augmentation, product development and to strengthen its omnichannel strategy. Financial filings show FY2017 revenue of ₹52.9 crore with losses of ₹57.6 crore, and FY2018 revenue of ₹86.6 crore with losses of ₹32.1 crore. Founded in 2011, Zivame positions itself as a destination for women’s intimate-wear needs. Zivame (Actoserba Active Wholesale Pvt Ltd) is a Bangalore-based e-tailer selling lingerie, loungewear, swimwear, nightwear and allied categories and has recently added fashion apparel. The company started operations in August 2011 and says it holds a lion's share of the lingerie e-commerce vertical, claiming to sell more than one bra per minute. Zivame runs several private labels, including Penny and Coucou, and reports that over 60% of its revenue comes from in-house products. The startup recently launched a mobile app with between 10,000 and 50,000 Android downloads and says close to 60% of its traffic comes from mobile. It has also launched a data sciences lab aimed at developing confidence-boosting affordable products. The company plans to use the new funding to expand marketing, merchandise, consumer touch points and technology infrastructure. Zivame, operated by Bangalore-based Actoserba Active Wholesale Pvt Ltd, is an online lingerie retailer that began operations in August 2011. The site sells lingerie, lounge wear, swimwear and nightwear, and has recently added fashion apparel. In an earlier report Richa Kar said the startup was growing 50% month-on-month, shipping 500–600 orders per day with an average transaction value above Rs 1,200. The company claims to acquire 20,000 new customers per month, with roughly 30% of buyers from tier II and III cities and about 50% monthly repeat buyers. Zivame is targeting sales of Rs 1,000 crore within four to five years. The business plans to use new funding to develop technology, improve personalization and recommendations, enhance visual merchandising, and increase marketing. Zivame is an online lingerie-only store that launched in August 2011 and is based in Bangalore, India. The site hosts more than 12,000 SKUs from domestic and international brands such as Jockey, Triumph, Amante, Enamor, Bwitch, Inaya, Hanes, Hollywood Fashion Secrets and Lovable. Led by CEO Richa Kar and CTO Kapil Karekar, Zivame sells branded lingerie through its e-commerce platform. The company intends to use new capital to add brands and products, scale its technology and operations, and create more consumer touch points. Its assortment of domestic and international labels positions it as a multi-brand online destination for lingerie.

Participated · Equity · Apr 2014

Silverpush is a Gurugram, India-based advertising technology firm that provides AI-Powered contextual solutions for brands and agencies. Led by CEO Hitesh Chawla and COO Kartik Mehta, the company focuses on targeting relevant audiences while avoiding intrusion into user privacy. Silverpush operates in 10+ countries across South East Asia, the Middle East, Africa, the USA, the UK, and India. The company has worked with clients including Ford, Nestle, Coca-Cola and Samsung. Following the fundraise, Silverpush intends to use the proceeds to triple its headcount, pursue inorganic growth, and strengthen its product roadmap. SilverPush is an artificial intelligence-based marketing technology platform headquartered in Singapore. The company announced it has raised $5 million in a Series B funding round. The round was led by Japan’s FreakOut Holdings Inc., according to a company announcement. SilverPush said it is expanding globally following the raise. The article does not disclose revenue, user metrics, or other financial details. No past rounds, valuation, or additional investors were mentioned in the coverage. SilverEdge Technologies, which operates under the brand SilverPush, offers a mobile ad retargeting platform and an integrated dashboard to retarget and analyze consumers across all screens. The startup has built its own real-time bidding (RTB) platform for mobile, bidding on millions of ad requests a month. It plans to use the new funding to launch PRISM, a product to measure TV advertising reach and impact and to analyze how TV ads are received on social media and versus competitors. PRISM is designed to give advertisers near-real-time insights (video completes, day-part effects, lifts in brand awareness) so they can optimize TV campaigns while they are in flight. Founded in October 2012 and a GSF Accelerator alumnus, the company has raised multiple earlier rounds. The recent funding round improves its runway to develop PRISM and expand its measurement and retargeting capabilities. SilverEdge Technologies, operating under the brand SilverPush, provides advertisers an integrated dashboard to retarget and analyze consumers across all screens. The company has built its own real-time bidding (RTB) platform for mobile, bidding on millions of ad requests a month. SilverPush currently offers mobile retargeting and plans to extend the service to other platforms. The startup was founded in October 2012 and is a GSF Accelerator alumnus. Founders include Hitesh Chawla (CEO), Mudit Seth (CMO) and Alex Modon. The company said it will use new capital to ramp up technology.