Japanese seed investment firm Incubate Fund has invested an undisclosed amount in online procurement portal for office supplies Kobster while insurance broking startup McXtra has raised $1.3 million in a pre-Series A round of funding. In other funding news, Headout has raised $10 million from Nexus Venture Partners and Version One Ventures while Wishberry has raised $1.4 million in a Series A round of funding.
Incubate Fund invests in Kobster
Japanese seed investment firm Incubate Fund has invested an undisclosed amount in Chennai-based online procurement portal for office supplies Kobster, as part of the latter’s pre-series A round of funding, according to Incubate Fund’s website. In India, over 90 per cent of office supply procurement is being done offline. “We believe Kobster would make a big change in this market and bring efficiency to many corporates and SMEs in India,” it said. Chandigarh Angel Network, Angel Network Middle East (ANME) and investors on the LetsVenture platform also participated in the round. Kobster is reportedly looking to raise Series A round to expand into Tier-II cities, and strengthen its category offering.
McXtra nabs $1.3m in pre-Series A
Digital insurance broking startup McXtra has raised $1.3 million in a pre-Series A round of funding from a clutch of 12 investors. The fresh funds will be allocated towards scaling up the company’s tech platform and reach out to more users. Founded by A S Narayanan and Nimish Airon, Mumbai-based McXtra offers insurance services and assistance across health, motor, life, travel and home insurances. The platform claims to have partnered with 30 corporate entities and is targeting their one lakh user base for their product. It competes with the likes of PolicyBazaar, Coverfox and Acko in the Indian market.
Nexus, Version One back Headout
Headout, a mobile marketplace for travellers, has raised $10 million in a Series A round of funding led by existing investors Nexus Venture Partners and Version One Ventures. The latest round takes the startup’s total funding to $12.2 million. The company plans to expand its footprint from its current base of 20 cities to 100 cities across North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific over the next 18 months. The startup claims to have grown its revenue 8 times in the last 12 months. Founded in 2014 by Varun Khona, Suren Sultania, and Vikram Jit Singh, Headout is headquartered in the US with offices in New York, London, Dubai, Bengaluru, and Berlin.
Reliance Entertainment backs Wishberry
Crowdfunding platform Wishberry has raised $1.4 million (Rs 10 crore) in a Series A round of funding with participation from Anil Ambani’s Reliance Entertainment, early-stage investment firm 3one4 Capital, and Sunil Patil, a director on the board of digital cinema firm Scrabble Entertainment, reported The Economic Times. The Mumbai-based firm plans to use the fresh capital to launch a film financing platform named Wishberry Films to help high networth individuals discover and invest in low budget regional and content-driven cinema in exchange for a share of the film’s profits. Wishberry Films will produce, finance, market and distribute the movies. The Series A funding will also be used to expand the team and bring on board experienced talent in the film production and distribution space.
