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Startup research platform Oddup has raised a $6-million Series A funding round led by <a style="color: #000080;" href="http://dealstreetasia.com/tag/times-group" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">The Times Group</a>, India’s largest media conglomerate, which has also invested in <a style="color: #000080;" href="http://dealstreetasia.com/tag/flipkart" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Flipkart</a> and <a style="color: #000080;" href="http://dealstreetasia.com/tag/snapdeal" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Snapdeal</a>.</article>

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Startup research platform Oddup has raised a $6-million Series A funding round led by <a style="color: #000080;" href="http://dealstreetasia.com/tag/times-group" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">The Times Group</a>, India’s largest media conglomerate, which has also invested in <a style="color: #000080;" href="http://dealstreetasia.com/tag/flipkart" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Flipkart</a> and <a style="color: #000080;" href="http://dealstreetasia.com/tag/snapdeal" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Snapdeal</a>.
Existing investors <a style="color: #000080;" href="http://dealstreetasia.com/tag/500-startups" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">500 Startups</a> and <a style="color: #000080;" href="http://dealstreetasia.com/tag/click-ventures" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Click Ventures</a> also participated, while new investors include Silicon Valley-based Moneta Ventures and White Capital. The investment brings Oddup’s total equity funding raised to $7 million.
With a research and advisory team formerly from Goldman Sachs, Oddup rates startups on a scale of zero to 100 after evaluating potential risks and delivers startup data and research to investors.
In an email exchange with DEALSTREEETASIA, Oddup co-founder and CEO <a style="color: #000080;" href="http://linkedin.com/in/jamesgiancotti" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">James Giancotti</a> said the latest round was raised at a valuation of $26 million and that the firm would be looking at a Series B in the coming months.
“Oddup is such a fast growing global startup that we decided to back and lead their way into India. We look forward to working towards the success of Oddup in setting up a truly innovative startup rating system for India,&#8221; said Sivakumar Sundaram, CEO of Brand Capital, the investment arm of The Times Group.
<a style="color: #000080;" href="http://linkedin.com/in/jackie-lam-596037a5" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Jackie Lam</a>, COO and co-founder of Oddup, views The Times Group as a &#8216;key strategic partner&#8217;, given that its distribution networks and coverage will be instrumental to the venture&#8217;s growth and global presence.
<h3>Growth strategy</h3>
The Series A raised builds on a strong year for Oddup, which saw it forge a new partnership with <a style="color: #000080;" href="http://dealstreetasia.com/tag/thomson-reuters" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Thomson Reuters</a>, grow its user base rapidly and launch in multiple cities across Southeast Asia. The latest investment will help the company expand into India and complete its aggressive expansion throughout Asia.
&#8220;Our main focus is coverage of private companies and having the best analysts on the ground in India and Indo-Asia Pacific region. One of Oddup&#8217;s strengths is we have analysts in each location we cover, which many of our competitors do not,&#8221; Giancotti said.
Asked how he saw the Asian venture ecosystem evolving from Q2 2017 to 2020 based on historical data that Oddup has collected, Giancotti said, &#8220;We expect to see similar themes as past few years where one sector dominates. Last year was fintech and that will continue, but AI and sharing economy (Bikes) will continue to eat into the funding. We expect Asia&#8217;s funding totals to be either on par or above the U.S. by early 2020s.&#8221;
Oddup has recently introduced an updated version of its website to allow investors from around the world to access information about the Asian startup landscape and to bring more news coverage and analysis to its users. It also has an API available to customers who want to seamlessly integrate its startup data into their existing workflows. The Oddup mobile app is currently available on Apple iOS and an Android version is in development.
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Oddup rates startups on the basis of potential risks and delivers startup data and research to investors. The latest round values the firm at $26 million. 

Hong Kong: Oddup closes $6m Series A led by India's Times Group

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Hong Kong: Oddup closes $6m Series A led by India's Times Group

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