Startup Street | Hyderabad-based ice pop brand Skippi raises ₹10 crore in pre-series funding
Skippi is also in discussions for an additional ₹7 crore in the coming weeks. This capital will be primarily allocated to brand development and marketing initiatives with a focus on improving working capital by promoting new product development and the hiring of key executives. CEO Ravi Kabra speaks to Ritu Singh and Shruti Mishra about the company’s growth trajectory, brand building and much more.
“The popsicle market across the world has been phenomenal and has grown exponentially. Unfortunately, there was no brand in India. This is why Skippi came in and since the day we were established, we have seen exponential growth in the popsicle segment that we are introducing,” he said.
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He sees huge potential in a country like India, with a population of 140 million and hot and humid climatic conditions.
“Skippi Ice Pops sits right at ₹20 price points, so there are miles to go, the sky is the limit for us and we will continue to grow this way,” he said.
Fitness Platform Portl Secures $3 Million for Product Expansion and AI Improvements
Portl, a digital fitness and wellness technology startup, has raised $3 million in funding led by Bharat Innovation Fund. This round also saw participation from existing investors Kalaari Capital and new investor T-Hub Foundation. The new capital infusion is expected to accelerate Portl’s product development, market expansion and improvement of its cutting-edge AI systems. Indraneel Gupta, founder and CEO of the company, explained how Portl brought the gym into homes.
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“Portl is basically trying to use AI to drive personalization in fitness and overall wellness, but when we talk about our flagship product, Portl Studio, it’s essentially a smart gym with a built-in personal trainer,” he said.
9Unicorns becomes 100Unicorns and launches $200 million accelerator fund
9Unicorns, part of multi-stage investment platform Venture Catalysts Group, has rebranded itself as 100Unicorns and launched its second accelerator fund with a target corpus of $200 million that will invest in 200 startups in the country. More than 60% of the fund’s corpus will be used to make initial investments while the rest will be used for follow-on investments. Apurva Ranjan Sharma discussed the investment thesis.
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