Funding Updates: AutoIndia, 123Greetings, Druvaa get funded, While Nokia says NO to Mobile VAS Funding!
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So if on one end its startups that are bubbling on the scene on the other end there are VC’s and Angel’s who are lining up to fund these startups and help in taking them to the next level. So here is a low down on whose raising money and who isn’t!
AutoIndia Receives Angel investment
AutoIndia is a car portal which launched in 2005. Though there are many car portals vying for the same market the only one to be backed by Investors till now has been Carwale.com which received funding from the Indian Angel Network. Now AutoIndia has secured an undisclosed sum from An Angel Babu Sivadasan, who was the founding chief technology officer for few startup companies including Nasdaq-listed Stamps.com. Currently Babu is the EVP of Engineering at Envestnet Asset Management. AutoIndia looks to use the influx of funds to increase sales and marketing reach and prowess across the country.
123greetings gets A series from Intel
123Greetings a online greetings site that has been on the scene since the late nineties has finally been rewarded and acknowledged for its pesistent efforts in a focussed market of online greetings Intel Capital has invested in 123greeting.com. Though the amount of funding hasn’t been disclosed it has been termed as an A series funding which means anywhere between 1-10 million $ could be the actual funding. The investment are intended to be used for product launches, sales and marketing, infrastructure and expansion both in India and internationally.
Druvaa raises capital from Indian Angel Network
The Indian Angel Network (previously known as the band of angels) has funded druvaa a startup that provides continuous data backup solutions for $250,000 (Rs98.25 lakh). Druvaa is a pune based startup which has developed a product that is targeted at the mid sized financial enterprises for whom data accuracy is of prime importance. Druvaa is still pre revenue and is heartening to see Angels investing in a startup at such an early stage.
Indian Angel Network’s Rehan yar Khan also a board member of Druvaa, said: “Being an angel is now understood by the angels themselves. Angel investing requires coming in early and doing a lot more investments—20 to 30 per year.”
No Vas Funding for us! - Says Nokia’s Bluerun Ventures
“We have consciously decided to stay out of the space, as the current revenue share arrangement (between operators and VAS players) does not offer a viable business proposition,” says Sasha Mirchandani, senior investment director, BlueRun Ventures. Bluerun Ventures is backed by Nokia Oyj and it seems like nokia itself isn’t supporting the content industry of VAS players that builds content for its phone.
A clear signal that operator driven mobile businesses cut the business potential in half and in this case even drive away possible investors.
All in all the funding scene is quite hot with traditional players like 123greetings getting their due for their hardwork and even pre revenue players like druvaa getting angel money. As it seems there isn’t a better time to be an entrepreneur than right now!
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