5 rising startups in India – August 16, 2016

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Ecommerce rules today – regional goods, jewelry, and raw meat marketplaces have all raised funding. Plus, a lingerie company helping women find the perfect fit and a messaging app that’s brought in multiple millions round out our funding list for today.

Hike

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Hike Messenger has gotten a hefty boost on its quest to become India’s go-to messaging app – specifically US$175 million from Tencent and manufacturing firm Foxconn. It’s Hike’s fourth series D round and its largest round to date.

Existing investors Tiger Global, Bharti, and Softbank Group also participated in the round. Tencent, the internet giant behind WeChat, will bring board expertise to Hike.

Founder and CEO Kavin Bharti Mittal said the company is putting money toward “services, people, office space, and some long term bets in areas of machine learning, computer vision, augmented and virtual reality features.” It is also working on a method to catch and attach smell to messages and brand channels built on geolocation.

Hike recently introduced a social gaming feature, gaining 100 million plays in 26 days. For the 15-24 age crowd, it has 10,000 stickers available. 90 percent of its 100 million subscribers are under the age of 30, and 95 percent of Hike users are in India.

SaleBhai

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Indian regional goods online marketplace SaleBhai has bagged nearly US$1.5 million from Brand Capital of Times Group.

Founded last year by Vishwa Vijay Singh, Purba Kalita, and Pramod Rao, the ecommerce site offers goods including food, beverages, crafted items, paintings, and health and wellness items from over 100 cities and 250 sellers.

In February, the Ahmedabad-based startup secured funding from 12 high net worth investors.

Joolz

Zappfresh

Buttercups