7 rising startups in India – June 29, 2016

Photo credit: Pixabay.

Those needing help filing their income taxes in India get a boost today, along with logistics, edtech, jewelry ecommerce, and travel blogging startups. A lender for smaller businesses and a taxi hailing business round out our list of funded startups today.

Lendingkart

Photo credit: Ken Teegardin.

Lendingkart, a digital lending portal for small- and medium-sized enterprises, has raised US$32 million in a series B round led by Bertelsmann India Investments (BII). Darrin Capital Management and existing investors Mayfield India, Saama Capital, and India Quotient also participated. US$20 million was raised as equity, and US$12 million was raised as debt.

Lendingkart will use the funding to strengthen its data science capabilities, enhance its tech, and improve its mobile capabilities. It is also aiming to expand further throughout India. Over the past two years, it claims to have arranged loans in 135 cities.

Founded in 2010 by Harshvardhan Lunia and Mukul Sachan, Lendingkart was created after the founders realized that startups and smaller businesses, despite being eligible for credit, were being denied loans.

Locanix

A group of investors that includes senior executives from Cisco and Goldman Sachs has invested US$300,000 in Ahmedabad-based software-as-a-service startup (SaaS) Locanix.

Founded by Ruchit Surati in 2013, Locanix works with logistics, offering location services, remote temperature monitoring, fuel monitoring, mining, auto dealership, and high value goods transportation.

MySuperBrain

Photo credit: Capitol Hill Champion.

MySuperBrain, an online talent discovery portal for students, has raised an undisclosed amount of angel funding from Soniks Consulting, a tech consultancy firm in Hyderabad.

Founded by IIM-Kozhikode grads Reddy Bojja and Yuvaraju Atmakuri in 2011, MySuperBrain is operated by Bojja IT Solutions. It offers educational games and videos, along with a community component for site surfers to give feedback on students’ activities. It runs ads directed toward students.

The site also offers subscriptions to an activity-based magazine that encourages students. It plans to use the funding to expand its technology and marketing initiatives.

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