India Roundup: Zomato co-founder quits, and other news (updated)

This is an updated version of the article that was published 2 hours ago.

Zomato co-founder quits company over a month after bumper IPO

• Gaurav Gupta, the co-founder of Zomato, has quit the company to start a “new chapter,” he said in an email to the food delivery firm’s employees.
• Gupta, who joined the firm in 2015, was promoted to chief operating officer in 2018 and later to co-founder in 2019.
• Zomato recently announced it was shutting down its grocery and nutraceutical businesses, both of which were spearheaded by Gupta, according to MoneyControl.

IPO-bound PharmEasy acquires Aknamed

• IPO-bound online pharmacy company PharmEasy’s parent, API Holdings, has acquired a controlling stake in Bengaluru-based healthcare supply chain startup Aknamed in a primary and secondary deal, said an Entrackr report.
• API Holdings had earlier in June acquired Thyrocare Technologies, one of the country’s largest diagnostics laboratory chains, for over US$600 million.
• PharmEasy allows users to order medicines and healthcare products online, and book diagnostic tests.

Freshworks aims for US$9 billion valuation in US listing

• Freshworks Inc. aims to raise nearly US$1 billion through a US public listing at a valuation of almost US$9 billion, which will make it the most valuable software-as-a-service (SaaS) startup from India, according to a Mint report.
• The Tiger Global-backed company was last valued at US$3.5 billion in 2019. The 11-year-old startup filed its pre-listing paperwork with the US Securities and Exchange Commission last month.
• Valued at US$5.6 billion, Postman, an API (application programming interface) platform, is the most valued SaaS startup from India.

Eupheus Learning bags US$10 million funding

• Lead investors: Lightrock India
• Stage: Series C
• Funds used for: Scaling up product portfolio, geographical, and segment reach
• About the startup: Founded in 2017, it is a B2B education technology firm aiming to bridge the gap between in-class and at-home learning by offering pedagogically differentiated, technology-led solutions in the K12 space. The company claims over 5,500 schools are already using its solutions.

Salestech SaaS startup GTM Buddy raises US$2 million

• Lead investor: Stellaris Venture Partners
• Stage: Seed
• Funds used for: Enhancing product capabilities, building go-to-market teams
• About the startup: Founded in 2020, GTM Buddy is a sales enablement tool that delivers relevant information to sellers based on conversations they have with customers.

Health tech startup Medpho closes US$1 million round

• Lead investor: Cygnus Medicare Group, Probal Ghoshal, chairman of Amar Ujala; Shuchin Bajaj, founder and director of Ujala Cygnus; and Raghavendra Prasad, founder of Project StepOne.
• Stage: Angel round
• Funds used for: Expansion, innovation, providing healthcare services to rural and urban consumers
• About the startup: Founded in 2020, Medpho is aiming to disrupt the current healthcare industry by being a one-point solution for all essential healthcare needs for consumers.