Sequoia Capital names 17 startups in fourth Surge cohort

Surge, Sequoia Capital India’s accelerator program for startups, has selected 17 early-stage startups for its fourth cohort.

Rajan Anandan, managing director at Sequoia Capital India / Photo credit: Sequoia Capital India

Founders receive a US$1 million to US$2 million in funding early on in the program so they can start hiring and building their product right away.

The selected startups are headquartered in India, Singapore, Vietnam, Indonesia, and – for the first time – Australia. They mainly offer solutions for industry verticals including education tech, financial tech, consumer tech, health tech, developer tools, business-to-business marketplaces and tech for small and medium-sized enterprises.

Here are the startups:

• Aampe, an automated testing tool that allows messaging to be personalized for customers, driving better retention
• Epsilo, a software-as-a-service (SaaS) company that helps ecommerce marketers and category managers deliver effective advertising operations across online retail platforms in Southeast Asia
• Hashnode, a platform that enables developers and teams start blogs and share them with the broader developer community
• Kyt, an online-first global academy focusing on extracurricular learning for children
• LambdaTest, a company that allows users and developers to run both manual and automated tests on their websites and web apps on over 2,000 different browsers, browser versions and operating system environments
• Let’s Dive, a SaaS platform that provides a social space for remote teams to build their culture
• Mod.io, a service that helps game developers launch in-game, platform-agnostic user-generated content communities
• Otoklix, an after-market network that provides online-to-offline solutions for car services
• PagarBook, a mobile-first payroll and workforce management app that aims to digitize human capital management for SMEs in India
• Plum, an employee insurance provider that makes group health insurance seamless and affordable for India’s small businesses and middle class
• Richpanel, a customer service platform that lets ecommerce merchants deliver a buying experience better than leading online retail sites
• Shipsy, an enterprise SaaS company that helps its customers manage their end-to-end logistics across ocean, air and road transportation
• Studyroom, an platform that empowers educators to create customized learning experiences for students
• Tazapay, a cloud-based trade management platform for SMEs to conduct cross-border commerce safely
• Several startups in stealth mode: a digital health service, a social networking app for Bharat users, and a sales engagement SaaS platform.

The chosen startups have collectively raised US$45.35 million in their financing rounds from both Surge and other investors.

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“These are founders who have shown the courage to start up and persevere through an extremely challenging year. This cohort is a reflection of how the region’s startup ecosystem will look and think for the next few years – possibly impacting entire economies,” said Rajan Anandan, managing director of Sequoia Capital India.