India Roundup: Esports startup MPL joins unicorn club, and other news

MPL’s valuation touches US$2.3 billion

• Esports startup Mobile Premier League (MPL) announced that it has raised its series E round of financing led by Legatum Capital at a pre-money valuation of US$2.3 billion.
• The company did not disclose the size of the round, but sources told Tech in Asia that it was nearly US$150 million.
• MPL will use the funds to support its global expansion, invest in its homegrown technology, and drive continued growth in its Indian business.

Groww to close US$250 million round in a few weeks

• The Indian startup, which helps millennials invest in mutual funds and stocks, is in advanced talks to raise a new financing round at a US$3 billion valuation, said a TechCrunch report.
• Groww is looking to close a US$250 million round within the next few weeks.
• The company achieved unicorn status in April after raising US$83 million in a series D round led by Tiger Global.

Insurtech startup BimaPe shuts down, founder announces new platform

• Y-Combinator backed BimaPe wasn’t able to reach the product-market fit metric it set for itself in 2021, which led to its shutdown, announced founder and CEO Rahul Mathur in a blog post.
• Mathur said the team has been working on a new offering called Verak since June, but further details will not be disclose until March 2022 or later.
• Currently in its beta phase, Verak has crossed the US$20,000 monthly net revenue milestone, said the CEO.

Gemba Capital rolls out US$10 million micro-VC fund

• Gemba Capital announced the launch of its first microfund, which will invest in 24 early-stage startups across different sectors.
• Worth US$10 million, the new fund will be writing first checks of US$250,000 for these startups.
• Gemba Capital, which started as a family office making angel investments, has bet on 30 startups such as Plum, SleepyCat, and Zuper so far.

Rakuten India launches B2B product SixthSense

• The company announced its foray into business-to-business technology products with the launch of  Rakuten SixthSense.
• The new platform will provide businesses with a complete view of its data across IT systems, applications, and business impact, which will allow for consistent improvements based on operational findings.
• Rakuten SixthSense is launching in India and will gradually be rolled out to other regions globally.

Jobs platform for blue-collar workers Vahan secures US$8 million

• Lead investor: Khosla Ventures
• Other investors: Airtel, Shakti VC, Pioneer Fund, and Spike Ventures, as well as Vijay Shekhar Sharma, CEO of Paytm; Guru Gowrappan, CEO of Verizon Media Group; and Kevin Shannon, former chief financial officer of Harvard Management Company
• Stage: Series A
• Funds used for: Scaling up recruitment business, building new product offerings
• About the startup: Vahan helps blue-collar workers get jobs while helping employers find the right candidates. It has built tools, including an AI-driven bot on WhatsApp, that are designed for large-scale recruitment.

B2B networking app Anar raises US$6.2 million

• Lead investors: Elevation Capital, Accel India
• Other investors: First Cheque, AngelList India partner Utsav Somani
• Stage: Seed
• Funds used for: Strengthening product and technology capabilities
• About the startup: Anar caters primarily to small and medium-sized businesses across the value chain, from manufacturers to retailers and resellers. The business app helps these parties connect and interact with one another.

Edtech startup Tinkerly bags over US$800k funding