1. GNC’s Indian Franchise Guardian Healthcare Brings John Abraham As Investor. The latest funding values Guardian Healthcare at about $36.46 Mn (INR 250 Cr). John will also be the face of GNC in India, says Shadab Khan, CEO at GNC India.

2. Nandan Nilekani-Backed Assisted Ecommerce Startup ShopX Raises $35 Mn from Fung Strategic Holdings to fuel its expansion plans. Launched in 2015 by Amit Sharma and Apoorva Jois, ShopX is a technology-led startup launched with an objective to disrupt the traditional retail ecosystem through a differentiated approach.

3. Vertex Ventures Led $4 Mn Funding Round In Product Operations Startup Hansel.io – Existing investors IDG Ventures India and Endiya Partners also participated in this funding round. Founder will use the latest funding to accelerate its expansion into international markets, especially the United States. Founded in October 2015 by former Flipkart executives Varun Ramamurthy, Parminder Singh and Mudit Mathur, the startup allows developers to manage their live apps at runtime, with a five-minute integration process and no code change required.

4. Shadowfax Receives $22 Mn Funding To Attain 150% YOY Growth For The Next 5 Years – NGP Capital leads this round with Qualcomm Ventures, Mirae Assetand existing investor Eight Roads Ventures.

5. Bike Rental Startup Metro Bikes Raises $12.2 Mn In Funding Led By Sequoia, Accel Partners. Founded in 2014 by Vivekananda HR, Varun Agni and Anil G, while the brand name Wicked Rides is used for premium bike rental services, Metro Bikes now Bounce brand name is being used for commute bike rentals.

6. Co-working Space Provider India Accelerator has raised an undisclosed amount of funding in a round led by InvestMind Solutions and Singapore-based HotStar ventures. Founded by Ashish Bhatia and Abhay Chawla in 2017, India Accelerator is a coworking space and accelerator that assists startups in becoming sustainable and leverage technology.

7. Bengaluru-based consumer finance startup HappyEMI has raised a seed funding of $1 Mn from AJ Ventures and Jain International Trade Organisation (JITO). HappyEmi was launched in 2017 by Suhas Gopinath. The startup, which provides shoppers with instant financing at point of sale in stores and online platforms, also plans to use the funds to expand its operation across geographies.

8. COAI opposes social media block – said blocking an entire app would be disproportionate and “harm the constitutional rights of users” at large. COAI represents major telecom companies like Bharti Airtel, Vodafone India and Reliance Jio Infocomm etc.

9. Commerce Ministry Plans To Leverage Ecommerce Policy In WTO Negotiations. The issues being discussed on the draft policy include data localisation, setting up of an ecommerce regulator etc. 

10. OYO Marks Its Third Buyout In 2018 With Online Marketplace Weddingz. Weddingz counts Singularity Ventures and Sixth Sense Ventures as well as Google India Managing Director Rajan Anandan among its backers. It was founded in 2015 by  Sandeep Lodha.

 

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