Gadget Portal 91Mobiles Acquires Majority Stake in 500 Startups Funded Pricebaba.com

91mobiles.com, India’s largest smartphone discovery platform, today announced that it has acquired a majority stake in Pricebaba.com, a 500 Startups-funded company. With this, 91Digital Web Pvt Ltd, the parent company of 91mobiles, now operates three websites in the gadgets vertical – 91mobiles.com, KillerFeatures.com and Pricebaba.com, with a combined reach of 30 mn visits per month.

Pricebaba.com, which currently serves 5 mn users per month, will continue to run as a separate property focused on helping electronics buyers make their purchase decisions. While 91mobiles will remain focused on smartphone enthusiasts and buyers, Pricebaba shall cater to people looking to buy any electronics product, including TVs, washing machines, ACs and refrigerators, in addition to smartphones.

91mobiles intends to scale Pricebaba.com as a site that caters to the growing regional language audience that may be new to digital. Towards this, 91mobiles will invest $500k in upgrading the Pricebaba platform to deliver content in over 10 local languages, including text, video, as well as bandwidth-friendly audio content, making it easy for first-time online buyers to make their purchase decision.

Pricebaba investors, including California-based 500 Startups, will exit the venture as a part of this deal. Annkur P Agarwal, Co-founder of Pricebaba, will move to an advisory role.

Launched in May 2012, Pricebaba pioneered the research online, purchase offline market in India with its location-based search engine. Over the years, Pricebaba has developed into an end-to-end research platform for choosing & buying consumer electronics in India. Pricebaba currently serves over 5 million users a month.

Nitin Mathur, Co-founder of 91mobiles.com commented on the acquisition, “Over the years, 91mobiles.com has emerged as the go-to platform for consumers who are looking to buy a smartphone. While smartphones remain the largest electronics category online, we are now seeing sharp growth in the number of people researching online before purchasing appliances and electronics other than smartphones as well. We will leverage our abilities in technology and content to help Pricebaba.com cater to a growing share of this audience. With this acquisition, 91mobiles and our group sites will serve the largest in-market audience in the consumer electronics category, next to the big e-commerce sites.

Also Read - The Story of 91Mobiles, India’s Largest Gadget Research Site

“The Pricebaba team and I are extremely excited to be a part of 91mobiles. Over the years, 91mobiles founders have built a fantastic business model and share the same partnership mindset as Pricebaba. Under the leadership of 91mobiles, Pricebaba will cater to the growing number of consumers who are now researching online for buying electronic appliances. Additionally, with this partnership, our focus will also be on developing solutions and content to help people who may be shopping online for the first time for appliances, in making their purchase decision,” said Annkur P Agarwal, Co-Founder of Pricebaba.

91mobiles.com, which was launched in 2012, is the largest gadget website in India, focused on smartphones. It provides information & interactive tools to help people decide which phone to buy and where to buy it from. 91mobiles is visited by over 20 million gadget enthusiasts every month, and ranks among the top 200 websites in India. 91mobiles has a team of 70 people based out of Gurgaon (HO) and Chennai. It works with most of the leading electronics & telecom brands (Samsung, Nokia, Oppo, Vivo, etc.), as well as leading e-tailers (Amazon, Flipkart, PayTM, TataCliq etc.), to provide them with innovative ways to reach 91mobiles' gadget enthusiast community, to promote their products & offers.

[Top Image - Nitin Mathur - Co-Founder, 91Mobiles]

Gadget Portal 91Mobiles Acquires Majority Stake in 500 Startups Funded Pricebaba.com

91mobiles.com, India’s largest smartphone discovery platform, today announced that it has acquired a majority stake in Pricebaba.com, a 500 Startups-funded company. With this, 91Digital Web Pvt Ltd, the parent company of 91mobiles, now operates three websites in the gadgets vertical – 91mobiles.com, KillerFeatures.com and Pricebaba.com, with a combined reach of 30 mn visits per month.

Pricebaba.com, which currently serves 5 mn users per month, will continue to run as a separate property focused on helping electronics buyers make their purchase decisions. While 91mobiles will remain focused on smartphone enthusiasts and buyers, Pricebaba shall cater to people looking to buy any electronics product, including TVs, washing machines, ACs and refrigerators, in addition to smartphones.

91mobiles intends to scale Pricebaba.com as a site that caters to the growing regional language audience that may be new to digital. Towards this, 91mobiles will invest $500k in upgrading the Pricebaba platform to deliver content in over 10 local languages, including text, video, as well as bandwidth-friendly audio content, making it easy for first-time online buyers to make their purchase decision.

Pricebaba investors, including California-based 500 Startups, will exit the venture as a part of this deal. Annkur P Agarwal, Co-founder of Pricebaba, will move to an advisory role.

Launched in May 2012, Pricebaba pioneered the research online, purchase offline market in India with its location-based search engine. Over the years, Pricebaba has developed into an end-to-end research platform for choosing & buying consumer electronics in India. Pricebaba currently serves over 5 million users a month.

Nitin Mathur, Co-founder of 91mobiles.com commented on the acquisition, “Over the years, 91mobiles.com has emerged as the go-to platform for consumers who are looking to buy a smartphone. While smartphones remain the largest electronics category online, we are now seeing sharp growth in the number of people researching online before purchasing appliances and electronics other than smartphones as well. We will leverage our abilities in technology and content to help Pricebaba.com cater to a growing share of this audience. With this acquisition, 91mobiles and our group sites will serve the largest in-market audience in the consumer electronics category, next to the big e-commerce sites.

Also Read - The Story of 91Mobiles, India’s Largest Gadget Research Site

“The Pricebaba team and I are extremely excited to be a part of 91mobiles. Over the years, 91mobiles founders have built a fantastic business model and share the same partnership mindset as Pricebaba. Under the leadership of 91mobiles, Pricebaba will cater to the growing number of consumers who are now researching online for buying electronic appliances. Additionally, with this partnership, our focus will also be on developing solutions and content to help people who may be shopping online for the first time for appliances, in making their purchase decision,” said Annkur P Agarwal, Co-Founder of Pricebaba.

91mobiles.com, which was launched in 2012, is the largest gadget website in India, focused on smartphones. It provides information & interactive tools to help people decide which phone to buy and where to buy it from. 91mobiles is visited by over 20 million gadget enthusiasts every month, and ranks among the top 200 websites in India. 91mobiles has a team of 70 people based out of Gurgaon (HO) and Chennai. It works with most of the leading electronics & telecom brands (Samsung, Nokia, Oppo, Vivo, etc.), as well as leading e-tailers (Amazon, Flipkart, PayTM, TataCliq etc.), to provide them with innovative ways to reach 91mobiles' gadget enthusiast community, to promote their products & offers.

[Top Image - Nitin Mathur - Co-Founder, 91Mobiles]

Human Organs On-Demand Startup Pandorum Raises $3.6 Mn Via 021 Capital, Karnataka's KITVEN

Bengaluru based biotech startup Pandorum Technologies, which is famous for developing India's first artificial 3D printed liver tissue, has raised $3.6 million (~ ₹ 23 crore) in a series A round from Indian Angel Network Fund, 021 Capital, 500 Startups and the Karnataka government backed Karnataka Information Technology Venture Capital (KITVEN) fund, according to filings collated by Paper.vc.

The funding round also saw participation from existing investors Flipkart CEO Binny Bansal besides new investors like Hero Enterprise chairman Sunil Kant Munjal in his personal capacity and IAN’s angel network too.

"The current fundraise is to help us to make the transition from advanced prototype to market ready product stage. This will include capacity enhancement in key areas including team, tech, infrastructure, scale up and regulatory compliance," said Tuhin Bhowmick, co-founder of Pandorum Technologies, to a business daily.

Arun Chandru along with Tuhin Bhowmick, researchers from Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore, founded Pandorum in 2011. Later, the next year the startup moved into a Bangalore based biotechnology incubation center – Centre for Cellular and Molecular Platforms in the Bangalore Bio-Cluster, to access state of the art experimental facilities and to do research and development. Since then the team has received several notable awards and recognition.

In 2016, the startup had raised $311K (INR 2 Cr) from Flipkart founders - Sachin and Binny Bansal. Prior to this, Pandorum had also raised grants from the govt of India backed Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC).

Pandorum’s vision is to make personalised human organs such as lungs, liver, kidney and pancreas on demand.

The startup is presently working on bioengineering human cornea that can potentially be implanted. Its 3D-printed human tissues can be used for drug development and medical research.

To recall, BIRAC, which is one of the backer of Pandorum, has signed an MoU with Indian Angel Network to invest in India's biotech startups and bring the biotechnology startups closer to angel investors.

According to a study called “India’s Biotech Startup Ecosystem”, published by Association of Biotechnology Led enterprises (ABLE) in 2017, Indian biotech startup ecosystem is booming with 1022 bio-technology startups and Bangalore has the most number of biotech startups hosting 190 of the 1022 biotech startups formed in the last five years.

In last August, biotech startup Roivant Sciences has secured whopping $1.1 billion equity investment from the SoftBank Vision Fund. Riovant is founded by an Indian-origin entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy.

In October '17, a women exclusive Bio-tech Incubator was inaugurated in Chennai during the last concluded International Science Congress - 2017.

Revolutionary Breast Cancer Screening Startup NIRAMAI Raises Funding Led by Pi Ventures

NIRAMAI Health Analytix, a startup that’s building a revolutionary non-invasive, non-touch, non-radiation approach to detect breast cancer has raised seed funding led by pi Ventures with participation from Ankur Capital, Axilor Ventures, 500 Startups and Flipkart co-founder Binny Bansal. NIRAMAI (Non Invasive Risk Assessment with Machine Learning) is a pioneer of a new patented technology called Thermalytix© that can remove technological, logistical, and cultural barriers that hinder breast cancer screening among women today. The start-up’s solution uses artificial intelligence over thermal images to address the issues of early detection of breast cancer.

NIRAMAI has recently been inducted by Axilor Ventures for its summer 2017 accelerator batch.

NIRAMAI is on a mission to create a universal cancer screening method that can save lives by detecting breast cancer at an early stage. The overall hardware-software solution is portable and uses big data analytics, artificial intelligence and machine learning for reliable, early and accurate breast cancer screening. Early diagnosis is critical in saving the life of a cancer patient. Their method of screening is based on principles of Thermography that can detect tumors 5 years before mammography or a clinical exam can detect.

NIRAMAI was founded in July 2016 by Dr. Geetha Manjunath who comes with 25 years of research and innovation expertise in areas such as data analytics, machine learning, cloud computing, semantic web and Nidhi Mathur who is a serial intrapreneur with rich experience in business planning, strategy and product management. Both the women cofounders have previously worked with companies like Xerox Research Center and Hewlett Packard Labs.

[caption id="attachment_116078" align="aligncenter" width="700"] NIRAMAI Team[/caption]

Dr. Geetha Manjunath, CEO & Co-founder of NIRAMAI, says, “Mortality rates among breast cancer patients are very high in India. Our solution is portable, low-cost, very safe, privacy-sensitive and can detect cancer at a very early stage making it very suitable for regular preventive health checkup as well as screening camps. This investment will help us strengthen our IP portfolio, expand operations and ensure our cancer screening tool is readily available for commercial use.”

Manish Singhal, Founding Partner, pi Ventures added, “Breast Cancer is a major killer across the world. In India, one out of two women die after getting diagnosed with breast cancer since the detection happens very late. Early detection is key to saving lives and is enabled very well with the innovative and disruptive AI based solution from NIRAMAI. We are excited to partner with them in their journey to solve this important and worldwide problem.”

Co-founder of the Mumbai-based impact investor Ankur Capital, Dr. Ritu Verma said “We are very excited to partner with NIRAMAI. Their early detection solution is low cost, zero radiation and non contact, which very effectively addresses the concerns and limitations for larger adoption of screening for women across all segments. Breast cancer rates are growing in India and having such a solution is imperative for addressing the dismal survival rates we are seeing today.”

Shalini Prakash from 500 Startups, the leading global venture capital seed fund shared "We are always very excited to discover stellar teams and disruptive companies solving big problems, and NIRAMAI is definitely one of them. Breast cancer rate is increasing every year and there is a huge gap in the health industry. NIRAMAI’s technology solves this problem for millions of Indian women by early detection and taking preventive measures for breast cancer ahead of time."

Binny Bansal, co-founder of Flipkart said “The innovation from NIRAMAI is solving a key problem in women’s health today. We are happy to partner with this new startup that is socially relevant, innovative and has good market potential."

[Top Image - NIRAMAI Co-founders Dr. Geetha Manjunath & Nidhi Mathur (L-R)]

India accounts $427 million in funding from 64 deals in Q1 2014

According to the figures that have come in for Quarter 1 2014, India has accounted $427 million in funding ranging across 64 deals in the tech space. CB Insights, which is a Venture Capital analysis firm, provided these figures in its latest research report.

Large funding deals in e-commerce sites like Snapdeal and Flipkart have helped Indian Tech funding in crossing $1.3 billion across 266 deals. This figure is up by 21 % on a deal basis versus the previous four quarters (Quarter 2 2012-Quarter 1 2013) and 69% more on a year on year funding basis.

According to the Venture Capital analysis firm, the rise in numbers is being largely headed by huge investments in the e-commerce firms. This includes three separate funding rounds for popular e-commerce site Snapdeal for over $255 million and a $360 million cumulative Series E for Flipkart.

The rise in the number of deals projects to the clear influx of initial stage venture capital in the country. This has also accounted for about 82 % of all the tech deals in the past 4 quarters. This figure can be seen as a positive sign for start-ups in India.

Bangalore has superseded major cities like Mumbai and Delhi-NCR in getting dollars and deals. The city is responsible for 39 percent of all India Tech funding. Online fashion and lifestyle e-commerce site Myntra’s $50 million Series E and Flipkart’s $360 million Series E accounted for 31% of all funding in the country.

With over $300 million across 30 deals, New Delhi acquired the second position and accounted for 23% of tech funding.

500Startups left all the investors in the India technology companies behind by having 20 investments over the last 4 quarters. Blume Ventures, which is a Mumbai based see venture, came in second while Accel Partners acquired the third position.

The research report presented by CB Insights also stated that the majority of the country’s largest fundraises in 2013 have been for e-commerce companies. The e-commerce industry is responsible for about 72% of all funding to the tech firms in the last four quarters, with the Internet Software and Services and Mobile Software and services firms filling up the Top 3.

India accounts $427 million in funding from 64 deals in Q1 2014

According to the figures that have come in for Quarter 1 2014, India has accounted $427 million in funding ranging across 64 deals in the tech space. CB Insights, which is a Venture Capital analysis firm, provided these figures in its latest research report.

Large funding deals in e-commerce sites like Snapdeal and Flipkart have helped Indian Tech funding in crossing $1.3 billion across 266 deals. This figure is up by 21 % on a deal basis versus the previous four quarters (Quarter 2 2012-Quarter 1 2013) and 69% more on a year on year funding basis.

According to the Venture Capital analysis firm, the rise in numbers is being largely headed by huge investments in the e-commerce firms. This includes three separate funding rounds for popular e-commerce site Snapdeal for over $255 million and a $360 million cumulative Series E for Flipkart.

The rise in the number of deals projects to the clear influx of initial stage venture capital in the country. This has also accounted for about 82 % of all the tech deals in the past 4 quarters. This figure can be seen as a positive sign for start-ups in India.

Bangalore has superseded major cities like Mumbai and Delhi-NCR in getting dollars and deals. The city is responsible for 39 percent of all India Tech funding. Online fashion and lifestyle e-commerce site Myntra’s $50 million Series E and Flipkart’s $360 million Series E accounted for 31% of all funding in the country.

With over $300 million across 30 deals, New Delhi acquired the second position and accounted for 23% of tech funding.

500Startups left all the investors in the India technology companies behind by having 20 investments over the last 4 quarters. Blume Ventures, which is a Mumbai based see venture, came in second while Accel Partners acquired the third position.

The research report presented by CB Insights also stated that the majority of the country’s largest fundraises in 2013 have been for e-commerce companies. The e-commerce industry is responsible for about 72% of all funding to the tech firms in the last four quarters, with the Internet Software and Services and Mobile Software and services firms filling up the Top 3.