SeedVC Lauds the IVY Growth Associates’ Startup Summit in Surat

• The 3-day event saw a massive footfall of more than 7000 attendees from across the globe.
• More than 150 Founders, 25+ VCs and 100+ Angel Investors were a part of the Summit.
• There were multiple activities planned throughout, including panel discussions, keynote addresses, chances to pitch, networking dinners, private breakout rooms, incentives, recognition and more

Recently, Seed VC attended the 21by72 Startup Summit organized by IVY Growth Associates and Sapio Analytics at Avadh Utopia in Surat. The event saw a footfall of more than 7000 attendees from across the globe. The event which was a roaring success housed above 150+ Founders; over 25 and more Venture Capitalists and more than 100+ Angel Investors.

The event was inaugurated by Harsh Sanghavi, the honorable Home Minister of Gujarat State.

There were multiples event such as pitching events, exhibitions, round-table discussions and 1-o-1 Networking. The event also provided an opportunity to over 50 startups to raise capital at the event.

SeedVC was among the core jury of the panel for the Shark Tank inspired segment ‘Trailblazer Mine’ where start-ups pitched themselves in front of Investors. The company in its statement has revealed that they are in final stages of closing the funding deal with two startups namely, Voisa and Decode Age who pitched themselves at the Trailblazer Mine event. Currently the amount of the deal has not been disclosed yet.

Further, Venkata Raman, Managing Partner of Seed VC was among the panelist of the segment, Panel Discussion on Angel Network and VC Funds alongside many of the investors including Arjun Vaidya, Verlinvest and Eklavya Gupta, Recur Club to name a few.

Appreciating the success of the event, Gaurav Agrawal, Managing Partner, SeedVC commented, “Surat is the world’s fastest-growing city. It has been an incredible experience to meet fascinating entrepreneurs / Investors and listen to their views on building interesting large-scale problem-solving companies in India. Kudos to Rachi Poddar and the entire army of IVY Growth Associates for putting this massive event together.”

He further stated that the event will pave the way for the younger generation to contribute to the Indian economy and make a significant difference in the future with their innovative solutions.

SeedVC is a VC firm that invest at early- stage focused on pre-seed to Series-A, with a vision to support, nurture and grow the start-up ecosystem. Headquartered in New Delhi & Dubai, supported by a vibrant Investors community of some of the smartest minds globally. SeedVC is committed to investing around 10-25% of the required capital along with Investor’s funds in every start-up, which will be finalized. Being backed by our own in-house capital & expertise along with a strong Investor community, we provide ample opportunities for collaboration and support.

200+ Startups and Investors to Join Startup Summit "21 by 72" in Surat Organized by Ivy Growth Associates

IVY Growth Associates brings Startup Summit '21 by 72' in one of the fastest growing cities in the World, Surat!

Surat based IVY Growth Associates in partnership with Sapio Analytics announces '21 by 72' Startup Summit and Expo which will bring together more than 200+ startups and investors to the ‘next upcoming startup city’ in India. 

The expo and summit is going to be held on 17th, 18th and 19th June 2022 at Avadh Utopia in Surat. '21 by 72' is an event showcasing over 200+ Start-Ups/investors, attracting 5000+ attendees from across the country and globe, focused on developing the Start-Up EcoSystem where the National & International Investors interact with VCs, Angel Networks, Entrepreneurs from across the Globe. This summit will establish Surat’s, India’s ninth largest city, image as the renowned business and startup hub for the world.

The summit is made in a format where there are multiple activities planned for the startups, right from pitching events, to exhibitions, round-table discussions, and 1-o-1 networking. '21 by 72' Startup Summit and Expo has already garnered the interests of speakers and participants like Mahavir Pratap Sharma, Deepanshu Manchanda of ZappFresh, Anuj Parekh of HealthySure, Sheetal Soni of MI Capital and Jatin Kataria of We Group who are serial entrepreneurs, investors and mentors!

The startup summit and expo is aligned with IVY Growth Associates’ vision of nurturing and accelerating 500+ startups in India and globally by 2030. To this effect, IVY Growth has collaborated with Atal Innovation Centers and Incubation centers across India, where they will scout and target to make 50 startups market-ready every year. 

Talking about the startup summit, Sharad Todi, Founder Member, said “Over the past few months since Inception of IVY Growth Associates, our team has been working with a vision of creating an impact in the Global Startup Ecosystem and have invested and mentored 40+ startups. We have organized events in cities like Delhi, Guwahati, Dubai & London to create an awareness about Startups as an asset class and growth trajectory of the Indian ecosystem. With our first ever summit in Surat '21 by 72', we aim to create a recognition for the diamond city in the startup ecosystem by bridging the gap between startups and investors. We aim to attract Investors and Startups from Pan India and globally to collaborate and create value for all the stakeholders involved.”

The delightful city of Surat is rapidly becoming one of the top business destinations in India. Surat is one of the Special Economic Zones of India, with a clear goal to increase foreign investments in India. Talking about choosing Surat for the summit, Shubhangi Toshniwal, Founder Member of IVY Growth Associates said, “Adjudged as the "Best Smart City in India" for consecutively two years, Surat has grown to become one of the largest hubs for various businesses of western India. Surat will be the world's fastest growing city from 2019 to 2035. With India's second largest Diamond Bourse coming up in Surat, the city is sure to shine brightest among any other Indian destination.”

About IVY Growth Associates

Founded by Sharad Todi, Shubhangi Toshniwal, Anuj Toshniwal, and Rachit Poddar, IVY Growth Associates is led by individuals having a combined experience of 30+ years in various fields and have collectively invested in 100+ startups. IVY Growth comes with a rich experience of leading funding for early stage startups and mentoring them to succeed. Some of their marquee startups include the likes of BluSmart Mobility, Valuationary, Charge Zone, Revamp Moto, Refrens!

Sapio Analytics Acquires KGS Microsystems, Becomes India’s Largest Smart Digitization Company

Government advisory firm Sapio Analytics has acquired KGS Microsystems, a leader in the archives digitization industry at an undisclosed sum. KGS is a decade old digitization technology company that counts Asiatic Society, Ministry of Culture, Reserve Bank of India, and SEBI amongst its customers.

Founded by Kishor Gulgule, a veteran imaging professional, and A Parvez Banatwala, a technology entrepreneur, KGS has active contracts worth around 1 million USD and a pipeline of around 20 million USD, being in the process of digitizing hundreds of millions of images. The acquisition by Sapio Analytics, positioned as the artificially intelligent government support system for developing countries, shall be done under a conditional term sheet, where Banatwala shall actively lead the smart digitization practice of the entity.

Arun Vaz, Ashwin Srivastava, Kishor Gulgule, and A Parvez Banatwala

"The anonymized intelligence driven out of the digitization by KGS, and its deep trust-based access to various clients in law enforcement, publications, heritage libraries, defense and PSUs, shall help Sapio significantly multiply its value. Our A.I. is powered by intelligence from the voice of millions of citizens, and more than a dozen world leaders and domain experts. Now, with KGS, invaluable intelligence from the analogue world shall also power our A.I. government systems", says Hardik Somani, Director and COO of Sapio Analytics.

Sapio Analytics Heritage Restoration Division restores heritage using artificial intelligence and domain expertise and is responsible for presenting the ancient culture of India to the world. The Smart Healthcare Division of Sapio has created India’s largest network of primary healthcare guidance centers, through a joint venture, and shall need digitization of millions of historical records. Law Enforcement, Intelligence, Economic Growth and Local Administration Divisions of the Sapio group shall also benefit from smart digitization.

“There are billions of records in India alone that have not been digitized yet. We are saying that the future digitization of these records shall not just be about conversion from analog to digital, but shall also be about digital to intelligence, making us the only player with excellence in high end digitization technologies and new age artificially intelligent machine learning smartness. KGS has been a market leader in ‘analog to digital’ and Sapio has been leading ‘intelligence in digital’ for governments. Together, we become an undisputed market leader in smart and intelligent digitization”, adds Somani.

Having worked on 25 million records of 250 years old Asiatic Society, KGS now hopes to become the choice of digitization across the developing world with this acquisition. The archives digitization market is growing at 13.5% CAGR and is expected to have higher growth rate in developing countries in the coming decade.

Sapio Analytics Acquires Public Company, Targets 1 Billion USD Valuation

Government advisory firm Sapio Analytics, headquartered in Mumbai, has taken controlling minority stakes in a public company, with an aim to expand its depth of reach to citizens of India. The acquisition is in form of a conditional agreement with payment in tranches, according to the statement released by the company, keeping the name of the said company undisclosed.

Sapio Analytics is positioned as a trusted partner of governments, acting as an artificially intelligent shadow government support system. It works directly with citizens owning data points that are useful for governments and policymakers. With the said acquisition, it is expected to increase its reach with citizens increasing the depth of trust with them.

"We expect to directly and deeply impact lives of 15 million citizens and their dependents, through various inter-connected products of Sapio Analytics, post this transaction. We hope to become the largest owner of citizen data, in a uniquely analyzed and visualized format, in India. We are helping shape government policies driven by artificial intelligence resulting out of the said data," says Hardik Somani, Co-founder and COO of Sapio Analytics.

The undisclosed public company is active in the interiors of India and closely works with the citizens helping them lead a financially stable life. With an expected reach of 12 million users, it is also partly owned by a government body, says the statement.

"Through our various divisions including economic growth, law enforcement, intelligence, healthcare, local administration, heritage and culture, we use new age technologies that are able to inter-connect various departments and provide intelligence that can drive socio-economic growth of the nations. Due to our immense trust with the citizens, becoming their voice through our A.I., we expect to be valued at 1 billion USD by the end of next year. Currently in talks to raise 15 million USD in tranches, Sapio Analytics has also invited investors and distinguished citizens at all levels to participate in the raise, with this transaction being a part of the journey," adds Somani.

Sapio Analytics has recently been in news for its joint venture with global technology firm Prime Technologies, launching A.I. surveillance for critical infrastructure. It has also been made responsible for presenting ancient culture of India at the Dubai Expo 2020, and was responsible for preserving ancient Indian art at the Arctic World Archive for eternity. An incubation center for government technologies and a virtual university for data science wizards are also in the works.

Funding, Hiring and Expansion at Sapio Analytics, Valued at 20 Mn USD

Sapio Analytics, a government advisory firm, positioned as an A.I. enabled shadow government support system, with products spread across law enforcement and intelligence, healthcare, urban administration, rural administrative, and comprehensive economic growth platforms for developing countries, is setting up its expansion in 12 more countries with the help of key leadership hiring.

Currently with offices in UK, USA and India, Sapio Analytics functions through its various subsidiaries, covering all departments of governments. With Government of India, Government of Uttar Pradesh and Government of Telangana counted amongst its major clients, it is now focused on developing countries of the world, including Guyana, Mauritius, Kazakhstan, Cambodia, Laos, and others.

It has announced an undisclosed funding received from its new appointments in key leadership positions, to execute the expansion. Ajay Pancholi, a serial entrepreneur and a veteran events management professional with multinational businesses, has joined Sapio Analytics as its Managing Director (Global), responsible for global strategies of the company, and setting up its presence in Central Asia, North America, and parts of Middle East. Pancholi is previously known for large scale events and global deals conducted by his numerous companies.

Balkrishna Choolun

In addition to Pancholi, Sapio Analytics has also announced the appointment of Balkrishna Choolun, founder-chairman of UITV and Director of Ajanta HC, as its Managing Director (Overseas), with focus of expansion in South America and Middle East. London-based Choolun has previously been a special advisor to numerous media and entertainment companies across the world and closely works with political, social, cultural and charitable organizations in Guyana, Suriname, Mauritius, UAE and UK.

Hardik Somani

"Our last fair market value was 20 million USD, and the current investments from selected key professionals has been made at this value. We hope to increase the valuation to 100 million USD in the next few months and have plans to raise 15 million USD from selected investors only. We are currently building our product pipeline and setting up our offices globally, while doing pro bono work for governments in the fight against COVID-19. A large part of our workforce is currently working pro bono to defeat COVID-19, and we hope to execute our expansion plans soon after the COVID-19 fight subsides", says Hardik Somani, co-founder and COO of Sapio Analytics.

Founded by serial entrepreneurs Ashwin Srivastava, Shripal Jain and Viral Vora, along with Somani, it has recently appointed ex-civil services officer Prashant Nikam as its Chairman. Nikam has previously been the Director of Police at the Ministry of External Affairs and took voluntary retirement to join the company.