Autonomous Tech Co. FLO MOBILITY Bags $400K Funding in Round Led by DevX Venture Fund, Venture Garage Angels and Blume Founder Fund

Flo Founders

• Funding will be used to expand the network in India
• Company to foray into Europe, USA, Middle East & East Asian markets
• Build Tech capabilities and recruit aggressively

Flo Mobility, a vision-based autonomous technology company, today announced that it has raised $400K from DevX Venture Fund, Venture Garage Angels, Blume Founders Fund and other marquee angels. The company’s stated vision is to build a universal autonomy platform that can bring autonomous capabilities to vehicles across industries and form factors. The company is deploying its stack on a wide variety of vehicles like electric scooters, delivery bots, agri-weeders, surveillance bots, golf carts, lawnmowers, etc. Founded in 2019 by Manesh Jain and Mohan Kumar Flo Mobility aims to democratize autonomy by building an affordable, compute lite and interoperable stack that can also be retrofitted into existing vehicles and equipment.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr Manesh Jain, Founder - Flo Mobility, said, “The funding from DVF and others comes at an exciting time as we seek to expand nationally and to the US, Middle East, Europe and East Asia. As we recruit aggressively across our technology, product and engineering teams, we will be further deepening our research on vision-based perception, low latency remote operations and proprietary Flo operating system. Autonomous tech is finding its way around multiple applications and I believe our platform-centric approach and subscription-based pricing will pave the way to build a multi-billion-dollar business"

Commenting on the funding, Mr Umesh Uttamchandani, Co-founder & CGO, DevX, (lead investor), “We are excited to infuse funds in Flo Mobility. At DVF (DevX Venture Fund) our investment approach largely revolves around having a strong founding team which, someone of the likes of Manesh with a previous exit under the belt where his venture was acquired by Jio Embibe, serves as a perfect match. Smart solutions for the Autonomy-as-a-Service are the future and given Flo Mobility’s deep understanding and tech capabilities, I am confident that their offerings will find many takers. Going forward we strongly anticipate a massive impact on the sector, given the game-changing proposition that Flo Mobility’s offerings have.”

“We see a great future in autonomous technologies and an estimated market opportunity of US$ 40-50 bn. The team has the right domain understanding, not only to build the tech but to also expand globally. My best wishes to the founders to build a 100X business”, commented Vivek of Venture Garage.

Sarita Raichura of Blume founder's Fund added, "Manesh has been known to us as the founder of Mockbank, a Blume portfolio that exited to Jio Embibe. His co-founder Mohan, has a solid background in hardware and tech. What intrigued us was Flo Mobility's focus on low-end autonomy. We believe there could be a leap in the adoption of autonomous technology - Flo Mobility's tech stack can be used to convert a large range of vehicles to autonomous vehicles (like golf carts, e-scooters, Agri equipment, lawnmowers) at a significantly lower cost. Indian deep-tech ecosystem is showing signs of maturity where companies like Flo Mobility are building for the world out of India and we are excited to be part of Manesh’s second innings through the Blume Founders Fund".

DevX Venture Fund invests in early-stage startups, already having invested in 8 ventures, DVF’s investments so far are largely into Fintech, SaaS, Healthcare, PropTech, AgriTech and DeepTech. They not only invest in startups but also help them with rapid scaling through their existing network, strategy support and follow-on fundraising. DVF is part of DevX Co-working& Accelerator, Gujarat’s top and largest provider in the Co-working and Managed Office Space segment, founded in September 2017 by 3 entrepreneurs Rushit, Umesh, Parth (the RUPaiyya trio as they are known in the ecosystem) and Dev Information Technology Ltd.

About DEVX:

DevX is a co-working cum accelerator envisioned to provide world-class, best-in-breed services to its clients. Firmly rooted in the ethos of collaborative growth through partnerships, DevX offers immersive accelerator services across the value chain.

Venture Garage Conducts 4th Leg of "Find Your Investor" Programme in Pune Supported by Kotak Mahindra Bank

Venture Garage conducted the fourth leg of the FY2019-20 edition of the Find Your Investor (FYI) programme in Pune in association with Kotak Mahindra Bank (Kotak) at MCCIA Pune.

After three super successful sessions in Mumbai Hyderabad and Bengaluru where close to 60 investors and 450 start-ups participated over 170 applications were received and more than 150 start-ups interacted with 15 investors at the FYI Pune event which is a fund-raising platform for start-ups. FYI Pune not only attracted the local start-ups but also start-ups from cities such as Mumbai Nagpur and Ahmedabad. It hosted a new mix of investors like Windrose Capital Rainforest Venture Network Crucible Fund Oceans Bridge Better INC Alacrity India Indian Angel Network Sprout Venture Partners India Quotient White Unicorn and a slew of active angel investors from Pune and Mumbai.

(L to R): Vaibhav Domkundwar (Better Inc) Rohit Goyal (Windrose Capital) Avinash Kalia (Crucible Fund) Saurabh Lahoti (Alacrity India) Anirudh Kumar (Rainforest Venture Network)

A set of 16 shortlisted start-ups got to pitch one-on-one to investors. Some of the ideas presented included:

A technology-driven lead generation payment platform that allows its partner retail merchants to offer their end customers the ability to buy small- and mid-sized ticket goods and services on their websites/in-store on a buy now pay later; basis without the end customer paying any interest or entering into a traditional loan/credit card arrangement.

A network of digital screens available to all advertisers (big and small) to rent and display their messages simply and conveniently.

A unique footwear which grows organically with the child feet providing a comfortable fit and thus reduces the overall number of shoes bought between ages one to eight. It also keeps in mind various other factors focused on a child growth and foot care.

An IIT-IBS team working towards solving a broken supply chain using data science to prevent price fluctuations in the fruits and vegetables sector. With the help of machine learning and inflation data of the past 24 months they have been able to predict price fluctuations for the next 60 days. This enables them to provide fixed prices to the end customer and still make profits.

A platform providing health loans to patients who are uninsured or underinsured at 0% interest and is currently present in six major cities - Mumbai Chennai Bengaluru Pune Nagpur and Hyderabad.

A data driven health-tech platform that empowers various healthcare providers with technology a seamless integration and a referral-based incentive system to improve overall consumer experience and the quality of healthcare.

Further Kotak conducted a session on banking for start-ups which covered aspects such as a start-up focused current account credit facilities and making the road just a little bit easier with a customised suite of banking solutions for start-ups. Enthusiastic participation from the audience included queries around start-up current accounts and non-collateral loans.

Puneet Kapoor Senior Executive Vice President Kotak Mahindra Bank said Venture Garage Find Your Investor programme is proving to be one of the key fund-raising platforms for start-ups with strong participation from both investors and start-ups. We are delighted to play our part in supporting the dreams of entrepreneurs. The Kotak Start-up Current Account is customised to meet the unique requirements of start-ups and help entrepreneurs scale their businesses and manage their day-to-day business needs efficiently.

The Kotak Start-up Current Account comes with a host of features such as no balance commitment for the first 12 months customised payment and collection solutions to suit each start-up business model corporate salary accounts for employees special forex pricing cost-effective payment solutions and trade forex solutions.

A fireside chat saw Vivek Kumar from Venture Garage interact with Amitava Saha an IIT-IIM alumni and Co-founder of Firstcry.com and Xpressbees. He was insightful in addressing how start-up founders should think and plan while building a unicorn.

A panel consisting of Rohit Goyal from Windrose Capital Anirudh Kumar from Rainforest Venture Network Avinash Kalia from Crucible Fund Saurabh Lahoti from Alacrity India and moderated by Vaibhav Domkundwar from Better INC addressed issues around the selection of sectors sectoral mix in the portfolio the importance of rapid scaling up of start-ups for a fund choosing a company for investment and the preference of investors for founders from IIT IIIT IIM and ISB for funding.

Avinash Kalia of Crucible Fund said I realised during the panel discussion that one of the common suggestions from investors to founders was that just like a product market fit they could also look at product investor fit. I mean they should ideally pitch to funds that are focused on that specific area. That will not only improve the chances of funding but once funded the start-up would be in the appropriate sectoral portfolio.

Rohit Goyal of Windrose Capital said Considering the total addressable market for a start-up the top-down approach to assess its potential scale is an inaccurate mechanism. India is a big country with a large population and even 1% of the population relevant to the product makes it a sizeable market. But by that approach every start-up should become a unicorn. The bottom-up approach is more appropriate as the cost of acquisition per customer order size and repeat order rates can give a better and more reasonable picture of the addressable market for a start-up.

FYI has become the go-to platform for new-age entrepreneurs to interact one-on-one with investors enabling them to meet the right investor(s) and equipping themselves with tools to build large scalable businesses.

FYI FY2019-20 is being organised in five cities -Hyderabad Bengaluru Mumbai Pune and Chandigarh.

For more details on FYI FY2019-20 and to register please visit www.venturegarage.in/fyi.

About Venture Garage

Venture Garage handholds startups to help them raise capital from its network of 700+ Angel Investors Venture Capitalists Strategic Investors and Family Funds. Venture Garage specializes in early-stage investments across Seed to Series B stages starting from $100K to $5mil. Established in 2015 and with offices present in Mumbai Bengaluru and NCR Venture Garage also manages a network of 30000+ entrepreneurs.

For more information please visit the company website at www.venturegarage.in.

About Kotak Mahindra Bank Limited

Established in 1985 Kotak Mahindra Group is one of Indias leading financial services conglomerates. In February 2003 Kotak Mahindra Finance Ltd. (KMFL) the Groups flagship company received banking license from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) becoming the first non-banking finance company in India to convert into a bank - Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd.

The Bank has four Strategic Business Units -Consumer Banking Corporate Banking Commercial Banking and Treasury which cater to retail and corporate customers across urban and rural India. The premise of Kotak Mahindra Group business model is concentrated India diversified financial services. The bold vision that underscores the Group growth is an inclusive one with a host of products and services designed to address the needs of the unbanked and insufficiently banked. As on 31st December 2019 Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd has a national footprint of 1539 branches and 2447 ATMs and branches in GIFT City and DIFC (Dubai).

For more information please visit the company website at www.kotak.com.

Venture Garage Conducts 3rd Leg of "Find Your Investor" Programme in Mumbai Supported by Kotak Mahindra Bank

Venture Garage conducted the third leg of the FY2019-20 edition of the Find Your Investor (FYI) programme in Mumbai in association with Kotak Mahindra Bank (Kotak) at The Rise Lower Parel. After two super successful sessions in Hyderabad and Bengaluru where close to 40 investors and 300 start-ups participated over 20 investors interacted with approximately 160 entrepreneurs at the FYI Mumbai event which is a fund-raising platform for start-ups.

Investors at FYI Mumbai included a mix of VCs micro VCs seed and angel investors such as Artha Venture Fund Peak Ventures 100X.VC First Cheque Green Shoots Capital Ankur Capital Tomorrow Capital IAN Fund ITI Growth Opportunities Fund Unilever Ventures Lightbox White Unicorn and Parampara Capital and Management Consultants.

From over 100 pitching entries a set of shortlisted 16 start-ups also got to pitch one-on-one to investors in a speed dating format. There were multiple start-ups building next-generation technology-enabled businesses that offer ideas for the future in areas that will create commercial success in sectors such as sustainable farming clean transportation and mainstreaming the youth in small towns of India. Key disruptive start-ups at FYI are working in areas such as:

Making cultivation more profitable and sustainable by increasing farm productivity reducing the cost of cultivation and achieving higher grain price realisation for farmers.

Vernacular online mock tests with an emphasis on state level exams predictive analysis engines to understand demand-supply gap and generate content within 48 hours.

A device (patent filed) and app combination enabling viewers to easily super-size or jump shows and movies onto their television sets from their smartphones.

Technology that enables people to E Visit a place and explore it in detail from their laptops/mobiles. Places like hotels banquets builder projects properties and office spaces. This technology enables web conferencing within a 3D virtual tour.

A team from IIT Kharagpur is building light commercial EVs with cost effectiveness better efficiency and user experience. They are working on a patentable technology in batteries and powertrains.

An ad tech platform Gamifies Ads that users engage with to get cash rewards. This is a pioneering concept with a proven POC and 10X ROI 100% measured ROI high app retention and large promoter ad network.

Further Kotak conducted a session on banking for start-ups which covered aspects such as a start-up focused current account credit facilities and making the road just a little bit easier with a customised suite of banking solutions for start-ups. Enthusiastic participation from the audience included queries around start-up current accounts and non-collateral loans.

Puneet Kapoor Senior Executive Vice President Kotak Mahindra Bank said Venture Garage Find Your Investor programme is proving to be one of the key fund-raising platforms for start-ups with strong participation from both investors and start-ups. We are delighted to play our part in supporting the dreams of entrepreneurs. The Kotak Start-up Current Account is customised to meet the unique requirements of start-ups and help entrepreneurs scale their businesses and manage their day-to-day business needs efficiently.

The Kotak Start-up Current Account comes with a host of features such as no balance commitment for the first 12 months customised payment and collection solutions to suit each start-up business model corporate salary accounts for employees special forex pricing cost-effective payment solutions and trade forex solutions.

A one-hour panel discussion was moderated by Madhuri Sawant from IvyCap Ventures and included Anirudh Damani from Artha VF Shashank Randev from 100X.VC Aakash Shah from Peak Ventures Kushal Bhagia from First Cheque and Laxman Kumar from Green Shoots Capital.

Shashank Randev Founder VC at 100X.VC fund said The path to achieving moonshots rests with exceptional founders. India with its growing domestic consumption would require solutions to be built for these needs. Entrepreneurs today have a great opportunity to build and scale businesses in the country. If someone has an idea with the potential to make not just marginal or incremental difference but to bring about transformative change then our team will figure out how 100X.VC can serve as a force multiplier for them. (Indias first venture fund to invest in early-stage startups using India SAFE Notes 100X.VC aims to fund 100 start-ups every year with a ticket size of Rs. 25 lakh to 1 crore per start-up.)

Aakash Shah Partner at Peak Ventures said Opportunities in India are becoming cross-sectoral. At Peak Ventures we are leveraging the opportunities that fall within one or more of India core themes like sustainability shared infrastructure and industries of the future which cut across sectors and are constantly being updated based on the changing environment. (Peak Ventures is a Series A-focused thematic venture capital fund.)

Kaushik Mukherjee Co-founder COO of Sugar Cosmetics a cruelty-free makeup brand that is high on style and higher on performance participated in a half-hour fireside chat moderated by Vivek Kumar CEO Venture Garage. Manufactured in state-of-the-art facilities across Germany Italy India the USA and South Korea the brand ships its bestselling products across lips eyes face and nail categories across the world. Kaushik spoke about his earlier start-up failures his first angel-round raise and his latest $10 million funding from A91 Partners.

FYI has become the go-to platform for new-age entrepreneurs to interact one-on-one with investors enabling them to meet the right investor(s) and equipping themselves with tools to build large scalable businesses.

FYI FY2019-20 is being organised in five cities -Hyderabad Bengaluru Mumbai Pune and Chandigarh. For more details on FYI FY2019-20 and to register please visit www.venturegarage.in/fyi.

About Venture Garage

Venture Garage handholds startups to help them raise capital from its network of 700+ Angel Investors Venture Capitalists Strategic Investors and Family Funds. Venture Garage specializes in early-stage investments across Seed to Series B stages starting from $100K to $5mil. Established in 2015 and with offices present in Mumbai Bengaluru and NCR Venture Garage also manages a network of 30000+ entrepreneurs.

For more information please visit the company website at www.venturegarage.in.

About Kotak Mahindra Bank Limited

Established in 1985 Kotak Mahindra Group is one of Indias leading financial services conglomerates. In February 2003 Kotak Mahindra Finance Ltd. (KMFL) the Groups flagship company received banking license from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) becoming the first non-banking finance company in India to convert into a bank - Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd.

The Bank has four Strategic Business Units ndash; Consumer Banking Corporate Banking Commercial Banking and Treasury which cater to retail and corporate customers across urban and rural India. The premise of Kotak Mahindra Group business model is concentrated India diversified financial services. The bold vision that underscores the Group growth is an inclusive one with a host of products and services designed to address the needs of the unbanked and insufficiently banked. As on 30th September 2019 Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd has a national footprint of 1512 branches and 2429 ATMs and branches in GIFT City and DIFC (Dubai).

For more information please visit the company website at www.kotak.com.

~ Newsvoir

Venture Garage Conducts “Find Your Investor” Programme in Hyderabad Supported by Kotak Mahindra Bank

Venture Garage conducted the first leg of the FY2019-20 edition of the Find Your Investor (FYI) programme in Hyderabad, in association with Kotak Mahindra Bank (Kotak) at the Indian Institute of Information Technology (IIIT). Over 18 investors including Endiya Partners, Touchstone Equities, 50K Ventures, Tomorrow Capital, Sprout Venture Partners and Pegasus Fininvest, and over 100 enthusiastic start-up entrepreneurs building next-generation technology-enabled businesses participated in the event, which is a fund-raising platform for start-ups.

VCs discussing their funds' investment decision process. From left to right: Vivek Kumar (Venture Garage), Vasudha Thirani (Tomorrow Capital), Abhishek Srivastava (Endiya Partners), Vikrant Varshney (SucSEED Venture Partners), Utkarsh Sinha (Touchstone Equities), Radhesh Kanumury (Arka VC), Uday Pilani (50K Ventures), Subhash Lode (Pegasus FinInvest), Anirudh Jayagopal (Sprout VP), Vineet Sagar (Venture Garage)

In addition to covering the nuances of raising capital, banking and legal aspects, a set of shortlisted 20 start-ups also got to pitch one-on-one to investors in a speed dating format. A small sampling of the ideas not only demonstrates Hyderabad’s foray into technology, but that these start-ups are well on their way to building next-gen India that is dreamy, vibrant and cutting-edge.

Key disruptive start-ups at FYI are working on areas such as:

• Building India’s first bionic prosthetic arm


• Vernacular online mock tests with an emphasis on State Level Exams


• End-to-end omnichannel solutions for small businesses to sell across 80+ countries


• ReCommerce Marketplace: Two-way, for used gadgets (smartphones, tablets, laptops)


• FDA compliance of products manufactured by global contract manufacturers


• Further, Kotak conducted a session on banking for start-ups which covered aspects such as a start-up focused current account, credit facilities and making the road just a little bit easier with a customised suite of banking solutions for start-ups.

Puneet Kapoor, Senior Executive Vice President, Kotak Mahindra Bank said, “Venture Garage’s Find Your Investor programme is proving to be one of the key fund-raising platforms for start-ups with strong participation from both investors and start-ups. We are delighted to play our part in supporting the dreams of entrepreneurs. The Kotak Start-up Current Account is customised to meet the unique requirements of start-ups and help entrepreneurs scale their businesses and manage their day-to-day business needs efficiently.”

The Kotak Start-up Current Account comes with a host of features such as no balance commitment for the first 12 months, customised payment and collection solutions to suit each start-up’s business model, corporate salary accounts for employees, special forex pricing, cost-effective payment solutions and trade forex solutions.

Vikrant Varshney, Managing Partner, SucSEED Venture Partners said, “I had the privilege to moderate a very enriching panel with esteemed investment professionals and a very engaged audience who asked so many intelligent and pragmatic queries. We are happy that SucSEED was a partner to this event that did well on parameters such as quality of start-ups and investors, participation rate and engagement between start-ups and investors.”

Radhesh Kanumury of Arka VC added, “It is generally hard to find quality B2B start-ups at events. Venture Garage did a good job at curating the pitching start-ups and ensured the right mix of B2B vs B2C start-ups particpated at FYI.”

A key highlight of the program was a fire-side chat with Mr. Rajat Ojha, CEO of Gamitronics, which focuses on theme parks, next-gen museums and bringing smart toys in the market. An active angel investor, with a keen eye for adventure and technology, Rajat commented, “Founders need to be extremely focused on building technology with a clear problem-solution in mind and then execute.” Rajat related his story of his dream and the struggles he faced along the way, which fired up the entrepreneurs to dream big and strive hard to achieve their goals.

While opening the session and equipping founders with an understanding of the psyche of venture capitalists, Vineet Sagar, Managing Partner at Venture Garage stated, “Founders must build a strong co-founding team with a focus on business models that can rapidly scale the enterprise to become a unicorn. VCs don’t like to invest in lifestyle businesses.”

FYI has become the go-to platform for new-age entrepreneurs to interact one-on-one with investors, enabling them to meet the right investor(s) and equipping themselves with tools to build large, scalable businesses.

FYI FY2019-20 is being organised in five cities - Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Mumbai, Pune and Chandigarh.

For more details on FYI FY2019-20 and to register, please visit www.venturegarage.in/fyi.

About Venture Garage

Venture Garage handholds startups to help them raise capital from its network of 700+ Angel Investors, Venture Capitalists, Strategic Investors and Family Funds. Venture Garage specializes in early-stage investments across Seed to Series B stages starting from $100K to $5mil. Established in 2015 and with offices present in Mumbai, Bengaluru and NCR, Venture Garage also manages a network of 30,000+ entrepreneurs.

For more information, please visit the company’s website at www.venturegarage.in.

About Kotak Mahindra Bank Limited

Established in 1985, Kotak Mahindra Group is one of India's leading financial services conglomerates. In February 2003, Kotak Mahindra Finance Ltd. (KMFL), the Group's flagship company, received banking license from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), becoming the first non-banking finance company in India to convert into a bank - Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd.

The Bank has four Strategic Business Units - Consumer Banking, Corporate Banking, Commercial Banking and Treasury, which cater to retail and corporate customers across urban and rural India. The premise of Kotak Mahindra Group’s business model is concentrated India, diversified financial services. The bold vision that underscores the Group’s growth is an inclusive one, with a host of products and services designed to address the needs of the unbanked and insufficiently banked. As on 30th September, 2019, Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd has a national footprint of 1,512 branches and 2,429 ATMs, and branches in GIFT City and DIFC (Dubai).

For more information, please visit the company’s website at www.kotak.com.

Venture Garage Announces the FY2019-20 Edition of the “Find Your Investor” Programme Supported by Kotak

On the back of a successful Find Your Investor (FYI) series in 2018, Venture Garage, in association with Kotak Mahindra Bank (Kotak), has announced the FY2019-20 edition of the power-packed fund raising platform for start-ups. FYI is the annual fundraising program organised by Venture Garage where they take start-ups through the journey of raising capital, including aspects such as legal, banking and documentation requirements during fundraising; one-on-one interactions between start-ups and investors; discussion on the investment views of leading VC/angel investors of India; networking and much more.

Find Your Investors Series 2019-20 in 5 Indian cities



At each of the five cities, 50 carefully selected start-ups from all across India get a chance to pitch their business ideas to investors to raise capital. The FY2019-20 edition of FYI will take place in Hyderabad on 29th November, 2019; in Bengaluru on 13th December, 2019; in Mumbai on 10th January, 2020; in Pune on 23rd January, 2020, with the final chapter of the series taking place in Chandigarh on 7th February 2020. The FY2019-20 FYI series will host 500+ entrepreneurs and 40+ Investors, including India’s most active VCs such as Inventus Capital Partners, Matrix Partners, Artha Venture Fund, 7 Gate Ventures, RPSG Ventures, Orios Venture Partners among others.

Puneet Kapoor, Senior Executive Vice President, Kotak Mahindra Bank, said, “It’s a daunting task to be an entrepreneur with a number of obstacles to be overcome, especially in the initial stages of a start-up. Kotak has always worked to fulfil the aspirations of entrepreneurs who dare to dream big. Every dream involves money and the Kotak Start-Up Current Account is customised to meet the unique requirements of a start-up and help it realise its full business potential. We are pleased to be associated with the FYI series by Venture Garage.”

Aanchal Saini, CEO of Flyrobe, India’s number 1 fashion renting platform said, ”Venture Garage has been associated with us for over two years now and I am glad I joined them for the Find Your Investor series in all the four cities last year. Venture Garage has mastered the recipe for a perfect start-up event with their FYI series where early stage start-ups get to learn about the nuances of fund raising like how to pitch to investors, how to make your business plan/financial projections, legal and banking needs during the fund raise process, networking with investors and other things that an entrepreneur requires to fulfil his/her dreams. The most exciting part is the opportunity to pitch to investors in a one-on-one format to raise funding and see your dreams as an entrepreneur come true. I wish all the start-ups participating in FYI all the very best. Do make the most of it.”

Rahul Nehra, Co-founder & CEO of Jadooz, a cinema and entertainment chain backed by Artha Venture Fund, TV Celebrity Rannvijay Singh and Actor Ravi Kishan, said, “This platform that Venture Garage is giving to start-ups is exactly what an entrepreneur needs to enable his vision. FYI was our first serious pitch across the table with some of the leading VCs of India and today we are funded by Artha Venture Fund & Celebrity Rannvijay Singh. Venture Garage took care of the entire fund raising process including finding investors and managing the transaction, while Kotak fulfilled all our banking needs. If you are a start-up raising your 1st or 2nd round of capital, then FYI is the place to be.“

“India is an emerging market for start-ups and VC investments. Most start-ups are still struggling to make themselves funding ready and then find the right platform to connect with investors. At FYI, we have a simple goal of making fundraising easy for start-ups. The 4-hour journey at each FYI event is about a deeper dive into fundraising, followed by interactions between the most promising start-ups and VC/angel investors to drive early-stage start-up investments. Start-ups that pitched at the FYI FY2018-19 series raised a cumulative of INR 18 crore+ in seed/angel/pre-series A investments from investors and we hope to deliver an equally exciting FY2019-20 series,” Vivek Kumar, Co-founder & CEO, Venture Garage.

FYI FY2018-19 was a huge success with over 50 VCs/angel investors and 700 entrepreneurs attending the programme in Delhi, Gurugram, Jaipur & Chandigarh. Some of the investors who participated included Ravi Kaushik, WaterBridge Ventures; Girish Shivani, YourNest Venture Capital; Pranav Gupta, Carpediem Capital; Kunal Khattar, AdvantEdge VC; Rajesh Sehgal, Equanimity Investments; Addison Appu, ThinKuvate; Aayush Jain, Ex-Unicorn Ventures; Ojasvi Babber, Amity Capital Ventures among many others. The total funding raised by start-ups that pitched at FYI FY2018-19 stood at over INR 18 crore.

For more details on FYI FY2019-20 and to register, please visit www.venturegarage.in/fyi.

About Venture Garage

Venture Garage handholds startups to help them raise capital from its network of 700+ Angel Investors, Venture Capitalists, Strategic Investors and Family Funds. Venture Garage specializes in early-stage investments across Seed to Series B stages starting from $100K to $5mil. Established in 2015 and with offices present in Mumbai, Bengaluru and NCR, Venture Garage also manages a network of 30,000+ entrepreneurs.

For more information, please visit the company’s website at www.venturegarage.in.

About Kotak Mahindra Bank Limited

Established in 1985, Kotak Mahindra Group is one of India's leading financial services conglomerates. In February 2003, Kotak Mahindra Finance Ltd. (KMFL), the Group's flagship company, received banking license from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), becoming the first non-banking finance company in India to convert into a bank - Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd.

The Bank has four Strategic Business Units – Consumer Banking, Corporate Banking, Commercial Banking and Treasury, which cater to retail and corporate customers across urban and rural India. The premise of Kotak Mahindra Group’s business model is concentrated India, diversified financial services. The bold vision that underscores the Group’s growth is an inclusive one, with a host of products and services designed to address the needs of the unbanked and insufficiently banked. As on 30th September, 2019, Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd has a national footprint of 1,512 branches and 2,429 ATMs, and branches in GIFT City and DIFC (Dubai).

For more information, please visit the company’s website at www.kotak.com.