Notion Press Raises $1M in Pre-Series A Funding from HNIs

Chennai-based self-publishing start-up, Notion Press, today announced that it has raised USD $1 million in pre-series A funding from High-Net-Worth Individuals (HNIs). The deal will help Notion Press consolidate its market leadership, strengthen its management team and expand its services in the market.

Notion Press is a self-publishing platform for Indian writers to publish and sell books around the world in both print and eBook form. It was founded in 2012 by two engineers, Naveen Valsakumar (30) and Bhargava Adepalley (29), and Jana Pillay (31), who has a background in publishing.  Since then it has published over 2000+ authors, sells books in over 100 countries and is today the fastest growing publishing group in India, well-known for its high-end professional publishing solutions to authors.

Today, Notion Press offers various publishing, book printing, distribution and marketing services to both authors and publishers from around the world. The technology start-up aims to solve the challenges associated with book publishing and distribution by creating highly scalable solutions that work across the globe.

Commenting on the funding, Naveen Valsakumar, Co-Founder and CEO, Notion Press Media Pvt. Ltd, said, “We are growing aggressively and looking to go International this year. We will be intensifying our coverage across India and fuel our operations internationally as well with these funds. We have always envisioned Notion Press as a global publishing brand and have built everything to scale for the global market. We are launching our US operations in the middle of September and would be launching in three other countries by end of this financialyear. With support from our investor group, we will be able to execute our vision more rapidly and broadly.”

A spokesperson from the Investor Group said, “We are very excited about this announcement. We commend the cutting-edge publishing solutions provided by Notion Press and the entrepreneurial spirits of the co-founders who put their heads down and built a sustainable and profitable business in just 4 years. Notion Press has shown tremendous potential in its growth, and is well-placed to be a part of the publishing revolution in India in the coming years.”

Notion Press was started as a platform for new writing talent from India to emerge. While self-publishing is not a new concept, the Chennai-based start-up stands out for its innovative methods. The company provides tools; data and expertise that enables authors take business decisions.  “We are changing the way publishing solutions are provided to authors in India and do not see self-publishing as a pure service-driven business, our home-grown proprietary technology allows us to automate most parts of the publishing, distribution and book marketing workflow. Our USP is that we treat every book as a start-up and the author as its CEO.” explains Valsakumar.

Notion Press is now working on a technology product that will help authors actively promote their work. Apart from its global expansion, it is also looking to offer its services to more Indian languages.

Stayzilla Appoints Former Truecaller Marketing Head - Anuroop Krishnan

Bengaluru based Stayzilla.com, the largest platform for verified homestays and alternate stays in India, today announced the appointment of Anuroop Krishnan as VP, Marketing. Anuroop joins Stayzilla from Truecaller where he was Director, Marketing & Communication and responsible for all brand communication, engagement and growth initiatives.

At Stayzilla, Anuroop will be responsible for driving strategic marketing and communication initiatives. The latest high profile hire comes on the back of former Twitter Director Pankaj Gupta’s appointment as Chief Product and Technology Officer in May 2016. Stayzilla’s recent hires include global talent from companies like Twitter, Truecaller and Flipkart among others.

Speaking about the appointment, Yogendra Vasupal, CEO & Founder, Stayzilla said, “We welcome Anuroop on board and are confident that his marketing expertise will help us scale new heights. We are happy to have innovative minds like Anuroop partner with us in this journey, at this juncture.”

With nearly a decade’s experience in roles across sales, marketing, branding and communications functions, Anuroop was instrumental in shaping Turecaller’s growth in India over the last year, with his marketing efforts. Anuroop has also worked with Nokia during his formative in sales and marketing roles. He has an MBA from XLRI, Jamshedpur and holds an engineering degree in Telecommunication from VTU, Karnataka.

Bengaluru based Stayzilla.com is the largest platform (website and app) for verified homestays and alternate stays in India. It has more than 55,000 stay options across 4500 towns in the country. The platform caters to both homeowners and travelers looking for differentiated, unique stay experiences.

LoanTap Raises $3M from Mumbai Based HNI's Abhishek Pandey and Jaysukh Sapra

LoanTap, a one-of-its-kind fintech with an in-house NBFC platform delivering flexible EMI-free loan and Overdraft products to salaried professionals, has announced securing funds worth $3 Mn in a Series A investment round. LoanTap will be leveraging the raised capital to expand its operations in NCR, Mumbai Metropolitan Region, Pune and Bangalore. Nearly 85% of the funding, which was led by Mumbai-based HNIs, will be used for onward lending by the platform, while a part of the remaining capital will also be used to augment its technology and distribution frameworks.

Commenting on the capital raised, Satyam Kumar, CEO of LoanTap, said, “Our platform was established for the millennials, keeping in mind the otherwise risk-averse low-salaried loan segment. The Series A investment is a strong validation of LoanTap’s robust business model and experienced promoters having a proven track record in technology, retail-asset underwriting and business scale-up. Instead of burning the entire capital on technology upgrades and distribution, we will chiefly utilize the money for creating end-user specific products and delivering it directly to retail customers. The funding will also enable us to grow in the loan market owing to our simple processes and product relevance.”

Headquartered in Mumbai with the Back Office in Pune, LoanTap follows an agency-based collection model catering to the low-delinquency salaried segment with a job experience of merely 2-5 years in its first phase. The online platform also allows professionals to make flexible single and bulk payments that are convenient and cost-effective.

Currently emphasizing exclusively on the upwardly-mobile salaried professionals, LoanTap envisions penetrating deeper into the salaried segment. It eventually aims to tap into the MSME sector with an average loan size of Rs 6 Lakhs by expanding to the top 10 cities of the country and reaching a book size of INR 750 crores in the next 3 years.

LoanTap is a fintech platform delivering a bouquet of Loan Products to salaried professionals. From the Regular EMI based Loans, to EMI Free Loans to Personal Line of Credit Loan Tap caters to all the requirements of a budding Salaried Professional. Unlike most FinTech Companies it is not an aggregator platform and directly dispenses Loans through its in-house NBFC. It uses technology to deliver smart and innovative products for millennials. Borrowers can choose custom- made loan products from an array of offerings like Overdraft Facility, Credit Card Takeover Loans, Rental Security Deposit Loans, Advance Salary Loans and consumer durable loans. Registered with RBI, it has an in-house NBFC offering unique products and features within the regulatory guidelines, thereby ensuring a fully transparent pricing structure.

Headquartered in Mumbai and operational in Pune as well, LoanTap was incorporated in the first half of 2016 by ex-banking professional Satyam Kumar and former tech professional Vikas Kumar. This online platform in its first phase has ventured into the low delinquency salaried segment that is characterised by a job experience of merely 2-5 years. The company manages to stand out for its speedy disbursement of loans with an average amount of Rs 4 lakhs for 15 days to 5 years. It also makes a pitch for flexible single and bulk payments that are convenient and cost-effective.

The company eventually aims at tapping the MSME sector with an average loan size of Rs 6 Lakhs by expanding in the top 10 cities of the country and reaching a book size of INR 750 crores in the next 3 years.

Paytm in Talks to Raise $300M from Goldman Sachs, Temasek, Mediatek

Mobile payment and ecommerce platform Paytm, is in advanced talks to raise fresh funding of about Rs 2,000 crore ($300 million) from Taiwanese semiconductor maker MediaTek, Goldman Sachs, Singapore's Temasek and other investors, as reported by ET. Existing investors, which include Alibaba and its payments affiliate Alipay besides venture capital firm SAIF Partners, will also be participating.

According to multiple source, the new round is expected to value the company at close to $5 billion. The money will be deployed across all of Paytm's businesses -digital payments, online marketplace and the upcoming payments bank.

Paytm was valued at $2.3 billion in the last round of capital infusion in June.

Paytm rivals in payments include Mobikwik, which recently raised $40 million from South Africa's Net1, and Snapdeal-owned Freecharge, which has been looking to raise a $150-300 million round since October 2015. Flipkart is also expected to launch its mobile payments business under PhonePe next week, and plans to invest $100 million initially.

Over the last 12 months, Paytm has been pushing its offline to online business aggressively, entering areas like movie ticketing, petrol pump payments, taxi payments and education fees among others. This is expected to be key drivers in monthly gross merchandise value (GMV) increasing to $500 million by December from $300 million in July, Sharma told ET in an interview earlier this month. Sharma had also said that Paytm is running at a 1% operating loss, which includes online marketing, payment gateway and cashback costs.

As of now, Paytm's Founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma holds 21.33% stake in One97 communications (Paytm's parent company) and its earliest venture capital investor SAIF Partners has 30.81%. Alibaba holds 8.53% while Alipay is the single largest shareholder with a 32.41% holding.

Mitra Biotech Raises $27.4M in a Series B Round Led by Sequoia India and Sands Capital Ventures

Mitra Biotech Inc., a biotech company that develops and provides technologies that personalize cancer treatment, has raised $27.4 million in a Series B round of funding led by Sequoia India and Sands Capital Ventures with participation from Boston based RA Capital Management and existing investors Accel Partners and Tata Capital Innovations Fund. This funding round also provides an exit to Series A investors KITVEN and India Innovation Fund.

Founded in 2010, Mitra which is based in Boston and maintains a significant research and laboratory presence in Bengaluru, plans to use the funds to expand the availability of its CANScript service, which predicts personalized responses to cancer treatments.

“These new funds will allow us to enhance our technology and engage in new studies to further demonstrate CANScript’s clinical utility. We will also move forward with our commercial efforts in the United States, as well as emerging and other key markets,” said Mallikarjun Sundaram, president, co-founder, and chief executive of Mitra.

In October 2013, Tata Capital Innovations Fund along with existing investors India Innovation Fund and Accel Partners, invested about Rs.40 crore in the company. In 2010, the company had raised funding of Rs.30 crore from Accel, India Innovation Fund and KITVEN, a government-backed fund.

Founded by Mallikarjun Sundaram and Pradip K Majumder, Mitra Biotech is a pioneer in enabling personalized cancer care and drug development. The company is addressing significant challenges in personalized cancer medicine with dedicated scientists educated and trained in world famous institutes. Mitra’s discoveries to detect and manage cancer have practical applications and will be moved from the bench to bedside.

The company is currently offering its service at 10-15 hospitals across India and aims to take this number to above 75 in 3 years with satellite labs across the country. It also aims to expand simultaneously in the US, select parts of Europe and South East Asia.

Before founding Mitra, Sundaram, who did his Bachelor of Pharmacy (B.Pharm) from IIT-BHU, was a scientific co-founder of listed pharmaceutical products company Momenta Pharmaceuticals. Sundaram also holds a Ph.D. in Biotechnology from the University of Utah, Salt Lake City, and MBA from the Wharton Business School, University of Pennsylvania.