Rajat Sahni

Kluisz.ai, led by former OYO senior executive Abhinav Sinha, has raised $9.6 million (INR 82.9 crore) in seed funding. The round was led by RTP Global and saw participation from Unicorn India Ventures, Blume Ventures Founders Fund, Climber Capital, and prominent angels. Founded in early 2025, Kluisz.ai is building an open-source, AI-native cloud platform to help enterprises deploy and manage AI and edge computing workloads. Check out the full funding details : https://lnkd.in/gjs3UKNB Team Kluisz Abhinav Sinha | Venkata Surya Tej | Vamshidhar Reddy | Abhijeet Singh | #oyoCOO #OYOemployee #AiStartups #SeedFunding #CloudStartups #FundingUpdates #startupro #startupUPdates

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Home services startup Pronto has raised $11 Mn in its Series A round, co-led by General Catalyst and Glade Brook Capital, with participation from existing investor Bain Capital Ventures. The funding comes just months after the Gurugram-based 10-minute on-demand home services platform closed a $2 Mn seed extension from Bain Capital Ventures. Pronto plans to use the fresh capital to expand into Mumbai and Bengaluru over the next 12–18 months, while training and onboarding 10,000 additional service professionals. The startup currently offers instant, scheduled, and recurring house help services, ranging from sweeping and utensil washing to laundry assistance and kitchen cleaning. Anjali Sardana (Founder of Pronto). #pronto #househelp #seriesA #funding #startupro

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India’s boldest startups deserve long-term capital that stays the course. 360 ONE Asset’s ₹500 Cr early-stage VC strategy has been launched, with 4 deals closed across diverse sectors. A core part of our ‘Idea to IPO’ capital stack. Read Abhishek Nag, Senior Fund Manager & Strategy Head, Early-Stage VC, 360 ONE Asset’s interview in Mint here: https://lnkd.in/diBcy86N 360 ONE

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From my next fund onwards, I’m adding health & fitness criteria before investing in any founder. Startups already come with enough risk factors—market crashes, pivot disasters, co-founder dramas, funding winters… and I refuse to add “founder’s untimely heart attack” to the cap table. So yes, if you can’t run 5K without gasping for air, maybe you shouldn’t be running a startup either.

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Seed-stage venture firm Titan Capital has introduced the Indicorns 2025 List—a compilation of 202 startups that have crossed Rs 100 crore in annual revenue and achieved profitability. The announcement was made at India Internet Day. Titan Capital was founded by Snapdeal co-founders, Kunal Bahl and Rohit Bansal. As a collective, these 202 startups generated Rs 1.51 lakh crore in revenue and Rs 7,393 crore in profits in FY24. The top sectors represented include fintech (50 companies), e-commerce (16), and logistics (13). Cities leading the charge are Delhi NCR (51 Indicorns), followed by Bengaluru (42) and Mumbai (35). "These companies are proving that building enduring businesses in India is not just possible, but already happening at scale. We hope this list inspires a new generation of founders to chase not just scale, but strength," Bahl said. Read the full story here:👇 https://lnkd.in/d4_yb_z2 #bengaluru #indicorns #unicorns #startups #profit #business #indianstartupnews

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Agilitas x Virat Kohli partnership is one of the masterstroke deals I have seen in recent times. Virat invests 40 CR in Agilitas for a 1.94% stake, putting Agilitas’s valuation around 2000 CR. 📈 In turn, Agilitas acquires one8world, making Virat a co-founder and shareholder. They now get two very important growth levers: ⬇️ 1. A powerful manufacturing (via Mochiko Shoes - a 600 CR+ footwear brand that Agilitas acquired in 2008 ), 2. India’s biggest athlete — exclusively aligned. Easily becomes a 4000 CR revenue brand in the next 5 years. Footwear + retail scale requires capital — but this partnership compresses customer acquisition, product cycles, and brand-building like few others. Even Virat said in his podcast with Abhishek Ganguly, the co-founder of Agilitas that, “I didn’t want a brand deal… I wanted to build something that outlives me.” And Abhishek said something even beautiful - “An ambition to build from India but be globally relevant.” This isn’t marketing. This is legacy building with shared skin in the game. And that is how startups work - shared ambition with one goal (to make the company big) and food (read stake) in the table for everyone! A company that can be built in the long term with culture, capital, and conviction aligned. This might be the first time in India, where an athlete joins hands with a sport company to re-imagine and build the sport ecosystem of India - truly revolutionalising the game with a clear vision. 🙌

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Lessons: performance of listed startups At the xto10x IPO academy, we track listed startups - financials, market updates, stock price, peer comparison, analyst coverage and earnings calls. The intent? Understand the patterns behind sustained performance vs. underperformance - defined as movement in the stock price vs. the Nifty 500 over the same timeframe. Of the 30+ companies we track, here are headlines from 8 (data as on 8/4/25) #1 (2021 IPO): significant challenges for the first eight quarters - profitability doubts, acquisition anxiety. But the script flipped in 2023: delivered on guidance, turned the core business profitable and demonstrated sustained improvement in operating metrics. Outperforming by 134% #2 (2024 IPO): listed at a discount to its peer. Latest results show a widening gap with the peer on core metrics - revenue, market share and MTUs, with the CM gap narrowing slightly. Underperforming by 8% #3 (2021 IPO): A SaaS company, did an outstanding acquisition, improving EBITDA margin from 15% to 20% from FY23 to 24, leading to outperformance. Now facing challenges with revenue churn and no subsequent acquisitions (discussed in earnings calls) - underperforming by 35% #4 (2024 IPO): Not just another coworking play — 43% return on capital employed, driven by high utilisation and the managed aggregator model. Analysts now compare it with hotel peers given the ROCE profile. Outperforming by 68% #5 (2021 IPO): Beat 8Q guidance with growth in core business at 23%, new business at 115% and EBITDA margin of 47%. The stock outperformed by 46%. Then came bolder guidance relying heavily on the new business. Growth in the last 2Q is significantly below expectations, the stock is now down 30% from its peak #6 (2021 IPO): Ecomm player, gained 96% on listing day. In 2 years, revenue grew by 30%, while EBITDA margins remained flat (5% to 5.7%). Underperforming by 37% #7 (2022 IPO): Logistics player that delivered meaningful earnings growth from -₹319 Cr to ₹561 Cr, but missed market expectations of Rs. 1325 cr. Underperforming by 98% #8 (2023 IPO): D2C brand that went public with a bold offline expansion plan. But near-expiry stock issues, distributor churn, & retailer resistance to its SKU mix showed challenges in offline. Trading 31% below its IPO price So what are the patterns? At the risk of oversimplication, here’s what we have observed: Outperformers compound earnings & ROCE over a longer timeframe - quality execution translates into strong input metrics which translate into superior financial performance. This is so hard to do. Underperformers don’t have compounding yet - many challenges get in the way, e.g. high expectations (and a high issue price), widening gap with peers, relying on uncertain M&A/ new businesses/ channels to deliver earnings guidance, limited operating leverage. One overall takeaway for founders trying to decide on an IPO? Please test your recipe for compounding before you go public.

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Eternal Capital (India), an early-stage VC fund started by former bharatpe COO Dhruv Dhanraj Bahl, has rebranded itself as Sadev Ventures. The firm said the new name aligns with its family office identity and values. With this change, Sadev Ventures will continue its India-first focus while also helping portfolio companies expand globally through support from international LPs and strategic partners. Read full article link in the commment 👇 #sadevventures #eternalcapital #vc #rebrand #startupnews

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🚀 Gurugram-based home services startup Pronto has raised $11 Mn (Series A), co-led by General Catalyst & Glade Brook Capital, with participation from existing investor Bain Capital Ventures. 💰 This comes just months after a $2 Mn seed extension from Bain Capital Ventures. 📍 What’s next for Pronto? ✅ Expansion to Mumbai & Bengaluru in 12–18 months ✅ Onboarding & training 10,000+ service professionals ✅ Scaling its 10-minute on-demand home services platform 🏠 Pronto offers instant, scheduled & recurring house help — sweeping 🧹, utensil washing 🍽, laundry 👕, kitchen cleaning 🍳 & more. 💬 Anjali Sardana, Founder: “We’re building a new era of trusted, rapid home services for India’s urban households.” #StartupNews #Funding #SeriesA #Pronto #househelp #seriesA #funding #IndiaEconomy #viralpost #scoopearth #scoopearth.in

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Recko | A Stripe company's $150M acquisition proved that India Talent can build world class software. Here are the top learnings from my podcast with Saurya, Co-founder, Recko: 1. Recko was founded in 2017 by Saurya and Prashant to fix the complex and broken process of financial reconciliation in fast-growing B2C companies like Flipkart and Blinkit. 2. Getting the product off the ground was really tough. Early customers openly said they didn’t need it, and investors thought the idea was pointless. Recko was trying to build in a new category where there were no benchmarks or clear paths to follow. 3. Their first big break came from Myntra, who reached out just when Recko was down to their last $500. Over the next 3 to 4 months, they worked closely with Myntra’s finance team to solve huge reconciliation problems involving millions of data rows. That work earned them the credibility to build the product. 4. Indian VCs passed on Recko for several reasons: Lack of investor-focus on B2B during 2017-18 , the perception that back-office products were unsexy and the pressure for fast hockey stick growth. In some cases, even customers denied they had the problem Recko was solving, which confused potential investors further. 5. Saurya shares that India’s B2B ecosystem has “over-indexed” on cost advantages and marketing-heavy models. But to truly compete globally and reach higher valuations, companies should start with a solid product that offers real value through Tech and product superiority, not just by being cheaper. 6. For early-stage B2B startups, the most important metrics is not ARR, but product shape & product usage- how often the product is used and how critical it is to the workflow of the business. If your product becomes part of a company’s core workflow, it’s much harder for them to stop using it- even if it’s tough to sell at first. 7. Stripe's acquisition of Recko was primarily a product acceleration and product suite completion strategy. With financial operations closely tied to payments, Recko brought deep expertise in that space- something Stripe's customers were already asking for. 8. Recko was acquired at a 75X revenue multiple of $2 million ARR - A result of the product's unique strength, very specific domain knowledge, and "thickness" in its product layer. This contrasts with companies offering easily replicable solutions or operating in crowded, benchmarked categories, which give them lesser leverage in acquisitions. 9. The acquisition process took about six months, with four of those months spent on intense due diligence. Founders must manage conflicting expectations from investors and employees while maintaining highly confidential communication throughout. 10. Saurya advises founders to prioritize long-term relationships over attempting to "squeeze the last drop" of money during an acquisition, as future collaborations are likely. 

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🚨 Household help startup Pronto has raised $11 mn from General Catalyst, Glade Brook and Bain Capital Ventures 💰 🧹 The funding comes after rival Snabbit has also mopped up over $25 million in funding, while IPO-bound Urban Company is also ramping up efforts in this space. Read the deep dive from Aditi Shrivastava - https://lnkd.in/g3K787EX

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At Riverwalk Holdings we were among the earliest backers of Karza (By Perfios), investing when ‘Fin Infra SaaS’ wasn’t even a category. Having seen their full journey from 0–1 to 1–100 and then a successful exit to Perfios in ’22, we deeply understand what it takes to build foundational fintech infrastructure — and we’re here to help the next generation do it even bigger and bolder. In our latest monthly piece, we dive into the current state of the Fin Infra SaaS market, the challenges that companies have to navigate and themes we are bullish on (link in comments) Jai Satveer Abhishek Ali Avik

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Most VCs follow the traditional funding ladder. growX ventures breaks the rules with their seed + Series B strategy. Ashish Taneja explains why Series A often doesn't validate what investors think it does. Unconventional wisdom shared in our Founder Thesis conversation. Full episode at: podm.in/growx

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Many early-stage founders in India are being misled by so-called funding facilitators. These players promise investor access but often: - Demand advisory equity (1–5%) upfront just for introductions. - Charge huge retainers without outcomes. - Operate without SEBI registration or credentials. - Exploit incubator ties to extract equity from startups. Remember: genuine investment bankers step in after growth stage, not at seed. Early founders need angels, grants, and micro-VCs and not middlemen. Always verify track record, avoid upfront equity deals, and insist on success-based engagement. #Startup #Entrepreneurship #Fundraising

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The best investors don't just understand startups - They've built, scaled, and exited them! Every founder dreams of that moment. When the metrics finally work. When customers become evangelists. When the exit happens. But very few investors have actually lived it. Arjun Vaidya has. And that changes everything for Ideabaaz founders. He didn't just study consumer brands, he built India's largest Ayurveda brand online. Scaled Dr. Vaidya's from zero to 2M+ customers across 16,500 pin codes. 5,000 orders a day. 80+ products. Forbes 30 Under 30. Then took it to acquisition by RPSG Group, one of India's first D2C exits. Today, as Co-Founder of V3 Ventures, he backs the next generation of many consumer founders.. What makes Arjun Vaidya invaluable to Ideabaaz: → Operator credibility: He knows what it takes to go from 0-1, 1-10, and exit → Consumer expertise: Deep understanding of D2C, platforms, enablers → Pattern recognition: Sees what works (and what breaks) in Indian consumer businesses → Founder empathy: Been through the sleepless nights, the hard pivots, the pressure He's walked the path our founders are walking. Private equity at L Catterton. Then founder. Then investor. He understands both sides of the table because he's sat on both. At Ideabaaz, founders don't just pitch for capital. They connect with Titans who've done it, who know that building in India means solving for trust, distribution, and retention, not just raising rounds. Arjun Vaidya sees the founder building category-defining brands. The one solving real consumer problems. The one playing the long game with patience and precision. That's the mentorship that builds exits, not just rounds. Ideabaaz is proud to have Arjun Vaidya as one of our Titans. Jeet Wagh Sabbas Joseph Raj Nayak Kailash Gandhi Dr Atul Hegde Thirumalai Madhavnarayan Vinod Rustagi Madhula Sathyamoorthy Ganesh Raju Amrrit Achipallya Suranjika Mohapatra Ronak Jatwala Raghavendra Hunsur Mukund Galgali Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited IITM Global Turbostart YAAP House Of IPs TapstartX Anupam Bansal Archana Jahagirdar Shaili Chopra Jimmy Mistry Rishabh Mariwala Pawan Jaggi Sandesh Sharda Priyanka Salot #Ideabaaz #FounderInvestor #D2CExit #ConsumerBrands

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