Bangalore-based online furniture brand Urban Ladder has raised INR 102 crore (approximately US$15.2 million) in fresh funding from existing investors, including SAIF Partners, Kalaari Capital, Sequoia India and Steadview Capital. The startup claims that it has over 4,000 products and 35 categories such as wardrobes, sofas, beds, dining tables, storage shelves, etc.
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India

Apple to start manufacturing iPhone SE in India
Apple reportedly selected Wistron as the primary manufacturer for all its iPhones in India. The Taiwanese partner of the Cupertino-based company set up a plant in Bengaluru in order to start the local production.Apple shipped 2.5 million iPhones to India last year which is the most the company has ever sold.
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Bangalore-Based Aisle Raised Funding To Grow The Business
Aisle, an online dating app owned by Bangalore-based Aisle Network, has secured an undisclosed amount in funding from CIO Angel Network, with participation from Konglo Ventures, White Unicorn Ventures and online deal-making platform LetsVenture. The startup will use the funding to hire new developers and content creators, said Founder and CEO Able Joseph.
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Payments Solutions Company OMA Emirates Acquires Mumbai-Based mPoS Startup MobiSwipe
United Arab Emirates-based payments solutions company OMA Emirates has acquired Mumbai-based mobile payments services firm MobiSwipe Technologies. The details of the transaction were not disclosed. OMA is looking to broaden its overall portfolio in the Middle East, Eastern Europe and APAC regions. As per agreement, MobiSwipe Co-founders Suresh Santhanaramakrishnan and Harmeet Singh Arora will be joint CEOs at OMA.
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Bangalore- Based Flutura Raises US$7.5M Series A
Flutura Decision Sciences and Analytics, an Industrial Internet-of-Things (IIoT) company based out of Bangalore, has secured US$7.5 million in Series A round of funding, led by Vertex Ventures. Flutura’s platform Cerebra provides diagnostics and prognostics through machine learning and artificial intelligence to unlock new business value for engineering and energy customers.
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Online Automobile Classifieds Platform CarTrade Raised US$55 Million
CarTrade, a leading online automobile classifieds platform in India, has raised US$55 million, led by Singapore-based Temasek Holdings, with participation from a large family office in the US. This capital injection will be used to support CarTrade’s growth plans through acquisitions, expansion into new areas, such as auto finance, and to further sharpen its services to consumers, dealers, and OEMs.
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IoT Startup Zenatix Raised US$1.2M From pi Ventures
Zenatix Solutions, a data-driven energy efficiency company, has raised US$1.2 million in pre-Series A round of funding led by pi Ventures, an early-stage fund co-founded by LetsVenture Co-founder Manish Singhal. The current round of capital will be used primarily for hiring across all its functions- technology, product, operations, and sales.
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Stellaris Venture Partners Completed Its First Close Of $100M Venture Capital Fund
Stellaris Venture Partners, an early-stage technology-focused venture fund, announced that it has completed the first close of its $100 million maiden fund. Fund I has secured capital commitments from financial-institutions, corporates, entrepreneurs, and family-offices in the United States, Europe, and Asia. The Series A oriented fund will invest in technology-businesses solving India-specific problems, as well as global-software products from India.
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Cab-Hailing Service Uber Has A New Car Rental Service Called UberHIRE
Cab-hailing service Uber has a new car rental service called UberHIRE which will allow users to hire a cab for up to 12 hours. UberHIRE will now be available in New Delhi, Bangalore, Chennai, Mumbai, Pune, Ahmedabad, Vizag and Nagpur after a pilot in Kochi.
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Alibaba Group Investing Upto US$250 Million In Indian Mobile Commerce And Wallet Company Paytm
Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group is investing between US$200 million and US$250 million in Indian mobile commerce and wallet company Paytm. With this deal the Alipay-Alibaba combine, which had earlier infused US$680 million into Paytm in September 2015, will now own over 50 per cent in the firm. A formal announcement in this regard will happen in the coming weeks.
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Restaurant Deals Startup OneLoyalCard Acqui-Hires Pocketin
OneLoyalCard.com, a Delhi-based restaurant reservation and deals platform, has acqui-hired Pocketin, a year-old startup operating in the same space. With this deal, the entire team at Pocketin, along with its founders, will join OneLoyalCard. This move will help strengthen OneLoyalCard’s technology and quicken its expansion plans across major markets in India.
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Uber, Ola Asked To Stop Car-Pooling Services In Bangalore
In a major setback, the Transport Department asked online cab aggregators including Uber and Ola to stop car-pooling services in Bangalore, according to various reports. According to the department, car-pooling by aggregators is a direct violation of the Motor Vehicles Act of India. The cab companies have been given three days to comply with the rules.
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India To give free WiFi To more than 1,000 villages
The Indian government is planning to provide free WiFi to 1,050 villages across the vast country under a new pilot project known as Digital Village. Over the next six months, each village will get its own WiFi hotspot mounted on a special tower to which villagers can connect using their cell phones.
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Indian Edtech Startup Cuemath Raised US$15 Million From Google, Sequoia
Bengaluru math-startup Cuemath is hitting the big time following an announcement Monday it raised $15million from one of Google’s investment-arms, CapitalG, and Sequoia India. Their curriculum was designed by grads and staff from IIT, Stanford, Harvard, Cambridge, and IIM among other top-tier-schools. They boast a nationwide presence of 200full-time employees in cities like Bengaluru, Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Hyderabad and Pune.
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Mumbai-Based RML AgTech Raised US$4M From IvyCap Ventures
Mumbai-based RML AgTech, a startup providing smart-farming solutions on mobile phones, has raised US$4 million from IvyCap Ventures. The funds were raised in multiple tranches in 2016. The funds will be utilised to strengthen RML’s IT backbone and to bring in new products and features on its current offerings.
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Bangalore-Based Last-Mile Logistics Startup LetsTransport Has Secured US$4 Million
Bangalore-based last-mile logistics startup LetsTransport (LT) has secured US$4 million in second round of funding from Neelesh Bhatnagar of NB Ventures, with participation from GMO Venture Partners and existing investor Rebright Partners based in Japan. The startup plans to use the funds in building technology and team, according to Pushkar Singh, Co-founder of LetsTransport.
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