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Tag: Blume Ventures

  • Lucira shines bright with 5.5m dollars seed round led by Blume Ventures

    Lucira shines bright with 5.5m dollars seed round led by Blume Ventures

    MUMBAI: Lucira Jewelry is proving that lightning and sparkle can strike twice. The fine jewellery startup, founded by ex-Candere creator Rupesh Jain alongside Vandana Jain, has raised a dazzling 5.5 million dollars in seed funding, the largest seed round ever for a jewellery startup in India.

    The round was led by Blume Ventures, with participation from Spring Marketing Capital, Siriusone Capital Fund, and marquee individual investors including the founders of Dot & Key, Livspace, Snitch, and Bewakoof. The raise marks a strong show of faith in Jain’s ‘second innings’ after successfully building Candere, later acquired by Kalyan Jewellers.

    Lucira is positioning itself as a design-first, sustainable luxury brand aimed at India’s new-age jewellery buyers who want more than just investment value. They want authenticity, craftsmanship, and emotional connection. Since its launch, Lucira has built a portfolio of 1,000 plus customisable lab-grown diamond designs, all IGI/GIA/SGL/BIS certified and backed with lifetime exchange and buyback guarantees.

    The brand is also stepping into physical retail, with its first Mumbai store opening this month and plans to add four flagship outlets by the end of FY 2026. The fresh funds will fuel this omni-channel expansion while strengthening digital-first buying experiences and technology-driven personalisation.

    “Indian consumers are moving beyond jewellery as mere investment,” said Lucira, co-founder, Rupesh Jain. “They want design, trust, and a brand they can emotionally connect with. With this backing, we’re ready to make Lucira India’s most trusted design-first fine jewellery brand.”

    For Blume Ventures, it’s a chance to back a category they see ripe for disruption. “Rupesh has already proven his ability to build and scale with Candere,” said Blume, managing partner, Karthik Reddy. “What excites us most is Lucira’s omni-channel vision, blending cutting-edge digital with physical retail to create a category-defining brand.”

    With capital in hand, Lucira is doubling down on design leadership, scaling its studio, hiring top talent, and embedding consumer trust at every step. As Jain puts it, “We’re not just selling jewellery, we’re shifting mindsets.”

    Cumulative Ventures advised the transaction, with Novolex serving as legal counsel.

     

  • Flash AI clicks with shoppers bringing smart buys to 100 plus countries

    Flash AI clicks with shoppers bringing smart buys to 100 plus countries

    MUMBAI: Shopping just got a supercharged upgrade. Flash.co has unveiled Flash AI, a first-of-its-kind AI Shopping Assistant designed to make buying easier, smarter and cheaper for over 1 billion ecommerce shoppers worldwide. Launched across 100 plus countries, the tool promises to cut through the online clutter and help users make faster, better-informed decisions.

    The Bengaluru-headquartered startup, founded by ex-Flipkart SVP Ranjith Boyanapalli and backed by Blume Ventures, Global Founders Capital and Peer Capital, introduces a clever twist simply add flash.co/ before any product URL, and Flash AI instantly generates an AI-enhanced product page. Shoppers are served an AI summary compiled from sources like Youtube, Reddit and expert blogs, while real-time price comparisons across multiple online stores ensure no one overpays.

    “With Flash AI, we aim to craft a commerce intelligence layer that helps shoppers make better, faster decisions,” said Flash.co founder & CEO Ranjith Boyanapalli. “Built on insights from over 2 billion anonymised data points, Flash AI will lead the global shift into AI-driven commerce, setting a new standard for the industry.”

    The launch comes at a time when global ecommerce is set to cross 7 trillion dollars, with 30 million plus stores and tens of billions of SKUs vying for attention. With 78 per cent of shoppers admitting to feeling overwhelmed by too many choices, Flash AI’s pitch is timely: clear, authentic insights and the best price in seconds.

    Beyond discovery and comparison, the platform also helps shoppers track orders, refunds, warranties and spending. Available via the Flash website, WhatsApp and mobile app, Flash AI is betting that when it comes to ecommerce, intelligence pays literally.

  • WebEngage deepens data science and AI capabilities with an Aquihire

    WebEngage deepens data science and AI capabilities with an Aquihire

    Mumbai: WebEngage, a full stack Retention Operating System, today announced a significant bolstering of its data science and AI practice with the acqui-hiring of the talented Data Scientists from Propellor.ai. This strategic move is aimed at leveraging the billions of data points in the WebEngage CDP to enable clients with comprehensive best in class verticalized analytics and AI driven solutions as Predictive Segmentation, Recommendations and persona building.

    WebEngage is intensifying its focus on demonstrating deeper value delivery and ROI from the engagement via a data-enabled Retention Consulting practice. Despite billions of data points and powerful engagement capabilities, the adoption of the platform has room to grow substantially. Unlike acquisition-first advertising platforms like Google and Facebook which have matured over the last couple of decades, the retention and user engagement space is still relatively new and talent supply in the ecosystem is in nascent stages.

    “Unlike productivity SaaS, WebEngage is uniquely placed to make a 20-40% impact on a customer’s revenue and profit metrics. Marketers across the world use ~ 20% of their retention tech stacks, limiting the ROI and impact they draw from it. We saw a clear need to deepen our advisory interventions to help move the needle for them. The exceptional team of Data Scientists will now supercharge how we leverage our customers’ data to deliver value. We’re calling this skin-in-the-game consulting because we only win if our customers win,” said WebEngage co-founder & CEO Avlesh Singh.

    Abhijat Shukla, the 20 year veteran Data professional and the founder of Propellor says, “I’m excited to find such a vast playground to deploy all the skills and lessons with me and my team on delivering deep insights in easily consumable ways that can enable effective decision making. Data-hungry customers are in for a treat.”

    Blume Ventures managing director Karthik Reddy, an investor with WebEngage says, “WebEngage has a tradition of accelerating product sophistication, driven by their customers’ needs. As an investor, we are proud to see this enhanced approach to a data and advisory practice. This can be orbit-shifting in terms of utilization of data for even better retention for the client’s customers. Propellor now means an even more impactful WebEngage inside more global consumer marketing teams.”

  • Flash.co appoints Amit Verma as chief product and technology officer

    Flash.co appoints Amit Verma as chief product and technology officer

    Mumbai: Flash.co, the fast-growing consumer app building a unique shopping experience for online shoppers, is pleased to announce the appointment of Amit Verma as its chief product and technology officer (CPTO). This move comes as Flash.co accelerates its growth in India and prepares for an expansion into global markets starting this year.

    Amit Verma is an alumnus of IIT Kharagpur and the former chief technology officer at Practo. He brings extensive leadership experience, having successfully led technology teams at Big Basket, Ola, Oracle, and Yahoo. His appointment at Flash.co is a significant step towards the company’s goal of transforming the shopping experience for the top 250 million shoppers worldwide.

    Since its launch in April 2023, Flash.co has rapidly built up a user base of 600,000 plus users, achieving an annual run rate of tracking over 12 million orders across 2200 plus brands. Backed by Blume Ventures and Global Founders Capital, the company has secured over $12.5 million in funding, positioning itself for a highly anticipated US launch in the coming months. The platform aims to revolutionize customer shopping experiences with features like seamless shopping tracking, AI-powered spam-free inbox, in-depth spending analytics, personalized lifestyle rewards and more.

    Speaking about joining Flash.co, Amit Verma, expressed his delight and added, “I am really excited to join the Flash.co team, drawn by the problem statements being solved & their global aspirations. My immediate focus would be to re-architect the existing systems for stability and scalability required for global expansion. I would focus on nurturing the culture of customer centricity, speed & innovation, creating next generation products for both customers and brands.”

    Flash.co CEO Ranjith Boyanapalli expressed his excitement about Amit’s appointment and said, “We are thrilled to welcome Amit as our CPTO. He will be integral to the company’s commitment to delivering exceptional global products in the coming days. Flash.co is eager to witness its next growth chapter under his leadership and acumen.”

  • Exhibit’s 501 Startups – a Pitching Event culminates on a high note

    Exhibit’s 501 Startups – a Pitching Event culminates on a high note

    MUMBAI: Exhibit Magazine, India’s leading title on technology, fashion and lifestyle hosted the 6th edition of its prestigious startup pitching summit. Rechristened Exhibit’s 501 Startups, the event was held on 24th July at JW Marriott, Juhu, Mumbai where up-and-coming entities battled it out in front of an eminent panel, comprising venture capitalists and investors. Powered by GoDaddy and held in association with Poker Saint, Exhibit ‘501 Startups’ celebrated the startup wave in India, and brought to the forefront distinct startups from the nooks and corners of the country. The day-long pitching event was also supported by IAN, NASSCOM, TiE, Inc42 and Business Standard.  

    The conclave saw participation of startups with an operating cycle of at least a year; from verticals across technology, sports, e-commerce, food, hospitality and travel and the likes. The esteemed jury appointed for the sixth edition of the awards included Niren Shah of Norwest Ventures, Nikhil Arora of GoDaddy, Ashish Sharma of Innoven Capital, Mohit Dak & Nilesh Balakrishnan of Orios Venture Partners, Sajad Fazalbhoy of Blume Ventures, Harish Talreja and Varun Varma of Lightbox Ventures, Vishesh Sharma of Accel Partners, Dr. Apporv Ranjan Sharma of Venture Catalysts and Ramesh Somani of Exhibit Magazine. 

    Exhibit 501 Startups witnessed over 5000 registrations and concluded with 25 innovative startups making the final cut to present their business models amidst the stellar jury. From the call for entries, 501 startups will also feature in an exclusive issue that will bring to light the unique ideas of these young companies. Wearable startup tech – Broadcast Wearables emerged a clear winner securing maximum scores and was closely followed by ProMeTheUs, a human resource startup focussed on talent identification and mapping, who ranked second amongst competing organisations. Startups were adjudged basis uniqueness of their product idea, presentation, and business model. 

    Commenting on the prestigious summit, Ramesh Somani, CEO and Editor-In-Chief, Exhibit Group said, "We are elated with the response received for the 6th edition of Exhibit 501 Startups. It’s always amazing to see the startups come in and pitch with exemplary grit, determination and passion! The Indian startup machinery has churned out some promising startups, who are waiting for their one chance of sunshine. Being a startup myself, it gives us immense satisfaction in helping startups inch closer to their goal and we’re glad, we at Exhibit provide that stepping stone. Kudos to all the winners and look forward to next year."

  • SnapBizz raises $7.2 million; to modernise India’s kirana stores

    SnapBizz raises $7.2 million; to modernise India’s kirana stores

    NEW DELHI: Retail technology firm SnapBizz has raised $7.2 million led by Jungle Ventures, Taurus Value creation, Konly Venture and Blume Ventures.

     

    The funds raised will be used to continue the firm’s growth and spur market expansion across key cities.

     

    The company had earlier received a seed fund of $1.7 million from Qualcomm, Jungle Ventures, National Research Foundation of Singapore, Taurus Value creation and Blume Ventures. The overall investments now stand at around $9 million.

     

    SnapBizz is transforming thousands of traditional retail outlets in Mumbai, Pune, New Delhi, Bangalore and Hyderabad via a technology solution addressing the key business challenges faced by them. SnapBizz also connects and provides immense value to all stakeholders of the fragmented retail ecosystem of India. The cost-effective, end-to-end solution is an Android-based, cloud-connected business platform. The solution comprises a tablet, barcode scanner, printer and an intelligent consumer-facing LED display for consumer engagement.

     

    SnapBizz founder and CEO Prem Kumar said, “We are thrilled that all ecosystem players have shown confidence in our solution and that our existing investors have reiterated their support to us. Large retail and online players account for only 10-15 per cent of any brand’s business. The remaining 90 per cent happens through traditional trade and there is zero or minimal last mile connectivity between brands, consumers and retailers. We are on a mission to address this big gap while addressing the pain points of the kirana stores.”

     

    Jungle Ventures managing partner David Gowdey said, “We are convinced with the SnapBizz business model, which brings a tailored technology solution to kirana stores and believe that it will play a large role in India’s retail growth story. Prem and team have a rich and diverse experience across multiple markets and verticals that led to their impressive growth over a short span of time. We are confident that this momentum will continue as more kirana stores look to leverage technology to improve their business.”

     

    SnapBizz director – brand engagement Chirantan Bhabhra added, “SnapBizz is bringing in more money to kirana stores through partnership with FMCG companies. Brands, large and small, find SnapBizz a must-be-on platform. They can now contextually engage consumers in and out of stores, track promotions efficiently, analyse their business like never before and connect directly with kirana retailers.”

     

    “Kirana stores have been the face of India’s retail ecosystem for ages. The last few years witnessed the entry of large players in the form of supermarkets, hypermarkets and e-commerce posing a huge threat to kirana stores’ business. Despite stiff competition, kirana stores are still considered as the most trusted retail format in our country. They have unique strengths like trust, convenience, flexibility and competitive pricing, which make them highly relevant. SnapBizz helps kirana stores leverage these strengths to get a competitive edge. In line with the changing business environment and consumer expectations, kirana stores have realised the need to transform the business through advanced technology solutions,” added Kumar.

  • SnapBizz raises $7.2 million; to modernise India’s kirana stores

    SnapBizz raises $7.2 million; to modernise India’s kirana stores

    NEW DELHI: Retail technology firm SnapBizz has raised $7.2 million led by Jungle Ventures, Taurus Value creation, Konly Venture and Blume Ventures.

     

    The funds raised will be used to continue the firm’s growth and spur market expansion across key cities.

     

    The company had earlier received a seed fund of $1.7 million from Qualcomm, Jungle Ventures, National Research Foundation of Singapore, Taurus Value creation and Blume Ventures. The overall investments now stand at around $9 million.

     

    SnapBizz is transforming thousands of traditional retail outlets in Mumbai, Pune, New Delhi, Bangalore and Hyderabad via a technology solution addressing the key business challenges faced by them. SnapBizz also connects and provides immense value to all stakeholders of the fragmented retail ecosystem of India. The cost-effective, end-to-end solution is an Android-based, cloud-connected business platform. The solution comprises a tablet, barcode scanner, printer and an intelligent consumer-facing LED display for consumer engagement.

     

    SnapBizz founder and CEO Prem Kumar said, “We are thrilled that all ecosystem players have shown confidence in our solution and that our existing investors have reiterated their support to us. Large retail and online players account for only 10-15 per cent of any brand’s business. The remaining 90 per cent happens through traditional trade and there is zero or minimal last mile connectivity between brands, consumers and retailers. We are on a mission to address this big gap while addressing the pain points of the kirana stores.”

     

    Jungle Ventures managing partner David Gowdey said, “We are convinced with the SnapBizz business model, which brings a tailored technology solution to kirana stores and believe that it will play a large role in India’s retail growth story. Prem and team have a rich and diverse experience across multiple markets and verticals that led to their impressive growth over a short span of time. We are confident that this momentum will continue as more kirana stores look to leverage technology to improve their business.”

     

    SnapBizz director – brand engagement Chirantan Bhabhra added, “SnapBizz is bringing in more money to kirana stores through partnership with FMCG companies. Brands, large and small, find SnapBizz a must-be-on platform. They can now contextually engage consumers in and out of stores, track promotions efficiently, analyse their business like never before and connect directly with kirana retailers.”

     

    “Kirana stores have been the face of India’s retail ecosystem for ages. The last few years witnessed the entry of large players in the form of supermarkets, hypermarkets and e-commerce posing a huge threat to kirana stores’ business. Despite stiff competition, kirana stores are still considered as the most trusted retail format in our country. They have unique strengths like trust, convenience, flexibility and competitive pricing, which make them highly relevant. SnapBizz helps kirana stores leverage these strengths to get a competitive edge. In line with the changing business environment and consumer expectations, kirana stores have realised the need to transform the business through advanced technology solutions,” added Kumar.

  • BedBathMore.com plans $20 mn investment in 18 months; to raise $10 mn

    BedBathMore.com plans $20 mn investment in 18 months; to raise $10 mn

    MUMBAI: Social commerce platform BedBathmore.com will be investing close to $20 million as part of its expansion plans over the next 18 months. The company is already in talks with investors from the retail trade sector as well as VCs to raise an initial round of about $7-10 million over the next couple of months.

     

    BedBathMore.com, currently funded internally and via Blume Ventures, is likely to close the first round of investment over the next 90 days.

     

    The company, which recently re-aligned its business from a pure-play commerce model to a content-community-commerce model, will invest the funds to build its product offering as well as technology. The company will also be doubling its team size, increasing from the current 100-member team to over 250 by the end of the current fiscal.

     

    Over the next 18 months, the company will focus on extending the current value-propositions it offers to its users. Key amongst these will be increasing the community of architects and designers on its platform from the current 3500 to 10,000 by December this year. BedbathMore will also begin development of several industry first features to its platform that will appeal to users looking to style their homes. 

     

    BedBathMore founder and CEO Amit Dalmia said, “BedBathMore.com will be a platform to combine content, community and commerce, in a simple yet intelligent manner. We don’t want to be viewed just as a commerce company but as a discovery based company. BedBathMore.com will be a disruptive and an integral part of bridging the gaps, currently not being looked at in the market. As a part of this journey, we are looking for partners who can associate with us to realize this vision.”

     

    Over the past few months, BedBathMore has made key acquisitions of Homado.com, an online community of architects and CrudeArea, an art based start-up focused on the discovery of graphic art.

  • FICCI Frames: Don’t ignore the numbers; investment experts tell filmmakers

    FICCI Frames: Don’t ignore the numbers; investment experts tell filmmakers

    MUMBAI: A panel discussion on ‘Making the Impossible Possible: Dating and Investor and Getting Funded,’ on the second day of the FICCI Frames 2015 saw the participants focussing on the key value drivers that investors look at.

     

    The discussion, moderated by KPMG India Transactions and Restructuring director Girish Menon centred on finding money to release small, medium and regional cinema at a profit. The participants were NASSCOM co-founder and past chairman Saurabh Srivastava, Indian Angels Network CEO Padmaja Ruparel, Zodius Capital MD Gautam Patel, Blume Ventures Sanjay Nath and Idyabooster founder Nandini Mansinghka.  

     

    Srivastava spoke about how the success of investment in technology can be replicated in entertainment. “It’s all about venture capital,” he said.

     

    Today, the manner in which we communicate or travel, or even access healthcare and education has changed dramatically from a few years ago. This change has happened “because we found a way to finance innovation,” said Srivastava.

     

    The old paradigm of low risk funding does not apply to innovative technology, which is high risk. So new investment models that fund several innovations at a time with high annualised returns came into the market and that made Google, Facebook and Twitter possible. That hasn’t happened with movies because the dynamics of the investment structure are flawed. “The success rate is low because if you have a scenario where you cannot take it to enough people, then a movie that could make money will not, and people will not take risks,” Srivastava added. In his opinion, this will change with the new technology that will disrupt how movies are made, distributed, and what screens they are made for.

     

    Ruparel shared her experience of two decades in the entrepreneur ecosystem. When she started, angel investment did not have the foothold that it has today. Start-ups today get a lot of backing. The work was hard, but it has brought them success. What worked for them was leveraging the expertise of “like minded people with different domain expertise to bring complementary strength.” They brought in huge value and created a mechanism where start-ups were able to thrive. “Dropping costs and new technology are enabling content to get aggressive, which is what angels and venture capitalists look for. The good thing is that entertainment has its own chutzpah,” she added.

     

    Nath agreed that the investment climate has matured with the new disruptive technology. Highlighting the challenges, he said that there is a gap between media and entertainment executives and venture capitalists. E-commerce, on the other hand, is more investor friendly. “Companies are easier to evaluate because of the transactions. Content companies haven’t got funded because of monetization,” said Nath.

     

    Getting around monetisation will be a huge factor, he felt. He also saw a similarity in the movie or entertainment business and venture capitalism. Both are a ‘hits’ business. They talk to almost the same crowd, but there is a chasm in the way investors think, because the objective of investment is to make money.

     

    Mansinghka described her work as looking for a way “to reduce the entry barrier for people to invest in creative projects.” According to her, the challenges are that funding levels are higher, production houses are unwilling to experiment, and there is a differential in the primary objective of producers and investors. “When you go and pitch for money, you have to talk about numbers.” Without a change of mindset, investors will not come on board. She also felt that mere passion is not enough. “There has to be a business person who knows how to run this as a business that makes money,” she said.

     

    Echoing the same thoughts, Srivastava said, “The risk-reward scenario needs to make sense.” Investors are willing to take risks; those investments that succeed should bring in good returns. “Position yourself as a savvy filmmaker. Don’t look at 10 million, see what you can do for one or two million,” he advised.