Delhi-based Intex Technologies has launched a Rs 150-200-crore fund to invest in startups with a strategic fit, the latest mobile phone maker to do so after Micromax and Xiaomi announced plans to back early-stage startups.
The first investment from the corpus has gone into Rooter, a startup creating a mobile app to enable sports fans to interact live with each other during a match.
Intex Technologies, which owns the Gujarat Lions IPL team and reported revenue of Rs 6,213 crore for 2015-16, plans to invest from its balance sheet primarily in businesses with which it has synergy , such as electronics, apps, mobile phones, human resources and sports.
“Investments in early-stage startups are part of our larger plan to diversify into other businesses such as sports, healthcare and internet of things. Equity stakes in startups may range from 10-15% to 25% while ticket sizes may range from Rs10-15 crore,” said Keshav Bansal, Director, Intex Technologies.
The move to launch the fund comes almost a month after competitor Micromax announced setting up of a new $100-million (about . 650-crore) fund, Orbis Capital, for ` startups in consumer internet sector across the world, targeting 1012 investments with a ticket size of `20-33 crore).$3-5 million (.
Chinese handset manufacturer Xiaomi recently said it is interested in investing in more startups this year. The company had announced plans to invest $100 million in venture-backed Indian startups in hardware and software technologies.
Perpule Raises $650k from Kstart Cap
Bengaluru Fintech startup Perpule has raised $650,000 in a funding round led by Kstart Capital, the sister concern of VC firm Kalaari Capital, reports Shadma Shaikh. The round also saw participation from venture fund Venture Highway and Raghunandan G, Co-Founder of TaxiForSure. “Our vision is to ensure waiting in queues is a thing of the past. With improved systems, we are saving customers’ time and thus improving the overall experience,” said Abhinav Pathak, CEO of Perpule. Perpule provides a self-checkout, queue management, omni-channel enga gement and payment platform for offline stores. The startup was founded by former Glodman Sachs executives Abhinav Pathak and Saketh BSV, and Yogesh Ghaturle, an NIT-Karnataka graduate.
Source: ET Tech
