fund
KiranaPro secures pre-seed funding
Kiranapro has secured undisclosed pre-seed funding to transform local grocery stores and supermarkets into hyper-efficient dark stores for 10-minute delivery.
Venture firms Turbostart, Unpopular Ventures, Bloom Founders Fund and Snow Leopard Ventures participated in the round along with angel investors Yatish Talwadia (MilkBasket) and Vikas Taneja (Boston Consulting Group).
The capital will be used to scale KiranaPro’s teams, expand its ONDC-enabled technology, and launch its consumer app, supporting rapid expansion into new cities.
KiranaPro empowers local grocery stores and supermarkets with technology, enabling 10-minute deliveries and offering flexible revenue models to stay competitive in the fast-paced retail landscape.
Quanfluence Raises $2M in Seed Funding to Scale Photonic Quantum Solutions
Quanfluence, a photonics-based quantum and quantum-inspired solution, has raised $2 million in seed funding led by pi Ventures with participation from Golden Sparrow, Reena Dayal and others. Reena Dayal is also the founder and CEO of Quantum Ecosystem and Technology Council of India (QETCI).
The funds will be used to scale and market its near-term products, advancing research and development for its flagship quantum computer, demonstrating practical applications of its Ising Machine.
Founded in 2021 and incubated at IITM, Quanfluence is a Bengaluru-based photonic quantum technology startup. Sujoy Chakraborty, Ravi Mehta, Biman Chattopadhyay, Prof. Anil Prabhakar, Aditi Vaidya, and Prof. Co-founded by Sandeep Goyal, Quanfluence provides hardware-based optimization solutions that enhance AI-powered decision-making capabilities.
It aims to develop a fault-tolerant, general-purpose quantum computer within five to six years, with a multi-disciplinary team that will advance India’s leadership in global quantum innovation.
The Quanfluence Team
other news
IDS 2025 will feature a 100-stall exhibition and cutting-edge digital innovations
The 19th India Digital Summit (IDS) 2025, India’s largest and oldest digital conference, will bring together over 15,000 delegates including policymakers, industry leaders and professionals to discuss challenges and opportunities in all digital sectors.
With over 300 sessions across 17 tracks, the summit will cover key areas such as advertising, AI, banking, D2C and logistics, data security, ecommerce, education, health, rural, sports, and travel.
The event will feature 100 stalls showcasing innovations from 50 leading digital brands and includes roundtables, workshops and hackathons. There will be a special focus on startups, with dedicated spaces like ‘Startup Street’ and ‘Startup Pitching Session’ for emerging companies to pitch ideas to VCs and experts.
Athera Venture Partners secures major investment from HDFC AMC for 900 crore Fund I
Athera Venture Partners, formerly Inventus India, has secured investment from HDFC AMC’s Select AIF FoF I scheme for its Fund IV, which is slated to close in 2025.
HDFC’s fund of funds will be a lead LP in Athera’s 900 crore fund, which aims to invest in fast-growing tech startups in areas such as consumer internet, enterprise software, AI, and other emerging technologies.
Athera has already invested in promising startups like Ati Motors (autonomous robotics), Terra (3D immersive gaming), ClickPost (logistics management software), Cyn:Lr (computer vision for robotics), Hyperbots (AI automation), and Billion Hearts (digital). already invested. consumer products).
With these six investments, 30% of its portfolio is made up, and the fund is already in positive IRR territory. Over the next 18-24 months, Athera plans to invest in a dozen more startups from its Fund IV.
At Glance, upGrad helps empower youth with job-ready skills
Glance, the smart lock screen platform, has partnered with integrated learning and workforce development company upGrad to provide critical upskilling opportunities for millions of young Indians.
Through this collaboration, upGrad is offering free courses through its Intern-zip program on Glance’s Smart Lock Screen.
The initiative is part of the “Glance for Good” programme, which harnesses the power of Glance Smart Lock Screens to promote personal growth and drive positive social change.
upGrad’s Intern-zip program, aimed at providing job-ready skills to 20-24-year-olds, has partnered with Glance, reaching 235 million daily users, 47% of whom are under 24. This makes Glance an ideal platform to upgrade to. Connect with its target audience. Within three weeks of launch, upGrad’s content received more than 100 million views on Glance’s lock screens.