Startup news and updates: Daily roundup (December 19, 2024)

Funding news

Confido Health bags $3M in seed funding led by Together Fund

Confido Health has bagged $3 million in a seed funding round led by Together Fund, with participation from MedMountain Ventures, Rebellion VC, DeVC, Operators Studio and strategic healthcare operators. 

Confido Health, co-founded by serial entrepreneurs Chetan Reddy and Vichar Shroff, previously raised a pre-seed round led by Momentum Capital.

The company will use this funding to enhance its AI technology and expand across surgery, orthopedics, dental, renal, and pediatric specialties.

The startup’s platform creates specialised AI workers that handle specific tasks like appointment management, insurance verification, and care coordination. These digital workers connect to existing healthcare systems in under five minutes through no-code deployment, delivering end-to-end task automation without requiring practices to overhaul their infrastructure.

The platform processes unstructured data across multiple systems in a HIPAA-compliant manner, enabling real-time task completion. Validated on real-world data rather than public datasets, Confido's digital workers can engage with patients in multiple languages and handle multiple tasks simultaneously—even during off-hours. 

Climate-tech startup Fitsol raises $1M in seed funding from Transition VC

Fitsol, a decarbonisation platform designed for the manufacturing industry, has raised $1 million in seed funding round from Transition VC.

Fitsol will use the raised capital to accelerate growth by enhancing its flagship platform Kyoto’s AI for advanced analytics and lifecycle assessments, hiring talent in tech, business development, and customer success, and building a B2B sustainability solutions marketplace.

Geographical expansion is also a priority, with India remaining the core market while international operations are set to kick off in the Middle East. 

Founded in 2022 by Anand Pathak, Akshay Tandon, Manoj Sharma, Sunil Bansal, and Vikas Kalra, Fitsol enables manufacturers to measure, report, benchmark, and actively reduce their carbon emissions through its AI-driven platform, Kyoto, and a comprehensive sustainability marketplace. 

The company aims to manage 500 million tonnes of carbon emissions in supply chains within the next two years.

MBG Card secures Rs 2.72 Cr led by IPV

MBG Card, a SaaS company providing digital transformation solutions for businesses, has secured Rs 2.72 crore in by Inflection Point Ventures. The round saw participation from revenue-based financing platforms Velocity and Klub. 

This funding will be used to enhance marketing efforts, product development, and team building.

Founded in 2021 by Abhinavv Dubeyy, MBG Card specialises in digital transformation solutions for SMEs. The platform provides affordable tools to help businesses enhance customer engagement, boost revenue, and automate operations.

Based in Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh, MBG Card serves over 10,000 clients across India and internationally.

Other news

Velocity announces Rs 200 Cr fund for restaurants, cloud kitchens

Velocity, a cash-flow based financing platform, has earmarked 200 crore in 2025 to support and accelerate growth in the restaurant and cloud kitchen ecosystem across India.

The fund is specifically designed to address the unique challenges faced by F&B brands and help them grow. F&B brands often struggle to secure financing from traditional sources like banks and NBFCs. 

Recognising this gap, Velocity offers cash-flow based financing, enabling restaurants and cloud kitchens to effectively manage capital expenditure, working capital, open new outlets, purchase equipment, and launch sub-brands under existing ones without impacting operational profits.   

Since 2020, Velocity has funded several notable F&B brands such as IDC Kitchen, Smoor, Daily Sushi, Brahma Brew Works, Milano Ice cream, Imperio, Amore Gelato, Jamie's Pizza, and Baba's Chicken. 

Nischal Shetty-led Shardeum appointment Srinivasan Parthasarathy as CTO

Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM)-compatible sharded blockchain, Shardeum has appointed Srinivasan Parthasarathy as chief technology officer (CTO).

In this new role, Parthasarathy will help Shardeum accelerate its technical roadmap, driving the development of the Shardeum ecosystem. 

He joins Shardeum with over 30 years of experience as CTO and in lead engineering positions in both the traditional and blockchain technology industries. Immediately before his new role, he served as CTO of Game of Silks, Inc.

Prior to that he served as Chief Crypton of Crypton Labs, VP of Engineering for DraftKings, Inc., and Enterprise Architect for Amazon Web Services. He also held several CTO and lead engineering positions for firms such as Ioconic, iMedicor, iDistribute, and Animatix Studios, Inc.

Cornerstone Ventures exits AI platform Intelligence Node

Cornerstone Ventures, a SaaS-focused venture capital firm, has exited Intelligence Node, a retail analytics and AI platform, following the company’s acquisition by global advertising giant Interpublic Group (IPG). 

The acquisition was for approximately $100 million, including integration costs. 

By joining forces with IPG, Intelligence Node will be able to further expand its reach and deliver greater value to its clients through access to IPG's resources and global network.

The full exit from Intelligence Node marks the second exit for Fund I. Cornerstone Ventures first invested in Intelligence Node in 2019.

Cornerstone Ventures’ portfolio includes notable players in the Service SaaS space, such as ManageArtWorks, THB, EnParadigm, WatchYourHealth and Credit Nirvana, as well as SaaS + Marketplace models like Blubirch, Credilio, and Mystifly.

Jobs platform foundit appoints V Suresh as CEO

foundit (formerly Monster APAC & ME), a jobs and talent platform, and a Quess company, has appointed V Suresh as its chief executive officer.

With over two decades of experience in the internet domain, digital transformation, and the e-recruitment ecosystem, Suresh brings a wealth of strategic expertise and a forward-looking vision to foundit. 

Throughout his career, he has driven transformational growth, expanded market presence, and established successful digital platforms across sectors. 

“Suresh’s deep understanding of the digital talent ecosystem and proven ability to scale businesses will help us strengthen our leadership position in the market. Under his stewardship, we aim to further refine our platform, enhance our services, and continue bridging the talent gap across industries and geographies,” said Ajit Isaac, Managing Director of Quess Corp, the parent company of foundit.

Skydo receives Amazon Payment Service Provider approval

Skydo, a cross border payments platform, has received a Payment Service Provider (PSP) approval from Amazon. 

This makes Skydo one of the first homegrown platforms to offer seamless international payments for lakhs of Indian exporters selling on Amazon global marketplaces.

With this, exporters on Amazon can receive their international payouts through Skydo in a secure and cost-effective manner. Skydo is partnered with HDFC Bank and compliant with RBI regulations. 

As part of their launch offer, Skydo is offering zero forex markup and a $1 flat transaction fee to Amazon Global sellers in their first three months of using the platform. 

Some features of Skydo include transparent pricing with zero markup over live mid-market forex rates, instant digital onboarding and KYC, dedicated customer support, fast settlements, and simplified regulatory compliance with instant Foreign Inward Remittance Advice.

Lectrix EV appoints Anil Dua as Co-founder

Lectrix EV, the e-mobility arm of SAR Group, has appointed Anil Dua as Co-founder, effective immediately. 

A seasoned leader with a proven track record across diverse industries, Dua brings over three decades of expertise in strategic leadership, digital transformation, and brand building.

Most recently, Dua served as the Group CEO of Dish TV. Prior to that, he held pivotal roles at OTE Group in Oman, Hero MotoCorp, Unilever, and Gillette. 

With Dua on board, Lectrix EV hopes to strengthen its market position, expand its product portfolio, and make electric mobility more accessible and sustainable.

Captain Fresh appoints Jayant Prakash as VP of legal & compliance

Captain Fresh has appointed Jayant Prakash as vice president of legal and compliance, bolstering its leadership while preparing for the IPO next year.

Prakash brings over 20 years of experience in legal, mergers and acquisitions, corporate governance, regulatory compliance, and IPO management, spearheading end-to-end secretarial operations and corporate compliances for listed and unlisted companies across various industries.

His most recent role was as the vice president, general counsel, company secretary, and compliance officer at Entero Healthcare Solutions Limited. His prior achievements include leading and managing IPOs at Metropolis Healthcare as Head Legal, CS & CO, and supporting several public listings during his tenures with bankers like L&T Finance Holdings, and Elara Capital. 

(This article will be updated with the latest news throughout the day.)