Sheroes buys health app Maya; SAMA NextGen, M1xchange get fresh capital

Sheroes, a community platform for women, has acquired Bengaluru-based women’s health app Maya in all-stock deal.

“Health is one of our fastest growing communities on the SHEROES app, and adding Maya to our bouquet of products, helps us strengthen our offering in this space,” Sairee Chahal, founder and CEO of Sheroes, said in a statement. She didn't disclose any financial details.

Operated by Delhi-based Applied Life Pvt. Ltd, Sheroes was launched in January 2014 to provide companies support for their workforce needs and to help them build women-centric channels.

The company has made a number of acquisitions. In 2017, it bought child healthcare startup Babygogo, relationship and sexual health counselling platform LoveDoctor.in and online career restart platform Women Restart. In 2016, it bought Gharkamai.com, an online platform which helps stay-at-home professional women find work, for an undisclosed amount.

Maya, operated by Bengaluru-based Plackal Techno Systems Pvt. Ltd, was founded by John Paul in 2014. It enables women to track their health via a mobile application, set reminders, monitor pregnancy and connect with health experts. The platform is accessible in 14 languages, and is used by women in about 20 countries.

SAMA NextGen

Singapore-based SAMA NextGen Pte. Ltd has raised an undisclosed amount in a pre-Series A round of funding from affluent individuals, the company said in a statement.

SAMA has a research and development division in Bengaluru called Own Your Device & Data Solutions (OYD). It also has a sourcing and manufacturing arm called Connected Home Solutions (CHS) in Hong Kong. 

OYD is working to offer audio/video, home automation and security solutions with focus on consumer Internet of Things product development and IoT cloud solution. CHS works with speaker manufacturers and audio product brands globally to provide tailored connected audio solutions.

Ankit Upadhyay, who is one of the investors and has made angel investments in the past in tech companies, led this round. He said SAMA has expertise to shape the emerging smart speakers industry and make IoT- and blockchain-enabled solutions and products.

M1xchange funding

M1xchange, run by Mynd solutions Pvt. Ltd, has raised a Series A round of funding from Mayfield India and SIDBI Ventures, a company statement said.

This investment will enable M1xchange to invest in technologies like blockchain, enhance its network and boost business growth for the company, the statement said.

Investment banking firm Maple Capital Advisors was the financial adviser for the transaction.

M1xchange is one of only three holders of the TReDS (Trade Receivables Discounting System) licences issued by the Reserve Bank of India. The technology platform acts as an exchange to facilitate the financing of trade receivables of micro, small and medium enterprises from corporate buyers through ‘factoring’ or ‘invoice discounting’ by external financiers.

“The RBI and the government, through TReDS, have created a highly innovative platform which will allow the MSMEs to secure financing at the lowest possible cost. This investment continues to be in line with our focus on the fintech sector in India,” said Vikram Godse, managing partner at Mayfield who will join the board of M1xchange.