Meet the five India Accelerator startups that raised angel funding

Five Delhi-based startups - Prithvi AI Labs, DROR, The Knotty Tales, VAPP and FIO - raised nearly Rs 3 crore from angel investors after participating in a Demo Day organised by India Accelerator.

India Accelerator is a Gurugram-based seed-stage accelerator programme which provides mentorship, networking opportunities and access to technology. The accelerator also provides peripheral services such as legal aid and financial services. It held a Demo Day in July this year. 

Prithvi AI Labs raised the highest funding, amounting to Rs 1 crore. The Gurugram-based incubator promotes research and innovation in artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML) and data sciences. 

Entertainment startup FIO raised Rs 75 lakh. The startup operates an entertainment hub and hosts events centred on fashion, lifestyle and entertainment. 

Gurugram-based DROR, which has developed an eponymous safety-focused social media app, raised Rs 45 lakh. The application is trying to set up an online safety network of citizens who can respond to distress calls. 

The Knotty Tales, a Noida-based startup that operates an online platform for wedding vendors, raised Rs 35 lakh. The platform helps users hire wedding vendors like photographers, make-up artists and fashion designers. 

VAPP, which raised Rs 35 lakh, operates a platform driven by virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) to help users visually experience listed properties and hotels. The application is focused on the real estate and tourism sectors.

“It has been a great pleasure and a hugely satisfying experience to be part of these start-ups’ journey. With every batch graduating and more and more founders joining the IA community, it takes us forward in our endeavour to create an institution that can play a remarkable role in the Indian start-up world. The funding that they have received is a reflection of the unique and distinguished products and services they bring to the economic value system," said Ashish Bhatia, founder and chief executive officer, India Accelerator. 

India Accelerator was founded in 2017 by Bhatia, founder of a legal consultancy platform Lawyered, Mona Singh, a former executive at software company GrapeCity and Abhay Chawla.

Recent funding rounds facilitated by accelerators

In August, Risers Accelerators invested around $1.5million in three startups,  an ecommerce cosmetics platform Cosmeto Food Organic, a clean-tech startup Zeleno and a tech-driven entertainment platform Playtoome. 

That same month, incubator platform Venture Catalysts launched an accelerator platform called 9Unicorns. The initiative is aimed at identifying the best ideas and early-stage startups from India. 

To encourage startups in the industrial internet-of-things (IoT) and electric energy management space, Schneider Electric recently partnered with Brinc’s accelerator programme. The partnership aims to facilitate data acquisition and analysis.