CashRich acquires WealthApp unit; Transak, Bimaplan raise seed capital

Mumbai-based CashRich, which runs an eponymous wealth-tech platform, on Tuesday said it has acquired Bengaluru-based WealthApp’s mutual fund distribution business in an all-cash deal.  

CashRich looks to strengthen its position in India with the acquisition, a statement said. The deal will help CashRich grow its user base to 2,00,000, and increase its assets under management (AUM). 

The Mumbai firm plans to offer other financial products and increase distribution via partnerships. The company will also explore more acquisition opportunities and has invited individual distributors as well as firms who are in the mutual fund business. 

The company said it had earlier raised equity funding from three returning UK investors to finance the acquisition. 

“Our mission at CashRich is to revolutionize investment experience through top-notch technology and personalized investor care. We are exploring more such partnerships with other mutual fund distributors," Hiren Dharamshi, managing director, CashRich, said. 

Fiat-to-crypto gateway Transak raises fresh funds 

London headquartered Transak, which operates an eponymous fiat-to-crypto gateway, has raised $660,000 (Rs 4.8 crore) in a seed round funding.  

Investors in the round included Consensys, The Lao, IOSG, Lunex, Koji Capital, and multiple angel investors, as per a statement.  

The startup looks to use the fresh funds to expand its operations, teams partnerships and work base in India, as well as hire more engineers. 

Founded in 2019 by Sami Start and Yeshu Agarwal,  Transak’s platform acts both as a business to consumer (B2C) platform, where one can buy cryptocurrency directly into their wallet using fiat money, and a business to business (B2B) platform in the form of a developer integration that can be used by third-party applications and websites.  

Transak allows other applications to enable the use of cryptocurrency for transactions. On Transak, one will be able to buy crypto using bank transfers, debit/credit cards, wallets, and various payment applications worldwide.  

The startup’s clientele include firms such as WazirX and Matic Network.  

Globally, Transak is integrated with wallets and apps such as Metamask, Klever Wallet, and Edge Wallet, and decentralised finance (DeFi) apps such as Maskbook, Aave, and Index Coop.  

“We are extremely confident about our expansion plans in India. The Indian blockchain market is growing rapidly and needs on and off-ramps to make the crypto world accessible to all. The company is excited to acquire fresh Indian talent which is known to be exceptional across the globe and are dedicated to building a strong team in the country to take over the Indian operations. We are highly motivated to ease the friction in the global crypto market and take decentralized finance mainstream,” co-founders Start and Agarwal said.  

Transak has operations in over 60 countries. The company said it has doubled its volume from January 2020 to January 2021, without specifying the numbers.  

In 2021, the company plans to expand to more fiat payment methods, integrate with more blockchains and protocols, refine and scale their core processing engine, as well as explore new markets -- with a keen focus on India. 

Titan Capital leads funding round in micro-insurance platform Bimaplan

Coverplan Technology Plan-operated insurance platform Bimaplan has raised $500,000 (Rs 3.62 crore as per currency exchange rates) in a seed round of funding, led by Titan Capital and other undisclosed investors.  

Y Combinator, Dream Incubator, RaSa Future Fund, Finsight Ventures, 2 a.m. Ventures, participated in the round. It also saw backing from Rajesh Sawhney of GSF Accelerator, Anupam Mittal of Shaadi.com, Kunal Shah of Cred, Jitendra Gupta of Jupiter, Ramakant Sharma of Livspace, Ritesh Malik of Innov8, Yash Jain of Sparrow Capital, and Nimesh Kampani and Shanti Mohan of LetsVenture, among others.

The Mumbai-based startup will use the fresh capital to build its team and develop the product, a statement said. It aims to achieve a $1 million annual recurring revenue (ARR) in the next 12 months. 

"More than 150 million Indian households do not have access to formal risk protection or social security. Unexpected events such as illness, accident, job loss, or death of an earning member can push a household into a poverty trap. At Bimaplan, we are creating contextual and affordable insurance plans in partnership with insurers and building a unique distribution using digital channels," Vikul Goyal, founder and CEO, Bimaplan, said. 

Founded in 2020, Bimaplan works with insurers to create over-the-counter, low premium insurance products for low and middle-income populations. 

The startup has insurance industry veterans Sanjay Jain, former CMO of Bajaj Allianz and Reliance Capital; and Swaraj Krishnan, former CEO of Bajaj Allianz and Magma HDI General Insurance Company on its advisory board.  

It is in advanced discussions with US and Indian venture capital funds to raise a fresh round of funding, dubbed pre-Series A.