Mynvax, pinBox, Automovill, Flow Club, Career Ninja raise early-stage funding

Bengaluru-based vaccine technology startup Mynvax has signed definitive agreements to raise $4.2 million (about Rs 31 crore) in Series A funding. 

The round will be led by Accel, with participation from LetsVenture, 1Crowd, Kotak Investment Advisors, and a few early-stage angel investors, a statement said.  

Mynvax, however, did not share the names of these investors. 

Founded in 2017 by Raghavan Varadarajan and Gautam Nadig, the startup is developing novel recombinant vaccines for COVID-19 and human influenza.  

The candidates have been tested for performance and unique attributes such as the ability to withstand heat.  

Mynvax said its Covid vaccine can be stored at 37°C for over a month, which eliminates the need for cold chain and makes the shot more accessible.  

The company plans to use the proceeds from this round to advance the clinical development of its existing vaccine candidates.  

Beyond this, Nadig said, Mynvax would also invest in developing new vaccine modalities and building partnerships with large vaccine manufacturers to expedite the deployment of much needed shots. 

Venture Catalysts backs pension-tech startup pinBox

Global pension-tech startup pinBox Solutions said it has raised $1 million (Rs 7.46 crore) seed funding from Venture Catalysts (Vcats) and its accelerator fund 9unicorns. 

pinBox offers digital micro-pension and insurance solutions that enable and encourage informal sector workers to save for a secure retirement.

The startup said it will use the funding to scale its capacity to more effectively meet the growing interest in comprehensive social protection from multiple countries. 

Founded in 2016 by Parul Seth Khanna and Gautam Bharadwaj, pinBox drives micro-pension and social security inclusion with a dedicated platform that integrates the digital ID, finance and payments ecosystem to "switch-on" a social security marketplace. 

The startup provides this platform to governments and regulators seeking to expand pension and insurance coverage to non-salaried workers.  

Pension funds, AMCs and insurers also use pinBox to directly deliver small-ticket pensions, savings and insurance products and financial literacy to vulnerable populations whom agents and traditional distributors are unable to reach or service.  

In India, the company works with HDFC Pension, SBI AMC and leading insurers to help deliver NPS and customized saving and insurance solutions to 400m informal sector workers who do not receive social security benefits. 

Automovill secures $500,000 in bridge round

Bengaluru-based Automovill Technologies said it has raised $500,000 (Rs 3.73 crore) in a bridge round led by Mumbai Angels Network and NEDFi Venture Capital. 

The startup offers an online platform to book automobile repair services. 

It said it will use the funding to accelerate technology adoption, hire mid-level talent, and expand footprint in multiple cities.  

A small portion of the investment will also go towards ramping up the infrastructure of existing partner and hub networks, it said. 

Founded in 2016 by Mridu Mahendra Das, Chinmay Baruah, Ramana Sambu, Automovill has already handled 100,000+ cars for both retail customers and B2B clients.  

It is present in 12 cities -- including Bangalore, Delhi-NCR, Hyderabad, and Guwahati -- and has been servicing about 2,000 cars on a monthly basis. 

The startup has observed 250% growth post-pandemic. 

“The change in the mobility sector and post covid demand in private vehicles has been a great boost for Automovill; to increase its customer base across the country,” Mahendra Das said. 

“With the experienced team and adoption of technology in process automation, quality control and increased retail customer base, Automovill aims to increase its footprints in the B2B and B2B2C segments including auto insurance providers,” he added. 

Social investment platform Flow Club raises undisclosed sum

Kerala-based Solenya Investment Technologies, the startup building Flow Club platform to consult and invest with friends, has raised an undisclosed sum from Antler India. 

The round, dubbed pre-Seed, will accelerate the development of Flow Club.  

The platform enables users to learn, discover and share investment ideas in closed friend groups or communities, building their portfolio in a social-first experience that makes financial management more accessible and engaging. 

The app, which is currently in beta stage with a small set of users, integrates content, chat, shared portfolios, and gamification to create a social-first experience for all things finance. 

It was founded in 2019 by college-mates Gopikrishnan Mohan, Gokul Harikumar, and George Shanti. 

Commenting on the need of their product, Mohan said, “With access to ever-growing investment products and information, everyone - even people with lower disposable income - will start investing. However, investing is still a complex and confusing process, with a steep learning curve.” 

“With Flow Club, we want to revolutionize the way people discover investment ideas, meet their investment goals and build wealth, harnessing the power of a reliable community,” he added. 

CareerNinja gets pre-Seed funding from Unitus Ventures

Ed-tech startup CareerNinja has secured an undisclosed sum in pre-Seed funding from Unitus Ventures. 

The round, a statement said, will be deployed towards advancing the company’s product, team, and technology as well as onboarding over a million learners by 2022. 

Founded in 2017 by Shronit Ladhani, CareerNinja offers an AI-driven platform that provides personalized and experiential courses to users based on their goals and skill level to kick-start their careers. 

AI allows each CareerNinja course to be segmented into multiple specializations and over 5,000 unique learning pathways personalized for learners’ needs. 

Learners also get one-on-one mentorship with industry experts, opportunities to work on guided projects, personalized doubt solving, a dedicated student success manager, and placement support. 

“Industrial revolution 4.0 will give birth to smart factories and a digitized new normal, where traditional skill sets will become obsolete. The World Economic Forum predicts the need to reskill more than 1 billion people by 2030. 

CareerNinja seamlessly addresses the quality upskilling needs of those early in their career and looking to upgrade their career profiles,” Ladhani said.