Skymet, Insane AI, L4o.in, Loopin, Streak, Flam raise funding

Weather forecast and agriculture risk monitoring company Skymet has raised Rs 12 crore ($1.6 million) debt fund from Northern Arc and Caspian Impact Investments. 

The company will utilise the funds to bolster its ground observation systems and accurate prediction of floods and cyclones in East India, the Noida-based startup said in a statement. 

Skymet is increasing its focus on using the weather forecasting data for farming and is also collaborating with different organisations to supply their needs for weather data so that it can be used for precision farming.  

“The amount raised will help a lot in setting up more ground observation units is eastern India which is very much prone to natural calamities like floods, cyclones, etc which in turn would help our country to mitigate the risks and provide accurate data to farmers in those areas,” Yogesh Patil, CEO of Skymet Weather, said. 

Skymet has about 6,500 observation centres that provide real-time data on rainfall, thunder, lightning, and heat.  

The company aims to increase the size of the network and bring BFSI under insurance, lending as well as weather forecast and management.  

It recently launched a digital platform called skAIgeo to help farmers improve crop yield and decrease crop risks, while enabling financial inclusion for rural India.

Flam 

Augmented-reality (AR) based social media network, Flam, has raised $3.5 million in its seed round of funding led by Silicon Valley Quad and Inventus Capital Partners. 

9Unicorns, Kwaish Ventures and a few other angel investors also participated in the round. 

The fresh capital will be used to fuel growth and user engagement on Flam’s new social media features, build a scalable next-gen AR engine, drive massive AR adoption, and expand to international markets, the company said in a statement. 

The Bengaluru-based startup will also use the funds to build a team with expertise in computer vision, graphics engineering, GPS mapping, social media product development, including growth managers and 3D designers. 

Founded in May 2021 Flam is operated by Flying Flamingos India and was founded by three BITS Pilani graduates, Shourya Agarwal, Malhar Patil, and Rajat Gupta.  

The company launched its first consumer product ‘FlamCard’, which are printed user videos that can be turned into AR videos when scanned through the Flam app.  

Some of the live and upcoming features on the Flam app include Flam Rewards (gamifying AR camera scans), FlamStories (change video on FlamCards), FlamGhost (a hidden photo/video on a blank FlamCard only visible to the recipient), Flam 3D filters and privacy controls (control who can see your media). 

Streak

Bengaluru-based educational neo-bank for children Streak has raised an undisclosed amount in its seed round led by Inflection Point Ventures.  

Funds raised will be utilised for marketing, customer acquisition, strengthening the team, and making further investments in technology, the company said in a statement. 

Streak, which has a pre-paid card linked to an app with safety controls, is planning to grow to 2 million users in the next three years. 

“Streak is tailor-made for the Indian audience keeping in mind Indian parenting styles and cultural values. We believe that Streak will capture the minds and hearts of parents and children. With IPV’s support and expertise in the edtech and fintech space, we believe that we are positioned to create a significant impact in this space,” Shiv Bidani, co-founder, Streak, said. 

Streak was founded in 2020 by Bidani, Mitul Mehta and R Balaji who have worked at startups and MNCs like Cred, DGraph Labs & PwC.  

Streak aims to not merely become a payment solution but also enable teenage customers to be financially aware, empowered, and keen to learn more, it said. 

L4o.in

Edtech startup L4o.in has raised an undisclosed amount of funding for its seed round led by IAN. 

The round also saw participations from other angel investors including Pawan Kumar Garg, Umesh Prasad, Mrinal Didige, Mohiddin Shaik, Charan Babu, and Aman Manoj Tekriwal. 

Jaipur-based L4o.in has raised funds for further development of its cutting-edge tech product, courses and expand into newer markets, it said in a statement. 

Founded in January 2021, the edtech startup is solving the problem of unemployment among young graduates, who despite having college degrees, need reskilling and upskilling to qualify for newer positions in the global job market.  

It claims to be offering content and training in regional languages as well. 

L4o.in is already offering content and training in Hindi (Hinglish) specific regions of India. These include Rajasthan, UP, MP, Uttarakhand, NCR, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, and Chandigarh. 

“Young graduates, who are preparing for government exams and bank exams, are not skilled enough to get a job. There is another problem, almost all the edtech platforms provide content in English language and no platform is focusing on vernacular space.  

So, our vision is to eradicate these gaps as a reason for large-scale unemployment. We believe that education should be outcome-based and that’s what we aim to build through our platform. We are offering high-quality courses in every Indian language possible and skilling graduates, with a 100% job guarantee,” Kamal Kant Gupta, co-founder of L4o.in., said.  

Loopin

Seattle and Bengaluru-based software-as-a-service (SaaS) startup Loopin has raised $820K (Rs 6.1 crore) in a seed funding round led by Venture Highway.    

The round also saw participations from First Cheque and a few angel investors.   

The proceeds will be used to develop the product, which is currently being tested before commercial launch.   

Part of the funds will also be used to expand the company’s team.    

Founded by BITS Pilani Alumni Anurag Varma, Parth Pareek and Mehul Dudi, Loopin aims to convert the calendar into a productivity hub that allows 

users to manage and automate their work day. 

“With distributed workforces blurring the boundaries and employees adopting more fluid schedules, there is an urgent need to focus on output and not the hours. Loopin solves this and provides a simple solution to make your work day more effective,” Anurag Varma, co-founder and CEO, of Loopin, said.  

Insane AI 

Bengaluru-based artificial intelligence (AI) powered fitness training app Insane AI has raised Rs 6.5 crore ($873,000) in a seed funding round led by early-stage venture capital fund Pi Ventures.  

People Group founder and CEO Anupam Mittal, Epic games executive Sameer Pitalwalla, SportzVillage founder Saumil Majumdar, Ghost kitchen CEO Karan Tanna, Arjun Jain (faculty at IISc) and LetsVenture also participated in the round.   

According to a statement issued by the company, the fresh funds will be deployed to accelerate growth in international market as well as to invest in product development.   

“Users who work out on our platform are encouraged to compete against themselves or with friends and can track their fitness metrics holistically. We have done a successful beta release and by the end of the year, we plan to launch it across the globe,” Anurag Mundhada, co-founder of Insane AI, said. 

Founded in 2021 by Mundhada, Jayesh Hannurkar and Sourabh Agrawal, the startup gamifies fitness by using technology such as computer vision, augmented reality and AI to create workout games that can be played using laptops and smartphones.