boAt's Revenue Exceeds Rs.1,500 Cr

Boat's Revenue Crosses Rs.1,500 Cr in Fy21 With Just Rs 14 Crore Being Spent on Wages

BoAt, a startup in the field of consumer electronics, is one of the top makers of wearables and audio accessories in India in the past few years. BoAt is also planning to announce its first public offering in the near future with a price of more than $1.4 billion; it has made a profit and crossed the Rs.1,500 crore in revenue during FY21.

boAt has recorded a 2.2X increase in operating revenue which increased from 700.44 million in FY20, to 1,511.7 million in FY21. the company's annual financial report with the MCA exhibits.  The wireless earphones and headphones comprised the biggest product category by sales accounting for 62.7 percent of the company's operating earnings in FY21. The sales increased by 2.5X to 947.4 crore in FY21, up from just Rs 375.7 crore in FY20.

The Mumbai-based firm creates the products it sells in India however its production and assembly take place in China. The cost of purchasing its stocks for trading is the most significant expense that the firm has to pay and accounts for almost 73% of the total annual cost.

Also read: Dunzo Raises $240 Million Led by Reliance Retail

The company has made $100 million through an equity round that was led by Warburg Pincus at the start of Q4 FY21. It also has plans to move its manufacturing operations to India. The company's consumer electronics division intends to make use of this Indian government's production tied incentive(PLI) program.

The seven-year-old company is focused on promoting its products extensively online. Its advertising promotion costs were the second-highest cost center for boAt which accounted for 10.3 percent of boAt's total annual costs. These expenses nearly doubled to 147 crores in FY21, up from just Rs 51 crore in FY20.

Major operations functions, like production and after-sales outsourcing, boAt operates with a small staff of employees, and staff expenses occupying just 1percent of its annual expenses. The cost of employee benefits increased by 125.7 percentage YoY to 14.31 billion (including director remuneration that is around two crores).

The company that was backed by Qualcomm also offered a stock buyback at the period that ended in March 2021 that amounted to about around 140 crores. Co-founders Aman Gupta, as well as Sameer Mehta, were among the largest recipients of this purchase receiving a bit more than 81 percent (i.e. approximately Rs 113.6 crore, or 56.8 crore per) from the purchase amount

You may also like: AgroStar Secured $70 Million in its Series D Financing Round

boAt has had a solid financial performance during FY21 and was the first electronic consumer Direct to Consumer (D2C) startup to reach the Rs. 1,500 crore mark in revenue. Despite the aforementioned pandemic, boAt has grown rapidly, with an increase of 61% in profits. Contrary to many companies in the late stage and growth stages boAt has been able to achieve this level of revenue with minimal expense for employee's wages or other, non-profit benefits -- 14.31 crore.

For all the latest happenings in the business world and the latest startup news, subscribe to entrackr’s newsletter.

Dunzo Raises $240 Million Led by Reliance Retail

Quick commerce company Dunzo has received $240 million in the latest round of funding that was led by Reliance Retail Ventures Limited. This round also saw the participation of existing investors Lightbox, Lightrock, 3L Capital, and Alteria Capital.

Dunzo was reported to be engaged in discussions with Reliance for the past three or four months regarding a possible agreement. There were reports in the media suggesting that the company was in discussions together with Tata Group, Swiggy, and Zomato to discuss a fresh round. But, the talks did not occur.

On the other hand, this deal with Reliance might be seen as a shock, given Reliance Group's history of making outright acquisitions (Netmeds, Milkbasket) or fairly moderate valuations. Even entering into companies that could be under some sort of strain (the current Future Retail buy). FOMO might have hit Reliance at last if you're in the market for a quick trade.

Also read: AgroStar Secured $70 Million in its Series D Financing Round

The round is in which Reliance Retail has invested $200 million to purchase a 25.8 percent share in Bengaluru's company on a fully diluted basis. The valuation of the Google-backed firm is up to $775 million. Based on Fintrackr's estimates, it was valued at just over $300 million at the time of its March launch of last year.

According to Dunzo, the capital is to expand Dunzo's goal of becoming the most efficient and quick-to-market business in India, which will allow the delivery of necessities in a matter of minutes through a system of small warehouses and growing its business segment to provide logistics to local retailers within Indian cities.

As part of the collaboration, Dunzo will provide hyperlocal logistics to the retail stores run through Reliance Retail and will also enable last-mile deliveries for JioMart's merchant's network. Dunzo introduced its instant delivery model, 'Dunzo Daily, in Bengaluru at the beginning of this year. The service is currently available across seven cities; the firm is planning to expand its speedy commerce model to fifteen cities.

The fiscal year ended the 31st of March, 2021 where Dunzo reported its profits from operations to increase by 66.5 percent to 45.8 crores from 27.5 crores it earned in FY20. The Kabeer Biswas-led company was able to cut its loss by 33.3 percent from 338.4 million in FY20 to 225.7 million in FY21.

Also read: Zepto on Its Way to Raise $250 Million

The fast commerce market is growing in India, where Zomato-backed Zepto BlinkIt (formerly Grofers), Swiggy, and Ola are already expanding their operations. Swiggy has recently announced plans to invest $750 million into Swiggy Instamart to focus on rapid commerce, while BlinkIt is said to be seeking additional funding from Zomato. Zepto, a grocery delivery service that can be delivered in ten minutes. Zepto also secured 100 million in funding to increase its coverage to several cities in India.

For all the latest happenings in the startup world and the latest startup news subscribe to Entrackr.

AgroStar Secured $70 Million in its Series D Financing Round

 

AgroStar Startup Funding News

The omnichannel agricultural market for advisory services and trade AgroStar has secured $70 million in its Series D financing round led by Evolvence, Schroders Capital, Hero Enterprise, and CDC.

The new round came after 33 months for AgroStar. Bertelsmann India had led a $27 million Series C round within the Pune-based company in March of 2019. The new money will be used to expand business and product offerings and hire and enhance multichannel strategies, stated the company in the press release.

It was launched in 2013 as a missed-call knowledge program for agriculturalists. AgroStar has evolved into an all-stack platform for farmers and offers farm advisory services and agri inputs using a combination of offline and online channels. AgroStar has more than 1,000 offline touchpoints in Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra, as well as other regions.

You may also like to read: Zepto on Its Way to Raise $250 Million

AgroStar plans to install at least 5,000 touchpoints like this over the coming years. According to its website, its Android-only application has more than 5 million downloads, where farmers share their knowledge and can purchase authentic agricultural inputs. The company's offerings have been limited to content and commerce up to the present time, but it's expected to start lending shortly.

Although the company has yet to announce financial results for FY21, its operating earnings jumped by 80% to 153.69 million in FY20, which was just 85.56 crore for FY19. In terms of revenues, the losses increased by 78% to 93.81 million in FY20, up from the 52.82 million in its previous budget period (FY19).

Also read: CRED is Looking to Acquire Happay

It is among the largest rounds of funding for Agritech startups in India. The month of October was when Patna, along with Gurugram-based DeHaat, were able to secure 115 million in the Series D round, which was the largest amount ever raised by an Indian agricultural tech startup in one time.

Tiger Global, which Ninjacart backs, also received a sum of $90m during its series C round. However, Waycool has launched an additional round and is expected to raise more existing and new investors. Entrackr reported exclusive news of this on the 13th of October. AgroStar is competing with Unnati, Gramophone, DeHaat and other companies. Unnati also has raised the sum of $8.5 million from Incofin Investment Management, NabVentures and Orios.

Zepto on Its Way to Raise $250 Million

Zepto Startup Funding News

Zepto, a 10-minute delivery service for groceries, Zepto has attracted a lot of attention from both investors. While customers are impressed by its speedy delivery service, huge American tech investors are optimistic about the company's prospects for the future.

Zepto is a Mumbai-based company that has plans to raise over $250 million in a fresh round, as per three sources who are aware of the deal.

One anonymous person familiar with the details of the deal told us that Zepto had already committed about $125 million, half of the round size is in conversation to raise another $125 million from existing and new investors.

Entrackr has complete information on 11 November that Zepto is seeking to raise over 100 million dollars in a new capital round, with a valuation in the range of 500 million.

According to the sources, the talks are past the early stage, as the conditions of the agreement are being worked out. With the addition of funds, the value is expected to rise. "The company will be valued at about $1 billion (post-money) after this round," according to a person who also asked to remain anonymous.

Also read: CRED is Looking to Acquire Happay

Entrackr couldn't identify the names of investors who could be part of the round. Y Combinator, Glade Brook Capital, Nexus, Global Founders Capital are its current supporters. Zepto recently raised $60 million with a value of $250 million. The queries addressed at Zepto or Y Combinator didn't elicit immediate responses.

Zepto will become one of the fastest startups to reach unicorn status if the deal is approved. The marketplace roll-up system Mensa Brands recently became a unicorn within six months from its beginning. Professional network platform Apna also achieved the feat within 21 months.

You may also like: Pepperfry Receives $10 Million in Debt

Zepto allows online grocery orders and can deliver the groceries within 10 minutes to some locations in Mumbai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Delhi (NCR). According to the company's website, the service will soon be available in Kolkata along with Pune.

CRED is Looking to Acquire Happay

Cred Startup Acquisition News

Kunal Shah's CRED appears to be aggressively buying businesses -- a tactic it has stayed away from during 2 years following the company's inception. CRED is currently at the point of purchasing Happay, the expense management firm.

Both companies were in discussions over the last couple of months and the conditions of the deal are now in place, according to two sources familiar with specifics of the transaction.

Happay is the second acquisition for CRED following HipBar which was an alcohol delivery business it acquired in October. CRED could also be in talks to buy Times Internet's Dineout as well as Rainmatter's debt investing platform WintWealth. But the talks are still in their early stages and the Bengaluru-based firm is still waiting to confirm the talks.

In the case of Happay it offers companies with expense management to manage tax and travel advantages for employees. Happay offers customized solutions for large corporations that have multiple branches as well as logistic companies with a surface.

You may also like: Pepperfry Receives $10 Million in Debt

The company, which has been in operation for a decade, also allows large companies to issue credit and prepaid cards as well as manage expenses for employees between 800 and 900k. They are employed by 6,000 businesses which includes 100 large companies.

At the time of writing, Happay has raised $22-25 million through various financing rounds. Based on TechCircle's estimates the company was valued at 60 million during its Series B funding round of the year 2019. If CRED buys Happay within the range above this will result in an attractive exit for Happay's shareholders.

Although Happay is still waiting to file its annual financial statements for FY21, its operating revenues grew by 49% to 37.55 crore in FY20 , up from the 25.12 crore during FY19. The company's losses in FY20 increased 95% to 49.20 crore.

Also read: Setu Records Rs 3 Cr Revenue in Fy21 Even as Losses Climb to Rs 19 Cr

This year has been an incredible one for CRED in terms of the amount of money that was raised. CRED raked in $466 million in 2021 , and will soon become a part of Razorpay and Meesho which are in talks to secure new rounds that have valuations exceeding $5 billion. Entrackr has exclusive news about CRED's upcoming round that would be worth the company's three-year-old status at more than $5.5 billion.

Pepperfry Receives $10 Million in Debt

Hybrid furniture market Pepperfry has acquired the second tranche of 10 mn dollars from investors in form of obligatory convertible debt. This is the second round of debt that they have acquired till now.

In February, Pepperfry received Rs 35 from the debt firm InnoVen Capital.

According to its regulations, Pepperfry has approved the issue of CCD 74348 (Series A-class) with a face value of 10,000 to raise about the 74 crore mark, which is around $10 million.

Norwest Venture Partners, Broad Street Investments, and Erste WV Guttersloh are the most prominent players in this tranche.They are worth 23.28 crore and 15 crores and 18 crores per. Panthera Growth Fund, General Electric Pension Trust as well as Madhumala Ventures have also joined this round.

Also read: Setu Records Rs 3 Cr Revenue in Fy21 Even as Losses Climb to Rs 19 Cr

It's important to know it is important to note that Madhumala can be a part of Pidilite Industries limited, which has invested in Pepperfry in the month of May last year. Pepperfry is valued about $462 million in the round, based on Fintrackr's estimates.

The company, which has been in existence for a decade, was created by Ambareesh Murty and Ashish Shah is based on a marketplace model with both online and offline formats. Pepperfry is a platform that offers more than 11,000 items and connects brands like Spacewood, Godrej and Springfit to buyers.

At the end of June, Pepperfry boasted having more than 70 studios offline across 40 cities.

According to a Mint article, Pepperfry plans to apply for an Initial Public Offering (IPO) during the 1st quarter of 2022. It is expected to fund a public pre-public offering that will range from $50-$100 million at the end of the year.

Also read: INDmoney is Expected to Raise $100 Mn in a Round Led by Tiger Global

Although the company hasn't released its annual financial report for FY21, it reported an increase of 26% in revenues to 260.61 crores for FY20. The company has also reduced its losses by 33%.

Subscribe to Entrackr to know all the latest happenings and Latest Startup News in the business world.

Setu Records Rs 3 Cr Revenue in Fy21 Even as Losses Climb to Rs 19 Cr

Fintech infrastructure firm Setu has broadened its offerings and currently includes data, payments as well as lending and investments through an Automated Programming Interface (APIs). The company announced in August that Google Pay partnered with Setu to provide fixed deposits from Equitas Small Finance Bank.

Although this company that is backed by Lightspeed startup is growing at a good rate, it appears to be at a pre-revenue phase as far as revenue is concerned for FY21.

Setu has reported operating revenues of 3.31 crore in FY21 as compared to none in FY20. This is the 2nd full financial year of operation for Setu. The majority of the revenue comes from the selling services (subscription charge).

You may also like:

• INDmoney is Expected to Raise $100 Mn in a Round Led by Tiger Global

• Nykaa Updates Its Fresh Equity Offer to Raise 630 Crore in IPO

The Bengaluru-based business has been able to make 5.74 crore during FY21. This is additional income from interest earned on bank deposits. This is 334% higher than FY20. The company raised fifteen million (Rs 110 crore) Series A round at the start of FY21.

To earn this operating profit, Setu has spent 228 percent more in FY21. This is the rate of 27.96 crore, up from 8.52 crore in FY20. In accordance with the B2B model, its old set of costs were for salary and benefits for employees as well as other plans. The expense jumped by 254% in FY21 and reached 23.51 crore in FY21. 23.51 crore, up from the figure of 6.63 million in FY20.

The three-year-old firm also put aside more than 1.73 billion on consultation services in FY21. The cost increased by 226% during the previous fiscal year, compared to 52 thousands in FY20. At a unit-level, Setu spent Rs 8.45 to generate a rupee operating revenues in FY21.

The increase in total expenses has boosted setu's cash outflow by 70%, to Rs 15.3 crore in FY21 opposed to the just Rs 9 crore in the FY20.

Also read: With Premji Invest’s participation, Purplle latest round crosses $100 Mn

Although the epidemic affected the businesses of all industries, Setu is unlikely to suffer a significant hit since it's a technology infrastructure company in a market which is rapidly changing and expanding. This means that Setu's primary priority will be to roll its products more quickly in the effort to reduce the burn rate in the year 4. With an appropriate product portfolio and technological expertise it will be an option for acquisition by any large company or group looking to establish an investment market.

For such informative news and updates of the Indian startup scene, check out Entrackr.