AI-native martech startup Fibr AI has raised $5.7 Mn (about INR 52 Cr) in a seed funding round led by existing investor Accel. Other investors that backed the startup included WillowTree Ventures and MVP Ventures, along with several other angel investors.  The startup plans to use the fresh capital to strengthen its AI and product capabilities, expand its customer base and hire across roles like engineering, product, marketing and sales.  Founded in 2023 by Ankur Goyal and Pritam Roy, Fibr builds AI-powered marketing and web experience tools for brands. The startup focusses on helping businesses reduce customer acquisition costs (CAC) and improve conversion rates by making websites and landing pages more personalised and adaptive to user intent. Fibr’s flagship product, Pilot, allows its clients to create personalised landing pages for campaigns run across ads, emails and SMS. Another product, Blocks, helps marketers reuse and adapt existing content across formats, such as converting a high-performing Facebook ad into a blog post or a Google search ad.  Over time, Fibr has expanded its product into what it describes as an “agentic web experience layer”, where businesses can respond to users online in real time based on their context. The Dover-based startup primarily…  ​Read MoreInc42 Media

Early-stage focussed VC firm Unicorn India Ventures has reached the final close of its third fund at INR 1,200 Cr, exceeding its initial target of INR 1,000 Cr post exercising a green shoe option of INR 200 Cr. The capital for the fund has been netted from limited partners (LPs) such as SIDBI, SBI, along with undisclosed US-based investors, Indian UHNIs and family offices. Cofounder and managing partner Bhaskar Majumdar told Inc42 that the firm has already backed 17–18 startups through the fund, with an average ticket size of INR 10–15 Cr each. As of now, the firm has about three more investments at various stages of completion in the pipeline. Of the total corpus, around 20–25% (roughly INR 250 Cr) will be deployed towards initial portfolio creation, while the remaining capital has been earmarked for follow-on rounds. The fund has already enabled it to participate in select follow-on investments, taking the overall portfolio valuation to over $1 Bn. Recent follow-on investments include Netrasemi’s INR 107 Cr Series A round, where the firm claims to have seen a 7X jump on its initial investment, and Aurassure’s INR 25 Cr funding round. Unicorn India Ventures’ third fund marks a pivot towards…  ​Read MoreInc42 Media

FMCG major Marico today announced the acquisition of Bengaluru-based plant-based protein startup Cosmix Wellness, marking its second takeover deal in just two weeks. The back-to-back deals signal Marico’s intent to tap new-age, health-focussed consumer brands to unlock incremental growth.  “Marico will acquire 60% of Cosmix Wellness’ paid-up share capital from its founders,” the listed FMCG giant said in an exchange filing this evening. Cosmix Wellness Private Limited is the parent entity of Cosmix Wellness. As part of the transaction, cofounders Vibha Harish and Soorya Jagadish will continue with the company and retain operational control. For a five-year-old, bootstrapped startup with a 45-member team, being acquired at an equity valuation of INR 375 Cr raises questions about a niche, founder-led brand scaled sustainably without institutional capital. Against the backdrop of the deal, Inc42 caught up with Harish to understand the startup’s journey that led to its acquisition by one of the country’s major FMCG brands. A Personal Problem Builds A Product Vision For Harish, entrepreneurship was always a long-term aspiration, even if the exact idea was unclear in her early years. The engineering graduate started her career at Rolls-Royce, but she felt increasingly disengaged. Coming from a business-oriented family, Harish knew…  ​Read MoreInc42 Media

Spacetech startup Dhruva Space is set to net $4.2 Mn (INR 38.7 Cr) in its ongoing Pre-Series B funding round. The startup’s board passed a proposal on January 28 to raise the amount via private placement of 414 Pre-Series B compulsorily convertible preference shares (CCPS) to investors like Indian Angel Network (IAN), GVFL, Blue Ashva Capital and angel investor Pradeep Sinha.  As per its filing with the MCA, the lead investor for the round would be IAN’s VC fund IAN Alpha Fund by making an investment of up to INR 26 Cr. While GVFL intends to invest INR 10 Cr,  Blue Ashva Capital will invest INR 2.4 Cr.  Each Pre-Series B CCPS has a face value of INR 100 and a premium of INR 9.34 Lakh per share.  The investment would extend Dhruva Space’s ongoing Pre-Series B round which took place in November last year. At the time, the startup raised INR 51.76 Cr ($6 Mn) from the likes of AVCF1 (Aditum Venture Capital Fund), Hyderabad Angel Fund, AR Enterprises, Ativira Technologies, and a clutch of other angel investors. The startup declined to comment on the development when contacted by Inc42.  Founded in 2012 by Sanjay Nekkanti, Chaitanya Dora Surapureddy,…  ​Read MoreInc42 Media