Startup news and updates: daily roundup (June 8, 2022)

BetterPlace acquires no-code platform EzeDox

Blue-collar workforce management platform Betterplace has announced its fourth acquisition in 10 months by acquiring ezeDox, a no-code workflow builder platform.

Post the acquisition, EzeDox’s tech stack will be integrated into BetterPlace’s software platform for workforce management, targeted at mid to large enterprises.

EzeDox—last valued at $2 million in its seed round—helps enterprises automate and digitise frontline workforce management processes, including hiring, onboarding, profile management, inventory distribution and tracking, statutory document generation, and offboarding.

Earlier in May, BetterPlace had acquired blue and grey-collar staffing solution provider OkayGo.

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Re Sustainability announces incubation fund

Re Sustainability Limited (formerly known as Ramky Enviro Engineers) has announced a Rs 5 crore innovation fund to incubate five innovative ideas, which can create sustainable impact at scale.

Launched on the occasion of World Environment Day, the initiative will screen ideas, technologies, and business models from individuals or organisations in a two-step process.

According to the company, the ideas should be centred around themes of waste segregation and treatment technologies, recycling and resource recovery technologies, social inclusion and community engagement for the circular economy, generating fuel and energy from waste, and new circular economy and decarbonisation business models.

The KKR-backed environment management services company has asked for entries to be shared before July 5, 2022, to [email protected].

Ecommerce major Amazon releases second Brand Protection Report

Ecommerce major Amazon invested $900 million and deployed nearly 12,000 people to protect customers, brands, selling partners, and stores globally from counterfeit, fraud, and other abuse, it said in its recently released second Brand Protection Report.

The report highlighted that the platform had extended its IP accelerator programme to five new countries, besides the US, Europe, India, Japan, and the UK. The initiative helps brands obtain intellectual property rights and trademark registration services for businesses to protect their brands across stores.

According to Amazon, nearly 12,000 brands have registered on Brand Registry through the initiative since its inception in 2019.

The Amazon Counterfeit Crimes Unit also registered civil litigation against over 170 counterfeiters in the US courts, besides referring 600 criminals for investigation across the US, UK, EU, and China in 2021, a rise of over 300 percent in 2020. 

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Mphasis opens delivery centre in Calgary, Canada

Indian IT solutions provider Mphasis inaugurated its delivery centre in Downtown Calgary, Canada. With the rise in digital transformation spending across the board, Mphasis’ business ecosystem will reinforce the region’s reputation as a leading hub for digital transformation, AI, quantum computing, and others.

The delivery centre will also contribute to Canada’s growing digital sector by aiding enterprises to unlock technology transformation. 

Mphasis has also formed strategic partnerships with the Government of Alberta, the University of Calgary, and the City of Calgary to accelerate talent development and development of quantum computing systems, driving research and development, and job creation in the technology sector.

CleverTap announces database for D2C brands

CleverTap, the US-headquartered customer lifecycle management and mobile marketing company, has launched a purpose-built database for improved user engagement and retention for digital consumer brands TesseractDB. 

With this database, TessractDB can transform massive amounts of first-party user data to power real-time user personalisation. It will enable digital brands and businesses to harness data and context for customer interaction by leveraging machine learning and AI, said the company in a statement.

It will also help CleverTap to offer unlimited data lookback periods, hyper-personalised engagement, and recommendations, among other features to its customers.

StanPlus appoints Suhas Kulkarni as CTPO and founding member

Emergency response platform Stanplus appointed former Engineering Lead at Uber, Suhas Kulkarni, as Chief Technology and Product Officer (CTPO) and Founding Member.

In his new role, Suhas will be responsible for building technology-led applications for StanPlus to create a medical infrastructure akin to the US emergency response system 911. He will also help StanPlus develop its tech and infrastructure to achieve an eight-minute Expected Time of Arrival (ETA) for ambulances.

The Hyderabad-based startup has partnered with over 50 hospitals and 70 enterprises to provide core response technologies during medical emergencies, including access, triage, destination selection, and vital sharing. StanPlus also plans to build and scale its medical emergency response across 15 Indian cities this year.

Rural fintech startup SarvaGram to expand its franchisee model 3X for FY23

Mumbai-based rural fintech startup SarvaGram has increased the number of its SarvaMitra franchisees to 600 for FY23 from an existing 203. It will also add new states to its network, besides Maharashtra, Gujarat, Rajasthan, and Karnataka.

Founded in 2019, the rural lending platform launched the SarvaMitra Shoppee in 2021 to offer a one-stop shop for loan and farm implement rental services. SarvaMitra serves as a last-mile partner for SarvaGram’s distribution. It also offers consumer durable loans, gold loans, and farm loans.

In fact, starting this financial year, the startup has ventured into offering insurance services. At present, SarvaGram has 50 branches across four states, serving close to 20,000 households.

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METRO, Capillary Technologies partner for multi-country B2B loyalty programme

German brand for wholesale and food trade METRO has partnered with SaaS platform for customer loyalty and engagement CapillaryTechnologies to create its multi-country business-to-business (B2B) loyalty programme. This will also mark Capillary’s debut in the European market.

As part of the partnership, METRO will use Capillary’s Loyalty+ platform to offer a unified loyalty platform across 24 countries across its network of customers, including international hotels, restaurants, catering businesses, and distributing grocery stores.

On the other hand, Capillary will capture the brand’s high volume transactions across multiple channels, including METRO’s 672 wholesale stores and 66 supply depots.

The first phase of loyalty programme implementation will be rolled out across 11 countries.

Aster MIMS Hospital launches drone delivery of diagnostic samples with Skye Air Mobility

Kozhikode-based Aster DM Healthcare has started drone delivery trials with Delhi-headquartered Skye Air to transport essential medicine and critical lab samples from Aster MIMS Hospital to Aster Mother Hospital Areekode.

Aster DM Healthcare will leverage Skye Air’s drone technology for the delivery of diagnostic samples and medicines in Calicut and across Kerala.

Skye Air’s flagship product—Skye Ship One—is used for trials, which is expected to reduce the turnaround time.

The drone will carry blood samples and medicines across 50 flights during the five day trial period for the Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) drone delivery.

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Logistics company Quickshift launches international deliveries

Warehouse and ecommerce fulfilment service provider QuickShifthas launched international shipping, with the first launch phase targeting regions, including the US, Europe, Middle East, Asia, and Japan.

The company is in the process of forming strategic tie-ups with carriers to offer price-sensitive solutions, last-mile delivery, documentation assistance, and easy integration with global marketplaces, it said in a statement.

Quickshift operates six fulfilment centres across Mumbai, Delhi-NCR, Kolkata, Bengaluru, and Pune, with plans of launching one in Hyderabad. The company claims to work with over 100 brands to help them reduce fulfilment costs by 30 to 35 percent.

ITLH to hire over 100 employees in 2022, anticipates 10X growth

Mumbai-based Information Technology Learning Hub (ITLH), which helps students gain proficiency in coding skills and design, will hire over 100 employees in 2022, anticipating a 10X growth. At present, the Centillion-backed tech skill upgradation centre has an employee strength of 40.

Moreover, the company will expand to new geographies, including Abu Dhabi, Qatar, Dubai, and Indian Tier I cities by accepting more enrolments. It will strengthen its six core verticals in the organisation—sales, marketing, quality analysis, learning experiences, trainers, and mentors—through new hires.