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Morphing Machines and O hi Raise Funding and BizDateUp Allocates INR 40 Cr to Empower Women Here are the Indian startups that announced early-stage funding rounds.

By Paromita Gupta

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[L-R] Deepak Shapeti, Ranjani Narayan, & SK Nandy, Co-founders of Morphing Machines

Morphing Machines Raises USD 2.76 Mn Funding Led by Speciale Invest

Fabless semiconductor startup Morphing Machines has announced the raising of USD 2.76 million in its seed round led by Speciale Invest, a seed stage VC investing in deep technologies.

IvyCap Ventures, Golden Sparrow, Navam Capital, CIIE Initiatives, and DeVC were among the other investors in the round.

The raised money will be used to ramp up product development and prototyping, expand the engineering team, and support go-to-market initiatives.

Founded in 2006 by Prof SK Nandy, Ranjani Narayan, and Deepak Shapeti, Morphing Machines, incubated at the Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru, is pioneering runtime reconfigurable dataflow processors that deliver high performance and power efficiency at a low cost.

Currently, Morphing Machines has a team of over 20 members and is expanding to over 40 members to support design, verification, emulation, and tape-out processes.

"With robust government support and initiatives like the Design-Linked Incentive and Chips2Startup schemes, the focus on developing indigenous technologies is stronger than ever. The industry is poised for significant growth, and Morphing Machines' pioneering technology and exceptional team are at the forefront of this transformation," said Vishesh Rajaram, Managing Partner at Speciale Invest.

O hi Bags USD 1 Mn in pre-Series A Round

Social networking app O hi has secured USD 1 million (INR 8 crore) in a pre-Series A funding round led by existing investors JIIF, with participation from several marquee angel investors.

The money raised will be put toward improving the product and integrating an AI-powered profiling system.

"We are confident that the new real-world ecosystem we are building with AI will revolutionise content games on all platforms, such as Instagram and YouTube, providing a significant return on investment for businesses and brands worldwide," Adeeti and Rupal, Founders of O hi, said.

Founded by Adeeti and Rupal, O hi uses real-life human interaction in the same physical environment by creating digital rooms in cafes, airports, and hotels to form a network of fame, stardom, and money in the real world.

O hi was in the product development phase for over 24 months and is now in beta, boosting its user base to over 800,000.

BizDateUp Allocates INR 40 Cr to Empower Women Entrepreneurs in India

Startup ecosystem enabler BizDateUp announces the allocation of INR 40 crore to support women entrepreneurs across India. Through inclusive entrepreneurship, this funding program seeks to advance social justice, encourage diversity, and accelerate economic growth.

Starting July 1, women entrepreneurs can apply for funding through BizDateUp's official website. The allocation will be distributed via a structured application process, requiring a detailed business plan, financial projections, and a utilisation outline.

Starting July 1st, women entrepreneurs can apply for funding via BizDateUp's website. The INR 40 crore fund will be allocated through a detailed application and evaluation process. Applicants must submit business plans, financial projections, and funding usage outlines. Each application will be reviewed by experts, assessing potential, innovation, scalability, and impact. The fund distribution aims for equitable access and impactful resource use.

"Women entrepreneurs in India often face unique challenges, including limited access to capital, mentorship, and networks," said Meet Jain, Co-Founder at BizDateUp. "BizDateUp aims to support a diverse portfolio of ventures. In addition to funding, we will provide beneficiaries with access to a network of mentors, industry experts, and seasoned entrepreneurs."

Jeet Chandan, Director at BizDateUp, added, "Our goal is to fund at least five women-led startups each year through this initiative, creating over 1,000 jobs within the supported businesses. Our milestones include tracking the progress of funded startups, measuring their industry impact, and ensuring a significant portion of the businesses achieve sustainable growth within the first two years of receiving funding."

Paromita Gupta

Entrepreneur Staff

Features Writer with Entrepreneur India

Covering news and trends in AI and Metaverse segments. An avid book reader running her personal blog on the side. You may reach me at paromita@entrepreneurindia.com. 
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