Author: admin

https://tech.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/internet/myhealthcare-raises-3-million-from-sixth-sense-ventures/68941540 Digital healthcare platform MyHealthcare has raised $3 million as part of its ongoing Series A round from Sixth Sense Ventures, a domestic consumer-focused fund that had so far backed companies in the retail, logistics, services and consumer products sectors. MyHealthcare, a Bengaluru and Gurugram-based company, said it would utilise the capital to expand across Southeast Asia. “Our endeavour is to build the digital healthcare delivery protocols in partnership with the best hospitals in the private health sector and work towards enhancement of primary and secondary public healthcare needs in partnership with national and state governments,” said Shyatto Raha, founder and CEO of MyHealthcare. MyHealthcare works with hospitals, diagnostic labs and speciality health clinics to build a suite of enterprise software solutions for healthcare players. With 70% of India’s healthcare services concentrated in just the top 20 cities, MyHealthcare wants to utilise technology and a data-driven approach to help all players reach more patients and reduce cost of care. The company said it expects the market for mHealth in India to touch $1 billion by 2020. “With MyHealthcare improving commercials for hospitals and healthcare providers, enhancing customer experience and at the same time running on a transaction oriented sustainable business model, it is best positioned to capture the large opportunity and create value,” said Nikhil Vora, founder and CEO of Sixth Sense Ventures. Sixth Sense Venture is a Rs 500-crore fund that has backed ed-tech firm Eupheus Learning and holiday accommodation firm Saffron Stays among others.

https://www.business-standard.com/article/news-ians/fast-up-signs-mayank-agarwal-as-brand-ambassador-119032800682_1.html Fast&Up, flagship sports nutrition brand of Aeronutrix Sports Products Private Limited, on Thursday announced the signing of Indian cricketer Mayank Agarwal as it's brand ambassador. Since its inception, Fast&Up has supported sportspersons, athletes and fitness enthusiasts to promote active living and the importance of nutritional supplements for enhanced performance. The brand has focused on nurturing top quality athletes representing various sports under the aegis of 'Fast&Up- Fit Squad'. The Fast&Up- Fit Squad is supporting over 100 athletes across the country. Talking about his association, Mayank said: "I take fitness and leading a healthy lifestyle seriously. It's an honour for me to partner with India's fastest growing sports nutrition brand as we share a common set of values. Fast& Up has a range of top quality nutrition products that will form an integral component in my training regime." After a record-breaking domestic season in 2017-18, which included over a 1,000 runs within a single month and consistent performances for both Karnataka and India A across formats, Mayank received his maiden call to the Indian Test team midway through the 2018-19 Border-Gavaskar Series in Australia.

https://brandequity.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/advertising/fastup-announced-as-the-official-energy-drink-partner-for-procam-international-running-events-in-india/68520433 The events include includes the Tata Consultancy Services World 10K, the Tata Steel Kolkata 25K, the Airtel Delhi Half Marathon and the Tata Mumbai Marathon Fast&Up, the flagship sports and active nutrition brand of Aeronutrix Sports Products Private Limited announc d their partnership with Procam International as the official energy drink partners to all their IAAF Labelled races that includes the Tata Consultancy Services World 10K, the Tata Steel Kolkata 25K, the Airtel Delhi Half Marathon and the Tata Mumbai Marathon. Fast&Up has inked this prestigious partnership for these proclaimed events within 3 years of its inception. As the energy drink partner to these runs, the brand has successfully placed its name amidst the top brands of India. This association will aid the brand to create awareness and cater to more than 1250,000 runners nationally. The brand will provide energy drink support with their flagship product Fast&Up Reload to the runners during their run that will provide them with energy and help enhance performance. The partnership is a step forward towards the brand’s aim to revolutionise the way sports nutrition is administered in India. As running continues to establish itself as the largest mass participation sport in India, Procam running events have played a pivotal role in this evolution. From starting a health & fitness revolution that spawned over 1200 races in the country, to creating a springboard for Indian long- and middle-distance runners; these events apart from being an important part of the global running calendar have also become a beacon of humanity and compassion. The events transcend sport to provide equal opportunity participation across a cross-section of society. Today, the Procam events are the single largest sporting platform for charity in India. Procam International has through the years, built phenomenal brand equity partnering with some of the most reputed brands across the world. Brands with a common vision of energizing the sports and fitness revolution the country is currently in the midst of. With this partnership with Fast&Up, Procam welcomes on board a partner who understands the depth of the sport and the need of an athlete – amateur and professional alike. Fast&Up is spearheading the sports nutrition revolution in India with its wide range of effervescent products, it is the only Indian nutrition brand to be certified with 'Informed-Choice' across its flagship products. Effervescent nutrition renders enhanced bioavailability that is an essential element aiding as a performance booster making it an intelligent and better format compared to traditional supplements. The professional running community in Bangalore were the forerunners in adopting this technology, Fast&Up had become their first choice for sports nutrition since it was launched. Vijayaraghavan Venugopal, CEO, Aeronutrix Sports Products Pvt. Ltd, said, “We are proud to be associated with Procam. It is a prestigious moment for our entire team to achieve this feat within 3 years of our launch. We are excited to fuel runners across the country in the next year and thank the running community for showing support to Fast&Up, making it a trusted brand for sports in India” Vivek Singh, Jd. MD, Procam International, said, “For us at Procam International, runners are our biggest stakeholders. We are constantly striving to ensure an enhanced running experience for our runners and we believe it is the same for Fast&Up. We are delighted to welcome Fast&Up as our energy drink partner and look forward to growing this partnership.”

https://www.business-standard.com/article/pti-stories/crossroads-emerged-as-the-uber-destination-to-provide-one-stop-auto-solution-119031900689_1.html Crossroads is one of India' s most trusted solutions for roadside emergencies with a premier network of Road Side Assistance (RSA) providers. They are now providing bidding-based repair services through a supporting mobile app which will connect vehicle owners with bids from different garage owners With over 130,000 deaths annually, India has overtaken China and now has the worst road traffic assistance rate worldwide. According to a data accessed from the transport department of Delhi government, the total number of registered vehicles at 1,05,67,712 till May 25, 2017. This means the one-stop auto solution has become the need of the hour for every vehicle owner in India. Keeping this in mind, Crossroads has introduced its own mobile app that aims to provide bidding-based repairing services. Now, the vehicle owner can simply post the issue and get bidding offers from several garage owners who are willing to provide a doorstep vehicle service for them. The app especially focuses on providing 'doorstep vehicle service' in Delhi NCR region and combined with their powerful bidding system is set to become a one-stop auto solution for every automobile owner in the capital city. Experts believe that this new app by Crossroads will go a long way in ensuring quality doorstep vehicle services at affordable costs. As evident, the company has long been a popular name when it comes to Indian roads, boasting a team of industry's most proficient & skilled staff and the best RSA partner network across the country. Crossroads is one of the few service providers in India who provides a one-stop auto solution and has brought best deals in categories like breakdown assistance, tow trucks, flatbed trucks, garage services, car servicing and many more on a single platform. Speaking at a recent press meet, the Founder of the company, Mr. Harrish Lakhera was quoted, "We understand the need for faster and efficient services in the times of emergencies which is why we have decided to put a support channel in place, in the form of our new app. Combined with our RSA network, this app will aid our customers until the help reaches them by letting them track their provider in real time. With over 15,000 assistance each month, we are happy that more and more customers are putting their trust in our services!" About Crossroads: Crossroads India Assistance Pvt. Ltd. started its operations in March, 2011 with RSA service across Delhi and later expanded the same across India. Mr. Harrish started the business with a vision to grow it into a one of the largest Roadside assistance provider brand in India. In 2015, Crossroads raised INR 7 Cr. from Sixth Sense Ventures under the leadership of Mr. Harrish Lakhera. Crossroads has emerged as a Single platform for all car needs, RSA, Service, Garage network, Insurance, auto service deals and offers, Service Auction, garage locator.

https://www.prnewswire.com/in/news-releases/crossroads-emerged-as-the-uber-destination-to-provide-one-stop-auto-solution-880562883.html NEW DELHI, March 19, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Crossroads is one of India' s most trusted solutions for roadside emergencies with a premier network of Road Side Assistance (RSA) providers. They are now providing bidding-based repair services through a supporting mobile app which will connect vehicle owners with bids from different garage owners With over 130,000 deaths annually, India has overtaken China and now has the worst road traffic assistance rate worldwide. According to a data accessed from the transport department of Delhi government, the total number of registered vehicles at 1,05,67,712 till May 25, 2017. This means the one-stop auto solution has become the need of the hour for every vehicle owner in India. Keeping this in mind, Crossroads has introduced its own mobile app that aims to provide bidding-based repairing services. Now, the vehicle owner can simply post the issue and get bidding offers from several garage owners who are willing to provide a doorstep vehicle service for them. The app especially focuses on providing 'doorstep vehicle service' in Delhi NCR region and combined with their powerful bidding system is set to become a one-stop auto solution for every automobile owner in the capital city. Experts believe that this new app by Crossroads will go a long way in ensuring quality doorstep vehicle services at affordable costs. As evident, the company has long been a popular name when it comes to Indian roads, boasting a team of industry's most proficient & skilled staff and the best RSA partner network across the country. Crossroads is one of the few service providers in India who provides a one-stop auto solution and has brought best deals in categories like breakdown assistance, tow trucks, flatbed trucks, garage services, car servicing and many more on a single platform. Speaking at a recent press meet, the Founder of the company, Mr. Harrish Lakhera was quoted, "We understand the need for faster and efficient services in the times of emergencies which is why we have decided to put a support channel in place, in the form of our new app. Combined with our RSA network, this app will aid our customers until the help reaches them by letting them track their provider in real time. With over 15,000 assistance each month, we are happy that more and more customers are putting their trust in our services!" About Crossroads Crossroads India Assistance Pvt. Ltd. started its operations in March, 2011 with RSA service across Delhi and later expanded the same across India. Mr. Harrish started the business with a vision to grow it into a one of the largest Road–side assistance provider brand in India. In 2015, Crossroads raised INR 7 Cr. from Sixth Sense Ventures under the leadership of Mr. Harrish Lakhera. Crossroads has emerged as a Single platform for all car needs, RSA, Service, Garage network, Insurance, auto service deals and offers, Service Auction, garage locator. To know more about the company, one can visit https://www.crossroadshelpline.com and download their accompanying mobile app from Play Store at http://bit.ly/crossroadsmobile

Whoa! What an eventful and fulfilling month this has been. Extremely pleased to share that Sixth Sense has possibly become the only fund in India to be in a position to return almost the entire capital back to investors within a period of less than 3 years! Interestingly, the 4 exits done were amongst the smallest investments done from the fund in terms of amount deployed! To give you a broad sense, Sixth Sense has clocked 5X returns on invested capital in less than 3 years. Sixth Sense Ventures has scored a rare hat-trick: ·First consumer-centric domestic venture fund in India ·First alternate asset fund in India with a 0% management fee option ·Possibly - the first fund in India to return Capital back within 3 years Our thesis and philosophy of “Investing in the Consumer of Tomorrow… Today” seems to have resonated well. While the returns as of date, are extremely satisfying, we feel completely vindicated with the fact that 2 of our portfolio companies found its way to some of the largest unicorns in India – Reliance Jio (Grab) and OYO Rooms (Weddingz.in). Below are the details of the exits from SSIO-I: 1. Hindustan Foods Limited – Sixth Sense had invested in HFL in December 2016 at Rs40 per share and with the business doing Rs.37Cr. in revenue. We are delighted to announce that our investment has grown 9X in just over 2 years and we have significantly exited our stake to WestBridge Capital. This has to be one of the most phenomenal exits from public market investment in recent times. Would like to place on record the fantastic work being done by Sameer Kothari, CEO of HFL, as he's working to build India’s largest consumer contracting company. 2. Grab – Sixth Sense sold its stake to Reliance Jio at a ~2X in a strategic acquisition. Interestingly, Grab's founder, Pratish, in our investor conference a few months back, had eluded to the fact that a vertical specialist like Grab will eventually be a great strategic asset for some of the largest E-com players like Amazon, Walmart, Paytm or Reliance. Prophetic, I must say!. 3. Weddingz.in – The company found a new home in OYO, which took over the company assets via a BTA. The acquisition is now completely consumed, delivering a ~1.7X returns for Sixth Sense. 4. JHS Svendgaard – Sixth Sense had exited out of JHS over a year back delivering a 7X return on capital employed within 2 years. This takes us to a total of 4 exits from SSIO-I, with a clear line of sight for the remaining six - Ethos Watches, Veeba Foods, LEAP India, Soothe Healthcare, Smaaash Entertainment and Crossroads. While business environment will always be challenging, we do believe that your investee companies/promoters are gettin! stronger by the day.

https://www.vccircle.com/sixth-sense-ventures-scores-blockbuster-returns-in-secondary-deal Venture capital firm Sixth Sense Ventures has earned multi-bagger returns for a second time by selling the bulk of its stake in a company from its young portfolio. The consumer-focussed VC firm founded by Nikhil Vora sold three-fourths of its stake in Hindustan Foods Ltd on Friday. This is the second liquidity move by the VC firm from Hindustan Foods, a contract manufacturer for fast-moving consumer goods, after it sold a small chunk of shares last May. The investment firm had invested Rs 8 crore ($1.1 million) December 2016 for a 15.4% stake in the Goa-based company previously owned by the diversified conglomerate Dempo Group. In May 2018, Sixth Sense made a partial exit and took home a little over Rs 2 crore, before accounting for transaction costs and statutory levies. In the process, it recovered a fourth of its principal investment. Now, Sixth Sense has sold an 11.11% stake for Rs 54 crore, taking the total amount it has fetched so far to Rs 56 crore. Hindustan Foods has not paid dividend for the past many years. WestBridge Capital Partners, a homegrown public markets-focussed private equity firm, bought Sixth Sense’s stake. Overall, WestBridge bought an 11.54% stake for Rs 56 crore, stock-exchange data showed. Sixth Sense has clocked nine-fold return on its investment in a little over two years. This translates into an internal rate of return (IRR), or annualised return, of 170%, VCCircle estimates show. PE and venture capital firms typically target 20-30% IRR in rupee terms. Sixth Sense retains a 3.3% stake in Hindustan Foods, valued at Rs 16.4 crore. In addition, Vora owns a 4.08% stake in a personal capacity through wife Chaitali. That stake is worth upwards of Rs 20 crore at the current market rate. Shares of Hindustan Foods gained 1.3% to close at Rs 369.85 apiece on the BSE on Friday, giving it a market capitalisation of Rs 500 crore. The stock has traded between Rs 484 and Rs 252.80 over the past year. Stock markets were closed on Monday for a religious holiday. However, the rationale of the stake sale in Hindustan Foods is not clear as Sixth Sense is simultaneously making a fresh investment through warrants. VCCircle reported last week that Convergent Finance, a private equity firm floated by former Fairfax India executive Harsha Raghavan, had agreed to invest in Hindustan Foods. Sixth Sense is buying warrants convertible into equity shares as part of the same deal. An email query sent to Vora seeking comment on the divestment and returns estimate did not yield a response till the time of publishing this report. Sixth Sense’s investments Hindustan Foods is not the first investment that has given the VC firm abundant returns. Sixth Sense had previously invested in another Mumbai-listed firm JHS Svendgaard Laboratories Ltd, which makes oral care products on contract for brands such as Dabur, Patanjali and Amway. It has also launched its own oral care portfolio under the brand Aquawhite. Sixth Sense had bought an 11% stake in the Delhi-based company in early 2016 for Rs 3.3 crore. This stake fell by half when the company issued convertible warrants to its promoter and other investors. In October 2017, Sixth Sense exited its investment in JHS Svendgaard for Rs 23 crore before taxes. It is likely to have made nearly seven-fold returns, or 175% IRR, on that investment, VCCircle estimates show. Vora and his wife continue to hold a substantial chunk in JHS, stock-exchange data showed. Sixth Sense was founded in 2014 and raised Rs 125 crore for its fund. It had invested in luxury watch retailer Ethos in its debut deal. In January 2015, it put money in Cross Roads India Assistance Pvt. Ltd, a roadside assistance provider for cars and two-wheelers. In November 2016, it backed Grab, a Mumbai-based hyperlocal logistics service provider. From the first fund, it backed 10 companies such as gaming arcade operator Smaaash Entertainment Pvt. Ltd besides Hindustan Foods, JHS Svendgaard and Grab. The investment firm floated its second fund last year with a target corpus of Rs 350 crore. Sixth Sense has struck three exits from the first fund and recorded an aggregate multiple on invested capital of 2.3 times, or 40% IRR. From the second fund, it has invested in seven companies and exited none so far. These include an investment in Rakesh Jhunjhunwala-backed Fullife Healthcare Pvt. Ltd, which sells sports nutrition supplements under the brand Fast & Up, in June last year. Its other investments from the second fund include AVG Logistics and Eupheus Learning, which develops textbooks and their digitised versions to integrate class and home learning.

hhttps://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/ril-in-talks-for-majority-stake-in-startup-grab/articleshow/68192744.cms BENGALURU: Reliance Industries (RIL) is in advanced discussions to buy a majority stake in Mumbai-based hyperlocal logistics startup Graba Grub Services, according to two sources familiar with the development. The move comes after the Mukesh Ambani-led company said earlier that it plans to enter the e-commerce space. While the size of the acquisition could not be ascertained, a deal could close in the next few weeks and also involve an investment to scale up the venture further. Known as Grab, the startup provides third-party, last-mile logistics services for food delivery companies, online pharmacy and grocery delivery, among others. “Grab has been talking to potential suitors for the last six-seven months. The company had also held talks with Paytm for an acquisition,” said one of the sources mentioned earlier. An emailed query to RIL did not elicit a response till the time of going to press. When contacted, Grab co-founder Pratish Sanghvi declined to comment. Grab has raised over Rs 30 crore from financial investors like Oliphans Capital, SIDBI and Sixth Sense Ventures, besides strategic backers like Zomato and Dubai-based logistics company Aramex. The startup was founded in 2014 by Sanghvi, Jignesh Patel and Nishant Vora. It has delivered over 127 million orders across 49 cities. The client list includes McDonald’s, Flipkart, Amazon, BigBasket and Big Bazaar. It has offices in Mumbai, Delhi, Ahmedabad and Bengaluru. The acquisition, if it goes through, will help Reliance with a new commerce push, which is expected to be launched by telecom arm Reliance Jio and Reliance Retail. Ambani had said last year that the company plans an online-to-offline (O2O) approach to build this business, leveraging the customer base of Jio and retail business besides kirana stores. Last month, Ambani had said the rollout of the business will start from Gujarat. “The new e-commerce platform will empower and enrich our 12 lakh small retailers and shopkeepers in Gujarat,” he had said. This is expected to pit Reliance against e-commerce giants Amazon and Walmart-owned Flipkart, who control 70-80% of the market right now. Reliance has become increasingly active in making acquisitions and investments in the local startup ecosystem as it starts the next phase of expanding Jio into services. Last year, the company acquired music-streaming service Saavn and merged it with its JioMusic, valuing the combined unit at $1 billion. It also acquired education tech startup Embibe and committed to invest another $180 million in the company. Earlier this month, it announced three deals, including acquisition of 83% stake in vernacular language services startup Reverie for Rs 190 crore with a further investment of Rs 77 crore.

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/convergent-sixth-sense-back-hindustan-foods/articleshow/68192652.cms Bengaluru: Convergent Finance, a PE firm founded by former Fairfax India head Harsha Raghavan, has closed its maiden deal by leading a Rs 100-crore investment in Hindustan Foods, which contract-manufactures products for multinationals like Reckitt Benckiser and Unilever. While Convergent is investing Rs 70 crore in the company, existing backer Nikhil Vora’s Sixth Sense Ventures is putting in the remaining Rs 30 crore. After the investment is completed, Sixth Sense will hold about 20% stake, while Convergent will have about 10% stake, according to a source familiar with the matter. Sixth Sense had first picked up the stake in the company in 2016. Since then, the valuation of the company has gone up about nine times. Hindustan Foods was owned by Dempo Group but Vanity Case Group, led by Sameer Kothari, acquired a majority stake in 2013. The company is responsible for manufacturing about a third of Hindustan Unilever’s beverages business, like Bru coffee and Lipton tea. It also works with companies like Danone and US Polo. For Convergent, it is a bet on India’s growing middle-class consumption. “There is a move from hundreds and thousands of contractors towards more strategic manufacturers in this space and we believe that Hindustan Foods is best placed to capture this. Also, because of GST, the entire dynamics of the industry have changed and we can set up large, automated modern facilities to serve the entire country,” Raghavan told TOI.

https://www.vccircle.com/reliance-eyes-o2o-commerce-space-may-buy-logistics-startup-grab In line with its plans to enter the e-commerce space, Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries is in advanced to buy a majority stake in Mumbai-based delivery services startup Grab a Grub Services Pvt. Ltd., two people in the know told The Times of India. While the size of the transaction is not known, RIL may invest in the firm to further scale up the venture, the report added. “Grab has been talking to potential suitors for the last six-seven months. The company had also held talks with Paytm for an acquisition,” one of the persons mentioned above was quoted as telling TOI. The deal, if realised, will help Reliance launch a commerce business via its Reliance Jio and Reliance Retail businesses. The business will operate under the online-to-offline model by leveraging Jio’s customers and the retail arm’s kirana stores, the report stated. According to TOI, Grab a Grub has secured over Rs 30 crore in capital from investors such as early-stage investment firm Oliphans Capital, state-run SIDBI, venture capital firm Sixth Sense Ventures, restaurant listings and food delivery firm Zomato and Dubai-based logistics company Aramex. Set up in 2012 by Pratish Sanghvi, Nishant Vora and Jignesh Patel, Grab a Grub offers third-party last-mile delivery services to businesses and merchants, including restaurants, e-commerce companies, retailers, grocers, pharmacies, food-tech platforms and banks. In another development, Gurugram-based online grocery startup Grofers India Pvt. Ltd has raised $60 million (Rs 430 crore) in a follow-on funding round led by existing investor SoftBank, several media reports said. The company’s post-money valuation has now touched $425 million, The Economic Times reported, citing data research platform Paper.vc. The report said that this was the first tranche of a larger round of $120-140 million. SoftBank is invested in Grofers through its Vision Fund. The online grocer’s other investors include Tiger Global and Sequoia Capital.