In today’s briefing:
- Rainforest Secures US$21.5M Funding, Reports 9x Growth in FY2022 Revenue
- Peak XV Leads $12m Round in Startup that Simplifies Visa Applications
- Aampe Attracts US$7.5M to Turn Apps’ Marketing Messaging into a Personalised Experience
- Vertex Ventures Leads Indian D2C Beauty Startup’s $20m Series B
Rainforest Secures US$21.5M Funding, Reports 9x Growth in FY2022 Revenue
- Singapore-based e-commerce aggregator Rainforest has raised US$21.5 million in a convertible note round from existing investors, including Canopy Tropics, Monks Hill Ventures, Insignia Venture Partners, and January Capital.
- This brings the company’s total funding (debt and equity) to over US$100 million.
- Rainforest plans to use the funds to acquire new e-commerce brands, improve the platform capabilities to accelerate channel expansion, and for geographical expansion and product development.
Peak XV Leads $12m Round in Startup that Simplifies Visa Applications
- For many who don’t hold powerful passports, securing a travel visa often comes with cumbersome paperwork, prolonged waiting periods, and substantial costs, thus posing a significant barrier to international travel.
- One startup is bidding to solve this problem. Launched in 2021, Atlys allows users to apply for visas from anywhere in the world through its platform.
- Aside from unifying the process in one place, the platform helps predict visa processing time while reducing rejection rates.
Aampe Attracts US$7.5M to Turn Apps’ Marketing Messaging into a Personalised Experience
- Aampe, an AI-native user engagement platform for consumer mobile apps, has secured a US$7.5 million pre-Series A funding round led by Matrix Partners India and Peak XV Partners.
- This brings the US- and Singapore-based startup’s total funding raised to date to US$9.3 million.
- The new capital will support product development and fuel growth.
Vertex Ventures Leads Indian D2C Beauty Startup’s $20m Series B
- With rising urbanization and increased social media exposure to global beauty trends, India’s beauty and personal care market is now set to hit US$38 billion in value by 2028.
- A big part of that growth has come from direct-to-consumer brands: in the past four to five years, over 80 of them have emerged, accompanied by a wave of investments.
- One of these D2C players is Pilgrim, which recently raised US$20 million in a series B funding round led by Vertex Ventures Southeast Asia and India.
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