Bits and Bytes: Know about startup, business news in Pune

Vinsys completes pre-IPO round at ₹200 crore valuation

Pune-headquartered software company Vinsys closed its pre-IPO round. Marquee investors are led by overseas funds, including NAV Capital Emerging Star Fund and xMultiplied, and domestic players, such as Nova Global Opportunities Fund, Aegis Investment Fund and Sambhavnath Investments. Earlier this month, the company firmed its plans to list on the SME exchange and appointed Beeline Capital Advisors as merchant bankers. Vineet Arora, managing director, NAV Capital Limited, said, “Trained workforce continues to be in demand the world over, and unlike the past, the focus remains on upskilling and updation for corporates and governments alike. Vinsys is attractively poised to tap this global opportunity.” With a track record of training over 1 million professionals worldwide, Vinsys is focused on doubling its growth through acquisitions, specifically targeting corporate training and digital learning platforms. As part of its expansion plans, Vinsys aims to open a new corporate office and training centre in Saudi Arabia by the end of the second quarter.

Seracle, Near Foundation to build Web3 projects

Swiss non-profit organisation Near Foundation that supports and funds development of Web3 decentralised applications (dApps) has partnered with Pune-based blockchain cloud platform Seracle to provide cost-effective solutions for Web3 projects by leveraging the Litenode architecture. Seracle’s Litenode architecture allows for significant cost savings by reducing DevOps costs by up to 90 per cent. The partnership aims to onboard around 100 Web3 projects and 5,000 developers this year. Shrikant Bhalerao, CEO, Seracle said, “Near has some of the most innovative solutions in the Web3 space such as blockchain operating system, Javascript and Rust-based SDKs (software development kit) for development. We are projecting 30 per cent of our revenue growth with Near partnership with a lot of enterprises and startups onboarding with Seracle’s web3 infrastructure. Our primary focus is India and we are seeing traction from south east Asia and Canada. To support Web3 projects building on Near, Seracle will offer platform credits from a budget pool of 100,000 USD. Near protocol will also offer grants to selected Web3 projects at Seracle’s incubation centre in Pune.”

SAIF Zone to provide platform for city-based businesses

Sharjah International Airport Free Zone (SAIF Zone), United Arab Emirates will provide a platform to businesses from the city as part of its expansion plans, said a SAIF Zone official. “Pune being the second-largest city in Maharashtra after Mumbai plays an important role in the economic and industrial growth of the state and the country. Being a startup hub in recent years with information technology (IT), engineering and automotive companies sprouting, there are lots of small and big business looking to expand their business globally and SAIF Zone, a Sharjah Government Authority, can provide them a platform for the same,” said Ali Mohamed Almutawa, deputy director, sales, SAIF Zone. The SAIF delegation met Pune-based companies in their recent two-day visit to the city.

HomesToLife expands offline presence in India

Singapore-based furniture company “HomesToLife” has expanded its offline presence in India with the launch of a store in Baner. Celeste Phua, global brand head, HomesToLife said, “The interior sector of Pune has a lot of potential both now and in the future. With the intention of offering high-quality, competitively priced furniture, HomesToLife is expanding in India at a fast pace.”

Assisted living initiative for senior citizens launched at Bavdhan

“Aastha by Athashri”, an assisted living initiative for senior citizens by city-based Paranjape Schemes (Construction) Limited was recently inaugurated at “Aastha Pebbles – Bavdhan” by Chandrakant Dalvi, former divisional commissioner of Pune region. Amit Paranjape of Paranjape Schemes said, “The concept will empower senior citizens to live active life, especially for the ones who need assistance in their day-to-day life. An array of services which will facilitate efficient and effective assisted living have been made available here. The facility can accommodate about 80 plus senior citizens.”