Home gardening startup Ugaoo raises Rs 47 cr

Home gardening startup Ugaoo on Tuesday announced a Rs 47 crore fund raise led by V3 Ventures.

Existing investors DSG Consumer Partners and RPG Ventures also participated in the Series A funding round, a statement said.

The Pune-headquartered company, which notched a profit at the operating level last fiscal, will use the funds for expansion activities including having a presence in top 10 cities and open 80 retail stores by FY30.

In F24, its revenue more than doubled to Rs 63 crore and the company presently has an annual recurring revenue of Rs 100 crore.

It operates three stores in Pune, Mumbai and Bengaluru, and also has an online presence, the statement said, adding that women between 25-60 years are its target audience.

It operates from a 25-acre farm near Talegaon on the outskirts of Pune and is planning to expand to 100 acres in the next two years on high demand.

"The Indian home and garden category is projected to grow at a CAGR of 30 per cent, opening up significant opportunities for Ugaoo," its founder Sidhanth Bhalinge said.

The company is planning new hubs in Kolkata, Kochi, Lucknow, Chennai, Guwahati, and Ahmedabad, he added.

"Ugaoo operates in a largely unorganised market and is equipped to seize substantial market share thanks to its strong brand recall, deeply integrated supply chain, and seasoned team," Arjun Vaidya, partner at V3, said.

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StampMyVisa raises Rs 6.6 cr

*AI-powered business Visa processing platform StampMyVisa on Tuesday announced raising Rs 6.6 crore in a pre-Series A round from Unicorn India Ventures.

The proceeds will help the platform in expansion, enhancing its AI capabilities and also enable it to introduce innovative services, StampMyVisa said.

The company also said it is on track to hit a million visas annually in the next 12-18 months, positioning itself as a dominant player in the growing visa processing market.

The global e-Visa market is projected to grow at a CAGR of 11.1 per cent from USD 1,030.5 million in 2024 to USD 2,395.2 million by 2032, providing a massive growth runway for StampMyVisa, it said.

With its use of AI to automate visa submissions, enhance compliance, and reduce processing errors, the company is positioned to capture a significant market share, it added.

"The travel sector is on the cusp of a major shift. We're seeing a rapidly growing middle class in India with an increasing appetite for global experiences. AI will revolutionise the way Indians manage visas while helping businesses scale effortlessly and empowering millions of new travellers to explore the world. We're not just building a platform for today's needs; we're creating the infrastructure that will support the next wave of global travel," said Rahul Borude, Co-founder & CEO, StampMyVisa.

The platform caters to visa application processing requirements of segments such as travel agencies, corporates, OTAs, MICE (meeting, incentives, conferences and exhibition) companies, and other businesses.

The newly raised funds will also be deployed to expand StampMyVisa's geographical footprint across India, enhance its AI-driven technology, and launch next-generation products.

Currently, India has one of the lowest passport ownership rates, with only 8 per cent of the population holding a passport. This untapped market represents a massive opportunity for the company to drive growth in a sector poised for explosive expansion, it stated.