Fundraising Efforts by Brandworks and Others; Acquisition of Teleport by StampMyVisa, Supported by Kunal Shah
In a strategic move to strengthen its presence in South India and expand its digital visa services across India and Southeast Asia, business-to-business (B2B) visa platform StampMyVisa has acquired travel tech startup Teleport.
Teleport, a digital-first, youth-focused platform, was backed by prominent Indian entrepreneurs including Kunal Shah (CRED), Vidit Aatrey (Meesho), and Phanindra Sama (RedBus). The acquisition aims to combine Teleport’s consumer innovation with StampMyVisa’s operational scale and B2B visa infrastructure.
The merged entity is expected to offer faster and simpler visa services by leveraging their combined technology and network. StampMyVisa plans to use its API infrastructure, Konveyor, to integrate visa services into travel platforms, banks, OTAs, and fintechs.
While comprehensive recent funding information for Pronto, Brandworks, Comminent, ZenZebra, and Cureous Labs is not available, some funding details have been uncovered. For instance, Teleport had raised $507,000 in seed funding from AngelList and others prior to the acquisition.
Meanwhile, other startups have also raised funds. Comminent, a deep-tech communications startup, has raised $2 million from Transition VC. Retail startup ZenZebra has raised an undisclosed amount in a pre-seed funding round led by Delhi-headquartered Rukam Capital.
StampMyVisa, which offers visa processing services for over 60 countries and has processed more than 50,000 visas in six months, was founded in 2023. The company has so far worked with over 150 Indian startups in the lifestyle and consumer brands category.
Pronto, a household help platform, has raised $11 million in Series A funding led by General Catalyst and Glade Brook Capital. Founded in 2024 by Anjali Sardana, Pronto offers a 10-minute, shift-based model for on-demand home services.
Refold AI, founded by the team behind JustDoc (acquired by Reliance), aims to use the fresh capital to expand its engineering team, deepen product integrations, and support its growing enterprise customer base.
Medtech startup Cureous Labs has raised Rs 1.66 crore ($190,000) in a seed funding round led by Inflection Point Ventures (IPV). The startup has developed Eturnal, a retrofittable system that has been deployed across hospitals, rehabilitation centers, and home care settings.
Brandworks Technologies, an electronics design-led manufacturing company, has secured $7 million in a Series A round led by Cactus Partners. The company makes AI hardware, IoT solutions, advanced audio systems, charging technologies, financial devices, surveillance systems, and renewable energy products.
ZenZebra offers curated brand setups into high-traffic spaces such as Awfis, Smartworks, and The Lodhi by DLF. The company plans to expand its touchpoints across Indian cities and enhance technology capabilities for real-time consumer engagement.
Pronto plans to expand beyond Gurugram into Mumbai, Bengaluru, and other metros within the next 12-18 months. Refold AI plans to build an AI-native infrastructure for the service sector and scale up its engineering team.
Cureous Labs will use the funding to manufacture its flagship automated patient repositioning systems, build inventory, and scale commercial operations. Comminent is building intelligent, device-agnostic IoT infrastructure for smart cities and utilities and plans to scale up hiring, strengthen its manufacturing automation, and build strategic inventory to service demand at speed and scale.
In summary, while StampMyVisa is leveraging the Teleport acquisition to scale digital visa services with a focus on youth travelers and expand geographically, comprehensive recent funding information for Pronto, Brandworks, Comminent, ZenZebra, and Cureous Labs is not available in the current search results. However, other startups like Teleport, Comminent, ZenZebra, Cureous Labs, and Refold AI have raised funds to support their growth and expansion plans.
- The acquisition of Teleport by StampMyVisa signifies a shift towards integrating technology in travel and lifestyle, aiming to facilitate smoother visa services for youth travelers.
- As startups in sectors such as medtech, branding, and deep-tech communications continue to raise funds, the sports and leisure industry may also witness advancements in technology and services, improving consumer engagement and enhancing overall experiences.
