ELIVAAS, a Gurugram-based vacation home rental platform, has raised $5 million in its Series A funding round. The round was led by 3one4 Capital, with additional participation from Peak XV’s Surge and other angel investors. This funding will be used to improve ELIVAAS’s technology, expand its market reach, and optimize operations for both homeowners and guests, according to a company press release.

A Rising Star in the Vacation Rental Market

Founded in 2023 by Ritwik Khare and Karan Miglani, ELIVAAS focuses on managing luxury villas and premium apartments. The platform is revolutionizing India’s vacation rental market by offering curated, high-end experiences. With more than 140 properties under its management, ELIVAAS operates in popular vacation spots like Goa, Delhi NCR, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Himachal Pradesh, and Uttarakhand.

ELIVAAS is committed to providing premium vacation experiences, targeting guests seeking luxurious and personalized stays in some of India’s top travel destinations. If you’re looking for a relaxing villa in Goa or a grand estate in Rajasthan, ELIVAAS aims to offer the perfect fit.

For more information on luxury vacation rentals, check out their official website.

Expanding Technology and Reach

ELIVAAS is not just a vacation home platform; it’s a tech-driven company that uses advanced tools to enhance the experience for both homeowners and guests. The new funding will be used to enhance their proprietary technology to improve property management and booking systems.

Homeowners can use the ELIVAAS app to get real-time updates on bookings, reviews, and property maintenance. This app offers seamless management, allowing property owners to stay connected with their rentals without being involved in daily operations. The HK app also helps automate the check-in process, making it easier for homeowners to manage properties even from a distance.

On the guest side, ELIVAAS offers a user-friendly experience with features like 3D property tours, AI-powered chatbots for quick assistance, and easy, secure payment options. These tech-driven tools ensure guests have a hassle-free booking experience, making ELIVAAS stand out in the competitive vacation rental market.

For more insights into how technology is enhancing vacation rentals, explore this guide on AI-driven property management.

Backed by Major Investors

3one4 Capital led the Series A round, while Peak XV’s Surge and other investors contributed. This backing demonstrates strong confidence in ELIVAAS’s business model and its potential to become a leader in India’s luxury vacation rental market. The platform’s innovative approach, combining hospitality with advanced technology, has caught the attention of top investors.

ELIVAAS had previously raised $2.5 million in funding back in November 2023, bringing their total funds raised to $7.5 million. This new investment will help the company scale operations, reach more homeowners and guests, and further solidify its presence in India’s growing vacation rental sector.

Learn more about Peak XV’s Surge and their support for high-growth startups on their official site.

Focus on Premium Experiences

What sets ELIVAAS apart from other platforms is its dedication to providing premium vacation experiences. Each property in their portfolio is carefully curated to offer a luxurious and personalized stay for guests. The company ensures high-quality service, from booking to check-out, creating memorable experiences for travelers.

Whether it’s a secluded villa in Goa or a spacious luxury home in Rajasthan, ELIVAAS has options to suit various tastes and preferences. By focusing on high-end hospitality and curated experiences, ELIVAAS is creating a niche for itself in India’s vacation rental industry.

For a closer look at the best vacation spots ELIVAAS operates in, check out their featured destinations.

Conclusion

With the latest $5 million in Series A funding, ELIVAAS is ready to expand its footprint in the luxury vacation rental market. By investing in new technology, growing its property portfolio, and improving its operations, ELIVAAS is poised to offer even better experiences for both homeowners and guests. Keep an eye on this rising star in the Indian vacation rental industry.

For more details on ELIVAAS’s growth and expansion, visit their official news page.

Edtech company Physics Wallah (PW) has raised a whopping $210 million in its latest Series B funding round. This investment was led by Hornbill Capital, with participation from well-known investors like Lightspeed Venture Partners, GSV, and WestBridge.

With this fresh round of funding, Physics Wallah’s post-money valuation has skyrocketed to $2.8 billion, more than double its previous valuation of $1.1 billion from its Series A round. During that earlier round, the company had raised $100 million.

The company has big plans for this new funding. According to a press release, Physics Wallah will use the money to scale operations and strengthen its presence in the education market. This includes expanding into the K-12 segment, improving their content offerings, and exploring mergers with other education platforms that focus on building communities. They also plan to expand inorganically through possible acquisitions.

Physics Wallah’s founder and CEO, Alakh Pandey, expressed excitement about the funding, saying, “This investment validates our efforts to democratize education and make quality learning accessible to every student in India. It’s a testament to the impact we’ve made over the years.”

Growth and Offerings

Physics Wallah, founded in 2020 by Alakh Pandey and Prateek Maheshwari, has grown rapidly in the edtech space. The company offers online and offline courses as well as study materials for competitive exams like JEE, NEET, and various state board exams. It has also ventured into areas like skilling, higher education, and study abroad programs.

One of its key offerings is the Institute of Innovation (IOI), which provides 4-year residential programs designed to make students job-ready.

Origins as a YouTube Channel

Physics Wallah started in 2014 as a simple YouTube channel offering free educational content. Since then, it has grown into a massive platform, with over 46 million students across 112 YouTube channels. These channels are available in five regional languages, making education more accessible to students in various parts of India.

The company’s app has been downloaded more than 30 million times, and it boasts 5.5 million paid students.

Financial Performance

In terms of revenue, Physics Wallah has seen impressive growth. In FY23, its revenue jumped 3.3 times to ₹779 crore. However, despite the revenue growth, the company’s profit took a hit, dropping by more than 90% to ₹8.87 crore.

While Physics Wallah hasn’t released its financial results for FY24 yet, the company is confident that it will reach ₹2,000 crore in revenue for the fiscal year.

Edtech Funding Trends

Physics Wallah’s funding round comes at a time when investment in the edtech sector has slowed down. According to data from TheKredible, edtech startups in India raised only $160 million across 27 deals in 2024 so far. This is a significant drop compared to previous years: in 2023, the sector raised $456 million, while in 2022 it secured $2.3 billion, and in 2021, a massive $5.8 billion was invested in edtech companies.

In the midst of this slowdown, Physics Wallah’s ability to raise $210 million shows that it continues to be a strong player in the Indian edtech market.

*Aye Finance, a platform that provides loans to small businesses, has raised *₹250 crore ($30 million)* in a *Series G funding round. This round was led by *ABC Impact, a Singapore-based investment firm. *British International Investment (BII), the UK’s development finance institution, also participated in this round. BII had previously led Aye’s Series F round in *December 2023, raising *₹310 crore ($37 million)*. Earlier, in June 2024, Aye Finance also raised *$30 million through debt.

This new investment comes from *ABC Impact’s Fund II, which now manages over *$850 million** in assets. However, the deal will be completed once certain conditions are met. With this latest round of funding, Aye Finance’s total equity raised so far is ₹1,250 crore ($150 million).

Helping Small Businesses Across India

Aye Finance has a broad reach across India, with more than 398 branches in *22 states. The company primarily offers financial services to *micro and *small businesses, including those in **manufacturing, **trading, and *service industries. These businesses often face challenges in getting loans from traditional banks.

Aye Finance provides three main loan products:

1. Quasi-mortgage loans
2. Hypothetical loans
3. Add-on loans

These loans range in value from *₹50,000 to ₹10,00,000, offering small businesses the financial support they need to grow. To date, Aye Finance has disbursed loans worth over *₹7,600 crore ($915 million)* to more than **5,76,000 businesses. Impressively, around *60% of these businesses return for more loans, showing the trust and satisfaction among its customers.

Strong Financial Growth

Aye Finance has experienced significant financial growth over the past year. For the fiscal year 2023 (*FY23), the company’s revenue from operations grew by **44.5%, reaching *₹623 crore*, with a profit of *₹54 crore*. In the following year (FY24), the company reported a profit of *₹161 crore*, which is *three times more than the previous year. Its revenue also increased by *67%, reaching *₹1,072 crore**.

At the end of *FY24, Aye Finance had *₹4,500 crore** in *assets under management (AUM), and its *gross non-performing assets (NPA) stood at 1.21%. This low NPA rate indicates that the company’s loan recovery process is strong, and only a small percentage of loans are at risk of default.

Competing in the NBFC Space

Aye Finance operates in a competitive market. It faces competition from other non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) such as:

• Indifi
• Axio (formerly Capital Float)
• Lendingkart
• Flexiloans

Despite the competition, Aye Finance’s steady growth and strong financial performance position it well in the market. With the new funding, Aye plans to continue expanding its reach and offering more loans to small businesses across India. The support from investors like ABC Impact and British International Investment shows confidence in Aye Finance’s ability to deliver impactful financial solutions.

GrayQuest, a Mumbai-based fintech startup focused on education loans, is raising ₹53 crore ($6 million) in a Series B funding round. The round is co-led by Pravega Fund and IIFL Fintech Fund, both investing ₹21.5 crore each. Additionally, GrayQuest’s founder, Rishab Sumer Mehta, is contributing ₹10.56 crore worth of shares. Some of the shares allotted to Mehta are partly paid, meaning the remaining payment will be made when the board decides.

Where Will the Money Go?

GrayQuest plans to use the new funds to meet its financial needs and expand its operations. The company’s filings show that they are focusing on growing their business and improving their services.

GrayQuest has also increased its employee stock option pool (ESOP) by adding 1,204 new options, bringing the total to 5,718 options. The ESOP pool is currently valued at $4.5 million. This helps the company reward and retain employees by offering them stock options.

GrayQuest’s Growth and Value

The startup has grown steadily since it was founded seven years ago. GrayQuest is an integrated fee collection platform for schools and other educational institutions. It allows parents to pay school fees in flexible monthly installments with no interest, making it easier for families to manage their education expenses.

GrayQuest had previously raised $7 million in a Series A round in March last year and $1.2 million in a pre-Series A round in August 2020. After this latest round, the company is valued at around ₹530 crore ($64 million), according to TheKredible, a startup data platform.

The Series B round is still ongoing, meaning GrayQuest could raise more money, which might lead to changes in its valuation. Once the funding is complete, Pravega Ventures will own 10.94% of the company, and IIFL Fintech Fund will hold 4.07%. Founder Rishab Sumer Mehta will retain a 38.59% stake.

GrayQuest’s Recent Achievements

GrayQuest was recently selected for the Co-Lab initiative, which was launched by HDFC Bank in partnership with Pravega Ventures. This initiative aims to support startups like GrayQuest by giving them the tools and resources they need to grow.

For the fiscal year ending March 2023, GrayQuest reported ₹8.76 crore in operating revenue but also experienced a ₹26.3 crore loss. The company has yet to release its results for the current fiscal year (FY24).

Competition in the Education Loan Space

GrayQuest operates in a competitive market. According to TheKredible, GrayQuest and its competitors, such as Leap, Auxilo, Avanse Financial, Financepeer, Propelld, Mpower Financing, and Eduvanz, have collectively raised around $500 million in funding over the past two years.

In July, Leap was reported to be in talks to raise new funds at a unicorn valuation, showing the growth potential in the education loan market.

GrayQuest’s recent funding will help it continue expanding and competing in this growing space.

Bookmybai, a platform that connects families with domestic help, has raised Rs 2 crore in a pre-Series A funding round. The round was led by Inflection Point Ventures, a well-known investment group. This new funding will help Bookmybai grow its services and reach more locations, making it easier for families to find reliable help.

Expanding Services

The money raised will be used to expand the company’s services to new cities and areas. Bookmybai aims to add 50,000 new housemaids to its already large network. This will make the process faster and more efficient for families looking for long-term, trustworthy help. With a bigger network, Bookmybai hopes to serve even more homes across India and other countries.

About Bookmybai

Founded in 2016 by Anupam Singhal, Bookmybai is based in Mumbai. It helps families in cities like Mumbai, Pune, Bangalore, Hyderabad, and even countries like the UK, USA, Singapore, China, and Australia. Families can use the platform to find dependable, permanent household staff for their homes. This includes housemaids and other domestic helpers.

Bookmybai works like a bridge between families and housemaids. It makes finding help easier by using technology to connect families with pre-screened and trustworthy candidates. By providing this service, Bookmybai simplifies the whole process for people who need help managing their homes.

A Growing Network

One of the key strengths of Bookmybai is its large network of registered housemaids. The company claims to have over 200,000 housemaids already signed up on its platform. This gives families a wide range of options when choosing someone to help with their household needs.

By growing this network even more, Bookmybai can offer better and faster services. The company’s goal is to make sure that families have access to reliable and skilled domestic helpers, whether they live in India or abroad.

Future Plans

With the new funding, Bookmybai is focused on increasing its reach and improving the quality of its services. The company plans to expand into new locations and strengthen its current operations. By doing so, it hopes to become the go-to platform for families looking to hire domestic help.

In addition to expanding its network of housemaids, Bookmybai aims to improve its technology and make the process of hiring even smoother for families. This includes better ways to match families with the right housemaids, ensuring a good fit for both parties.

Conclusion

Bookmybai’s recent funding is a big step toward becoming a leading platform for domestic help services. By expanding its network and reaching more locations, the company hopes to provide even better service to families in India and around the world. With Rs 2 crore in new funding, Bookmybai is well-positioned to continue growing and helping more families find reliable and trustworthy household staff.