Two startups, Yoho and Elixia Robotics, have raised funds to grow their businesses in footwear and logistics.
Yoho, a D2C footwear brand, raised Rs 27 crore (about $3.2 million) in a pre-Series B round. Gulf Islamic Investments (GII) led the round. Rajeev Misra (CEO of SoftBank Investment Advisers), Vijay Shekhar Sharma (CEO of Paytm), Rukam Capital, and Pankaj Chaddah (Founder of Shyft) also invested.
The brand has now raised over Rs 47 crore (around $5.6 million) since its start. The new money will be used for research and innovation. Yoho wants to grow its offline presence. It plans to work with 2,000 multi-brand outlets in tier I and II cities in India. Yoho also wants to open exclusive stores and use AI to improve shoe fittings and manage stock better.
Since its launch, Yoho has sold over 1 million pairs of shoes. It sells products on Amazon, Flipkart, and Myntra.
Elixia Robotics, a logistics automation startup, raised $1 million in a pre-Series A round. The JITO Incubation and Innovation Foundation (JIIF) led the round. Motilal Oswal, Vimal Shah, Vinod Dugar, and Ashok Shah also invested.
Founded in 2022 by Sanket Sheth, Elixia Robotics creates software for supply chain management. This includes transport management systems. The funds will help Elixia expand into the Middle East. They will also use AI and machine learning to improve their systems and offer real-time insights.