Fundings-in-Brief: Startup Manufacturing Wine without Grapes Raises $2.7m, Ashton Kutcher Invests in Farm-2-Consumer Startup, Vestaron Raises $18m, lots more
Summary
Ava Winery, a startup engineering wine without grapes or fermentation, has raised $2.7 million in seed funding in a round led by Hong Kong billionaire Li Ka-shing-backed Horizons Ventures. Offering ready-to-eat meals to the Indian sector, Yumlane has raised a $1 million seed round with online store Flipkart CEO Binny Bansal. Other participants in the round included People Group founder Anupam Mittal, Katalyzers Fund’s Harish Bahl, co-founder of MakeMyTrip Sachin Bhatia, and private equity partner at New Silk Route Darius Pandole. Food delivery startup Mindful Chef, which is infamous for delivering food to celebrities like the Beckhams, has raised a $1 million seed round via crowdfunding platform Seedrs with participation from tennis champ Andy Murray, gold medal Olympian Victoria Pendleton, and rugby world cup champ Will Greenwood. Murray also recently invested in UK startup Hectare Agritech, which manages two agriculture trading platforms: SellMyLivestock and Graindex.