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Accel Partners To Invest Rs. 100 Crores In Universal Sportsbiz

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Accel Partners Invest In Universal Sportsbiz,Startup Stories,Business Latest News 2017,Cricket Legend Sachin Tendulkar,Celebrity Fashion Firm Universal Sportsbiz,Accel Partners Latest News,Sachin Tendulkar Backed Universal Sportsbiz,Founder of Universal Sportsbiz

Universal Sportsbiz, a celebrity fashion firm backed by cricketing legend Sachin Tendulkar, is set to raise Rs. 100 crores from US based venture firm Accel Partners.

Through the investment, Accel will pick up a 15% stake in the company. Post this investment round, the company will be valued at Rs. 650 crores ($ 100 million.) According to a news daily, both the companies have already signed an agreement and a formal announcement will be made sometime next week. Universal Sportsbiz Pvt., Ltd., (USPL) will use the fresh funds to develop their products and expand their presence across smaller cities in India.

Founded in 2012 by former national level badminton player Anjana Reddy, the company first raised Rs. 46 crores from Accel in 2015, followed by Rs. 8 crores of venture debt from Temasek’s lending platform, InnoVen Capital India. Along with Sachin Tendulkar, celebrities like Virat Kohli and Shraddha Kapoor are also associated with USPL. The company helped both the celebrities launch their private labels Wrogn and Imara respectively in 2014 and 2015. The company is also looking to tap into the international markets targeted at the Indian and Asian diaspora.

USPL also sells sports memorabilia and autographed merchandise of iconic players like Sachin Tendulkar, Cristiano Ronaldo and Rafael Nadal, among others, through its etailing platform Collectabillia. Overall, the company has raised over Rs. 260 crores from venture funds in the past five years. Currently, USPL is one of the few homegrown companies with a significant presence in the multi billion dollar celebrity fashion label business. Speaking about his investment in the company, Sachin Tendulkar said, “Anjana is prepared to take the risk to be ahead of the game and her commitment to pursue her dreams in spite of setbacks is impressive.” Sachin Tendulkar holds a 21% stake in USPL as of March 2016.

Venture firm, Accel Partners, is known for its early investments in successful startups such as Facebook, Dropbox, BookMyShow and Flipkart. Both Universal Sportsbiz and Accel Partners declined to comment on this latest development. 

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    April 16, 2025 at 11:14 pm

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Imarticus Learning Acquires MyCaptain for INR 50 Crore to Boost Non-Tech Upskilling

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My Captain

Imarticus Learning, an IPO-bound professional education firm, has acquired Bengaluru-based edtech platform MyCaptain for INR 50 crore in a cash-and-stock deal. This marks Imarticus’s fourth acquisition in four years and is aimed at expanding its presence in non-tech career training, especially across India’s Tier-II and Tier-III cities. MyCaptain, which has over 500,000 learners and a revenue of ₹27 crore for FY25, specializes in creative and entrepreneurial fields, with 60% of its users from smaller cities.

 

With this acquisition, Imarticus will bring MyCaptain’s employability bootcamps in digital marketing, design, and content to its 20+ classroom centers in 16 cities, blending online and offline learning. MyCaptain will operate as a fully-owned subsidiary, and all 250 of its employees will join Imarticus, expanding the combined workforce to over 850. The move supports Imarticus’s goal to reach five million learners by FY28 and deepen its offerings in non-tech domains.

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Ex-100X.VC Partners Launch 247VC, Announce INR 250 Crore Fund for Seed-Stage Startups

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StartupStories

Former 100X.VC partners Yagnesh Sanghrajka and Shashank Randev have launched a new venture capital firm, 247VC, unveiling a maiden fund with a target corpus of INR 250 crore (about $30 million). The SEBI-registered Category II AIF includes a base of INR 200 crore and a INR 50 crore greenshoe option, and is focused on backing 30 seed-stage startups across India over the next three years.

 

247VC will target high-potential founders in sectors like deeptech, enterprise tech, consumption, and Industry 5.0, with initial cheque sizes ranging from INR 3 crore to INR 4 crore and follow-on capital for top-performing companies. The fund has attracted prominent early backers, including Sachin Tagra (JSW Ventures), Vivek Mathur (ex-Elevation Capital), and Shailendra Majmundar (Johns Hopkins University).

Sanghrajka and Randev, who together have invested in over 200 startups previously, aim to support ambitious founders building for scale and innovation, especially in emerging and underexplored markets. The launch comes as seed-stage investing gains momentum in India, with average cheque sizes rising despite a cautious funding environment.

 

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Flam Secures $14M Series A to Revolutionize Mixed Reality Marketing with AI

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AI infrastructure startup Flam has raised $14 million in a Series A round led by RTP Global, with participation from Dovetail and existing investors, bringing its total funding to $22 million. Founded in 2021, Flam enables brands to create and deliver high-fidelity mixed reality (MR) and generative AI experiences without the need for app downloads, allowing consumers to access immersive content via QR codes or links in under 300 milliseconds.

Flam’s platform is already used by over 100 global brands-including Google, Samsung, and Netflix-reaching more than 380 million users. The new funding will accelerate product innovation, expand operations in North America, Europe, and Asia, and launch a full-stack enterprise suite for MR and GenAI-driven marketing. The company currently has over 120 employees and plans to grow to 180 by the end of 2025, aiming to transform every brand touchpoint into an interactive digital experience.

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