Indian portfolio of Sequoia Surge continues to raise capital from the accelerator programme and the VC firm.
Lasts week reports had surfaced around BulBul Shop, DoubtNut, Azani Sports and Skillmatics raising funds from Sequoia-Surge and other investors.
While Flynote had raised about Rs 1.38 crore from Surge and very little from Sequoia last week, it is receiving another tranche of Rs 14 crore from both entities.
Surge will put in Rs 8.89 crore whereas Sequoia will invest Rs 6 lakh. India Quotient is also participating in the round with Rs 5.16 crore via its fund IQ Alpha III, reveals RoC filings with MCA.
After this, Flynote will have raised about Rs 15.5 crore from these three investors altogether.
Flynote is a curated marketplace for consumers and agents. It connects consumers with expert agents who design itineraries and hunt best deals on flights, hotels, cars among others. Unlike others who sell holiday packages, the firm controls experience via simple WhatsApp integration.
Currently, it caters to eight global destinations Maldives, Singapore, Thailand, Switzerland including an Indian travel spot Andman.
To some extent, Flynote appears to be an enhanced version of Matrix and Blume-backed WeAreHolidays. The company which is now part of Cox & Kings used to help travellers with itineraries and procuring deals on several services.
Although we don’t see any direct competition for Flynote; MakeMyTrip, Travel Triangle and a few others could be its indirect competitors.
So far, Surge, Sequoia along with others had invested 1.38 crore in sportswear omni channel startup Azani Sports and Rs12.25 crore in Skillmatics. BulBul Shop is securing $5 million from a clutch of investors while DoubNut closed $3.3 million from Sequoia, Surge, and Omidyar Network.
Eight Indian companies selected under Surge programme appears to be a lucrative deal for several early-stage investors. As part of the program, Surge has to invest $1.5 million in each of the startups that are part of the first cohort.
The craze for Surge’s portfolio among others can be gauged from the participation of Omidyar Networks, Waterbridge, Leo Capital, India Quotient and several angels in its portfolio.
After completion of three months long acceleration programme, these eight companies will also pitch to several VCs for raising funds. It would be interesting to see how other VCs show interest in Surge’s portfolio.
Flynote: Website
