Bengaluru: US-based 500 Startups, a seed fund that began investing in India just over a year ago, has closed its tenth deal in the country, backing technology startup ZipDial.
Paul Singh, partner at 500 Startups, said the investment was higher than the typical $250,000 ( Rs 1.3 crore) the fund invests in early-stage companies but was under $500,000. Bangalore-based ZipDial, founded by Valerie Rozycki Wagoner, Sanjay Swamy and Amiya Pathak in 2010, has developed a mobile-engagement platform, which is based on the distinctively Indian concept of a "missed call".
A consumer just needs to make a call to a unique ZipDial number a company provides and disconnect after a single ring to receive an SMS or a call with details that the company wishes to provide.
The company counts Hindustan Unilever, P&G, Disney and Puma among its clients in India and has also expanded operations to the Caribbean with clients like Pepsi and KFC. By January 2013, it will launch services in Bangladesh and is targeting Indonesia, the Philippines and Nigeria later in the year.
The company, which aims to reach $1 million in revenue this financial year, received angel funding in April 2011 from Mumbai Angels, Blume Ventures and a handful of US-based angel investors. 500 Startups, which takes up to 7% stake in a startup, has invested in India-based ventures such as MyGola, TradeBriefs, Instamojo, Walletkit and Gazematrix. "We want to be the most active early stage investor in India," said Singh.
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