illumine and Seven Raise Early-Stage Funding
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illumine Raises USD 2.5 Mn Funding from Prime Venture Partners
illumine, a fast-growing startup transforming early childhood education, has raised USD 2.5 million in seed funding from Prime Venture Partners.
The funds will be used to fuel product innovation and support the company's international expansion.
Founded in 2019 by Navneet Rastogi (CEO), Sourabh Agarwal (CTO), and Purva Goyal (CPO), illumine was born from Rastogi's personal experience of missing his son's first steps while at daycare — a moment that led him to reimagine how technology could bridge communication gaps in childcare. "That moment made me realise how outdated and disconnected childcare systems are," said Rastogi.
illumine offers the world's first vertical AI SaaS platform for childcare, streamlining operations, supporting educators, and enhancing parent engagement. Serving over 3,000 childcare centres across 56 countries — including the US, UAE, Southeast Asia, and Europe — the platform is already a trusted tool for thousands of early education providers.
"Despite parents spending thousands annually, the childcare industry remains largely untouched by modern tech," said Shripati Acharya, Partner at Prime Venture Partners. "illumine's AI-first platform improves outcomes across the board."
With this funding, illumine plans to accelerate its innovation pipeline and scale globally. "Every feature we build is designed to meet the real-world needs of diverse childcare providers," said CTO Sourabh Agarwal, with CPO Purva Goyal adding, "Our platform adapts to each centre's unique requirements."
Venture Catalysts Leads INR 4 Cr Investment in Seven to Advance Wearable Fintech
Mumbai-based fintech startup Seven has raised INR 4 crore in a pre-series A funding round led by early-stage investor Venture Catalysts, with participation from existing backers Vinners and Anchorage Capital Partners.
The funds will be used to scale production of Seven's flagship product—the 7 Ring, an indigenous, contactless payment smart ring—and launch a budget variant, 7 Ring Air, later this year.
Founded in 2020 by Vijay Khubchandani, Mahek Savla, and Karthik Menon, Seven combines embedded systems and fintech innovation to create secure, tap-and-pay solutions via NFC technology. The 7 Ring, featured on Shark Tank India, is RuPay and MasterCard certified and functions without charging, smartphone dependency, or PIN entry, using a prepaid UPI wallet.
"This funding enables us to deploy 30 lakh rings by 2028, transforming metro gates and kirana stores into frictionless payment zones," said Vijay Khubchandani, CEO of Seven. "We're not just building a device—we're architecting India's contactless payment infrastructure."
Venture Catalysts co-founder Apoorva Ranjan Sharma added, "Seven's wearable tech is a paradigm shift, merging fashion with fintech. With 66% gross margins and zero charging needs, 7 Ring brings secure digital payments to the masses."
Seven plans to expand retail presence across metro stations and major e-commerce platforms. With its IP68-rated ceramic build, metro card compatibility, and credit card tokenisation in development, Seven is well-positioned to lead India's booming digital payments sector, projected to hit INR 577 trillion by FY29.
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