Business briefs 3

Murf.ai, an AI-enabled voice over startup, on Thursday said it has raised USD 1.5 million (about Rs 11.1 crore) in funding led by Elevation Capital.

Angel investors who participated in this seed funding round include Vidit Aatrey (CEO, Meesho), Sanjeev Barnwal (CTO, Meesho), Kashyap Deorahe (CEO, Hypertrack), and Ashish Goel (CEO, Urban Ladder), a statement said. The funding will be used for hiring AI research talent for R&D and product innovation, building a superior voice synthesis technology and driving expansion across EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) and the Americas, it added.

Founded in in October 2020 by Sneha Roy, Ankur Edkie, and Divyanshu Pandey, Murf.ai is an AI-enabled SaaS tool that allows users to generate “human-like” voice overs for videos and slideshows — without hiring a voice artist or using any complex recording equipment. US-based Murf offers voices in 15 languages currently and has a customer base in over 80 countries.

''It's an exciting time to be working in this space, and this round of funding will enable us to build a passionate team of engineers and researchers to enhance our technology stack,” Murf.ai CEO and CTO Ankur Edkie said.

* * * Myfitness raises around USD 1 mn from 9Unicorns, others * Silvassa-based peanut butter brand Myfitness on Thursday said it has about USD 1 million (about Rs 7.4 crore) in funding, led by 9Unicorns.

The seed round also witnessed participation from Ashutosh Valani and Priyank Shah (co-founders of Beardo), Arjun Vaidya (founder of Dr Vaidya's), along with Nutrabay founders, Sharad Jain and Shreyans Jain.

The company will utilise the funding to increase its sales and marketing efforts, new product launches, team expansion and develop system frameworks to reach a milestone of Rs 100 crore ARR (annual recurring revenue), a statement said.

Founded in 2019 by Mohammad Patel and Rahil Virani, Myfitness has also teamed up with India's top fitness icon Sahil Khan, cricketer Hardik Pandya, bollywood actress Kriti Sanon and many other celebrities and influencers.

''With a strong focus on world class quality and taste in all our products, we are a strong wicket for stellar growth. While others celebrate funding, we view it as a responsibility towards our investors and the customers who believe in us and the brand,” Mohammad Patel, co-founder and CEO of Myfitness, said.

* * * TagZ raises Rs 4 cr in funding from Agility Ventures, others * TagZ Foods, a snack company, on Thursday said it has raised Rs 4 crore in funding from Agility Ventures and Dexter Angels. Arjun Vaidya (Co-founder CEO of Dr Vaidya's), Dharamveer Chouhan, Mohanlal Menon, Dhruv Toshniwal and others also participated in the pre-series A round, a statement said. The fresh round of capital will be utilised for launching new product offerings, expanding distribution and production capacity, it added. The company had raised Rs 1.5 crore from a consortium led by 9 Unicorns VC in October 2020.

The company will utilise the fresh funding to launch new products and enter new markets.