NowPurchase, a procurement technology company for the metal manufacturing industry, has raised US$ 2.4 million in a seed funding round led by Orios and InfoEdge Ventures. Angel investor Neeraj Arora (ex-WhatsApp global business head & Co-Founder HalloApp) also participated in the round.
The Kolkata-based company will use the new funds towards expanding its procurement business by establishing a global supplier base and expanding into other parts of India. NowPurchase will also use the funds to further strengthen the technology team to build out its procurement platform and expand the offering of its manufacturing intelligence software-MetalCloud.
In an official statement, Naman Shah, Founder and CEO, NowPurchase said, “Metal is the primary building block or backbone of the physical world and will remain so in the foreseeable future. As a result, it is critical that we are able to manufacture metal efficiently. The source and quality of raw materials has a significant impact on metal manufacturing efficiency. NowPurchase is a one-stop procurement platform for these raw materials, and we believe that efficient raw material sourcing can have a significant positive impact on the metal manufacturing industry.”
Aakash Shah, Founding Director and Mentor said, “We are a fast growing cloud procurement company and it is an extremely exciting phase for us. Such a strong investor interest validates our model of going deep within a customer segment and building a strong repeatable and predictable business model.”
NowPurchase provides its users with a WhatsApp bot to discover prices and stock in real time, a dedicated technically trained team to provide on-ground service and quality assurance, and a proprietary software-MetalCloud to optimise their manufacturing process.
Naman adds, “We are extremely excited to build a strong technology layer which provides dynamic insights to manufacturers to optimise their manufacturing process and suggest them the right raw materials depending on their end output, production technique and real time supply chain situation.”
Vinit Bhansali, Senior Vice President, Orios Venture Partners says, “Digitising procurement is a critical milestone and one of the most important gaps that remains to be filled in India’s manufacturing sector. NowPurchase’s tech-first platform will be a game changer in this space. We are excited to partner with Naman to build a technology enabled disruptor in this critical sector.”
Kitty Agarwal, Partner, InfoEdge Ventures said, “We are very excited to partner with NowPurchase in their journey to become a disruptor in cloud procurement in the metal manufacturing industry. India has a strong advantage in production and conversion costs in key metals and NowPurchase’s innovative solution ensures transparent and efficient procurement for metal manufacturers.”