AI, Healthcare dominate Peak XV’s Spark 03 cohort

Investments in Innovation: Peak XV has launched new startup cohort Spark 03, with artificial intelligence and healthcare dominating the cohort, the venture capital firm said on Monday.

The third cohort of the venture capital firm includes 14 startups and 16 female founders, with overall 48 founders and 41 startups across over 10 sectors in less than 3 years

Four companies in the cohort are in the domain of AI and health-tech each.

The remaining companies in the cohort are engaged in building software as a service (SaaS), consumer and B2B platforms, Peak XV said.

Peak XV managing director Sakshi Chopra said in a statement that the 16 female founders  were selected among the many applications received for the current cohort based on their ambition, first principles thinking and rich operating experience.

“Many of them are second-time founders. We’re excited to see them develop into leaders of tomorrow,” she added.

Among the four companies focusing on AI include RaptorX.ai, which assesses cyber risks for businesses using fraud detection and prevention on its platform. Another company, FOBOH, helps in the sustainable scaling of food and beverage wholesalers. Travel platform Traverse and Wordsworth AI are e-commerce focused companies, who have been incorporated as part of the cohort.

The health-tech solutions include BabyMD, which is a full-stack paediatric service firm. Soulside is into providing mental health solutions using AI, while Evenly is a chain of dermatology clinics for customised solutions. The fourth company in the list of health-techs is in stealth mode.

The other companies as part of the cohort include SaaS platform Profit Peak, which provides actionable data insights to e-commerce businesses for profitability.

Meitic is another company in the reporting and data space as part of the cohort, which enables mid-market companies in automating their reporting and analytics.

Fix my Curls has also been selected in the cohort, which is a hair care brand for catering to naturally textured hair. Melvvi is another startup in the lifestyle space, which makes handmade and sustainable lifestyle products.

PeakXV, formerly known as Sequoia Capital India and South East Asia, has been into operations in the region for 18 years, having grown to manage over $9 billion in capital across 13 funds. With investments in over 400 companies, the venture capital firm has also seen 20 public listings (IPOs) of the companies in its portfolio.

(With PTI Inputs)