New Delhi, April 13 -- Consumer dairy brand FruBon and auto-services marketplace Smart Garage have secured funding in separate early-stage rounds, while gaming firm Shortgun Games has acquired a minority stake in game development startup GiantDot.
FruBon
Dev Milk Foods Pvt Ltd, the company behind the consumer dairy and ice cream brand FruBon, has secured an undisclosed amount in funding from Fireside Ventures, Narotam Sekhsaria Family Office, and a group of angel investors.
The company will use the capital to strengthen its presence in the ice cream and value-added dairy segment across North India, expand its retail footprint, enhance production and cold chain infrastructure, and accelerate portfolio innovation. It will also bolster distribution capabilities and supply chain scaling.
Founded by DD Verma and led by Rahul Verma and Rohit Verma, FruBon offers dairy products and ice cream products, with a portfolio of over 200 SKUs across categories such as ice creams, flavoured milk, paneer, ghee, lassi, chaach, and other traditional dairy products.
Since its commercial launch in 2017, the company has expanded to more than 75 cities and towns across North India through general trade, modern retail, HORECA partnerships, and quick commerce platforms.
Smart Garage
Auto-service marketplace Smart Garage has raised Rs 2.4 crore ($0.2 million) in a pre-Series A round, part of a larger Rs 15 crore round.
The startup plans to raise the remaining Rs 12.6 crore over the next 12-18 months to fuel expansion. It did not disclose the investors in the round.
Founded by Pawan Singh, Smart Garage has developed a network of over 500 partner garages across tier I and II cities. Its platform connects workshops, fleet operators, insurance companies, and vehicle owners through a technology-enabled ecosystem aimed at enhancing operational efficiency.
It currently operates on a hybrid revenue model driven by franchise operations and spare parts supply via Pikpart, and plans to introduce commission-based and SaaS subscription models.
Shortgun Games-GiantDot
Shortgun Games has acquired a 30% minority stake in creative studio GiantDot for an undisclosed amount. The deal enables Shortgun Games to combine game development and creative storytelling into a unified process.
Shortgun Games said the deal will help it work on the earliest stages of game development. The integration is expected to enable closer collaboration between the teams.
Founded in 2022, GiantDot has capabilities across production, post-production, motion graphics, VFX, and digital storytelling. The partnership expands its role from executing campaigns to contributing to the creative direction of game development.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from VC Circle.