tim draper: Venture capitalist Tim Draper leads investment in Bengaluru startup| Roadsleeper.com

Consumer tech startup Up, formerly known as React Labs, said Tuesday it has raised $800,000 in pre-funding led by Tim Draper of Draper Associates. Stanford Angels & Entrepreneurs of India (SAE India), Tarun Mehta & Swapnil Jain (founders of Ather Energy), Gaurav Munjal & Roman Saini (founders of Unacademy), were among the other investors who participated in the round.

A staunch supporter of cryptocurrency, Draper is known for his early investments in companies such as Tesla, Angelist, Coinbase, Switch, Skype and Hotmail. He also hosts the entrepreneurial reality TV show ‘Meet the Drapers’, where startups get the chance to pitch to venture capitalists to win a $1 million investment.

Up makes home appliances (which it calls up appliances) that are designed in Bengaluru and manufactured in India.

Its first product, DelishUp, is a smart cooking pot that controls all the chopping, stirring and cooking functions. “DelishUp has already been in advanced beta for the past six months and 120 households in Bengaluru have stopped eating boring food while using the device. Deliveries of DelishUp will begin in November 2022,” Up said in a statement.

Mahek Mody, founder and CEO of Up, said: “We are very excited to have Draper Associates and what they stand for on board. Smart TVs and phones are just the tip of the iceberg of connected technology that will revolutionize Indian homes. We are investing in hardware, software and cloud technologies to deliver super power to Indian homes through our connected devices.

The startup was shortlisted for the Qualcomm 2022-23 accelerator program through the Qualcomm Design in India Challenge.

Tarun Mehta, Founder and CEO, Ather Energy, said, “Smart connected home technology is overdue and I am excited to join Up on their journey to build great products for Indian homes.”

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