New Delhi, July 9 -- Fintech platform Belong, digital content startup Chai Bisket, aero engine developer Green Aero, and B2B brand protection company LdotR have raised funding in various early-stage rounds, the companies said on Wednesday.

Belong

Belong, a fintech startup targeting non-resident Indians (NRIs), has secured $5 million (Rs 42 crore) in a seed funding round led by Elevation Capital.

The round also saw participation from Relentless Ventures and prominent angel investors, including Urban Company co-founders Abhiraj Singh Bahl and Varun Khaitan, Zomato CFO Akshant Goyal, Mamaearth CEO Varun Alagh, PayU executive Vineet Sethi, and McKinsey partner Aditya Sharma.

Belong's debut product is a USD Fixed Deposit offering in partnership with Indian banks operating in GIFT City, initially targeting the UAE market. The firm plans to expand to other NRI hubs, including the GCC, UK, and US.

Founded in 2024 by Ankur Choudhary, Sai Sankar M, Ayush Singh and Savitri Bobde, Belong aims to broaden its offerings to include mutual funds, Indian and US equities, insurance with global coverage, and NRI-focused financial cards.

Chai Bisket

Digital content startup Chai Bisket has secured $5 million in a seed funding round led by InfoEdge Ventures and General Catalyst.

The Hyderabad-based company said the funding will fuel the launch and growth of Chai Shots, a mobile-first, short-form OTT platform for ultra-short fiction content.

Founded in 2015 by Sharath Chandra and Anurag Reddy, Chai Bisket claims its content has garnered over 2 billion views across YouTube and other platforms, with more than 50 million monthly video views and a library of thousands of videos. Its storytelling portfolio includes four theatrical films (including The Major), as well as web series and short dramas.

Green Aero

Green Aero, a deep tech startup developing aero engines for defense and civilian applications, has raised $1.6 million in a seed funding round, led by pi Ventures, with participation from Antler.

The startup, which is building propulsion technology with efficient engines, said the funding will enable it to advance product development and testing, expand teams across engineering and operations, establish a testing facility, and accelerate the go-to-market strategy for its first engine.

Incubated at IIT Delhi, Green Aero was founded in late 2023 by former US Department of Energy scientist Prithwish Kundu. The startup is building propulsion technology for aerospace, naval and hydrogen-powered civilian aircrafts.

LdotR

LdotR has raised an undisclosed amount of funding in an angel funding round to drive platform enhancements and expand service capabilities. The round was led by Key Capital's managing partner Basil Moftah and Mark Garlinghouse, director of Singapore-based Information Solutions Media.

Other participants included Grab Singapore's managing director Jerry Lim, David Yu Liu, and Harvard Business Impact executive vice president Vinay Hebbar.

The startup said it will use the funds to expand to markets such as ASEAN, the Middle East, and China. It will also advance its technology stack and advisory capabilities, and scale operations to support brand owners.

LdotR, co-founded and led by Vinay Singhm, offers digital brand protection, domain portfolio management, and strategic support for the new gTLD (generic Top-Level Domain) ecosystem. It provides enterprises digital protection via smart advisory, data-driven insights, and hands-on execution.

Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from VC Circle.