Author: Aishwarya Anand

STARTUP DIGEST: Swiggy acquires LYNK, BYJU’s ropes in Mohandas Pai and Rajnish Kumar and more

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Swiggy acquires LYNK as it looks to strengthen position in retail distribution

Food delivery giant Swiggy has forayed into the food and grocery retail market after it signed a definitive agreement to acquire Lynk, a retail logistics startup with a network of over 1,00,000 stores. The terms of the deal remain undisclosed.

Lynk will continue to operate as an independent business and will be led by co-founder and Chief Executive Officer, Shekhar Bhende. The deal will help Lynk leverage Swiggy’s strengths in technology and logistics to rapidly scale their existing platform.

Swiggy said the acquisition of LYNK will help it expand into the retail distribution market. According to the foodtech giant, India’s food and grocery retail market, which is among the world’s largest and fastest growing, is estimated to be over $570 billion in size and expected to grow at 8 percent year-on-year.

ZappFresh acquires Dr.Meat to expand into South India

Online meat brand ZappFresh has acquired Dr. Meat, a brand operated by Sukos Foods to expand into the south market.

After achieving steady growth and profitability in the NCR region, ZappFresh said it is looking to enter new markets in the upcoming year, with Bangalore being the first target.

With Dr. Meat’s deep supply chain integration and profitable-only strategy, ZappFresh is aiming to hit Rs 70 crore in revenue within 12 months in Bangalore alone, while targeting a top line of Rs 300 crores by the end of the fiscal year 2023-24.

Navi Technologies lays off around 200 employees: Report

IPO-bound Navi Technologies has laid off around 200 employees across departments, according to a PTI report. The layoff started a couple of weeks back, and more employees are likely to be fired from the company, the report added.

60-70 percent have been impacted in the product development and management section and more layoffs are expected this week.

According to Navi technologies’ draft Initial Public Offering (IPO) paper, the company had 4,680 employees as of December 31, 2021. The company has plans to raise Rs 3,350 crore through the proposed IPO and has received market regulator SEBI’s approval for the same.

Rajnish Kumar and T V Mohandas Pai join BYJU’s advisory council

T V Mohandas Pai, an early investor in Byju’s, and former State Bank of India chairman Rajnish Kumar will join an advisory council at the troubled edtech giant. The council will mentor Byju’s board and its Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Byju Raveendran on crucial matters, the company said in a statement.

“As part of the Advisory Council, I look forward to advising the leadership in evolving the systems of governance and financial reporting, as well as to grow an organisational structure that can serve as a resilient foundation for the future of the company,” said Pai.

Echoing the sentiment, Kumar added, “My discussions with Byju and Divya convinced me that they are dedicating sincere efforts to steer a course correction of the company’s governance structure. They have reached out to engage with experienced professionals with a proven track record of running large corporates and with a deep understanding of governance issues.”

Lightspeed, Kalaari and others lead $20 million in SaaS startup Zluri

SaaS management platform Zluri has bagged $20 million in a Series B round led by Lightspeed, with participation from existing investors, MassMutual Ventures, Endiya Partners and Kalaari Capital.

The company has so far raised $32 million in total venture funding since 2020, including a $10 million Series A round in January last year.

With the fresh funds, Zluri intends to expand Generative AI capabilities in enterprise SaaSOps with Zluri’s CoPilot— an intelligent assistant to boost efficiency and productivity across enterprises using no-code workflows. The firm has built a custom large language (LLM) model trained on billions of data points encompassing a wide range of attributes. It will also expand its presence further into North America, and Europe.

Nutrizoe gets Rs 3 crore from Inflection Point Ventures

Nutrizoe, a women’s nourishment brand, has secured Rs 3 crore in a bridge round led by Inflection Point Ventures.

The funds will be utilized for expanding the Lactobite portfolio after conducting clinical trials, exploring export opportunities and developing new product formulations. The company aims to export its products to international markets, including UAE, a statement said. It is also looking to invest in R&D capabilities.

“With growing apprehension around processed foods/Lack of clean labels at “Nutrizoe” our vision is addressing problems through functional & nutraceutical food as an alternative to medicines. Identifying the gap through extensive research and developing products that are science and evidence-based,” said Richa Pendake, Founder & CEO, Nutrizoe.

Karma Primary Healthcare raises Series A funding round

Healthtech startup Karma Primary Healthcare has raised an undisclosed amount in a Series A funding round from a consortium of investors including Innospark Ventures, 1Crowd, Innovative Directions, Aanshi LLP and Social Innovation Circle, among others. 

The startup will use fresh funds for product development, developing referral programs and adding new revenue streams.

“We look to expand our clinic footprint to 80 clinics in 7 states. We also look to create linkages with secondary and tertiary players to create a seamless patient experience,” said Jagdeep Gambhir, Founder & CEO of Karma Primary Healthcare.

Google Pay launches UPI Lite

Google Pay has officially added support for UPI Lite payment, which will allow users to make small payments without using the pin.

Google Pay will allow existing users to create a UPI Lite wallet within the same app, which can be loaded up to Rs 2,000. It also enables users to make transactions worth up to Rs 200 without requiring a pin.

Currently, there is a limitation, where one can only load up to Rs 2,000 twice a day, hence, the spending limit on the Google Pay UPI Lite is limited to Rs 4,000 per day.

Zetwerk appoints Pulkit Bhandari as Chief Financial Officer

Zetwerk, a B2B manufacturing marketplace, has appointed Pulkit Bhandari as the company’s Chief Financial Officer (CFO). In his role as CFO, Bhandari will be responsible for closely collaborating with the founders on strategy, the firm said in a statement.

“Bhandari’s profound understanding of the financial ecosystem, combined with his ability to navigate complex scenarios, will strengthen the company’s financial performance and support its continued expansion,” said Amrit Acharya, co-founder and CEO of Zetwerk Manufacturing.

Bhandari was the Head of Group Corporate Finance at RPG Enterprises before joining Zetwerk. He also held the role of an investment banker at Deutsche Bank and ICICI Securities. Bhandari is a Chartered Accountant and has a Bachelor’s degree in Commerce.

GLOBAL TECHNOLOGY & STARTUP NEWS

Google’s AI chatbot, Bard, expands to Europe, Brazil, to take on ChatGPT

Alphabet is rolling out its artificial intelligence chatbot, Bard, in Europe and Brazil, the product’s biggest expansion since its February launch and pitting it against Microsoft-backed rival ChatGPT.

Bard and ChatGPT are human-sounding programs that use generative artificial intelligence to hold conversations with users and answer myriad prompts. The products have touched off global excitement tempered with caution.

Google has also now added new features to Bard, which apply worldwide. “Starting today, you can collaborate with Bard in over 40 languages, including Arabic, Chinese, German, Hindi and Spanish,” Google senior product director Jack Krawczyk said in a blog post.

US FTC opens investigation into OpenAI

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission has opened an investigation into OpenAI, the maker of ChatGPT, on claims it has run afoul of consumer protection laws by putting personal reputations and data at risk, the Washington Post reported.

The reported move marks the strongest regulatory threat to the Microsoft-backed startup that kicked off the frenzy in generative artificial intelligence, enthralling consumers and businesses while raising concerns about its potential risks.

The FTC this week sent a 20-page demand for records about how OpenAI addresses risks related to its AI models, the Post said, citing a document. The agency is investigating whether the company engaged in unfair or deceptive practices that resulted in “reputational harm” to consumers, the newspaper added.

Open-source AI model creator Nomic raises $17 million

AI startup Nomic has raised $17 million in a new funding round from investors led by Coatue, the companies told Reuters.

The investment valued New York-based Nomic AI, a team of four at the time, at $100 million, showing continued interest from VCs to bet on small teams building popular AI products. Contrary Capital and Betaworks Ventures also participated in the round.

Founded in 2022, Nomic has released two products till date, including an open-source AI model, GPT4ALL, which is free to download and could run on devices such as a laptop. It also has a tool called Atlas that allows users to visualize unstructured datasets used to build large language models (LLM).

Elon Musk launches AI firm xAI

Elon Musk, the billionaire entrepreneur, launched his long-teased artificial intelligence startup xAI, unveiling a team of engineers from the same big U.S. technology firms that he hopes to challenge in his bid to build an alternative to ChatGPT.

The startup will be led by Musk, already the CEO of electric car maker Tesla, CEO of rocket launch company SpaceX and owner of Twitter, who has said on several occasions that the development of AI should be paused and that the sector needed regulation. Musk has repeatedly voiced concerns about AI’s potential for “civilizational destruction.”

Musk explained his plan for building a safer AI. Rather than explicitly programming morality into its AI, xAI will seek to create a “maximally curious” AI, he said.

Twitter sues four Texas entities for data scraping, seeks damages

Twitter has filed a lawsuit against four unnamed entities in Texas for data scraping last week, a move that showed why the Elon Musk-owned social network recently placed daily limits on the number of tweets a user could read.

The complaint by Musk’s X Corp, which owns Twitter, alleged that the entities indulged in “unlawfully scraping data” and sought monetary relief of more than $1 million, the lawsuit said.

The daily limits imposed in July by Twitter sparked widespread criticism and have helped Threads, the recently launched rival service by Meta that crossed 100 million sign ups in a record five days.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Amazon Prime Video to launch new series; will showcase 10 Indian startups competing to raise unicorn round

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Ecommerce major Amazon is launching a new series “Mission Start Ab,” on Prime Video, which will focus on grassroot entrepreneurs and startups in India. The series launched in partnership with the Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser (PSA) of the government of India, will showcase and support 10 early-stage startups that are creating innovative solutions for the country’s socio-economic development.

“Mission StartAb will not only provide these 10 startups to secure funding but also immerse themselves in simulations and initiatives that really test their abilities to deal with crisis and scale their business. The cornerstone of this initiative is how do we help entrepreneurs who are innovating at grassroots and local levels,” Sushant Sreeram, Country Director, Prime Video India told CNBC-TV18 in an exclusive chat.

“We are not focussed on a specific sector, it will range from agriculture, manufacturing and a whole slew of ideas and businesses. It’s been a year-long journey to identify businesses, small startups and entrepreneurs who are solving a problem statement,” Sreeram said.

“We not only want to give them a platform to raise funding but also be able to provide mentorship. Commiserate with the enthusiasm in startup ecosystem, we need adequate incubators, programs and support systems across the ecosystem,” Sreeram further added.

The seven-episode series will feature entrepreneurs compete to secure funding from three prominent Indian investors and the chance to become India’s next unicorn. The company however did not disclose the investors’ name and also did not shed light on the investment gone behind the initiate. The show is currently in production and will start streaming the series soon.

“We had a lot of interest coming in for the show. Along with Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser, we managed to whittle it down to 10 ventures, of which at least one will definitely become India’s next unicorn,” said Sreeram.

Molbio Diagnostics was the last unicorn to be minted in the Indian startup ecosystem in September last year. The move comes at a time when the Indian startup ecosystem continues to face a challenging funding landscape. The prevailing global uncertainty, combined with geopolitical and economic fragility, has resulted in a freeze on venture capital investments.

Between January and June 2023, the total value of VC investments barely reached $4 billion, which is nearly five times lower than the $18.4 billion secured during the same period in 2022. The current funding trend in India aligns with the global decline, mirroring the challenges faced worldwide.

“I don’t think the startup ecosystem in India has lost any momentum, it continues to be as able and exciting as it has been. The startup ecosystem and the entrepreneurship story in India has never been brighter. What’s important is to focus on entrepreneurs who are creating solutions at a grassroot level in India, has a potential to scale and be applicable across the country and globe. That’s exactly our attempt with Mission StartAb. We are focusing on entrepreneurs who are creating a sustainable, entirely Made-in-India grassroots innovations, who have ventures up and running and how do we help them hit the next level,” added Sreeram.

ALSO READ: Capfort Ventures sets up Rs 200 crore fund to back 40 impact startups in India

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Epiq Capital raises $225 million for its Fund II; to invest in the next Tech Nifty 50 companies

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Growth and late-stage tech investment firm Epiq Capital has marked the final close of its Fund II at $225 million. According to the VC, Epiq Capital II was oversubscribed and has attracted marquee domestic and global investors including leading tech entrepreneurs, industrialists, sports and entertainment leaders, family offices, sovereign wealth funds and other institutions.

The fund will continue to invest in exceptional entrepreneurs targeting the large $5 trillion digital India opportunity in the next decade, the company said in a statement.

Epiq Capital II will invest in the next Tech Nifty 50 companies, supporting startups that have the potential to be worth $50 billion or more over the next ten years.

“We are privileged to have the strong endorsement of leading tech entrepreneurs, industrialists, as well as domestic and global institutional investors. We will continue to invest in exceptional entrepreneurs who aspire to build the next Tech Nifty 50 companies.  The firm, with its marquee investor base, institutional quality investment team, and exceptional portfolio, is well-positioned as a premier homegrown, investing franchise to deliver significant returns to investors,” said Rishi Navani, Founder & Managing Partner, Epiq Capital.

Epiq Capital is a growth and later-stage tech fund that invests up to $25 million in Indian tech and tech-enabled companies and has assets under management (AUM) of over $300 million across two funds. The VCs current portfolio includes eyewear unicorn Lenskart, local language content platform Dailyhunt, fitness startup Curefit, SaaS startup Builder.ai, health tech startup Pristyn Care.

“These companies have over $250 million in average annualised revenue run rate and have achieved over 75 percent revenue CAGR over the last three years,” Epic Capital said.

Several investors have launched or closed funds this year to invest in Indian startups — Arkam Capital, Blume Ventures, Lumikai, Airavat Capital and Avaana Capital have made fund announcements.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Chingari cuts 20 percent of its workforce to get more productive and profitable

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Homegrown TikTok alternative Chingari has trimmed 20 percent of its workforce as a part of the organisational restructuring. The layoffs have impacted around 50 people of its team of 250 employees and has happened across departments including engineering, marketing, customer support and product, among others.

The company confirmed to CNBC-TV18 that the decision to cut the workforce was to boost long-term productivity and profitability.

“We deeply regret the need for these workforce reductions of 20% as a part of Chingari’s organisational restructuring. These were one of the toughest decisions for our management and we understand the impact they have on our employees. We are appreciative of their contributions and commitment to Chingari,” a Chingari spokesperson told CNBC-TV18.

“Our priorities continue to be streamlining processes, boosting productivity, and matching resources to our long-term growth goals,” the statement added.
The layoffs in the company were first reported by Inc42.

“I got to know about this through the HR in the evening yesterday. There was no communication or mail from the top leadership. All it was a verbal communication from HR,” one of the affected employees told CNBC-TV18 on the condition of maintaining anonymity.

The development comes months after the short video app raised an undisclosed equity investment from L1 blockchain company Aptos Labs for global hiring and expansion plans. The startup’s co-founder Aditya Kothari quit the company in May this year.

Chingari has offered the affected employees a two-month salary as severance pay to compensate them for the uncertain job loss. In addition, it has extended its health insurance for an additional three months, the spokesperson claimed.

The company was launched in 2018, after the popular video app, TikTok was banned in India. The move also comes at a time when cryptocurrency and short-video apps are struggling for survival. Chingari’s competitors in the space including Moj’s parent company, Mohalla Tech, had laid off about 115 people after closing its fantasy gaming vertical.

Meanwhile, Josh’s parent company, VerSe Innovation, laid off 150 people while announcing company-wide pay cuts for employees earning more than Rs 10 lakh per year.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Adda247 acquires Veeskha to scale up its AR/VR capabilities

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Google-backed vernacular learning platform Adda247 has acquired Veeksha, a 3D experiential learning app, for an undisclosed amount. With this acquisition, Adda247 will offer interactive learning modules to students to enable an in-depth understanding of concepts through better visualisations, a statement said. Post the deal, Veeksha will become a whole subsidiary of Adda247.

“We are excited to introduce the expertise of Veeksha to all content consumers in the educational institution space. Adda247’s large user base along with our ability to create 3D visualised content can pave the way for exciting advancements in education with AR/VR”, said Gaurishankar Singh, Co-Founder, Veeksha.

Founded in 2021, Veeksha creates immersive 3D Mathematics and Science content for new-age learners who prefer learning on digital devices. With this buyout, Adda247 aims to strengthen its position to cater to K12 and JEE/ NEET aspirants by providing the latest 3D/AR/VR experiential learning tools. It is also looking to penetrate the tier 2-3 markets. Adda247 claims to have witnessed more than a 30 percent increase in engagement for the student cohort who are using this new content type.

“We are working tirelessly to scale up our AR/VR capabilities and offer the best learning to the students coming to our platform. With Veeksha, we plan to simplify complex concepts into simple 3D visualisations, virtual experiments, explanatory videos and ultimately lead students to perform better,” said Anil Nagar, Founder and CEO, Adda247.

This is the second acquisition made by Adda247. In 2021, the edtech startup acquired UPSC-focused e-learning platform, StudyIQ Education. Currently, Add247 boasts 50 million monthly active users, and over two million paid users. In October 2022, the company raised $35 million from marquee investors like Google, WestBridge Capital, Infoedge and Asha Impact.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

ChrysCapital invests $100 million in Lenskart to propel its global expansion plans

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Private equity firm ChrysCapital has invested $100 million in eyewear brand Lenskart via primary and secondary share purchases, bring the company’s total capital infusion to $850 million in the past year. The fresh investment comes nearly 3 months after the ecommerce portal for eyewear in India raised $500 million from a wholly-owned subsidiary of Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA), for a 10 percent stake.

This marked one of the largest funding rounds in the recent past, at its existing valuation of $4.5 billion. This also resulted in ADIA becoming one of the largest shareholders in Lenskart.

On March 23, fair-trade regulator Competition Commission of India (CCI) said it has given approval under the green channel route to Abu Dhabi Investment Authority for acquiring a stake in Lenskart.

The company is backed by KKR & Co, SoftBank, Temasek and PremjiInvest, among others. Kedaara Capital has an about 9 percent stake in Lenskart, while SoftBank and Premji Invest own nearly 19 percent and 10.4 percent, respectively. Lenskart has concluded secondary share sales for partial exits to investors like Chiratae Ventures and others in the past few years.

ChrysCapital said that the investment will support Lenskart’s growth plans and strengthen its position as a global eyewear leader. Avendus Capital acted as the exclusive financial advisor to Lenskart and its shareholders. For this transaction, Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas and Allen & Overy served as the legal counsel for ChrysCapital and EY as the financial and tax advisor, a statement said.

“With the acquisition of Owndays, there is an opportunity for Lenskart to expand across 10+ Asian countries in addition to the already large Indian market. This investment aligns with ChrysCapital’s strategy of backing founders that are category creators and who leverage technology to offer an outstanding customer experience,” said Rajiv Batra, Senior Vice President, ChrysCapital Advisors.

Lenskart, which uses technology and supply chain automation to directly sell glasses and contact lenses to close to 20 million consumers, agreed in June 2022 to buy a majority stake in Japan’s Owndays, at a valuation of about $400 million, Bloomberg reported.

With the fresh capital, Lenskart wants to continue deepening its penetration in India while scaling its international presence in Asia and the Middle East. The company now has 2,000+ stores — 1,500 in India with the rest across Southeast Asia & the Middle East. The Peyush Bansal-founded company is also set to ramp up its soon-to-be-launched factory, which can manufacture 20 million pairs of eyewear annually. Shipping could begin next year.

“We believe that with the help of technology, customer centricity, and big investments in supply chain and talent, we can eradicate the problem of vision correction. Eyewear as a lifestyle category is at a very early stage in its evolution, and there is a lot of opportunity to make glasses that can uplift our quality of life significantly as seen in shoes, apparel, and watches. And hence it is still Day 1 at Lenskart in our journey of transforming the way people see and experience the world,” said Peyush Bansal, Founder and CEO, Lenskart.

In FY22, Lenskart saw a strong revenue growth of 66 percent to ~ Rs 1,500 crore but slipped into losses. The ~ Rs 100 crore loss came after posting a profit of ~Rs 30 crore in FY21. In FY23, Lenskart says it grew revenue by 60 percent for the second year in a row and is now profitable.

This could place Lenskart among the handful of unicorns, or startups with a valuation of $1 billion or more, that are profitable. Of the 56 unicorns, who reported their FY22 earnings, only six displayed profitability — a criterion that has risen in importance during the funding winter, as public markets hammered loss-making tech listings, forcing private market investors to pivot from “growth at all costs” to “sustainable unit economics”.

The funding for Lenskart comes at a time when deal flow activity has slowed significantly in the Indian startup market, especially for late-stage startups. As per a report by Bain and Company, the number of $100 million or higher rounds fell 50 percent in India last year to just 48 — and the vast majority of them were closed in the first half of 2022 said in a report.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Pepper Group to invest $150 million to launch fintech startup in India

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Global consumer finance company, Pepper Group, has announced that it will invest $150 million over the next four years to launch a fintech startup in India under its Pepper Money brand. The startup will be spearheaded by former FlexiLoans co-founder Abhishek Kothari.

“We are extremely confident about the Indian economy, which has been amongst the high growth performers in recent years. With 65 percent of the population under 35 years of age and over 90 percent smartphone adoption between 18-35 years, India has the potential to become one of the largest markets for us in the next five years. Abhishek’s fintech experience and deep understanding of the consumer will be instrumental in building the Pepper Money brand across India,” said Mike Culhane, Group CEO of Pepper.

With plans to launch in the second half of 2023, Pepper Money India will target the 15 crore households in Tier 2 and 3 cities, which are witnessing increased economic growth, a statement said.

“With Pepper Money India, our vision is to transform the experience of Tier 2 and 3 consumers by localising and personalising financial products for them,” said Abhishek Kothari, CEO and founding member of Pepper Money India.

“I am delighted to have the support of the Pepper Group, as their experience with scaling consumer finance businesses will be extremely beneficial as we launch new products and consider strategic acquisitions along the way,” Kothari added.

Pepper Group has $21 billion in assets under management (AUM) of self-generated loans via its Pepper Money brand, and an additional $55 billion in AUM of third-party loans under credit management via its Pepper Advantage brand. With an existing presence across Australia, the UK, Europe, South Korea, Japan and South-East Asia, the launch of Pepper Money India signifies a long-term commitment to the Indian market, the firm added.

The company is also looking to hire a 200+ team to deliver consumer finance products that embed a localised approach to the market. Pepper Money India is also looking to build a strong network of strategic partnerships, including co-branded card partnerships and collaborations with co-lenders, the statement added.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

2070 Health raises $30 million to launch 15-20 healthcare startups

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Healthcare venture incubator, 2070 Health, has raised $30 million from VC fund W Health Ventures to create a platform that will build healthcare companies from scratch in India.

The venture studio will use the funds to build the platform, hire more employees and enhance its tech stack. The capital will also be utilised as pre-seed capital to launch new startups in the health-tech space.

“The healthcare industry is slow to change, relationship-driven, highly regulated, and complex to navigate for new entrants. As a result, building healthcare companies in India is particularly hard,” said Sunil Wadhwani, President of W Health Ventures. “We invested in 2070 Health to address these challenges that founders face while innovating in healthcare. Via companies launched by 2070 Health, we aim to impact the future of healthcare for one billion Indians over the next decade,” Wadhwani added. 

2070 Health helps founders test, launch, and iterate on ideas and has created three companies so far — ElevateNow, Nivaan Care, and Reveal HealthTech. It now plans to launch 15 to 20 healthcare companies over the next five years.

“We are developing these playbooks leveraging the team’s decades of experience building healthcare, technology, and consumer companies. The goal is to scale our companies faster, better, and cheaper than traditional start-ups in the riskiest early months of company building,” said Dr Pankaj Jethwani, CEO, 2070 Health.

The venture studio shortlists potential ideas, which go through a validation process involving conversations with doctors and patients, clinical studies, and go-to-market experiments to arrive at a solution. The incubator will ideate and build startups that will have a minimum addressable market of 100-300 million users and prioritise areas where it is capable of building a 10X better solution than existing products in the market.

“We prioritise problems where we feel confident about building a 10x better solution than what exists today. Our guiding principle is keeping patient experience and results, front and centre. I’m grateful to the 100+ incredible team members of the Studio and our three companies. I’m confident that what we are building will attract the best talent, partners, and capital, and together with them, we will transform the way healthcare is delivered in India,” added Jethwani.

W Health Ventures is an early-stage, healthcare-focused VC fund that invests in companies that address critical unmet healthcare needs to improve care delivery leveraging technology in the US and India. The company has backed Indian startups like Wysa, BeatO, Mylo, among others.

Also Read: India’s health and infra gets thumbs-up, many feel Padma Awards more democratised: News18 survey

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

STARTUP DIGEST: BYJU’S sues lender in the U.S., Apple launches new Vision Pro headset and more

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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BYJU’s disqualifies US lender for ‘predatory’ tactics and stops servicing $1.2 billion loan

Edtech major BYJU’S has filed a lawsuit in a New York court challenging the acceleration of the $ 1.2 billion term loan B (TLB) it raised in November 2021.

In what is possibly the first action of its kind by an Indian company, BYJU’s has also issued a notice to one of its creditors, Redwood, disqualifying it as a lender.

“It is important to note that BYJU’S had so far demonstrated remarkable restraint by refraining from utilising the disqualification clause, instead striving for months to achieve an amicable resolution with the hawkish trader-lenders,” the edtech has said.

Sequoia Capital splits into three entities; India Biz Rebrands to Peak XV Partners

Sequoia India & Southeast Asia is now known as Peak XV Partners, marking a significant shift in the firm’s identity and strategic focus. The VC giant that manages over $85 billion globally will split into Sequoia Capital representing the U.S. and Europe, HongShan in China and Peak XV Partners in India and Southeast Asia.

It has been an early investor in tech companies like Airbnb, WhatsApp, Zoom and ByteDance among others. The firm plans to complete the separation by March 2024.

Peak XV Partners will now function as a fully independent venture capital firm, maintaining its commitment to managing a substantial $9.2 billion across 13 funds. Additionally, the firm said it will leverage an impressive $2.5 billion of uninvested capital to pursue new investment opportunities.

GoKwik acquires chat commerce startup Tellephant

Ecommerce enabler GoKwik has acquired omnichannel communications specialist Tellephant for an undisclosed amount to tap WhatsApp commerce.

With this acquisition, GoKwik has now launched its third product KwikChat, a one-stop solution on Whatsapp catering to multiple use cases across the e-commerce funnel. Brands can use KwikChat to power their end-to-end conversational commerce backed by GoKwik’s seamless checkout experience and return-to-origin (RTO) intelligence, a statement said.

The company claims to have witnessed over 200 percent jump in Return on Ad Spend (ROAS) through KwikChat. Over 300 Direct-to-consumer (D2C) players like FireBoltt, Pilgrim, Foxtale, Portronics, among others are using KwikChat as their WhatsApp solution.

DS Group buys LuvIt chocolate maker The Good Stuff

Dharampal Satyapal Group (DS Group) has acquired The Good Stuff, the company that sells chocolates and confectionery under the LuvIt brand.

Goldman Sachs and Japanese conglomerate Mitsui, through associated entities, came on board as investors of The Good Stuff, having put in more than Rs 500 crore in the company.

This acquisition is in line with the DS group’s plans to grow its confectionery portfolio, while widening distribution across grocery and other retail outlets, a statement said.  The deal will also strengthen the group’s presence in southern India.

River gets $15 million in funding from Dubai-based Al Futtaim Group

EV startup River has bagged $15 million in a funding round led by Dubai-based Al Futtaim Group. Other investors including Lowercarbon Capital, Toyota Ventures, Maniv Mobility, and Trucks VC also participated in the investment round.

The fresh capital infusion will help the company boost its manufacturing capabilities and also in the upcoming market launch of its maiden product – Indie, a statement said. It will also bolster River’s growth, priming its manufacturing and distribution networks for an August delivery kick-off, it added.

This is the third fund raised by the startup, following a $2 million seed round in March 2021 and a $11 million Series A round in July 2022.

Matrix India leads $3.5 million seed round in GenWise

GenWise, a lifestyle app for the elderly, has bagged $3.5 million in a seed funding round led by Matrix Partners India.

The round also saw participation from investors including DBR Ventures, the Family Office of Jagran Group and Climber Capital. Angel investors including Cred’s Kunal Shah, BharatPe’s Suhail Sameer and RentoMojo’s Achal Mittal, also invested in the round.

Matrix’s investment comes a week after the venture capitalist announced the close of its fourth fund with a corpus of $550 million as against the initial plan of raising $450 million to invest in early-stage startups in India. This is Matrix’s largest India-dedicated fund till date.

Togai raises $3.1 million from Together Fund and others

Togai, a B2B Software as a Service (SaaS) metering and pricing platform, has bagged $3.1 million in a seed funding round, led by Together Fund, with participation from BoldCap, Core91, and angel investors, including Prasanna Shankar, the Co-Founder of Rippling.

The startup intends to use the funds for product development and expanding into new geographies. Togai enables businesses to roll out pricing changes within a matter of hours, circumventing the need for time consuming engineering efforts.

The company’s business to business (B2B) plug-and-play model is open to public access. Its monetization marketplace, currently in beta, hosts over 10 apps and integrations.

PolicyBoss raises undisclosed sum in Series B funding round

PolicyBoss, an insurtech startup has closed its series B round with an undisclosed investment with a consortium of investors including India SME Investments and existing investor TPG Growth.

The round also saw participation from angel investors Madhav Mirani, co-founder of Ugam Solutions, and Jitendra Gupta. 

PolicyBoss said it will invest the fresh capital to strengthen its technology, deepen last mile presence and diversify its product offerings. Post this fund raise, the company said it has a liquid balance sheet size of over Rs 140 crore.

D2C brand Koparo raises $1.5 million in Pre-Series A round

Koparo, a sustainable home and personal hygiene brand has netted $1.5 million in a Pre Series A funding round led by Saama Capital.

Fluid Ventures and M Venture Partners along with angels Rajesh Sawhney (Founder and CEO of GSF Accelerator), Sridhar Sankararaman (Multiples PE), and Ramesh Menon (Ex-Future Group, Hypercity), joined the funding round as new investors. The round also saw participation from existing investors DSG Consumer Partners.

As per the company, the funds raised will be deployed to build offline presence, invest in brand building, and drive product innovation. Koparo claimed that its revenues grew 10X in the last 12 months. The company had raised a seed round of $750,000 last year. It currently offers a portfolio of over 15 products and 30+ Stock Keeping Units (SKUs).

India will become a $1 trillion internet economy by 2030: Google, Bain & Temasek Report

India is embarking on its ‘Digital Decade’ propelled by a persistent transformation in consumer and merchant behaviour, bolstered by robust investor trust. This trajectory has paved the way for the country to achieve a substantial $1 trillion consumer internet economy by 2030, found a study.

According to the ‘India e-Conomy Report’ — jointly published by Google, Bain & Company, and Temasek — with over 700 million internet users in India, digital services have become an indispensable part of their lives. Among them are 350 million individuals who utilise digital payment platforms and 220 million who engage in online shopping.

As per the report, India is undergoing a “fundamental shift in income and consumption”, directly leading to growth spanning B2B e-commerce, business to consumer (B2C) e-commerce, SaaS, online travel bookings, online media consumption, online food delivery, edtech, healthtech, and insurtech, among others.

Rebel Foods gives ESOPs to over 5,000 employees

Foodtech unicorn Rebel Foods has granted Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs) to another 5,000 employees of its 350-plus kitchens and corporate offices.

With this, the total value of ESOPs held by the employees of Rebel Foods has now reached $65 million. This move will allow a chance for wealth creation for kitchen staff, riders, runners, administrative teams, and corporate staff across India, UAE, and the United Kingdom, the company said in a statement.

The development comes months after the startup laid off about 2 percent of its workforce in January. In December last year, it raised Rs 55 crore in debt. 

Livpure records 50% growth in FY23

Home appliances and solutions brand Livpure has clocked 50 percent Year-On-Year growth in FY23. As per the company, 50 percent of its revenues have come through the digital channels.

The firm is targeting to become 2.5 times its current size in the next couple of years and plans to expand its retail presence and product portfolio. Livpure is also looking to incorporate national and regional modern trade partners to make its air coolers available on all leading e-commerce sites, a statement said.

“We now look forward to getting our distribution even deeper and ensuring our entire portfolio is available across multiple channels. We believe Livpure can double its revenue in the next couple of years, owing to tremendous growth opportunities in the overall water business and smart home segment,” said Rakesh Kaul, Managing Director, Livpure.

PhonePe Group launches account aggregator service

Fintech giant PhonePe, which recently received the Non-Banking Finance Companies – Account Aggregators (NBFC-AA) licence from Reserve Bank of India (RBI), has announced the launch of its AA services through its wholly-owned subsidiary PhonePe Technology Services Pvt Ltd (PTSPL).

PTSPL’s AA service will allow Indian consumers to consent to and share all their financial data, such as bank statements, insurance policies and tax filings with regulated financial institutions or Financial Information Users (FIUs) for several use cases such as applying for loans, buying new insurance, getting investment advice and more, the firm said in a statement.

As a part of the launch, PTSPL has already integrated with multiple Financial Information Providers (FIP) such as YES Bank, Federal Bank, AU Small Finance Bank, etc. Several other FIPs, including large banks, are likely to get integrated before the end of June.

GLOBAL TECHNOLOGY & STARTUP NEWS

Apple launches new Vision Pro headset

Apple has launched the Vision Pro, an augmented reality headset, at its annual conference. The headset offers advanced features, controller-free navigation, and a seamless blend of augmented and virtual reality. It incorporates eye movements, hand gestures, and voice commands, and supports Bluetooth accessories.

Apple has assured users that they can stay connected to the real world while using the headset, and it includes features like pass through video technology and spatial audio. The Vision Pro has been a highly anticipated product for Apple and has received positive feedback so far, with Meta’s Quest 2 headset as its primary competitor.

Spotify to layoff 200 workers in podcast division

Spotify said it would cut 200 jobs from its podcast unit in its second round of layoffs, as the company restructures the business after years of heavy investment.

The move affects about 2% of the music-streaming giant’s workforce and aligns Spotify with the likes of Meta and Roku, which have also cut jobs for the second time in response to an uncertain economy.

Spotify cut 6% of its workforce earlier in 2023 and announced the departure of Dawn Ostroff, who helped shape its podcast business and guided it through controversies such as the backlash around Joe Rogan’s show for allegedly spreading misinformation about COVID-19.

Binance, US affiliate hit by net outflows of $790 million

Investors have pulled around $780 million from crypto exchange Binance in the last 24 hours, data firm Nansen told after the world’s biggest crypto exchange was sued by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Binance’s U.S. affiliate exchange registered net outflows of $13 million in the same period, Nansen said.

The SEC sued Binance, its CEO Changpeng Zhao and the operator of Binance.US over what it called a “web of deception” to evade U.S. laws.

Microsoft searching for solutions over UK block on Activision deal

The president of Microsoft said he was looking for solutions to try to get British approval for the software giant’s $69 billion acquisition of “Call of Duty” maker Activision Blizzard.

British competition authorities blocked the biggest ever deal in gaming in April, in a shock decision which Microsoft has since appealed. President Brad Smith said he was hopeful the outcome could change.

“I’m in search of solutions,” Microsoft President Brad Smith said at the techUK’s Tech Policy Leadership conference in London.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Lifestyle app for elderly GenWise receives $3.5 million in seed round from Matrix Partners India

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

Listen to the Article (6 Minutes)

GenWise, a lifestyle app for the elderly, has bagged $3.5 million in a seed funding round led by Matrix Partners India. The round also saw participation from investors including DBR Ventures, the Family Office of Jagran Group and Climber Capital. Angels investors including Cred’s Kunal Shah, BharatPe’s Suhail Sameer and RentoMojo’s Achal Mittal, also invested in the round.

Matrix’s investment comes a week after the VC announced the close of its fourth fund with a corpus of $550 million as against the initial plan of raising $450 million to invest in early-stage startups in India. This is Matrix’s largest India-dedicated fund to date.

With the new fund, Matrix Partners India will continue to back founders that are building category-defining companies, the firm told CNBC-TV18 in a statement on May 25.

“In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, senior family members were compelled to adopt technology. However, most existing applications fall short in catering to their distinct needs. We are excited to partner with them as they build GenWise, a platform to bridge generational gaps through a shared social platform,” said Siddharth Agarwal, Principal, Matrix Partners India.

According to the company, the fresh funds will be used to establish the initial team and facilitate the launch of the app. GenWise will launch as an exclusive and invite-only community for early adopters. As the app gains traction, the team will roll out additional features and widen its reach to a larger audience, the statement added.

“GenWise embodies our collective vision to develop a lifestyle app that not only empowers the elderly but also bridges the prevailing digital gap between generations, that we witnessed within our own families. We strongly believe that age should not be a barrier for anyone to leverage the potential of going digital and its various possibilities,” said Rajat Jain, Co-Founder, GenWise.

The startup offers a variety of features across wellness, digital literacy, financial management and social engagement for the older generation. These include a personal digital assistant, a streamlined digital passbook, timely reminders for medication and engaging tools to socialise.

“Individuals above the age of 50, possess on average, ten times the accumulated wealth compared to those under 35 and are now spearheading the surge of new online shoppers in India. With a population of around 250 million between the age of 50 and 75, this demographic is the fastest-expanding age group in India. For them, the need to have an enabler to simplify the use of technology was overlooked,” said Nehul Malhotra, Co-Founder, GenWise.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow