5 Minutes Read
Startup Digest: OLA Cabs CEO quits; Co to lay off 10% of its employees, Oister Global launches ₹440 crore fund
KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)
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Summary
Here are the top headlines from the startup space.
OLA Cabs CEO quits; Co to lay off 10% of its employees: Sources
Ola Cabs CEO Hemant Bakshi has resigned from his position just after four months of joining. The firm is also likely to lay off over 200 or 10% of its employees in a restructuring move, sources told CNBC-TV18.
Bakshi had joined the ride-hailing firm in January to take care of day-to-day operations. Ola Cabs founder Bhavish Agarwal continues to be the chairman and managing director.
The announcement comes just a few weeks after Ola Cabs initiated preliminary discussions with investment banks for an IPO.
Oister Global launches ₹440 crore fund to fuel India’s consumption boom and sunrise sectors
Homegrown investment firm Oister Global has announced a ₹440-crore fund that aims to fuel emerging tech-led innovations and sunrise sectors in India. The fund includes a ₹190 crore greenshoe option and will target investments across early, growth and late-stage Venture Capital and Private Equity funds
Oister aims to inject ₹4,500 cr into India’s VC/PE ecosystem in 2 years and plans to launch a private credit fund in the next quarter. Oister has previously invested in Blume Ventures and Stride Ventures.
“Oister Global’s new fund is strategically designed to capitalize on India’s consumption-driven growth,” said Rohit Bhayana, co-CEO and co-Founder. “Oister India Pinnacle Fund is a versatile blend of venture capital, growth equity, and private equity, enabling us to capture value across various stages of a company’s lifecycle. This approach ensures strategic diversification, enabling Oister to capture opportunities across the entire spectrum of India’s dynamic startup ecosystem. Additionally, it allows us to reinforce success by providing follow-on capital to portfolio winners.”
PayU backs cross border payments platform BRISKPE
BRISKPE, a cross-border payments platform, has received $5 million in a seed round from PayU, the payments and fintech business of Prosus.
The startup will use funds to drive product development, talent acquisition, and business expansion for the cross-border payment startup, empowering Indian businesses to advance on their global journey, it said in a statement.
“At BRISKPE, we’re leveling the playing field for local businesses. We envision a future where international trade is as simple as local commerce, empowering every Indian business to thrive globally,” said Sanjay Tripathy, Co-Founder and CEO of BRISKPE.
Assert AI raises $4 million in Series A funding round
Assert AI, a computer vision SaaS company, has bagged $4 million in Series A funding round, led by investors including Ramesh Hariharan (ex-CTO and Co-founder of LatentView), Prashant Purker (former MD and CEO of ICICI Venture), Arya.ag (India’s largest integrated grain commerce platform), and others.
The startup which has operations in India, the US and the Middle East, will use the funds to expand further into key global markets and bolster its presence in essential markets. The fresh capital will also be used to enhance research and development efforts, and continue pioneering new advancements in Computer Vision technology, the firm said in a statement.
“This investment reflects the confidence of our investors in Assert AI’s vision and potential. It will fuel our expansion efforts and accelerate the development of innovative AI Vision solutions that drive value for our clients globally,” said Job Philip, CEO of Assert AI.
Reelo raises $1 million from Gokul Rajaram
Customer loyalty and marketing automation startup Reelo, has secured $1 million in a fresh funding round led by Gokul Rajaram (a Board member at Pinterest and Coinbase).
The new round of funding will enable Reelo to bring enterprise-level data analytics and AI marketing technology to underserved small and mid-market restaurant and retail businesses, a statement said.
Within just three years of launching the product, Reelo claims to have grown 3X year on year, onboarded over 17,000 businesses in India, the Middle East and Africa and engaged over 16 million customers.
CII launches corporate governance charter for startups
Industry body CII has launched a charter for startups that enlist voluntary recommendations on corporate governance keeping in view unique nuances to govern startups. The Corporate Governance Charter also prescribes guidelines appropriate for startups based on the specific stages of their life cycle.
“This charter is designed for entities incorporated under the Companies Act, 2013 only, and therefore the term ‘Startup’. However, entities which are in the nature of sole proprietorship, limited liability partnership, partnerships may adopt similar structures/ guidelines for corporate governance within their organisation,” the CII stated.
The purpose of this charter is to help startups become responsible corporate citizens and also enable them to share it with their stakeholders to establish themselves as being well-governed, it said.
Settl clocks ₹33 crore in revenue in FY24, expands footprint to 4,000 beds
Co-living startup Settl has announced that it clocked strong growth in FY 23-24, with its revenue soaring 100% to reach ₹33 crore at the end of March 2024, compared to ₹15.5 crore at the end of March 2023.
The startup said it also expanded its operational bed capacity by 100% to reach 4,000 beds across Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Chennai and Gurugram. This marks a jump from the 2,000 beds the Bengaluru-headquartered company operated in the previous year, the firm said.
“Tech hubs like Bengaluru, Chennai, Gurugram and Hyderabad, are witnessing a surge in demand for co-living spaces from young professionals and students. MNCs as well as domestic companies setting up shop in these cities are fueling this even further. The young generation craves a comfortable, connected lifestyle, and co-living offers exactly that,” said Abhishek Tripathi, Founder, Settl.
SKIL surpasses ₹100 crore turnover, achieves 50% year-on-year growth
SKIL, a homegrown comprehensive travel solutions brand, said it has surpassed ₹100-crore turnover mark, reaching a total turnover of ₹113 crore. With 19 crore attributed to Hotels, Flights and Visa services, SKIL Travel claims to have facilitated over 37,500 room nights, both domestically and internationally for their corporate clients.
The company’s transportation services arm CABI has generated 47 crore in revenue, with over 100,000 car bookings completed, it said. Events has contributed another 47 crore to its turnover in the MICE segment, overseeing a diverse range of events. SKIL Events planned and executed more than 2,000 corporate events in FY24.
The company scaled up from 40 employees in 2022 to 140 currently and is currently serving over 230 cities with its car rental business.
GLOBAL TECHNOLOGY & STARTUP NEWS
Apple’s iPadOS subject to tough EU tech rules
Apple’s operating system for iPads has been designated as a gatekeeper under the bloc’s landmark tech rules by EU antitrust regulators because of its importance to business users, the European Commission said.
Under the Digital Markets Act which came into force this year, 22 services owned by Apple, Alphabet’s Google, Microsoft, Amazon, Meta Platforms and TikTok owner ByteDance have already been labelled gatekeepers which control access to their platforms.
The European executive’s decision followed an investigation launched in September last year. Apple’s operating system iOS, its browser Safari and its App Store were designated gatekeepers last year.
EU to probe Meta over handling of Russian disinformation: Report
European Union regulators are expected to open a probe into Meta Platforms over concerns that the company is failing to do enough to counter disinformation from Russia and other countries, the Financial Times reported.
Regulators suspect that Meta’s content moderation does not go far enough to stop the dissemination of political advertising that risks undermining the electoral process, the report said.
But the European Commission is not expected to single out Russia in its statement, expected as soon as Monday, and will only refer to manipulation of information by foreign actors, the report said.
OpenAI’s ChatGPT targeted in Austrian privacy complaint
Microsoft-backed startup OpenAI has found itself the target of a privacy complaint by advocacy group NOYB for allegedly not fixing incorrect information provided by its generative AI chatbot ChatGPT that may breach EU privacy rules.
ChatGPT, which kickstarted the GenAI boom in late 2022, can mimic human conversation and perform tasks such as creating summaries of long text, writing poems and even generating ideas for a theme party.
NOYB said the complainant in its case, who is also a public figure, asked ChatGPT about his birthday and was repeatedly provided incorrect information instead of the chatbot telling users that it does not have the necessary data.
Elon Musk pursues self-driving approval on China trip as Tesla wins key endorsement
Elon Musk pushed for China’s approval for Tesla to roll out advanced driver-assistance systems in a whirlwind trip to Beijing that ended on Monday, a step that could boost revenues at a time when Tesla is under pressure from Chinese rivals. Tesla CEO Musk arrived in the Chinese capital on Sunday where he was expected to discuss the rollout of Full Self-Driving (FSD) software and permission to transfer driving data overseas, Reuters reported.
His meetings included one with Chinese Premier Li Qiang, who praised Tesla’s development in China as a successful example of the US-China economic and trade cooperation though state media did not say if the two had discussed FSD.
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
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