Category: Startup

Pocket FM: Redefining audio storytelling

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

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Pocket FM, isn’t just another streaming service, it is a game changer. The brainchild of Rohan Nayak and Nishanth KS alongside their tech partner Pratik Dikshit, Pocket FM promises to be one with blockbusters like Saving Nora, and Insta Millionaire racking up nearly 2 billion views and a staggering $50 million at the box office.

However, there is a twist. One won’t find these hits on Netflix or Prime video. They are exclusively on Pocket FM, an Indian audio series platform, that is taking the global stage by storm and is attempting to rewrite the rules of the over-the-top (OTT) game.

Founded in 2018, the platform is evolved into a power house boasting over 100,000 hours of audio content, over 2,000 exclusive series in a diverse range of languages including Spanish and German. Pocket FM’s reach isn’t limited to India.

With over a 130 million listeners worldwide including 10 million dedicated fans in the US, the platform’s annual revenue skyrocketed from zero to over $150 million in just two years and $100 million of that comes from non-diaspora audiences in the US alone.

Also Read | Pocket FM raises $103 million to up its tune in the US, Europe and LATAM markets

Indian entrepreneurs are certainly building consumer products that don’t exist anywhere else and Pocket FM is playing the conductor of the building from India from the world symphony.

But Pocket FM faced its fair share of challenges especially when it comes to monetisation yet with bold moves like microtransactions, unprecedented in the entertainment world, the startup has thrived witnessing over 20 million transactions globally in 2023 alone.

Also Read | Pocket FM launches Pocket Novel, aims to become India’s largest online reading platform

The journey is just starting with the recent $100 million funding led by Lightspeed. Pocket FM is gearing up for its next chapter strengthening its foothold in the US market and expanding into Europe and Latin America – that is just the beginning.

What’s next on the playlist for Pocket FM? Young Turks’ Shereen Bhan spoke with Rohan Nayak, CEO of Pocket FM and Nishanth KS, COO of Pocket FM.

For more, watch the accompanying video

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: Japan-based Mynavi acquires Awign, Blinkit more valuable than Zomato’s food delivery biz and more

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

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Japan-based Mynavi acquires HR tech startup Awign in an all-cash deal

Japan-based HR solutions provider Mynavi Corporation has acquired a majority stake in human resource tech platform Awign, which as per the firm is the largest HR deal in India in 20 years.

Under the new structure, Awign aims to generate $1 billion revenue by 2030. With this acquisition, few of the Bengaluru-based company’s early investors including Capria, Lumis, MSDF, Amicus Capital and Pankaj Bansal will exit the company.

“Mynavi will hold a significant majority in the company and co-founders of the company will also continue to hold a sizable stake. As part of this acquisition, the board constituency will change because Mynavi will acquire a sizable majority but the operating layer will remain the same. Mynavi is not going to appoint any operator in our company,” Awign Co-founder and CEO, Annanya Sarthak said.

Capria closes Rs 153 crore India Opportunity Fund following multi-fold return from Awign exit

Capria Ventures has announced the close of its India Opportunity Fund at Rs 153 crore (~$19M). This comes on the heels of a full-cash exit from its portfolio company Awign. The venture capital firm has sold its stake in Awign to Japan-based human resource solutions provider Mynavi Corporation. According to Capria, Awign has seen 20 times growth in revenue since Capria first led its seed round investment in 2018.

In February 2023, Capria achieved the first close of India Opportunity Fund at Rs 75 crore. The fund was called Unitus Ventures India Opportunity Fund before Capria and Unitus joined hands to operate as a single brand, Capria, in September 2023.

Capital from the first close of this fund was invested in the breakout leaders of its early-stage funds (Capria India Fund I and Capria India Fund II), such as Awign, BetterPlace, Cuemath, Eduvanz, and Masai.

Blinkit more valuable than Zomato’s food delivery biz: Goldman Sachs

Brokerage firm Goldman Sachs believes that the implied value of Zomato’s quick commerce business, Blinkit, is now larger than the parent’s core food delivery business.

Goldman Sachs is now valuing Blinkit at ₹119 per share at a $13 billion equity valuation. That’s higher than the food delivery business, which is being valued at ₹98 per share.

Zomato has been surprisingly positive on both profitability and the growth front, according to Goldman Sachs and the Gross Order Value (GOV) for Blinkit is nearly 50% higher than their estimate a year ago.

Norwest VP launches $3 billion new fund to back early & growth stage startups

Norwest Venture Partners, that has backed unicorns like Amagi, OfBusiness, Swiggy and Mensa, has raised its 17th global fund of $3 billion. The latest fund brings the firm’s total capital under management to $15.5 billion.

Called NVP 17, the fund will invest in early and growth-stage startups in the US, India and Israel, across sectors such as enterprise tech, consumer and healthcare. The VC has backed 43 Indian companies since entering the country in 2009.

Their investments range across stages – in the early and mid-stage companies the ticket size ranges from $10 – $30 million, and in the growth equity stages the ticket size ranges from $20 – $100 million. Recently, Norwest has also promoted three of its India team members — Nikhil Kookada and Ankit Prasad to principal; and Krish Kapadia to vice president.

FlashAid raises $2.5 million from Piper Serica Angel Fund, SOSV

Healthcare and Insurtech company Flashaid has raised $2.5 million in a Pre-Series A funding round led by Piper Serica Angel Fund and global venture capital firm SOSV. Early-stage investors —Z21 Ventures Fund and ZNL Growth Fund participated in this round.

The startup plans to use the fresh funds for growth and to expand to six new cities. Flashaid said it is building an API-first health cover to make health insurance affordable and accessible to digital India. It is developing a distinctive channel for retail health plan distribution via a B2B2C platform.

Over the last year, Flashaid claims to have partnered with over 20 platforms to distribute 30,000+ health covers and is profitable at the EBITDA level. The company is at an ARR of $ 1 million and is expected to grow to $10M ARR (annual run rate) in the next two years.

MatchLog Solutions gets $1.5 million to enhance sustainability and carbon efficiency in container logistics

MatchLog Solutions, a sustainable container logistics and supply chain optimization player, has bagged $1.5 million in Pre-Series A funding round led by Motion Ventures and July Ventures, with participation from Venture Catalysts, Blue Ashva Capital, and Capital A.

As per the firm, this funding will enable it to shift to a full platform model, emphasising carbon reduction as a core aspect of its offering. The investment will also expand MatchLog’s market presence, enhance strategic partnerships, and deepen collaborations within the global shipping and port ecosystems.

MatchLog said it is set to increase its footprint and scale in India and the growth is projected to handle around 4-5 million containers annually, resulting in a substantial reduction of 200,000 metric tons of carbon emissions each year.

Ideal Insurance bags Rs 8 crore in Pre-Series A funding

Insuretech platform Ideal Insurance has raised Rs 8 crore in Pre-Series A funding round led by family offices of VC Grid with participation from investors including Sagar Daryani of Wow Momo, Atha Group Family office, StyleBaazar Family office, Deven Bhandari and others.

“With a team of more than 300 and presence across 50+ cities, we plan to grow to 500 cities in the next 2 years with a premium collection of more than INR 1,100 crore and an EBITDA target of INR 33 crore,” said Rahul Agarwal, Founder and CEO of Ideal Insurance

Agarwal added, “We plan to raise $10 million this year at a valuation of $70-90 million to achieve our desired growth.”

Control One AI receives $350,000 from a clutch of investors

Control One AI, an AI first Robotics Startup has raised $350,000 from a group of investors in the United States and India. The funding saw participation from Kunal Shah (Founder, CRED), Chaitanya R (Co-Founder,Wakefit) & Amit Singh (Ex-MD, Avendus Capital) and Silicon Valley based Top Supply Chain executives from Tesla, Amazon, Walmart, eBay, Mercedes-Benz, and General Electric.

The startup is building an AI specially tailored for Slow Moving Equipments utilised throughout the Supply chain.

The funds raised is aimed at creating a fully functional prototype and conducting successful pilot validations. The firm is also looking to unveil the first fully functional prototype to demonstrate the AI in action which will revolutionise the existing infrastructure and even democratize automation to all.

Ramoji Group invests in FlexiCloud to expand cloud solutions in Kerala

Ushodaya Enterprises, the parent company of the Ramoji Group, has made strategic investment in Kochi-based FlexiCloud Internet, a provider of advanced managed cloud hosting solutions. This investment is part of Ushodaya’s efforts to expand its footprint in Kerala, a statement said.

The fresh capital will be used to augment company’s technological base, expand its research and development efforts, and increase its market penetration.

This investment will also help improve FlexiCloud’s PaaS offerings in the cloud sector and incorporate AI and machine learning into their services. “Thanks to this investment, we can push the boundaries of what our cloud technologies can achieve, offering more to our clients than ever before,” said Binu Mathew, CFO of FlexiCloud.

GLOBAL TECHNOLOGY & STARTUP NEWS

Microsoft results top Wall Street targets, driven by AI investment

Microsoft beat Wall Street estimates for third-quarter revenue and profit, driven by gains from adoption of artificial intelligence across its cloud services.

The rise in Microsoft shares after the bell lifted the company’s stock market value by $128 billion as profit and revenue growth overshadowed its higher-than-expected capital expenditures.

Microsoft revenue rose 17% to $61.9 billion in the quarter ended March, exceeding the consensus estimate of $60.80 billion, according to LSEG data. Earnings per share of $2.94 topped Wall Street’s target of $2.82.

Google parent announces first-ever dividend; beats on sales, profit

Alphabet has announced its first-ever dividend and a $70 billion stock buyback. The Google parent is returning capital while spending billions of dollars on data centers to catch up with rivals on generative artificial intelligence. The dividend will be 20 cents per share.

Alphabet beat expectations for the quarter in sales, profit and advertising – metrics that are all closely watched. Alphabet’s after-hours share surge of nearly 16% following the report increased its stock market value by about $300 billion to over $2 trillion.

In a call to discuss results, CEO Sundar Pichai touted Google’s AI offerings as a boon to its core search results. “We are encouraged that we are seeing an increase in search usage among people who are using the AI overviews,” he said. Revenue was $80.54 billion for the quarter ended March 31, compared with estimates of $78.59 billion, according to LSEG data.

Snapchat parent soars after beating revenue, user growth estimates

Shares in Snap jumped nearly 25% in premarket trading after targeted ads and new features helped the owner of the photo messaging app beat Wall Street expectations for first-quarter revenue and user growth.

The Snapchat parent now expects second-quarter revenue between $1.23 billion and $1.26 billion, above analysts’ estimates of $1.22 billion, according to LSEG data. Snap said its business was improving faster than expected due to upgrades of its ad system and higher demand for features that help brands drive sales or website clicks.

Daily active users of Snapchat increased to 422 million during the quarter, above estimates of 419.6 million. The company said first-quarter revenue grew 21% to $1.2 billion, above estimates of $1.12 billion.

ByteDance prefers TikTok shutdown in US if legal options fail: Report

TikTok owner ByteDance would prefer to shut down its loss-making app rather than sell it if the Chinese company exhausts all legal options to fight legislation to ban the platform from app stores in the U.S., Reuters reported.

The algorithms TikTok relies on for its operations are deemed core to ByteDance’s overall operations, which would make a sale of the app with algorithms highly unlikely, said the sources close to the parent.

TikTok accounts for a small share of ByteDance’s total revenues and daily active users, so the parent would rather have the app shut down in the U.S. in a worst case scenario than sell it to a potential American buyer, they said.

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

Elevating India’s Startups: The journey from vision to unicorn with Leap to Unicorn Season 2

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

Listen to the Article (6 Minutes)

The Indian startup landscape is a captivating narrative of ambition and innovation. Fueled by a burgeoning talent pool and a supportive startup ecosystem, the country is witnessing an explosion of young companies eager to disrupt traditional industries and redefine the future.

This dynamism is best seen in the numbers – India boasts the third-largest startup ecosystem globally, with over 100,000 recognised startups. Furthermore, the nation’s entrepreneurial spirit extends beyond major metropolitan cities. Smaller towns and cities are emerging as vibrant startup hubs, fostering a diverse and inclusive innovation landscape. However, navigating the path to success requires more than just a brilliant idea.

This is precisely where Leap to Unicorn, a pioneering initiative by IDFC FIRST Bank in collaboration with Network18 and CNBC-TV18, steps in. Launched in 2023, the program established itself as a cornerstone for nurturing India’s most promising startups. It provided a strong platform for founders to hone their skills, refine their business models, and connect with investors. The first season of Leap to Unicorn saw a remarkable turnout with over 5,000 registrations, culminating in 600 startups participating in intensive boot camps. The program’s success has only served to inspire IDFC FIRST Bank and Network18 to push the envelope with Season 2.

Building on the momentum of Season 1, Leap to Unicorn Season 2 has recently concluded its registration phase, exceeding all expectations. A total of 5,465 applications poured in, reflecting the immense enthusiasm for the program as well as the depth of talent within the Indian startup ecosystem. Of these, 51% entries came from Tier 1 cities like Delhi, Noida, Gurgaon and others, while around 49% entries came from Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities. That’s almost half the participants. Can you imagine the sheer job growth and prosperity these areas will see as these startups grow?

Also noteworthy are the sectors these startups belong to. The biggest number comes from the following 4 sectors which are Consumer Internet, Healthcare, Health Tech and Med Tech. The success of these startups could help power India’s push towards greater access to healthcare for all Indians and go far in cementing India’s leadership position as a global medical tourism destination. The third sector that has seen increasing participation is Agriculture and Agri tech, where we can expect these startups to take on the many challenges Indian farmers face today. Through the use of technology and innovation, these startups are poised to improve agricultural efficiency, sustainability, and resilience, contributing to food security and economic growth in India.

Following a rigorous selection process, the creme de la creme – the top 10% of applicants – have been chosen to participate in a series of exclusive virtual boot camps. Commencing on April 15, 2024, these high-potential startups are participating in a series of 16 exclusive virtual boot camps spread out strategically across four weeks.

The boot camps are off to a promising start in the first week with founders being mentored by a distinguished roster of industry veterans. This group includes visionaries like Sanjeev Bikhchandani, founder of Info Edge, who led the “Leadership Utopia” session. Rahul Jain, the entrepreneurial mind behind Epigamia, shared his insights on “Building a Prototype & Testing the Waters,” equipping founders with practical strategies for validating their ideas. In the coming weeks, founders will delve into several topics curated for their success.

Beyond the boot camps, Leap to Unicorn fosters a supportive ecosystem through networking opportunities. Participants will connect with investors, established entrepreneurs, and fellow founders, creating a valuable support network that extends far beyond the program itself. Industry stalwarts like Prem Barthasarthy (Pontaq), Amit Kumar (Ah! Ventures), Mayuresh Raut (Seafund), Rohit M.A. (PeerCapital), and Anand Lunia (India Quotient) have all pledged their expertise and investment capital to the program. This jury highlights Leap to Unicorn’s commitment to fostering a dynamic ecosystem where innovative ideas can flourish and secure the funding they need to thrive.

The impact of Leap to Unicorn transcends the immediate benefits for participating startups. By nurturing promising ventures and fostering a culture of collaboration, the program has the potential to create significant ripple effects. The success stories that emerge from Leap to Unicorn will serve as inspiration for future generations of entrepreneurs, further propelling India’s startup ecosystem to even greater heights. This, in turn, will contribute to economic growth, job creation, and the development of innovative solutions that address the challenges of tomorrow.

Moreover, each season of Leap to Unicorn helps bring to light critical gaps in the ecosystem – most of the intel coming from the participants themselves. Given the reach of the Leap to Unicorn platform, this creates opportunities for support systems to come up with solutions that don’t just benefit the startup ecosystem, but also open up potentially profitable new lines of business for them.

As with its predecessor, Leap to Unicorn Season 2 is poised to be a launchpad for the next wave of India’s unicorns, and you have a front row seat to this exciting transformation.

Learn more about the Leap to Unicorn program and how it is helping propel Indian startups here.

Note: This is a partnered post.

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

Norwest VP launches $3 billion new fund to back early & growth stage startups

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

Listen to the Article (6 Minutes)

Norwest Venture Partners, that has backed unicorns like Amagi, OfBusiness, Swiggy and Mensa, has raised its 17th global fund of $3 billion. The latest fund brings the firm’s total capital under management to $15.5 billion.

Called NVP 17, the fund will invest in early and growth-stage startups in the US, India and Israel, across sectors such as enterprise tech, consumer and healthcare.

The VC has backed 43 Indian companies since entering the country in 2009. Their current active portfolio companies stand at 23. The firm that has so far backed tech-focussed companies such as Amagi Media Labs, NSE India, Five Star Finance, Infinx, Mensa Brands, Swiggy, Xpressbees Logistics, OfBusiness, Oxyzo, Quikr, SK Finance, Sulekha, Ummeed Housing, Vastu Housing, Veritas Finance, among others

They invest in sectors like Financial – services and technology, consumer – technology, products, and services, B2B Tech, industrials and manufacturing, SaaS and enterprise software, business and IT services, healthcare, technology.

“For more than six decades, we have been fortunate to partner with an incredible set of companies,” said Jeff Crowe, senior managing partner at Norwest. “Our diversified investment strategy, long-term commitment and collaborative approach allows us to adapt to a wide range of market conditions and support founders and CEOs at every stage of their journey.”

Their investments range across stages – in the early and mid-stage companies the ticket size ranges from $10 – $30 million, and in the growth equity stages the ticket size ranges from $20 – $100 million. Recently, Norwest has also promoted three of its India team members — Nikhil Kookada and Ankit Prasad to principal; and Krish Kapadia to vice president.

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

Zomato founder Deepinder Goyal was the buyer in Delhi’s biggest land deal last year

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

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There were 29 land deals in the National Capital Region (NCR), which includes New Delhi and areas around it like Gurugram and Noida, in the last financial year ending March 2024.

Most of the land deals (22 out of the 29) were in Gurugram. There was only one large land deal Delhi and the buyer was none other than Deepinder Goyal. the founder of ₹1.6 lakh crore ($20 billion) food delivery giant, Zomato.

Goyal spent ₹79 crore to buy a five-acre property at Dera Mandi in Delhi between January and March 2024.

Most other names in the list of top land buyers — 25 out of 29 deals — in and around Delhi included real estate developers who will eventually build residential societies on these properties.

Earlier in 2023, Mumbai-based Godrej Properties, the $8 billion developer listed on the stock exchanges, paid ₹900 crore for a 7.91 acres of land on Golf Course Road in Gurugram.

Aside from the parcel on Golf Course Road, Godrej Properties also struck two other deals for properties in Gurugram and Noida. The total value of all the land bought by the company last year was ₹1,803 crore.

DLF Homes Developers signed a deal to buy 29 acres of land at Golf Course Ext Road in Gurugram for ₹825 crore in the last quarter of FY24.

314 acres of land were bought and sold in these deals, compared to 23 deals covering 273.9 acres a year earlier, data from Anarock, a real estate consulting firm, showed.

Experion Developers signed four deals to buy land in Gurugram and Noida with a combined value of ₹1,650 crore.  

Interestingly, online gaming company Gameskraft Technologies Private Ltd signed a deal to buy 8.61 acres of land for ₹90 crore in Balola village in Gurugram for “educational purpose”.

These are some interesting facts about the land deals in NCR in the financial year ending March 2024: 

208.2 acres of land were bought and sold in Gurugram in 22 deals

20 out of these 22 land deals in Gurugram were exclusively for residential development.

At least two land deals, spanning over 7 acres each, were planned specifically for commercial real estate projects.

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: LetsTransport raises $22 million, Indus Appstore introduces AI-powered voice search & more

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

Listen to the Article (6 Minutes)

LetsTransport raises $22 million from Bertelsmann and others

LetsTransport, a trucking aggregator, has raised $22 million in a Series E funding round led by existing investor Bertelsmann India Investments. Rebright Partners, NB Ventures, ALES Global, Stride Ventures, CAC Capital, and others have also participated in the funding round.

Following this round, LetsTransport plans to expand market presence and scale adjacent business verticals. The company said it is already profitable at a City EBITDA level and with this raise, it’ll be on track to achieve PAT breakeven by 2025.

LetsTransport currently has 200K+ registered truckers and 200+ blue chip clients across 25+ cities and it claims to have grown ~4x between FY21 to FY23.

Rishihood University launches a $5 million fund to invest in student innovation and alumni startups

Rishihood University has launched a four-year undergraduate BBA program called the “Makers Undergrad” at its ‘School of Entrepreneurship’. The university has set up a $5 million Makers Fund, to invest in student innovation and alumni startups.

The UG program has introduced initiatives that will give students exposure to business hubs in Singapore, Israel, Silicon Valley, and London. The curriculum will cover a spectrum of topics including Introduction to Entrepreneurship, Personal Branding, Technology and Society, Raising Capital Venture Capital, and Private Equity, alongside practical modules like Web Application Development, Social Media for Entrepreneurs, and Impact Entrepreneurship.

For practical hands-on experience, students will be empowered to invest in equity from day one with an initial balance of ₹10,000 and can further engage in entrepreneurial endeavours by making a fixed deposit of ₹1 lakh which unlocks after the third year, encouraging the utilisation of ₹1 lakh plus interest, as seed capital for startup ventures.

Plane gets $4 million in Seed funding round

Plane, an open-source project management platform, has secured $4 million in a Seed round funding from OSS Capital. This investment will fuel the company’s community growth and compete in the coveted enterprise segment, it said in a statement.

The startup also unveiled Plane One, its first-in-open-source pricing plan for self-managed instance owners at growing companies. Plane One offers a one-time perpetual license at of $799, discounted $100 for the first 100 orders.

“As a first step, Plane One is designed ground-up for growing businesses that need essential tools to manage their projects and their instance better without being locked into ongoing SaaS-pricing commitments,” said Vamsi Kurama, Co-founder and CEO of Plane.

Boba Bhai secures ₹12.5 crore in seed round from Titan Capital and others

Boba tea brand Boba Bhai has secured ₹12.5 crore in seed funding round led by Titan Capital and Global Growth Capital UK. Marsshot VC, Warm up Ventures, Asit Oberoi, 1947 Rise Fund and others also invested.

The QSR chain claims to be processing over 50,000 monthly orders while expanding its footprint to 25 outlets across seven cities – Delhi, Gurugram, Udaipur, Bangalore, Mumbai, Hyderabad, and Chennai.

“We have already expanded rapidly in India, and with this fresh fund, we will expand to 100 stores across the country by December 2025. We aim to capture 75-80 percent market share in India in FY24,” said Dhruv Kohli, Founder, Boba Bhai.

Smart appliances startup Karban raises ₹8.94 crore from All In Capital, Titan Capital and Rainmatter

Karban Envirotech, a startup that manufactures energy-efficient electronic appliances, has bagged a seed funding of ₹8.93 crores from All In Capital, Titan Capital and Rainmatter.

Other investors who participated in the seed round include Urban Company, JK Family Office. Other marquee investors include Kunal Shah, Anupam Mittal (Shark Tank India), Bharat Jaisinghiani, Atul Gupta, Abhishek Goyal, Sumer Sethi, Natasha Malpani Oswal, Sarang Iyengar and Karan Jindal.

Karban, which builds energy-efficient, sustainable and design oriented airflow appliances, will use the funds to fuel its growth, strengthen its team, support innovation and new product development.

Indus Appstore introduces AI-powered voice search

Fintech player PhonePe’s homegrown Android app store Indus Appstore has introduced a voice search feature to improve user experience on the platform.

The voice search feature will be available in 10 Indian languages including Hindi, Bengali, Kannada, Tamil and Telugu, apart from English. The feature will enable users to search for apps and games in their preferred language.

“With 82 percent of smartphone users engaging in voice-activated technology, integration of Indian languages has been the strongest growth driver for tech across the six-to-sixty age spectrum” Indus Appstore co-founder Akash Dongre said in a statement.

Ultraviolette launches e-motorcycle ‘F77 Mach 2’ at ₹2.99 lakh

Electric vehicle (EV) company Ultraviolette has launched a new e-motorcycle — the F77 Mach 2 — at a starting price of ₹2,99,000. The higher-range F77 Mach 2 Recon comes at a special introductory price of ₹3,99,000.

The F77 Mach 2 and the F77 Mach 2 Recon come in nine colour themes — Stellar White, Supersonic Silver, Lightning Blue, Plasma Red, Turbo Red, Afterburner Yellow, Stealth Grey, Asteroid Grey, and Cosmic Grey.

The F77 Mach 2 will be available across the country in 15 cities in a phase-wise manner, with deliveries starting in May 2024.

PUER clocks 130% growth year-on-year; targets 200% growth in 3 years

D2C brand PUER claims to have clocked 130% year-on-year growth and is targeting 200% increase in year-on-year growth over the next three years by using multi-channels like Modern Trade and General Trade.

The brand said it has built a community of over 1 lakh loyal consumers and they have been expanding in Delhi-NCR, Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai, and Pune.

“Our goal is to redefine the standards of homecare. We want to offer solutions that are not only effective but also free from harmful toxins. We want our customers to feel confident that they are making a positive choice for their homes and the environment,” said Ankit Daga, Co-Founder of Brand Nourish’s PUER.

Reloy targets ₹3,500 crore in referral sales in FY25

Reloy, a homeowner loyalty and referral platform for builders, has launched “Connectre 4.0,” the latest version of its cutting-edge referral app.

With the introduction of this upgraded platform, Reloy is looking to achieve ₹3,500 crore in referral sales during the fiscal year 2024-25, with revenue of ₹21 crore.

This initiative follows Reloy’s ₹1450 crore referral sales in the fiscal year 2023-24.

Global Technology & Startup News

Tesla Q1 results disappointing; Musk promises affordable EV cars

Tesla reported a 9% drop in first-quarter revenue, the biggest decline since 2012, and missed analysts’ estimates, as the electric vehicle company weathers the effect of ongoing price cuts.

Revenue declined from $23.33 billion a year earlier and from $25.17 billion in the fourth quarter. Net income dropped 55% to $1.13 billion, or 34 cents a share, from $2.51 billion, or 73 cents a share, a year ago.

CEO Elon Musk said on the call that the company plans to start production of new models in “early 2025, if not late this year,” after previously expecting to begin in the second half of 2025. Musk also touted Tesla’s investments in artificial intelligence infrastructure, and said the company is in talks with “one major automaker” to license its driver assistance system, which is marketed in the US as the Full Self-Driving, or FSD, option.

US Senate passes TikTok ban bill, Biden set to make it law

The US Senate voted by a wide margin in favor of legislation that would ban TikTok in the United States if its owner, the Chinese tech firm ByteDance, fails to divest the popular short video app over the next nine months to a year.

Driven by widespread worries among US lawmakers that China could access Americans’ data or surveil them with the app, the bill was passed by the US House of Representatives on Saturday and US President Joe Biden has said he will sign it into law.

Asked about the Senate’s vote, the Chinese foreign ministry referred to comments the ministry made in March when the House of Representatives passed a similar bill. At the time, the ministry criticized the legislation, arguing “though the US has never found any evidence of TikTok posing a threat to the US’s national security, it has never stopped going after TikTok.”

Italy fines Amazon 10 million euros for alleged unfair commercial practices

Italy’s antitrust authority has fined two subsidiaries of Amazon a total of 10 million euros ($10.7 million) for alleged unfair commercial practices, the regulator said, a decision the US e-commerce giant said it would appeal.

Amazon “significantly restricted consumers’ freedom of choice” by automatically pre-setting a ‘Subscribe and Save’ option on its website for a wide selection of products, the watchdog said.

“The pre-ticking of recurring purchase induces one to periodically buy a product – even without the effective need – thus limiting one’s freedom of choice,” the authority said in a statement.

Apple announces event on May 7 amid reports of launch of new iPads

Apple will hold an event on May 7, the company said, amid reports that it would roll out the long-anticipated revamped versions of iPad Pro and iPad Air next month.

The Cupertino, California-based company did not disclose details about the event that would start at 7 am PT (2 pm GMT).

Bloomberg News reported in March that Apple’s overseas suppliers had ramped up production of the new iPads and a launch was planned for early May.

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

Fraud, threats, sexual harassment: Zilingo’s Ankiti Bose files FIR against co-founder, ex-COO

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

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Zilingo founder Ankiti Bose has filed a First Information Report (FIR) with Mumbai police, accusing two of the company’s top executives, co-founder Dhruv Kapoor and former Chief Operating Officer (COO) Aadi Vaidya, of cheating, fraud, criminal intimidation, as well as allegations of sexual and mental harassment.

In a six-page complaint, Bose alleged that Kapoor and Vaidya have engaged in deceptive activities, misleading both her and the company’s investors in an attempt to gain financial advantages and coerce her into relinquishing her shares and business under false pretences. Moneycontrol has seen a copy of the FIR and reviewed the six-page complaint.

Pradeep Kumar Jain, Managing Partner at Singhania & Co. LLP, confirmed that their client, Bose, the co-founder and ex-CEO of Zilingo, has lodged a criminal complaint through an FIR against her former colleagues. Jain, however, refrained from commenting further on the matter at this stage.

“Ankiti Bose’s allegations against me are completely baseless, untrue, and malicious. A thorough investigation has already proven her wrongdoing based on which she was terminated from the company. This appears to be nothing but retaliatory behaviour. Throughout my tenure at Zilingo, I upheld my integrity by aiding the board’s inquiry into Ankiti’s misconduct while fostering professional relationships and striving to build ethical products,” said Dhruv Kapoor.

“The allegations, as per media reports, made against me by Ms Ankiti Bose are completely baseless and untrue. This seems like nothing but a clear afterthought done with a malicious intention to harm my reputation and harass me”, said Aadi Vaidya.

After a prolonged boardroom drama which included Bose being fired as the company’s chief executive officer, Zilingo entered liquidation in January last year. It had been one of the highest-profile startups to emerge from Singapore and was said to be in talks to raise fresh money at unicorn valuation before the company imploded.

In June 2022, Bose and Kapoor even joined hands to make a management buyout offer when the Singapore-based business-to-business (B2B) e-commerce startup was staring at liquidation.

What does the complaint say?

“As the Chief Operating Officer, Mr. Aadi Vaidya engaged in misconduct by falsely attributing loss-making deals to me and extending trade credit to various parties in my name. He then used those deals to threaten me by falsely implicating me to investors, despite the fact that all operational dealings were conducted by him in my previous company,” Bose alleged in her complaint.

The former Zilingo CEO alleged that Kapoor and Vaidya were required to share some data with the team. “However, they chose to be sneaky and shady by hiding various company-related data and information. This made it extremely difficult to make informed decisions and collaborate effectively,” the complaint said.

Bose also has made the accusation that the duo “used lewd language and sent me vulgar sexually explicit messages from untraceable accounts and also threatened me that they will target me online and that they will get me into a terrible mental state where I will commit suicide.”

“Mr Dhruv Kapoor and Mr Aadi Vaidya said they also have an intention to create fake WhatsApp messages of my name. I believe they have followed through with this plan and have conspired with unknown individuals to harass me, ultimately leading to the fraudulent acquisition of my shares. This malicious behaviour has caused me significant psychological trauma as a result of the digital harassment,” she added.

Bose’s complaint also accused Kapoor of sexual harassment.

“During a private meeting, Mr Dhruv Kapoor overstepped boundaries by persisting with an intention of initiating a non-consensual and unprofessional sexual relationship,” she alleged in her complaint.

Also Read: How a celebrity CEO’s rule of fear helped bring down hot startup Zilingo

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

Accacia raises $6.5 million in pre-Series A funding to drive decarbonisation in real estate and infrastructure

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

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Accacia, a decarbonisation platform focusing on the real estate and infrastructure sectors, has successfully closed a $6.5 million pre-Series A funding round. The round was spearheaded by Illuminate Financial, a specialised venture capital firm known for its focus on enterprise fintech companies.

Speaking to CNBC-TV18, Annu Talreja, Founder & CEO of Accacia, emphasised the significance of their platform in addressing the complex emissions tracking challenges prevalent in real estate sector. Talreja stated, “Our platform is specially designed for real estate companies. Real estate has emissions across the value chain and hence it’s a very complex emissions tracking problem.” She further explained, “Our platform automates data collection from different parts of the real estate value chain, enabling us to calculate carbon emissions across the entire value chain.”

The pre-Series A round also saw participation from AC Ventures, a Southeast Asia-based investor, in addition to early supporters Accel and B Capital.

Talreja highlighted that the company is already EBITDA positive and makes revenue by selling software. She added that backing from leading players like Accel, B Capital, Illuminate, and AC Ventures not only provides encouragement but allows the company to have a greater customer reach.

Accacia, initially established in Asia, has already deployed its solution to over 25 million square feet of commercial real estate, with Singapore emerging as a significant market, contributing approximately 70% to its revenue. Talreja outlined plans for expansion, stating, “We plan to utilise this capital to further expand our presence in Southeast Asia, alongside our recent venture into the North American market.”

Commenting on the broader industry landscape, Talreja stressed the importance of investing in innovative technologies to decarbonise the real estate sector. She emphasised the need for investment in technologies spanning energy optimisation, renewable energy, and other innovative solutions to drive sustainable practices within the industry.

In a separate development, Bengaluru-based aerospace components manufacturer JJG Aero announced securing $12 million (approximately Rs 100 crore) in its maiden funding round from CX Partners.

Anuj Jhunjhunwala, CEO of JJG Aero, outlined their plans for expansion, stating, “Most of the funds will be used to expand our capacity and add high precision CNC equipment.”

Jhunjhunwala added that the company plans to move towards higher value-added components, more complexity parts, and make a big foray into adjacent industries like aircraft engines.

Additionally, Viraj Bahl, Founder of Veeba, shared insights into the company’s journey to success. Veeba, is India’s leading home-grown sauce and condiments brand, boasts a portfolio of over 300 SKUs and a distribution network spanning 700 cities.

Watch accompanying video for entire conversation.

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

Srartup Digest: Dhruva Space bags ₹78 cr from IAN Alpha Fund, Nat Habit crosses ₹100 crore ARR in FY24 & more

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

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Investors Vs Byju’s: NCLT defers hearing to June 6

No relief for beleaguered edtech Byju’s as National Company Law Tribunal has deferred the rights case issue to June 6. NCLT is hearing a plea filed by four investors regarding oppression and mismanagement at Byju’s.

The investors have alleged during the hearing that Byju’s had not deposited the money it received from rights issue prior to February 27 in the escrow account.

In its order on February 27, NCLT directed Byju’s not to allot shares to investors participating in the rights issue without increasing its authorised share capital. The company was also asked to keep the proceeds of the rights issue in an escrow account to protect investors’ rights.

Sources at BYJU’S had informed CNBC-TV18 on April 22 that the company planned to request the release of the funds received from the rights issue, which are currently held in an escrow account, to be able to clear its salary and other obligations. 

Dhruva Space bags ₹78 cr in Series A2 round led by IAN Alpha Fund

Spacetech startup Dhruva Space has raised ₹78 crore in its Series A2 funding round led by IAN Alpha Fund, with participation from existing investors. With this, the company has brought its Series A corpus to ₹123 crore.

The fresh capital will enable the company to establish spacecraft manufacturing and testing capabilities, and launch customer missions with the larger satellite buses, namely P-30 and P-90. Dhruva Space said it is setting up the first phase (1.2 lakh square-foot) of their 2.8 lakh-square-foot world-class spacecraft manufacturing facility in Hyderabad to invest in continued innovation upon the existing product line to go to the global market.

Dhruva Space has launched eight payloads in the last 2 years, including the Thybolt satellite mission in November 2022 and the LEAP-TD mission on January 1, 2024. Building on this, the coming years will see several customer launches with the company’s P-30 nanosatellite platform and P-90 microsatellite platform.

Nabhdrishti Aerospace raises ₹3 crore in Pre-Seed round

Deeptech startup Nabhdrishti Aerospace has raised ₹3 crore in a pre-seed funding round led by IIMA Ventures (formerly IIMA-CIIE).

Founded in 2023, the startup will design and develop gas turbine engines, beginning with a 350 SHP turbo-prop engine for aviation and power generation use cases. The micro gas turbine (MGT) engines will be indigenously developed and manufactured and will feature fuel flexibility to enable clean fuel compatibility and enhanced efficiency.

The fresh funds will be used to aid the development of a fuel flex combustor prototype via thorough testing on the fuel injector and combustor, enabling the company to showcase the proprietary fuel flex technology.

Flipkart Ventures to fund GenAI-based early stage startups

Flipkart Ventures, the investment arm of e-commerce major Flipkart, has invited applications for its accelerator programme. As part of the Flipkart Leap Ahead (FLA) programme, selected startups will receive equity investments between $200,000 and $500,000, according to a statement.

Announcing the third cohort of FLA, the firm said the programme aims to accelerate the growth journey of early-stage startups. Applications for the programme will be open from April 22 to May 26.

It added that these startups will also receive two-month mentorship, wherein industry veterans, operators, and founders will guide these entrepreneurs to prepare them for hyper-growth.

Nat Habit surpasses ₹100 crore ARR in FY24; aims to be EBITDA profitable in 18 months

D2C natural beauty and personal care brand Nat Habit has announced that it has crossed ₹100 crore-mark in terms of its annualised revenues in FY24. The brand also aims to become EBITDA profitable over the next 17–18 months.

According to the startup, about 55% of its revenue comes from its own D2C site and the balance comes from e-commerce marketplaces. Nat Habit said it is witnessing 30% of its business come from smaller cities and tier-2 markets.

Since the Series B funding of $10.2 million in December 2023, Nat Habit said it had further accelerated its expansion and innovation efforts. “We are poised for an exciting future with investments in R&D, robust in-house tech capabilities and commitment to optimise our supply chain to handle current and new product offerings,” said Gaurav Agarwal, Co-founder of Nat Habit.

BharatPe launches an all-in-one payment device

Fintech company BharatPe has launched an all-in-one payment product that incorporates POS (point of sale), QR, and speaker into a single device.

Called BharatPe One, the product is designed to streamline transactions for merchants, offering versatile payment acceptance options including dynamic and static QR code, tap-and-pay and traditional card payment options.

The company plans to launch the product in over 100 cities in the first phase and further scale it to more than 450 cities over the next six months.

Razorpay announces ‘UPI Switch’ in partnership with Airtel Payments Bank

Fintech company Razorpay has launched its own UPI infrastructure with ‘UPI Switch’, a cloud-based innovation in partnership with Airtel Payments Bank, and said the solution is geared to ensure smoother and faster transactions.

Boosting success rates by 4-5%, the solution is designed to handle up to 10,000 transactions per second (TPS) at any given time, according to a release.

The ‘UPI Switch’ will also enable 5 times faster access to UPI (Unified Payments Interface) innovations for businesses, it added.

Swiggy launches Smart Links to boost orders for restaurants with a digital presence

Food delivery platform Swiggy, has announced the launch of ‘Smart Links’, a tool designed to empower restaurants of all sizes to enhance their online presence and drive growth.

This new tool helps restaurants convert social media footfall to business with just one click. Smart Links has already driven over 4 million menu sessions for over 35,000 restaurant partners, Swiggy said in a statement.

“Smart Links, which Swiggy is customizing for free for all restaurant partners, will be a game-changer by giving restaurants the power to easily access and customize these links. This allows them to measure individual channel performance and compare all in the owner app, thereby promoting themselves effectively, driving actual orders, and gaining a better understanding of their customers as well as spend on online platforms and social media,” said Deepak Maloo, AVP – Supply, Swiggy.

WeWork India adds two new buildings

Flexible workspace provider WeWork India has announced the expansion of their operations in the country by signing lease agreements for two new buildings.

Set to open in the next couple of months, the new buildings — HQ27 in Gurugram and Amanora Crest in Pune — are located in key business hubs and will redefine the workspace experience for professionals and enterprises alike, the company said.

The two buildings will add over 3,100 desks, spread across over 1,83,000 square feet of space to the existing portfolio.

Global Technology & Startup News

Microsoft introduces smaller AI model

Microsoft has announced a cost-effective, small language artificial intelligence model that can perform tasks such as content creation and create social media posts while using smaller amounts of data.

The company introduced an AI model called Phi-3-mini, which can outperform models twice its size across a variety of benchmarks that evaluate language, coding and math capabilities, it said in a statement.

Smaller AI models are designed to perform simpler tasks, making it easier for use by companies with limited resources, Microsoft said.

Adobe to bring full AI image generation to Photoshop this year

Adobe plans to place a tool for full artificial intelligence image generation in its Photoshop software later this year.

Adobe’s image and video editing tools are widely used by creative professionals, but it faces rising competition from startups such as Microsoft-backed OpenAI, Midjourney and Stability AI, all of which offer services that can generate images from text prompts.

Adobe is developing its own image-generation AI system called Firefly, which is trained on data that Adobe has rights to, in order to avoid copyright infringement claims against users.

Meta opens Quest operating system to third-party device makers

Meta is sharing its Quest headset’s operating system with rival device makers, including Microsoft for the first time, as it works to extend its influence over the emerging virtual and mixed reality industry.

The move will allow partner companies to build their headsets using Meta Horizon OS, a rebranded operating system that brings capabilities like gesture recognition, passthrough, scene understanding and spatial anchors to the devices that run on it, the company said in a blog post.

The social media company said partners Asus and Lenovo would use the operating system to build devices tailored for particular activities. Meta is also using it to make a limited edition version of the Quest headset “inspired by” Microsoft’s Xbox gaming console, according to the company’s statement.

Amazon launches low-cost grocery delivery subscription plan in US

Ecommerce giant Amazon, has launched a new grocery delivery subscription in the United States for members of its Prime program and customers who are recipients of the government food assistance benefits.

The subscription plan would allow Amazon’s Prime members to get unlimited grocery delivery at $9.99 per month on orders over $35 from Whole Foods Market, Amazon Fresh, and other local grocery and specialty retailers on the platform, including Save Mart, Bartell Drugs, Rite Aid and Pet Food Express.

The service will be available in over 3,500 cities and towns across the country.

Injury rates for Musk’s SpaceX exceed industry average for second year: Report

Injury rates at SpaceX facilities continued to exceed an industry average in 2023, according to a Reuters review of safety data reported to U.S. regulators by the space venture controlled by billionaire Elon Musk.

The 2023 records, newly disclosed by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, also show that injury rates at some SpaceX facilities grew worse than those the company had reported in 2022.

At its manufacturing-and-launch facility in Brownsville, Texas, for instance, SpaceX reported 5.9 injuries per 100 workers, surpassing its rate of 4.8 injuries in 2022 and topping a space industry average of 0.8.

Spotify’s monthly user numbers miss estimates on lower promotions

Spotify has reported quarterly monthly active users (MAU) below its own estimates, as the Swedish music streaming company chose to boost profit instead of spending more on marketing activities to draw in more listeners.

First-quarter MAUs rose 19%, but missed Spotify’s own guidance and a median of analysts’ forecasts of 618 million. It also forecast current-quarter MAUs at 631 million, missing estimates of 636.3 million, according to IBES data from LSEG.

Premium subscribers, who account for most of the company’s revenue, rose by 14% to 239 million, in line with estimates. Spotify has been cutting costs, including through layoffs and its marketing budget, as it looks to increase margins and profits.

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