Category: Startup

Peak XV-backed data & AI startup Atlan bags $105 million led by GIC, Meritech Capital

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

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San Francisco-based Atlan has raised $105 million at a valuation of $750 million in a Series C funding round led by Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund GIC and Meritech Capital, with participation from existing investors Salesforce Ventures and Peak XV Partners.

One of the startups in Peak XV’s third cohort of the Surge accelerator program in 2020, the current round has brought the startup’s fundraising to more than $206 million, with Insight Partners and Waterbridge Ventures among its institutional investors.

For Atlan, the fundraiser comes at a time when demand for AI data readiness and governance has skyrocketed. “Over the past year, boards have consistently asked their CIOs and CDOs about their AI roadmaps, who have realized that the main hurdle isn’t AI models but the lack of AI-ready data—data enriched with business context, trust, and security,” said Prukalpa Sankar, co-founder, Atlan.

Also Read: BNPL startup Simpl lays off over 100 employees as part of cost-cutting measures

“Atlan is addressing this by building the control plane for the data and AI stack, integrating trust and context into the digital fabric,” added Sankar. The startup claims to have seen its revenues surge more than 7x in the last 2 years, with a 75% win rate in competitive trials and a 400% enterprise sales growth in Q1 2024.

Some of the startup’s top clients include Cisco, Autodesk, Unilever, Ralph Lauren, FOX, News Corp, Nasdaq, NextGen, Plaid, and HubSpot. “…no two organizations handle data the same way: for data teams, diverse approaches are a feature, not a bug,” said Varun Banka, co-founder of Atlan.

“So, we built a solution that unifies data across warehouses, lakehouses, vector DBs, BI tools, and AI agents. In doing so, Atlan empowers data teams to leverage the entirety of their data at high velocity and scale by ensuring its quality, accuracy, and governance,” Banka explained.

Atlan claims that its platform cuts time spent in finding and understanding data by 95%, enabling faster data governance and AI readiness for enterprises.

Also Read: Poshn secures $6 million in pre-Series A round to expand its business

“Atlan is setting a new standard for modern data governance, especially for enterprises with a cloud-first data strategy,” said Rob Ward, co-founder of Meritech Capital and investor in data companies like Snowflake, Looker, and Tableau.

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: Zomato sets up Weather Union, Pine Labs’ Setu launches ChatGPT like service, Simpl lays off over 100 employees and more

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

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Zomato sets up Weather Union—crowd-sourced network of 650 weather stations across India

In a bid to risk-proof its business from unpredictable weather conditions, foodtech giant Zomato has developed a crowd-supported weather infrastructure that provides real-time and localised climate data.

The platform called Weatherunion.com is an on-ground network of 650 weather stations, offering  critical information on “Temperature, humidity, wind speed, rainfall, etc”.

In a tweet, Zomato CEO Deepinder Goyal said that Weatherunion.com will be accessible for free — using API. Weatherunion.com will be part of Zomato’s CSR efforts – Zomato Giveback. The company will bear the cost of the weather station requiring volunteers to only share space.

Pine Labs-owned Setu and Sarvam AI launches domain-specific LLM for BFSI sector

Pine Labs-owned Setu has launched a large language model (LLM)—Sesame— designed specially for the banking and financial services industry (BFSI) sector. Developed in collaboration with homegrown GenAI startup SarvamAI, the LLM has been trained on custom local data relevant to the sector.

The company has touted the move as the ChatGPT moment in the financial sector. The fintech startup said that the model leverages financial data available both internally and externally to help enterprise customers improve their credit underwriting process, detect fraud, monitor loan performance and offer personal finance advisory.

Sesame will be both domain and region-specific and will be trained on custom data relevant to the BFSI sector, the firm added.

Simpl lays off over 100 employees as part of cost-cutting measures: Report 

Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) fintech Simpl has laid off at least 100 employees across its departments and roles, especially those in higher-paying functions like engineering and product.

This comes even as the fintech’s monthly cash burn has remained elevated and new user acquisitions have slowed down, according to a report by Moneycontrol.

Simpl had around 650 staff till yesterday, including those in core operations, interns, and calling agents. The layoff has impacted people across these domains. Some of those who have been laid off have already started posting for jobs on LinkedIn. Additionally, the layoff has impacted Simpl’s D2C checkout vertical, the report added.

AI governance startup Atlan raises $105 million in Series C round 

Data and artificial intelligence governance platform Atlan has raised $105 million in a Series C funding round from Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund GIC and co-investor Meritech Capital, which valued the startup at $750 million.

Existing investors Salesforce Ventures and Peak XV Partners also participated in the round. Atlan, which has raised more than $206 million, operates an eponymous data stack that brings together diverse data from internal and external sources to one interface.

This new funding comes as Atlan’s revenues ballooned more than 7x in the last 2 years, with a 75% win rate in competitive trials and a whopping 400% enterprise sales growth in Q1 2024, as demand for AI data readiness and governance has skyrocketed, a statement said.

Myelin Foundry raises $4 million from SIDBI Venture Capital and others 

Myelin Foundry, a deep tech AI startup, has bagged $4 million in equity fundraising from SIDBI Venture Capital, along with participation of current investors Endiya Partners, Pratithi Investment Trust, and Subh Labh.

The startup will use new funds to further strengthen its AI platforms and support its expansion into international markets, it said in a statement.

“This investment reaffirms the confidence in Myelin’s growth trajectory and the potential of our Edge AI and Gen AI platforms. We look forward to working closely with our valued partners to accelerate our journey of transforming industries with Edge AI solutions. The global artificial intelligence market size was estimated at USD 200 billion in 2023 and is projected to grow at a CAGR of 36.6% from 2024 to 2030. Myelin is positioned to be a key player in this exciting space,” said Gopichand Katragadda, Founder & CEO of Myelin Foundry.

Merak Ventures leads Rs 10 crore seed round in Atomgrid 

Atomgrid, an R&D-first platform for contract development, manufacturing and sourcing of specialty chemicals, has raised Rs 10 crore in a seed funding round led by B2B venture capital (VC) firm Merak Ventures.

Dexter Ventures, Upsparks, Point One Capital and the founders of UniCards (Nitin Gupta and Prateek Jindal) also participated in the funding round.

The startup will use fresh capital to expand its in-house R&D infrastructure, increase global outreach, build a supply chain tech platform, and hire teams across Business Development, R&D, and fulfilment functions.

T-Hub and AIC launch mobility cohort for AIC T-Hub Program

Startup incubator T-Hub, in collaboration with Atal Incubation Centre (AIC), have announced the launch of the mobility cohort of the AIC T-Hub Program. The selected startups will focus on critical areas including battery technology, battery management systems (BMS), electric vehicle (EV) development, shared mobility solutions, and distribution networks.

Amongst the selected startups are- VPush Technologies, Sock8, Zeromatter Tech,  Electriq, Savy Electrics,  Blumotiv, Sunmit Electronics and Bambam Kart.

The 3-month program aims to provide startups with exclusive 1:1 mentoring, collaborative group sessions, vital investor connections, and opportunities for market pilots. Since its inception, AIC T-Hub has nurtured 147 startups, facilitated funding totaling Rs 15 crore and engaged over 100 mentors, thus significantly enriching the innovation ecosystem.

NSRCEL IIM Bangalore partners with Deloitte to empower early-stage startups

NSRCEL, the incubation hub of the Indian Institute of Management Bangalore (IIMB), has announced a strategic partnership with Deloitte India to-create online modules covering vital topics for early-stage businesses.

These modules will delve into corporate governance, taxation, entity formation, funding stages and instruments, mergers and acquisitions, and company structure, a statement said.

The modules will address various forms of funding and financing available to start-ups, equipping them with valuable financial skills. Furthermore, learning about mergers and acquisitions will prepare start-ups for potential partnerships or exits, the statement added.

Google Wallet launches in India for android phones 

Google has launched its Wallet app designed with a primary focus on organising digital documents for various purposes, including travel, movies, event alerts, gift cards, and even car keys.

To enable the experience for Indian users, Google Wallet has partnered with 20 brands such as PVR & INOX, Air India, Indigo, Flipkart, Pine Labs, Kochi Metro, Abhibus and many others.

For corporate users, Google Wallet offers integration with corporate badges, in partnership with system integrators Wavelynx and Alert Enterprise. Google Wallet allows users to store and access their corporate badges directly on their Android devices.

Apple launches iPad Pro with M4 chip and AI capabilities

Apple has refreshed its tablet line-up, with iPad Pro models housing new M4 chip and artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities.

The iPad Pro comes in two variants — a 13-inch model and a super-portable 11-inch model, with a breakthrough Ultra Retina XDR display with OLED technology.

The 11-inch and 13-inch devices will be available in silver and space black finishes in 256GB, 512GB, 1TB, and 2TB configurations, the company said in a statement.

GLOBAL TECHNOLOGY & STARTUP NEWS

Uber reported a net loss of $654 million,weak second-quarter forecast

Uber posted a surprise first-quarter loss and forecast gross bookings in the second quarter below Wall Street expectations.

Uber reported a net loss of $654 million, driven by legal charges and provisions and those related to fair valuation of certain company investments. Analysts were expecting a net profit of $503.1 million.

Uber also missed market expectations for quarterly gross bookings, a key metric that indicates the total dollar value of transaction on the platform. CFO Prashanth Mahendra-Rajah attributed it to softer ride-share demand in Latin America and the impact from certain holidays shifting into the first quarter.

SoftBank in talks to buy AI chipmaker Graphcore: Report

Japan’s SoftBank is in talks to buy artificial intelligence (AI) chipmaker Graphcore, Bloomberg News reported.

The months-long negotiations between the two companies recently reached a more advanced stage but financial terms of the deal haven’t yet been decided, the report said, adding that talks could still collapse.

Last year, UK-based Graphcore said in a forecast made through 2027 that it needed to raise cash to break even as Nvidia’s dominance in AI chilled funding for startups looking to compete directly.

UK tells tech firms to ‘tame algorithms’ to protect children

Social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram and TikTok will have to “tame” their algorithms to filter out or downgrade harmful material to help protect children under proposed British measures published.

The plan by regulator Ofcom is one of more than 40 practical steps tech companies will need to implement under Britain’s Online Safety Act, which became law in October.

The platforms must also have robust age checks to prevent children seeing harmful content linked to suicide, self-harm and pornography, the regulator said.

FTX files amended reorganisation plan, expects $14.5-$16.3 billion for distribution

Crypto exchange FTX will have between $14.5 billion to $16.3 billion to pay its creditors and customers, according to an amended reorganization plan filed by the company in a U.S. bankruptcy court.

FTX said it has anticipated the figure based on monetizing assets, most of which were investments owned by Alameda Research, a crypto-focused hedge fund controlled Sam Bankman-Fried, FTX Ventures businesses, and litigation claims.

The amount for distribution includes assets under the control of the chapter 11 debtors, as well as those controlled by liquidators of FTX Bahamas Digital Markets, Bahamas Securities Commission, liquidators of FTX’s Australia unit, the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) and several private parties, the statement added.

US eyes curbs on China’s access to AI software behind apps like ChatGPT

The Biden administration is poised to open up a new front in its effort to safeguard the U.S. AI from China with preliminary plans to place guardrails around the most advanced AI Models, the core software of artificial intelligence systems like ChatGPT, Reuters reported.

The Commerce Department is considering a new regulatory push to restrict the export of proprietary or closed source AI models, whose software and the data it is trained on are kept under wraps.

Any action would complement a series of measures put in place over the last two years to block the export of sophisticated AI chips to China in an effort to slow Beijing’s development of the cutting edge technology for military purposes. Even so, it will be hard for regulators to keep pace with the industry’s fast-moving developments.

TikTok, ByteDance sue to block US law seeking sale or ban of app

TikTok and its Chinese parent company ByteDance sued in U.S. federal court seeking to block a law signed by President Joe Biden that would force the divestiture of the short video app used by 170 million Americans or ban it.

The companies filed their lawsuit in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, arguing that the law violates the U.S. Constitution on a number of grounds including running afoul of First Amendment free speech protections. The law, signed by Biden on April 24, gives ByteDance until January 19 to sell TikTok or face a ban.

“For the first time in history, Congress has enacted a law that subjects a single, named speech platform to a permanent, nationwide ban,” the companies said in the lawsuit.

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

Pine Labs launches a ChatGPT-like service for Indian banks

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

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Pine Labs-owned Setu has launched a large language model (LLM)—Sesame—designed especially for the banking and financial services industry (BFSI) sector. Developed in collaboration with homegrown GenAI startup SarvamAI, the LLM has been trained on custom local data relevant to the sector.

The company has touted the move as the ChatGPT moment in the financial sector. The fintech startup said that the model leverages financial data available both internally and externally to help enterprise customers improve their credit underwriting process, detect fraud, monitor loan performance and offer personal finance advisory.

Sesame will be both domain and region-specific and will be trained on custom data relevant to the BFSI sector, the firm added.

“We believe that the powerful combination of the Account Aggregator framework and transformative technologies like Large Language Models (LLMs) is the key to making this a reality. Just as India has led the way with groundbreaking innovations like Aadhaar and UPI, we are excited to build meaningful, compliant, and responsible AI applications that showcase India’s leadership in Applied AI,” said Nikhil Kumar, Co-founder of Setu.

Pine Labs acquired Setu in a cash-and-stock deal valued at $70-75 million in June 2022. Setu works with account aggregator partners and enables the consolidation of financial data of users at a single location and allows them to access services quickly.

SarvamAI was founded in July 2023 and aims to develop custom-made LLMs designed for India-centric use cases. It develops a full-stack offering for Generative AI, ranging from research-led innovations in training custom AI models to an enterprise-grade platform for authoring and deployment.

Sarvam was the first Indian AI startup to raise $41 million in its Series A funding round led by Lightspeed Ventures with participation from Peak XV Partners and Khosla Ventures in December of 2023.

“Generative AI represents a significant step change in the nature of computation. What can be done with one rupee of compute is now dramatically more valuable,” said Pratyush Kumar, Co-founder of Sarvam AI.

“Our collaboration with Setu is an example of bringing this technology to create value in the BFSI space. We showed that we can significantly increase the accuracy of identifying insights from financial statements. This is a template which we believe can be repeated across sectors where India has created foundational digital public goods,” he 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

Stride Ventures wraps up $165 million India Fund III, eyes diverse investments across key sectors

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

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Venture debt firm Stride Ventures has announced the closure of its India Fund III at $165 million, achieved within a year of the first close in 2023. This third fund has a diverse mix of investors, that includes insurance companies, family offices, corporate treasuries and high networth individuals.

Discussing the strategic direction for Fund III, Apoorva Sharma, Managing Partner at Stride Ventures said, “The idea is to invest in about 50 to 60 companies across the length and breadth of the startup ecosystem. In terms of sector focus, for US consumer has been a primary sector for us and around 40% of our earlier two funds has also been consumer. So it will still remain one of our priority sectors. I would say consumer financial services and clean tech which encompasses whether it’s companies in the solar space or EV space, etc. So these three sectors will be priority to us and about 55 to 60 companies that we intend to invest over the course of next one year out of Fund III.”

Retail tech startup, Daalchini Technologies, through its smart vending machines, is offering 24/7 convenience to customers. The firm extended its reach to over 200 brands. Since its inception, the company has grown about 22% to 24% on a quarterly basis.

Daalchini which provides instant meals through IoT-enabled physical vending machines has a presence across 100 sites which include startups, co-working spaces, MNCs, hospitals and more. CNBC-TV18 spoke to Prerna Kalra, Co-Founder & CEO of Daalchini Tech to find out more about their growth plans.

If you are thinking of jumping a traffic junction, think twice! Artificial intelligence will capture your violation and track you down for a challan. But, who is enabling the police? Well, it’s a Hyderabad-based and T-hub incubated startup called Pushpak AI, which is not only helping the police, it has another technology that will help you stay less irritated on the Indian roads. CNBC-TV18’s Akhil Vishwanath gets more details.

Watch this video for more.

Also Read | Former BharatPe COO led Eternal Capital launches ₹240 crore VC fund

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

Funding Rundown: Client Associates marks first close of maiden fund at ₹300 cr, Lendingkart raises $10 million, and more

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

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Client Associates marks first close of maiden fund at ₹300 crore, to invest in 15-20 startups

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

Steve Wozniak’s space firm, Privateer, buys Orbital Insight, raises $56.5 million

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

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Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak’s space data startup, Privateer, has raised $56.5 million and also acquired the analytics firm Orbital Insight, a merger that will add mapping and intelligence services to Privateer’s space data offerings, Privateer’s CEO told Reuters.

Privateer, founded in 2021 to help satellite operators navigate in Earth’s increasingly crowded orbit, closed its Series A funding round in April, led by space-focused venture capital firm Aero X Ventures with other investors including Luxe Capital, Boca, Starburst, and the Winklevoss twins. The news is expected to be announced later on Monday.

Orbital’s TerraScope Earth observation platform, designed to be a vast search engine based on recently captured satellite imagery from other companies, will combine with Privateer’s satellite-tracking software.

The new funding allowed Privateer to close a deal to buy Palo Alto-based Orbital Insight on April 14, Privateer’s CEO, Alex Fielding, said. Orbital, which fuses various sources of data such as cell phone location and satellite imagery as its intelligence offerings to customers, had been backed by Sequoia and Google Ventures.

Fielding declined to disclose the value of the combined entity or the price of Orbital Insight.

Privateer’s acquisition will expand its offerings after revenue prospects in the space situational awareness (SSA) market were limited, Fielding said. SSA is a nascent corner of the space industry akin to air traffic control but for satellites in space. Such services are deemed crucial for satellite navigation given there are no international norms to control a soaring amount of space traffic.

“It’s not really a market, it’s actually a bunch of companies that have been providing a stopgap for the fact that the government hasn’t provided a service for space traffic management,” Fielding said in an interview last week.

Privateer is offering its SSA services to satellite imagery companies to help them task targets on Earth and manoeuvre their satellites around space junk in exchange for the hordes of satellite imagery ordered by their customers that could make for a near real-time mapping and intelligence service.

That imagery will funnel into a new platform that Fielding expects to release publicly in the next six months or so.

“You take the image once, you should be able to sell it a million times, for a fraction of the acquisition price,” Fielding said, referring to the satellite imagery companies with whom Privateer is working to integrate their data.

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

Poshn secures $6 million in pre-Series A round to expand its business

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

Listen to the Article (6 Minutes)

Foodtech startup Poshn announced that it has raised $4 million in equity and $2 million in debt in a pre-Series A funding round. This takes its total funds raised to $8 million in equity. The company plans to use the fresh funds to expand the business to Southeast Asian and Middle Eastern Countries. It also aims to build an innovative stack of solutions that will address the gaps in the system.

Co-founder of the company, Shashank Singh said, “Now Southeast Asia, and specifically India, has been the food basket to the world, there is a lot of exports in agro commodities that happen from India, and that requires a specific set of solutions to be built in. We are looking to go very aggressively on the import and export market which would mean that we need to build in those capacities ourselves from the tech stack perspective. So a lot of guys we are adding to build that tech stack specifically for import and exports. And other than that we will require specific talent also to come in will, which will help us expand that footprint.”

Meanwhile, home improvement platform Arrivae has raised ₹21 crore from CaratLane founder, Mithun Sacheti. Sacheti will also join the board of the company. Founded in 2018, Arrivae provides end-to-end, design-to-manufacturing services for home interiors and improvements. The company claims to have a catalogue of over a million elements. Startup Street spoke to Yash Kela, Founder of Arrivae on how Arrivae is bundling furniture and furnishings with financing.

Peak XV Partners-backed Mindgrove Technologies has launched India’s first commercial system-on-chip or SoC. The Chennai-based startup has said this chip comes at a 30% lower cost than other chips in a similar segment. They added that this Indian chip is commercially available in this segment.

CNBC-TV18’s Jude Sannith visits Mindgrove’s lab in Chennai to get a sneak peak at the new microcontroller and finds out what it will mean to the world of smart devices.

Watch this video for more.

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

A Delhi couple with ₹16 lakh govt grant to make biodegradable pens is now inviting bigger peers

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

Listen to the Article (6 Minutes)

Saurabh and Shivani Mehta’s startup, NOTE (No offence to Earth), began research on biodegradable pens in 2019 and made a breakthrough this year.

Now, they have a ₹16 lakh government grant, under the Startup India programme, and a product ready for launch on World Environment Day (June 5). “We need to collaborate with bigger players. If ball pen makers with bigger manufacturing capacities and distribution collaborate with us, we can solve the problem faster,” Saurabh, an engineer from Bharatiya Vidyapeeth in New Delhi, said. 

Shivani, the co-founder and product designer at NOTE, has another startup called Daakroom, aiming to revive the art of handwritten communication, which was featured on an episode of Shark Tank earlier this year.

A pen with (almost) no plastic

Conventional pen manufacturing involves a significant amount of plastic, which hurts the environment. While there are sustainable alternatives for the pen’s body, NOTE’s research focused on a more challenging aspect: the refill. They have replaced the plastic in the refill with a biodegradable barrier made from vegetable oil, ensuring the refill’s longevity for up to 18 months. 

The latest breakthrough, made in 2024 after four years of research, addressed the problem of longevity by using vegetable oil as a barrier inside the refill, stopping the ink from leaking. 

Is it better to use wood instead of plastic when making pens? “Plastic came as a replacement for wood. Replacing plastic with wood will only create another problem. It’s not a solution,” Mehta explained. 

“Due to limited capacity, we aim to sell 1-2 million pens this year,” said Saurabh, adding that their bootstrapped venture would need more money to scale up capacity. 

The pen industry in India

Globally, the market size for pens is estimated at $20 billion. Crisil estimated the Indian pen market at ₹10,000 crore, 80% of which is organised, as of October 2023.

Raw materials make for 60-65% of the cost, most of which goes into polypropylene, and the operating profit for the financial year ending March 2024 was estimated at 13%. 

NOTE’s biodegradable pens are priced between ₹25 and ₹500, but the founders believe the cheapest pen can be made available at ₹5-10 once the volumes pick up in the future. 

While the price of pens have largely remained largely the same for over a couple of decades, their sales have grown. Up until 2018, 60% of all pens sold in India were priced under ₹10. 

“However, post 2018 with the launch of Pentonic (made by Linc Pens), the industry witnessed a change in mix with the contribution of pens cheaper than ₹10 reducing to 40%, pens in the price range of ₹10-50 forming 35-40% of the market (vs 20-25% earlier), while the remaining share coming from premium and luxury pens which are priced over ₹100,” Systematix, a Mumbai-based broking firm, said in a September 2023 report. 

With inputs from Local18

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