Tag: Fundraise

Sajjan Jindal Family Trust-backed VC fund invests in a sports analytics startup

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

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Gurugram-based Stupa Sports Analytics has secured ₹28 crore in a pre-Series A funding round led by Centre Court Capital and PeerCapital.

Founded in 2020 by Megha Gambhir and Deepak Malik (former India Table Tennis Coach), the startup offers a suite of AI-driven solutions for advanced analytics of player performance data, broadcasting capabilities and sports digitisation tools for athletes, sports federations, broadcasters and fan communities worldwide.

Stupa’s technology is currently being used by 15 global sports governing bodies and federations, primarily in Europe. With the latest fund pool, it wants to expand globally into markets like the US, UK, Australia, and the Middle East while deepening its existing presence in regions like Europe and Asia. A portion of the funds will be deployed to attract top AI/ML and engineering talent to build advanced solutions.

“With our innovative solutions already being leveraged by over 15 international federations, we are proud flag-bearers of ‘Make in India’ sports tech taking centre stage globally,” said Megha Gambhir, Co-founder & CEO, Stupa Sports Analytics.

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With the freshly infused capital, Stupa plans to enhance its product offerings to cater to the expanded sports disciplines portfolio, which includes table tennis, badminton, and upcoming sports like pickleball and padel along with other multi-sport capabilities.

The company plans to initiate another fundraising round in 2025 to implement data and media rights monetisation strategies, build a B2B2C segment catering to players, coaches, and fans, and further broaden its portfolio of sports disciplines.

“Having closely monitored Megha and Deepak’s journey over the past two years, we are highly impressed by their unwavering dedication to redefining the future of racquet sports. We’re excited to collaborate on their next phase of growth as they look to integrate their AI-driven analytics engine with cutting-edge sports technology on a global scale,” said Mustafa Ghouse, General Partner at Centre Court Capital.

Ghouse, who was the former CEO of JSW Sports, set up Centre Court Capital with TVS Capital veteran Alok Samtaney and launched a ₹350 crore sports and gaming-focussed fund in April 2024 bringing on Sajjan Jindal Family Trust as the anchor investor, with Parth Jindal at the helm. Stupa Sports Analytics is Centre Court Capital’s first investment.

Also Read: Indian startup bags $20 million to boost its ability to dispatch ambulances within 8 minutes

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

Despite steep discounts, MedPlus generic brands have higher realisations than other products, says CEO

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

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Gangadi Madhukar Reddy, MD and CEO of MedPlus Health Services, one of India’s biggest chain of drug stores, says that despite steep discounts, MedPlus generic brands have higher net realisations compared to other label products.

“15% of all the medicines which we sell today in our stores is MedPlus (generic). We make more money in these, it doesn’t matter what the discount is. The net realisation, despite the fact that it is much lesser topline, is better in our own brand,” he said in an interview with CNBC-TV18.

He noted that nearly 85% of the products that the company sells today are generics and the company provides 50-80% discount on the generics MedPlus brand compared to other brands.

Founded in 2006, and listed on the stock exchanges in December 2021, MedPlus has 4,233 pharmacy stores spread in over 600 cities across 10 states in the country.

Its experiment with diagnostics started in March 2022 with four full-service centres, two relatively smaller ones, and 120 collection points in Hyderabad.

In February this year, this Hyderabad-based company decided to defer its fundraising plan (shareholders of the company approved a proposal to raise ₹1,200 crore) until its pilot project in Hyderabad adds at least 200,000 subscribers and shows profit.

It has taken almost two years for the company to get to 120,000 subscribers for its diagnostics experiment in Hyderabad.

Reddy wants this number to swell by another 80,000 before he takes a call on whether to build on it further

“Diagnostics business is sensitive to the number of subscribers. We still think we are three, four quarters away. So we want to make sure that we get those numbers before we launch it in other places,” he said.

However, as a concept and as a product, the diagnostic business has taken up very well, he added.

He sees Vijaya Diagnostics as its closest competitor in the diagnostic space in Hyderabad.

“Metropolis Healthcare is not a competitor neither is Dr Lal Pathlabs to us,” he said.

Speaking about deferring its qualified institutional placement (QIP) plans, he said, “We did not require too much money on the pharmacy side. It is a self-sustaining model right now, we are growing nicely.”

The current market capitalisation of the company is ₹8,306.03 crore.

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

 Beauty and personal care brand Pilgrim receives $20 million in Series B funding round

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

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Pilgrim, a beauty and personal care brand has raised $20 million in Series B funding round led by Vertex Ventures Southeast Asia and India along with existing investors Fireside Ventures & Narotam Sekhsaria Family Office.

According to the firm, the fresh capital will be deployed to increase brand building, R&D, and bolstering offline expansion within India. The company said it currently clocking an annual revenue run-rate (ARR) of Rs 300 crore and aims to hit Rs 1,000 crore in ARR by 2025.

“We are huge believers in the deepening consumer market in India and are thrilled to be partnering with Pilgrim as it looks to revolutionise the beauty and personal care industry. Pilgrim, with its strong product formulations and unique international ranges, is enabling access to high-quality and effective products for Indian customers right at their doorstep,” said Kanika Mayar, Partner at Vertex Ventures SEA & India.

Previously, Pilgrim has raised a total funding of Rs 48 crores. The firm had received Rs 13 crore in Series-A round led by Fireside Ventures along with angels including founding teams from Boat, NoBroker, and the Founder-CEO of Bewakoof.com.

Founded in 2019 by the IIT alumni duo – Anurag Kedia and Gagandeep Makker, the beauty and personal Care brands offers 90+ SKUs across face care, haircare & skincare products, and fragrances in over 25,000 pin codes. It claims to be serving over 5 million customers, with an additional 500,000 being added every month.

“Pilgrim has been steadfast in crafting efficacious solutions tailored to individual consumer needs and co-creating products alongside our customers. This approach has empowered us to introduce groundbreaking innovations, reshaping the landscape of India’s beauty and personal care market. Our commitment to sourcing world beauty ingredients and addressing consumer requirements remains unwavering, bolstered by the invaluable support of our esteemed partners, Vertex Ventures, Fireside Ventures, and the Narotam Sekhsaria Family Office. Their faith in our solid business fundamentals fuels our ambition to emerge as frontrunners in India’s expansive Beauty and Personal Care sector.” Co-founders Anurag Kedia and Gagandeep Makker, Pilgrim 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

Texmaco Rail to ramp up exports, plans other growth initiatives — CFO Hemant Bhuwania responds to QIP news

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

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Texmaco Rail & Engineering, one of India’s leading railway infrastructure players, is planning to significantly expand its presence beyond domestic market by capitalising on international opportunities.

Responding to a recent news about the company’s fund raising plans, Texmaco’s Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Hemant Bhuwania discussed the company’s upcoming plans and strategic initiatives, including the fund raising, in an exclusive interview with CNBC-TV18.

As a prominent player in the railway infrastructure sector, Texmaco Rail is gearing up to undertake a qualified institutional placement (QIP) issue to strengthen its capital reserves. The move is aimed at financing expansion and growth initiatives, which have been on the company’s radar for quite some time.

“Last month the board in-principle approved the fundraising to the extent of Rs 500 crore. So we are in touch with various financial consultants and we are working on the model which suits best for the fundraising. We would be raising to the tune of Rs 500 crore in one or more tranches in the near future,” Bhuwania said.

With a strong vision for the future, Texmaco Rail is looking to launch the QIP issue with an anticipated value of Rs 500 crore by the end of September. The company believes that raising funds through the QIP will be instrumental in bolstering its financial position and positioning it for further growth in the railway industry.

One of the significant aspects of Texmaco Rail’s growth strategy involves ramping up its export operations. The company foresees a considerable increase in exports going forward, building on the success of the previous year’s revenue, which amounted to a substantial Rs 200 crore. By capitalising on international opportunities, Texmaco Rail aims to expand its presence beyond the domestic market and strengthen its global footprint.

“There would be a certain ramp up in the exports. Last year we did around Rs 200 crore of exports. We expect a jump in the export numbers compared to the last year,” he said.

Moreover, Texmaco Rail is all set to execute the third tranche of the Indian Railways wagon order. As part of this order, the company anticipates receiving a staggering 10,000 wagons from the upcoming 40,000 wagon order.

“Texmaco generally has a market share of around 20-25 percent. So we expect that we would get our own share for this new tender too,” he said.

Speaking about the company’s ambitions, Bhuwania expressed optimism about the success of the QIP issue and emphasised the urgency of executing the fundraising plan at the earliest. By doing so, Texmaco Rail will be better equipped to capitalise on growth opportunities and meet the increasing demands of the railway infrastructure sector.

For more details, 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

GST on online gaming likely to face judicial review, technical challenges for revenue authorities, says expert

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

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The industry stakeholders have expressed concerns over the GST Council’s decision to impose a 28 percent tax on the full face value of transactions or entry fees in online real-money gaming, warning of severe consequences. It is predicted that this move will not only eradicate the entire industry but also result in significant job losses at gaming companies, potentially leading to their closure.

Abhishek A Rastogi, Founder of Rastogi Chambers, stated that the amendment to tax online gaming at such a high rate would likely face judicial review. He further said that collecting the money with a retrospective date could pose technical hurdles for the revenue authorities.

“With highest respect to the GST council, this amendment to tax online gaming at 28 percent will have to cross the judicial review,” Rastogi said.

“To me it appears that it will be very difficult for the revenue authorities to collect the money with a retrospective date because of technical hurdle which may happen,” he added.

The hosts of 100x Entrepreneur podcast — now called the Neon Show — have launched a new fund of $25 million which aims to enable B2B software-as-a-service or SaaS startups to reach $10 million in annual revenues in under 5 years.

This new fund builds on the previous 10 million dollar fund- 100x entrepreneur—which invested in over 40 startups in this space, helping them grow their revenue by upto 7x within 2 years of investment. Startup Street spoke to co-founder and Managing Partner of Neon Fund, Siddhartha Ahluwalia to talk about this new fund and what it aims to do.

Read Here | View | 28% GST on online gaming is the last nail in the coffin

Scapia, the travel credit card startup launched by Flipkart’s former Senior Vice President Anil Goteti, raised $9 million in its seed funding round. The round was led by Matrix Partners India with participation from Tanglin Venture Partners, Binny Bansal’s 3State Ventures and notable angel investors such as Keki Mistry.

The company, which was in stealth for the last year, will utilise the funds to scale operations and invest in technological capabilities. Anil Goteti, Founder of Scapia discussed the firm’s growth plans with Startup Street.

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

BYJU’s in final talks to raise $250 million for a flat valuation: Report

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

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Edtech startup BYJU’s is reportedly in final talks for a $250 million fundraise for a flat valuation of $22 billion, DealStreetAsia reported citing a source. The move comes amid pressure on the firm to put a lid on the increasing costs as well as to turn profitable and pay back a $1.2-billion term loan.

Last month, the website had reported that BYJU’s was in talks to raise $500 million for a flat valuation of $22 billion from TPG and other investors. It is not yet clear if the funding round had closed or if the recent round was part of the same fundraising.

Last March, BYJU’s had raised $800 million in a funding round led by Sumeru Ventures, Vitruvian Partners, and BlackRock. The edtech decacorn’s Founder and CEO Byju Raveendran also participated in the fundraise and made a personal investment of $400 million.

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Firms usually raise money at a flat valuation when they cannot get higher valuation from investors, or when the firm’s financial performance has not significantly improved from its previous funding round. In a few cases, the firm may even choose to raise money for a flat valuation to avoid diluting the existing shareholders.

On another note, in January it was reported that the edtech startup had sought more time from creditors to renegotiate an agreement governing a $1.2-billion loan that is in breach of covenants, according to sources.

BYJU’s is backed by marquee investors like the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB), Chan-Zuckerberg Initiative Naspers, General Atlantic, Sequoia Capital, Tencent, Tiger Global, among others.

It has been under the scanner for its mass layoffs, accounting practices and widening losses in the last few months.

Also Read: Katrina Kaif invests in Sequoia-backed health and wellness platform Hyugalife

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

Mindspace Business Parks REIT raises Rs 550 crore from maiden green bond issue

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

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Mindspace Business Parks REIT, owned by K Raheja Group and Blackstone, on Wednesday, March 15, said it has raised Rs 550 crore through green bonds.

The tenure of the non-convertible debentures is three years and 30 days at a fixed quarterly coupon of 8.02 percent per annum, payable quarterly, Mindspace REIT said in an exchange filing.

The proceeds from this fundraise will be used for refinancing loans availed by one of the asset SPVs to fund the eligible green projects, it said.

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Trust Investment Advisors Private Ltd is the sole arranger of the issue. The issue saw participation from leading insurers, mutual funds, and other investor classes. Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co is the legal counsel for the issuance, the company said.

Vinod Rohira, CEO of Mindspace Business Parks REIT, said, “We are excited to complete the first Green Bond issuance by an Indian REIT and integrate green financing in our business and projects. With this issuance, our collective green financing availed has increased to over Rs 12 billion.”

Mindspace Business Parks REIT, sponsored by the K Raheja Corp Group, got listed on the bourses in August 2020. It owns offices in Mumbai Region, Pune, Hyderabad, and Chennai.

Also Read: Vedanta repays $100 million to StanChart, pledged shares released

Shares of Mindspace Business Parks REIT ended at Rs 300, down by Rs 2.44, or 0.81 percent on the BSE.

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

Federal Bank board to consider fundraise of Rs 1,000 crore on March 18

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

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Private sector lender Federal Bank on Wednesday, March 15, said its board will meet on Saturday (March 18) to consider a proposal to raise up to Rs 1,000 crore by issue of debentures on a private placement basis.

The bank’s board will meet in Kochi to discuss the proposal to raise funds by way of the issue of unsecured Basel III Tier-II Subordinate Bonds in the nature of debentures, amounting up to 1,000 crore, the lender said in a regulatory filing.

The bank posted a 54 percent rise in its profit at Rs 804 crore in the third quarter ended December 2022, on higher net interest income and improved asset quality. The bank had posted a net profit of Rs 522 crore in the same quarter a year ago.

Also Read: Snack company DFM Foods to be delisted from BSE and NSE on April 5

The bank’s total income increased to Rs 4,967 crore in the latest December quarter from Rs 3,927 crore in the year-ago period, Federal Bank said in a regulatory filing.

Net Interest Income (NII) for the quarter grew by 27.14 percent to Rs 1,957 crore from Rs  1,539 crore for the quarter that ended December 2021.

On the asset quality front, the bank recorded an improvement with gross NPAs (non-performing assets) declining to 2.43 percent as compared to 3.06 percent at the end of the third quarter of the previous fiscal.

Also Read: Vedanta repays $100 million to StanChart, pledged shares released

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

PhonePe is now bigger than Swiggy, Oyo after raising $350 million at a valuation of $12 billion

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

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Homegrown digital payments startup PhonePe, on Thursday, said it had raised $350 million from a global growth equity firm General Atlantic at a pre-money valuation of $12 billion. With this, the startup now ranks above Swiggy, Polygon, Oyo, Dream 11, RazorPay and Ola.

The latest fundraising follows PhonePe’s recently announced change of domicile to India and its full separation from Flipkart.

This investment marks the first tranche of an up to $1 billion fundraising that commenced in January 2023. Marquee global and Indian investors also participated in the round, the company said in a statement.

Sameer Nigam, Founder and CEO at PhonePe, said, “I would like to thank General Atlantic and all our existing and new investors for the trust they have placed in us. PhonePe is proud to help lead India’s country-wide digitisation efforts and believes that this powerful public-private collaboration has made the Indian digital ecosystem a global exemplar.”

Also Read: Flipkart and PhonePe will now operate as fully separate entities

PhonePe plans to use the new funds to make investments in infrastructure, including the development of data centres and help build financial services offerings at scale in the country. The company also plans to invest in new businesses, including insurance, wealth management, and lending.

Shantanu Rastogi, Managing Director and Head of India at General Atlantic, said, “Sameer, Rahul and the PhonePe management team have pursued a clear mission to drive payments digitalisation and significantly broaden access to financial tools for the people of India. They remain focused on driving adoption of inclusive products developed on the open API-based ‘India stack.’ This vision is aligned with General Atlantic’s longstanding commitment to backing high-growth businesses focused on inclusion and empowerment.”

“We look forward to delivering the next phase of our growth by investing in new business verticals like Insurance, Wealth Management and Lending, while also facilitating the next wave of growth for UPI payments in India,’ added Nigam.

PhonePe, with this fundraiser, aims to turbo-charge the next wave of growth for UPI payments in India, including UPI lite and Credit on UPI to enable greater financial inclusion for Indians.

Recently, PhonePe announced a full separation from the Flipkart Group. Several Flipkart shareholders, led by Walmart, acquired shares in the recent separation. This move will allow both companies to chart their own growth paths, build their businesses independently, and help unlock and maximise enterprise value for shareholders of the two companies, stated PhonePe.

Also Read: Walmart gets $1 billion tax bill for shifting PhonePe headquarters to India: Report

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

3 Mins Read

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

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

SBI board approves plan to raise Rs 10000 crore via tier I bonds

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

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The country’s biggest lender State Bank of India (SBI) on Wednesday, December 14, said its central board has approved raising capital by way of issuance of Basel III compliant debt instruments in rupees or any other convertible currency, up to FY24. As per a regulatory filing, SBI said it will raise fresh additional tier 1 (AT1) Capital up to an amount of Rs 10,000 crore, subject to the government of India’s concurrence. The fundraising would help the bank grow its loan book.

Last week, SBI announced that its personal banking advances, excluding high-value home loans, have crossed the Rs 5-lakh crore mark. The lender took a year to book the last Rs 1 lakh crore of advances, as against over 15 months for the previous Rs 1 lakh crore and over 30 months for the Rs 1 lakh crore before that.

Also Read: Gaming companies are being investigated for evading GST by Rs 23,000 crore

SBI has 22,309 branches, over 65,000 automated teller machines and 66,757 business correspondent outlets, which drive its entire retail banking franchise. Earlier in July, the board had approved raising up to Rs 11,000 crore through Basel-III compliant debt instruments.

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