Internet giant Google will invest USD 1 billion in telecom major Bharti Airtel, which includes equity investment as well as a corpus for potential commercial agreements, to be identified and agreed on mutually agreeable terms over the course of the next five years.
Generative artificial intelligence (AI), climate tech and fintech sectors will be the hot areas for venture capitalists and founders in the next year, according to the prediction by Prashanth Prakash, founding partner of the global venture capital firm Accel Partners in India and the chairperson of Karnataka Startup Vision Group. Prakash said that about $25 billion has been invested into building Gen AI globally. But a lot of that capital has not yet come to India, opening up huge opportunities for startups in the country.
Growing at a robust rate due to economic reforms in key sectors like digitisation and infrastructure, India has emerged as a star performer and is projected to contribute more than 16 per cent of the global growth, the International Monetary Fund said on Monday. "What we have been observing for quite some time now is that India has been growing at a very robust rate. "It's one of the star performers when it comes to real growth when you look at peer countries.
'As our per capita income increases and various demographic segments emerge, the need for various kinds of protection and risk covers will become even more explicit.'
The summit is being attended by more than 30 heads of state and top officials from the European Union and invited guest countries and 14 heads of international organisations.
Gopalakrishnan, who is the immediate past President of CII, is the Chairman of the summit.
The move comes barely a week after fellow crypto unicorn CoinDCX laid off 12 per cent of its workforce - an estimated 80 employees - amid challenging macroeconomic conditions and regulatory uncertainty in the sector. CoinSwitch has 519 employees, according to its LinkedIn profile. This means around 8 per cent of its workforce were shown the door.
'As part of our D33 strategy, the plan is to establish 30 unicorns in Dubai within the next 10 years.'
India has surpassed China to become the world's most populous nation with 142.86 crore people, shows the latest United Nations data, even as UN projections estimate that the country's population is expected to grow for the next three decades after which it will begin declining.
India and the US on Thursday said they are looking forward to the reconvening of the India-US Trade Policy Forum later this year to further enhance trade relationship and identify new areas for engagement.
PEs and VCs are taking a closer look at their bouquet of investments. Leading voices in the sector are categorical that cash-burn rates -- that's blowing up equity to acquire market share -- as a business model can't continue to be the polestar.
Rebel Foods, the world's largest internet restaurant company, has entered into a deal with American burger giant Wendy's to run its restaurants in India. The partnership includes committing to the development of traditional restaurants and building on their existing development agreement for cloud kitchens. In this expanded, new franchise commitment, Rebel will help the brand grow its restaurant model in India with digital expertise in delivery, automation, and innovation.
In 2019 investors backed some of the major online healthcare and pharmacy retailers, with PharmEasy leading the deal list. The firm raised funds through the year to bring in around $220 million and the round is yet to be concluded, according to Venture Intelligence data.
They discussed at length India's rapid progress in the space sector, including various space exploration missions being undertaken by India, the Ministry of External Affairs said in a press release.
With this investment, Jio Platforms has raised Rs 115,693.95 crore from some of the leading global investment powerhouses at a time when the world is deeply impacted by the coronavirus pandemic.
Omkeshwar Singh, Head, Rank MF, a mutual fund investment platform, answers your queries.
If you are a budding developer and interested in Web3, chances are that you will be headed to one of India's largest-ever meetings of Web3 developers, being held by Polygon, a Web3 platform. The company's ongoing "Web3: Made in India Tour" is expected to see close to 4,000 developers coming together at the inaugural Polygon Connect event in Bengaluru on December 1. The event highlights the growing dominance of Web3 developers from India, as well as the sector's rising interest to investors, who continue to invest in startups despite a funds crunch.
Omkeshwar Singh, head, Rank MF, a mutual fund investment platform, answers your queries.
Farming and agriculture are crying out for a business model innovation, says R Gopalakrishnan.
N Sundaresha Subramanian digs deeper into what Catalyst, an Indo-US project, brings to the payments ecosystem.
In the start-up world, hitting the $1-billion mark, which accords the "Unicorn" tag, is a milestone. Enterprises typically reach the milestone only by series C or series D, or three to four funding rounds later. Zeta achieved it at the first one. On May 25, the six-year-old banking tech firm raised $250 million from Japanese conglomerate SoftBank, at a post-money valuation of $1.45 billion. "This is the first time we have raised institutional money," Zeta co-founder Bhavin Turakhia beamed on the conference call. This trajectory is uncommon in start-ups.
'The whole country has to aspire to move up. They should look at their neighbours, see where they are, and should work to get there.'
'To the believers of crypto regulations, I have only one question to ask, how will you regulate it?'
Twenty years after India's insurance sector was opened up, unshackling the control of state-owned companies, as many as 50 private players have set up shop. Along with their foreign partners, private players have brought about a sea change in the product offering, distribution and underwriting processes, and services levels. Yet, India's insurance penetration needle has not moved much.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi began his engagements in the US on Thursday by meeting with leading American CEOs from five different key sectors and highlighted the economic opportunities in India.
Billionaire Mukesh Ambani on Wednesday pitched for using the USO Fund to subsidise smartphones for select groups to help penetrate the digital revolution and said India should make the rollout of 5G or the fifth-generation technology standard for broadband cellular networks a national priority. As much as 5 per cent of the licence fee paid by telecom operators goes to the Universal Service Obligation (USO) Fund, which was set up in April 2002 for achieving universal service objectives by providing access to telephone services in rural and remote areas and creation of infrastructure for mobile services and broadband in these areas. However, according to the CAG, less than half of the funds so collected are transferred for the said purpose.
Earlier last month, for the first time ever, an anonymous hacker was served with a restraining order as a non-fungible token (NFT), reports Shivani Shinde.
Telecom operator Bharti Airtel Chairman Sunil Mittal on Wednesday said the telecom sector reforms approved by the Cabinet will ensure that the industry is able to invest fearlessly, and the company will respond to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's call to invest and accelerate the country's growth. Among a series of breathers for the stressed telecom sector, the Cabinet has approved the inclusion of revenues earned only from telecom services in the adjusted gross revenue (AGR), and the removal of penalty on dues to be paid to the government prospectively. Mittal congratulated and thanked the government for undertaking these seminal reforms to lift an industry that is at the core of his Digital India vision.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday expressed confidence that the NDA will get more than 400 seats and the BJP will win at least 370 seats in the Lok Sabha elections.
Logistic players have seen a sharp correction at the bourses over the past six months as intense competition from new-age-tech startups, higher freight rates, and weak macros dented listed players' growth outlook. Analysts warn that the emergence of tech-based startups could weigh on organised players' profit-pool, and can potentially erode their market share. Thus, a stock-specific strategy would be prudent at this juncture with focus on companies that are rapidly innovating and investing in technology.
India Inc is shying away from investing in digital technologies.
PM Modi proposed a USD one billion line of credit to promote projects that support physical and digital connectivity between India and ASEAN.
Their startup investments number 13 so far, compared to 17 deals in 2020.
Walmart-owned Flipkart will undertake a buyback employee stock options worth about Rs 600 crore, according to sources Earlier in the day, Flipkart announced raising $3.6 billion (about Rs 26,805.6 crore) in funding from a clutch of investors that valued the e-commerce major at $37.6 billion (about Rs 2.79 lakh crore). In an e-mail to employees, Flipkart group chief executive officer Kalyan Krishnamurthy lauded the critical role played by the staff in reaching this milestone.
IT spending in India is expected to touch $101.8 billion in 2022, up 7 per cent from this year, according to research firm Gartner. India's information technology (IT) spending across areas like communication services, data centre systems, IT services and software is expected to grow 10.8 per cent to $95.1 billion in 2021 from $85.8 billion in the preceding year. Gartner Research vice-president Arup Roy said, "The digital transformation trajectory that began as a pandemic response is here to stay for the next few years. "India has experienced one of the fastest recoveries despite being one of the worst-hit regions in the second wave of the pandemic in early 2021."
Will G20 showcase an India that is inclusive, culturally rich, diverse and tolerant, asks Ramesh Menon.
At the World Bank Banga will be replacing David Malpass, a former Trump treasury official, reports axios.com. Malpass had already announced that he will resign by July, months ahead of his term expired. "Ajay is uniquely equipped to lead the World Bank at this critical moment in history," President Biden said in a statement. Banga, 63, currently serves as vice chairman at General Atlantic.
The industry is looking at a promising 2016, though experts and even the investors anticipate correction on the valuation side
Fintech unicorn Razorpay has raised $375 million in the Series F round of funding at a $7.5-billion valuation, making it India's second-most valuable start-up in this space, after Paytm. The company valuation has surged over seven times in 15 months, helping it push Walmart-owned digital payments firm PhonePe to the third spot on the country's most-valuable fintech list. Razorpay's latest round of fundraising was led by Lone Pine Capital, Alkeon Capital, and TCV.
US Senator Mark Warner, the new Democratic co-chair of the US Senate India Caucus, has pledged to grow the US-India partnership even further in his new role and promote joint innovation so that both countries could mutually benefit.