Venture Capital giant Sequoia India & Southeast Asia has rebranded itself to Peak VX Partners. The VC firm will now manage its assets under management (AUM) in the region of over $9.2 billion across 13 funds independently. The rebranding exercise followed Sequoia Capital's break-up into three independent entities across the globe. Besides Sequoia India & Southeast Asia, Sequoia China business has adopted the name HongShan in English (it will
Fintech unicorn Razorpay has confidentially filed draft documents with SEBI for an Initial Public Offering, with market sources estimating the issue size between Rs 5,000-6,000 crore. This move comes as a rival firm, PhonePe, has paused its IPO plans.
Sarvam AI, an Indian full-stack sovereign artificial intelligence company, has achieved unicorn status after raising $234 million in a Series B funding round led by HCLTech and Bessemer Venture Partners, with HCLTech acquiring a 10.46 per cent stake.
Semiconductor startup C2i Semiconductors announced it has taped out a smart power stage chip designed for artificial intelligence infrastructure, marking a significant milestone for India's ambitions in domestic semiconductor production.
Country's startups are carving a unique path by prioritising local, application-led innovation over the global pursuit of scale.
As fintech major Pine Labs gears up for its initial public offering (IPO), its Draft Red Herring Prospectus has highlighted its top executives' pay and stock options, including those of Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Amrish Rau. Rau's net worth is estimated at Rs 850 crore-1,000 crore following the IPO.
Billionbrains Garage Ventures, the parent company of stock broking firm Groww, on Thursday fixed a price band of Rs 95-100 per share for its upcoming Initial Public Offering (IPO), targeting a valuation of over Rs 61,700 crore (about $7 billion). The company's Rs 6,632 crore IPO would open for public subscription on November 4 and conclude on November 7, according to a public announcement.
Shares of Billionbrains Garage Ventures, the parent of online broking platform Groww, soared nearly 30 per cent on their market debut on Wednesday, defying the recent trend of muted listings. The stock opened at Rs 112 and hit a high of Rs 134.4 before settling at Rs 128.85 on the NSE - a gain of 28.85 per cent over its issue price of Rs 100.
'They have got the advisory council, a CEO has been appointed finally, and they have made some headway on the term loan B.'
Naukri.com-parent Info Edge, whose long-term bets on Indian startups ranging from Zomato to Policybazaar yielded blockbuster returns, has been named the country's most successful venture investor, cementing its reputation as a standout player in India's startup ecosystem. The firm, helmed by Sanjeev Bikhchandani - often referred to as India's Warren Buffett- invested a total capital of Rs 3,959.16 crore across platforms over the last one and a half decades.
Finally, some good news for the Indian startup ecosystem. After four consecutive half-year periods of declining funding since 2022, the first half (H1) of 2024 has shown an upward trend compared to the second half (H2) of 2023. According to the India Tech Semi-Annual Funding Report H1 2024 by Tracxn, Indian technology (tech) startups raised $4.1 billion in H1 2024, marking a 4 per cent increase from $3.96 billion in H2 2023.
Karnataka high court on Wednesday refused to stay an emergency shareholder meeting called by select investors of Think and Learn Pvt Ltd -- the owner of Byju's -- to oust the company's Founder and CEO Byju Raveendran and his family from the leadership in the edtech firm. Byju's had approached the Karnataka HC seeking a stay on the EGM but the court only gave an interim relief that any resolution passed at the EGM on Friday cannot be implemented before the next court hearing. "It is further submitted that the conditions for convening the Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) are not complied and no notice is issued as contemplated under Section 100 (3) of the Companies Act 2013," the court order said.
Zetwerk Manufacturing, a $3.1 billion company in the contract manufacturing space, is planning to come up with an initial public offering within the next 15-24 months, a top company executive said on Saturday. The Bengaluru-based company aims to raise at least $500 million, targeting a valuation of around $5 billion.
'In the next 15-20 years, India will have at least 50 new (AI-driven) billion-dollar companies that are going to solve problems for the largest companies around the world.'
'The essence of RMG is that users participate in skill-based games for financial reward, so this law would directly affect this operating model for both users and gaming companies.'
Indian startups raised a total of $1.65 billion (about Rs 14,418 crore) in funding at a median valuation of $83.2 million in February 2025, according to data from Traxcn. This brings the total funding in FY25 (April-February) to $25.4 billion, spread across 2,200 rounds, the data showed.
With the number of start-ups reaching the unicorn level falling drastically in 2023, the Hurun Unicorn Index said it has demoted eight gazelles - start-ups that were founded in 2000 and have the potential to go to unicorn in three years - to cheetahs.
Troubled edtech firm Byju's founder Byju Raveendran on Thursday said that he is willing to pay back the entire money to lenders if they are willing to work with him. During a two-and-a-half-hour call with the media, Raveendran said that lenders will not get any money if the process of insolvency against the company continues. "If they are willing to work with me, I am willing to give them money back before I take a single rupee out.
An Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) of Byju's shareholders got underway on Friday to vote on a resolution brought by some investors to ouster founder CEO Byju Raveendran and his family over alleged "mismanagement and failures". Raveendran and his family stayed away from the EGM, calling it "procedurally invalid."
In a breather to the troubled edtech company, the steering committee of lenders has agreed to amend a $1.2 billion term loan with Byju's by August 3, 2023, the lenders announced on Monday. Successful execution of the amendment would "immediately" solve the loan's acceleration and end all open litigation while avoiding further enforcement actions, they in a statement. An e-mail sent to Byju's did not elicit a response.
Byju Raveendran, CEO and founder of the eponymous edtech giant, has told shareholders that the company will set up a board advisory committee (BAC). This was part of a discussion on July 4 with shareholders at an emergency general meeting (EGM). Raveendran also said that in the next EGM in three weeks will give details about BAC's members and composition.
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.
'In India, the GenAI startup ecosystem is unfolding with remarkable speed, signalling a new era of technological advancement and investment opportunities.'
Beauty and Personal Care (BPC) e-retailer Honasa Consumer's initial public offering (IPO) has failed to find backing from analysts due to the company's weak financial track record and expensive valuation. T Manish, research analyst at Samco Securities suggests avoiding the IPO as the company's financial performance does not inspire confidence. "The profit has been inconsistent and advertising and marketing expenses are incredibly high at around 40 per cent of the revenues.
'What has happened at Byju's is no surprise to anyone.'
Two years after his dismissive stance on India's AI potential raised eyebrows here, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman on Wednesday gave a ringing endorsement to Artificial Intelligence momentum in the country -- and billed India as an important market not just for the new-age technology itself but for the ChatGPT creator as well. In New Delhi on Wednesday, Altman -- while sharing dais with Union IT minister Ashwini Vaishnaw -- said India is the second biggest market for the company and that Open AI had tripled its users here in the last year.
BlackRock has again reduced the valuation of its share in edtech firm Byju's - this time to about $1 billion, TechCrunch reported on Friday, citing disclosures made by the US-based asset manager. This is 95 per cent less than its peak valuation of $22 billion in 2022. The markdown comes at a time when the company is facing a multitude of challenges, including securing fresh capital, delays in financial reporting and legal disputes with lenders.
Three senior executives have resigned from Byju's at a time when the most valuable edtech company has been trying to address challenges such as due diligence issues, legal battles with lenders, challenges in raising fresh capital, and a markdown in its valuation by investors. Prathyusha Agarwal, the chief business officer of Byju's, has quit, according to sources. They said Himanshu Bajaj, business head of Byju's tuition centres, and Mukut Deepak, business head for Class 4 to 10, have also moved on.
The Indian startup ecosystem has lauded the inclusion of startups in the New Delhi Leaders' Declaration for the first time ever in the history of G20. Industry stakeholders say that the move will lead to easier access to capital, reduce regulatory hurdles, and may revive funding activity. The Declaration, through the Startup20 initiative, recognised startups as "natural engines of growth" and key to socio-economic transformation by driving innovation and creating employment.
'Considering Pai is putting his own personal money in Byju's, stakeholders in the company can look forward to more governance and transparency.'
Audit firm Deloitte has resigned as auditors of Byju's citing a delay in submission of financial statements while almost simultaneously three of the edtech firm's board members have quit in what is being seen as a deepening crisis at the decacorn. Deloitte Haskins & Sells, which was slated to audit Byju's until 2025, stepped down with "immediate effect" mid-term stating that "the financial statements of the company are long delayed. In a letter sent to the board of Think & Learn Pvt Ltd (known as Byju's), Deloitte said it has not been able to start an audit due to the delays and that will have a "significant impact" on its ability to "plan, design perform and complete" the audit as per standards.
'Byju's financials only reflect the core business. At a group level, they are experiencing substantial losses.'
Byju's, India's most-valued startup, has decided to put two of its key assets -- Epic and Great Learning -- on the block to generate $800 million-$1 billion in cash, with an aim to meet the edtech firm's various commitments, including repaying the entire $1.2 billion term loan B (TLB) within six months, according to sources. The cash-strapped company has proposed repaying $300 million of the $1.2 billion loan in the next three months, depending on whether the lenders accept Byju's amendment proposal, said the people familiar with the development. "This loan repayment proposal has been submitted to the lenders and conversations are going in the right direction," said a person in the know.
