Shantanu Naidu, a long-time associate of Ratan Tata, on Thursday bid adieu to the industrialist, comparing his boss to a 'lighthouse'.
'If there is one thing we can learn from his life, it is that we should work hard, think positive, be helpful and live life to its fullest.'
Bengaluru-based Nestaway's co-founder Amarendra Sahu has filed an First Information Report (FIR) alleging fraud, cheating, forgery of documents and criminal intimidation against Tiger Global, Chiratae Ventures and Goldman Sachs, in a rare instance of a startup founder filing a criminal complaint against its investors. The investors have approached the Orissa High Court, seeking to quash the FIR filed in September last year with the Bhubaneswar Police. The next hearing of the matter is scheduled for January 9.
Ratan Tata was one of the world's most influential industrialists yet he never appeared on any list of billionaires. He controlled over 30 companies that operated in over 100 countries across six continents yet lived an unpretentious life. Ratan Naval Tata, who died at a Mumbai hospital on Wednesday night at the age of 86 years, enjoyed a perhaps unique status -- a corporate titan who was considered a 'secular living saint' with a reputation for decency and integrity.
'...and I was a great admirer of his leadership of Tata Sons.'
'He had a lovely, lovely, sense of humour, very subdued and very, very subtle, but it was very, very, prominent.'
'It is notable how humble he was and didn't want anything different just because he was a Tata.'
'He was a practical person who ensured that he thought about the common man, animals, the fact that they have a life and they have to be respected.'
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.
Ratan Tata is Maharashtra's first Udyog Ratna.
Ratan Tata, chairman emeritus, Tata Sons, launched Goodfellows, India's companionship startup for senior citizens, in a bid to encourage inter-generational friendships.
The Supreme Court in its order said it was not open for SP group companies to call Ratan Tata a "shadow director" when the board of which Cyrus Mistry was chairman had nominated him as chairman emeritus of the USD 100 billion salt-to-software Tata group.
These start-ups include high-growth companies such as Ola, Paytm, Lenskart, UrbanClap and Urban Ladder. Nearly half of these have gone on to raise follow-on funding, a key measure of success for start-ups. A few have become unicorns, the term for start-ups valued at $1 billion or more.
Far from public glare, company is investing in tech firms and providing consultancy.
Tata made personal investments in four companies last year.
'The main thing Cyrus left is to tell us that you can be a business leader by being good.' 'He practiced that in all of his dealings, in all of his decisions -- in the way he thought, the way he behaved and indeed as he spoke.'
His presence matters more than the money he brings.
The company, which is a leading player in the Indian wearables market, is backed by angel investors like Shriram Nene and his wife and Bollywood actress Madhuri Dixit Nene and WhatApp's Neeraj Arora
Growing the number of electric vehicles on Ola's platform is part of the terms SoftBank has put forth for the funding
Few angels have seen exits; till that happens, they won't be rushing to invest again.
Designing is another critical area for him, especially in the business of furniture.
Beside the defence forces in India, the start-up has shipped around 350,000 units to 12 countries -- the United Kingdom, France, Poland, Bangladesh, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Kenya, South Africa, Romania, Indonesia, Qatar and Oman.
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