InMobi helps companies target the users of phones.
US hedge fund Tiger Global and Japanese investment giant SoftBank have trimmed their investments in Indian start-ups by over a third - from $3.8 billion in the second half of 2021 to a mere $1.08 billion in H1 2022, according to data from Venture Intelligence. While SoftBank's investments in India dropped from $1.9 billion in H2 2021 by more than a fifth to only $0.33 billion in H1 2022, that of Tiger Global fell from $1.92 to $0.74 billion in the same period. Private equity (PE) fund trackers point out that this year most of the deals that Tiger Global has invested in are in the early stage (up to series D), and only a few are in the series E and above.
As 8 new startups join the 2018 club, average time taken to be a $1 billion firm now stands at 5-7 years, next only to China, says a Nasscom report
Unacademy on Monday said it has raised $440 million (about Rs 3,270.8 crore) in funding from a clutch of investors including Temasek, General Atlantic, and Softbank Vision Fund, valuing the edtech major at $3.44 billion. The investment is expected to help Unacademy expand its offerings, deepen its presence and compete more aggressively against rivals such as Byju's in the burgeoning ed-tech space in India that has been witnessing strong uptake amid the pandemic. The series H round was led by Temasek, with super pro-rata participation from General Atlantic, Tiger Global, and Softbank Vision Fund, a statement said.
E-commerce platform Snapdeal is looking at filing its Draft Red Herring Prospectus (DRHP) in the next few weeks to launch an initial public offering in first half of next year, according to sources. Sources close to the development said the company is looking at a $250 million (around Rs 1,870 crore) IPO that could value Snapdeal at about $1.5-1.7 billion. Snapdeal is looking at filing the DRHP in December-January time frame, and launch the IPO in the first half of 2022 after the necessary approvals, they added. One of the sources said the founders will not be selling shares as part of the IPO, and major shareholders are also expected to hold onto their shares.
The 3-year partnership to set up a pan India initiative to catalyse the country's technology startup ecosystem was signed today by R A Mashelkar, Chairman, GenNext Ventures and Board Member, RIL, and Bhaskar Pramanik, Chairman, Microsoft India.
Investments by private equity and venture capital funds (PE/VC) declined by 22 per cent in March to $4.6 billion spread across 107 deals, a report said on Wednesday. The deal activity showed an increase of 54 per cent by value at $15.5 billion across 360 deals, largely on the back of heightened activity in the startup space, the monthly report by IVCA and EY said. "While India's position as an attractive destination for PE/VC investments is expected to remain strong in 2022 given its high growth and macroeconomic and policy stability, the continuing geopolitical tensions, rising inflation, quantitative tightening by the US FED and inversion in the US yield curve are potential downside risks, making investors circumspect," Partner at EY Vivek Soni said.
Wipro Ventures is currently managed by Biplab Adhya and Venu Pemmaraju and has so far invested in 16 early to mid-stage start-ups. While 11 of these start-ups are in the US, four are in lsrael and one in lndia.
According to experts, the banning of the apps has created negative sentiments and reduced the confidence among the Chinese investors to invest in India.
Unacademy is conducting another round of job cuts and laying off 350 employees or 10 per cent of its workforce of 3,500, as the SoftBank-backed edtech firm targets profitability and reduces costs, according to an internal note sent by Gaurav Munjal, co-founder and CEO of Unacademy group, to the staff. Munjal said the restructuring exercise would affect about 10 per cent of employees across the group. "I am deeply saddened to share that we will have to say goodbye to some of our extremely talented Unacademy employees," said Munjal in the letter addressed to employees and reviewed by Business Standard.
Byju's has emerged as the leader in the Indian education-tech sector. They are pioneering technology shaping the future of learning for millions of school students in India.
The efforts, a part of '#40 Forward' programme under Google for Entrepreneurs', are aimed at finding new ways to advance female entrepreneurs.
Close to 9,000 start-ups are currently banking with HDFC Bank and it has the bank now dedicated SmartUp zones in 70 branches in 30 cities across India.
The company has been a part of the start-up ecosystem in a big way from early stages right up to when the companies start achieving full scale.
AI and machine learning will only continue to grow in 2022, with a significant increase in the demand for such roles, notes Sekhar Garisa, CEO, Monster.com.
The external affairs minister reiterated India's position on Afghanistan and highlighted its humanitarian support to the war-torn country, including the supply of wheat, medicines, vaccines and clothing.
Lenders taking up incubator-style roles with small investments in start-ups
Mindtree on Thursday said it will acquire the NxT Digital Business from Larsen and Toubro (L&T) for Rs 198 crore, a move that will enable the mid-sized IT firm to capture opportunities in the IoT and Industry 4.0 space. The acquisition would enable Mindtree to capture opportunities in the IoT and Industry 4.0 market by leveraging NxT Digital Business capabilities to cross-sell and create holistic solutions for new prospects as well as for existing clients, a regulatory filing said. Capability in this space will bolster Mindtree's vision to leverage existing digital strengths and aim to become a 'Go-to business transformation partner' for clients, it added.
The investor has now put together a fund of $3.75 billion to back private companies.
From Twitter to Facebook to Spotify, everyone it seems is clambering aboard the social audio bandwagon. Neha Alawadhi reports.
Tech giant Microsoft on Wednesday launched a new programme Microsoft AI Innovate for nurturing and scaling start-ups that are leveraging Artificial Intelligence (AI). The 10-week initiative will support start-ups in India leveraging AI technologies, helping them scale operations, drive innovation, and build industry expertise. Both B2B and B2C start-ups from various industries, including financial services, healthcare, education, agriculture, space, manufacturing and logistics, retail, and e-commerce can participate in the quarterly cohorts of this programme.
'People will say a lot of things -- ignore the noise.'
Ratan Tata said he continued to feel the need to support young entrepreneurs who were keen to unleash the Indian tiger.
Modi invoked the epics of Ramayana and Mahabharata to assert that it is in Indian tradition to avoid war be it in Lanka or Kurukshetra and the country stands for world peace.
Swiggy is shoring up capital to defend its position as India's largest food-ordering app as rivals Zomato and FoodPanda focus on growth after receiving funds
Modi, upon arrival, was received by External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj.
The government is working towards further review and simplification of the foreign direct investment (FDI) policy to facilitate the proposed initial public offering (IPO) of the Life Insurance Corporation (LIC), Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) secretary Anurag Jain said on Thursday. The final decision will be taken by the Cabinet. The industry department is working together with the finance ministry's department of financial services (DFS) and department of investment and public asset management (DIPAM) towards a successful listing of the life insurer on the domestic bourses, which is expected to be the largest in India.
Chanda Kochhar said the only comforting factor is that investors pouring in money into such startups are 'mature'.
IT and ITeS companies accounted for $28.1 billion of the total investment pie during the first nine months of 2021.
In an address at the Council of Heads of Government meeting of the eight-member SCO, Vice President Venkaiah Naidu said the most important challenge faced by the region is terrorism, particularly cross-border terrorism, and that India remained concerned about threats emerging from ungoverned spaces as well.
Edtech major Byju's on Thursday introduced a new 'two-teacher' feature for its after-school online tutoring programme - Byju's Classes, a move aimed at delivering better learning experiences and outcomes. The two-teacher advantage offering - which will be available as a separate offering at about Rs 2,500 per month - will see students being taught by one expert teacher who uses strong visuals and storytelling to explain topics in-depth to ensure conceptual clarity. The second teacher will solve instant doubts, paying individual attention and making the sessions interactive and engaging.
Byju's has quietly moved into other global markets such as the UK, Australia and New Zealand. It recently launched operations in Latin America.
'We go through 18 years of school and college, but we lack many necessary skills.' 'The biggest lessons we need, to live life, are somehow not taught, and they are only learned on the job.' 'My intention, through my content, my books, and my start-ups, is to make college kids become life ready.'
'With our focus and strategy we can solve at least 20 per cent per cent of India's education problems.'
'Aquaponics can effectively cushion the impact of a calamity like COVID.'
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.
A single application and a plethora of services for passenger cars - that is what myTVS, a brand that operates under Ki Mobility Solutions and is part of the TVS family, is set to bring to customers, in a bid to disrupt the concept of "super apps" in India. Starting July 15, myTVS will launch its connected car platform or super app called myTVS Life360 for aftermarket passenger cars. Through it, customers will be able to avail themselves of a range of services like maintenance, diagnostics, roadside assistance, accessories, payments, insurance, and so on.
Challenge the status quo, question the why behind processes, and push yourself and your organisation. That's how you will win, even if you 'lose' is Neha Sampat's advice to wannabe entrepreneurs.
This is Tata's seventh investment this year.
Vetting by inter-ministerial board removed for benefits under Startup India Action Plan
