Start-up

BS BFSI Summit: Our company culture key to innovation, says Razorpay MD

We have 50 different teams, each pursuing separate goals, which allows us to innovate and launch new products, said Shashank Kumar, co-founder and managing director of Razorpay, at the BFSI Summit

Zepto raises $340 mn in Series G funding, valuation shoots to $5 bn

Of the $340 million that Zepto received, $250 million came from General Catalyst, $50 million from Mars Growth, and the remaining amount was fetched from existing investors

Dunzo co-founder Mukund Jha in talks to raise Rs 50-80 cr for new startup

Mukund Jha is looking to secure funds from Together Fund for a Gen AI company aimed at automating quality assurance (QA) processes for businesses

Indian firm aims to launch 'space habitat' by 2027, in talks with SpaceX

Bengaluru-based AkashaLabdhi is designing a space habitat solution to accommodate six to 16 personnel, which it plans to launch by 2027

Indian deeptech startups count surges in 2023, funding drops 77%: Nasscom

India saw a significant surge in deeptech startups in 2023 with 480 new ventures emerging, making it the third largest pool globally, a report said. However, the report by technology industry body nasscom and global consulting firm Zinnov highlighted the worrying trend of a funding winter, posing a major challenge for these startups. 'India's DeepTech Dawn: Forging Ahead' report also said funding for scaling, talent attraction and retention, and global expansion are the top 3 challenges faced by startups in deeptech innovation. "India currently has 3600+ deeptech startups, out of which 480 were established in 2023 itself, nearly 2X more than the number of deeptech startups established in 2022," the report said. But India's deeptech promise is stunted by a funding gap. "Compared to startups across some other leading deeptech ecosystems, Indian deeptech startups receive a fraction of the median investment at every stage. This lack of funding restricts the ability of some promising .

UP plans to integrate higher education with incubators to support biz ideas

According to a KPMG report, Uttar Pradesh emerged the country's fourth-largest startup ecosystem, with eight unicorns and two potential soonicorns. At present, two soonicorns are working in the state

Electric cycle startup EMotorad raises Rs 164 crore in Series B round

Pune-based electric cycle startup EMotorad on Monday said it has raised Rs 164 crore in a Series B round led by Panthera Growth Partners. The freshly raised capital will be utilised in developing technologically enhanced smart electric cycles and expanding to multiple geographies, the company said in a statement. The funding round also saw participation from xto10x, Alteria Capital, and existing investors Green Frontier Capital, it said. "The infusion of funds will pave the way for the brand's expansion across international boundaries, allowing it to demonstrate the strength of Indian innovation on a global platform," EMotorad Founder and MD Rajib Gangopadhyay said. Founded in 2020 by Gangopadhyay, Kunal Gupta, Aditya Oza, and Sumedh Battewar, the company said it has achieved over Rs 300 crore revenue returns in just three years, selling more than 80,000 electric cycles. "At Emotorad, we have backed a team with a vision trying to build a dominant micro-mobility company out of Indi

Edtech firm Byju's targets to reach break-even by March, hive off Epic

Edtech major BYJU'S has set the target to become profitable by March 2024 on account of consolidation and restructuring of the organisation and settlement on USD 1.2 billion loan, sources aware of the development said. The company has undertaken exercise to reduce workforce by about 3,000-3,500 this month by ending duplication in roles across the organisation. "Think and Learn Private Ltd (TLPL) restructuring will see the current operations spread across several business units streamlined into four core areas of K-12, test prep, online and hybrid. The business restructuring, aimed at matching resources with cash flows, will see the company achieve break-even by coming March, in fourth quarter of current fiscal," a source said. BYJU'S declined to comment on a query sent in this regard. TLPL operates under BYJU's brand name. BYJU'S had earlier set the target to become profitable by March 2023. BYJU'S booked a loss of Rs 4,588 crore for fiscal year ended March 31, 2021, 19 times more

How Ati Motors' autonomous robots are disrupting the logistics sector

Inspired by technology used in self-driving cars, Ati's advanced autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) integrate artificial intelligence, computer vision, and cutting-edge hardware

Madras HC dismisses pleas of 14 firms against Google billing policy

Startups allege tech giant had introduced new billing system to circumvent Competition Commission of India's order

HCLTech joins Meta, IT ministry programme to help India XR start-ups

Programme helps companies working in augmented reality, virtual reality, mixed reality

Edtech start-up Byju's and lenders renew talks to restructure $1.2 bn loan

Byju's and its lenders have been mired in a conflict for several months following rounds of failed negotiations to revamp its loan agreement

Tech startups find one of their last funding sources shrinking up

Climbing interest rates have made the funding more expensive for companies, and one of the biggest venture lenders faced a run on the bank that forced government regulators to seize it and sell it

Hiring in startups up in April, despite 6% annual drop in e-recruitment

The overall hiring demand among startups has noted a strong 19 per cent (year-on-year) growth this April 2023 compared to the previous year

Cold chain startup Celcius raises Rs 100 crore from IvyCap, others

The company aims to use the funds for tech innovations to solve the fragmented nature of the cold supply chain and reduce wastage of perishables

Start-up funding winter a reality, going to be short & sharp: MMT chairman

The start-up funding 'winter' is a reality but it is going to be short and sharp, and it has been exacerbated by the banking crisis in the US and Europe, travel services provider MakeMyTrip Chairman Deep Kalra said on Tuesday. With domestic players in travel in India reporting more than 100 per cent recovery from pre-COVID period, the industry will witness steady secular growth, he said while speaking at the Times Network India Digital Fest here. "I think the startup winter, which we're talking about or the funding winter that we're talking about is a reality, but it's going to be short, but sharp," Kalra said. He further said, "And today, it's not only because of the overheated part of it, but now we have the banks crisis, not just in the US but also in Europe, which really exacerbates most of this but I've seen cycles now being shorter, sharper and it will come back. Kalra was responding to a query on the churn witnessed by the start-up ecosystem where valuations have dropped and

Ford's electric vehicle unit loses $3 bn, should be seen as startup

Ford Motor Co.'s electric vehicle business has lost USD 3 billion before taxes during the past two years and will lose a similar amount this year as the company invests heavily in the new technology. The figures were released on Thursday as Ford rolled out a new way of reporting financial results. The new business structure separates electric vehicles, the profitable internal combustion and commercial vehicle operations into three operating units. Company officials said the electric vehicle unit, called Ford Model e, will be profitable before taxes by late 2026 with an 8 per cent pretax profit margin. But they wouldn't say exactly when it's expected to start making money. Chief Financial Officer John Lawler said Model e should be viewed as a startup company within Ford. As everyone knows, EV startups lose money while they invest in capability, develop knowledge, build (sales) volume and gain (market) share, he said. Model e, he said, is working on second- and even third-generatio

Fintech outliers in the funding winter despite tough regulatory framework

According to Tracxn, which tracks start-up data, fund-raises by fintechs slowed in calendar 2022 to $5.65 billion, a drop of 47 per cent from the preceding year

Indian start up develops specialised robots to clean petrochemical tanks

Indian Start up Develops Specialised Robots to Clean Petrochemical Tanks

Tube Investments arm buys e-tractor startup Cellestial E-Mobility

Acquirer was already holding 69.96% of Cellestial. On Friday, it signed a deal to buy the balance 30.04% for Rs 50.90 cr