Page 4 - Startup

BS Manthan: Never had a funding winter, says Sanjeev Bikhchandani

The comment from Bikhchandani--who's sometimes referred to as the father of Indian startups-came in the backdrop of Indian startup funding hitting a seven-year low in 2023

Audio streaming platform Pocket FM completes 1st ESOP buyback worth $8.3 mn

Pocket FM's valuation almost doubled after its latest funding round to about $750 million, up from $390 million when it previously raised $65 million in its Series C round in March 2022

Krutrim AI models improving almost every week, says company executive

The startup aims to address the inherent hallucination issue in AI models by leveraging user feedback from its beta program

Zomato CEO Goyal marries Mexican model-turned entrepreneur Grecia Munoz

Zomato founder and CEO Deepinder Goyal, who recently made headlines over the launch of a 'Veg Only' service catering to vegetarians, has tied the knot for the second time with Mexican model-turned entrepreneur Grecia Munoz, sources said. Goyal, 41, was previously married to Kanchan Joshi. They were reportedly studying in the same department in IIT Delhi. "Grecia has been in India running her own startup in the luxury consumer products space. She used to be a model, yes. They got married a couple of months ago," a source told PTI. Grecia's Instagram bio reads, 'Born in Mexico now at home in India'. She has been the winner of the Metropolitan Fashion Week, 2022. Earlier this week, facing a huge backlash over plans for separate green uniforms for a new vegetarian-only food delivery service, Goyal said the company will roll back the plan, and all delivery persons will continue to sport the current red shirts/t-shirts. The Zomato CEO rolled back the green-coloured 'Pure Veg' fleet for

Fintech startup Yenmo secures $500,000 investment from Y Combinator

Yenmo offers a full-stack API (application programming interface) solution for other companies to integrate loans against mutual funds into their products

End of funding winter? Indian startups set to raise $8-10 billion this year

In 2022, Indian startups raised a total investment of $25 billion. In 2021 the fund raised a new high of $41.4 billion, according to Tracxn

A M Naik family office invests in medtech firm S3V Vascular Technologies

The Series B funds raised from Naik and other investors would be used to set up a state-of-the-art integrated manufacturing facility for neurovascular devices in Karnataka

IndiGo's Gangwal invests $20 mn in manufacturing services startup Zetwerk

Gangwal started his airline career with United Airlines in 1984. He co-founded IndiGo along with his friend Rahul Bhatia in 2006 with one aircraft

With Microsoft's support, this French co is gearing up to challenge OpenAI

Mistral has announced a partnership with Microsoft, just like OpenAI and has also launched its own LLM

Spyre PropTech Venture rolls out the first phase of Rs 400 crore fund

The maiden fund is set to invest in early and growth stage companies with ticket sizes ranging from Rs 2-8 crore in early stages and Rs 15-40 crore in growth stage series A and B rounds

72% fewer Indian fintech startups incorporated in 2023 than in 2021: Report

There have been around 30 acquisition deals in the Indian fintech space in 2023 and 20 out of these were done by large companies with over 1,000 employees or funding of over $50 million

Startup launches AI-backed education, health, edutainment content service

A start-up has recently announced that it will provide curated education, health, and edutainment services targeting specific needs using artificial intelligence. The start-up platform called Ascend, which is backed by the Accolade Group, claims to be the first knowpedia (Knowledge pedia). "We are the world's first knowpedia and, currently, focused on health, education, and edutainment. We are using AI and human intervention to provide targeted, curated services and content for individual requirements, which are not available now. We are trying to tap this space," Accolade Knowledge CEO Monika Lahiri said. "Our app will deliver AI-backed solutions for the common man, by aggregating and creating curated content tailored to an individual and offer skill development for re-employability, she said. It is projected that there will be a lot of job redundancy due to the deployment of AI by corporates and businesses, she said. Another Silicon Valley start-up has tied up with Accolade to .

Startup Captain Fresh raises Rs 208 crore from investors to expand business

Captain Fresh, a fish and seafood tech startup, has raised USD 25 million (around Rs 208 crore) from investors to expand business. In a statement, the company said it has raised USD 25 million as part of a continuing larger funding round. The company had raised USD 20 million in September last year, taking the Series C round to USD 45 million. Nekkanti seafoods group and British International Investment (BII), the UK's development finance institution, participated in this extended round. "Proceeds from this fund raise are aimed at fuelling its distribution presence in the US and Europe...," it said. The company's product portfolio encompasses over 100 species of fish and seafood, sourced from over a dozen countries and catering to customers in over 30 countries. Captain Fresh has offices in India, the US, Dubai, Paris, Oslo, Amsterdam and Madrid.

StartupTN launches Smart Card to boost entrepreneurs at early stage

StartupTN has launched Smart Card and other new initiatives to meet the needs of aspiring entrepreneurs in the early stage of building their startup. StartupTN is backed by the Tamil Nadu government and aims to nurture a vibrant startup ecosystem in the state to encourage innovation and entrepreneurship-driven employment and economic growth. The Smart Card initiative offers a comprehensive selection of products and services at subsidised rates to entrepreneurs. Some of the services offered pertain to legal and compliance, marketing and business consulting, finance and insurance, and software and information technology, among others. Minister for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises T M Anbarasan launched the Smart Cards at an event here recently, and gave away 10 Smart Cards to startups on the occasion. In a statement on Sunday, StartupTN said it has collaborated with various partners to provide a diverse range of products and services to equip budding entrepreneurs with essential .

Tax benefits extension to startups till Mar 2025 progressive move: Industry

The interim Budget announcement related to the extension of tax benefits to startups by one more year till March 2025 underlines the government's commitment towards creating a conducive environment for startup development and sustainable investments, the industry said on Thursday, terming it a progressive and encouraging move. "...the extension of tax benefits until March 2025 for startups, sovereign wealth, and pension funds signify a government committed to supporting growth and resilience. The prolonged tax benefits indicate a steady commitment to creating a conducive environment for startup development and sustainable investments," MobiKwik Founder and CEO Bipin Preet Singh said. CEO and Co-Founder of magicpin Anshoo Sharma lauded the move saying it would provide much-needed continuity and inflows to the Indian startup ecosystem. "We also appreciate the extension of tax benefits to startups on investments made by sovereign wealth or pension funds to 31.03.2025, this will provide

Commerce and industry ministry requests unicorns to mentor startups

The commerce and industry ministry has urged the unicorn startups to mentor budding entrepreneurs through government-backed MAARG portal, an official said. The MAARG (Mentorship, Advisory, Assistance, Resilience, and Growth) platform was launched in January last year to facilitate mentorship for startups across diverse sectors, and geographies. It was suggested during a meeting between Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal and senior representatives of 40 unicorn startups like Lenskart, Zerodha, and Boat here on January 17. On the other hand, the companies asked for a better funding mechanism and lower rates of interest to increase their growth prospects. Issues which figure in the meeting included sustainable growth, India's positioning in the global startup landscape and mobilisation of domestic capital for the larger startup ecosystem. It was suggested to them to provide at least 30 minutes of mentorship to budding startups, the official said. Startup firms valued over U

DBS Bank collaborates with StartupTN to support 1,000 early-stage firms

DBS Bank India, the subsidiary of financial services group DBS Singapore, on Thursday said it has partnered with the Tamil Nadu government backed StartupTN to foster entrepreneurship in the state. As per the collaboration between the two entities, the partnership would focus on early-stage startups in Tier II and III towns. It aims to strengthen the ecosystem and provide crucial support to startups, including knowledge sharing and facilitating connections with potential investors, a press release from DBS Bank India said on Thursday. StartupTN, which supports over 7,400 startups registered with the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade across 30 sectors, aims to nurture a vibrant startup ecosystem in Tamil Nadu resulting in innovation and entrepreneurship-driven employment and economic growth. The partnership between DBS Bank India and StartupTN also addresses the need to provide customised solutions to help startups navigate specific challenges during their early

PhonePe sells over 9 mn digital insurance policies, 4 mn in one year

Walmart-backed payments firm PhonePe on Thursday said it has sold over 90 lakh insurance policies since entering the market in September 2021, of which 40 lakh were in just one year in 2023. PhonePe had entered the insurance space in 2020 with a corporate agency licence, before acquiring a full-fledged insurance broking licence. It currently distributes life, health, motor and car insurance with partners such as Acko, among others, and allows users to pay in monthly subscriptions through UPI. "PhonePe started offering insurance on its platform in September 2021, and since then has sold over 9 million overall policies, with over 4 million being sold in the last year alone. The digital insurance market is growing at a CAGR of 24 per cent, with a large part of this growth coming from PhonePe," the fintech firm said in a statement. The fintech giant announced that it has contributed to over 65 per cent growth for two-wheeler digital insurance in India, over the last 2 years. The company

DMI group acquires BNPL startup ZestMoney in a distress sale deal

The acquisition comes more than a month after Bengaluru-based ZestMoney, shut down amid an unsuccessful attempt to revive its business under new management and regulatory uncertainty

Andamans recognised as 'aspiring leader' in states' startup ranking: DPIIT

The Andaman and Nicobar Islands have been recognised as an Aspiring Leader' in the latest States' Startup Ranking of the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), officials said. There are 53 recognised startups, including 22 ventures led by women, in the entire archipelago, they said. The key sectors include construction and engineering, travel and tourism and IT. The Andaman and Nicobar Islands have stood out among its counterparts, showcasing the potential to become a prominent hub for emerging businesses and startups among the B' category states (population of less than 1 crore), a senior official said. We are delighted to receive the prestigious title of Aspiring leader' (in the 4th edition of the States' Startup Ranking). The recognition fits very well with our consistent and persistent efforts to establish Andaman and Nicobar Islands as a thriving hub for startups across various domains and sectors, Nikhil Kumar, Commissioner-cum-Secretary (Industries),