Here’re the top headlines from the startup space.
Rocket startup Agnikul raises $26.7 million as it nears maiden launch
IIT Madras-incubated Agnikul Cosmos has raised $26.7 million in its Series B fundraise with Celesta Capital, Rocketship.vc, Artha Venture Fund & Artha Select Fund joining the captable.
The round also saw participation from existing investors pi Ventures, Speciale Invest, Mayfield India and others.
Funding for Agnikul comes at a time when it is working towards the maiden launch of Agnibaan, the startup’s privately-built small satellite rocket. Powered by Agnilet, a single-piece 3D printed engine, the rocket is capable of carrying up to 100 kg of payload to low Earth orbits up to 700 km.
Invesco marks up Swiggy’s valuation to nearly $8 billion
Invesco, a US-based fund manager, which last invested in Swiggy and had slashed the valuation of the foodtech giant twice in four months, has now raised the fair value of the food and grocery delivery platform to nearly $8 billion.
In its July filing, the asset management firm raised Swiggy’s valuation to $7.85 billion from $5.5 billion in April. While the move represents a 42 percent increase from what Invesco had last valued Swiggy at, the startup’s valuation is still 30 percent lower than what it was in January 2022. Swiggy was valued at $10.7 billion when Invesco led the $700 million fund raise in 2022.
The asset manager considers valuation of peers as a factor when assessing the value of its startup/private investments. With the increase in fair value, Swiggy’s valuation of $7.85 billion was closer to rival Zomato, which was valued at around $7.7 billion as of July.
LinkedIn lays off 668 employees in second cut this year
Microsoft's LinkedIn said it would lay off 668 employees across its engineering, talent and finance teams in the second round of job cuts this year for the social media network for professionals amid slowing revenue growth.
The cuts, which affect more than 3 percent of the 20,000-strong staff, add to the tens of thousands of job losses this year in the technology sector in the face of an uncertain economic outlook.
"While we are adapting our organisational structures and streamlining our decision making, we are continuing to invest in strategic priorities for our future and to ensure we continue to deliver value for our members and customers," LinkedIn said in a blog post.
Stack Overflow to lay off 28% of its staff: CEO Prashanth Chandrasekar
Online community for developers Stack Overflow has announced to layoff 28 percent of its staff (over 100 employees) as it struggles towards profitability amid the AI coding boom.
CEO Prashanth Chandrasekar said the company is “significantly reducing the size of our go-to-market organisation" and “supporting teams and other teams across the organisation are impacted as well”.
“Over the last 15 years, we’ve built Stack Overflow into an industry-crucial knowledge base for millions of developers and technologists. During this time we’ve experienced years filled with opportunities and challenges. This year is no different,” he wrote in a blog post.
Nithin Kamath’s Rainmatter, Rohan Bopanna lead $2 million Pre-Series A round in sports tech startup Game Theory
Sports tech platform Game Theory has raised $2 million in its Pre-Series A funding round led by Rainmatter Capital (Zerodha’s investment arm), tennis player Rohan Bopanna and others. The fundraiser marks Nithin Kamath’s foray into the sports category.
The funding round also saw participation from investors including WEH Ventures, Prequate Advisory, and angel investor Balakrishna Adiga.
The Bengaluru-based startup integrates technology with players in the real-world, via their sports facilities to gamify the experience. It integrates real-time score keeping, captivating video highlights for on-field experience.
Done Deal secures $800,000 in Pre-Seed funding round
Done Deal, a data-driven platform aimed at modernising M&A using technology, has raised $800,000 in its pre-seed funding round led by Gruhas, Nikhil Kamath & Abhijeet Pai's VC.
The round also saw the participation of several strategic early-stage venture capital firms, such as The BarberShop with Shantanu - Raiser's Edge, WFC, Capital-A, Dezerv Innovation Fund, ICE.vc, along with angel investors.
The fresh funds will be used to accelerate product development and scale the platform.
Omnivio raises $1.02 million from Caret Capital, Blume, others
Omnivio, an Ecommerce & Omni-Logistics platform for enterprises, has raised $1.02 million in its seed funding round led by Caret Capital, formerly known as Supply Chain Labs.
The round also saw participation from Blume Ventures, Eximius VC, SUNiCON Ventures Fund, Misfits, and several angel syndicates and individual investors from India, Middle-East, and South-East Asia.
The startup intends to allocate the newly raised funds towards the development of its omnichannel visibility and orchestration product suite. Additionally, the company plans to expand its enterprise Go-To-Market (GTM) teams in India and the Middle East.
Faad Network backs Generative AI startup InsurStaq.ai via fintech accelerator
Generative AI startup InsurStaq.ai has secured an undisclosed capital from early-stage investor Faad Network’s fintech accelerator. Faad Accelarator Labs 'FinShastra’ which is a fintech, focused cohort and aims to support and nurture innovative startups in the financial technology sector.
The company aims to reach over 10,000 customers by the end of this year. The funds will be utilised to develop a comprehensive suite of B2C, B2B and B2B2C solutions tailored specifically for the insurance sector, a statement said.
"The injection of capital will be crucial in speeding up our mission to implement Generative AI solutions across the entire value chain of the insurance industry,” said Mayan Kansal, Co-Founder and CEO, InsurStaq.ai.
Fintech startup Perfios conducts ESOP buyback worth Rs 154 crore
Fintech SaaS startup Perfios has announced an ESOP buyback of shares worth Rs 154 crore. The buyback will be applied to shares of 135 employees, of whom 62 will become millionaires, the firm said.
According to Perfios, 80 of the 135 beneficiaries from the ESOP buyback are women, while 98 of the total beneficiaries are under 30. The announcement comes after Perfios raised $229 million in Series D funding round led by private equity investor Kedaara Capital through a combination of primary and secondary sale.
Perfios is looking to double its revenue growth by the close of this financial year as it bolsters its presence in MENA and SEA countries and expands to North America and Europe. The company said it plans to fuel its global expansion and invest in new-age technology to enhance its stack of decision analytics SaaS products to solve the end-to-end customer journey across the BFSI sector.
ONDC empowers 1 million marginalised sellers, weavers across 60 cities
The Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) said it has empowered over one million marginalised sellers, weavers and food processors, thus creating equal opportunities across 60 cities.
The ONDC Network has transformed the lives of more than 300 social sector sellers across 18 states and in over 60 cities. Since the beginning of this year, ONDC has processed over 5,000 orders in the social sector domain.
Currently, the Network showcases approximately 7,000 unique products and has successfully introduced over 265 sellers to digital commerce by onboarding them onto the Network. ONDC Network's buyer app, Mystore, has played a pivotal role in empowering these unique sellers.
Mela Ventures appoints Viju George as Partner
Mela Ventures, a Sebi-approved Category- 2 Alternative Investment Fund (AIF), has roped in Viju George, a technology industry veteran in investment analysis, as a full-time partner.
“We are delighted to welcome Viju George to our team as Partner. Viju’s exceptional track record in Technology Financial Analysis aligns perfectly with our commitment to invest in high growth category leaders. We are confident that Viju will play a pivotal role in enhancing our capabilities and contributing to our continued growth,” said Krishnakumar Natarajan, Managing Partner, Mela Ventures.
Mela Ventures is co-founded by Natarajan & NS Parthasarathy, and aims to put Indian B2B SaaS companies that are solving real-world challenges on the global map. The VC led by Mindtree founders, had announced the Rs 320 crore final close of its maiden fund MV Core Tech Fund-I in 2022.
StockGro forays into Forex markets segment, to launch feature in December
Stock trading platform StockGro has announced its foray into the Forex markets. The company will launch its Forex trading feature in December and said it will make StockGro India's first platform to provide students with FOREX trading, opening up new opportunities for aspiring investors and traders.
“We are excited to introduce courses and content around Forex markets on the StockGro platform, marking a significant milestone in our journey," said Ajay Lakhotia, Founder of StockGro. "By providing students with hands-on experience in foreign exchange, we are empowering them to thrive in the interconnected world of finance.
StockGro has collaborated with 750+ prominent schools and colleges and 30+ startups. Through these partnerships, StockGro aims to equip young minds with the skills to trade in forex and commodities.
Juice Guys plans to hire around 1,500 employees, to open 200 stores in next 3 years
QSR chain Juicy Guys has announced the launch of its flagship outlet at Select City Walk Mall, Saket, New Delhi. The brand is aiming to open more than 200 outlets throughout the country within three years.
The company is also looking to hire 1,500 people in various operational positions from the Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) category.
“The juice market in India registered a negative compound annual growth rate (CAGR) OF -5.45% during the period 2016 to 2021 with a sales value of INR 3,262.48 million in 2021, an increase of 52.25% over 2020. The market achieved its strongest performance in 2021 when it grew by 52.25% over the previous year” said Sahaj Chopra, Founder, Juice Guys.
GLOBAL TECHNOLOGY & STARTUP NEWS
Healthcare payments startup Waystar makes IPO filing public
Healthcare payments startup Waystar Technologies has made public its filing for a US stock market flotation and revealed a rise in quarterly sales.
Reuters reported in August that Waystar was eyeing an initial public offering (IPO) that could value it at up to $8 billion.
Waystar confidentially filed for an IPO later in August, joining a wave of new listings that followed a months-long dry spell wrought by high interest rates and fears of a recession.
Chinese AI startup Baichuan raises $300 million from Alibaba, Tencent, others
Chinese artificial intelligence (AI) startup Baichuan has raised $300 million from investors including Chinese tech giants Alibaba and Tencent, it said.
The company said on its WeChat account that the round followed an early $50 million angel round. The investors include smartphone maker Xiaomi (1810.HK) and other investment firms, it added.
China's craze over generative AI has triggered a flurry of product and fundraising announcements from startups and tech giants, as the industry races to find a homegrown rival to Microsoft-backed OpenAI's ChatGPT. Investors have warned, however, that a shakeout is imminent as cost and profit pressures grow.
US lawmaker seeks answers from Meta, X, Google, TikTok over Israel-Hamas false content
US Senator Michael Bennet sought information on how tech giants Meta, X, TikTok and Google were trying to stop the spread of false and misleading content about the Israel-Hamas conflict on their platforms.
"Deceptive content has ricocheted across social media sites since the conflict began, sometimes receiving millions of views," Bennet, a Democrat, said in the letter addressed to the company chiefs.
Visuals from older conflicts, video game footage, and altered documents are among misleading content that has flooded social media platforms since Hamas militants attacked Israeli civilians on October 7.
Tesla to recall nearly 55,000 Model X vehicles, auto regulator says
The US auto regulator said Tesla will recall 54,676 Model X vehicles manufactured between 2021-2023, as the vehicle controller is likely to fail to detect low brake fluid and not display a warning light.
Tesla has released an over-the-air (OTA) software update, free of charge, to fix the issue, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said.
The electric vehicle maker is not aware of any crashes, injuries or deaths that may be related to this condition as of Oct. 10, the regulator added.
Amazon to launch online shopping service in South Africa in 2024
Amazon said it would launch its online shopping service in South Africa next year, making it only the second African country after Egypt where the US e-commerce giant has set up a locally-dedicated website.
South Africa will be Amazon's 21st country with a local domain name-based website, challenging a slew of online retailers dominated mainly by Naspers' Takealot.com.
"The launch of Amazon.co.za in 2024 will provide independent sellers throughout the country an opportunity to rapidly launch, grow, and scale their businesses," Amazon said in a statement.
Russia fines Zoom $1.18 million for operating without local office: Report
A Russian court has fined Zoom Video Communications, 115 million roubles ($1.18 million) for operating without opening a local office, the RIA news agency reported.
RIA cited judge Timur Vakhrameyev as saying the fine had been set at a 10th of Zoom's 2022 revenues in Russia.
Zoom was fined 15 million roubles last week in what a court said was a repeated failure to store data that it held on Russian citizens on a server in Russia.
GenAI startups biggest driver of unicorns, says VC firm Accel
Generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) companies have become the major driver of unicorns -- startups reaching $1 billion valuation -- with 60% of the new ones falling in this category, according to a report from venture capital firm Accel.
Funding in European and Israeli GenAI startups was close to $1 billion in the last 12 months compared with over $14 billion in US ones, though skewed due to a $10 billion funding to OpenAI alone, the report said.
"A very limited number of companies which have attracted a disproportionate amount of the capital... the investment going into the foundational models - we will see that going down," Philippe Botteri, a partner at Accel, said in an interview to Reuters.
(Edited by : Sangam Singh)
First Published: Oct 17, 2023 7:06 PM IST
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