Startup Digest: Top stories of the day

"Negotiations are on and the proposed deal is for the sale of a majority stake in Cleartrip,” Moneycontrol quoted sources, adding that the talks may or may not necessarily fructify into a transaction. Cleartrip’s financial performance has been hit due to travel and border restrictions imposed post the outbreak of COVID-19. Besides India, it operates in the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Egypt.

“This is in line with Flipkart’s strategy to diversify and expand into product lines and categories via acquisitions and drive more GMV (gross merchandise value). If it is sealed, this deal can be seen as an opportunistic acquisition in the Covid-19 era," the person cited above added. Walmart acquired about 77 percent of Flipkart for around $16 billion in 2018, ratcheting up competition with Amazon Inc in the booming Indian ecommerce market.

Flipkart plans to expand its grocery operations to 70 cities from the current 50+ cities as it ramps up its grocery operations to take on competition in India’s buzzing grocery segment. "Grocery continues to be one of the fastest-growing categories, with the increase in demand for quality food and household supplies from users. In line with this, we have invested in scaling up our grocery operations across the country, strengthening ecosystem partnerships, thus ensuring a seamless grocery shopping experience through an expansive product selection, robust supply chain and smooth in-app experience for consumers," said Manish Kumar, senior vice president, grocery, general merchandise and furniture, Flipkart.

"We have witnessed increased demand for groceries from tier 2 cities in the past year, fueled by customers increasing preference for contactless shopping, from the comforts of their home. It is a trend that we think will continue and will set the course of e-grocery space in India," he added. Flipkart Grocery has over 7,000 products available across over 200 categories including household supplies, staples, snacks and beverages.

Digital debt platform Northern Arc has received $50mn debt financing from US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC), the US government’s development finance institution and one of the world’s leading impact investors, the company said in a statement. DFC has disbursed a second tranche of $25 million in financing and the first tranche of $25 million was made in December. The funds will be deployed towards on-lending to financial institutions as well as lending directly to retail customers through the co-lending product and to mid-market corporates, the statement added.

Cleantech startup Clairco has raised Rs 4.2 crore in angel funding led by Sanjiv Bajaj’s Anicut Angel Fund with participation from Max Group and Angel List.

The fresh infusion of funds will be used for product development, growth and hiring.

Betting on the global rise of “stories” format, Reliance Jio has roped in Firework short video platform to offer vertical video stories to its 100 million plus KaiOS users in India. The Firework-Jio collaboration will bring together Firework’s snackable content from its data base to Jio’s network of handheld devices and apps.

With this move, Firework will be native in all Jio KaiOS phones and integrated within the Jio browser. Firework is a Silicon Valley based short video stories platform that made an entry in the India market in 2019. Headquartered in Redwood City, California Firework currently has operations across 8 countries. Firework’s SaaS based offering enables businesses and platforms to bunk in the "Stories" format, be it on apps or in the open web through a simple integration. Twitter to label misleading tweets.

1 in 5 (22 percent) working women in India said their companies exhibit a ‘favorable bias’ towards men at work when compared to the regional average of 16 percent. This according to professional network LinkedIn’s Opportunity Index 2021 report. Even though 66 percent of people in India feel that gender equality has improved compared to their parents’ age, India’s working women still contend the strongest gender bias across Asia Pacific countries A deeper analysis shows that more women in India have experienced the impact of gender on career development when compared to the APAC region. In India, more than 4 in 5 working women (85 percent) claim to have missed out on a raise, promotion, or work offer because of their gender, compared to the regional average of 60 percent.

The Index highlighted that the difference in perception of available opportunities in the market for men and women in India. While 37 percent of India’s working women say they get fewer opportunities than men, only 25 percent of men agree with this. This disparity in perception is also seen in conversations about equal pay, as more women (37 percent) say they get less pay than men, while only 21 percent of men share this sentiment. In India, the top three job opportunities sought by both men and women are job security, a job that they love, and a good work-life balance. But despite having similar goals, more women (63 percent) think a person’s gender is important to get ahead in life when compared to men (54 percent).

Consumer sentiment from the report shows that more than 7 in 10 women workers (71 percent) and working mothers (77 percent) feel that managing familial responsibilities often come in their way of career development. In fact, about two-thirds of working women (63 percent) and working mothers (69 percent) said they have faced discrimination at work because of familial and household responsibilities.

While job security is critical for working women across India, women are laying more emphasis on the type of employer they choose to work with, the recognition they will receive for the work they do, and the skills that will be utilized on the job. As per LinkedIn’s findings, they are actively seeking employers who treat them as equal (50 percent), while 56 percent are looking to get recognition at work for what they do. Lack of required professional skills and a lack of guidance through networks and connections are also some of the other barriers that get in the way of career development for working women in India.

Twitter will label tweets that include misleading information about COVID-19 vaccines and is introducing a strike policy to curb users from repeatedly violating those rules, to root out misinformation surrounding the coronavirus from its platform. "As health authorities deepen their understanding of COVID-19 and vaccination programs around the world, we will continue to amplify the most current, up-to-date, and authoritative information," Twitter said in a blog post.

Since introducing its COVID-19 guidance, the platform has “removed more than 8,400 Tweets and challenged 11.5 million accounts worldwide”.

The “goal is to eventually use both automated and human review to address content”, the blog said. The platform will start with English-language content and plans to expand to other languages over time.

Video communications platform Zoom reported a whopping 369 percent growth in Q4 revenue at $882.5 million (YoY). Zoom is benefitting as workplaces continue to remain wary of opening up too soon. Customers with more than 10 employees surged 470 percent to 467,100, also exceeding estimates for a jump to nearly 442,600.

"The fourth quarter marked a strong finish to an unprecedented year for Zoom. In FY2021, we significantly scaled our business to provide critical communications and collaboration services to our customers and the global community in response to the pandemic,” Zoom CEO Eric Yuan said in a statement.

"As we enter FY2022, we believe we are well positioned for strong growth with our innovative video communications platform, on which our customers can build, run, and grow their businesses; our globally recognized brand; and a team ever focused on delivering happiness to our customers."

Apple has opened all its 270 U.S. stores, the first time in almost a year after it was forced to shutter several outlets because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The company has been cautious in re-opening its retail stores, using a team that includes medical experts to make its own calls on a county-by-county basis and sometimes shuttering stores again when local rules would otherwise allow stores to operate. The iPhone maker has also expanded its ‘Express’ format, a wall built in front of the main store with sales counters protected by plexiglass and a few shelves of accessories such as phone cases and AirPods.

Facebook has introduced Live Rooms in Instagram that will let users go live on the photo-sharing platform with up to three people. "Previously, you could go live with only one other person in a stream, but we're now letting you 'double up' on your live broadcast," the company said in a blog post. "We hope that doubling up on Live will open up more creative opportunities - start a talk show, host a jam session or co-create with other artists, host more engaging Q&As or tutorials with your following, or just hang out with more of your friends."

Square Inc has announced that its industrial bank, Square Financial Services, has begun operations after completing the charter approval process with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and the Utah Department of Financial Institutions, as per a company statement. Headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah, Square Financial Services will “offer business loan and deposit products, beginning with underwriting and originating business loans for Square Capital’s existing lending product”, the statement said.

"Bringing banking capability in-house enables us to operate more nimbly, which will serve Square and our customers as we continue the work to create financial tools that serve the underserved,” said Amrita Ahuja, Square, Inc chief financial officer and executive chairwoman of the board of directors for Square Financial Services.