Startup

Startup news and updates: Daily roundup (July 18, 2024)

Published

4 months ago

July 18, 2024

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Funding news

Honestly raises Rs 3.2 Cr pre-seed funding from Better Capital

Honestly, an AI-powered beauty and personal care platform, has secured Rs 3.2 crore in pre-seed funding led by Better Capital along with participation from Kunal Shah-led QED Innovations, and senior leaders from Flipkart, Polygon and Cred.

Founded in April 2024, its AI analyses each user’s order history and matches them with similar users across 100+ attributes, such as skin tone, skin type, age, and gender, to discuss product recommendations. Additionally, Honestly’s AI evaluates product ingredients to help users understand how new products fit into their routines.

EV-Ride-hailing startup MyPickup raises Rs 1.5 C in seed round led by Inflection Point Ventures

MyPickup, an urban transit services provider has raised Rs 1.5 crore in seed round led by Inflection Point Ventures.

The funds will be used for developing scheduling algorithms, brand building, and optimising operations management. This investment is part of IPV’s initiative to support early-stage ideas with high innovation and impact potential.

At scale, it plans to expand to on-demand rides with fleet operators and other vehicle classes, maintaining control over drivers and vehicles through robust SOPs and training to ensure a high-quality customer experience.

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” align=”center”> Seed Funding

Protonas secures seed funding from Transition VC

Protonas, a startup specialising in low-cost PEM hydrogen fuel cell solutions, has raised a seed funding round of an undisclosed amount, led by Transition VC.

With this raised capital, Protonas is set to establish initial manufacturing operations in Chennai and build prototype systems.

Protonas’ PEM hydrogen fuel cell technology has achieved cost reductions. Headquartered in Tennessee, US, with a subsidiary in Chennai, India, Protonas was founded by David DeVries, a veteran of the fuel cell industry since 1996.

The company aims to deploy cost-efficient backup power applications in North America and power fuel cell engines for 3-wheeler and 4-wheeler vehicles in India and other Asian markets. Protonas leverages advanced hydrogen fuel cell technology to deliver sustainable energy solutions and plans to collaborate with companies in India to develop carbon-neutral vehicles.

Other news

Google unveils new cohort for Google for Startups Accelerator

Google announced the new cohort of the Google for Startups Accelerator: AI First program in India with 20 AI-first startups from a wide range of sectors from gaming to manufacturing, selected from over 1030 applications across the country.

3DAILY, a gaming startup, Figr, a developer tool, Hypergro.ai, a marketing tech startup, are a few of the 20 choosen startups.

The programme began this week with a week-long, in-person bootcamp at Google Bengaluru. Over the next three months, Google will closely support these startups in overcoming technical and business challenges, scaling human-centered AI solutions.

They will receive exclusive training, Cloud infrastructure credits, mentorship from industry leaders, and access to Google teams like Google Cloud, Google DeepMind, Android, and Web, enhancing their global network.

77% of Indian startups are investing in advanced technologies: SAP – Dun & Bradstreet Study

Over 77% of start-ups invest in advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), ML, IoT, and blockchain according to the study– ‘Value Creation and Sustainable Growth: The Blueprint for Startup Profitability in India.

Release by SAP India, in collaboration with Dun & Bradstreet it revealed that 79% of startups believe adopting enterprise applications integrated with new-age technologies like AI is essential for scaling and improving unit economics, with 72% already investing in these technologies. Additionally, 85% see unit economics as key to profitability and valuation enhancement.

Tier II and III cities, such as Chandigarh, Jaipur, and Kochi, have become innovation hubs, accounting for 40% of tech startups and 15% of the tech skill pool. These cities offer cost savings due to lower real estate and talent costs.

It said that sectors like Agritech, Fintech, EdTech, and HealthTech benefit significantly from AI and other advanced technologies. Enterprise solutions aid in building robust corporate governance, essential for attracting investors and public listings, with 64% emphasising their role in understanding customer behavior and 71% highlighting their importance for investor attraction and transparency.

The study examined 113 Indian start-ups.

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Collective Artists Network acquires Galleri5

Collective Artists Network, a new media entity has acquired Galleri5,an AI-powered content solutions and influencer marketing technology.

This acquisition follows a series of strategic moves by Collective Artists Network to bolster its position in the new media landscape. Last week, Collective Artists Network acquired Terribly Tiny Tales, a text-first flash fiction platform. In September 2023, the company acquired the tech-powered student community – Under 25 Universe.

Employees aged between 21 and 30 are the most stressed cohort: YourDOST report

Employees between 21 and 30, are the most stressed set of workers, according to the latest report titled “Emotional Wellness State of Employees by YourDOST, a mental and emotional wellness company.

Out of the 5,000+ employees surveyed, staffers were found to be the most stressed. A poll revealed that 64% of workers aged 21-30 experience high stress levels, followed by 59.18% in the 31-40 age group. Employees aged 41-50 are the least stressed. Younger employees seem more open to discussing mental health but face stress from family and friends. Self-improvement (35%) and relationship problems (33%) are the top reasons for seeking counseling, followed by career anxiety. Psychological disorders and sexual wellness were other topics of concern.

Around 72.2% of women reported high-stress levels at work, compared to 53.64% of men. Major stressors for women include lack of work-life balance, recognition, low morale, and fear of judgment. Overall, there is been a 31% year-on-year increase in employees reporting high stress.

The study surveyed employees across various sectors, including IT, manufacturing, transportation, tech, legal services, and business consulting.

Navi Mutual Fund launches India’s first index fund tracking Nifty 500 Multicap 50:25:25

Navi Mutual Fund, a mutual fund investment company in India, launched the Navi Nifty 500 Multicap 50:25:25 Index Fund. It is the first-ever index fund to track the Nifty 500 Multicap 50:25:25 index.

This fund continuously offers units at applicable NAV (Face Value: ₹10/-). The New Fund Offer (NFO) opens on 18th July 2024 and closes on 30th July 2024.

The Nifty 500 Multicap 50:25:25 index offers diversified exposure to large, mid, and small-cap companies in the Indian stock market, with fixed allocations of 50%, 25%, and 25%, respectively. This strategy reduces risk by avoiding concentration in any single category.

Compared to the Nifty 500 index’s 71.8% large-cap allocation, the Nifty 500 Multicap provides greater exposure to mid and small-cap companies (50% vs. 28.2%), potentially offering higher growth prospects. Unlike actively managed funds, the Navi Nifty 500 Multicap 50:25:25 Index Fund passively tracks the index.

India’s first private deep tech hub launches in NCR

8X Ventures, a deep tech VC, Sanchi Connect, a deep tech community enabler, and Arctic Invent, an IP advisory firm have launched India’s first privately sponsored Deep Tech hub.

The hub will engage with up to 10 deep tech startups in the first year with no dilution on the equity front.

The Hub aims to bring together members of the thriving deeptech ecosystem who have graduated from incubation centres but continue to need support from the ecosystem. It targets to mobilise $100Mn in the DeepTech ecosystem.

The DeepTech Hub operates in a 7,000+ sq ft area in Noida and plans to expand to a 100,000+ sq ft space within the next year. This new facility will feature state-of-the-art labs, collaborative workspaces, critical shared resources for scaling DeepTech startups, and exclusive access to industry-leading mentors and experts.

Inertial Labs and ideaForge partner for UAV based LiDAR Solutions

ideaForge Technology Limited, a drone technology company, has partnered with Inertial Labs, a company dealing in inertial sensors and integrated GPS systems, for the integration of Inertial Labs’ RESEPI LiDAR solution into ideaForge’s unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).

As part of their partnership, Inertial Labs and ideaForge will provide surveying, mapping, and inspection solutions for applications in mining, forestry, GIS, land surveys, and water resources management. By integrating Inertial Labs’ RESEPI LiDAR payloads with ideaForge’s NETRA/Q6 UAVs, they will deliver highly accurate aerial data with extreme precision and speed.

Key specifications include a portable MTOW of less than 6kg, multi-use platform capabilities (27X Zoom, Thermal, Mapping, Multispectral, LiDAR), fully autonomous flying with built-in fail-safes, and custom maps for accurate resolution in various terrains.

Resumod launches AI-Driven staffing solution

Resumod, an HR solutions provider has launched its AI-driven staffing solution. This AI system aims to reduce the time taken for initial resume screening by up to 50%.

Moreover, through the use of chatbots, Resumod also felicitates initial screening and labeling of resumes for future use.

Resumod empowers jobseekers with actionable insights by offering detailed resume analysis against specific job descriptions, helping individuals tailor their resumes for maximum impact. Additionally, Resumod now provides an “expert help service,” allowing users to hire experienced resume writers for professional resume creation and learning, available for INR 449.

(This article will be updated with the latest news throughout the day.)

Edited by Affirunisa Kankudti

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ED searches 19 premises of Amazon, Flipkart vendors in FEMA probe

Published

14 mins ago

November 7, 2024

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The Enforcement Directorate Thursday conducted searches against some of the “main vendors” operating on platforms of ecommerce giants Amazon and Flipkart as part of a foreign investment “violation” investigation, official sources said.

A total of 19 premises of these “preferred” vendors located in Delhi, Gurugram and Panchkula (Haryana), Hyderabad (Telangana), and Bengaluru (Karnataka) were covered as part of the action, the sources said.

It is learnt that the ED inspected documents and took copies of some from the premises of about six such vendors who were not named.

The sources said a probe has been initiated by the federal agency under the provisions of the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) after it received several complaints against the two large ecommerce companies, where it is alleged that they were “violating India’s FDI (foreign direct investment) rules by directly or indirectly influencing the sale price of goods or services and not providing level playing field for all the vendors”.

There was no immediate response from the two ecommerce companies.

Meanwhile, the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) welcomed the ED action.

“The CAIT, along with several other trade bodies, has been raising these issues for the past few years. I welcome the Enforcement Directorate’s actions as a step in the right direction,” CAIT Secretary General Praveen Khandelwal said in a statement.

He claimed that the Competition Commission of India (CCI) had also issued “penalty notices” to Amazon and Flipkart, and their “preferred” sellers, for “engaging” in anti-competitive practices that have adversely affected small traders and ‘kirana’ (grocery) stores.

It has been reported in the past that the CCI, which works to ensure fair business practices across sectors in the marketplace, is already looking into alleged anti-competitive ways of ecommerce companies.

The CAIT and mainline mobile retailers’ association AIMRA had also petitioned the CCI sometime back seeking immediate suspension of operations of Flipkart and Amazon as they alleged that the companies engaged in predatory pricing and were burning cash to offer heavy discounts on products.

These practices, in turn, are creating a grey market of mobile phones, causing losses to the exchequer “as players in the grey market evade taxes”, they had said.

Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal had recently flagged the same concerns as he had questioned Amazon’s announcement of a $1 billion investment in India, saying the US retailer was not doing any great service to the Indian economy but filling up for the losses it had suffered in the country.

He had said in August that their huge losses in India “smells of predatory pricing”, which is not good for the country as it impacts crores of small retailers.

Goyal said e-commerce companies were eating into the small retailers’ high-value, high-margin products that are the only items through which the mom-and-pop stores survive.

The minister had said that with the fast-growing online retailing in the country, “are we going to cause huge social disruption with this massive growth of ecommerce”.

Khandelwal said that the CAIT has urged the CCI and the ED to protect the businesses of small traders.

“In the new Bharat, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi Ji, no one is above the law. I am hopeful that now the law will take its rightful course and protect the livelihoods of small shopkeepers.

“This government is committed to ensuring that no entity can harm the trading community. In response to multiple complaints filed by the trading community regarding FDI violations and the anti-competitive practices of quick-commerce companies such as Blinkit, Swiggy, and Zepto, we urge both the CCI and the ED to take swift action and prevent any further, irreparable damage to the businesses of small traders,” he said in the statement.

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Irdai proposes to amend regulatory sandbox norms

Published

1 hour ago

November 7, 2024

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Regulator Irdai has proposed to amend the norms related to ‘regulatory sandbox’ by incorporating principle-based approach and further facilitating the adoption of innovative ideas and new concepts across the insurance value chain.

Regulatory sandbox usually refers to live testing of new products or services in a controlled/test regulatory environment for which regulators may or may not permit certain relaxations.

The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (Irdai) constituted an internal committee to review the Irdai (Regulatory Sandbox) Regulations.

Based on the recommendations of the committee, it has proposed amendments to the regulatory sandbox regulations and seeks comments from the public at large on the proposed amendments.

Issuing an exposure draft on regulatory sandbox regulations, Irdai said the amendment seeks adoption of principle based approach over rule based approach.

The changes to the norms are also aimed to facilitate the introduction of innovative ideas/new concepts across the insurance value chain, Irdai said.

Irdai has invited comments from the stakeholders on ‘Exposure draft – Irdai (Regulatory Sandbox) (Amendment) Regulations, 2024’ by November 25.

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Prodigy Finance secures $310M financing from DFC

Published

2 hours ago

November 7, 2024

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Prodigy Finance, a global higher education finance company, has secured financing of up to $310 million with a funding commitment from the US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC).

This latest financing, building on the previous partnership with DFC, prioritises social impact with a minimum financing threshold of 30% for women and 50% for individuals from low- and lower-middle-income countries, it said in a statement.

“Together, we are empowering a new generation of global leaders to unlock opportunities that shape a brighter future,” said Prodigy Finance Chief Financial Officer Neha Sethi.

The higher education finance company’s borderless lending model allows students to apply for loans based on their future earning potential rather than their current circumstances or credit history.

Since its founding in 2007, the international student lender has enabled over 43,000 postgraduate master’s students to attend top universities, disbursing over $2.3 billion in funding to students from more than 150 countries.

Sonal Kapoor, Global Chief Commercial Officer of Prodigy Finance, told YourStory that India is its core market and has the largest share of its funding.

According to the Prodigy Finance 2022 Impact Report, students reported that the company’s loan helped them to pursue their dream career (91%), achieve success in their personal life (83%), and at least double their salary (74%).

In September, Prodigy Finance launched a $30 million blended finance programme in collaboration with The Standard Bank of South Africa Limited and Allan & Gill Gray Philanthropies.

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