Page 10 - Start- Ups

Ministers meet Google, app developers to resolve offloading from Play Store

Government ministers on Monday held multiple meetings with Google and startups that have been delisted from the tech giant's Play store, but no solution seems to be on the horizon with Indian companies accusing the US giant of abusing its dominant position. In separate meetings with Minister of State for IT and Electronics Rajeev Chandrashekhar, and Union IT and Communications Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, the troubled startups raised their concerns and sought support from the government. The raging dispute is over Google imposing a fee of 11 per cent to 26 per cent on in-app payments after anti-competition body CCI ordered scrapping of an earlier system of charging 15-30 per cent. Google went ahead to remove apps that were not paying the fee after the Supreme Court did not provide interim relief to companies behind these apps in their battle against the search giant's app marketplace fee. While the Vaishnaw declined to share details on the meeting, he said, "I will share when it is .

Indian startups ask CCI to order Google to restore apps after 'brazen' move

Startup executives on Monday met India's deputy IT minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar who told them he was concerned by the removal of the apps

We believe GenAI will create jobs at Bounteous and Accolite: Global CEO

US-based firms join forces, eyeing a $1 billion revenue target and doubling India's headcount

Beauty retailers report high demand for prestige and premium segments

Beauty retailers report high demand for prestige and premium segments

Steelmakers look to startups in decarbonisation, sustainability journey

Bhattacharjee says, this is like Tata Steel matrimony.com - the matrimony here is between start-ups and corporate needs. And the "matchmaking" is on specific themes

Vijay Shekhar Sharma steps down as chairman of Paytm Payments Bank

The Reserve Bank has barred the PPBL from accepting deposits and credits from any customer post-March 15 for persistent non-compliances and continued material supervisory concerns in the bank

PhonePe's Indus Appstore surpasses 100,000 downloads in 3 days of launch

Indus Appstore -- the new Android-based made-in-India app store that is pitted against the might of Google's Play Store -- has surpassed 100,000 downloads in just three days of launch, according to a release on Monday. App developers, tech enthusiasts, and users have actively downloaded the app, recognising the potential impact of Indus Appstore on India's digital ecosystem, the release said. Last week, PhonePe, owned by Walmart Inc, had launched the mobile app marketplace -- Indus Appstore -- to challenge Google's Play Store and Apple's App Store. "Indus Appstore, India's revolutionary new Android-based app store from PhonePe, has achieved a significant milestone by surpassing 100,000 downloads in just three days of launch," it said. The "remarkable feat", the release said, underscores the Indian market's eagerness for a localised, inclusive, and developer-empowering alternative to existing app stores. Akash Dongre, Chief Product Officer and Co-Founder of Indus Appstore, said, "W

Byju's shareholders to vote on resolution to ouster CEO, family on Friday

Amidst financial turbulence at Byju's, a group of key investors at the edtech have called for an extraordinary general meeting on Friday to oust its founder CEO Byju Raveendran and his family members over "mismanagement and failures" at what was once India's hottest tech startups, sources said. The shareholders, who have called the EGM, collectively hold more than 30 per cent stake in Byju's. Raveendran and family own about 26 per cent in the company. The sources in the know said the Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) notice calls for ouster of the current board of Think & Learn, the firm that operates Byju's, composed of Raveendran, his wife and co-founder Divya Gokulnath and his brother Riju Ravindran. Detailing the reasons for seeking the ouster, the notice listed alleged financial mismanagement, erosion of value due to management's failure to enforce the company's legal rights and concealment of material information. Earlier this month, South Africa's Prosus, Peak XV Partners

ArcelorMittal's XCarb India Accelerator programme selects three finalists

The programme, launched in July 2023, was aimed at identifying start-ups focused on the most "promising" decarbonisation technologies in India

PrimeBook Wi-Fi review: Android-powered laptop good for learning and work

Priced at Rs 12,490, the Primebook Wi-Fi boots Android 11 operating system-based PrimeOS UI with Android apps optimised for laptop-like windows interface

Bite-sized ventures: Street food startups spice up India's culinary scene

Meet the entrepreneurs turning India's streets into gastronomic hotspots

From Delhivery to Zomato, Q3 sees startups turn a profitable corner

Startups like Delhivery, Zomato, PolicyBazaar, Mamaearth, and Nykaa have either become profitable or improved their profit margins in Q3FY24

IPV to invest Rs 150-200 cr in startups, exits 14 firms with 61% return

Angel investment platform Inflection Point Ventures is planning to make fresh investments in the range of Rs 150-200 crore in startups this year, a senior company official said. The company announced partial and full exit from 14 firms with an average 61 per cent internal rate of return in 2023. "We have made a total investment of around Rs 750 crore till date out of Rs 1,200 crore fund. This year, we will be investing in the range of Rs 150-200 crore," IPV founder and CEO Vinay Bansal told PTI. He said the company has made 56 investments in 2023, comprising 46 new investments and around 10 follow-on investments. "We had 14 exits. One of the exits was that of 40 times multiple, and overall average IRR was 61 per cent," Bansal said. The company has a portfolio of about 200 companies. IPV fully exited three startups in 2023 -- Koovers, Sportido and a media startup. The company made the highest return of over 200 per cent from a full exit in the media venture. "We continue to stay

Apple is settling 2022 chip secrets theft case against startup Rivos

In a joint court filing Friday, the companies told a judge they're aiming to finalize an accord that resolves their claims against each other by March 15

Tastes2plate to raise Rs 30-40 cr to fuel growth in intercity food delivery

Kolkata-based intercity cooked food delivery startup, tastes2plate.com, is close to raising Rs 30-40 crore in Series A venture funding, aiming at unlocking exponential growth in the online food delivery market, which holds the potential to reach USD 3-5 billion within the next few years, an official said. Led by IT professional Gyan Srivastava, the bootstrapped startup took over three years to stabilize its business model through extensive innovation in packaging and logistics. This allowed the company to become the lowest-cost player in the industry, he said. "We are very close to raising Rs 30-40 crore in Series A funding," said Srivastava, CEO of tastes2plate (T2P) owned by Charabuni Services. The funds will be primarily used for capacity building in marketing, information technology, and logistics infrastructure, he said. "The funding will help us achieve 30-40 per cent month-on-month growth in the number of deliveries compared to our current volume. "While the total online f

SoftBank results: First profit in 5 quarters with $6.6 bn net income

Net profit totalled 985.5 billion yen ($6.6 billion) in the three months to December, versus a 744.7 billion yen loss in the same period a year earlier

CEO Vijay Shekhar Sharma strives to save Paytm amid regulatory crisis

Sharma has put up a brave face even as nervous investors plundered $2 billion off Paytm's valuation after RBI ordered his banking arm to stop most of it operations from March 1

EU approves new rules aimed at reducing cost of listing companies

A post-Brexit Britain is also reforming its listing rules in similar ways, as it too faces companies opting to list in New York rather than on a local exchange

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

Winning, losing and entrepreneurship

There have been numerous books on startups, big and small, but writer-entrepreneur and motivational speaker Alok Kejriwal's account of success stays with the readers