Page 16 - Start-ups

Proptech startup OfficeBanao raises funds from ex-Meta MD, ex-Collier CEO

Real estate startup OfficeBanao, which raised USD 6 million from Lightspeed in April this year, on Thursday said it has raised funds from three angel investors, including former Meta India MD Ajit Mohan and former Colliers India CEO Ramesh Nair. The company did not disclose the amount raised. Gurugram-based OfficeBanao, which is a workspace interior platform, said in a statement that it has "raised an undisclosed amount of angel investment" from Ajit Mohan, founding CEO, Hotstar and former MD, Meta India, Ramesh Nair and Apurva Chamaria - Head of Partnership solutions, start-ups & venture capital, Google India. The startup seeks to disrupt the competitive workspace interior market with its comprehensive, end-to-end service.. With the additional funding, OfficeBanao plans to fuel its expansion. "The funds will be utilized to further enhance its technology-driven platform, accelerate product development, and expand its workforce," the statement said. The platform is for designers,

No shortage of funds for good startups with strong business models: Kant

The innovation and startup ecosystem is strongly positioned to find solutions to challenges facing the world today, India's G20 Sherpa Amitabh Kant said on Monday, asserting there is no shortage of funds for good startups with strong business models. Speaking at 'Startup20 Shikhar' event, he advocated a multi-pronged approach of 'fund of funds', credit enhancement schemes, and a sharp focus on good governance for a robust startup ecosystem. Indian startups have successfully demonstrated the power of population-scale solutions at low cost, he said. Kant said that there is no funding winter in startup space, and pointed to "spring" of capital availability for good startups. The world is flushed with funds looking for well-structured good projects, he pointed out. Kant spoke about the success of India's digital public infrastructure, biometric ID, digital payments, and the strength of its startup ecosystem, and added that the country has demonstrated the huge power of digital ...

No shortage of funds for startups with strong business models: Amitabh Kant

The innovation and startup ecosystem is strongly positioned to find solutions to challenges facing the world today, India's G20 Sherpa Amitabh Kant said on Monday, asserting there is no shortage of funds for good startups, with strong business models. Speaking at 'Startup20 Shikhar' event, he advocated a multi-pronged approach of 'fund of funds', credit enhancement schemes, and a sharp focus on good governance for a robust startup ecosystem. Indian startups have successfully demonstrated the power of population-scale solutions at low cost, he said. Kant said that there is no funding winter in startup space, and pointed to "spring" of capital availability for good startups. The world is flushed with funds looking for well-structured good projects, he pointed out. Kant spoke about the success of India's digital public infrastructure, biometric ID, digital payments, and the strength of its startup ecosystem, and added that the country has demonstrated the huge power of digital ...

Angel investment platform IPV makes 12 exits in 2022, logs 160% IRR

Some of the key exits include high-performing startups like BluSmart, Otipy, Stage, Kazam and Buyofuel

Funding woes continue: Only 3 unicorns this year, 20% startups downgraded

This is an index of the most valuable private equity or venture capital-funded companies in Indiafounded after 2000, ranked according to their latest funding round valuation.

Unicorn list declines in 2023, indicates slowdown in funding: Hurun report

New additions in the coveted unicorn list declined sharply in 2023, indicating a slowdown in the Indian startup ecosystem, a report said on Tuesday. India added only three unicorns startups having a valuation of over USD 1 billion in 2023 against 24 in the year-ago period, as per the ASK Private Wealth Hurun Indian Future Unicorn Index 2023. The slowdown in unicorn additions is indicative of a "slowdown in India's startup ecosystem", the report -- which comes amid a slowdown in investor interest in what is being termed as "funding winter" -- said. The overall number of unicorns also declined to 83 from 84 in the year-ago period. ASK Private Wealth's chief executive and managing director Rajesh Saluja said unsustainable business models adopted by startups have led to a dip in valuations but stressed that funding to the right companies continues. Hurun India's chief researcher Anas Rahman Junaid, however, said that the Indian startup story has high potential and he sees the overall

EV firm Oben raises Rs 40 cr in pre-Series A, will start deliveries in July

EV startup Oben Electric on Tuesday said it has raised Rs 40 crore in an extended pre-series A round and also announced it will start delivering its electric motorcycle Rorr to customers in Bengaluru from next month. The company has so far secured a total funding of Rs 88 crore, including Rs 72 crore (both in equity and debt) in the pre-Series A round, Oben said in a statement. The capital infusion will help the company in scaling up its production capacity at the Bengaluru facility to 100,000 units per year as well as meet the working capital requirements for distribution expansion, it said. The Bengaluru-based EV startup which has a distribution network across major cities in the country, plans to meet the demand of 21,000 pre-orders by scaling up its manufacturing capacity, the company said. The funding round attracted both Institutional investors such as Stride Ventures and Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency (IREDA), along with new investors including Mumbai Angels and

Byju says firm's $22 billion valuation intact, accepts past mistakes

Raveendran told the shareholders that discussions were on for several weeks regarding the reconstitution of the board to strengthen processes

Edtech major Byju's in talks with investors who quit board to reconsider

Byju's investors had in recent months raised concerns with the company's leadership related to audit delays and how it dealt with issues relating to its lenders, one source said

An ode to start-ups in defence

Policy initiatives like Idex have put the defence industry on the path to self-reliance. It is time now to expand and build upon this success to achieve the broader objective of Make in India

Startup funding dips 71% in 2023; consumer, environment tech sectors shine

Consumer tech start-ups, offering technology-driven products and services to consumers, have managed to corner the most funding at $1.6 billion

Agritech startup Fuselage qualifies for Global Entrepreneurship Programme

Agritech startup Fuselage Innovations has been selected for the UK government's Global Entrepreneurship Programme (GEP), making the Kerala-based company eligible for relocation to the European nation. Fuselage, which provides drone-based agricultural surveillance and spraying solutions, qualifies for mentorship by experienced entrepreneurs and introduction to key networks, courtesy the GEP that lends business support to non-UK firms. Specialising in manufacturing customised UAVs and drones for agricultural aerial plant survey and spraying, Fuselage, which was founded by Devan Chandrasekharan and Devika Chandrasekharan, will be guided under GEP on ways to grow internationally. Once shifted to the UK, that country's Department of Internal Trade will help Fuselage, especially around exporting, according to a statement issued by the Kerala Startup Mission (KSUM) here on Monday. The programme will help the 2020-founded Fuselage build capacity in key business areas, according to Devan ..

22% of funding for start-ups went to those in Tier-II, -III cities in 2022

Funding in Tier-I cities is dominated by big players, while smaller cities have less competition - an attractive prospect for smaller investors

FarmersFZ selected for UN's 'Accelerator Programme' for food startups

A Kerala-based startup, Farmers Fresh Zone (FarmersFZ), has been selected for the 'Accelerator Programme by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the UN

Gaming startups form two regulatory bodies; to hold talks with govt

The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology will make the final decision on the number of self-regulatory bodies and the composition of their boards of directors

StartUp20 engagement group meet ends, asks G20 to invest $1 trn by 2030

The StartUp20 engagement group meeting culminated on Sunday in Goa with a call of action for G20 nations to invest USD one trillion for start up ecosystems by 2030, a top official said. The two-day meeting here ended on a positive note with all participating delegations agreeing on the policy communique drafted during the conference, Dr Chintan Vaishnav, Chair of StartUp20 Engagement Group, told reporters. "The communique would be adopted during the Gurugram meeting scheduled next month. We have put out a call for action for G20 countries to allocate USD one trillion for start up ecosystems by the year 2030," he said. This was the third meeting of the engagement group, with the first two rounds taking place in Hyderabad in Telangana and Sikkim, Vaishnav added. '"We also put out the policy communique on the StartUp20 webpage for people's reactions. This is real example of 'jan bhagidari' (people's participation). The draft policy communique has recommendations for five task forces,

Synergy between start-up ecosystems of India, Saudi Arabia: Prince Al-Saud

Prince Fahad Bin Mansour Al-Saud of Saudi Arabia on Sunday said there are lots of synergies between the start up ecosystems of India and his nation, which can open up several opportunities. Talking to PTI on the sidelines of G20-StartUp20 Engagement Group meeting, which culminated here during the day, Al-Saud said all the participating countries should work towards implementing the recommendations made during the meeting. Delegates from more than 15 countries participated in the the meeting that started on Saturday. "Saudi Arabia and India are the fastest growing economies in the G20 and in the world. There are lots of synergies between the start up ecosystems of the two countries and we can find several opportunities, Al-Saud said. Saudi Arabia had just received a delegation of 20 entrepreneurs from India and it was assured of all possible help for tie-ups, he said, adding that this was his first visit to the country to explore such opportunities. Al-Saud said he would be back in

G20 Leaders' Summit 2023: The world knocks on a door more than ajar

A rich, many-faceted dialogue is underway in India as part of the G20 meetings, and diplomats hope for a successful summit, never mind the alarm bells

Investors mark down 'unicorn' tag for start-ups, chase real deal

Entrepreneurs, however, also need to realise that down-rounds are not much of a deal

Environment tech startups raised $2.1 bn in FY23 amid funding winter

Late-stage deals accounted for 55% of total investments at $1.2 billion, early-stage funding made up 39% of the share, with these startups raising $831 million