Page 17 - Start- Ups

Green energy to agri, winners of Startup India to get 'handholding support'

As a part of the handholding exercise, multiple virtual and physical sessions, delegations, showcases, and programs of specialised support will be organised

Avataar Holdings sells 5% stake in RateGain Travel for Rs 206 crore

Avataar Holdings on Thursday offloaded a 5 per cent stake in RateGain Travel Technologies for Rs 206 crore through an open market transaction. According to the bulk deal data available with the BSE, Avataar Holdings sold 55 lakh shares, amounting to a 5 per cent stake in RateGain Travel Technologies. The shares were disposed of at an average price of Rs 375.02 apiece, taking the transaction value to Rs 206.26 crore. Post the latest transaction, the shareholding of Avataar has been reduced to 2.07 per cent from 7.07 per cent (as of March 2023) equity in RateGain. Shares of RateGain gained 0.76 per cent to close at Rs 379.40 per piece on the BSE.

G20: The third meeting of the Startup20 to take place in Goa on June 3-4

The third meeting of the Startup20 Engagement Group, part of India's G20 presidency, will take place in Goa on June 3-4, an official said on Thursday. Startup20 serves as a prime opportunity to foster collaboration, exchange ideas, and shape the future of start ups and entrepreneurship on a global scale, he said. "The meeting, which will embrace the spirit of 'Sankalpana', a Sanskrit term for collective resolve, brings together international delegates and experienced members of the Indian start up ecosystem. The focal point of the meeting will be to build consensus on the Draft Policy Communique, which the Startup20 recently published asking public for feedback," he added. "The meeting will feature a start up showcase, talks as part of the Startup20 series, cultural experiences and discussions on the implementation and benefits of the ideas outlined in the document," the official said. The Goa Sankalpana event will offer various stimulating sessions, including presentations by task

Kerala govt raises ceiling on purchase of products from startups to Rs 3 cr

The Kerala government has considerably increased the ceiling on purchase of products and services from startups registered with KSUM from Rs 1 crore to Rs 3 crore in its effort to boost the state's startup ecosystem. The raising of the public procurement ceiling on the purchases by government departments, public sector undertakings (PSUs), boards, corporations, and local self-government (LSG) institutions from ventures registered under the Kerala Startup Mission (KSUM), was announced by it in a statement on Wednesday. KSUM is the nodal agency of the Kerala government for entrepreneurship development and incubation activities in the state. The increase in the monetary ceiling in public procurement will enable more government departments to leverage innovative technology solutions from startups, it said. As per the government order (GO) issued in this regard, the benefits enjoyed by IT-related startups have been extended to non-IT ventures as well, thereby enabling PSUs, boards, ...

ESOP payouts, buybacks plummet among Indian start-ups amid funding winter

While the funding slowdown has had no significant impact on the issuance of ESOPs, a liquidity crunch has caused the once-overflowing well of ESOP buyback programs to run dry

BlackRock cuts edtech giant Byju's valuation by 62% in a year to $8.4 bn

BlackRock reportedly pegged the value of its 2,279 shares in the company at $4,043,471, estimating Byju's fair value at $8.4 billion as of March 31, 2023

Battery startup Log9 Materials signs MoU with EV maker Quantum Energy

Battery-tech startup Log9 Materials on Tuesday announced signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), with Hyderabad-headquartered electric vehicle maker Quantum Energy for a long-term strategic partnership in the EV space. As a part of this collaboration, the two companies also jointly unveiled a two-wheeler commercial electric vehicle (CEV)-- 'Bzinesslite-- powered by Log9's RapidX 2000 batteries, enabling it to go zero to zip within 12 minutes, Log9 Materials said in a release. Going forward, both Log9 and Quantum Energy will be working hand-in-hand to deploy 10,000 InstaCharged two-wheelers for a wide variety of use-cases, including e-commerce, food delivery, courier services, among others, in the domestic last-mile logistics sector, pan-India by March 2024, it said. The joint initiative is going to be kicked off soon by deploying 200 Bzinesslite e-2Ws in Hyderabad through Whizzy Logistics a logistics fleet service provider enabling hyperlocal deliveries, it stated. * * * *

WardWizard Innovations partners with iCreate to mentor EV startups

Gujarat-based electric two-wheeler maker WardWizard Innovations & Mobility on Monday announced stitching a strategic partnership with start-up incubator iCreate to mentor and fund promising EV startups in the country. Through this partnership, EV makers will facilitate active mentorship for entrepreneurs at iCreate's campus in Ahmedabad to enhance subject matter expertise and further their technological innovations for the accelerating EV industry, WardWizard Innovations & Mobility said in a statement. The collaboration is aligned with the Government start-up India program, which seeks to support entrepreneurs in building a robust start-up ecosystem and transforming India into a country of job creators, it stated. Through our partnership with iCreate, we are looking to foster the exchange of ideas with promising startups and help them with our market knowledge and experience to understand the industry better, said Yatin Gupte, Chairman and Managing Director, WardWizard ...

G20 countries to discuss common framework to define startups: Official

G20 member countries, including India and the US, are holding consultations to arrive at a common framework to define startups with a view to promoting the growth of new ventures, a senior official said. This issue among others would come up for discussion during the Startup20 Engagement Group's, under India's G20 presidency, third meeting on June 3-4 in Goa. A common framework would help investors and other stakeholders of the startup ecosystem in the G20 member countries. Briefing media about these meetings, Startup20 India Chair and Mission Director Atal Innovation Mission, Niti Aayog Chintan Vaishnav said that there are five task forces under this group - foundation, alliances, finance, inclusion, and sustainability. The idea of the foundation is to come up with a startup definition framework which is applicable across different economies. When you talk about the global startup ecosystems coming together, working together, becoming interoperable, you realize that there are no .

Food-tech start-up Pluckk appoints Kunwarjeet Grover as Head of Growth

Pluckk, a leading food-tech direct-to-consumer company, focused on farm to fork fresh produce, on Monday announced the appointment of Kunwarjeet Grover as the company's Head of Growth

Foreign VC funding in India declines 72% as unicorn machines stutter

Foreign money plays a crucial role in start-up funding in India

I-T dept invites comments on draft rules for valuing startup investment

The income tax department on Friday invited comments from stakeholders on rules for valuing non-resident investment in unlisted startups. The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has issued a draft notification inviting comments on the draft rule 11UA of Income-tax Rules, 1962, pertaining to the method of computation of fair market value (FMV) of unquoted equity shares for the purposes of section 56(2)(viib) of Income-tax Act, 1961. Suggestions/Comments have been invited from stakeholders & general public on the draft rules, which can be sent to ustpl2@nic.in, latest by June 5, 2023, the CBDT tweeted. The rules would be effective from April 1, 2023. The CBDT was expected to come out with valuation guidelines for valuing non-resident investment in unrecognised startups for the purpose of levying income tax. Under the existing norms, only investments by domestic investors or residents in closely held companies were taxed over and above the fair market value. This was commonly ...

Nykaa, Paytm, Zomato: How to trade new-age companies post Q4 results?

Barring Fsn E-Commerce Ventures and Delhivery, Zomato, Paytm, and PB Fintech may rally up to 19%, show technical charts

Microsoft backed OpenAI closes $175 mn fund to empower other AI startups

Sam Altman-run OpenAI has closed a $175 million investment fund focused on empowering other AI startups, with backing from Microsoft and other investors.

Enabling policies catalysing ideas into successful global ventures: MoS IT

Startups and entrepreneurs in India have a universe of opportunities today ranging from space to AI and quantum to semiconductors, and the government is creating policy and legal frameworks that will act as an enabler for every young Indian to translate their ideas and vision into a successful global venture, Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar said on Wednesday. Chandrasekhar, who is the Minister of State for IT and Electronics, said the world of technology will continue to disrupt and shift, and added that constant innovation is the only real solution for longevity of ventures in an unending world of change and disruption. Every element of tech space today is filled with entrepreneurship success stories and capabilities, the Minister pointed out. "There is no absolutely no doubt in my mind that so far as opportunities go, from space to AI (Artificial Intelligence) to quantum to semiconductors there is a huge universe of opportunities in front of our startups and we are creating ..

PSU's start-up plans to employ AI, renewables in ship design, construction

The nearly 140-year-old Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE) Ltd is planning to rope in start-ups for employing artificial intelligence (AI) and renewable energy in ship design and construction, an official said on Wednesday. To identify and encourage the development of innovative solutions towards technological advances in shipbuilding by start-ups, the Kolkata-based defence PSU launched GRSE Accelerated Innovation Nurturing Scheme 2023 (GAINS), he said. It will help GRSE identify and encourage the development of innovative solutions to address present and emerging challenges in the ship design and construction industry, he added. It will be a two-stage process to help generate ideas, from which the promising ones may be selected and nurtured, the GRSE official said. "Artificial intelligence, renewable energy and energy efficiency as well as efficiency enhancement are focus areas for GRSE and are the thematic areas of GAINS 2023' challenge," he said. GAINS 2023 was ...

DGCA grants Design Organisation Approval to flying taxi startup ePlane

Electric flying taxi startup, The ePlane Company on Tuesday said the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) it has granted the Design Organisation Approval (DOA)

Battery-tech startup EMO Energy raises $1.2 million in seed funding round

Battery-tech startup EMO Energy on Tuesday said it has raised USD 1.2 million (nearly Rs 10 crore) in a seed funding round led by Transition VC and co-led by venture capital firm Gruhas. EMO offers battery packs for light electric vehicles (EVs) using its proprietary cell agnostic technology, ZEN provides fire safety and 20-minute fast charging among other features. It aims to implement battery-powered solutions in high power and high energy applications to aid decarbonisation, a release said. "Transition VC and Gruhas are the ideal early-stage partners for our mission as they're just as committed to implementing safe, reliable battery technology at scale. We believe that their insight, expertise, and perspective are going to be instrumental to our success as a startup," EMO Co-founder & CEO Sheetanshu Tyagi said. On its investment in EMO, Transition VC Co-founder & Managing Partner Mohammed Shoeb Ali said, "As the EV landscape in India continues to evolve, concerns pertaining

G20: An engagement group call for global definition for start-ups

It also called for a favourable policy environment for startups through tax incentives and has recommended enabling measures to ease the cross-border flow of capital across G20 nations

G20 recognises importance of inclusive decision-making to foster startups

An engagement group under the G20 recognised the importance of inclusive and collaborative decision-making processes to foster innovation and growth in the global startup community, India's Startup20 chair Chintan Vaishnav said on Monday. According to an official statement, the first draft of the core recommendation and policy directives of the policy communique is now available for public comment. Chintan further stressed the significance of widespread participation in shaping policies that will directly impact the startup ecosystem on a global scale, the statement said. The public comment period will remain open until May 27, 2023, during which the Engagement Group will closely evaluate the feedback received, the statement said, adding that the final version of the policy communique will incorporate the valuable inputs received from stakeholders across nations. Startup20 Engagement Group is a dedicated platform within the G20 framework that focuses on facilitating dialogue, ...