Page 8 - Start- Ups

Indian family offices change startup bets after funding peaked in 2021

Consumer, retail and transportation and logistics technology startups have been the largest beneficiaries

Indian family offices change startup bets after funding peaked in 2021

Consumer, retail and transportation and logistics technology startups have been the largest beneficiaries

Startup layoffs down 62% in 2024 so far; likely to step up hiring

The full year 2023 saw a staggering 16,398 layoffs, according to layoffs tracking platform Layoffs.fyi

Indian deeptech startups count surges in 2023, funding drops 77%: Nasscom

India saw a significant surge in deeptech startups in 2023 with 480 new ventures emerging, making it the third largest pool globally, a report said. However, the report by technology industry body nasscom and global consulting firm Zinnov highlighted the worrying trend of a funding winter, posing a major challenge for these startups. 'India's DeepTech Dawn: Forging Ahead' report also said funding for scaling, talent attraction and retention, and global expansion are the top 3 challenges faced by startups in deeptech innovation. "India currently has 3600+ deeptech startups, out of which 480 were established in 2023 itself, nearly 2X more than the number of deeptech startups established in 2022," the report said. But India's deeptech promise is stunted by a funding gap. "Compared to startups across some other leading deeptech ecosystems, Indian deeptech startups receive a fraction of the median investment at every stage. This lack of funding restricts the ability of some promising .

UK takes top spot in Europe, Israel for GenAI startups, says Accel

Accel analysed 221 GenAI startups and found that 30 per cent were founded in the UK, 14 per cent in Germany, and 13 per cent in Israel

Commerce Ministry to seek more funds for startups in upcoming Budget

The commerce and industry ministry may seek more funds for startups in the forthcoming Budget, to be announced by the new government, to promote innovation in the country, an official has said. The new government may announce the Budget for 2024-25 in July. The seed fund scheme, announced in April 2021 with a corpus of Rs 945 crore, will end in 2025, and the ministry may consider proposing a new scheme on similar lines. The seed fund scheme was aimed at providing financial assistance to startups for proof of concept, prototype development, product trials, market-entry, and commercialisation. The fund was divided into four years for providing seed funding to eligible startups through incubators across India. Easy availability of capital is essential for entrepreneurs at the early stages of growth of an enterprise, and the capital required at this stage often presents a make-or-break situation for startups with good business ideas, another official said. There are over 1.17 lakh ..

Unacademy cofounder and CTO Hemesh Singh quits the edtech company

After almost a decade of building Unacademy, Singh has decided to move from an executive role to an advisory role

India's strong growth leading to trend of 'reverse flipping' for startups

India's strong growth is leading to a trend of 'reverse flipping' as domestic startups that once used to move abroad for capital access and tax benefits are now returning home, a top government official has said. Commerce Secretary Sunil Barthwal also said that the digital economy along with emerging technologies like AI and the rise of data centres were key to future Indian growth. He was speaking at an event in Singapore organised by the commerce ministry to showcase various investment opportunities in India. It was organised on the sidelines of the inaugural Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF) Clean Economy Investor Forum in Singapore. Barthwal stressed how India's growth rate is nearly double that of other emerging market economies. "He remarked on how this strong growth is also leading to a trend of 'reverse flipping', where Indian startups that once moved abroad for capital access and tax benefits are now returning home," the ministry said in a statement on

Streamlining business procurement: Inside ProcMart's B2B Marketplace

The startup streamlines indirect procurement by centralising the process onto a single platform, serving as the single point-of-contact between businesses and suppliers

Niro hits Rs 1,000 crore disbursement milestone with fintech partnerships

The uptick in credit disbursements follows closely on the heels of the firm reaching its previous milestone of Rs 500 crore in August last year

Number of Agri startups jumps multifold to 7,000 in last 9 years: Report

The number of startups in agriculture and allied sectors has risen to over 7,000 in the last nine years due to a conducive business environment and government support, a report said. Before 2014-15, there were less than 50 startups in agriculture and allied sectors, according to a report titled 'Transformation of India's Agriculture' released by the Federation of All India Farmer Associations (FAIFA) on Wednesday. The Department of Agriculture & Farmers' Welfare (DA&FW) is implementing the 'Innovation and Agri-Entrepreneurship Development' programme under Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY) from 2018-19 to promote innovation and agri-entrepreneurship by providing financial support and nurturing an incubation ecosystem. Five Knowledge Partners (KPs) and 24 RKVY- Agribusiness Incubators (R-ABIs) have been appointed by the Department for incubation of startups and implementation of this programme across the country during 2018-19, which is sufficient to cater to current ...

Ola founder's latest bet on 'cloud' and free offer shakes tech industry

The cloud service is available to developers who are presently using Microsoft's Azure, with the condition that they won't return to Azure again

Simpl hands over pink slips to over 100 employees in a bid to cut costs

Simpl says it has laid out a 'comprehensive growth plan' while having a 'razor-sharp focus on profitability'

SoftBank heads $1 billion funding for UK self-driving startup Wayve

The latest funding brings Wayve's total funds raised to just over $1.3 billion and marks the largest investment yet in a British startup focused on artificial-intelligence technology

BlackSoil's FY24 disbursement grows 40%; firm exited 18 deals, entered 36

The company's year-on-year disbursement grew by 110%, and its Assets Under Management (AUM) increased by nearly 50 per cent year-on-year

SaaS startup Plotline raises $2.6 mn in seed round from Elevation Capital

SaaS (software-as-a-service) startup Plotline has raised USD 2.6 million (Rs 20.9 crore) in a seed funding round from venture capital firm Elevation Capital. The company plans to use the capital to expand overseas. Based in San Francisco and Bengaluru, Plotline serves industry majors in the likes of Dream11, Khatabook, BharatPe, CoinDCX, Niyo, Step, and Kredivo. "Strategically deploying its USD 2.6 million seed round to bolster key functions across R&D (research and development), marketing, and sales, Plotline is now looking ahead to drive expansion in the US, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia-Pacific regions," the company said in a statement.

Meat startup Licious eyes IPO in 24 months, 500 stores in 5 years

The meat and seafood startup is looking to achieve Ebitda profitability by March this year

Startups grew over 300 times in ten years: Union Minister Jitendra Singh

From just about 350 startups in 2014, their number in India grew over 300 times in the past ten years after Narendra Modi took over as the Prime Minister, Union Minister Jitendra Singh said on Sunday. He said the country today has the 3rd largest startup ecosystem globally and is home to the fastest-growing unicorns. "For the first time in the history of independent India, Modi as PM made a painstaking and conscious effort to educate the youth of this country that employment is not confined only to a government job and he has promoted new avenues of livelihood which may be more lucrative than a government job," Singh, the Minister of State for Personnel, told PTI here. From just about 350 startups in the year 2014, startups in India grew over 300 times in ten years after Narendra Modi took over as the Prime Minister, he said. Singh further said, PM Modi unleashed India's space research by opening up the hitherto conservative and secluded sector. "India has literally reached for th

Food delivery major Swiggy gets one step closer to $1.25 billion IPO

The company is also looking to raise around Rs 750 crore from anchor investors ahead of its IPO, which is expected later this year

HR tech startup Rippling valued at $13.5 bn after latest funding round

The round was led by tech investment firm Coatue with participation from Peter Thiel's Founders Fund, Greenoaks, and other existing investors