Page 11 - Startup

hBits gets Sebi's nod to launch Rs 500 cr Alternate Investment Fund

Startup hBits, a tech-enabled fractional ownership platform, on Thursday said it has received markets regulator Sebi's approval to set up alternate investment fund of Rs 500 crore for investment in commercial real estate. hBits helps investors in having fractional ownership of commercial assets. It has so far helped in acquisition of 9 rent-yielding properties. In a statement, the company said it has obtained regulatory approval from the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) for its CAT II Alternative Investment Fund (AIF). "This approval grants hBits the opportunity to establish an AIF fund with a substantial Assets Under Management (AUM) of Rs 500 crore," it added. Investors who participate in hBits' AIF can anticipate an impressive target Internal Rate of Return (IRR) of 18-20 per cent. CAT II AIF is designed to cater to pan-India Grade-A projects, with a primary focus on commercial real estate assets. This includes a wide range of commercial projects such as offices, .

Health-tech Mojocare closure: Rising gaps seen in corporate governance

Sources in the know said that after the financial irregularities came to fore, investors realised that the business model of Mojocare was not viable

India's space programme set to transform planet's connection: Report

Lauding India's ambitious space programme, The New York Times has said the country, currently witnessing an "explosive" growth in space-tech start-ups, is set to "transform the planet's connection to the final frontier" and can emerge as a "counterweight" to China. "When it launched its first rocket in 1963, India was a poor country pursuing the world's most cutting-edge technology. That projectile, its nose cone wheeled to the launchpad by a bicycle, put a small payload 124 miles above the Earth. India was barely pretending to keep up with the US and the Soviet Union. In today's space race, India has found much surer footing, the leading US newspaper said. The article titled 'The Surprising Striver in the World's Space Business' notes that India has become home to at least 140 registered space-tech start-ups, comprising a local research field that stands to transform the planet's connection to the final frontier." "The start-ups' growth has been explosive, leaping from five when th

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

BillionElectric raises $10 mn in seed fund round, launches e-MaaS platform

E-Maas (electric mobility as-a-service) platform BillionElectric on Tuesday announced its entry into the domestic market and said it has secured USD 10 million in a seed round of funding. The capital infusion, which is in the form of equity and lease funding, will be strategically allocated for the deployment of electric tarmac buses at the Bengaluru international airport; and development of a mid-mile heavy EV trucks platform, the company said in a statement. The company said it has already inked a contract to expand its services to 10 additional airports pan-India, following the initial launch in Bengaluru in collaboration with a partner. The funds raised will play a vital role in supporting and accelerating the expansion of operations, it said. "We announce the launch of E-Maas platform BillionElectric accompanied by the successful completion of our seed funding round. Over the last two years of product development and software innovation, this is our significant investment, sa

Salesforce to invest $500 mn in generative AI startups, unveils AI Cloud

Salesforce also announced AI Cloud, a suite of capabilities optimised for delivering trusted, open, and real-time generative experiences across all applications and workflows

Elizabeth Holmes objects to $250-a-amonth victim payments after prison

Federal prosecutors say there's a clerical error in a court filing that doesn't specify a schedule for Holmes to pay $452 million in restitution to victims of her massive fraud

We have $2.5 billion of uninvested dry powder: Peak XV Partners MD

It is a rebrand - Sequoia India and Southeast Asia is now Peak XV Partners. We are very bullish on India and Southeast Asia as a market and we are going to only double down

Byju's schedules call for lenders to discuss loan amendment proposal

Byju's didn't pay $40 million in interest due Monday on its $1.2 billion loan

Cloud-lending startup Lentra raises $27 million in extended Series B round

Tokyo-based Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG) and investment firm Dharana Capital led the funding

BlackRock cuts Byju's valuation again. This time by 62% to $8.4 billion

However, Byju's recently secured $250 million in fresh funding at a valuation cap of $22 billion

G20 members working to arrive at common framework to define startups

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 third meeting on June 3-4 in Goa. Briefing media about these meetings under India's G20 presidency, Startup20 India Chair and Mission Director Atal Innovation Mission, Niti Aayog, Chintan Vaishnav said that it may not be feasible to have a common definition of startups. "The meeting in Goa on June 3-4 will try to come up with a definition framework that is applicable across the countries of G-20, he told reporters here. The focus of the Goa meeting will be to build consensus on the Draft Policy Communique, which the Startup20 recently published recently seeking public views. After the Goa meeting, the group will finalise the communique and take it to the Gurugram meeting scheduled on July

BigBasket co-founder Abhinay Choudhari's LaundryMate raises $6.25 mn

Blume Founders Fund and several HNIs, including Ola co-founder Ankit Bhati, participated in the pre-Series A round

Woman-led edtech unicorn Guild lays off 172 employees for 'reorganisation'

he company had "identified the go-forward structure, roles, and skill sets needed to enable our strategy and create a more focused, seamless way of doing work at Guild," CEO told the staff

Homegrown edtech startup Teachmint lays off over 70 employees: Report

Led by edtech startups, over 25,000 employees have been laid off by nearly 100 startups in India including BYJU'S, Unacademy and Vedantu

ZestIoT raises $6.5 million in funding round led by IvyCap Ventures

Tech startup ZestIoT on Wednesday said it secured USD 6.5 million, about Rs 51 crore, in a funding round led by IvyCap Ventures. The round also saw participation from global venture fund Loyal VC. "The proceeds will be directed towards revolutionizing the aviation industry, enabling faster turnaround of aircraft and enhancing passenger experience," ZestIoT said in a statement. Founded in 2016 by Amit Sukhija, ZestIoT provides GroundRadar platform which brings together airlines, airports, and handlers to collaborate and increase the speed of aircraft turnaround while maintaining operational efficiency and safety. With the latest investment, ZestIoT will double down on deep tech AI-driven automation, expand its talent pool, expand internationally, and prioritise customer success. "This new investment will accelerate our mission to empower the aviation ecosystem with last-mile digitization and automation, delivering multiple use cases to airports, airlines, and handlers based on thei

Firefox developer Mozilla acquires fake review detection startup 'Fakespot'

Mozilla, the developer of the Firefox Internet browser, has acquired Fakespot -- a startup that helps users identify fake or unreliable reviews via a website and a browser extension

DPIIT undertaking third-party assessment of Startup India seed fund scheme

The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) is undertaking a third-party assessment of Startup India Seed Fund Scheme to see its impact on the ground, a senior government official said on Tuesday. The Rs 945-crore scheme was launched in April 2021. It aims to provide 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 eligible incubators across India. Joint Secretary in DPIIT Manmeet Nanda said that the scheme has benefited the startup community. "A third-party impact assessment of the startup India seed fund scheme is underway. It is being done by NIFM. They will do an independent review of how the scheme is actually benefited. They will evaluate the performance of the startups, incubators and see how this funding... led to greater opportunities and will also give us feedback on how we can

This startup is disrupting the QSR model with AI- & IoT-driven kitchen tech

Set up in a college hostel back in 2014, Mukunda Foods has sold its products to about 6,000 restaurants that make Chinese, South Indian, Mughlai and other genres

25 startups keen on signing MoUs with Centres of Excellence: TN govt

As many as 25 startups have evinced interest to sign memorandums of understandings with the Centres of Excellence that were inaugurated by Chief Minister M K Stalin, the Tamil Nadu government said on Sunday. The startups under the state government's 'Olir' (shine) initiative would be able to grow faster by utilising the state-of-the-art multi-sector Industry 4.0 Centres of Excellence at 'optimal costs' which has been established by the Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation (TIDCO) and Tamil Nadu Startup and Innovation Mission (StartupTN). Stalin had inaugurated the three Centres of Excellence -- Tamil Nadu Smart and Advanced Manufacturing Centre (TANSAM), Tamil Nadu Centre of Excellence for Advanced Manufacturing (TANCAM) and Tamil Nadu Advance Manufacturing Centre of Excellence (TAMCOE) -- in 2022. These specialised institutions offer startups with the know-how to accelerate their design, prototyping and development testing. At an event held recently, nearly 250 chief ...