Page 5 - Startup

Civil servants need to keep themselves abreast with latest tech: PM Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi asked civil servants on Saturday to keep themselves abreast with latest technological developments so as to meet the rising standards and stressed the need for following a citizen-centric approach. Addressing an event here, the prime minister also suggested seeking help from startups, research agencies and youngsters for getting new ideas. With artificial intelligence, information processing is also becoming equally easy, making the citizenry informed and empowering them to keep a tab on all the activities of the government, he said. "So the civil servants need to keep themselves abreast with latest technological developments so as to meet the rising standards, wherein Mission Karmayogi can prove to be of help," Modi said after launching the "Karmayogi Saptah" -- National Learning Week -- at the Dr Ambedkar International Centre here. The National Programme for Civil Services Capacity Building or Mission Karmayogi was launched in September 2020 to foster

Former HDFC executives start home loan venture, bag Rs 800 cr from PEs

Weaver Services, a non-bank lender formed by former executives of erstwhile home finance major HDFC, on Thursday, announced that it has bagged Rs 800 crore in commitments from private equity funds. Gaja Capital and Lok Capital have made the commitment, which will be utilised for fuelling the company's pan-India plans and also for a Rs 267-crore acquisition of Capital India Home Loans, as per an official statement. "I am happy to see a team of former colleagues and partners unite to establish a housing finance company dedicated to addressing the needs of an under-served segment of society," Keki Mistry, former vice chairman and chief executive of HDFC, said in the statement. After securing necessary regulatory approvals and acquisition completion, Weaver is aiming to launch home loan products for self-employed individuals in the unorganised sector, particularly in Tier 2 and Tier 3 towns, the statement added. HDFC's former head of merger and acquisitions Satrajit Bhattacharya, and .

Zepto looks to raise $100 million, marking third funding round in 6 months

Quick commerce startup Zepto is seeking funding from domestic sources, including Indian family offices and high-net-worth individuals, as it prepares for its upcoming IPO

Jewellery retailer GIVA raises Rs 255 cr in Series B funding round

Jewellery retailer GIVA on Monday said it has raised Rs 255 crore in a funding round, as it looks to expand its offline presence and bolster its lab-grown diamond offerings. The extended Series B funding round was led by Premji Invest, Epiq Capital, and Edelweiss Discover Fund, with participation from GIVA's top management. GIVA plans to use the funds for expansion across India and to enable strategic investor exits, the company said in a statement. The round facilitated partial exits for early investors A91 Partners and India Quotient. "Our focus remains steadfast on holding our position as the number one silver jewelry player in the market, while further fortifying our lab-grown diamond segment," GIVA Founder and CEO Ishendra Agarwal said. The company also aims to broaden its gold offerings and consolidate its market presence, Agarwal added. GIVA did not disclose the new valuation or the size of the stakes sold by existing investors.

Logistics automation firm Elixia raises $1 mn in funding round led by JIIF

Logistics automation startup Elixia has raised USD 1 million (about Rs 8.4 crore) in a funding round led by JITO Incubation and Innovation Foundation (JIIF). Other investors include Motilal Oswal (Motilal Oswal Financial Services), Vimal Shah (Bidco Oil), Sparsh Jain (JG Group), Vinod Dugar (RDB Group) and Vimal Khinvasara (WMA Group), Ashok Shah (vtransgroup) and Amit Chandwar (K M Trans Logistics). The company aims to use the new funding to expand in the Middle East, offering advanced logistics solutions for local businesses. This investment will also enhance their product offerings by integrating Generative AI and Machine Learning to boost multimodal visibility and operational efficiency, the company said in a statement. *** Robotics startup Perceptyne raises USD 3 mn * Deeptech robotics startup Perceptyne has raised USD 3 million (about Rs 25 crore) in a funding round led by Endiya Partners and Yali Capital. Whiteboard Capital and other angel investors also participated in t

Ex-Amazon executive's startup Auger raises $100 mn for supply chain

Auger will provide a software-as-a-service platform which uses an artificial intelligence operating system along with automation to provide real-time data

3 startups look to raise $400 mn as US biotech IPOs gain traction

September was the busiest month for healthcare IPOs this year, Dealogic data showed. Strong debuts by companies such as BioAge Labs and Bicara Therapeutics have also encouraged listings

STPI focuses on tech startups, GCCs; 10 new parks in smaller cities soon

The new parks are expected to provide more than just office spaces; they will be equipped with high-performance computing infrastructure, including cloud and GPU services

Startup firm Whatfix raises $125 mn in Series E round led by Warbug Pincus

Supporting 80+ Fortune 500 companies, Whatfix registered top-decile performance with a 4.5x increase in annual recurring revenue since 2021 round, with new products contributing 15 per cent of revenue

Visa processing platform Atlys raises $20 million in Series B funding

The fresh capital will fuel Atlys' expansion strategy, empowering the company to enhance its product and engineering capabilities, enter new markets, and scale operations globally

Suniel Shetty-backed zero-commission food delivery app Waayu Joins ONDC

Launched in May 2023, the app has partnered with over 3,000 restaurants across cities like Mumbai, Pune, Jaipur, Bengaluru, and Hyderabad

US justice dept says Google saw ad startup AdMeld as threat and bought it

The purchase of the company was portrayed by the Justice Department in its monopolisation trial against the Alphabet Inc. unit as an example of so-called killer acquisitions

FlexiLoans secures Rs 290 crore from global, domestic investors

The firm is targeting to disburse around Rs 5,000 crore in loans in FY25

BigEndian Semiconductors raises $3 mn in funding led by Vertex Ventures

India's semiconductor sector, despite being home to 20-25 per cent of the global design talent, has historically lacked a significant presence in the global market

Bluestone raises Rs 900 cr in pre-IPO round, valuation doubles to $970 mn

Rs 900 crore raised by Bluestone includes Rs 600 crore in primary capital infusion, while the remaining Rs 300 crore came from secondary share sales

Tech and startup groups push back against licensing regime for OTTs

Write to government ahead of public consultations later this week

Cross-border payments fintech Skydo raises $5 mn from Elevation Capital

The firm had previously raised $5.2 million in a seed round led by Elevation Capital in 2022

Truva raises $3 mn in seed funding led by Stellaris, aims to scale ops

Truva is a proptech firm catering to home buying and selling. Founded in 2023 by Puneet Arora, Monil Singhal, and Ankit Gupta, Truva is dedicated to delivering a seamless home-buying experience

Uttar Pradesh to pave way for a million micro startups, enterprises

The state government will provide industry training and necessary funding to almost 100,000 youths annually for the next 10 years

SoftBank VF1 reports $544 mn loss on Paytm exit, gains $65 mn on Zomato

The Japanese conglomerate recorded a $394 million gross gain from its $199 million investment in Policybazaar, and gain of $285 million on its $397 million investment in Zomato