Page 12 - Startups In India

PhysicsWallah FY23 revenue up 3.4x, profitable for third consecutive year

PW's revenue from operations rose to Rs 771.76 crore during the fiscal year ended March 2023, compared to Rs 232.47 crore in the previous fiscal year and Rs 24.6 crore in FY21

Startups hope for strong growth in 2024 after unicorns, funds fall in 2023

Funding winter and corporate governance woes separated the men from the boys in the country's startup space in 2023 that saw funds into the segment tapering to just around USD 8 billion. All said, investors are hopeful of strong growth of the maturing startup ecosystem in the new year. Edtech and health tech segments that grew exponentially during the pandemic plunged into an abyss of financial uncertainties, with several firms shuttering their business, and valuation of prominent players like BYJU'S and PharmEasy plummeting 85-90 per cent. Indian startups are estimated to have laid off over 15,000 employees in 2023. Startups with sustainable business models as well as the well-capitalised ones are expected to weather the current turmoil. And the horizon in 2024 is expected to be "exciting" as well as "challenging". Venture capital firm Lightspeed, which has invested in firms like BYJU'S, Magicpin and OYO, said a high cycle or a low cycle of two years does not really impact the ..

Escrowpay raises $6 million in fresh funding from existing investors

Escrowpay, which offers digital escrow platforms, has raised USD 6 million in fresh funding from existing investors. The latest funding is through the series-A round and is part of the ongoing round targeting USD 15 million. The company recently secured the first digital escrow regulatory fintech authorization from the IFSCA in the Gift City. Currently it serves over 3,000 clients, including SMEs, unicorns, listed enterprises, and emerging digital-first businesses. Escrowpay has processed transactions exceeding Rs 15,000 crore. The fresh capital injection will be strategically utilized to accelerate its initiatives, support key growth areas, and foster innovation within the payments ecosystem, its MD Ashwin Chawwla said in a statement on Wednesday.

EV financing startup RevFin raises Rs 115 cr in Series B funding round

EV financing digital platform RevFin on Tuesday said it has raised USD 14 million (Rs 115 crore) in Series B funding round. Omidyar Network led the round with a USD 5 million investment, joined by the Asian Development Bank, Companion Capital Ltd, and existing investors Green Frontiers Capital and LC Nueva, the company said in a statement. With this funding, Revfin's total capital raised through debt and equity stands at Rs 625 crore, it said. Angel investors such as Dhiiraj Jain (Redcliffe Labs), Anuraag Jaipuria, Ruchi Rans Jaipuria, Rishi Kajaria, Let's Venture Angel Fund, Harash Jain, and others supported this journey, Revfin said. "This funding will empower us to further enhance the EV ecosystem and contribute to the growth of all types of electric vehicles in India. Our unwavering commitment to revolutionise digital lending remains strong, and we look forward to the opportunities ahead," Revfin Founder and CEO Sameer Aggarwal said. The latest capital infusion represents Revf

Byju's in talks with investors to raise $300 mn in return for more controls

Shareholders call for board rejig so that they can have a bigger say in ops

InCred becomes 2nd unicorn of 2023 after raising $60 mn in funding round

Fintech firm InCred has turned unicorn after raising USD 60 million in a funding round from new and existing investors. Following the fresh capital infusion, InCred has been valued at USD 1.04 billion and has become the second company to gain unicorn status this year, the company said in a statement. The Series D round was led by Ranjan Pai of MEMG, who invested USD 9 million followed by Ravi Pillai, Chairman at RP Group of Companies, and Ram Nayak, Global Co-Head of the Investment Bank and Head of Fixed Income & Currencies at Deutsche Bank, who invested USD 5.4 million and USD 1.2 million, respectively. The fundraise also saw participation from several large ultra-high-net worth individuals and Family Offices, as well as institutional investors like Varanium Capital Advisors and Sattva Group, it said. "This funding marks a significant milestone in our journey and takes us into the ranks of Unicorns. We are deeply grateful for the overwhelming support our investors have ...

Swiggy unveils Pockethero, food delivery for budget-conscious customers

Pockethero offers free delivery and up to 60 per cent discounts to ensure significant customer savings

Genrobotics chosen among top three Indian startups at global AI summit

Genrobotics, a Kerala-based startup acclaimed for leveraging technology for social change, has been adjudged among top three Artificial Intelligence (AI) startups of India at the Global Partnership on Artificial Intelligence (GPAI) Summit 2023 organised by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology in New Delhi. Genrobotic's G-gaiter Robotic Technology won the award in 'AI Game Changers' category at the December 12-14 summit held at Bharat Mandapam, inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, a statement said on Saturday. S Krishnan, Secretary, Ministry of Electronics and IT presented the award to Afsal Muttikkal, Regional Director, Genrobotics Medical and Mobility and Arun Dominic, Regional Business Development Manager. Abhishek Singh, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Electronics and IT, was also present, it said. Genrobotics was honoured for its outstanding innovation in healthcare by developing G Gaiter --- an advanced AI-powered robotic gait trainer. G Gaiter tra

India has $20 bn dry powder waiting to be invested: Peak XV MD Anandan

Says investors are looking to invest unallocated capital in sectors like AI

Indian startups' funding winter persists, 72% decline in 2023: Report

The report highlighted that the funding declined across all stages, with late-stage funding dropping over 73%. Strong IPO momentum, and investors' interest in space tech were a silver lining

GenAI startup Sarvam AI raises $41 mn in funding round led by Lightspeed

Company says it is developing product that can be used for training custom AI models or as an enterprise-grade platform

Govt recognises 114,902 entities as startups as on Oct 31: Goyal tells LS

The government has recognised 1,14,902 entities as startups as on October 31, Parliament was informed on Wednesday. These eligible firms are allowed to seek fiscal incentives under the Startup India Action Plan, which was launched in January 2016, and that includes income tax exemption for three years. Replying to a question in the Lok Sabha, Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal said the action plan includes 19 items spanning across areas such as simplification and handholding, funding support and incentives and industry-academia partnership and incubation. The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) "has recognised 1,14,902 entities as startups as on 31st October 2023," he said. Replying to a separate question, Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Anupriya Patel said subdued demand in major export destinations such as the US, Hong Kong, the Middle East and China and availability of raw materials at competitive rates were some of the challenges faced by

Expecting direct listing of cos in GIFT City by April 2024: IFSCA chief

The industry players say that the new avenue will help startups and unlisted companies access global capital

Wipro Consumer Care-Ventures launches Rs 250 cr fund for startups

'Fund II' to bolster consumer startups in India, SE Asia with focus on innovation and growth

How Amarinder Singh's Clove Dental is standardising India's oral healthcare

The startup sets ambitious target, plans to increase clinics to 1,000 and serve 3 million patients annually by FY24

Lessons from ED's crackdown on Byju's, Xiaomi to strengthen compliance

Experts are also of view that severe fines, penalties will push companies and startups to ensure their adherence to the regulatory framework when accepting foreign investments and issuing remittances

Funding winter for Indian startups likely to end by March: Experts

Investors attending the TiE Global Summit (TGS) exuded confidence that funding winter for Indian startups will end by March but said budding entrepreneurs seeking funds must come up with credible plans to generate returns on investments, as fancy valuations will no longer impress global fund managers. Funding winter, which refers to the drying up of funds for startups, remained the overarching theme at the recently concluded TGS 2023, the eighth edition of the flagship event organised by TiE. The event, held in conjunction with the Singapore Fintech Festival, was attended by over 2,000 participants, including experts, fund managers, thought leaders and startups. As regards India, We Founder Circle co-founder Gaurav VK Singhvi said, "Things would improve for Indian startups by March next year". He said that global investors are sitting on funds and once the "uncertainty" with regard to geopolitics, especially the Ukraine war and the Middle East crisis, gets over, the "funds would st

Gig worker earnings surge 48% during 2023 festival season: PickMyWork

PickMyWork claims to offer its gig workers three times higher earnings per hour compared to "traditional delivery gigs."

India-US ink pact to improve cooperation among startups, promote innovation

India and the US have signed an agreement to promote innovation through increasing cooperation among startups, address regulatory hurdles, and share best practices on fundraising by entrepreneurs, an official statement said on Wednesday. The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on enhancing innovation ecosystems through an innovation handshake under the framework of India-US Commercial Dialogue was signed on November 14 in San Francisco. Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal is in San Francisco. The commerce and industry ministry said that the MoU was signed at an industry roundtable meeting. Indian industry players, CEOs from major ICT companies, executives from venture capital firms, and founders of startups in the critical and emerging technology space participated and discussed ways to enhance US-India technology collaboration. "The MoU is signed with the objective to connect the two sides' dynamic startup ecosystems, address specific regulatory hurdles to cooperation, shar

Agri robots to eye for lunar rovers: Indian deep tech startups come of age

The key to their cutting-edge innovations can be attributed to the rise of emerging technologies including AI, big data, and the Internet of Things (IoT) and their accelerated adoption across sectors