Page 19 - Startups

Majority of Indian startups eyeing IPOs in 2024 struggle with losses

Of the 12 startups looking to launch IPOs this year, eight have incurred a cumulative loss of Rs 8,000 crore, including Swiggy, and Ola Electric

2023 sees 15% more start-up/ tech layoffs than 2022, majority in edtech

On average, at least 45 people lost their jobs daily based on data collated by the website. This is 15.3 per cent higher than the 14,224 layoffs recorded in the previous year

5 startups receive Rs 6.5 cr equity investment from Tamil Nadu govt

Five startups engaged in various sectors, including electronics manufacturing and healthcare, have received funding of Rs 6.5 crore from the Tamil Nadu government. The sanction of equity investments in the companies was issued under the Tamil Nadu SC/ST Startup Fund by Chief Minister M K Stalin at an event here organised by StartupTN, a press release said on Thursday. Accordingly, Ecopmin Technologies, which is engaged in electronics manufacturing, received Rs 3 crore while Adhiban Farms Pvt Ltd, which deals with agriculture technology, secured funding of Rs 2.2 crore. Healthcare player COEO Wellness Pvt Ltd was granted Rs 60 lakh while Mannvasanai Traditional Food Pvt Ltd attracted an investment of Rs 45 lakh. Nanjil Nadu Kani Tribal Women Creations Pvt Ltd, which is an active player in the food and agriculture industry, received a Rs 25 lakh grant. The investments allow the companies to take up expansion work besides meet their capital requirements, the release added. Early thi

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 ..

Sonic Lamb Headphones review: Sensational sound in a no-frill package

Sonic Lamb Headphones deliver a distinctive audio experience. Potential consumers should contemplate these if their priority lies with audio quality over other attributes in their choice of headphones

Zerodha's Nithin Kamath joins Centre's reconstituted startup advisory panel

Kamath said that he was excited to join the council and that India needs to unlock its domestic capital to nurture startups

Think and Learn presents edtech Byju's 3.0 proposal to investors at AGM

Byju's says FY22 earnings were approved at the AGM as well as the reappointment of BDO as the statutory auditors of the company.

Lifting startups from the governance hole

Founders must prioritise governance from the outset rather than deferring it until just before the IPO if they want to create long-term value

Venture capital funds backing fewer women startups than men-led ones: Irani

Union Minister Smriti Irani on Friday hit out at venture capital funds for not backing women-led innovative startups, and instead taking bets on entities founded by men. The Union Minister for Women and Child Development said there are many women innovators in science and technology, but rued that their strides are not getting translated into commercial ventures. "Even today, risk taking by VCs for women-led initiatives which are based on innovation is far lower as compared to those by men," Irani said, addressing an event organised by MentorMyBoard. One has to check how many women do not become a part of the corporate boardrooms despite being innovative, she said. Irani acknowledged that her recent statement in Parliament opposing period leaves for women has caused an "uproar", but stuck to her stance saying allowing so will have deep concerns on privacy. "Can you imagine a scenario where the HR head of your company knows your menstrual cycle every month. Can you imagine the scen

Alternative debt provider BlackSoil sees 44% jump in investment in 2023

Bansal also said that the risk is getting blurred between equity and debt as entrepreneurs are unable to raise funds via equity

Cloud-lending startup Lentra launches 3 AI products for financial sector

The company launched AI products, namely Lentra Convo, Lentra Insights, and Lentra Wingman, to serve lenders with solutions that enhance the lending processes

Google supports women-led AI startups in tech innovation, sustainability

Google for Startups Accelerator programme is designed to enable women entrepreneurs who are using technology to solve complex problems and are making a positive impact on society

How Varun and Ghazal Alagh's Mamaearth became profitable D2C empire

Celebrating seven years of success, the company eyes future growth with a diversified portfolio and strong offline presence

India to create AI computing capacity for start-ups, researchers: Minister

Capacity will be created by the public sector and separately in collaboration with private companies, says Rajeev Chandrasekhar

Indian-American VC urges govt to reduce rules, regulations for startups

A top Indian-American venture capitalist from Silicon Valley has urged India to create a short-term inter-ministerial commission to review the rules and regulations governing the startups to facilitate them to be the next Google and Facebook of the world. The (Indian) government should focus on reducing the compliance burden on startups and businesses, Venkatesh Shukla, the former president of TiE Silicon Valley, told PTI in a recent interview here in California. I think the most important thing he could do is to create either a short-term commission or a committee, inter-ministerial, inter-departmental, to take a fresh look at the rules and regulations governing startups across all departments and figure out what makes sense and what is just a nuisance without adding a whole lot of value to the country, he said. A seed-stage investor, Shukla is the founder and general partner of Monta Vista Capital and has a proven track record of leading companies through rapid growth in his roles

CoinSwitch unveils umbrella brand PeepalCo; aims for wealth-tech expansion

The company said the leaders of each business segment will have independent operational and financial accountability

IPO-bound Oyo elevates Rakesh Kumar as new chief financial officer

Kumar will replace Abhishek Gupta, who will continue with Oyo in "an advisory and mentorship capacity

Business booms on sidelines of COP28 as 'startup village' clinch deals

The executive agreed to a demonstration of the company's spray-on surface coating that breaks down air pollutants and repels dirt to treat its solar panel arrays

ONDC poised to democratise e-com, generate $250-300 bn in GMV: Redseer

Anticipating the future, Redseer expects the next wave of DPI-driven opportunities in retail, insurance, healthcare, and agritech

IN-SPACe launches seed fund scheme for startups using space technology

The Indian National Space Promotion and Authorization Centre (IN-SPACe) on Monday announced the launch of a seed fund scheme for start-ups operating in the area of urban development and disaster management by using space technology. As part of the scheme, selected start-ups will receive seed funding for transforming an original idea into a prototype using space technology, ISRO facility support including Earth Observation (EO) data for validation of the concept, mentorship support, and access to data algorithm as transfer of technology from Department of Science (DoS), according to a statement. The scheme has the provision of providing financial assistance of up to Rs 1 crore in addition to mentorship support, training and networking opportunities, it said. IN-SPACe is the nodal agency in DoS, responsible for promoting, enabling, authorising as well as supervising space activities of the Non-Government Entities (NGEs). The scheme will provide opportunities for NGEs that leverage sp