Page 23 - Startups

Nearly 75% of women-led startups still unfunded, says Tracxn report

There are currently 117,254 startups in the country, according to data from the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade

Fund of Funds commits Rs 9,500 crore for startups, says Sidbi chairman

SIDBI chairman S Ramann on Friday said that the Fund of Funds for Start-ups (FFS) has committed Rs 9,500 crore for the promotion of new ventures in the country. The FFS was unveiled by the Prime Minister on January 16, 2016, in line with the Start-up India Action Plan. It has approved a corpus of Rs 10,000 crore for contribution to various Alternative Investment Funds (AIFs) registered with SEBI. Introduced with a focused objective of supporting development and growth of innovation-driven enterprises, FFS facilitates funding needs for start-ups through participation in the capital of SEBI-registered Alternative Investment Funds. The commitment of Rs 9500 crore has led to over 100 AIFs raising Rs 56,000 crore more, he said at TiEcon Delhi 2024 conference here. "It's really a staggering figure. The ability of all of you (AIFs) to go out and bring in that kind of money from your foreign Limited Partners (LPs) convince the Indians to become LPs," he said. Observing that AIFs space is

The Ayurveda Experience secures $27 mn in funding led by Jungle Ventures

The funds would help firm ramp up customer engagement on its platform, invest in product R&D

From Settl. to Colive, co-living startups find room to double capacity

Co-living operators such as Settl., Aurum PropTech, and Colive are raising funds from investors to expand their businesses

Google to temporarily restore apps after meeting Ashwini Vaishnaw

The app developers and Google representatives have also agreed to establish a forum to facilitate ongoing dialogue aimed at reaching a resolution within the next 100-120 days, Khanor informed

AI startup Anthropic challenges OpenAI and Google with new chatbot

Dario Amodei, Anthropic's chief executive and co-founder, said the new technology, called Claude 3 Opus, was particularly useful when analysing scientific data or generating computer code

Google Play Store delisting hits Indian app developer business by 40%

The parties concerned have sought a meeting with the government on Monday to discuss the contentious issue, sources aware of the development said

New startup policy with focus to set up 2K startups by 2027 launched in J-K

Jammu and Kashmir LG Manoj Sinha on Sunday launched a new start-up policy with a focus to establish 2,000 start-ups in the Union Territory by 2027. The 'New Jammu & Kashmir Start-up Policy- 2024-27' will also provide patent-related assistance, financial assistance for mentorship to recognised start-ups, facilitation for department for promotion of industry and internal trade (DPIIT) registration and additional need-based support to start-ups working in diverse fields, Sinha said in Jammu. On February 22, Jammu and Kashmir administrative council headed by the lieutenant governor approved the new start-up policy in supersession to the start-up policy notified in 2018. The new policy provides for providing entrepreneurship facilities to students, women and support to the entrepreneurs through government, private and high net worth individuals (HNIs) for setting up start-ups. Terming the launch of the new policy as a giant leap for start-ups and innovators, the lieutenant governor ...

US SEC investigates whether OpenAI investors were misled, says WSJ

The SEC's probe may not lead to any finding of wrongdoing by the parties involved. OpenAI selected two lawyers from the firm WilmerHale to conduct its investigation into the events

AIFs' actual investment at 65% of commitments: Sebi WTM Ananth Narayan

Along with a code of conduct, Sebi is working to define the specifics of what constitutes circumvention

Media firm Dailyhunt in advanced talks to acquire India's X alternative Koo

The deal could be finalised 'within weeks' and involves a share-swap agreement, a report released on Wednesday suggested

Extra caution to ensure fintechs don't function beyond rule: Peak XV MD

Meanwhile, he explained that India needs to have a culture of research and development (R&D) with more number of deeptech innovators and founders at startups

Meeting with FM 'consultative' and 'positive': fintech, startup executives

The finance minister added that companies must ensure strict compliance and adherence with regulations

Byju's EGM: Shareholders vote to remove CEO Raveendran and his family

More than 60 per cent of shareholders of edutech Byju's on Friday voted for removal of founder CEO Byju Raveendran and his family over alleged "mismanagement and failures" at what was once India's hottest tech startup, but the company dug in its heels, calling the voting done in the absence of founders as "invalid". Prosus - one of the six investors who had called the extraordinary general meeting (EGM) - in a statement said "shareholders unanimously passed all resolutions put forward for vote. "These included a request for the resolution of the outstanding governance, financial mismanagement and compliance issues at Byju's; the reconstitution of the board of directors, so that it is no longer controlled by the founder of T&L; and a change of leadership of the company." Raveendran and his family stayed away from the EGM, calling it "procedurally invalid." However, the outcome of the vote at the EGM will not be applicable until March 13, when the Karnataka High Court will next hear

Disney leans on AI in latest class of startup investments: Report

Walt Disney Co. chose three companies working on artificial intelligence to be among the five picked for its annual business incubator program

Indian startup ecosystem: Why more women entrepreneurs are needed

Despite being the world's third-largest startup hub, India shows a dishearteningly low percentage of startups led by women

Apples to bats, Kashmir's startup scene gains momentum with foreign funding

Entrepreneurs are also tapping into JK Startup Policy and Shark Tank India

Cactus Venture Partners raises Rs 630 cr fund to invest in startups

Cactus Venture Partners on Wednesday announced that it has raised Rs 630 crore for its maiden fund to invest in early growth stage startups. This is the final close for the fund, which will invest in climate technology, health technology and business-to-business software as a service company backed by purpose-driven entrepreneurs. CVP will focus on Series A and early Series B fundraising stages, targeting companies that have established Product-Market Fit (PMF), a statement said. The statement said 60 per cent of the capital commitments have come from domestic sources, while the remaining are from international limited partners from the US, Singapore, EU, and the UK. Domestic backers include SIDBI, Self-Reliant India Fund, and the UP Startup Fund, it added. Its general partner Rajeev Kalambi said the support received underscores the growing confidence in the Indian startup ecosystem. The current portfolio includes five companies, and CVP is targeting to make an additional 8-10 .

Edtech firm Byju's says investors have no voting rights on CEO change

Edtech major Think and Learn Pvt Ltd, which operates under the brand name BYJU'S, on Friday said investors have no voting rights on the CEO or management change as per the shareholder's agreement. At least six BYJU's investors have called for an Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) to address issues at the edtech major and oust founders from having control over the firm. "Think & Learn Pvt Ltd has noted with sorrow, statements from a select few investors calling for an EGM to replace founder and group CEO Byju Raveendran. Under these unfortunate circumstances, we would emphasise that the shareholder's agreement does not give them the right to vote on CEO or management change," the company said in a statement. The investors led by Dutch investment firm Prosus in the EGM notice requested the resolution of the outstanding governance, financial mismanagement and compliance issues and the reconstitution of the Board of Directors. "The resolutions being put forward for the EGM to ...

Shareholders Prosus, others call for ouster of Byju's founders in new salvo

'We are deeply concerned about the future stability of the company under its current leadership and with the current constitution of the Board,' the shareholders said in a statement