Page 48 - Startups

Udaan extends ESOPs to all staff, removes 1-year cliff clause for vesting

All future ESOP allocations at the B2B e-commerce start-up Udaan, will vest every quarter. The one year cliff period is a widely prevalent industry practice for employees' ESOPs to start vesting.

Kenko Health raises $12 mn in Series A funding led by Sequoia Capital

Plans to utilise funds for acquiring customers, product development and building leadership team

Bizongo: B2B e-commerce start-up completes ESOP buyback worth $3.7 mn

Nearly 70 per cent of all eligible former and current employees of Bizongo opted to liquidate their ESOPs

Spinny acquires AI-powered car connectivity solutions' startup, Scouto

Founded by ex-racecar driver Akshay Gupta (CEO) and Shubham Sharma (CTO), Scouto has built an end-to-end connected car technology suite.

Indian AI-SaaS start-ups can create $500 bn of market value by 2030: Report

India's increasing role in the global AI market could create employment for around 4.5 million people, says a study by venture capital firm Stellaris and International Finance Corporation

Logistics start-up Xpressbees raises $300 mn to become 8th unicorn of 2022

There have been four unicorn fundraises this week (including Xpressbees)

Amazon India launches second season of start-up mentoring programme

The Global Selling Propel supports early-stage start-ups in the consumer products space to get into international markets.

Leadership coaching company Peakperformer raises $3mn in seed fund

The funds will be used for new markets, hiring talent and technology development.

Bugworks Research gets $18mn funding as it scales up clinical research

The Series B1 financing was led by Lightrock India

When founders need an 'Asoka moment'

Big tech has progressed humanity's most noble pursuits but has to grapple with destructive empathy deficit

B2B company Mintifi raises $40 mn in Series C funding to expand business

Mintifi works with over 100 leading brands that include Tata Motors, Bridgestone Tyres and Berger Paints for helping their supply chain

In-app gaming merchandising firm Rucept raises undisclosed seed fund

The company's products increase engagement, retention, and profitability for studios and creators.

Indian blockchain start-up Polygon bags $450 mn from Sequoia, Tiger Global

Polygon is an Ethereum scaling platform that enables developers to build scalable DApps (decentralised apps) with low transaction fees without sacrificing on security

Teenagers with out-of-the-box ideas tackling problems through start-ups

These young entrepreneurs are dispelling the myths associated with founders - that one has to be an engineer

Agritech startup EekiFoods raises $2 mn from Avaana Capital, others

It grows high-quality, residue-free Indian staple vegetables through its patent-pending Plant Growth System

Indirect Taxes: Union Budget 2022 is a transformative and progressive

The focus on India's startup ecosystem, the ease of doing business and green energy will shore up growth momentum and benefit multiple stakeholders.

States perfect their start-up pitch

The Delhi government is also rushing to prepare a start-up policy to promote new-age businesses

Direct Taxes: Budget doesn't touch slabs, offers relief to co-ops, startups

FM reduces MAT for cooperative societies to 15% from 18.5%, bring them on par with companies; relief for state govt staff, differently-abled persons

Industry, agri startups welcome Budget's focus on strengthening farm sector

The industry welcomed the Budget's focus on the agriculture sector, including developing infrastructure and expanding the role of technology.

Tech upskilling start-up Scaler completes $55-million funding

With this fresh round of funding, the total capital raised by Scaler Academy since January 2020 stands at $76.5 million with a valuation of $710 million