Page 4 - Unicorn Companies

Byju's and lenders postpone legal battle, aim for out-of-court settlement

The parties are working on reaching a forbearance agreement, and discussions are still ongoing

Crypto unicorn CoinSwitch lays off 44 employees citing role redundancy

The company has 519 employees, according to its LinkedIn profile. This would mean around 8 per cent of CoinSwitch's workforce has been shown the door

With Zepto becoming first unicorn of 2023, is funding winter about to thaw?

Quick commerce startups hope to race towards better days. Can they crack the execution code?

Weekend Bites: Over the moon, thaw in funding winter, India's chess moment

In which we munch over the week's platter of news and views

Zepto becomes first unicorn this year, raises $200 mn at $1.4 bn valuation

This comes amid a funding slowdown where startups, across the board, have found it challenging to raise capital

Top headlines: MSCI global index shuffle, HCLTech signs deal with Verizon

Business Standard brings you the top headlines at this hour

How Indian unicorns are forging profits out of funding winter's ice

"Given that the market is now demanding disciplined growth, well-run companies should be able to demonstrate profitability with the cash on hand," says Pranav Pai, founding partner at 3one4 Capital

Green shoots of profitability finally emerging among Startups in India

Many companies such as Zomato, Meesho, and MobiKwik have now turned profitable while others like Paytm, Delhivery, and Zepto have showcased a clear path to profitability

Gaming unicorn MPL lays off 350 employees, revisits office infra costs

The move comes at a time when the GST Council has recommended imposing a 28 per cent tax on full deposit value, with no distinction made between games of skill and chance

Profitable Indian unicorns to grow from 30 in FY22 to 55 in FY27: Report

Their total loss is expected to reduce from $7.1 bn to $1.9 bn, says Redseer

Zepto 'in talks' to raise funding, may become India's 1st unicorn this year

Quick-delivery firm said to be looking to raise $150 mn in a funding round that will value it at $1.3 bn

100,000 unicorns, 1-2 mn startups doable: Chandrasekhar on tech opportunity

India's success with innovation, entrepreneurship, electronics manufacturing as well as its digital clout is just the "tip" of a massive growth opportunity before the country, and the nation has the ability to scale to one lakh unicorns and almost 10-20 lakh startups in future, according to Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar. Chandrasekhar -- who completes two years as Minister of State for Electronics and IT -- said the India Stack and the digital public infrastructure built by the country, have demonstrated to the world how technology can be deployed for good, to benefit people, society and communities, and the country at large. The extent of digitalisation of government, governance and economy is going to "accelerate even more", Chandrasekhar promised. The last two years have seen Chandrasekhar keeping a razor-sharp focus on driving India's digital agenda and work on measures to promote electronics and semiconductor manufacturing in the country. He has also been deeply involved

The Byju's story: What is ailing India's once booming start-up sector?

While Byju's has stumbled and may well fall, one must hope that most start-ups learn to thrive in the changed context. The economy would be much less vibrant without them, writes T N Ninan

Funding woes continue: Only 3 unicorns this year, 20% startups downgraded

This is an index of the most valuable private equity or venture capital-funded companies in Indiafounded after 2000, ranked according to their latest funding round valuation.

8 gazelles demoted to cheetahs, 9 out of Hurun Unicorn Index 2023

India's future unicorns are currently worth $57bn, with an increase of 16% as Compared to last year - mainly driven by addition of new future unicorns to the list

Unicorn list declines in 2023, indicates slowdown in funding: Hurun report

New additions in the coveted unicorn list declined sharply in 2023, indicating a slowdown in the Indian startup ecosystem, a report said on Tuesday. India added only three unicorns startups having a valuation of over USD 1 billion in 2023 against 24 in the year-ago period, as per the ASK Private Wealth Hurun Indian Future Unicorn Index 2023. The slowdown in unicorn additions is indicative of a "slowdown in India's startup ecosystem", the report -- which comes amid a slowdown in investor interest in what is being termed as "funding winter" -- said. The overall number of unicorns also declined to 83 from 84 in the year-ago period. ASK Private Wealth's chief executive and managing director Rajesh Saluja said unsustainable business models adopted by startups have led to a dip in valuations but stressed that funding to the right companies continues. Hurun India's chief researcher Anas Rahman Junaid, however, said that the Indian startup story has high potential and he sees the overall

A hard lesson for Byju's Raveendran amid mass firings, delayed results

The former teacher from the southern state of Kerala got carried away. In 2015, just as a smartphone revolution was about to kick off in India, he launched a learning app

Unicorn CFOs: US leans more on outside hires than India, has older set too

Study by WalkWater Talent Advisors also points to gender disparity, with women CFOs only leading 4% of Indian Unicorns, compared to 17% in US

Physics Wallah to acquire 50% stake in Xylem for Rs 500 cr in 3 years

Unicorn edtech firm Physics Wallah has entered into a strategic partnership with Kerala-based edtech firm Xylem Learning, under which it plans to invest Rs 500 crore over a period of next three years, the company said on Sunday. The partnership is aimed to strengthen the presence of Physics Wallah (PW) in the southern market. "This partnership with Xylem Learning fills me with immense excitement and pride. It not only aligns with our shared vision of providing quality education to all but also propels us closer to our strategic goal of becoming the leading education platform in South India," PW Founder and CEO Alakh Pandey said in a statement. The partnership involves strategic equity and cash investments in Xylem and scaling up operations. "In three years we will invest Rs 500 crore to propagate the brave and unique "XYLEM model of Hybrid Learning" to other adjoining sister states - it is a special result-oriented plan of learning which has specially impressed me. "To do this it

Climate tech push: EV start-ups set to power India's next unicorn club

Corner a hefty chunk of investments despite ongoing funding winter; at present, Ola is the only unicorn among 970 homegrown enterprises in the EV space