Ecosystem Weekly | 07th Aug’22

Ideal startups are tech-driven scalable businesses poised to achieve exponential growth. The building block of such an endeavor in the internet economy is – Data.

‘Data being the new oil’ would rank among the most cliched phrases, used by corporations, business leaders & governments alike.

On Wednesday, the union government announced the withdrawal of the ‘Data Protection Bill 2019’ (DPC 19) which it had introduced in the parliament two years ago. This decision turns the clock back to four years when serious public discourse on data & privacy began to emerge in India.

Let’s use the ‘data is the new oil’ corollary to examine this event. A century ago, when oil extraction would have become mainstream, with its commercial and personal applications transforming human habits or lifestyles, no one bothered to care about the CO2 emission levels. The reason being there was no knowledge of climate change. It was only in the early 90s, after decades of research on global climate models, and observable climate change patterns were noted, that the nations were alarmed about the bleak future. A global consensus emerged, a framework was evolved, and environmental legislations were passed. Thereby, some steps, however inadequate, were taken in the right direction.

All public policies — indeed, all actions by humans — have two kinds of effects: the effects that are intended, and visible; and unintended consequences, which are invisible.

Climate change is a classic example of an invisible effect of the oil. An unseen effect can be accounted for as a substantial long-term cost in the future. Data is at a similar cusp to oil. It has transformed human habits & lifestyles. With every passing minute, data generation & consumption is increasing manifold. But with the absence of a regulatory framework, we enhance the probability of incurring long-term costs.

The government would do well to bring a comprehensive data protection framework at the earliest. Here is a credible source to understand the regulatory nuances of the ‘new oil’, which are bound to impact businesses and personal lives in times to come

Startup Funding Summary

Dezerv, a Mumbai-based wealth management platform, has raised $20 Mn in Series A funding from Accel Partners, Elevation Capital, Matrix Partners, Whiteboard Capital and GTM Ventures – Read More

WebEngage, a Mumbai-based adtech startup, has raised $20 Mn in Series B funding from Singularity Growth Opportunities Fund, SWC Global, India Quotient, IAN Fund, Blume Ventures, Unmaj Corporation, NB Ventures, Shashwat Nakrani, Gopal Srinivasan and other HNIs – Read More

Twid, a Bangalore-based fintech startup, has raised $12 Mn in Series A funding from Rakuten Capital, Google, ICMG Partners, JAFCO Asia, January Capital, Surge, BEENEXT and Reddy Futures Fund – Read More

River, a Bangalore-based EV startup, has raised $11 Mn in Series A funding from Lowercarbon Capital and Toyota Ventures – Read More

Jify, a Mumbai-based fintech startup, has raised $10 Mn in Series A funding from Accel and Nexus Venture Partners – Read More

M&A Snippets

Mumbai-based banking firm Axis bank will acquire minority stake in Mumbai-based fintech platform CredAble for ~$7 Mn – Read More

Mumbai-based edtech startup upGrad has acquired Noida-based edtech startup Exampur for an undisclosed amount – Read More

Mumbai-based online beauty and personal care retailer Nykaa will acquire New Delhi-based lifestyle discovery platform Little Black Book for an undisclosed amount – Read More