VP Weekly | 10 Feb '19

Mukesh Ambani to invest $1.4 Bn in Bengal, will help e-commerce expansion
Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani will invest $1.4 Bn in West Bengal, a part of which would fund the company’s new e-commerce venture. Read More
SoftBank to invest $440 mn in Indiabulls Housing-backed OakNorth Bank
Japanese internet conglomerate SoftBank Group Bank is investing $440 Mn in the UK-based OakNorth Bank, which counts Indiabulls Housing Finance Ltd as a shareholder. Read More

Startup News Snippets

M&A News

Editor’s Weekly Pick

By now almost everyone has heard about the so-called Angel Tax ‘terrorism’ by IT dept against Travel Khaana & others. Though some relief was announced before, there is more expected.

 –Abhishek

Market Pulse

  • Indonesian ride-hailing company Go-Jek raised $1 Bn as part of its Series F funding round led by Alphabet’s Google, JD.com and Tencent Holdings. 
  • India’s largest bus aggregator Shuttl has entered the hotly contested food delivery space by launching meals on buses for daily commuters, as it looks to further monetise its captive customer base.
  • Chicago-based freight tracking logistics startup FourKites will utilize a part of its $50 Mn Series C funding led by existing investors August Capital, Bain Capital Ventures, CEAS Investments and Hyde Park Angels 
  • Kerala has collaborated with Unicorn India Ventures, Exseed Electron Fund, IAN and Speciale Incept Fund for an investment of more than $140 Mn in the state startups over the next four years. 
  • Canadian private equity firm Brookfield Asset Management is in preliminary talks with India’s Reliance Industries to buy a stake in its optical fibre and telecom tower assets
  • Bengaluru-based hyperlocal grocery delivery company, BigBasket, is closing a $150 Mn (INR15 Cr) funding round. The funding round values BigBasket at $1 Bn pre-money, which would make the company the first India startup to join the unicorn club in 2019.
  • The winning teams of Microsoft India’s AXLE, a Microsoft Academia Accelerator include IIT Madras: UAVs for Disaster Management, IIT Guwahati: DUBG, and  IIT Jodhpur: Disaster Chain.