Category: Startup Newsletter

VP Weekly | 13th Oct ’19

October 13, 2019

Pine Labs Plans To Enter Unicorn Club at a valuation of $1.5 Bn
Retail payment and hardware company Pine Labs is planning to raise an undisclosed amount at a valuation of $1.5 Bn from  Chinese multinational conglomerate Tencent and global internet giant Naspers, along with its fintech company PayU.
Read More
 

Oyo founder Ritesh Agarwal investing $700 Mn in $1.5 Bn fresh funding
Gurugram-based hospitality decacorn OYO Hotels and Homes will raise $1.5 Bn Series F funding from its founder Ritesh Agarwal and other existing investors.
Read More

                                               Startup News Snippets

                                                             M&A News

Market Pulse

  • Fintech startup BASIX Sub-K iTransactions has raised $10.5 Mn Series C funding from Maj Invest. The Startup will use the funds for business expansion and strengthening its technology stack
  • A regional social commerce company, DealShare has raised $8 Mn Series A funding from Matrix Partners India, Falcon Edge Capital, partners of DST Global, and Omidyar Network India
  • Agricx, Ambee, Artivatic, CureSkin, IntelloLabs, Jiny, Nayan, Nira, PerSapien and SustLabs are Indian startups that qualified for the third edition of Google Launchpad Accelerator
  • Bengaluru-based early-stage venture capital firm Inventus Capital Partners closes its third fund at $52 Mn. The third fund will make about 15 investments in total
  • Daily car cleaning and repair service CleanseCar has raised $2 Mn Pre Series A funding from 10 investors, including Haldiram’s Family Office, Rahul Bothra, CFO, Swiggy and others
  • Clothing brand Kosha has raised undisclosed amount of seed funding from Tres Monos Capital and Narendra Hiranandani, Founder of Enhira Software

VP Weekly | 6th Oct ’19

October 6, 2019

Ant Financial may lead $600 million funding in Zomato
Gurugram-headquartered foodtech unicorn Zomato may raise $600 Mn funding from Alibaba Group affiliated Ant Financial Services.
Read More
 
 

India’s Udaan raises $585M to expand its B2B e-commerce platform
B2B eCommerce platform Udaan has raised $585 Mn funding led by Tencent, Altimeter, Footpath Ventures, Hillhouse, GGV Capital, and Citi Ventures
Read More

                                           Startup News Snippets

                                                       M&A News

Market Pulse

  • Cloud-based technology platform for the dental industry, CareStack has raised $28 Mn Series B funding from Steadview Capital and California-based dental plan system Delta Dental
  • Wipro Enterprises’ venture fund Wipro Consumer Care Ventures has raised $28 Mn from its own FMCG brand, Wipro Consumer Care and Lighting
  • ClearQuote (Xenon Automotive), PiChain Innovations and Imaginate Technologies are shortlisted for Rolls-Royce’s Data Labs’ first ‘Start-up Accelerator Programme’
  • Mumbai-based Varanium closed its $28 Mn venture capital fund ‘Varanium NexGen’, which will exclusively focus on early-stage fintech startups
  • Pune-based online lending startup LoanTap has raised $12 Mn Series B funding from Avana Capital, with existing investors 3one4 Capital, India Quotient, Shunwei Capital and Kae Capital
  • Bengaluru-based expense management startup Fyle has raised $4.5 Mn from US-based hedge fund Steadview Capital

VP Weekly | 29th Sept ’19

September 29, 2019

Switzerland-based IT security solutions EST Group plans to invest $250 mn into Indian startups in the next 18 months
Swiss-based EST Group on Friday said it is planning to invest $250 Mn in the next 18 months into Indian startups that are focused on fintech applications and related business models.
Read More
 

Sachin Bansal buys Chaitanya Rural in biggest bet since leaving Flipkart
Sachin Bansal will invest $104 Mn in the non-banking financial company, Chaitanya Rural. He will also take charge as its CEO.
Read More

              Startup News Snippets

                                                            M&A News

Editor’s Weekly Pick

We’ve seen this throughout history, the automation and mechanization boosts the overall standard of living. We’ve seen it with the Industrial Revolution, and it’s going to happen again. Robot pets have the potential to be useful in many ways. Here is a new robot pet named Spot, a robot pet by Boston Dynamics.

 –Abhishek

 

 Market Pulse

  • VC fund Metaform Ventures is investing $2 Mn in its India Center of Excellence to conduct research on tobacco cessation and harm reduction
  • Facebook said that it has now selected six projects from India that will focus on three key areas – governance, cultural diversity, and operationalising ethics
  • Growth stage VC firm Avataar Capital Management launched its first investment fund of $300 Mn, named Avataar Venture Partners I
  • Amazon India’s plans to buy a minority stake in Mukesh Ambani-owned Reliance Retails have most likely fallen apart due to high valuations
  • OYO Hotels and Homes is in talks to raise fresh funding between $750 Mn-$1Bn from Japanese multinational conglomerate SoftBank
  • Real estate startup NoBroker is in talks to raise a $100 – $130 Mn funding round from Tiger Global and General Atlantic. This new round is expected to value the company at $400 Mn
  • Bengaluru-based accelerator The CoWrks Foundry has announced the conclusion of its third cohort with eight startups

VP Weekly | 22nd Sept ’19

September 22, 2019

Mobile value-added services firm OnMobile to sell a minority stake to Jump Networks
Jump Networks, which provides digital services to low-bandwidth mobile phone users, will acquire an 18% stake in mobile value-added services provider OnMobile Global for $207 Mn.
Read More
 

Rana Kapoor family firm pares stake in Yes Bank
Morgan Credits, owned by Yes Bank co-founder Rana Kapoor’s family, has sold a 2.3% stake for $47 Mn in the private-sector lender.

               Startup News Snippets

                                                           M&A News

Editor’s Weekly Pick

The translation of intellectual ‘strategy’​ to ground-level ‘execution’​ for early-stage ventures. Here are my views highlighting a permanent hurdle faced by every startup.

–Abhishek

 

Market Pulse

  • France-based multinational advertising and public relations company Havas Group has acquired Indian digital agency Langoor for an undisclosed amount
  • Agra-based business-to-business marketplace for leather products ShoeKonnect will raise $1.5 Mn Series C funding from India’s premier Internet-based business, Info Edge
  • The Government of Karnataka in association with NASSCOM and ecosystem partners, Startup Karnataka, TIE and THE GAIN launched ‘Bangalore Fintech Forum’
  • Mumbai-based VC Lightbox Ventures closed its third India-focused investment fund at $209 Mn. The fund’s closing amount is slightly higher than the fund’s initial target of $200 Mn
  • Microsoft India will launch “Highway to a Hundred Unicorns” program in collaboration with the Industries Commissionerate and iNDEXTb, Government of Gujarat
  • Singapore-headquartered venture capital firm Vertex Ventures closes its $305 Mn early-stage fund focused on investing in Indian and Southeast Asian technology startups
  • Early-stage investor Kae Capital will raise its third venture capital fund of $60 Mn. With the new funding, the company is expected to increase its funding ticket size

VP Weekly | 15th Sept '19

September 15, 2019

Flipkart Gets $225 Mn Boost Ahead Of Festive Season Sales
Walmart-owned Flipkart has received $224.9 Mn infusions from its Singapore-based entity, Flipkart Private Limited.
Read More
 

CPPIB Invests $115 Mn In Logistics Unicorn Delhivery
Gurugram-based eCommerce logistics startup Delhivery has raised $115 Mn in fresh funding from the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB). Following this investment, CPPIB will have one seat on Delhivery’s Board.
Read More

                                               Startup News Snippets

                                                              M&A News

Market Pulse

  • Early-stage venture investment firm Good Capital announced a $25 Mn fund. The venture fund, founded by brothers Rohan and Arjun Malhotra
  • Mumbai-based audio streaming platform JioSaavn received $19 Mn from Reliance Industries. Reliance’s Jio Music and Saavn combined valuation was $1 Bn at the time of the merger
  • Delhi-based agritech-focused incubator Indigram Labs announced the launch of Adhunik Gram, a smart village program to empower agribusinesses in India
  • Entrepreneur-turned-investor Binny Bansal is now planning to roll out a venture capital fund to target a corpus of $300-$400 Mn. The fund’s primary focus will be on Indian startups
  • Reliance Industries is planning to fund and are scouting around for all technology available for waste segregation, recycling, and waste to energy
  • Pune-based food maker and delivery app Rebel Foods will raise $73 Mn Series D funding from New York-based technology hedge fund Coatue Management
  • Venture capital fund Chiratae Ventures is all set for the first close of its fourth India-focussed fund at $150 Mn. The venture fund plans to raise $275 Mn for the fund

VP Weekly | 8th Sept '19

September 8, 2019

NCLT approves JSW’s $2.7-bn bid for Bhushan Power & Steel
The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) has approved billionaire Sajjan Jindal-led JSW Steel Ltd’s offer of $2.7 Bn to buy debt-laden Bhushan Power & Steel Ltd.
Read More
 

Data Management Company Commvault Acquires SDS Vendor Hedvig For $225 Mn
Data management company Commvault is all set to acquire software-defined storage (SDS) company Hedvig for $225 Mn. The cost includes the purchase price and ongoing employee retention.
Read More

                                                Startup News Snippets

                                                              M&A News

Editor’s Weekly Pick

Can the Indian industry and society brace itself against economic downturns in the future? Is it only cyclical, or something more fundamental/structural? Here we share a  different perspective about the Indian economic slowdown.

–Abhishek

 

Market Pulse

  • Early-stage venture fund Chiratae Ventures will raise $20 Mn from a member of the World Bank Group, The International Finance Corporation (IFC)
  • Asia’s largest startup conclave, Huddle Kerala, is returning with its 2nd edition on Sept 27-28 to celebrate the startup ecosystem in one of the most progressive states in the country for startups
  • Gurugram-based eCommerce company Snapdeal founders Kunal Bahl and Rohit Bansal have come together to set up an investment vehicle, Titan Capital
  • Three months after selling shares worth $76.4 Mn, Flipkart co-founder Binny Bansal sold additional shares in the company to Tiger Global Management for $14 Mn
  • To offer mentorship guidance to startups in Punjab, YES BANK has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the state government’s Startup Punjab initiative
  • Lightspeed India Partners selected Blackboard Radio, Bakbuck, Deepsync, EazyPG, Gratitude, GroMo, Ithaka, Openapp, Womaniya, and Xeno for Extreme Entrepreneurs 2019
  • French cosmetics giant L’Oreal invested an undisclosed amount in Fireside Fund II, an early-stage venture capital fund managed by Bengaluru-based Fireside Ventures

VP Weekly | 1st Sept '19

September 1, 2019

Gautam Adani-controlled Adani group will acquire Essel’s solar energy projects for $181 Mn
Adani Energy Group on August 29 said, it would acquire 10 solar energy assets with a total generating capacity of 205 MW from Essel Green Energy and Essel Infraprojects for $181 Mn.
Read More
 

B2B e-commerce marketplace Udaan raises $300 Mn in ongoing Series D round
B2B online marketplace for small and medium businesses Udaan’s Singapore-based parent entity raised funding of $300 million in its on-going Series D round from investors such as Altimeter Capital, Footpath Ventures, GGV Capital, and Hillhouse Capital.
Read More

Startup News Snippets

M&A News

Market Pulse

  • Mumbai-based peer-to-peer lending platform LenDenClub has raised $1 Mn in a Pre-Series A funding from Artha Venture Fund With the participation of UAE-based Transworld Group
  • Flipkart Plans To Invest $40 Mn In Logistics Bengaluru-based startup Shadowfax to enhance its doorstep delivery ahead of the festive season
  • India’s largest incubator T-Hub in collaboration with the state government announced a three-month funding acceleration program called T-Angel
  • Hyperlocal delivery platform Dunzo has raised $5 Mn funding by issuing debentures as well as Series C1 preference shares to existing investor Alteria Capital
  • Gurugram-based corporate engagement platform Advantage Club has raised $1 Mn in Pre-Series A funding from GrowX Ventures
  • The Union Cabinet announced an easing of foreign direct investment norms across sectors such as retail, manufacturing etc in an effort to get economic growth back on track
  • Chennai-based TNQ Technologies has invested $2 Mn in a joint venture with augmented and virtual reality startup InGage Technologies

VP Weekly | 25th Aug '19

August 25, 2019

RBI Will Now Enable E-Mandate For Recurring Payments Up To $279 Mn
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) permitted processing of e-mandate on credit and debit cards for recurring transactions (merchant payments) with a cap of INR 2,000 from September.
Read More
 

Grofers receives $70 Mn Series F tranche from Softbank at $567 Mn valuation
Grofers has received another $70 Mn tranche of its Series F funding from SoftBank. The tranche is a part of the grocery delivery app’s $200 Mn funding raised mainly from the SoftBank Vision Fund (SVF).
Read More

                                               Startup News Snippets

M&A News

Market Pulse

  • Fintech company that provides payment technology to online merchants PayU will acquire digital lending platform and short term loan provider PaySense for $60 Mn
  • Pune-based reskilling startup InterviewBit Academy will raise $20 Mn funding from Tiger Global Management, Sequoia Capital India and Singapore’s Economic Development Board (EBD)
  • American seed accelerator Y Combinator has inducted four Indian startups in its Summer 2019 batch. The selected startups include Binks, Lokal, MyPetrolPump, and Vahan
  • Delhi-headquartered insurance company Max Life Insurance will launch its Max Life Innovation Labs, an accelerator program to harness Insurtech solutions
  • Coliving startup ZoloStays will raise $100 Mn Series C funding from new and existing investors. The new series of funding will be a mix of debt and equity
  • JLL India in collaboration with Invest India, Accelerating Growth of New India’s Innovations and Startup India will launch JLL IDEAs, a real estate-focused accelerator program
  • The e-commerce unicorn Snapdeal will raise $100 Mn funding from Softbank. SoftBank will invest $60 Mn in series funding

VP Weekly | 18th Aug '19

August 18, 2019

One of the biggest funding this week has been raised by online reseller network Meesho, raising $125 Mn in a round led by Naspers
Bnegaluru based Meesho has raised $125 million in a round led by South Africa’s Naspers with participation from Facebook and existing investors SAIF, Sequoia, Shunwei Capital, RPS and Venture Highway
Read More

ShareChat raises $100 million in Series D funding led by Twitter and TrustBridge Partners
A regional social media platform, ShareChat has raised $100 million Series D funding, where Twitter and TrustBridge Partners are two new investors
Read More

           Startup News Snippets

M&A News

Editor’s Weekly Pick

Even after years of money-losing startups raising millions of dollars at multi-billion valuations, WeWork filing IPO is something unique of it’s kind. Here is a good note by Senior Contributor | BANKING & INSURANCE – Frances Cappola, on WeWork’s IPO.

–Abhishek

Market Pulse

  • Deloitte is bringing its popular “Morning Pitch” tradition from Japan to the startup ecosystem in India and hosted its seventh edition of Morning Pitch on August 13 in Gurugram
  • Future Group will raise $281 Mn from Amazon against a 10% stake. Both companies have been in talks since last year to align their businesses together through a stake deal
  • Bike taxi startup Rapido will raise $50 Mn funding from domestic firm Westbridge Capital and China’s ShunWei Capital with existing investor Nexus Venture Partners
  • The state government of Jammu and Kashmir to host a three-day global investors summit in Srinagar from October 12 to showcase Jammu and Kashmir’s strengths, strategies and potential
  • ASSOCHAM will launch ‘Startup Elevator Pitch Series’ in tier 2 and tier 3 cities as a platform for budding entrepreneurs to pitch for funding and technology partners
  • Reliance Jio has announced a partnership with the tech giant Microsoft and its Azure cloud vertical to give free Jio connectivity and Jio-Azure cloud services for tech startups in India
  • UK-based gold trading platform, Goledex has raised an undisclosed amount of funding from the UK India cross-border fund of Unicorn India called Unicorn Ascension

VP Weekly | 11th Aug '19

August 11, 2019

Uber Loss Touches $5.2 Bn, Even As Revenue Remains Stagnant
Uber just reported its second quarterly earnings ever as a public company, and that’s a lot of red ink. The ride-hailing giant losing a whopping $5.2 billion in the second quarter as compared to $3.7 Bn in the first quarter of 2019.
Read More
 
UrbanClap Inches Closer To Unicorn Club With Latest $933 Mn ValuationGurugram-headquartered home services startup UrbanClap has inched closer to the unicorn club with its latest $75 Mn Series E funding, part of which has been transferred over to the company. Last week, UrbanClap announced that it has raised $75 Mn led by Tiger Global with participation from existing investors Steadview Capital and Vy Capital.
Read More

Startup News Snippets

M&A News

Market Pulse

  • New Delhi-based online Cricket Fantasy gaming platform BalleBaazi has raised $4 Mn in a Series A funding from Delhi-based Snap Angel Tech and an Singapore-based investor
  • Indore-based agritech startup Gramophone has raised $3.5 Mn from existing investor Info Edge Ventures along with Raveen Sastry, cofounder, Myntra and Asha Impact
  • Credit card bill payment utility app Cred to raise $125 Mn Series A funding which is expected to increase the Cred’s valuation upto $500 Mn
  • WeWork is setting up $6 Bn in financing and looking to borrow in two ways: a $2 Bn letter-of-credit facility and a $4 Bn delayed-draw term loan
  • Telangana’s state-backed startup programme T-Hub has announced the launch of its HealthTech Arcade programme in partnership with Optum
  • Mumbai-based offline pharmacy distributor Ascent Health to raise $100 Mn in an equity financing round from Singapore-backed investment major Temasek Holdings
  • Bengaluru-based news and ebooks mobile app Dailyhunt has raised $3 Mn in a Series F funding from  investment advisor firm Stonebridge Capital

« First‹ Previous2526272829Next ›Last »