Tag: News

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.
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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).
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                                               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
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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
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           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.
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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.
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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

VP Weekly | 4th Aug '19

August 4, 2019

Swiggy To Raise A $750 Mn Funding 
Food delivery unicorn Swiggy is to raise a $700-$750 Mn funding round led by its existing investor Naspers.
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Acquiring Flipkart Made Walmart India’s Leading Retailer
In 2018, Walmart acquired Flipkart for $16 Bn and the deal has now made Walmart a leading retailer in India.
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                                                Startup News Snippets

M&A News

Editor’s Weekly Pick

Vision Fund was already path breaking. Now with Vision Fund – II, with another war-chest of $100 Bn+, and backing by Microsoft and Apple, Son is looking to create another wave of disruption globally – this time, in the enterprise tech market. Here is a good note by WSJ on their strategy.

–Abhishek

Market Pulse

  • B2B online marketplace Udaan to raise $500 Mn in a fresh funding from Lightspeed Venture Partners and DST Global along with other investors such as Hillhouse Capital and Altimeter Capital
  • Paytm-owned gaming company Paytm First Games to raise $25 Mn from SAIF Partners along with a Hong- Kong based entity
  • Indore based Fintech startup BharatPe to raise $75 Mn funding from Hong Kong-based Steadview Capital. BharatPe also enables merchants to track their transactions, settlements and manage sales record
  • Venture capital firm Sequoia Capital India to raise an additional $200 Mn for the same fund closed at a fund corpus of $695 Mn
  • Mumbai-based integrated incubator Venture Catalysts announced the launch of the $43.41 Mn 9Unicorns Fund to high potential early stage businesses across various sectors
  • Poland-headquartered edtech startup Brainly has raised $30 Mn funding from Naspers along with other investers such as Runa Capital and Manta Ray
  • Bengaluru-headquartered e-pharmacy startup Medlife to raise $21 Mn from pharmaceuticals company Cipla, the deal will help Cipla with a significant channel to market


 

VP Weekly | 28th Jul '19

July 28, 2019

Patanjali gets NCLT nod to acquire Ruchi Soya, with conditions
The National Company Law Tribunal’s (NCLT) Mumbai Bench has approved Baba Ramdev-led Patanjali Ayurved’s ₹4,350-crore resolution plan for debt-ridden edible oil firm Ruchi Soya, which was kept in abeyance earlier.
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Blackstone Might Invest $250 Mn In Kishore Biyani’s Future Group
With a steady eye on the upcoming General Election 2019, the Interim Budget of the BJP government for 2019 will likely be strong on optics and populist measures. While this is still an Interim Budget, with a clear focus on the upcoming General Election, here are the key takeaways of the Union Budget 2019 for the Indian Startup Ecosystem. Read More

Startup News Snippets

M&A News

Market Pulse

  • Delhi-based electric rickshaw provider SmartE has raised $14.5Mn  in series B funding from the Japanese conglomerate Mitsui and Co
  • Gurugram-based hyperlocal services provider UrbanClap has raised $216 K in fresh funding from ex- Flipkart CTO Mekin Maheshwari and Avaana Capital founder Anjali Bansal
  • Hyderabad-based electric vehicle startup Celestial E- Mobility raised $200K from Meka Sudhakar Reddy. The company is in the advanced stage of developing Electric Tractors
  • Pune-based exam preparation platform Pariksha raised $1 Mn in pre-Series A funding from Venture Catalysts
  • Bengaluru-based cell therapy startup Eyestem has raised an undisclosed amount of funding from Jacesa investments, Church Street Trustees and Gillian Corken
  • Mumbai-based P2P lending platform PaisaDukan has raised an undisclosed amount of funding from  JITO Incubation and  Innovation Foundation (JIIF)
  • Bengaluru-based customised apparel and merchandise brand Alma Mater has raised $200 K in its first external funding from Wazir Advisors

VP Weekly | 21 Jul '19

July 21, 2019

OYO Launches Workspaces With Acquisition of Innov8
Gurugram-headquartered hospitality unicorn OYO Hotels and Homes has officially announced its vertical expansion into the coworking real estate segment with the launch of OYO Workspaces.
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eBay Acquires Stake In Paytm Mall To Expand India Presence
US-based ecommerce company eBay has announced a strategic partnership with Paytm Mall along with acquiring a 5.5% stake in the Indian ecommerce marketplace.
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                                                Startup News Snippets

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

                                                                M&A News

Editor’s Weekly Pick

Entrepreneurial success looks far too easy in newspaper headlines than in reality. Here is a great short-note by IIMB alum, former banker and fund manager at Gaja Capital – Avinash Luthria, on things that aspiring entrepreneurs must evaluate before making the big leap. It does set a high-bar for us 🙂

–Abhishek

Market Pulse

  • Flipkart co-founder Sachin Bansal has invested $29 Mn into Ajay Piramal owned Piramal Enterprises
  • Bengaluru-based food delivery unicorn Swiggy is in talks with Korea Investment Partners, Mirae Asset Management, STIC Investments and Neoplux for a $500 Mn funding
  • Mumbai-based venture fund Unicorn India Ventures launched its second equity fund worth $4 Bn. The venture fund will focus on investments in Pre Series A and Series A
  • Delhi-based gaming company WinZO games has announced a $1.5 Mn fund to support game developers and acquire content for the platform
  • Prolific angel investor Sanjay Mehta has now expanded his horizons with setting up a new venture capital firm called 100X.VC
  • Kolkata-headquartered conglomerate, ITC Limited, is now looking to invest directly in Indian startups, with a focus on fast-moving consumer goods
  • Hong Kong-based hedge fund Steadview Capital is looking to invest $500 Mn in growth-stage companies in India over the next two years

VP Weekly | 14 Jul '19

July 14, 2019

Edtech Unicorn BYJU’S Raises $150 Mn Funding
Bengaluru-based edtech unicorn BYJU’S has raised $150 Mn from Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund, the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA). This round also includes the participation from Owl Ventures.
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Hyundai Kona Launch: Automaker Commits $200 Mn To Develop EV Ecosystem In India
South Korean automobile company Hyundai has now committed to invest $200 Mn (INR 1,400 Cr) to develop affordable electric vehicles for the Indian market over the next three years.
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Startup News Snippets

 

M&A News

Editor’s Weekly Pick

Every modern business leader talks data, but all the software, data and the Internet ultimately resides in massive data centers. Data localization laws are likely to trigger massive demand of data centers in India. What would they look like?..  here’s an insider’s view into one of world’s largest data centers at Google USA.

–Abhishek

Market Pulse

  • Noida-based B2B online marketplace IndiaMART has launched its bids to investors with an initial public offering (IPO) to raise up to $68.35 Mn
  • Japanese conglomerate SoftBank is reportedly looking to invest around $2 Bn to $3 Bn in Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Jio
  • Pune-based agritech startup, AgroStar has raised $27 Mn Series C funding led by Bertelsmann India, Accel Partners, Chirate Ventures and Aavishkar Bharat
  • Chicago-based freight tracking logistics startup FourKites has announced that it will utilize a part of its $50 Mn Series C funding in doubling the employee headcount of its engineering arm in Chennai
  • Foodtech unicorn Swiggy is reportedly raising $200Mn funding from Carlyle Group, an American private equity fund who had also invested in the logistics startup Delhivery
  • Indian regional language social platform ShareChat may raise $100 Mn from the microblogging site, Twitter and Hong Kong-based investment management firm, Hillhouse Capital
  • Bengaluru-based social commerce startup Meesho has raised an undisclosed amount of funding from social media company Facebook

VP Weekly | 7 Jul ’19

July 7, 2019

Droom Ready To Raise $250 Mn Ahead Of IPO in 2021
Automobile marketplace Droom has said it’s in the market to raise $250 Mn in a pre-IPO round. The company said it’s in talks with multiple institutional and strategic investors, as well as existing investors.
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Alternative Energy Firm ReNew Power Raises $300 Mn Via Rights Issue
Clean energy firm ReNew Power announced on Sunday that it has raised $300 Mn (approximately INR 2,050 Cr) through a rights issue.
Read More 

 

Startup News Snippets

M&A News

Market Pulse

  • The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Tata Trust collaborated to set up the India Agritech Incubation Network (IAIN). With this, they are also launching ‘Social Alpha Quest for Agritech Innovations’ contest.
  • Former CEO of Kerala-based IT firm UST Global, Sajan Pillai shared plans to launch a $75 Mn venturecapital fund to boost the growth of Kerala startups.
  • Social e-commerce startup Shopmatic is looking to raise a $30 Mn Series B funding to expand its business and enable the online success of aspiring entrepreneurs, hobbyists, craftsperson, and small merchants.
  • Paytm and Chinese conglomerate Tencent are reportedly in talks to invest $100 Mn in Times Internet-owned OTT platform MX Player.
  • Sequoia Capital India reportedly launched a new seed fund. The VC firm is said to have registered its seed fund in Mauritius under the name of Sequoia Capital India Seed Fund I Ltd.
  • To fund its expansion plan, Alphalogic Techsys, Software Solutions Company, is coming up with an IPO and planning to get listed on the BSE Startup platform.
  • SoftBank Vision Fund, one of the world’s largest tech funds, plans to invest $2-4 Bn in India over the next two years as it bets heavily on sectors such as financial services.

VP Weekly | 16 Jun ’19

June 16, 2019

WeWork may shell out $1.9 bn to take control of Embassy-backed Indian affiliate
WeWork is in talks to buy around 70% of WeWork India at a valuation of about $2.75 billion, said the report.
 Read More
OYO in tallks to raise $1 Bn at doubled valuation of $10 Bn
OYO Rooms is in talks with existing and new investors to raise another $1 billion. But what is more important here, is that it is scouting to double its valuation for the round to $10 billion. Read More

Startup News Snippets

M&A News

Market Pulse

  • Japanese VC Akatsuki Entertainment Technology Fund is reportedly planning to make an average of $500K investments in five early-stage regional language startups in India.
  • Agri-focused accelerator and investor Pioneering Ventures launched its Rural India Impact Fund, with a targeted corpus of $70 Mn.
  • Artha Venture Fund announced the second close of its first fund which now brings the total amount raised to over $14 Mn against the expected $29 Mn target for the fund overall.
  • Gurugram-headquartered hyperlocal delivery startup Milkbasket has announced that it is investing $2 Mn to scale its fresh fruits and vegetable category.
  • Gurugram-based GroMo has raised $577K seed funding by Ramakant Sharma, co-founder, Livspace and Utsav Somani of AngelList India as well as other prominent angel investors.
  • Car and bike rental startup Drivezy and self-drive car rental company Zoomcar are in initial talks for an equal merger, with a share swap deal.
  • An interactive platform to connect with avid readers in real time Vowelor has raised $143K in a pre-series A round led by angel investor Dr. Sanjeev Juneja.

VP Weekly | 5 May ’19

May 5, 2019

Ola Plans To Raise An Additional $300 Mn As Part Of Series J Round
Cab hailing giant Ola’s parent company, ANI Technologies, has proposed to increase its authorised capital to include an additional number of Series-J shares. This move indicates the company’s intentions to raise an additional $300 Mn as a part of its ongoing funding round. Read More
Mumbai-based digital lending startup InCred closed its Series A Funding at $86 Mn
The funding round was led by Dutch development finance institution FMO. The funds will help the company boost its balance sheet lending.
Read More

Startup News Snippets

M&A News

Editor’s Weekly Pics

Despite the rise of Edtech startups and attention from investors & government, the Indian education system is still suffering from some serious lacunae.


–Abhishek

Market Pulse

  • Jungle Ventures made the first close of its third fund at about $175 Mn. The early stage investment fund’s Indian portfolio includes LivSpace, PaySense, and Engineer.ai.
  • Auto portal CarDekho announced that it will buy back shares worth $2.5 Mn from its employees, under the Girnar group ESOP repurchase plan, 2019
  • Hyderabad-based healthcare technology firm Suvarna Technosoft is acquiring a controlling stake in Mumbai-based laboratory information management systems (LIMS) solutions provider MedPrecinct Solutions.
  • Walmart-owned Flipkart is looking to expand the offline reach, as well as boost its grocery delivery business.
  • Gurugram-headquartered online travel company MakeMyTrip acquired a majority stake in Mumbai-based corporate travel management startup Quest2Travel for an undisclosed amount.
  • Gurugram-based hospitality chain OYO committed to acquire Amsterdam-based vacation rental company @Leisure Group.
  • D’Cal’s cost-effective pocket-friendly device turns hard water into soft water with zero wastage. D’Cal is currently bootstrapped, recorded more than INR 1 Cr in sales last quarter

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