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#WEXTSaturday – Initiative by WEXT.in Community in which WEXT.in will cover all Indian Startup News, Funding Alerts, Acquisition Deal Alerts.
Lockdown has now partially being lifted in most of the cities, which has also resumed the paused businesses amid the COVID19 pandemic. The cases are still rising up with new peaks forming every two days in India. Already Covid19 has caused a huge downfall for most of the industries, but now it is the time to fight back the situation and maintain consistency in businesses. We have already seen in the last week’s report that most of the businesses are finding away as well as executing their plans to make the Covid19 time more beneficial for their company. It is a time which is making huge experiences of ups and downs in business. Many startups have jumped high in terms of revenue and funding alerts, and many are facing a tough time. It all depends on their working plan.
Amid all unbalances that have been caused due to Covid19, this week was flourished with lots of acquisition alerts and funding alerts for many well-settled companies and startups. From Paytm Payments Bank to Reliance Jio, much stuff has happened with some giant companies this week. There is a lot of latest Indian startup news, funding alerts and acquisition alerts again this week, which you should not miss.
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Here, we bring you the latest Indian startup news for this week, i.e. a quick review of all the happenings in the Indian startup industry. Let’s proceed.
Paytm Payments Bank launches a new facility to deliver cash at home for senior citizens in Delhi
The ‘cash at home’ facility has been launched by Paytm Payments Bank for all its senior citizens and differently-abled citizen users in the Delhi-NCR region so that they don’t step out amid coronavirus pandemic. Time taken for delivery of cash is 2 days from the day of raising request.
Food tech startup SmartQ is all set to launch a ‘slot based booking system’ for Indian cafeterias to ease operations amid Covid19 lockdown.
World Bank approves $1 Bn as social security fund to support India’s fight against Coronavirus
World Bank is providing a $1 Bn loan to the Government of India in order to support the nation’s fight against coronavirus relief measures. The incoming finance will help in rebalancing social security towards migrants and the urban poor.
Future Consumer Groups looks to raise a capital of Rs. 300 crore
Future Consumer Groups is in talks to raise Rs. 300 crore via a rights issue. The funding requirement has come up due to the lack of capacity for delivery and distribution of essential items to the consumers for the retailers and eCommerce giants.
Karnataka Government’s Center of Excellence in Cyber Security (CySecK) launches Cybersecurity Accelerator program Hack to boost startups of the same field.
US-based General Atlantic to invest nearly Rs.6600 crore in Jio Platforms for a 1.34% stake
Mukesh Ambani led Jio is grabbing huge investments within just four weeks. After three big investments, the latest fourth big investment is again coming from US-based General Atlantic. The firm will invest Rs.6600 crore in Jio for a stake of 1.34% in RIL.
Accenture acquires Ahmedabad based Byte Prophecy for enhancing enterprise-scale AI and analytics abilities
The tech giant Accenture has successfully acquired Ahmedabad based data analytics company, Byte Prophecy to enhance enterprise-scale AI and analytics solutions in the nation. The financial figures of the acquisition deals have not been disclosed.
Funding Alert – Venture Capital Firm Iron Pillar which focuses on tech growths has successfully raised $45 Mn in its first round of funding which will be used for its portfolio protection.
Craft Beer Brand Bira91 has raised $5 Mn from its existing investors Sequoia and Sofina
Amid the lockdown of Covid19, the well-known craft beer brand Bira91 has successfully raised $5 Mn (Approx. Rs.38.08 crore) from Sequoia and Sofina, its existing investors. Sofina has invested Rs.22.84 crore whereas Sequoia has put in Rs.15.23 crore.
National Restaurant Association of India (NRAI) joins hands with Gurugram based Dotpe to build a ‘contactless dining’ system and minimize human touch while dining.
Magicpin, run by Samast Technologies has raised $3.8 Mn in its funding round
The renowned hyper-local discovery platform Magicpin, which is run by Gurugram based Tech Company, Samast Technology has successfully raised $3.8 Mn (Approx. Rs. 29.18 Crore) in its funding round. The investors who have put in funds are Waterbridge, Lightspeed, and others.
Funding Alert – Bangalore based Edtech startup Winuall raises an undisclosed amount from Ola co-founder Ankit Bhati and Milkbasket’s engineering head Nitin Gupta.
See, what happened last week in the Indian Startup Ecosystem: Indian Startup News, Funding Alerts, Acquisition Alerts from 9 May to 16 May 2020
Logistics marketplace LetsTransport raised Rs.13 crore from Innoven Capital in its new debt round
Bangalore based logistics marketplace, LetsTransport has raised Rs.13 crore in its fresh debt round. The investor involved in the funding is Innoven Capital. LetsTransport offers tech-enabled transportation services to various enterprises.
Alibaba’s Jack Ma steps out from the board of struggling Japanese Softbank Group Corp.
Chinese billionaire and co-founder of Alibaba, Jack ma has stepped out from the board of Softbank Group Corp. The Japanese technology company is presently struggling with its risky investment in office sharing ventures, i.e. WeWork.
Funding Alert – Eggoz, an Agritech startup has raised Rs.2.5 crore in from a group of angel investors in its funding round.
Government of India to develop Zoom alike video conferencing app for users as well as govt. and courts
Government of India’s division, Center for Development of Telematics (C-Dot) is all set to develop an Indian version of Zoom. This video conferencing app will be used by the public, government, and courts. The launch will push India towards self-reliance.
Lendingkart has raised Rs. 319 crore in its Series D funding round led by existing investors
Ahmedabad based digital lending startup Lendingkart successfully raises Rs.319 crore in its Series D funding round. It includes an investment of Rs. 233 crore in D1 round and Rs.86.24 crore in D2 round. The round was led by its existing investors India Quotient, Bertelsmann India Investments, Fullerton Financial Holdings Pte Ltd., and Sistema Asia Fund.
Utsav Somani, who brought AngelList to India launches ‘iSeed’, a micro-fund app where startups get help regarding funding.
Paytm First Games Partners with the South Asian Marketplace Daraz and launches Daraz First Games in Bangladesh
Paytm First Games has successfully launched Daraz First Games in Bangladesh after partnering with Daraz, the South Asian eCommerce giant. The company is looking forward to expanding in Sri Lanka, Myanmar, and Nepal.
Funding Alert – Charlesbank Capital Partners invests $70 Mn into Cyberbit, an Israeli company.
Pune-based IT Company Alphalogic launched a mobile-based application just to spread the awareness of COVID19 cases in every location. So if you can check how many COVID19 Positive cases in your location, city, or state. Download India’s Dashboard
Facebook launches ‘Shops’ to help businesses showcase their stores online amid the struggle of Covid19 pandemic
The social media giant Facebook, which has already entered eCommerce with its ‘marketplace’, has now launched ‘shops’ to help businesses showcase their stores online. Merchants have to buy Facebook ads to set up a shop on Facebook and Instagram and display their products with customized looks.
Funding Alert – Chennai based online legal platform VakilSearch has raised an undisclosed amount of funds from the co-founder of Udaan, Sujeet Kumar.
Swiggy and Zomato gets permission from Jharkhand Government for home delivery of liquors
Jharkhand Government has shown a green flag to the food aggregators Swiggy and Zomato for home delivery of alcohol products. The decision was taken in order to avoid excessive crowding in the alcohol shops in the state. The service will be started in major cities including Jamshedpur, Bokaro, and Ranchi.
Snapdeal now takes over the e-learning segment signing up Gradeup, Toppr, Toppers Exam, and many others
The eCommerce giant Snapdeal is all set to take over the e-learning segment as it signs up with Gradeup, Toppr, Toppers Exam, Olympiad Helper, Practice Guru, and many others. Snapdeal will now also sell their courses for all boards and class 5 to 12 with more than 100 subjects.
Funding Alert – Gurugram based community-led professional women network leap.club has raised a funding of $340,000 in its funding round from some angel investors.
Reliance Jio raises Rs.11, 376 crores by selling 2.32% stake to US equity major KKR
This is another funding alert for Reliance Jio. US-based private equity firm has invested Rs.11, 367 crores in Mukesh Ambani led Reliance Jio in exchange for a 2.32% stake in its platform. After this deal, Reliance Jio is now valued at an enterprise value of Rs.5.16 lac crore and equity value of Rs.4.91 lac crore.
Funding Alert – InsurTech startup Riskcovry raises an undisclosed amount of funds in its funding round by Bharat Inclusion Seed Fund and other investors.
Flipkart gets fresh cash infusion from Singapore based holding entities in order to meet demand in Lockdown 4.0
Walmart owned Flipkart has generated fresh cash infusion to meet the demands in Lockdown 4.0 in the nation. The infusion came just after the Government of India allowed the delivery of non-essentials. The cash infusion has come from Singapore based holding entity.
Voicezen, an AI startup gets an undisclosed amount of investment from Bharti Airtel
Bharti Airtel has invested an undisclosed amount of funds into Voicezen, an early-stage AI startup, to acquire a 10% stake in the company. The investment was done under Airtel’s Startup Accelerator Program. With this deal, Airtel will have access to the technologies of Voicezen.
Funding Alert – SaaS-based tech startup Mobisy has raised Rs. 11.4 crore from Triton Alternative Investment Trust and IndiaMART.
Amazon Launches its food delivery service in India, Amazon Food in selected areas of Bangalore
Amazon has now targeted the food delivery sector. The global eCommerce giant has finally launched its food delivery service in India, Amazon Food amid coronavirus crisis in the nation. The app has been unveiled and the service is available in selected areas of Bangalore including Haralur, Whitefield, Bellandur, and Marathalli.
The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) excludes all Business to Business transactions companies from installing e-payment apps or facilities.
Mental health startup No worry No tension raises an undisclosed amount from Dabur India Chairman Amit Burman
New Delhi based mental health startup gets funding from Dabur India’s chairman Amit Burman. No Worry No Tension works in improving the ‘Emotional Wellness Index’ by the methods of machine learning, AI, and data analytics.
That’s all for this week!
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