Here are the top headlines from the startup universe.
Byju’s acquires Austria’s GeoGebra
Continuing its aggressive acquisition spree, Byju’s on Wednesday said it has acquired Austria-headquartered GeoGebra.
The acquisition will help the homegrown edtech company – which has 115 million students on its learning platform – integrate GeoGebra’s capabilities to enable the creation of new product offerings and learning formats to its existing mathematics portfolio, a statement said.
The company, however, did not disclose the value of the deal.
Flush with funds, Byju’s has been on an acquisition spree. In September, Byju’s had announced the acquisition of K-12 creative coding platform, Tynker for an undisclosed amount. It bought Aakash Educational Services (AESL) for about $1 billion to bolster its presence in the test preparation segment in April this year.
In July, it acquired Singapore-headquartered Great Learning for $600 million (about Rs 4,466 crore), and announced an investment of an additional $400 million to strengthen its position in the professional and higher education segment. Post that, Byju’s had acquired US-based digital reading platform Epic for $500 million.
Delhivery acquires US-based drone maker Transition Robotics
The acquisition will strengthen Delhivery’s capabilities in a wide range of applications, including aerial photography, remote sensing, inspection and surveys.
“While we continue to build our supply chain platform, we must look at the long-term developments poised to shape the industry. Bringing TRI onboard gives us a chance to get directly involved with core Drone Technology as regulations and use cases for drones are evolving in the country,” said Kapil Bharati, Chief Technology Officer, Delhivery.
Transition Robotics offers all aspects of small UAS, from hardware and software design to testing, validation, and manufacturing.
According to a RedSeer Report, Delhivery is India`s largest fully-integrated logistics services player by revenue (as of fiscal 2021). Delhivery said it has fulfilled over one billion shipments to date, and works with over 21,000 customers.
Picsart to acquire computer vision and AI company DeepCraft
Digital creation platform Picsart has said it will acquire the research and development company DeepCraft for an undisclosed sum.
DeepCraft’s breakthroughs in computer vision and machine learning will complement Picsart’s existing core and AI technology, and assist in expanding Picsart’s video editing experience, the company said in a statement.
As part of the deal, all DeepCraft employees will join Picsart, with the firm’s Co-Founder and CEO Armen Abroyan joining as Director of Engineering for the Core Engineering team, and Co-Founder and CTO Vardges Hovhannisyan as Principal Engineer.
This is Picsart’s second acquisition in the video space. Last year it had acquired the advanced video effects company “D’efekt,” since rebranded to EFEKT. This is also Picsart’s first acquisition since the announcement of its Series C funding and unicorn status earlier this year.
Sequoia India selects first cohort of women-led startups for Sequoia Spark Fellowship
Sequoia India has announced the list of 15 women-led, early-stage startups that have made it to the first cohort of the Sequoia Spark Fellowship Program.
The venture capital firm will offer a $100,000 equity-free grant to cover the early costs of starting up and provide mentorship to women entrepreneurs selected to the fellowship.
The program seeks to bridge the gender gap in the startup ecosystem by encouraging more women in Southeast Asia and India to become entrepreneurs.
As of 2020, Just 20% of venture-backed startups in ASEAN and 12% in India have at least one female founder, according to data sourced from Tracxn and Crunchbase.
“We saw a massive rush of applications that reiterated what we knew, that there was a huge unmet need in the market for capital and mentorship,” Sakshi Chopra, Managing Director, Sequoia India.
The first cohort has 20 women entrepreneurs, who are building startups across sectors including edtech, fintech, SaaS, consumer internet and web3. As a part of the fellowship, they will receive mentorship in building a strong product and go-to-market roadmap which, in turn, will help mobilize their seed and Series A rounds.
Simple Energy to invest Rs 2,500 crore to set up EV manufacturing facility in Tamil Nadu
Electric two-wheeler maker Simple Energy will invest up to Rs 2,500 crore over the next five years to set up an electric vehicle manufacturing facility in Tamil Nadu.
The proposed facility, spread in 600 acres of land, would be the company’s second such production unit and is expected to be functional by 2023, the company said. Simple Energy has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Tamil Nadu government for an investment of up to Rs 2,500 crore for constructing the largest electric two-wheeler state-of-the-art plant in Dharmapuri, the company said.
As per the initial pact, the company will make an initial investment of Rs 1,000 crore to build its second plant (as part of Phase 2) in 600 acres of land and intends to open the second factory by 2023.
RBI proposes discussion paper on digital payment charges: fintech cos, Paytm may see impact
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will soon release a discussion paper on digital payment charges to ensure they are both affordable to users, and economically remunerative to providers, governor Shaktikanta Das said on Wednesday.
Indifi Technologies records sharp resurgence in credit demand; crosses the 500 cr. AUM mark
Online lending platform Indifi Technologies has announced that the second quarter of financial year (FY) 2021-22 was its best ever quarter with loan volumes crossing pre-Covid levels.
The company said it reached the Rs 500 asset-under-management (AUM) milestone for Q2 FY22, up by 43 per cent from the earlier quarter. The rise was attributed to the growth in segments such as e-commerce, pharma, and retail that saw a 30 per cent increase in average loan size.
The firm, recently raised Rs 340 crore in series D Equity and Debt Funding. Indifi now plans to deepen the existing and develop new partnerships across digital ecosystems for customer acquisition, drive profitability through a curated portfolio of few products and ramp up their supply chain business.
Ketto.org collaborates with Practo for the Social Impact Plan’s reward program
Ketto.org, Southeast Asia’s crowdfunding platform has announced a partnership with Practo, India’s leading integrated healthcare company for its Social Impact Plan reward program.
The partnership will enable Ketto’s social impact plan’s premium donors to avail unlimited free online consultations from verified doctors across 23+ specialities on Practo.
In addition to free teleconsultation, Ketto offers multiple reward options to the impact plan donors. These include a medical protection reward, medical reimbursement, and matching donation benefit. The medical protection reward serves as a safety net, wherein a donor can reclaim their donations during any medical emergencies. Additionally, the impact plan donors also get a medical bill reimbursement benefit, which is up to 50 percent of their donation. Cementing the idea of ‘giving that gives back’ Ketto also offers the option to match up the donation to double the impact.
Ketto’s Social Impact Plan initiative aims to bridge the healthcare affordability gap. The Social Impact Plan provides medical finance aid to children who urgently need advanced surgery or treatment for critical ailments. The program is focused on building a community that pledges to help others by providing monthly donations. The monthly donations are making a significant impact on people’s lives, so far Ketto has managed to save over 670 children by raising over Rs 25 million for their medical treatment.
Currently, Ketto campaigns are raising over Rs. 300 crores per year for various causes.
TBDC & Startup-India launch Indo-Canada bridge program, aims to support Indian startups scale up in Canada & North America
Canada-based Toronto Business Development Centre (TBDC) and Startup India have launched the Indo-Canada Bridge Program.
As per a statement, this program is specifically designed to support Indian startups, who are looking to expand their operations to the Canadian and North-American markets. The program designed as a ‘Go to Market Guide’ is supported by mentors who will provide strategic support in the areas of fundraising and connections to the B2B network.
Directed at Indian startup founders, the program focuses on knowledge sharing facilitating relevant connections for exploring the market. It will also provide a central platform where startups can connect with relevant experts to resolve queries and facilitate discussions.
Google’s Year in Search 2021 shares a glimpse of what India searched for this year
Google India has announced the results for its Year in Search 2021, recapping the top search trends of 2021 in India.
The listing reveals what Indians searched for the most throughout the year across news, sports, entertainment, and other categories.
Cricket continued to be a major search trend this year, with the Indian Premier League, CoWIN and the ICC T20 World Cup filling the top three spots in the overall list of search queries. The Euro Cup and Toyko Olympics were number four and five in the list respectively. The Covid vaccine, Free Fire redeem code, Neeraj Chopra, Aryan Khan and Copa America were other notable searches in the top ten list.
‘Near me’ searches this year revolved largely around services related to the pandemic. While a lot of people searched for vaccines, Covid tests, Covid hospitals, searches for oxygen cylinders and CT scans also witnessed a spike as people fought the second wave of COVID through the first half of the year.
In addition, queries on food deliveries, tiffin services, and takeout restaurants also surged with people looking to ride out the intermittent lockdowns, revealed Google.
2021 also witnessed a strong interest in regional cinema. Jai Bhim, a Tamil blockbuster secured the top spot on the Movies list, followed by Bollywood movies Shershaah, Radhe, and Bell Bottom. Hollywood movies like Godzilla vs Kong and Eternals rounded up the list of the top trending movies of this year.
Meanwhile, Google also revealed that queries in the ‘Recipes’ category proved to be a buffet of terms, with Enoki Mushrooms topping the trend cake.
GLOBAL TECHNOLOGY & STARTUP NEWS
Meta to ban all Myanmar-army controlled businesses from platforms
The US tech giant had already announced in February it would stop all entities linked to the military, known as the Tatmadaw, from advertising on its platforms.
“This action is based on extensive documentation by the international community and civil society of these businesses’ direct role in funding the Tatmadaw,” said Rafael Frankel, Meta’s Pacific director of public policy for emerging countries, Asia Pacific.
Frankel said Meta was identifying the companies based on a 2019 report from a UN Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar, research from activist groups Justice for Myanmar and Burma Campaign UK, as well consultations with civil society.
He told Reuters it had already taken down over 100 accounts, pages, and groups linked to military-controlled businesses.
Facebook plays an outsized role in Myanmar as the dominant internet channel and remains widely used by both protesters against military rule and soldiers.
The platform is also facing a $150 billion lawsuit from Rohingya refugees over allegations it did not take action against hate speech targeted at the Muslim Rohingya minority that contributed to violence.
Meta offers deferral program for employees unready to return to office
The social media giant’s new “office deferral program” will ensure that its employees have flexibility in returning back to offices, as per Reuters. Meta said it will also stick to its earlier plans that employees who can work remotely can request for full-time remote work.
Meta’s decision comes at a time when many companies in the United States are pushing back their office return date due to concerns over the rapid spread of the Omicron coronavirus variant.
Uber, Deliveroo could be hit by draft EU rules for gig workers
The proposal from the European Commission, the first in the world, comes as countries and courts around Europe try to address shortcomings in the gig economy, with judges in most cases backing the rights of workers to labour rights available to those working in brick-and-mortar shops.
The document estimates some 15 companies and between 1.7 million to 4.1 million workers out of 28 million could be affected by the rules, which set out five criteria for determining employees.
Gig economy workers could be classifed as employees if online platforms determine their pay, set conduct and appearance standards, supervise the performance of work through electronic means, restrict their ability to choose their working hours or tasks, and prevent them from working for third parties.
A platform company is considered an employer if it meets two of the criteria, the paper said.
The rules will also require ride-hailing, food delivery apps and other companies to provide information to employees on how their algorithms are used to monitor and evaluate them as well as for allocation of tasks and setting of fees. Employees can ask for compensation for breaches.
Estonian ride-sharing and food delivery startup Bolt said the draft rules could result in job losses. “This will lead to one out of two drivers losing their job, which is close to at least 140,000 people across the EU,” said Aurelien Pozzana, head of Public Policy Western Europe at Bolt.
Deliveroo voiced the same concerns. “These proposals will increase uncertainty and will be better for lawyers than self-employed platform workers,” a spokesperson said.
Visa launches crypto advisory service for financial institutions, merchants
Visa, the world’s largest payment processor, launched a global crypto advisory service for its banking clients and merchants, as the adoption of digital currencies gains steam, as per Reuters.
Visa is set to launch services this year that will allow buying, selling and custody of digital currency through its banking partners.
There are also a number of Visa card programs that let users earn bitcoin on purchases and the network will also allow its client the use of USD Coin, a stablecoin cryptocurrency whose value is pegged directly to the US dollar, to settle transactions on its payment network
