BUSINESS
Grofers co-founder exits amid Zomato funding talks
Grofers co-founder Saurabh Kumar has left the company at a time when Zomato is reportedly planning to invest in the online grocer, or even buy it outright. Kumar will however retain his shares and be on Grofers' board of directors.
BUSINESS
Exclusive | Mindtickle eyes unicorn tag, $1.1 billion valuation in SoftBank-led round
SoftBank, the Japanese investment giant is continuing its dealmaking spree. Its latest is a $100 million top up in software firm Mindtickle, valuing it at a billion dollars. The deal will Mindtickle India's latest unicorn- the newest member in a record-breaking year for unicorns.
BUSINESS
Exclusive | VC firm Stellaris plans to close second fund at $220 million
VC firm Stellaris is closing its second venture fund at $220 million, higher than originally planned, and signaling the startup funding boom underway in India. Stellaris' key investments include software firm Whatfix and consumer brand Mamaearth, where its stakes are worth over $150 million.
TRENDS
Chess.com reinstates Zerodha co-founder Nikhil Kamath, others’ accounts after cheating incident
Celebrities whose accounts were banned for cheating in chess games against world champion and grandmaster Viswanathan Anand, saw their accounts reinstated after the platform said the celebrities had played in good faith and only made a mistake
BUSINESS
Exclusive | Tiger in talks to back Spinny, valuation zooms to $800 million
Tiger Global is in talks to lead a $100 million round in online car retailer Spinny, more than doubling its valuation to $800 million in just two months.
TRENDS
Zerodha's Nikhil Kamath accused of cheating against Viswanathan Anand in chess game, banned from platform
Zerodha co-founder Nikhil Kamath's Chess.com account was suspended, after he was accused of cheating to win a game against chess grandmaster Viswanathan Anand.
BUSINESS
Byju's becomes India's most valued startup at $16.5 billion with UBS, Blackstone funding
Byju's has raised $350 million from UBS, private equity giant Blackstone, Abu Dhabi state fund ADQ, Phoenix Rising and video conference firm Zoom's founder Eric Yuan, regulatory filings said.
BUSINESS
$300 million, 10 startups and a dream: Decoding the secretive Thrasio-model by Indian startups
Three-year-old Thrasio had $500 million revenue and $100 million in profit last year. Now, Indian investors are investing nearly $300 million in the first funding rounds of Thrasio's India equivalents. Moneycontrol decodes the stakes involved, challenges, opportunities and what's next for them.
BUSINESS
Software startup Slintel raises $20 million led by GGV Capital
Founded by Deepak Anchala, Slintel helps companies make their sales and marketing efforts more efficient by helping analyse data which indicates who is more likely to be a customer.
BUSINESS
Would you buy a car online like you buy phones or books? Cars24 hopes so.
The used car-selling platform is aware of the many problems it entails -- whether customers would buy something for Rs 4-5 lakh without even touching it or whether they would insist on seeing and test-driving many models. Cars24 founder and CEO Vikram Chopra has the answers to these questions and more.
BUSINESS
SoftBank invests in SaaS firm Whatfix, valuation jumps 4 times to $600m
Japanese investment giant SoftBank has deployed over a billion dollars in India in just a few months, its latest investment being in software firm Whatfix
BUSINESS
Instamojo launches Shopify-like e-commerce platform
Instamojo, which helps small brands process their online payments, is now also helping these brands set up their own e-commerce platform with Instamojo handling the backend entirely, similar to Canadian firm Shopify, which has become a raging success in recent times.
BUSINESS
Cryptocurrency regulation in India: Infosys co-founder Nandan Nilekani endorses digital coins as asset class
In an interview with the Financial Times, Infosys co-founder and Aadhaar architect Nandan Nilekani endorsed the use of cryptocurrencies as an asset class.
BUSINESS
Scams, memes and crazy money: Inside India’s buzzing crypto WhatsApp groups
Several WhatsApp groups focussed on crypto have sprouted in the recent weeks, reflecting the wild popularity of digital currencies. What happens inside these groups? We return with fascinating details.
BUSINESS
Artha Venture Fund closes debut micro VC fund at Rs 220 crore
Artha Venture Fund has closed its debut venture capital fund at Rs 220 crore, indicating rising interest in funding early stage startups. Artha is run by well-known angel investor Anirudh Damani
BUSINESS
Exclusive: OfBusiness eyes unicorn club with SoftBank funding at $1.5b valuation
Japanese investment giant SoftBank has committed a billion dollars to Indian startups in a quarter. Moneycontrol can exclusively reveal that it is in advanced discussions to back lending B2B commerce firm OfBusiness, giving it the coveted unicorn tag- of startups valued at over a billion dollars
BUSINESS
Unlike the US where Amazon dominates, India is multi-platform market: Ananth Narayanan
I think having an owner mindset is quite critical for any start-up to be successful; you must treat yourself and think of yourself as a founder independent of equity ownership
BUSINESS
Becoming unicorn doesn’t mean much, want to grow 200-300 times from here: Urban Company CEO Abhiraj Bhal
Home services startup Urban Company CEO Abhiraj Bhal in an interview with Moneycontrol talks about why people ordering from home is a permanent shift, not just a pandemic-induced one, vaccinating delivery partners, dealing with the pandemic and more.
BUSINESS
Startups pay record salaries to all talent amid funding boom
Coders have long been the darlings of Indian technology startups, earning record sums, but the current funding boom has led to an all-round explosion in salaries across levels and across functions. But companies are also facing unique challenges in keeping employees happy and not letting money rot company culture. And will these pay hikes look sustainable later on?
BUSINESS
Crypto industry to self regulate, overseen by IAMAI board
India's booming crypto industry is eyeing self regulation and is drafting a series of practices to ensure the same, which will be overseen by a board constituted by the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI).
BUSINESS
5 key takeaways about Google from its ‘CEO’ Prabhakar Raghavan
Prabhakar Raghavan holds significant sway over Google, and by extension, our lives. The Senior Vice President is responsible for search, ads, commerce, maps, payments, and Google Assistant. He opens up about the opportunity, the pandemic, fighting misinformation and more.
BUSINESS
WazirX goes live with NFT marketplace amid crypto boom, RBI clarification
WazirX NFTs: Binance-owned WazirX is doing this even as there is a regulatory cloud over crypto and the RBI issued a clarification on cryptocurrencies and banks' relationship with them.
BUSINESS
Plum Insurance raises $15.6 million from Tiger in Series A round
Plum Insurance works with companies to provide affordable employee insurance
BUSINESS
Zerodha valued at $2 billion, plans $25 million ESOP buyback
Online brokerage Zerodha's valuation has doubled to $2 billion within a year, underscoring the stock market investing frenzy underway in India. Zerodha is also planning a stock buyback, giving early employees a financial windfall
