BUSINESS
Sequoia-backed revenue-based financing platform Klub marks final close of its Rs 200 cr maiden fund
Klub will be investing capital in the range of Rs 5 lakhs to Rs 30 crore in businesses for a tenure of 1-24 months, the company said.
BUSINESS
Unacademy's CMO Karan Shroff, who was elevated as Partner last year, quits
Shroff was elevated as Unacademy's CMO in September 2020. Before Unacademy, Shroff was with Xiaomi as its head of brand marketing in India for a little over four years.
BUSINESS
Slowing in startup funding is healthy, signals return to basics: Sanjeev Aggarwal of Fundamentum
The funding slowdown is healthy because nothing was changing in the business but valuations were going up because of the fear of missing out for venture capital firms
BUSINESS
Tiger Global meets early-stage investors as it looks to double down on young startups in India
Executives from the hedge fund company’s US office have met investors many times in Bengaluru. The meetings are happening at a time when the company is increasingly looking at investing in younger startups across the world as some of its late-stage bets are turning sour.
BUSINESS
Sequoia sells part of pre-IPO Zomato holding, paring stake to 4.4%
Sequoia Capital India has sold 17.2 crore shares of Zomato in the open market so far, bringing its stake down to 4.4 percent from 6.41 percent earlier.
BUSINESS
Binny Bansal-backed Brightchamps buys Singapore-based startup for $15 million
Schola’s acquisition will help Brightchamps in adding English speaking and communications vertical, a segment that will help it scale faster in its key markets--Southeast Asian countries such as Vietnam, Thailand and Indonesia.
BUSINESS
Edtech unicorn upGrad increases ESOP pool size
upGrad has increased the ESOP pool size to 25,25,810 shares from 22,25,810 shares, the regulatory filings showed.
BUSINESS
How upGrad’s co-founder Mayank Kumar raised one of India’s largest funding rounds this year amid edtech slowdown
BUSINESS
Uni suspends card services after RBI's digital lending norms hint at tighter scrutiny against PPI lending
Uni's move of inactivating its existing cards comes a day after Moneycontrol had reported that its prepaid card partner State Bank of Mauritius India is looking to pause the onboarding of new customers until further clarity emerges on the RBI's views on the model.
BUSINESS
Edtech unicorn PhysicsWallah sees FY23 revenue to top Rs 1,200 cr; to launch new offerings
PhysicsWallah’s comments on profitability and the company’s expansion plans come at a time when edtech companies in India have struggled with softening demand post the pandemic amid reopening of schools, colleges and physical tuition centers.
BUSINESS
Nandan Nilekani’s Fundamentum Partnership raises $227 million in second fund
Fundamentum joins a growing list of early-stage venture capital investors in India to have raised large funds for Indian-focused startups. Earlier this year, VC firms Accel and Elevation Capital had also closed their largest-ever India-focused funds.
BUSINESS
Exclusive | Unacademy halves Relevel team to 700 as placements drop amid job market slowdown
Interestingly, the slowdown in the job market doesn’t seem to have affected other recruitment platforms like Naukri. That company, run by Info Edge, said its recruitment business recorded 49 percent growth in new customers and billing growth was witnessed across IT and non-IT.
BUSINESS
Startups need to make money organically, not by putting ads: Nandan Nilekani
The Infosys chairman’s comments on profitability come at a time when venture capital and private equity firms, investment bankers and veterans are advising startups to prioritise profitability over growth
BUSINESS
Razorpay makes offline foray, acquires PoS player Ezetap
In its fifth acquisition in less than four years, Razorpay picks up an 80 percent stake in Ezetap Solutions Pte Ltd, the parent entity of Ezetap Solutions Pvt Ltd, which will see it go up against Pine Labs, MSwipe and BharatPe among others
BUSINESS
Remembering Rakesh Jhunjhunwala: Why the Big Bull was a bear when it came to startups, cryptocurrencies
"I wish startups focus more on a business model that produces cash rather than taking money at $2 billion, $3 billion in valuation. That is not the capital that will build great companies in the world. So capital is not very important, it’s your business model," Jhunjhunwala said
BUSINESS
Exclusive | Temasek invests $15 million in neobanking platform Fi as part of ongoing Series C round
According to sources aware of the fundraise, the total size of the round is expected to be around $90 million. Alpha Wave Global, which is leading the round has already invested $45 million.
BUSINESS
How’s funding been to India’s fintechs in 2022?
BUSINESS
SoftBank to cut workforce at Vision Fund units as Masayoshi Son turns cautious after record quarterly loss
While Son did not give any details on the headcount reduction, he said that it was imperative for the Japanese investment conglomerate to undertake layoffs in a bid to cut costs since the company reported big losses for two consecutive quarters.
BUSINESS
SoftBank-backed OfBusiness defers IPO plans by 3 months on weak market cues
CEO Asish Mohapatra also said the last round that OfBusiness raised in December 2021 was the company’s last private market fundraise
BUSINESS
SoftBank swings to record loss; shares down most since April 25
SoftBank’s Vision Fund investment unit, through which the Japanese conglomerate invests in companies, posted a net loss of as much as $17 billion hitting the companies profits for the quarter ended June
BUSINESS
upGrad raises $210 million at $2.25 billion valuation in round led by ETS Global, Bodhi Tree
upGrad's multi-million dollar fundraise and aggressive hiring plans come at a time when edtech companies in India including some of the highest-valued unicorns like Unacademy, Byju's and Vedantu are firing hundreds of employees amid a decline in demand for their services
BUSINESS
Nykaa buys Chiratae-backed digital content platform Little Black Book
Little Black Book's acquisition will enable Nykaa to strengthen its content delivery and drive discovery for brands, the company said in the filing.
BUSINESS
Swiggy, Unacademy, Meesho founders meet top public market investors in Bengaluru
The meeting comes at a time when many unicorns, over the last two years, had openly talked about getting publicly listed in the medium term
BUSINESS
Early-stage funding in Indian ed-tech bucks global trend, jumps 2.5x in 2022
Contenders are scrambling as the ed-tech incumbents are fumbling. But will their performance be any better?
