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In today’s newsletter: 

• Investors flock to Mintifi's $100M round
• Former AWS India head Kasture joins Microsoft
• SALT app hits the pause button

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Imagine a startup that is putting together a $100 million round but has too many investor options to choose from. Well, this sounds familiar to Mintifi.

Supply chain financing startup Mintifi is in talks to raise $100 million in a fresh round, multiple sources told us. 

• At least 20 investors, including Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan (OTPP), Bain Capital and Advent International are chasing the company to participate in the round
  
  
• This will be the company’s second large round after closing a $110 million round in March 2023 

However, there is a catch. 

• The final investor names and round size will depend on what valuation Mintifi is being offered, one of the sources told us
  
  
• It was last valued at $400 million in 2023, already double from $200 million in 2022

The company, that disburses working capital loans, extends term loans, overdraft facilities and bill discounting limits to SME and large corporates, is hot to many investors for several reasons. 

• Turned profitable in FY23 after recording a net profit of Rs 25 crore on a revenue of Rs 227 crore, a significant improvement from FY22
  
  
• It wants to disrupt the supply-chain financing industry by capitalising on its proprietary flow-based underwriting model
  
  
• Mintifi was disbursing around $100 million in credit every month earlier and is on track to increase the size to about $400 million sometime this year
  
  
• Its loan book is also poised to grow to over $1 billion in size

Dig deeper

The cloud computing landscape is heating up, and Microsoft is making bold moves to strengthen its position. 

• After hiring Puneet Chandok, former AWS India head, last year, Microsoft has now added another high-profile executive from its rival to its ranks

Microsoft has hired Vaishali Kasture, former interim country head of AWS, to lead its SMC (small, medium & corporate) unit for India and South Asia.

• This move comes at a time when global cloud service providers like AWS, Microsoft, Google, and IBM are aggressively investing in the Indian market

In recent years, India has become one of the most attractive markets for cloud investments, especially with the government expecting the country to become the largest market for servers in the world.

• According to IDC’s estimates, the overall India public cloud services market is expected to reach $24.2 billion by 2028

Go deeper

In a surprising turn of events, SALT, the platform empowering women to take control of their finances, has hit a roadblock.

The startup has pulled its ‘MySalt’ app from app stores, halting operations amidst mounting challenges in acquiring and retaining users. 

• The startup's struggle to manage high Customer Acquisition Costs (CAC) has led to this unexpected decision, sources told us 

The development comes as India’s startup ecosystem faces a series of shutdowns, such as ZestMoney and Quizy, or pauses in operations, as investors tighten their purse strings.

SALT was conceived in 2020 by Chaitra Chidanand, the co-founder of Simpl, with the goal of helping women manage their finances.

• During the COVID-19 pandemic, Shinjini Kumar, the country manager of Citi's consumer banking, joined Chidanand and brought in Aditi Sholapurkar, the assistant general manager at Paytm Payments Bank, as another co-founder

Although the app's operations are currently paused, sources told us that the founders are considering restarting the business through strategic investment or funding.

Find out more

It is raining medals for India in the Paris Paralympics after a record medal haul in Tokyo. It is these success stories that will drive inclusivity, believes two-time gold medalist Avani Lekhara.

"I want to spread awareness about people with disabilities and the community I belong to through social media," Lekhara told us. 

Wheelchair accessibility in public places is basic infrastructure India needs, noted Lekhara's coach Suma Shirur. 

• In the ongoing Paralympics 2024, India's medal tally stands at nine. 

Preethi Pal and Nishad Kumar in athletics as well as Mona Agarwal in shooting had a podium finish among others. 

Go deeper  

• French jet engine maker Safran has acquired AI firm Preligens for $243.3 million, integrating it into its electronics and defense unit and renaming it Safran.AI.
  
  
• Chinese AI startup MiniMax has launched video-01, its new text-to-video-generating model, heating up competition with other tech firms that look to catch up with the advances made by OpenAI’s Sora.

Have you ever wondered about the hidden depths of the internet? Beyond the memes and cat videos. 

• That's where Never Post, hosted by the witty Mike Rugnetta, comes in.

Think of it as a super-powered telescope, zooming in on the internet's most intriguing corners.

Check it out on Spotify or Apple Podcasts

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