Electronic waste and battery recycling startup Attero has marked its foray into the direct to consumer (D2C) space with the roll out of an integrated e-waste consumer take-back platform called Selsmart.

With this platform, the company aims to transform the e-waste recycling landscape and combat India’s growing e-waste crisis, which is projected to reach 14 Mn tonnes by 2030, it said in a statement.

Selsmart will enable consumers to schedule doorstep pickups of used electronic gadgets and appliances, and receive fair market equivalent prices in return.

The company also said that this platform will provide full data security with top-of-the-line data wiping, degaussing and physical destruction processes. Besides, Selsmart will facilitate disposal of e-waste through Attero’s recycling processes.

Founded in 2008 by Nitin Gupta and Rohan Gupta, Attero offers recycling of the electrical and electronic devices. As one of the leading e-waste recyclers, the company claims to process 144,000 metric tonnes of e-waste annually at its Roorkee plant and plans to expand it to 415,000 metric tonnes in next five years.

The company counts Kalaari Capital, Granite Hill Capital, IFC and Forum Synergies among its investors.

Nitin Gupta, cofounder and chief executive said, “Selsmart addresses the significant gap in household electronics disposal. We are aiming to establish Selsmart as India’s largest consumer take-back platform and are forging partnerships with leading brands and OEMs to incorporate circularity & sustainability into their business models.”

This development comes on the back of the boom in India’s D2C market, which is likely to reach a size of $100 Bn by 2025. The growth is contributed by the pandemic, higher internet penetration, growth of digital infrastructure and cost of living that have shored up the D2C brands.

Most manufacturing and electric vehicle companies depend highly on lithium-ion batteries for their production.

Banking on the rise of battery usage, Gupta claimed that the company is cash flow positive and growing exponentially, in September 2023. Attero claims to have clocked revenues to the tune of INR 300 Cr in FY23.

With the new label introduced in the market, the Noida-based company now looks to achieve an annual recurring revenue (ARR) of INR 100 Cr, by collecting 14,000 metric tonnes of e-waste. By the third year, Attero is forecasting to make INR 1,000 Cr in annual recurring revenue, with 140,000 metric tonnes of e-waste collected.

Startup nurturing platform India Accelerator has floated a new vertical to back businesses operating in the cleantech sector, by writing a cheque of INR 1.5 Cr to each startup via its Finvolve Accelerator Fund. Besides, it will also allocate INR 4.1 Cr to each startup through the Finvolve Seed Fund to support growing startups looking for expansion.

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Eyeing expansion beyond online retailers, logistics unicorn Shiprocket seeks to enable ecommerce deals for the offline general trade segment.

As per ET’s report, citing chief executive Saahil Goel, the company rolled out a WhatsApp storefront bot and is also launching a quick shipping service for small businesses and direct sellers. 

It has introduced the fast-delivery offering Shiprocket Quick across Delhi-NCR, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Pune.

“We will build a new stack (for the offline merchant)…it will evolve as we work with these merchants,” Goel was quoted as saying by the report.

Inc42 has reached out to Goel for comments on the development. The story will be updated based on his response.

Founded in 2017 by Goel, Vishesh Khurana, Akshay Gulati and Gautam Kapoor, Shiprocket is an aggregator of third-party logistics companies. It works with 17 courier partners, including Delhivery, FedEx, Aramex, Xpressbees, DTDC, and Shadowfax. 

This comes at a time when logistics startups have started gaining investors’ confidence in the last few months on the back of a shift in consumer lifestyle. Witnessing the opportunity of delivering everything to the doorstep of consumers, logistics firms have begun to race each other to expand their services.

For instance, Bhavish Aggarwal led ridesharing unicorn Ola has recently rolled out its grocery delivery through the Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC).

Earlier this year, hyperlocal delivery startup Magicpin forayed into the logistics aggregation segment with the launch of its new vertical Velocity. 

In April, Shiprocket raised $75 Mn from Silicon Valley-based Tribe Capital’s newly launched special purpose vehicle (SPV) in India. This fundraise is anticipated to involve both primary and secondary transactions, potentially valuing the startup at $1.2 Bn.

Delhi NCR-based logistics unicorn witnessed a 78% increase in its operating revenue of INR 1,089 Cr in the financial year ending on March 31, 2023, a 1.7X upswing from INR 611 Cr, in the previous fiscal year. 

However, the startup saw its net loss widen by 3.6X on the back of its multiple acquisitions. The logistics unicorn reported a net loss of INR 341 Cr in FY23, a 266% surge from INR 93.1 Cr it had reported in the previous fiscal year. 

As per Inc42’s report, India houses more than 5,100 active e–commerce startups and several industry incumbents, which will drive the growth momentum. According to Mordor Intelligence, the country’s ecommerce logistics market size, estimated at nearly $4 Bn in 2024, is expected to hit $7.2 Bn by 2029, growing at a CAGR of 12.7%. 

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Paytm’s parent company One97 Communications has rolled out an upgraded soundbox device to facilitate payments by tapping a debit or credit card or scanning a QR code.

The NFC (near field communication) card soundbox would accept digital payments through scanning QR codes from a user’s phone as well as tapping the bank cards, the company said.

Founder and CEO Vijay Shekhar Sharma said the Paytm QR card soundbox is an integration of two devices into one, which eases the process of transaction to both the merchant and customers.

This new card box has the feature of sending voice prompts of the transaction progress in 11 local Indian languages and it has been pilot tested with merchants from food business around various cities in the country including Amritsar, Lucknow, Agra, Delhi, Jaipur, Chennai, Bengaluru, Dehradun, Ahmedabad and Hyderabad.

Sharma also said that this upgraded soundbox device is as affordable as its existing soundbox and available on a monthly rental basis, which starts from INR 150 onwards. The device has the battery capacity of lasting 10 days without having to recharge in between.

However, one of the merchants from Hyderabad, who was a part of the pilot test highlighted the limitation of the device which restricts the card style of payments to tap mode alone. Customers that haven’t activated netbanking will not be able to make payments using their card.

Also, the device currently has the bandwidth of accepting payments of up to INR 5000 per transaction.

At 12:19 PM, shares of Paytm were trading at INR 498.45 apiece on the BSE on Tuesday (July 30), up 1.2% from the previous close.

Earlier in April, the fintech juggernaut launched two new soundboxes to receive UPI and credit card on UPI payments, made completely in India, which were equipped with 4G network connectivity and better sound quality.

Additionally, Paytm said in the webinar that it foresees no impact of lower incentives earmarked by the government in the budget for promoting small ticket digital transactions.

Sharma has confirmed that the company will maintain overall guidance and aims to achieve the projected profit margins in the remaining quarters, while also denying any impact of lower allocation of incentives to promote small ticket digital transactions on his forecast.

“We remain committed to doing the same (achieve a profitable quarter in this fiscal) because we already said without UPI incentive,” he said.

It is pertinent to note that the Centre slashed the budget allocation for incentivising digital payments in the fiscal year 2024-25 (FY25) by over 42% to INR 1,441 Cr.

The allocation for fintech startups and banks for promoting RuPay debit cards and low-value BHIM-UPI P2M (person-to-merchant) transactions stood at INR 2,485 Cr in FY24, as per the revised estimates.

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Wedding services startup Meragi has secured $9.1 Mn (around INR 76.2 Cr) as a part of its Series A funding round led by Accel, along with participation from existing investors like Peak XV Partners, Venture Highway and Shaadi.com’s founder Anupam Mittal.

The company plans to deploy the fresh proceeds to offer innovative tech product offerings to its customers, launch partner venues and experience centres and expansion.

“Alongside our previous investors, Peak XV Partners and Venture Highway, we are thrilled to welcome Accel to our journey. With their expertise and support, we are confident in bringing the Meragi experience to thousands of more couples and families in India,” said Meragi’s cofounder and chief executive Abhinav Chandran.

Founded in 2021 by Chandran, Lakshminarayan Balasubramaniam and Mukund Mohan Raj, Meragi is an online platform that offers wedding-related services such as wedding decor, photography, makeup, catering and entertainment, among others.

The company has been a part of Peak XV Partners’ (formerly known as Sequoia Capital) accelerator and incubation programme Surge featuring 12 early stage startups from India and Southeast Asia. Meragi was one of the seven startups based out of India. So far, Surge startups have collectively raised over $2 Bn in follow-on funding from Surge and co-investor. 

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Sportstech startup Game Theory has roped in India’s chief badminton coach Pullela Gopichand and a clutch of other players as investors.

However, the company did not disclose the financial terms of the new funding round.

Among others who have participated in the round include former squash player Saurav Ghosal and table tennis veteran Sharath Kamal.

The company plans to deploy the fresh proceeds to elevate athletes from foundational skills to elite competitive levels using the world’s leading technologies brought to everyday play.

“By investing in this venture, I hope to contribute to building a robust sports ecosystem that nurtures talent from the grassroots level. With Game Theory’s technology, we’ll not only be able to deliver a great program but also scout future talents, helping us win in the sport on a global scale. We can now create a structured and highly personalised pathway that guides young athletes to excel globally, particularly at the Olympics,” Gopichand said.

This comes at a time when sports and fitness tech startup Machaxi and SportVot raised funds earlier this year, in a pre-Series A funding round from various investors aimed at expansion and boosting their tech stack and product offerings.

Founded in 2019 by Sudeep Kulkarni, Game Theory is creating an ecosystem through a user-friendly app, facilitating the seamless discovery of compatible players and enjoyable gaming experiences.

It also claims to use computer-vision data to help players track progress, provide deep stats, and offer personalised coaching.

In November last year, Game Theory acquired sports analytics startup Matchday.ai to leverage its tech stack, which employs computer vision and AI capabilities, already being used in pro-sports.

At the heart of this development, a lot of funding and M&A activities have been witnessed in India’s broader sportstech space.

For instance, in October last year, Bengaluru-based sportstech company raised $2 Mn (INR 16.7 Cr) in its pre-Series A funding round from Nithin Kamath’s Rainmatter, Rohan Bopanna, WEH Ventures, Prequate Advisory, and angel investors such as Balakrishna Adiga.

Meanwhile, athletic professionals have been active in backing growing startups in the country.

Earlier this year, Pune-based EV startup EMotorad roped in former Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni as an equity investor and healthtech platform Curelo raised funds from Indian cricketer Shreyas Iyer.

Few weeks ago, Olympian PV Sindhu also invested into an agritech startup Greenday’s FMCG brand Better Nutrition and D2C wellness brand Hoop.

The post Sportstech Startup Game Theory Ropes In Chief Badminton Coach Pullela Gopichand, Others As Investors appeared first on Inc42 Media.

CarDekho’s insurance arm InsuranceDekho has secured composite insurance broking licence from the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India to offer reinsurance service to its clients beyond insurance broking.

“Our goal is to leverage our technological prowess and deep industry expertise to bring enhanced value to our clients and partners. This approach not only improves the insurance landscape but also strengthens our market position,” InsuranceDekho’s founder and chief executive Ankit Agrawal said.

Reinsurance, in simple terms, suggests the risk transfer of an insurer (customer) to another company in order to shrink the possibility of large payouts for a claim.

InsuranceDekho’s licence upgrade follows PB Fintech’s wholly-owned subsidiary PolicyBazaar Insurance Brokers receiving approval to upgrade its licence, allowing its entry into the reinsurance business, in February.

Also, this comes at a time when InsuranceDekho was in the last leg of discussions to acquire a majority stake through share swap in Bengaluru-based wealthtech startup BankSathi, in June.

Founded in 2016 by Agrawal and Ish Babbar, InsuranceDekho is an omnichannel insurance platform providing services such as investment options and tax schemes apart from insurance options. The company claims to have direct integration with 48 insurance companies in India, offering over 630 insurance products for motor, health, life, fire, marine, and more.

InsuranceDekho said in a statement that owning a composite insurance broker licence will enable the company to leverage its technology and data analytics capabilities and strong relations with Indian insurer partners to place reinsurance business at competitive prices.

This approach not only improves the insurance landscape but also strengthens our market position, Agrawal added.

Agrawal told Inc42, “Our long-term goals revolve around enhancing insurance penetration and accessibility throughout India. Our strategic expansion into reinsurance broking aligns seamlessly with this vision. This strategic move will enable us to utilize advanced data analytics and technology to place reinsurance business at competitive prices, thereby bolstering contribution margins and increasing EBITDA margins for InsuranceDekho.”

The Delhi NCR-based company initially revealed its plans of reinsurance initiative in October 2023, while raising $60 Mn (over INR 502.3 Cr) in its ongoing Series B funding round. 

Meanwhile, Bengaluru-based insurtech company Covrzy received direct broking (general) licence from the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India, to operate as a direct insurance broker to offer business insurance solutions, a week ago.

Earlier this month, Aeries Financial Technologies, which runs AI-led fintech startup CASHe, bought Hyderabad-based Centcart Insurance Broking Services, to enter the insurance broking vertical.

InsuranceDekho reported a 29% decline in its net loss to INR 51.5 Cr in the financial year 2022-23 (FY23) from INR 72.2 Cr in FY22, on the back of a strong growth in its business, while its operating revenue doubled to INR 96.4 Cr during the year under review from INR 47.9 Cr in the previous fiscal year.

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The Centre has reportedly invited bids from project management companies and joint venture to oversee operations of the India Semiconductor Mission and its aspects.

As per ET’s report, the ministry of electronics and information technology has said in its bid that the project management company will also be responsible for the estimation of the financial aspects of the project, overall project cost and monitoring the details of the actual expenditure in items such as plant, machinery, clean rooms, equipment and associated units.

On the other hand, the company will also be responsible for “reviewing and providing suggestions to the quality control protocols adopted for the project with respect to the product qualification, reliability of chips, testing and quality of chips, yield benchmark and production target achievement,” the IT ministry was quoted as saying in the report.

Earlier this month, MeitY was said to knock on the doors of the finance ministry and seek more funds for its semiconductor mission. As per The Hindu businessline, it has begun to commit funds to the tune of INR 70,000 Cr (92%) out of the scheme’s total outlay of INR 76,000 Cr.

MeitY is responsible for the execution of the ISM scheme of INR 76,000 Cr. The initiative is a specialised and independent business division within the Digital India Corporation with an aim to build a strong semiconductor and display ecosystem to enable the country’s emergence as a global hub for electronics manufacturing and design.

Earlier this year, Tata group announced setting up a semiconductor ATMP (a combination of assembly, testing, marking and packaging) worth INR 27K Cr in March 2024 Assam.

In February, Tata Electronics (TEPL) also received approval to build India’s first AI-enabled semiconductor fabrication facility in Gujarat’s Dholera.

As per Inc42’s report, the Indian semiconductor market is expected to reach $150 Bn by 2030, up from $33 Bn in 2023, witnessing a 24% CAGR.

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The government has informed the Parliament that an incremental investment of INR 8,803.14 Cr was made under the Scheme for Promotion of Manufacturing of Electronic Components and Semiconductors as of June 30.

In a written reply to Rajya Sabha, Minister of State (MoS) for Electronics and Information Technology Jitin Prasada said that the scheme has led to production of INR 18,083.55 Cr (over $2.1 Bn) until the end of June.

The scheme was initially notified on April 1, 2020, and has continued to accept applications until March 31.It provides a financial incentive of 25% on capex (capital expenditure) for electronic components, mechanics, solar photovoltaic (SPV) polysilicon and such goods on their production.

Meanwhile, production linked incentive (PLI) scheme for large scale electronics, which offers an incentive of 3% to 6% on incremental sales of electronic goods produced in India for a period of five years, made an investment of INR 8,390 Cr under the scheme, as of June 30, and the initiative has aided the production of INR 5,14,960 Cr, until then.

This PLI scheme came in order to boost domestic manufacturing and attract investment in mobile phones value chain including electronic components and semiconductor packaging and it was notified on April 1, 2020. 

This comes on the heels of the multiple initiatives and schemes introduced by the government to boost the manufacturing sector.

Also, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman has announced a number of measures during her recent Budget speech to boost the domestic electronics industry.

“To increase value addition in the domestic electronics industry, I propose to remove the Basic Customs Duty (BCD), subject to conditions, on oxygen-free copper for the manufacture of resistors. I also propose to exempt certain parts used in the manufacture of connectors,” Sitharaman said.

In April, the Ministry of Heavy Industries (MHI) received seven bids for the global tender issued by it for rebidding for production linked incentives (PLI) for 10 GWh advanced chemistry cell (ACC) manufacturing. The Union Cabinet approved the PLI scheme for manufacturing advanced chemistry cell (ACC) batteries in May 2021.

The scheme, with an outlay of INR 18,100 Cr aimed to achieve manufacturing capacity of 50GWh of ACC and 5 GWh of “niche” ACC.

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Chennai-based WayCool has initiated another round of layoffs just within five months of sacking at least 70 employees as the agritech startup looks to streamline its business operations.

As per Moneycontrol’s report, the company has cut over 200 jobs across several verticals in its third layoff exercise within a year, impacting employees across Chennai, Bengaluru and Hyderabad, and its subsidiaries — CensaNext and BrandNext.

This comes at a time when the company looks to streamline its operations to cut down losses after struggling to close funding.

Sources close to the development have confirmed to Inc42 about the layoff exercise, without further disclosing the number of impacted employees.

“Each of WayCool’s businesses is executing their plans to get to profitability. As part of this, roles and structures are further simplified and automated. This will be a continual process,” a WayCool spokesperson told Inc42 in a statement.

“The company has already received 75% of the capital from its bridge round and will complete the round by August. This gives it adequate capital runway to get past the cash profitability milestone,” the spokesperson added.

Founded in 2015 by Karthik Jayaraman and Sanjay Dasari, WayCool is an agritech company that sells its food products under seven different labels, while also offering supply chain tech solutions. The company has raised a total funding of around $300 Mn so far, and is backed by investors such as Lightrock, Lightbox, Lightsmith, 57 Stars, and FMO.

Sources attributed the latest layoff exercise to the company’s worsening financial woes, including delayed salaries and client payments, the report said.

Last year, it was reported that WayCool fired 300 employees in a restructuring exercise.

Back then TOI reported that the startup, which raised more than $350 Mn in funding, has conducted the restructuring to chase profitability.

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PharmEasy-owned diagnostics platform Thyrocare Technologies is acquiring the pathology diagnostic business of Polo Labs to expand its presence in northern India.

In a statement, Thyrocare said it has entered into an agreement to acquire the Punjab-based pathology laboratories’ business. However, it didn’t disclose the deal value.

Polo Labs operates 14 laboratories across Punjab, Haryana, and Himachal Pradesh.

The PharmEasy-owned diagnostics platform said that the acquisition will expand its reach in the northern parts of India and further solidify its position as a dominant player in the Indian diagnostic industry.

“This strategic acquisition will enhance our diagnostic capabilities and service offerings, leveraging Polo Labs’ existing widespread network in North India. We are committed to a seamless integration and look forward to the growth and innovation this acquisition will bring,” said Rahul Guha, MD and chief executive of Thyrocare and president of API Holdings.

This is the second acquisition by Thyrocare. Earlier this year, it acquired a 100% stake in Chennai-based Think Health Diagnostics and a related party to offer ECG services at home

PharmEasy acquired Thyrocare, founded in 1996 by Arokiaswamy Velumani, in 2021.

Earlier this week, Thyrocare reported a 35% increase in profit after tax to INR 23.5 Cr in Q1 FY25 from INR 17.4 Cr in the same quarter of the previous fiscal. Revenue from operations surged 16.3% to INR 156.9 Cr during the June quarter from INR 134.9 Cr in Q1 FY24.

Meanwhile, PharmEasy is facing multiple troubles, including rising losses, valuation markdowns, funding woes, and mass layoffs. Earlier this year, the digital pharmacy raised INR 1,804 Cr ($216.2 Mn) at a 90% valuation cut.

PharmEasy’s net loss widened 31% to INR 5,211.7 Cr in FY23 from INR 3,992.4 Cr in the previous fiscal year. The unicorn’s operating revenue jumped 16% to INR INR 6,643.9 Cr during the year from INR 5,728.8 Cr in FY22.

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In a bid to address the rising money scamming and frauds issue, the Reserve Bank of India has reportedly asked banks and all payment system operators to keep track of domestic money transactions made by customers.

As per the Economic Times report, the regulator has asked remitter banks to keep a record of the basic details such as name and address of beneficiaries of all cash pay-out services.

For cash pay-in services, remitting banks and business correspondents (BCs) will have to register the customer based on a verified cell phone number and a self-certified ‘Officially Valid Document (OVD)’ as set out in the Know Your Customer rules, the report added.

The news report also revealed that every transaction by a remitter will have to be validated by an Additional Factor of Authentication (AFA).

Reserve Bank of India governor Shaktikanta Das has urged banks to step up efforts against mule accounts and asked them to intensify efforts to curb digital frauds, based on the report.

The RBI previously set up a committee, comprising industry experts, to develop a digital public infrastructure platform led by Abhaya Hota, the first CEO of the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) to combat payment frauds, in June.

Meanwhile, in June, the central bank also organised its third global hackathon to develop tech-based solutions to address financial frauds called ‘HaRBInger 2024 – Innovation for Transformation’.

This new regulation from the RBI is expected to bring a significant impact on the growing online frauds in the country which has surged by 334% year-on-year (YoY) to 29,082 in the financial year 2023-24 (FY24), where the amount involved in these cases surged to INR 1,457 Cr in FY24 from INR 227 Cr in the previous year. 

The disclosures were part of the central bank’s annual report for the fiscal year ended March 2024 and covered instances involving cards and the internet. In contrast, online frauds in the country stood at 6,699 in FY23.

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Fintech unicorn CRED has rolled out a new offering for its users that enables them to have a unified view of all their bank account balances, reminders for recurring payments beyond credit card transactions and a tool to analyse spends.

“For the affluent, managing finances often means more complexities leading to anxiety. We have built a product that improves every affluent person’s relationship with money and makes them less anxious about it through a trusted, insightful experience. CRED Money is for those who wish to have greater control over money without the pain of doing it,” said CRED’s founder and chief executive Kunal Shah.

For recurring payments such as SIPs, EMIs, rent, staff salaries, or insurance premiums, CRED Money would send users reminders and updates.

The product enables users to analyse spending patterns across multiple bank accounts and search spends by merchant category.

CRED Money is built on the account aggregator (AA) framework that enables users to share their data with banks or financial institutions between authorised organisations.

This new development comes at a time after CRED secured an in-principle approval from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) for its payment aggregator licence application in April.

Meanwhile, the unicorn also acquired investech platform Kuvera to enter the fast-growing wealth management space and take on the likes of Zerodha, Groww, and PhonePe.

The Bengaluru-based fintech company has been on the track for new launches, and previously, it rolled out its Unified Payments Interface (UPI)-based peer-to-peer (P2P) payments system, a year ago.

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The Competition Commission of India has given a green signal to Manipal Health Systems and Ranjan Pai’s MEMG Family Office LLP for the proposed buyout of a stake in BYJU’S-owned Aakash Educational Services.

The CCI confirmed its approval of the acquisition deal through a post on X.

Earlier, ET reported that the board of Aakash has given the nod to the conversion of $300 Mn investment made by Pai in 2023 into equity.

Earlier this year, it was reported that Aakash Institute was set to see Pai emerge as its largest shareholder with a 40% stake buyout.

However, an arbitrator asked BYJU’S to not sell 4 Mn shares of its subsidiary Aakash Educational Services, in April.

The order came in response to MEMG Family Office initiating arbitration proceedings against the edtech startup over breach of terms of a $42 Mn loan, earlier this year.

During the arbitration proceedings, BYJU’S said it couldn’t allot the shares as it failed to obtain approvals from certain investors in time for the transfer of shares to MEMG Family Office.

While the edtech giant BYJU’S is yet to release its FY22 financial report card, its crown jewel – Aakash Educational Services Ltd (Aakash), saw its profit widen by 82% to INR 79.5 Cr in FY22. This marks a significant improvement compared to the INR 43.6 C profit it reported in FY21 on a standalone basis.

The post CCI Gives Nod To Ranjan Pai’s Manipal Group To Acquire Stake In Aakash Educational Services appeared first on Inc42 Media.

The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has approved the sale of Amazon India’s largest seller Appario Retail to Clicktech, another seller on the platform.

CCI approved the “proposed combination involving, inter alia, Amazon Asia-Pacific Holdings, Frontizo Business Services, Appario Retail, Haverl LLC and Clicktech Retail,” the antitrust body’s X post was quoted as saying in ET.

The statutory body also approved Frontizo’s 76% equity shares sale by Zodiac Wealth Advisors to Amazon Asia-Pacific Holdings.

It is pertinent to note that Appario is a joint venture of Amazon and Patni group owned Zodiac Wealth Management. As reported by PTI, Zodiac held 76% stake in Appario Retail while Amazon Asia Pacific Holdings makes up for a 23% stake in it. The remaining 1% share is with Zaffre. 

Additionally, CCI gave its approval to Haverl LLC to buy 1% shares of Clicktech Retail’s parent entity New Trends Commerce.

Appario Retail is the biggest seller on Amazon India and operates under the aegis of Frontizo Business Services, the ecommerce giant’s joint venture (JV) with Patni Group-owned Zodiac Wealth Management.

In 2022, the ecommerce giant shut one of its largest sellers in India Cloudtail which the industry experts linked to the CCI probe.

Following the first big shutdown, Amazon revealed its plans to terminate operations of its yet another seller, Appario Retail, within the next 12 months.

Clicktech initially proposed to acquire its peer Appario as part of Amazon India’s plan to divest stakes in sellers on its platform, in April.

As a seller on the ecommerce platform, Appario primarily earns revenue from the sale of traded goods, including damaged goods.

Appario Retail reported a decline of 8.2% in its sales revenue to INR 14,604.2 Cr in the financial year 2022-23 (FY23) from INR 15,915.6 Cr, a year ago. Despite this, its net profit rose marginally to INR 84.4 Cr in FY23 from INR 82.5 Cr in the previous fiscal year.

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Shares of geotech company MapmyIndia’s parent entity C.E. Info Systems climbed up to 10% at INR 2,488 in the intraday trade today after finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman during her Union Budget 2024-25 (FY25) speech announced that land records in urban areas will be digitised with GIS mapping.

The stock was trading at INR 2,411.95 apiece at 1:29 PM on the BSE in the afternoon trade, up 6.6% from the previous close.

In December 2021, shares of C.E. Info Systems got listed with a healthy premium of 53% on the BSE at INR 1,581 per share, against the issue price of INR 1,033.

A week ago, the digital mapping company was in discussions with partners to expand its products and platforms beyond India, targeting regions in Southeast Asia and the Middle East & North Africa, CEO Rohan Verma said.

In its 29th Annual Report for FY 2023-24, Verma said, “We are in conversation with our partners to take our products and platforms to geographies outside India, primarily Southeast Asia and the Middle East & North Africa .”

The BSE-listed company’s market capitalisation stood at INR 13,065.41 Cr.

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Qatar Investment Authority, the sovereign wealth fund of the Middle Eastern nation, has approached the Karnataka High Court to compel embattled edtech startup BYJU’S founder and CEO Byju Raveendran to disclose and block the transfer of his personal assets.

QIA has requested the court to prevent Raveendran from selling, pledging, or transferring his assets. The wealth fund aims to claim up to $235.19 Mn of Raveendran’s personal assets, as per Mint’s report, citing court documents. 

In 2019, the sovereign wealth fund first pumped $150 Mn into BYJU’S and made its second investment in the edtech startup’s $250 Mn funding round, along with other existing backers in 2022.

This comes at a time when the founder of the troubled edtech startup said that the insolvency proceedings initiated against the startup will likely “force” thousands of its employees to resign. 

As per a 452-page filing before the Karnataka High Court, accessed by Reuters, Raveendran said that the move will also result in a “total shutdown” of the edtech startup’s operations. 

This comes at a time when BYJU’S is trying to douse fires on multiple fronts, including a looming debt crisis, a public spat with investors, a cash crunch, mounting losses, mass layoffs, and salary delays. 

Earlier last week, Inc42 reported that the company has been locked out of its more than 100 BYJU’S Tuition Centre (BTC) across the country over unpaid rent and other utility bills. This has deepened the crisis at BYJU’S, which has already been struggling to pay the salaries of its employees.

BYJU’S net loss surged 81% YoY to INR 8,245.2 Cr (close to $1 Bn) in FY22 as WhiteHat Jr and other loss-making acquisitions continued to weigh down the bottom line. In FY22, the startup’s total expenses nearly doubled to INR 13,668 Cr. 

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Beauty ecommerce major Nykaa is looking to raise INR 125 Cr (about $15 Mn) via non-convertible debentures (NCDs) from an undisclosed foreign portfolio investor.

In an exchange filing on Monday (July 22), the company said that the board of directors of Nykaa E- Retail Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of FSN ECommerce Ventures Limited, has approved and authorised the issuance of up to 12,500 NCDs at a face value of INR 1 Lakh each to raise INR 125 Cr.

This comes weeks after its step-down subsidiary Nessa International Holdings incorporated a wholly-owned subsidiary in Qatar – Nysaa Cosmetics Trading. 

Back then the company said that Nysaa Cosmetics will be engaged in international exports and sale/ trade/ retail of beauty and personal care (BPC) products, both online and offline, and other related activities.

Founded in 2012 by Falguni Nayar, Nykaa is a wholly owned subsidiary of  FSN ECommerce Ventures. The ecommerce chain offers different beauty and wellness products for men and women.

Shares of FSN E-Commerce Ventures were trading at INR 177.30 apiece at 9:41 AM on the BSE on Tuesday, up 1.3% from the previous close. 

Earlier in May, Nykaa announced a major restructuring of its business verticals, where its board approved the acquisition of western wear and accessories business of Nykaa Fashion Limited in a cash deal of INR 133.7 Cr.

In July, FSN ecommerce projected a strong revenue growth of around 22-23% year-over-year for the first quarter of FY2025. Also, the company said in a statement that it also anticipates its Gross Merchandise Value (GMV) to rise in the mid-twenties percentage range year-over-year.

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Riding on the back of the country’s digital public infrastructure (DPI), India aims to emerge as a ‘fintech nation’ housing the highest number of fintech firms, the Economic Survey 2023-24 said.

The country also aims to have the highest fintech adoption rate in the world, the Survey said.

The Survey highlighted the key role played by DPI in the growth of the fintech industry and said that India is among the fastest-growing fintech markets in the world and is the third-largest growing fintech economy.

It is pertinent to note that India has seen rapid adoption of digital payments like UPI and other fintech services in the last few years. Going ahead, the Survey said, artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), decentralised finance, Internet of Things (IoT) have the potential to further disrupt the digital payments ecosystem.

The document also suggested steps to further improve fintech adoption in the country, and pitched for adoption of a common approach for using customer data across regulators.

“In the medium term, efforts should be made to move towards data-based lending instead of judgment-based lending, especially for small businesses. In this regard, there is a need for continuous review to identify regulatory gaps/overlaps and benchmark them with the best global practices. Financial sector firms – public or privately owned – must become customer-centric. Without that, most quantitative metrics will remain elusive,” the Survey said.

The Economic Survey credited the Covid-19 pandemic for the rise in digital transactions in the country. It particularly highlighted the growth of the Unified Payments Interface (UPI), saying the value of the transactions on the platform grew to INR 200 Lakh Cr in FY24.

The number of UPI transactions stood at 13.89 Bn in June 2024, up 49% year-on-year.

The popularity of UPI has resulted in the emergence of a number of fintech startups in the country over the last few years. Many of these startups started as UPI payments providers and later added other financial services on it.

According to Inc42 data, India has over 24 fintech unicorns, and 36 soonicorns. These startups are trying to grab a pie of the country’s fast-growing fintech market which is expected to become a $2.1 Tn opportunity by 2030.

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Coworking space startup Incuspaze has bagged $8 Mn (around INR 67 Cr) in its maiden funding round led by India Inflection Opportunity Fund and other financial institutions.

CEO Sanjay Choudhary said that the infusion will help the company in boosting its capabilities to provide top-tier workspace solutions tailored to enterprises, MSMEs and startups. 

The capital raised will be deployed into the expansion of its flexible workspaces network, while also enhancing its technological infrastructure, Incuspaze said in a statement.

Managed by Madhu Lunawat, IIOF has invested in eight potential companies including Nurture Well Foods, Vardhman Group, MKC Agro Fresh among others.

Economic Times reported on the development first.

Founded by Choudhary in 2016, Incuspaze offers a coworking space for professionals and companies across India. The company claims to own a network of over 33 workspaces in various cities in the country.

The workspace is occupied by known labels such as PhonePe, Flipkart, Health Prime and others.

Among the other well-known startups occupying its workspace, the troubled edtech giant BYJU’S was also its client. However, its employees at the Incuspaze co-working space in Gurugram were reportedly asked to evacuate the premises in November 2023, due to non-payment of rent.

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Eight Roads Ventures’ Asia managing partner Raj Dugar has reportedly stepped down after 17 years with the investor.

While not finalised yet, Dugar has been engaging with investors within the ecosystem and may start his own secondaries fund to tap into a growing market, one of the people cited above said. He has even relocated back to Mumbai, Moneycontrol reported.

Inc42 has reached out to Eight Roads Ventures for comments on the development. The story will be updated based on the response.

As per his LinkedIn profile, Dugar joined the company in 2007, and set up the India and Southeast operations while working with the investor company. Prior to that, he worked with The Carlyle Group, Merlion India Fund and Goldman Sachs.

Dugar, also cofounded Westbridge Capital Partners and worked with the firm as managing partner for three years.

He ended his period with Eight Roads Ventures earlier in January, as per his public profile.

Top level exits have not just been on a competitive rise in startup firms and corporates, but has played its part in investment companies too.

In April alone, Peak XV Partners’ managing director Piyush Gupta quit his position, while General Catalyst’s Anand Chandrasekaran stepped down as partner, and Aviral Bhatnagar, who was leading investments in SaaS, consumer and AI sectors at Venture Highway, resigned from the VC firm. 

Eight Roads Ventures is a venture capital firm founded in 1969, and is based out of Mumbai in India. The investment firm, backed by Fidelity, aims to invest in ambitious technology and healthcare founders from across the globe.

Exponent Energy, an energy tech startup secured INR 220 Cr ($26.4 Mn) in its Series B funding round led by Fidelity-backed Eight Roads Ventures, in December 2023, to strengthen its manufacturing and business operations.

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The Karnataka government is reportedly considering a proposal to impose a 2% cess on movie tickets and OTT subscription fees to support film and cultural artists.

The Karnataka Cine and Cultural Activists (Welfare) Bill, 2024 was tabled in the assembly on July 19, as per the Moneycontrol report.

According to the bill, a ‘Cine and Cultural Activists Welfare Cess’ will be imposed on cinema tickets, subscription fees, and related establishment revenue in the state. The cess (tax) will range between 1% to 2%, as notified by the government and the rates are subjected to revision every three years, the report said. 

Earlier this month, the Karnataka government released a draft bill aimed at protecting the rights of gig workers in the state, while also offering them social and income security. It proposes various welfare measures for gig workers and mandates the app-based delivery and ride-hailing platforms to provide them with social security benefits.

Following the announcement, Karnataka’s job quota bill attracted widespread criticism and the state government put the bill on hold, a week ago.

“The cess will be levied at rates which will be notified by the government and shall not exceed 2 percent but shall not be less than 1 percent on cinema tickets, subscription fees, and all revenue generated from the related establishments,”, the report said, citing the bill.

“Cine and cultural activists include any person employed in the cinema field as an artist (such as an actor, musician, or dancer) or in any skilled, unskilled, manual, supervisory, technical, or artistic role. This also includes individuals engaged in activities declared by the government for this Act”, according to the bill.

The government has been bringing in initiatives to aid the livelihood of the people hailing from its region. Earlier in March, the Karnataka government withdrew the e-bike taxi scheme due to the protests of auto-rickshaw unions in Bengaluru, citing its blatant misuse.

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Healthcare services provider Abhay HealthTech has roped in Indian actor Vindu Dara Singh as an investor.

However, the company did not disclose the financial terms of the deal. 

As per PTI’s report, citing Abhay HealthTech, this infusion underscores the confidence in the platform’s innovative healthcare approach and rapid growth trajectory.

Inc42 has reached out to Abhay HealthTech for comments on the development. The story will be updated based on response.

Founded by Apurv Abhay Modi and Sougat Chatterjee, Abhay HealthTech offers various products and services which includes home diagnostics, rapid testing kits and OTC medicines as well as ayurvedic well-being products. 

Also, the company offers services, including hospital management ERP, CRM, hospital management consulting and healthcare business advisory.

The development comes at a time when a lot of Indian startups are roping in sports personalities as investors and brand ambassadors.

For instance, earlier this week, cricketer Virender Sehwag invested in Jaipur-based fintech startup Getepay.

Recently, Indian badminton player PV Sindhu, who is a prominent investor in the Indian startup ecosystem, backed D2C wellness brand Hoop and FMCG brand Better Nutrition. 

Similarly, Indian supplement brand Supply6 roped in former South African cricketer AB de Villiers as an investor and brand ambassador.

In April, Indian cricketer Shreyas Iyer invested an undisclosed amount of capital in healthtech platform Curelo. 

As per an Inc42’s report, esteemed names like Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, Sourav Ganguly, Neeraj Chopra and Hardik Pandya backed various Indian startups in 2023.

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The government-run Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) has captured around 3% of Swiggy and Zomato’s total food order volumes across India, an internal analysis by the network has shown. 

As per ET’s report, citing sources, “ONDC now facilitates 60,000 orders per day in the food domain, capturing 3% of the total order volumes managed by Swiggy and Zomato across India individually, which receive 20 Lakh orders each.”

The total order volume touched 400,000 in a day, which included mobility bookings, one of the sources was quoted as saying in the report.

Sources added, “On July 7, 2024, ONDC set a new record with an impressive 38,000 orders per day in Bengaluru’s food domain. This represents 17% of the daily order volumes of Swiggy and Zomato individually in the city when they each received 220,000 orders.”

Inc42 has reached out to ONDC for comments on the development. The story will be updated based on the response.

Meanwhile, ONDC is also looking to integrate banks and fintech platforms, days after the network began early pilots for credit disbursal through its platform, by partnering with Tata Group superapp Tata Neu and Paisabazaar, in early July.

The network recorded 10 Mn transactions in June, with 6.1 Mn non-mobility transactions and 3.9 Mn mobility transactions, according to Equirus Securities India Equity Research BFSI sector report.

As per the BFSI sector report, a majority of this incremental growth has been driven by retail, with non-mobility orders surpassing 6 Mn transactions in June, up from 3.6 Mn in March.

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International trade association World Gold Council (WGC) has urged the union finance ministry and the Reserve Bank of India to establish appropriate guidelines and regulatory frameworks for the digital gold business in India.

As per ET’s report, the council asked the authorities to introduce checks and balances to ensure the gold bought digitally by the customers is protected.

Inc42 has reached out to WGC’s India CEO Sachin Jain for comments on the development. The story will be updated based on the response.

The council, as per report, has also asked to bring in a transparent way to buy and hold gold digitally. According to WGC, over 120 Mn customers have bought digital gold so far, with nearly 40 Mn customers holding it currently.

Earlier in May, the sharp spike in gold prices reduced the country’s consumption to 562.2 tonnes in 2023, a 6.39% dip from 600.6 tonnes of gold as jewellery in 2022, according to the World Gold Council.

“There is a need to facilitate orderly growth of the digital gold market to protect and promote micro savings in gold through transparent digital gold channels and to deter any unscrupulous fly-by-night operators from misusing the emerging opportunity,” Jain was quoted as saying in the report.

He also said, “Government should consider bringing out appropriate guidelines and regulatory oversight for a digital gold business aligned with the broader economic agenda on digitalisation of assets.”

For the uninitiated, Bengaluru-based Plus Gold is one of the very few fintechs that offers users to purchase digital gold. Besides, a 2024 survey indicates that 14% of Indian women still prefer gold as an investment option over real estate and equities. 

All gold assets, physical and digital, are insured and securely stored with Augmont, a digital gold provider and the technology arm of RiddiSiddhi Bullions (RSBL).

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