Team Inc42 - Author on Inc42 Media https://inc42.com/author/teaminc42/ India’s #1 Startup Media & Intelligence Platform Thu, 01 Aug 2024 04:02:06 +0000 en hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.4.1 https://inc42.com/cdn-cgi/image/quality=75/https://asset.inc42.com/2021/09/cropped-inc42-favicon-1-32x32.png Team Inc42 - Author on Inc42 Media https://inc42.com/author/teaminc42/ 32 32 Advisory Group Constituted To Build AI Regulatory Framework: Govt https://inc42.com/buzz/advisory-group-constituted-to-build-ai-regulatory-framework-govt/ Thu, 01 Aug 2024 04:02:06 +0000 https://inc42.com/?p=471091 Minister of State (MoS) for Electronics and Information Technology Jitin Prasada has informed the Parliament that the Centre has constituted…]]>

Minister of State (MoS) for Electronics and Information Technology Jitin Prasada has informed the Parliament that the Centre has constituted an advisory group to formulate a framework to regulate artificial intelligence (AI) in the country.

Responding to a question from Telugu Desam Party members of Parliament (MPs) Lavu Sri Krishna Devarayulu and GM Harish Balayogi, the MoS said that the panel has been tasked with building a framework to promote innovation while curbing the misuse of AI technologies. 

He further added that the group comprises government officials, industry leaders, academicians and other stakeholders. 

“The government has constituted an advisory group for India-specific regulatory AI framework… Its  mandate  is  to  promote  innovation  and  ensure  adequate  guardrails  to  protect  common  citizens against the possible misuse and user harms. Specifically, the terms of reference of the advisory group includes creating contextualised ethical guidelines which are adaptable in India and promote development of trustworthy, fair, and inclusive AI,” added Prasada.

In response to a separate question, MoS (independent charge) in the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Jayant Chaudhary said that 2,914 individuals have so far been trained in AI-related courses under Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY) 4.0 till June 30.

MoS Chaudhary also said that an additional 8,909 applicants are undergoing training in various AI courses under the scheme as of June 30. He added that over 1.27 Lakh individuals have been trained in various AI-related courses on the FutureSkills Prime platform, which aims to reskill and upskill IT professionals in 10 emerging areas of technologies.

The comments come at a time when AI mania has gripped the world, which has spawned the rise of multiple startups in the space. This has led to a sharp rise in demand for talent pool catering to the domain and the upskilling programme aims to address that. 

Cognisant of this, tech giant Google announced a partnership with MeitY Startup Hub last month to upskill 10,000 homegrown startups in artificial intelligence. Infosys cofounder and chairman Nandan Nilekani last month also said that the IT major has trained more than 2.5 Lakh employees in GenAI technologies. 

Meanwhile, the growing penetration of generative AI (GenAI) has raised questions about issues related with the technology such as misuse, deepfakes and misinformation. In a bid to crack the whip on this, the Centre, earlier this year, issued an advisory that directed platforms to label undertrial AI models and ensure that no unlawful content is hosted on their sites. 

Notably, industry veterans including SaaS unicorn Zoho’s cofounder Sridhar Vembu have in the past also called for building appropriate safeguards before adopting new technologies.

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Bombay HC Restrains AI Platforms From Unauthorised Cloning Of Arijit Singh’s Voice https://inc42.com/buzz/bombay-hc-restrains-ai-platforms-from-unauthorised-cloning-of-arijit-singhs-voice/ Thu, 01 Aug 2024 04:00:36 +0000 https://inc42.com/?p=471090 The Bombay High Court (HC) has restrained a clutch of platforms and individuals from offering AI tools that allow users…]]>

The Bombay High Court (HC) has restrained a clutch of platforms and individuals from offering AI tools that allow users to convert their voice into Bollywood singer Arijit Singh’s voice.

In an ex-parte order dated July 26, Justice RI Chagla observed that the platforms were emboldening internet users to create counterfeit sound recordings and videos that misuse the Singh’s character and identity.

The directions came in response to a petition filed by the singer seeking protection of his personality rights. Granting the injunction till September 3, the HC has posted the matter for next hearing on September 2.

The plea named platforms such as Codible Ventures LLP, 100x Engineers, Hugging Face Inc., Audimee Me, Go Green Tale, Godehope and Kreate as respondents.

“In my view, creation of new audio or video content/songs/videos in the Plaintiff’s AI name/voice, photograph, image, likeness and persona without his consent and commercially using the same could potentially jeopardise the Plaintiff’s career/livelihood,” noted the HC.

Arguing for the singer, counsel Hiren Kamod and Vaibhav Keni said that the platforms were offering tools to their customers to unauthorisedly create AI-generated voice models of celebrities and popular fictional characters.

“Permitting the defendants (AI platforms) to continue exploiting/violating the Plaintiff’s (Singh) personality/publicity rights, without Plaintiff’s consent also jeopardises the Plaintiff’s career as a performer/singer and his status of a celebrity… The act of creating and disseminating videos… on how to use unauthorised AI models to replicate a celebrity’s voice such as Plaintiff without his consent cannot be shielded under the right of freedom of speech and expression,” argued Singh’s lawyers.

The development comes at a time when generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) has paved the way for easy creation of deepfakes. Unlike previously, the emerging technology allows users to simply input their audio file onto a platform and generate the output in the voice of a popular celebrity. 

However, Arijit Singh is not the first to seek relief in such a matter. Earlier this year, an owner of a Rishikesh-based firm was arrested for allegedly creating several deep fake videos on social media platforms that showed actor Amitabh Bachchan promoting products related to sexual health.

In May, Delhi HC passed an injunction against the unauthorised use of actor Jackie Shroff’s voice, and other personal attributes and prohibited the exploitation of Shroff’s “persona” through deepfakes without his explicit consent.

In September last year, Delhi HC also restrained social media and ecommerce platforms from misusing voice and other attributes of actor Anil Kapoor and barred them from creating AI-generated videos from infringing on the publicity rights of Kapoor.

Last month, the Bombay HC also directed social media platforms to take down deepfakes that featured NSE MD and CEO Ashishkumar Chauhan offering stock recommendations

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Cogniquest Bags Funding To Help Enterprises Generate Insights From Complex Documents https://inc42.com/buzz/cogniquest-bags-funding-to-help-enterprises-generate-insights-from-complex-documents/ Wed, 31 Jul 2024 20:31:15 +0000 https://inc42.com/?p=471085 Artificial intelligence (AI) startup Cogniquest has raised an undisclosed amount of seed funding from fintech-focussed venture capital firm Cedar-IBSi Capital…]]>

Artificial intelligence (AI) startup Cogniquest has raised an undisclosed amount of seed funding from fintech-focussed venture capital firm Cedar-IBSi Capital and angel investors. 

The round saw participation from more than 25 Indian angel investors, including QuantGro cofounder Dhiraj Sinha, ex-Infosys executives Umashankar Malapaka and Visveswara Gupta, former Accenture India managing director Rajesh Bhat, Anup Naik and Santosh Rao of Zeliot, ReadyAssist’s Vimal Singh, Srinivas Majji, among others, Cedar-IBSi said in a statement. 

Founded in 2022 by Satish Grampurohit and Girish Kerodi, Cogniquest claims to have built a context-aware AI platform that can capture key data points and generate actionable insights from documents and information repositories. 

It claims to offer 200X faster document processing and caters to names such as IT giants Infosys and Tech Mahindra so far. 

Cogniquest cofounder and chief business officer (CBO) Kerodi told Inc42 that the fresh capital will be deployed to further scale up technology development, expand use cases, and “build a strong team”.

He added that the investment from Cedar-IBSi will help it leverage the VC firm’s expertise to build “deep-domain vertical” solutions catering to finance and banking sectors. 

However, Kerodi didn’t disclose the funding amount and the post-money valuation of the startup.

Commenting on the fundraise, Cogniquest cofounder and CEO Grampurohit said, “Securing seed funding from Cedar-IBSi Capital and esteemed angel investors marks a significant milestone in our journey… Fuelled by enthusiastic responses from clients and partners, we are excited about the opportunity to build a globally renowned enterprise tech SaaS platform from India”.

The investment comes within months of Cedar-IBSI marking the first close of its INR 240 Cr fintech fund in March this year by raising capital in the range of INR 50 to 75 Cr. It plans to invest INR 10-15 Cr each in 15 early stage fintech startups in B2B fintech and banktech space

“… We are excited to partner with Cogniquest, which is building a disruptive AI- enabled platform to extract relevant, refined, classified and validated data from complex and unstructured documents. All of this is guided by the able leadership of Satish, Girish and their diverse team,” Cedar-IBSi associate partner Subit Saurav said.

The development comes at a time when AI mania has gripped the Indian startup ecosystem. From customer service to fintech, the emerging technology has found use cases across the board, resulting in renewed investor interest.

Last month, Inc42 reported that GenAI startup Gnani.ai raised $4 Mn as part of a Series A round from Info Edge. Prior to that, IIFL Fintech Fund invested an undisclosed amount of funding to pick up a 10% stake in Gen AI startup Vitra.ai.

Last month, AI sales development platform Pintel.ai also bagged $1 Mn as part of its seed funding round led by IvyCap Ventures.

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UPI Services Impacted As Ransomware Attack Hits A Tech Service Provider For Banks https://inc42.com/buzz/upi-services-impacted-as-ransomware-attack-hits-a-tech-service-provider-for-banks/ Wed, 31 Jul 2024 18:37:57 +0000 https://inc42.com/?p=471068 In a development that will have a direct bearing on Unified Payments Interface (UPI) payments, the National Payments Corporation of…]]>

In a development that will have a direct bearing on Unified Payments Interface (UPI) payments, the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has said that C-Edge, a technology service provider for banks, has potentially been hit by ransomware attack. 

“It has been brought to NPCI’s notice that C-Edge Technologies Ltd, a technology service provider who caters mostly to cooperative and regional rural banks, has been possibly impacted by a ransomware attack impacting a few of their systems,” the NPCI said in a statement on Wednesday (July 31).

A ransomware attack involves a malware software that encrypts files and denies access to the actual user. Generally, in such cases, cyberattackers demand a ransom from the victims in return for a decryption key to enable the latter to gain access to their servers and files. 

The payments body also said that it has temporarily isolated C-Edge Technologies from accessing the NPCI’s retail payment systems to prevent “larger impact” on the payments ecosystem. 

It also said that the customers of the banks (primarily cooperative and rural banks) serviced by C-Edge will not be able to make UPI payments during the unspecified “period of isolation”.

“Restoration work is underway on a war-footing along with C-Edge Technologies and necessary security review is in process. Connectivity to the affected banks shall be restored at the earliest,” added the NPCI.

While there was no clarity on which banks were impacted, C-Edge’s website mentions Meghalaya Cooperative Apex Bank and Maharashtra Gramin Bank as its new clients. 

For the uninitiated, C-Edge Technologies is a joint venture (JV) between Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) and State bank of India (SBI). It offers SaaS and technology solutions to financial services companies. 

The development comes at a time when ransomware attacks are on the rise against Indian companies and government organisations. As per a report, nearly 64% of surveyed Indian organisations faced such attacks in 2023, with average ransomware demands hovering around $4.8 Mn. The report also noted that the median ransom paid was around $2 Mn.

A separate Kaspersky reported that 2.35 Lakh ransomware incidents hit businesses in India in 2023.

In 2022, All India Institute of Medical Services (AIIMS) Delhi too was hit by a major ransomware attack which saw hackers reportedly demanding INR 200 Cr in cryptocurrencies to provide the decryption key.

The likes of IndusInd Bank, Taj Hotels and RailYatri have also suffered data breaches or major cyber attacks in the recent past.

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Nazara’s Nextwave Completes Acquisition Of Ultimate Teen Patti https://inc42.com/buzz/nazaras-nextwave-completes-acquisition-of-ultimate-teen-patti/ Wed, 31 Jul 2024 03:46:24 +0000 https://inc42.com/?p=470847 Gaming major Nazara Technologies’ subsidiary Nextwave Multimedia has completed the acquisition of casual freemium card game “UTP – Ultimate Teen…]]>

Gaming major Nazara Technologies’ subsidiary Nextwave Multimedia has completed the acquisition of casual freemium card game “UTP – Ultimate Teen Patti”. 

In a filing with the bourses, the listed gaming giant on Tuesday (July 30) said that it has acquired all intellectual property (IP) rights, softwares and associated trademarks pertaining to the game after paying the final tranche of payment worth INR 1 Cr.

“… We hereby inform you that, based on the intimation received from Next Wave Multimedia… the acquisition of all the intellectual Property rights pertaining to the “UTP – Ultimate Teen Patti” casual freemium card game/ software and associated trademarks from U Games Private Limited has been completed, upon payment of the final tranche of the consideration of INR 1 Cr, inclusive of applicable taxes, in cash,” said Nazara. 

This comes three months after the company, in April this year, announced that its subsidiary will buy all the IP rights related to the casual freemium card game from skill-gaming unicorn Games24x7’s arm U Games.

At the time, Nazara said that it will buy these assets for a cumulative sum of INR 10 Cr in cash, including INR 9 Cr that was paid on April 4. The remaining INR 1 Cr has been paid now post the transfer of these assets.

Launched in early 2015, UTP is a free-to-play social casual card game and does not offer any real money winnings to the players. The game clocked a gross turnover of INR 7 Cr in the financial year 2022-23 (FY23).

On the other hand, Nazara’s Chennai-based subsidiary develops casual and multiplayer sport mobile games including the World Cricket Championship that claims to have over 100 Mn downloads across platforms over the last seven years.

It is pertinent to note that Nazara, earlier this year, completely bought Nextwave by acquiring an additional 28.12% stake in the gaming company for INR 21.6 Cr. This came six years after Nazara first acquired a majority stake in Nextwave in January 2018 and further increased its shareholding to 71.88% in May last year.

The development comes at a time when the listed gaming major is on an acquisition spree. Earlier this month, the company picked up an additional 48.42% stake in Paper Boat Apps in an all-cash deal valued at INR 300 Cr. WIth this, Nazara’s ownership in the company will now rise to 100%.

Prior to this, Nazara-backed NODWIN Gaming’s Singapore-based subsidiary also picked up an additional 43.49% stake in Freaks 4U Gaming GmbH for around INR 212.9 Cr. It also bought gaming company Ninja Global FZCO for $3.57 Mn in a cash and stock deal in June 2024.

The gaming major saw its consolidated net profit decline 98% year-on-year (YoY) to INR 18 Lakh in the fourth quarter (Q4) of the financial year 2023-24 (FY24). Meanwhile, operating revenue declined 8% to INR 266.2 Cr in Q4 FY24 compared to INR 289.3 Cr in the same quarter a year ago.

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BYJU’S Pays First Tranche Of INR 50 Cr To BCCI As It Looks To Settle Insolvency Case https://inc42.com/buzz/byjus-pays-first-tranche-of-inr-50-cr-to-bcci-as-it-looks-to-settle-insolvency-case/ Tue, 30 Jul 2024 20:29:55 +0000 https://inc42.com/?p=470846 Troubled edtech major BYJU’S reportedly transferred INR 50 Cr to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) as…]]>

Troubled edtech major BYJU’S reportedly transferred INR 50 Cr to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) as part of the first tranche of payments to settle the ongoing insolvency dispute. 

The edtech major made the payment to the cricket board on Tuesday (July 30) evening, Bloomberg reported, citing sources.

The development followed the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) admitting the BCCI’s plea to initiate the corporate insolvency resolution process against BYJU’S for not paying the dues to the tune of INR 158.9 Cr to the cricket body for a sponsorship deal.

Post the payment, the startup would still be liable for payments worth INR 108.9 Cr to the BCCI. 

As per a separate Reuters report, the edtech major was planning to pay the outstanding amount to BCCI in three installments, starting with an upfront payment of INR 50 Cr. It also said that the terms of the settlement were still under consideration and could change. 

Earlier on Tuesday, BYJU’S informed the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) about its plans to pay a part of the dues to the cricket board. 

Arguing for BYJU’S before the NCLAT, lawyer Arun Kathpalia said that the company had “almost resolved” a dispute over unpaid fees to the BCCI. 

As per the Bloomberg report, a lawyer for the BCCI also confirmed before the appellate tribunal that both parties were engaged in settlement talks. The NCLAT will next hear the matter on Wednesday (July 31).

The payment of the first tranche is expected to offer some respite for BYJU’S and stave off the insolvency crisis for some time now. It is part of the startup’s efforts to help founder and CEO Byju Raveendran gain complete control of the company again.

However, the case is expected to continue and will only be dropped after BCCI officially informs the tribunal that it was withdrawing its case.

It is also pertinent to note that multiple other entities, including BYJU’S US-based Term Loan B lenders, have also filed insolvency petitions against the beleaguered company in the past.

BYJU’S, once the poster child of the Indian startup ecosystem, is battling multiple issues, including mass layoffs, a severe cash crunch, delay in filing financial statements, a slew of legal cases and mounting regulatory scrutiny. Making matters worse is a public spat with investors even as losses continue to mount for the company. 

BYJU’S net loss surged 81% year-on-year YoY to INR 8,245.2 Cr in FY22. 

The post BYJU’S Pays First Tranche Of INR 50 Cr To BCCI As It Looks To Settle Insolvency Case appeared first on Inc42 Media.

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Fractal To File DRHP By September For $600 Mn IPO, Eyes $3 Bn Valuation https://inc42.com/buzz/fractal-to-file-drhp-by-september-for-600-mn-ipo-eyes-3-bn-valuation/ Tue, 30 Jul 2024 19:50:22 +0000 https://inc42.com/?p=470841 SaaS unicorn Fractal reportedly plans to file its draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) with markets regulator Securities and Exchange Board…]]>

SaaS unicorn Fractal reportedly plans to file its draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) with markets regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) by the end of August or early September.

The enterprise tech startup is looking to list on the Indian bourses at a valuation of around $3 Bn, Moneycontrol reported citing sources. 

As per the report, the initial public offering (IPO) will likely be in the range of $500 Mn to $600 Mn and will have a “large share” of secondary share sale by existing investors.

The report said that as the quantum of the secondary sale is yet to be finalised, the total size of the IPO is still unclear.

Founded in 2000 by Srikanth Velamakanni, Pranay Agrawal and Ashwath Bhat, Fractal offers artificial intelligence and advanced analytics solutions to Fortune 500 companies. Backed by the likes of TPG Capital, Khazanah Nasional and Apax Partners, the startup has raised $685 Mn in funding till date. 

It turned unicorn in 2022 after private equity (PE) firm TPG pumped in $360 Mn at a valuation of over $2 Bn. 

Fractal turned profitable in the financial year 2022-23 (FY23), posting a profit of INR 194.4 Cr during the period as against a loss of INR 148.4 Cr in the previous fiscal year. Operating revenue jumped 53% to INR 1,985.4 Cr from INR 1,295.3 Cr in FY22. 

Fractal is looking to go public at a time when Indian startups are making a beeline for the bourses on the back of positive market sentiment, ample liquidity and growing appetite for new-age tech stocks. 

While D2C startup Menhood listed on NSE’s small and medium enterprise (SME) platform NSE Emerge earlier this month at a premium of 28% over its issue price, coworking startup Awfis and traveltech startup ixigo too saw bumper listings at premiums of 13.5% and 48.5%, respectively on the NSE.

Meanwhile, electric vehicle major Ola Electric’s IPO will open for retail subscription on August 2. Segment giants such as foodtech major Swiggy and omnichannel marketplace FirstCry are also eyeing a public listing. 

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[Update] SEBI Returns Avanse Financial Services DRHP https://inc42.com/buzz/avanse-financial-services-ipo-sebi-returns-drhp-on-technical-grounds/ Tue, 30 Jul 2024 10:40:51 +0000 https://inc42.com/?p=470037 Update | July 30, 4: 08 PM SEBI has returned the draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) of non-banking financial company…]]>

Update | July 30, 4: 08 PM

SEBI has returned the draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) of non-banking financial company (NBFC) Avanse Financial Services. The regulator returned the IPO papers citing “non-compliance with Regulation 7(1)(a) of SEBI ICDR Regulations, 2018.”

According to the aforementioned section, an issuer has to make sure that it has applied to one or more stock exchanges to seek an in principle approval for listing of its specified securities on such stock exchanges and has chosen one of them as the designated stock exchange.


Original Story | July 26, 9:27 PM

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has reportedly returned the draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) of non-banking financial company (NBFC) Avanse Financial Services on “technical grounds”.

Moneycontrol reported, citing sources, that the “reason for sending back” the prospectus was “technical queries” and it was not a “rejection”. As per the report, the startup can refile the initial public offering (IPO) papers as early as Monday (July 29). 

This comes a month after the NBFC filed its DRHP. As per the draft documents, its IPO will comprise a fresh issue of shares worth INR 1,000 Cr and an offer for sale (OFS) component of INR 2,500 Cr. 

Avanse plans to use the proceeds from the fresh issue to increase its capital base to fuel further expansion of its business.

Founded in 2013, Avanse offers education financing for students and educational institutions in India and also caters to students looking to study abroad. It also offers skill enhancement loans in India. 

The NBFC is backed by the likes of Warburg Pincus, International Finance Corporation (IFC), Kedaara Capital, and Mubadala Investment Company. 

As per its DRHP, Avanse clocked a net profit of INR 342.4 Cr in the financial year 2023-24 (FY24) as against INR 157.71 Cr in the previous fiscal year. Operating revenue nearly doubled to INR 1,726.9 Cr from INR 989.5 Cr in FY23.

The development comes at a time when the SEBI has increased the scrutiny of companies and startups looking to go public. Last month, the market regulator directed IPO-bound companies to share more information while filing their DRHPs with an aim to pace up approvals for public offerings.

Earlier this year, SEBI also directed kids-focussed omnichannel retailer FirstCry to refile its IPO papers with updated financial numbers and key performance indicators from the quarter ended December 2023. Afterwards, SEBI gave its go ahead for FirstCry’s IPO.

Last year, it also directed hospitality major OYO, insurtech giant Go Digit and fintech unicorn PayMate India to refile their DRHPs for a host of reasons. Of these, only Go Digit went ahead with its public listing plans. 

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Indian Startup IPO Tracker 2024 https://inc42.com/features/indian-startup-ipo-tracker-2024/ Tue, 30 Jul 2024 04:30:30 +0000 https://inc42.com/?p=467516 It’s the season of spring for startup IPOs. After a lull in IPOs in 2022 and 2023 due to geopolitical…]]>

It’s the season of spring for startup IPOs. After a lull in IPOs in 2022 and 2023 due to geopolitical tensions, a raging funding winter, and macroeconomic pressures, startups are lining up in droves to list on the bourses in 2024. 

Just six months into the year, five new-age tech companies have already listed on the exchanges – Go Digit General Insurance, TBO Tek, Awfis, ixigo and TAC Security. In contrast, five startups had listed in the entirety of 2023 and just three new-age tech companies made their way to the bourses in 2022. 

The first half of 2024 was just the precursor for the things to come. In the second half, segment giants such as foodtech major Swiggy, EV juggernaut Ola Electric, and omnichannel marketplace FirstCry are also eyeing a market debut. 

But, what is emboldening the startups to revisit their IPO plans, a year after many of them shelved or postponed their plans? The answer is the thawing funding winter, a renewed push for profitability and a growing investor appetite for startup IPOs. 

Speaking with Inc42, angel investor Nikhil Parmar said, “Firstly, many startups have matured to a point where they are ready for public markets, driven by strong growth, robust business models, and proven revenue streams. Additionally, favourable market sentiment and ample liquidity have made the stock market an attractive option for raising capital. Investor confidence is also a significant driver”.

Concurring with this, angel investing platform BizDateUp Technologies cofounder Meet Chandan said that the IPO spring has also been fuelled by investors looking to diversify their portfolio and the promise of substantial returns from tech-driven companies.

What has also helped the ecosystem is the bumper listing of all the new-age companies in 2024 so far. From TBO Tek and Awfis to GoDigit Insurance and ixigo, all have listed at a premium and many have even seen healthy rallies post their listing. 

Non-institutional investors (NIIs) and qualified institutional buyers (QIBs) are seeing merit in backing the growing number of Indian startups making a beeline for the bourses. However, challenges remain. 

Investors are primarily focussed on profitable and sustainable ventures and are steering clear of loss-making entities. Awfis, which reported a profitable quarter after its listing, was an outlier in this regard. Additionally, strong corporate governance guardrails and compliance with existing regulations also seem to be on the top of investors’ agenda. 

“Markets currently are receptive to IPO-bound companies with a good brand, decent unit economics and a clear path to profitability. Public markets are hungry for tech stocks and are welcoming good companies with open arms. So, it’s only natural that more founders would want to take their companies public. This is a great sign for the ecosystem,” said VC firm All In Capital’s cofounder Kushal Bhagia.

Parmar believes that the surge in IPOs amid the funding winter showcases the startup ecosystem’s resilience and adaptability. It also reflects the growing maturity of the ecosystem. 

With this in mind, Inc42 has collated a list of all top Indian startups that have listed on the bourses in 2024 so far as well as those who plan to go for IPO in the near term. Before we dive into the list, here are the latest developments from the Indian IPO landscape: 

Latest Updates:

Now, let’s take a detailed look at the list: 

Startups That Have Listed In 2024

This is not a listing of any kind. The startups have been listed in an alphabetical order | Data has been sourced from Inc42, respective DRHPs, MCA filings and other media reports | Asterisk (*) specifies reported numbers:

Name Founded In Sector Total Funding Revenue (FY24) IPO Status IPO Size Market Cap During Listing Market Cap [July 29, 2024]
Awfis 2015 Coworking $94 Mn ₹849 Cr Listed ₹598.9 Cr ₹3,109 Cr ₹4,817.73 Cr
GoDigit Insurance 2016 Insurtech $542 Mn ₹7,096 Cr Listed ₹2,614.6 Cr ₹27,021 Cr ₹32,297.37
Cr
ixigo 2006 Travel Tech $96 Mn ₹655.9 Cr Listed ₹740.1 Cr ₹5,347 Cr ₹7,012.36 Cr
Menhood 2019 D2C NA NA Listed ₹19.5 Cr NA ₹99 Cr
TAC Security 2016 SaaS NA ₹6.33 Cr Listed ₹30 Cr NA ₹538 Cr
TBO Tek 2006 Travel Tech $61 Mn ₹1393 Cr Listed ₹1,550.8 Cr ₹15,254.96 Cr ₹18,638.55 Cr
Trust Fintech 1998 Fintech SaaS NA ₹35 Cr Listed ₹63.45 Cr NA ₹417 Cr

Awfis

Founded in 2015 by Amit Ramani, Awfis has evolved from just being a coworking network to a tech-enabled workspace solutions platform, catering to freelancers, startups, SMEs, large corporates, and MNCs.

The coworking space provider filed its draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) in December last year. The market regulator greenlit the company’s public issue in April 2024 

The startup made its debut on the bourses in May this year. It listed on the BSE at INR 432.25 per share, a premium of 12.8% to its issue price. Similarly, it opened on the NSE at INR 435 apiece – 13.5 % higher than the issue price.

Awfis reported a profit of INR 1.4 Cr in Q4 FY24 against a net loss of INR 13.8 Cr in the year-ago period. Operating revenue also jumped over 45% year-on-year (YoY) to INR 232.3 Cr in the quarter ended March 2024.

Go Digit General Insurance

Founded in 2016, Go Digit offers insurance policies across verticals like health, motor vehicle, travel, property, and more.

The insurtech unicorn refiled its DRHP with SEBI in March after the capital markets regulator flagged concerns over its employee stock appreciation rights scheme. 

The Bengaluru-based startup’s IPO comprised a fresh issue of shares worth INR 1,125 Cr and an OFS component of 5.47 Cr equity shares.

The Virat Kohli-backed startup made a lukewarm debut on Dalal Street in May, listing at a 5.15% to its issue price. The stock listed at INR 286 apiece on the NSE and INR 272 on the BSE. 

Go Digit’s profit after tax (PAT) surged 74% YoY to INR 101 Cr in Q1 FY25 from INR 58 Cr in the previous fiscal year. Gross written premium rose 22.2% to INR 2,660 Cr in the quarter ended June 2024 from INR 2,178 Cr in the year-ago period.

ixigo

Founded in 2006, ixigo started as a travel search website to help users compare flight deals. In FY20, it rebranded as an online travel aggregator to offer services such as flights, trains, bus tickets, hotel bookings and holiday packages.

Le Travenues Technology Ltd, the parent company of ixigo, refiled its DRHP with SEBI in February. The travel tech startup got the market regulator’s nod to launch the public issue in May.

Its IPO comprised a fresh issue of shares worth INR 120 Cr and an OFS component of 6.67 Cr shares worth up to INR 620 Cr.

The startup made a stellar debut on the bourses in June this year. While the stock opened at INR 138.10 per share on the NSE, a premium of 48.5% from the issue price of INR 93, it made its debut at a premium of 45.16% on the BSE. 

Prior to that, the OTA’s public issue also saw high demand and was oversubscribed 98X. 

In Q4 FY24, ixigo posted a PAT of INR 7.4 Cr, up 55.2% from INR 4.7 Cr in the year-ago period. Meanwhile, revenue from operations jumped 20.4% YoY to INR 164.8 Cr Cr during the quarter compared to INR 136.9 Cr in Q4 FY23.

Menhood

Founded in 2019 by Dushyant Gandotra, Divya Gandotra and Shivam Bhateja, Menhood is a D2C men’s grooming brand that sells products such as trimmers, intimate perfumes, intimate wash and moisturiser, among others.

The startup’s parent entity Macobs Technologies Limited filed its DRHP in January 2024 for an IPO that comprised a fresh issue of 25.95 Lakh shares. Menhood’s public issue saw healthy response and was oversubscribed 157.5 times. 

The Jaipur-based brand eventually listed on NSE Emerge on July 24 at INR 96 apiece, a 28% premium to its issue price of INR 75.

TAC Infosec

Founded in 2016, TAC Infosec (also known as TAC Security) is a SaaS-based cybersecurity startup. It offers risk-based vulnerability management and assessment solutions, cybersecurity quantification, and penetration testing to enterprises.

The Vijay Kedia-backed startup filed its DRHP in January to list on the NSE’s small and medium enterprise (SME) platform NSE Emerge. 

TAC Infosec’s IPO only consisted of a fresh issue of 28.29 Lakh equity shares. The shares listed on NSE Emerge in April at INR 290, a whopping 173.6% premium over the issue price of INR 106.

The startup posted a net profit of INR 6.33 Cr in FY24, a 23% jump from INR 5.12 Cr in FY23. Operating revenue zoomed 17% to INR 11.84 Cr in FY24 from INR 10.09 Cr in FY23.

TBO Tek

Founded in 2006, Travel Boutique Online (TBO) is a B2B travel portal that provides solutions to travel agents and tour operators. It offers white-label solutions, hotel and flight booking APIs and dynamic packages, among others.

The Delhi NCR-based company filed its DRHP with SEBI in November last year. The market regulator granted approval for its public listing in April.

Shares of TBO Tek listed on the NSE in May at a premium of 55% to the issue price. The stock made its debut at INR 1,426 against the issue price of INR 920. On the BSE, the stock listed at INR 1,380, a 50% premium to the issue price.

TBO Tek logged a 64% jump in PAT to INR 46.4 Cr in Q4 FY24 from INR 28.2 Cr in the year-ago quarter. Revenue from operations stood at INR 369 Cr during the period under review, a 31% increase from INR 281.4 Cr in Q4 FY23.

Trust Fintech

Founded in 1998 by Hemant Chafale, Heramb Ramkrishna, and Mandar Kishor Deo, Trust Fintech is an enterprisetech company that offers SaaS products and fintech solutions for ERP implementation, and offshore IT services for the BFSI sector. 

The fintech SaaS company filed its DRHP with NSE Emerge to raise funds via an IPO in February this year and listed on the SME platform just two months later in April. 

It witnessed an oversubscription of 101X for its public issue on the back of huge demand from retail investors and non-institutional investors. Eventually, it listed at a premium of 42% at INR 143.25 apiece as against its issue price of INR 101 per share.

Trust Fintech saw its net profit jump 210% to INR 12.5 Cr in the financial year 2023-24 (FY24) from INR 4 Cr in FY23. Meanwhile, operating revenue jumped 55.4% to INR 35 Cr in the period under review as against INR 22.5 Cr in FY23.

Indian Startup IPOs In Pipeline

Name Founded In Sector Total Funding Key Investors Revenues DRHP Status IPO Size [₹Cr] Potential Valuation [₹Cr]
AITMC 2016 Deeptech NA NA ₹21.44 Cr (FY23) Filed 2.07 Cr Shares (OFS Component) NA
Ather Energy 2013 Electric Vehicles $431 Mn Hero MotoCorp, GIC, Tiger Global ₹1,783.6 Cr (FY23) Yet To File Yet To Be Decided Yet To Be Decided
Avanse Financial Services 2013 Fintech $212 Mn Warburg Pincus, Kedaara Capital, International Finance Corporation, Mubadala ₹1,726.9 Cr (FY24) Filed ₹3,500 Cr* NA
Bira91 2015 D2C $449 Mn Peak XV Partners, Sofina, DS Group ₹824.3 Cr (FY23) Yet To File Yet To Be Decided Yet To Be Decided
BlackBuck 2015 Logistics $376 Mn Accel Partners, Apoletto Asia, Trifecta Capital, Flipkart ₹296.9 Cr (FY24) Filed ₹550 Cr NA
FirstCry 2010 Ecommerce $1.14 Bn Elevation Capital, Vertex Ventures, Premji Invest ₹5,633 Cr (FY23) Approved ₹4,163 Cr* ₹33.503 Cr
Flipkart 2007 Ecommerce Walmart, Google NR 14,845.8 Cr (B2C) (FY23) Yet To File Yet To Be Decided NA
Garuda Aerospace 2015 Deeptech $28.2 Mn Venture Catalysts, Silver Swan Capital, Claris Capital Yet To File Yet To Be Decided Yet To Be Decided
InMobi 2007 SaaS $320 Mn Sherpalo Ventures, SoftBank, Kleiner Perkins INR 587 Cr Yet To File Yet To Be Decided Yet To Be Decided
MobiKwik 2009 FIntech $242 Mn Peak XV Partners, Orios Venture Partners, Cisco Investments, NET1, ADIA ₹539.4 Cr (FY23) Filed ₹700 Cr ₹4,500 Cr – ₹5,100 Cr*
Ola Cabs 2011 Mobility $3.84 Bn SoftBank, Vanguard, Accel, Bessemer Venture Partners ₹2,799.3 Cr (FY23) Yet To File $500 Mn $5 Bn
Ola Electric 2017 Electric Vehicles $1.44 Bn SoftBank, Temasek, Tiger Global, Alpha Wave, Tekne Capital INR 5,009.8 Cr (FY24) Approved ₹5,500 Cr ₹41,781 Cr*
OYO 2013 Travel Tech $3.47 Bn Microsoft, Red Lions Capital, JP Morgan Chase, Qatar Insurance Company ₹5,464 Cr* (FY24) To Be Refiled ₹6.680 Cr* NA
PayMate 2006 Fintech $55.8 Mn Lightbox, Mayfield Fund, Mayfair 101 ₹1,350.1 Cr (FY23) To Be Refiled Yet To Be Decided Yet To Be Decided
PayU 2002 Fintech NA Prosus $444 Mn (FY24) Yet To File Yet To Be Decided Yet To Be Decided
PhonePe 2015 Fintech Walmart, General Atlantic, Ribbit Capital, Tiger Global, TVS Capital Funds ₹2,913.7 Cr (FY23) Yet To File Yet To Be Decided NA
Portea Medical 2013 Healthtech $92.3 Mn Accel, IFC, InnoVen Capital ₹145 Cr (FY23) Status Uncertain Yet To Be Decided Yet To Be Decided
Smartworks 2016 Coworking $41 Mn Ananta Capital, Keppel Land, Plutus Capital ₹711 Cr (FY23) Yet To File Yet To Be Decided Yet To Be Decided
Swiggy 2014 Foodtech $3.58 Bn Prosus, Accel, Elevation Capital ₹8,625 Cr (FY23) Filed ₹10,414.1 Cr ₹83,497 Cr*
Ullu 2018 Consumer Internet NA NA ₹93 Cr (FY23) Filed OFS Component Of 62.63 Lakh Shares ₹500 Cr – ₹570 Cr*
Unicommerce 2012 SaaS $10 Mn B2 Capital Partners, SoftBank, Anchorage Capital ₹90 Cr (FY23) Approved ₹480 Cr – ₹490 Cr ₹1,800 Cr*
Zappfresh 2015 D2C $14.5 Mn SIDBI, ah! Ventures Yet To File Yet To Be Decided Yet To Be Decided

*As per reports

AITMC Ventures

Founded in 2016, AITMC Ventures offers drone training and other skill development programmes in the agriculture sector. So far, it has set up 46 centres across India for research, development, training, and testing of drone technology in agriculture.

The integrated agri-drone company filed its DRHP in October last year to list on NSE Emerge. 

The Gurugram-based startup IPO will comprise a fresh equity offering of up to 2.07 Cr shares. It won’t have an OFS component.

The startup reported revenue of INR 21.44 Cr and profit of INR 4.81 Cr in FY23.

Ather Energy

Founded in 2013 by Tarun Mehta and Swapnil Jain, Ather Energy is one of the major players in the Indian electric two-wheeler market. It manufactures and services electric two-wheelers and operates its own charging infrastructure.

The EV major has raised more than $431 Mn from Hero MotoCorp, GIC, Tiger Global, among others, across multiple rounds since its inception. 

In June 2024, Ather Enegery’s board passed a resolution to convert the startup into a public company from a private entity previously. Previously, reports surfaced that the company had roped in HSBC Holdings Plc, Nomura Holdings Inc, and JP Morgan Chase & Co to helm its IPO. 

The company was said to be eyeing a listing in the second half of 2024 at a valuation of around $2 Bn.

Ather Energy clocked a net loss of INR 864 Cr in FY23, up 150% from INR 344.1 Cr in the previous year. Operating revenue jumped 4.3X YoY to INR 1,783.6 Cr during the year under review.

Avanse Financial Services

Incorporated in 2013, Avanse is an NBFC focussed on education financing for students and educational institutions in India. Its products cater to students looking to study higher education abroad and in India. 

The non-bank lender filed its DRHP in June 2024 for an INR 3,500 Cr IPO. The IPO will comprise a fresh issue of INR 1,000 Cr and an OFS component of shares worth up to INR 2,500 Cr.

Last reported, SEBI returned the NBFC’s IPO papers on “technical grounds”. The startup will now have to refile its DRHP with the market regulator before moving ahead with the public listing. 

Backed by the likes of Warburg Pincus, International Finance Corporation (IFC) and Kedaara Capital, the startup last raised INR 1,000 Cr in a funding round led by Abu Dhabi-based investment firm Mubadala Investment Company in March 2024.

As per the DRHP, Avanse’s net profit rose to INR 342.4 Cr in the financial year 2023-24 (FY24) from INR 157.71 Cr in the previous fiscal year. Operating revenue grew to INR 1,726.9 Cr from INR 989.5 Cr in FY23.

Bira 91

Founded in 2015 by Ankur Jain, Bira 91 sells craft, lager and strong beers. It also sells non-alcoholic beverages.

Backed by Peak XV Partners, Sofina and DS Group, Bira 91 has raised $449 Mn in funding across multiple rounds. 

In December 2022, the startup converted into a public company and renamed itself as B9 Beverages Limited. However, the beverage startup is yet to file its DRHP with the SEBI.

In July 2024, reports said that the alco-beverage brand was planning to list on the bourses in 2026 and has roped in investment banking firm Morgan Stanley to helm its pre-IPO process.

The Delhi NCR-based beer brand reported an operating revenue of INR 824.3 Cr in the year ended March 2023, up 15% from INR 718.8 Cr in FY22. Meanwhile, net loss jumped 12% YoY to INR 445.4 Cr in FY23.

BlackBuck

Founded in 2015 by Rajesh Yabaji, Chanakya Hridaya and Rama Subramaniam, BlackBuck operates an online marketplace for inter-city full truck load (FTL) transportation. It claims to be the largest online trucking platform in India, and connects with suppliers with truckers.

The Flipkart-backed logistics unicorn filed its IPO papers with SEBI in July 2024. Its public issue will comprise a fresh issue of shares worth INR 550 Cr and an OFS component of up to 2.16 Cr shares.

Backed by the likes of Tiger Global, Accel, Peak XV Partners and Goldman Sachs, BlackBuck has raised more than $360 Mn in funding to date. 

As per its DRHP, the logistics unicorn reported a net loss of INR 193.9 Cr in FY24, down 33% from INR 290 Cr in the previous year. Operating revenues jumped 69% YoY to INR 296.9 Cr in the fiscal ended March 2024. 

FirstCry

Founded in 2010, FirstCry is an omnichannel mother and kids-focused marketplace. It sells diapers, toys, apparel and cribs, as well as provides daycare facilities and runs a chain of play schools and preschools in India.

The Pune-based startup refiled its draft IPO prospectus in April following a directive from SEBI to include key metrics in its DRHP, first filed in December 2023. The company received the market watchdog’s approval for a public listing in July.

As per the DRHP, FirstCry’s IPO will comprise a fresh issue of shares worth INR 1,816 Cr and an OFS component of 5.4 Cr equity shares.

FirstCry clocked sales of INR 4,814 Cr and reported a loss of INR 278.2 Cr in the first nine months of the fiscal year ended March 2024 (FY24).

Flipkart

Binny Bansal and Sachin Bansal founded Flipkart in 2007 and later sold a majority of the company to Walmart in 2018 for $16 Bn. Since then, the ecommerce major has become India’s biggest ecommerce marketplace and has diversified into a host of new areas, including fintech, and travel aggregation. 

The ecommerce major, which is also backed by Google, was last valued at $35 Bn during a $1 Bn fundraise that saw participation from the two investors. 

Just like its sister arm PhonePe, the company is vying for a 2026 IPO. Its B2C arm, Flipkart Internet Private Limited, reported an operating revenue of nearly INR 15,000 Cr mark in the financial year ended March 31, 2023. The marketplace arm’s operating revenue zoomed 42% to INR 14,845.8 Cr in FY23 from INR 10,477.4 Cr in FY22.

Flipkart Internet primarily earns revenue through commission charges and other services it offers to merchants, including advertising of products. Including other income, the B2C arm’s total revenue rose 41% to INR 15,044 Cr during the year under review from INR 10,640.5 Cr in FY22.

Garuda Aerospace

Founded in 2015 by Agnishwar Jayaprakash, Garuda Aerospace designs, manufactures and sells drones. Its offerings also include drone-as-a-service (DaaS) for use cases such as agriculture, defence, and mining. 

Backed by Venture Catalysts, Silver Swan Capital and Claris Capital, the startup has raised $28.2 Mn in funding till date. 

In a chat with Inc42 last year, Jayaprakash said that the company would commence its IPO proceedings post March 2024 and would list by October-November 2024.

InMobi

Founded in 2007 by Naveen Tewari, Piyush Shah, Mohit Saxena and Abhay Singhal, InMobi is an adtech platform that offers a suite of product discovery and monetisation solutions. 

Headquartered in Singapore, the SaaS startup also has offices in Bengaluru, New York, Beijing, London, Dubai, and several other locations.

Backed by the likes of Sherpalo Ventures, SoftBank and Kleiner Perkins, InMobi has raised more than $320 Mn in funding till date and was one of the first Indian new-age tech companies to enter the unicorn club in 2011. 

The SaaS startup is eyeing a public listing in India by 2026 at a valuation of about $10 Bn. However, this will not be InMobi’s first stab at an IPO. 

In 2021, it was reportedly planning for an IPO but shelved the plans due to adverse market conditions and funding winter.

MobiKwik

Founded in 2009, MobiKwik started operations as a digital wallet. Since then, it has diversified its business to offer consumer payments, buy now pay later (BNPL), and payment gateway services.

The Delhi NCR-based startup has also introduced a Soundbox-like device, called Vibe, to take on Paytm and PhonePe.

The fintech unicorn refiled its DRHP with SEBI in January to raise INR 700 Cr through a fresh issue of equity shares, down from its earlier attempt to go public in 2021 when it tried to raise INR 1,900 Cr.

Besides, the startup managed to turn profitable in the first six months of FY24. In the first two quarters of FY24, it clocked a net profit of INR 9.5 Cr against a loss of INR 83.8 Cr in the entire of FY23. Meanwhile, revenue from operations stood at INR 381 Cr in H1 FY24, nearly 70% of the startup’s INR 539 Cr top line in the entire FY23.

Ola Cabs

A brainchild of Bhavish Aggarwal, Ola Cabs operates a mobility platform that offers ride-hailing and food delivery services. 

Backed by SoftBank, Ola Cabs has raised more than $3.84 Bn in funding till date and is one of the biggest players in the country in the ride-hailing space. 

Last reported, Ola Cabs was holding talks with investment banks like Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, Citi, Kotak, and Axis to helm its IPO. As per the reports, the company was looking to raise $500 Mn via its public listing at a nearly $5 Bn valuation. 

Ola parent ANI Technologies trimmed its loss by nearly half to INR 772.2 Cr in FY23 from INR 1,522.3 Cr in the previous year. Operating revenue rose 42% YoY to INR 2,799.3 Cr .

Ola Electric

Founded in 2017, Ola Electric is an electric two-wheeler maker that currently retails a portfolio of five scooter models. The Bhavish Aggarwal-led startup is also planning to launch an electric autorickshaw in the coming days.

The Bengaluru-based startup filed its DRHP with SEBI in December last year for an INR 5,500+ Cr IPO. 

Ola Electric secured approval from the markets regulator for its much-awaited IPO in late June. As per its red herring prospectus (RHP), Ola Electric’s IPO will comprise a fresh issue of shares worth up to INR 5,500 Cr and an OFS component of up to 8.49 Cr shares.

The EV maker’s public issue will open for retail subscription on August 2 and will close on August 6. Meanwhile, anchor bidding will take place on August 1. The company has set a price band in the range of INR 72-76 per equity share for its upcoming IPO.

As per reports, the Temasek-backed startup is eyeing a valuation between $4.2 Bn and $4.4 Bn for the public listing. 

In FY24, Ola Electric’s net loss widened 7.6% to INR 1,584.4 Cr in FY24 from INR 1,472.1 Cr in the previous fiscal. Meanwhile, it reported sales of INR 5,009.8 Cr during the period under review, up 90% from INR 2,630.9 Cr in FY23.

OYO

Founded in 2012, OYO is a travel tech startup that offers vacation homes, casino hotels, coworking spaces, budget hotels, corporate stays and more. The hospitality major is also planning to launch 13 self-operated hotels under its premium brand ‘Palette’ by 2024-end.

In May 2024, the Delhi NCR-based hospitality major officially withdrew its IPO documents from the market regulator SEBI. Interestingly, this was OYO’s second attempt at a public listing. 

In early-2024, OYO was said to be looking to raise $400 Bn to $600 Bn, nearly half of its earlier attempt in 2021 when it was looking to raise INR 8,430 Cr ($1.2 Bn).

OYO narrowed its net loss by 34% to INR 1,286.5 Cr in FY23 from INR 1,941.5 Cr in FY22. Operating revenue grew 14% to INR 5,463.9 Cr in FY23 from INR 4,781.3 Cr in the previous fiscal year.  Its cofounder and CEO Ritesh Agarwal claimed that the startup reported a net profit of INR 100 Cr in FY24.

PayMate

Founded in 2006 by Ajay Adiseshann, PayMate is a full-stack supply chain payments automation platform that offers B2B payments solutions for SMEs and enterprises. 

The Mumbai-based fintech startup filed its DRHP in 2022 for an INR 1,500 Cr IPO. At the time, PayMate said that its public issue would comprise a fresh issue of INR 1,125 Cr and an OFS of INR 375 Cr. 

Eventually, the market regulator returned the company’s DRHP and asked PayMate India to refile the IPO papers with certain updates. In early 2023, the company reportedly said that it was planning to refile its DRHP but there has been no clarity on its IPO plans since then. 

In FY23, the startup trimmed its net loss by 3.5% YoY to INR 55.7 Cr in FY23. Operating revenue jumped 11.7% YoY to INR 1,350.1 Cr in FY23.

PayU

The Prosus-backed fintech major is also gearing up for a public listing in India. In October last year, the company was reportedly mulling seeking regulatory approval for a $500 Mn IPO. 

At the time, it was said that PayU had appointed Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and Bank of America as advisors for the IPO, reportedly slated to happen by 2024-end. 

In  November, the then interim Prosus CEO Ervin Tu said that PayU could be ready for a public listing in India by the second half of calendar year 2024. 

As per the Dutch investor’s annual report, PayU India clocked a revenue growth of 11% year-on-year (YoY) to $444 Mn in FY24. However, this was lower than the 31% revenue growth reported in FY23 and over 40% jump it clocked in FY22.

PhonePe

Founded in 2015 by Sameer Nigam, Rahul Chari and Burzin Engineer, PhonePe is India’s biggest digital payments platform and accounts for nearly half of all Unified Payments Interface (UPI) payments processed in the country. 

Since its inception, it has morphed into a full-fledged financial services platform offering a host of digital payment services, mutual funds and insurance products to customers. The fintech major was acquired by ecommerce juggernaut Flipkart in 2016. 

Six years later, Flipkart parent Walmart set into motion its plans to hive off PhonePe as a separate entity and redomicile the fintech company back to India. In late-2022, PhonePe flipped back to its home turf, with an eye on listing on Indian bourses. 

However, in June 2024, a senior Walmart executive said that PhonePe’s IPO could take a couple of years, setting the stage for a 2026 IPO. 

The fintech major saw its consolidated net loss widen 39% YoY to INR 2,795.3 Cr FY23. Revenue soared 77% YoY to INR 2,913.7 Cr during the year under review. 

Portea Medical 

A brainchild of Krishnan Ganesh and Meena Ganesh, Portea Medical is a healthtech startup that offers services such as maternal care, physiotherapy, nursing, lab tests, counselling and critical care. 

Backed by Accel, InnoVen Capital, Alteria Capital and British International Investment, Portea Medical has raised more than $92.3 Mn across multiple rounds till date.

The healthtech startup filed its IPO papers in July 2022 for an INR 800 Cr IPO. As per its DRHP, the IPO then comprised a fresh issue of equity shares worth INR 200 Cr and an OFS component of up to 56.25 Mn shares.

In April 2023, it received approval from the market regulator to go ahead with the public listing on the BSE and NSE. However, there have been no further updates on its IPO plans.

Portea Medical posted a net loss of INR 53 Cr in FY23, up from INR 40 Cr in the previous year. Revenue from operations declined 3.3% YoY to INR 145 Cr during the year under review. 

Smartworks

Founded in 2016 by Neetish Sarda and Harsh Binani, Smartworks is a shared workspace provider that offers customisable coworking solutions for enterprises. 

The startup has raised $41 Mn in funding till date and is backed by the likes of Ananta Capital, Keppel Land and Plutus Capital. 

Taking the first step towards its IPO, the startup turned into a public company in July 2024 and changed its name to Smartworks Coworking Spaces Ltd from Smartworks Coworking Spaces Private Ltd previously.

It reported a net loss of INR 101 Cr in FY23, up 44% YoY. Meanwhile, operating revenue nearly doubled to INR 711 Cr during the year under review from INR 360 Cr in FY22. 

Swiggy

Swiggy commenced operations as an online food delivery platform in 2014. In 2020, it also entered the grocery delivery business with Swiggy Instamart. 

Now, the Bengaluru-based startup has begun diversifying beyond the quick commerce grocery business. Swiggy Instamart now also offers high-value products, allowing shoppers to order fitness and electronics devices. 

Swiggy filed its DRHP with markets regulator SEBI via the confidential pre-filing route for an IPO worth INR 10,414.1 Cr ($1.2 Bn) in April. The IPO will include a fresh issuance of shares worth INR 3,750.1 Cr (about $449 Mn), and an OFS of INR 6,664 Cr (about $799 Mn), as per regulatory filings. 

On top of that, Swiggy is also looking for a INR 750 Cr pre-IPO funding round. 

Swiggy reportedly posted a net loss of $207 Mn (INR 1,730 Cr) during the first nine months of FY24 as against a net loss of INR 4,179.3 Cr in FY23. Revenue from operations stood at $1.02 Bn (around INR 8,505 Cr as per current exchange rates) during April-December 2023, as compared to INR 8,264.4 Cr in the entirety of FY23.

Ullu

Founded by the husband-wife duo of Vibhu Agarwal and Megha Agarwal, Ullu Digital is a Mumbai-based OTT platform that deals with the distribution, promotion, exhibition, marketing and delivery of video content on its streaming platform Ullu. 

It filed its DRHP with the BSE SME for an IPO in February this year. As per the draft papers, the company’s IPO would comprise a fresh issue of 62.63 Lakh shares and would not have OFS component.

Ullu Digital plans to raise INR 135-INR 150 Cr via the IPO, which, if approved, would become the biggest SME IPO till date. 

The platform plans to use the net proceeds raised via the IPO to meet its expenses for production of new content, purchase of international shows, tech investment, and to meet the working capital requirements.

While Vibhu Agarwal holds a 61.75% stake in Ullu Digital, Megha Aggarwal owns 33.25% of the company. 

In March 2024, the OTT streaming platform came under the scanner of multiple government authorities including SEBI, the Ministry of Corporate Affairs and the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) for allegedly selling “pornographic” content using school children.

Unicommerce

Founded in 2012 and acquired by Snapdeal in 2015, Unicommerce is an ecommerce SaaS startup that enables sellers to manage their inventory across all online marketplaces. It offers integrations with all major ecommerce platforms active in India.

Unicommerce filed its DRHP in January and received regulatory approval on July 1. The startup plans to sell up to 2.98 Cr shares through the IPO route.

The SoftBank-backed startup’s IPO will only have an OFS component, with no fresh issuance of shares. 

Unicommerce’s net profit stood at INR 6.3 Cr in H1 FY24. In FY23, the startup clocked a 8% jump in its net profit to INR 6.4 Cr as against INR 6 Cr in the previous fiscal year. 

Meanwhile, the ecommerce SaaS startup reported an operating revenue of INR 51 Cr in H1 FY24. In FY23, the startup’s operating revenue shot up 52% to INR 90 Cr from INR 59 Cr in FY22.

Zappfresh

Founded by Deepanshu Manchanda and Shruti Gochhwal in 2015, Zappfresh is a D2C meat startup that supplies meat from farms to customers within 90 minutes. 

Taking its first step towards IPO,the startup converted into a public entity in April 2024 after dropping “private” from its name. As per its RoC filings, the company changed its name to DSM Fresh Foods Limited from DSM Fresh Foods Private Limited previously. 

Last Updated: July 30, 10:00 AM IST

The post Indian Startup IPO Tracker 2024 appeared first on Inc42 Media.

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BillDesk, Amazon Pay & Adyen Get Cross-Border Payment Aggregator Licence From RBI https://inc42.com/buzz/billdesk-amazon-pay-adyen-get-cross-border-payment-aggregator-licence-from-rbi/ Mon, 29 Jul 2024 18:43:12 +0000 https://inc42.com/?p=470543 Fintech startup BillDesk, Amazon Pay India, and global payments major Adyen have received the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) approval…]]>

Fintech startup BillDesk, Amazon Pay India, and global payments major Adyen have received the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) approval to operate as cross-border payment aggregators.

While BillDesk’s IndiaIdeas.com Limited received the licence for both exports and imports on July 29, the other two received the nod on July 25. Amazon Pay and Adyen India have received the central bank’s approval for import-only cross-border payment aggregator (PA) licence. 

Commenting on the development, a spokesperson of Amazon Pay said, “We are excited to have received RBI approval for operating cross-border payment aggregator – import transactions (PA-CB-I). It reaffirms our commitment to RBI to drive a seamless and inclusive payment ecosystem, and empowering merchants with innovative payment solutions that are secure, convenient, and accessible.”

With this, the trio has joined Cashfree Payments in the list of companies that have cross-border PA licence. 

For the uninitiated, the licence allows fintech and payment solutions companies to offer payment services to users for exports or imports. There are three types of cross border PA licences – export only PA-CB (PA-CB-E), import only PA-CB (PA-CB-I), and export and import PA-CB (PA-CB-E&I). 

The development comes nearly a year after the RBI, in October last year, directed fintech startups to seek PA licence for processing online cross-border transactions for the import and export of goods and services.

Under the current mandates, applicants have to register with the Financial Intelligence Unit-India (FIU-IND) to receive authorisation for processing such payments. Additionally, they are required to maintain a minimum net worth of INR 15 Cr when applying for the licence. This threshold will increase to INR 25 Cr post March 2026.

Fintech startups offering such services will have to discontinue their platform if they fail to comply with these net-worth mandates by July 31, 2024, as per the central bank. 

Earlier this month, Cashfree Payments became the first entity to receive the payment aggregator licence for cross-border payments. 

This comes at a time when the central bank has been on a spree to grant payment aggregator licence to applicants. Since December last year, the central bank has greenlit the PA applications of more than 20 fintech startups including Groww, Juspay, Decentro, CRED, Amazon Pay, among others.

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Average Ticket Size Of Fintechs’ Personal Loans Slumps To INR 9,861 In H1 FY24: RBI https://inc42.com/buzz/average-ticket-size-of-fintechs-personal-loans-slumps-to-inr-9861-in-h1-fy24-rbi/ Mon, 29 Jul 2024 18:37:01 +0000 https://inc42.com/?p=470538 The average ticket size of personal loans disbursed by fintechs has been on a consistent decline for the past two…]]>

The average ticket size of personal loans disbursed by fintechs has been on a consistent decline for the past two years, as per a Reserve Bank of India (RBI) report. 

As per the report, title ‘Currency and Finance (RCF) for the year 2023-24’, the average loan size dropped to INR 9,861 in the first half (H1) of the fiscal year 2023-24 (FY24) from INR 10,642 in the entire FY23.

The average size of personal loans disbursed by fintechs stood at INR 10,955 in the fiscal year ended March 2022.

The RBI said that the fall in average ticket size coincided with the rise of young borrowers and more personal loans being disbursed in rural areas. 

“In India, the personal loan market has seen an accelerated growth phase. Fintechs mainly cater to small value personal loans with 68% of personal loans falling in the category of less than INR 5,000 in 2022-23. The average ticket size of personal loans by fintech was around INR 11,000 in 2023,” added the report. 

The report also noted that the percentage of female borrowers availing digital personal loans has been on the rise, increasing from 12.9% in FY22 to 13.9% in FY23. The number stood at 14.2% in H1 FY24.

A region-wise breakdown of the digital personal data revealed that while 56% of the total borrowers came from “urban/ metropolitan” areas in H1 FY24, rural and semi-urban residents accounted for 33% and 11%, respectively.

The report comes a month after the central bank flagged the high levels of delinquency witnessed by fintech lenders for small loans below INR 50,000, adding that there was a need to closely monitor the unsecured lending category. 

At the time, the RBI had said that the growth rate in personal loans declined to 30% at the end of March 2024 compared to 31% in the year-ago period.

The development holds weight as RBI has been closely scrutinising the sector. For instance, in November last year, the central bank increased the risk weightage for outstanding and new unsecured consumer credit exposure of commercial banks as well as NBFCs by 25 percentage points to 125% from 100% earlier. 

The move increased the lending costs for unsecured consumer loans, forcing many startups like troubled Paytm to “go slow” on sub-INR 50,000 loans and focus on high-ticket personal and commercial loans. Later, Paytm paused its small personal loans business, including the postpaid portfolio, due to a decline in asset quality across industry.

Additionally, the RBI also tightened its noose around the digital lending space as it released a draft framework to oversee aggregation of loan products by lending service providers (LSPs) in April this year. 

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Cars24 Bags INR 250 Cr From Singapore-Based Parent Entity https://inc42.com/buzz/cars24-bags-inr-250-cr-from-singapore-based-parent-entity/ Sat, 27 Jul 2024 18:24:58 +0000 https://inc42.com/?p=470251 Auto marketplace Cars24 has bagged INR 250 Cr ($29.8 Mn) funding from its Singapore-based parent entity Global Car Group Limited.…]]>

Auto marketplace Cars24 has bagged INR 250 Cr ($29.8 Mn) funding from its Singapore-based parent entity Global Car Group Limited.

As per Registrar of Companies (RoC) filings accessed by Inc42, Cars24 Services Pvt Ltd’s board approved the allotment of 2.18 Lakh equity shares (2,18,132) to Global Car Group. 

“… Pursuant to provisions…, the consent of the board be and is hereby accorded to allot 2,18,132 equity shares of face value INR 10 each at a premium of INR 11,489 per share, aggregating to Rs 2,508,299,868,” noted the RoC filings. 

There was no clarity on how the Delhi NCR-based startup intends to use the newly infused funds. 

The fundraise comes close on the heels of Cars24 foraying into new segments to bolster its top line. For instance, in March, the car marketplace began piloting a new service which allows car owners to hire drivers on-demand on an hourly basis.

Additionally, in May this year, Cars24 also signed a letter of intent to join the state-backed Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC). The new capital may likely be deployed to fuel these new offerings. 

Founded in 2015 by Vikram Chopra, Gajendra Jangid, Ruchit Agarwal, and Mehul Agrawal, Cars24 operates a marketplace to enable car owners to sell their used cars. It also allows users to purchase used cars via its platform and offline outlets. 

Backed by the likes of SoftBank, Alpha Wave Global, and Commercial Bank of Dubai, Cars24 has raised more than a billion dollars in funding till date and was last valued at north of $3.2 Bn. 

It competes with the likes of CarTrade, CarDekho, Spinny, and Droom. 

Cars24 narrowed its net loss by 32% to $168.3 Mn in the financial year 2022-23 (FY23) from $248 Mn in the previous fiscal year.

Meanwhile, its revenue jumped 16% to $930.3 Mn in the fiscal year ended March 2023 from $803.6 Mn in FY22. The unicorn is yet to file its financial statements for the fiscal year ended March 2024. 

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Govt In Touch With Apple Over Threat Notifications Sent To MPs: MoS IT https://inc42.com/buzz/govt-in-touch-with-apple-over-threat-notifications-sent-to-mps-mos-it/ Sat, 27 Jul 2024 03:37:27 +0000 https://inc42.com/?p=470063 The government has informed the Parliament that the Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) is in touch with tech giant…]]>

The government has informed the Parliament that the Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) is in touch with tech giant Apple over the controversial threat notifications sent to various opposition Members of Parliament (MPs) and journalists.

“CERT-In is in touch with Apple and is in the process of getting information from the company about the alerts. Our agencies will act on the information provided,” said Minister of State (MoS) for Electronics and Information Technology Jitin Prasada in Rajya Sabha on Friday (July 26).

He was responding to a question from Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MP Raghav Chadha, who was one of the recipients of the alleged threat notification. 

“I along with several members of this House, particularly who sit in the opposition benches, are victims of something called state-sponsored spyware attack. Whereby our mobile phones notified us that a state-sponsored cyber attack took place which was attempting to infiltrate our mobile phone devices,” Chadha said while raising the issue in the upper house. 

He asked if the government had taken cognisance of the “attacks”, adding that whether authorities have taken any action in this regard.

“Now members of just not this House including several journalists and eminent people in public life are also victims. Therefore, I ask whether the government has taken cognizance of such attacks. Is there a list of the people who were attacked by such spyware attacks? And thirdly, what action has been taken?” added Chadha.

At the heart of the matter are the threat notifications sent by Apple to alert users who may have become targets of state-sponsored actors. 

In October last year, multiple Indian opposition leaders, including Shashi Tharoor, Pawan Khera and Sitaram Yechury alleged that they had these alerts on their iPhones, sparking political controversy and accusations of government surveillance.

In its message, Apple had said that malicious attackers could remotely access sensitive data, communications as well as camera and microphone of the compromised iPhones. However, the message also noted that it is ‘possible’ that this could be a ‘false alarm’ but advised recipients to take the warning seriously.

The aftermath saw the IT Ministry sending a notice to tech giant Apple concerning the controversial threat notifications received. Afterwards, it was reported that Apple’s cybersecurity executives from the US were planning to meet officials of CERT-In in connection with these alleged threat notifications.

In March this year, the then MoS for IT Rajeev Chandrasekhar said that the Centre had received ambiguous responses from Apple in connection with the questions related to the notifications. 

What followed was the big tech major dropping the word “state-sponsored” from its threat notification policy. In April this year, it warned its users in India and 91 other countries of a “mercenary spyware attack” replacing the term “state-sponsored”.

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Karnataka Assembly Passes Bill To Levy 2% Cess On OTT Subscriptions, Rules To Be Out Soon https://inc42.com/buzz/karnataka-assembly-passes-bill-to-levy-2-cess-on-ott-subscriptions-rules-to-be-out-soon/ Fri, 26 Jul 2024 20:46:50 +0000 https://inc42.com/?p=470058 The Karnataka assembly has passed a bill that proposes imposing a cess of up to 2% on OTT subscription plans.…]]>

The Karnataka assembly has passed a bill that proposes imposing a cess of up to 2% on OTT subscription plans. But questions remain over its implementation. 

“The Karnataka Cinema and Cultural Workers Welfare Bill – 2024 was introduced in the Assembly today… The bill was unanimously passed in the assembly,” state labour minister Santosh Lad said in a post on X earlier this week. 

Meanwhile, state labour department officials told Moneycontrol that they have commenced preparations for drafting rules for the same. 

“We have already started preparations for the rules. The draft rules will be published in the public domain. We are also planning to conduct a stakeholder meeting on the cess collection,” one of the officials reportedly said.

The official refused to offer any details on how the cess would be levied on OTT streaming platforms but said, “We have some framework in mind. We are still working on the modalities.”

The bill is now pending before the Governor for further approval. 

The bill proposes a “cine and cultural activists welfare cess” that will be imposed on movie tickets as well as OTT subscription fees in the state. The charges will range between 1% to 2% and will be revised every three years.

The bill also envisages the creation of ‘The Karnataka Cine and Cultural Activists Social Security and Welfare Fund’ to benefit cine artists in the state.

However, implementing charges on OTT subscriptions wouldn’t be easy as platforms such as JioCinema, Netflix, Amazon Prime have multiple pricing slabs for their customers. 

While the modalities are yet to be decided, the additional cess is expected to increase the costs for streaming platforms, which may eventually pass the price hike to the end customers. This may not bode well for many of these players as most of them operate on thin margins. 

It may also create an additional compliance burden for OTT platforms. However, this is not the first time that streaming platforms have landed in a regulatory soup with authorities. 

The Centre’s Broadcasting Services (Regulation) Bill 2023, introduced in November last year, aims to bring OTT platforms under its ambit. Many critics have opined that the proposed content evaluation committees (CECs) under the bill could pave the way for censorship and add additional compliance burdens for these players. 

Then, there are the anti-tobacco warning rules mandated by the health ministry last year, which require OTT platforms to include anti-tobacco health spots and disclaimers of 20-30 seconds in the beginning and middle of any content depicting tobacco use. 

The OTT platforms have also had run-ins with the law over alleged obscene and pornographic content. Earlier this year, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) blocked access to 18 streaming platforms, including Uncut Adda, Dreams Films and Prime Play, for publishing vulgar content. 

The post Karnataka Assembly Passes Bill To Levy 2% Cess On OTT Subscriptions, Rules To Be Out Soon appeared first on Inc42 Media.

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Centre Extends EV Promotion Scheme Till September, Increases Outlay To INR 778 Cr https://inc42.com/buzz/centre-extends-ev-promotion-scheme-till-september-increases-outlay-to-inr-778-cr/ Fri, 26 Jul 2024 18:56:09 +0000 https://inc42.com/?p=470053 The Centre has extended the duration of the electric mobility promotion scheme (EMPS) 2024 by two months till the end…]]>

The Centre has extended the duration of the electric mobility promotion scheme (EMPS) 2024 by two months till the end of September. 

In a statement, the Ministry of Heavy Industries (MHI) said that the outlay of the scheme has been increased to INR 778 Cr from INR 500 Cr previously. 

The scheme will look to subsidise the cost of electric two-wheelers and three-wheelers, including registered electric rickshaws, e-carts and L5 category of electric three-wheelers. 

The revised scheme will now target supporting 5.6 Lakh electric vehicles (EVs), including 5 Lakh two-wheelers and 60,709 three-wheelers. Giving a breakdown of the data, the MHI said that 13,590 rickshaws and e-carts as well as 47,119 L5 three-wheelers will be covered under the scheme. 

“With greater emphasis on providing affordable and environment-friendly public transportation options for the masses, the scheme will be applicable mainly to those e-2W and e-3Ws registered for commercial purposes. Further, in addition to commercial use, privately or corporate owned registered e-2W will also be eligible under the scheme,” the statement said. 

Of the total budget, INR 769.65 Cr has been earmarked for subsidising the cost of eligible vehicles. The remaining INR 8.35 Cr has been set aside for the administration of the scheme, including for purposes such as information, education and communication activities and fee for project management agency.

The government also said that the incentives under the rehashed scheme will now only be available for EVs equipped with advanced batteries to “promote advanced technologies”.

“The scheme promotes an efficient, competitive and resilient EV manufacturing industry in the country… For this purpose, (a) phased manufacturing programme (PMP) has been adopted which encourages domestic manufacturing and strengthening of (the) EV supply chain. This shall also create significant employment opportunities along the value chain,” it added.

It is pertinent to note that the MHI had allocated INR 500 Cr for the new EV mobility scheme earlier this year. Initially valid till July 2024, the initiative was aimed at avoiding disruption in the EV space as the Centre’s FAME-II scheme came to an end in March 2024.

The extension comes at a time when the government is said to be working on the third iteration of the Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of (Hybrid &) Electric Vehicles (FAME) scheme with an estimated outlay of INR 10,000 Cr.

Additionally, the MHI is also said to be mulling a phased manufacturing programme that would have stricter localisation norms for EV manufacturers to qualify for the upcoming FAME-III scheme. 

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RBI’s Regulatory Sandbox: Fi.Money, FinAGG & Signzy Selected For 5th Cohort https://inc42.com/buzz/rbis-regulatory-sandbox-fi-money-finagg-signzy-selected-for-5th-cohort/ Fri, 26 Jul 2024 18:45:03 +0000 https://inc42.com/?p=470048 The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has selected five entities, including three startups, for its fifth cohort of the regulatory…]]>

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has selected five entities, including three startups, for its fifth cohort of the regulatory sandbox initiative.

The selected startups include Epifi Technologies (Fi.Money), Finagg Technologies (FinAGG) and Signzy Technologies. Besides, Connectingdot Consultancy and Indian Banks’ Digital Infrastructure Company (IBDIC) have also been selected for the project.

For the uninitiated, regulatory sandboxes enable companies to test new products or services in a controlled regulatory environment. This, in turn, allows these entities to scale up their offerings, bring efficiency and devise solutions for new-age problems. 

The theme-neutral cohort will look to incubate “innovative” products or services across various functions under RBI’s regulatory domain. In a statement, the central bank said that the five entities were shortlisted for the “test phase” from the 22 applications received by it. 

It also said that the selected entities will commence testing of their solutions from next month.

Under the sandbox initiative, Epifi Technologies will develop a solution for digital opening of  non-resident (external) and non-resident (ordinary) accounts through video KYC and “identity validations”.

The central bank said that Epifi’s proposed tool will enable a seamless account opening experience for NRIs by obviating the need for physical documentation and verification. It also said that the offering will bring efficiency as well as reduce cost and turnaround time.

Meanwhile, FinAGG will build a blockchain-based “deep tier vendor financing” solution that will enable financing for MSMEs in the procurement supply chain of large enterprises. The offering will allow conversion of receivables from these enterprises into blockchain-based tokens that can be redeemed by MSMEs for availing credit from banks and NBFCs. 

Additionally, Signzy will look to develop an unassisted video-KYC solution that will allow users to complete video KYC steps independently without human intervention. 

“The solution (of Signzy) envisages to reduce time, increase success rates, significantly lower customer drop-offs and ensure a seamless and efficient KYC experience for both customers and regulated entities,” added the statement. 

The RBI invited applications from eligible entities to participate in the fifth cohort of the sandbox initiative in September 2023. 

The central bank invited applications for the first cohort on the ‘retail payments’ theme in late-2019. It was followed by the selection of a cross-border payments-centred second cohort in December 2020. 

Afterwards, the third cohort was announced in September 2021 on the theme ‘MSME lending’.  Subsequently, the central bank also selected six fintech startups, including Bahwan Cybertek, Crediwatch Information Analytics, and Wibmo, as part of its fourth cohort of the regulatory sandbox initiative last year. 

The sandbox project has paved the way for the emergence of startups like ToneTag, Citycash, and IND-e-Cash for use cases such as sound-based UPI payments and digital payments for feature phones. 

The post RBI’s Regulatory Sandbox: Fi.Money, FinAGG & Signzy Selected For 5th Cohort appeared first on Inc42 Media.

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RBI Slaps INR 87.5 Lakh Fine On Ola Financial Services For Flouting KYC & PPI Norms https://inc42.com/buzz/rbi-slaps-inr-87-5-lakh-fine-on-ola-financial-services-for-flouting-kyc-ppi-norms/ Fri, 26 Jul 2024 15:30:28 +0000 https://inc42.com/?p=470032 The Reserve Bank of India has imposed a penalty of INR 87.55 Lakh on Ola Financial Services for flouting various…]]>

The Reserve Bank of India has imposed a penalty of INR 87.55 Lakh on Ola Financial Services for flouting various regulatory norms.

While a fine of INR 33.40 Lakh has been imposed on the fintech arm of ride-hailing giant Ola for  non-compliance with know your customer (KYC) norms, another penalty of INR 54.15 Lakh has been imposed for contravening master directions on prepaid payment instrument (PPI).

For the uninitiated, Ola Financial Services is the fintech arm of the ride-hailing major and runs OlaMoney.

In a statement, the RBI said Ola Financial Services was issued a show cause notice to explain why the penalty should not be imposed on the company.

 “… After considering their written responses and the oral submissions made during the personal hearing, RBI concluded that the aforesaid charges of noncompliance with RBI directions were substantiated and warranted imposition of monetary penalty,” said the central bank. 

It also said that Ola Financial Services had reported instances of shortfall in balance in its escrow account and filed an application for compounding of the violation. After hearing the company’s plea and oral submissions, the RBI “determined” that the contraventions could be compounded, and imposed the fine. 

Simply put, compounding refers to an entity voluntarily pleading guilty for a violation and seeking redressal.

The fines have been imposed by the RBI in exercise of powers under Section 30 and Section 31 of the Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2007. 

This is not the first time that Ola Financial Services has landed in a soup. In 2022, the central bank slapped a penalty of INR 1.67 Cr on the company for similar non-compliances with PPI and KYC norms. 

Earlier this year, Ola founder and CEO Bhavish Aggarwal’s brother Ankush Aggarwal returned to Ola Financial Services as its new chief executive

Meanwhile, Ola Financial Services slipped into the red in the fiscal year 2022-23 (FY23) with a net loss of INR 54.6 Cr. The company had reported a profit of INR 8.6 Cr in the previous fiscal year. 

Its operating revenue declined 22% to INR 85.5 Cr in FY23 from INR 110 Cr in FY22. 

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Indian GenAI Startup Tracker: 60+ Startups Putting India On The Global AI Map https://inc42.com/startups/indian-genai-startup-tracker/ Fri, 26 Jul 2024 09:30:17 +0000 https://inc42.com/?p=447616 Before November 2022, OpenAI was a little-known startup in the US. However, that very month, the company unveiled a chatbot,…]]>

Before November 2022, OpenAI was a little-known startup in the US. However, that very month, the company unveiled a chatbot, ChatGPT, which in just two months crossed 100 Mn monthly active users, making it the fastest-growing consumer application in history. 

OpenAI’s GPT-3, a large language model (LLM), has since paved the way for GPT-4 and $11 Bn+ in funding for OpenAI, mostly from Microsoft.

At the time when OpenAI was making waves across the globe, India’s GenAI ecosystem was still very much in its infancy.

However, the country’s GenAI space seems to have made massive strides since then. Not only have we been able to mint India’s first AI unicorn, Krutrim, but also attracted major interest from investors and entrepreneurs to cause a stir in this space.   

Consequently, India is home to more than 100 GenAI startups and these startups have raised more than $600 Mn since 2019.

Spearheading this transition are names like SarvamAI and Krutrim, which are focussed on building Indic LLMs, while others like ObserveAI, having secured $214 Mn, are leveraging AI to offer customised customer and operational support to businesses. 

Today, a large number of startups across sectors and industries, from OYO to Unacademy, are seen using this emerging technology to streamline user experience and operations.

According to Inc42, India’s GenAI market is expected to see a major boom in the coming years and is projected to cross the $17 Bn mark by 2030. 

In line with the growing market opportunity in this space, we have endeavoured to collate a list of Indian startups that are causing a stir in the rapidly evolving Indian GenAI space.

(Note: The startups below have been listed in the order of the amount of funding raised since their incorporation. This is not an exhaustive list, we will be updating it periodically. If you would like to refer a GenAI startup to be featured in this list, write to us @ editor@inc42.com)

Startup Name Target Industries Sector HQ Founding Year Last Funding Stage Funding Year Last Funding Amount (USD) Total Funding Amount (USD) Major Investors
Observe AI Horizontal Code & Data Bengaluru 2017 Late Stage 2022 125,000,000 214,020,000 Zoom, Bossanova Investimentos, Y Combinator, Menlo Ventures, Nexus Venture Partners
Pixis Horizontal Code & Data Bengaluru 2020 Late Stage 2022 100,000,000 124,000,000 General Atlantic, Celesta Capital, Chiratae Ventures, SoftBank Vision Fund, Exfinity Venture Partners
Ola Krutrim Horizontal LLM Model Bengaluru 2024 Seed Stage 2024 50,000,000 50,000,000 Matrix Partners
Sarvam AI Horizontal LLM Model Bengaluru 2023 Growth Stage 2023 41,000,000 41,000,000 Peak XV Partners, Khosla Ventures, Lightspeed Venture Partners
Avaamo AI Horizontal Text & Chatbots Los Altos 2014 Growth Stage 2021 7,000,000 30,500,000 Intel Capital, Streamlined Ventures, WI Harper Group
Senseforth Horizontal Text & Chatbots Bengaluru 2017 Growth Stage 2021 14,000,000 16,000,000 Tenity, Fractal Analytics
InVideo Horizontal Audio & Video California, US 2019 Growth Stage 2020 15,000,000 52,500,000 Peak XV Partners, Tiger Global, Hummingbird, RTP Global
Rephrase AI Horizontal Audio & Video Bengaluru 2019 Growth Stage 2023 12,200,000 12,200,000 Techstars, Silver Lake, 8VC, Red Ventures, AV8 Ventures
MURFAI Horizontal Audio & Video Bengaluru 2020 Growth Stage 2022 10,000,000 11,500,000 Matrix Partners, Elevation Capital
DhiWise Horizontal Code & Data Surat 2021 Growth Stage 2022 7,000,000 9,500,000 Accel, India Quotient, Dholakia Ventures
Spyne Ecommerce/Retail Image Generation & Editing Delhi NCR 2018 Growth Stage 2022 7,000,000 7,000,000 Accel, AngelList India, Storm Ventures, Abhishek Deo, Pentathlon Ventures
LimeChat Ecommerce/Retail Text & Chatbots Delhi NCR 2020 Seed Stage 2022 5,000,000 5,000,000 Stellaris Venture Partners, Google, IFC, Pi Ventures
QpiAI Horizontal Code & Data Bengaluru 2019 Seed Stage 2023 4,840,000 4,840,000 We Founder Circle,
Kombai Horizontal Code & Data Pune 2022 Seed Stage 2023 4,500,000 4,500,000 Foundation Capital, Stellaris Venture Partners
Contlo Horizontal Text & Chatbots Bengaluru 2021 Seed Stage 2022 3,500,000 4,300,000 Titan Capital, Better Capital, Arjun Vaidya, Varun Alagh, Kae Capital
Scalenut Horizontal Text & Chatbots Delhi NCR 2020 Seed Stage 2022 3,100,000 3,500,000 Titan Capital, Saama Capital, AngelList India, Amit Singhal, First Principles
Blend Ecommerce/Retail Image Generation & Editing Bengaluru 2021 Seed Stage 2022 3,140,000 3,140,000 Surge Ventures, Surge, PointOne Capital
Zocket Horizontal Image Generation & Editing Bengaluru 2021 Seed Stage 2022 3,022,253 3,022,254 Kalaari Capital, Kettleborough VC, Jasminder Gulati
Alltius Horizontal Text & Chatbots Bengaluru 2022 Seed Stage 2023 2,400,000 2,400,000 Stellaris Venture Partner, Gemba Capital, peercheque
vPhrase Horizontal Code & Data Mumbai 2015 Growth Stage 2019 2,000,000 2,000,000 Alpha Wave Global, CIIE.CO, Artha Group, Bharat Innovation Fund, Target Accelerator
Dubdub AI Horizontal Audio & Video Bengaluru 2021 Seed Stage 2022 1,800,000 1,800,000 Waveform Ventures, Accel Atoms, Forward Capital Fund, Force Ventures
Gnani AI Horizontal Text & Chatbots Bengaluru 2016 Growth Stage 2019 1,800,000 1,800,000 Samsung Ventures
Floworks AI Horizontal Code & Data Bengaluru 2021 Seed Stage 2023 1,500,000 1,500,000 SenseAI Ventures, Y Combinator, Entrepreneur First, AWS
Good Meetings Horizontal Text & Chatbots Bengaluru 2021 Seed Stage 2023 1,500,000 1,500,000 Chiratae Ventures, AWS, MassChallenge, FortyTwo VC
VisualDub Horizontal Audio & Video Bengaluru 2021 Seed Stage 2022 1,500,000 1,500,000 Exfinity Venture Partners, AWS
Orbo AI Ecommerce/Retail Image Generation & Editing Mumbai 2019 Seed Stage 2019 1,500,000 1,500,000 Venture Catalysts, YourNest Venture Capital, AWS, Founders Factory, GenNext Ventures
Wokelo AI Horizontal Code & Data Seattle 2022 Seed Stage 2023 1,500,000 1,500,000 Untapped Capital, Pack Ventures, SeaChange, Array Ventures, Upsparks
WorkHack Horizontal Code & Data Bengaluru 2023 Seed Stage 2023 1,500,000 1,500,000 Nexus Venture Partners, Together Fund
Visualdub Horizontal Audio & Video Mumbai 2021 Seed Stage 2022 1,450,000 1,450,000 Exfinity Venture Partners, RAAY Global Investments
Knorish Edtech Code & Data Delhi NCR 2,016 Seed Stage 2021 1,400,000 1,400,000 Silverneedle Ventures, Inflection Point Ventures, 100X.VC, Google
NeuroPixel Ecommerce/Retail Image Generation & Editing Bengaluru 2020 Seed Stage 2022 500,000 1,325,000 Inflection Point Ventures, Entrepreneur First, Huddle, Flipkart Ventures, Dexter Angels
Unsqript Horizontal Audio & Video Bengaluru 2021 Seed Stage 2022 1,300,000 1,300,000 Stellaris Venture Partners, Ghazal Alagh, Exfinity Venture Partners, Entreprenuer First
Segmind Horizontal Code & Data Bengaluru 2022 Seed Stage 2021 1,000,000 1,200,000 100x Entrepreneur, All In Capital, WEH Ventures, Paradigm Shift Capital
Expertia AI Horizontal Code & Data Bengaluru 2,020 Seed Stage 2022 1,125,000 1,125,000 Chiratae Ventures, Endiya Partners, Google, Entrepreneur First
Beatoven AI Horizontal Audio & Video Bengaluru 2021 Seed Stage 2022 1,000,000 1,055,000 Entrepreneur First, Redstart Labs
Hypergro.ai Horizontal Audio & Video Bengaluru 2022 Seed Stage 2023 875,000 875,000 Dholakia Ventures, Huddle, TDV Partners, Silverneedle Ventures
Dubverse.ai Horizontal Audio & Video Delhi NCR 2021 Seed Stage 2022 800,000 800,000 Kalaari Capital
SilcoFix Horizontal Code & Data Delhi NCR 2023 Growth Stage 2023 700,000 770,000 IvyCap Ventures, 8i Ventures
Vitra.ai Horizontal Text & Chatbots Bengaluru 2020 Seed Stage 2021 537,000 537,000 100X.VC, Inflexor, 2AM VC
Baselit Horizontal Code & Data Bengaluru 2023 Seed Stage 2023 500,000 500,000 Y Combinator
PlayHT Horizontal Audio & Video San Francisco 2022 Seed Stage 2023 500,000 500,000 500 Global, Y Combinator
Eubrics Horizontal Code & Data Delhi NCR 2021 Seed Stage 2023 N/A 325,000 Iterative
Slang Labs Ecommerce/Retail Text & Chatbots Bengaluru 2017 Seed Stage 2021 500,000 500,000 Endiya Partners, 100x Entrepreneur, Google
Vodex Horizontal Audio & Video Bengaluru 2022 Seed Stage 2023 308,732 308,732 100X.VC
Arrowhead Horizontal Code & Data Mumbai 2022 Seed Stage N/A N/A 300,000 Rebalance, Campus Fund
Dubpro AI Horizontal Audio & Video Delhi NCR 2019 Seed Stage 2020 300,000 300,000 Venture Catalysts, Anicut Angel Fund, First Cheque
REZO Horizontal Text & Chatbots Delhi NCR 2018 Seed Stage 2020 282,000 282,000 Indvest Ventures, Dexter Angels, Modulor Capital
LLMate Horizontal Code & Data Bengaluru 2023 Seed Stage 2021 271,000 271,000 100X.VC, 2AM VC
Hexo Horizontal Image Generation & Editing Bengaluru 2022 Seed Stage 2022 270,000 270,000 Antler India
Kommunicate Horizontal Text & Chatbots Middletown 2020 Seed Stage 2023 100,000 243,000 Upekkha AI SaaS Fund
AuraML Horizontal Code & Data Bengaluru 2022 Seed Stage 2023 230,000 230,000 Indian Angel Network
Hyperleap AI Horizontal Code & Data Hyderabad 2018 Seed Stage 2022 225,000 225,000 N/A
Boltzmann Healthcare Code & Data Bengaluru 2019 Seed Stage 2023 N/A 200,000 AngelList India
Metabrix Horizontal Image Generation & Editing Hyderabad 2022 Seed Stage 2023 156,250 156,250 100X.VC
Swasthya AI Healthcare Text & Chatbots Pune 2021 Seed Stage 2023 156,250 156,250 Google, 100X.VC
Predis.ai Horizontal Image Generation & Editing Pune 2020 Seed Stage 2022 154,000 154,000 Anicut Capital, Utpl Corporate Trustees, Suvardhan Associates.
LongShot AI Horizontal Text & Chatbots Mumbai 2021 Seed Stage 2022 100,000 100,000 Upekkha Value SaaS Accelerator
syncsense Horizontal Text & Chatbots Bengaluru 2022 Seed Stage 2022 53,000 53,000 Entrepreneur First
Scano App Healthcare Text & Chatbots Pune 2018 Seed Stage N/A N/A 48,800 Google for Startups, NASSCOM DeepTech Club
Kroop AI Horizontal Audio & Video Gandhinagar 2021 Seed Stage 2021 34,116 34,116 100X.VC
RioGPT Horizontal Text & Chatbots Bengaluru 2023 Seed Stage N/A N/A N/A N/A
JarvisLabs Horizontal Code & Data Coimbatore 2019 Seed Stage 2023 Undisclosed Undisclosed Bestvantage Investments, Hem Securities
Personate Horizontal Audio & Video Delhi NCR 2021 Seed Stage N/A N/A N/A N/A
Simplismart Horizontal Code & Data Bengaluru 2022 Seed Stage 2023 N/A 136,000 Anicut Capital, First Cheque, Sunn91
Phot.AI Horizontal Image Generation & Editing Delhi NCR 2022 Bootstrapped N/A Bootstrapped Bootstrapped Bootstrapped

Meet The GenAI Startups Putting India On The Global AI Map

1. Observe AI

Founded in 2017 by Sharath Keshava Narayana and Swapnil Jain, Observe AI is a conversational intelligence platform for contact centres. 

Observe.AI has raised a total of $214 Mn in funding over 6 rounds. It bagged 125 Mn in its last funding round in 2022. 

The platform is supported by marquee investors such as Zoom, Bossanova Investimentos, Y Combinator, Menlo Ventures, and Nexus Venture Partners. It competes with the likes of companies like Noogata, TUNGEE, Osense Technology, Slang Labs, etc.

2. Pixis

Founded in 2020 by Harikrishna Valiyath, Shubham A Mishra, Vrushali Prasade, Pixis provides a codeless AI infrastructure platform for brands to monitor and orchestrate their marketing campaigns.

Since its inception, the startup has raised $209 Mn in capital. It raised $85 Mn in its last funding round in 2023. 

Pixis is backed by startups like Grupo Carso, General Atlantic, Celesta Capital and Chiratae Ventures. It competes with the likes of Utilidata, HeadSpin, and Navikenz in the larger AI-powered technology space.

3. Ola Krutrim 

Founded in 2022 by Ola and Ola Electric founder Bhavish Aggarwal, Krutrim is experimenting with GenAI to develop an India-specific LLM. The startup’s family of LLMs is said to be capable of working with 10 Indian languages. However, Krutrim has yet to release any publicly-available products.

The startup made headlines in January 2024 when it became the first pure-play AI startup in India to hit a unicorn valuation over its recent $50 Mn funding round. So far, it has secured $74 Mn in funding, becoming one of the most well-funded AI startups in the country, from backers such as Matrix Partners India.

The startup competes with the likes of Sarvam AI, Mistral AI, and DeepMind.

4. SarvamAI

Founded in 2023 by AI4Bharat creators Vivek Raghavan and Pratyush Kumar, SarvamAI aims to develop custom-made LLMs, specifically designed for India-centric use cases.

Backed by names such as Peak XV Partners and Khosla Ventures, the Bengaluru-based GenAI startup raised a Series A funding of $41 Mn (around INR 342 Cr) led by Lightspeed Venture Partners in December 2023.

5. Avaamo

Founded in 2014 by Ram Menon and Sriram Chakravarthy, Avaamo is a deep-learning software company that specialises in conversational interfaces to solve specific, high-impact problems in the enterprise tech realm. 

Avaamo is building fundamental AI technology across a broad area of neural networks, speech synthesis and deep learning to make conversational computing for businesses a reality.

Over the years, Avaamo has raised more than $30 Mn from the likes of Intel Capital, Ericsson Ventures, Streamlined Ventures, WI Harper Group and Mahindra Partners. It raised 7 Mn in its last funding round in 2021. 

Avaamo counts PolyAI, Zira, Odeza, and wrnchAI as its competitors.

6. InVideo

Founded in 2019 by Sanket Shah, and later joined by Anshul Khandelwal, InVideo initially operated a web-based video editing platform that allowed users to convert existing pieces of static content into videos.

However, it has come a long way since then. Currently, the startup operates a full-fledged AI-powered video editing platform that leverages GenAI to create videos with just text prompts. Users just have to input the topic and the platform generates a script, adds scenes and voiceovers, among other things. 

The startup has raised capital to the tune of $52.5 Mn to date and is backed by marquee names such as Peak XV Partners, Tiger Global, Hummingbird, RTP Global and Base. It competes with the likes of Kapwing, Synthesia, Veed, and Rephrase.ai, among others.

7. Senseforth

Founded in 2017 by Krishna Kadiri, Ritesh Radhakrishnan, and Shridhar Marri, Senseforth is a leading Conversational AI solutions company that enables automated human-like conversations between organisations and people.

Since its inception, Avaamo has raised more than $16 Mn from the likes of Tenity and Fractal Analytics. It secured its last funding round of $14 Mn in 2021.

It competes with the likes of MoonShot AI, Locofy, and Suki.

8. Rephrase AI

Founded in 2019 by Ashray Malhotra, Nisheeth Lahoti and Shivam Mangla, Rephrase AI leverages GenAI to create professional videos with the ease of writing text within minutes. 

The growth-stage startup has raised a total funding of $12 Mn. In its last funding round, it raised $10.6 Mn in 2023.

The company counts Techstars, Silver Lake, 8VC, Red Ventures and AV8 Ventures among its investors. It competes with the likes of Imaginario AI, VideoDubber, MURFAI, etc. The Bengaluru-based AI video creator was acquired by Adobe in 2023.

9. Murf AI

Founded in 2020 by IIT-Kharagpur graduates Sneha Roy, Ankur Edkie, and Divyanshu Pandey, Murf AI uses AI to create high-quality voiceovers without recording equipment for its users in minutes. 

The growth-stage startup has raised a total funding of $11.5 Mn. In its last funding round, it raised $10 Mn in 2022. 

It is backed by investors like Matrix Partners, and Elevation Capital. It counts Imaginario AI, VideoDubber, and Rephrase AI as its competitors.

10. DhiWise

Founded in 2021 by Vishal Virani, DhiWise is an AI-enabled programming platform where developers can convert their designs into developer-friendly code for mobile and web apps. 

It automates and fastens the application development lifecycle and instantly generates readable, modular, and reusable code.

The growth-stage startup has raised a total of 9 Mn since its inception. It raised 7 Mn in 2022. DhiWise is supported by marquee investors like Accel, AngelList India, Storm Ventures, Abhishek Deo, and Pentathlon Ventures. It competes with the likes of Observe AI, Pixis, QpiAI, and Kombai.

11. Spyne

Founded in 2018 by Deepti Prasad and Sanjay Kumar, Spyne is helping businesses and marketplaces create and upgrade high-quality product images and videos at scale with AI. 

The growth stage company has so far raised $7.6 Mn from Accel Partners, Storm Ventures, and other investors. It raised $7 Mn in its last funding round in 2022. 

The Gurugram-based startup competes with companies like zapero.ai, Dresma, Ayna, Blend, and Orbo AI.

12. LimeChat

Founded in 2020 by Aniket Bajpai and Nikhil Gupta, LimeChat leverages AI to enable a brand to instantly respond to its customer queries throughout the buying journey across mediums such as WhatsApp, Meta Messenger and Instagram.

When it comes to WhatsApp commerce, it is working with 300+ brands like HUL, ITC, Mamaearth, Wow Skin Science, Neemans Shoes, and Snitch.

Backed by investors like Stellaris Venture Partners, Google, IFC, and Pi Ventures, the Faridabad-based company has raised a total funding of $5 Mn to date.

The seed-stage company competes with Noogata, TUNGEE, Osense Technology, Slang Labs,  etc.

13. QpiAI

Founded in 2019 by Dr Nagendra Nagaraja, QpiAI is a Bengaluru-based AI startup working in the areas of both AI and quantum computing. The startup’s key product, QpiAI Pro, helps deploy AI solutions at the production stage.

The startup also manufactures hardware solutions for quantum computers, including compute architecture, quantum processors and cryogenic controllers, and also offers quantum computing as a service (QCaaS) software. In 2021, it tied up with IISc Bengaluru to offer certification courses in AI and quantum computing.

QpiAI has yet to raise any funding.

14. Kombai

Founded in 2022 by Dipanjan Dey and Abhijit Bhole, Kombai is an AI model trained to understand and code UI designs like humans. It offers developer tools for web app developers, which helps them do away with mundane automatable tasks like writing and maintaining CSS and other boilerplate JS code. 

It has so far raised a total of $4.5 Mn from Foundation Capital and Stellaris Venture Partners.

Kombai competes with Locofy.ai, Adobe XD, Figma and Relume, which have a similar approach towards web design.

15. Contlo 

Founded in 2021 by Ishaan Bhola and Mukunda NS, Contlo is a GenAI-powered martech platform that helps businesses run and optimise end-to-end marketing campaigns. 

The seed-stage SaaS platform claims to help brands build personalised campaigns and automate customer journeys across all major channels including email, SMS, as well as social media platforms. 

The US-headquartered startup has raised $4.3 Mn in funding to date. It is backed by the likes of names such as Kae Capital, Better Capital and Titan Capital as well as angel investors such as Mamaearth’s Varun Alagh as well as Harshil Mathur and Shashank Kumar of Razorpay, among others.

16. Scalenut 

A brainchild of Mayank Jain, Gaurav Goyal, and Saurabh Wadhawan, Scalenut was founded in 2020. The startup is an artificial intelligence (AI)-powered SEO and content marketing platform.

Its AI co-pilot handhelds businesses through the entire content lifecycle, from keyword planning and content creation to SEO optimisation and competitive analysis.

The California-based startup has raised $3.5 Mn in funding till date and is backed by the likes of names such as Titan Capital, First Principles VC, AngelList, among others.

It claims to have so far catered to more than 200 businesses including homegrown startups such as PharmEasy and LeapScholar. 

17. Blend 

Founded in 2021 by Vaibhav Prakash, Vishwanath Kollapudi and Jamsheed Kamardeen, Blend is a GenAI-powered design tool that helps ecommerce sellers create social media graphics, product photos and SEO-optimised content. 

Incubated by Peak XV Surge and Google For Startups, the Bengaluru-based SaaS platform has raised $3.14 Mn in funding till date. Catering largely to ecommerce sellers, Blend is backed by names such as 3one4 Capital, Blume Ventures, PointOne Capital, among others.

The startup boasts of 15 proprietary AI models that have been trained on more than 80 Mn visuals and keywords.

18. Zocket

Founded in 2021 by second-time entrepreneurs – Karthik Venkateswaran, Nandha Kumar Ravi, Sundar Natesan, and Mukund Srivathsan — Zocket, with Gen AI, helps businesses launch their digital ads in less than 30 seconds. 

It has secured 3.1 Mn in its overall funding with support from investors like Surge Ventures, Surge, and PointOne Capital. 

It competes with the likes of Hexo, Metabrix, Predis.ai, and PostifyAI in the digital ads space.

19. Alltius 

Founded in 2022 by Vibhanshu Abhishek and Siddhant Mishra, Alltius’ no-code platform enables businesses to seamlessly create, train and deploy AI assistants within a day. These AI assistants can then be leveraged by enterprises to transform sales and support journeys.

The company claims that these AI assistants can be trained on a slew of company resources, including documents, images, PDFs, among others. Subsequently, these assistants can be deployed to answer queries, create pitches, compare insurance plans, create tickets, draft emails, among other things. 

The Bengaluru-based horizontal AI startup has raised $2.4 Mn till date and is backed by the likes of names such as Stellaris Venture Partner, Blume Ventures, Gemba Capital, peercheque, among others.

20. vPhrase

vPhrase offers a SaaS tool that leverages AI, machine learning and natural language processing (NLP) to help businesses derive insights from huge swathes of complex datasets. 

It has two products – Phrazor and Explorazor. While Phrazor is a report automation tool that converts complex graphs into actionable taking points, Explorazor helps users perform root cause analysis across multiple datasets via a No-SQL interface. It claims to have three granted patents under its kitty. 

The New York-headquartered startup was founded back in 2015 by Neerav Parekh and Naimisha Neerav Parekh. vPhrase has raised $2 Mn in funding till date and counts Falcon Edge Capital, Bharat Innovation Fund, Alpha Wave Global, among others as its backers. 

Its clientele includes giants such as Danone, GSK, Sanofi, Hindustan Unilever Limited, Fidelity, Abbott, Motilal Oswal, among others

21. Dubdub AI

Founded in 2021 by Anubhav Singh, Rahul Sankhwar, Rahul Garg and Anchal Jaiswal, Dubdub.ai is an online tool which leverages AI for making multilingual video content. It supports audio and video dubbing.

The growth stage startup has raised a total funding of $1.8 Mn since its inception. In its last funding round, it raised $1 Mn in 2022. 

Waveform Ventures, Accel Atoms, Forward Capital Fund, and Force Ventures are among the investors backing the company.

Dubdub.ai competes with the likes of names such as Pieces, Noogata, and ClearCOGS.

22. Gnani AI

Founded in 2017 by Ganesh Gopalan and Ananth Nagaraj, Gnani.ai offers a full-stack conversational AI product suite to help businesses automate and enhance customer support across all digital and conventional communication channels.

It also caters to the fraud detection market with its voice biometrics product, which is largely centred on its clients in the BFSI sector. 

The B2B platform claims to have a customer base of over 100 companies including multiple Indian lending companies such as TVS Credit, Muthoot Finance, and Fibe (formerly Early Salary). It also boasts more than 12 patents in its kitty.

The Bengaluru-based startup has raised $4 Mn in funding till date and counts the likes of names such as Samsung Ventures and angels such as Lakshmi Narayan, and BVR Mohan Reddy as its investors. 

It competes with the likes of names such as Rezo.ai, Haptik and Verloop.io. 

23. Floworks

Founded in 2022 by Sudipta Biswas and Sarthak Shrivastava, Floworks offers an AI assistant that helps sales personnel effectively utilise Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software from the confines of their Slack accounts.

Sales teams can just instruct the AI assistant in plain natural language to send CRM updates, send emails, raise escalations and get reports, without having to go through multiple applications.

Incubated by Y Combinator, the startup raised $1.5 Mn in seed funding in August last year. The US-based GenAI startup also counts names such as Sense AI, Gaingels, Entrepreneur First and ThinKuvate as investors. 

24. GoodMeetings

A brainchild of Srinivasan Narayan and Abhijeet Sahoo, GoodMeetings is a remote sales platform that leverages video, AI and analytics to help teams sell effectively. 

The startup’s proprietary platform helps users automate processes, generate human-level summaries and derive insights and actionable pointers from a real-time video. It also nudges the sales person about what to say and when during the video call itself.

Founded in 2020, GoodMeetings has raised $1.7 Mn in funding till date. It is backed by marquee names such as Chiratae Ventures, FortyTwo.VC, First Check, Adept Ventures, 100X Entrepreneurs, among others.

25. VisualDub

Founded in 2021 as NeuralGarage, VisualDub.ai is the brainchild of IIT Kanpur alumni Mandar Natekar, Subhabrata Debnath, Anjan Banerjee and Subhashish Saha. The GenAI startup is developing a proprietary tool, VisualDub, which syncs recorded voice overs with lip movement and visual cues. 

It claims to provide visual lip-sync delivered at 2K to 4K resolution with zero artefacts. VisualDub claims to transform the face under the eyes, including jaws, mouth, chin, smile lines and micro muscles in the cheeks and upper neck to offer a glitch-free video.

VisualDub claims to cater big-ticket clients such as Amazon, Coca-Cola, Britannia, Microsoft, GSK, and Ultratech Cement. Backed by Exfinity Venture Partners and AWS, it has raised $1.5 Mn in funding till date.

26. Orbo AI

Orbo leverages AI and augmented reality (AR) to help consumers virtually try-on products in real-time without stepping foot outside their homes. 

Catering to the ecommerce and retail sectors, the startup’s flagship product, Beauty GPT, offers immersive solutions such as makeup try-ons, deep skin analysis, embedded hairstyle, hair colour augmentation, among others. 

Founded by Manoj Shinde, Abhit Sinha and Danish Jamil, Orbo AI also featured on the third season of the popular TV show Shark Tank India and went home with an INR 1 Cr deal from SUGAR Cosmetics cofounder Vineeta Singh.

The startup has raised $1.5 Mn since its inception and counts names such as Venture Catalysts, YourNest Venture as investors.

27. Phot.AI

Founded in 2022 by Venus Dhuria and Aneesh Rayancha, Phot.AI is a full-visual design platform that leverages GenAI to enable users and brands to generate images from just text.

Catering to both B2B and B2C users, Phot.AI allows customers to generate photos, create design concepts and visualise them with GenAI. It also leverages this emerging technology to help users enhance their images and turn their “PDF” documents into any format.

Another key product of the startup is its AI training module, which allows end-users to train their AI models. It caters to businesses operating in areas such as ecommerce, packaging and branding, advertising and marketing, media, and BFSI, among others. 

Its clients include names such as Shiprocket, Fashinza, and Dukaan, among others. The two-year-old startup is bootstrapped and is yet to raise capital from external investors.

28. Wokelo

Founded in 2022 by Siddhant Masson and Saswat Nanda, Wokelo leverages OpenAI’s GPT and open source models such as LLaMA to produce detailed due-diligence reports for enterprises in a matter of minutes from publicly available data. 

Its proprietary “cognitive engine” sifts through the tonnes of data to build concise and customised reports and presentations without hallucinations. 

Backed by investors such as Untapped Capital, SeaChange Fund, Pack Ventures, Array Ventures, and Upsparks Capital, the Seattle-based startup has raised $1.5 Mn in funding since inception. 

Its solutions cater to clients in private equity, venture capital, investment banking, and management consulting. It counts names such as Tata Group, Deloitte, Seven Seven Six, among others as its customers. 

29. NeuroPixel.AI

Founded in 2020 by Arvind Nair and Amritendu Mukherjee, NeuroPixel.AI is a GenAI platform that allows online marketplaces to offer AI-enabled fashion cataloguing, synthetic model generation, and virtual try-ons. 

Leveraging advanced AI and ML as well as computer vision and image processing, the startup helps small online retailers with offerings such as automated cataloguing, improving customer experience, and reducing the time spent on clicking photos manually and editing images.

The Bengaluru-based startup has raised $1.2 Mn in funding till date and is backed by the likes of ecommerce major Flipkart, Inflection Point Ventures, Entrepreneur First, Huddle, DLabs, Dexter Angels, among others. 

NeuroPixel competes with the likes of OSlash, Vue.ai, Chargebee, and SaaS Labs in the broader Indian deeptech SaaS space.

30. Beatoven.AI 

Founded In 2021 by Mansoor Rahimat Khan and Siddharth Bhardwaj, Beatoven.ai’s genesis lay in the vast demand for original, royalty-free music suitable for commercial use. 

Beatoven.AI addressed this issue by simply leveraging GenAI to create background music for video, podcast, and game creators. Riding on the AI wave, the startup now boasts close to 1 Mn registered users worldwide, majority of them outside India.

Backed by the likes of Capital2B (Info Edge), IvyCap ventures, Upsparks Capital, the Bengaluru-based startup has raised more than $2.4 Mn in funding till date. 

31. Expertia AI

Founded in 2020 by Akshay Gugnani and Kanishk Shukla, Expertia AI is an AI-powered HR Tech platform that offers end-to-end hiring solutions from talent discovery to decision.

The B2B platform’s AI tool goes beyond the resume and understands the skills, personality and background of the candidate to offer a certain Expertia score. Not just this, it also identifies skill gaps in an applicant and actively engages with candidates on various fronts and makes them offer-ready. 

It caters to names such as Cognizant, Decathlon, Tech Mahindra, Reliance Jio, Justdial, among others. 

Incubated by Google For Startups, Expertia AI is backed by Chiratae Ventures and Endiya Partners. It has raised more than $1.2 Mn in funding till date.

32. Hypergro.ai 

Founded in 2022 by Rituraj Biswas, Neha Soman, Abhijeet Kumar and Arijit Mukhopadhyay, Hypergro.ai leverages AI to help brands conceptualise and create compelling video ads using user-generated content (UGC).

The startup’s proprietary AI platform helps its clients in understanding market trends and behaviour of their target customers, thereby optimising campaign performance. The platform then connects brands with creators who can craft videos that resonate with their target audience. 

The SaaS startup’s platform also offers its clients visibility into the entire video creation process and to monitor campaign results. 

Backed by the likes of Silverneedle Ventures, Huddle, TDV Partners, HME Ventures, Dholakia Ventures, among others, the martech startup last raised $1 Mn in funding in 2023. 

33. Dubverse.ai

Founded in 2021 by Varshul Gupta and Anuja Dhawan, Dubverse.ai harnesses the power of GenAI to help brands and video producers dub their video content. The platform helps its clients convert text into “natural-sounding” voice overs in multiple languages and generate subtitles. 

It currently claims to offer the functionality in 60 Indian and other global languages. Dubverse.ai’s text-to-speech engine also offers a broad range of AI voices as per the tone and style needs of its customers.

The SaaS platform claims to have so far worked with 5 Lakh brands including the likes of Mahindra FInance, Zupee, BluSmart, Ullu, among others. 

The startup last raised $800K in seed funding from Kalaari Capital in June 2022. 

34. SilcoFix

Founded in 2023 by Rajesh Jajodia, SilcoFix is a GenAI startup that helps brands generate images based on a text input. SilcoFix’s proprietary technology offers its clients the option to access multiple AI models including Stable Diffusion as well as other custom models. 

The startup has raised $770K in funding from the likes of IvyCap Ventures and 8i Ventures since its inception.

It competes with the likes of names such as Unstudio, Rephrase.ai, DhiWise, among others.

35. Vitra.ai

A brainchild of Satvik Jagannath and Akash Nidhi PS, Vitra is an AI-powered startup that helps creators and businesses leverage the emerging technology to translate videos, images, podcasts and text to 75+ languages in just one click.

Founded in 2020, Vitra.ai was incubated by Google India and was part of the tech major’s seventh cohort of Google for Startups Accelerator. The startup can be integrated with 250+ apps and services including Adobe Photoshop, Figma, Shopify, HubSpot, Google Drive, among others to offer a seamless experience to the end users. 

The startup has raised $571K in funding till date and is backed by the likes of 100X.VC and Inflexor Ventures. 

36. Slang Labs

Founded in 2017 by Satish Chandra Gupta, Giridhar Murthy, and Kumar Rangarajan, Slang Labs allows brands to deploy voice assistants within their apps. 

Its flagship in-app voice assistant platform (CONVA.ai) allows businesses to enable multilingual, voice-based interactions on their respective platforms. It can understand user queries in a number of languages, including Hindi, Kannada, Tamil, Malayalam, Spanish, and Vietnamese.

Backed by the likes of Google, Endiya Partner, 100X Entrepreneur, the startup has raised $2.39 Mn in funding till date. It competes with the likes of major players such as Observe.AI, Senseforth.ai, Yellow.ai, and ConveGenius.

37. Boltzmann

Founded in 2019 by Sarath Kolli, Boltzmann harnesses the power of GenAI for drug discovery and enhances the success rates of clinical trials.

The Bengaluru-based startup uses both open-source and proprietary models to design novel drugs and optimise R&D processes for Indian drug manufacturers. Alongside this, Boltzmann’s technology stack includes four platforms that aid in clinical trials, disease diagnosis, and the design and discovery of vaccines and antibodies.

Backed by AngeLlist India, the startup has raised $200K in funding since inception. Boltzmann currently competes with global companies such as Insilico Medicine, Recursion AI, and Exscientia.

38. Superjoin.ai

Founded in 2023 by Vinayak Jhunjhunwala and Abhinav Das, Superjoin.ai is a codeless SaaS platform that leverages artificial intelligence (AI) to help users import live data into spreadsheets and perform actions on top of this data. 

Users can create complex formulas and generate charts with simple text commands on the platform to accelerate data analysis.

Backed by Better Capital, the Bengaluru-based startup counts names such as Truecaller, CallHippo among others as its clients. 

39.Highperformr.ai

Founded in 2023 by former Freshworks executives Ramesh Ravishankar and Srivatsan Venkatesan, Highperformr.ai taps into generative AI (GenAI) to offer a one-stop-shop social media management platform for businesses.

Its flagship offering, Highperformr for Teams, helps B2B companies streamline their social media workflows, manage social publishing at scale, enable team collaboration, drive social selling, and monitor performance with social AI-driven analytics and insights.

In May 2024, the martech SaaS startup raised $3.5 Mn in a seed funding round led by Venture Highway, with participation from The Neon Fund, Matrix Partners-anchored DeVC and others.

 

[This is not an exhaustive list, we will be updating it periodically. If you would like to refer a GenAI startup to be featured in this list, write to us @ editor@inc42.com]

[Edited by Shishir Parasher]

The post Indian GenAI Startup Tracker: 60+ Startups Putting India On The Global AI Map appeared first on Inc42 Media.

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IN-SPACe Seeks Bids From Indian Startups To Build Earth Observation System https://inc42.com/buzz/in-space-seeks-bids-from-indian-startups-to-build-earth-observation-system/ Fri, 26 Jul 2024 03:46:53 +0000 https://inc42.com/?p=469883 The Indian National Space Promotion and Authorization Centre (IN-SPACe) has invited proposals from Indian startups and private companies to build…]]>

The Indian National Space Promotion and Authorization Centre (IN-SPACe) has invited proposals from Indian startups and private companies to build and manage a space-based earth observation (EO) system.

To be undertaken under a public-private partnership (PPP) model, the project will involve designing, building and launching a constellation of satellites that will be equipped with advanced imaging technologies.

“This is an initiative by IN-SPACe and ISRO towards creating a self-reliant, robust, and sustainable Earth Observation System catering to the growing demand for EO data. It is envisaged that the upstream infrastructure of the satellite constellation with advanced imaging technology will create significant downstream commercial potential, resulting in more competitive products,” said IN-SPACe chairman Pawan Goenka.

Interested applicants can register with the nodal space body for the project by August 1. Thereafter, a “pre-EoI (expression of interest) conference” will be held with interested parties on August 8, followed by submission of applications for the project by September 10.

The applicants will be judged based on multiple parameters by the IN-SPACe including funding, valuation and revenue. To qualify for the project, the applicants should have raised at least INR 85 Cr in funding. Meanwhile, the threshold has been kept at half – INR 42.5 Cr – for Indian startups. 

Alternatively, interested entities must either be valued at INR 850 Cr or have an average annual revenue of INR 200 Cr during a three-year period.

The EoI has invited proposals from entities to design and build a constellation of satellites that are equipped with achromatic, multispectral, hyperspectral, and microwave imaging. 

It will also involve applicants launching the satellites through Indian Satellite Launch Vehicles, monitoring and controlling the spacecraft health, and payload data download by establishing and operating their own ground stations or through ground stations as a service (GSaaS) providers. 

The EoI also includes projects for processing the payload data downloaded from the satellite constellation and generating analysis ready data (ARD) for various applications.

As per the EoI, the proposed earth observation satellite will seek to “reduce foreign dependency for space-based EO data, and increase the space economy of our country”. For context, these satellites are generally used by government bodies for purposes such as weather monitoring and land surveys.

Additionally, the document also said that the selected applicants will “have the opportunity to monetise space data and related services, thereby increasing (their) presence in the global geospatial market—and positioning India as a major global data provider”.

At present, startups such as GalaxEye and Pixxel operate in the domain and offer multi-sensor imaging and hyperspectral imaging satellites respectively. 

The development comes a month after reports surfaced that the Centre was planning to offer funding and ancillary support to launch 12 earth observation satellites in a public-private partnership model. 

This also comes amid broader push from the Centre for the spacetech sector. Just days ago, Finance Minister Nirmala Sithraman, in her Budget speech, announced an INR 1,000 Cr venture capital (VC) fund for homegrown spacetech startups. 

The post IN-SPACe Seeks Bids From Indian Startups To Build Earth Observation System appeared first on Inc42 Media.

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Ahead Of IPO, Ola Electric Shelves Electric Car Project https://inc42.com/buzz/ahead-of-ipo-ola-electric-shelves-electric-car-project/ Thu, 25 Jul 2024 16:47:00 +0000 https://inc42.com/?p=469864 Ahead of its much-awaited initial public offering (IPO), electric vehicle (EV) major Ola Electric has reportedly shelved its plans to…]]>

Ahead of its much-awaited initial public offering (IPO), electric vehicle (EV) major Ola Electric has reportedly shelved its plans to launch electric cars. 

The EV startup has put off its electric car ambitions for “at least two years” to focus more on its two-wheeler business and battery production, Reuters reported citing sources. 

Ola Electric’s “focus is all on the two-wheeler market, including bikes, and mass electrification is still some time away – you need to have (charging) infrastructure,” the report quoted one of the sources as saying. 

As per the report, the company had hired more than 100 employees and engaged external consultants for its electric car project. However, around 30% of this team has quit now and the remaining have been assigned new roles or projects.

The report added that the IPO-bound EV major had also held initial talks with a few auto component suppliers and even built one prototype of the electric car model. The model is said to have been designed at Ola Electric’s studio in the United Kingdom (UK) and built on the lines of a BMW luxury sedan.

The development comes two years after Ola Electric founder and CEO Bhavish Aggarwal, in 2022, announced plans to launch an electric sports car in two years that could reach 100 km per hour speed within 4 seconds.

At the time, he said that the company would build a new plant for car manufacturing at its existing two-wheeler facility in Tamil Nadu. Aggarwal had then said that the unit would have a capacity to make up to 10 Lakh electric cars a year. 

The development comes at a time when Ola Electric is gearing up for its IPO. The company has received the Securities and Exchange Board of India’s (SEBI) approval for a public issue that will comprise a fresh issue of INR 5,500 Cr and an offer for sale (OFS) component of up to 9.51 Cr shares. 

As per reports, the EV manufacturer is planning to launch its IPO as early as in the first fortnight of August and is looking to raise around $740 Mn from the public issue. The company is likely to be valued at around $4.5 Bn for its upcoming IPO, a decline of 16-20% from its last funding round.

In preparation for the public listing, the EV major has undertaken a company-wide restructuring exercise to cut costs and streamline operations including mass layoffs. 

Ola Electric’s net loss widened 88% year-on-year (YoY) to INR 1,471.6 Cr in the financial year 2022-23 (FY23). Operating revenue surged 605% YoY to INR 2,630.9 Cr during the year. 

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Go Digit Q1: Profit Surges 74% YoY To INR 101 Cr, GWP Jumps To INR 2,660 Cr https://inc42.com/buzz/go-digit-q1-profit-surges-74-yoy-to-inr-101-cr-gwp-jumps-to-inr-2660-cr/ Thu, 25 Jul 2024 15:23:22 +0000 https://inc42.com/?p=469843 Insurtech startup Go Digit General Insurance saw its profit after tax (PAT) soar 74% to INR 101 Cr in the…]]>

Insurtech startup Go Digit General Insurance saw its profit after tax (PAT) soar 74% to INR 101 Cr in the June quarter (Q1) of the fiscal year 2024-25 (FY25) from INR 58 Cr in the year-ago quarter. 

On similar lines, Go Digit’s total gross written premium (GWP) jumped 22.2% year-on-year to INR 2,660 Cr in the quarter ended June 2024. The insurtech startup clocked a GWP of INR 2,178 Cr in Q1 FY24. 

The surge came largely on the back of growth in third-party motor, health, travel, and personal accident premiums.

Go Digit’s net earned premium rose to INR 1,824 Cr during the period under review from INR 1,475 Cr in the year-ago quarter. 

Third-party motor premiums were the biggest contributor to Go Digit’s GWP during the period at 36%, followed by health, travel and personal accident premiums at 22%. While own-damage insurance premiums accounted for 19% of the total GWP, fire-related premiums contributed 17%. 

The insurtech startup’s total income, including net earned premium, income from investments, and other income, jumped more than 24% YoY to INR 2,076 Cr during the period under review. 

The company said that its premium retention ratio declined marginally to 76.2% in Q1 FY25 from 76.9% in the year-ago period. At the end of June 2024, Go Digit had INR 17,773 Cr in assets under management (AUM) as against INR 15,764 Cr at the end of June 2023.

Founded in 2017 by Kamesh Goyal, Go Digit leverages technology to offer insurance policies across verticals such as health, motor vehicle, travel, and property. The startup is backed by the likes of Fairfax, Peak XV Partners, A91 Partners, among others. 

The insurtech startup made a muted debut on the bourses earlier this year, with its shares listing at a premium of 5% to the issue price on the NSE. 

Zooming Into Expenses 

Go Digit’s total operating expenses zoomed 21% to INR 1,993 Cr in Q1 FY25 from INR 1,642 Cr the year before.

Claims Paid: The company spent INR 118.1 Cr towards insurance claims during the quarter under the review as against INR 544.8 Cr a year ago.

Employee Cost: Go Digit spent INR 88.37 Cr on employee remuneration and welfare in Q1 FY25, up from INR 68.28 Cr in the year-ago period. 

Ad Expenses: Spending towards branding, advertisement, and publicity declined more than 66% YoY to INR 50.75 Cr in Q1 FY25. 

As of June 2024, Go Digit’s total customer base stood at 5.3 Cr. 

Shares of Go Digit ended today’s trading 3.11% lower at INR 335.20 on the BSE. 

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Thank You To Our Sponsors For Turning Inc42’s D2C Retreat Vision Into Reality! https://inc42.com/buzz/thank-you-to-our-sponsors-for-turning-inc42s-d2c-retreat-vision-into-reality/ Thu, 25 Jul 2024 09:58:14 +0000 https://inc42.com/?p=466488 With a $300 Bn market opportunity, building a thriving direct-to-consumer (D2C) ecosystem in India requires a collaborative spirit. At Inc42,…]]>

With a $300 Bn market opportunity, building a thriving direct-to-consumer (D2C) ecosystem in India requires a collaborative spirit. At Inc42, we have been at the forefront of this D2C wave, fostering connections and shaping up the narrative through extensive research, high-impact conferences and hands-on programmes like D2CX.

So, recognising the need for a deeper discourse along the way, we created an invite-only D2C Retreat – a  three-day (June 28 to 30) residential unconference nestled in Shimla.

A simple way to describe it is this: Imagine a think tank in the queen of hills, buzzing with the collective brilliance of India’s D2C titans – founders and retail leaders who have crossed the INR 100 Cr revenue mark and boast a combined valuation of $10 Bn.

Here, more than 60 such leaders, including the likes of boAt’s Aman Gupta; Vu Television’s Devita Saraf; Ferns N Petals Pawan Gadia; Ashutosh Valani from Renee Cosmetics; CashKaro’s Swati Bhargava; Pankaj Vermani of Clovia; Drool’s Shashank Sinha and OZiva’s Aarti Gill, among several others, convened in an intimate setting to forge new strategies, share insights and ignite the next wave of India’s consumption story.

In the backdrop of majestic mountains, the attendees engaged in a myriad of team-building activities – whether it was a fierce game of Pickleball to get the competitive spirit running or a host of breakout sessions on topics like building leadership, communication, creating wealth and more.

Overall, to call it an event would be an injustice. What we witnessed was the convergence of a D2C community, where individuals found the space to be candid with like-minded peers. This fostered an environment ripe for collaboration and thought-provoking conversations, all fueled by a shared passion for navigating the D2C journey.

With the D2C Retreat, we believe to have ignited a revolution of sorts. By uniting the previously siloed efforts of D2C and retail pioneers, we have set the stage for forging powerful bonds and friendships. These connections, stitched together, will form the foundation for a brighter future for the Indian retail landscape.

We extend our heartfelt gratitude to our sponsors for making this extraordinary feat possible. Their belief in the power of community and collaboration has undeniably helped us pave the way for the future of the Indian D2C ecosystem.

 

A look at D2C Retreat’s enablers:

Presenting Partner

Simpl

Thank You To Our Sponsors For Turning Inc42’s D2C Retreat Vision Into Reality!

Simpl, founded in 2015 by Nityanand Sharma, is a merchant first checkout network, making payments invisible and money intelligent. Simpl is on a mission to empower merchants to build trusted relationships with customers, one transaction at a time. With more than 26,000 available merchants and millions of approved users Pan-India, Simpl envisions creating a frictionless and inclusive digital payments experience.

Powered By

Nitro

Thank You To Our Sponsors For Turning Inc42’s D2C Retreat Vision Into Reality!Founded in 2023 by Umair Mohammed, Pratik A and Shamail Tayyab, Nitro Commerce empowers D2C brands to skyrocket sales with AI-powered solutions. The Delhi NCR based D2C-focused startup tackles challenges like anonymous visitors and conversion hurdles, while simplifying complex marketing for D2C businesses. Its mission is to unlock the full potential of D2C brands. 

Pay10

Thank You To Our Sponsors For Turning Inc42’s D2C Retreat Vision Into Reality!Founded in 2017, Delhi-based Pay10 acts as a one-stop shop for businesses and consumers looking for digital payment solutions in India. It offers a secure online payment gateway for businesses, enabling them to accept various payment methods from customers  including debit cards, credit cards and UPI. It also offers services like bill payments for utilities and mobile recharge at their retail outlets. Additionally, it provides mPOS (mobile Point of Sale) solutions for retailers, allowing them to accept card payments conveniently through mobile devices. 

Gifting Partner


Svaara

Thank You To Our Sponsors For Turning Inc42’s D2C Retreat Vision Into Reality!

Svaara partnered with Inc42 to present a handcrafted brooch made from lab grown diamonds for 60+ attendees as an ode to their resilience and entrepreneurial spirit.

Founded in Surat in 2019 by Chahat Shah, it is on a mission to revolutionise the jewelry experience for the modern, eco-conscious consumer. 

It believes that luxury shouldn’t compromise sustainability and aims to offer exquisite pieces crafted with ethically sourced, lab-grown diamonds, ensuring the same brilliance and beauty without the environmental impact of traditional mining.

The post Thank You To Our Sponsors For Turning Inc42’s D2C Retreat Vision Into Reality! appeared first on Inc42 Media.

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Govt Confirms Data Breach At BSNL, Says Panel Formed To Audit Telecom Networks https://inc42.com/buzz/govt-confirms-data-breach-at-bsnl-says-panel-formed-to-audit-telecom-networks/ Wed, 24 Jul 2024 18:47:40 +0000 https://inc42.com/?p=469682 The Centre has said that there was a “possible intrusion and data breach” at state-owned telecom company Bharat Sanchar Nigam…]]>

The Centre has said that there was a “possible intrusion and data breach” at state-owned telecom company Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) on May 20, 2024.

Responding to a question, minister of state (MoS) for communications Pemmasani Chandra Sekhar informed the Parliament that the Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) reported a possible data breach at BSNL to the government. 

“The same (data breach) was analysed and found that one file transfer protocol (FTP) server was having the data similar to the sample data shared by CERT-In. No breach into (the) home location register (HLR) of (the) telecom network has been reported by (the) equipment manufacturer, hence no service outage in BSNL’s network,” added Sekhar.

The MoS also said that the government, in response to the data breach, has constituted an inter-ministerial committee (IMC) to conduct an audit of the telecom networks and suggest remedial measures for prevention of data breaches in the telecom networks in the future.

Additionally, he said that the telecom operator has also taken steps to address these issues, including changing access passwords of all similar FTP servers and instructions to maintain air-gap for endpoints.

The development comes a month after reports surfaced that a major data breach at BSNL leaked critical user data, including international mobile subscriber identity (IMSI) numbers, SIM card information, home location register details, DP card data and even snapshots of BSNL’s SOLARIS servers. 

At the time, a report by Athenian Tech said that the hackers compromised over 278 GB of sensitive information of BSNL users, which could put millions of users at risk. The hack came to light after the hackers began selling the stolen data online on the dark web for $5,000 (roughly INR 4.17 Lakhs). 

“The attacker started selling the data on the dark web in the month of May. While they’re selling it for as low as $5,000, the potential impact could be in millions in terms of a cyber breach or stealing certain identifiable information,” Athenian Tech CEO Kanishk Gaur told Inc42 at the time. 

However, this is not the first time that BSNL has faced such an issue. In December 2023, another hacker claimed to have accessed personal information of BSNL users. 

This comes at a time when India is witnessing a big spurt in cybercrimes. Earlier in the day, the government informed the Parliament that CERT-In reported 23,158 “cyber security incidents” in 2023. It also said that the country saw 12,330 cases of “network scanning and probing”, 1,185 cases of “virus/malware incidents” and 401 phishing incidents last year. 

The Centre has taken a slew of steps to address the rise in such incidents. In May, the Ministry of Home Affairs’ cyber crime unit launched the ‘Pratibimb’ app to help law enforcement agencies track cybercriminals in real-time. 

Earlier, the telecom department also launched ‘Digital Intelligence Platform’ for real-time information sharing among stakeholders, and ‘Chakshu’ portal for reporting fraud communications.

The post Govt Confirms Data Breach At BSNL, Says Panel Formed To Audit Telecom Networks appeared first on Inc42 Media.

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Budget 2024: Can The R&D Push Transform India Into A Product-Led Economy? https://inc42.com/features/budget-2024-can-the-rd-push-transform-india-into-a-product-led-economy/ Tue, 23 Jul 2024 16:26:25 +0000 https://inc42.com/?p=469511 Research and development (R&D) grabbed the spotlight as finance minister (FM) Nirmala Sitharaman presented the Union Budget 2024-25. The FM…]]>

Research and development (R&D) grabbed the spotlight as finance minister (FM) Nirmala Sitharaman presented the Union Budget 2024-25. The FM announced a slew of sops to spur research and innovation in the private sector.

Putting the R&D push in full throttle, Sitharaman said that the government will operationalise the INR 1 Lakh Cr Anusandhan National Research Fund in this fiscal. The fund, as per the FM, will look to incentivise basic research and prototype development in the country. 

Announced during the interim Budget in February, the fund will offer interest-free loans for a tenure of 50-years to finance long-term research and innovation in sunrise domains. 

In her seventh consecutive Budget speech, Sitharaman said that the government will set up a mechanism to fuel private sector-driven research and innovation at commercial scale with the financing pool of the Anusandhan Fund. 

On top of that, she announced an INR 1,000 Cr venture capital (VC) fund that will invest in homegrown spacetech startups. 

The FM also said that the government will provide funding in “challenge mode” to R&D-focussed agritech startups to shore up the nation’s agriculture sector. 

“Our government will undertake a comprehensive review of the agriculture research setup to bring the focus on raising productivity and developing climate resilient varieties. Funding will be provided in challenge mode, including to the private sector. Domain experts both from the government and outside will oversee the conduct of such research,” added Sitharaman. 

The announcements were welcomed by the country’s startup ecosystem, which lauded the government’s focus on building a more research-oriented and innovation-driven product economy. 

R&D Push Gets A Big Thumbs Up

Speaking with Inc42, Manoj Agarwal, managing partner at deeptech VC firm Seafund, said, “As a deeptech-focussed VC fund, (we think) FM announcing INR 1,000 Cr space economy VC fund and R&D fund of INR 1 Lakh Cr will work as a strong catalyst for startups in deeptech and spacetech.” 

Echoing similar sentiment, Hyderabad-based incubator T-Hub’s CEO Mahankali Srinivas Rao said, “This fund (INR 1 Lakh Cr) will power basic research and prototype development, driving commercial-scale innovation and enabling startups to bring cutting-edge solutions to the market.”

However, healthtech startup NeuroEquilibrium’s founder Rajneesh Bhandari said it is essential to ensure that these funds are easily accessible to startups and not “bogged down” by bureaucratic hurdles. 

Deepak Gupta, general partner at WEH Ventures, told Inc42 that the R&D spending in the country has not grown commensurately with GDP growth. As such, the INR 1 Lakh Cr fund has the potential to spur the local innovation ecosystem. 

For context, as per government data, India more than doubled R&D spending to INR 1.27 Lakh Cr in 2021 compared to INR 60,000 Cr in 2011. However, the picture becomes bleak in terms of percentage, as spending on R&D fell from 0.76% of the GDP to 0.64% in 2021. 

Seafund’s Agarwal believes that the R&D-focused announcements in the Budget can push the country in the direction of a product-led economy. 

However, an investor, who didn’t want to be named, said while the Budget announcements are in the right direction, the goal of a product-led economy is still a long way off.

“The Budget does not solve this issue (low R&D spend) entirely… We need the best quality professors and equipment to build a research-led academia. While many of the professors and candidates are doing that in India at many universities, it will take a few years for that effect to trickle down and lead the country on the path of building world-class products,” said the investor. 

Centre Banking On Trickle-Down Effect

Industry players believe that the FM, with the announcements, is looking to foster a larger innovation ecosystem where many can benefit in a symbiotic manner. 

Warehouse automation startup Control One AI’s founder and CEO Pranav S believes that the R&D fund will also be impactful for the AI sector and will open up new avenues for accessing cutting-edge technologies.

Another industry founder said that both the “patient capital” as well as the spacetech funds will help startups across various domains explore synergies and leverage aspects such as talent and IP creation and build state-of-the-art local facilities. 

However, issues remain. The FM said that the INR 1 Lakh Cr R&D fund will also be utilised for spurring research in the nuclear energy sector to set up Bharat Small Reactors and develop Bharat Small Modular Reactor as well as newer technologies for nuclear energy. 

The nuclear sector is capex heavy and grapples with challenges such as scalability and commercialisation. Additionally, there are quite a few homegrown startups in the nuclear energy space, like HYLENR and Avasarala Technologies. As such, there are some concerns that the nuclear energy sector may end up utilising a large chunk of the fund. 

However, it is pertinent to mention there is no clarity yet on how the R&D fund will be utilised. Most stakeholders from the startup ecosystem expect it to be deployed in a Fund of Funds (FoF) fashion to reach the desired applicants. 

While the Centre has taken a major step towards pushing R&D, the onus is now on the startup ecosystem to leverage this pitch and turn the country into a product-led nation.

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