Making another investment in the Indian startup ecosystem, Olympian PV Sindhu has backed D2C wellness brand Hoop.

Without disclosing the investment amount, Hoop said in a statement that Sindhu will also become a brand ambassador for the startup. 

Founded in 2022 by ex-McKinsey consultants Twinkle Uppal and Saharsh Agarwal, the startup sells pain relief, muscle recovery and sleep support products like sprays and roll ons. It sells the products via its website as well as ecommerce marketplaces like Amazon and Flipkart. 

Hoop was a part of Peak XV Partners’ (erstwhile Sequoia India and Southeast Asia) second cohort of the Sequoia Spark fellowship programme. As part of this, it received an equity-free grant of $100K, along with mentorship support, in January 2023. 

Besides, the startup is backed by notable angel investors like OYO COO Abhinav Sinha, Swiggy’s food marketplace CEO Rohit Kapoor, former BharatPe CEO Suhail Sameer, Bombay Shaving Company founder Shantanu Deshpande, and Dr Vaidya’s founder Arjun Vaidya. 

Speaking to Inc42 about the startup’s journey, Uppal said the cofounders felt that there was a dearth of feasible solutions catering to exercise-related injuries, despite their growing prevalence. 

Before launching the products in the market in October 2023, the cofounders claim to have spent 18 months on research and development. Hoop claims it currently has a user base of over 50K across 1,000+ cities in the country. 

Commenting on her investment, Sindhu said, “Pain is a part of my daily life but I don’t see it as a bad thing. I love how hoop positions pain relief and muscle recovery as ways to self-care rather than something to be afraid of. I am excited to introduce Hoop products not just to athletes but to everyone trying to be active.” 

The investment comes just a month after Sindhu backed agritech startup Greenday’s FMCG brand Better Nutrition. With improving internet penetration and access to smartphones, a number of D2C brands have emerged in the country, across sectors, over the last few years. The country’s D2C market is expected to reach a size of $100 Bn by 2025.

The post PV Sindhu Invests In D2C Wellness Brand Hoop appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Actress Huma Qureshi has invested an undisclosed amount in Kolkata-based dating app flutrr. In a LinkedIn post, flutrr cofounder and CEO Kaushik Banerjee said that adding Qureshi on the startup’s cap table will help boost the adoption of its product.

“We’ve refreshed our branding to emphasise meaningful, long-term relationships amongst the youth of India. And our new app is set to help users find their perfect match more efficiently than ever,” he said. 

While Banerjee didn’t disclose the funding amount, YourStory reported that fluttr raised INR 2 Cr from Qureshi and other angel investors.

Founded in 2021 by father-son duo Kaushik and Anirban Banerjee, flutrr claims to be India’s first vernacular dating app which allows people to communicate in a language of their choice. 

The app is primarily focused on users in Tier-II, III cities and allows them to connect in English, Hindi and Bengali. It will soon be available in eight more Indian languages, including four south Indian languages. It claims to have over 4.5 Lakh weekly active users and over 9 Lakh app downloads. 

The startup also claims to use matching algorithms which connect people on the basis of astrology and numerology. 

The announcement comes days after the startup revamped its app to make it more “Indianised”. 

Last year, fluttr said it bagged INR 4 Cr from The Chennai Angels, Times of India, among others, to expand its user base to 5 Mn. 

fluttr competes with the likes Bumble and Tinder in the dating app market.

The fundraise comes at a time when a number of celebrities are investing in Indian startups amid the exponential growth in the country’s startup ecosystem over the past few years. Earlier today, Bengaluru-based supplement brand Supply6 said it has roped in former South African cricketer AB de Villiers as an investor and brand ambassador. 

Last month, PV Sindhu turned investor and brand ambassador for agritech startup Greenday’s FMCG brand Better Nutrition. 

However, the world’s third largest startup ecosystem is currently in the midst of the funding winter. According to Inc42’s ‘H1 2024 Startup Funding Report’, Indian startups cumulatively raised investments worth $5.3 Bn in the first six months (H1) of the calendar year 2024, down 1.8% from H1 2023’s $5.4 Bn.

The post Huma Qureshi Backs Vernacular Dating App flutrr appeared first on Inc42 Media.

The Karnataka High Court (HC) has reportedly set aside the National Company Law Tribunal’s (NCLT’s) interim order, passed right month, restraining embattled BYJU’S from undertaking a second rights issue.

Hearing BYJU’S petition against the NCLT’s order, Karnataka HC’s Justice SR Krishna Kumar sent the matter back to the Tribunal for a fresh consideration, Bar and Bench reported.

BYJU’S declined to comment on the development.

The HC order will come as a relief for the cash-starved edtech startup. Last month, hearing a petition filed by investors General Atlantic Singapore and Sofina S.A., the NCLT asked the Byju Raveendran-led company to maintain the status quo with regard to existing shareholders and their shareholding. 

It asked BYJU’S to not proceed with the second rights issue till the petition against the first rights issue was disposed of.

The petitioners argued that BYJU’S proposed a second rights issue by way of an offer letter dated May 11, which opened on May 13 and is scheduled to end on June 13. 

Meanwhile, sources at BYJU’S then told Inc42 that there was no second rights issue and the rights issue being referred to by the investors was an extension of its previous $200 Mn rights issue.

They said that while BYJU’S received commitments worth over $200 Mn for the rights issue, it was able to close it partially as some of the commitments didn’t translate to fund infusion. As a result, the company floated the new offer. 

Following the Tribunal’s stay, BYJU’S moved the Karnataka HC against the NCLT order. The next NCLT hearing in the matter is scheduled for July 4.

Behind the courtroom drama is BYJU’S contentious rights issue. It is pertinent to note that the proceeds raised by BYJU’S from its first rights issue are also held in a separate escrow account, as per the NCLT’s order. 

BYJU’S, once the poster child of the edtech ecosystem, is currently in the news for all the wrong reasons. From multiple insolvency cases, allegations of hiding funds, and rising losses to a severe cash crunch, fight with investors, and layoffs – the startup is dousing fires on multiple fronts.

The post Karnataka HC Sets Aside NCLT’s Stay On BYJU’S Second Rights Issue appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Zomato has reportedly brought back two senior executives to ramp up its Going-Out business amid the foodtech major’s discussions with Paytm to acquire its movie ticketing and events business.

The company has brought back Rahul Ganjoo and Pradyot Ghate, who left the company last year, Moneycontrol reported.

Ganjoo joined Zomato in 2017 and became its Co-CEO after three years, as well as the head of new initiatives in August 2022. 

He put down his papers in November and left the company in January 2023. Since then, Ganjoo has been serving as an advisor to a US-based GenAI conversation intelligence platform observer.ai., a position he has held since 2016. 

Ghate’s engagement with the foodtech major was similar to Ganjoo. After joining the company in 2014 as an associate vice president- growth, Ghate was elevated to VP role during his nine-year long stint. He left the company in July 2023, citing a career break.

According to the report, the company has asked both of them to incubate new ideas for its Going-Out business.

“Both of them are pursuing 0-1 ideas in the going-out business… which is closer to dining out, lifestyle and entertainment than the core food delivery segment. But, things change very quickly in Zomato. There’s no guarantee that what they are working on will eventually be launched,” a source was quoted as saying by the publication.

Inc42 has reached out to the company for a comment on the development. The story will be updated based on the response.

This comes shortly after it was reported that the company is looking to bolster its live entertainment and ticketing vertical with the acquisition of Paytm Insider for a speculated INR 1,500 Cr. 

While Zomato’s Going-Out business was instituted in 2018 and oversees IPs like Zomaland, it contributes in only single digits to the foodtech major’s overall business. For instance, it only brought in a revenue of INR 93 Cr in the quarter ending on March 31, 2024. 

Shortly after the companies acknowledged the talks, brokerage firm JM Financial said that acquisition of Paytm’s ticketing business will strengthen Zomato’s ‘Going-out’ business. “The deal could catapult Zomato to second position in the events & movie ticketing space, behind only BookMyShow,” it observed. 

Besides the experimentation with this vertical, the company is also aggressively expanding services under its other verticals. Recently, it introduced a restaurant services hub, large order fleet, last mile deliveries for office goers, priority deliveries in a pilot phase, and Zomato Everyday,, within this year. 

The company’s shares were trading at INR 209.05 at 3:40 PM on July 2, up 1.81% from previous close. 

The post Zomato Brings Back Two Senior Executives To Scale Up Its Going-Out Biz appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Taking a suo motu cognizance over alleged discrimination by Foxconn which reportedly excluded married women from jobs at its Tamil Nadu plant, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has issued notices to the central labour ministry and the state government, seeking a detailed report in the case.

“NHRC observes that the matter, if true, raises a serious issue of discrimination against married women causing the violation of the right to equality and equal opportunity,” the commission said in a statement. 

‘Suo motu cognizance’ allows a government entity to take notice of a matter without receiving a formal petition or complaint. 

The NHRC has taken the contents of the media reports, which were published on June 26, as its base for undertaking the action. 

Finding the reported incidents to be a severe lapse in the observation of right to equality and equal opportunity, the commission has issued notices to the Labour Ministry’s secretary and Tamil Nadu’s government’s chief secretary, calling for a detailed report in the matter within July 7.

At the heart of the matter is a Reuters’ report which alleged that the Apple’s India vendor was excluding married women from jobs at its plant on the grounds that they have more family responsibilities compared to unmarried counterparts. 

However, the Taiwanese electronics manufacturer has refuted the allegations of any discriminatory hiring practices, cognizance of which has also been taken by the commission. 

On June 26, the Labour Ministry also wrote to the state government, seeking a detailed report on the matter. The ministry said that the allegations, if true, would be a clear violation of the Section 5 of the Equal Remuneration Act, 1976. The provision stipulates no discrimination in recruitment on the basis of gender. 

The matter has picked up steam since the report, even reaching the parliament. On June 29, Reuters reported that the Indian National Congress also urged the central government to question Foxconn about its hiring practices. Member of Parliament (MP) Karti P Chidambaram wrote a letter to the labour minister DR Mansukh Mandaviya urging the ministry to take steep action against the Apple supplier. 

“While foreign investment is crucial, it should not come at the cost of disregarding our cultural values,” his letter, which was posted on X, read. 

The post NHRC Takes Suo Motu Cognizance Of Alleged Hiring Discrimination At Foxconn appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Private equity firm HDFC Capital has picked up 8.5% stake in Mumbai-based proptech startup TruBoard for an undisclosed amount. 

The firm has made the investment via its tech platform H@ART (Housing and Affordable Real Estate and Technology). 

The startup will look to leverage the fresh capital to fuel its expansion into international markets with a focus on residential, commercial real estate, warehouse and data centres.

HDFC Capital’s parent entity HDFC Bank intimated the bourses that it had initiated the stake acquisition on May 30, 2024. In its filings, the bank said that it had entered into a share subscription agreement for acquisition of 1,043 equity shares of TruBoard for INR 698.77 per equity share. This translates into an investment of INR 7.28 Lakh. 

“We are poised to accelerate our growth, innovate at a faster pace, and make a greater impact and will continue to strive for excellence and innovation,” TruBoard’s cofounder Vipul Thakore said in a statement. 

Founded in 2020 by Nandkumar Surti, Srickant Rajagopal and Thakore, the startup furnishes its consumers with multiple AI-driven platforms to provide insights for asset management of real estate projects.

It offers three platforms, TruGenie for asset management of under construction real estate projects, TruGreen for asset management of renewable energy projects, and TruCollect for collection management of retail loan portfolios. 

The proptech startup claims to have $1.8 Bn assets under management (AUM), 1 GW renewable energy assets, 700 kms of road assets, among other real estate assets under its management. 

“We believe that technology solutions will play a critical role in real estate development and asset management. Our investment in TruBoard is part of the H@ART initiative which has been set up to invest and partner in technology companies that bring efficiencies in the real estate ecosystem,” HDFC Capital’s managing director and CEO Vipul Roongta said. 

The development comes over two years after the real estate private equity arm of HDFC Group committed undisclosed investments in 15 proptech startups under its H@ART initiative. Besides its investment in TruBoard, HDFC Capital has backed Provident Housing,  Loyalie, HomeExchange and Monsoon CreditTech till now. 

The PE firm was set up HDFC back in 2016 and is the investment manager to four SEBI registered Category II Alternative Investment Funds (AIFs) with a combined net worth exceeding $3 Bn.

The post HDFC Capital Picks Up Minority Stake In Proptech Startup TruBoard appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Towards the fag end of 2023, most stakeholders of the world’s third-largest startup ecosystem concurred that funding activity will start returning to normalcy in the latter half of 2024. Interestingly, the homegrown startup ecosystem is making a slow but steady headway in that direction. 

According to Inc42’s ‘H1 2024 Startup Funding Report’, Indian startups cumulatively raised investments worth $5.3 Bn in the first six months (H1) of the calendar year 2024, down a mere 1.8% from H1 2023’s $5.4 Bn. In contrast, funding numbers declined 10% year-on-year (YoY) in the first half of 2023.

However, in some silver lining, the H1 2024 funding numbers improved sequentially, by more than 20%, from $4.4 Bn in H2 2023. Startup funding declined by nearly 13% sequentially in H1 2023. Notably, H1 2024 witnessed a sequential growth in funding numbers after a two-year lull. 

Moving on, the deal count in H1 2024 improved 7% to 504 deals compared to 470 in the year-ago period. Sequentially, the deal volume improved 15%. 

Leading the charge from the front were fintech and enterprise tech sectors, which took the lion’s share of funding during the period under review. Region-wise, there were no surprises either — Bengaluru retained its crown as the abode to the most funded Indian startups in H1 2024. 

Meanwhile, the median ticket size declined by 8% YoY to $2.8 Mn in the first six months of the ongoing calendar year but zoomed 87% from $1.5 Mn in the second half of 2023.

On the consolidation front, 37 mergers and acquisitions (M&As) took place during the first half of the ongoing calendar year, down from 67 M&As in the year-ago period.

Despite the mixed performance of Indian startups in wooing investors during the first six months of 2024, the almost flat funding numbers could be pointing at VCs’ wait-and-watch strategy before they start to deploy dry powder in droves.

While it may be some time before we see the funding winter finally wane, let’s delve deeper into H1 2024 funding trends.

Fintech & SaaS Startups Bagged The Maximum Funding

A sector-wise breakdown of the funding numbers revealed that the fintech and enterprise tech sectors bagged the most funds in the first six months. 

On the back of Perfios’ $80 Mn unicorn round, the fintech sector accounted for a cumulative funding of $1.02 Bn across 84 deals. 

Hot on the heels were enterprise tech startups, which raked in $813 Mn across the same number of deals. Increased investments in artificial intelligence (AI) startups drove the uptick in SaaS funding during the first half of 2024, led by the likes of names such as Unikon.ai, GreyLabs AI, and Vodex.

What was also interesting is that the ecommerce space saw the most number of deals (102) in H1 2024. Moreover, consumer services sector managed to raise $805 Mn during the period under review, with quick commerce unicorn Zepto accounting for more than 82% ($665 Mn) of the total sectoral funding.

Late Stage Funding Staggers But Seed & Growth Stage Amaze 

Per the Inc42 H1 2024 report, seed and growth-stage companies drove the funding trend in H1 2024 and late-stage ventures saw investors practising caution. 

Interestingly, the advent of AI helped the Indian seed-stage startup funding receive a booster shot, catapulting it 23% YoY to $589 Mn across 229 deals in H1 2024. Within this space, the enterprise tech sector emerged as the strongest. 

Similar traces of investor interest were also present in growth-stage startup funding, with H1 2024 clocking a 21% YoY jump in funding to $1.7 Bn across 135 deals.

However, with only five mega deals (over $100 Mn) in the first half of the year, late stage funding fell to a seven-year low. Late-stage startups could only secure $2.7 Bn, enduring an 18% YoY decline. However, the deal count zoomed 47% YoY to 72 in H1 CY24. 

Bengaluru Hub For India’s Most-Funded Startups

Bengaluru continued its reign as the most-funded startup hub in India in the first half of 2024, bagging $1.57 Bn across 134 deals. 

Following its lead was Mumbai, which piped Delhi to clinch the second spot on the top-funded startup hub list in H1 CY24. Helped by Zepto’s unicorn round, new-age tech ventures based out of the country’s financial capital raised over $1.5 Bn across 114 deals.

Meanwhile, Delhi NCR had to make do with the third spot on the podium $1.06 Bn raised across 91 startup deals in H1 2024. 

The Inc42 report also notes that the first six months of the ongoing calendar year saw the participation of more than 915 “unique” investor participation in funding deals. The number signifies the growing allure for Indian entrepreneurs from a constantly growing horde of backers, beyond the usual VCs and PEs.

Come that as it may, unlike the VC capital-fuelled era of 2020 and 2021, investors today remain sharply focussed on supporting profitable and sustainable ventures. It is this mantra that has become the buzzword for Indian startups and the H1 2024 numbers could also be seen as a testament to the same. 

[Edited by Shishir Prasher]

The post At $5.3 Bn, Indian Startup Funding Stays Flat YoY In H1 2024 appeared first on Inc42 Media.

US-based investment firm Matrix Partners’ Indian arm will rebrand into a new avatar under the name of Z47 starting July 1. 

In a statement, the investment firm said that the name change is part of the larger renaming and organisational update to clarify the local approach and the organisational independence of the local teams. 

As part of the larger rebranding exercise undertaken across the globe, Matrix Partners China will be rebranded as MPC while operations in the US will continue under the name Matrix.

“The decision to rename is driven by a shared commitment to clarity in the marketplace, responsiveness to regional market dynamics and a continued focus on competing locally, which will benefit each organisation’s respective portfolio companies, investors, and partners,” Matrix Partners added. 

In a separate statement, Matrix Partners India said that the name Z47 is inspired by India’s journey towards becoming a developed country by 2047, with the country’s founder and digital ecosystem at the heart of its growth story.

The Indian subsidiary also added that the rebranding will not lead to any change in the firm’s operation and strategy in the country and it will continue to invest in early-stage startups. 

Matrix Partners first entered India in 2006 and has since then grown to manage investments to the tune of $1.5 Bn. It has backed more than 100 startups and counts the likes of A23, CreditVidya, Captain Fresh, DailyHunt, Foxtale, and Country Delight in its portfolio.

With this, Matrix India has become the second foreign investment firm to rebrand its India operations. In June 2023, Sequoia Capital spun off Sequoia India & Southeast Asia as a separate entity and rebranded it to Peak XV Partners. 

While Peak XV had inherited more than $9 Bn worth of investments in over 400 companies stretching across 13 separate funds, Matrix said its India entity has been independent from the outset. 

Back home last month, early stage VC fund 9Unicorns also rebranded itself as 100Unicorns and launched its second fund, 100Unicorns Fund II, with a corpus of $200 Mn. 

The rebranding exercise comes over a year after Matrix India rolled out its fourth fund with a size of $525 Mn. As a result, it has been deploying the capital in multiple homegrown startups and has backed the likes of B2B home decor brand Trampoline, GenAI startup Grey Labs AI, and D2C brand Foxtale in recent times.

The post Matrix Partners India Rebrands To Z47 As Part Of A Global Renaming Exercise appeared first on Inc42 Media.

After a big funding week, investment activity across the Indian startup ecosystem has entered into the slow lane again. Between June 24 and 29, startups cumulatively bagged $196.47 Mn across 17 deals, a 75% decline from $800.5 Mn raised across 21 deals in the preceding week.

However, it would be unfair to say that funding trends plunged drastically this week. Of the $800.5 Mn secured last week, around $665 Mn was raised by quick commerce unicorn Zepto alone. Hence, the rest of the startup ecosystem only saw $135.5 Mn capital infusion in the week. 

Funding Galore: Indian Startup Funding Of The Week [ June 24 – June 29 ]

Key Startup Funding Highlights Of The Week

• The week’s largest funding round saw NBFC Northern Arc bagging a debt funding of $75 Mn from FMO. On the back of this, fintech emerged as the investors’ favourite this week. Startup’s in the space cumulatively raised $77.4 Mn across three deals.
• The highest number of deals materialised for ecommerce startups this week as players in the space raised $48.3 Mn via five deals.
• However, seed funding dipped this week by 69% to $6.9 from last week’s $22.7 Mn. 

Other Major Developments Of The Week

• Moving towards a public market debut, electric two-wheeler manufacturer Ather Energy’s board passed a resolution to convert the startup into a public company from private. The startup’s name has changed to Ather EnergyAther Energy from Ather Energy Pvt Ltd earlier, its regulatory filings revealed.
• Within a week of raising big bucks, quick commerce major Zepto has initiated conversations with multiple investors to raise $400 Mn at a likely valuation of $4.6 Bn. This will be 25% higher than the $3.6 Bn at which it raised $665 Mn last week.
• UK-based private equity (PE) firm Finnest has invested $160 Mn to acquire a majority stake in cloud kitchen startup Kitchens@. The fresh capital will be utilised to fuel the startup’s business operations and expand its footprint.
• Gold loan provider Rupeek is close to bagging $24 Mn in another down round. The funding is expected to be a mix of primary and secondary transactions and will be raised at a valuation of $250 Mn, a 60% cut.
• US-based ecommerce giant Amazon has infused $72 Mn in its Indian fintech arm Amazon Pay India. Amazon Pay allotted 59.99 Cr shares to Amazon Corporate Holdings and 59,952 Cr shares to Amazon.com for INR 10 apiece.
• Nazara-owned gaming company NODWIN has completed the acquisition of marketing services company Freaks 4U Gaming GmbH through a share swap valued at up to INR 271 Cr.
• Edtech unicorn upGrad is planning to allot 25 Lakh NCDs and 3.75 Lakh OCDs to EvolutionX Debt Capital to raise a debt of $34.4 Mn. The capital will be used to fuel growth and fund operating expenses.

The post From Northern Arc to Bluestone – Indian Startups Raised $196 Mn This Week appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Big tech giant Google has added seven new Indian languages to its Google Translate service. Awadhi, Bodo, Khasi, Kokborok, Marwadi, Santali, and Tulu are the new Indian languages added.

Besides, Google also rolled out support for 103 other global languages on Google Translate in what it called the “largest expansion” of the offering. With this, Google Translate now caters to 243 languages.

“From Cantonese to Qʼeqchiʼ, these new languages represent more than 614 Mn speakers, opening up translations for around 8% of the world’s population… The list includes 7 new Indian languages – Awadhi, Bodo, Khasi, Kokborok, Marwadi, Santali, and Tulu,” said Google in a blog post. 

The company said it leveraged its in-house large language model (LLM) PaLM 2 to roll out the new additions to its translation service. 

“PaLM 2 was a key piece to the puzzle, helping Translate more efficiently learn languages that are closely related to each other, including languages close to Hindi, like Awadhi and Marwadi, and French creoles like Seychellois Creole and Mauritian Creole,” Google added.

For the uninitiated, PaLM 2 is Google’s LLM that has multilingual, reasoning and coding capabilities, and is powered by machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI). However, PaLM 2 LLM is different from the Gemini Pro LLM as the latter powers the tech major’s generative AI chatbot Bard and Gemini. 

The development comes at a time when Google has ramped up its focus on GenAI and rolled out a slew of offerings for both end users and businesses. Earlier this month, the company also made some language alterations to its most prominent AI offering, Gemini.

It also rolled out a mobile app for its chatbot in India with new capabilities in English and nine Indian languages earlier this month. The app is available in Hindi, Bengali, Gujarati, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Tamil, Telugu, and Urdu.

That said, Google has not had a smooth tryst with GenAI experiments in India. Earlier this year, it found itself amid a controversy after its chatbot’s answers to a question about Prime Minister Narendra Modi led to an uproar. The big tech major was also pulled up by the Centre. 

In a bid to allay the fears ahead of the general elections in the country, the Alphabet-owned company announced a slew of new initiatives in March this year to help voters navigate AI-generated content.

Besides its AI initiatives, the company also recently launched Google Wallet app for Android users in India in partnership with multiple ecommerce and ticketing partners. The offering allows users to store tickets, boarding passes, loyalty or membership cards and more for easy access. 

The post Google Translate Adds Support For 7 More Indian Languages appeared first on Inc42 Media.

As part of its efforts to grow the state’s startup ecosystem, the Tamil Nadu government plans to set up two new regional startup hubs in Coimbatore and Tiruchi in the ongoing financial year.

Besides, the government will also establish two Global Startup Coordination Centres (GCC) in Singapore and the US in FY25 to help startups in the state expand their business overseas, Tamil Nadu’s minister for MSME T.M. Anbarasan said in the state assembly.

In a statement, StartupTN said it has already set up regional hubs in Madurai, Tirunelveli, Erode, Salem, Hosur, Cuddalore, and Thanjavur over the past two years. These startup hubs host events, student programs, pitch events and hackathons. 

The state has over 7,700 startups recognised by the Department For Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT). These startups operate in 30 sectors. 

Anbarasan also said that the government would set up a modern design studio at Tamil Nadu Startup and Innovation Mission’s (TANSIM) Chennai Metro Hub to cater to the needs of startups for designing their products.

It is pertinent to note that Tamil Nadu emerged as one of the “best” performing large states in the DPIIT’s ‘States’ Startup Ranking 2022’. 

The state government aims to back 10,000 startups by 2026. In 2022, TANSIM CEO Sivarajah Ramanathan said that the state government was looking at startups for job creation. 

Tamil Nadu is home to prominent startups like Zoho, Freshworks, Uniphore, and Chargebee.

The state government has backed 132 seed stage startups with grants to the tune of INR 14 Cr under the StartupTN program. Last year, it sanctioned equity investments of up to INR 7.5 Cr in five startups run by entrepreneurs from scheduled castes (SC) and scheduled tribe (ST) communities. 

Besides the SC/ST fund, the government has four funds to invest in startups – TANSEED, Tamil Angels, Tanfund, and Emerging Sector Startup fund..

Meanwhile, Anbarasan also said on Friday (June 28) that StartupTN will introduce a special seed fund for startups run by differently abled and transgender people.  

The post Tamil Nadu To Set Up Two New Regional Startup Hubs In Coimbatore, Tiruchi appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Ronnie Screwvala-led edtech unicorn upGrad is looking to raise INR 287.5 Cr (about $34.4 Mn) debt from financing platform EvolutionX Debt Capital. 

As per the startup’s regulatory filings accessed by Inc42, its members passed a resolution during an extraordinary general meeting to issue and allot 25 Lakh non-convertible debentures (NCDs) and 3.75 Lakh optionally convertible debentures (OCDs) to the investor. 

While 3.8 Lakh NCDs will be issued to EvolutionX Debt Capital India Fund I, 21.2 Lakh NCDs will be issued to EvolutionX Debt Capital Master Fund I for INR 1,000 apiece. Besides, 3.75 Lakh OCDs would be issued to EvolutionX Debt Capital India Fund I.

The startup said it plans to use the proceeds from the debt funding round to fuel its growth capital, fund operating expenses of the company, and for general corporate purposes.

The development was first reported by Entrackr. 

Earlier this year, it was reported that upGrad was looking to raise $100 Mn to acquire US-based education firm Udacity. While discussions were reportedly in advanced stages back then, there has been no update on it since then. 

Founded in 2015 by Screwvala, Mayank Kumar, Phalgun Kompalli and Ravijot Chugh, upGrad offers higher education courses and skilling programmes in collaboration with universities. 

The edtech unicorn has raised a total funding of over $672 Mn till date and counts the likes of Temasek, Lupa Systems, and International Finance Corporation among its investors. It last raised INR 300 Cr ($36.5 Mn) via a rights issue in March 2023.

In its last disclosed financial results for fiscal year 2022-23 (FY23), the startup’s operating revenue shot up 97% to INR 1,169.6 Cr from INR 595 Cr in the previous year. Its net loss surged 76% to INR 1,141.5 Cr during the year from INR 648.2 Cr in FY22.

The post Edtech Unicorn upGrad To Raise $34 Mn Debt Funding From EvolutionX appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Markets regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has allowed up to 100% aggregate contribution by non-resident Indians (NRIs), Overseas Citizens of India (OCIs), Resident Indians in the corpus of FPIs that are based out of International Financial Services Centre (IFSC).

In a circular issued yesterday (June 27), the market regulator said that it is now providing “flexibility of having up  to  100%  aggregate  contribution  by NRIs, OCIs  and  RI individuals in the corpus of FPIs based in International Financial Services Centres (“IFSCs”)  in  India  and  regulated  by  International  Financial  Services  Centres Authority (“IFSCA”).”

It further highlighted that applicants based in IFSCs in India and regulated by IFSCA will need to state intent to have aggregate contribution of NRIs, OCIs and Indian residents of 50% or more in its corpus, to their designated depository participants (DDP). They also need to facilitate PAN cards or declarations of their individual constituents.

Existing FPIs have six months from the date of the circular to submit this declaration. The declaration can only be reviewed during the renewal of registration.

The development comes more than four years after it was first reported that the SEBI could allow more investments from NRIs in under foreign portfolio investors (FPIs). Prior to the development, NRIs were allowed to invest in India through the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) regulated portfolio investment scheme (PIS). The scheme allowed NRIs to invest a maximum of 5% in a listed company.

The SEBI noted that such investors were in possession of INR 3.46 Lakh Cr in the Indian securities market as of March 31, 2023. “Some stakeholders have given feedback that investing through the PIS route restricts NRIs/OCIs from investing in India through overseas pooled structures managed by professional managers, thereby depriving them of the benefits of investment management by overseas professionals,” the regulator said. 

This discrepancy was also highlighted by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in her 2019 budget speech. “Even though India is the world’s top remittance recipient, NRI investment in Indian capital markets is comparatively less. With a view to provide NRIs with seamless access to Indian equities, I propose to merge the NRI-Portfolio Investment Scheme Route with the Foreign Portfolio Investment Route,” she had said.

While the development effectively streamlines NRI investments, it is pertinent to note that it still caps the investment per FPI. According to a circular issued on June 25, the contribution of a single NRI, OCI, or RI must be less than 25% of the total FPI corpus, and the combined contribution from NRIs, OCIs, and RIs must be less than 50% of the total FPI corpus.

Further, the SEBI also categorically specified NRIs, OCIs and RIs shall not be in control of an application submitted. If the applicant is an ‘offshore fund’ possessing a ‘No Objection Certificate’ has been issued by the Board in terms of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Mutual Funds) Regulations, 1996, or is controlled by an Investment Manager which is owned by NRI or OCI or RI, they will need to adhere to two guidelines. 

• Investment Manager must be appropriately regulated in its home jurisdiction and registered with the Board as a non investing FPI
• They must be set up under the Indian laws and appropriately registered with the Board.

The development comes at a time when developments around India’s maiden IFSC based out of Gujarat International Finance Tec (GIFT) City have started picking up steam. 

Bracing for India’s inclusion in global bond indices, a number of investors have made a beeline for these international exchanges. For instance, Chennai-based VC firm Unifi Capital launched two new funds at IFSCA. In March, the Union government and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) inked a $23 Mn loan agreement to spur research and innovation in the fintech space at the City. 

The post SEBI Allows Greater Overseas Investments; Permits 100% Aggregate Contribution In FPIs For NRIs appeared first on Inc42 Media.

UK-based private equity (PE) firm Finnest has invested INR 1,335 Cr ($160 Mn) in Kitchens@ to acquire a majority stake in the cloud kitchen startup. 

As per Registrar of Companies (RoC) filing accessed by Inc42, the startup issued 40 Lakh equity shares at INR 3,000 apiece to the PE firm. This translates to a total sum of INR 1,200 Cr ($145 Mn).

In addition, Ktchens@ also issued an additional 4.5 Lakh Series C compulsorily convertible preference shares (CCPS) amounting to INR 135 Cr ($16.1 Mn) to Finnest.

With this, Kitchens@ has become a subsidiary of Finnest and the investment firm will hold a 53.75% stake in the cloud kitchen startup. 

The fresh capital will be utilised to fuel the startup’s business operations, working capital requirements, and expand its footprint. 

The development was first reported by Entrackr. An Economic Times report noted that the startup raised the funds at a post-money valuation of $305 Mn, adding that the latest fundraise also included the $65 Mn investment by Finnest in the startup in December last year.

In December, Finnest infused the capital in Kitchens@’s Series C round. Back then, the startup said it raised the capital to expand its hybrid model Dinerium. 

Founded in 2018 by Junaiz Kizhakkayil, Kitchens@ helps brands in setting up kitchens, hiring and training, brand development, online delivery, among others. 

It currently has 700 cloud kitchens spanning six major cities, including Delhi, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, and Chennai. It commenced operations with initial seed capital from Zomato and then later bought back the shares from the foodtech major later in 2019. 

Besides Finnest, the startup is also backed by the likes of Beenext and DG Ventures as its investors. It works with marquee names in the Indian quick service restaurant (QSR) chains such as Domino’s, Subway, Taco Bell, Nando’s, and Barbeque Nation. 

Kitchens@’s net loss halved to INR 18.61 Cr in the financial year 2022-23 (FY23) from INR 37.24 Cr in the previous year. Operating revenue rose about 67% year-on-year (YoY) to INR 62 Cr.

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Continuing its portfolio expansion spree, foodtech major Zomato has rolled out restaurant services hub, an initiative to cater to restaurants.

The new platform will help restaurants plug in various operational requirements like hiring, FSSAI registrations, taxation and trademarking. It can be accessed through Zomato’s restaurant partner app, website or dining app. 

The company had been piloting the service for the past six months and claims to have already helped service over 3,200 restaurant partners, which include Havmor, Dastaan-e-Dawat, Berry on Top, Nutri Bar and Cheelizza among others.

It plans on adding multiple services like point of sales integrations and hygiene audits in the near future. 

For hiring, it has partnered with vendors Apna, WorkIndia, Shiftz, Rozgaar Inc and Kaam.com. The hiring services would cost restaurants in a range between INR 299-5,250. 

For FSSAI registrations, trademark security and GST registrations, it has partnered with vendors like SRV Taxcon, GoAuditz, Plans4U, among others. 

“The restaurant services hub platform is only a step towards our vision of creating a full-stack solution for any restaurant owner looking to set up shop or scale their existing business,” Zomato food delivery’s CEO Rakesh Ranjan said in a statement.

This comes a week after Swiggy, the company’s primary rival in the foodtech space, also rolled out a restaurant partner focused service. On June 20, Swiggy launched a recruitment support initiative to assist restaurant partners with staff recruitment. It partnered with Apna, WorkIndia, Kaam and Shiftz for the initiative, which is available on the Swiggy Partner App. 

The startups’ restaurant partner focused initiatives come at a time when their battle to achieve dominance in Indian foodtech is heating up. While they compete across services like quick commerce and live events, Zomato has an advantage over Swiggy in the food delivery space as of now. 

On June 25, brokerage firm Goldman Sachs pegged Zomato’s share in the food delivery market to be around 56-57%. Taking Swiggy’s 2023 results as a base, the brokerage said Zomato’s gross order value (GOV) in 2023 was about 30-35% higher than Swiggy’s. It added that Zomato was well poised to gain further market share on the back of improving profitability.

The listed company’s latest experiment comes at a time when it has been aggressively expanding its services. It has recently introduced a large order fleet, last mile deliveries for office goers, priority deliveries in a pilot phase, and Zomato Everyday.

Besides its bread and butter food delivery business and crown jewel Blinkit, the company is now turning its purview towards its events business.

On June 16, it intimated the bourses that it is in discussion with fintech major Paytm to acquire its events and movie ticketing business, Paytm Insider for an estimated INR 1,500 Cr. If materialised, the deal could catapult Zomato to second position in the events and movie ticketing space, behind only BookMyShow, brokerage JM Financial ascertained. 

Shares of Zomato ended today’s trading session 1.44% higher at INR 200.15. 

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Expanding its automotive play, insurtech unicorn Acko has forayed into the car repair and service space with the launch of ‘Acko Drive Service Centre’. 

The startup has launched two such service centres in Bengaluru. It plans to open 100 service centres in Delhi, Mumbai, Pune, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, and Chennai in the next six months.  

Acko said that the personnel employed in these centres are well trained and will exclusively use original OEM spare parts to guarantee the longevity and reliability of the repairs. 

“Our commitment to deliver an unparalleled retail experience, leveraging cutting-edge technology, and fostering deep industry partnerships, underscores our vision to become a one-stop shop for all things automobiles,” Acko’s vice president of strategic partnerships Saumitra Raj said. 

Explaining the rationale behind the move, the startup said that the aftermarket service space is largely dominated by unorganised players and it is looking to cement its position as a holistic service provider in the space.

“By entering the aftermarket space, the company will attain the capability to seamlessly direct accidental repair vehicles arriving at Acko for insurance claims to Acko Drive Service Centres,” it added.

In this segment, Acko will compete with the likes of Cars24, Droom, and CarDekho. 

Founded in 2016 by Varun Dua and Ruchi Deepak, Acko offers insurance for vehicles, health and travel. It counts the likes of General Atlantic, Multiples Private Equity, Lightspeed, and Intact Ventures among its investors. Last year, it also launched an insurance plan for batteries of electric vehicles (EVs). 

Acko has raised a total funding of over $450 Mn till date and counts the likes of Amazon, General Atlantic, and Multiples Private Equity Fund among its backers. Its net loss jumped 53% year-on-year to INR 738.5 Cr in the financial year 2022-23 (FY23), while operating revenue grew 32% to INR 1,758.6 Cr.

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A day after a report alleged that Apple vendor Foxconn has discriminatory hiring practices at its iPhone plant in Tamil Nadu plant, the Ministry of Labour and Employment has sought a detailed report from the state government on the matter. 

The ministry noted that the allegations, if true, would be a clear violation of the Section 5 of the Equal Remuneration Act, 1976. The provision stipulates no discrimination in recruitment on the basis of gender. 

Besides seeking clarity from the state government, it has also directed the office of Regional Chief Labour Commissioner to furnish a factual report on the incident. 

Earlier, Reuters reported that the Taiwanese electronics major excludes married women from jobs at its plant on the grounds that they have more family responsibilities compared to unmarried counterparts. 

However, Foxconn refuted the allegations of any employee discrimination based on marital status, gender, or other grounds. 

“Foxconn’s priority is the well-being of our employees around the world. We hire workers of all backgrounds, genders, races and marital statuses, and we do not stand for discrimination in hiring or recruitment,” Foxconn said in response to Inc42’s queries. 

The allegations come as the Apple vendor is looking to double down on its India operations.

Besides its plant in Tamil Nadu’s Sriperumbudur, Foxconn is also building a plant in Karnataka, which is currently under construction. For the uninitiated, the company is responsible for assembling approximately 70% of iPhones and is the world’s largest contract manufacturer.

Apple has been looking to move away from China amid the ongoing geopolitical tensions between Beijing and Washington DC. As a result, India has emerged as an attractive manufacturing destination on account of its attractive subsidies and production-linked incentives (PLIs). 

In September 2023, Foxconn’s India representative V Lee said that the company was planning to double its investments and business size in India in one year. Additionally, the Apple supplier, earlier this year, also signed a joint venture (JV) with homegrown HCL Group to set up a semiconductor assembly and testing facility in India to bolster its presence in the country.

The post Labour Ministry Seeks Report From TN Govt On Foxconn’s Alleged Discriminatory Hiring Practices appeared first on Inc42 Media.

As part of its fintech push, ecommerce giant Flipkart has launched super.money app in beta mode. The app went live on Google Play Store on June 23.

While the app currently offers UPI services, Flipkart aims to soon offer other financial services via the app.

As per the app description, it will not offer “useless rewards” but “real cashback”. The app will offer up to 5% cashback and rewards of up to 10% on Flipkart, Myntra and Shopsy.

Besides, the company also claims three times faster UPI payments with “default camera scan-on mode”.

The app description also says that a suite of financial products will be launched soon. These will include a credit card offering “superCard”, which will be issued in partnership with Utkarsh Small Finance Bank, a pre-approved loan service called “superCash”, and a fixed deposit offering “superDeposit” 

The development was first reported by TechCrunch.

super.money confirmed the development with Inc42. “With an uncluttered UX and focus on great rewards for every transaction, super.money intends to change the way people engage with and consume financial services. The super.money team will continue to assess customer feedback in the coming weeks and improve the product further,” a spokesperson of super.money said.

super.money founder and CEO Prakash Sikaria said that the landscape of digital payments and financial services is evolving rapidly and this presents incredible opportunities for innovation. 

“super.money aims to democratise access to financial services by leveraging UPI infrastructure, which is aligned to the government’s larger vision of financial inclusion. We have been working on several exciting products that we will launch soon,” Sikaria added.

Earlier this year, Inc42 reported that the ecommerce major initiated the fintech app’s development as early as July 2023 and earmarked an investment of $20 Mn for the project. Back in January, the company rolled out personal loans on the Flipkart app. 

In the same month, the company also started offering UPI services to select users. In March, its first month of full-fledged UPI launch, Flipkart recorded 5 Mn UPI transactions worth INR 197.24 Cr. 

super.money marks Flipkart’s full-fledged fintech entry more than a year after its demerger with PhonePe. In December 2022, the ecommerce major completed the full ownership separation process of PhonePe.

PhonePe dominates the UPI market and has been accounting for nearly 50% share every month. It accounted for 48.6% of the total UPI transactions in May. The value of these transactions stood at INR 10.33 Lakh Cr.

With super.money, Flipkart will take on PhonePe in the fintech space. Earlier this week, Walmart said that both the entities are heading towards profitability. 

The operating revenue of Flipkart’s B2C arm rose 42% year-on-year (YoY) to INR 14,845.8 Cr in the financial year 2022-23 (FY23). Meanwhile, its loss reduced 9% to INR 4,026.5 Cr during the year under review from INR 4,419.5 Cr in FY22. On the other hand, PhonePe’s net loss grew 39% YoY to INR 2,795.3 Cr in FY23, while operating revenue rose 77% YoY to INR 2,913.7 Cr.

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Tata Electronics, which is building India’s first semiconductor fabrication plant in Gujarat’s Dholera, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with US-based Synopsys to accelerate production at the fabrication unit.

The US-based giant provides electronic design automation, silicon IP and system verification and validation, among other services to semiconductor players.

The collaboration will help Tata Electronics in developing a foundry design platform to accelerate chip development at its AI-enabled semiconductor fab plant at Gujarat’s Dholera. It will also enable the establishment of factory automation, data analytics, TCAD (Technology Computer Aided Design) flow set-up, process design kits, IP development, among others. 

“We view Synopsys as a key partner and accelerator in our journey by virtue of the expertise they bring in semiconductor design and services,” Tata Electronics’ CEO and managing director Randhir Thakur said. 

In February, the Union Cabinet approved the establishment of the Tata Group’s semiconductor fab in Dholera in partnership with Taiwan’s Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp (PSMC). 

The Tata Group has earmarked an investment of INR 91,000 Cr for the factory. It is looking to manufacture 50,000 wafers per month at the unit. The chips produced at the factory are expected to power entities in eight sectors, including high power compute, EV, telecomm, defence, consumer electronics, automobile, power electronics. 

As of now, Tata Electronics has started exporting semiconductor chips packaged at a pilot line at its Bengaluru R&D centre to partners in Japan, the US, and European countries. It is also nearing completion of the design process for semiconductor chips in various sizes, including 28nm, 40nm, 55nm, and 65nm.

“With this intended collaboration with Synopsys, Tata Electronics solidifies a critical pillar for a holistic approach to achieve its targets to be the first to bring semiconductor manufacturing to India,” the company said in a statement. 

Besides the Dholera plant, the company is also building a fab plant at Assam’s Jagiroad with an investment of INR 27,000 Cr. 

Behind the Tata Group’s decision to enter the semiconductor space is a market opportunity pegged north of $150 Bn. According to Inc42’s report, “The Rise Of India’s Semiconductor Startups Report 2024”, the country’s semiconductor market will witness an impressive CAGR of 24% during 2023-2030. 

Eyeing a piece of the semiconductor pie, SaaS giant Zoho is also looking to set up a semiconductor manufacturing plant in Tamil Nadu with an investment of around $700 Mn. Besides, US-headquartered Micron Technology is also building an INR 22,000 Cr semiconductor testing and packaging plant in Gujarat’s Sanand.

The companies’ semiconductor push has been fuelled by the multiple initiatives taken by the Centre, including the INR 76,000 Cr allocation for the Semicon India programme to develop the semiconductor and display manufacturing ecosystem in the country.

The post Tata Electronics Inks MoU With Synopsys For Its Fab Plant In Gujarat’s Dholera appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Non-banking lender Northern Arc Capital has raised $75 Mn (INR 620 Cr) through non-convertible debentures (NCDs) from Dutch entrepreneurial development bank FMO.

The Chennai-based fintech platform said in a statement that the debentures will be listed on the BSE for a tenure of five years. It also plans to deploy the fresh proceeds to fuel its retail microloans, MSME loans and green loans. 

“By channelling these funds into microloans, SMEs, and green projects, we aim to create a cascading effect that promotes sustainable economic growth and financial inclusion. Our innovative platforms, such as nPOS and Nimbus, play a crucial role in this mission by ensuring seamless loan processing and effective debt management,” said Northern Arc’s managing director and CEO Ashish Mehrotra. 

nPOS and Nimbus constitute Northern Arc’s tech and analytics offerings. While the former is a cloud-based API-enabled platform that streamlines loan processes for partnership and co-lending businesses, Nimbus provides comprehensive end-to-end debt transaction management. 

Founded in 2009, Northern Arc provides credit facilities to MSMEs, Indian households, financial institutions and emerging businesses, including startups. It has backed startups like Rebel Foods, ProsParity, slice, BharatPe, among others. 

It claims to have financed INR 1.5 Tn since inception across India and handles an AUM of over INR 10,081 Cr.

The company’s total revenue for financial year 2023-24 (FY24) stood at INR 1,890 Cr, a 44% increase from INR 1,304 Cr in the previous fiscal year. It reported a profit of INR 317.69 Cr for the fiscal. 

The Dutch investor first backed Northern Arc back in 2022 with an investment of $50 Mn. 

“This local currency facility to Northern Arc, supports entrepreneurship and innovation and encourages the formalisation and growth of SMEs and microenterprises,” Northern Arc’ CIO Huib-Jan de Ruijter said.

Besides FMO, the firm counts the likes of Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, LeapFrog, 360 ONE, Accion, Augusta Investments, among others, as its backers. 

The development comes precisely two months after the NBFC announced the raise of $80 Mn from International Finance Corporation (IFC). Back then, it had expansion plans on its mind.

The debt raise comes at a time when Northern Arc is gearing up for public listing. Back in February, the company had filed its draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI). Its IPO will comprise INR 500 Cr fresh issued shares along with an offer for sale (OFS) component of 2.1 equity shares.

The post IPO-Bound Northern Arc Bags $75 Mn Debt From Dutch FMO appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Peak XV Partners managing director Shailendra Singh has joined the board of directors of the US-India Strategic Partnership Forum (USISPF).

Singh joins the likes of WestBridge Capital managing director (MD) Sumir Chadha, KKR India country head Gaurav Trehan, WestRock chairman John Luke, Uniphore cofounder and CEO Umesh Sachdev at the USISPF board. 

For the uninitiated, the forum works to bridge gaps between businesses and the governments of the two nations. Additionally, it also nurtures and incubates cross-border startups via its programme ‘Startup Connect’. 

Singh’s appointment will help the VC firm drive global collaboration and help foster innovation and entrepreneurship on the international stage.

“I look forward to collaborating with fellow board members and leveraging our collective expertise to further strengthen the relationship between the US and India for founders and startups across both regions,” said Singh. 

Commenting on the new appointment, USISPF president and CEO Mukesh Aghi added, “I am thrilled to welcome Shailendra to the USISPF Board of Directors… His deep industry knowledge and commitment to founders across India and Southeast Asia will be invaluable. We look forward to benefiting from his expertise. I am confident that with his inputs and expertise, we will explore newer avenues and deeper areas of collaboration between the US and India”. 

The development comes three months after Peak XV launched a permanent capital vehicle ‘Peak XV Anchor Fund’ to enable the firm’s leadership to invest in future funds as well as partner with other fund managers. 

In June last year, Sequoia Capital spun off Sequoia India & Southeast Asia and the latter was rebranded as Peak XV. Singh has helmed Peak XV since then. 

At the time, the VC firm inherited over $9 Bn in over 400 companies stretching across 13 separate funds. Last year, it said that its portfolio companies achieved over $100 Mn in revenues. 

Previously, Singh led Sequoia Capital’s investments in startups such as Pine Labs, CRED, Unacademy, Freecharge and Druva. He currently sits on the board of multiple Indian startups such as Scaler, Practo, Park+, Ola Cabs, and MobiKwik. 

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Despite wearing the crown of being the most populous country in the world, we (Indians) often fight shy of talking about intimacy or anything closely associated with it, including wellness.

However, as the times are a-changin’, increasing globalisation has seemingly convinced many of us to keep an open mind about the topic, which has long been considered taboo.

Consequently, recurring conversations around the subject have gained impetus and the country’s sexual wellness market appears to be now yawning in the lap of Indians who seek freedom from the shackles of social stigma surrounding sex to cater to their naughtiest desires.

The aforementioned statements can be substantiated by the fact that the Indian sexual wellness market generated $1.15 Bn in 2020 and is expected to become a $2.09 Bn market opportunity by 2030.

Notably, long commanding the reins of this space have been legacy players like Mankind, Durex, and Skore, among others; however, they have been too careful in treading in India due to its cultural and social fabric.

Upping the ante in the paradigm of the country’s intimate products market now are the homegrown startups, which appear to be pushing denizens out of their comfort zones to experiment with a range of unconventional products to experience the pinnacle of pleasure.

One such name that has recently emerged in this paradigm is MyMuse. Founded in 2021 by Sahil Gupta and Anushka Gupta, the startup offers a range of intimate wellness products, including massage oils, stress relief massagers, toys and games for couples. 

What just started as a pet project for the cofounders, when they were looking to spread awareness around sexual wellness, raked in INR 15 Cr in revenues in the financial year 2022-23 (FY23), up 6.6X year-on-year (YoY). According to the cofounders, despite witnessing explosive growth in the last couple of years, they have barely scratched the growth surface. 

Locking horns with startups like Bold Care, Sassiest, The Sangya Project, and Love Treats, the intimate wellness brand caters to a monthly customer base of 1.5 Lakh individuals across India. 

Notably, the startup is backed by names like Trifecta Capital, CRED’s founder Kunal Shah, Saama Capital, Sauce VC, Whiteboard Capital, Licious’ Varun Sadana, and Mohit and Malika Sadaani of The Mom’s Co. These investors have cumulatively infused INR 32.36 Cr in the business. 

Breaking Taboo: The Birth Of MyMuse

Although MuMuse was officially incorporated in 2021, the seeds of its inception were sown three years before that when the cofounders met through their common friends.

Both Sahil and Anushka clicked instantly upon knowing that they come from the same line of work — marketing. While Sahil was working for a Hong Kong-based pharma company, Joint Force, Anushka was a former WeWork India employee with a degree in psychology.

“At the time both of us were looking to take the entrepreneurial plunge. Fortunately, we noticed a big gap — While the medical industry had evolved, mental and sexual wellness was stagnant. To address this, we initially started a content platform to provide information on sexual education to people,” the cofounders told Inc42. 

However, soon they realised that mere content influencing strategy wouldn’t be enough to change the country’s idea of intimacy and sexual wellness. This was because people’s perception of such products was linked to shady-looking back alley stores or websites on the dark web.

To challenge this, the cofounders decided to leverage their expertise in the areas of content dissemination, marketing, and mental health to build a sustainable brand.

“When we started MyMuse, we intended to create a brand that could help users enhance the experience of physical intimacy. We also wanted to normalise the discourse around it,” one of the cofounders (Anushka) said. 

While the cofounders may not have been completely successful in changing the mindsets of a larger section of Indian society, they believe that they are reaching there.

“In this journey, we are also combating social stigma that embraces some of our products, including intimate massagers,” the cofounders said.  

The duo also told Inc42 that before launching the startup they conducted surveys for nine months to gauge the level of taboo that existed in India regarding sexual wellness products. To their surprise, many individuals said that they were open to using these products if they had tasteful packaging and messaging.  

“Marketing shapes society’s perceptions, and the Indian sex industry has struggled with stigma. For MyMuse, we have moved away from that image. Our brand messaging, packaging, promotional content, and website focus on delight,” the cofounders said.

MyMuse’s Wellness Stack 

After refining branding, the cofounders launched their first product, a massage oil, in June 2021. Following this, the startup expanded its sexual wellness offerings to include an oil-based candle, a lubricant, and a “massager” within a year.

Initially, the company targeted women aged 25-35. However, they soon realised their audience was equally split between men and women. To cater to this broader demographic, MyMuse expanded its product line to include more oils and lubes, card games, and swipes, among other items.

The cofounders have a unique approach to incorporating new products into the startup’s product folio. Elaborating on this, Sahil said they hold a Shark Tank-like in-house competition among their employees every now and then. This initiative encourages employees to develop exciting product ideas, pitches, designs, and marketing and go-to-market strategies. The startup has been able to come up with several of its products with this strategy.

Moving on, the cofounders said that a key component of their product development is a beta testing community of about 250 users who provide pre-launch feedback. Sahil said that these inputs are crucial for educating customers and differentiating their products in the market. 

“We feel that without a content commerce angle, a D2C startup won’t work in the long run. Therefore, it is our responsibility to make sure that decision paralysis around products is avoided. It becomes critical for us to inform the potential customers exactly what differentiates us from others. With the knowledge gained from our beta testing group, we fine-tune our content strategies and products to stand out from the competition,” he added.  

Meanwhile, the cofounders told Inc42 that they are looking to limit their SKUs to 25 products to assuage its users from getting “decision paralysis”. The cofounders aren’t looking at new introductions anytime soon. 

MyMuse’s Future Roadmap

Currently, MyMuse’s biggest peeve is its expenses. Notably, the company procures its products from outside India and spends a fortune on packaging and marketing efforts.

This is the reason why it incurred a loss of INR 2.41 Cr despite generating INR 14.90 Cr in FY23. Of its total revenues earned during the fiscal, the startup’s expenses stood at INR 17.34 Cr, up 561% YoY.

While the company was able to grow its revenues 6.6X from FY22’s INR 1.97 Cr, its expenses stood at a mere INR 2.62 Cr during the fiscal.

Meanwhile, according to the cofounders, the company achieved profitability in the final months of FY24, helped by a significant rise in revenues in the corresponding period a year ago.

Sahil attributes the rise in revenues to the company’s focus on being gender agnostic. The company is now looking to enter the couples category. 

“While solo play has been the focus of the rest of our competitors, we are looking to go beyond this and address the needs of couples. The decision stems from the fact that couples can purchase together and if they like how it feels they have a much higher chance of becoming recurring customers,” the cofounder said. 

For now, the startup continues to tread carefully under the country’s obscenity laws. While there is no explicit law in India that bans or regulates the sale of intimate wellness products, the company will need to practise caution while advertising and creating promotional content surrounding its product stack.

[Edited by Shishir Prasher]

The post How MyMuse Is Changing India’s Perception Towards Sexual Wellness appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Healthtech startup Cloudphysician has raised $10.5 Mn (INR 87.3 Cr) in its Series A funding round led by Peak XV Partners. The round also saw participation from existing backer Elevar Equity and venture debt firm Panthera Peak.

The startup will use the fresh proceeds to accelerate growth and shore up its operations in India. The funds will also be utilised to further enhance its AI platform, RADAR, and spruce up its tech stack. 

The capital will also be used to drive its expansion in other emerging as well as developed markets, such as the US. 

Founded in 2017 by doctors Dhruv Joshi and Dileep Raman, Cloudphysician partners with hospitals to improve critical care for patients by enabling the latter to digitise their operations and offering AI-guided doctors and nurses.

Cloudphysician’s flagship ‘Smart-ICU’ offering helps hospitals ensure round-the-clock availability of doctors, better nursing quality, protocolised care, and training of staff.  

“We aim to scale our business and continue transforming critical care delivery in India and global markets. We remain committed to our vision of leveraging AI and advanced technology to ensure high-quality care is accessible to all, regardless of location,” said cofounders Joshi and Raman in a statement.

Commenting on the fundraise, Peak XV Partners managing director Mohit Bhatnagar said, “… Excited to join Dr. Dhruv and Dr. Dileep’s mission to save more lives. They are building an India-first business which has the opportunity to become the world’s first independent, scaled-up business in this space”.

Cloudphysician claims to have so far tied up with over 200 hospitals across 23 states in the country and catered to 1 Lakh patients since its inception. It also claims to have enabled a 50% increase in ICU usage for their partner hospitals. 

Cloudphysician said it is eyeing 10% of the Indian critical care market in the “coming years” and is also looking to shore up its global presence. 

Incubated by ‘Google for Startups Accelerator: India’ in 2023, the startup raised $4 Mn in its pre-Series A round led by Elevar Equity in 2021. With the latest investment, Cloudphysician has become the latest addition to Peak XV’s healthtech portfolio, which includes Mosaic Wellness, Twin Health, Qure.ai, and Practo. 

Overall, the Indian healthtech space continues to grow rapidly. As per an Inc42 report, the homegrown healthtech space is projected to be a $10.6 Bn market opportunity by 2025.

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Prosus-owned PayU India’s revenue grew 11% year-on-year (YoY) to $444 Mn in the financial year 2023-24 (FY24), the investment group said in its annual report. 

However, this was lower than the 31% revenue growth in FY23 and over 40% jump in FY22 as the company was unable to onboard new merchants due to its pending payment aggregator application with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

PayU received an in-principle authorisation from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to operate as a payment aggregator (PA) in April 2024. Only after the nod, which came after a 15-month “embargo”, the fintech company was allowed to onboard new merchants for its payments business. 

Prosus attributed the growth in the revenue of India business to rise in volumes from its existing merchant user base and growing “value added” services. The company also said that PayU India’s total payment value (TPV) grew 22% YoY. 

However, the company’s payment service provider (PSP) business reported a 3% trading loss in FY24 as against a 3% trading profit in the previous fiscal. Prosus said this was due to the “change in merchant and payment method mix (predominantly driven by the embargo)”. 

Despite this, the Indian market continued to be the largest contributor to PayU’ PSP business, accounting for 46% of its global payment operations revenue and 60% TPV in FY24. 

Meanwhile, PayU India’s credit business, which comprises buy now, pay later (BNPL), personal loans, and a pilot on providing loan services to small and medium businesses, registered a growth in terms of revenue but saw its loss widen during the fiscal. While its revenue grew 29% to $107 Mn, trading loss widened to $20 Mn in FY24 due to “continuous investment in building the merchant lending portfolio and relatively stable loss from 2.5% in FY23 to 3.1%”. 

The company said that the uptick in the revenue for India credit business came despite a slowdown in issuance of loans as a response to evaluate new regulations shared by the RBI. 

It is pertinent to note that the central bank has taken a number of steps over the last few quarters to better regulate the digital lending space and curb the sharp rise in unsecured loans.

On the outlook for PayU, Prosus said, “We are present in high-growth markets and we will continue to emphasise India. With the in-principle authorisation by Reserve Bank of India to operate as a payment aggregator and onboard new merchants, India is expected to demonstrate strong growth in payments.”

It added that PayU’s credit business is likely to benefit from increasing demand for credit in India. 

On a consolidated basis, PayU’s revenue grew 22% to $1.1 Bn in FY24. It also managed to cull its trading loss to $67 Mn, a 23% improvement from FY23’s $83 Mn. The company attributed this improvement to the “closure of the loss-making digital bank offering in India and cost optimisation”.

In the fiscal, PayU shut its LazyCard, a prepaid payment instrument backed by a credit line. In November 2023, Prosus said that the decision resulted in reduction of losses and an enhancement of overall profitability within the group’s fintech and payments portfolio. 

It is pertinent to note that PayU India is said to be eyeing a public listing in 2024.

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