Xpressbees, an e-commerce logistics provider, became a unicorn on Wednesday, a company valued at $1 billion or more, after raising $300 million in Series F funding led by Blackstone Growth, TPG Growth, and ChrysCapital. According to a person familiar with the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity, Xpressbees was valued at $1.2 billion in the most recent round of funding. Existing investors Investcorp and Norwest Venture Partners also participated in the round, according to the company. In October, VCCircle reported that Xpressbees, a startup run by BusyBees Logistics…
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Actor Pankaj Tripathi invests in agritech startup Krishi Network
Krishi Network, an agritech platform, announced on Thursday that Bollywood actor Pankaj Tripathi has invested in the company. It did not say how much money Tripathi has put into the platform, which is connected to at least 30 lakh farmers. The new funds will be used to expand the startup’s AI-based technology platform across India and help it grow quickly, according to a statement. “Coming from a farmer background, I have always believed in supporting initiatives that help farmers with access to information to grow their business,” said Tripathi. “Back…
Read MoreBinny Bansal leads $25 million funding round in his venture xto10x Technologies
Binny Bansal, a cofounder of Flipkart, has led a new $25 million investment round in his own startup, xto10x Technologies, which is a scaling platform for growth-stage companies, according to a statement released by the company on Wednesday. Swiggy cofounder Harsha Majety, Meesho cofounder Vidit Aatrey, Razorpay founders Harshil Mathur and Shashank Kumar, and Cred founder Kunal Shah were among the 28 founders and executives who participated in the funding round from India and Southeast Asia. According to the company, the funds will be used to expand learning programmes, software…
Read MoreAmazon India launches startup accelerator 2.0
Amazon India launched the second season of its ‘Global Selling Propel’ startup accelerator on Wednesday to help emerging Indian brands and startups reach global customers. Participating startups will be eligible to win a total equity-free grant of $100,000 from Amazon, as well as $10,000 in free AWS credits. The startup accelerator is accepting applications until March 14th. The programme, according to the company, will allow startups to present their business models to partner VC firms such as Accel, DSG Consumer Partners, Fireside Ventures, and Sequoia Capital India. “We saw great…
Read MoreKirana-Tech Startup ElasticRun Becomes India’s Latest Unicorn, Now Valued At $1.5 Billion
There’s a lot of buzz in India about e-commerce, but companies that help modernise traditional kirana stores appear to be unlocking some serious value as well. ElasticRun, a kirana-tech startup that connects businesses to kirana stores, has raised $300 million in a new funding round led by SoftBank Vision Fund II, making it India’s latest unicorn. The $1.5 billion round valued the six-year-old startup. ElasticRun has more than tripled in value in the last ten months, making it India’s sixth unicorn this year, following MamaEarth, Fractal Analytics, LEAD School, Darwinbox,…
Read MoreJio Platforms picks up 25 percentage stake in US-based tech startup TWO for $15 mn
Jio Platforms, led by RIL promoter Mukesh Ambani, has purchased a 25% stake in TWO Platforms, a deep-tech startup based in the United States, for $15 million. TWO Platforms is an artificial reality company that focuses on building interactive and immersive AI experiences. It was founded by Indian-origin computer scientist Pranav Mistry in July of last year. Its platform enables AI voice and video calls in real time, as well as digital humans, immersive environments, and life-like gaming. “We are impressed with the strong experience and capabilities of the founding…
Read MoreMicrosoft will step up experimentation on new features for Windows 11, even if they never get released
Microsoft is ramping up the Windows Insider programme with Windows 11. In announcing its strategy for 2022, Microsoft announced that future Insider releases will focus on “trying out different concepts” with Microsoft’s features and services. In a blog post, Windows Insider programme lead Amanda Langowski stated that the Dev Channel will be restructured as a “place to incubate new ideas.” Microsoft will now be able to work on long-lead items as well as control the states of individual features through the Dev Channel. The basic idea is to simply step…
Read MoreIndia First tech startup conclave & awards : Witness the biggest startup event on 17th and 18th of February
The All India Council for Robotics and Automation is hosting the ‘India First tech startup conclave & awards 2022’ from February 17th to 18th with the support from Department of electronics and information technology. The event will be attended by Ministers, other government representatives, as well as several industry leaders and experts, with the primary purpose of boosting the country’s entire startup ecosystem. The event aims to provide a unique platform for young innovators, entrepreneurs, industry experts, professionals, policymakers, investors, and exhibitors to exchange innovative ideas, knowledge base, and showcase…
Read MoreSenior executives leave Better.com as CEO Vishal Garg returns to his position
Better.com has been in the news. The board placed Garg on leave after his video received backlash on the internet since the viral video of CEO Vishal Garg firing over 900 employees surfaced on the Internet, . However, his hiatus was brief, and the better.com CEO returned to his post, prompting senior executives to resign. Since Garg’s return, the company has lost a number of senior executives. According to a TechCrunch report, Sarah Pierce, the executive vice president of customer experience, sales, and operations, and Emanuel Santa-Donato, the senior vice…
Read MoreHeadout bags $30 million funding to accelerate its expansion to 500 cities globally
Headout, a company that helps travellers find and book tours, activities, events, and other local experiences, has raised $30 million in Series B funding led by Glade Brook Capital, bringing its total funding to $42 million. Existing investors Nexus Venture Partners, FJ Labs, and 500 Startups, as well as a slew of startup CEOs and operators, including Swiggy CEO Sriharsha Majety, Postman CTO Ankit Sobti, and Pratilipi CEO Ranjeet Pratap Singh, took part in the round. In September of last year, the startup raised $12 million in funding led by…
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