Govt’s digital push to drive big business for startups and tech firms

Technology firms and startups focused on new-age platforms, such as drones, space imagery, and artificial intelligence, will likely be at the forefront of the list of beneficiaries as the Budget seeks to democratise technology in a concerted push toward digitisation. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman proposed a slew of initiatives on Tuesday, with technology at the centre, to boost a wide range of industries, including skilling, agriculture, education, mental health, logistics, and the support of small and medium businesses. According to Nasscom, the IT industry body, the Budget is betting big…

Budget 2022 : Everything on tech and startups

Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented the Union Budget for the fiscal year 2022-23 on Tuesday. Here are some highlights from the world of technology and technology startups: According to Sitharaman, the government will establish a Digital University to provide online education in multiple languages. A web portal for skill development has been announced. Startups in the agricultural and rural sectors will benefit from a fund raised through NABARD. A battery swapping policy and interoperability standards will be implemented in order to set up charging stations at scale. Sitharaman stated that…

RBI to issue digital rupee based on blockchain technology in 2022-23, fate of Bitcoin unclear

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman confirmed that the Reserve Bank of India will issue a digital rupee soon on Tuesday morning. The RBI’s digital currency will be based on blockchain technology, which is the same technology that powers Bitcoin and other popular cryptocurrencies. The finance minister stated that a digital rupee would be issued by 2022-23, but did not elaborate on the future of Bitcoin and other crypto tokens. “Digital currency will also lead to a more efficient and cheaper currency management system. It is therefore proposed to introduce a digital…

Logistics platform LoadShare raises $40M in funding led by Tiger Global, others

Loadshare, a Bengaluru-based logistics and supply chain startup, has raised $40 million in a Series C funding round led by US-based investment firm Tiger Global. The round was co-led by Filter Capital, 57 Stars, and previous investors CDC Group and Matrix Partners India. The company was founded in 2017 by Raghuram Talluri, Pramod Nair, and Rakib Ahmed. According to the statement, LoadShare’s mission is to solve its customers’ toughest logistics challenges by leveraging the power of small and medium logistics entrepreneurs. According to LoadShare, it provides a variety of services…

Scaler raises $55 Mn in Series B at $710 Mn valuation

Scaler, a tech upskilling startup, has raised $55 millionin a Series B round led by new investor Lightrock India and two existing investors, Sequoia Capital India and Tiger Global, for a total valuation of $710 million. With this new round of funding, Scaler Academy’s total capital raised now stands at $76.5 million. In January 2020, Sequoia India and Tiger Global led a Series A round for the Bengaluru-based startup. According to a press release, the new funds will be used to fund international expansion plans, the launch of new products…

Bolt CEO Ryan Breslow resigns two weeks after securing $11 billion valuation for the fintech startup

Ryan Breslow, a co-founder of Bolt Financial Inc., has announced his resignation as CEO, just two weeks after the company was valued at $11 billion. Breslow, who is 27 years old, will take over as executive chairman. Maju Kuruvilla, a 44-year-old Bolt executive who previously worked at Amazon.com Inc. as a vice president, will be promoted to CEO. The move was first reported by TechCrunch on Monday. Bolt develops payment software for online retailers such as Forever 21. It’s been around for seven years, but in the last few months,…

Health startup Athelas its $1.5 billion valuation after pandemic boom

Athelas Inc., a remote patient monitoring technology company, has raised $132 million in new funding, bringing its total valuation to $1.5 billion. Athelas, which was founded in 2016, saw rapid growth last year, fueled in part by a shift to remote care during the Covid-19 pandemic. Tanay Tandon, co-founder and CEO of Athelas, said the company now has 20,000 patients, which is ten times the number it had at the start of 2021. “The pandemic really showed folks that health care in the home has to be a thing and…

SaaS logistics startup FarEye announces second ESOP buyback worth $1.22M

FarEye, a global SaaS platform that transforms last-mile logistics, today announced a buyback for Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) holders valued at US$1.22 million. This is FarEye’s second liquidation programme, following a $739,000 liquidation of eligible ESOP options in December 2020. According to the company’s statement, the SaaS startup will use its cash reserves to buy back the vested ESOPs. FarEye launched a revised ESOP programme in 2021 with the goal of making it more employee-friendly and democratising ESOP grants to a large portion of its 700+ employees worldwide. FarEye…

Accel-backed 100ms in talks to raise over $15 Mn in a new round

Live video infrastructure startup 100ms is in talks to raise $15-18 million in a new round of funding from new and existing investors. The Bengaluru-based startup raised a $4.5 million seed fund led by Accel with participation from Strive three months ago. vc. “100ms is finalising a $15-18 million round in which Falcon Edge’s Alpha Wave, Matrix and Accel will be the lead investors,” said one of the sources on condition of anonymity. “The round may also see participation from a couple of new investors and some angels.” 100ms offers…

Cashfree Payments’ scale soars 2.3X to Rs 227 Cr in FY21, makes Rs 25 Cr profit

Cashfree Payments, a digital payments and fintech services startup, reached a $200 million valuation after raising funds from the State Bank of India in June last year. During the 2020-2021 period, the company claims to have seen a 150 percent increase in its user base. While the company is controlled by its US-based holding company Cashfree Inc, its Indian operations are managed by Cashfree Payments India, and we looked at its annual numbers to see how it grew during the pandemic year. Cashfree Payments saw a 2.3X increase in revenue…