Start-Ups

Hardeep Singh Puri, the Union Minister for Water Resources, has launched a startup challenge with the goal of empowering 100 water-related startups. The initiative is called the ‘India WaterPitch-Pilot-Scale Startup Challenge,’ and it was created by the Ministry Of Housing And Urban Affairs. The selected startups will receive a grant of INR 20 lakhs as part of the programme. In addition, the Ministry will provide the selected startups with funding and mentorship. ‘The initiative aims to empower startups in the water sector to grow through innovation and design, which will…

Karza Technologies, a banking and financial intelligence solution provider, will be purchased for around Rs 600 crore by Perfios Software Solutions, a Bengaluru-based fintech software firm backed by Warburg Pincus and Bessemer. Perfios raised around Rs 520 crore from Warburg Pincus and Bessemer Venture Partners, as well as some existing investors, earlier this month. The funds will be used to partially fund the acquisition of Karza Tech. Through its superior data engineering and deep tech applications, Karza provides solutions that enable onboarding automation, systemic fraud prevention, and business intelligence. According…

Piyush Goyal, the Union Minister for Commerce and Industry, on Sunday called for startups to help India become self-reliant in the energy and defence sectors, citing the COVID-19 pandemic as an example of a crisis turned opportunity. Every crisis, like Covid-19’s, can be turned into an opportunity. At the ET Startup Awards in Bengaluru, Shri Piyush Goyal, Union Minister of Commerce & Industry, Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution, and Textiles, said that Covid-19 is a big crisis and that the “biggest of the century” crisis was turned into an…

The edtech company Byju’s announced on Friday that it had received $800 million in a pre-IPO financing. According to sources close to the situation, Byju Raveendran, the company’s founder and CEO, has personally contributed $400 million. According to people familiar with the matter, the financing, which comes ahead of the company’s anticipated initial public offering (IPO), values the Bengaluru-based firm at over $22 billion. It is India’s most valuable startup due to its massive post-money valuation. Sumeru Ventures, Vitruvian Partners, and BlackRock were the other investors who participated in the capital…

Ninjacart, a fresh fruit supply chain startup, has acquired Tecxprt, a communication platform based on Software-as-a-Service (SaaS). As part of the acquisition, the whole Tecxprt team will join Ninjacart. The size of the transaction was not disclosed by the corporation. Flipkart-and-Walmart-backed The acquisition, according to Ninjacart, would help the company digitise its operations and promote real-time communication throughout the food supply chain. “We are thrilled to have the Tecxprt team on board. With this acquisition, we will further strengthen our position as a one-stop solution for agri-players, retailers and small…