Start-Ups

Corporate learning and development (L&D) will thrive in 2022 as companies invest more in upskilling their executives in high-tech domains such as artificial intelligence and machine learning. According to a survey conducted by edtech firm Simplilearn on January 20, AI and machine learning are the highest priority skill domains for 2022, followed by cyber security, project management, digital marketing, cloud computing, and data science. “These skills will receive the highest budget priority from organisations for internal upskilling initiatives and external hires,” the survey added. According to Simplilearn, at least 80%…

Fyp, one of India’s fastest growing neobanks for teenagers, has acquired EdTech startup Edunify as part of its expansion plans. With this acquisition, the company hopes to broaden its user base through school collaborations across India. Edunify, which was founded in 2018, operates a pan-India school discovery platform with 1.2 lakh schools in 725 cities, has assisted 1.5 million parents in their admissions journey since its inception, and has empowered 100+ schools in 7 cities with admission and fee management services. Commenting on the acquisition, Kapil Banwari, Founder and CEO,…

Industry body Indian Private Equity and Venture Capital Association (IVCA) proposed a new definition for startups while also reiterating some older demands such as allowing local firms to directly list overseas , in a note to the government ahead of the Union budget. According to multiple sources familiar with the situation, IVCA has proposed that a company be considered a startup if it is less than ten years old and is not a subsidiary or the result of a merger or spin-off, regardless of revenue. “Currently, the amended provisions by…

The last fiscal year (FY21) was fantastic for Indian edtech companies, as their usage skyrocketed due to the pandemic. As a result, edtech startups raised record amounts of money while increasing their revenue by multiples. Toppr (now a part of Byju’s) stood out as an outlier. In FY21, the company’s revenue fell by 40%. Toppr, which has been in business for eight years, is comprised of two companies: Toppr, which provides a learning platform for students, and Haygot Services, which acts as a support service provider, facilitating educators for the…

Reloy, a provider of real estate digital amenities, has raised Rs 5 crore (approximately $670K) in a strategic pre-Series A funding round led by Inflection Point Ventures, a Gurugram-based angel investment firm. So far, the investment firm has invested Rs 330 crore in 108 transactions. Fawkes Fund, Greenpanel & Greenlam’s family office, and 50+ prominent angel investors also participated in the new round. Reloy, a provider of real estate digital amenities and referral solutions, focuses on delighting customers and channel partners on behalf of real estate builders by enabling digital…

Bengaluru-based Finsall, an insurtech startup focused on insurance premium financing, has raised Rs 12 crore (approximately $1.6 million) in a new pre-Series A round to scale its technology platform and increase its market share in the insurance premium financing market. The round included existing investors Unicorn India Ventures and SEA Fund, as well as a slew of other investors, according to a statement from the startup. Unicorn Indian Ventures is well-known for its investments in high-growth fintech firms such as Open Bank and SmartCoin. Finsall, founded by Promod Khanna, Tim…

Hero Electric, India’s leading EV company, today announced a partnership with Anand Mahindra-led Mahindra to serve the country’s growing electric vehicle market. The collaboration is part of Hero’s EV growth and expansion plans. According to a company statement, the partnership will enable Mahindra Group to manufacture Hero Electric’s electric bikes – Optima and NYX – at their Pitampur plant to meet the growing EV market demand. Furthermore, with this collaboration and the expansion of its existing Ludhiana facility, Hero will be able to meet its growing demand of producing over…

CRED has increased the size of its employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) pool to $500 million, joining the ranks of several growth-stage startups that have done so in the last year. According to regulatory filings, CRED passed a special resolution to increase its ESOP pool by 112,504 stock options to a total of 392,958 stock options. The new ESOP pool has been increased from 10% to 12.5% of its paid-up capital. CRED has increased the size of its ESOP pool by Rs 1071.3 crore or $143 million, bringing the company’s…

Shares of One97 Communications, the owner of the Paytm brand, hit a lifetime low on Wednesday, falling as much as 5% in a weak market. For quite some time, the stock has been declining. It has closed in the red 11 times in the last 12 sessions, losing 26% of its value. The stock is down about 54% from its IPO price. The stock is now even closer to Macquarie analysts’ most bearish target price of Rs 900 on the counter, which also set the tone for Paytm’s initial fall…