Disruptive Head Start for Startups

Web browser Opera to buy digital challenger Fjord Bank - FinTech Futures

2020-07-14T11:43:00.001+05:30

#fintech #acquisitions #neobanks #challengerbanks #digitalbanks #mergersandacquisitions

Opera , a freeware web browser founded in Norway, intends to buy Lithuania-based fintech start-up Fjord Bank.

The digital challenger was founded in 2017 by Norwegian and Swedish investors Svein Ovrebo, Joakim Mandorsson and Stig Myrseth.

The deal, agreed in May, saw Opera acquire a 9.9% interest in Fjord Bank via a share subscription on 3 July 2020. The acquisition of the remaining 90.1% of Fjord Bank is pending regulatory approval.

In December 2019, the digital challenger landed a specialised bank licence from the European Central Bank (ECB).

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Web browser Opera to buy digital challenger Fjord Bank - FinTech Futures
Opera, a freeware web browser founded in Norway, intends to buy Lithuania-based fintech start-up Fjord Bank. The digital challenger was founded in 2017.

Parking Spot Reservation Platform ParkSmart raises INR 1.5 CR from ah! Ventures and Marwari Angels

2020-07-14T11:38:00.001+05:30

#startups #fundingalert #startupfunding #parking

ParkSmart , a parking spot reservation platform founded by graduates from IIT Delhi, Rahul Gupta, Ratan Anmol Sethi, Rishabh Nagpal, Prateek Garg and Vishva Sharma, has raised INR 1.5 CR through ah! Ventures angel platform. The Marwari Angels also participated in this round. This is ah! Ventures 57th investment taking its total investment portfolio to INR 178 CR with 9 exits till date.

Founded in 2019, ParkSmart allows its customers to search, reserve, and pay for a parking spot through a mobile application. It also provides #IoT based smart parking solutions for malls, hospitals, institutes, corporates, etc.

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Parking Spot Reservation Platform ParkSmart raises INR 1.5 CR from ah! Ventures and Marwari Angels
ParkSmart, a parking spot reservation platform founded by graduates from IIT Delhi has raised INR 1.5 CR through ah! Ventures angel platform. Marwari Angels also participated in this round. This is ah! Ventures 57th investment taking its total investment portfolio to INR 178 CR with 9 exits till date.

Hyderabad Based eCommerce Startup 'IncNut Digital' Raises $4 Million In Series A Funding

2020-07-14T11:36:00.000+05:30

#startups #fundingalert #startupfunding #ecommerce #beauty

eCommerce startup IncNut Digital has raised $4 million in its Series A round. The funding round was led by early-stage consumer-centric venture capital fund, RPSG Ventures.

Founded by Chaitanya Nallan, Veerendra Shivhare, and Sangram Simha in 2011, IncNut Digital is a Hyderabad-based eCommerce startup that owns and operates two women-centric digital media platforms – Stylecraze and Momjunction.com.

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Hyderabad Based eCommerce Startup 'IncNut Digital' Raises $4 Million In Series A Funding
eCommerce startup IncNut Digital has raised $4 million in its Series A round. The funding round was led by early-stage consumer-centric venture capital fund, RPSG Ventures. The startup plans to use the funding amount to strengthen and expand the Research and Developments labs.

From Rs 40 lakh to Rs 6 crore, the startup FreshWrold is modernising the way we buy fruits and vegetables

2020-07-14T11:14:00.003+05:30

#vegetables #fruits #vendingcart #startups

What if there was a pushcart vendor with battery-operated rickshaw designed to hold fruits and vegetables, which accepts digital payments, has a POS machine to capture orders, and has an app that could update the delivery routes?

This is what FreshWorld. has been doing for eight years now. The Bengaluru-based startup was founded by Rajiv Rao, a senior corporate executive, who gave up a well-paying job to build the future of consumption. Freshworld claims to have served over 50,000 loyal customers till now.

FreshWorld. uses GPS-equipped carts and ensures the customers are served on time. The startup has culled out the traditional fixed POS environment, ported it onto an Android tablet with a billing app, and provides a digitised bill for every transaction. The startup informs customers by way of SMS on time, variety, and price.

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From Rs 40 lakh to Rs 6 crore, this startup is modernising the way we buy fruits and vegetables
We all love eating farm-fresh fruits and vegetables. But sometimes, the vendor doesn't show up, or we miss out on them by a few minutes, or we just don't have the exact change in cash.

Delhi-NCR sees highest number of new startups during January-June, 2020

2020-07-14T11:10:00.003+05:30

#startups #startupecosystem #delhincr #startupbangalore #startupmumbai

Delhi-National Capital Region (NCR) has witnessed the highest number of startups being founded in the first six months of this year, on the back of its digital ecosystem, government support and infrastructure, including startup accelerators, incubators and enablers.

Between January and June, 109 startups were founded in Delhi-NCR, followed by 63 in Bengaluru and 44 in Mumbai, according to data by venture capital industry tracker Tracxn. Sectors such as edtech, fintech and enterprise applications saw more traction with several start-ups also repurposing their solutions to offer covid-related solutions.

Startups based out of Bengaluru, however, raised $2,436 million, more than their Delhi ($602 million) and Mumbai ($397 million) counterparts in the first half of the year, data showed. Big-ticket funding deals were in the edtech space with Byju’s leading the pack, valued now at $10.5 billion after raising $100 million Mary Meeker's fund Bond and another $110 million raised by Unacademy from Facebook and General Atlantic.

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Delhi-NCR sees highest number of new startups during January-June
Between January and June, 109 startups were founded in Delhi-NCR, followed by 63 in Bengaluru and 44 in Mumbai, according to data by venture capital industry tracker Tracxn. Sectors such as edtech, fintech and enterprise applications saw more traction with several start-ups also repurposing their solutions to offer covid-related solutions.

Sony invests $250 million in Fortnite maker Epic Games, valuing it at $17.86 Bn

2020-07-14T11:08:00.002+05:30

#games #gaming #startups #stakesale #acquisitions

Sony has invested $250 million for a minority stake in Fortnite maker Epic Games, the companies announced today. With the new money, Epic Games has raised $1.83 billion to date. Sony is acquiring a 1.4% stake in Epic, which means the deal values Epic Games at $17.86 billion.

The companies said the deal cements an already close relationship and reinforces their shared goal to advance the state of the art in technology, entertainment, and socially connected online services. This close relationship was underscored in May when Epic first showed the upcoming Unreal Engine 5 graphics running on a PlayStation 5. As the company itself has disclosed, Epic Games raised $1.58 billion in three previous funding rounds. In 2012, the company received a $330 million investment from Tencent for a 40% ownership stake.

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Sony invests $250 million in Fortnite maker Epic Games
Take the latest VB Survey to share how your company is implementing AI today. Sony has invested $250 million for a minority stake in Fortnite maker Epic Games, the companies announced today. With the new money, Epic Games has raised $1.83 billion to date.

Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) sets up centre for startups in Telangana

2020-07-14T11:06:00.002+05:30

#startups #cii #deeptech #manufacturing #startuptelangana #startuphyderabad #startupindia

Industry association Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) on Saturday said it has set up a centre in Telangana to help startups to connect with large business houses and corporates. CII Centre for Innovation, Entrepreneurship, and Startups will also focus on deep-tech startups in the manufacturing sector to help create unicorns.

CII Centre for Innovation, Entrepreneurship, and Startups is supported by the Telangana government by way of space at T-Hub technology startup incubator in the city, and Pratiksha, a charitable trust founded by Gopalakrishnan.

Telangana IT Minister K T Rama Rao, who launched the Centre, said, the facility will provide the right mix of entrepreneurial elements mentorship, access to capital and safety net for experimentation that will strengthen the startup ecosystem in not just Telangana, but across India.

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CII sets up centre for startups in Telangana
Industry association CII on Saturday said it has set up a centre in Telangana to help startups to connect with large business houses and corporates. CII Centre for Innovation, Entrepreneurship, and Startups will also focus on deep-tech startups in the manufacturing sector to help create unicorns.

T-Hub partners IT Ministry to mentor hardware startups in India - Sentinelassam

2020-07-14T11:04:00.001+05:30

#startups #ideation #THub #startuphyderabad #startuptelangana #hardware #IoT

Hyderabad-based global start-up catalyst T-Hub on Friday announced a partnership with the Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology (MeitY) to lead Digital India's Scale Up programme for hardware and Internet of Things (#IoT) startups across India. As many as 10-15 startups with leading-edge solutions in #mobility, #energy, #agriculture, #aerospace, manufacturing, consumer, #healthtech, #medtech, smart cities and #logistics and #supplychain sectors will be shortlisted as part of the programme, T-Hub said in a statement.

The call for application for the programme will commence in July. Startups will be shortlisted from hundreds of applications after an extensive screening process, T-Hub added.

As part of the programme, the shortlisted startups will also receive equity-free grants, T-Hub said. "It is important for us to engage the startup community and bring innovative thinking into product development that can accelerate the creation of new offerings in the hardware space," said Ajai Garg, CEO of MeitY Startup Hub.

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T-Hub partners IT Ministry to mentor hardware startups in India - Sentinelassam
NEW DELHI: Hyderabad-based global start-up catalyst T-Hub on Friday announced a partnership with the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) to lead Digital India's Scale Up programme for hardware and Internet of Things (IoT) startups across India.

BlueNalu Signs MOU with Pulmuone, Announces Partnership Bringing Cell-Based Seafood to South Korea - BlueNalu, Inc.

2020-07-14T11:01:00.003+05:30

#foodtech #cellularagriculture #cellular #startups #aquaculture

BlueNalu, a leading food technology company developing cell-based seafood products, announced today the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Pulmuone Co. Ltd., a leader in healthy lifestyle and environmentally-friendly food products headquartered in South Korea. Pulmuone also participated in BlueNalu’s A round of financing, which was announced earlier this year.

Global demand for seafood is at an all-time high and continues to increase, particularly in Asia, where the two companies believe cell-based seafood can supplement the current supply of wild-caught and farm-raised fish. BlueNalu’s cellular aquaculture technology will allow it to produce a wide array of seafood products from a variety of species, without genetic modification, and will be free of microplastics, toxins, mercury and other environmental contaminants. The global pandemic has brought awareness to the vulnerability of our food supply. Cell-based seafood is a solution to food security and addresses the important issues of traceability, transparency and safety.

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BlueNalu Signs MOU with Pulmuone, Announces Partnership Bringing Cell-Based Seafood to South Korea - BlueNalu, Inc.
BlueNalu, a leading food technology company developing cell-based seafood products, announced today the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Pulmuone Co. Ltd., a leader in healthy lifestyle and environmentally-friendly food products headquartered in South Korea. Pulmuone also particip

UK challenger Monument to tap Britain's mass affluent - FinTech Futures

2020-07-14T10:59:00.001+05:30

#fintech #neobanks #challengerbanks #digitalbanks #affluence #afluent #startups #startupstrategy

Monument Corporation, a new UK fintech challenger, is looking to tap Britain’s mass affluent population. Co-operative Bank’s former chief executive, @Niall Brooker, is chairing the venture. Mintoo Bhandari, a former managing director at Apollo Global Management – one of the world’s largest alternative investment manager firms, is leading the venture alongside Brooker.

The start-up reckons around 3.5 million consumers fall into this bracket, which it defines as people with a net worth between £250,000 and £5 million.

Through the last 18 months of the building process, Monument has interviewed roughly 1,800 mass affluent consumers. It says 93% of these respondents “expressed dissatisfaction” with their current banking provider. “Increasingly, private banking is focused on the ultra-high net worth and lags when it comes to embracing modern technology,” says Bhandari.

The start-up also says it is the first bank to offer an entirely digital lending journey for buy-to-let and property investment lending of up to £2 million. The bank will offer live chat, video and co-browsing features.

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UK challenger Monument to tap Britain's mass affluent - FinTech Futures
Monument, a new UK fintech challenger, is looking to tap Britain's 3.5 million mass affluent population with savings and lending products.

AmEx, Visa, Mastercard and Discover to launch Click to Pay globally - FinTech Futures

2020-07-14T10:57:00.001+05:30

#fintech #paymentsolutions #clicktopay

American Express, Visa, Mastercard and Discover claim to have signed up more than 10,000 merchants in the US since launching Click to Pay in 2019.

The group is pushing it out to 14 new countries, with more planned afterwards. The new markets include the UK, Hong Kong, Saudi Arabia, Brazil, and Australia.

Click to Pay promises a frictionless payment experience for customers and merchants.

From a customer perspective the solution is similar to those provided by providers like PayPal. A user logs into the payment account, linked to a retailer to process the transaction.

The solution doesn’t require the customer to have their card number handy, or to have it saved in a browser.

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AmEx, Visa, Mastercard and Discover to launch Click to Pay globally - FinTech Futures
American Express, Visa, Mastercard and Discover are rolling out the new Click to Pay standard across the globe after a bevy of signups in the US.

Startup Pathbooks Allows You to Access Hundreds of Interactive Books with Various Alternative Endings

2020-07-14T10:51:00.001+05:30

#startupideas #books

Surely you know the story of Cinderella, the story of a young woman whose stepmother has turned her into her servant and who is finally rescued by a handsome prince with whom she marries and lives happily ever after.

Can you imagine what would happen if the young woman decided not to get married and instead decided to start a business? This is just what you can do with Pathbooks - Live your own Story , a startup that allows you to access hundreds of interactive books with various alternative endings.

The platform emerged in 2017 from the hand of Jorge Caballero, an engineer and programmer from Matamoros, Tamaulipas, who decided to take away the dullness of reading. “I come from the world of video. I liked to make short films that I directed and wrote ”, she says. "I worked for several years at Televisa, but I always had an entrepreneurial soul and I was trying to do new things, innovating and learning from failures, but always with the desire to do something that could have an impact and help millions of people," he says.

I used google to translate from Spanish.

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Crea tu propia historia durante esta cuarentena con PathBooks
Seguramente conoces el cuento de La Cenicienta, la historia de una joven cuya madrastra la ha convertido en su sirvienta y que finalmente es rescatada por un apuesto príncipe con el que se casa y vive feliz para siempre. ¿Te imaginas que pasaría si la joven decidiera no casarse y en su lugar optara por emprender un negocio?

San Francisco-Based Startup Vivoo Wants to Make Urinalysis as Easy as a Pregnancy Test

2020-07-14T10:48:00.001+05:30

#wellness #remotediagnostics #remotehealthcare #remotepathology #startups

San Francisco-based startup Vivoo has developed an innovative wellness assistant right on your phone that can give you personalized nutrition advice based on a urinalysis strip as simple to use as a home pregnancy test.

Simply pee on the stick on several exposed strips that will then test for a number of wellness and healthcare factors. Depending on the contents of your urine, the color of the strips will change, which is where your phone comes in.

Using the Vivoo app on your phone, simply take a picture of the strip after a few minutes to give the results have had enough time to develop and based on the color of the test strips, the app will tell you whether you are drinking enough water, whether you are at risk for developing a urinary tract infection, as well as kidney and liver function among other factors.

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This Startup Wants to Make Urinalysis as Easy as a Pregnancy Test
Vivoo has created a new subscription-based urinalysis app that can determine everything from whether you're drinking enough water to risk factors for a urinary tract infection, all right from your phone (and no, you don't have to pee on your phone).

The Indian nutraceutical startup Power Gummies says a gummy bear a day can keep health issues at bay

2020-07-14T10:45:00.001+05:30

#neutraceuticals #gummybears #foodtech #nutrition #dietsupplements #nutricosmetics

The Indian dietary supplement market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 20 percent between 2015 and 2023, according to a study by ResearchandMarkets. The report also says minerals and vitamins comprise over 40 percent of the market, the herbal segment takes around 30 percent, proteins account for 25 percent, and others make up the remaining five percent.

According to a Mintel report, nutricosmetics could be the “heart of market growth” in India's vitamins, minerals, and supplements market. An October 2019 Euromonitor report said “gummies and jellies offer opportunities for expanding the consumer base and establishing a greater connection with consumers in India”.

Launched in Delhi, under-based Aesthetics Nutrition, the nutraceutical startup Power Gummies, founded by Divij Bajaj in 2018, uses best-in-class ingredients and a vegan base to create over-the-counter, fast-acting gummies, containing a range of vitamin and mineral supplements.

The products are plant-based, and do not contain gelatin or other animal-derived elements. The base is made up of Pectin, which is 100 percent vegetarian, and gelatin, gluten, and cruelty-free. The gummies have a shelf life of 18 months.

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This nutraceutical startup says a gummy bear a day can keep health issues at bay
Sweet, gelatinous, and rainbow-hued, gummy bears are one of the world's most loved candies. In 2018, Divij Bajaj decided to use these sweet treats to retail a range of vitamin and mineral supplements: Power Gummies. Launched in Delhi, under-based Aesthetics Nutrition, the nutraceutical startup uses best-in-class ingredients and a vegan base to create over-the-counter, fast-acting gummies.

Matrix Moments: Asish Mohapatra's journey from being an investor to building a fintech startup at scale

2020-07-14T10:39:00.002+05:30

#buildtolast #buildtosuit #startups #strategy #fintechstartups

In this episode of Matrix Moments, Asish Mohapatra talks with Vikram Vaidyanathan, Managing Director, Matrix Partners India, about his journey of building OfBusiness, and his transition from being an investor at Matrix Partners India to the founder of a fintech startup.

Key takeaways for building big #FinTech startups:-

1. Every commerce company, once it attempts to scale, essentially has to solve for financing. Even Amazon and other big players are realising the potential of installment economy.

2. To be able to make a financing transaction, you need to have different capabilities. And those should be around debt raising (because debt is cheaper than equity), underwriting, and collections.

3. People at the top have to have to speak the exact same language as the customers' requirements.

4. You have to force people to consciously develop a risk mindset, which not many of us do because fundamentally, we are empiricist in nature.

5. Being customer-centric is necessary but it is never sufficient.

6. You need to have technology in your businesses because without that you won't have access or low-cost access.

7. To scale a company, it is also important to have a strong team and a set of founders.

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[Matrix Moments] Asish Mohapatra's journey from being an investor to building a fintech startup at scale
In this episode of Matrix Moments, Asish Mohapatra talks with Vikram Vaidyanathan, Managing Director, Matrix Partners India, about his journey of building OfBusiness, and his transition from being an investor at Matrix Partners India to the founder of a fintech startup.

South Indian startup Soulpage wins government funding to develop alternative to Zoom

2020-07-14T10:37:00.001+05:30

#videoconferencing #vocalforlocal #vocalforlocalindia

Libero, a videoconferencing app developed by startup Soulpage under the stewardship of its Chief Technology Officer (CTO) Vamsi Kurama, has won government recognition as an alternative to the popular Zoom app.

The Union Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology had invited startups to find an Indian alternative to Zoom and after several rounds of elimination, Soulpage's Libero was picked as one of the top five from 2,000 applications.

Proud of having won government backing for Libero, Kurama says the app will be more user friendly and convenient. Compared to Zoom, Libero has additional features like ‘white board, meeting notes and noise cancellation, the developer said, adding that it was also more secure. What stands out is that Libero outperformed apps developed by big names such as HCL and Zoho.

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Southern startup Soulpage wins government funding to develop alternative to Zoom
Finalist in a competition run by the Union government, the developer receives Rs 15 lakh from the Ministry of Electronics and Communication. Compared to Zoom, Libero has additional features like 'white board, meeting notes and noise cancellation, the developer said, adding that it was also more secure.

Top 11 Women AI Leaders In India - 2020 - Analytics India Magazine

2020-07-14T10:34:00.001+05:30

#women #achievers #womenachievers #ai #artificialintelligence #India

With the second edition of The Rising 2020, Analytics India Magazine unveiled a list of 11 top women leaders in the AI industry for the year 2020.

The following women made it to the 2020 List:-

1. Amarjeet Kaur - Research scientist at Tech Mahindra

2. Apurva Madiraju - Vice President of Swiss Re Business Solutions, Bangalore

3. Bindu Narayan - AI Leader at EY GDS Data and Analytics Practice

4. Chitrita Nath - Digital & Analytics Leader (APAC Region) – Trading & Supply at Royal Dutch Shell

5. Dr Swati Jain - Vice President – Decision Analytics at EXL Analytics (Exl Service India)

6. Harita Gupta - Country Head – India & Global Head Enterprise Business Services at Sutherland

7. Heena Purohit - Senior Product Manager of IBM Watson

8. Jaya Vaidhyanathan - CEO, BCT Digital of Bahwan CyberTek Group

9. Lakshya Sivaramakrishnan - Program Management, Tech Evangelist at Google via Wipro

10. Mamta Aggarwal - Head of Retail Analytics at Accenture Solution

11. Priyanka Telang - WW Architect, Insights and Intelligent Expert Labs at IBM Software Labs

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Top 11 Women AI Leaders In India - 2020 - Analytics India Magazine
With the second edition of The Rising 2020, Analytics India Magazine unveiled a list of 11 top women leaders in the AI industry for the year 2020. Selected based on their demonstrated considerable expertise in the field of data science and AI leadership, in research, innovations, patents, it recognises the outstanding work of these leaders have accomplished in the last year and celebrates these industry's influential trailblazers.

How A Tech Entrepreneur Broke Records With A $189M Valuation Pre-Launch On The Road To $1B

2020-07-14T10:18:00.002+05:30

#fintech #banks #neobanks #challengerbanks #digitalbanks #startups #startupstrategy

Fintech is forecast to achieve a #CAGR of 25% through 2022, reaching a market value of $309B. Traditional banks’ legacy approach to IT holds them back from being more customer-centric. And in a recently published World Retail Banking Report, 2020 by Capgemini and Efma, 78% of financial services leaders said cybersecurity is the biggest obstacle to collaborating and becoming more customer-centric.

Fintech startups excel at #analytics, #AI and #machinelearning to see how they can become more empathetic and helpful to customers. Fintech startups are also succeeding today because their design provides customers the freedom to interact with them as they want and treat cybersecurity as a part of customer experience. There’s been a 667% increase in spear-fishing email attacks related to Covid-19 since February alone, further underscoring the need for designing in cybersecurity to the platform level.

Fintech startup leaders are delivering excellent user experiences with apps based on adaptive design today. They’re also able to scale how many credit cards can be on a single account and integrated into a single card using polymorphic technology that thwarts fraud attempts.

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How A Tech Entrepreneur Broke Records With A $189M Valuation Pre-Launch On The Road To $1B
Bottom Line: Traditional banks aren't innovating fast enough to improve credit card fraud, endpoint cybersecurity, AI-powered end-to-end identity verification and more intuitive user experiences creating new opportunities for startups. Fintech is forecast to achieve a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 25% through 2022, reaching a market value of $309B.

YourStory Exclusive: Whiteboard Capital commits up to Rs 100Cr more to invest in hardware startups to boost 'Made in India' drive

2020-07-14T10:16:00.001+05:30

#startups #funding #mfg #hardwaremfg

In an exclusive conversation with YourStory Media’s CEO and Founder Shradha Sharma, Whiteboard Capital’s Managing Partner Sandeep Tandon revealed plans to set aside up to Rs 100 crore more to invest in hardware startups manufacturing Made in India products.

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[YS Exclusive] Whiteboard Capital commits up to Rs 100Cr more to invest in hardware startups to boost 'Made in India' drive
After Prime Minister Narendra Modi's war cry for 'Vocal for Local,' many Indian startups and domestic businesses are seizing the opportunity to accelerate the manufacture of 'Made in India' products. Similarly, many Indian investors have been driving the push for more homegrown innovations and products, with the bulk of these investments focussed on startups delivering software solutions.

Pune-based Mylab launches 'Compact XL' to automate molecular diagnostic tests for COVID-19

2020-07-14T10:13:00.002+05:30

#medtech #diagnostics #startups #India #covid19 #covidtesting #rtpcr

Pune-based molecular diagnostics company, Mylab Discovery Solutions Pvt. Ltd. has launched 'Compact XL' - India's first machine to automate the manual processes of molecular diagnostic tests such as RT-PCR tests for Covid-19. According to an official press release, Compact XL is a compact bench-top machine that will automate lab processes from sample handling to preparing RT-PCR ready tubes. The machine can take input of various sample types such as plasma, tissue, sputum and swab.

Speaking about benefits of this 100 per cent indigenously developed machine, Hasmukh Rawal, Promoter and MD, Mylab Discovery Solutions said, "Compact XL will replace the need of 700 sq ft of cleanroom lab with a 4x3 benchtop machine and reduce the need of 3-4 expert technicians to just one, saving operational costs for labs."

The machine can run 32 samples at a time which can be further increased when machines are connected in a network. Compact XL will be available for pre-ordering starting 13 July 2020.

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Pune-based Mylab launches 'Compact XL' to automate molecular diagnostic tests for COVID-19
Pune (Maharashtra) [India], July 7 (ANI): Pune-based molecular diagnostics company, Mylab Discovery Solutions has launched 'Compact XL' - India's first machine to automate the manual processes of molecular diagnostic tests such as RT-PCR tests for Covid-19.According to an official press release, Compact XL is a compact bench-top machine that will automate lab processes from sample handling to preparing RT-PCR ready tubes.It is a cartridge-based machine and can test multiple samples at the same time.

Startup Mergers & Acquisitions: SaaS Unicorn Freshworks Acquires Pune Based Cloud Platform 'Flint'

2020-07-14T10:11:00.001+05:30

#startups #itsystems #enterprisetech #mergersandacquisitions #acquisitions

#SaaS #unicorn Freshworks has acquired Pune-based cloud platform Flint for an undisclosed amount.

Founded by Ankur Gakkhar and Abhishek Pande in 2013, Flint offers an enterprise-grade IT operations system and an intuitively designed dashboard.

Founded by Girish Mathrubootham and Shan Krishnasamy in 2010, Freshworks (previously called Freshdesk) has more than 150K clients across the world and is now looking for an IPO.

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SaaS Unicorn Freshworks Acquires Pune Based Cloud Platform 'Flint'
SaaS unicorn Freshworks has acquired Pune-based cloud platform Flint for an undisclosed amount. Freshworks said that this acquisition will strengthen its IT service management (ITSM) and IT operations management (ITOM) capacity. Founded by Ankur Gakkhar and Abhishek Pande in 2013, Flint offers an enterprise-grade IT operations system and an intuitively designed dashboard.

India: Asteria's A400 Unmanned Aerial System receives DGCA Certification

2020-07-14T10:07:00.001+05:30

#drones #civilaviation #dgca #vtvl #uas

Asteria Aerospace announced that it’s flagship multi-rotor product, A400 Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) has been granted provisional certification from India’s statutory body – the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). The certification of the A400 is a significant addition to Asteria’s suite of DGCA certified products, adding to the previous certification granted for micro class A200 UAS.

Classed as a mini-sized UAV, the A400 weighs in a little under 3.5kg and is capable of vertical takeoff and landing. The A400 comes with an HD video camera payload, a flight time of 40 minutes, and an operational range of 5km radius, specifications that are ideally suited for the more demanding needs of commercial and enterprise customers. All communication between the A400 and the Ground Control Station is encrypted with the industry-grade AES 128-bit protocol, providing safety and security for the A400 and the necessary flight telemetry data.

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Asteria's A400 Unmanned Aerial System receives DGCA Certification
Asteria Aerospace is pleased to announce that its flagship multi-rotor product, A400 Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) has been granted provisional certification from India's statutory body - the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). The certification of the A400 is a significant addition to Asteria's suite of DGCA certified products, adding to the previous certification granted for micro class A200 UAS.

Startup Funding Alert: Electric vehicle startup Rivian gets $2.5 billion in added funding

2020-07-11T11:41:00.002+05:30

#startups #fundingalert #startupfunding #ev #electricvehicles

Electric vehicle startup Rivian says it has raised another $2.5 billion in funding from accounts advised by investment firm T. Rowe Price.

The company has a contract with Amazon to build 100,000 electric delivery vans starting next year at its factory, a former Mitsubishi plant in Normal, Illinois. Rivian also is rolling out a pickup truck and an SUV for sale to consumers next year.

The company said that investors in this round include Soros Fund Management, Coatue, Fidelity Management and Research, and Baron Capital Group. Amazon and hedge fund BlackRock have invested previously and also are part of this round, Rivian said.

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Electric vehicle startup Rivian gets $2.5 billion in added funding
DETROIT - Electric vehicle startup Rivian says it has raised another $2.5 billion in funding from accounts advised by investment firm T. Rowe Price. The company has a contract with Amazon to build 100,000 electric delivery vans starting next year at its factory, a former Mitsubishi plant in Normal, Illinois.

Startup Funding Alert: Pune Based Tech Startup 'GigIndia' Raises Rs 7.3 Cr In Pre-Series A Funding Round

2020-07-11T11:39:00.002+05:30

#gigworkers #gigeconomy #fundingalert #startupfunding #startupindia

Pune-based tech startup GigIndia has raised Rs 7.3 crore in pre-Series A funding round led by Incubate Fund India with participation from Beyond Next Ventures.

Founded by Aditya Shirole and Sahil Sharma in 2017, GigIndia is a Pune-based tech startup that helps businesses to scale faster with on-demand curated workforce across India.

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Pune Based Tech Startup 'GigIndia' Raises Rs 7.3 Cr In Pre-Series A Funding Round
Pune-based tech startup GigIndia has raised Rs 7.3 crore in pre-Series A funding round led by Incubate Fund India with participation from Beyond Next Ventures. The funding round also saw the participation from existing angel investors S Ramadorai (former TCS CEO); Ravi Nigam (former MD & Co-founder of Tasty Bite Eatables); Kiran Deshpande (former CEO of Tech Mahindra); and Shashank Deshpande (Co-founder of Clarice Technologies).

YourStory Weekly Funding Roundup: Investments into startups touch $106 million for the week July 6-11, 2020

2020-07-11T11:37:00.002+05:30

#startupfunding #weeklyinsights #weeklyroundup

YourStory Media - Weekly funding roundup: Investments into startups touch $106 million during the week July 6-11, 2020

As per YourStory Media, the second week of July has been very eventful for the Indian startup ecosystem with total investments crossing the three figure mark of $100 million after a gap of nearly six weeks. This period also witnessed a leading edtech startup acquiring another upcoming company. The total funding during the second week stood at $106 million which was a 194 percent increase when compared to previous week when it was $36 million.

The following startups have raised the funds during the week July 6-11, 2020:-

1. Zolostays Zolo - US $56 mn

2. JetSynthesys Pvt. Ltd. - Rs 300 Cr

3. Specsmakers - Rs 23 Cr

4. Frontier Markets - $2.25 mn

5. PiggyRide - Rs 14 Cr

6. Blue Sky Analytics - $1.2 mn

7. GigIndia - Rs 7.3 Cr

8. Inspektlabs - $0.6 mn

9. Gobbly - $0.5 mn

10. Chai Waale - Rs 1.75 Cr

11. Brigade Real Estate Accelerator Program (REAP) - Undisclosed

12. NOTO - Undisclosed

13. Green Cure Wellness - Undisclosed

14. Earth EnergyEV - Undisclosed

15. Brainwired (Drakon Innovations Pvt ltd) - Undisclosed

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[Weekly funding roundup] Investments into startups touch $106 million
The second week of July has been very eventful for the Indian startup ecosystem with total investments crossing the three figure mark of $100 million after a gap of nearly six weeks. This period also witnessed a leading edtech startup acquiring another upcoming company.