SMBs Banking On Digital Transformation To Rebound From COVID Impact: HP Study
Published on 12th Sept, 2020 | 1 min read
NEW DELHI: Small and Medium Business in India are looking to bounce back after facing stiff challenges due to the ongoing pandemic. The HP Asia SMB Report 2020 – a study conducted among SMBs in the region has revealed that over 73% of SMBs in India are confident that they will survive and bounce back post COVID-19. SMBs in India recognize the importance of going digital to revive their businesses. 75% of the surveyed businesses believe that digital adoption is essential to their success. Indian SMBs have also recognized 4 key aspects that will help them best to bounce back. “SMBs are critical to our economy as they contribute nearly a third of our GDP and generate employment for millions. The ongoing pandemic has impacted them as much as any other segment. It is critical to discover their challenges and address their pain points, which was ther reason for this study. The results of this study will enable HP in helping SMEs adapt to the new work environments, providing them the technology for innovation and drive growth for themselves,” said Ketan Patel, Managing Director, HP India Market, in a statement. The research shows that growth correlates with how a company values digital adoption for its success.
Asian Influencer Marketing Platform CastingAsia Launches In India
Published on 12th Sept, 2020 | 1 min read
MUMBAI: AnyMind Group, a technology company in the marketing, entertainment, HR and direct-to-consumer industries, is set to launch CastingAsia, its influencer marketing platform, in India through Indian subsidiary, POKKT. CastingAsia, a full-stack influencer management platform, claims to be one of the largest influencers and creators’ networks in Asia with over 170,000 influencers. The influencer marketing platform will be rolled out in India by POKKT, the in-app mobile gaming ads platform, which was acquired by AnyMind Group in March this year. “This is a huge initiative for us and we are immensely committed to this project in terms of investments and resources in the Indian market. With multiple marketing firms entering the lucrative segment of influencer marketing, we aim to introduce a systematic and measurable system, in the otherwise relatively fragmented market,” said Rohit Sharma, COO, Anymind Group and co-founder, POKKT. CastingAsia is an end-to-end solution that includes influencer discovery and analysis, campaign and content management, and real-time reporting and attribution. “India represents a unique opportunity – not just for businesses in India to scale domestically or overseas, but also businesses outside of India that are looking to reach Indian audiences. We are looking to bring influencer marketing up another level in India, and further develop the influencer marketing ecosystem,” said Kosuke Sogo, CEO and co-founder, AnyMind Group.
Fintech Startup Market Pulse Raises $750,000 In Pre-Series A Funding
Published on 12th Sept, 2020 | 1 min read
NEW DELHI: Market analysis platform Market Pulse has raised $750,000 in pre-Series A funding, led by HNI investors Ameet Desai, Aditya Goel, Rashmi Kwatra, and Umasankar Nistala, according to a release. Market Pulse will use the capital to invest in technology to enhance its core trading platform, kick start branding and marketing initiatives and expand its team from 30 to 100 people. Market Pulse has registered 2 million downloads and has a rating of 4.6 on the Google Play Store. Market Pulse aims to level the playing field for traders and investors, providing everyone with access to real-time data and insights. Aditya Goel, director, Securcap, UK, said, “Building a trading platform is a complex business and Market Pulse, in just a few years, has demonstrated its success and sustainability. The investment market is set to grow and Market Pulse is at the helm to nurture both the seasoned investor and those entering the field for the first time, giving them the right tools, knowledge, skills and support to make smarter decisions and better profits. We are happy to partner with Market Pulse and wish them the best as they reach newer heights”. Market Pulse was founded in 2015 by Amit Dhakad and Hiral Jain. The core team at Market Pulse comprises senior technology leaders with expertise in building user-centric products.
Ola Technologies To Lease Over 4.25 Lakh Sqft Office Space In Bengaluru
Published on 12th Sept, 2020 | 1 min read
BENGALURU: Ride-hailing company Ola is consolidating its multiple offices in Bengaluru in a 425,000-sq ft office space in the city’s Koramangala area, according to people aware of the deal. The tenure of the deal will be around 15 years, with a rental escalation of 15% every three years, the person said, adding, “Ola currently operates out of 6-7 offices spread around 250,000 sq ft in Bengaluru and will now move into one property, as it looks to save cost.” The facility will be used for Ola’s existing operations, including financial service, and also to expand its electric mobility business. A spokesperson for Ola confirmed the deal but did not share any details. This is one of the largest real estate office deals post the lifting of lockdown. Ola, India’s largest mobility platform, recently restructured its business and also reduced staff strength. The company has operations in more than 250 cities across India, Australia, New Zealand, and the UK. India’s office space has seen large transactions in the last six months, totalling over 11 million sq ft, and there is additional request for proposals for another 8 million sq ft of office space.
We Will Be In 30,000 Societies By This Fiscal-End: MyGate
Published on 9th Sept, 2020 | 1 min read
BENGALURU : Online learning platform Byju’s has raised $500 million in a fresh round of funding led by US-based private equity investor Silver Lake, along with participation from existing investors including Tiger Global, General Atlantic, and Owl Ventures. Silver Lake’s investment into edtech platform Byju’s comes shortly after the PE investor picked up a 0.93% stake in telecom major Reliance Jio for ₹4,546. The new round values Byju’s at $10.8 billion, up from its last valuation at $10.5 billion from its earlier Series F round that was closed in August, said a person aware of the deal asking not to be named. On 27th August 2020, the edtech unicorn also raised $122 million funding from DST Global, the investment fund headed by tech billionaire Yuri Milner. “We are delighted to lead this investment and partner with Byju and his impressive team of education technology pioneers in their mission to help children in India and around the world achieve their true potential,” addedGreg Mondre, Co-CEO of Silver Lake. Recently, Unacademy raised $150 million in funding from Japan’s Softbank, valuing the startup at over 1.4 billion.Edtech startup Toppr raised $50 million during the pandemic period, while Vedantu raised $100 million led by New York-based hedge fund Coatue, valuing it at $600 million.
Piaggio Partners With Financing Startup For Vehicle Leasing Plans
Published on 9th Sept, 2020 | 1 min read
MUMBAI: Italian two-wheeler maker Piaggio has partnered with automotive financing startup OTO Capital to offer vehicle leasing plans to the customers of Vespa and Aprilia range of scooters. The facility, currently available for customers in Pune and Bangalore, allows leasing of Vespa or Aprilia scooters for low down payment and with 30 per cent discount on the EMI besides other benefits, Piaggio India said in a release. The company said that the merit of this new ownership model lies in the fact that one would have to pay only for the number of years they want to keep the vehicle and then return it anytime, thereby paying less and gaining more on their Vespa and Aprilia models. Further, through the leasing option, one can even upgrade to a more premium model of Vespa and Aprilia in the same EMI budget. “We see flexible ownership to be a desirable new trend amongst the youth of India and we believe Vespa and Aprilia would lead it to extend the premium experience to the aspirants,” said Diege Graffi, Chairman and Managing Director, Piaggio India.
Happiest Minds: An IPO That Flew Under The Radar In Startup Land
Published on 10th Sept, 2020 | 1 min read
Happiest Minds, a company founded in 2011, has just listed on the bourses. About 4.2 million shares in the company were earmarked for retail investors but the company is seeing bids for more than 164 million shares. He’s taken companies from zero to IPO twice and zero to $100 million thrice. He’d quit as the Chief Executive Officer of Mindtree – a company he co-founded and took public – in a huff. He wanted Happiest Minds to become the fastest company to reach $100 million in revenue. At his home in Koramangala, where conducted most of his meetings then, he’d dribble out bits of information about the new company that he was building. After he’d left Mindtree, a lot of writing in the press was about how the relationship between him and the rest of the founders at the company had soured. With the public listing of Happiest Minds, Ashok Soota has cemented his legacy as one of the finest founders India has ever had.
Groww Raises $30 Million In Series C Funding From YC Continuity, Sequoia, Ribbit Capital
Published on 10th Sept, 2020 | 1 min read
Bengaluru-based wealth management platform, Groww on Thursday said that it has raised $30 million in Series C funding, led by Y Combinator’s growth stage fund, YC Continuity. Groww is YC Continuity’s first investment in India. The fundraise comes exactly a year after Groww raised $21.4 million in Series B financing from Ribbit Capital, Sequoia India as well as Y Combinator. “We believe Groww is building the largest retail brokerage in India. At YC, we have known the founders since the company was just an idea and they are some of the best product people you will meet anywhere in the world. We are grateful to be partners with Groww as they build one of the largest retail financial platforms in the world,” said Anu Hariharan, partner at YC Continuity. “India is seeing increased participation of retail investors in financial markets – with 2 million new stock market investors added in the last quarter alone. In the last two years, Groww has expanded their product offering and built a strong team in its journey to make investing simple for Indians”, said Ashish Agrawal, Principal, Sequoia Capital India LLP. At present, 60% of Groww users hail from Tier 2,3 cities, with 60% of its user base being first time investors.
Lightspeed Leads Hasura's $25 Million Round
Published on 10th Sept, 2020 | 1 min read
BENGALURU: Developer tooling startup Hasura has raised $25 million in Series-B funding, led by Lightspeed Venture Partners, along with participation from existing investors Vertex Ventures US, Nexus Venture Partners, Strive VC and SAP.iO Fund. Microsoft chairman John Thompson also participated in the new round as an angel investor. The investment comes roughly six months after the company raised $9.9 million in Series-A funding. The San Francisco and Bengaluru-based company has raised $36.5 million so far. Hasura said it will utilise funds to accelerate hiring and will invest in open source and commercial product development. The company has added GraphQL support for MySQL and early access support for SQL Server, extending support for all three major database technologies. “We want our users to be able to access that data instantly with Hasura’s secure, scalable data access infrastructure, so adding support for MySQL and SQL Server was our obvious next step. It opens up huge potential for all the developers who need to access the vast amounts of data that lives in MySQL and SQL Server today,” said Tanmai Gopal, cofounder of Hasura.