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Google partners with ElectricPe to bring EV charging stations to Google Maps in India

EntrackrEntrackr · 1y ago
Google partners with ElectricPe to bring EV charging stations to Google Maps in India
Medial

Search giant Google has partnered with Indian startup ElectricPe toenhance the EV charging experience. This collaboration will allow Google Maps users across India to view the availability and status of charging points in real-time, enabling better journey planning and reducing range anxiety. This feature will be live on both Google Maps and Google Search and it will be expanded to other regions. EV charging aggregation platform ElectricPe has raised $8.29 million till to date from Blume Ventures and others. Co- founded in May 2021 by Avinash Sharma and Raghav Rohila, ElectricPe connects users to charging points across India. Using its app, users can scan the QR code and charge their vehicles, and complete the payment as well. The company had partnered with Hero Electric to set up charging points in apartments, commercial complexes and other establishments across India. The Bengaluru-based company claims that it operates over 25,000 public chargers in Bengaluru, making it the largest network in the city. According to market research, India is projected to have over 5 million public charging stations by 2030. Recently,Google announced that it slashed the pricing of Google Maps platform for developers in India by as much as 70% from August 1. The steep slash in pricing follows Aggarwal’s appeal to Indian startups to use local alternatives such as Ola Maps.

Funding and acquisitions in Indian startup this week [03-08 Jun]

EntrackrEntrackr · 1y ago
Funding and acquisitions in Indian startup this week [03-08 Jun]
Medial

As many as 17 Indian startups raised around $402.34 million in funding this week. These deals count 4 growth-stage deals and 11 early-stage deals. Moreover, two early-stage startups kept their transaction details undisclosed. In the previous week, about 39 early and growth-stage startups cumulatively raised close to $387.23 million capital. [Growth-stage deals] Among the growth-stage deals, 4 startups raised $317 million in funding this week. Eyewear retailer Lenskart led the list with its $200 million secondary funding followed by a digital lending startup Fibe with $90 million, electric two-wheeler manufacturer Ather Energy with $15 million, and Small and medium enterprises-focused digital lending platform LendingKart with its $12 million debt funding. [Early-stage deals] Subsequently, 11 early-stage startups secured funding worth $85.34 million during the week. Spun off from Polygon, blockchain startup Avail spearheaded the list followed by online astrology platform AstroTalk, AI-based low-code test automation platform Testsigma, fintech platform iPiD, and robotics startup Botsync. The list of early-stage startups also includes two startups that kept the funding amount undisclosed: IoT-driven green robotics solution provider Aegeus Tech and D2C nutrition brand Greenday (Better Nutrition). For more information, visit TheKredible. [City and segment-wise deals] In terms of the city-wise number of funding deals, Bengaluru-based startups led with 7 deals followed by Delhi-NCR, Lucknow, Pune, Ahmedabad, and Chennai. Segment-wise, e-commerce and fintech startups grabbed the top spot with three deals each. Robotics, SaaS, Blockchain, ClimateTech, and EV startups followed this list among others. [Series-wise deals] During the week, Series A funding deals led the list with 5 deals followed by 4 Seed and 3 pre-Series A deals. Further, the list includes Debt, Secondary, Series E, and Series F funding deals. [Week-on-week funding trend] On a weekly basis, startup funding barely increased 3.9% to $402.34 million as compared to around $387.23 million raised during the previous week. The average funding in the last eight weeks stands at around $326 million with 28 deals per week. [Key hirings] Among key hirings, Hardeep Singh has been appointed as CFO by Stride Ventures, Good Glamm Group appointed Lauren Bloomer as International OPS, while Abhaya Hota has been appointed as the Independent Director by Cashfree Payments. [Layoffs] Simpl, a Bengaluru-based fintech startup, has undergone its second round of layoffs in less than a month, cutting around 30 employees. This move follows a previous layoff of around 100 employees. Ashish Kulshrestha, head of communications at Simpl, explained that these layoffs are part of the company’s efforts to achieve profitability by mid-2025 and to enhance operational efficiency. The affected employees will receive a severance package including a pro-rated fixed salary up to the effective date and a two-month notice period salary as per the employment agreement. [M&A] Last week, Entrackr reported that Times Internet-owned MX Player is nearing an acquisition by Amazon. Amazon has now confirmed the acquisition of certain assets from MX Player, although the transaction isn’t yet complete. An Amazon spokesperson mentioned their continuous efforts to enhance customer experiences with local content available on Prime Video and miniTV in India. Additionally, Absolute Sports, the parent company of Sportskeeda.com and ProFootballNetwork.com and a subsidiary of Nazara Technologies is set to acquire all assets of SoapCentral.com, a leading entertainment content source in the US. The all-cash deal is valued at $1.4 million (approximately Rs 11.6 crore) and is expected to close within the next 30 days. [ESOP buyback] Leverage.biz, the company behind the study abroad platform Leverage Edu, Fly.Finance, and Fly Homes, has completed its second ESOP buyback exercise. This initiative benefited over 50 employees across various functions, although the exact amount of the stock buyback was not disclosed. Leverage Edu previously concluded its first ESOP buyback in June 2022. [Potential deals] Scimplify, a platform for sourcing and manufacturing specialty chemicals, is raising a new $5 million round led by Omnivore with participation from existing investors, just six months after its previous round. Meragi, an online platform for wedding-related services and products, is set to raise $8 million in a new round led by Accel, with existing investors Surge and Venture Highway also participating. The deal is in the final stages. Statiq, an electric vehicle charging network operator, is in discussions to raise $50 million in its Series B round, with existing investors Shell Ventures and Y Combinator, along with new investors. InsuranceDekho, the insurance arm of CarDekho, is in the final stages of acquiring a majority stake in wealth tech startup BankSathi through a share swap deal, allowing BankSathi shareholders to receive a stake in InsuranceDekho. Visit TheKredible to see series-wise deals along with amount breakup, complete details of fund launches, and more insights. [Financial results this week] After 4X growth in FY23, Ather Energy’s revenue declines in FY24 After Rs 215 Cr profit in FY22, Molbio reports Rs 3 Cr loss in FY23 [News flash this week] UPI in May: PhonePe maintains domination, Paytm sees marginal growth Amazon says it has purchased some assets of MX Player, not entire company No hurry to sell, indefinite horizon on Zomato: Sanjeev Bikhchandani Trading app Investmint halts services; explores M&A deal Baron Capital marks up Swiggy’s valuation to $15.1 Bn [Conclusion] The weekly funding increased 3.9% to $402 million, driven mainly by Lenskart’s $200 million secondary funding. Additionally, the week saw a layoff as fintech startup Simpl has undergone its second round of layoffs in less than a month, cutting around 30 employees. PhonePe maintained its lead in the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) ecosystem with a market share exceeding 48% in May 2024, processing 6.8 billion of the 14 billion UPI transactions recorded by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI). Google Pay and Paytm processed 5.2 billion and 1.14 billion transactions, respectively. Info Edge, renowned for its recruitment portal Naukri, has seen significant success with its investments in Zomato and Policybazaar, with Zomato’s market cap increasing 2.3 times since its IPO. Under the leadership of founder and chairman Sanjeev Bikhchandani, the company remains patient with its profitable investments while nurturing its brands. Read here for more. Investmint, a signal-based trading app, has ceased operations due to challenges in establishing a reliable business model despite having decent traction and funds. The company is now exploring acquisition opportunities with wealth management firms. Baron Capital has increased Swiggy’s valuation to $15.1 billion, a 25% rise from the previous $12.1 billion valuation in December 2023. Following Baron’s lead, Invesco also raised Swiggy’s valuation to $12.7 billion in April.

How Fampay's Rs 200 Cr bet on fintech for teenagers fell flat

EntrackrEntrackr · 1y ago
How Fampay's Rs 200 Cr bet on fintech for teenagers fell flat
Medial

Narratives are considered as important as the business plan for startups. And fintech startup Fampay sold its narrative very well. During the funding boom of 2021 it raised $38 million in what’s been one of the largest series A funding rounds. The firm’s pitch-to target the teens below 18 years of age found ready takers among venture funds, including Elevation Capital, Peak XV (formerly Sequoia Capital), General Catalyst. How things will pan out for a startup that’s high on narrative but low on core business fundamentals is anyone’s guess. An abrupt pivot From a peak of 10 million users in 2022, Fampay’s troubles stem from a single event – when IDFC Bank pulled the rug out from under it in February 2023 as its payments partner. This forced account holders to exhaust their balance within a short deadline. It was all downhill from there, as not only did Fampay lose its not-so-loyal users acquired at a high cost, but also struggled to recover from the blow. This is not the first time and won’t be the last time teenagers surprise those who thought they have figured them out. Fampay, however, is still struggling to come to terms with the losses it suffered. Two years after the mammoth fundraise, Fampay pivoted to become a UPI-focused app (TPAP like PhonePe and Paytm) in March 2023. The pivot was much needed for the survival of the firm which burnt over Rs 200 crore on the abandoned biz. The Bengaluru-based firm lost Rs 120 crore alone in FY23 with a single digit revenue figure. Numbers unmask the dud Fampay finally published its annual financial statement for FY23 with the RoC after a year-long delay. The five-year-old fintech firm reported Rs 7.7 crore in revenue. Income from commissions and partnerships accounted for 50% of the total operating revenue, which stood at Rs 3.8 crore in FY23. Meanwhile, payment facilitation brought in Rs 1.3 crore, whereas subscription fees added another Rs 2.8 crore to the company’s coffers. The Peak XV-backed firm’s employee benefits surged 2.95X to Rs 65 crore in FY23. This cost is more or less going to be much smaller in the following fiscal as the firm laid off some of its staff at all levels in April. Moving on, Fampay’s marketing spends jumped 2.7X to Rs 41 crore in FY23. The burn on legal, subscription, technology, traveling, and other overheads took the company’s overall cost to Rs 137 crore in the fiscal year ending March 2023 from Rs 51 crore in FY22. Importantly, the company extended an unsecured loan of Rs 55 crore to Pehe Limited to acquire Tri O Tech Solution Private Limited ( a wholly owned subsidiary of Pehe) with a PPI license, at a 6% interest rate for one year. However, after a year of non-payment, the timeline was extended, with the interest rate increased to 7.6%. With a marginal revenue and a baggage of mounting expenditures, Fampay’s losses surged 2.8X to Rs 120 crore in FY23 from Rs 43 crore in FY22. Its ROCE and EBITDA margin worsened to -67.4% and -700%, respectively. On a unit level, it spent Rs 17.79 to earn a rupee in FY23. Fampay has raised $48 million to date including its $38 million led by Elevation Capital in 2021. According to the data intelligence platform TheKredible, Peak XV, Elevation Capital, and Venture Highway are the notable investors in the company. Post pivot, Fampay entered the top 10 list of UPI-based payments apps in November last year. As per data published by NPCI, Fampay registered more than 50 million transactions through UPI in July 2024. It surpassed other apps such as BHIM, WhatsApp, MobiKwik and Flipkart UPI. Do or die, or just sell? A selloff, rather than survival, seems to be the plausible route Fampay is headed for, assuming that suitors are available for it. Having burnt so much on its original premise, even as the firm seems to have done a decent job of cracking the UPI payments code, it might be too little, too late. One would have to assume that the final throw of the dice for this firm is to do well enough on the UPI pivot, and show enough momentum for a suitor to consider it a worthwhile acquisition. Like many firms in the space, Fampay would have had a much better chance if the government/RBI had finally relented on allowing UPI providers some leeway on charging fees for their services, but until that division hangs in the air, the company might just hang up its boots in the business.

Funding and acquisitions in Indian startup this week [25 - 30 Nov]

EntrackrEntrackr · 1y ago
Funding and acquisitions in Indian startup this week [25 - 30 Nov]
Medial

During the week, 18 Indian startups raised around $54.43 million in funding. These deals include 2 growth-stage deals and 13 early-stage deals while 3 startups kept their transaction details undisclosed. Last week, 23 early and growth-stage startups cumulatively raised around $596 million in funding. Among the growth-stage deals, 2 startups raised $13 million in funding this week. Direct-to-customer (D2C) e-commerce solutions provider ShopDeck is on top with $8 million in funding. MSME-focused digital lender NeoGrowth raised $5 million. Further, 13 early-stage startups secured funding worth $41.43 million during the week. Global manufacturer of plastic promotional toys SM Toys (Candytoy Corporate) led the list followed by commercial EV leasing and asset management ALT Mobility, cross-border specialty chemical distribution platform Elchemy, D2C platform for baby and mothercare products All Things Baby, and smart kitchen appliance brand Beyond Appliances. Meanwhile, DevX, BitSave, and ElecTrade also raked in funding but did not disclose the transaction details. For more information, visit TheKredible. In terms of the city-wise number of funding deals, Delhi-NCR-based startups led with 5 deals followed by Mumbai, Bengaluru, Ahmedabad, Indore, Kochi, Hyderabad, and Surat. Segment-wise, E-commerce startups are on the top spot with 6 deals. Manufacturing, EV, Chemicals, and Fintech startups followed the list among others. During the week, Series A and pre-Series A funding deals are at the top with 5 deals each followed by Seed, pre-seed, Series B, and Debt deals. On a weekly basis, startup funding dwindled 90.9% to $54.43 million as compared to around $596 million raised during the previous week. The average funding in the last eight weeks stands at around $263 million with 24 deals per week. As many as two startup-focused funds launched this week namely Stellaris Venture Partners and Kenro Capital. The startup ecosystem witnessed 2 notable hires this week. Battery Smart onboarded Amit Bhardwaj as CFO and Allianz Partners welcomed Michael Buttstedt as finance chief and board member. Additionally, Sriram Krishnan resigned from Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), Peak XV’s partner Anandamoy Roychowdhary left the firm, and Unacademy’s SVP of Design Hardik Pandya exited. E-commerce firm Nykaa announced acquired majority stakes in Earth Rhythm, Nodwin Gaming purchased Trinity Gaming, and ISMG took a majority stake in Nullcon. StockGro, a platform for learning about trading and investments, announced that it has conducted two Employee Stock Option Plan (ESOP) buyouts between 2023 and 2024. StockGro offered these buyouts purely to provide employees with the chance to cash in on their vested shares. Visit TheKredible to see series-wise deals along with amount breakup, complete details of fund launches, and more insights. Uber rolls out 'Uber One' loyalty programme in India. Meesho unveils Gen AI-powered multilingual voice bot. Miko set to raise Rs 28 Cr in Series C round. OneCard to secure $28.5 Mn in new funding round. Innov8 eyes fresh funds worth Rs 100 Cr. Sugar Cosmetics to raise funding from Anicut, Malabar. Univest plans to raise $16 Mn funding. Incupaze seeks $25 Md funding. Bloom Hotels posts Rs 250 Cr revenue in FY24; profit spikes 2.3X. CitiusTech’s profit balloons 6X to Rs 350 Cr in FY24. DailyObjects’ revenue spikes 34% to Rs 84 Cr in FY24. Pratilipi approaches Rs 60 Cr revenue mark in FY24, cuts losses by 62%. Cars24 sells 2 lakh cars in FY24, revenue nears Rs 7,000 Cr. ApnaKlub reports Rs 537 Cr gross revenue in FY24 with sound economics. Beardo crosses Rs 170 Cr revenue in FY24; regains profitability. Lendingkart posts Rs 1,090 Cr revenue in FY24, profit slips. With 500% growth, Pocket FM joins Rs 1,000 Cr revenue club in FY24. ShareChat’s revenue grows 33% in FY24 to Rs 718 Cr. EV firm Bounce on track to report over Rs 150 Cr revenue by FY25. Flipkart-owned Cleartrip spent Rs 988 Cr to earn Rs 97 Cr in FY24. Info Edge-backed Gramophone GMV shrinks 70% in FY24. HealthKart reports Rs 1,021 Cr revenue and Rs 37 Cr PAT in FY24. Zomato secures Rs 8,500 Cr via QIP. CCI probes Google after Winzo alleges anti-competitive practices. Awfis reports insider trading violation by a senior executive. Nazara Technologies raises over $100 Mn via preferential issue. CCI nods to Google's investment in Flipkart and Temasek's in Rebel Foods. IIMA Ventures and Google partner to boost 22 AI startups. Amazon India to debut in quick commerce with 'Tez' launch. Tata Neu expands into quick commerce with Neu Flash. Flipkart penalized for unfair trade practice over defective product. Zomato CEO Deepinder Goyal waives salary until FY26. Ola Electric launches affordable e-scooters for gig workers. Angel One receives SEBI approval to enter the mutual fund business. Honda enters the EV market with Activa E and QC1 e-scooters. IT department issues notices to Paisabazaar over vendor payments. Zomato’s hyperpure introduces a 4-hour express delivery service. On a weekly basis, startup funding dwindled 90.91% to $54.19 million as compared to around $596 million raised during the previous week. The week saw two startup-focused fund launches namely Stellaris Venture Partners and Kenro Capital. Amazon India is set to enter the quick commerce segment with a new delivery service, code-named ‘Tez,’ which is expected to launch by late December or early next year. Tata Group's e-commerce platform, Neu, has also introduced a quick commerce service, Neu Flash, offering 15-minute deliveries in over 20 cities across India. The District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (Mumbai Suburban) found Flipkart guilty of unfair trade practices over a defective product. The Commission directed Flipkart and the seller to refund the product’s cost with interest and pay INR 10,000 as compensation to the customer. It also criticized Flipkart’s ‘no return policy’ for the product, deeming it an unfair trade practice. Ola Electric has launched two electric scooter models, S1 Z and Gig, aimed at gig economy workers and budget-conscious consumers. Priced at INR 39,999, the Ola Gig directly competes with players like Yulu, catering to short-distance commutes and delivery services, while the Gig+ variant is priced at Rs 49,999. The S1 Z starts at Rs 59,999, with the premium S1 Z+ priced at Rs 64,999, offering a range of affordable options for diverse user needs. Paisabazaar, owned by PB Fintech, has received notices from the Income Tax Department regarding payments made to certain vendors and their associated entities. Issued under the Prohibition of Benami Property Transactions Act, 1988, and Section 142(1) of the Income Tax Act, 1961, the notices seek documents and explanations about these transactions. The company, in its regulatory filing, stated that it is complying with prescribed timelines and will take all necessary steps to present and defend its case before the authorities.

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