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Top News of the Week: 1. Funding: - On a weekly basis, startup funding dropped 25% to $239.7 million as compared to around $320 million raised during the previous week. - Among the growth-stage deals, 7 startups raised $207.2 million in funding this week. Microfinance firm Annapurna Finance led the list with $72 million followed by battery tech startup Battery Smart which scooped $45 million capital. - Propelld which provides education loans to borrowers via online channels, ambulance service provider Red.Health (formerly StanPlus), and manufactures drones for applications in agriculture, defence, and enterprise sectors Dhaksha are next on the list with $25 million, $20 million, and $18 million, respectively. - 15 early-stage startups scooped funding worth $32.5 million during the week. Domestic aggregator providing end-to-end cold-chain solutions Celcius Logistics spearheaded the list followed by mobility and energy solutions startup Matel, authentication and access management platform OTPless, marketing SaaS platform Highperformr.ai, and provider of AI-driven solutions for advanced analytics startup Stupa Sports. - DrinkPrime, Raho Hospitality, InstaAstro, BimaPay, Infurnia, The Betel Leaf, and BEYOBO also raised funding during the period. The list of early-stage startups also includes two startups that kept the funding amount undisclosed: Duro Green and Trezi. 2. Acquisitions & Mergers: - Niyogin Fintech Ltd. has acquired Superscan, an AI-powered document imaging, automation, and fraud detection platform, from Orbo.in. Superscan’s core intellectual properties include intelligent document processing, automation agents, and fraud detection tools. 3. Top Entry & Exits: - Among key hirings, ANI Technologies, the parent company of Ola, has appointed Ankush Aggarwal as the CEO of Ola Financial Services, while Meesho has added Surojit Chatterjee to its board as an independent director. - Kartik Gupta, CFO of Ola, has resigned after seven months, amid the company’s restructuring ahead of its IPO. Additionally, Sandeep Kumar Barasia, executive director and chief business officer of Delhivery, has also tendered his resignation. - OpenAI Dissolves High-Profile Safety Team After Chief Scientist Ilya Sutskever’s Exit 4. ESOP & Fund Launches: - B2B edtech company Classplus has announced stock appreciation rights (SARs) for its customers, vendors, and partners. Dubbed as ‘Gratitude SARs,’ the initiative aims to reward and show appreciation to content creators and educators who have helped shape Classplus. - Zomato announced fresh employee stock option (ESOP) options for its employees under the new plan: ESOP 2024. As per estimates, the newly added ESOP options are worth around Rs 3,780 crore (approximately $455 million). - Early-stage accelerator fund 9Unicorns has rebranded to 100Unicorns and announced the launch of its second fund. Part of the Venture Catalysts Group, 100Unicorns has introduced the 100Unicorns Fund II, targeting a size of $200 million with an additional green-shoe option of $100 million. Stay Updated. Stay Informed. Stay Ahead. Share the Medial App with your network, colleagues, and friends. Let's brainstorm, discuss together and help each other achieve our goals. And don't forget to rate us on the iOS App Store and Google Play Store to help us reach even more amazing people like you.