Missed the happening of startup world? Here is the recap for you. Mentioned below are the 10 news which made buzz during in the week gone by.
West Indies cricketer, Chris Gayle has invested an undisclosed amount in IONA Entertainment, a Bengaluru-based gaming startup. founded in 2016 by TS Subramanian and Preetha, IONA is a one-stop entertainment to Indian sports fans, which includes state-of-the-art virtual gaming. The startup had earlier raised an initial round of funding from Singapore-based Vestasia. For Gayle, India is his top priority in terms of investment destinations and wanted to invest as many businesses as possible.
The tech giant. Google has recently announced the expansion of its startup accelerator project Launchpad, bringing three other programmes under its umbrella — Start, Build and Scale. Under this initiative, Google India recently hosted a Developers’ Launchpad Build event in Bengaluru where they shortlisted and provided guidance to 11 women-led startups in Bengaluru. According to the Google Launchpad’s Event website, with this edition of Launchpad, they want to support women entrepreneurs from startups across various stages.
Delhi-based startup Help Me Build Technologies Pvt Ltd. has developed an innovative touch screen smart mirror called ‘Nuovo, that can do anything and everything with Wi-Fi connectivity and android phone. Nuovo ‘Smart Mirror’ can keep you updated with notifications from social sites like Facebook and Twitter. You can get the latest news from the leading publications, can also access YouTube videos, and even book cab through Uber. With the help of this, the user can control which app to be displayed on the mirror for easy access.
The digital payment startup PayTM has acquired a majority stake in Insider.in, a ticketing platform. According to the sources, this deal is done for about 35 crores. Shreyas Srinivasan, Insider.in founder will continue running the business, while Only Much Louder (OML) founders and brothers Vijay and Ajay Nair will remain stakeholders and members of the advisory board. This acquisition will enable hundreds of millions of PayTM customers to discover a wide selection of events and book instantly.
Earlier owned by OML, Insider.in is one of the leading ticketing platforms in India for events and properties including for events and properties, including NH7 Weekender, EDC and The Grub Fest.
According to a report by The Hindu, till March 2017, only around 10 Indian startups have been able to pass the eligibility for tax benefits. This takes the total number of startups actually benefitting from the programme to 39 since its launch 18 months ago in January 2016. In recently, concluded the budget session, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had announced alteration in the government’s policy on tax concessions for startups and said that only the firms incorporated on or after April 1, 2016, could now avail a three-year tax holiday in the first seven years of their existence.
According to experts, only a few startups have been able to pass the tax benefit eligibility criteria because not many corporate entities have been incorporated on or after that stringing cut-off date that the government has decided upon.
Google’s growing interest in Indian startup ecosystem can be witnessed by this. Recently, tech giant acquired Halli Labs, an Indian startup working on solutions based on artificial intelligence and machine learning. Based out of Bengaluru, Startup has been founded just four-months back by former Stayzilla employees. Over the past one year, Google has announced several services to better serve the untapped Indian market. The startup announced the news by a post on Medium, and Caesar Sengupta, a product management VP at Google, also confirmed the acquisition with a Tweet.
This news comes as a major concern for Indian Startup ecosystem. According to the reports, the base of the startup funding pyramid is shrinking and this could severely impact the growth of startup ecosystem in India. According to the figures stated by Tracxn the number of angel and seed investments made in the first half of 2017 (January to June) is down to 260, indicating a drastic drop from 419 in the first half of 2016. Whereas, Seed funding has seen a steep decline from 278 to 152. The report further states, the total funding in 2017 at $5.1 billion is more than double that in 2016, at $2 billion and ecosystem get this number because of the two big funding rounds of $1.4 billion each in Flipkart and Paytm.
Microsoft recently unveiled three new tools that would help small businesses and startups to grow at a rapid pace. The three new tools: Microsoft Connections, Microsoft Listings and Microsoft Invoicing will be a great addition to the company’s existing rack of tools like the Outlook Customer Manager and Microsoft Bookings. The main idea behind launching the three tools is to make Microsoft users more involved in its Office 365 ecosystem. In order to make it available to people, the company has decided to make the tools available free of cost through Microsoft’s Office 365 First Release program.
The logistics arm of online marketplace Snapdeal, Vulcan Express in talks with express distribution and supply-chain companies, Gati, Peepul Capital and TVS Logistics for its acquisition. The companies have shown their interest to acquire Vulcan Express. From this acquisition, Snapdeal is expecting Vulcan Express to fetch Rs 90-120 crore, which could take place over the next 60 days.
Smartron is planning to spend Rs 300 crore for acquiring new companies to complete IoT play in India. According to the company’s top executive, Smartron will spend money towards acquisition of new firms in the area of healthcare, smart homes, energy and infrastructure. The startup is taking this step to broaden its IoT product portfolio in India. Founded in 2004 by Mahesh Lingareddy, the company further plans to invest Rs 1,500 crore over the next three years towards setting up R&D, engineering, manufacturing and data centre facilities.
The company had earlier acquired Volta Motors, a Chennai-based automotive player that manufactures electric vehicles.
Apart from these startups news, there were other important headlines which grabbed the eyeballs of the readers. The parent company of Google and several former Google subsidiaries, Alphabet has officially launched a new firm, Gradient Ventures within Google that will invest in early-stage AI startups.
Recently, iKeva had launched 2 new centres – 175 seats secured co-working space in Sector 44, Gurugram’s Premium location and another 165 seaters in Mumbai.
Apart from these two, another news which made the buzz was iVOOMi, Chinese electronic major announcing its strategic alliance with the e-commerce giant Flipkart, to capitalize on latter’s Market Intelligence support, in order to extensively penetrate into Tier – 2,3 & 4 cities in India.
Bengaluru Based Gaming Startup IONA Entertainment Bags Investment From Chris Gayle
West Indies cricketer, Chris Gayle has invested an undisclosed amount in IONA Entertainment, a Bengaluru-based gaming startup. founded in 2016 by TS Subramanian and Preetha, IONA is a one-stop entertainment to Indian sports fans, which includes state-of-the-art virtual gaming. The startup had earlier raised an initial round of funding from Singapore-based Vestasia. For Gayle, India is his top priority in terms of investment destinations and wanted to invest as many businesses as possible.
Google Launches New Startup Programmes; Selects 11 Women Led Startups For Launchpad’s Build
The tech giant. Google has recently announced the expansion of its startup accelerator project Launchpad, bringing three other programmes under its umbrella — Start, Build and Scale. Under this initiative, Google India recently hosted a Developers’ Launchpad Build event in Bengaluru where they shortlisted and provided guidance to 11 women-led startups in Bengaluru. According to the Google Launchpad’s Event website, with this edition of Launchpad, they want to support women entrepreneurs from startups across various stages.
Delhi-based Startup Builds A Touch Screen Mirror With Wi-Fi Connectivity
Delhi-based startup Help Me Build Technologies Pvt Ltd. has developed an innovative touch screen smart mirror called ‘Nuovo, that can do anything and everything with Wi-Fi connectivity and android phone. Nuovo ‘Smart Mirror’ can keep you updated with notifications from social sites like Facebook and Twitter. You can get the latest news from the leading publications, can also access YouTube videos, and even book cab through Uber. With the help of this, the user can control which app to be displayed on the mirror for easy access.
Finally, It's Official, PayTM Acquires OML’s Insider.in
The digital payment startup PayTM has acquired a majority stake in Insider.in, a ticketing platform. According to the sources, this deal is done for about 35 crores. Shreyas Srinivasan, Insider.in founder will continue running the business, while Only Much Louder (OML) founders and brothers Vijay and Ajay Nair will remain stakeholders and members of the advisory board. This acquisition will enable hundreds of millions of PayTM customers to discover a wide selection of events and book instantly.
Earlier owned by OML, Insider.in is one of the leading ticketing platforms in India for events and properties including for events and properties, including NH7 Weekender, EDC and The Grub Fest.
StartUp India Report: After 18 Months Only 39 Startups Qualified for Tax Benefit
According to a report by The Hindu, till March 2017, only around 10 Indian startups have been able to pass the eligibility for tax benefits. This takes the total number of startups actually benefitting from the programme to 39 since its launch 18 months ago in January 2016. In recently, concluded the budget session, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had announced alteration in the government’s policy on tax concessions for startups and said that only the firms incorporated on or after April 1, 2016, could now avail a three-year tax holiday in the first seven years of their existence.
According to experts, only a few startups have been able to pass the tax benefit eligibility criteria because not many corporate entities have been incorporated on or after that stringing cut-off date that the government has decided upon.
Google Acquires Indian Startup Halli Labs
Google’s growing interest in Indian startup ecosystem can be witnessed by this. Recently, tech giant acquired Halli Labs, an Indian startup working on solutions based on artificial intelligence and machine learning. Based out of Bengaluru, Startup has been founded just four-months back by former Stayzilla employees. Over the past one year, Google has announced several services to better serve the untapped Indian market. The startup announced the news by a post on Medium, and Caesar Sengupta, a product management VP at Google, also confirmed the acquisition with a Tweet.
Early Stage Startup Funding Shrinks Sharply In 2017
This news comes as a major concern for Indian Startup ecosystem. According to the reports, the base of the startup funding pyramid is shrinking and this could severely impact the growth of startup ecosystem in India. According to the figures stated by Tracxn the number of angel and seed investments made in the first half of 2017 (January to June) is down to 260, indicating a drastic drop from 419 in the first half of 2016. Whereas, Seed funding has seen a steep decline from 278 to 152. The report further states, the total funding in 2017 at $5.1 billion is more than double that in 2016, at $2 billion and ecosystem get this number because of the two big funding rounds of $1.4 billion each in Flipkart and Paytm.
Startup Tools Launched By Microsoft
Microsoft recently unveiled three new tools that would help small businesses and startups to grow at a rapid pace. The three new tools: Microsoft Connections, Microsoft Listings and Microsoft Invoicing will be a great addition to the company’s existing rack of tools like the Outlook Customer Manager and Microsoft Bookings. The main idea behind launching the three tools is to make Microsoft users more involved in its Office 365 ecosystem. In order to make it available to people, the company has decided to make the tools available free of cost through Microsoft’s Office 365 First Release program.
Acquisition Talk: Snapdeal’s Logistic Arm Vulcan To Be Acquired By Gati, TVS
The logistics arm of online marketplace Snapdeal, Vulcan Express in talks with express distribution and supply-chain companies, Gati, Peepul Capital and TVS Logistics for its acquisition. The companies have shown their interest to acquire Vulcan Express. From this acquisition, Snapdeal is expecting Vulcan Express to fetch Rs 90-120 crore, which could take place over the next 60 days.
Sachin Tendulkar Backed Smarton To Acquire New IoT Startups
Smartron is planning to spend Rs 300 crore for acquiring new companies to complete IoT play in India. According to the company’s top executive, Smartron will spend money towards acquisition of new firms in the area of healthcare, smart homes, energy and infrastructure. The startup is taking this step to broaden its IoT product portfolio in India. Founded in 2004 by Mahesh Lingareddy, the company further plans to invest Rs 1,500 crore over the next three years towards setting up R&D, engineering, manufacturing and data centre facilities.
The company had earlier acquired Volta Motors, a Chennai-based automotive player that manufactures electric vehicles.
Other Important News
Apart from these startups news, there were other important headlines which grabbed the eyeballs of the readers. The parent company of Google and several former Google subsidiaries, Alphabet has officially launched a new firm, Gradient Ventures within Google that will invest in early-stage AI startups.
Recently, iKeva had launched 2 new centres – 175 seats secured co-working space in Sector 44, Gurugram’s Premium location and another 165 seaters in Mumbai.
Apart from these two, another news which made the buzz was iVOOMi, Chinese electronic major announcing its strategic alliance with the e-commerce giant Flipkart, to capitalize on latter’s Market Intelligence support, in order to extensively penetrate into Tier – 2,3 & 4 cities in India.
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