China Startup that owns Musical.ly Beats Uber to become World’s Most Valuable Startup

A Chinese internet technology company that operates several content platforms powered by machine learning and which recently had a rough interaction with Chinese government when China’s central government ordered to close its flagship popular app, Jinri Toutiao, because of its rude and sexually explicit content that are mostly jokes, is now the world's most valuable startup beating America's Uber.

Beijing, China-based ByteDance or Bytemod Pte Ltd has just raised a fresh round funding amounting US$3 billion that will value the startup at US$78-75 billion, more than Uber Technologies, which currently valued at US$72 billion, reported Bloomberg.

Bytedance is company behind popular video app Musical.ly and News Republic, a news and video aggregator . The startup is also the owner of popular apps in China including TikTok, karaoke video app, and huge Chinese news aggregator Toutiao.

With this remarkable achievement, ByteDance has done an unexpected thing no 'Business Pundit' had ever thought of, particularly because at $75 billion valuation this largely unknown startup has not just outran Uber but have also broke the dominance of its local competitor in China and internet giants Baidu, Alibaba and Tencent -- the so-called BAT big three.

Now, ByteDance founder Yiming Zhang will join league of Alibaba's Jack Ma and Baidu's Robin Li and one may expect an increased traction of ByteDance in south east Asian countries particularly in India, Singapore and Indonesia. Zhang has recently been included in a China's list of 100 entrepreneurs lauded for their “great achievements in the development of the private economy” over the past 40 years.

ByteDance has an India connection too, as in 2016 the Chinese firm had made a major investment of $25 million in DailyHunt, India’s leading local language app.

In 2017, ByteDance had acquired a US-based popular short-form video app, Flipagram. In 2017, ByteDance acquired global news app News Republic and global video community musical.ly. After it acquired music start-up musical.ly, the company combined the two platforms into a single application under the TikTok name. It also runs BuzzVideo and Vigo Video.

In global tech community, ByteDance is known for its flagship app Toutiao, which is also the startup's core product. Toutiao was started out as a news recommendation engine and gradually evolved into a platform delivering content in a variety of formats, such as texts, images, question-and-answer posts, microblogs, and videos. Toutiao offers its users personalized information feeds that are powered by machine learning algorithms. A content feed is updated based on what the machine learns about a user’s reading preferences.

ByteDance’s investors include General Atlantic, SoftBank, KKR & Co and Primavera Capital Group, according to Crunchbase, which tracks venture capital investments.

Amazon's 1 Month Gain is More Than Reliance Industries' Total Market Value

E-Commerce giant Amazon has added nearly $99 billion in market capitalization in a span of one month alone, which is more than total market value of India's most valued & richest Indian-controlled company Reliance Industries Limited. Amazon.com share price has been continuously surging since October last year, following which the fortunes of founder and CEO of Amazon.com, Jeff Bezos, breached the psychological mark of $100 billion in 2018.

Between 13 Feb - 12 March, Amazon's share price has surged from $1414.51 to $1598.39. Amazon's market value also surged 14.8% from $671 billion on February 12 to whopping $770 billion on March 12. On the other hand, as at the time of writing this article, Reliance Industries market cap is Rs 570,435.32 crore or ~ $83.67 billion (compare it to Amazon's $671 billion). Market capitalization is the aggregate valuation of the company based on its current share price and the total number of outstanding stocks. It is calculated by multiplying the current market price of the company's share with the total outstanding shares of the company.

It is to be noted here that, while Amazon Inc is a 24 year old company, Reliance Industries is relatively old with 41 years of its existence. In other words, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos was 13-year-old teenager when Reliance Industries was founded in 1977.

Related Reading - Story of Jeff Bezos Who’s Now Seeking Ideas To Donate His Money

In last one year, Reliance is also ramping up quickly but not as fast as Amazon. Shares of Reliance Industries have been on a rising spree since February 2017, taking the last one year’s gains to over 70%. This January, Reliance Jio, the telecommunications arm of Reliance Industries Ltd, turned profitable for the first time and making it one of the few or probably the only startup to become profitable within just 17 months of its launch.

Reliance Industries was ranked at 25th position across the world, on the basis of sales, in the ICIS Top 100 Chemicals Companies list in 2012. In India, the Reliance Industries is the second most valuable brand.

Amazon, on other hand, is the largest Internet retailer in the world as measured by revenue and market capitalization, and second largest after Alibaba Group in terms of total sales. Going forward, It is the fourth most valuable public company in the world, the largest Internet company by revenue in the world, and the eighth largest employer in the United States.

Technically speaking, business models of Reliance Industries and Jeff Bezos-led Amazon are different in nature of operations and the counter-party to which they cater to. Reliance Industries is primarily involved in petrochemical products, textile, telecommunications etc, while Amazon is essentially a new-age tech company involved primarily in e-commerce across the world along with internet services, cloud infrastructure services, consumer electronics as well as robotics. And now, with acquisition of Whole Foods Market for $13.4 billion in 2017, the company has also entered brick-and-mortar retailer.

To recall, early this year it was reported that Amazon, through a wholly-owned subsidiary, is all set to sell locally made food items in India as last year it got $500 million Indian government approval for food retailing in the country. Notably, Reliance Industries will give head to head to Amazon in food retailing as it is also reportedly planning to make entry into India’s online grocery market by linking manufacturers, kirana stores and corner shops to its Reliance Jio customers and mint money. In fact according to industry veteran T V Mohandas Pai, Reliance Retail will pose the biggest challenge to both Amazon and homegrown Flipkart, due to its wider reach and tremendous penetration of Reliance Jio.

It may also be recalled that a panel of venture capitalists at the 2017's Silicon Dragon event in New York City picked Amazon as a leader in the future tech landscape. Considering Amazon and Flipkart are currently going head to head in the Indian e-commerce market, this global recognition can really raise the former’s stake in the Indian subcontinent.

Via - Financial Express

Why Government is the Biggest Lifeline For FinTech Growth?, Tells The Director of Zone Startups India

The role of a modern state around the world has evolved from a benevolent entity to a welfare role to a regulatory entity. However, in India, being a society in transition, needs a state that holds the hands of fledgling startups and keeps the giants in check to create fair market conditions; the situation accentuates steeply when it comes to Fintech and the role of government in shaping, encouraging, and regulating FinTech industry is paramount.

Even on a general note, government’s role in the financial market is analogous to the conventional banking space in India. The Bank of Calcutta, Bombay, Madras in the 18th century started by the presidency government still stands tall albeit in a new avatar – SBI. Even while the RBI provides a robust structure for private banks, allowing the market forces to determine competitive quality of service and products to citizens, SBI remains one of the biggest commercial banks in Asia; underscoring the fact that the public at large prefer the ‘Sarkari Seal’ to Blockchain’s promise of irreversible crypto-hashed ledger.

Here are some ways in which the government is helping shape fintech in India.

Providing the building block of fintech

IndiaStack, a set of APIs designed and developed by iSpirit (govt powered think tank) is arguably the first step the nation took to go digital and cashless. The Open API team at iSPIRT has been a pro-bono partner in the development, evolution, and evangelisation of these APIs and systems. IndiaStack is being implemented in stages, starting with the introduction in 2009 of the Aadhaar. In this way, the government is gradually making a move towards a digital presence for all the citizens, which is like a snowplough clearing way for other cars to ply on an otherwise slippery road.

As a pioneer in the space of cashless economy

Euromonitor estimates that the advent of ecommerce India was primarily fuelled when two state run services went online – IRCTC and IT filing. This move ensured trust and credibility by showing people that online booking could save them from the long queues and the hooded travel agents. Even now, the combined push of demonetisation and the pull of the cash-less economy ensured that transactions through UPI catapulted from 0.1 million in October 2016 to 77 million in October 2017.

As a leveller for the market players

The government’s role cannot be denied in ensuring a fair and competitive regulatory framework, even in the emerging field of FinTech. A direct instance of the role of government in supporting the FinTech story is the government’s decision to reimburse the merchant discount rate to banks on digital transactions up to ₹2,000. This encouraged a large population of merchants who deal largely with petty cash for smaller transactions to move to digital payments.

Many other countries have leap frogged their way ahead in the FinTech space. Singapore has started a scheme which funds up to half the cost of promising fintech "proof-of-concept" trials. The scheme adds to other support programmes available to fintech players, such as Spring Singapore grants. The country is looking to become the hub for FinTechs, with rankings among the top four FinTech countries.

A highly developed infrastructure which allowed for early adoption of new technology coupled with government policies has encouraged an entrepreneurial and innovative climate in Sweden. Stockholm-based multinationals like iZettle, which offers a mobile payment solution, and Klarna, an online payment service for a simplified checkout, together have raised over $400 million in funding.

Norway too leads the way in the FinTech growth. Norway has a highly digital population with an 80 percent smart phone penetration, creating a compelling case for rapid user adoption. Digital savings and asset management is one of the arenas in which Norwegian fintech companies have a large potential. They have developed robo-advisroy services, virtual financial assistance and crowd-lending for SMEs.

China’s WeChat has built an infrastructure for mobile commerce within the walls of a singular app, which provides a seamless online experience to the country’s mobile first generation.

India has to go a long way to cover the distance between itself and other countries in the Fintech space. According to the KPMG FinTech 100 report, there are only three Indian startups that have made the cut among other countries. Since India is considered to have 21% of the world's unbanked population, the nascent fintech industry in India is expected to grow bigger.

The slow, but sure beginning is a harbinger of the vast scope in the field. With platforms based on Aadhaar, eKYC, eSign & UPI and developments like IndiaStack and deep cell phone penetration, there is lot of potential to get the unbanked youth into the wealth creation fold.

Through the ‘Startup India’ initiative, launched in 2016, the government has launched a range of tax and surcharge reliefs, including income tax exemption for start-ups for the first three years, a credit guarantee mechanism through debt funding for start-ups as well as other exemptions. This is a great kickstart for FinTech startups.

Many state governments have facilitated small players. For instance, the government of Maharashtra, which launched a public cloud policy virtually mandating its departments to shift their data storage onto the cloud, creating a $2 billion opportunity for the industry. Whether it is Karnataka’s MobileOne or Andhra Pradesh’s FinTech valley in Vizag, FinTech startups need government’s hand-holding to grow and thrive.

Along with policy frameworks, there is also an institutional support from bodies like RBI and SEBI that creates a positive environment for FinTech. For example, Bank of India offers a wallet in collaboration with Paynimo that is powered by TechProcess.

The primary role that the government plays is building credibility for digital transactions. When the state does something, it becomes legit and trustworthy.

Come to Fintegrate to know more about the role of government in developing the space of FinTech.

About the author

Ajay Ramasubramanium is Director, Zone Startups India, which is a part of Ryerson Futures Netowork that operates accelerator programs around the World under the brand Zone Startups. We provide hands on strategic and tactical guidance for startups looking to drive market validation and customer acquisition as well as access to investors, corporate partners and advisors.

Why Government is the Biggest Lifeline For FinTech Growth?, Tells The Director of Zone Startups India

The role of a modern state around the world has evolved from a benevolent entity to a welfare role to a regulatory entity. However, in India, being a society in transition, needs a state that holds the hands of fledgling startups and keeps the giants in check to create fair market conditions; the situation accentuates steeply when it comes to Fintech and the role of government in shaping, encouraging, and regulating FinTech industry is paramount.

Even on a general note, government’s role in the financial market is analogous to the conventional banking space in India. The Bank of Calcutta, Bombay, Madras in the 18th century started by the presidency government still stands tall albeit in a new avatar – SBI. Even while the RBI provides a robust structure for private banks, allowing the market forces to determine competitive quality of service and products to citizens, SBI remains one of the biggest commercial banks in Asia; underscoring the fact that the public at large prefer the ‘Sarkari Seal’ to Blockchain’s promise of irreversible crypto-hashed ledger.

Here are some ways in which the government is helping shape fintech in India.

Providing the building block of fintech

IndiaStack, a set of APIs designed and developed by iSpirit (govt powered think tank) is arguably the first step the nation took to go digital and cashless. The Open API team at iSPIRT has been a pro-bono partner in the development, evolution, and evangelisation of these APIs and systems. IndiaStack is being implemented in stages, starting with the introduction in 2009 of the Aadhaar. In this way, the government is gradually making a move towards a digital presence for all the citizens, which is like a snowplough clearing way for other cars to ply on an otherwise slippery road.

As a pioneer in the space of cashless economy

Euromonitor estimates that the advent of ecommerce India was primarily fuelled when two state run services went online – IRCTC and IT filing. This move ensured trust and credibility by showing people that online booking could save them from the long queues and the hooded travel agents. Even now, the combined push of demonetisation and the pull of the cash-less economy ensured that transactions through UPI catapulted from 0.1 million in October 2016 to 77 million in October 2017.

As a leveller for the market players

The government’s role cannot be denied in ensuring a fair and competitive regulatory framework, even in the emerging field of FinTech. A direct instance of the role of government in supporting the FinTech story is the government’s decision to reimburse the merchant discount rate to banks on digital transactions up to ₹2,000. This encouraged a large population of merchants who deal largely with petty cash for smaller transactions to move to digital payments.

Many other countries have leap frogged their way ahead in the FinTech space. Singapore has started a scheme which funds up to half the cost of promising fintech "proof-of-concept" trials. The scheme adds to other support programmes available to fintech players, such as Spring Singapore grants. The country is looking to become the hub for FinTechs, with rankings among the top four FinTech countries.

A highly developed infrastructure which allowed for early adoption of new technology coupled with government policies has encouraged an entrepreneurial and innovative climate in Sweden. Stockholm-based multinationals like iZettle, which offers a mobile payment solution, and Klarna, an online payment service for a simplified checkout, together have raised over $400 million in funding.

Norway too leads the way in the FinTech growth. Norway has a highly digital population with an 80 percent smart phone penetration, creating a compelling case for rapid user adoption. Digital savings and asset management is one of the arenas in which Norwegian fintech companies have a large potential. They have developed robo-advisroy services, virtual financial assistance and crowd-lending for SMEs.

China’s WeChat has built an infrastructure for mobile commerce within the walls of a singular app, which provides a seamless online experience to the country’s mobile first generation.

India has to go a long way to cover the distance between itself and other countries in the Fintech space. According to the KPMG FinTech 100 report, there are only three Indian startups that have made the cut among other countries. Since India is considered to have 21% of the world's unbanked population, the nascent fintech industry in India is expected to grow bigger.

The slow, but sure beginning is a harbinger of the vast scope in the field. With platforms based on Aadhaar, eKYC, eSign & UPI and developments like IndiaStack and deep cell phone penetration, there is lot of potential to get the unbanked youth into the wealth creation fold.

Through the ‘Startup India’ initiative, launched in 2016, the government has launched a range of tax and surcharge reliefs, including income tax exemption for start-ups for the first three years, a credit guarantee mechanism through debt funding for start-ups as well as other exemptions. This is a great kickstart for FinTech startups.

Many state governments have facilitated small players. For instance, the government of Maharashtra, which launched a public cloud policy virtually mandating its departments to shift their data storage onto the cloud, creating a $2 billion opportunity for the industry. Whether it is Karnataka’s MobileOne or Andhra Pradesh’s FinTech valley in Vizag, FinTech startups need government’s hand-holding to grow and thrive.

Along with policy frameworks, there is also an institutional support from bodies like RBI and SEBI that creates a positive environment for FinTech. For example, Bank of India offers a wallet in collaboration with Paynimo that is powered by TechProcess.

The primary role that the government plays is building credibility for digital transactions. When the state does something, it becomes legit and trustworthy.

Come to Fintegrate to know more about the role of government in developing the space of FinTech.

About the author

Ajay Ramasubramanium is Director, Zone Startups India, which is a part of Ryerson Futures Netowork that operates accelerator programs around the World under the brand Zone Startups. We provide hands on strategic and tactical guidance for startups looking to drive market validation and customer acquisition as well as access to investors, corporate partners and advisors.

Here're 10 Top Funded Indian Startups of 2017 (Year-To-date)

We are halfway to 2017, and buzz of funding slowdown, startup shutdown, lack of innovation etc has already caught its pace. There are talks of startup bubble bursting down, but there are still some insist that the startup bubble has not burst yet. Though investors have become cautious and backed sectors that are problem-solving at a macro level, and not blindly following the e-commerce or hyperlocal buzz, India has still managed to get some of the most funded startups. 

Here is the list of most funded startup of 2017, year-to-date:

Flipkart

$1.4 Billion

In the scenario where Indian e-commerce is facing a tough time, homegrown major, Flipkart has taken over the rein of the market by becoming the third most funded private company in the world. Flipkart, an online shopping destination for India founded in 2007 by Sachin Bansal and Binny Bansal recently bagged $ 2.4 billion from Japanese technology and telecom giant SoftBank, making it most funded startup in India.

Flipkart’s total raised capital is now almost $7.12 billion which is higher than that raised by global giants like online house rental aggregator Airbnb ($3.3 billion) and mobile phone maker Xiaomi ($1.4 billion). If we talk about the valuation, Flipkart stands at the 9 position with about $15 billion. Prior to this in April 2017, Flipkart secured a $1.4 billion at a valuation of $11.6 billion. Flipkart managed to secure this investment at a post-money valuation of $11.6 billion from the likes of Tencent, eBay, and Microsoft. This fundraising round also witnessed participation from existing Flipkart investor, Tiger Global, Naspers, Accel and DST Global.

Before this round, the Bengaluru-based firm had last raised funds in June 2015 when existing investors led by Tiger Global Management pumped $700 million into the company, valuing it at $15 billion. By August 2015, after raising $700 million, Flipkart had already raised a total of $3 billion, over 12 rounds and 16 investors.

PayTM

$1.4 Billion

Vijay Shekhar Sharma founded PayTM has become the buzzword. It is one such company which has secured the largest funding round from a single investor. The Indian technology startup, PayTM has recently raised $1.4 billion from Japan’s SoftBank Group.

The Japanese internet and telecom major, Softbank has invested in PayTM's parent company One97 Communications, helping Noida headquartered startup to expand its user base of 220 million and build a large offering of financial services products. Post this funding One97 now valued at $7 billion.

Ola

$404 Billion

Despite bleeding losses, high employee cost, the cab-hailing firm Ola has been successful in raising a sizeable amount of funds. The startup has recently raised over Rs231 crore from Tekne Private Ventures through an issue of preference shares, reports Live Mint.  In June 2017, Ola had raised about $50 million (Rs 322 crore) from New York-based hedge fund Tekne Capital Management LLC, as part of the company’s ongoing funding round. Prior to this cab hailing app raised Rs 670 crore in a fresh round of funding from Ratan Tata’s venture fund RNT Capital Advisers LLP and US hedge fund Falcon Edge Capital LP.

Founded by Bhavish Aggarwal and Ankit Bhati in 2010, Ola is backed by marquee investors including SoftBank, Tiger Global and Matrix Partners. Since November 2016, Ola has raised nearly $400 million. Ola, which has a presence in over 100 Indian cities as against Uber’s operations in 29, has been aggressively ramping up its portfolio of services.

ReNew Power Ventures

$202 Million

Wind energy firm based in India, ReNew Power has recently raised around $100 million in structured credit from Piramal Capital’s structured financing group (SFG) to raise his stake in the company ahead of a proposed initial public offering (IPO), reports Live Mint.

The firm founded by Sumant Sinha is one of the largest renewable energy producers in the country has around 1.2GW of operational capacity across the wind and solar projects.

In February 2017, ReNew raised $200 million where JERA Co. Inc. bought a 10% stake in the company, valuing it at $2 billion. ReNew Power’s earlier backers include Goldman Sachs, sovereign wealth fund Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) and Global Environment Fund.

ReNew Power’s recent debt financing transactions include a long-term $390 million debt funding from ADB, a $250 million credit line from Overseas Private Investment Corp. It also raised $475 million through masala bonds earlier this year.

In October 2015, the company raised $265 million in equity capital from Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, Goldman Sachs and Global Environment Fund. The round took the company’s total equity fundraising to $655 million. Goldman has invested a total of $370 million in the company.

Paytm Mall

$200 Million

After PayTM, India get gets the another unicorn in form of its e-commerce arm. Yes, PayTM e-commerce arm secured funding from Paytm’s existing investors Alibaba and SAIF Partners who have put in $177 million and $23 million respectively into Paytm Mall. Paytm has now become the only company with both payments and e-commerce businesses to be valued at billion dollars as separate entities.

Paytm Mall, owned by Paytm Ecommerce Pvt Ltd, is on a mission to become the technology partner of retailers and brands, enabling them to set up stores online.Paytm Mall is scaling its partner network by adding 3,000 agents to its existing workforce as it goes deeper into tier II and tier III cities, digitizing

Paytm Mall is scaling its partner network by adding 3,000 agents to its existing workforce as it goes deeper into tier II and tier III cities, digitizing catalogues of neighborhood shopkeepers and brands authorized stores. It will continue equipping these shopkeepers with technology by digitizing their catalogues, opening their store on its mall and making their shops QR Code-enabled. It has also extended logistics support and GST training to equip these retailers for the current business landscape. The company would also facilitate access to working capital loans, a major pain-point for every small retailer and play a critical role in their growth plans. These factors will contribute to enhancing their income and eventually lead to creating new jobs for our nation’s progress.

Greenko Group

$155 Million

Greenko Group is one of India's fastest growing Independent power producers, focusing on developing clean energy assets in India to meet India's ever increasing demand for power. In March 2017, the firm raised $155 million (Rs 1,010 crore) from existing investors Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund GIC and Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) is one of the largest fund-raising exercises in the renewable energy sector.

According to ET, Hyderabad-based Greenko last year got $230 million in new funds from an entity owned by ADIA and an affiliate of GIC Singapore at a $1 billion valuation. ADIA invested $150 million while $80 million came from GIC.

Delhivery

$138 Million

Gurgaon-based logistics company SSN Logistics Pvt Ltd, which runs the web platform Delhivery.com has managed to make its place in the list of most funded Indian startups. In May 2017, Delhivery has received $30 million (about Rs200 crore) funding from Chinese conglomerate Fosun International. According to the LiveMint report, This additional investment was a part of the bigger equity financing round where The Carlyle Group infused $100 million to pick up a minority stake in the firm.

Founded in 2011 by Sahil Barua, Mohit Tandon, and Suraj Saharan, the startup raised $85 million in a series D round led by Tiger Global Management with participation from existing investors—Multiples Alternate Asset Management, Nexus Venture Partners, and Times Internet Limited in March 2015. Prior to that, in September 2014, it had raised its series C round led by Multiples Alternate Asset Management.

Hero Future Energies

$125 Million

The renewable energy arm of the Hero Group, Hero Future Energies raised $125 billion from International Finance Corp. (IFC), the private sector investment arm of World Bank. Founded in 2012, HFE is poised to provide clean power to industries, businesses, educational institutes, non-profits and governmental organizations at competitive rates. HFE assist its clientele in fulfilling their Renewable Purchase Obligations (RPOs) by reducing their dependence on power generated by fossil fuels like coal, oil and natural gas.

Spandana Sphoorty Financial Limited

$100 Million

According to LiveMint, microfinance lender Spandana Sphoorty Financial Ltdin April 2017, raised $270 million of funding. Around $100 million comes in the form of equity capital from a Kedaara Capital-led consortium including Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, and the rest in the form of debt capital from IndusInd Bank Ltd, Yes Bank Ltd and ICICI Bank Ltd.

Spandana Sphoorty is a Micro Finance firm headquartered at Hyderabad. It has presence pan India and has an employee base of 3500+ professionals. The company came into existence with a noble thought of upgrading the economic and social life of rural women, started by a woman for the women.

Swiggy

$80 Million

Indian food ordering and delivery platform, Swiggy raised $80 million in series-E funding in May 2017. The deal was led by Naspers, a global internet and entertainment group, and one of the world’s largest technology investors, with earlier investors Accel India, SAIF Partners India, Bessemer Venture Partners, Harmony Partners and Norwest Venture Partners participating.

Swiggy is among the best-funded food delivery startups in India. It raised at about $155 million in equity from Accel Partners, Bessemer Venture Partners, Harmony Partners, RB Investments, Norwest Venture Partners, SAIF Partners and Apoletto, the personal investment firm of Russian billionaire and founder of DST Global, Yuri Milner. It has also raised about $8 million in venture debt from InnoVen Capital.

Swiggy has been a forerunner in online food ordering and delivery in India, by consistently shrinking delivery times and improving customer experience.

Top 10 Funding Rounds In India’s Startup Ecosystem Since 2012

The startups in India may never ride the high waves of year 2014 and 2015 but the year 2017 proved that big ticket funding is not a thing of the past. After a year of drought in 2016, the stars of the Indian startup ecosystem came back to prove they still possess the confidence of the investors.

Since 2012, the top ten rounds in Indian startup ecosystem have all been above $100 million. They have been split across five companies: One97 Communications, the parent company of Paytm, e-commerce sites Flipkart and Snapdeal, cab-hailing company Olacabs and internet company Atria Convergence Technologies, which is an only non-unicorn firm among all.

This month Flipkart closed the largest deal ever till date in the second tranche of the its Series J round worth $2.5 billion from SoftBank Group’s Vision Fund. Flipkart is India’s most well-funded startup and had four other rounds make it to the top ten. All these rounds have already made Flipkart third most funded private company in the world.

Amusingly, all of the money invested into Indian startups in 2016 is $3.39 billion which is less than half of Flipkart’s total funding.

Since year 2012, 5 of the top-10 biggest rounds were closed in 2015, and the year became the year that saw the largest funding totals of $8.79 billion. But the following year no mega-rounds were closed, despite 2016 seeing a peak in deal activity at 965 total deals.

Top Funding Rounds in India Tech 2012-2017 YTD(8/17/2017)

Rank	Company	Round	Amount ($M)	Date	Round Investors
1	Flipkart	Series J – II	2500	8/10/17	SoftBank Group
2	Flipkart	Series J	1400	3/20/17	Tencent Holdings, DST Global, Microsoft, eBay, Accel Partners
2	One97 Communications	Corporate Minority – IV	1400	5/18/17	SoftBank Group
4	Flipkart	Series G	1000	7/29/14	Accel Partners India, ICONIQ Capital, Sofina, Vanguard Group, Naspers, GIC, DST Global, Morgan Stanley, Tiger Global Management
5	Flipkart	Series H	700	12/20/14	Tiger Global Management, Baillie Gifford & Co., Steadview Capital, ICONIQ Capital, Greenoaks Capital Management, Vanguard Group, GIC, DST Global, Qatar Investment Authority, T. Rowe Price
6	One97 Communications	Corporate Minority – III	680	9/29/15	Ant Financial Services Group, Alibaba Group
7	Snapdeal	Corporate Minority – II	627	10/28/14	SoftBank Group
8	Flipkart	Series I	550	5/19/15	Tiger Global Management
9	Olacabs	Series F – II	500	9/28/15	Didi Chuxing
9	Atria Convergence Technologies	Private Equity	500	7/1/15	Argan Capital Advisors, TA Associates
9	Snapdeal	Corporate Minority – III	500	8/2/15	PremjiInvest, Alibaba Group, Myriad Capital, SoftBank Group, Foxconn Technology Company, Temasek Holdings, BlackRock

New York's Tiger Global Management also participated in three of India’s top rounds: Flipkart’s $1B Series G and $700M Series H rounds in 2014, as well as its $550M Series I in 2015.

Japan’s SoftBank Group was involved in three of India’s top rounds -- one to Flipkart, another to One97 Communications in a $1.4B corporate minority round, and the third to e-commerce site Snapdeal in a corporate minority round that it raised in October 2014.

#InternationalYogaDay- 13 Startup Founders Shares Why Yoga Is Must For Entrepreneurs

"I'll call you later, I'm in a meeting" is the response you get most of the times when you call an entrepreneur. But often, an entrepreneur's day is filled with decision making than just meetings and calls. Entrepreneurship is a high-powered, challenging, and electrifying atmosphere. Every entrepreneur is prone to anxiety, self-doubt, stress, depression and burnout at some point in time. While some resort to alcohol, caffeine or narcotics to ward off the helplessness, fitness is the choice of many an entrepreneur today, with gym-ing, aerobics, pilates and of course Yoga occupying the top rungs.

Derived from Sanskrit, the word ‘yoga’ means to join or to unite, symbolizing the union of body and consciousness. The fitness-cum-spiritual practice which originated in ancient India is today being widely practised in various forms and continues to grow in popularity and revolutionize the lives of many people in our country. Besides batting for physical fitness, yoga also promotes mental awareness and spiritual awakening, which is always required by people who are looking for innovative ideas and leading businesses from the front.

“Entrepreneurial ventures and set-ups are facing almost equal pressure as corporates in today’s globalized world. Very often, in the pursuit of meeting a series of deadlines within a short span of time, entrepreneurs keep stretching themselves without taking rest and pushing to an extent which they shouldn’t. The dilemma of running a business and taking onus for its strengths and weaknesses can indeed turn out to be nerve-wracking; so much so, stress and anxiety can seem to get out of your control. In this context, practising Yoga can be your saviour,” says Dr Dharminder Nagar, Managing Director Paras Healthcare.

In the recent years, it has been established through various research that practising yoga helps in de-cluttering the mind, and can act as a positive boost for stress management in your professional life. No wonder dynamic corporates around the world are even nowadays embracing Yoga practice into their daily routine. But, one thing we often tend to miss out on is the importance of Yoga in the lives of entrepreneurs.

On the occasion of International Yoga Day, IndianWeb2 interacted with the entrepreneurs to know how Yoga is benefiting them in curbing their day to day stress.

Sahaj Nalgirkar- Makes You A Complete Entrepreneur

Founder - GetSetGig

“I have been following Sahaja Yoga since my childhood. Sahaja Yoga is a simple meditation programme that leads to a stress-free life. When I started my business, I realised I had to be more patient. The thing with doing meditation regularly is you can introspect very clearly. You get to know what is wrong with you and what you must do to improve. There are enormous benefits of doing meditation, you develop as a person, your creativity is sharpened, your senses get stronger and your decisions are more effective, all because you stay in the right mindset all the time. With these set of qualities you develop, I am sure you would foresee a problem and make right decisions to solve it before it arises. That makes you a complete entrepreneur,” says Sahaj Nalgirkar, Founder, GetSetGig, an online marketplace to hire live performing artists for any kind of event.

Brahma Mahesh Khaderbad- Yoga Is My Go-To For Meditative Relaxation

CEO/Co-Founder - FinMomenta

“Multifaceted in nature, Yoga is my go-to for meditative relaxation, whereas it can be someone else’ cardio workout. Like most other ambitious corporate professionals, I didn’t have the mindset or the time to focus on fitness and wellness while climbing up the corporate ladder. But when I gave Yoga a try, my attention spans drastically increased and I could feel an intuitive power surge.

Now, I begin my day with 45 minutes of Yoga split across, Suryanamaskar, select Asanas and Pranayam. This sets the pace for my entire day, and keeps me calm while I deal with situations, both favourable and unfavourable,” says Brahma Mahesh Khaderbad, CEO and Co-founder, FinMomenta.

Ravi Virmani- Yoga, Helps To Improve Self-awareness

Founder - Credihealth

“Entrepreneurs are always up to something big- all of the time and to have a vision, our minds and soul need to free up and clear of all negativity. That’s where mind-body exercises like meditation or yoga come in. Yoga helps to improve self-awareness, solve problems, promote a deep sense of inner peace, slow down ageing, reduce stress and enhance health. Yoga enhances the relaxation response which helps in insightful thinking,” express Ravi Virmani, Founder and Managing Director, Credihealth.

Mehul Jobanputra- Yoga Enables You To Think Clearer, Better & Out Of The Box

CEO/Founder - DesiDime

"Running a bootstrapped startup is all about thinking on your feet, innovating, getting creative with your resources, so that you can get the maximum out of whatever you have. However, creativity thrives in solitude, not when you are constantly discussing things, planning, worrying about numbers, networking. In this hyper-connected world, the one biggest gift you can give yourself as an entrepreneur is to totally disconnect yourself for one hour every day. Vipassana / yoga/meditation helps us do exactly that. It helps you get a fresh restart every day. To think clearer, better & Out of the Box,” says Mehul Jobanputra, CEO and Founder, DesiDime.com.

Ashish Shah- Yoga Gives Mental Clarity

Founder - Vertoz

“Indulgence in Yoga early morning can set the tone of the day and that can help you perform better at work. Consciousness augmenting activities helps us strengthening our intuition when coupled with our rational thinking helps us with better judgement for our own good. Yoga gives mental clarity, lots of great ideas come when you’re away from transactional work and when you’re at peace it affects your work in a very positive way. Hence, committing fraction amount of time to yourself doesn't do any harm.” says Ashish Shah, Founder & CEO, Vertoz.

Chaitanya- 15 Min Yoga Contributes Towards Your Mental Peace

CEO - Goodness

“Entrepreneurship is a long tough journey and requires one to be committed to the cause for a long haul. Staying physically fit is important but maintaining one's inner peace & mental semblance is even vital for an entrepreneur and this is where Yoga delivers like no other. My quick 15-min Yoga routine that I would like to suggest to everyone is 5-min of breathing exercise (Pranayama), 5-min of exercise (Suryanamaskar) 5-min of meditation!,” says Chaitanya, CEO, Goodness.

Related Reading - 30+ Online Health & Wellness Related Portals in India

Amin Rozani- An Activity Of Mind and Soul

Co-Founder - The Spartan Poker

“Yoga is the activity of the mind, body and soul. A fresh start to the day can only be achieved with a fresh mind. Surviving an entire day filled with challenges, an entrepreneur needs to have an alert, calm and active mind. A peaceful session of yoga once a day, plays a vital part in making one's vision clear and better, thereby helping one realise the beauty of life,” says Amin Rozani MD and co-founder, The Spartan Poker, an online Poker gaming portal.

Narayan Menon- A Comprehensive Mind Body Wellness Practice

Founder - WanderTrails.com

“Yoga, according to me, is a comprehensive mind-body wellness practice which should be a way of life. Entrepreneurs will relate to being stressed, physically and mentally, and the journey taking a toll on his/her health. This is where yoga helps. The key benefits of yoga include de-stressing, rejuvenation of mind and body through increased oxygen flow and being a catalyst to drive physical and mental health. A perfectly complementing match made in heaven, I would say,” says Narayan Menon, CMO and co-founder, Wandertrails.com.

Pooja Kedia- Yoga Keeps You Focused

Founder - SchoolWiser

“While I was in the midst of setting up SchoolWiser I did go through a bit of anxiety and living up to societal expectation initially. Like any other startup, the pressures and challenges were no less. Like Eric Paskel says "It's not about tightening your ass, it's about getting your head out of it", work does not bring any kind of stress, it’s the inability to cope with it that stresses us mentally. Yoga brought immense focus and calmness to my life. I practice Surya Namaskar every day to help me energize and get ready for my hectic day schedule,” says Pooja Kedia, Founder- SchoolWiser

Karthik Kittu- Makes You A Better Person

Co-Founder - Passion Connect

"Transitioning from the corporate world to entrepreneurship was difficult but regularly practising yoga has significantly transformed my way of thinking. It has also helped me decrease stress while boosting my mental state and follow my passion. Frankly, the more i delved into it, the more it percolated into other spheres of my life and helped me focus better. Not only that, the regular practice made me a better person. The practice of doing yoga 4-5 times a week gives me the opportunity to get away from the emotion tied up in decisions and allows me to gain perspective,” says Karthik Kittu, co-founder and CEO, Passion Connect.

Aradhana Dalmia- Activates Happy Hormones

Founder - The Artemist

"When you are a startup and especially the founder of one, there are no weekends and there are no fixed work hours so you work around the clock. This comes with a lot of stress, short notice and sleepless nights. The mind and body need to be fit to face all the challenges. A jog, workout, Pilates, yoga along with a few minutes of meditation in the morning gets my mind focused and activates the happy hormones to keep me motivated,” said Aradhana Dalmia, a young twenty-seven-year-old entrepreneur and the founder of The Artemist - an art consultancy firm.

Pooja Sachin Duggal- Counteracts Stress Like A Boss

CEO/Founder - Healthhunt

"I think that entrepreneurs need exercise more than anyone else in the world! So what do you do when you don't have time to go for a run? You take your yoga mat along everywhere! I know I do. I've been practising yoga since several years now, and it is what has kept me sane. Yoga improves flexibility, builds muscle strength, betters posture, boosts immunity, helps you focus, promotes sound sleep, and counteracts stress like a boss! Yoga will save your life," says Pooja Sachin Duggal, Founder and CEO, Healthhunt.

Teja Gudluru- Improves Patience And Concentration

CEO/Founder - UDO

“Two important aspects to any business owner. To be patience with how the market and business shapes up, be more focused on the deliverables and concentrate on day to day tasks. Yoga can help you connect with your true purpose and your goals by teaching you to quietly observe your mind and identify what you really want in life. Once you’ve found these, yoga can help you harness the power of your subconscious to help you make these a reality,” says Teja Gudluru, CEO and Founder, UDO.

So, these were the few entrepreneurs who shared their love for Yoga with us. If you also believe the same and practice Yoga every day do share your experience with us by mentioning it in the comment section below.

And if you are an entrepreneur gradually reeling under work pressure, in the lookout for a positive turnaround in your life, or in the hunt for one big idea, from today, start your mornings with a cup of coffee and Yoga, and soon Yoga may itself become your cup of tea/ coffee!

World Environment Day: 10 Indian Startups That Are Making Earth A Better Place To Live

With increasing population and urbanization, the environment has become the major concern as its condition is degrading at a rapid pace. People careless act towards the environment has led our mother Earth to bleed in pollution causing her to lose the green for which she was known for.

But this scenario seems to change as entrepreneurs are coming up with innovative ideas to protect our mother Earth. From recycling of floral waste, manufacturing of herbal clothes to providing solar energy in the household, these entrepreneurs have found the alternative to protect nature with help of their skill-set and churning this opportunity into money.On this Environment Day, We at IndianWeb2 brought to our readers of the most amazing startup of our Indian entrepreneurs who are working towards the betterment of the climate.

On this Environment Day, We at IndianWeb2 brought to our readers of the most amazing startup of our Indian entrepreneurs who are working towards the betterment of the environment.

So let's celebrate Environment Day with these 10 amazing startups:

HelpUsGreen

Preserving River Ganges By Flowercycling

Founded in 2015 by Ankit Agarwal and Karan Rastogi, HelpUsGreen is a social enterprise based in Kanpur, on a mission to save the Ganges. With the help of their startup, the duo is preserving river Ganges from becoming a religious sewer by flower-cycling. They collect floral waste from the temples and mosques in Uttar Pradesh and recycle it into patented lifestyle products providing livelihoods to 1200 rural families. The waste is handcrafted by rural women Self-help groups into patented organic fertilizer and incense sticks. According to their website, they have collected 3,35,000 kilograms of flowers from the temples and mosques and flowercycled® into organic products.

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Till date, they have prevented 997 kilograms of poisonous arsenic, lead and cadmium from the harmful farm-runoff, toxic pesticides and insecticides used to grow flowers from getting into the river Ganges. Further, they have helped 1219 rural women to earn their living and fighting the societal dogmas. Duo with the help of their startup is helping in keeping river Ganges clean and inspiring others to contribute in this deed.

Graviky Labs

Turning Pollution into Ink



Graviky Labs is one of the few carbon capturing startups in the world and only such startup in India. It is taking stock of the growing pollution situation in the country by creating paint and ink from pollution itself. The startup has built a contraption that gets connected to the exhaust on the tail pipe of a vehicle, and once it is done collecting the raw carbon, the soot, it take it through a purification process which successfully converts that air pollution into printing ink. The same procedure can be done using chimneys or boats to collect effluence and then convert that into ink. Read more this company here.

Sustain Earth

Making Rural Landscape Where Women Can Cook In Smokeless, Pollution free Condition



This innovative startup provides clean and affordable cooking gas to rural households in India using innovative biogas technology and enterprise models. With the aim to provide reliable, safe and affordable Biogas systems for rural household, Sustain Earth uses Biogas technology to provide clean cooking gas to rural communities.

They have built robust biogas technology through a user-centric design approach named Gau Gas systems. It is easy to install, more reliable and easy to maintain. They use the internet and mobile connectivity to keep track of the performance of their systems.

Green Nerds

Providing Solutions For Environmental Issues

[caption id="attachment_117435" align="aligncenter" width="700"] PECK -- A plastics PET bottle and E-waste Collection Kiosk. It act as collection point for dry waste in corporate offices, malls, public places and will offer candy as reward[/caption]

Incepted in the year 2010, Green Nerds have developed a range of technology products to control littering, segregation, manage and recycle commercial, residential, household and municipal solid waste in a scientific way. Focused on providing solutions for environmental issues, they offer a complete range of solutions and products for waste management and other environmental issues. Their solution includes development and erection of plant, equipment and technology for different types of waste management and industrial dedusting systems and technologies i.e littering management in railways, airports, malls, etc. Over the years they claim to installed closed to 100 small and large plants, products in municipalities across Karnataka and AP, and commercial, residential buildings, Temples etc.

Saahas

Leveraging Nature, People And Technology to holistically Manage Waste



Established in 2013, Saahas Zero Waste (SWZ) is a socio-environmental enterprise. Through the Zero Waste Programme they operate on-site solutions for bulk waste generators including tech parks and residential complexes. For smaller waste generators, they offer holistic waste management which includes collection and process at their units, Kasa Rasa.

Further, they have an Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) program where they partner with packaging companies and e-waste producers to develop and implement a reverse logistics mechanism that facilitates in bringing back large volumes of post-consumer waste into the recycling chain. Apart from this they also run a ‘closing the loop’ initiative where startup offer products made from waste including compost and a range of other recycled products like roofing sheets from recycles consumer tetra packs and gifting box made from recycled computer/mobile chipboards.

Apart from this they also run a ‘closing the loop’ initiative where startup offer products made from waste including compost and a range of other recycled products like roofing sheets, clipboards, stationary items. Backed by Indian Angel Network, SZW currently manages 25 tons of waste per day across Bangalore, Chennai and Hyderabad.

Bakeys

Cutlery You Can Eat



Plastic, a petroleum by-product is more harmful to human body because of the presence of several toxins and carcinogens. Its application as food consumption utensil enhances the chances of these chemicals to get into the human system.

Founded in 2010 , Hyderabad based Bakeys worked on the innovative idea of completely removing plastic cutlery and replace it with edible ones. The edible cutlery is made from flours of less irrigation demanding crops such as jowar (sorghum). Bakey’s edible spoons come in three different flavours - sweet, plain and savoury. A set of 100 such spoons costs just Rs 300.

EcoFemme

Revitalise Menstrual Practices That Are Healthy, Affordable And Eco Positive



A women-led social enterprise, Eco Femme, founded in 2010 produce and sell washable cloth pads, provide menstrual health education to adolescents, and open dialogues on menstruation all along the way. Tamil Nadu-based startup aims to create environmental and social change through revitalizing menstrual practices that are healthy, environmentally sustainable.

Aura Herbal

Dying Naturally



Founded by Arun Baid and Sonal Baid, Aura Herbal is developing their own process of manufacturing natural textiles and dyes, sourcing herbs and other raw materials through made-to-order contracts with farmers in Madhya Pradesh and South India. Incubated in Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, Aura opened its first showroom in Ahmedabad where it announced the launch of the Aura brand of the organic herbal range of apparels and accessories. Under the brand, Aura Herbal Wear company designs t-shirts, shirts, scarves, yoga apparels, eco bags, fabrics, undergarments and SPA products by using herbal dyeing process. In this process, company makes its textiles right from growing cotton to the finished product completely organic and chemical dye free.

ONergy

Providing Decentralized Energy Solutions To Underserved Households



Established in 2009, ONergy (Punam Energy Pvt. Ltd.) is a Kolkata-based social enterprise that provides decentralized energy solutions to underserved households and institutions. The company provides complete energy solutions with an entire range of solar products. Till date, ONergy claims to impacted 2,50,000 lives by providing solutions such as solar lanterns, solar home systems, solar water heating systems, solar inverters, solar street lighting, cookstoves, KW installations for households and institutions. Not only this, ONergy has also launched innovative products such as solar TV, solar computer, solar microgrids and solar irrigation systems.

It operates through a network of trained rural entrepreneurs and leveraging the existing networks of local NGOs, SHGs and MFIs. Currently, it operates across West Bengal, Odisha and Jharkhand through a network of RECs that reach out to remote areas.

Fourth Partner Energy

Bringing Sustainable Change By Installing Solar Grid



Founded by three partners in 2010, Fourth Partner Energy (4PEL) aims to build, develop and manage a large operating portfolio of decentralised solar power assets in India. They provide innovative products and services that harness the renewable resources at lower costs. It is a full-service Renewable Energy Services Company (RESCO) providing design, engineering, installation and O&M services for rooftop solar systems. They have completed over 500+ installations across multiple states in India and executed grid connected and off-grid installations with capacities ranging from 1 kWp to 500 kWp. Their customers range from a variety of industries such as educational institutions, corporates, hospitals, banks, industrial clients, and non-profit organizations.

So these are few green startups which are contributing towards the better environment and providing greener and healthy life to the masses in India. If you find any other startup who is contributing towards making greener India do mention it in comment box below.

[Top Image - Shutterstock]

The Rise of FemTech and Where Does India Stand?

Females account for almost 50 per cent of the human population on this planet, but unfortunately, there is very less tech available in the market dedicated towards making their lives easier and better. Over the past few years, if we notice carefully, we would observe that there hasn't been any significant technological advancement when it comes to women healthcare. It is as if sectors such as female contraception, fertility and periods have hardly seen any mobility innovation wise whatsoever. 

However, thankfully, a few years ago people realized this very important fact and started working towards changing the situation. Hence, the term "FemTech" was born.

What is FemTech?

FemTech is an umbrella term being used in the business/ industry for all female related technologies. This sector primarily deals with women’s health, including fertility solutions, period-tracking apps, pregnancy and nursing care, women’s sexual wellness, and reproductive system health care, all from technological standpoint of view.

It is good to see that mankind is finally moving away from a time when female health tech was no more than just an uncomfortable conversation. This change in mindset has resulted in a explosion of FemTech businesses over the last two years. Though the journey hasn't been easy.

How Big Is FemTech?

Till a while ago, investors considered FemTech as a "niche" market, when it clearly is not as it caters to half the population. But now, the investors are finally opening up to the potential of the sector. In an interview to Mashable, Ida Tin, CEO of the period-tracking app Clue estimated that approximately $200 billion is being spent on women's health already. Ida is also recognized for coining the term “FemTech” to describe this sector.

Entrepreneurs working on women's health share that even though they've seen more interest from investors recently, but they're still starting from a very low bar when compared to the digital health startups industry.

Why FemTech?

To begin with, women make up more than 50 per cent of the world’s population. Further, statistics have revealed that women are also uniquely empowered as consumers in majority parts of the world. Women all over the world control about $20 billion in annual consumer spending. This figure is expected to cross $28 trillion in the period of next five years.

According to data from CB Insights, roughly 45 FemTech startups have raised more than $1.1 billion in equity funding since 2014. And this is just the start, according to experts, with opportunities for women on both the tech and the VC sides of the table.

Some Early FemTech Startups

While launching a product is a lot of work no doubt, but when you're not only launching a product but also creating a new category, it is a different ballgame altogether. This is exactly what happened with Glow, a period-and ovulation-tracking app founded in the year 2013, which is also acknowledged as one of the first femtech startups to start their journey in this sector. Berlin-based Clue was also founded somewhere around the same time in 2013. Some other notable startups in the field include Naya Health, a startup producing hydraulic-powered breast pumps that are quieter, less heavier and much more efficient that traditionally available breast pumps; Progyny, an plan that helps its users with fertility treatments; Nuelle, an app revolutionizing sexual well-being and intimacy and Sera Prognostics, an app aiming to make the pregnancy period easier for pregnant woman and their physicians to identify preterm labor risks.

Femtech & India

A simple Google search for "FemTech Startups in India" churns out nothing related to the topic. Though there are companies working in the field, the market is still ignorant of the huge potential of the emerging sector.

United Nations Development Programme’s Gender Inequality Index, which measures a number of factors such as women’s reproductive health, empowerment and labour market participation, is considered as one of the leading barometers for global gender parity. Currently, India is lagging in 130th place on this Index, and joins the bottom twenty countries on the list.

Sure, there's no doubt that Indian women have a long way to go, but it is also important to acknowledge the fact that they have come a long way to place a strong foothold in the society in terms of equality and freedom. The increasing number of startups related to women healthcare in recent years in the country signifies the growing strength of women in the South Asian country.

Keep reading IndianWeb2 as soon we'll be revealing fistful yet promising FemTech Startups based out of India.

The Rise of FemTech and Where Does India Stand?

Females account for almost 50 per cent of the human population on this planet, but unfortunately, there is very less tech available in the market dedicated towards making their lives easier and better. Over the past few years, if we notice carefully, we would observe that there hasn't been any significant technological advancement when it comes to women healthcare. It is as if sectors such as female contraception, fertility and periods have hardly seen any mobility innovation wise whatsoever. 

However, thankfully, a few years ago people realized this very important fact and started working towards changing the situation. Hence, the term "FemTech" was born.

What is FemTech?

FemTech is an umbrella term being used in the business/ industry for all female related technologies. This sector primarily deals with women’s health, including fertility solutions, period-tracking apps, pregnancy and nursing care, women’s sexual wellness, and reproductive system health care, all from technological standpoint of view.

It is good to see that mankind is finally moving away from a time when female health tech was no more than just an uncomfortable conversation. This change in mindset has resulted in a explosion of FemTech businesses over the last two years. Though the journey hasn't been easy.

How Big Is FemTech?

Till a while ago, investors considered FemTech as a "niche" market, when it clearly is not as it caters to half the population. But now, the investors are finally opening up to the potential of the sector. In an interview to Mashable, Ida Tin, CEO of the period-tracking app Clue estimated that approximately $200 billion is being spent on women's health already. Ida is also recognized for coining the term “FemTech” to describe this sector.

Entrepreneurs working on women's health share that even though they've seen more interest from investors recently, but they're still starting from a very low bar when compared to the digital health startups industry.

Why FemTech?

To begin with, women make up more than 50 per cent of the world’s population. Further, statistics have revealed that women are also uniquely empowered as consumers in majority parts of the world. Women all over the world control about $20 billion in annual consumer spending. This figure is expected to cross $28 trillion in the period of next five years.

According to data from CB Insights, roughly 45 FemTech startups have raised more than $1.1 billion in equity funding since 2014. And this is just the start, according to experts, with opportunities for women on both the tech and the VC sides of the table.

Some Early FemTech Startups

While launching a product is a lot of work no doubt, but when you're not only launching a product but also creating a new category, it is a different ballgame altogether. This is exactly what happened with Glow, a period-and ovulation-tracking app founded in the year 2013, which is also acknowledged as one of the first femtech startups to start their journey in this sector. Berlin-based Clue was also founded somewhere around the same time in 2013. Some other notable startups in the field include Naya Health, a startup producing hydraulic-powered breast pumps that are quieter, less heavier and much more efficient that traditionally available breast pumps; Progyny, an plan that helps its users with fertility treatments; Nuelle, an app revolutionizing sexual well-being and intimacy and Sera Prognostics, an app aiming to make the pregnancy period easier for pregnant woman and their physicians to identify preterm labor risks.

Femtech & India

A simple Google search for "FemTech Startups in India" churns out nothing related to the topic. Though there are companies working in the field, the market is still ignorant of the huge potential of the emerging sector.

United Nations Development Programme’s Gender Inequality Index, which measures a number of factors such as women’s reproductive health, empowerment and labour market participation, is considered as one of the leading barometers for global gender parity. Currently, India is lagging in 130th place on this Index, and joins the bottom twenty countries on the list.

Sure, there's no doubt that Indian women have a long way to go, but it is also important to acknowledge the fact that they have come a long way to place a strong foothold in the society in terms of equality and freedom. The increasing number of startups related to women healthcare in recent years in the country signifies the growing strength of women in the South Asian country.

Keep reading IndianWeb2 as soon we'll be revealing fistful yet promising FemTech Startups based out of India.

Anatomy of India's First 'Unicorpse' Startup

Is Snapdeal getting merged? Is deal finalised? At what valuation Flipkart is going to acquire Snapdeal? These are the few questions which are currently buzzing around. Snapdeal, a homegrown e-commerce giant is today for sure has become the talk of the town. Once known as one of India’s first unicorns is now becoming India’s first unicorpse startup a.k.a dead unicorn which is ready to be cremated. For unawares, a Unicorpse is a former unicorn, now valued at less than $1 billion.

All the while, despite all the troubles, Snapdeal has its own story to tell.

A Quick Flashback

Founded in February 2010 by Kunal Bahl and Rohit Bansal, Snapdeal has come a long way since its inception. While establishing its footprint in the market and competing against the e-commerce biggies like Flipkart, Snapdeal has acquired about 13 startups which include big names like Freecharge, Exclusively, GoJavas, Rupee Power to name few.
Talking about the funding, during the course of its journey, Snapdeal has raised about $1.76 billion in 12 rounds of funding. Out of these the most recent investment came in August 2016 from Luxembourg-based firm Clouse SA, that poured in another $21 million which valued the company somewhere between $6.5-$7 billion.

In August 2015, Snapdeal was valued at $5 billion when it had raised $500 million from Alibaba Group, Foxconn Technology Group and Softbank. However, Snapdeal’s biggest round of funding came in October 2014, when SoftBank invested $ 627 million. Not only this, In August 2014, Ratan Tata also made a personal investment in the e-commerce giant.

Apart from these well-known investors, Snapdeal’s other bunch of investors includes eBay, Kalaari Capital, Nexus Venture Partners, Bessemer Venture Partners, Intel Capital and Saama Capital, Temasek, BlackRock Inc, Myriad, Premji Invest and Tybourne and IndoUS Venture Partners.

The online retailer claimed to have an assortment of 65 Mn plus products across 1000+ categories from over 125,000 regional, national, and international brands and retailers. It has over 300,000 sellers and delivers to 6000+ cities and towns in India.

If everything sounds so good then what went wrong? From where the downfall started?

From A Unicorn To Unicorpse

The e-commerce firm has been in the news for quite some time for bleeding losses and more. In November 2016, Softbank Group Corp, which has the highest holding in Snapdeal (about 32%) marked down close to $555 Mn in two of its Indian investments, cab hailing firm Ola and Snapdeal. In February 2017, it was reported that Softbank had registered a whopping $350 million in losses from its investments in two of the Indian startups, Snapdeal and Ola. Later, In the same month, the company fired about 600 people from its workforce, in a cost-cutting exercise. Not only this, it also stopped the incentive programme for customers that was previously launched through affiliates.

For Snapdeal trouble doesn’t stop here. Later in 2017, a group of online sellers had requested commerce minister Nirmala Sitharaman to safeguard their money that Snapdeal owed them, in the form of outstanding dues. Later, the Union Minister of State, Commerce & Industry (I/C) intervened in the situation and stated that she will look into the matter and inquire into vendors’ complaints of default payments by Snapdeal.

While Snapdeal is fighting to survive in the competitive market by raising funds, its home-grown competitor Flipkart has closed $1 Bn round at a valuation of $10 Bn from undisclosed investors.

Now What Future Holds For It

After bleeding losses and trouble, Snapdeal is finally news for its merger. In March 2017 it was reported that SoftBank is facilitating a merger between Snapdeal and Flipkart, and is likely to invest $1.5 billion into a joint entity with a roughly 15 percent stake. SoftBank was trying to strike a deal to sell Snapdeal to Flipkart was in talks with Tiger Global to merge the Gurgaon-based marketplace with Flipkart. However later on sources revealed that deal could go either way — Snapdeal getting merged either with Flipkart or Paytm.

After 3 months-long deliberations that included more than 15 board meetings and a giant payout of at least $210 million, Japanese internet and telecom giant Softbank has finally made up its mind to merge its biggest Indian asset Snapdeal with e-commerce giant Flipkart. But still there is a bump in the road. As per the people familiar with the deal, the merger still requires a go-ahead from two of India’s most powerful businessmen magnets, Ratan Tata and Azim Premji.

The final deal has ended up valuing Snapdeal at around $1 billion, which is a major fall from its $6.5 billion last year. If sources to be believed, Snapdeal’s co-founders, Kunal Bahl and Rohit Bansal, who hold approximately 6.5 percent together in the company, can be expected to get richer by a whopping $60 million when the merger comes through.

Now time will only tell, whether this merger will give a major push to the current cut throat competition going on between Jeff Bezos’ Amazon and India’s very own homegrown e-commerce leader, Flipkart or not.

Anatomy of India's First 'Unicorpse' Startup

Is Snapdeal getting merged? Is deal finalised? At what valuation Flipkart is going to acquire Snapdeal? These are the few questions which are currently buzzing around. Snapdeal, a homegrown e-commerce giant is today for sure has become the talk of the town. Once known as one of India’s first unicorns is now becoming India’s first unicorpse startup a.k.a dead unicorn which is ready to be cremated. For unawares, a Unicorpse is a former unicorn, now valued at less than $1 billion.

All the while, despite all the troubles, Snapdeal has its own story to tell.

A Quick Flashback

Founded in February 2010 by Kunal Bahl and Rohit Bansal, Snapdeal has come a long way since its inception. While establishing its footprint in the market and competing against the e-commerce biggies like Flipkart, Snapdeal has acquired about 13 startups which include big names like Freecharge, Exclusively, GoJavas, Rupee Power to name few.
Talking about the funding, during the course of its journey, Snapdeal has raised about $1.76 billion in 12 rounds of funding. Out of these the most recent investment came in August 2016 from Luxembourg-based firm Clouse SA, that poured in another $21 million which valued the company somewhere between $6.5-$7 billion.

In August 2015, Snapdeal was valued at $5 billion when it had raised $500 million from Alibaba Group, Foxconn Technology Group and Softbank. However, Snapdeal’s biggest round of funding came in October 2014, when SoftBank invested $ 627 million. Not only this, In August 2014, Ratan Tata also made a personal investment in the e-commerce giant.

Apart from these well-known investors, Snapdeal’s other bunch of investors includes eBay, Kalaari Capital, Nexus Venture Partners, Bessemer Venture Partners, Intel Capital and Saama Capital, Temasek, BlackRock Inc, Myriad, Premji Invest and Tybourne and IndoUS Venture Partners.

The online retailer claimed to have an assortment of 65 Mn plus products across 1000+ categories from over 125,000 regional, national, and international brands and retailers. It has over 300,000 sellers and delivers to 6000+ cities and towns in India.

If everything sounds so good then what went wrong? From where the downfall started?

From A Unicorn To Unicorpse

The e-commerce firm has been in the news for quite some time for bleeding losses and more. In November 2016, Softbank Group Corp, which has the highest holding in Snapdeal (about 32%) marked down close to $555 Mn in two of its Indian investments, cab hailing firm Ola and Snapdeal. In February 2017, it was reported that Softbank had registered a whopping $350 million in losses from its investments in two of the Indian startups, Snapdeal and Ola. Later, In the same month, the company fired about 600 people from its workforce, in a cost-cutting exercise. Not only this, it also stopped the incentive programme for customers that was previously launched through affiliates.

For Snapdeal trouble doesn’t stop here. Later in 2017, a group of online sellers had requested commerce minister Nirmala Sitharaman to safeguard their money that Snapdeal owed them, in the form of outstanding dues. Later, the Union Minister of State, Commerce & Industry (I/C) intervened in the situation and stated that she will look into the matter and inquire into vendors’ complaints of default payments by Snapdeal.

While Snapdeal is fighting to survive in the competitive market by raising funds, its home-grown competitor Flipkart has closed $1 Bn round at a valuation of $10 Bn from undisclosed investors.

Now What Future Holds For It

After bleeding losses and trouble, Snapdeal is finally news for its merger. In March 2017 it was reported that SoftBank is facilitating a merger between Snapdeal and Flipkart, and is likely to invest $1.5 billion into a joint entity with a roughly 15 percent stake. SoftBank was trying to strike a deal to sell Snapdeal to Flipkart was in talks with Tiger Global to merge the Gurgaon-based marketplace with Flipkart. However later on sources revealed that deal could go either way — Snapdeal getting merged either with Flipkart or Paytm.

After 3 months-long deliberations that included more than 15 board meetings and a giant payout of at least $210 million, Japanese internet and telecom giant Softbank has finally made up its mind to merge its biggest Indian asset Snapdeal with e-commerce giant Flipkart. But still there is a bump in the road. As per the people familiar with the deal, the merger still requires a go-ahead from two of India’s most powerful businessmen magnets, Ratan Tata and Azim Premji.

The final deal has ended up valuing Snapdeal at around $1 billion, which is a major fall from its $6.5 billion last year. If sources to be believed, Snapdeal’s co-founders, Kunal Bahl and Rohit Bansal, who hold approximately 6.5 percent together in the company, can be expected to get richer by a whopping $60 million when the merger comes through.

Now time will only tell, whether this merger will give a major push to the current cut throat competition going on between Jeff Bezos’ Amazon and India’s very own homegrown e-commerce leader, Flipkart or not.

10 Incredibly Innovative Mumbai Startups To Watch Out in 2017

While the Indian startup industry might not have had a great inning last year, it for surely wasn't able to dim the spirit of the city of dreams, Mumbai. The city saw many new Startups arriving at the block with some really innovative ideas and some old ones were able to further up their game. Here, in this article, we discuss the top 10 Mumbai-based startups that caught our attention in the year 2016 and are on their way to do exceptionally well in 2017.

NanoSniff Technologies

Deep Technology

[caption id="attachment_115468" align="aligncenter" width="700"]Team Nanosniff[/caption]

Founder - Kapil Bardeja

Founded by Kapil Bardeja, an IIT Delhi alumnus and serial entrepreneur, and Dr Nitin Kale, an IIT Bombay alumnus and head of micro-fabrication for the startup, NanoSniff Technologies is an spin-off from the Center of Excellence in Nano-electronics (CEN) at IIT Bombay. It was started to commercialize products from the technologies developed from the research work conducted at CEN. The startup uses micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS), which is the technology for miniaturized devices, to develop applications for the detection of industrial hazards, security and surveillance systems and medical devices. It has filed multiple patents in MEMS sensor technologies.

NanoSniff is the first Indian company to successfully commercialize to microcantilever and microheater sensor technologies and sell these devices off-the-shelf. The startup's clients include ISRO and Germany-based Max Planck Society for the Advancement of Science.

Funding: Raised $300,000 (Rs 2 crore) from crowdfunding platform 1Crowd and its investor community [Funding News].

AlgoSurg

Medical Technology

Founders - Amit Maurya and Dr. Vikas Karade

Founded in 2016, the startup has developed next generation products to revolutionize the way surgeries are being performed, using advanced computing methods, enhanced visualization and automation. Notably, the startup is one of the 40 StartUps invited to Silicon Valley, USA during Indian PM Modi visit.

The team at the startup has developed a cloud based software touted as for orthopedic surgeons -- world first 2D X-ray based 3D surgery planning software -- to accurately plan deformity correction and knee replacement surgeries by turning 2D X-Rays into 3D view and in turn envisage a 3D 'virtual surgery plan' to make accurate surgical decisions resulting an accurate surgical outcome.

Funding: Self-Funded

Arya.ai

Artificial Intelligence

Founders: Vinay Kumar Sankararapu, Deekshith Marla

An alumnus of Mumbai-based accelerator Venture Nursery, Arya.ai was started with a vision of building ‘intelligence’ that can help humans in solving complex problems at a much faster pace. The startup provides advanced AI tools that developers can use to build robots that can assist professionals from different fields in their tasks. It is one of the first Indian startups to make it to the list of international innovators, Paris & Co, a French innovation agency.

The startup made news last year for announcing the global launch of ‘Braid’, an Open Source tool to build intelligence quickly into systems. Braid is being offered free and open source, to companies that use research scientists and technologists developing neural networks.

The startup's success got its founders, Vinay Kumar Sankararapu and Deekshith Marla selected to the first ever Forbes ‘30 Under 30’ Asia list [Read Here].

Funding: Raised $750k in Seed Funding.

Qure.ai

AI-based Healthcare

[caption id="attachment_116337" align="aligncenter" width="700"] Team Qure.ai - (L-R) Prashant Warier, Pooja Rao and Sasank Chilamkurthy[/caption]

Founders: Prashant Warier & Pooja Rao

Founded in 2016 and a healthcare AI subsidiary of Fractal Analytics, Qure aims to revolutionize the way patients are diagnosed and treated using cutting-edge deep learning technology, a form of artificial intelligence.

As the new sources of large, complex data such as genome sequencing, biosensors and connected devices are being adopted across healthcare industry, the startup applies the latest deep learning technology to healthcare and medical data and develop innovative solutions to help diagnose disease and recommend personalized treatment plans from healthcare imaging data.

Qure's artificially intelligent radiology solution can diagnose disease from CT Scans, MRIs and X-rays as well as outline and quantify regions of interest such as tumors or lung disease patterns. In December 2016, the startup has won the Social Innovation Award at the Nvidia Emerging Companies Summit, India.

Funding: Self-Funded

Fluid AI

AI-based Data Analytics & Insights

[caption id="attachment_116339" align="aligncenter" width="700"] Fluid.AI Co-founders[/caption]

Founders - Raghav Aggarwal and Abhinav Aggarwal

Founded by Aggarwal brothers -- Raghav and Abhinav, who are dropped out of IIM Ahmedabad and ISB respectively, Mumbai-based Fluid.AI uses uses genetically evolving neural networks to create over 100,000 iterative models from data sources and studies the data pattern which arises from the model evolves accordingly and improves feedbacks whenever the market conditions change.

The startup in a layman's term predicts what is the next best product to upsell a customer , what’s the likelihood for a bank customer defaulting on a loan, or preventing fraud from a million transactions.

Funding: Bootstrapped till date

Boltt

Sports Wearables

Founders: Arnav Kishore, Aayushi Kishore

Building a diverse fitness ecosystem of smart bands, smart shoes, and custom wireless headphones, Boltt is looking to cater to the white space currently present in the wearables domain, with its wide range of products and solution.

The startup’s meticulous Artificial Intelligence reinventing successfully complements the software part of the fitness gadgets space. Its products are an impressive combination of an Artificial Intelligence (AI) Health Coach and various advanced fitness wearables.

The startup was in the news last year when it showcased its 'smart shoes’ or the ‘smart sneakers’ at Techcrunch’s TechDisrupt event in San Francisco [Read Here].

Funding: USD 1.7 millions in two different seed rounds.

[box]Related Reading - 10 Most Innovative Bangalore Based Startups in 2016[/box]

VPhrase

AI-based Data Analytics

[caption id="attachment_116342" align="aligncenter" width="700"] Team Vphrase[/caption]

Founder: Neerav Parekh

It is an Artificial Intelligence-based platform that makes complex data reports more readable and helps companies make their reports easy to understand by explaining the insights in captivating words.

The startup's patent pending platform, Phrazor, analyses data, derives insights and then communicates those insights, in words, in multiple languages. It automates the work of analysis and communication which is the forte of expensive domain experts and it does this at a fraction of their cost. The startup has users in India, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Indonesia.

Funding: Undisclosed seed funding via Apoorv Ranjan Sharma and Daud Ali from Venture Catalysts

Thinkphi

Clean Technology

Founders: Samit Choksi, Priya Vakil Choksi

Founded in the year 2015, Thinkphi is a clean-tech company that has a goal of developing products based on three pillars of sustainability; waste, water, and energy. Using the principles of environmental science and sustainable design, the startup designs simple but intelligent products that help in improving lives on Earth by influencing behavioural change in the way humans manage water, energy, and waste resources available to them.

The company’s first product -- Ulta Chata (in image above) is an inverted canopy like structure that provides potable water by capturing rain water during the monsoon and solar energy for the rest of the year. Each unit has the capability to harvest and filter up to 100,000 liters during the rainy season and a maximum solar capacity of 1.5KW.

Funding: Raised undisclosed amount in angel funding from serial entrepreneur Nimmagadda Prasad .

Maher Soft

3D Printer

Founders: Mohammed Khorakiwala

Maher Soft is primarily involved in manufacturing Industrial and consumer grade 3D Printers. The company does close to 500+ hours of testing on its prototype machines before sending it into production so as to maintain the quality of its products. This precision and quality is the very reason that Maher Soft has earned high repeatability of its products.

For Maher Soft, the actual 3D printing journey started when one fine day the company bought the leading consumer grade 3D Printers. Unfortunately, the leading printers ended up miserably failing the startup’s basic benchmark tests. The frustration caused by this motivated the company to build its own 3D Printers.

The startup ha built Indie, an Industrial grade 3D Printer, after more than 5000 hours of testing. This high precision dual nozzle 3D Printer is currently considered as the most reliable 3D Printer in the whole wide country. Another great product by the startup is a consumer grade 3D Printer by the name Max.

Funding: Self-Funded

ManageMyFortune

FinTech

Founders: Sameer Naringkrekar

It is an online wealth management platform for retail investors and a robo-advisory based curated marketplace for retail investors to find based on their past performance, client ratings or industry experience.

The startup's vision is to assist individual investors through its affordable, transparent and research-driven financial advisory service. The startup has recently been shortlisted for Startupbootcamp FinTech, a global accelerator for fintech startups.

Funding: Received about $16K on 6% equity through Startupbootcamp.

IntuitThings

Affordable Home Automation

Founders: Neil Savant

The Mumbai-based IoT startup for home automation started the year with a bang by being one of the four startups to be selected for on the spot funding at the annual summit hosted by the entrepreneurial cell of IIT Bombay. The startup provides intelligent and innovative end-to-end IoT solutions for home automation applications like controlling thermostat temple etc. at extremely affordable prices. The startup claims that its platform has a “sixth sense” to anticipate the needs of the user.

Funding: Received INR 70 lakh in an investment by Sanjay Mehta.


[Top-most Image - Shutterstock]