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.
Flipkart, Snapdeal merger is taking twist and turns with time. Recently, Jasper Infotech owned Snapdeal’s board has refused the initial offer by Flipkart. E-commerce major, Flipkart has completed the due diligence process and has made an offer of $800-850 million to buy Snapdeal. But Snapdeal’s board felt that offer made by Flipkart undervalued the company. Snapdeal’s largest investor, SoftBank has been proactively mediating the sale for the past few months.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Israel has become the buzz of the town. The PM visit to Israel has further strengthen the relation between two nation by announcing the launch of a technology fund, the Israel India Innovation Initiative Fund, or I4F. The fund will focus towards growing the two countries’ business relations. In addition to the tech fund, the two countries also signed a total of seven accords aimed at boosting India and Israel’s cooperation in a number of crucial sectors right from agriculture and water to space research etc.
Not only this, the two countries have unveiled a bilateral innovation challenge that will see Indian and Israeli startups coming together to conceive solutions to fight some of the most critical challenges that the world is facing right now like water, agriculture and digital healthcare etc. The bilateral innovation challenge will be hosted on a new online platform called the India-Israel Innovation Bridge.
As per a report by Venture Intelligence, a research firm led by media entrepreneur Arun Natarajan, the quarter ending June saw venture capital investments in Indian startups decreasing by 25 percent from the figure locked in a year ago. The report highlighted that the venture capital investment amount in startups in India has decreased to $275 million in 78 investments from last year’s figure of #309 million in 104 deals. Venture Intelligence, which is considered as a leading source of information and analysis on private company financials, transactions and their valuations in India, also revealed that the June quarter was the lowest VC investment quarter seen by the Indian startup ecosystem in the last three years period.
New York-based collaborative workspace, WeWork has launched its first community workspace in Bengaluru – ‘WeWork Galaxy’. WeWork targets two new centers’ in Koramangala and Whitefield respectively. The Bangalore launch also coincides with the opening of first location in Brazil (Sao Palo).
WorkSpace is well equipped to cater to 2200 members, powered by beautiful, functional work spaces, swimming pool and gym. The company is aiming to reach out to entrepreneurs, freelancers, SMEs and SMBs, startups across e-commerce, IT/ITES, retail, FMCG, healthcare, legal, and marketing segments amongst others.
Assam-based Numaligarh Refinery Limited (NRL) has decided to promote startups in Northeast India region. If we talk of the funds, initially, to assist startups, company has come up with a fund of Rs 10 Crore which will come as a grant for startup venture. Commenting on the development, P.Padmanabhan, Managing Director, NRL said, “We want to create entrepreneurship ecosystem in Northeast India. Once the ideas are submitted, jury will evaluate the same. We will evaluate if the project requires seed funding, scale up funding or any other assistance. We will tie up with incubation Centre.”
E-commerce major, Flipkart has recently flagged off a program where its employees will visit customers across the Indian subcontinent in the month of July as a part of the company’s 10th anniversary celebrations. As a part of the program, Flipkart’s top executives, which includes its CEO Kalyan Krishnamurthy, and its employees across business functions will get an opportunity to personally visit a customer, especially in tier 2, 3 and 4 towns like Bhopal, Patna, Amritsar, Vijaywada, Guwahati, Cuttack, Nashik and Jamnagar to thank them for supporting the company for ten long years.
Early stage venture fund, pi Ventures has appointed Shamik as a Venture Partner. He was previously the Chief Product and Technology officer at Myntra where he was responsible for driving technology strategy and culture. At pi Ventures, Sharma will work with portfolio founders to help them get past critical hurdles, design their product roadmaps and hire specialised talent. His role will involve supporting pi Ventures in deep understanding of technology and IP via technology deep dives of prospective portfolio companies and support in bringing interesting startups aligned with pi Ventures’ investment theme to their deal pipeline.
Capsula.Studio at Tel Aviv University has partnered with a commercial vehicles seating and interiors company, Pinnacle Industries, to establish a startup accelerator, Pinnacle Capsula.Studio in Pune. The partnership aims to accelerate innovative entrepreneurs to market through Capsula’s proven ‘Mentored Customer Validation’ program and knowledge center which connect entrepreneurs with global value network players and the research community.
The Studio has been conceived as a not-for-profit entity which will be located at The BHAU Institute which is a part of the College of Engineering. It will act as a bridge between Indian and Israeli entrepreneurs and will allow novel ideas rapidly gain market traction.
ANAROCK Property Consultants, which prominent real estate industry stalwart Anuj Puri launched last month has appointed Housing.com’s co-founder and ex-CEO Rahul Yadav as Chief Product & Technology Officer. Yadav’s experience in harnessing the consumer housing market at via technology will add the key element to the business.
Yadav, who will be based out of ANAROCK’s Mumbai offices in Bandra-Kurla Complex, assumes his new role from July first week and is already building his team of product and technology experts.
The creator of K-12 app, BYJU’S has acquired TutorVista and Edurite from Pearson. The partnership is focused on expanding international reach and creating a diverse product portfolio. Launched in 2015, BYJU’s has become one of the preferred education app for students across age groups with 8 million users and 4,00,000 annual paid subscriptions. With an average time of 40 minutes being spent by a student on the app every day from 1700+ cities and towns, the BYJU’S app is making learning enjoyable and effective. BYJU’S is making learning contextual and visual, and not just theoretical.
Homegrown E-commerce Giant Snapdeal Rejects Flipkart’s $850 Mn Buyout Offer
Flipkart, Snapdeal merger is taking twist and turns with time. Recently, Jasper Infotech owned Snapdeal’s board has refused the initial offer by Flipkart. E-commerce major, Flipkart has completed the due diligence process and has made an offer of $800-850 million to buy Snapdeal. But Snapdeal’s board felt that offer made by Flipkart undervalued the company. Snapdeal’s largest investor, SoftBank has been proactively mediating the sale for the past few months.
India, Israel Launches 5 Year Technology Fund
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Israel has become the buzz of the town. The PM visit to Israel has further strengthen the relation between two nation by announcing the launch of a technology fund, the Israel India Innovation Initiative Fund, or I4F. The fund will focus towards growing the two countries’ business relations. In addition to the tech fund, the two countries also signed a total of seven accords aimed at boosting India and Israel’s cooperation in a number of crucial sectors right from agriculture and water to space research etc.
Not only this, the two countries have unveiled a bilateral innovation challenge that will see Indian and Israeli startups coming together to conceive solutions to fight some of the most critical challenges that the world is facing right now like water, agriculture and digital healthcare etc. The bilateral innovation challenge will be hosted on a new online platform called the India-Israel Innovation Bridge.
VC Investments in Startups Lowest in Last 3 Years, Decline By 25%
As per a report by Venture Intelligence, a research firm led by media entrepreneur Arun Natarajan, the quarter ending June saw venture capital investments in Indian startups decreasing by 25 percent from the figure locked in a year ago. The report highlighted that the venture capital investment amount in startups in India has decreased to $275 million in 78 investments from last year’s figure of #309 million in 104 deals. Venture Intelligence, which is considered as a leading source of information and analysis on private company financials, transactions and their valuations in India, also revealed that the June quarter was the lowest VC investment quarter seen by the Indian startup ecosystem in the last three years period.
WeWork Launches First Collaborative Work Space in Bengaluru
New York-based collaborative workspace, WeWork has launched its first community workspace in Bengaluru – ‘WeWork Galaxy’. WeWork targets two new centers’ in Koramangala and Whitefield respectively. The Bangalore launch also coincides with the opening of first location in Brazil (Sao Palo).
WorkSpace is well equipped to cater to 2200 members, powered by beautiful, functional work spaces, swimming pool and gym. The company is aiming to reach out to entrepreneurs, freelancers, SMEs and SMBs, startups across e-commerce, IT/ITES, retail, FMCG, healthcare, legal, and marketing segments amongst others.
Numaligarh Refinery To Assist Startups in Assam
Assam-based Numaligarh Refinery Limited (NRL) has decided to promote startups in Northeast India region. If we talk of the funds, initially, to assist startups, company has come up with a fund of Rs 10 Crore which will come as a grant for startup venture. Commenting on the development, P.Padmanabhan, Managing Director, NRL said, “We want to create entrepreneurship ecosystem in Northeast India. Once the ideas are submitted, jury will evaluate the same. We will evaluate if the project requires seed funding, scale up funding or any other assistance. We will tie up with incubation Centre.”
Flipkart Executives To Deliver Packages To Customers
E-commerce major, Flipkart has recently flagged off a program where its employees will visit customers across the Indian subcontinent in the month of July as a part of the company’s 10th anniversary celebrations. As a part of the program, Flipkart’s top executives, which includes its CEO Kalyan Krishnamurthy, and its employees across business functions will get an opportunity to personally visit a customer, especially in tier 2, 3 and 4 towns like Bhopal, Patna, Amritsar, Vijaywada, Guwahati, Cuttack, Nashik and Jamnagar to thank them for supporting the company for ten long years.
Shamik Sharma To Join pi Ventures As Venture Partner
Early stage venture fund, pi Ventures has appointed Shamik as a Venture Partner. He was previously the Chief Product and Technology officer at Myntra where he was responsible for driving technology strategy and culture. At pi Ventures, Sharma will work with portfolio founders to help them get past critical hurdles, design their product roadmaps and hire specialised talent. His role will involve supporting pi Ventures in deep understanding of technology and IP via technology deep dives of prospective portfolio companies and support in bringing interesting startups aligned with pi Ventures’ investment theme to their deal pipeline.
Capsula.Studio to Set Up a Startup Accelerator
Capsula.Studio at Tel Aviv University has partnered with a commercial vehicles seating and interiors company, Pinnacle Industries, to establish a startup accelerator, Pinnacle Capsula.Studio in Pune. The partnership aims to accelerate innovative entrepreneurs to market through Capsula’s proven ‘Mentored Customer Validation’ program and knowledge center which connect entrepreneurs with global value network players and the research community.
The Studio has been conceived as a not-for-profit entity which will be located at The BHAU Institute which is a part of the College of Engineering. It will act as a bridge between Indian and Israeli entrepreneurs and will allow novel ideas rapidly gain market traction.
Housing’s Rahul Yadav Joins ANAROCK Property Consultants
ANAROCK Property Consultants, which prominent real estate industry stalwart Anuj Puri launched last month has appointed Housing.com’s co-founder and ex-CEO Rahul Yadav as Chief Product & Technology Officer. Yadav’s experience in harnessing the consumer housing market at via technology will add the key element to the business.
Yadav, who will be based out of ANAROCK’s Mumbai offices in Bandra-Kurla Complex, assumes his new role from July first week and is already building his team of product and technology experts.
Edtech Startup BYJU’S Acquires TutorVista And Edurite
The creator of K-12 app, BYJU’S has acquired TutorVista and Edurite from Pearson. The partnership is focused on expanding international reach and creating a diverse product portfolio. Launched in 2015, BYJU’s has become one of the preferred education app for students across age groups with 8 million users and 4,00,000 annual paid subscriptions. With an average time of 40 minutes being spent by a student on the app every day from 1700+ cities and towns, the BYJU’S app is making learning enjoyable and effective. BYJU’S is making learning contextual and visual, and not just theoretical.
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