STARTUP PROFITABILITY
Top startup and tech stories this week
ETtech Unwrapped is packed with the most important stories that we covered this week. Here’s a quick recap.
Japan's Nikkei drops from record high on chip selloff, yen intervention nerves
The Nikkei share average dropped 2% on Friday, influenced by a tech stock selloff mirroring Wall Street. Profit-taking before Japan's long weekend due to currency intervention concerns. Tokyo Electron and Disco saw significant declines. Topix also down 0.93%. Market affected by bond yield decrease and SoftBank's chipmaker acquisition.
Agritech startup Arya Ag raises $29 million from Blue Earth Capital
Arya Ag will utilise the capital to expand the firm’s market share and enhance profitability. The funding will also be directed towards forging partnerships to enhance Package of Practices (PoP) on farms and implementing initiatives to minimise food loss throughout the supply chain.
Financial audit, top-deck rejig at Medikabazaar; GCCs woo more techies
A financial audit and top-level reshuffle are in the works at business-to-business (B2B) startup for medical supplies Medikabazaar. Details on this and more in today’s ETtech Morning Dispatch.
Roll-up brands firm Goat Brand Labs raises $21 million in a mix of debt and equity
BlackRock, Mayfield, and NB Ventures, among others, chipped in, while some existing investors like Flipkart’s venture arm stayed away. Founder Rishi Vasudev notes profitable scale-up. Mensa Brands and GlobalBees refocus strategies. National roll-up space faces challenges; Lifelong India divested by Thrasio. Trase re-acquired by cofounders from Upscalio.
Pepperfry puts IPO plans on hold, to focus on growth revival
Pepperfry, an omnichannel furniture retailer, has pushed its public listing plans, as the company aims to bring growth and profitability into focus in the ongoing fiscal. Founded in 2012 by Ashish Shah, the startup had converted to a public company in 2022 and was looking to raise $250-300 million through its IPO.
- Go To Page 1
Top startup and tech stories this week
Welcome to a brand new edition of ETtech Unwrapped – our weekend newsletter packed with the most important stories that we covered this week. Here’s a recap if you missed them.
Chorus grows for angel tax repeal; policy push for EVs
Startup Inc’s calls to do away with angel tax have found support from the government. This and more in today’s ETtech Top 5.
PE, VC funding slows in first half of 2024; secondary deals become prominent
Secondary stake sales and buyouts are driving most of the larger deals being made by private equity (PE) and venture capital (VC) funds in new-age firms, data from investment banking firm DC Advisory showed. In the first six months of 2024, when 37 deals took place in the $50-500 million range, 62% were secondary transactions or buyouts, with external primary investment rounds making up only 13%.
Rise & rise of secondary deals; advantage desi data centres
Happy Friday! Total funding raised by Indian startups fell in the first half of 2024, but late-stage activity showed signs of revival, as per data. Decoding this and more in today’s ETtech Morning Dispatch.
How Sebi action will impact profits of discount stock broking firms like Zerodha and Groww
Market regulator Sebi mandated in its July 1 circular uniform brokerage charges that are not based on volumes. Due to this, tech-first brokers are staring at impact on valuations. Platforms like Shoonya and Mstock charge zero brokerage fees, and they are bracing for impact from Sebi's instructions. Venture fund-backed startups like Groww, Upstox, Zerodha and listed discount broker Angel One will also have to start charging their customers.
Suzuki launches Rs 340 crore investment vehicle Next Bharat Ventures for Indian startups
The company will invest in firms through a residency programme, the first of which will begin this October, with applications starting on Thursday. This will be similar to those run by Antler and Y Combinator.
CXO-level shifts rearrange top deck at Indian startups
The world of startups witnessed a series of top-level movements in the first half of 2024, including Naveen Tahilyani taking the helm as CEO of Tata Digital and the resignation of Surinder Chawla, managing director and chief executive officer of Paytm Payments Bank.
Karnataka losing out in manufacturing race; CXO churn in startups
New-age companies are choosing to set up manufacturing facilities in neighboring states like Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu, bypassing Karnataka. More on this in today's ETtech Morning Dispatch.
Silver's the new gold as startups rejig CXO portfolio
Many startups, particularly those gearing up for public listing, now consider youth and experience a winning combination. Having experienced leaders instills confidence in investors and markets, who view it as an indicator of stability and potential for success, said company founders and industry watchers.
Indian tech startup funding logs slight uptick at $4.1 billion in H1
Indian tech startups raised USD 4.1 billion in H1 2024, 4% higher than H2 2023, remaining fourth-highest funded country globally. Insights from Tracxn report highlighted funding trends and volumes in the Indian tech startup landscape.
BNPL startup Simpl undertakes another round of layoffs, rejigs senior leadership
Simpl, a Bengaluru-based consumer credit startup, laid off 30 employees after firing 160 executives. Senior executives Vatsal Jain, Ashwini Ravindranath, and Ramkumar Narayanan resigned. Earlier in April 2023, the BNPL startup let go 25% of its workforce or around 150 employees.
Temasek, Fidelity pick up $200 million stake in Lenskart secondary deal at $5 billion valuation
Singapore's Temasek and US financial service major Fidelity invest $200 million in Lenskart through a secondary share sale, valuing the company at $5 billion.
Oyo’s maiden annual profit; RBI guidelines for fintech SRO
In a significant turnaround, hospitality startup Oyo reported its first annual profitable fiscal on Thursday. This and more in today’s ETtech Top 5.
Bluestone may turn unicorn in pre-IPO funding round
This funding round will more than double ominchannel jewellery retailer Bluestone's valuation from around $450 million in September 2023. Bengaluru-based Bluestone’s pre-IPO round is seeing interest from new and existing investors, encouraged by the Tata Group’s CaratLane deal where Titan bought out the founder’s (Mithun Sacheti) stake last year.
HUL-owned Oziva posted Rs 44 crore loss on Rs 104 crore revenue in FY24
In FY23, OZiva had posted a net profit of Rs 58.3 crore, as it benefitted from a one-time gain of Rs 95.5 crore during the year. Its operating revenue for the year was Rs 99.3 crore.
Startup funding: What do investors look for in a startup?
The bottom line for any investor is return on investment. No one wants to invest in a business that loses steam after the initial burst of profit and proof of viability. A guide for startup founders who are searching for investors
A quarter of hits & a few misses; and other top tech, startup stories
Welcome to another edition of ETtech Unwrapped – our weekend newsletter. This is Pranav Mukul in New Delhi. This week we’ve wrapped up another compelling quarterly earnings season for listed new-age companies from Zomato and Delhivery to Paytm and PB Fintech.
AirBrick Infra aims for a 200% growth in Sales Order Book for FY25
a Commercial Design & Build startup AirBrick Infra aims for 3 times growth in sales for FY25.
Strong financials, steady growth will help Digit’s public listing sail through: Kamesh Goyal
Insurance startup Digit is set to hit the public markets on May 15, looking to raise Rs 1,125 crore through a fresh issue of shares and an offer for sale of 54 million equity shares.
Virat Kohli, Anushka Sharma to score 263% return, Rs 7 crore profit with Go Digit IPO
Go Digit IPO: The new-age insurance startup on Friday announced that its Rs 2,615 crore IPO, which will run from May 15-17, comes with a price band of Rs 258 to Rs 272 per share. The shares are already commanding a premium of around Rs 50 or 18% in the grey market
A startup needs to find balance between growth and profitability: Sanchi Connect’s Sunil Shekhawat
Sanchi Connect wants to build relationships and connections among deep tech early-stage founders with the institutional funding ecosystem.
Startups shuffle top deck, play to ace long-term profitability game
At Third Wave Coffee, founder Sushant Goel transitioned to a board role after former KFC India head Rajat Luthra was roped in as chief executive, effective April 1. "The journey of starting up and getting the company at a certain scale is very different from taking it to the next level," said a venture investor with a global firm. "These changes are ultimately healthy in the sense that these startups are reaching a particular level."
Amid cost conservation focus, startups keep tighter rein on top rung hikes during appraisals
Startups and ecommerce companies are focusing on profitability and cost conservation, with some holding back pay raises for senior staff during appraisals. Some founders are forgoing hikes on their own, while others are forgoing them. Sandeep Murthy, partner at VC fund Lightbox Ventures, suggests that the main goal is to create a stakeholder advantage.
Load More
