VENTURE CAPITALISTS
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.
Credit card bill payment hurdles; startup funding logs slight uptick
Happy Friday! The central bank has mandated credit card bill payments through Bharat Bill Payment System (BBPS), but only eight of 34 banks are live on the network, causing concern among payment companies. This and more in today’s ETtech Morning Dispatch.
General Catalyst-Venture Highway deal; Sebi clears Ola Electric IPO
Silicon Valley investor General Catalyst has acquired Indian early stage fund Venture Highway. More on this in today’s ETtech Top 5.
Silicon Valley VC fund General Catalyst acquires Venture Highway; will deploy $1 billion in India
Venture capital fund General Catalyst is acquiring India-focussed early-stage investor Venture Highway to strengthen its India presence. As part of this move, Venture Highway—which has backed unicorns like Meesho and Moglix—will cease to exist and will transition into General Catalyst India. This comes in the backdrop of a larger reset in the global venture capital industry after the exuberance of the pandemic years.
Indian venture capitalists need to pivot to a new model of investing
Indian venture investors are shifting focus from tech startups to safe havens, including direct-to-consumer brands. The trend is towards larger fund sizes, profitability, and slower growth, resembling mid-market private equity. AI investments are lacking in India, leading VCs to diversify into offline spaces and PE territory.
Creme Castle raises Rs 7 crore seed funding from V3 Ventures
CRISIL data shows Indian bakery market is expected to grow in the range of 11-12% between 2024 to 2028, to reach sales of Rs 1,850 billion by FY2028. Citing the same data Creme Castle said since Indians are spending more on celebrations and because of social media the demand for their product rose in tier 2 and tier 3 cities.
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$250K funding for ONDC hackathon topper firms
The Build for Bharat initiative was started in New Delhi in December last year in collaboration with the government’s Startup India platform, Google Cloud India, Antler in India, Protean and Paytm. It was organised in more than 50 cities with experts, leaders, venture capitalists and incubators onboard.
Angel tax destroyed startup ecosystem, GST killed gaming industry, says Priyank Kharge
His comments come as political parties are in the middle of the Lok Sabha election, with two more phases scheduled over the next ten days.
Vinod Khosla loses bid to end California beach access suit
Venture capitalist Vinod Khosla faces setback in blocking public access to Martins Beach after California state judge denies his request. The lawsuit from a state agency regarding closing the popular surfing spot continues.
Startup ecosystem today is remarkably different compared to 10 years ago: Sanket Atal, Salesforce India
India’s startup ecosystem is fast maturing as people are becoming much more courageous, willing to take risks and establishing right connections, says Sanket Atal.
Domestic startups come under income tax glare for their recent funding
Notices sent a few weeks ago to multiple startups by the I-T department asking for genuineness, credit worthiness of their investors. Post the notices were served, some startups have been asked to cough up taxes and penalties, if their submissions haven’t been adequate. The tax demands have been arrived at by clubbing the funding with the startup’s income.
Voice of pod: Inside India's entrepreneur-led podcast boom
Entrepreneurs are turning into popular hosts of podcasts, which double as personal branding exercise as well as indirect advertisement for their companies and their guests.
Reddit prices IPO at $34 a share, in a positive sign for tech
The San Francisco-based social media company had estimated that its shares would be priced at $31 to $34. The $34 price put Reddit's value at $6.4 billion, below the $10 billion valuation it fetched in a private fundraising round in 2021. The company raised $748 million in the offering.
Startup Mahakumbh: Kant asks startups to focus on corporate governance & right valuations to keep innovating and growing
The former Niti Aayog CEO underscores the importance of self-regulation in the country's startup ecosystem and urges startups to prioritise good governance rather than fixating on achieving high valuations.
In Silicon Valley, venture capital meets a generational shift
Many more are leaving. Investors at Tiger Global, Paradigm, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Emergence Capital and Spark Capital have all announced plans to step back. Foundry Group, a venture firm in Boulder, Colorado, that has backed 200 companies since 2006, said in January that it would not raise another fund.
Targeting Rs 250 cr in revenues during FY25, plan to raise $4-5 mn from venture capitalists: Perfume brand AdilQadri
AdilQadri, a direct-to-consumer perfume brand, is targeting revenues of Rs 250 crore in FY25 and plans to raise $4-5 million from venture capitalists. Founded in 2018, the company aims to expand its online presence in the US, Canada, Saudi Arabia, and Dubai, along with offline and online stores.
Consumer, fintech top sectors for venture debt funding in 2023: Report
According to a report from Stride Ventures, fintech led with a more than 55% share of the total investment of $1.2 billion in 2023, followed by the consumer sector at around 25%. Meanwhile, in 2024, founders and venture debt firms expect clean tech, especially electric vehicles (21.6%), consumer (19.5%), and fintech (15.8%) sectors to raise more venture debt, the report said.
ET GBS 2024: AI regulation is priority for all but no country will do it, says Spiros Margaris
In December, European Union lawmakers passed the world's first comprehensive set of AI regulations, set to be effective from 2025. The Indian government has, however, indicated that it will only take a light-touch approach to regulating AI to allow sufficient room for growth and innovation.
End angel tax; give sops for domestic venture capital industry: Sanjeev Bikhchandani
Sanjeev Bikhchandani, Founder, Info Edge, hopes for easing of angel tax and incentives for investors in VC funds and startups to boost domestic venture capital industry and investments. He believes the IPO processes for new-age tech companies are streamlined and do not require any changes. Many companies that flipped to list overseas are now returning to India as they cannot list overseas.
Local SaaS firms under the thumb to retool for artificial intelligence
At least half a dozen investors ET spoke to said it will be crucial for early-stage software companies to showcase how they are leveraging AI in their products to attract new investments in 2024.
The AI-ceberg of innovations: Meet AI-first startups shaping India's tech future
Over the last 12 months, a new generation of AI-driven companies and generative AI tooling startups have attracted investments, but this represents only a small percentage of the companies driving innovation in this space. Under the surface lies vast, untapped potential for more.
New spin on a revolving door: Pentagon officials-turned-venture capitalists
Retiring generals and departing top Pentagon officials once migrated regularly to the big established weapons makers such as Lockheed Martin Corp. and Boeing Co. Now, they are increasingly flocking to venture capital firms that have collectively pumped billions of dollars into Silicon Valley-style startups.
India marching up the ladder of Draper Innovation Index as things get better and better: Tim Draper
“India has just been marching forward and the US is clinging to the top spot but just by a hair. A lot of countries that are also very good for innovators are the UK, Singapore, Switzerland, Canada and a lot of the countries in Northern Europe. But countries like India and some of the countries in Latin America are marching up. It is a race to see which country is the freest and that will be where most of the great innovators come from.”
Venture capitalism's evolution: The rising emphasis on startup governance
In this new era of venture capitalism, success is about more than just the next big idea. It's about the ability to execute that idea effectively and responsibly. VCs are placing their bets on companies that understand the value of governance and, in doing so, they are shaping the future of funding in the startup world.
VCs, startups want govt to address grey areas impacting consumers, policy harmonisation
During a panel discussion organised by think tank 'The Dialogue', angel investor and business strategist Lloyd Mathias said government policies should aim to minimise regulation on sectors that have an impact on large consumer base.
US venture capital funding falls by half to $39.8 billion in second quarter: report
Venture capitalists are funding fewer startups, especially at the earliest stages of a company’s life, according to new data from research firm PitchBook.
Keep your company warm for the funding winter: Advice for startups when dealing with venture capitalists
Investors are still willing to invest despite the potential economic downturn, but are sharpening their intuition to find an optimal match. Startups need to feature a human connection and stand by their beliefs to convince investors.
Clipping angel wings isn't cutting, but...
Carve-outs for foreign investors facing angel tax will elicit a mixed response from startups. True, exempting sovereign investors, allowing a broader spectrum of valuation methods, and the introduction of a valuation band will lessen the impact of the tax. But these are, at best, partial relief.
Silicon Valley Bank's demise disrupts the disruptors in tech
the gratitude for the deposit guarantees that will allow thousands of tech startups to continue to pay their workers and other bills was mixed with moments of reflection among entrepreneurs and venture capital partners rattled by Silicon Valley Bank's downfall.
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