Big brands, chain stores boost retail developments in tier-2 cities

Last year, H&M opened its store in Ranchi, GAP too opened its doors to Guwahati; and Rare Rabbit did the same in Kochi. It’s not just top apparel chains that are going deeper into Bharat, fine dining restaurants like Royal Train Cuisine too have set up shop in Lucknow and Wow chain is wooing Chandigarh. In summation, as many as 35 major retail brands expanded their footprint to 14 tier-2 cities between January to September 2023, says a report by real estate services and investment firm CBRE. This flurry of activity has triggered a retail space boom in 14 cities that include Chandigarh, Jaipur, Indore, Goa, Mangalore, Kochi, Lucknow, Patna, Ranchi, Guwahati, Bhubaneshwar, Vizag, Mysore, and Coimbatore. Chains like Armani Exchange, Malabar Gold & Diamonds, Tanishq, Marks & Spencer, Starbucks, Pizza Express, Under Armour are now catering to a growing set of consumers in these cities. “Domestic and international fashion brands are looking to expand in non-metro cities, fueled by a well-aware and well-travelled consumer set,” said Ram Chandnani, MD, advisory & transactions services of CBRE India. Changing consumption patterns are affecting the retail dynamics in these cities, the report says. E-commerce trends also point to a highly-aspiring consumer base in these cities, which has brought in an influx of quality retail supply. “A striking example of evolving consumer patterns in these cities is the fact that 50% of online urban shoppers were residing in these tier-2 and tier-3 cities. A percentage that’s projected to reach nearly 60% by 2030,” the report adds.As high-end retailers make a beeline for tier-2 city business, the retail developments in the cities also picked up pace. The total retail stock in these 14 cities stood at 29 million square feet, as of September 2023. Amongst them, Jaipur, Lucknow, and Chandigarh each boast retail stock ranging between 3-7 million square feet.In the three months between July and September 2023, around 2.4 million square feet was added in the 14 cities. Most of it was added in Chandigarh, Jaipur and Lucknow. Also, a similar amount – again 2.4 million square feet – was absorbed across these cities, led by Kochi, Jaipur, and Goa.“The e-commerce boom, tech-savvy consumer base, growing aspirations and surge in discretionary purchasing are defining the retail growth in tier-II cities. Most non-metro cities are established trade and business hubs and are now witnessing multinational corporations and start-ups setting up offices as well,” said Anshuman Magazine, chairman & CEO, India, Southeast Asia, Middle East & Africa of CBRE.The retail developments have a healthy mix of malls and high streets. But, they too are evolving from vanilla stores in high-streets to malls by top-end developers. A lot of high-end malls have also come up in recent times like Nexus Elante Mall in Chandigarh; World Trade Park Mall in Jaipur; DLF Mall in Panjim and more.“Investment-grade developers are setting up large-sized contemporary malls in these cities, which are seen as an entertainment destination and not just as a place to shop,” adds Magazine.

HDFC Bank Q3 consol net profit grows 2.6% sequentially to over ₹ 17,000 crore

Pre-provision operating profit (PPOP) came in at ₹23,650 crore which grew 4% sequentially.HDFC Bank’s third quarter consolidated net profit went up 2.6% sequentially to ₹17,257 crore from ₹16,811 crore in the second quarter of FY24. The year on year numbers are not comparable as HDFC Bank merged with HDFC as of July last year.The reading is better than what the street expected as most analysts predicted a marginal sequential drop in profits. Its total income went up by 6.9% to ₹1,15,015 crore as compared to ₹1,07,566 crore in the second quarter. On a standalone basis, its net interest income grew 3.9% to ₹28,470 crore from ₹27,385 crore in the September quarter. This was less than what the street was expecting. Provisions and contingencies for the quarter stood at ₹4,603 crore versus ₹3,311 crore in Q2. Gross non-performing assets (NPAs) saw an improvement sequentially as they stood at 1.26% of gross advances as compared to 1.34% as of September end. Net NPAs were at 0.34% of net advances for the third quarter.HDFC Bank’s third quarter consolidated net profit went up 2.6% sequentially to ₹17,257 crore from ₹16,811 crore in the second quarter of FY24. The year on year numbers are not comparable as HDFC Bank merged with HDFC as of July last year.The reading is better than what the street expected as most analysts predicted a marginal sequential drop in profits. Its total income went up by 6.9% to ₹1,15,015 crore as compared to ₹1,07,566 crore in the second quarter.Gross non-performing assets (NPAs) saw an improvement sequentially as they stood at 1.26% of gross advances as compared to 1.34% as of September end. Net NPAs were at 0.34% of net advances for the third quarter.Total deposits grew 27.7% while CASA deposits grew 9.5% on a year on year basis. Gross advances saw an increase of 62.4% YoY due to the effects of the merger. The balance sheet as of December 2023 stands at ₹34,82,600 crore.Nomura expected the bank to report a 6% sequential rise in net interest income and a 3% drop in profit after tax QoQ. Yearly growth is not comparable for the bank due to its merger with HDFC in July last year.Most banks are expected to see margin contraction, lack of treasury gains, and higher opex including staff cost and franchise cost in the third quarter. Emkay expects HDFC Bank’s net interest margins (NIMs) to recover from their lows seen in the second quarter.“HDFC reported strong credit revival of around 5% QoQ, but deposit growth has been lower of 2% QoQ, which we believe could be due to the unwinding of ICRR and should help the bank witness some margin recovery from the lows of Q2,” said Emkay.BoBCaps on the other hand expected its benefits from absorption of excess liquidity in the books likely to be offset by higher term deposit rates, leading to contraction in net interest margins.“Credit cost to remain stable. Expect minor YoY improvement in gross non-performing assets (GNPA) and net non-performing assets (NNPA) with controlled slippages,” BoBCaps said.

Recently, in a Meesho commercial, Rashmika Mandanna and Ranveer Singh

A new campaign from Meesho called "Jab Meesho pe hain latest trends, toh sochna kyun just maximise" has been released. Meesho has launched #Trendz, a curation that highlights affordability and modern designs, with an emphasis on Generation Z. Meesho wants to attract youthful consumers who are looking for stylish clothing that doesn't break the bank.A visual narrative starring celebrities like Rashmika Mandanna and Ranveer Singh is at the center of the campaign. Meesho hopes to position itself as a hip destination for fashion where consumers can find the newest styles at reasonable costs by launching this campaign.During the pre-launch stage, the firm showcased its fashionable apparel, the focal point of its campaign, in a transparent refrigerated truck that traveled throughout Bengaluru. The purpose of using the chilled truck is to convey the idea that trends are new and that refrigeration is necessary to keep them delicious. Prominent paparazzi like Viral Bhayani and fashion influencers like Urfi Javed intensified the online and offline dialogues created by the truck. The company created an Instagram page to provide details on the truck's daily travels throughout the city. Engaging social media users generated a lot of discussion, reaching an amazing 100 million people in just four days on various social media platforms."Fashion is ever-evolving, and many people struggle with finding the latest fashion trends at affordable prices," stated Nilesh Gupta, General Manager, Growth at Meesho. We have consistently worked to offer our clients the greatest items over the years, without sacrificing on either cost or quality. Our most recent campaign, "Meesho #trendz," was thoughtfully chosen to give fashion aficionados who appreciate both style and affordability a genuine and approachable platform. Through our partnership with trend-setters Ranveer and Rashmika and our use of humor, we hope to establish a lasting connection with the public.Meesho has partnered with Swiggy Instamart to expand its product offers even more. When clients shop for cold things (items that need to be placed in an insulated packaging) on Instamart, Meesho gives them free jewelry. Similar to the refrigerated truck, this demonstrates how new the trends are.Four films in all are part of the campaign, which will be promoted on television and online. Meesho hopes to make fashion accessible to everyone by offering a wide range of reasonably priced clothing options to its clients through this campaign.  

Edtech Eruditus considers an IPO as it joins the line of Indian firms doing reverse flips.

According to persons with knowledge, the edtech unicorn Eruditus intends to relocate its headquarters from Singapore to India. It will become the next in a long line of foreign-domiciled firms planning a homecoming. Now let's get started:SoftBank-backed comeback child In preparation for a flip back to India, Eruditus is in talks with several law firms and two of the Big Four firms. The decision is related to its intentions for this possible IPO, considering that markets are valuing profitable companies at multiples of their earnings. Eruditus, a company devoted to higher education, is worth $3.2 billion.Drawing a straight line: Indian startups with foreign holding corporations are in different stages of returning to India from places like Singapore and the US. The plans of digital payments company Razorpay to "reverse flip" from the US to India were originally covered by us in May of last year. Together with e-commerce firms Udaan and Meesho, other fintechs including Groww and Pine Labs have also entered the list. Fintech companies are primarily concerned with regulatory matters; nonetheless, some are relocating their registered firms in order to go local public.Numbers game: With revenue of Rs 3,322 crore ($400 million) for the fiscal year 2023, Eruditus is currently the second-largest edtech in India. The business, which reports from July to June, saw a 75% increase in full-year revenue over the prior year.Byju's, the front-runner, has not yet released its audited FY23 financial statements. According to people with knowledge, the troubled company has made over Rs 5,000 crore in sales but has lost more than Rs 8,200 crore. They stated that although it has not yet submitted its FY22 profits to the Registrar of Companies, it has given the investor access to the financials.Overview. Unicorn Edtech Eruditus plans to "reverse flip," or move their domicile from Singapore to India. Pine Labs, Udaan, Razorpay, and Groww are just a few of the Indian online companies that Eruditus is joining. Eruditus is assessing going public on the local stock exchanges.As of fiscal 2023, Eruditus has amassed revenue of Rs 3,322 crore ($400 million), making it the second largest edtech company in India. The business, which reports from July to June, saw a 75% increase in full-year revenue over the prior year.Byju's, the front-runner, has not yet released its audited FY23 financial statements. According to people with knowledge, the troubled company has made over Rs 5,000 crore in sales but has lost more than Rs 8,200 crore. They stated that although it has not yet submitted its FY22 profits to the Registrar of Companies, it has given the investor access to the financials.  

Zomato Notices An Increase In Sovereign Fund Stakes From Singapore And Kuwait

Large sovereign investors from Kuwait and Singapore increased their interests in the listed foodtech startup Zomato at a time when unicorn makers Tiger Global and SoftBank had completely exited the market.Kuwait Investment Authority reportedly purchased 88 million shares in the September quarter and then added an additional 6.7 million shares in the December quarter, increasing its interests, according to an ET report. Conversely, during the December quarter, Temasek, the national fund of Singapore, purchased 95 million shares in the business. Temasek already had 169 million shares through its investment subsidiary.The nation's mutual funds have increased their holdings in Zomato by twofold in addition to the sovereign funds. Mutual funds held a 12.34% interest in the company as of December 2023, about twice as much as they had owned 5.72% of the same time the previous year. As was previously said, it's interesting to note that these changes happened at the same time as institutional investors SoftBank and Tiger Global were pulling out of Zomato.Tiger Global sold 12.24 Cr shares, or 1.44% of the foodtech behemoth Zomato, in open market transactions in August of last year.According to the BSE's bulk deal data, Tiger Global's investment vehicle Internet Fund III Pte Ltd sold the shares in several tranches at an average price of INR 91.01 Cr. The venture capitalist received INR 1,123.84 Cr. in total for the shares that were sold. The prominent French bank Societe Generale purchased the majority of these shares. The other buyers of the offloaded shares were BNP Paribas Arbitrage, Axis Mutual Fund, Morgan Stanley Asia Singapore, Societe Generale, and Kotak's midcap fund.By the end of June 2023, Tiger Global's Internet Fund III owned 1.44% of Zomato. Masayoshi Son-led SoftBank exited the foodtech behemoth situated in Delhi-NCR just last month when it sold 9.35 Cr of Zomato shares in an INR 1,127 Cr block sale.Among the buyers of these shares were Morgan Stanley Asia Singapore, Invesco, ICICI Prudential Insurance, Goldman Sachs (Singapore), and Kadensa Capital.In a block transaction worth INR 621.6 Cr earlier this month, Motilal Oswal Mutual Fund sold 4.5 Cr shares of Zomato for INR 138.15 apiece. The company's stock fell 3% as a result of this block transaction. On January 20, 2023, at the closing bell, Zomato's shares traded for INR 130.10.  

JUMPSTART 2024 IS LAUNCHED BY WEWORK LABS TO SUPPORT EARLY-STAGE START-UPS

WeWork India's investment and acceleration division, through its Growth Campus initiative, would give entrepreneurs discounted access to workspaces, a chance to network with founders, investors, and mentors, and the chance to apply for $200,000 in pre-seed money through investments.WEWORK LABS, THE investment and acceleration division of WeWork India, launched Jumpstart 2024 on Saturday. The program's objectives are to assist early-stage start-ups by introducing them to mentors and the investor community, giving them access to workspaces at a discounted rate, and providing them with a $200,000 seed investment in capital.vStartups and entrepreneurs can get discounted access to workplaces worldwide through WeWork Labs' Growth Campus program. They can also grow their businesses by interacting with mentors, investors, and founders, and they can receive up to $200,000 in pre-seed funding through investments.The arm's goals are to support fledgling companies with idea and product validation, early customer acquisition, market expansion, recruiting, mentorship, and funding.For instance, WeWork will work with founders and carry out the product idea validation using its mentor community within its vast network, explained Arvind Radhakrishnan, associate director and head of WeWork Labs, WeWork India.For example, according to WeWork India's associate director and head of WeWork Labs Arvind Radhakrishnan, WeWork would collaborate with founders and use its extensive network of mentors to validate product ideas."We'll streamline the entire product testing process so that the founder sets up their product for testing in a single conference room. After that, they fill out a brief form with information and leave knowing if their product is useful or not. Would anyone purchase it? "What else should I include in the product roadmap to improve its usefulness?" "And what would the cost be to the people?" Thus, that saves a ton of time, he remarked.Access to WeWork Labs' tech stack, which will aid companies in expanding their operations into new markets, will also be made available through the Growth Campus program. "We identified 13 business building domains for our partner stack, starting from fundamentals like Cloud, Sales, Marketing, Finance, Legal, and even Mental Health," stated Radhakrishnan. WeWork Labs began identifying leaders in these industries with startup-friendly services that address problems with the least amount of friction, he continued. Among the partners are Google, IBM, and AWS. The investment and acceleration division has developed a thesis to identify viable startups and has chosen the consumer services and retail, fintech, healthcare, construction and property tech, and SaaS as their focal areas for further development.WeWork Labs now offers 330 businesses subsidized offices, and by the end of the next year, it hopes to have increased that number to 1,000. WeWork India established its investment and acceleration division in 2018 in an effort to support early-stage companies by providing them with subsidized workspaces and carefully selected founder communities. This was done because the real estate provider was drawing a lot of small-sized teams and enterprises. WeWork Labs did not, however, decide to begin providing financial support for the entrepreneurs until 2023. You are capable of doing all of things, but capital is the kind of fuel that is required. The goal of startups is to turn a profit. WeWork Labs provided funding for our modest start in 2023 after several variations on how to approach this, according to Radhakrishnan."Rather than adding something to the offerings, I think what I want to focus on is being able to deliver it at scale," he said in response to a question about future offerings WeWork Labs wants to add to the program. In addition, he stated that he would like to see the mentorship community grow, enter new markets, serve micromarkets, and switch to larger checks.  

Wow! Momo To International Battery Company: $136 million was raised this week by Indian startups

Following the $1 billion that start-ups raised in December, just around one-fourth, or $250 million, has been raised in the first three weeks of January. The start-ups had raised $145 million and $58 million in the preceding two weeks, respectively. Up till the most recent week of January 19, 2024, 21 start-up agreements raised $136 million for startups. Once more, a small number of names dominated the start-up story in the section.There were just 21 deals this week as opposed to 25 deals the previous week. That suggests that there are a lot of middle-tier transactions that typically cost between $4 and $5 million. Due in major part to the significant money raised by start-ups in the second and third week of December 2023, the start-up funding in the most recent week was -41.9% lower than the average of the previous five weeks. This is the tale of the last six weeks' startup fund-raising.The start-up financing for the most recent week, which concluded on January 19, 2024, decreased by -12.4% week over week but significantly decreased by -41.9% when compared to the average of the previous five weeks. The start-up funding for the week really represented the second week in a row that it exceeded $100 million. The start-up funding has remained above $100 million for four of the past six weeks. Though the amount of start-up funding in the last two quarters has remained much lower year over year, it is evident that the momentum from December is carrying over into January as well. This is the tale of the week's biggest start-up fundraising deals, along with the financiers' information and the application of  Whoa! Momo receives $42 million to grow its QSR business. Leading QSR start-up brand in India, Wow! Momo, is set to get an investment of $42 million (Rs350 crore) from Khazanah Nasional Bhd, the Malaysian Sovereign Fund. A combination of primary and secondary infusions will be invested. In addition to Khazanah, Wow! Momo's departing investor, OAKS Asset, would provide Rs60 crore to the startup investment round. The company plans to use the capital round to support the quick service restaurant (QSR) brand's rapid growth and expansion. Additionally, money will be used to support R&D and distribution. In addition to its main Wow! Momo brand, other well-known brands it carries include Wow! China and Wow! Chicken.$35 million is secured by International Battery Company (IBC) for its aspirations to expand into India. In Karnataka, India, IBC intends to establish a green battery manufacturing factory for electric vehicles. The $35 million (Rs 291 crore) in finance is meant to extend its plans for manufacturing in India. RTP Global led the fundraising round, which also included Beenext, Veda VC, and other influential international investors with bases in the US and South Korea. IBC is a supplier of rechargeable batteries to its clients in the small mobility industry. Its unit is expected to begin production in 2025. The $35 million investment is a part of RTP Global's Pre-Series-A capital round, in which Beenext, Veda VC, and a few other key US and Korean investors also participated.FinAGG raises $11 million to improve MSMEs' access to finance In its most recent funding round, which was headed by Blue Orchard and Tata Capital, FinAGG raised $11 million (Rs 91.40 crore). The money received will be put toward growing and enhancing FinAGG's offline and online presence. The money will also be used to promote product innovation and expand the company's worldwide reach. By the way, distributors, retailers, and MSMEs involved in a brand's upstream and downstream supply chain can apply for credit solutions from FinAGG. In addition to Blue Orchard and Tata Capital, the fundraising round also involved participation from SIDBI and Prime Venture Partners. Prime is a current FinAGG investor.$6 million is raised by Alt Mobility to expand the EV Asset Management Platform. In 2021, Dev Arora, Anuj Gupta, Manas Arora, Harsh Goyal, and Jayant Gupta launched Alt Mobility. In a Pre-Series-A financing round, it has raised $6 million (Rs50 crore). Shell Ventures, Eurazeo, EV2 Ventures, and Twynam led the funding round. With its asset management platform, Alt Mobility facilitates fast EV fleet management for third parties.   

Groyyo Secures $5.4 Mn To Power MSMEs With Manufacturing Solutions

OVERVIEW - Established in July 2021, Groyyo provides manufacturing MSMEs in the fashion and leisure sectors with a centralised platform that enables them to grow and improve their business endeavours.The money will be utilised to strengthen Groyyo's cash reserves and support its strategic goals of revolutionising the manufacturing industry. Groyyo, a business-to-business manufacturing and supply chain enablement startup, has raised INR 40 Cr ($5.4 Mn) from Lighthouse Canton and Trifecta Capital as part of its debt fundraising round. business, which is based in Delhi NCR, plans to use the additional funding to increase its financial reserves and scale up its manufacturing-related strategic projects. Groyyo, which was founded in July 2021 by Subin Mitra, Pratik Tiwari, and Ridam Upadhyay, provides manufacturing micro, small, and medium-sized firms (MSMEs) in the fashion and lifestyle sectors with a centralised platform, enabling them to grow and improve their commercial endeavours. "The additional capital infusion will enable us to collaborate with a wider range of SMEs and support them in expanding their operations worldwide," stated Mitra. He continued by saying that the investment will help the business achieve its objective of enabling South Asian SMEs to expand internationally and digitalize their shop floor through in-house technological solutions. "This is also highly aligned with the Indian government's Made in India initiative, as we relentlessly strive to attract a growing amount of global demand to the subcontinent," he continued. Through an order management tool, the business hopes to offer entry-level technology to overlook small-scale industries in Delhi NCR. It states that it has over 360 factories working for more than 110 companies, generating a wide variety of goods in 150 different categories. Groyyo operates in India as well as the UAE, Bangladesh, Vietnam, and Turkey, which increases efficiency. Additionally, the business says it has reached international stores Inditex, Next, Mango, Ross, and Burlington.In order to expand the team throughout important demand belts in the US and the EU, as well as industrial clusters in Bangladesh and India, the business raised $40 million in debt and equity in its Series A fundraising round earlier in 2022.  

Nasdaq-Listed Zoomcar’s India Entity Sees Loss Triple To INR 237 Cr In FY23

OVERVIEWZoomcar India reported a 221 percent surge in net loss to INR 237 crore in FY23 from INR 74 crore in the previous fiscal year. Operating revenue for Zoomcar India fell 27% from INR 94.9 Cr in FY22 to INR 69.1 Cr in FY23. Since launching on the Nasdaq on December 29, 2023, Zoomcar's shares have increased by 38%. After completing a merger of a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC), Zoomcar debuted on the Nasdaq last month. The net loss of its India entity increased by more than 3.2X for the fiscal year that ended on March 31, 2023. In the fiscal year 2022–2023 (FY23), Zoomcar India reported a net loss of INR 237 Cr, a 221% increase from the INR 74 Cr recorded in the prior fiscal year. Founded by David and Greg Moran Zoomcar is a self-driving car rental business that launched in 2013. The startup pairs together hosts and guests, who may rent a variety of cars at reasonable rates. Operating revenue for Zoomcar India fell 27% from INR 94.9 Cr in FY22 to INR 69.1 Cr in FY23. The business gets funding from subscriptions and vehicle rentals, to name a couple. Zoomcar's overall revenue, including other income, decreased 27% from INR 94.9 Cr in FY22 to INR 69.1 Cr in the year under review.  90 percent of Zoomcar's business, according to Moran, came from India in a recent interview with CNBC-TV18. The business is present in Egypt and Indonesia as well. Where Was Zoomcar Expended? Zoomcar India had a 10% decrease in spending from INR 359.1 Cr in FY22 to INR 321.8 Cr in FY23. Employee Benefit Costs: The majority of the startup's expenses were allocated to employee costs. Employee costs made up 39.5% of Zoomcar's total expenses, or INR 127.4 Cr. From INR 119 Cr in FY22, it increased by 7%. Advertising Expenses: The startup spent INR 39.5 Cr, a 37% decrease, on advertising during the year under review from FY22's INR 62.3 Cr. Additionally, it paid for incidental expenses of INR 78.4 Cr. It did not, however, include a breakdown of this expense. Following a business combination with Innovative International Acquisition Corp., a company headquartered in Cayman Islands, Zoomcar began trading on the Nasdaq on December 29. Since listing, the company's shares have increased 38%; as of last trade, they were trading at $5.11. Adarsh Menon, a senior executive at Flipkart and Hindustan Unilever, was appointed president of Zoomcar earlier this month.  

Atsuya wins the title of Genesis Innovator.

Atsuya Technologies, a deep-tech business based in Chennai, won the National business Awards 2023's Genesis Innovator category. Tuesday night in Delhi, Union Industries Minister Piyush Goyal presented the prizes.Atsuya Technologies, a deep-tech business based in Chennai, won the National business Awards 2023's Genesis Innovator category. Tuesday night in Delhi, Union Industries Minister Piyush Goyal presented the prizes. An agency of the Union government, Startup India, announces the awards each year to honour businesses working on innovative products and solutions across a range of industries.The startup redefines operational excellence in enterprises with a focus on sustainability by utilizing cutting-edge technology like artificial intelligence (AI) and the internet of things (IoT). Atsuya Technologies stated in a press release that the company has been assisting companies across industries in making data-driven decisions, improving profitability, and promoting environmental responsibility with one integrated platform that unlocks many use cases for individual business objectives.The company went on to say that a wide range of industries, including retail, quick-commerce, oil and gas, real estate, HoReCa, and more, were using its products. The business supports 65% of the quick-commerce market and 95% of organized meat retailers in India as a technology partner. In the LPG supply chain, the company also helps to improve safety, visibility, and traceability. According to the statement, companies may reduce resource waste, easily incorporate sustainability into their operations, and move closer to reaching net-zero goals with the help of Atsuya's extensive portfolio of solutions."Deep tech and data are set to drive growth and propel us toward a net-zero economy," stated Rahul Ganapathy, CEO and cofounder of Atsuya. I firmly think that India's startup scene has the capacity to propel our country to the forefront of the world economy. I express my sincere gratitude to Startup India and the Indian government for recognizing this potential and for their steadfast assistance in fostering the expansion of entrepreneurs. Keep up with important tech and startup news. Get our daily newsletter delivered right to your inbox to stay up to date on the newest and most important tech news.Atsuya Technologies of Chennai won the National Startup Awards 2023's "Genesis Innovator" category, which is an accolade given by Startup India to up-and-coming firms nationwide. On January 16, National Startup Day, Union Industries Minister Piyush Goyal delivered the award at a ceremony in Delhi. Atsuya technology leverages cutting-edge technology like artificial intelligence (AI) and the internet of things (IoT) to transform company operations while prioritizing sustainability. According to the firm, the startup, which has been a technology partner to 95% of India's organized meat shops and 65% of the quick-commerce market, is now indispensable. The National Startup Awards honor and promote the innovations and contributions made by companies in a range of sectors.  

In a pre-seed round, professional social media platform

  In a pre-seed fundraising round headed by FirstCheque VC, Medial App—a professional social media platform for startup ecosystem—raised $120K from angel investors from Bangalore, Mumbai, and the US, including Nayan Jadeja, Rohitashwa Choudhary, Ankit Aggarwal, and Radhakrishnan Ramachandran.With an emphasis on feature expansion and product launch because of encouraging beta app metrics, the business intends to use the additional funding for product development, user acquisition, and testing of core app features. The majority of the funds raised, according to a Medial press statement, will go into user acquisition, app feature testing, and product development.Aishwarya Raj Pandey, Niket Raj Dwivedi, Harsh Dwivedi, and Prateek Kaien established and oversee Medial, a content-driven platform with a strong community spanning IT, product, and UI/UX industries. It serves as a hub for non-clickbait startup news, industry updates, jokes, and advice in an effort to better the community and encourage candid conversations in the workplace.Medial started out as an integrated platform for professionals in the startup business with the aim of becoming a globally relevant employment board and company profile. The app is creating a network for UI/UX designers, business analysts, venture capitalists, product analysts, and budding entrepreneurs.In addition to being a real-identity professional network similar to Github and LinkedIn, Medial provides an anonymous feature as an additional layer to improve the platform. To a lesser extent, Hood (previously Zorro), FishBowl, Blind, and Reddit may potentially pose competition for it.Medial has over 5,000 users in beta testing and intends to fully launch by the end of January 2024., a business social networking platform, raised $120,000 in its pre-seed round thanks to FirstCheque VC. Prominent angels from the US, Mumbai, Bengaluru, and Rohitashwa Choudhary, among others, Ankit Aggarwal, Radhakrishnan Ramachandran, and Nayan Jadeja, took part in the round.In a pre-seed funding round, Medial, a professional social media network, successfully raised $120,000, or around Rs 1 crore. Leading angel investors from Bengaluru, Mumbai, and the US, such as Nayan Jadeja, Rohitashwa Choudhary, Ankit Aggarwal, and Radhakrishnan Ramachandran, participated in the funding lead by FirstCheque VC. Niket Raj Dwivedi, Aishwarya Raj Pandey, Prateek Kaien, and Harsh Dwivedi launched the startup, which intends to offer more than just a standard social media platform. Medial is a community-driven center for information, specializing in tech, product, and UI/UX industries. It delivers industry updates, startup news, and expert guidance in an uncomplicated, non-clickbait way. The startup says the money obtained will go toward user acquisition, product development, and testing of the main features of the app.   

Adya.ai Secures Funding To Assist Businesses in Developing Apps for ONDC

The pre-series A investment round of Adya.ai, a startup providing digital commerce solutions, has raised Rs 10.5 crore from investors in Indian Angel Network (IAN) and other strategic investors.According to the company, IAN's investors contributed Rs 3.75 crore, with the remaining funds coming from other key investors.Adya.ai, a technology service partner, was founded in 2023 by Shayak Mazumder, CEO and CTO, Archana Mazumder, COO, and Angad Singh Ahluwalia, CBO. The company employs data science and artificial intelligence (AI) to assist businesses with digitizing. It also provides plug-and-play tech stacks as well as other ONDC integration solutions. Enterprise Tech Startup Adya.ai Secures Funding To Assist Businesses In Developing Apps On ONDC Indian Angel Network (IAN) led the pre-Series A funding round, which brought in INR 10.5 Cr ($1.2 Mn). 'Strategic' investors who wished to remain anonymous also participated in the round. IAN gave the startup INR 3.75 Cr. in funding. Digital commerce and technology solutions provider Adya.ai raised Rs 10.5 crore in a pre-Series A funding round, led by investors from Angel Network such as Uday Chatterjee, Romesh Sobti, Sri Prakash, and Hari Balasubramanian. Indian Angel Network (IAN) provided Rs 3.75 crore to this tranche, along with contributions from other key investors.Adya.ai released a news release stating that the firm plans to utilize the money to strengthen its market position, develop its innovative products, and accelerate the development of AI technology.Adya.ai, a SaaS-based solution for data security and ransomware prevention, was co-founded in 2023 by Angad Singh Ahluwalia, Shayak Mazumdar, and Archana Mazumdar. The answer to find a company's most sensitive data, protect it from undue exposure, and alert management in the event that it is stolen or exploited is said to involve big data and machine learning.According to the Bengaluru-based startup, their system also provides businesses with a dashboard where they can view the files and folders that any customer has access to just clicking on a user. The ONDC's technological service partner, Adya.ai, powers major sectors including retail, logistics, F&B, transportation, credit, insurance, and finance.Adya.ai asserts that its technology marketplace has allowed over ten major enterprise contracts, including partnerships with Canara Bank, Aditya Birla Financial Limited, Hindustan Unilever, and others. The company focuses on areas like CPG, financial services, retail, and mobility. The platform for seed and early-stage investments known as the IAN Group is made up of IAN Fund I, BioAngels, and the IAN Angel Group. With investments in 19 distinct industries, the sector-agnostic fund has helped innovative businesses in India and seven other nations.