India Observers

Settl, a co-living startup in India, has recently raised a significant amount of money, Rs 10 crore, to grow its business.  This funding was contributed by several investors, including Gruhas, a venture capital fund backed by Nikhil Kamath of Zerodha, and We Founder Circle.  Settl began in 2020 and focuses on providing comfortable and affordable living spaces for young professionals and millennials. These are people who are working and want a place to live that is easy to manage and convenient. The company operates in four major cities: Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Gurugram, and Chennai. They have over 60 co-living centers across these cities, offering a total of 4,000 beds.  Their rental options include shared living spaces, individual rooms, or whole apartments, all furnished and equipped with modern facilities. The price for these accommodations ranges between Rs 12,500 to Rs 18,000 per bed. The money Settl has raised will be used for different purposes like increasing their...

The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) is introducing something called 'UPI for Secondary Market' from January 1, 2024. This is a big step in how you buy and sell stocks. Imagine UPI, the system we use for quick payments. It's now going to be used for trading stocks in the market. But first, they're testing it with a small group of people to see how well it works. Here's what's happening, when you want to buy stocks, you can use UPI to block some money in your bank account. This money stays in your account until your stock trade is confirmed. When the trade is done, that money is used to pay for the stocks. If you sell stocks, the money you get will be sent to your account the next day. This new system is like ASBA, a method used when people apply for IPOs. It's been really helpful in making the process of buying new shares faster and simpler. In this trial phase, people with HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank accounts can try it out. The trading app Groww ...

ZestMoney is a company in Bengaluru that gives loans to people, especially those who don't have credit cards or other ways to borrow money.  Recently, they said they will stop working by the end of this month. Now, two other companies, Aditya Birla Finance, and DMI Finance, are thinking about buying ZestMoney . These companies, Aditya Birla Finance and DMI Finance, have worked with ZestMoney before. They are interested in ZestMoney's technology and the loans it has given to people, which are worth about ₹400 crore.  ZestMoney has many customers and a special technology that helps banks and other finance companies work together to give loans. This technology was made after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) made new rules for digital lending in 2022. The talks about this deal are happening now, and they might reach an agreement soon. ZestMoney was started in 2015 by three people who know a lot about finance technology. It has grown big, with about 17 million users and acceptance i...

FirstCry, a company that sells things for mothers and children online, has taken a big step towards selling its shares to the public. They filed a DRHP with SEBI, the market regulator.  This means they're getting ready to sell new shares and raise Rs 1,816 crore. BrainBees Solutions, which owns FirstCry, is doing this. They also plan to sell some old shares in an offer-for-sale, about 5.4 crore shares. Big investors like SoftBank and Premji Invest are planning to sell a part of their shares. SoftBank might sell 2 crore shares and Premji Invest about 86 lakh shares. FirstCry will use the money it gets to expand its business, both in India and abroad, and to improve its technology and marketing. They want to open new stores and warehouses in India.  They also have plans to grow in Saudi Arabia by opening stores and warehouses there. Besides, they'll put money into a company called Globalbees Brands and spend on marketing, technology, and buying other companies. In the last finan...

SCOPE, a platform known for bringing startups together, has just introduced a big funding project. They've set up a venture capital fund, which is like a large pool of money, worth $45 million.  This fund is specially aimed at startups in two areas: fintech, which is about technology in finance, and gaming. So, what is SCOPE planning to do with this fund? They're looking out for startups that are doing something really new and groundbreaking in these sectors.  The idea is to find these young companies that have the potential to change the way we think about finance and gaming. Once they find them, SCOPE will provide them with money and support to grow faster and become more successful. The founder and CEO of SCOPE, Appalla Saikiran, mentioned that fintech and gaming are not just regular industries; they're dynamic and are changing the world in big ways. SCOPE wants to support startups that have big, bold ideas in these fields. This isn't the first time SCOPE is doing so...

VideoVerse, originally known as Toch.ai, is a platform that's changing how we handle video content. They specialize in transforming lengthy videos into short, engaging clips using advanced technologies like artificial intelligence, computer vision, and machine learning.  Imagine having a cricket match's best moments or a film's highlights crafted in no time – that's what VideoVerse does. The big news is that VideoVerse has raised $45 million in a funding round led by Bluestone Equity Partners, a major player focusing on sports, media, and entertainment.  This isn't the first time VideoVerse has attracted significant investment. Just last year, they raised $46.8 million, and before that, $12 million. It's clear that big investors see a bright future in this company. Flipkart’s co-founder Binny Bansal was one of the investors in VideoVerse's Series B funding round. In April 2022, VideoVerse raised $46.8 million in this round, which was led by A91 Partners and...

BHIVE Workspace, a well-known provider of flexible office spaces, has recently announced its acquisition of Praemenio, a company specializing in product engineering. Based in Bengaluru, BHIVE Workspace is a major player in the co-working sector. The company has stated that this acquisition includes both cash and equity, although the exact value of the deal hasn't been disclosed. One key aspect of this acquisition is that BHIVE will be bringing on board a team of 10 members from Praemenio, including its co-founders, Rohit Parab and Gaurav Gandhi. This integration is expected to significantly bolster BHIVE's operations.  The expertise from Praemenio will aid BHIVE in various areas like financial management, processing approvals, identifying issues, lead generation, and decision-making processes.  This support is crucial for efficiently managing BHIVE's extensive network of co-working spaces, which spans 1.5 million square feet across 25 locations. Shesh Rao Paplikar, the Foun...

BharatGPT, an Indian version of ChatGPT, has been launched, marking a remarkable step in the nation's AI journey. CoRover.ai, a leading AI startup, has partnered with Google Cloud to create BharatGPT.  This platform ‘BharatGPT’ is designed to cater specifically to our diverse nation, supporting more than 14 Indian languages across various formats like text, voice, and video. It's a big deal because it's the first time we're seeing such a wide range of language support in AI technology in Bharat. Collaborators of BharatGPT Ankush Sabharwal, the CEO of CoRover, shared that BharatGPT isn't just about technology; it's about embracing and showcasing our rich cultural heritage. The platform is built on Google Cloud's robust infrastructure, ensuring it's reliable and secure. Bikram Singh Bedi from Google Cloud India highlighted how BharatGPT could transform lives by making technology accessible to more people. It's about democratizing AI, making it easy fo...

Ola's CEO, Bhavish Aggarwal, has unveiled a new AI model called 'Krutrim' through his venture, Krutrim Si Designs. This AI is being celebrated as 'India's own AI model.' Now, what's special about Krutrim?  It's designed to understand and create content in 20 Indian languages. That's right, from Hindi to Kannada, Marathi, Odiya, and Telugu, Krutrim can handle them all. This is a big deal because it's even better than GPT-4, a famous AI model (used for ChatGPT) when it comes to supporting our Bharatiya languages. Krutrim comes in two versions. The first one, the base model, will be available to everyone from next month. Then, there's Krutrim Pro, a more advanced version for complex tasks, which will be out early next year. What makes Krutrim stand out?  Firstly, it's trained on a huge amount of data – over 2 trillion 'tokens,' these are small units of language. This training helps it understand and use our languages more effectively...

Aye Finance is a company that focuses on giving loans to small businesses and has successfully raised Rs 310 crore, and this funding was led by British International Investment, a UK-based financial institution. What Is Aye Finance? Now, what is Aye Finance? Founded in 2014 by Sanjay Sharma, Vikram Jetley, and Ashish Sharma, this company specializes in providing loans to very small businesses .  These businesses often find it hard to get loans from big banks, so Aye Finance helps them out. They offer different types of loans like mortgage, hypothecation, and term loans. Growth and Expansion Plans Well, small businesses form a big part of our economy, but they often struggle to get the financial support they need. Aye Finance is trying to fill this gap. They currently have 395 branches across 22 states and plan to expand even more with this new funding. The company has over 330,000 active customers and has given loans to 700,000 businesses so far. Despite this, they believe there's ...

Cryptocurrency platform CoinSwitch has announced the launch of a new brand called PeepalCo. PeepalCo will house CoinSwitch, the retail app for buying and selling cryptocurrencies. The new brand will also manage CoinSwitch PRO, the advanced trading platform. In addition, PeepalCo plans to expand into wealth management and cater to high-net-worth individuals (HNIs).  The restructuring will allow each business segment to operate independently and innovate while adhering to compliance and regulatory standards .  The founders of CoinSwitch, Ashish Singhal, Govind Soni, and Vimal Sagar Tiwari, will guide the initiatives of PeepalCo and each business segment will have its own professional management team. The goal of the restructuring is to unlock the full potential of the organization and allocate resources more effectively. PeepalCo aims to democratize wealth creation in India by providing accessible investment opportunities. Under the new structure, CoinSwitch will be led by Balaj...

Paytm, a popular mobile payments and financial services company in India, has announced that it will expand its credit distribution business. This means that Paytm will offer higher-value personal and merchant loans to customers who have a lower risk of defaulting on their payments and have a good credit history. But analysts have downgraded or cut their price targets for One 97 Communications Ltd., the parent company of Paytm, after the company announced plans to scale back small ticket loans and recalibrate its Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) business.  However, Paytm has already seen positive results from its loan distribution business, with many customers accepting and repaying their loans on time. The company believes that by expanding this business, it will be able to grow even further. Paytm will continue to work with large banks and non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) to offer these loans. It will also focus on maintaining a high-quality portfolio of loans and ensuring that ...

  ‘Incubators,’ India’s first AI platform for startups, emerges as a significant stride in the country’s entrepreneurial landscape. This online platform aims to simplify the process of finding suitable incubators or accelerators for  startup  founders, fostering a more interconnected and efficient startup ecosystem. What is ‘Incubators’ and its Purpose? ‘Incubators’ serves as an extensive online library providing detailed information about various incubators and accelerators in India. These organizations play a crucial role in supporting startups, especially in their early stages, by offering resources such as funding, mentorship, and networking opportunities. The primary objective of ‘Incubators’ is to streamline the search for the right support for entrepreneurs navigating the startup journey. How Will ‘Incubators’ Help Start-up Founders? This platform is a game-changer for startup founders, offering a centralized resource to save time and effort. Entrepreneurs can acce...