19th January 2018 | Daily Business Digest
#Indian Startup News
#1. Paytm To Hit $14 Bn GMV During The Current Fiscal: Vijay Shekhar Sharma
Paytm is aiming to achieve $14 Bn GMV during the ongoing fiscal year. The digital payment company founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma, while speaking at the 12th edition of India Digital Summit also revealed that Paytm made 255 Mn transactions last month. In November 2017, Paytm claimed that it was witnessing 7 Mn transactions worth $18.78 Mn
#2. ShareChat Raises $18.2 Mn In Series A Funding From Xiaomi, Shunwei
Bengaluru-based Indian regional language social platform ShareChat has raised $18.2 Mn in Series A funding round from Xiaomi Singapore and its sister company Shunwei Capital. Existing investors Lightspeed Venture Partners, Saif Partners, India Quotient, VH Capital also participated in the fundraising.
#3. Mobile-based Security Management Solution myGate Raises $2.5 Mn In Funding From Prime Venture Partners
Mobile-based security management solution for gated premises myGate has raised about $2.5 Mn ( INR 16 Cr) in its first round of funding, led by Prime Venture Partners. The company will use the funds to invest in technology and scale to 2 Mn homes across the country’s top seven cities within the next two years.
#4. India Overtakes The US To Claim Second Spot In App Downloads in 2017: App Annie Report
As per the App Annie 2017 Retrospective Report, India overtook the US to take the second spot in terms of the number of app downloads in 2017. China took the first spot, with four of the top five countries by downloads being emerging markets.
#5. Supreme Court Judges Begin Final Hearing On Authenticity Of Aadhaar
Amid a pandora of controversies surrounding the independence of Supreme Court, Judges, and Aadhaar’s authenticity, a constitutional bench consisting of five Supreme Court’s judges began final hearing on a batch of petitions that challenge the citizen identity programme, on grounds that it violates an individual’s fundamental right to privacy.
#6. After UP, Maharashtra State Cabinet Approves Startup Policy
In a bid to strengthen the state’s startup ecosystem, the Maharashtra Cabinet has approved the Maharashtra State Innovation and Startup Policy in a meeting recently. The policy, which was in the making for over a year, aims to facilitate the emergence of around 10,000 startups over the next five years through investments worth over $782.2 Mn (INR 5,000 Cr).
#7. WhatsApp Might Launch Its Digital Payments Feature As Early As Next Month
WhatsApp could launch its much-awaited payments feature as early as next month as per people close to the development. An ET report stated that the messaging app is at various stages of integrating its Unified Payments Interface (UPI) based digital payments platform with SBI, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, and Axis Bank.
#8. Amazon India Launches First Of Its Kind Silent Delivery Station In Mumbai
The Indian arm of ecommerce behemoth Amazon has announced the launch of a first-of-its-kind Silent Delivery Station in Mumbai, in collaboration with Mirakle Couriers. The move is aimed at empowering and support diverse communities in the country by creating relevant job opportunities for them.
#9. Paytm Payments Bank Launches Physical Debit Card Delivery Via App
The account holders in Paytm Payments Bank can now order physical debit cards from the Paytm app. Earlier, the bank provided only digital debit cards which are issued to customers upon opening of Individual Savings Account. The development was confirmed by Paytm and One97 Communication founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma in a recent tweet.
#10. NITI Aayog Positive On New Age Tech; Expects IoT To Be A $70 Bn Market
After introducing a slew of measures in various sectors, the Indian think-tank NITI Aayog seems to be optimistic about new age technologies. Speaking at the 12th India Digital Summit, organised by the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI), NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant forecasted the IOT market in India to be worth $70 Bn
#Electic Vehicle
#11. Ashok Leyland Partners With Israel Based Phinergy To Develop EV Solutions
During the India-Israel Business Forum this week, Chennai-headquartered Ashok Leyland entered into a partnership with Israeli company Phinergy for electric commercial vehicles. The alliance, as per reports, is aimed at providing a variety of energy management solutions to customers.
#12. In a related development, state-owned Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) has inked a pact with Israeli company Phinergy to develop ultra lightweight metal-air batteries for electric vehicles.
#13. Gurugram-headquartered power electronics solutions provider Exicom Tele-Systems is set to supply 125 EV chargers to Energy Efficiency Services Ltd (EESL).
The company is preparing to install 100 AC charging stations with a capacity of 3.3 kilowatts each. The remaining 25 will be DC chargers boasting a capacity of 15 kilowatts.
#14. Government-run Energy Efficiency Services Ltd (EESL), a joint venture of NTPC Limited, Power Finance Corporation, Rural Electrification Corporation, and POWERGRID, has invited bids for 2,000 electric vehicle chargers as part of the second phase of the tender it floated in September 2017. While Phase 1 of the tender involved the procurement of 500 electric vehicles that are to be deployed across Delhi/NCR, the second phase will entail a nationwide rollout of 9,500 EVs later this year.
#15. Geared towards expediting the adoption of zero-emission vehicles, the state government of Goa has announced that it would be exempting electric vehicles from road tax.
#16. SIAM Urges Govt To Extend Custom Duty Concessions On Certain EV Components
Ahead of the upcoming Union Budget 2017–18, the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) has reportedly urged the Ministry of Finance to extend custom duty concessions on certain components of electric vehicles that are currently not manufactured indigenously in India.
#17. Maruti Suzuki Working With Local Dealers To Develop Lithium-Ion Batteries
Maruti Suzuki is reportedly doubling down on its efforts to move towards an electric car portfolio. According to Maruti Suzuki MD and CEO Kenichi Ayukawa, the automobile company has adopted a multi-pronged approach to make the shift to EVs. For instance, it is currently looking for lithium suppliers for the lithium ion battery plant it is building in Gujarat.
#18. Nissan To Turn Infiniti Into A Predominantly Electric Car Brand
Japanese automaker Nissan Motor Company is planning to turn its Infiniti brand into a predominantly electric car brand. As stated by CEO Hiroto Saikawa recently, all Infiniti models launched in and after 2021 will be either EVs or hybrids.
#19. Ferrari To Build Electric Supercar To Beat Rival Tesla
Italian sports car manufacturer Ferrari N.V. also seems to have joined the electric vehicle bandwagon, as a way of expanding its market while also thwarting competition from rivals like Tesla. The company has announced plans to build a high-end electric supercar.
#20. Ford Earmarks $11 Bn Investment To Launch 40 EVs By 2022
US-headquartered multinational automaker Ford Motor Company is aiming to launch as many as 40 electric vehicle models by 2020. To that end, the company is looking to significantly increase its planned investments in EVs to over $11 Bn, revealed Chairman Bill Ford recently.
#Crypto News
#TOPNEWS: Cryptocurrency Activities Will Be Legal and Tax Free in Belarus Starting in March. The decree signed by Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko which legalizes cryptocurrencies, initial coin offerings, and smart contracts, will enter into force in March.
#1. Cryptocurrency App Users Increase 14-Fold in South Korea
The number of cryptocurrency app users in South Korea has increased 14 times in the last 11 weeks to approximately two million users, according to a recent analysis.
#2. South Korean Regulator: In Reality Impossible to Close Cryptocurrency Exchanges
The South Korean Fair Trade Commission KFTC does not have the authority to close cryptocurrency exchanges. “It is impossible in reality,” said the KFTC chairman.
#3. Bitcoin Hardware Wallet Maker Ledger Raises $75 Million from VC Investors
#4. Betex Blockchain P2P Binary Options Platform Raises $1 Mln in the First Round of Pre-Sale
Betex, the blockchain P2P binary options platform, has successfully sold 100% tokens in the first pre-sale round with $1,000,000 raised.
#5. Chip Giant TSMC Expects Strong Demand for Cryptocurrency Mining to Continue
The world’s largest dedicated semiconductor foundry, TSMC, expects that the bitcoin mining industry will continue to grow this year, fueling an increased demand for its chips.
#6. Social Network Yours.org Raises $1.5m to Introduce Cryptocurrency to the Masses
Crypto-focused social network Yours.org, which enables contributors to earn bitcoin cash for creating content, is poised to ramp up its operations after securing $1.5 million.
#7. New US $65 Million Bitcoin Mining Facility is Among Largest Data Centers in North America
Virginia Beach, Virginia isn’t exactly known as a hotbed of bitcoin mining activity, but that appears to be changing, and soon. A local company has sunk 65 million USD
#8. Austrian Bitcoin Miner May Seek an IPO on the London Stock Exchange in 2018
#Tech News
#1. New Android spyware found to steal encrypted WhatsApp messages
#2. Microsoft Surface Book 2 coming to India soon
#3. Honor 9 Lite with front and rear dual cameras launched in India
#4. Microsoft Patents ‘Mind Control’ Tech to Operate Apps With Just a Thought
#5. Internet of Services (IOS) Raises 35K Ether in funding
#6. Hike brings payments, news, and messaging to basic Android phones without mobile data
#7. Global app downloads topped 175 billion in 2017, revenue surpassed $86 billion
#8. Google’s Project Fi now offers unlimited data (with a catch)
#9. Under the new YouTube guidelines, channels will need to have 1,000 subscribers and 4,000 hours of watch time within the last year to be eligible for receiving ad revenue.
☞ Clap if you liked this post. ☞ For daily updates on #Startups and #Businessupdates follow Tussle and Triumph
#Startup #India #Digital #TussleandTriumph #Funding#CollaboratingIntoTheFuture #Entrepreneurs #Investment #Acquisition#fund #unicorn #VentureCapitalist #InvestIndia
