20, 21 & 22 January 2018 | Daily Business Digest
#Indian Startup News
- Digital video advertising company Adomantra announced to set up India’s first digital advertising incubation centre with an investment of $7.85 Mn (INR 50 Cr). The incubation centre will select 15 to 20 startups in the digital advertising space, as well as those with strong artificial intelligence and virtual reality technological capabilities.
- Andhra Pradesh has launched TiE Amaravati Chapter and Andhra Angels in Vijayawada to boost the startup ecosystem in the state. Andhra Angels is expected to invest over $15.38 Mn (INR100 Cr) in Indian startups over the next few years.
- Maharashtra State Cabinet has approved Startup Policy. 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 yearsthrough investments worth over $782.2 Mn (INR 5,000 Cr). With the goal of creating 500K direct and indirect jobs in the state, the Startup Policy also includes a roadmap for setting up at least 15 incubation centres across Maharashtra.
- Jaarvis Accelerator has shifted its focus from early stage startups to slightly more established startups who already have a product and or service and some proof of their concept working. The decision is to streamline the program and accelerate startups which can leverage the Jaarvis’ strengths — its network and experience to achieve accelerated growth.
- Silicon Valley-headquartered AngelList announced the launch of its Syndicates platform in India. The Syndicates platform allows investors to invest in promising tech startups alongside experienced VCs and angel investors. Syndicates allow experienced technology investors to create a single investment fund that raises money from institutions and other angel investors.
- YES BANK in partnership with LetsTalkPayments and PricewaterhouseCoopers launched the second cohort of its fintech startup accelerator, YES FINTECH. The 15-week innovation programme will witness eight startups, chosen from over 500 applicants across 10+ countries. The list of startups include Balance Technology, Karza, Sentimer, Pingal, Fyle, FinBit, bNESIS, and Dov-E.
- Ratan Tata committed $4.7 Mn (INR 300 Mn) to set up startup research facilities under his social impact fund and business incubator FISE. FISE has so far funded over 24 companies ranging from cleantech to robotics.
- SIDBI can now commit an additional $252 Mn (INR 1600 Cr) to AIFs from $1.5 Bn (INR 10000 Cr) Fund Of Funds by March 2018. SIDBI has recently allocated $31.5 Mn (INR 200 Cr) under Fund Of Funds to three AIFs namely Bharat Innovation Fund, JM Financial Fund II and North Eastern Venture Fund. This raises the total number of funded AIFs to 20.
- Early stage VC fund pi Ventures has announced the second close of its $30 Mn fund at $25 Mn. Key contributors to the fund include Sunil Kant Munjal, Chairman of Hero Enterprise Electronic Development Fund (managed by Canbank Ventures), Hero Electronixs and leading HNIs and entrepreneurs.
- Karnataka government will launch a new Centre Of Excellence in Bengaluru that will serve the Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming, and Comics industry. The centre, to be set up in collaboration with the Association of Bengaluru Animation Industry — the apex body for the sector, is designed as a holistic, state-of-the-art centre with a host of facilities and features.
- Morgan Stanley has marked up the valuation of Zomato to $2.5 Bn. Per se reports, the estimation of Zomato’s valuation was done by the global financial services firm while taking stock of the startup’s largest shareholder Info Edge. The development comes just four months after the Indian arm of Japan-based financial holding company Nomura valued the Gurugram-headquartered online restaurant discovery and food ordering startup at $1.4 Bn till March 2019.
- Bajaj Finance will now hold 12.60% stake in digital payments company MobiKwik, up from the 10.83% it acquired in August last year for about $35.2 Mn (INR 225 Cr). The non-banking finance company also revealed that it will not invest further in MobiKwik and readjusted its valuation of the digital payments company to about $279 Mn from $327 Mn.
- Newgen IPO marked the close with 4.28 times subscription, receiving bids for 5.23 Cr shares, against the total issue size of over 1.22 Cr scrips. The Newgen IPO took a slow start on day 1 with only 18% subscription, however, gained pace on the second day with 70%subscription. The IPO was closed on January 18, 2018. With this public offering, the IT company is attempting to raise $71 Mn and provide an exit to a few of its early investors.
- Calcutta Angels entered into a partnership agreement with Mumbai Angels. Both the angel networks will be working together as a single team. With this collaboration, the duo will aim to bring the best, curated deals to their member base, faster deal closures with their combined strength, a standardised deal closure framework and active management of the investment portfolio.
#CryptoNews
#1. Mohit Mamoria has founded a crypto fund named Authorito Capital that aims to help invest in cryptocurrency.
According to Mohit, Authorito Capital is like a mutual fund but for decentralized assets. Authorito Capital is an actively managed open-ended crypto fund. “For any investor, this fund is the easiest, diverse and the most secure way to start investing in cryptos. We are unique in the sense that along with trading, we also use mining to grow the Net Asset Value of the assets under management
#2. South Korea is hardening its rules and regulations over Bitcoin trading.
While the country has already banned ICOs, the Financial Services Commission is now considering to banexchanges as well.
#3. China continues to harden its stance towards cryptocurrency.
After throwing trading, ICOs and mining away from the Mainland, Chinese authorities have now planned to block domestic access to Chinese and offshore cryptocurrency platforms that allow centralized trading.
#4. French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire is among the most vocal advocates for regulation.
Paris wanted to “avoid the risks of speculation or possible financial traffics linked to bitcoin,” reported Politico. It is worth noting that former central bank Deputy Governor Jean-Pierre Landau has already been appointed to lead an investigative mission on cryptocurrencies and how they might be regulated.
#5. The US Securities and Exchange Commission is not open to approving cryptocurrency exchange-traded funds (ETFs) until concerns related to rules aimed at protecting investors are addressed, reported CNBC.
After leading trade organisations CboE and CME recently launched Bitcoin futures, investors have been excited over the prospect of the introduction of Bitcoin ETFs.
#TechNews
#1. TRAI allows Wi-Fi and mobile services on board for flyers in and over India
👉🏿BMW i3 and i8 might not be replaced
👉🏿Govt launches Cyber Surakshit Bharat initiative in partnership with top tech companies
👉🏿Xiaomi’s 50-inch Mi TV 4A offers 4K HDR for just $375
👉🏿TRON Union Member Peiwo APP Will Complete TRX Connection in February
👉🏿Instagram now shows when users are online, last active status
👉🏿Paytm Payments Bank now offers physical debit card
👉🏿Wells Fargo accounts drained as former CEO calls Bitcoin a pyramid scheme
👉🏿Twitter to inform 677,775 people they interacted with Kremlin-linked account
👉🏿A bunch of 11-year-olds designed the cars of the future, and the results are utterly delightful
👉🏿Portrait Camera App ‘Focos’ Gains Real Lens Optical Effects and Improved Shooting Mode
👉🏿dbrand skins are now available for the Google Pixelbook
👉🏿OnePlus confirms 40,000 customers may have had credit card information stolen
👉🏿You can now use your voice in the Alexa app for Android
👉🏿Twitter is notifying anyone who followed a Russian spam account
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