1. Strategise on ways to mop up domestic sources with foreign funds drying up for startups
India is now the third biggest startup ecosystem in the world, with over 95,000 startups, up from 350 in 2014, and 115 now grown into unicorns. Foreign investments have so far played a significant role in shaping the Indian start-up landscape.
At present, more than 85 percent of the investments into the Indian startup ecosystem are from foreign sources, making the Indian startup ecosystem excessively dependent on foreign capital.
Strategise on ways to mop up domestic sources with foreign funds drying up for startups
2. Kuku FM bags $25 million funding led by Nandan Nilekani’s Fundamentum Partnership, IFC
Audio content platform Kuku FM said on September 20 that it has raised $25 million in Series C funding co-led by Nandan Nilekani’s Fundamentum Partnership and International Finance Corporation (IFC), indicating the growing investor interest in digital audio content.
This investment comes nearly a year after Kuku FM raised $21.9 million financing led by Fundamentum Partnership. Other investors in the company include Google, Paramark, Krafton, 3one4 Capital, V Cube Ventures, India Quotient and FounderBank Capital. The startup has raised around $72 million funding to date.
Started in 2018 by Lal Chand Bisu, Vinod Meena and Vikas Goyal, Kuku FM provides content creation tools to its users enabling them to create, develop and post content. It claims to currently have over 30,000 creators on its platform and more than 2.5 million active paid subscribers.
Kuku FM bags $25 million funding led by Nandan Nilekani's Fundamentum Partnership, IFC
A podcast:
1947 Rise ✨
My conversation with Ahana Gautam is live ✨
From Factories to Boardrooms: Empowering Women.
Topics:
→ Early Life & what shaped her the most
→ Mother's Values
→ Learnings in the US
→ Conviction to return to India
→ Open Secret's vision
→ Financial Independence & Education in Women
→ Women in workforce
→ Advise for diasporas thinking about moving back to India
→ India's growth story
→ Health
& more!
Full episode: https://bit.ly/48bJ94H
Worth your attention:
SoftBank, CPPIB to participate in Eruditus’ $60–70 mn secondary funding, likely at 20% discount link
Kae Capital makes final close of new fund at $50 million link
The Good Bug raises $3.5 mn in Series A link
Utsav Somani’s Offline, a club for elite tech founders, raises $2 million in seed round link
Koo, Indian X alternative, seeks strategic partner amid funding crunch | TechCrunch link
Indian consumers’ rising appetite for premium | TechCrunch link
Y Combinator and India are drifting apart | TechCrunch link
