1947 Tech 🇮🇳: 147

InMobi, Byju’s, Swiggy, CRED, Meesho, raining unicorns and more!

1. InMobi, India’s 1st unicorn, plans US IPO at value of up to $15 billion

InMobi Pte, which provides mobile-advertising services globally, is planning to list in the US by the end of the year, according to a person familiar with the plan, potentially the first among a slew of Indian startups targeting initial public offerings.

The tech upstart, India’s first private company to reach unicorn status with venture funding, could kick off the IPO process in a few weeks, when its board is set to meet to consider a listing.

The offering size could be as large as $1 billion, valuing InMobi at $12 billion to $15 billion

InMobi, India's 1st unicorn, plans US IPO at value of up to $15 billion

2. Byju’s acquires Indian tutor Aakash for nearly $1 billion

Byju’s said on Monday it has acquired Aakash Educational Services, a 33-year-old chain of physical coaching centres, as the Indian online learning giant looks to further consolidate its leadership position in the world’s second-largest internet market and accelerate its offline growth.

The Indian startup, which is currently valued at $13 billion, paid “close to $1 billion” in cash and equity for the acquisition (about $600 million in cash and the rest in stock), which is one of the largest in the edtech space, three people familiar with the matter told TechCrunch. 

Backed by Blackstone, Aakash owns and operates more than 200 physical tutoring centres across the country aimed at students preparing to qualify for top engineering and medical colleges. The firm serves over 250,000 high-school students.

Byju's acquires Indian tutor Aakash for nearly $1 billion

---

A tweet:

Harsh Upadhyay @upadhyay_harsh1

Over 100 Indian #startups collectively raised $1.78 Bn in March 🌱Early-stage investment: 72 startups raised $170 Mn+ 🌳Growth/late-stage: 30 startups raised $1.6 Bn

---

Worth your attention:

1. A billion for every chip-maker who ‘makes in India,’ sources say Link

2. MobiKwik investigating data breach after 100M user records found online Link

3. Byju’s in talks to acquire US-based reading platform Epic Link

4. Amazon acquires Indian retail startup Perpule Link

5. Crypto exchange WazirX announces NFT marketplace for India Link

6. Startups end FY21 on a high note as fund flows top in Q4 Link

---

Funding News

1. Facebook-backed Indian social commerce Meesho raises $300M at $2.1B valuation Link

2. Swiggy valued at nearly $5 billion after raising $800 million Link

3. Uniphore raises $140M in Series D round led by Sorenson Capital Partners Link

4. India’s CRED valued at $2.2 billion in new $215 million fundraise Link

5. Twitter clone Koo draws Tiger Global at $100–125 Mn valuation Link

---

Thank you for reading. Please share any feedback, questions or comments with me on Twitter :)