1947 Tech 🇮🇳: 153

13th (Moglix), Polygon, Pine Labs, Lenskart, & more!

1. India’s unicorn founders are very similar to each other

The 100 unicorns operate from cities all across the country, and in a range of businesses — — from gaming to biotech. 

But the founders of these firms appear to be a very homogenous lot. About half had a degree from one of the IITs or IIMs (Indian Institutes of Management), a third had a degree from an elite foreign university. 

Among Indian institutions, IIT Delhi, IIT Bombay and IIT Kanpur have produced the highest number of unicorn founders. Among foreign universities, Harvard University has the highest tally, with several founders graduating from Harvard’s business school.

India’s unicorn founders are very similar to each other

2. Made-in-India blockchain crosses $10 billion market cap

In a possible first, a blockchain founded by three Indians breached $10 billion in market capitalisation last week.

Since February, Polygon (previously Matic) has seen its market cap jump 10x owing to increased adoption by players in gaming, non-fungible tokens (NFTs), and DeFi (decentralised finance). In March, Nasdaq-listed Coinbase allowed users to trade Polygon’s token.

In 2019, Polygon’s token was distributed through Binance’s Initial Exchange Offering and the startup raised over $5 million.

Made-in-India blockchain crosses $10 billion market cap

An infographic

Worth your attention:

1. KKR invests $95 million in Lenskart Link

2. Moglix joins unicorn club after $120 million funding round Link

3. IPO-bound Pine Labs raises $285 million in fresh funding Link

4. CarTrade files for IPO Link

5. ETtech Exclusive: Sofina-led funding may value Mamaearth at $700 million Link

6. India’s sovereign wealth fund may make first digital bet with FirstCry Link

7. Tiger Global, Flipkart to back Rishi Vasudev’s new Thrasio-style venture Link

8. Amazon launches free video streaming service in India Link

9. Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin donates $1.14 billion in ‘meme coins’ to Covid-hit India Link

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