1947 Tech 🇮🇳: 199

Funding, Layoffs and PM Modi!

1. Indian startups continued to create value, wealth during pandemic: PM Modi

Noting that the number of unicorns in India has reached the 100-mark, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said that even during the Covid pandemic, India’s startups continued to create wealth and value.

In his monthly ‘Mann ki Baat’ radio broadcast, he said that on the fifth of this month the number of unicorns in India reached the 100-mark.

“One unicorn means a startup of at least Rs 7,500 crore turnover. The total valuation of these unicorns is USD 330 billion, that is over Rs 25 lakh crore. Surely it is a matter of immense pride for every Indian,” the prime minister said.

“You will be amazed to know that out of the total unicorns, 44 unicorns were formed only last year. Not only that, in a span of three-four months this year, 14 unicorns were made. This means that even during the global pandemic our startups continued to create wealth and value,” he said.

Modi said the average annual growth rate of Indian unicorns is more than that of the US, the UK and many other countries.

Indian startups continued to create value, wealth during pandemic: PM Modi

2. Google backs India’s ShareChat in $300 million funding round at $5 billion valuation

The parent company of India’s ShareChat has raised nearly $300 million in fresh funding from Alphabet Inc’s Google, media giant Times Group and Singapore’s Temasek Holdings, valuing the social media firm at nearly $5 billion, two sources involved in the deal discussions told Reuters.

Google’s investment in a bearish market for Indian start-ups shows the appetite for the short video sector and the start-up’s investment thesis, one of the sources said. India’s tech startups, which raised a record $35 billion in new funds in 2021, have been struggling to raise funds as corporate governance concerns loom large for investors facing a new uncertainty in global markets.

Short video apps like Moj and Josh shot up in popularity after India in 2020 banned ByteDance’s TikTok and some other Chinese apps following a border clash with China.

Google backs India's ShareChat in $300 million funding round at $5 billion valuation

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Shiva Singh Sangwan @shivassangwan

1947 Rise☀️ The early believer in category-defining companies like Unacademy, Postman, Hasura & many more! Man his energy is wild and unmatched. It stands out! Hear out Sameer’s (@s_brij_verma) story.

anchor.fm22: Sameer Brij Verma (Nexus Venture Partners) by 1947 RiseSameer Brij Verma is the Managing Director at Nexus Venture Partners, where he opened & leads their Bangalore office. At NVP, he has led investments in Postman, Unacademy, Infra.market, Hasura, Animall, Ultrahuman and about 70 others. SHOW NOTES Sameer’s journey from growing up in India to moving…

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Worth your attention

1. Indian fintech Slice tops $1.5 billion valuation in new funding to scale UPI payments Link

2. MoEngage raises $77 mn from Goldman Sachs and B Capital Link

3. CureFoods raises $50 million in series C funding round Link

4. Sugar Cosmetics raises $50 million led by L Catterton Link

5. [Funding alert] Cuemath raises $57M led by Alpha Wave; doubles valuation to $407M Link

6. Orange Health raises $25 million in Series B funding round Link

7. India’s digital payments market will triple to $10 trillion by 2026: PhonePe-BCG study Link

8. Crypto paper soon, no need to revise growth forecast: Economic affairs secretary Ajay Seth Link

9. Mobile Premier League to lay off 100 workers, exit Indonesia Link

10. Edtech firm FrontRow lays off 145 employees, almost 30% of its team Link

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