1947 Tech — Week 43
Once a week newsletter: Insights on Tech, markets, startups, venture capital, and foreign investments in India
1. Unicorns in India: India Has Already Hit Record Number of $1 Billion Startups This Year
India’s first generation of internet unicorns adapted business models from abroad. Ride-hailing company Ola looks like Uber, for example; online retailers Snapdeal and recent Walmart acquisition Flipkart, like Amazon.com; digital-wallet leader Paytm, like China’s Alipay.
The new cohort is aimed more squarely at the hundreds of millions of potential users who don’t live in India’s major cities and may not speak much English. Four of the five companies that researcher CB Insights says have reached $1 billion valuations in the past year target some of India’s fundamental needs in the education, logistics, and lodging industries.
“A young population, increased spending power, and rapidly growing digital infrastructure are helping India-relevant models to scale quickly,” says Byju Raveendran, CEO of online education company Byju’s.
India Hits Record Number of $1 Bn Startups: 3 Reasons Why Its Unicorns Are Rising!
2. Startup landscape in India: Investors will find the next 5 years better than the last 5 in India
Hans Tung, who ranks 20th on the Forbes Midas List, is a VC at GGV Capital, a rare VC firm which has backed the most valued startups in the United States and China such as payments company Square and ride-hailing firm Didi Chuxing, is now evaluating investments in India as well.
This is what Hans has to say about the startup ecosystem in India:
India will be the most competitive market in the world in terms of funding sources as well as the number of startups
I see Indian companies, besides Chinese, farthest along in terms of innovation and figuring out how to be bigger and better.
The last couple of years, with the price of 4G coming down thanks to Reliance and Airtel, it is now a great time for betting on growing mobile internet businesses.
Investors will find the next five years much better than the last five years in India
'Investors will find the next 5 years better than the last 5 in India'
3. India’s internet market: India’s Internet services may reach $124 billion by 2022
India’s Internet services may reach $124 billion by 2022, create 10.2 million net jobs if the government implements the right policies and improves the infrastructure.
The number of Internet users to reach 762 million in 2020
The number of smartphone users to reach 526 million in 2020
India's Internet services may reach USD 124 bn by 2022, create 1.2 cr net jobs: Report - Times of…
4. Insights on Indian Market: To win India, you have to win culture; And culture can mean a lot of things: Times Bridge CEO Rishi Jaitly
Times Group’s strategic investment arm Times Bridge is bringing a host of “internationally proven” internet businesses to India.
Rishi, CEO of Time Bridge speaks to YourStory about Times Bridge’s investing philosophy, its partner-companies, the changing digital and entrepreneurial ecosystem in India, what it takes to go beyond “superficial” market growth and the rising demand from China.
To win India, you have to win culture; And culture can mean a lot of things: Times Bridge CEO Rishi…
A Week In Review
