A broad summary of India’s tech startup and venture capital funding news, as covered in the English-language online press in November 2019.
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- India’s Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant finds malware on administrative network, believed linked to North Korean state hackers
- India: An intro to MMC Convert, accounting migration software startup that’s so far helped over 5K SMEs move from single-software setup into cloud-based solutions
- India: A look at Blinkist, speed-reading app which delivers distilled versions of non-fiction books in text and audio for users
- India: An intro to ClickPost, SaaS startup focused on e-commerce logistics, reducing failed last-mile deliveries by 25%
- India: A brief advance look at the World Startup Expo and conference, set for November 14-15 in Bengaluru
- india’s Shopclues, once valued at $1.1BN, finally sold on less than $100M valuation to Singapore’s Qoo10 in all-stock deal
- India: ElasticRun gains $40M funding with last-mile logistics focus, led by Naspers, South Africa’s internet and media group
- India: Fisdom wealth management app startup secures $11M
- India: Smartworks coworking firm gains $25M backing, with a footprint of 43K workstations in 23 centres across 9 cities
- India: Tamil Nadu working on state-level policy for key emerging technologies including blockchain and artificial intelligence, given likely impacts on governance
- India: Ghost Kitchens launches as country’s first ‘cloud kitchen’ fund and incubator, with $3M corpus
- India: Lokal news and classifieds platform raises $3M, in part from Y Combinator, with non-English focus across 27 districts
- India: Adda247 online learning platform gains $6M with multiple-platform delivery of course materials
- India: PiggyRide transport service for kids raises $1M, with 15-step verification process and rigorous security
- India: Stellapps deploys thousands of sensors to boost dairy productivity
- India: Doubtnut edtech and Pratilipi content platform reportedly to gain funding from China’s Tencent with sights set on regional language internet users
- Indian Angel Network closes maiden seed and early stage IAN Fund at $53M
- India: A look at Rupeek Fintech, online gold-focused startup focusing on India’s jewelry and heirlooms
- India’s Log 9 Spill Containment: graphene-based oil sorbent pads with higher efficiency than other products, are reusable, and safe to dispose of or incinerate
- India: Mitrata, women-focused microfinance institution, raises undisclosed Series A funding from a group of high net worth individuals
- India: ENpower edtech platform raises $370K with entrepreneurship learning programs for children from 8 to 18 years of age
- India’s vernacular-content media and entertainment market estimated to be worth $53BN, prompting a boom for startups and investors
- India: Gradeup online exam preparation startup raises $7M Series A
- India: An overview of the country’s wearable-tech market opportunities and expected growth
- India: Information technology spending expected to hit $94BN in 2020, a 6.6% increase from $88.5BN in 2019
- India: Cyberattacks increase 26% across Q3 2019, with Mumbai, New Delhi and Bengaluru attracting near 38% of all attacks
- India: An intro to Utter, learning solutions startup for Indians to better express themselves in English in their daily and professional lives
- India: SimSim raises $6M Series A with video-based vernacular-language online shopping platform
- India: Tata Communications partners Microsoft to work on cloud-based connected car applications with MOVE platform
- India: SimSim app secures $6M series A with video-based social e-commerce
- India: Zypp e-scooter startup raises over $2M pre-Series A, aiming to have 20K scooters on the road by the end of 2020
- India: TiE entrepreneurship organisation launches TiE Academy, a training and mentorship initiative for entrepreneurs and startups in Mumbai
- India: Karnataka state government to launch ‘vision group’ to boost entrepreneurship, incubation support and innovation, focusing on tier-2 and 3 cities
- India: BAce Capital, backed by China’s Ant Financial, preps to deploy circa $90M in-country, looking at ‘small-ticket’ investments from $1M- $15M
- Amazon to take seller-focused Accelerator program to India, to provide a more hands-on approach to private label expansion for e-tailers
- India: LetsVenture angel investing platform unveils new initiative,EV Innovation Lab, as a one-stop platform for electric vehicle makers, investors and stakeholders
- India: Multibhashi language learning platform startup gains funding with mobile-based education in 11 Indian languages, English, Hindi and 9 regional languages
- India: Recently-launched 100XVC venture capital firm adds corporate VC program to bring corporate partners in to consider backing early-stage startups
- India: A look at Wrap2Earn, delivering interior and exterior car-based advertising and a marketplace for connecting brands to vehicles, fleets and more
- India: Healthians raises $12M with online diagnostics services focusing on preventative and chronic health testing
- TikTok developer, ByteDance, to launch music streaming service in India in December 2019, in competition with local players JioSaavn, Gaana and Hungama
- India: EasyRewardz customer engagement and rewards platform gains $3M via Flipkart e-commerce giant
- India: Karnataka government launches Global Innovation Alliances Market Access Program, aiming to help startups expand overseas
- India: WMall raises $9M with social commerce, selling via WhatsApp, YouTube and others, and with ‘social buying’ app
- India: A brief intro to Perfios, credit analytics startup which raised $50M to help financial institutions correctly assess the credit-worthiness of borrowers
- Furtados School of Music education startup raises $2.7M in round led by Indian Angels Network Fund
- India Quotient closes 3rd fund at $60M, aiming to back B2B and SaaS startups
- India: Fireside Ventures VC firm focusing on consumer brand startups raises $60M in commitments on first close of Fireside Fund II, aiming for final corpus of $100M
- India’s Nazara Technologies, interactive gaming and sports media company, to invest up to $20M in startups in India, the Middle East and Africa in 2020
- India: Razorpay payments processing firm launches corporate credit cards and current accounts support in a major neo-banking push
- Visa Everywhere Initiative to launch in India, offering up to $50K for innovative fintech companies
- India: Do Your Thng platform raises $150K with creators’ community providing brands with connections to millions of social media users
- India: Germany’s Bosch opens IoT lab to offer enterprizes services around producing scalable solutions for smart connected products
- India: Parent firm of myHQ co-working space provider raises $1.5M on the back of 120 locations offering underutilised spaces
- India: An intro to CallHippo, providing on-demand VoIP which doubles up as a workflow automation system
- India: Cultiv8 startup incubator unveils 6th cohort with startups working on sectors including financial services, agriculture and healthcare
- India: An intro to Kae Capital, early-stage venture capital fund that backs tech-focused companies during the seed round, primarily
- India: An overview of the Defence Cyber Agency, established last year as part of a 3-agency service to work on military cyber-issues
- India: A brief intro to the 3 startup winners from the recent LOTTE Start-up Competition Week, held at the Indian Institute of Technology Madras Research Park
- China’s Ant Financial to raise a $1BN startup fund for investments in India and wider SE Asia, with a focus on payments and risk control
- India: Yulu electric bike rental startup gains $8M from, and strategic partnership with, Bajaj Auto, one of the country’s largest automakers
- India’s startups received $51BN funding inflow from Japan’s investors between 2014 and H1 2019, with SoftBank alone investing $10BN
- India: Bounce scooter rental startup secures $150M with over 17K electric and gasoline scooters across 36 cities
- Indian Angels Network partners BIRAC biotech body to launch BioAngels funding program, aiming to support and develop 100+ startups over 3 years
