2018, third quarter
India’s startups
- $250M fund preps for launch, aiming for US, India, and Southeast Asia startup investment
- A brief intro to the 6 startups selected for the Target India accelerator
- Vokal p2p knowledge-sharing platform for non-English internet users secures $5M
- Nspira edtech startup secures $75M for end-to-end tech solutions in the education industry
- Edureka online education startup raises $2M, aiming for 6-fold revenue growth in 3 years
- India overtakes France to become the world’s 6th largest economy
- An intro to i2i Funding, a P2P lending platform
- MatchMove enables South Asia’s 1st contactless prepaid Mastercard
- Uttar Pradesh gov’t to use blockchain to secure land and revenue records
- Government launches Smart Cities fellowship and internship programs
- A brief intro to the 10 winning AI startups from the recent NASSCOM Game Changer AI Awards
- Goa IT Policy 2018 event aims to lay groundwork for creation of 10K jobs
- Shuttl bus services startup raises $11M from Amazon India and others on back of 60K monthly users
- Oracle to support blockchain startups to meet growing demand for distributed ledger technology
- AyurUniverse, online health and wellness startup, secures $1M with plans for AI and VR growth
- Leena AI HR tech startup lands Y Combinator as new investor
- India considers establishing national e-commerce regulator
- The Ken raises $1.5M on the back of successful one-article-per-day subscription-based journalism
- SaffronStays ‘micro-hospitality’ startup secures $2M to help homeowners monetize their properties
- Indian Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs to provide 10M homes with Smart City features by December
- Bharat Innovation Fund marks first close of $100M early-stage deep-tech fund
- YES Bank expands fintech accelerator scope to include agritech and cleantech
- China’s Toutiao launches Helo social networking app, set to compete with ShareChat, Clip on content aggregation
- AI Task Force submits report to Defence Ministry on use of AI in achieving military superiority
- Entropik secures $1.1M for emotion-reading AI system
- An overview of the changing face of startup investment in India
- Arka Venture Labs launches with $6M corpus, aiming at seed and pre-seed investments in B2B startups
- Invest India and Business France sign MOU around startup ecosystem investment and cooperation
- A look at Zone Startups India, ‘meta accelerator’ with 160 startups
- Future Farms takes aim at India’s food crisis with hydroponic and rooftop farming
- HealthSignz healthcare startup raises $5M with AI-driven platform
- Olly Credit microcredit card provider backed by China’s CashBUS
- MyCrop mobile app aims to used data to raise agricultural productivity in Asia and beyond
- India’s digital payment market expected to become a trillion-dollar industry by 2023
- 500M internet users projected to unlock $50BN online commerce in 3-4 years
- An intro to the 6 startups from the India-Israel Innovation Bridge Challenge
- myUpchar medical content startup secures $5M with multiple in-country languages
- government looking at blocking social media platforms where national security or public order are ‘under threat’
- India’s CIAM – Customer Identity and Access Management – market expected to hit $20BN value by 2020
- Startup India launches Startup Academia Alliance Programme to bridge the gap between research and industry
- India is increasingly taking over the made-in-China mobile phone industry
- ICANN set to open support for domain names in 22 official languages of the country
- forBinary DIY app maker platform raises funding for codeless development services
- HealthSignz secures $5M to scale AI-backed health intelligence engine
- T-Hub HSBC program selects 5 fintech startups to develop AI and ML solutions
- How startups helped in flood-hit Kerala state
- An intro the the startups on iCreate’s 13-week program aiming for social impact
- Actionable Science AI and automation startup lands $1M
- Shopclues ecommerce startup secures $16M boost
- Flintobox, activity-based learning for kids startup, raises $875K for SE Asia expansion
- Google partners 4 banks to offer consumer loans online in move on $1TN digital finance market
- MyHealthcare healthcare tech startup secures $2M for mobile approach
- India Innovation Growth Programme unveils 16 winners of 2018 edition
- Healthfin patient financing startup lands funding
- Government of Goa launches its own app-based taxi service, GoaMiles
- Nexus graduates 11 startups from 4th cohort, with 3 continuing for long-term incubation
- ZipGo bus pooling app secures $43.7M in new funding
- Boeing and T-Hub unveil 3 startups selected for HorizonX aviation accelerator
- PrimeOS operating system startup lands seed funding, aiming at edtech and consumer electronics markets
- Trell ‘experience discovery’ app raises $1.25M
- Flipkart’s former CEO considering $700M-$1BN startup investment fund
- 10 women entrepreneurs selected for POWERED Accelerator’s 1st cohort
- ZiffyHomes home rental marketplace secures $120K from Y Combinator
- MissMalini lifestyle and entertainment website secures $1.4M with 40M users
- TechSparks 2018 technology, innovation and entrepreneurship summit – October 5-6, Bengaluru
- Goa set to host India’s 1st International Blockchain Congress event
- Xiaomi smartphone maker to open thousands of retail outlets in rural India for in-country growth
- Kerala state launches school education program to combat WhatsApp-based fake news
- Hansel secures US$4M with UX focused tech
- An intro to the ‘India 2’ market – startups different to those of the ‘India 1’ urban, English-schooled market
- Australia-India AgTech Market Access Program launched for Asia-Pacific agri-tech growth
- An intro to 6 IoT startups working on solutions for agriculture
- Shuttl app-based shuttle service startup secures $11M from Amazon and others
- Nature Morte the country’s first mainstream gallery to exhibit AI-generated art
- A look at Watasale, fully-automated cashier-free shop inspired by Amazon Go
- Netmeds online pharmacy chain secures $35M
- Quikr online classifieds portal aiming for up to $150M fundraise
- 9 startups complete the Facebook and T-Hub conclude India Innovation Hub Accelerator Program
- Satya MicroCapital secures $5.5M backing from 2 separate impact investment funds
- Upwards micro-lending platform secures $5M for growth beyond 30 cities
- SlicePay, student-focused microlender, secures funding for city growth
- Shubh Loans online lending platform raises $4.2M with vernacular language app base
- An intro to Cointribe, aiming to be ‘Uber for SME lending’
- Dream11 fantasy gaming startup raises $100M from China’s Tencent
- Google and China’s Xiaomi reportedly set to back India’s Where Is My Train startup
- PolicyBazaar CEO: “With AI, insurance claims will soon be processed in real time”
- An intro to Letstrack, tracking-focused IoT startup with 150K users
- India’s e-commerce industry expected to reach $150BN value by 2022
- Dailyhunt news and e-books mobile app secures $6.4M with 14 languages and 800 publication feeds
- Flipkart e-commerce giant acquires Liv Ai speech recognition startup to introduce voice shopping
- Autonomous tractor rolls out in partnership from Microsoft, Bosch and others
- ZestMoney digital lending startup raises $13.4M in round led by China’s Xiaomi
- Watasale may be the home-grown cashierless store answer to Amazon Go
- Verzeo AI-based education tech startup secures $5M
- South Asia Connect – entrepreneur training, mentoring and networking program serving India, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka
- Satya MicroCapital microfinance outfit secures $4.7M from Switzerland’s BlueOrchard impact investor
- A brief overview of India’s exploding fintech space
- With a population approaching 1.4BN, India’s coworking market is large enough for 4-5 major players
- Bon fintech startup raises $1.1M to facilitate digital credit for workers in the gig economy
- Meesho social e-commerce startup reportedly aiming for $30M fundraise
- ShareChat native language social networking platform secures $100M
- Astrome startup is readying satellites to send highspeed Internet from space to anywhere in India
- Udaan B2B connections platform hits $1BN valuation in 26 months of launch
- GreyOrange warehouse automation and robotics startup secures $140M
- WheelEye lands $1M for logistics industry software-as-a-service platform
- Vibrant Gujarat Startup and Technology Summit 2018 set for October
- Microsoft sets sights on enterprise-level activity using startups in shift to ScaleUp program
- CloudCherry customer experience management firm secures $9M
- Reserve Bank of India establishes unit to research blockchain, artificial intelligence and more
- Neta app lets Indian voters rate politicians
- Amazon Prime Music integrates Alexa for voice control of music app and Echo devices
- Servify, startup providing after-sales service and management for mobile devices, secures $15M
- Google India shortlists 10 startups for Launchpad Accelerator mentorship program
- Karnataka state mulls creation of legal framework for startup businesses
- HappyEasyGo online travel agency platform secures funds on 180K ticket bookings per month
- GrabOnRent product rental marketplace looking to overseas markets such as China, the Middle East
- Startup India Telangana Yatra to launch aiming to boost entrepreneurship in tier 2 and 3 towns
- China: Ganesh Ventures to launch $250M India-focused fund
- China’s Xiaomi awaiting regulatory approval to launch Mi Pay in India
- Japan’s AgriNet site set to connect South Asia’s rural farmers with other sectors, helping agricultural regions do better
- Japan: SoftBank Group reportedly considering $5BN Asia fund, focusing on India
- India’s ride-share giant Ola set to expand to New Zealand
