India’s Q4 2021 tech news
• October, November & December of 2021
• Technology and startup news headlines
• Quick reference for time-poor readers
• One-click access to each article
The fourth quarter 2021 collection is drawn from
Startup News Asia’s daily updates.
October 2021 | November 2021 | December 2021
October 2021 headlines
India: H1 2021 Startup Funding Report (pdf)
- India: Green Mobility Innovation Challenge launched by Uber in partnership with Startup India and iCreate incubation centre, aiming to push adoption of electric vehicles
- India: Airtel telecom giant to invest over $600M in Nxtra by Airtel data centre business, aiming to triple capacity by 2025 to become Asia-Pacific data centre hub
- A brief look at use cases around ‘enterprise NFTs’ for India’s blockchain firms
- India: GramCover gains $7M Series A with agriculture-focused insurance marketplace covering crops, livestock, health and more for 1.7M rural customers
- India: Multiplex cinema operator PVR partners Nodwin Gaming e-sports firm to stream gaming tournaments in theatres
- India: Stader Labs raises $4M with crypto staking platform, allowing users to earn rewards for holding certain cryptocurrencies, similar to depositing money in a bank
- India: Upmesh raises seed round of $3M with e-commerce tech for livestreamers, currently focused on Facebook Live with merchants in Singapore, Malaysia and The Philippines
India: BollyCoin NFT marketplace
- India: Livestream recordings from the India Chamber of Commerce 2021 Startup Week which closes today, October 9th
- India: An intro to 10 of the country’s female leaders in business and technology, each speaking at the upcoming TechSparks 2021 conference, running October 25-30
- India: Chingari short-video platform to launch its own crypto token, aiming for the $GARI token to be tradeable on cryptocurrency exchanges
- India: “Blockchain…will also attract billions of dollars of investments…However, a regulatory grey zone around cryptocurrency is certainly blocking our opportunities…”
- Download: India – H1 2021 Startup Funding Report (pdf)
- Indian Spinal Injuries Centre successfully integrates O-Arm tech into surgical procedures, allowing surgeons to visualize surgical sites in real-time using 3D imaging
- “India’s cryptocurrency market expanded 641% in the past year, driving growth of digital currencies in central and Southern Asia…”
- Webinar: Cyber Security & Critical Technologies – Australia India Bi-Lateral Ecosystem Connect event for business and startup collaboration opportunities
India: Startup Outlook Report 2021 (pdf)
- India: Bollywood actor Salman Khan joins Amitabh Bachchan on NFT bandwagon in selling digital assets as Non Fungible Tokens
- India: Gov’t of Karnataka partners Hexagon Manufacturing Intelligence to build 7 agri-tech innovation centres to incubate and develop smart agriculture solutions
- Alliance of Digital India Foundation, industry body of 422 Indian firms, files petition with Competition Commission around mandatory imposition of Google Play billing system
- India: Bharti Enterprises-backed OneWeb satellite comm’s firm launches 36 satellites, bringing constellation to 358, aiming for satellite-driven internet access, similar to Starlink
- India: Amazon Web Services launches re/Start cloud computing-focused skills dev and job training in 6 cities, partnering with 5 education providers and backed by Capgemini
- India: Exponent Energy claims its tech can charge any commercial EV battery from zero to 100% in 5-15 minutes, finally bringing EVs close in refuelling time to a petrol vehicle
How India Shops Online / Bain & Co (pdf)
- India: Onato raises $2.2M with business-to-business platform for fresh produce, connecting stakeholders and providing data-driven analysis of demand and supply
- India: MarketWolf trading app raises $5.5M with focus on intraday options, trades confined to the same, single market day
- India: Microsoft launches startup-focused AI Innovate programme and AI Playbook to provide resources, partnerships and guidance around deploying AI at scale
- India: Stripe payments giant makes first India acqusition with Recko payments reconciliation platform
- India: Meesho social commerce firm reportedly in discussions with Google around $50M backing with platform connecting suppliers, resellers with customers on social media
- India: A dive into how Indian short video startups are looking to social commerce in the face of growing monetization pressure
- ICYMI: ‘Unlocking the Future of Commerce in India: Social commerce opportunities for consumer product companies’, a 2020 year-end report from Bain&Co and Sequoia Capital
India Trendbook 2021, PE & VC (pdf)
- India: Lokal platform raises $12M led by China’s Tencent with hyperlocal social media and news delivered in local languages and dialects across 27 districts
- Singapore: Creative Galileo raises $2.5M with early learning app focus, boasting 4M downloads and over 500K users
- ICYMI: ‘Principles for Responsible Artificial Intelligence, Approach Document for India, Part 1’ (pdf)
- 2nd online edition of Taiwan Expo India runs October 27 – 10 pavilions, 90+ brands, 200+ products providing ways for Indian businesses to explore prospects in Taiwan
- India: Google partners Ministry of Electronics and Info Tech for MeitY Startup Hub, aiming to provide Indian startups with training, mentorship and learning materials
- India: JioPhone Next smartphone to launch by Diwali festival, co-developed by Google and Reliance and running Android-based Pragati OS, optimised for Indian users
- India: Plug and Play Tech Centre global innovation platform to launch first India centre in Hyderabad, focusing on tech and startups in mobility, IoT, energy and infrastructure
- India: Biconomy blockchain-based transaction platform adds 12K new token holders via token listing, generating $11.5M
- A look at the emerging technology opportunities for Japan, India and Australia as members of the recently-announced Quad group
Digital Societies in Asia Pacific / GSMA
November 2021 headlines
India: Startup Outlook Report 2021 from Innoven Capital (pdf)
- India: Flipkart unveils partnership with Moj short video platform, pushing content and commerce options on videos and allowing Moj users to buy Flipkart-listed items directly from video
- India: Bihar State Election Commission trials Staqu AI startup’s video analytics with optical character recognition to analyse CCTV feeds at counting booths during local elections
- India: Cadbury launches website allowing shops to create custom advertisements featuring Shah Rukh Khan, using AI tech to recreate the actor’s face and voice
- India: Snapchat to partner Flipkart for AR-based e-commerce, embedding Snapchat’s Camera Kit and ‘lenses’
- India: Innovation Mission Punjab opens submissions for ‘Roar- Punjab’s Biggest Idea Hunt’ programme, closing November 15th
- India: A look at how the smartphone lock-screen could be the key to reaching even the most casual news consumers
- “Today, India has around a 550,000-strong base of founders, managers and employees with experience working in startups, and this is estimated to reach 3.25 million by 2025.”
pwc: The Future Of Work – The journey to 2022 (pdf)
- Startup India Seed Fund scheme allocates $400K to Atal Incubation Centre and Pondicherry Engineering College Foundation to boost services, incubation and prototyping
- India: iAspire All Women Technology Startup Accelerator Cohort applications close November 30th for 6-month support program
- India: Lysto NFT startup raises $3M in seed round with sights on enabling anyone in the e-commerce space, from individuals to brands, to raise funds and monetise their offerings
- India: An intro to 5 startups from across Madhya Pradesh, working in education-tech, SME digitization, retail-tech and more
- India: Bengaluru Tech Summit 2021 online/offline event set for November 17-19, featuring keynotes from Australian and Israeli Prime Ministers
- Indonesia: Religious leaders forbid country’s Muslims from using Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies, ruling they break Shariah compliance in elements of uncertainty, wagering and harm
- India: A look at the growth and success of ‘fintech for teens’, apps taking the place of traditional bank accounts
How India Shops Online in 2021 / Bain & Co (pdf)
- India: FreeTON DeFi Alliance blockchain ecosystem partners Kerala Blockchain Academy and Blockchain Centre India for Next Top TON Startup Hackathon – entries close Dec 6th
- India: Gov’t to ban the use of cryptocurrencies for making payments, and ban ‘active solicitation’ by crypto firms, but will allow and regulate trading of crypto as assets
- India: An intro to Digisafe Broking insurance-tech startup, focusing on insuring rural India with small-ticket products with low-margin premiums
- India: GoKwik raises $15M Series A with focus on return-to-origin and conversion rates for both e-commerce firms and traditionally-offline businesses
- India: Docturnal health-tech firm selected for Project Amplify programme, supported by Accenture and Microsoft, with audio-driven diagnosis of tuberculosis and pneumonia
- India: Chandigarh, capital of northern states of Punjab and Haryana, considers reviving dedicated startup policy to focus on the city’s requirements
India Trendbook 2021: E-commerce & consumer internet (pdf)
- India and China: “…cracks started appearing in the investment relationship between [them], and since then Indian startups have largely moved away from Chinese venture capital.”
- India’s AI conundrum: “Thriving automation and artificial intelligence industries pose difficult decisions for a country with an ever-growing workforce.”
- Google For India 2021: Google Pay adds features to support colloquial mix of Hindi and English, spoken by approximately 350M users, widening from English-language focus
- India: Google and Small Industries Development Bank of India partner to pilot social impact micro-lending with assistance to circa $130K for MSMEs
- India: Fasal raises $4M with artificial intelligence-powered IoT-SaaS platform for farming, delivering farmer advisories by mobile using real-time data
- India: Women Startup Summit 3 set for December 15-16, running online and delivered by Kerala Startup Mission
- India: Tata Group is considering $300M investment in construction of outsourced semiconductor assembly and test plant, in bid to attract firms to manufacture in India
- India: “6G development has already started. That will be seen somewhere in the time frame 2024 or 2023-end…”
India: H1 2021 Startup Funding Report, from YourStory (pdf)
December 2021 headlines
pwc: The Future Of Work – The journey to 2022 (pdf)
- India’s slice gains unicorn status with services and products including prepaid Visa card, virtual cards, BNPL and cash-backs
- India: An intro to Twitter’s new CEO, Parag Agrawal, who replaces founder and long-time chief executive, Jack Dorsey
- India: Reserve Bank proposes widening definition of ‘bank note’ to include currency in digital form in preparation to enable eventual launch of central bank digital currency
- India: “Digital payments in India will more than double to $135.2 billion in 2023 from $64.8 billion…share of worldwide transaction value…to increase from 1.56% to 2.02% in 4 years.”
- India: Agrix gains backing from Lead Angels Network with agri-tech platform focusing on small and marginal farmers, improving fragmented farm production
- Sequoia India unveils first cohort of 15-women led startups selected for Spark Fellowship programme, including seven from India
KPMG: Venture Pulse Q4 2021 (pdf)
- India: Bharti Airtel launches Airtel India Startup Innovation Challenge with Invest India, seeking early-stage tech solutions in 5G, digital advertising and more
- India: Eloelo breaks 2M user mark with live-streaming and social gaming app, embedding games inside live video chat rooms
- India: PM Modi calls on int’l community to jointly shape norms for tech including social media and crypto to ensure they are used to empower democracy, not undermine it
- India: South Korea’s Hyundai unveils plans to invest $530M to launch 6 electric vehicle models in India by 2028
- India: ‘Celebrating Innovation Ecosystem’ week set for January 2022 by Gov’t, aiming to boost market access for startups and facilitate investment
- India: Resolve 360 wins Nexus Accelerator’s $10K Startup Development Grant with online rehabilitation services for patients
- India: Finnovation corporate engagement program launched by HDFC housing finance firm and IvyCamp to identify startups with solutions addressing problems in lending
EY: The winds of change – trends shaping India’s FinTech sector (pdf)
- India’s Global Healthcare Academy edtech and California’s 8chili partner to take healthcare training and medical education to the Metaverse
- India: Telangana Blockchain District partners Lumos Labs to launch India Blockchain Accelerator, a 4-month program for early-stage startups and concept development
- India unveils $10BN semiconductor production-linked incentive scheme aimed at establishing an entire chipset manufacturing ecosystem in India
- India: A brief video look at why an India-Taiwan Free Trade Agreement is likely to be a game-changer for Indian industry, from semiconductors to employment
- India: Metamall raises $4.6M in pre-IDO funding round through token sales, in part allowing users to earn money by leasing, staking, advertising and developing virtual real estate
- Australia’s Sample backed by Sequoia Capital India with LinkedIn-style professional network for people in hospitality, retail, warehousing and other essential daily services
- ICYMI: IBISA agricultural microinsurance startup raises $1.7M with focus on small farmers whose livelihoods are at risk from adverse climate events
Deloitte: 2022 Tech, Media, Telecoms Predictions (pdf)
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