Podcasts about pharmeasy

Welcome to Top of the Morning by Mint, your weekday newscast that brings you five major stories from the world of business. It's Friday, January 31, 2025. This is Nelson John, let's get started. India's affluent are reviving their investment in IPOs, evident from the significant funds they've poured into the market in 2024. High-net-worth individuals (HNIs), with assets over ₹5 crore, have shown a notable increase in IPO subscriptions, reaching a three-year high. The bullish sentiment among these investors is fueled by the substantial listing gains observed post-pandemic, enhancing their risk appetite, Dipti Sharma writes. This trend aligns with a broader surge in equity investments, reflecting heightened investor confidence and a robust appetite for high-risk, high-reward opportunities. The resurgence in IPO investments among India's wealthy is part of a broader narrative of rising affluence and entrepreneurship within the country, contributing to its dynamic economic landscape. DeepSeek, a Chinese AI lab, made headlines by developing its R1 model using less costly hardware and a fraction of the budget traditionally used by heavyweights like OpenAI and Google. This model, built for under $6 million, demonstrates that advanced AI can be achieved without immense financial outlay or extensive infrastructure, challenging the dominance of major tech giants. The controversy surrounding DeepSeek involves allegations from OpenAI, suggesting that DeepSeek might have used data or techniques from OpenAI's models without authorization, potentially breaching intellectual property rights. This issue of data 'distillation'—where a complex model's output is used to train another model—brings up serious ethical and legal implications, especially if done without proper licensing. Leslie D'Monte explains the controversy around DeepSeek and the allegations on it.  India is stepping up its game in the global AI race, aiming to develop its own foundational AI models similar to prominent models like OpenAI's ChatGPT and DeepSeek's R1. The initiative, led by Electronics and Information Technology Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, focuses on creating AI solutions that reflect India's linguistic and cultural diversity, promising more affordable and quicker development than current global standards. To facilitate this ambitious project, the government plans to launch a common compute facility equipped with 18,693 GPUs supplied by major domestic companies, Gulveen Aulakh reports. This facility will be accessible to startups, researchers, and developers through an online portal, ensuring broad participation and fostering innovation at various levels. This move is strategically positioned not just to foster technological advancement but also to accommodate geopolitical and economic considerations.The Good Glamm Group, previously welcomed into the unicorn club in 2021, is now facing significant financial distress as it prepares for a crucial restructuring. Expected to drastically lower its valuation, this restructuring is similar to Pharmeasy's experience in 2020 and involves raising new capital, likely at terms unfavourable to current shareholders. With existing investors like Prosus and Warburg Pincus unlikely to participate, this move could result in their stakes being wiped out completely from the company's cap table, Ranjani Raghavan writes. Amid this turmoil, three investor directors from prominent venture firms resigned last year, indicating deeper concerns about the firm's direction and the potential impacts on their reputations and other investments.  As Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman finalizes her speech for the upcoming budget presentation on February 1, concerns linger over India's economic trajectory despite its status as the world's fastest-growing large economy post-covid. After an impressive average growth of over 8% for three years, India's GDP growth slowed to 5.4% in Q2 of FY 2024-25. This deceleration, according to Sitharaman, is temporary, with expectations of recovery in upcoming quarters, although advance indicators and the RBI's revised forecast suggest a growth of just 6.6% for the year. The Modi government's strategy has focused on public capex to stimulate growth and attract private investment, avoiding direct fiscal stimuli to prevent inflation and fiscal issues experienced post-2008 financial crisis. Yet, private investment remains sluggish, and there's debate over whether India should adjust its economic strategy. The upcoming budget may include a modest stimulus to boost consumer spending while continuing with fiscal consolidation, targeting a fiscal deficit of 4.5% by FY 2025-26. So, will the finance minister deliver a fiscal bazooka on Feb 1? N Madhavan tackles that question in today's Long Story. 

Welcome to Top of the Morning by Mint, your weekday newscast that brings you five major stories from the world of business. It's Friday, November 8, 2024. This is Nelson John, let's get started. One of India's marquee airlines finally ended its journey yesterday. The Supreme Court ordered the liquidation of Jet Airways, ending a long quest for survival. Krishna Yadav writes that the Jalan Kalrock Consortium had failed to meet obligations such as infusing ₹350 crore and settling worker dues, leading to this decision. Jet Airways has been bankrupt since April 2019. Krishna adds that this case has raised concerns about the effectiveness of India's Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, particularly regarding airline insolvencies. Have you ever thought why we get pizzas and groceries in 10 minutes, but not life-saving medicines? That might change soon. Jessica Jani writes that companies like Tata 1mg, PharmEasy, and Apollo 24/7 are piloting ultra-fast medicine delivery services. 1mg is collaborating with fellow Tata brand BigBasket for quick delivery in select cities, while Apollo 24/7 has launched a 19-minute delivery in major markets. Swiggy is also partnering with PharmEasy for under-10-minute deliveries in Bengaluru. However, inventory management, medicine storage, and regulatory compliance are big challenges.  In a surprise decision, the government announced that it will stop paying interest on National Savings Scheme accounts from October 1. This means that both principal and interest will be taxable on withdrawal. Aprajita Sharma spoke to NSS holders who expressed concerns about the negative impact on their tax liabilities as senior citizens. The sudden change has also prompted calls for the government to reconsider its decision, and offer tax relief or alternative investment options. This move undermines trust in small savings schemes, and it also triggers fears about the stability of other savings products like the Public Provident Fund. A day after the big result, we're still assessing the implication of Donald Trump's victory. Shouvik Das writes that Trump's pro-business and anti-regulations will be favourable for Big Tech companies like Twitter and Meta. These companies have faced some issues in India as well as Europe, where they are under scrutiny for their trade practices. Lawyers and policymakers that Shouvik spoke to told him that Trump's backing could ease their worries in India, which has often been tough on Big Tech's practices so far. For most, homes are private spaces. It's where you come to relax, take a breather, and sometimes escape from the outside world. Not for influencers, though: Pratishtha Bagai writes about content creators who share tours of their homes on social media. House tours have become a major "self-expression trend", as Pratishtha writes. Experts suggest this fascination reflects aspirational consumer behavior. Viewers seem to be actually influenced and inspired to recreate the aesthetics of their favorite influencers in their own homes, irrespective of the high costs involved in such a practice. 

In this week's Daybreak Special episode, hosts Snigdha Sharma and Rahel Philipose speak to The Ken's Shivani Verma about her investigation into Pharmeasy's dubious business practices. The once IPO-bound company is under the scanner for its 'unethical' ways of upselling alternative medicines and supplements. Everyone – from Pharmeasy's own pharmacists, to the doctors who call behalf of the company to validate a customer's prescription – are under pressure to sell these supplements. The saga began with Pharmeasy's 2021  acquisition of Bengaluru-based e-pharmacy Medlife, where former executives noted a similar trend of upselling alternatives and supplements.  This comes amid ballooning losses and immense pressure from investors to show profitability. So what's the deal? Why is Pharmeasy going down this route? Tune in to find out. Daybreak is produced from the newsroom of The Ken, India's first subscriber-only business news platform. Subscribe for more exclusive, deeply-reported, and analytical business stories.P.S. Daybreak episodes drop daily now :)

Ashish Kumar is a Co-founder & General Partner at Fundamentum. Ashish began Institutional Investment as a Partner at Fundamentum Fund 1, a Series B/B+ focused VC Fund out of India. He later co-founded Fundamentum Investment Advisors alongside Nandan Nilekeni (Co-founder of Infosys) & Sanjeev Aggarwal (Founding CEO at IBM) which manages the latest Fundamentum Partnership Fund, where he is a General Partner. Fundamentum will lead investment rounds from $10 to $25 Million in companies that have attained the product market fit, have an initial momentum, and are looking to scale up. In this episode, we talk about: - Founding story of Fundamentum - Growth investing landscape in India - How to assess PMF in startups? - Portfolio success stories: PharmEasy & Spinny - Exit landscape in India & lots more Links: ⭐Sponsor: Podcast10x - Podcasting agency for VCs - https://podcast10x.com Fundamentum website - https://www.fundamentum.co.in/ Follow Ashish on Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/in/ashishk/

Earlier this week, the Competition Commission of India (CCI) cleared Manipal group chief Ranjan Pai's investment in online pharmacy PharmEasy. So far Pharmeasy, once the highest-valued Indian healthcare startup, has raised Rs 3,500 crore through a rights issue. But it raised this money at a 90 per cent discount to its peak valuation. From $5.6 billion to $500 million!All because it had to take another debt to pay off its previous debt. The second time though, interest rates were not zero.What's happened?Tune in.Daybreak is produced from the newsroom of The Ken, India's first subscriber-only business news platform. Subscribe for more exclusive, deeply-reported, and analytical business stories.

Ranjan Pai, the head of the Manipal Education and Medical Group, has been quietly but aggressively backing tech unicorns in recent months. Firstcry, Bluestone, Purplle - the list goes on! He has also made a reappearance at troubled companies Pharmeasy and in a way in Byju's through the latter's acquired company Aakash Institute. So, what makes him such a sought-after investor? And how does someone who keeps such a low profile, beat aggressive investors to land the hottest deals? Know more about this billionaire doctor with an eye for tech. Tune in to the latest episode of The Morning Brief podcast hosted by Mugdha Variyar as she speaks to Mayank Ruia, Founder & Chief Executive Officer at MAIA Estates, Anirudh Pandita, Founder - Loco & Pocket Aces, Sunil Jain, Founder - Sprout Capital Advisors, Shailesh Ghorpade, Founding Managing Partner & CIO at Exfinity Venture Partners LLP, Archana Rai, Editor - South, The Economic Times, and Arijit Barman, Associate Editor, The Economic Times. Credits: ET NOW and CNBC-TV18 If you like this episode from Mugdha Variyar, check out her other interesting episodes on The IPO Bazaar: Should You Shop or Drop?, Explained: Why dark patterns are under the surveillance spotlight?, COP28: Another cop or another cop-out?, Idlis & Innovation with iD Fresh Food, ESOP Fables: Risks and Rewards and more!You can follow Mugdha Variyar on her social media: Twitter and Linkedin Catch the latest episode of ‘The Morning Brief' on ET Play, The Economic Times Online, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, JioSaavn, Amazon Music and Google Podcasts.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is episode no. 125 of The Startup Operator Roundup. The Roundup is a weekly show where Roshan and Gunjan share views on the news from the Indian Startup Ecosystem. This week, they discuss -  0:00 - Introduction1:20- Prime Minister welcomes G20 leaders in Delhi for G20 Summit3:25- Pharmeasy loses 90% valuation7:36- Koo struggles to raise capital12:00- Why fintechs are fighting to dominate the POS machine market share?18:00- Hero pumps Rs 550 CR into Ather21:31- Exciting features announced for UPI24:54- Fundraises of the week25:33- Kunal Shah speaking at #globalfintechfest  Check out Bharatvaarta -  @Bharatvaarta   ------------------------------------- Click here to get regular WhatsApp updates:https://wa.me/message/ZUZQQGKCZTADL1------------------------------------- Connect with Us: Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/startup-operator​Twitter: https://twitter.com/OperatorStartup​​ ------------------------------------- If you liked this episode, let us know by hitting the like button and share with your friends and family. Please also remember to subscribe to our channel and switch on the notifications to never miss an episode!

Join us on this episode of Why Not Mint Money as we unravel the world of unlisted companies and their allure to retail shareholders. From the Reliance Retail squeeze-out saga to the rollercoaster journeys of Ricoh and PharmEasy, we dissect real cases that shed light on the challenges of investing in unlisted shares.

Till now the start-up sector has been the pride of India. India now has the third largest start-up eco-system in the world, next only to the US and China. It has as many as 108 Unicorns or those start-ups that have a valuation of more than one billion dollars. Again, this number is the third largest in the world. We have all become familiar with their names. Byjus, Meeshu, Oyo, Ola, Unacademy, Nyka, Swiggy's, Zomato and Pharmeasy are just some examples.But, unfortunately, this success story is in deep trouble and many of these famed start-ups are experiencing a steep fall in valuations.So why did this sector lose its sheen? What caused the fall? And what can be done about it?In this episode of Nothing But The Truth, Editorial Director (Publishing) Raj Chengappa is joined by Tech Guru Kris Gopalakrishnan who explains why the valuation and funding of Indian start-ups have plummeted and what are his mantras for success.Listen in!Produced by Anna PriyadarshiniSound mix by Sachin Dwivedi

Pharmeasy, once the highest-valued Indian healthcare startup, is planning to raise money in a new round of funding at a 90% markdown from its previous valuation.From $5.6 billion to $500 million. All because Pharmeasy had to take another debt to pay off its previous debt. The second time though, interest rates were not zero. What's going on?Tune in.RecommendationByju's is looking like a hedge fundThe tail of acquisitions wagging India's funding dogDaybreak is produced from the newsroom of The Ken, India's first subscriber-only business news platform. Subscribe for more exclusive, deeply-reported, and analytical business stories.

In today's episode we are talking about PharmEasy's woes. The healthtech startup was once valued at a staggering $5.6 billion, but now, it is worth less than $600 million. Where did it all go wrong? Listen in to know more!In other news, New Delhi and Noida branches of McDonald's have decided to leave out tomatoes from their dishes. All thanks to the spike in tomato prices. Tune in to The Signal Daily for more!The Signal Daily is produced in association with IVM.The episode was written and researched by Anup and SnehaEdited by Shorbori and Dinesh NarayananProduced by ManaswiniMastered and mixed by Manas and Nirvaan You can listen to this show and other awesome shows on the IVM Podcasts app on Android, iOS or any other podcast app. You can check out our website at https://ivmpodcasts.com/. Do follow IVM Podcasts on social media. We are @IVMPodcasts on Facebook, Twitter, & Instagram. Follow the show across platforms: Spotify, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts,  Amazon Prime Music.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Indian online pharmacy startup PharmEasy has informed its existing investors that it plans to raise a new round of funding via rights issue at a 90% markdown from the previous valuation, Indian newspaper Economic Times reported.

Join us for a thought-provoking discussion with Mikhil Innani, co-founder of PharmEasy, managing director at Apollo Finvest and ex Hotstar as he imparts his vital knowledge on expanding firms and creating a vibrant startup culture. Mikhil dives into the tactics, difficulties, and lessons discovered while establishing and expanding PharmEasy into a spectacular success story in this fascinating podcast episode. Learn how to build a healthy, growth-oriented business culture and get practical advice for managing the always changing startup environment. Whether you're an aspiring company owner or a seasoned business expert, you won't want to miss this episode because it is a wealth of business knowledge. With Mikhil Innani, discover the secrets of expanding companies right now!     Questions discussed in this podcast:    - How are you able to identify problems across different industries and create a product market fit? - How did you get the investors to fund and rasie 20 million for Pharmeasy? - From a perspective of a commerce graduate there are very few jobs out there for those in early stage startup's, so how can they go about it? - Can you give an example from one of your own stories of what military level execution for a startup means - What was your motivation to quit a growing Phareasy and join Hotstar? - Why have so many fintech companies started in the lending business? - There is a lot of competition among NBFCs for lending purposes to MSMEs and Small businesses, how do you make sure you you're getting a consistent and incremental revenue? - When you look at the current market scenario where interest rates have been hiked across the globe, how much does that affect NBFCs in terms of how much they're able to lend at a higher rate of interest? - As the CEO of a public company, how much does the movement of your stock affect your decisions on what would be good for your company in the long run. How true is the stakeholder theory in real life? - What's next for you professionally?

From scrapping an IPO to scrambling for funds are PharmEasy's troubles from terminal or transient? What is the plan with profitable Thyrocare amidst the turmoil? Host Mugdha Variyar, ET Prime sits down for a candid conversation with Siddharth Shah CEO and Co-Founder of PharmEasy's parent company API Holdings. Siddharth Shah responds yo what went wrong for PharmEasy, and will a new prescription pacify the pain and lead to profitability, stave off competition, and help survive the funding winter? You can follow our host Mugdha Variyar on her social media:Twitter - https://twitter.com/Mugdha_VariyarLinkedin -  https://www.linkedin.com/in/mugdha-variyar-97387625/ Catch the latest episode of ‘The Morning Brief' on ET Play, The Economic Times Online, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, JioSaavn, Amazon Music and Google Podcasts.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mensa Brands is India's fastest unicorn. It took them only six months to zoom past the one-billion-dollar valuation mark. Having raised over US$300 million in debt and equity so far, Ananth Narayanan, the founder and CEO of Mensa Brands and the former CEO of Myntra, seems to be on to something.In this episode, we tap into all of it. From his time at McKinsey as a consultant and his stint as Myntra's CEO, to leading MedLife and its sale to PharmEasy, and eventually founding Mensa Brands, Ananth shares everything good and some things that weren't. We touch upon his thoughts on ploughing through the tough times, the ability to bounce back after major lows, and the value of learnability and curiosity.As always, we're happy to hear your feedback. Please share it with us at podcasts@the-ken.com. You can write to us with feedback, questions you want us to ask future guests, or even guests you would like to see on the show!The free story mentioned in the episode can still be found here albeit behind a paywall: Mensa, Evenflow pitch e-comm brand aggregation to rigid Indian sellers

Equity markets have been extremely volatile so far in 2022. Investors have found themselves torn between conflicting domestic and global economic outlook. This mood has cast a spell on primary markets as well.  In the last 8 months, only 16 companies have tapped the primary markets via IPO route, raising around 40,300 crore rupees. In comparison, data from PRIME Database suggests that 63 companies had raised a cumulative Rs 1.18 trillion via the IPO route in 2021. Recently, online pharmacy PharmEasy withdrew its draft red herring prospectus filed with market regulator Sebi. It cited volatile market conditions and ‘strategic considerations' as the reason for this withdrawal. Besides, Dreamfolks Services, India's largest airport service aggregator, too, had scaled back its issue size by 20% citing volatile market conditions. According to Dara Kalyaniwala of Prabhudas Lilladher Capital Market, “The volatility in the secondary markets impacts issuer Company's confidence, not only about the IPO sailing through, but also about the post listing response.” That said, a meaningful revival of the primary markets, though some time away, may be driven by stable secondary market conditions amid better Q2FY23 results. Investors will keenly watch inflation trajectory and actions of global central banks over the next few weeks. On Thursday, the markets will reopen after a day's holiday on account of Ganesh Chaturthi, and will track global cues besides reacting to GDP data for the first quarter of the current fiscal.

Ather Energy, an electric scooter maker in Bengaluru, has released the next iteration of its popular 450X high-performance scooter. The Ather 450X-Gen3 has a bigger battery and more RAM. It will set you back by about Rs. 1,50,000. Shiprocket is expanding via Rs 200 crore stock-and-cash acquisition. And IIT Kanpur engineers have innovated a memory-muscle-based actuator that could improve India's space robotics efforts. Notes: Ather Energy, an electric scooter maker in Bengaluru, has released the next iteration of its popular 450X high-performance scooter. The new scooter, called Ather 450X Generation 3, is equipped with a bigger, more powerful 3.7 kWh battery that is 25 percent larger than the previous generation, the company said in a press release. The larger battery gives an ARAI-certified range of 146km and 105km based on Ather's TrueRange measurements. The scooter also has an upgraded dashboard, and more memory, at 2GB RAM, for applications to run. Showroom prices vary based on the city, from Rs. 1,37,612 in Ahmedabad to Rs. 1,57,402 in Hyderabad. The scooter is priced at Rs 1,55,657 in Bengaluru. The 450X-Gen3 is now in showrooms. Engineers at the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur, have developed what they call a ‘bio-inspired artificial muscle' for next-generation space robots and medical prostheses. Encouraged by the industry demand and growth in the field of miniature, lightweight, non-magnetic gear-free actuators, shape memory alloy-based actuators have emerged with an excellent power-to-weight ratio as a suitable alternative to conventional actuators, the innovators, at the Smart Materials, Structures and Systems Lab, said in a press release. However, existing SMA actuators have limited scope in terms of higher force or torque output due to the relatively simple architecture of the actuation mechanism. To address this limitation, the engineers found a way to increase muscle force output per unit weight by about 70 percent. This will result in the creation of a new class of space robots which will help India's space technology efforts, they say. The team is led by Professor Bishakh Bhattacharya at the institute's department of mechanical engineering and includes Kanhaiya Lal Chaurasiya, senior project engineer, A Sri Harsha, and Yashaswi Sinha, project engineers. Their effort was backed by Portescap CSR funding, according to the press release. Shiprocket, which provides an online platform for SMEs and direct-to-consumer retailers to tap ecommerce channels, is acquiring Arvind Internet, better known for its brand Omuni, a similar business. The Rs. 200 crore transaction will be a combination of stock and cash. PharmEasy, an online pharmacy and medical services provider, is in talks to raise $200 million, but at a valuation that could be as much as 25 percent lower than last year's $5.1 billion, Reuters reports, citing two people with direct knowledge of the talks. The company, which offers online medicine deliveries and diagnostic test services, is in talks for raising money at a 15 percent lower valuation but has told its bankers to consider even a 25 percent reduction, if needed, to close the deal, according to Reuters. Theme music courtesy Free Music & Sounds: https://soundcloud.com/freemusicandsounds

In this video, we take a look at India's journey to 100 unicorns, from it's first ever startup unicorn in 2011, in the form of inMobi, to neobanking startup Open becoming 100th unicorn in 2022. The term 'unicorn' was created by American VC and entrepreneur Aileen Lee in 2013, she took all of the U.S.-based software companies that were started in or before 2003 and had achieved a valuation of $1 billion through public or private market investors, and put them in a club: the Unicorn Club. In India's case, it's unicorn journey started in 2011, when InMobi, a company that was founded in 2007, became a unicorn. Following this, Flipkart became a unicorn in 2012, Mu Sigma in 2014 and then Ola in 2014. Snapdeal also became a unicorn in 2014, but they have since exited from this club due to their valuation falling below $1 Billion. Companies like Quikr, Hike and Shopclues also fall in this category. Then we have companies who have been since acquired and also bags the question that should they be counted as unicorn today? Flipkart is an example here, which was acquired by Walmart. Then you have startups like Billdesk, which was bought by PayU, PhonePe getting acquired by Flipkart and BigBasket, which became a unicorn in 2019 and were acquired by Tata Digital in 2021. All this while, India's unicorn growth was pretty slow but steady till 2017, when Jio launched its 4G services, and this brought a mobile internet revolution in the country. From 1 unicorn in 2017, India saw 10 unicorns in 2018: B2C unicorns included Swiggy, OYO, BYJU'S, Policybazaar, Paytm Mall, and Phonepe, and B2B unicorns included Rivigo, Freshworks, Billdesk, and Udaan, which was the fastest company to become a unicorn at the time - it took them just 26 months. Then, in 2019, things slowed down a bit, with just 7 unicorns that year: in the B2C category were Ola Electric, Lenskart, Dream11, Delhivery, and BigBasket, and in the B2B category were Incertis and Druva. In 2020, COVID increased people's reliance upon the internet, and host of Indian e-commerce startups like Firstcry, Cars24, and Nykaa became unicorns. Facilitating these online payments resulted in fintech companies like Razorpay and Pine Labs also achieving unicorn status. B2C startups like Verse Innovation (Dailyhunt), ed-tech startup Unacademy, fintech startup Zerodha, and SaaS startup like Zenoti and Postman also became unicorn in the same year. 2020, was followed by an even bigger year in terms of unicorns in 2021, when 44 Indian companies became unicorns. This year saw 11 E-commerce startups (Spinny, OfBusiness, Moglix, Mensa, Meesho, Mamaearth, Licious, Infra.Market, Good Glam Group, GlobalBees, Droom), 11 Fintech startups (Zeta, Slice, Mobikwik, Groww, Digit, CRED, Coinswitch Kuber, CoinDCX, Chargebee, BharatPe and Acko) becoming unicorns. Then we have 5 enterprisetech and SaaS startups (Mindtickle, MapmyIndia, Gupshup, BrowserStack, Apna), 4 health startups (Cure.fit, Innovaccer, Pharmeasy, Pristyn Care), 4 consumer service startups (Blinkit, CarDekho, Rebel Foods, Urban Company), and 3 edtech startups (Eruditus, Vedantu and Upgrad) also becoming unicorns. Other 2021 unicorn categories include Media and Entertainment startups MPL and sharechat, Logistics startup Blackbuck, Traveltech startup Easemytrip , Real Estate startup Nobroker, and Manufacturing startup Zetwork. Talking about where where these startups coming from, they were all from tier 1 cities. Bangalore is leading this list with 39 unicorns, NCR region with 32 unicorns, mumbai with 16, Pune with 6, Chennai with 5 and Hyderabad with 2. Now we are halfway in 2022 and we have already produced and now it seems that by 2025, India will have upwards of 250 unicorns. So that will be exciting to watch and we will continue to track all of this in our upcoming episodes.

This week in Indian Startup News, India touches 100 Unicorns Mark, Swiggy begins trials for delivery by Drones, Vedantu Lays Off 200 Employees, MamaEarth eyes IPO by 2023, Delhivery IPO nears. In funding news, Zepto raises $200 Million, Pharmeasy in talks to raise $250 Million and more. India touches 100 Unicorns Mark: India has touched an exciting milestone of 100 Unicorns in the country. This journey started with Inmobi becoming India's first unicorn back in 2011. Since then this journey remained slow and steady and picked up pace after pandemic hit in 2020. In last two and half years, India has seen 70 unicorns and now people are predicting that we can hit 250 Unicorns by 2025. Swiggy begins trials for Drone Deliveries: Online grocery delivery startup Swiggy has begun trials for Drone delivery in Delhi NCR and Bengaluru. Swiggy who last year tested Drone deliveries for the first time for food and medicines, is now planning to do the same for grocery delivery. Company has selected Garuda Aerospace and Skyeair Mobility to do these pilots. Vedantu Lays Off 200 Employees: Edtech Unicorn Vedantu has laid off 200 of its employees, 120 of which were on contract and 80 full-time employees. Company has clarified that these lay-offs are on performance basis but employees who have been fired, are claiming that this is done to cut costs. This comes after companies like Unacademy, Lido Learning, Furlenco have also laid off employees in big numbers and in total Indian startups have laid-off 1900 in 2022 alone. MamaEarth eyes IPO by 2023: D2C skincare and beauty brand MamaEarth, which earlier became first unicorn of 2022, is now planning to go public by mid-2023. So, Mamaearth had a great run during the pandemic and their revenue has increased more than 10x in last two years. Company now wants to expand its presence in other countries. Delhivery IPO nears: Logistic startup Delhivery's IPO is just around the corner as company has announced it will open for subscription on May 11 and will close on May 13, and the company's shares are likely to list on stock exchange on 24th May. So the company had earlier decided on the total issue size of Rs 7,460 crore, which it now has cut down significantly to Rs 5,235 crore. Zepto raises $200 Million: Quick commerce startup Zepto has raised $200 Million in Series D round led by Y Combinator Community Fund. This has valued the company at $900 Million. They will be using these funds to expand into 12-20 cities and hire 1,000 people over the next one year. Pharmeasy in talks to raise $250 Million: Online Pharmacy Startup Pharmeasy is in talks to raise around $250 million in a debt round, from private equity investors. So the company is soon to go public, but has delayed it till markets become more conducive to launch an IPO, and this debt round is a bridge financing round to help the company fund its business until its IPO.

Ashish Kumar Partner, The Fundamentum Partnership (growth-focused VC Fund) Sharing his insights on: 1. As a part of a VC firm, what got you interested in the healthcare sector? 2. You had assessed several players in the pharma space, what were the 3 key factors that stood out for PharmEasy? 3. Besides the team, what other factors drove you to commit to PharmEasy? 4. In general, what makes a team shine over others when it comes to investment? 5. Coming back to PharmEasy, you tweeted about channel relationships, margins, and supply chain as key differentiators, can you elaborate on that? 6. So quite a cliche question, did you ever envisage that PharmEasy would turn up as a unicorn someday? 7. From the founders' perspective, what should they focus on at the early stage, to become a leader in any sector? 8. Finally, tell us about "Fundamentum Partnership," and what's your investment thesis?

The D2C ecosystem has truly found its feet in India. There are now a lot of great brands making niche, high-quality products for targeted audiences. The e-commerce wave has given them a channel of distribution that they own. But as the market matures, there are other needs for young D2C startups. They need marketing, sales, and brand talent, things which they can't easily get access to in order to grow as fast as they want to.Ananth Narayanan's Mensa aims to solve this problem for the new D2C economy. Mensa is a house of brands that invests in digital-first, D2C brands, and scales them globally. Previously, Ananth was CEO of Myntra, which was acquired by Flipkart, and co-founder and CEO of Medlife, which was acquired by Pharmeasy.Remember, Mensa is not even 500 days old!Subrata's presence is also notable here, as he has had a long relationship with Ananth. Fun fact: Mensa was co-created as a concept by Ananth and Accel working together from the start. We'll go into more details in the podcast, but Subrata has been in the trenches with Ananth: from ideation to team expansion, and from strategy to building out their tech platform.I thank Ananth and Subrata for coming on and sharing all of these stories and insights about Mensa's first 500 days. We wish Ananth and the Mensa team all the best, we are definitely rooting for them!Summary of the conversation:6:55 - 8:16 - The India opportunity for a digital house of brands.8:34 - 9:58 - How did Mensa achieve Unicorn status in 6 months?16:35 - 18:55 - How did Mensa use technology top scale?19:37 - 21:37 -  How did Mensa convince founders to sell their brands to Mensa?27:05 - 29:25  - Advice for founders from Ananth & Subrata.Check out other episodes from the Insights Podcast series at https://www.seedtoscale.comShare your feedback and suggestions at https://www.twitter.com/Accel_India

2021 has been a pretty incredible year for India's startup ecosystem - with everything that's happened in the year let's take a look at the 10 biggest highlights of India's startup ecosystem in our 2021 Rewind video. Younger Indian startups acquiring older companies: We witnessed this really interesting phenomenon where young startup companies were acquiring traditional businesses that'd been around for decades. For example, 5-year-old stock trading unicorn Groww acquired the mutual funds business of India Bulls, a 21-year-old company, for ₹175 Crore. We also saw India's only online pharmacy unicorn Pharmeasy acquiring a majority stake in India's largest diagnostic solutions provider Thyrocare, which is 25 years old, in a deal worth ₹4,546 crore. Byju's acquisition spree worth $2.5 billion: In 2021, Byju's took their acquisition spree to new heights by pouring in $2.5 billion to acquire 10 companies including the $1 billion acquisition of the offline coaching institute Aakash. Crypto unicorns are born despite the uncertainty: Despite all the uncertainty that surrounds India's crypto industry, we saw CoinDCX and CoinSwitch becoming India's first and second crypto unicorns respectively. Another great example of the crypto revolution in India is Polygon - a layer 2 protocol for building and connecting Ethereum-compatible blockchain networks which began its journey in India. Skyroot Aerospace prepares for space launch: Skyroot Aerospace, the first Indian startup to successfully test a rocket engine last year, in 2020, and this year they set another record too, becoming the first Indian startup to successfully test a cryogenic rocket engine, taking India one step closer to launching privately-built rockets into space the same way American companies like SpaceX and Blue Origin are in the United States. Byju's edtech, lawsuit and controversy: Byju's was shrouded in controversies throughout the year bringing into focus their alleged unethical practices and the $2.6 million lawsuit that was filed against Pradeep Poonia. Ola Electric's grand EV plans for India: They announced their S1 and S1 Pro electric scooters back on India's Independence Day, and started taking orders in October. During the first two days of this booking period, Ola received orders worth Rs 1,100 crore - that's more than 80,000 scooters! Ola single-handedly tripled the size of India's electric two-wheeler market, and on top of that, they started work on what was supposed to be the world's largest electric scooter factory before Simple Energy announced that they were gonna build an even bigger one. Superfast grocery delivery takes the front seat: Thanks to two 19-year-old Stanford dropouts building a startup called Zepto, 10-minute grocery delivery is becoming more and more commonplace in India's metros. Following Zepto's lead, Grofers, which has been around since 2013, rebranded themselves to Blinkit, ensuring that everyone knew they were as serious about super fast delivery as Zepto, and these kinds of high-speed deliveries are also happening now with Swiggy Instamart, too. Mensa Brands - India's fastest unicorn: The Thrasio-style D2C house of brands - Mensa Brands became the fastest Indian startup to join the unicorn club, entering the club in just six months. Nykaa's IPO: Nykaa's IPO was arguably the most successful startup IPO of 2021. Anyone who got an allotment in this IPO saw their investment double when Nykaa hit the stock market, and it also made Falguni Nayar, the nayika of Nykaa, India's wealthiest self-made woman. Zomato - the startup that kicked off the IPO craze: Zomato was the first Indian startup to IPO in 2021 and also became the first-ever Indian unicorn to IPO.

The year 2021 was one of the most remarkable years for the primary markets. Nearly Rs 1.2 trillion had been mopped up till early December by 66 companies, beating the previous best of Rs 74,035 crore seen in 2017. New-age companies including Paytm, Zomato, and Nykaa raised approximately Rs 46,800 crore of this amount, cornering approximately 40 per cent of the fund raise. While Zomato started the trend of new-age firms debuting on the India bourses, it was Paytm that launched India's biggest-ever IPO worth Rs 18,300 crore. Policybazaar, Nykaa, Nazara Technologies, CarTrade Tech and Easy Trip Planners were some of the other companies that followed suit. Going forward, about 16 new-age start-ups are lined up to go public including Oyo, Snapdeal, Ola, Mobikwik, PharmEasy, Ixigo and Delhivery. However, the road for these companies will not be as easy as their predecessors. Since the appalling investor response to the initial public offer of Paytm, new-age companies have decided to re-assess their IPO sizes and valuation. MobiKwik, for instance, delayed its IPO after Paytm's listing debacle. While cautious market mood was one reason, the company decided to wait for its December financial report to back the valuation it seeks. On its part, markets regulator Sebi earlier this week approved changes to preferential allotment norms on pricing, and lock-in period for anchor investors in an IPO. Here is Ambareesh Baliga, an independent market analyst with his views on the latest Sebi move. As regards the performance at the bourses, except Zomato whose shares have done well since listing, majority of the new-age companies have seen market-cap erosion. So why have the secondary markets been unkind to the new-age companies? This uncanny market response to new-age tech companies across the globe caught the eye of Zerodha founder Nithin Kamath, too, who took to micro-blogging site Twitter to caution investors against the mad rush in these companies. Baliga adds that the discouraging stock market performance can also potentially create roadbocks for further fund raising by these start-ups. On Thursday, markets are likely to remain range-bound in the backdrop of the expiry of futures & options contracts for the December series. It will be the last monthly F&O expiry for the calendar year 2021. Stock-specific action, however, is likely to continue. Watch video

Join us in this episode as we discuss the market buzz around the upcoming IPO of PharmEasy

Join us in this episode as we discuss the market buzz around the upcoming IPO of PharmEasy

This week in Indian startup news, Nykaa's blockbuster IPO, Paytm – India's biggest IPO gets a lukewarm response, PharmEasy files draft papers for their IPO, Ola forays into online grocery delivery and Niki.ai to shut down. In funding news, Good Glamm Group raises $150 million – 34th unicorn this year, Zoomcar raises $92 million, Curefit to raise $50 million from Zomato, BrightChamps raises $63 million and Wakefit raises $27 million. Nykaa's blockbuster IPO: Nykaa made its debut on Indian stock markets this Wednesday, doubling its investors' wealth and making Falguni Nayar India's richest self-made billionaire. With India's online beauty and personal care market expected to grow rapidly in the coming years, there is a lot of opportunity for the growth of Nykaa as well. Paytm's – India's biggest IPO gets a lukewarm response: Unlike Zomato and Nykaa which received 38X and 82X oversubscription, Paytm's IPO was only subscribed 1.9X. The reason for this could be Paytm's high valuation despite not being able to monetize their growing user base – as their revenues have stayed stagnant at around Rs 3,000 crore for the last four years. PharmEasy files draft papers for their IPO: API Holdings, the parent company of PharmEasy has filed their DRHP to raise Rs 6,250 crore through the IPO. PharmEasy started as an online pharmacy but is now offering a bunch of healthcare services to their customers – becoming a complete healthcare platform. Ola forays into online grocery delivery: With the success of online grocery, Ola is piloting quick grocery delivery in a bid to diversify their business ahead of their IPO. Niki.ai to shut down: According to Entrackr, Niki.ai, a personal voice assistant platform, has laid off most of their employees and shut down their operations – after failing to control their piling losses, despite growing revenues. Good Glamm Group raises $150 million – 34th unicorn this year: The Good Glamm Group, which operates D2C beauty brand MyGlamm, has raised $150 million in fresh capital – making them India's 34th unicorn this year. Zoomcar raises $92 million: Self-drive rental car startup Zoomcar has raised $92 million from their investors to continue their international expansion and strengthen their customer experience through technology. Curefit to raise $50 million from Zomato: Curefit is in the process of raising $50 million from Zomato – once the deal is finalised it could make Curefit India's latest unicorn BrightChamps raises $63 million: Edtech startup BrightChamps has raised $63 million in a round led by Premji Invest – valuing them at $500 million in just a year of their operations. Wakefit raises $27 million: D2C mattress brand Wakefit has raised $27 million in a round led by Susquehanna International Group to boost their omnichannel expansion and strengthen their supply chain and logistics.

The IPO market is crammed with companies looking to raise funds. After Zomato, Paytm and Nykaa, bigwigs like Delhivery, Mobikwik, Adani Wilmar, Keventer Agro, LIC, PharmEasy and Go Airlines are set to hit the market over the next six months. While 87 companies have already mopped up over Rs 72,000 crore so far in calendar year 2021, which is a record in itself, the tally is expected to hit Rs 1 trillion by the end of this year. This is in contrast to just around Rs 18,500 crore raised in the corresponding 10 months last year. However, all is not well in the primary market.   An analysis by CARE Ratings shows that around 40 per cent issues are trading below their prices while only 23 per cent are trading 100 per cent above their issue prices. Overall, around half have given returns of above 10 per cent so far.   Dig a bit deeper and you will see that failure rate or proportion of issues that are quoting lower than the issue price, is the highest among the issues with offer sizes either more than Rs 1,000 crore or less than Rs 10 crore.   At the Rs 1,000 crore plus level, 40 per cent issues are quoting at a discount while 61 per cent issues are trading lower than their issue price in the lowest range category. The Rs 500-1,000 crore category has the lowest failure rate of just 1 in 13. It is 27 per cent for the Rs 100-500 group and 40 per cent for the Rs 10-100 category.   So how can investors steer clear of weak public offers and pick the best ones?   Sameer Kaul, who is managing director and chief executive officer of TrustPlutus Wealth, said:   Keep a track of… Nature of the business Quality of management Valuation   For retail investors, Juzer Gabajiwala, director of Ventura Securities, suggested these for investment in an IPO: Don't apply for more than the application amount Check grey market premium Check promoter background Purpose and type of issue   That said, while these factors can help judge traditional businesses very well, they may not be entirely suitable for new-age businesses. For instance, Zomato's pricing was widely cited as very expensive and how it might not sustain. Similarly, Paytm's valuations are under scanner and so were Nykaa's. Then, how should one judge public offers of these tech-based companies before investing? Is valuation really a concern for them?   On new-age businesses, TrustPlutus' Sameer Kaul said:   Traditional valuation methods don't work for new-age biz Huge client data, cross-selling opportunity makes a case for sustained valuation   In a nutshell, while a bull run will give investors ample investment opportunities to earn money, long-term gains from an IPO will be generated based on the individual company's growth outlook, target market, management quality and financial stability.   Now, coming to Wednesday's session, markets may continue to consolidate in today's session amid lack of fresh triggers. September quarter earnings will drive the secondary market action while initial public offers of Paytm, Sapphire Foods, and Latent View Analytics will also be on investor radar. Shares of Nykaa will debut on the bourses today. The counter is commanding a strong grey market premium, suggesting a solid listing pop.   Globally, market participants will eye October inflation data of China and the US, slated to be released later in the day. Watch Video

Persistent selling by FIIs, and higher-than-expected producer inflation in China kept market mood in check on Wednesday. The S&P BSE Sensex ended with a loss of 80 points at 60,353 while it's NSE counterpart Nifty50 settled with a loss of 27 points at 18,017. Bharti Airtel was the top gainer on the Sensex, up 3.3 per cent to Rs 737. Mahindra & Mahindra, Sun Pharma, Reliance and ITC were the other notable gainers. On the other hand, IndusInd Bank slipped over 3 per cent to Rs 1,034. This was followed by Tata Steel Asian Paints, Titan, SBI, PowerGrid Corporation, HDFC Bank, Kotak Bank and Maruti as the other prominent losers. Among sectoral indices, the Metal and Realty indices shed up to 2 per cent. On the positive side, the Telecom index jumped 2 per cent, while the Energy index was up a per cent. In the broader markets, the BSE Midcap index index declined 0.6 per cent, while the Smallcap index ended flat. Debutant Nykaa listed on the NSE at Rs 2,018 apiece, up 79 per cent over its issue price of Rs 1,125. The shares doubled from its issue price when they touched the day's high of Rs 2,248. In the process, the company's market capitalisation crossed Rs 1-trillion mark and entered the top-60 most valuable companies on the BSE. The stock finally ended with a solid premium of 96 per cent at Rs 2,206, on the back of heavy volume of around 34.32 million shares on the BSE. The primary market, on the other hand, was abuzz with activity. To begin with, the three-day share sale by Paytm, India's biggest IPO so far, finally managed to sail through on the final day. It has been subscribed nearly 2 times so far, backed by retail and QIB investors. Meanwhile, Latest View Analytics' public offer, which opened today, was fully subscribed within 45 minutes of opening. It has been subscribed over 5 times so far. Sapphire Foods, too, sailed through on the second day and has been subscribed 92 per cent so far. Separately, Pharmeasy has filed its draft red herring prospectus with markets regulator to raise Rs 6,250 crore in an initial public offering. Also, leading life sciences company Tarsons Products has fixed a price band of Rs 635-662 a share for its Rs 1,024-crore initial share-sale. The IPO will open on November 15 and conclude on November 17.

This week in Indian startup news, Chingari on blockchain - launches its own NFT marketplace and crypto token, Ola's top executives leave as they plan to re-enter grocery delivery, SEBI approves Nykaa and PolicyBazaar's IPO and Good Glamm Group acquires ScoopWhoop. In funding news, PharmEasy raises nearly $350 million, CRED raises $251 million, SUN Mobility raises $50 million and CredAble raises $30 million. Chingari on blockchain - launches its own NFT marketplace and crypto token: Short-video platform Chingari has launched their own NFT marketplace and crypto token called ‘$GARI' – which is built on the Solana blockchain. This is will allow all the content on Chingari to be turned into an NFT – allowing the creators to earn money by selling their NFTs using their own crypto token ‘$GARI'. Ola's top executives leave as they plan to re-enter grocery delivery: Ola is restructuring their senior management as two of their top executives leave the company and they plan to further diversify their business to re-enter the grocery delivery business in a bid to strengthen their revenues. SEBI approves Nykaa and PolicyBazaar's IPO: SEBI has approved Nykaa and PolicyBazaar's IPO and Nykaa is planning raise around Rs 5,300 crore as they go public by the end of this month. Good Glamm Group acquires ScoopWhoop: Good Glamm Group, which owns D2C beauty care brand MyGlamm, has acquired a new age digital media company ScoopWhoop. This acquisition will strengthen the Good Glamm Group's content-to-commerce strategy – ScoopWhoop is a popular digital media platform that has more than 100 million users and their content gets 1.5 billion impressions every month. PharmEasy raises nearly $350 million: Online pharmacy unicorn PharmEasy has raised close to $350 million from their investors as they gear up for their upcoming IPO. CRED raises $251 million: Fintech giant CRED has raised $251 million from Tiger Global Management and Falcon Edge Capital – bumping their valuation up to $4.01 billion from $2.2 billion a few months back. SUN Mobility raises $50 million: SUN Mobility, an electric vehicle infrastructure provider, has raised $50 million from dutch energy and commodities trading company Vitol to expand the number of battery swapping stations from 65 to 500 by the end of 2022. CredAble raises $30 million: CredAble, a fintech startup focused on supply chain financing, has raised $30 million in a round led by Plutus Management and Oaks Asset Management.

In this episode, we interviewed  Jinay Gala, a Computer Science graduate who built his first startup at college, then worked for companies like Accenture and PharmEasy and is currently running a kitchenware brand, Allo Innoware that has acquired over 1 lakh customers in only a year. Allo Innovare is one of the top kitchenware brands on Amazon India.In this interview, we spoke about Jinay's entrepreneurship journey, his solution-oriented approach in business and how he as the only founder brought his brand to such heights in spite of COVID that hit his business hard.In this interview, Jinay shares:How entrepreneurship started for him.How he is sourcing his products.The entire process of getting this product developed.If he started selling on Amazon or on a website.How he got his product's design trademark.His mindset regarding funding when he was starting.If he is selling his products in wholesale or retail?The process of finding a distributor.His recommendation for people wanting to build their business on Amazon.How is this special glass made?References:Allo Innoware Website: https://alloinnoware.com/Allo Innoware Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/alloinnowareAllo Innoware Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alloinnoware/Want to get started with your eCommerce business?Join the 5-Day eCom freedom challenge: http://joinefc.in  If you want my team and me to help you start, scale and grow your eCommerce, Dropshipping or Print on Demand business from scratch, apply for our group mentorship programme here: https://digitaldukaandaar.com/applyAnd for those of you looking to get started with your eCommerce Store, I personally use and highly recommend Shopify. You can go to https://nishkarshsharma.com/shopify and get started with your 14-day trial. Nishkarsh's Social Media Profiles:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nishkarshsharmaa/   Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nishkarsh.sharma/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/DigitalDukaandaar/videos  If you like the episode, do share it with someone who really needs to listen to this. Loads of love & care

Uber is starting a new service aimed at businesses. India's largest cryptocurrency exchange may receive an investment from one of America's biggest VCs. Pharmeasy, producers of one of the best ads in TV history are on an acquisition spree! Find out more about all these stories on the StrictlyBusiness podcast!

This week in Indian Startup News, BuyUCoin launches SIPs for crypto assets, SBI bans crypto traders from using their UPI platform, Skyroot Aerospace signs an agreement with ISRO to test their rockets, Ola Electric's flagship Ola S1 electric scooters sell like hotcakes, Ola's FutureFactory to be run entirely by women, Pravaig Dynamics to host PiCon to showcase their EV prototype and technology, Freshworks to raise $912 million in IPO, Zenoti acquires SuperSalon and PharmEasy acquires Aknamed ahead of IPO. In funding news, Mobile Premier League's latest funding makes them a unicorn, Apna raises $100 million to become India's fastest unicorn, BetterPlace raises $24 million and Eupheus Learning raises $10 million. SBI bans crypto traders from using their UPI platform: India's largest bank State Bank of India (SBI) has banned crypto investors from using their UPI platform – spelling bad news for crypto startups in India. BuyUCoin launches SIPs for crypto assets: Crypto trading platform has introduced Systematic Investment Plans (SIPs) for crypto assets much like mutual funds – enabling investors to invest in bundled crypto assets on a weekly or monthly basis. Skyroot Aerospace signs an agreement with ISRO to test their rockets: Indian spacetech startup Skroot Aerospace has officially signed an agreement with ISRO – giving them access to ISRO's facilities and expertise to test out their rocket systems. Ola Electric's flagship Ola S1 electric scooters sell like hotcakes: Ola started selling their electric scooters Ola S1 and S1 Pro on 15th September and sold out more than 80,000 units worth Rs 600 crore on the first. They have now sold more electric scooters than the number of electric scooters that were sold throughout the year 2020. Ola's FutureFactory to be run entirely by women: Ola Electric's FutureFactory – which is going to be the world's largest two-wheeler factory will be completely run by women. Once the factory reaches its peak production by March 2022, it will be employing 10,000 women. Pravaig Dynamics to host PiCon to showcase their EV prototype and technology: Pravaig Dynamics to host PiCon between 24-25 September in Bengaluru where they will be showcasing their own EV prototypes and technologies. Freshworks to raise $912 million in IPO: Indian SaaS startup Freshworks is looking to raise as much as $912 million in their IPO at a valuation of around $9 billion. Zenoti acquires SuperSalon: Zenoti - a SaaS-based startup that offers software to spas and salons to manage their operations, has acquired a US-based salon management software provider SuperSalon. PharmEasy acquires Aknamed ahead of IPO: Online pharmacy unicorn PharmEasy has acquired a cloud-based hospital supply chain management platform Aknamed in a deal estimated to be worth $180-190 million. Mobile Premier League's latest funding makes them a unicorn: Mobile Premier League (MPL) has raised an undisclosed amount of funds at a $2.3 billion valuation – making them India's second gaming unicorn after Dream11. Apna raises $100 million to become India's fastest unicorn: Apna, a professional networking platform for blue and grey collar workers, has raised $100 million from Tiger Global Management – making them India's fastest unicorn in just 21 months. BetterPlace raises $24 million: Blue-collar workforce management platform BetterPlace has raised $24 million in a round led by CX Partners and Jungle Ventures to help them strengthen their technology platform and add new products. Eupheus Learning raises $10 million: Edtech startup Eupheus Learning has raised $10 million from Lightrock India to enter into new markets and make some acquisitions.

#DamaniTalks XLiv features Dharmil Sheth, co-founder of PharmEasy Dharmil Sheth is a serial entrepreneur, who has built India's first health tech unicorn with a valuation of $4 billion – PharmEasy. Prior to PharmEasy, he founded BoxPlay Sports, 91streets and Ekagrata. Dharmil holds an MBA from the Institute of Management Technology, Ghaziabad. The foundation of India's largest medicine delivery platform- PharmEasy, dates back to 2015 when Dharmil Sheth started a mobile application where users took a photo of their prescription and PharmEasy delivered their pharmaceutical requirements to their doorstep, at a 20% discount. Today, it is a unicorn with over 17 million active users and is worth $4 billion! Key takeaways from the episode: How did Dharmil's internships at Techno Gravity Solutions and MakeMyTrip.com help him with his entrepreneurial plunge? What did his first venture BoxPlay Sports provide? How was the idea behind Dharmil's 2nd venture-91streets born? What were the high and low points that eventually led to shutting down the company? As a founder member, what gave Dharmil the idea to start Ekagrata? What is the vision behind Ekagrata? How does Dharmil balance his time between Ekagrata while building a billion-dollar company? Why did Dharmil & Dhaval start PharmEasy? What were Dharmil's early years at PharmEasy like? How does Dharmil differentiate PharmEasy's service from others and ensure longevity despite a competitive market? What were the challenges in building a startup in one of the highest regulated industries in India? How does Dharmil manage that conflict between meeting the regulations and driving growth? What was Dharmil's experience raising $872M over the years? If he were to define the elevator pitch for PharmEasy now, what would it be? How did the Medlife acquisition impact PharmEasy? What transpired the deal of acquiring a publicly listed company- Thyrocare? Why did Dharmil choose to acquire when he has the bandwidth to build? Where does Dharmil see PharmEasy in the next 5 years? --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/damanitalks/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/damanitalks/support

This week in Indian Startup News, Online pharmacy startup PharmEasy acquires 25-year-old Thyrocare, Update on Ola's electric scooter and Futurefactory, PolicyBazaar IPO and expansion into offline insurance space, Shuttl to shut down, and Lenskart's expansion and their new startup fund. In funding news, PharmEasy raises $300 million, Acko in talks to raise $200 million, Fourth Partner Energy raises $125 million, Grofers raises $120 million and Classplus raises $65 million. Online pharmacy startup PharmEasy acquires 25-year-old Thyrocare: India's only pharmacy unicorn PharmEasy's parent company API Holdings has signed a deal to acquire 66.1% stake in a 25-year-old diagnostics company Thyrocare for a whopping $613 million. This deal is huge for the Indian startup ecosystem, considering this is the first time ever that an Indian unicorn startup has acquired a publicly listed company. Update on Ola's electric scooter and Futurefactory: Ola's electric scooter manufacturing facility called Futurefactory is nearing the completion of its first phase – which means they will be able to start rolling out 2 million of Ola's electric scooters soon every year soon. While not much is known about Ola's electric scooters yet, they are expected to offer a range of 150 km. PolicyBazaar IPO and expansion into offline insurance space: PolicyBazaar's parent company Etech Aces Marketing and Consulting is planning to file for IPO as soon as this month and the company could go public by the end of this year. They are expected to raise $400-500 million at a $4-5 billion valuation. The insurtech startup has also forayed into offline insurance space by setting up 15 stores and they plan on increasing the number to 100 in the coming months. This move is critical for their business because despite being the leader in India's online insurance space, more than 90% of the insurances are still sold offline. Shuttl to shut down? App-based on-demand bus service for daily office commuters Shuttl was doing over 100,000 rides every day before the pandemic. However, with the offices shut down and employees largely working from homes, their business has been at a standstill for the last year. Shuttl has already let go of most of their employees and they are now planning to sell whatever is left of the company to a larger player. Lenskart's expansion and their new startup fund: Omnichannel eyewear unicorn Lenskart which already has more than 750 stores is now planning to add 300 more stores to strengthen their offline presence. The startup has also set up a ‘Vision Fund' – which will be used to invest in smaller startups in the eyewear tech space. PharmEasy raises $300 million: Online pharmacy unicorn startup PharmEasy has raised $300 million from their existing investors to help them fund the acquisition of Thyrocare. Acko in talks to raise $200 million: Online insurance startup Acko is in talks with the likes of General Atlantic, Warburg Pincus, Multiples Alternate Asset Management and TPG to raise $200 million. If the deal comes through, Acko will end up being a unicorn. Fourth Partner Energy raises $125 million: Solar energy startup Fourth Partner Energy has raised $125 million in fresh capital from Norway's state-owned Norfund and TPG. Grofers raises $120 million: Grofers has raised $120 million from food delivery giant Zomato and Tiger Global Management. Zomato is seeking CCI's permission to acquire a 9.3% stake in the startup. Classplus raises $65 million: Edtech startup Classplus has raised $65 million from Tiger Global Management to help offline tutors set up their online business.

PharmEasy co-founder Siddharth Shah outlines the entrepreneurial journey of the five young co-founders behind this online pharmacy company, and why they “never say never”. As co-founder & Chief Executive of API Holdings (parent company of PharmEasy), Siddharth speaks to Business Line on working with industry veterans like Aditya Puri and Dr Velumani, both representing different generations and economies. API recently formalised a deal to buy over 66 percent in diagnostics laboratory network Thyrocare, for Rs 4,546 crore, a first-time where a listed company is bought by a unicorn. Part of a plan or serendipity? Siddharth gives us the inside track. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/business-line/message

In this episode, find out why SBI is optimistic about FY22 Business Term of the Day: Open offer

Equity indices declined in the fag-end of the session on Monday, even as Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced relief measures for a battered-down economy. In an 8-point agenda, FM Sitharamam on Monday announced a Rs 1.1 trillion loan guarantee scheme for Covid-affected sectors, including a Rs 50,000 crore loan to the health sector aimed at scaling medical infrastructure targeting underserved areas. That apart, Sitharaman also announced an additional Rs 1.5 trillion for Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme, launched as part of Atmanirbhar Bharat package. For the financial sector, the FM said MFIs can extend loans of maximum Rs 1.25 lakh to 2.5 million individual borrowers for a period of 3 years. Other measures included financial support to 11,000 registered tourist guides, extension of Atmanirbhar Bharat Rozgar Yojana, additional subsidy of Rs 14,775 crore to be provided for DAP and NPK fertilisers, and distribution of 5 kg of free food grains to the poor. With these measures in place, investors booked profit on the bourses, taking the benchmark S&P BSE Sensex to 52,735 levels, down 189 points or 0.36 per cent. The broader Nifty50, on the other hand, closed at 15,815 levels, down 46 points or 0.29 per cent. Both the indices had hit a lifetime high of 53,126 and 15,915.6, respectively earlier today. The broader market, on the contrary, resumed their uptrend and outperformed the headline indices. The BSE MidCap index ended at 22,639 levels, up 0.40 per cent while the BSE SmallCap index shut shop at 25,111, up 0.46 per cent. Among individual stocks, shares of Thyrocare Technologies tumbled 11.5 per cent to hit a low of Rs 1,281 apiece in the intra-day trade today after nearly 3.74 lakh shares changed hands on the BSE by 3:15 PM. Docon Technologies, along with API Holdings, the parent company of unicorn PharmEasy, had said on Friday that it will acquire a 66.1 per cent equity stake in the diagnostic chain firm for Rs 4,546 crore. They also made an open offer for acquisition of additional 26 per cent stake in Thyrocare at a price of Rs 1,300 per share. Meanwhile, newly listed Dodla Dairy closed at Rs 609 apiece, after debuting at Rs 550, a 28 per cent premium over its issue price of Rs 428 per share on the National Stock Exchange (NSE). KIMS, on the other hand, ended at Rs 987.5 after listing at Rs 1,009, up 22 per cent against its issue price of Rs 825 per share on the National Stock Exchange (NSE). Analysts suggest short-term investors should book profits in the counters while those for long haul should focus on fundamentals. According to Angel Broking, Dodla Dairy's valuations have turned expensive after today's 48 per cent rally over the issue price, leaving limited upside in the near-term. As regards KIMS, the brokerage says short-term investors should book profit at Rs 977 while long-term investors may book partial profit and hold the remaining quantity as the company can perform well in the long run. In another news, the Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT) on Monday provided interim relief to Franklin Templeton Mutual Fund by partly staying an order passed by market regulator Sebi against the fund house. In a 100-page order, Sebi had rapped the fund house for “several irregularities” in the running of its six debt schemes that were wound up in April 2020. However, sources said SAT has stayed Sebi's order restraining the fund house from launching new debt schemes. It has also asked the fund house to deposit Rs 250 crore within three weeks in an escrow account. Global markets   European travel stocks sank 2 per cent on Monday on the back of a spike in Covid-19 cases across Asia, while worries of a sudden tapering in ultra-loose global monetary policy in the wake of rising inflation pushed pan-European STOXX 600 down 0.2 per cent. In Asia, Japan's Nikkei was down 0.06 per cent and South Korea's Kospi eased 0.03 per cent.

Welcome to another episode of The Startup Operator Roundup, where Roshan Cariappa and Gunjan Saha discuss -

Paytm is going public? Learn more about it. Pharmeasy's bought one of its rivals... who?? Learn more about it. Google is driving India's digital adoption ... how? Learn more about it - only on the StrictlyBusiness podcast!

This week in Indian Startup News, Bellatrix Aerospace becomes the first Indian private company to develop and test a hall effect thruster, Zetwerk forays into aerospace and defense, Paytm could launch India's biggest IPO ever, RBI orders all mobile wallets to become interoperable, Pharmeasy acquires Medlife, upGrad acquires Impartus, Tata in talks to acquire CureFit, PolicyBazaaar fined $33,000 for sending misleading SMS, WhatsApp is suing the Indian government over privacy rights violation and Twitter vs Indian government. In funding news, Oyo is looking to raise $600 million in debt, Zeta raises $250 million to become a unicorn, FarEye raises $100 million, Locus in talks to raise $60 million, InVideo in talks to raise $40 million and Koo raises $30 million. Bellatrix Aerospace becomes the first Indian private company to develop and test a hall effect thruster: Bellatrix Aerospace, the startup that wants to build a space taxi for satellites, has successfully tested India's first privately developed hall effect thruster – which is an electric propulsion system for microsatellites weighting 50-500 kg. Zetwerk forays into aerospace and defense: Online B2B marketplace for manufacturing products Zetwerk has set up a facility to start manufacturing aerospace and defense products. Paytm could launch India's biggest IPO ever: Paytm is planning to launch India's biggest IPO ever this November – could raise $3 billion at a valuation of up to $30 billion. RBI orders all mobile wallets to become interoperable: RBI has ordered all mobile wallet operators like PhonePe, Paytm and Google Pay to make their mobile wallets interoperable by 1st April 2022. You will be able to transfer money across mobile wallets using UPI. Pharmeasy acquires Medlife: Pharmeasy has acquired Medlife and discontinued Medlife – onboarding all their customers on its own platform making it India's largest healthcare delivery platform. upGrad acquires Impartus: Edtech startup upGrad has acquired video-based learning solutions provider Impartus and they will be rebranding it as upGrad Campus. Tata in talks to acquire CureFit: Tata is looking to acquire health and fitness startup CureFit as it plans its Super App. PolicyBazaaar fined $33,000 for sending misleading SMS: PolicyBazaar was fined $33,000 for sending misleading SMS to its customers regarding the increase in insurance premium prices. WhatsApp is suing the Indian government over privacy rights violation: WhatsApp is suing the Indian government over the new IT rules which asks them to identify the ‘first originator of information' – which is seen as a violation of privacy rights by the tech giant. Twitter vs Indian government: After Twitter labelled a tweet from a BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra as ‘manipulated media', Delhi Police was sent to Twitter's offices in Delhi and Gurgaon to hand them the notice of the inquiry. Oyo is looking to raise $600 million in debt: Oyo looks to be in trouble as the hospitality giant is looking to get a loan worth $600 million for investors. Zeta raises $250 million to become a unicorn: Banking tech startup Zeta has raised $250 million led by SoftBank Vision Fund 2 – making it India's latest unicorn. FarEye raises $100 million: FarEye has raised $100 million in a round led by TCV and Dragoneer Investment Group. Locus in talks to raise $60 million: Locus is in talks to raise $60 million from Singapore government's GIC. InVideo in talks to raise $40 million: Online video editing platform InVideo is in talks to raise $40 million. Koo raises $30 million: Indian version of Twitter for regional language users Koo has raised $30 million led by Tiger Global Management as the Indian government's relationship with American social media giants like WhatsApp and Twitter turns sour.

If you are looking for the fundamentals of entrepreneurship or if you want to learn how to achieve success in your startup you are at the right place! The Brand Called You brings you tech entrepreneur and venture capitalist, Rehan Yar Khan in conversation about capital investments, startups, co-founders, success, and more! Did you know that Rehan found his first company right out of college and soon after started investing in other tech companies, some of which are some of the unicorn startups of India such as PharmEasy, Country Delight, and GoMechanic, to name a few? Tune in to this conversation with Rehan and learn the basics of being an entrepreneur! Find us on: Facebook - http://facebook.com/followtbcy/ Twitter - http://twitter.com/followtbcy/ Instagram - http://instagram.com/followtbcy/ --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/tbcy/support

Last month, six Indian startups, CRED, Meesho, Pharmeasy, Groww, Sharechat, and Gupshup reached a valuation of more than a billion US Dollars. I did some research and analysed the founder backgrounds and their journeys to see what might be the top traits of a solid founder. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/indiastartuptalk/message

HobSpace is a platform for extracurricular activities (online and offline) for kids between 3-14 years. The brand has partnered with schools and specialist trainers to provide training and conduct lessons based on children's hobbies and sports requirements. Priya is the Co-founder of Hobspace and has over six years of experience working with corporate giants such as Goldman Sachs and S&P Capital IQ. After seeing an opportunity in experiential and cognitive building blocks-based models, she co-founded Hobspace, a platform to provide a holistic learning experience for children. Here's what you can take away from this episode: Why did Priya decide to pick up entrepreneurship? What were Priya's key takeaways from this experience from working at S&P Capital and Goldman Sachs? What was it like working for a fast-growing company? What was Priya's role at Pharmeasy? What was it like for Priya to work with her husband? How did the inspiration for Hobspace come in when she was working for Pharmeasy? What was the initial idea behind hobspace? How did Priya meet your co-founders, Harsh Jain and Bhaskar Raju Konduru? What was the skillset she was looking for in her co-founders? How did the pandemic affect Hobspace? How was the shift from physical to virtual classes? How is Hobspace different from other extracurricular activity platforms? What were the reasons behind the pivot? What are the steps Priya had to take while making the pivot? What was the discussion Priya had with the stakeholders (internal and external) regarding the pivot? What's the result today? What are the different activities children can explore on Hobspace? How was Priya's experience of raising funds for the first time? Where does Priya see Hobspace in the next ten years? What's the next market she's looking at for Hobspace? --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/damanitalks/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/damanitalks/support

We have seen a spate of startup funding activity in recent times. Just in the last couple of weeks we have seen Fintech startup, Groww, raised $83 million in its Series D funding, in a round led by Tiger Global; Gupshup raised a 100M from Tiger again; sharechat raised 500M from Tiger too; Meesho raised 300M from Softbank; epharmacy startup Pharmeasy raised 350M, Cred raised 200+ million from Falcon Edge. There have been 10 unicorns created in this year already! And this is aside from more mature startups like Zomato and Policy Bazaar raising large rounds ahead of their proposed IPO this year. To make sense of all of this, we invited Nimish Joshi (Senior Corporate Development Exec) and Rajeev Mantri (Managing Director, Navam Capital) on the podcast. Nimish and Rajeev begin with describing the significance of the current fundraising frenzy and then talk abou how the Indian startup ecosystem has evolved and why it's attractive for investors at the moment. Along the way they also discuss nuances of listing in the Indian markets through IPO, second order effects of the fundraising, and criticism on sacrificing profits for growth. We end with our guests talking about sectors that are ripe for innovation and will attract more capital in the time to come. This is a very comprehensive overview and is unmissable for anyone interested in Indian startups. This podcast is available on YouTube, Apple, Google, Spotify, Breaker, Stitcher, and other popular platforms. If you like this episode, then please rate, subscribe and share! For more information, do check out www.bharatvaarta.in.

We have seen a spate of startup funding activity in recent times. Just in the last couple of weeks we have seen Fintech startup, Groww, raised $83 million in its Series D funding, in a round led by Tiger Global; Gupshup raised a 100M from Tiger again; sharechat raised 500M from Tiger too; Meesho raised 300M from Softbank; epharmacy startup Pharmeasy raised 350M, Cred raised 200+ million from Falcon Edge. There have been 10 unicorns created in this year already! And this is aside from more mature startups like Zomato and Policy Bazaar raising large rounds ahead of their proposed IPO this year. To make sense of all of this, we invited Nimish Joshi (Senior Corporate Development Exec) and Rajeev Mantri (Managing Director, Navam Capital) on the podcast. Nimish and Rajeev begin with describing the significance of the current fundraising frenzy and then talk abou how the Indian startup ecosystem has evolved and why it's attractive for investors at the moment. Along the way they also discuss nuances of listing in the Indian markets through IPO, second order effects of the fundraising, and criticism on sacrificing profits for growth. We end with our guests talking about sectors that are ripe for innovation and will attract more capital in the time to come. This is a very comprehensive overview and is unmissable for anyone interested in Indian startups. This podcast is available on YouTube, Apple, Google, Spotify, Breaker, Stitcher, and other popular platforms. If you like this episode, then please rate, subscribe and share! For more information, do check out www.bharatvaarta.in.

PharmEasy offers a smartphone-based application that helps in connecting its users with pharmacies facilitating deliveries. It also allows home collection of samples for diagnostic testing at nearby labs.

This week in Indian Startup News, WazirX announces NFT marketplace for India, Starlink India rollout in trouble, PolicyBazaar IPO, MFine launches tool to monitor oxygen saturation levels using smartphone, Byju's acquires Aakash and goes international with Byju's Future School. In funding news, Swiggy raises $800 million, six startups turn unicorn in a week – Meesho raises $300 million, CRED raises $215 million, PharmEasy raises $350 million, Groww raises $83 million, ShareChat raises $502 million and Gupshup raises $100 million. WazirX launches NFT marketplace for India: Crypto trading platform WazirX has launched one of India's first Non-Fungible Token (NFT) marketplaces – enabling users to buy and sell digital assets like artworks, in-game avatars, virtual property, video files, audio files and even tweets. Starlink India rollout in trouble: Broadband India Forum has asked TRAI and ISRO to stop Elon Musk's Starlink to take pre-orders in the country as they have failed to comply with the guidelines, don't have their ground stations in the country and they don't even have the required authorisation. PolicyBazaar IPO: After Zomato and MobiKwik – online insurance aggregator platform Policybazaar is expected to file for IPO next month in Mumbai which could value the company at $3.5 billion. MFine launches tool to monitor oxygen saturation levels using smartphone: Healthtech startup MFine has launched an app-based tool that can monitor your oxygen saturation levels without the need for any additional device. Byju's acquires Aakash and goes international with Byju's Future School: Byju's has announced the acquisition of Aakash Educational Services in a deal that is pegged at nearly $1 billion. Apart from that Byju's has announced their global expansion plans with the launch of Byju's Future School across in the US, UK, Brazil, Indonesia and Mexico – starting with coding and math classes. Swiggy raises $800 million: Swiggy has raised $800 million at nearly $5 billion valuation from Falcon Edge Capital, Amansa Capital, Think Investments, Carmignac and Goldman Sachs. Meesho raises $300 million: Social commerce startup Meesho has raised $300 million at a $2.1 billion valuation led by SoftBank Vision Fund 2 – turning it into a unicorn. CRED raises $215 million: Kunal Shah's CRED has raised $215 million in their series D round led by Falcon Edge Capital and Coatue Management – pushing their valuation from $800 million to $2.2 billion within three months. PharmEasy raises $350 million: PharmEasy has raised $350 million led by Prosus Ventures and TPG Growth at a $1.5 billion valuation as the company looks to onboard more pharmacies on their platform. Groww raises $83 million: Online investment platform has raised $83 million in a round led by Tiger Global Management at valuation of more than $1 billion. ShareChat raises $502 million: Indian language social media platform ShareChat has raised $502 million in round led by Tiger Global Management valuing the company at $2.1 billion. Gupshup raises $100 million: Conversational messaging platform Gupshup is the last startup to become a unicorn this week after raising $100 million in a round led by Tiger Global Management.

In this episode, Mikhil Innani, Managing Director & CEO @Apollo Finvest, joins our host Digjay, to talk about his varied experiences of scaling products across multiple startups (Pharmeasy, CouponDunia, Hotstar), cultivating a strong team culture at early stages of a startup, defining and measuring growth when scaling up & how he is building the AWS of lending at his latest venture – Apollo Finvest. Apollo Finvest is a public listed NBFC which is currently building the "AWS for Lending" platform enabling fintechs to offering digital loans in

Ashish Kumar is a partner at Fundamentum Partnership - a Series B/C focused VC Fund based out of India. Prior to this, he was a serial technology entrepreneur and had started multiple tech companies with successful exits including one to a publicly listed entity. At Fundamentum, Ashish invests $10M-$25M, alongside Nandan Nilekani (Founder, Infosys) and Sanjeev Aggarwal (Founder, Helion), across sectors. Some of their portfolio companies: PharmEasy, Spinny, FarEye. In this episode, we chat with him about his acquisition story, growth stage investing, how things change at a B-round of investment and deal-sourcing.

Interviewed by Hans Tung and Madhu Yalamarthi. On today's episode, we have Siddharth Shah, co-founder and CEO of PharmEasy, India's largest digital health platform. Start with a vision to make health care accessible and affordable to all farmers who supplies medicines to more than 1000 cities and towns in India. The company recently proposed a merger deal with its rival MedLife, creating now India's newest unicorn. Siddharth is focused on bringing radical reforms in the healthcare industry with the help of digital technologies. A graduated from DJ Sanghavi College in Mumbai in computer engineering, and he is an alumnus of the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad. For the full transcript of the show, go to nextbn.ggvc.com Join our listeners' community, go to nextbn.ggvc.com/engage

Apollo Finvest is a technology company with an NBFC license. They enable fintech's to offer fully digital and compliant loans to their customers, like the AWS for loans. Mikhil is currently the Managing Director of Apollo Finvest, and his journey only gets more interesting the further back you go. He is the Cofounder of PharmEasy and has worked at Hotstar and CouponDunia (as the 6th employee)! Here's what you can expect to learn from the discussion: What was Mikhil's role at CouponDunia? What was the culture like there? What did Mikhil's stint at CouponDunia teach him about customer-centric development by increasing customer interaction? What was it like getting acquired by Times Internet? What inspired Mikhil to start PharmEasy? How did interacting with customers at an early stage help them identify their target audience? How did he manage the expectations of a varied group of 12 investors? What did it take for Mikhil to get his first few customers? How was the conversation like internally when the competition started coming in? What was it that triggered Mikhil's decision to exit PharmEasy? What was Mikhil's role in taking Hotstar from 10 million to 300 million monthly active users? How did he choose his dream team of 200+ people in engineering, product, and HR? What makes Apollo Finvest the AWS of loans? How did he achieve VC-style returns of up to 30x with a listed company like Apollo Finvest? What is Apollo Finvest's new feature – SONIC? What is Mikhil's advice for budding entrepreneurs and young founders? --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/damanitalks/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/damanitalks/support

The AJVC team gets together to discuss pharmeasy and India's multi-billion dollar and rapidly growing e-pharmacy industry. Join us for a behind the scenes peek at the A Junior VC piece “Will Pharmeasy Win E-Pharmacy's Intense Battle? More info on: ajuniorvc.com