Crypto exchange FTX to sell shares in AI startup Anthropic

By

-

February 23, 2024

A U.S. judge ruled Thursday that bankrupt crypto exchange FTX might sell its shares in the artificial intelligence startup Anthropic.

US Bankruptcy Judge John Dorsey in Wilmington, Delaware, gave the nod to FTX’s plan to sell the shares following a court agreement with a group of FTX customers who opposed the sale.

Court documents reveal that FTX injected $500 million into Anthropic in 2021, holding a 7.84% stake in the company. Seeking approval to sell these shares, FTX aims to liquidate assets and reimburse customers who lost account access during the 2022 collapse.

“We are selling the Anthropic shares, as we are selling everything, and putting the money in the bank,” FTX attorney Andy Dietderich said at a Thursday court hearing.

FTX expects to sell the shares at a profit, and it will retain the flexibility to sell its shares at the “most optimal and appropriate time,” according to court documents.

“Given the increased interest in AI and large language models, there has been significant appreciation in the value of the Anthropic Shares since the Debtors’ acquisition and investment in Anthropic in 2021,” FTX wrote in a February 3 court filing.

FTX’s 2021 investment granted it a 13.56% equity stake in Anthropic. However, the subsequent fundraising rounds, including a $4 billion investment from Amazon.com, diluted FTX’s stake.

Opposing customers contended that FTX didn’t genuinely own the Anthropic shares, alleging they were bought with embezzled funds from FTX customers’ deposits. Despite this, they agreed on Thursday to permit the sale, reserving the right to argue later that FTX customers are entitled to any proceeds from the future sale.

Dietderich mentioned that FTX plans to use the sale proceeds to repay customers and has sufficient cash to reimburse any specific group that can prove ownership of the Anthropic shares. Currently, FTX holds $6.4 billion in cash.

FTX aims to repay all customers in full, determining the repayment based on cryptocurrency prices from November 2022, when FTX declared bankruptcy during a crypto market downturn, rather than the current, higher crypto asset values.

On November 2, FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried was found guilty of embezzling billions from customers, marking one of the most significant financial fraud cases. His sentencing is scheduled for March 28, and an appeal is expected.

Ghost Kitchens India raises USD 5 million in Series-A funding

By

BRL Editor

-

February 22, 2024

0

Ghost Kitchens India raises $5 million — Karan Tanna, Founder and CEO, Ghost Kitchen

Ghost Kitchens India has raised $5 million in Series-A funding, combining equity and debt. GVFL Limited led the round, joined by NB Ventures, LetsVenture, and Lead Angels. Existing backers Yuj Ventures, Dholakia Ventures, and actor Rana Daggubati also participated.

These funds will fuel the expansion of Ghost Kitchens’ operations, allowing the platform to venture into retail stores for existing hero brands and new celebrity brands. The investment will also enhance the partner program, expanding the network of company-owned cloud kitchens and QSR stores.

Karan Tanna, founder and CEO of Ghost Kitchens, said, “We are happy that investors have appreciated and backed our plans to build a profitable F&B company led by innovation in technology. We have created 10X value for our earlier investors, and we are sure to continue with this performance for new backers. We are excited for the coming years, where we will focus on building iconic brands through customer loyalty and love for our food.”

In 2022, Ghost Kitchens India acquired WTF, a technology company, to develop its proprietary technology. This in-house SaaS (Software as a Service) solution streamlines business operations, aiming for enhanced organic revenue, improved customer experiences, and increased profitability. Utilizing this technology, Ghost Kitchens aims to achieve profitability within the next 12-15 months by focusing on its hero brands and establishing new partnerships with celebrity brands.

Kamal Bansal, MD, Gujarat Venture Finance Limited, said, “We have closely observed Ghost Kitchens’ journey for over three quarters before partnering with them. Their execution is focused and frugal, with a clear path of profitability. We were particularly excited about repeat customers of their brands and the in-house tech that they have, which helps to optimize the aggregator algorithm better for organic growth. We are looking forward to the launch of celebrity brands as well. We are looking forward to what the future has for Ghost Kitchens in terms of growing a profitable, sustainable business.”

In February 2023, Ghost Kitchens India acquired SpeakBurgers, a venture by celebrity Chef Vicky Ratnani. The company plans to expand this partnership by opening 25 offline retail stores within 18-24 months.

Chef Vicky Ratnani said, “I joined hands with Ghost Kitchens a year ago and their infrastructure to scale brands has helped SpeakBurgers to evolve tremendously. I wish Ghost Kitchens and all its backers a huge congratulations and with the new capital in place, Ghost kitchens can realize its dream of an IPO in the next 5 years. Most importantly, I am glad that we will be able to spread love to more customers through good food.”

Established in 2019, Ghost Kitchens India currently runs more than 15 company-owned and operated cloud kitchens in Mumbai and Ahmedabad, along with 1200 internet restaurants spanning 40 cities in India. The company is dedicated to expanding its company-owned operations, introducing celebrity brands, and venturing into retail stores to reach an annual revenue of around 200 crores in the next two years.

Spyre PropTech launches Rs 400-Cr fund with Venture Catalysts and Neovon backing

By

BRL Editor

-

February 22, 2024

0

Spyre PropTech Venture Fund, backed by Venture Catalysts and Neovon, is gearing up for the initial stage of its Rs 400-crore proptech fund.

The maiden fund will support more than 30 companies in their early and growth stages, with initial investments ranging from Rs 2 crore to Rs 8 crore and later-stage Series A and B rounds receiving Rs 15 crore to Rs 40 crore. The fund is equipped with an alternative investment fund II license, along with an additional green-shoe option of Rs 400 crore.

Venture Catalysts, a multi-stage venture capital firm, is set to be Spyre’s seed investor and co-sponsor. CREDAI, the apex body of private real estate developers in India, is providing support to the fund.

“To be a part of the next tech disruption, it is imperative to promptly participate in the evolutionary process. The ambit of technological advancements in the real estate sector is vast, and we are excited to witness Spyre PropTech’s emergence as the leader in this respect. We look forward to working with proptech startups, making it a win-win for all,” said Boman Irani, President CREDAI and MD of Rustomjee Group.

Spyre PropTech Venture Fund, anchored and co-founded by Neovon, a consortium of real estate developers, has pledged 20% of the fund size as an anchor.

“As a consortium of developers, we truly believe that the only way to find success is to build a win-win situation for proptech startups and the industry as whole. Backed by the industry, this fund will have the perfect edge, leading to empowerment, innovation, and unprecedented growth,” said Neovon Co-founder, Binitha Dalal.

Spyre’s management team comprises Murali Krishna as the principal and Abhimanyu Bisht as the operating partner.

Krishna, a postgraduate from UCLA, brings over 15 years of investment management experience, having established and led the Kolte Patil family office and Ronnie Screwvala’s Unilazer Ventures. Bisht, an MBA from ISB, previously served as the CEO at Venture Catalysts, leading over 250 investments in more than 100 startups.

Climate-tech startup Varaha raises $8.7mn in funding

By

BRL Editor

-

February 22, 2024

0

Climate-tech startup Varaha raises $8.7mn in funding — From Right: Varaha cofounders Madhur Jain, Ankita Garg and Vishal Kuchanur

Climate-tech startup Varaha has secured $8.7 million in its recent funding round, spearheaded by early-stage VC firm RTP Global. Existing investors Omnivore and Orios Venture Partners also joined the round, along with Japanese cooperative bank Norinchukin Bank.

The funds raised will be utilized by Varaha to enhance its technology and science capabilities, expand its team, and invest in the growth of its supply chain.

Varaha, established in 2022 by Madhur Jain, Ankita Garg, and Vishal Kuchanur, plans to expand into new regions, including East Africa and Southeast Asia, utilizing the recently secured funds over the next 18 months.

The climate-tech startup collaborates with intermediaries, on-ground partners, and NGOs to reduce carbon emissions in farming practices, enabling large corporations to acquire carbon credits or offsets.

Varaha addresses the increasing pressure on organizations to cut carbon emissions by assisting corporates in offsetting their emissions through initiatives that help farmers in India and neighbouring regions adopt sustainable agricultural practices, thereby releasing fewer greenhouse gases.

In agriculture, Varaha works with farmers in Punjab and western UP to enhance crop microbial strength, discourage crop residue burning, and improve soil microbial strength through biological interventions.

The company also extends its efforts to farmers in Nepal and Bangladesh.

“This is a ripe opportunity as India holds 164 million hectares of agricultural land area. The idea is to scale and identify the right cropping systems for farmer cohorts and reduce carbon emissions … We do the due diligence by contracting our own staff on ground which collect data and assess impact of our intervention practices,” said Jain, who is also the chief executive of the company.

Jain stated that Varaha has secured contracts to produce 230,000 carbon credits this calendar year, selling them to carbon credit marketplaces like Klimate and Carbonfuture, as well as corporate entities. Currently, the company has partnerships with six institutions.

With ambitious goals, Varaha aims to generate 1.2 million carbon credits by the conclusion of FY25 and increase this number to 2.8 million carbon credits in FY26.

“Varaha sits in the intersection of two of our big thesis around improving the lives of Indian farmers through technology as well as climate. Our thesis on climate tech is a progress from agritech. And we think climate will be the next big disruptive market globally,” said Galina Chifina, partner on RTP Global’s Asia investment team.

Varaha is set to broaden its presence in six additional geographies in the upcoming months and plans to increase its team size to over 100 members in the upcoming fiscal year.

Furniture rental startup Rentomojo bags $25mn in funding

By

BRL Editor

-

February 21, 2024

0

Furniture rental startup Rentomojo bags $25mn in funding — Geetansh Bamania, Founder and CEO of Rentomojo

Furnishing rental startup Rentomojo has raised Rs 210 crore ($25 million) in a late-stage funding round led by Edelweiss Discovery.

The round also saw participation from existing investors Chiratae Growth Fund and Magnetic, according to a statement from the company on Wednesday.

Rentomojo has raised the capital, earmarked for expanding its appliances and furniture rental category, after more than two years since its last funding round.

Founded in 2014 by Geetansh Bamania and Ajay Nain, the Bengaluru-based startup operates in 16 cities, serving nearly 450,000 customers.

Despite having offline experience centers only in Bengaluru, Rentomojo follows an online-first approach and has been profitable for the last 10 quarters, according to the statement.

“The company offers a smart home-furnishing alternative to working professionals who value the freedom of flexibility in their housing options. This category has tremendous potential for growth, and Rentomojo’s leadership team is well-positioned to continue to profitably grow and lead this segment,” said Ashish Agarwal, managing partner of Edelweiss Discovery Fund.

Geetansh Bamania, the CEO of Rentomojo, stated that the recent funding round acts as a launchpad for the company to further develop the appliances and furniture rental category in India.

D2C startup ReFit Global secures Rs 2-Cr funding on Shark Tank season 3

By

BRL Editor

-

February 21, 2024

0

Direct-to-consumer (D2C) refurbished smartphone startup ReFit Global has secured funding of Rs 2 crore at a valuation of Rs 200 crore on Shark Tank season 3, it said in a press release. The funding comes from notable investors such as Anupam Mittal, CEO of Shaadi.com, Vineeta Singh, co-founder and CEO of Sugar Cosmetics, and Amit Jain, CEO and co-founder of CarDekho Group.

The company plans to utilize the newly acquired funds to expand its operations, reach a wider market audience, and improve its technological infrastructure.

Avneet Singh, Founder and COO of the company stated, “The investment will be deployed to drive further advancements and introduce a diverse range of refreshed products to the market.”

ReFit Global has disclosed impressive financial growth, experiencing a remarkable 100x year-on-year (YoY) expansion and generating a revenue of Rs 200 crore in the fiscal year 2022-2023.

Saket Saurav, founder and CEO of ReFit Global said, “Our primary focus was to create a dynamic alliance with a diverse group of accomplished sharks, each contributing their distinctive insights and expertise. With this opportunity, we are aiming to bring in a clearer vision and market positioning for ReFit.”

The refurbished smartphone marketplace aims for substantial future success, aspiring to become a profitable enterprise with a revenue of Rs 1,000 crore within the next 5 years.

Established in 2017, the startup has built a network comprising more than 50,000 retailers spread across 100 cities. Additionally, it has established a presence on major e-commerce platforms like Amazon and Flipkart.

Bezos wraps up 50 million Amazon stock sale netting $8.5 billion

By

BRL Editor

-

February 21, 2024

0

Jeff Bezos swiftly sold 14 million Amazon.com Inc. shares, amounting to about $2.4 billion. This rapid sale completes the plan he revealed earlier this month to divest up to 50 million shares.

The transaction, totaling $8.5 billion in cash, occurred over just nine trading days, concluding on Tuesday, as per regulatory filings. Before this recent selling activity, the world’s third-richest person hadn’t sold any company stock since 2021.

Despite these massive sales, Bezos, the founder of Amazon and owner of Blue Origin and the Washington Post, has not disclosed his plans for the proceeds. On November 2, he previously announced his move from the Seattle region to Miami.

In 2022, Washington state implemented a 7% capital gains tax, unlike Florida, where such a tax does not exist. Bezos’s move to Florida is probably saving him hundreds of millions of dollars in taxes due to this difference.

According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Bezos currently holds a net worth of $191.3 billion.

Virtual reality startup AutoVRse raises $2mn in funding

By

BRL Editor

-

February 20, 2024

0

AutoVRse, a startup specializing in virtual and augmented reality, raised $2 million in a funding round, with Lumikai taking the lead. Additional investors include Rajat Monga, co-founder of TensorFlow and Inference.io, Viswanathan Krishnamurthi, former CIO and VP at Yahoo & Eaton, and Yash Kotak, founder and CEO of Jumper.ai.

This funding infusion aims to elevate AutoVRse’s core enterprise product, VRseBuilder. The capital will also facilitate team expansion, drive the company’s growth initiatives in the United States, and broaden its product offerings.

AutoVRse has outlined its strategy to establish a dedicated business-to-business (B2B) sales team in the US, focusing on generating qualified leads and fostering market expansion.

AutoVRse said the product is “an end-to-end modular technology stack and SaaS platform to integrate virtual reality (VR) into workflows of industries like manufacturing, construction, engineering, oil, and gas, automotive, replacing ineffective manual instruction, among others.”

“Our enterprise solutions offer ready-to-use and modular technology stack with SaaS-enabled deployment for purposes ranging from worker safety training to sales training and remote work design collaborations,” said co-founders Ashwin Jaishanker and Adarsh Muthappa.

Moreover, the startup‘s VR technology has been successfully implemented in 51 UltraTech Cements plants, training over 50,000 workers in virtual reality. AutoVRse has also extended its solutions to notable companies such as Shell, Godrej, Bosch, Tata Motors, and Aditya Birla Group, among others.

Pocket FM launches online reading platform Pocket Novel

By

BRL Editor

-

February 20, 2024

0

Pocket FM launches online reading platform Pocket Novel — Pocket FM founders (from left) Nishanth K S, Prateek Dixit and Rohan Nayak

Audio streaming service Pocket FM has introduced Pocket Novel, an online reading platform facilitating connections between Indian writers and readers. The company plans to invest $40 million in this initiative.

Pocket Novel aims to act as a conduit for writers to gain visibility and income, offering distribution opportunities in various formats and categories. The goal is to tap into the vast potential of India’s relatively untapped novel market, per the company’s statement.

During its beta phase, the platform has established a community of 1.5 lakh writers. According to the company’s statement, some top-performing writers earn over $2,500 monthly.

According to the statement, over 2% of novels on the platform have achieved more than 5 lakh reads, and over 5% have surpassed 1 lakh reads.

The platform’s revenue witnessed a remarkable 500% growth in 2023 and is anticipated to achieve a $100 million annual recurring revenue (ARR) by 2025, positioning itself as India’s largest online reading platform. The company’s vision includes having 1 million writers and a library of 2 million titles on its platform by 2025.

As per the Registrar of Companies filings, Pocket FM recorded revenue of Rs 131 crore in FY23, experiencing significant growth from Rs 17.5 crore in FY22. The Bengaluru-based company also reduced its loss before tax to Rs 75.7 crore in FY23, marking a 56% decrease from Rs 171.6 crore in FY22.

Established in 2018 by Rohan Nayak, Nishanth Srinivas, and Prateek Dixit, Pocket FM is an online audio entertainment platform emphasizing serialized fictional storytelling. The platform, accessible in English, Hindi, Telugu, Tamil, and Bengali, boasts a global audience of 80 million listeners.

TCS leases four lakh sq ft office space in Noida

By

BRL Editor

-

February 20, 2024

0

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), the largest IT company in India, has instructed its employees to return to the office. In one of the largest office space deals in Delhi-NCR, TCS has leased 400,000 sq ft in Noida.

The new office space is at Assotech Business Cresterra on the Noida expressway.

“Return-to-office policies implemented by large corporations are fuelling a renewed demand for high-quality office space, particularly Grade A properties. IT companies have traditionally dominated office space needs, and with most of them having ended work from home, we expect an increase in demand for Grade A office space in the coming quarters,” said Vibhor Jain, Managing Director, North India, Cushman & Wakefield.

Assotech Business Cresterra spans 2 million sq ft, and TCS has acquired space in the final building of the project. Genpact and Celebal Technologies were earlier tenants in the same complex.

Delhi-NCR witnessed a gross leasing volume (GLV) of 3.7 million sq ft in October- December, the highest in 2023. This marked a 10% increase on a quarter-on-quarter basis, almost matching the robust volumes seen in the same quarter last year, according to Cushman & Wakefield.

Of this GLV, 83% comprised fresh space take-up, with pre-commitments making up 11%. Notably, the flex space sector emerged as the largest consumer of space in the fourth quarter, securing a 24% share and surpassing the typically dominant IT-BPM sector, which held a 23% share in leasing.

In the last quarter, Delhi-NCR experienced an addition of approximately 2.9 million sq ft, contributing to the total annual launches for 2023, reaching 4.9 million sq ft. With a significant surge in supply during Q4, almost 1.2 times higher than the average of the past six quarters, the vacancy rate has marginally increased by 50 basis points on a quarter-on-quarter basis.

The forecast indicates the emergence of over 19 million sq ft of supply between 2024 and 2026, with nearly 44% concentrated in the prime submarkets of Gurgaon and Noida. This is expected to result in a higher vacancy rate, although substantial demand is anticipated to act as a mitigating factor to some extent.

CONNECT WITH US