gradCapital launches $6-million fund for students’ startups

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September 1, 2023

Bengaluru-based venture capital fund gradCapital has launched its second fund of $6 million (about Rs 49 crore) to invest in students’ startups. On Friday, the venture capital fund announced that it would provide a standard cheque for $40,000 (roughly Rs. 33 lakh) in exchange for 4% of the equity in companies set up by students.

According to the company, the selected entrepreneurs will participate in a four-week cohort programme in Bengaluru that will include meetings with Tarun Mehta, co-founder of Ather Energy, Shashank Kumar, co-founder of Razorpay, and Kailash Nadh, CTO of Zerodha.

gradCapital co-founder and CEO Abhishek Sethi said, “We are not in the business of finding and investing in deals, we are in the business of letting students be more ambitious and build a future, despite having a challenging education system. Students are more likely to start a D2C company instead of a quantum computer, and we need more of the latter.”

The fund is backed by CIIE.CO, and among the cohort members are Ankur Warikoo, co-founder of Nearbuy, Kailash Nadh, CTO of Zerodha, and Sanjeev Bikhchandani, founder and executive vice president of Info Edge.

Founded in 2021 by two IIM Ahmedabad alumni, gradCapital conducted a cohort of five teams to help them get into YC and Zepto. gradCapital had then raised USD 1 million to deploy into 18 companies. The fund is now running at about two times its initial value within 18 months, it said.

French Essence unveils its new TVC “You may not be French but you sure can smell like one, It’s very very French”

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August 31, 2023

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French Essence, the renowned brand of high-end scents, is poised to redefine elegance with the release of its captivating TVC. This seventy-second work of art transports viewers on a perfumed journey that expertly blends the spirit of France with the allure of India.

French Essence, created with extreme care, embodies France in every drop. The TVC, filmed in the splendor of a palace in Europe, reflects the brand’s dedication to providing a fantastic experience. Even from the comfort of their homes, viewers may go to the flowering fields of France thanks to the lavish backdrop, which wonderfully compliments the essence of French scents.

This television commercial goes beyond visual allure, offering an aromatic journey that transports viewers. As fragrant notes gracefully unfurl, the essence of France and the artistry of master perfumers envelop the senses. The advertisement for French Essence conveys a message that resonates: ‘You may not be French but you sure can smell like one. It’s very very French.’

“French Essence is the epitome of luxury fragrances, embodying the essence of France in every drop. The TVC, shot amidst the grandeur of a palace in Europe, resonates with the brand’s commitment to delivering an experience that’s nothing short of extraordinary. The opulent backdrop perfectly complements the essence of French fragrances, allowing viewers to be transported to the blooming fields of France, even from the comfort of their homes. This TVC isn’t just a visual delight; it’s an olfactory escapade. As the aromatic notes unfold, viewers can immerse themselves in the romance and the craftsmanship of France. French Essence’s TVC serves as an ode to the seamless amalgamation of cultures, fragrances, and the shared elegance of both nations.”- said Nidhi Gupta, CMO of French Essence.

French Essence’s commitment to excellence is evident in every aspect of the product. Handpicked ingredients sourced from France and formulations perfected by French fragrance masters create a symphony that adapts gracefully to Indian climatic conditions and diverse skin types. The fragrance evokes a sense of timeless sophistication.

About French Essence

French Essence aligns itself with one of India’s most established and prominent aerosol manufacturers. As a private label entity, the brand is characterized by its embodiment of excellence, churning out over six million units every month. This accomplishment owes itself to the dynamic team of 400+ adept professionals who invest their expertise into every fragrance creation. The journey of French Essence mirrors an unwavering commitment to advancement, innovation, and the relentless pursuit of perfection, ensuring that each product reverberates with an enduring legacy of excellence.

HR Tech Startup, MyWays.ai raises INR 80 lakh in seed round

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August 31, 2023

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MyWays.ai, an innovative AI-driven HR tech startup, has raised a substantial investment of INR 80 Lakh in a recent seed funding round. The funding was led by Realtime Angel Fund (RTAF), a reputable angel fund recognized by SEBI for its early-stage investments in pioneering startups.

With the integration of AI, MyWays.ai is leading the way in transforming HR technology. With the help of this investment, MyWays.ai will be able to grow its user base and diversify its product offerings to become an extensive software solution supported by dedicated services.

Through the seamless integration of artificial intelligence, MyWays.ai is at the forefront of revolutionizing the HR tech landscape. MyWays.ai has rapidly attracted attention and recognition in the industry by providing innovative solutions to modern HR challenges. This investment will boost the startup’s growth trajectory and enhance its capabilities to offer ground-breaking HR solutions.

Pranay Mathur, CEO of Realtime Angel Fund (RTAF), said, “We are proud to have invested in MyWays.ai, an innovative venture steered by the visionary leaders, Samyak Jain and Tanvi Jain. Their pioneering work in the deployment of AI-based solutions is set to streamline the corporate training, hiring, and deployment process, significantly cutting down the timeframes from months to a few weeks. At this exciting juncture, we are elated to empower the future of tech talent transformation through MyWays.ai.”

“We are excited to have Realtime (RTAF) with us as we embark on the next phase of our journey,” said Samyak Jain, an alumnus of IIT Delhi, CEO and Co-founder of MyWays.ai. “With the soft-launch of the Hiring Tool Suite, we witnessed a 4x surge in weekly product access requests. This fresh infusion of funds will help us expand our user base and extend our offerings to become a comprehensive software solution supported by dedicated services.”

With their investment in MyWays.ai, Real Time Angel Fund demonstrates their continued commitment to helping cutting-edge startups and advancing the business landscape. MyWays.ai is accelerating India’s transition to a $1 trillion internet digital economy by digitizing complex business operations for tech companies. MyWays.ai has publicly launched its GPT-powered Hiring Tool Suite, including Auto-Source, Auto-Screen, and Auto-Evaluate. MyWays.ai now has 150+ companies as clients and a network of over 110,000 candidates from over 800 colleges.

AI startup AI21 Labs valued at $1.4 billion after latest fund raise

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August 31, 2023

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AI21 Labs, an Israeli AI startup, announced on Tuesday that it had raised $155 million in a Series C funding round, in which Nvidia and Alphabet’s Google participated.

According to the company, AI21 has now raised $283 million in total at a valuation of $1.4 billion.

After ChatGPT, a generative AI chatbot developed by Microsoft-backed OpenAI, took the world by storm in late 2022, companies worldwide—from banks to big tech—have increased their investments in AI.

Several AI startups have benefited from this boom, including AI21, which has drawn significant interest from venture capital firms and other investors.

“The innovative work by the AI21 Labs team will help enterprises accelerate productivity and efficiency with generative AI-based systems,” said Jensen Huang, founder and CEO of Nvidia.

Since its inception in 2017, AI21 Labs has built up a substantial customer base, ranging from consumers to Fortune 100 companies.

PhonePe forays into stock broking segment, introduces Share.Market app

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August 30, 2023

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PhonePe, a Bengaluru-based company, is entering the mutual fund and stock market. The startup on Wednesday launched Share.Market, a platform that lets users open trading accounts and invest in stocks, mutual funds, and ETFs.

Share.Market elevates discount broking by offering market intelligence and quantitative research-based WealthBaskets, a scalable technology platform, the company said in a statement.

Retail investors can buy stocks, execute intraday trades, buy curated wealth baskets, and invest in mutual funds using the Share.Market mobile app and dedicated web platform, it added.

The platform will also include a separate Markets section with an easy-to-use “Watchlist” tracker for monitoring the stock market, indices, stocks, and sectors.

The Bengaluru-based company is looking to actively play in the passive investing use case with “WealthBaskets”. At the same time, PhonePe’s strategy for entering the stockbroking market is identical to that of arch-rival Paytm.

The Sebi-registered intermediaries behind WealthBaskets curate collections of stocks and investment products. The company claimed that building an active equity portfolio is effortless and affordable as it aligns with specific themes, industries, or market trends.

Sujit Modi, a founder of OpenQ, has been appointed as the company’s chief investment officer, and Ujjwal Jain, cofounder and CEO of WealthDesk, has been appointed as Share. Market’s chief executive officer.

Speaking at the launch, Jain said, “Our goal is to offer the benefits of Discount Broking while creating lasting value for our customers as they invest and trade.”

“Share.Market will bring newer demographics into broking, helping them get started on their investing journey with off-the-shelf Quant research-led offerings, including WealthBaskets,” Modi said.

In the stockbroking sector, PhonePe will compete fiercely with companies like Zerodha and Upstox.

With “Pincode”, a hyperlocal platform that enables online commerce between nearby customers and nearby offline stores, PhonePe entered the e-commerce market in April.

STAAH Connect conference wraps up on a positive note in Ahmedabad

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August 30, 2023

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STAAH, the New Zealand-based leading hospitality solutions provider, teamed up with online travel agency booking.com and the tech firm RatePing to host Ahmedabad’s first-ever STAAH Connect Hub networking conference.

The event, which was held at the Ramada by Wyndham, brought together more than 70 participants, including industry leaders, hotel industry experts and owners, general managers, and departmental heads from hotels, hotel groups, and homestays throughout India. Its goal was to allow them to connect, talk about current trends in the industry, and share best practices.

The insightful sessions shed light on how property owners could learn to take advantage of industry changes while maximizing their profits. Keynote sessions included discussions led by industry leaders like Booking.com, Rateping, and STAAH on subjects like sharing market insights for Ahmedabad, tips & tricks hotels can use to increase property visibility and conversions on OTAs, and how to sell more rooms and increase revenue with a successful distribution strategy.

“We are delighted to bring the STAAH Connect Hub to Ahmedabad for the first time. The response has been overwhelming! We had over 100 registrations for the event that saw some very relevant discussions on the current state of the hospitality sector. We’ve all learnt something new here and are taking back valuable suggestions shared by the industry experts on the best way forward, STAAH is enthusiastic about future events that will contribute to India’s tourism sector growth. We’re excited to make a lasting impact on the industry through these upcoming initiatives,” says Shoaib Ali, National Sales Head – India.

“Fantastic event organized by team STAAH, with an awesome turnout its always great to meet and hear from our partners their take on how we can mutually grow and take business to the next level,” said Akshay Shukla, Key Account Manager, Booking.com.

“STAAH has done a tremendous job organizing such a fantastic event as they have in the past as well. It’s a great opportunity for companies like RatePing to connect with hotels, understand their pain points and how we, as technology providers, can help solve these problems,” said Jaideep Advani, Owner, RatePing.

“STAAH Connect Hub by the STAAH team was very insightful & enlightening, overall it was a good networking event. This will be very useful for maximizing revenue,” said Atul Budhraja, Vice President Operations, Ramada by Wyndham.

“Thank you so much for organizing such a fantastic party! Everything from the welcome to food menu was absolutely perfect. We had such a great time and it wouldn’t have been possible without your hard work and dedication. Thank you for making this get-together truly memorable.Thanks Again,” says Lalit Kumar from The Grand Bhagwati Team.

“We would like to inform you that the event was truly great and fruitful. We met many people from the same industry through this event. So, once again, thank you for arranging such a fantastic event. Also, the gift distribution is a good concept. Overall, this event was full of joy and had many fruitful outcomes. The food arrangement was also good, and the food was tasty as well. Thank you for inviting us and giving us the opportunity to attend it,” Hitesh Chetwani, GM, Metropole.

OpenAI on track to generate more than $1 billion in revenue over 12 months – The Information

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August 30, 2023

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OpenAI is on track to generate more than $1 billion in revenue over the upcoming 12 months from the sale of the artificial intelligence software and computing power that powers it, the information reported on Tuesday.

The ChatGPT maker previously predicted $200 million in revenue for this year.

According to the report, in comparison to just $28 million in revenue for the entire last year, the Microsoft-backed company now brings in more than $80 million per month.

In addition to ChatGPT, it also generates revenue through the direct sale of API access to its AI models to developers and businesses and through a collaboration with Microsoft, which invested over $10 billion in the company in January.

As investors see generative AI as the next big growth area for tech companies, ChatGPT, known for producing prose or poetry on command, has drawn much attention in Silicon Valley.

Kimco to acquire RPT Realty in $2 billion all-stock deal

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August 29, 2023

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Kimco Realty, a commercial real estate investment trust, announced that it would acquire RPT Realty in an all-stock transaction of about $2 billion.

Investors in RPT Realty will receive 0.6049 newly-issued Kimco stock for every share they own, or $11.34; this represents a 19% premium over RPT’s closing price on August 25.

Following the deal’s announcement, RPT’s shares increased by about 15% in premarket trading.

The acquisition of RPT Realty expands Kimco’s grocery-anchored shopping centres in the United States, which already includes tenants like Dollar Tree, Ross Stores, and TJ Maxx.

Conor Flynn, CEO of Kimco, stated in a statement that the deal will expand Kimco’s presence in the Coastal and Sun Belt markets.

The deal will immediately add Kimco’s funds from operations (FFO), expected to close at the beginning of 2024.

Kimco beat expectations for second-quarter revenue in July owing to higher rental rates and unwavering demand for space in its grocery-anchored shopping centres.

“This transaction presents another exciting opportunity for our Company to deepen our presence in key Coastal and Sun Belt markets, while accelerating our growth at an attractive valuation,” said Conor Flynn, CEO of Kimco. “Approximately 70% of RPT’s portfolio aligns with our key strategic markets. Furthermore, their substantial pipeline of signed, but not yet open leases and 20% or greater mark-to-market leasing spread across the portfolio, will drive higher growth for the combined company. The transaction is immediately accretive to FFO and the addition of these properties further positions Kimco as the country’s premier owner and operator of open-air, grocery-anchored shopping centers and mixed-use assets.”

Brian Harper, President and CEO of RPT, added, “Since joining RPT five years ago, the team and I have worked tirelessly to create long-term stakeholder value by curating the portfolio towards Coastal and Sun Belt markets, while delivering exceptional leasing results and prudently managing the balance sheet. After carefully considering the merits of this transaction, we believe that aligning with Kimco, a leader in the grocery-anchored shopping center space, is in the best interest of our stakeholders, given the multiple synergies that can be realized as a combined company. We also believe this transaction delivers an attractive share price premium that offers our shareholders the opportunity to participate in a larger, more liquid and diversified company that is well positioned to deliver long-term value.”

PureHealth acquires UK-based Circle Health Group for $1.2 billion

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August 29, 2023

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PureHealth, a UAE-based healthcare network, has finalized an agreement to acquire Circle Health Group, a UK-based independent hospital operator, for a substantial $1.2 billion. This strategic decision is a part of PureHealth’s global expansion strategy, which also includes plans to enter the UK market and make acquisitions in the US and other international markets.

The primary objectives of the acquisition are to improve healthcare options, expand the network of medical professionals, and encourage knowledge exchange, all of which will ultimately benefit patients in both the UAE and the UK.

According to the terms of the agreement, PureHealth will acquire complete ownership of the diverse portfolio of Circle Health Group, which includes fields such as orthopaedics, oncology, cardiothoracic surgery, ophthalmology, neurosurgery, and general surgery. This acquisition encompasses all the Circle Health Group’s hospital assets, including the UK’s first-ever built rehabilitation hospital.

Hammad Al Ameri, CEO and Managing Director of Alpha Dhabi Holding PJSC, listed on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange, expressed confidence in the acquisition’s potential for future growth and success. He stated, “This acquisition is a major milestone for our associate company, PureHealth Holding LLC, and we are confident that it will position us for continued growth and success.”

A signing ceremony was held in London to mark the acquisition’s formalization. Notable attendees included Farhan Malik, Managing Director and Group CEO of PureHealth; Brent Layton, Senior Advisor to Centene Corporation; and Beau Garverick, Senior Vice President of Corporate Development.

Circle Health Group is well-known for being the first European healthcare company to enter the Chinese market. It specializes in groundbreaking neurological and musculoskeletal rehabilitation services.

With more than 8,200 employees and consultants, the company operates in more than 60 specialities across 50 hospitals and 150 theatres.

Through this strategic acquisition, Circle Health Group, an entity that facilitates over two million visits annually and generates over $13 billion in revenue, is propelled into PureHealth’s expanding network of prestigious healthcare providers. The combined expertise of these organizations aims to transform patient care on a global scale, advance scientific discovery, and improve people’s quality of life.

India Index bags $500K in a pre-seed round

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August 29, 2023

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B2B cloud-based supply chain marketplace India Index has secured $500K in its seed funding round led by a group of private investors from the United States and India. Robert Lansing (Westminster Capital), Vaaman Sehgal (Motherson Group), Parth Jindal (JSW Group), and other private investors participated in the pre-seed round.

Samir N. Kapadia founded India Index, which employs a cost-effective approach to help American buyers and Indian suppliers search, filter and vet supply chain partners.

The company claims to have built an extensive user network across India and the United States since its launch. Several of India’s largest enterprises, including JSW Group and Bharat Forge Limited, employ the India Index to capture export opportunities in the U.S. market.

Startups and corporates use the platform to search and evaluate supply chain partners, highlight their corporate values, and optimize business partnerships for greater profitability.

India Index will develop capacities to optimize the platform with the funds it raised, going beyond search, evaluation, document review, and workflow management solutions, India Index’s founder and CEO, Samir Kapadia, said.

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