Sports tech startup Sportzcraazy buys Kabaddi Adda

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March 27, 2023

Sports tech platform Sportzcraazy said it acquired media content platform Kabaddi Adda, taking the controlling stakes in the latter. The current transaction’s terms weren’t disclosed.

According to the company, the acquisition will increase the combined reach of the two platforms in India to over five million monthly enthusiasts.

This agreement will also use player performance data, including player performance statistics, player form, and auction-related information, to further develop and improve the kabaddi sports tech sector, according to the statement.

“Having the largest community and with sports tech-focused towards Kabaddi, the second most viewed sport in the country, we see vast opportunity in the sport,” said Vaibhav Jaiswal, Founder, and CEO of Sportzcraazy. “Sportzcraazy plans to work with kabaddi players through grass root engagement, enabling regional players to showcase their talent.”

According to Sportzcraazy, it aims to host kabaddi leagues and large-scale tournaments nationwide to create local and regional player opportunities.

Sportzcraazy covers the latest news and updates from across the world. Also, it promotes digital asset optimization and revenue generation for sports content creators.

Kabaddi Adda is a platform that offers in-depth coverage of Kabaddi and is founded in 2019 by Arvind Sivdas, Dhanya P, Suhail Chandhok, and Srikanth Viswanathan. It was the first sports company offered on Shark Tank, valued at Rs 13.33 crore.

First Citizens in advanced talks to acquire Silicon Valley Bank

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March 27, 2023

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First Citizens BancShares Inc. is in advanced talks to acquire Silicon Valley Bank after its collapse earlier this month, according to people familiar with the matter.

First Citizens could reach an agreement as early as Sunday to acquire Silicon Valley Bank from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., according to Bloomberg News, which first reported the development.

After giving up on a plan to raise money, Silicon Valley Bank collapsed within 48 hours, becoming the largest US lender to fail in over a decade. The bank suffered a significant loss on the sale of its securities as interest rates increased, which alarmed investors and depositors, who quickly started pulling their money.

As of Friday, Raleigh, North Carolina-based First Citizens had a market value of $8.4 billion.

Marriott International celebrates 1,000 hotels in Asia Pacific

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March 25, 2023

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Marriott International, Inc. (NASDAQ: MAR) has announced the milestone opening of its 1,000th hotel in Asia Pacific, signaling its continued confidence in the region’s long-term growth potential. The company first debuted in the region over 50 years ago and has constantly expanded its presence across Asia and the Pacific.

The Ritz-Carlton, Melbourne, the company’s first property in Australia, is the company’s 1000th hotel in the Asia Pacific. It boasts a modern aesthetic, outstanding service, and panoramic city skyline views.

In 2023, the company plans to expand its presence in key Asia Pacific markets, including Australia, Indonesia, Japan, Thailand, Singapore, China, and India, by opening 100 hotels, or roughly two per week.

“The opening of Marriott International’s 1000th hotel in the Asia Pacific is a true milestone, underscoring our confidence in the overall travel outlook, our ability to take hospitality to new heights with our associates and owners, and the power of Marriott Bonvoy in 2023, and beyond,” said Rajeev Menon, president, Asia Pacific (excluding Greater China), Marriott International. “We’re particularly thrilled to be expanding our footprint in new and emerging markets.”

“Being able to celebrate the opening of Marriott’s 1000th hotel in the Asia Pacific is a testament to our vision for growth in the years to come in the region,” commented Yibing Mao, president of Greater China, Marriott International. “Greater China represents over half of the portfolio in terms of rooms in Asia Pacific and remains a strategic and vibrant market with tremendous growth potential. Together with the other markets in the region, the opportunities are exciting, and we look forward to building on this noteworthy milestone.”

Chrome Hospitality announces expansion, growing with a financial cap of INR 50-Cr

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March 25, 2023

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Mumbai-based Chrome Hospitality, the casual dining restaurant chain, plans to expand its footprint across India with a financial cap of INR 50 crore in the next financial year 2023-24.

The brand plans to add eight new outlets for its marquee brands across India and launch five new brands. Chrome Hospitality will launch more locations in Mumbai and expand its presence in Goa, Jaipur, Delhi, and Hyderabad in the upcoming financial year as it targets a mix of metro and non-metro cities to close the hospitality industry‘s “experiential scaling” gap.

With its launch in 2019, Chrome Hospitality has significantly impacted Mumbai’s all-day fine-dining space. In 2022, the brand witnessed exponential growth, building 1,000,000 sq ft of hospitality space in India and opened five new restaurants in Mumbai under the Chrome Hospitality brand. As a pioneer in the field, the group boasts of managing some of the city’s most unique F&B outlets, including Demy, Donna Deli, Shy, EVE, Blah, and Kyma.

Talking about the years it has been, Pawan Shahri, co-founder of Chrome Hospitality, said, “When we launched Chrome Hospitality, we knew we wanted to deliver dining experiences like never before, and 2022 took us one step closer to our vision. We not only launched five new restaurants but also pioneered initiatives that were industry firsts. We are just getting started and are excited about all that is in store for 2023. We are aiming to expand our footprints across metros and non-metros alike, and increase our total restaurant count from five to eight in the next five years. We are confident in the consumer potential of India and are betting big on both the metro and non-metro cities. We are also venturing into the boutique hotel space with our first property in Goa launching in early 2023 and will look at scaling this segment as well.”

Paytm launches fully indigenous technology-powered upgraded payments platform

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March 25, 2023

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Paytm, the payments and financial services platform owned by One97 Communications, has announced the release of its new technology platform developed entirely in-house. According to the company, the upgraded platform would improve Paytm’s fast, safe, and seamless payment services.

Paytm has introduced a new payments infrastructure to support India’s sustainable growth of digital payments and financial services. According to a company statement, the fintech company’s updated infrastructure is designed to promote fast, secure, and seamless payments and can manage up to 10 times the current scale. To tackle India’s rapidly growing digital payments segment, Paytm aims to set a gold standard for fintechs.

The company states that Paytm has transformed the mobile, QR, and soundbox payments sectors and that its new platform would transform digital transactions by lowering costs and increasing the accessibility of financial services. The innovative Soundbox product from the fintech company is an excellent example of the ‘Made in India’ initiative, which aims to promote local manufacturing and entrepreneurship.

Paytm, which has already proven its technological capabilities by building Japan’s digital payment infrastructure, has now reached a new milestone with the introduction of its fully indigenous new technology platform. Paytm’s founder and CEO, Vijay Shekhar Sharma, highlighted the company’s journey from pioneering innovative solutions to creating technology for small and large merchants in India. By developing every aspect of the new platform in-house, Paytm has demonstrated that India has the potential to build scalable, world-class software technology.

“We have built a new operational risk system and fraud management from the ground up, catering to India’s payments growth. This platform will be able to scale to the next up to 10X payments in India. We are here to serve India by a technology made in India. We are proud that we are making this in India for the world,” Sharma added.

Kapil Rathee elevated to co-Founder of Junglee Games

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March 24, 2023

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Skill-gaming platform Junglee Games elevated Kapil Rathee to the position of co-Founder.

Rathee joined Junglee Games as the company’s VP of product in 2015, promoted to Chief Product Officer before being appointed as president in 2018.

“Kapil has helped Junglee scale new heights with his growth mindset, strategic data-driven solutions, and strong leadership abilities,” the company said in a statement.

Rathee founded TapAndEat, a food and beverage tech startup, and served in various strategy and business consulting roles before Junglee Games.

“This elevation is an opportunity to build from a more strategic vantage point. As we continue to see incredible scale in the business, my focus is to accelerate our current trajectory and make Junglee’s brand synonymous with skill gaming,” said Rathee in a statement.

According to Ankush Gera, Founder and CEO of Junglee Games, Rathee and him have worked together at the firm for the last eight years. “Kapil’s contribution to Junglee Games has been phenomenal, and his dedication deserves this recognition,” he said in a statement.

The Pride Hotels Group announces the launch of Pride Hotel Rishikesh

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March 24, 2023

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The Pride Hotels Group announced the launch of Pride Hotel Rishikesh in Uttarakhand. Pride Hotel Rishikesh, situated in the Himalayan foothills, offers guests mesmerizing views of the valley. This hotel is conveniently located at Tapovan, Badrinath Road, and accessible by road, rail, and air via Dehradun airport. The hotel’s grand opening was held on Sunday, March 19, 2023, and was officially launched by the Cabinet minister of Uttarakhand, Subhodh Uniyal.

Announcing the opening, Atul Upadhyay, senior vice-president of Pride Hotels Group, said, “We are delighted to announce the opening of Pride Hotel Rishikesh in Devbhumi Uttarakhand. Popularly referred to as the world’s yoga capital, the holy city is renowned for some of the most famous tourist attractions including the Ram Jhula, Laxman Jhula, and Triveni Ghat. The region attracts tourists from across India and many parts of the world. Pride Hotel Rishikesh with its luxurious accommodations and world-class amenities, will present a one-of-a-kind experience for travellers to the region.”

“With Pride Hotel Rishikesh launch, we are pleased to expand our portfolio further in North India. This is our third property in Uttarakhand, and we are buoyant with tourism development that has fuelled the demand for upscale mid-market hotels in the region. Pride Hotels resonates with true Indian Hospitality and has attained high acclaim in providing memorable travel experiences to all its guests,” said Shoeb Mohammad, associate vice-president of North India, Pride Hotels Group.

The Pride Hotel in Rishikesh has luxurious deluxe, superior, premium, and suite rooms with advanced facilities and stylish interiors.

Amazon increases pay for UK operations employees

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March 23, 2023

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Amazon.com Inc. raised the minimum starting pay for its workers at the UK operations to between 11 pounds ($13.50) and 12 pounds per hour.

Following a pay disagreement earlier this year, employees at an Amazon warehouse in Coventry, central England, went on strike for several days.

The company stated that the increase would differ by location and start in April.

“We’re listening to Amazon workers, and the message is very clear: this new pay rate is an insult,” said Amanda Gearing, senior organiser of GMB, the union representing more than 500 Amazon workers.

“So, in response, we will be consulting over the next few days and announcing a new wave of action.”

According to the union, the Amazon Coventry workers are asking for 15 pounds per hour to deal with a cost-of-living crisis that has caused strikes in various sectors in Britain over the past few months.

Last year, Amazon increased starting pay by 50 pence, bringing it to a minimum of 10.50 and 11.45 pounds per hour.

The UK National Living Wage – a minimum wage rate which does not apply to apprentices or workers aged under 23 – is set to rise by 9.7% at the start of April to 10.42 pounds an hour. ($1 = 0.8151 pounds)

Reveal HealthTech raises $4mn in seed funding

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March 23, 2023

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Reveal HealthTech, a healthcare technology company, has raised $4 million in seed funding from W Health Ventures.

Healthcare-focused VC firm W Health Ventures invests in US and Indian-based companies that use technology to address critical unmet healthcare needs and improve care delivery. It has never invested before in healthcare technology services.

The company plans to use the funds to expand its operations, employ people, and build technical capabilities to meet the technological needs of its clients in the healthcare sector.

Reveal HealthTech, a US-based company, offers engineering, clinical, and strategic support and cross-functional technology services to healthcare organizations.

“W Health Ventures’ global expertise and focus on the healthtech sector gives us an inside track on the challenges faced by the industry and will help accelerate our journey to being an industry-leading player in this domain,” Reveal HealthTech’s founder and CEO Sanchit Mullick said.

Chiming in, Pankaj Jethwani, partner at W Health Ventures, said, “… Reveal’s differentiated approach makes them the ideal player to catalyze the positive change towards a tech-driven healthcare ecosystem. We’re thrilled to partner with Sanchit and his leadership team, who possess extensive expertise in technology, healthcare strategy, and care delivery.”

The company wants to collaborate with US-based healthcare organizations to use technology to optimize patient health outcomes. In India, it is actively looking to hire senior technology talent.

Also, it aims to address the challenges with talent that healthcare organizations face, such as the need for talent identification and selection, a lack of healthcare domain knowledge, and high employee turnover in software teams.

With these partnerships, the company will have access to a pool of more than 150,000 engineers who have built products for the US healthcare sector. The company claims that this builds the largest pool of specialized talent with knowledge of US healthcare technology outside the country.

IIM-A’s incubation platform CIIE.CO to make 50 new investments

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March 22, 2023

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IIM Ahmedabad‘s incubation platform, CIIE.CO, said on Wednesday that it would invest in 50 new startups over a year. The investments would span industries and strongly focus on sustainability, digitization, and deeptech.

“Over the next 12 months, we are committed to investing up to $100,000 each in 50 early-stage startups. We aim to continue to build our deep-tech portfolio across some of the exciting white-spaces, including digital therapeutics and diagnostic-pathology in the health-tech segment,” said Vipul Patel, partner, seed investing at CIIE.CO.

“We are also looking at investing in breakthrough-solutions enabling decarbonisation, and enterprise-grade solutions powered by generative AI, amongst others,” he said.

According to CIIE.CO, it has supported over 5,000 entrepreneurs with guidance, helped 1,200 startups, and invested in 350 of them. It invested in 70 startups in the pre-seed and seed stages in 2022. The portfolio of CIIE.CO raised follow-on funding totalling more than $50 million last year. Among the startups in its portfolio are Agnikul, IdeaForge, Biosense, and PerkinElmer.

“We are also excited about investing in sectors such as gaming and the creator economy that cater to millennials and younger generations as they seek unconventional work opportunities,” said Patel.

The organization was the first institutional investor for nearly 90% of the startups, and approximately two-thirds of these startups came in Tier II and III cities in India.

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