Cloud firm NetApp to layoff 8% of its global workforce

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February 1, 2023

The cloud data management firm NetApp Inc. announced on Tuesday that it would cut around 960 jobs, or about 8% of its global workforce, as it struggles with the tough economic conditions that have reduced customer spending.

The company expects to carry out the job cuts through the end of its fiscal 2023 and incur related charges in the third quarter of about $85 million to $95 million.

After global central banks enacted rapid rate hikes to combat inflation, U.S. companies have cut and downsized expenses to cope with the global economic downturn.

“Companies are facing an increasingly challenging macroeconomic environment, which is driving more conservatism in IT spending. We are not immune to these challenges,” NetApp Chief Executive George Kurian said in a letter to employees.

On April 29, 2022, the company had about 12,000 employees.

Workday Inc., a software maker, also revealed intentions to lay off 3% of its more than 15,000 employees earlier in the day.

Simpliwork Offices invests Rs 40-cr on two centers in Kolkata

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January 31, 2023

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Bengaluru-based Simpliwork Offices, partnered by Salarpuria Sattva, has invested Rs 40 crore in two centres – Godrej Waterside and IT Lagoon, spread across over 1.5 lakh sq ft in Kolkata, the company said in a media release.

The company plans to grow by 2.5 times by the end of March 2024 and expects to add another 4 lakh sq ft in the city in the next three years.

Kunal Walia, CEO & founder of the company, said, “Today, several large organizations are exploring office spaces in Kolkata. After experimenting with satellite offices, in particular, flexible office set-ups, during the pandemic, businesses are now looking at implementing them in the long term. We aim to add another 4L sq. ft. to the city in the next 3 years.”

Simpliwork Offices, founded in 2018, serves large corporate entities, with 80% of its lease based on a per-desk model and the remaining 20% based on a per-square-foot model.

It currently has 85+ centres spread over approximately 4.2 million sq ft in India. Simpliwork’s toplines increased roughly 70–72% in 2022, ending in FY23 with 49,000–50,000 desks. According to their business plan for FY24, they aim to expand 2–2.2 million sq ft, which will cost roughly Rs 350 crore in capital.

Over the next year, the company plans to grow its portfolio by about 50%. To go public in the next three to four years, they are also looking into fundraising opportunities.

Amazon India says 50% waiver of referral fee for new sellers

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January 31, 2023

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Amazon India, a major player in e-commerce, announced in a press release on Tuesday that it had waived off referral fee for sellers by 50% to incentivize new sellers to use e-commerce.

Sellers pay Amazon a referral fee in return for aiding to facilitate sales on the online marketplace.

“As the new year begins, we are thrilled to announce a 50% referral fee waiver for ‘new to e-commerce’ businesses on Amazon.in. We believe that with the right support, small businesses can grow,” commented Amit Nanda, director of selling partner services at Amazon India.

Nanda highlighted that the announcement aligns with the company’s commitment to digitally transform 10 million Indian small businesses by 2025.

For new sellers that register on the platform between January 15 and April 14, 2023, the waiver will be applicable for 60 days.

According to the company, this initiative would lower the initial costs of “New to e-commerce” businesses and help them expand in the competitive e-commerce sector.

Over 1.2 million sellers are reportedly registered on Amazon India’s marketplace.

Mindspace REIT’s net operating income increases 22% to Rs 455 crore in Q3 FY23

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January 31, 2023

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Mindspace Business Parks REIT announced a distribution of Rs 284.6 crore to unitholders on Monday after reporting a 22% increase in net operating income to Rs 455 crore for the quarter that ended in December. In the previous fiscal year, it had a net operating income of Rs 373.7 crore.

According to the company’s regulatory filing, gross leasing reached 1.3 million square feet in the third quarter of FY23, bringing the total amount leased from April to December to 3.5 million square feet.

The committed occupancy increased even more, reaching 88.3 per cent.

“Despite the challenging economic environment, the committed occupancy of the portfolio jumped by 400 bps to 88.3 per cent during the first nine months of FY23. Our strong performance further instils confidence to bring forward strategic supply and pursue another value accretive redevelopment opportunity in one of India’s top-performing micro-markets,” Vinod Rohira, Chief Executive Officer of Mindspace Business Parks REIT, said.

Mindspace REIT plans to re-develop a 1.6 million square feet area at Madhapur to strengthen the growth pipeline.

In the third quarter of this fiscal year, it increased its overall income from Rs 441 crore to Rs 544 crore. Higher interest cost was the main cause of the net profit’s decline from Rs 145.6 crore to Rs 126.5 crore.

Mindspace Business Parks REIT, sponsored by the K Raheja Corp group, was listed on the Indian bourses in August 2020. It owns office portfolios in Mumbai Region, Pune, Hyderabad, and Chennai.

A total of 32 million square feet of leasable area comprise the portfolio, of which 25.6 million square feet are completed, 1.8 million square feet are under construction, and 4.6 million square feet are planned for future development. The portfolio has 5 integrated business parks and 5 high-quality, independent office assets.

Higher education startup Sunstone announces its first ESOP buyback worth Rs 18 Crore

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January 30, 2023

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Gurugram-based higher education startup Sunstone Eduversity announced its ESOP (employee stock ownership) buyback, led by WestBridge Capital, which witnessed a total transaction of Rs 18 crore.

Twenty of Sunstone’s current and former employees, who have worked for the company since its inception, benefitted from this buyback. 57% of the vested shares the departing employees held were eligible for selling under this buyback policy.

“This first-ever ESOP buyback is one of our ways to acknowledge their hard work and efforts towards building Sunstone. The youngest member of Sunstone who benefited is 26 years of age, and we want all our employees to grow with the organisation,” Ashish Munjal, Co-founder and CEO of Sunstone, said.

“With an employee-first attitude, Sunstone wants to create wealth for its 700+ employees, and we are committed to creating more such opportunities in the future,” added Ashish.

In October 2021, Sunstone raised $28 million in Series B funding. Sunstone was founded in 2019 by Ashish Munjal and Piyush Nangru. It raised $35 million in Series C funding in August 2022, led by WestBridge Capital.

The company operates in 35 cities and 40 institutions and is developing capacities to expand into 100 cities across India.

In 2021, Indian startups bought ESOPs worth over $400 million, according to a report on startups by NASSCOM and consultancy firm Zinnov.

Swytchd receives $553,000 from Keiretsu Forum, others

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January 30, 2023

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Swytchd, an EV startup, has raised $553,000 in a seed round led by Keiretsu Forum, a network of angel investors.

Several other investors, including Let’s Venture, Venture Catalyst, and Beej Network, participated in the round. The Bengaluru-based startup announced it would use the funds to hire employees and expand operations and marketing. The expansion of the fleet will benefit from the funding as well.

Swytchd, an electric vehicle subscription platform, was founded in 2021 by Sameer Arif.

“Our vision is to hand-hold the transition to electric vehicles for customers by reducing upfront costs, providing flexibility vs. the current EMI model, and making vehicle ownership, trouble-free. All the benefits, none of the hassle,” the company said in a post on LinkedIn.

Enzene Biosciences secures $50mn from Alkem Laboratories and others

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January 30, 2023

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Biotech company Enzene Biosciences Ltd (Enzene), a subsidiary of Alkem Laboratories, has raised $50 million from Alkem Laboratories, Eight Roads Ventures, and F-Prime Capital.

The company plans to use the funds to improve manufacturing capabilities and foster expansion in the US and India.

“We are thrilled to be partnering with Alkem Laboratories and Enzene to build a global biosimilars and biologics powerhouse out of India,” said Dr Prem Pavoor, Senior Partner, Head of India & Healthcare Investments, Eight Roads Ventures.

According to a statement, Enzene, based in Pune, has established fully integrated biotech process development and manufacturing capabilities across numerous modalities and platforms. It has developed a captive pipeline of biosimilars that have been distributed through out-licensing agreements to pharmaceutical firms operating on a global scale. Additionally, it offers biotechnology companies with full-range contract development and manufacturing services.

Enzene provides various biologics services, including the capability to develop clones and implement good manufacturing practices (GMP), all supported by bioreactors with capacities ranging from 20 to 2,000 litres. Biosimilars, new biologics, synthetic peptides, and phytopharmaceuticals are its main product categories.

Enzene Biosciences Ltd. CEO Dr Himanshu Gadgil hoped to continue on the company’s mission to deliver innovative and affordable biomanufacturing for novel biologics and biosimilars globally.

Content management platform Rigi raises $12 million

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January 25, 2023

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Rigi, a community monetization and management platform for content creators and influencers has raised Rs 100 crore (approximately $12.25 million) in a fresh round of funding led by Elevation Capital. The Series A round extension included participation from previous investors Accel, Stellaris, and Sequoia.

New angel investors include cricketer Mahendra Singh Dhoni, CRED Founder Kunal Shah, NoBroker Founder Amit Agarwal, Country Delight Founder Chakradhar Gade, and finance content creator Sharan Hegde, among others, also participated in the round.

Rigi has now successfully raised $25 million in three rounds of funding. It had previously raised $10 million in a Series A round of funding in April 2022.

The startup plans to expand its reach to new content categories and geographies with fresh capital. Currently, it focuses on gaming, skill training, health, and fitness, and it launched in Indonesia three months ago.

Rigi offers access to various tools, including subscription management, paid workshops, live one-to-one classes, and integration with platforms like Telegram and WhatsApp.

“Generation one platforms like YouTube, Twitter, etc., have done their job well by giving a distribution platform to creators. Platforms like Rigi will help these creators monetize their distribution. We are not focused on more users or business,” said Swapnil Saurav, Co-founder of Rigi.

Rigi charges a commission on the course fee from the content creators. The courses include webinars with both pre-recorded and live content, with 60% of the platform’s content being recorded and hosted on Rigi’s servers for paying users. The platform typically works with creators with more than 50,000 Instagram or YouTube followers.

Nazara Technologies delivers 80% YoY revenue growth and 22% PAT growth in 9MFY23 on back of sustained momentum in the business

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January 25, 2023

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Q3FY23 Revenues up 69% YoY and PAT up 31% YoY

January 24, 2023:- Nazara Technologies Limited (BSE: 543280) (NSE: NAZARA) a diversified gaming and sports media platform announced its un-audited Standalone and Consolidated results for the quarter and Nine Months ended 31^st December 2022.

The company delivered strong growth powered by growth across all major segments.

Revenue rose by 69% to Rs. 3,148 Mn (Rs. 314.8 Cr) as against Rs. 1,858 Mn (Rs. 185.8 Cr) in Q3FY22.

Commenting on the 9MFY23 performance, Nitish Mittersain, Founder, CEO & Jt MD of Nazara Technologies stated:

“The business continues to scale profitably as has been our stated goal to deliver long term compounding across our five key business verticals. Our diversified business across multiple geographies allows us to have various levers of growth and mitigate industry headwinds affecting any one segment.

I am happy to note that we have grown 80% YoY in the first 9 months of FY23 backed by profitability and positive cash flows. This performance helps set a strong foundation for our future growth plans.

Particularly in this quarter, it is heartening to see our flagship product for young children “Kiddopia” come back onto a growth path as well as our recent acquisition Datawrkz deliver strong organic growth of around 55% YoY.

I look forward to the continued support of all our stakeholders as we continue to pursue our long standing commitment of Nazara playing a significant role in India’s journey towards becoming a global gaming powerhouse.”

PrepLadder launches learning categories for post-graduate medical aspirants

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January 24, 2023

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Unacademy-owned online learning platform PrepLadder has announced the launch of Dream Team Next Edition, a team of educators, and QBank Next Edition, an advanced exam preparation tool.

While QBank Next Edition will enable students to explore the nuances of evaluating their preparation closer to the exams in the Nation Exit Test (NExT) exam format, Dream Team Next Edition comprises faculty members from various medical specializations who will curate learning experiences for aspirants.

With over 2.5 lakh active learners on the platform, PrepLadder plans to provide a next-generation learning experience for postgraduate medical aspirants in compliance with the NExT syllabus through Dream Team Next and QBank Next.

Dr Rajesh Koushal (anatomy), Dr Preeti Sharma (microbiology and pathology), Dr Deepak Marwah (medicine), Dr Meenakshi Bothra (paediatrics), Dr Pritesh Singh (surgery), Dr Prassan Vij (OBG), Dr C Shanmugapriya (biochemistry), and Dr Nikita Nanwani (radiology) are a few instructors from Dream Team Next.

“We hope to further enhance the learning experience through best-in-class study materials like the Qbank Next Edition curated by India’s top faculty,” said Deepanshu Goyal, CEO, and Co-founder, PrepLadder.

The start-up provides medical PG and NEET aspirants with a streamlined learning experience through engaging videos. The company claims that over one million tests have been run on its platform, which has seen over five million app downloads.

According to reports, the platform has not been able to register enough students to start an institute, not even in one location. Neuros was scheduled to launch in at least 10 cities in January, but Unacademy has reportedly postponed it to March.

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