Healthtech AI startup RedBrick AI raises $4.6mn in seed funding

By

-

November 23, 2022

Healthtech AI platform RedBrick AI announced that it had raised $4.6 million in a seed funding round to accelerate the development and adoption of artificial intelligence in clinical settings through rapid data annotation on medical imagery.

With participation from Y Combinator and angel investors, the round was led by Sequoia India and Southeast Asia’s Surge.

The RedBrick AI SaaS platform provides web annotation tools for 2D and 3D data to enable expert access to specialised tooling from their browsers. The complexity of existing annotation tools, quality control, and machine learning integration are only a few of the problems that its technologies address as being specific to the annotation of medical data.

The platform’s annotation tools are accessible through the browser and can be used without prior training. Additionally, RedBrick AI provides semi-automated tools to annotate complex 3D medical images.

Also, RedBrick has quality control procedures in place to ensure the quality of annotations, which are essential for obtaining regulator certifications for AI algorithms. It includes effective quality control operations on the platform that can aggregate the opinions of multiple clinicians for each annotation case, all while drastically cutting down on project management time.

Shivam Sharma, CEO and co-founder of RedBrick AI, stated, “With the rapid growth of artificial intelligence in clinical settings, researchers need excellent tools to build high-quality datasets and models at scale. Our customers are in the vanguard of this growth, pioneering everything from surgical robots to automated detection of cancers. The new funds will be integral to the growth of our engineering team in India and to expand our suite of products. We’re incredibly excited to be powering the next generation of researchers in building AI for clinical settings.”

Transition VC launches fund for green firms

By

BRL Editor

-

November 23, 2022

0

An energy transition-focused venture capital fund, Transition VC announced its first fund with a target corpus of ₹400 crores and a greenshoe option of ₹200 crores.

The Transition VC, based in Bengaluru, will fund 40 early-stage startups in industries like climate tech, net zero building design, energy storage, green hydrogen, electric mobility, and energy.

According to the VC fund, the corpus would be used over the following three years for investments between $500,000 and $1 million.

For global startups, a fourth of the fund value will be set aside.

In the new energy field, Transition VC has also formed partnerships with incubators, accelerators, fellow VCs, and organizations that can work collaboratively with startups to conduct pilot projects and support their expansion.

The VC firm had recently received approval from the capital markets regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi).

By the end of this calendar year, it aims to complete the fund’s first close.

A team of entrepreneurs and executives, including Raiyaan Shingati, Mohammed Shoeb Ali, Mustafa Wajid, Naresh V. Narasimhan, Tejas Goenka, Saif Qureishi, and Rajesh Doshi, came together to establish Transition VC in 2021. Shingati and Ali oversee the fund.

Speaking on the fund launch, Raiyaan Shingati, Co-founder & Managing Partner of Transition VC, said, “Climate Change & Energy Transition is a business opportunity, as they demand reinvention of every segment of the industry. We are at the beginning of a new era! Major shifts like this don’t come around that often, but we are starting to see one now, and it’s going to shape how people consume energy for decades to come.”

“We are optimistic, and we see an opportunity of more than 12 unicorns coming from India in this decade just in the Energy Transition & ClimateTech space,” added Shoeb Ali, Co-founder & Managing Partner of Transition VC.

Koo offers to hire affected Twitter employees

By

BRL Editor

-

November 19, 2022

0

Local microblogging service Koo has offered to hire the affected Twitter employees after new CEO Elon Musk fired several staff from his company.

In a tweet on Friday, Mayank Bidawatka, a co-founder of Koo, offered to hire some of the former Twitter employees.

“Very sad to see #RIPTwitterAand related # to this going down. We’ll hire some of these Twitter ex-employees as we keep expanding and raise our larger, next round,” Bidawatka tweeted.

“They deserve to work where their talent is valued. Micro-blogging is about people power. Not suppression,” he added.

Musk ruthlessly fired over half of Twitter’s 7,600 employees earlier this month, shuttering various operations worldwide, including in India.

Additionally, hundreds of workers recently left the company before Musk’s deadline to accept his “extremely hardcore” manner of working or quit the company.

Meanwhile, Koo recently announced that it had become the second-largest microblog available to the world.

The platform, launched in March 2020 and has reached 50 million downloads, has experienced growth.

Fern Hotels & Resorts opens new property in Jambughoda, Gujarat

By

BRL Editor

-

November 18, 2022

0

The Fern Hotels & Resorts, one of India’s environmentally sensitive hotel chains, has launched its newest luxury resort, Bhanu The Fern Forest Resort & Spa in Jambughoda in Gujarat. In the State, this is the company’s 23rd operational hotel.

Speaking of the launch, Suhail Kannampilly, CEO of Concept Hospitality-The Fern Hotels & Resorts, said, “The Fern Hotels & Resorts are the biggest hospitality players in Gujarat, with hotels in all the major cities and in resort destinations covering beaches, temple towns, historical monuments, jungle safaris, forest resorts and wildlife sanctuaries in the State. Our hotels are well known for their environmentally sensitive and eco-friendly facilities, services and operations.”

Bhanu The Fern Forest Resort & Spa, Jambughoda, is an elite resort next to the Jambughoda Forest in Gujarat, surrounded by a wildlife sanctuary, lakes, and mesmerizing views of lush greenery. The resort has 108 luxurious, elegantly furnished rooms, suites, and villas, ranging from 344 sq ft to over 800 sq ft.

Along with the local attractions, the resort is close to the Champaner-Pavagadh Archaeological Park and Pavagadh Hills, both of which are UNESCO World Heritage Sites. The Statue of Unity is also within driving distance from the resort.

EdMyst launches AI-powered Skilling Application for Students of DSEU

By

BRL Editor

-

November 18, 2022

0

A workshop on “Becoming Industry Ready – Importance of Behavioral Skills” was held on Friday for more than 200 final-year Delhi Skills and Entrepreneurship University (DSEU) students. The event was led by EdMyst’s globally-renowned communication coach, Vijay Vikram Singh.

One of the country’s best voice-over professionals and voice coaches, Vijay is most famous for giving his voice to the Bigg Boss narration.

Prof. (Dr.) Rihan Khan Suri, the Pro-Vice Chancellor of DSEU, who has undertaken several initiatives to strengthen the industry-academia connection at DSEU, delivered the keynote for the event. He emphasized the value of developing their soft skills during the keynote as they prepare for their placements and the corporate experience.

The students were captivated by Vijay’s workshop as he discussed the value of a growth mindset, shared anecdotes about taking calculated risks, and provided practical frameworks and tools to help them improve communication skills relevant to the corporate world.

The CEO of EdMyst, Vivek Gupta, and Vijay demonstrated Edy, an AI-driven behavioral skilling application. With the click of a button, anyone can use the application to objectively assess their behavioral skills, such as conviction and resilience. Users only need to upload or record their video after choosing their context, such as sales presentation, interview preparation, etc. Users can then connect with coaching professionals for live one-on-one coaching sessions as needed depending on the analysis.

According to Dr. Neeta Pradhan, Head of Strategy & Partnerships of DSEU, the application can be very helpful for students in developing their overall personalities and interview preparation.

Further, Vivek Gupta said, “We are at the tipping point of a skill revolution. New-age business complexity and rapidly changing talent expectations require innovative solutions to make it easy for everyone to stay relevant and be a mainstream contributor.”

Using human-centered AI, behavioral science, and coaching professionals, EdMyst is a global platform that offers long-term behavioral transformation solutions for students and professionals. The final-year students of DSEU will receive complimentary access to Edy from EdMyst.

The purpose of the DSEU is to provide its students with a world-class skilling infrastructure to access aspirational jobs. This workshop and collaboration with EdMyst are in line with that objective.

India is not a viable market for crypto: Changpeng Zhao

By

BRL Editor

-

November 18, 2022

0

The co-founder and CEO of crypto exchange Binance, Changpeng Zhao, stated that there isn’t much potential in the Indian crypto market.

At the TechCrunch Crypto conference, Zhao said, “To be honest, I don’t think India is a very crypto-friendly environment.”

According to Zhao, the high tax environment for crypto in India is a significant issue since it makes the market unviable for foreign competitors.

“If you are going to tax 1% on each transaction, there is not going to be that many transactions,” he said at the conference.

Due to regulations in place, he added that Binance is in discussions with other Indian crypto founders and influential people to identify a solution.

Before this, a Nasscom poll on the Web3 startup landscape in India revealed that, despite a strong talent pool and supportive investors, India’s growth and development had been slow due to regulations. The research points out that talent and investor outflow could accelerate India’s missed opportunity in the sector.

Ayurveda startup NirogStreet bags $12mn in Series B round

By

BRL Editor

-

November 18, 2022

0

NirogStreet, an ayurvedic startup based in Delhi, has raised $12 million in a Series B funding round led by Jungle Ventures. Existing investors Spiral Ventures, ICMG Co-Creation Fund, and angel investors including Gokul Rajaram of DoorDash and Rajeev Kannan of the Japanese bank SMBC also actively participated in the round.

The round also includes investment from Anthony Weldon’s family office. The startup will invest the funds in upgrading its technology, service offerings, and supply chain.

NirogStreet, a startup founded in 2016 by Ram Kumar N, uses technology to deliver many services, such as digital health record management, smart clinics, peer-to-peer learning for over 50,000 Ayurvedic practitioners, and doctor prescriptions.

“NirogStreet is transforming the entire Ayurveda value chain by infusing trust, quality, access and scale to the industry. Ram and his team are building an industry-first Ayurveda ecosystem with their unique community-first, knowledge and commerce approach that transcends from ingredients to consumers,” said Anurag Srivastava, Founding Partner at Jungle Ventures in a statement.

In a round led by CE Ventures, the corporate venture capital platform of Crescent Enterprises and ICMG, the company raised $4 million in December of last year. Anuj Srivastava, the CEO of Livspace, and Gokul Rajaram, a board member of Coinbase and Pinterest, also participated in the round.

Niranjan Hiranandani, Shradha Sharma invest in Ratan Tata-backed Goodfellows

By

BRL Editor

-

November 17, 2022

0

A senior companionship startup, Goodfellows has secured a new round of seed capital from investors, including Shradha Sharma, the founder and CEO of YourStory, and Niranjan Hiranandani, co-founder and MD of the Hiranandani Group.

According to the official announcement, the funds will be used to expand services to new locations, including Pune, Kolkata, and Bengaluru, improve the startup’s fast-expanding operations in Mumbai, and respond to the spike in countrywide requests for senior companionship. With its first corporate contract, Goodfellows will also test its corporate offerings.

“Goodfellows has understood the problem, looked for a solution, and worked out a concept around it. This is what makes it wonderful and unique. It is a concept needed in today’s world,” said Niranjan, an ardent supporter of youth initiatives.

On the funding, Shradha stated, “I believe some startups are meant to purely impact a community in a positive way, and Goodfellows is a great example of that. As someone who is in entrepreneurship to create impact more than anything else, I am happy to see Shantanu and his team go in this direction.”

Niranjan and Shradha will be part of the startup’s advisory board.

Goodfellow’s founder Shantanu Naidu commented on the investment, “Such investors that have a personal interest in creating true impact and supporting social entrepreneurship in the country give us the strength to continue with full faith in helping the country’s elderly combat this social problem.”

About 5.7% of the country’s senior citizens (aged 60 and over)—or approximately six million people, based on the 2011 Census—live alone without the assistance of family or friends, according to the 2021 Longitudinal Ageing Study in India study. While some depend on caregivers for help, the problem of loneliness or a lack of company has been the main factor contributing to their declining mental and physical health. Shantanu emphasized that various people have varied definitions of companionship for Goodfellows. To some, it might entail watching a movie, sharing old tales, going for a walk, or simply relaxing in a quiet company while doing nothing at all. Goodfellows aims to accommodate all of these activities.

SoftBank to sell up to $215 million shares in Paytm

By

BRL Editor

-

November 17, 2022

0

SoftBank Group Corp plans to sell shares worth up to $215 million in Indian e-payments giant Paytm’s parent One 97 Communications Ltd through a block deal, according to a term sheet reviewed by Reuters.

As of September 30, SoftBank has a 17.5% stake in the fintech and digital payments company. According to the term sheet, the stock is sold between 555 and 601.45 rupees per share.

The lower end of the range is 7.7% below the stock’s most recent closing price. Later on Thursday, the sale’s final price will be determined.

Following losses of roughly $50 billion in just six months at its flagship Vision Fund unit, SoftBank has made some divestments in recent months. The transaction is the most recent in this string.

In the transaction, which Bank of America is leading, SoftBank is selling 29 million shares.

The news was released a day after the lock-in period for investors in Paytm’s November 2021 initial public offering. After reaching a five-month low on Wednesday, the company’s shares ended 4% lower at 601.30 rupees.

SoftBank raised $2.4 billion earlier this year by selling shares in T-Mobile US. For a realized gain of $5.6 billion, Vision Fund sold several assets in the April-June quarter, including the ride-hailing company Uber Technologies, the property platform Opendoor Technologies, and KE Holdings, which operates China’s Beike.

Infosys to roll out 65% variable pay for Q2

By

BRL Editor

-

November 17, 2022

0

Infosys employees will receive 65% variable pay for the quarter of July – September. According to an internal mail, all eligible employees will receive this during the November payroll cycle.

“The average payout at an organization level is 65% for Q2FY23. Individual payout percentages will differ based on individual performance and contribution for the quarter,” the company said in an email on Wednesday.

The payout will be processed alongside the second biweekly November payroll for employees in the US and Canada. On November 17, direct communication on the variable pay will be delivered to the employees.

The average variable pay paid to employees for the July-September quarter was lower than the 70% provided for the April-June quarter. Infosys had then said that this was due to pressure on operating margins.

Infosys has over 50,000 BPM workers worldwide, with most operating out of India.

CONNECT WITH US