January, February & March 2021
India’s tech startup news
January 2021 | February 2021 | March 2021
India’s Startup news: March 2021
- India: A month-end round-up of India’s tech, startup and funding news headlines from February 2021
- Cybercrime & cybersec: “Ransomware was the biggest threat, making up 40% of all attacks in India” with Asia Pacific region experiencing 25% of global attacks
- India: Pepper Content marketplace launches AI-driven content generator, PepperTypeAI, to generate short-form content for businesses across a range of uses
- India: Clover agri-tech startup launches Deep Rooted, direct-to-consumer sales app, aiming to tap into estimated $100BN market for vegetables and fruits sales
- India: Cashify raises $15M with second-hand smartphone-focused business, combining online and bricks-and-mortar stores and kiosks
- India: Outplay $2M investment from Sequoia Capital India’s Surge program for early-stage startups with platform automating and tracking sales team tasks
- Amazon India unveils 10 startups selected for Amazon Global Selling Propel Accelerator programme
- India: Facial recognition systems installed in gov’t-funded schools in Delhi, raising children’s privacy concerns amid lack of regulation around data collection and use
- India: NASSCOM partners with Microsoft to launch AI Gamechangers programme, aiming to boost AI adoption and awareness by showcasing India’s innovators
- India: Dubai’s FD7 Ventures crypto investment fund opens Bengaluru office, launching $250M micro-fund to invest in altcoin projects
- India: Stylework co-working aggregator platform raises $545K, aiming to unlock commercial co-working real estate by making it available in a flexible way
- India: Women Angel Network launched by LetsVenture angel investing platform, aiming to also launch at least five investment syndicates led by women
- “India’s government has threatened to jail employees of Facebook, WhatsApp and Twitter…as it seeks to quash political protests and gain far-reaching powers over discourse…”
- ICYMI: Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey and Jay-Z partnering for ₿Trust, an endowment to fund bitcoin development focused on India and Africa
- India: Paytm rolls out Smart POS, turning NFC-enabled Android smartphones into point-of-sale machines
- India: Flipkart e-commerce marketplace launches 3rd edition of Girls Wanna Code initiative, aiming to encourage the next generation of women coders
- India: E-commerce market projected to grow 84% by 2024 to $111BN, with ‘buy now, pay later’ services the fastest-growing online payment method
- A brief overview of India’s online gaming industry, projected to reach $2.2BN in value in 2022
- India: Wysa artificial-intelligence based mental health app gains backing from Google Assistant fund
- India: A video discussion of draft guidelines from the Advertising Standards Council, requiring social media influencers to run due diligence on claims made by advertisers
- India: GetMega real-money gaming startup launches on back of $9M fundraise with 5M registered users and target of 50M by year-end
- India: Procurement rules set for June likely to block the country’s mobile carriers from using equipment made by Huawei, citing national security concerns
- India: Eximius Ventures micro venture capital firm’s maiden $10M fund marks first close, focusing on pre-seed investments across edtech, healthtech, fintech and more
- India: An overview of the growth in the country’s micro venture capital funds, numbering 88 by year-end 2020
- India: Asian Development Bank’s ADB Ventures VC arm makes inaugural investments in EV maker Euler Motors and Smart Joules energy systems retrofitter
- India: An intro to Dunzo Digital, motorbike errand-running and deliveries startup using AI-based supply-and-demand management, and e-commerce merchant platform
- India: Ministry of Road Transport advises associated bodies and auto makers to boost IT security systems in response to possible cyber attacks targeting the transport sector
- India: National Strategy on Blockchain available to download in pdf format
- Download: Mapping India’s Artificial Intelligence Potential, a briefing from the Center for Security and Emerging Technology (pdf)
- India: Gov’t, Indian Institute of Technology partner NXP India to launch Semiconductor Startup Incubation and Acceleration Programme
- India: An intro to Aqgromalin, helping farmers diversify and increase viability by adding mono-cropping with animal husbandry and aquaculture ‘micro farms’
India’s Startup news: February 2021
- India: A look at Spektacom’s IoT stickers for cricket bats, allowing users and coaches to track the power of shots and focus improvements
- India: A look at Agribazaar, agritech startup connecting farmers, traders, banks, enterprises and governments to facilitate sales and logistics
- India: Legislation coming to ‘prohibit all private cryptocurrencies in India’ but allow ‘for certain exceptions to promote the underlying technology of cryptocurrency and its uses’
- India: “If the bill becomes law, India would become the only major Asian economy to ban private cryptocurrencies rather than regulating them like corporate stocks.”
- India: A brief intro to StanceBeam, bringing AI and IoT to cricket to improve performance with data
- India: A round-up of the past month’s tech, startup and funding news headlines from Startup News Asia
- India: MediBuddy healthtech startup gains Series B funding with platform offering doctor consultations, home-based test bookings, medicine delivery and more
- The 6 startups from Asia on Y Combinator’s Winter 2021 batch, from India, Singapore and The Philippines
- India: Gov’t threatens fines and jail for Twitter employees following company restoring hundreds of accounts gov’t had ordered blocked
- India: 30 recent tech, startup and funding news headlines from India, drawn from Startup News Asia’s daily feeds
- India: InnerHour raises $5.2M Series A with tech focus on mental health, aiming to address lack of service access and awareness, affordability and variable quality of providers
- ICYMI: PayPal to shut down domestic payments business in India, less than 4 years after launching locally
- India: Earth Energy EV startup launches 3 electric 2-wheelers, incorporating app providing navigation, calls/message alerts and more, and 3rd party usage model
- India: Finals of Global Student Entrepreneur Awards 2021 for student entrepreneurs to be held from February 11 to 13
- India: Koo microblogging app raises $4M with Twitter-like platform operating in 13 Indian languages
- India: 2021 Budget includes provisions to extend social security benefits to gig workers and platform workers, along with capital gains exemption increase for startups
- India: Phable health-tech startup raises $12M with full-stack solution focusing on patients dealing with chronic illnesses
- Download: India’s Innovation Ecosystem – Mapping the Trends, via Observer Research Foundation
- India: Dunzo hyperlocal courier startup raises $40M from Google and others with focus on nearby stores and pick-up-and-drop-off errands
- India: India Quotient early-stage investor launches 4th fund, targeting at least $80M and looking at a range of tech spaces
- India: Eupheus Learning raises $4.1M Series B with subscription-based curriculum and homework tracking services for schools and Learn2Code home learning system
- India: An intro to SynqFit, offering a cycling workout-from-home with a high-end indoor cycle and on-demand classes
- India: Pencil content platform raises $1M pre-Series A with online publishing for book authors, providing data insights and potential to convert to video content
- India: Lobby groups Global Impact FinTech and Government Blockchain Association press for a light touch from gov’t on blockchain industry regulation
- India: A video snapshot of 16 recent tech, startup and VC news headlines from India, QR coded to connect to the articles behind each headline
- India: An intro to 5 urban farming startups, working in hydroponics, vertical farming and more
- India: Researchers testing 30 mobile health apps for clinicians found all had vulnerable APIs, potentially leaving 23M app users vulnerable
- India: A brief intro to Saankhya Labs, heading for launch of an open architecture chip in push into Open RAN – Open Radio Access Networks – for 5G
- India: Startup Weekend Online Chennai set for February 26-28
- India: 35 B2B startups gain shortlisting for the Startup Bridge Canada program, landing a 6-week market access program and a 3-months market bootcamp
- India: An intro to Vegandukan, online aggregator focused on plant-based food, mock meats, and dairy alternatives for vegan consumers
- Download: Internet of Things – The rise of the connected world, from Deloitte and focusing on India (pdf)
- Indian Private Equity and Venture Capital Association survey reckons micro VC firms invested $341M in 566 startups across 730 deals between 2018 and 2020
- India: Kalamint, blockchain-based digital art marketplace, gains backing from Tim Draper’s DGH and others with Tezos-based Non-Fungible Token platform
- ICYMI: Sweden-India Mobility Hackathon to run February 26-28, aiming to design, test and execute ideas for the future of mobility
- An overview of how Indian crypto businesses are coordinating in an effort to convince the government that regulation is better than the all-out ban proposed
- India: An overview of the recent Innopreneurs Startup Contest and the startups and ideas that won
- Download: The Startup Environment And Funding Activity In India, from the Asian Development Bank Institute (pdf)
- A brief overview of India’s strict new rules for policing social media and streaming platforms
- An intro to India’s Zolve, neobank and branchless digital banking service provider, bridging financial systems for people moving to a difference country
- ICYMI: Indian Newspaper Society asks Google to raise publisher share in ad revenue to 85%, stating content generated by newspapers is proprietary
- India: Government-owned State Bank of India becomes the first Indian bank to join JPMorgan’s blockchain network, Liink, for cross-border payments
- ICYMI: A brief mention for the 25 winners of the recent UNWTO SDGs Global Startup Competition, including startups from Malaysia, Singapore, India and Hong Kong
India’s Startup news: January 2021
- A brief overview of the government’s UMANG app, providing access to over 2K services on a single platform and boasting 25M registered users
- Atal Innovation Mission, NITI Aayog and SAP Labs India partner to boost digital literacy and entrepreneurship nationally, with sights on educating 30,000 students
- Qzense raises $613K with IoT-based quality control and fresh produce management system
- Gov’t launches eKhadiIndia e-commerce platform, aiming to boost micro, small and medium entreprizes in the locally-made and village industry economies
- Kyt edtech startup raises $5M Series A, focusing on combining live classes with video-based material for children between 5 and 15 years
- South Korea’s Mirae Asset group to launch $35M India-dedicated fund focusing on investments in early-stage tech startups
- Report finds regional internet shutdowns by government in 2020 cost the Indian economy approximately $2.8BN
- Startup India International Summit’s Australia Startup Ecosystem Outreach online event set for January 13th, aiming to develop connections and explore synergies
- Reserve Bank operationalises Payments Infrastructure Development Fund to create 3M new touchpoints yearly for digital payments in Tier-3 to Tier-6 cities
- Recent tech, startup and funding news headlines, linked to each online news source and QR coded for scanning and reading from print
- An intro to MindPeers, mental health software-as-a-service tool for individuals and employers
- A look at Fasal, using AI, IoT and analytics to remove guesswork from farming, providing farmers with actionable insights on crops, soil, pests, weather and more
- A brief intro to the SEA and India startups selected for the Lightspeed Extreme Entrepreneurs 2021 winter cohort
- Government to launch $150M Startup India Seed Fund aiming to help startups with initial capital needed for growth and operations
- Atmanirbhar Digital India Foundation launched by entrepreneurs and investors to advise gov’t around policy to promote local digital entities
- Lohum Cleantech EV-focused battery startup raises $7M, aiming for US growth and expansion of manufacturing and recycling capacities
- Amazon partners Startup India, Sequoia Capital India, Fireside Ventures for Amazon Global Selling Propel program to aid early-stage startups reach global audiences
- Antler, Singapore-based early-stage VC firm, to invest $100M in Indian startups over the next 4 years
- Fashinza gains $2M funding with B2B manufacturing marketplace focusing on apparel and fashion supply chain challenges, connecting brands to manufacturers
- MFine raises $16M in new funding to grow AI-driven, on-demand and app-delivered healthcare services
- Bolo Indya social media firm looks to raise around $6M, capitalizing on TikTok ban
- Furlenco furniture rental startup raises $2.7M with online platform and a presence in 8 major cities
- Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology makes permanent bans on TikTok and 58 other Chinese apps
- Pine Labs launches AllTap App solution to help MSMEs, street vendors and drivers take NFC-based digital payments, partnering with Visa, Mastercard and others
- Elucidata biomedical firm raises $5M pre-A with focus on drug discovery
- MFine AI-powered healthcare platform partnered by Vodafone Idea to connect patients with doctors via instant chat and video consultation
- Startup India Seed Fund Scheme to be operational from April 1st 2021, rolling to 2025, with applications taken via the Startup India portal
- A brief intro to 6 of the country’s women-led startups that have recently raised funds
- Australia: A brief overview of the recently-completed Victoria India Smart Energy Exchange and the tech startups that took part
Asia’s startup news, today
Ongoing, all-day news updates on the technology, VC and startup news coming out of South and Southeast Asia, Australia and New Zealand, delivered by mobile app and on social media.
