A decade ago, Vijay Shekhar Sharma flew to Hong Kong to attend an All Things D conference. At the event, he watched Silicon Valley executives Jack Dorsey and Brian Chesky talk about the firms they were building. But the conversation that would change the trajectory of his firm, One97 Communications, was an interview of Alibaba […]
India eyes prohibiting irresponsible crypto ads
The Indian government “strongly feels” that advertisements by cryptocurrency exchanges that promise customers wild profits and are not transparent about the volatile nature of such trading must be prohibited, according to a memo outlining the summary of a meeting between the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and several stakeholders on Saturday. A consensus has been […]
Accrediting as a service and the future of alternative degrees
When it comes to fundraising or types of capital, optionality has been the term du jour in the current tech environment.
5 short Diwali stories
By Iona Datt Sharma (previously
on Diwali): “Light
and fire: five stories for Diwali (2018)”, a collection of miniature
stories for the festival.
Zepto, a 10-minute grocery delivery app in India, raises $60 million
Two 19-year-old entrepreneurs, who previously collaborated on a number of projects including a ride-hailing commute app for school kids and left Stanford last year to pursue a new startup, said on Sunday they have raised $60 million to disrupt India’s overcrowded and highly-competitive grocery delivery market. Glade Brook Capital led Zepto’s first institutional financing round, […]
Predicting the next wave of Southeast Asia tech giants
Despite the impressive growth and stellar companies grabbing headlines and tons of capital, Southeast Asia is only just entering the next phase of development.
Amazon-backed insurtech Acko joins unicorn club with $255 million funding
Insurance policy provider Acko is the latest Indian startup to become a unicorn, joining nearly three dozen other firms in the world’s second-largest internet market that have attainted the coveted status this year. The Bangalore-headquartered startup said it has raised $255 million in a new financing round, bringing its all-time raise to $450 million. The […]
DeHaat raises $115 million in the largest agritech round in India
DeHaat, an online platform that offers full-stack agricultural services to farmers in India, has raised $115 million in what is the largest funding round for an agritech startup in India, where farm produce yields two-thirds of the country’s $1 trillion in annual retail spending. Sofina and Lightrock co-led the 10-year-old startup’s Series D financing round. […]
Sequoia dramatically revamps its fund structure as it looks to rethink venture capital model
Sequoia Capital is debuting a big shift in strategy as they look to boost their returns amid increased competition in the market for startup financing. The storied venture capital firm announced in a blog post today that they’re breaking with tradition, abandoning the traditional fund structure and their artificial timelines for returning LP capital. The […]
Tiger and Falcon look to double down on Indian social commerce startup DealShare
Tiger Global and Falcon Edge Capital are looking to double down on their bets on DealShare, becoming the latest high-profile investors to go all-in on India’s nascent but growing social commerce trend. The two firms, both of which are already an investor in Jaipur-headquartered startup (AWI, which is managed by Falcon, is an early investor […]