💰️ Startup season is here

PLUS: Amazon boosts consumer startups

Author

Ruchirr Sharma
May 16, 2024

Was this forwarded to you? Click below to subscribe so you don’t miss another edition.

Good morning. If you thought the recent photographs of Mark Zuckerberg circulating on X were digitally manipulated, let it be known that you were mistaken.

Zuck is simply evolving his personal style, which currently includes oversized graphic t-shirts and gold jewellery - otherwise known as swag.

- Ruchrngd Sharma & Shatakshi Sharma

📊 Markets

🇮🇳 India

Data as of market close on 15/5/2024

  • Indian indices Sensex and Nifty slightly declined. Top gainers included NTPC, Power Grid, M&M, Bharti Airtel, and HCL Tech, while Asian Paints, HDFC Bank, Tata Motors, and Sun Pharma lagged. Coal India increased nearly 4% on Nifty.

🌍️ International

Data as of market close on 15/5/2024

  • Stock indexes reach new heights due to a report suggesting lower inflation, sparking hopes for halted Federal Reserve rate hikes. The Nasdaq, Dow, and S&P 500 all ended at record highs, while Treasury yields fell. Precious metals and cryptocurrencies rose, but meme stocks like GameStop and AMC fell amidst a social media trading frenzy.

Amazon India has announced the fourth season of its Propel global business accelerator program for startups in the consumer products space. 

The goal: To provide dedicated support to emerging Indian brands and startups and help them reach global customers through e-commerce exports.

How does it work?

  • This year, the program will support up to 50 startups in their efforts to launch in international markets and create global brands from India. 

  • Participating startups stand to win total rewards worth over ₹12.5 Cr ($1.5M), including AWS credits, free logistics support, account management assistance, and a combined $100K grant for the top three winners.

How do startups benefit? 

  • Amazon will connect the startups with Indian revenue-based financing firms like Klub, Velocity, and GetVantage to help them scale their businesses. 

  • The program will culminate in a demo day, during which participants can pitch their business propositions to leading VCs for potential funding.

  • Plus, a mentorship board comprising Amazon leaders, VC partners, and industry experts will provide the startups with tailored resources, one-on-one mentorship, and workshops. 

  • Amazon will also host sessions for peer learning and networking opportunities with veteran entrepreneurs and Propel alumni.

Overall: This is a big deal for India’s consumer startup space. 

Bhupen Wakankar, Director of Global Trade at Amazon India, stated that the program is a key part of their commitment to enable ₹1.7 lakh Cr ($20B) in e-commerce exports from India by 2025.

Read more: Economic Times

Source: Inc42

According to data from market intelligence platform Tracxn, Indian startups witnessed a surge in late-stage funding in April 2024, even as overall startup funding declined in the first quarter of the year. 

Here’s some data: 

  • Late-stage funding more than tripled to ₹4546 Cr ($545M) in April, compared to ₹1427 Cr ($171M) a year earlier.

    • Experts attribute the late-stage funding spike to investors prioritizing established companies with proven traction, given the macroeconomic conditions and geopolitical instability. 

    • Companies like Meesho and API Holdings raised funds in their Series F rounds, contributing to the increase in late-stage funding.

  • In contrast, early-stage funding more than halved to ₹1001 Cr ($120M) from ₹2160 Cr ($259M) during the same period, mainly due to challenges in new-age sectors, compressed valuations, and decreased deal volumes.

Where is the money being used? This new funding isn’t just being spent on rent and “company expenses”—the surge in late-stage funding is expected to spur startup hiring. For every ₹8.34Cr ($1M) invested in India, 47 jobs are created, according to the Indian Private Equity and Venture Capital Association (IVCA). 

Overall: Traditional sectors like healthcare, energy, and consumer retail are drawing investor attention, especially in late-stage investing. 

However, with overall startup funding in India dropping to ₹58,383 Cr ($7B) in 2023, the lowest in five years, some experts still believe early-stage funding will improve in 2024, leading to an increase in hiring compared to last year.

Read more: Economic Times

🗞️ Bite-sized summaries

Source: AP News

📈 Go Digit IPO news - Go Digit General Insurance Ltd launched its Rs 2,615 crore initial public offering (IPO) yesterday. The IPO comprises a fresh issue of Rs 1,125 crore and an offer for sale of up to 54.7 million shares by promoters. The proceeds will be used to support business operations and digital expansion. Prior to the IPO, Go Digit raised Rs 1,176.5 crore from anchor investors like Fidelity and Goldman Sachs. Founded in 2016 by insurance veteran Kamesh Goyal, Go Digit offers motor, health and other general insurance products. It reported a net profit of Rs 129 crore for April-December 2023 compared to Rs 10 crore a year ago. Despite a $4 billion valuation in 2022, the company is going public at a valuation of $3-3.2 billion based on investor feedback.

💰️ Berkshire Hathaway’s secret stash - Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway revealed a new $7B stake in the Swiss insurer Chubb, according to a regulatory filing on Wednesday. Berkshire had received permission to keep the investment confidential while building the position over the past nine months. The filing showed Berkshire owned nearly 26 million Chubb shares as of the end of March. The filing also disclosed other moves in the first quarter, including trimming its stake in Apple by 13%, selling off its entire Paramount Global investment at a loss, adding to its Liberty Media holdings, selling all remaining HP Inc. shares, and reducing positions in Chevron and Louisiana Pacific.

🤔 Is OpenAI stealing YouTube videos to train its models? - At Google I/O, CEO Sundar Pichai made some comments regarding the potential misuse of YouTube content by OpenAI for training their AI models. Pichai stated that Google will "sort it out" if it is determined that OpenAI violated Google's terms of service by using YouTube videos without permission. He acknowledged that Google has clear terms of service and will engage with companies to ensure compliance.

🧑‍🍳 What else is cookin’?

What’s happening in India (and around the world 🌍️)

🍿 Entertainment, Entertainment, Entertainment

And that’s all for today folks - have a lovely day and we’ll see you tomorrow.