HomeStartup NewsNEWS ROUNDUP: Here're top startup stories of the week

NEWS ROUNDUP: Here're top startup stories of the week

There were several developments in the startup space during the week. Here are top startup updates of this week:

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By Palak Agarwal  December 4, 2020, 8:51:58 PM IST (Published)

NEWS ROUNDUP: Here're top startup stories of the week
There were several developments in the startup space during the week. Here are top startup updates of this week:


1. CCI approves acquisition of additional shareholding in Rivigo by Spring Canter Investment

Fair trade regulator CCI on Friday approved acquisition of additional shareholding in Rivigo Services by Spring Canter Investment Ltd.

Spring Canter proposes to subscribe to compulsorily convertible preference shares (CCPS) of the Rivigo in the first tranche, a combination notice filed with the Competition Commission of India (CCI) said.

Spring Canter also has the right but not the obligation to subscribe to additional CCPS in the second tranche, it added.

Spring Canter is an investment holding company and Rivigo is a technology-enabled logistics company in the trucking industry.

The regulator in a tweet on Friday said, "Commission approves acquisition of additional shareholding by Spring Canter Investment in Rivigo Services."

2.PhonePe In News:

Flipkart announces spin-off of PhonePe

Flipkart, India’s e-commerce marketplace, makes a partial spin-off of PhonePe, one of the country's digital payments platform.

PhonePe has crossed the 250 million registered user milestone in just four years since its founding, with over 100 million monthly active users (MAU) generating nearly one billion digital payment transactions in October 2020.

In this financing round, PhonePe is raising $700 million in primary capital at a post-money valuation of $5.5 billion from existing Flipkart investors led by Walmart.

Flipkart will remain PhonePe’s majority shareholder, and the two businesses will retain their close collaboration.

PhonePe to get new board post spinoff, Binny Bansal to join

Flipkart makes a partial spinoff of PhonePe to facilitate independent fundraising for the payments business. PhonePe is now raising $700 mn from Walmart and some other investors of Flipkart and has been valued at $5.5 billion.

Sameer Nigam, CEO of PhonePe, said that while Flipkart will continue to be the absolute majority shareholder, the company will constitute a new board which will have his cofounder Rahul Chari and him, as well as Flipkart cofounder Binny Bansal and a few representatives from Walmart.
The board will also get independent directors who are experts in fintech and markets, Nigam told CNBC-TV 18.

3.Relief for Flipkart

In a relief for Flipkart, SC stays NCLAT order directing CCI probe into charges of abuse of dominant position. SC agrees to hear Flipkart's plea against NCLAT order, issues notice. In 2018, CCI refused to launch probe against Flipkart to investigate charge of abuse of dominant position. In Jan 2019, All India Online Vendors’ Association challenged CCI refusal to probe flipkart in NCLAT. In April 2020, NCLAT overturned CCI order, directed for a probe.

The Reservation Bank of India on Friday increased the limits for contactless card transactions

4.Funding of the week

MobiKwik raises 52 crore from the HT Group and Kris Gopalakrishnan’s family office

Digital credit platform MobiKwik has raised 52 crore in a fresh round of funding. The round was led by Hindustan Media Ventures, the investment arm of HT Group with participation from Infosys Co-Founder Kris Gopalakrishnan’s family office Pratithi. The fresh capital will be used for growth across key business segments - digital credit & cards, consumer payments and payment gateway.

Vistaar Finance raises $30 million from Dutch entrepreneurial development bank FMO

MSME lender Vistaar Finance raises $30 million from Dutch entrepreneurial development bank FMO. Vistaar has now raised over Rs. 550 crore of debt financing in just seven months of this financial year. These funds will be deployed to lend to small businesses across the country, especially in this time of need. This is the second line of funding from FMO to Vistaar.

Fisdom raises fresh round of funding led by PayU

Wealthtech company Fisdom $7 million in a new round of funding. The funding round was led by PayU with participation from existing investors Quona Capital and Saama Capital.

The fresh funding will be deployed towards new product development and customer acquisition. The company will also look at acquisition opportunities that would add to its product portfolio.

Signzy raises an additional $3 million from Vertex Ventures

AI platform Signzy has raised an additional $3 million from Vertex Ventures, taking its latest round of fundraising to $8.4 million in total.The company plans to invest in strengthening its AI platform and expanding its global sales.

Raskik raises $1 million in pre-Series A funding round led by Venture Catalysts and 9Unicorns

Beverage startup Raskik raised $1 million in pre-Series A funding round led by Venture Catalysts and 9Unicorns. The round also saw participation by a clutch of angel investors , including Snapdeal’s Founders Kunal Bahl and Rohit Bansal AND Santosh Desai- MD and CEO Future Brands among others.
9Unicorns

5. Paytm waives off all charges on merchant transactions

Paytm waives of all charges on merchant transactions. The merchants no longer have to pay any fees to take payments from Paytm Wallet. Merchants can accept unlimited payments at Zero fees from Paytm Wallet, UPI apps and RuPay cards.

Paytm will further absorb Rs 600 crore in MDR charged annually by banks and other charges to support MSMEs during the ongoing pandemic. This move would help in ensuring that they have adequate liquidity to expand their businesses.

6. Wendy’s Partners with Rebel Foods to open 250 restaurants

Quick service restaurant chain Wendy’s will partner with Rebel Foods to open about 250 Wendy’s cloud kitchens across India.

As part of the deal, Rebel Foods will partner with Sierra Nevada Restaurants to develop and operate approximately 250 Wendy’s cloud kitchens across India, and Sierra Nevada will develop 150 traditional Wendy’s restaurants.
Sierra Nevada Restaurants launched Wendy’s in India in 2015 and operates four traditional restaurants and five cloud kitchens in Delhi’s National Capital Region. Wendy’s and its franchisees operate more than 6,800 restaurants worldwide,

In addition to Wendy’s, Rebel Food’s operates Faasos, Behrouz Biryani, Mandarin Oak, Oven Story, Sweet Truth and a host of brands globally, included region-specific players such as Holy Cow in the United Kingdom.

7. Yes Bank to invest in So Hum Bharat Digital Payments for new umbrella entity

Yes Bank is set to partner with So Hum Bharat Digital Payments, which will apply for a license to become a new umbrella entity for retail payments.
So Hum on Tuesday said that it is in discussion with Yes Bank for a 9.99% equity investment. Yes Bank also confirmed it is evaluating the partnership.
The company had also announced last month that payments company Infibeam Avenue is picking up 33.33% stake, joining its entity as Promoter and Investor.

8. Space tech startup in news: Agnikul & Pixxel

The Department of Space enters into a pact with space startup Agnikul Cosmos for a launch vehicle development program. Agnikul will be working with various ISRO centers and will get access to technical information and facilities necessary to go forward with their launch vehicle development. It will also enable the DoS to mentor the private players and help them collaborate with the Indian space agency.

Private satellite-imaging company Pixxel enters into an agreement with NewSpace, a Govt. of India company under the Department of Space to launch Pixxel’s first remote-sensing satellite on an ISRO PSLV rocket in early 2021.

The agreement is one of its kind after the establishment of IN-SPACe, the authorization and regulatory body under the Department of Space (DOS) for enabling private players to undertake space activities in India.The DOS and Pixxel will work in collaboration to enhance utilization and maximize the benefits of space assets for India. This first-of-a-kind private earth-observation mission will help provide solutions to many pressing environmental and agricultural issues among others and help make the world a better and more sustainable place.

9. Paytm, Ant Financial deny latter considering stake sale in Indian payments startup

Paytm, and Ant Financial has denied reports on Chinese fintech giant Ant Group considering selling its 30% stake in Indian digital payment processor Paytm amid tensions between the two Asian neighbours and a toughening competitive landscape.

A Paytm spokesman said "there has been no discussion with any of our major shareholders ever, nor any plans, about selling their stake."

10. Salesforce Slack Deal

Salesforce to buy workplace messaging app Slack in a $27.7 billion deal, the biggest by the cloud-computing pioneer as it bets on an extended run for remote working and sharpens its rivalry with Microsoft.

11. SoftBank BETS on freight shipping technology

SoftBankVision Fund 2 leads a $113.5 million investment in Flock Freight, a U.S. software startup that offers a service that uses algorithms to match trucks with freight headed in the same direction.

12. Global Tech Giant in News

Canada plans digital tax in 2022 on global tech giants such as Facebook, Google

Canada plans to impose a tax on corporations providing digital services from 2022 that will stay in place until major nations come up with a coordinated approach on taxation.

The new tax would come into effect on Jan. 1, 2022, and remain in place until a common approach is agreed upon by OECD countries.

Facebook In News:

Facebook to buy customer service startup Kustomer

Facebook to acquire customer service startup Kustomer, as the world’s largest social network adds tools to attract more sellers to its platforms. Kustomer allows businesses to aggregate customer conversations from multiple channels into a single-screen, and also to automate some of the responses to prospective buyers. The New York-based firm already has its services integrated on Facebook Messenger and Instagram.

US states plan to sue Facebook next week – sources
A group of U.S. states led by New York is investigating Facebook for possible antitrust violations and plans to file a lawsuit against the social media giant next week, four sources familiar with the matter said. The complaint would be the second major lawsuit filed against a Big Tech company this year. The Justice Department sued Alphabet’s Google in October. More than 40 states plan to sign on to the lawsuit, one source said, without naming them.

Facebook to launch News Tab in the UK

Facebook will launch its news tab feature in Britain from next year, paying publishers for stories delivered through the world's leading social network. The arrival of Facebook News in January comes after the service was rolled out in the United States in late 2019 and is part of plans to extend it worldwide.

Twitter expands hate speech rules to include race, ethnicity

Twitter has expanded its policy barring hateful speech to include “language that dehumanizes people on the basis of race, ethnicity and national origin.” The company banned speech that dehumanizes others based on religion or caste last year and updated the rule in March to add age, disability and disease to the list of protected categories. Civil rights group Color of Change, part of a coalition of advocacy organizations that have been pushing tech companies to reduce hate speech online, called the changes “essential concessions” following years of outside pressure.

Google violated US labour laws in clampdown on worker organising, regulator says

The National Labor Relations Board issued a complaint accusing Alphabet’s Google of unlawfully monitoring and questioning several workers who were then fired for protesting against company policies and trying to organise a union. The U.S. labour regulator found Google unlawfully placed employees on administrative leave and terminated them for accessing documents related to how the company polices internal forums, according to the complaint. The agency also found unlawful Google policies for accessing documents and meetings rooms as well as its tactics for investigating employees because all of the efforts were aimed at deterring workplace organising, the complaint said. Google said it was confident it acted legally.

13. Trump signs order on principles for US government AI use

U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order setting guidance for federal agency use of artificial intelligence in government decision-making. The White House said Trump was setting nine principles for the design, development, acquisition and use of AI in government in an effort “to foster public trust and confidence in the use of AI, and ensure that the use of AI protects privacy, civil rights, and civil liberties.” The order directs agencies to prepare inventories of AI-use cases throughout their departments and directs the White House to develop a road map for policy guidance for administrative use.
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