Innovations and Insights: The Latest in Startups and News

Indian startups have achieved remarkable milestones, securing $131 billion in funding over the past nine years. Additionally, Swiggy has been granted approval by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs to launch Swiggy Sports Pvt Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary aimed at diversifying its operations. StartupSuperb highlights these significant milestones and other developments across various industries.

Featured News

Startup India Impact: Indian Startups Raised $131 Billion in the Last Nine Years

Over the last nine years, the Indian startup ecosystem has made substantial advances, becoming the third-largest globally. The Startup India mission, launched on January 16, 2016, aims to transform the nation from a job-seeking to a job-creating hub. According to StartupSuperb Research, Indian startups have raised approximately $131 billion since this initiative began, further establishing India as a centre of innovation.

Key Funding Trends:
– Annually, Indian startups have consistently secured over $10 billion since 2016.
– The total funding in 2016 was $3.8 billion, which remarkably rose to $13.5 billion in 2017.
– This significant increase was largely attributed to SoftBank’s substantial investments in companies such as Flipkart, Ola, Paytm, and OYO.

Latest News

Swiggy Expands into Sports Beyond Food and Grocery Segments

Swiggy has received approval from the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) to set up Swiggy Sports Pvt Ltd, a fully owned subsidiary. This initiative marks Swiggy’s commitment to explore new avenues beyond its food and grocery delivery services. During the earnings call for the July-September period, the company revealed that Swiggy Sports will manage the pickleball team it acquired in November 2023.

The objectives of the new subsidiary include:
– Sports team ownership and management
– Talent development and event organisation
– Facility operations and career services
– Securing broadcasting and sponsorship rights
– Promoting sports through various business models

Study Reveals Shopper Frustrations with Ecommerce Platforms

A recent study by Local Circles shows that one in five consumers received counterfeit goods in the past year. The highest incidence of fake products occurred in categories such as shoes, cosmetics, and fragrances. The study, which gathered over 102,000 responses, points to restrictive return policies and difficulties in raising complaints as key factors contributing to counterfeit issues.

Notable Findings:
– 41% of customers reported ending up with counterfeit products.
– 43% of consumers stated they had no means to report fake goods, allowing sellers to operate with impunity.
– Online shopping comprises only 7% of India’s $70 billion retail market, a figure expected to rise due to increasing internet use and affordable services.

Funding News

Sukoon Unlimited Secures $430K in Pre-Seed Funding

Sukoon Unlimited, a community-focused age-tech startup ‘for seniors, by seniors,’ has raised $430K in a pre-seed funding round. This round included participation from various investors such as Anchorage Capital Partners (India) and prominent individuals like Dr Vinay Jain and Manish Dureja.

The funds will support Sukoon Unlimited in:
– Enhancing its platform
– Scaling operations
– Expanding its community of seniors across India.

Founded in 2024 by Vibha Singal, the startup addresses loneliness and fosters a sense of belonging through AI-driven strategies, catering to seniors’ emotional, social, and physical wellness.

Zerocircle Raises Rs 20 Crore Seed Funding

Zerocircle, a biotech firm based in Pune, has successfully raised Rs 20 crore in a seed funding round. The round featured investments from Rainmatter Capital, 1Crowd, and environmental advocate Trudie Styler among others.

The company aims to:
– Enhance production capacity by tenfold by 2028.
– Develop sustainable product lines to replace a significant number of single-use plastics.

Zerocircle’s initiatives will contribute to eliminating up to one million tonnes of plastic waste over the next decade.

Fambo Secures Rs 21 Crore in Pre-Series Funding

Fambo, a foodtech startup, raised Rs 21 crore in a pre-series funding round led by EV2 Ventures, alongside contributions from Rajesh Sawhney and several ultra-high-net-worth individuals.

The funding will facilitate:
– Expansion of operations across India
– Establishment of an export vertical
– Investment in technology.

Fambo utilises AI to ensure transparency in the supply chain of fresh produce, addressing food safety standards and providing value-added products to over 500 partnered restaurants.

Other News

Gensol and Refex Join Forces for 2,997 Electric Vehicles

Gensol Engineering Limited has partnered with Refex Green Mobility Limited to transfer 2,997 electric four-wheelers, advancing sustainable mobility solutions throughout India. The collaboration involves Refex eVeelz managing Gensol’s loan facility to boost e4W deployment.

Inspeq AI Expands Operations to India with New Bengaluru Office

Inspeq AI, an AI safety startup, has established its first Indian office in Bengaluru, initially accommodating 70 employees. This expansion will include hiring 50 additional staff across various roles in its existing locations in Dublin and London. Inspeq AI focuses on providing enterprise-ready LLM ops platforms to developers, facilitating safe and responsible integration of AI in applications.

Cost Reduction and AI Reliability Enhancements

The company stated that it can reduce costs by as much as 70%. Furthermore, its Generative AI applications can achieve up to 90% greater reliability, safeguarding enterprises from potential trust losses, reputational damage, and severe regulatory penalties. Recently, Inspeq AI established a partnership with HCLTech to assist global enterprises in responsibly developing and integrating AI applications. This collaboration is focused on embedding a responsible AI framework in application development, integrating seamlessly with existing toolchains such as Microsoft Co-Pilot and AWS Bedrock.

Appointment of Zahid Gawandi at hBits

hBits has welcomed Zahid Gawandi as its new director of brand and marketing. With over twenty years of expertise in marketing strategies, Gawandi will spearhead brand transformation and market growth at hBits, supported by the company’s recent fundraising of Rs 40 crore. He possesses extensive knowledge of international marketing practices and has previously collaborated with global advertising leaders like Dentsu and Hakuhodo. He has successfully led a rebranding project at SBI Securities Ltd. Gawandi’s professional experience includes the launch of notable brands such as Reliance Money and implementing growth-driven strategies for GMoney, Spice Group, and Destimoney Group.

He will oversee hBits’ integrated marketing strategies to enhance brand visibility, promote client acquisition, and improve investor engagement. His priorities will include amplifying product narratives, leveraging digital campaigns, and encouraging cross-functional cooperation for innovative asset classes.

Cisco Introduces AI Defense for Secure AI Transformation

Cisco has unveiled Cisco AI Defense, a comprehensive solution aimed at ensuring the safety and security of AI transformations within enterprises. This initiative addresses emerging safety issues and security threats, allowing businesses to confidently develop, deploy, and protect their AI applications while bridging gaps in current security systems.

AI Defense offers protective guardrails for developers, enabling them to innovate swiftly while defending AI systems against potential attacks and ensuring stable model performance across various platforms. The tool is capable of identifying both shadow and sanctioned AI applications across cloud environments, assessing vulnerabilities, securing access, and providing extensive access control, data protection, and recommendations for security teams.

Powered by proprietary machine learning models and enhanced by threat intelligence from Cisco Talos, AI Defense is self-optimising and continuously evolves to address advancing AI security challenges, as indicated by the company.

CrisprBits Expands with New Gene Editing Facility

CrisprBits Private Limited, a biotechnology startup based in Bengaluru, has launched a cutting-edge CRISPR gene editing and diagnostics laboratory in Bengaluru. The facility is equipped with advanced infrastructure, including areas for lyophilisation, cell and tissue culture, bacterial culture, molecular biology research, and cleanroom operations. Additionally, it includes a specialised gene editing section and a dedicated area for stem cell research. The laboratory is also outfitted with state-of-the-art Laboratory Information Management Systems (LIMS) and intelligent systems for CRISPR guide design.

The startup intends to introduce tests for rare disease diagnostics and hospital-acquired infections, such as antimicrobial resistance testing. It will maintain operations at the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Platforms (CCAMP) and continue its gene editing projects. Over the next six months, CrisprBits plans to develop innovative applications of CRISPR in creating models for rare diseases and targeted editing of cell lines and microbes.

Zetwerk Strengthens US Presence with New CEO

Zetwerk, a contract manufacturing marketplace, has appointed Vadim Yakubov as the CEO of Unimacts, its US branch. The US operation of the startup employs 350 individuals and contributes 20-25% to its overall revenue. Unimacts is specialised in manufacturing across three main sectors:

• Solar Energy: Includes structural steel, foundational piles, and torque tubes
• Wind Energy: Encompasses FRP parts, steel fabrications, nacelles, spinners, and pre-assembly
• General OEM: Covers die castings, extrusions, precision fabrications, and assemblies

Zetwerk operates as a managed marketplace for contract manufacturing, collaborating with leading industrial and consumer enterprises to produce goods through a global network of small-scale manufacturers. The platform supports supplier selection, pricing, and order fulfillment. It provides manufacturing solutions across multiple industries, including precision manufacturing, aerospace and defence, renewables, consumer electronics, and infrastructure. The company assures faster, competitive, and world-class quality products for its clients. In support of manufacturing partners, Zetwerk enhances capacity utilisation and offers portfolio services to optimise costs.

United We Care Launches Advanced ASR Model

United We Care (UWC), a deep tech startup, has introduced United-MedASR, an advanced medical automatic speech recognition (ASR) model. The startup has fully integrated United-MedASR into its flagship mental health and wellness platform, Stella.

Stella’s conversational AI functionalities are specifically designed for mental health applications, based on the open-source AI model Llama. The platform supports 29 different languages, accommodating regional accents and dialects. UWC has customised its model with medical tokens to modify the weights and biases of the original Llama model.

Stella, launched in 2021, is currently offered as a desktop clinical administration tool for psychiatrists and mental health professionals, as well as a mental health companion application for patients.