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Another <keyword id="1464841" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="edtech" source="Orion">edtech</keyword> startup <keyword id="4248184" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="udayy" source="Orion">Udayy</keyword>, backed by <keyword id="80004" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="info-edge" source="Orion">Info Edge</keyword>, has shut shop, laying off all 100 employees as schools, colleges and physical tuition centres reopen. Udayy's co-founder <keyword id="6553566" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="saumya-yadav" source="Orion">Saumya Yadav</keyword> said that the startup was witnessing the post-pandemic world for the first time as "as the kids went back to school, we faced roadblocks in growing the original model of online, live learning". "After a lot of deliberation, we decided that it's better to shut down the business than to spend more time and capital on it,a Yadav said. The development was first reported by startup news coverage portal Entrackr. The startup has paid employees severance packages and helped them find new jobs. "We are returning the remaining capital, around $8.5 million back to our investors," Yadav was quoted as saying in media reports. The live-learning platform catered to students from Grades 1 to 5. The platform raised $2.5 million in a seed funding round led by Alpha Wave Incubation (AWI), managed by <keyword id="4675626" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="falcon-edge-capital" source="Orion">Falcon Edge Capital</keyword> and <keyword id="12772224" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="infoedge-ventures" source="Orion">InfoEdge Ventures</keyword>. Udayy is the second edtech startup after Lido Learning to completely shut operations. Led by the edtech platforms, over 8,000 start-up employees have been recently hit by layoffs In India. This includes more than 1,000 employees at WhiteHat Jr, over 600 at Unacademy, over 424 at Vedantu and over 150 at Lido Learning. Another edtech firm FrontRow laid off nearly 150 full-time and contractual employees earlier this week. The Bengaluru-based non-academic upskilling startup fired almost 30 per cent of its workforce, owing to fund crunch and the market downturn. Apart from edtech firms, startups that have laid off employees in the past few months include social commerce platforms Trell (more than 300) and Meesho (150), used cars platform Cars24 (More than 600) and digital health platform Mfine (more than 500), among others.

Edtech startup 'Udayy' lays off all 100 employees as schools, and colleges physically reopen

New Delhi, Jan 24 () Sanjeev Bikhchandani-led Info Edge, which owns and operates India's largest online job portal Naukri.com, has created a Rs 750 crore war chest for its maiden venture capital fund to invest in tech start-ups.
 Noida-based Info Edge on Thursday informed stock exchanges that it has set up Info Edge Venture Fund (IEVF) to invest in "tech and tech-enabled entities that provide technology to create, market and distribute innovative products and services that benefit consumers at large."
 While the filing put the contribution in the new fund at Rs 100 crore, sources in the company said what is being mentioned is just the initial amount and the planned fund size is Rs 750 crore.
 Further contributions will be made into the Fund as investment opportunities are identified, they said, adding that the company management expects internal accruals from operations will be more than adequate for this purpose.
 Info Edge, by setting up its own investment vehicle, joins the likes of home-grown technology titans Infosys and Wipro. Most other large Indian corporates have primarily preferred to invest from their respective balance sheets.
 While Wipro through its strategic investment arm Wipro Ventures has closed its second investment fund - the USD 150 million Fund-II, Infosys - that launched its Innovation Fund in 2015, has invested in multiple startups.
 On Thursday, Info Edge announced an investment of Rs 100 crore into a Category II AIF Info Edge Venture Fund sponsored by its wholly-owned subsidiary Smartweb Internet Services Ltd. This had led to some speculation that Info Edge has set up a 100 crore VC fund for investment in tech start-ups.
 Sources said Rs 100 crore was only the initial capital and the corpus was as large as Rs 750 crore.
 In the last three years, Info Edge has invested around Rs 800 crore in external start-ups, either directly or through its wholly-owned subsidiaries, and the investing activity is likely to continue at the same rate.
 The Info Edge external investing programme is widely regarded as a success by both shareholders and the start-up community.
 It has been a prolific investor in India's startup ecosystem, having backed companies, which have since then, emerged as some of the country's most richly-valued ventures, such as food delivery and restaurant recommendation company Zomato, and online insurance aggregator PolicyBazaar, both of which are in the fabled unicorn club.
 Being the first investor in unicorns like Zomato and Policybazaar, it continues to be a meaningful shareholder in them. 
 Sources said as the investing activity has grown, the company felt the need to create an AIF through which investments would be made. This investment vehicle is a preferred route for a number of reasons, they said.
 First, it would be more entrepreneur-friendly from a compliance, regulatory and angel tax perspective. Second, it would bring increased rigour and discipline into the Company's investment strategy. Third, it would bring more focus on the exit strategy. Fourth it would provide a structure where the company can attract and retain the best talent for VC investing through alignment of interests.
 Sources also clarified that Info Edge Ventures will focus on making financial investments into start-ups. Strategic investments into start-ups in the jobs, real estate, matrimony, and education classified space will continue to be made directly through the parent Info Edge and its subsidiaries, as will acquisitions and any follow-up investments in existing portfolio companies.
 The team managing new Investments at Info Edge Ventures will continue to manage the existing financial investment portfolio as well. And the team managing strategic investments (non-financial investments) shall remain the same as earlier. ANZ ANZ MR
MR

Info Edge's tech start-up investment coffer much larger at Rs 750 cr

Gurugram-based offline-to-online commerce platform <keyword id="8103952" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="DotPe">DotPe</keyword> on Friday said it has secured $27.5 million (around ₹200 crore) in Series A funding as Google joined <keyword id="1493568" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="PayU">PayU</keyword> and <keyword id="80004" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Info-Edge">Info Edge</keyword> Ventures as investors. The round was led by its early investor, PayU, the payments and <keyword id="2461546" type="DOMAIN" weightage="20" keywordseo="FinTech">fintech</keyword> business of Prosus, resulting in an increase in the existing stake in the company. Info Edge Ventures has doubled down on its seed investment in the company made last year and more than doubled its shareholding, while Google joined as a new investor. The fresh funding brings DotPe's total funding to $35.5 million. "We are thrilled to see our existing investors, PayU and Info Edge Ventures, backing our vision and doubling down on their funding as new business horizons open up," Shailaz Nag, Cofounder, DotPe, said in a statement. "We are pleased to add Google, an innovation leader, as an investor. This new partnership will empower businesses (big or small) to be more discoverable, expand business avenues and conduct commerce like never before." DotPe has made some key hires in the recent months. The company said that the fresh funding will be deployed towards accelerating product development, market expansion and scaling technology to meet the fast-growing market demand. "In the last few months we've seen an acceleration in offline players seeking to move their businesses online. We're pleased to back young companies like DotPe that are supporting India's digital transformation by connecting consumers and merchants through helpful, innovative tools," Sanjay Gupta, Vice President and Country Head, <keyword id="45395" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Google-India">Google India</keyword>, said in a statement. "This investment under Google for India digitisation fund underlines our belief in working with India's start-up ecosystem towards the goal of building a more inclusive digital economy that will benefit everyone." Started by ex-PayU Founder Nag with Gyanesh Sharma and Anurag Gupta in 2020, DotPe has digitised enterprise as well as small and medium-sized business (SMB) merchants through a "full stack" solution -- from giving them an online presence to enabling seamless ordering, online payments and delivery. The company said that on the enterprise side, it has integration with over 10,000 restaurants and food courts, including leading global and domestic food and beverage brands. For small and medium-sized businesses, the company has an app called Digital Showroom that helps businesses open a digital store front quickly. It recently raised $27.5 million from investors like Pay-U, Google, and Info Edge Ventures, bringing their total funding to $35.5 million. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/the-entire-crew-of-the-massive-ship-that-has-blocked-suez-canal-is-indian/articleshow/81699456.cms">The entire crew of the massive ship that has blocked Suez Canal is Indian</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/politics/elections/checkout-the-list-of-mamata-banerjee-favourite-tv-and-sports-celebrities-who-are-fighting-for-tmc/slidelist/81700172.cms">Mamata Banerjee's favourite celebs who are fighting for Trinamool Congress in some of the toughest constituencies</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/suryoday-small-finance-bank-shares-listed-at-4-less-than-the-issue-price/articleshow/81700313.cms">Suryoday Small Finance Bank shareholders lost 7% of their investment within minutes of listing</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/kalyan-jewellers-makes-a-lacklustre-debut-listing-at-15-discount-to-issue-price/articleshow/81700343.cms">Kalyan Jewellers makes a lacklustre debut, listing at 15% discount to issue price</a>

Offline-to-online commerce platform DotPe raises $27.5 million from Google, PayU and Info Edge Ventures

E-commerce aggregation platform <keyword id="4178573" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="ShipRocket">Shiprocket</keyword> on Thursday said it has raised $41.3 million (about Rs 305 crore) in Series D1 funding co-led by <keyword id="11591696" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="PayPal-Ventures">PayPal Ventures</keyword>, the corporate VC arm of <keyword id="6357940" type="DEFINITION" weightage="20" keywordseo="paypal">PayPal</keyword>. The latest infusion of capital brings Shiprocket's total funding to $94.3 million. The New Delhi-based company said that it aims to leverage these funds to fuel product development for both existing and new products, to invest in research and development, continue <keyword id="29547" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Market">market</keyword> expansion and accelerate overall growth. Direct-to-consumer (D2C) <keyword id="84" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Commerce">commerce</keyword> forms roughly 15 per cent of the overall e-commerce market in India and this is projected to grow to 30-35 per cent in the next five years. "Shiprocket is democratizing best-in-class experiences for hundreds of thousands of eCommerce brands that are shipping millions of items per month through our platform today," said <keyword id="1759829" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Saahil-Goel">Saahil Goel</keyword>, CEO, and Co-Founder of Shiprocket. A part of the funds will also be directed towards the platform's new strategic initiatives, including global expansion starting with the Middle East, the company said. Existing investors Bertelsmann India Investments and <keyword id="10449266" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Info-Edge-Ventures">Info Edge Ventures</keyword>, March Capital and <keyword id="9200827" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="tribe-capital">Tribe Capital</keyword> also participated in the round. The funding round also saw participation from strategic partners, such as <keyword id="2777173" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Razorpay">Razorpay</keyword> and Innoven Capital, and entrepreneurs including Cred founder Kunal Shah and Zomato founder Deepinder Goyal. "Shiprocket has excelled by focusing on building products that solve major logistical problems for businesses as they scale, much like PayPal has supported merchants with payments," said Marc Donnadieu, Director, PayPal Ventures. Over 100,000 online sellers in India are using Shiprocket to streamline their post-checkout process, starting from logistics to warehousing to COD management. "The goal is that as Shiprocket expands its capabilities and tools for sellers, anyone with a product to sell should be able to avail of Shiprocket's suite of products and services at one click to get their business off-the-ground with an Amazon-like one-day delivery experience", said Kitty Agarwal, Partner, Info Edge Ventures. Founded in 2017, Shiprocket became profitable in FY18-19 and is on track to close this financial year at $100 million in annual recurring revenue (ARR). Shiprocket currently processes more than 5 million monthly shipments. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/cryptocurrency/news/cryptocurrencies-exchanges-can-run-into-trouble-with-investors/articleshow/84205889.cms">Cryptocurrencies aren't all diamonds and roses — lawsuits from people who lost big are piling up with exchanges</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/auto/news/simple-energy-new-electric-scooter-promises-240km-range-on-a-70-minute-charge/articleshow/84164967.cms">This new electric scooter promises 240KM range on a 70-minute charge, could be priced under ₹1,20,000</a>

PayPal pumps in ₹305 crore in Indian logistics platform Shiprocket

Gurugram-based offline-to-online commerce platform <keyword id="8103952" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="dotpe" source="Orion">DotPe</keyword> on Monday said it has raised $58 million in its series B funding round led by Temasek. The platform, which "plans to foray into financial services", currently serves over 7.5 million brands across the country. The funding round saw participation from existing investors PayU, the payments and fintech business of Prosus, and InfoEdge Ventures while Mitsubishi &amp; Naya Capital joined as new investors. "As we keep democratising opportunities for business growth with our omni-channel solutions and making technology more affordable and accessible, we also plan to foray into financial services and further empower merchants with business loans &amp; credit lines to turbocharge their growth," said <keyword id="3204218" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="shailaz-nag" source="Orion">Shailaz Nag</keyword>, Co-Founder and CEO, DotPe. Founded in 2020, DotPe's merchant-base has grown over 3 times since launch. In March, DotPe secured $27.5 million (around Rs 200 crore) in Series A funding as <keyword id="6355629" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="google" source="Orion">Google</keyword> joined PayU and Info Edge Ventures as investors. "We look forward to empowering more Indian businesses with the benefits of digitization and co-creating a brighter future for the country's merchant community," said <keyword id="15022820" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="vijay-agicha" source="Orion">Vijay Agicha</keyword>, Global Head of Strategy and Growth at PayU. Started by ex-PayU Founder <keyword id="25067" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="nag" source="Orion">Nag</keyword> with Gyanesh Sharma and Anurag Gupta, DotPe has digitised enterprise as well as small and medium-sized business (SMB) merchants through a "full stack" solution. The company said that on the enterprise side, it has integration with over 10,000 restaurants and food courts, including leading global and domestic food and beverage brands. SEE ALSO : <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/news/laying-off-200-engineers-to-centralise-operations-clarifies-ola-ld/articleshow/94296026.cms">Laying off 200 engineers to 'centralise' operations, clarifies Ola (Ld)</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/auto/news/ev-battery-can-charge-in-three-minutes-a-harvard-backed-company-claimed/articleshow/94295446.cms">Harvard-backed company makes an EV battery that fully charges in three minutes</a>

DotPe raises $58 mn, plans to foray into financial services

Looks like Indian government's '<keyword id="3003094" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Startup-India">Startup India</keyword>, <keyword id="3086992" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Stand-up-India">Stand Up India</keyword>' programme is getting onto the right track. In a recent development, <keyword id="104385" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Small-Industries-Development-Bank-of-India">Small Industries Development Bank of India</keyword> (<keyword id="6391656" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="SIDBI">SIDBI</keyword>) has cleared Rs 930 crore from the Rs 2,000-crore fund-of-funds that was launched in August to support venture capital funds. 
 SIDBI's <keyword id="3007722" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="India-Aspiration-Fund">India Aspiration Fund</keyword> (<keyword id="6355075" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="IAF">IAF</keyword>) has already screened over 30 venture capital funds since its launch, and sanction letters have been issued to more than half of them. 
 "Proposals from 24 venture capital funds for an aggregate commitment of Rs 930 crore have been cleared in principle by the <keyword id="3181679" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="venture-capital-investment-committee">venture capital investment committee</keyword> (<keyword id="2838877" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="VCIC">VCIC</keyword>) so far, out of which sanction letters have already been issued to 16 VCFs with an aggregate commitment of Rs 482 crore, where documentation is in progress," SIDBI Chairman and MD Kshatrapati Shivaji told ET. 
 
There are a dozen proposals for a potential commitment of around Rs 500 crore that are lined up for the consideration of Venture Capital Investment Committee (VCIC), which comprises of a panel of experts in various fields who are advising SIDBI in screening the venture funds. 
This panel includes TV Mohandas Pai, chairman of Manipal Global Education Services; Sanjeev Bikchandani, founder of Naukri.com owner InfoEdge; Saurabh Srivastava of Indian Angel Network; Kiran Karnik, former Nasscom chief; Vaidyanathan, IIM-Bangalore; and Harkesh Mittal, programme head of innovation, entrepreneurship and technology commercialisation at the Department of Science and Technology. Two senior SIDBI executives are also included in the panel. 
 
After application, the proposals are put up to an executive committee of the bank's board, which then sanctions these applications. SIDBI has already supported Blume Ventures, Orios, YourNest, Ivy Capital and Infuse Ventures through IAF. 
 
<a href="http://bankersherald.in/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/SIDBI-bank-recuritment.jpg">Image source</a>

SIDBI clears Rs 930 crore to support VC funds

Logistics technology platform <keyword id="4178573" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="shiprocket" source="Orion">Shiprocket</keyword> on Friday said it has signed a definitive agreement for a $185 million (₹1,380 crore) Series E funding round, co-led by <keyword id="830092" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="zomato" source="Orion">Zomato</keyword>, <keyword id="12707014" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Temasek-and-Lightrock-India" source="Orion">Temasek and Lightrock India</keyword>. This marks Shiprocket's third round of funding in 2021, bringing the total funds raised to $280 million. Shiprocket focuses on providing Amazon Prime-like shipping experiences for sellers and consumers across India in direct-to-consumer e-commerce. "We are excited about the vast, untapped opportunity that lies in post-purchase technology enablement in the D2C e-commerce space. This fundraise is a validation of the hard work put in by the entire Shiprocket team over the last 4 years," said Saahil Goel, CEO and Co-founder, Shiprocket. New investors, Moore Strategic Ventures and 9unicorns, are also participating in this round, along with existing investors, InfoEdge Ventures and March Capital. Launched in 2017, Shiprocket is the fastest company to become profitable in 24 months while also doubling its ARR (annual run rate) over the last 6 months. Shiprocket said it will deploy fresh funds towards aggressive core product expansion, research and development, talent acquisition, and development of a comprehensive suite of products for retailers. "With the launch of our services in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in November 2021, we have also taken the first step towards expanding our footprint in new geographies," said Goel. Shiprocket also provides a technology stack to help retailers integrate their shopping websites on Shopify, Magento, WooCommerce, Zoho and others for workflow, inventory and order management. "Shiprocket plugs a big hole in the e-commerce space by offering customers of direct-to-consumer brands a seamless post checkout experience, including delivery," said <keyword id="476451" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="deepinder-goyal" source="Orion">Deepinder Goyal</keyword>, CEO and Co-founder, Zomato. SEE ALSO: <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/mapmyindias-grey-market-premium-is-at-900-heres-all-you-need-to-know/slidelist/88200647.cms">MapmyIndia’s grey market premium is at ₹900 — here’s all you need to know about the business</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/finance/banks/news/ratings-agency-fitch-says-it-considers-chinas-evergrande-to-be-in-default-and-cuts-its-creditworthiness-even-further-into-junk-territory/articleshow/88197893.cms">Ratings agency Fitch says it considers China's Evergrande to be in default, and cuts its creditworthiness even further into 'junk' territory</a>

Logistics startup Shiprocket raises $185 million from Zomato and others

In October 2014, online photography startup Canvera was valued at Rs 250 crore. However, last week, the value dropped to a mere Rs 75 crores as it raised fresh funding of Rs 15 crore from Info Edge. 
 "At least they are getting capital to continue building their business. There will be companies which will go bust, or will have to merge," a <keyword id="6357097" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="venture-capital">venture capital</keyword> investor told ET. The investor referred to the broader effects of companies that accept money at a lower valuation in times of a slowdown. 
 
In startup language, this would be called a 'down-round', and with Canvera’s valuation, more such transactions are expected to take place next year. 
 
Down-rounds refer to situations when investors purchase stock from a company at a lower valuation than its valuation by earlier investors. As India's startup sector sees a slowdown in funding, these down-rounds would become more frequent. 
 
Experts opine that down-rounds mean a troubled future either for the particular company or the sector and industry that it operates in. Not only the value of shares held by existing investors goes down, founders and employees with stock options are also affected in such transactions. 
 
"Companies are valued based on both future and actual performance, if the valuation is coming down, (then) investors believe that future is not that well as compared to previous rounds," Raja Lahiri, a partner at consultancy Grant Thornton, told ET. 
 
As bad as it sounds, down-round recipients don’t only see gloom, and neither is everything over for them. There are several companies in the international space that have suffered down-rounds and came back stronger. 
 
Facebook, for that matter, was valued at $15 billion in 2007, but fell to $10 billion two years later, when it raised money from DST Global. Now, it can boast of a market cap of nearly $300 billion. 
 
<a href="http://www.faughnfamily.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/down-graph.jpg">Image source</a>

You Searched For "Info Edge Ventures" and got 8 results

Edtech startup 'Udayy' lays off all 100 employees as schools, and colleges physically reopen

IANS

Info Edge's tech start-up investment coffer much larger at Rs 750 cr

PTI

Offline-to-online commerce platform DotPe raises $27.5 million from Google, PayU and Info Edge Ventures

IANS

PayPal pumps in ₹305 crore in Indian logistics platform Shiprocket

IANS

DotPe raises $58 mn, plans to foray into financial services

IANS

SIDBI clears Rs 930 crore to support VC funds

BI India Bureau

Logistics startup Shiprocket raises $185 million from Zomato and others

IANS

Down-rounds, the new thing in Indian startup space?

BI India Bureau

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