A 118-year-old woman has set a record of sorts by receiving the first dose of coronavirus vaccine in <keyword id="927040" type="LOCATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Sagar-district">Sagar district</keyword> of Madhya Pradesh. She got the first <keyword id="6399896" type="ENTERTAINMENT" weightage="20" keywordseo="jab">jab</keyword> at a vaccination centre in Sagar on Sunday. Sagar District Magistrate, Deepak Singh, has retweeted the tweet by the state Public Relations Department which said a 118-year-old woman Tulsabai, who is a resident of the Sadarpur village in Sagar district, has received the Covid vaccine, thus becoming the country's oldest woman to get the jab. The woman in Bundeli dialect said, "I have myself received the corona vaccine, so everybody should get it. There is no problem in getting inoculated. The people should wait for their turn and get themselves vaccinated." Doctor Bhupendra Kurmi has said that the date of birth of the elderly woman is January 1, 1903 as per her Aadhaar card and she is a resident of Sadarpur village. Raising the alarming level of new coronavirus cases, former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister <keyword id="81" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Kamal-Nath">Kamal Nath</keyword> attacked the government on the shortage of the vaccines in the state and said, "On one hand the present <keyword id="94770" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Shivraj-Singh-Chouhan">Shivraj Singh Chouhan</keyword> government has appealed to each and every person to receive the vaccine, on the other hand, there are not enough vaccines available in many districts of the state. People are forced to return homes without the jab. There are deaths due to shortage of oxygen supply in hospitals. There is a lack of medicines for treatment of Covid-19 patients, there are not enough Covid testing kits, no beds for treatment in many districts, private hospitals brazenly charging high treatment rates. What is the government doing? Don't know if the Chief Minister is reviewing the Covid-19 situation or not?" SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/heres-a-look-at-what-is-allowed-and-what-is-not-allowed-during-the-maharashtra-lockdown-again/articleshow/81907207.cms">Here’s a look at what is allowed and what is not during the weekend lockdown and night curfew in Maharashtra</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/facebook-backed-meesho-raises-300-million-from-softbank-vision-fund-2-valuation-jumps-to-over-2-billion/articleshow/81907721.cms">Facebook-backed Meesho raises $300 million from SoftBank Vision Fund 2 – valuation jumps to over $2 billion</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/pepperfry-co-founder-ashish-shah-gets-candid-about-its-ipo-plans-says-profitability-is-right-around-the-corner/articleshow/81908005.cms">Pepperfry co-founder gets candid about its IPO plans, says profitability is right around the corner</a>

118-year-old woman in Madhya Pradesh gets first dose of COVID-19 vaccine

<ul><li>The Odisha government announced night curfew in 10 districts effective from April 5, 2021.</li><li>Night curfew will be imposed in Sundargarh, Jharsuguda, Sambalpur, Bargarh, Bolangir, Nuapada, Kalahandi, Nabarangpur, Koraput and Malkangiri.</li><li>The list of services/activities which are permitted or denied by the state government during the night curfew.</li></ul>On 3rd April 2021, the Odisha government announced night curfew in 10 districts effective from Monday, as the state witnessed a sharp rise in COVID-19 cases in the last few days. The night curfew will be imposed in Sundargarh, Jharsuguda, Sambalpur, Bargarh, Bolangir, Nuapada, Kalahandi, Nabarangpur, Koraput and Malkangiri from April 5. Here’s the list of services/activities which are permitted or denied by the state government during the night curfew — <ol><li>Shops, commercial establishments, offices, institutions shall be closed from 10 pm to 5 am.</li><li>Movement of individuals will not be permitted during the night curfew.</li><li>Only essential services like medical emergency, ambulance service, will be operational during the curfew.</li><li>Construction work and industrial units are allowed to function.</li><li>Transportation services like taxis and private vehicles will be allowed to operate to and from airports, railway stations and bus stands.</li><li>Government officials and employees, police, doctors, medical staff on duty will be exempted from the curfew.</li><li>Staff of emergency units like fire services, telecom, water, electricity, transport services, railways, airports are also exempted from the restrictions.</li></ol>The state currently has 2,785 active COVID-19 cases pushing the total number of cases, so far, to 3,42,695, while the cumulative recovery stands at 3,37,935. SEE ALSO:<a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/heres-a-look-at-what-is-allowed-and-what-is-not-allowed-during-the-maharashtra-lockdown-again/articleshow/81907207.cms">Here’s a look at what is allowed and what is not during the weekend lockdown and night curfew in Maharashtra</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/facebook-backed-meesho-raises-300-million-from-softbank-vision-fund-2-valuation-jumps-to-over-2-billion/articleshow/81907721.cms">Facebook-backed Meesho raises $300 million from SoftBank Vision Fund 2 – valuation jumps to over $2 billion</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/pepperfry-co-founder-ashish-shah-gets-candid-about-its-ipo-plans-says-profitability-is-right-around-the-corner/articleshow/81908005.cms">Pepperfry co-founder gets candid about its IPO plans, says profitability is right around the corner</a>

Odisha night curfew: a list of what is open and closed in 10 districts, as Covid-19 cases spike

<ul><li>The round was led by Elevation Capital, along with <keyword id="2457593" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="India-Quotient">India Quotient</keyword>, <keyword id="8830555" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="titan-capital">Titan Capital</keyword> and <keyword id="9908413" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="first-cheque">First Cheque</keyword>.</li><li><keyword id="10331594" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Yellow-Class">Yellow Class</keyword> plans to expand its presence in 500 cities in India and international markets.</li><li>The company claims to have over a million students listed on the platform and it plans to onboard 9 million more by next year.</li></ul><keyword id="1464841" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Edtech">Edtech</keyword> startup Yellow Class has raised $6 million in a Series A round led by Elevation Capital, with participation from existing investors India Quotient, Titan Capital and First Cheque. Other participants of Yellow Class’ Series A round include Meesho’s cofounder Vidit Aatrey, Indifi’s founder Alok Mittal, Bounce cofounder Vivekananda Hallekere, <keyword id="2808667" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="OYO">OYO</keyword>’s global chief strategy officer Maninder Gulati, OYO’s chief operating officer Abhinav Sinha, PropTiger’s chief executive Dhruv Agarwala and Xiaomi Indonesia’s country director Alvin Tse. Yellow Class will use the funds for improving the product experience for both parents and children, developing more content and building brand awareness. A part of the funding would also be used to hire for leadership roles across the product, technology and engineering verticals as it plans to expand to 500 cities in India and international markets. In November 2020, it had raised $1.5 million in a seed round led by India Quotient. The company was founded in 2020 by Anshul Gupta and Arpit Mittal to offer extracurricular and co-curricular classes to students between 3-12 years of age. The company currently offers courses across 40 categories like art, craft, dance, yoga, general knowledge, logical reasoning and more. These courses are taught by experienced mentors including influencers, professionals and celebrities. Each class is attended by 10,000 children simultaneously and the platform has over a million students registered on its platform. The company aims to onboard 10 million monthly active teachers in the next one year. Yellow Class’ founders Gupta and Mittal, in a joint statement, said, “Studies have shown that more than 100 million Indian kids below 13 years of age spend an average of 100 hours per month on YouTube and other similar platforms. Parents are actively looking for better, interactive alternatives that would be beneficial for their child’s cognitive growth.” The company claims to have grown 18-fold in the last six months and plans to build new categories of extra/co-curricular classes on its platform. It is also looking to incorporate classes in vernacular languages, driving social peer-to-peer engagement and ensuring deeper progress tracking. SEE ALSO <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/retail/news/a-third-of-internet-users-would-be-actively-shopping-online-by-the-end-of-this-decade-offline-retail-to-take-a-back-seat/articleshow/85390712.cms">A third of internet users would be actively shopping online by the end of this decade, offline retail to take a back seat</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/with-pharmeasy-mobikwik-and-ixigo-all-set-to-hit-the-public-market-orios-plans-to-go-deeper-into-pre-ipo-bets/articleshow/85359703.cms">With PharmEasy, MobiKwik and ixigo all set to hit the public market, Orios plans to go deeper into pre-IPO bets</a>

Edtech platform Yellow Class raises $6 million in a funding round led by Elevation Capital

<ul><li><keyword id="6397414" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="ananth-narayanan" source="Orion">Ananth Narayanan</keyword> had led brands like Myntra and Medlife in the past, and is also a board member at Marico.</li><li><keyword id="737852" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="mensa" source="Orion">Mensa</keyword> Brand is a Thrasio-style house of brand company, which will acquire local retail brands and scale them up.</li><li>While several companies have raised multi-million rounds on this model, US-based Thras.io is also set to enter India soon.</li></ul><keyword id="11353130" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="mensa-brands" source="Orion">Mensa Brands</keyword>, founded only six months ago by Myntra’s former chief executive Ananth Narayanan, is the latest as well as the youngest startup to enter the unicorn club. A unicorn, in the startup purlance, is a company valued at over billion dollars. Mensa brand’s business model is based on the New York-based e-commerce player Thras.io, which acquires small merchants and brands listed on Amazon marketplace. Thras.io has acquired more than 100 third party sellers or fulfilled by Amazon (FBA) businesses and is valued at $5 billion. Big money backing Mensa Mensa Brands reached that milestone, after raising $135 million in a funding round led by Alpha Wave Ventures. Prosus Ventures (previously known as Naspers) also joined the fundraise as a new investor. Several existing investors — including Accel PArtners, Norwest Venture Partners and Tiger Global — also participated in the round. Ananth Narayanan served as the chief executive officer (CEO) of Myntra for four years, between 2015 and 2019. Prior to that, he worked at management consultancy firm McKinsey for almost 16 years and rose to the position of a managing partner. Narayanan also joined epharmacy company Medlife as a cofounder and CEO in 2019, which was<a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/with-reliance-buying-netmeds-and-pharmeasy-merging-with-medlife-amazon-and-flipkart-are-in-for-a-tougher-competition-than-they-would-like/articleshow/77625512.cms"> sold</a> to<a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/pharmeasy-is-set-for-ipo-drhp-highlights-revenue-shareholdings-and-intentions/slidelist/87644144.cms"> initial public offering (IPO)</a>-bound PharmEasy earlier this year. He is also a board member at one of the biggest consumer products companies in India, Marico, which owns popular brands like Saffola (cooking oil) and Parachute (hair oil). A growing business model He started Mensa Brand in May this year. It is a Thrasio-style house of brand company, which will acquire local retail brands and scale them up. The business model has also garnered the interest of marquee investors in India over the last one year. While Indian players like<a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/bhavna-suresh-has-closed-indias-largest-seed-round-for-her-nine-month-old-startup-10club/articleshow/83978841.cms"> 10Club</a> and <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/globalbees-has-raised-150-million-in-few-months-of-launch-to-acquire-more-businesses/articleshow/84552291.cms">GlobalBees</a> (founded by FirstCry founder Supam Maheshwari and Edelweiss' former executive Nitin Agarwal) have garnered the interest of investors, Thras.io has taken note of this trend as well. The US-based company Thras.io raised over a billion dollars last month to enter the Indian market directly. The company reported a profit of $100 million last year and now aims to boost its revenue to $1 billion for this financial year, as per a Moneycontrol<a href="https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/business/thrasio-raises-1-billion-in-funding-plans-india-entry-7625501.html#:~:text=The%20news%20agency%20pegged%20its,have%20%241%20billion%20in%20revenue."> report</a>. Mensa Brands is the first Indian Thras.io-style company to be valued over a billion dollars. The company has acquired a dozen brands already and now plans on closing 20 more deals soon. The company will use the fresh funding to grow its portfolio and hire across functions. “We are truly platform neutral and our brands are present across different platforms like Amazon, Flipkart, Meesho and others. We are excited to back more founders and brands and scale them further,” Narayanan said. SEE ALSO <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/policybazzar-and-sigachi-share-price-jump-in-early-trading/articleshow/87730171.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink">Policybazaar gets a boost after an American fund laps up 3.4 million shares and Sigachi hits upper circuit on the morning after listing</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/corporates/news/jpmorgan-takes-tesla-to-court-over-elon-musks-2018-tweets-demands-162-million/articleshow/87729405.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink">JPMorgan takes Tesla to court over Elon Musk’s 2018 tweets ⁠— demands $162 million</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/cryptocurrency/news/inspired-by-elon-musk-investors-are-incorporating-meme-numerology-into-their-bitcoin-trading-strategies/articleshow/87721228.cms">Inspired by Elon Musk, investors are incorporating meme numerology into their bitcoin trading strategies</a>

Former Myntra CEO started Mensa Brand in May ⁠and it’s already worth a billion dollars

A novel <keyword id="16070" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="breast-cancer">breast cancer</keyword> treatment that takes just five minutes instead of the current two and a half hours has been launched across the UK by the <keyword id="163818" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="National-Health-Service">National Health Service</keyword> (NHS) England. The <keyword id="6478465" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="injection">injection</keyword> called Phesgo will be offered to eligible patients with <keyword id="2020749" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="HER2-positive-breast-cancer">HER2-positive breast cancer</keyword>, undergoing chemotherapy. It takes as little as five minutes to prepare and administer, compared with two infusions that can take up to two and a half hours. Phesgo jabs can be given alongside chemotherapy or on its own. The injection will also significantly cut down the risk of COVID infection for <keyword id="6355291" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Cancer">cancer</keyword> patients by reducing the amount of time spent in hospital. "This new injection, which can substantially cut treatment time for people with breast cancer, is the latest in a series of changes which have meant the NHS has been able to deliver vital cancer treatment while keeping patients safe from Covid," Peter Johnson, NHS national clinical director for cancer, said in a statement. Phesgo is a fixed-dose combination of pertuzumab with trastuzumab that previously would have been given as separate IV infusions. "Approval of Phesgo being used on the NHS in England is fantastic news as thousands of women with HER2 positive breast cancer will now benefit from a quicker and kinder treatment method," said Baroness Delyth Morgan, Chief Executive at Breast Cancer Now. "Reducing the time patients need to spend in hospital, this more efficient treatment method also promises to free up precious time for healthcare professionals when the NHS is already under unprecedented strain due to COVID-19," Morgan added. The NHS has prioritised cancer care during the coronavirus pandemic and the latest figures show that hospitals carried out more than two cancer treatments for every patient they treated for COVID-19, the statement said. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/facebook-backed-meesho-raises-300-million-from-softbank-vision-fund-2-valuation-jumps-to-over-2-billion/articleshow/81907721.cms">Facebook-backed Meesho raises $300 million from SoftBank Vision Fund 2 – valuation jumps to over $2 billion</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/pepperfry-co-founder-ashish-shah-gets-candid-about-its-ipo-plans-says-profitability-is-right-around-the-corner/articleshow/81908005.cms">Pepperfry co-founder gets candid about its IPO plans, says profitability is right around the corner</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/mobile/news/lg-electronics-exits-smartphone-business-world-wide-lg-smartphone-timeline-history/articleshow/81908186.cms">LG Electronics exits the smartphone business – here’s how its mobile fortunes swayed over the last two decades</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/corporates/news/tcs-hcl-tech-infosys-q4-earnings-preview-and-guidance/articleshow/81908765.cms">Record breaking quarter for Indian IT services is a given ⁠— all eyes are now on guidance</a>

New five-minutes treatment for breast cancer rolled out in UK by National Health Service

<ul><li>LB Investments co-led the round, with participation from <keyword id="2441277" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Samsung-Ventures">Samsung Ventures</keyword> and others.</li><li><keyword id="8861782" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Trell">Trell</keyword> has raised $62 million since its launch in 2017.</li><li>The company has over 100 million downloads and 50 million monthly active users.</li></ul>Bengaluru-based video-focused discovery platform Trell has raised $45 million in a Series B funding round led by financial group Mirae Asset, clothing and fashion brand H&amp;M Group. LB Investments co-led the round, with participation from KTB Network, Samsung Ventures and Fosun RZ Capital. Trell had raised $11.4 million in Series A funding, in August 2020, as a aftermath of the growth momentum it had gained post the TikTok ban in India. The discovery platform had also launched a <keyword id="623994" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="social-commerce">social commerce</keyword> section on its app around the same time to enable users to watch personalised product recommendations across beauty, personal care and wellness categories. Trell, founded in August 2017 by a team of Indian Institute of Technology-Bombay alumni Pulkit Agrawal, Prashant Sachan, Arun Lodhi and NITIE alumnus Bimal Kartheek Rebba, has raised $62 million to date. It will use the latest fundraise to expand its social commerce operations by entering the apparel, home care, mom and baby-care categories in the months to come. The startup claims to have over 100 million downloads on its platform and over 50 million monthly active users (MAU). Its content library features videos in 8 regional languages garnering over 20 billion monthly views, Trell said in a press note. The company is now looking to launch in additional six languages and expand its footprint in over 2000 cities and towns of India. Over the last few months, Trell has on boarded over 500 personal care and beauty brands, including Maybelline, L'Oréal and Garnier. “Trell has become the launchpad for many up-and-coming D2C [direct-to-consumer] brands and advertisers, who are leveraging our community of regional content creators to advertise their products and services on the platform… Our aim is to enable over 2000 brands to penetrate the deeper pockets of the country and communicate with their potential customers through regional content creators by 2022,” the company’s chief operating officer and co-founder Rebba, said. Meanwhile, the company’s chief technology officer and co-founder Lodhi added that they have been leveraging on their artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) technology and neural networks to create users’ psychographic profile of customers’ behavioural patterns on the platform. This allows the platform to provide personalised content and product recommendation for the customers. These developments have also led Trell to record 10-15 times year-on-year growth and 30% month-on-month growth since inception, the company said. Social commerce is still at a nascent stage in India, but the players in this segment have been growing at an exponential rate. Earlier in May, Meesho became the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/advertising/brands/article/meesho-the-latest-company-to-join-the-unicorn-club-aims-to-build-a-single-ecosystem-to-help-smbs/articleshow/81953840.cms">first social commerce</a> platform to enter the unicorn club. It has raised $515 million to date from <keyword id="163404" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Softbank">SoftBank</keyword>, FaceBook and <keyword id="270604" type="ENTERTAINMENT" weightage="20" keywordseo="Sequoia">Sequoia</keyword>. DealShare, on the other hand, recently closed a <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/social-commerce-startup-dealshare-raises-144-million-from-tiger-global/articleshow/84227890.cms">$144 million round</a>, taking its total fundraise to $183 million to date. Its investors include Tiger Global, <keyword id="678811" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Westbridge-Capital">WestBridge Capital</keyword>, Alpha Wave Incubation and Z3Partners. Other players in this segment are Glowroad,<a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/citymall-a-startup-that-helps-budding-entrepreneurs-start-their-ventures-on-whatsapp-has-raised-over-22-million/articleshow/83741383.cms"> CityMall</a> and SimSim. SEE ALSO <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/ecommerce/news/flipkart-raises-3-6-billion-at-a-valuation-of-over-37-billion/articleshow/84338594.cms">Flipkart raises $3.6 billion at a valuation of over $37 billion, to focus on ‘millions of small and medium Indian businesses’</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/paytm-money-users-can-now-apply-for-zomato-ipo-from-today/articleshow/84334784.cms">Paytm Money now allows investors to apply for an IPO before opening, Zomato being the first</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/ola-electric-has-raised-100-million-in-debt-to-start-producing-its-electric-scooters-soon/articleshow/84338315.cms">Ola Electric has raised $100 million in debt to start producing its electric scooters soon</a>

Fashion retailer H&M has led a $45 million round in video discovery and commerce app Trell

<ul><li>Digital payments platform <keyword id="6357886" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="phonepe">PhonePe</keyword> is the latest to enter the <keyword id="6372044" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="grocery">grocery</keyword> race. </li><li>The company has launched a ‘Stores’ feature, which will show you a listing of stores nearby and if they are delivering. </li><li>Ever since the lockdown has been announced, the grocery segment has been heating up with the entry of several new players.</li></ul>Digital payments platform PhonePe is the latest to enter the grocery race. The company has launched a ‘Stores’ feature, which will show you a listing of stores nearby and whether they are delivering. Through this feature, Phonepe listed 10 million merchant partners across India. “During the lockdown, customers want to know which shops are actually open and home delivering. We have solved for this by introducing two filters in the Stores section ‘currently operational’ and ‘home delivery’. We keep this information updated as the situation is changing dynamically,” said Vivek Lohcheb, VP-offline business development, PhonePe. However, PhonePe will not be delivering, instead the ‘home delivery tab’ will let you know which store will leave the essentials at your doorstep through a contactless delivery. But to enable that contactless delivery, users can pay through Phonepe after placing the order. “We have also introduced the ‘Pay Now’ feature on the Stores page which enables customers to make the payment remotely from within the PhonePe app without the need for scanning any QR. We believe this will be a win-win for both our merchants and customers,” said Lohcheb. Ever since the lockdown has been announced, the grocery segment has been heating up. Zomato, the foodtech unicorn, began the delivery of groceries through Zomato Market across 150 cities. Swiggy ramped up its services to cater to 125 cities. However, it has also seen the entry of non-delivery players like Meesho, the social commerce platform, NoBroker, a tech-enabled brokerage-free real estate platform and more. See Also: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/heres-how-you-can-kill-coronavirus-developers-in-india-get-busy-with-new-games/articleshow/75135181.cms">Here's how you can kill coronavirus – developers in India get busy with new games</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/sbi-cards-share-price-down-by-a-third-since-ipo/articleshow/75126409.cms">₹10,000 invested in SBI Cards during IPO is worth about ₹6,700 now⁠— here’s why</a>

PhonePe is the latest to turn ‘grocery aggregator’ – with a new feature with list of stores near you

<ul><li>Sequoia was rated as the top investor in Indian unicorns in August 2020.</li><li><keyword id="526777" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Tiger-Global">Tiger Global</keyword> picked up pace, with nine unicorn deals in the first half of 2021.</li><li>Indian startup ecosystem is poised to have 150 unicorns by 2025.</li></ul> The Indian startup ecosystem is undoubtedly at its prime at the moment, with an undisrupted flow of capital and unicorns in 2021 so far. The country has witnessed the entry of 15 startups into the unicorn club and there is one thing that the startup ecosystem cannot stop talking about — investor Tiger Global. A unicorn, in startup parlance, is a private company valued at or over $1 billion. The New York-based investment firm, which almost went relatively quiet in India since 2016, has significantly picked up its pace to deploy capital this year. Tiger Global, has made some major investments this year -- mostly unicorns and soonicorns (startups likely to enter the unicorn club soon) -- and has risen above ranks to be one of the top investors of 2021. In fact, it has overtaken <keyword id="122716" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Sequoia-Capital">Sequoia Capital</keyword> as the top investor in India’s unicorns, in terms of number of deals. Sequoia has invested in 18 of the 52 Indian unicorns and was titled the <a href="https://entrackr.com/2020/08/sequoia-top-investor-in-indian-unicorns-hurun-research/">top </a>investor in Indian unicorns last year by a Hurun report. Meanwhile, Tiger Global is backing 25 of them, making it an investor in almost 50% of the Indian unicorns. This year, alone, Tiger Global invested in 9 of the 15 startups that entered the Indian unicorn club. Sequoia invested in five such new unicorns. Tiger Global had been aggressively chasing the Indian market since 2010, but slowed down its pace in between 2016-2018. The company, which cracked <a href="https://qz.com/india/1608024/what-zenoti-ninjacart-investments-say-about-tiger-global-in-india/">40 deals</a> in India in 2015, only invested in seven startups in 2016, five in 2017 and eight in 2018. Top management changes, with the departure of former partner Lee Fixel, in 2019 slowed down the investor’s pace in India. Seems like Tiger Global is back to its aggressive stance in the Indian market once again, cracking one deal after another. Tiger Global was one of the first big venture capitalists (VC) to be successful in India and showed that exits could happen, Kabir Kochhar, partner at Anthill Ventures, told Business Insider. Notably, Tiger Global received a $3.3 billion exit from its investment in <keyword id="6354742" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Flipkart">Flipkart</keyword>, but its Indian investment streak slowed post 2018 and that allowed other VCs to overtake Tiger. Kochhar added, “Being among the first VCs to drive value, write big cheques and show significant exits, things have been quiet in the last few years and they have ceded the mantle other top tier VCs such as Sequoia, <keyword id="163404" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Softbank">SoftBank</keyword> and Naspers. Their recent multi-billion dollar fundraise has fuelled their desire to make up for missed opportunities of investing in emerging unicorns over the last few years. Tiger has gone back to its famed aggression and lightening quick decision making and is on a tear in India and globally. It's encouraging to see their bullishness in the Indian VC ecosystem. They’re back and will be a significant player in the evolution and scaling up of the next generation of Indian startups." Outside of the unicorn club, Tiger Global has set its eyes on some of the prominent startups in India. This includes retail financing startup Progcap, insurtech startup Plum, blue collar recruitment platform Apna and multi-brand car workshop platform GoMechanic. It had also led one-year-old microblogging platform <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/news/indias-micro-blogging-app-koo-raises-30-million-by-tiger-global/articleshow/82965589.cms">Koo’s $30 million round</a> last month, amidst Twitter’s trouble with the Indian government. Now, it is said to be in talks with payments platform BharatPe to lead the three-year-old startup’s<a href="https://techcrunch.com/2021/06/18/tiger-global-in-talks-to-back-bharatpe-at-2-5-billion-valuation/"> unicorn round</a>. The part hedge fund, part equity fund has invested in 118+ companies across the globe this year, taking its total portfolio to 400+ companies with an assets under management (AUM) of $65 billion. According to a Crunchbase<a href="https://news.crunchbase.com/news/tiger-global-management-strategy-investing-2021/"> analysis</a>, Tiger Global’s investment has grown 10 times compared to 2020. The report further adds that Tiger Global led or co-led $10.5 billion worth venture rounds in 2021 till June, doubling the figures compared to full year 2020. Sequoia Capital, on the other hand, led or co-led $4.1 billion worth deals this year till June. Sequoia has invested in 1,500+ companies and has an AUM of more than <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/sequoia-capital-one-of-silicon-valleys-most-notable-vc-firms-told-investors-it-was-hacked/articleshow/81128593.cms">$38 billion</a>. The disparity between Tiger Global and Sequoia Capital’s AUM and portfolio size is simply because of the stages they both focus on. While Tiger Global mostly looks into later stage and post-initial public offering (IPO) deals, Sequoia has spread its wings across seed to later stage deals. This makes Sequoia capital’s portfolio much bigger than Tiger Global, but its AUM is lower due to size of these deals. Sequoia also runs its accelerator programme Surge through which it invests in about 50 early-stage startups in southeast Asia annually. SoftBank Vision Fund, which too makes later stage deals like Tiger Global, is a close second. The Japanese conglomerate has led or co-led about $8.6 billion worth venture rounds globally this year till June. In India, Meesho, Zeta and FirstCry have been its investments this year. Overall, it has invested more than <a href="https://asia.nikkei.com/Editor-s-Picks/Interview/SoftBank-to-expand-Vision-Fund-portfolio-to-500-companies-Son-says#:~:text=Since%20launching%20the%20Vision%20Fund,billion%20in%20nearly%20200%20companies.">$90 billion </a>in nearly 200 companies. Both Sequoia Capital India and Tiger Global declined to comment on the queries regarding their investment deals in India. India is currently the<a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/these-are-the-top-10-most-valued-indian-startups/india-has-the-third-largest-startup-ecosystem-in-the-world/slideshow/80358033.cms"> third biggest startup </a>ecosystem in the world, with over 55,000 startups that have raised $70 billion between 2014 to 2020. As per the data shared by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), the country has at least one startup from 586 districts of the total 739 districts. A business will be considered as a startup, according to the Indian government, up to a period of 10 years from the date of incorporation. Each of these startups should not have a turnover of more than ₹100 crore. Thanks to Tiger Global’s investments streak this year, India seems to be set to meet its ‘100 unicorns by 2025’ deadline much faster. According to the latest Praxis and 256 Network’s report, India will now be able to see 150 unicorns by 2025. SEE ALSO <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/cryptocurrency/news/britain-bans-cryptocurrency-exchange-binance-from-operating-in-the-uk-without-written-consent/articleshow/83901032.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink" target="_blank">Britain bans cryptocurrency exchange Binance from operating in the UK without 'written consent'</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/politics/world/news/unemployment-declining-faster-in-states-that-are-cutting-off-300-enhanced-federal-benefits-according-to-wsj/articleshow/83905188.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink" target="_blank">Unemployment declining faster in states that are cutting off $300 enhanced federal benefits, according to WSJ</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/jeff-bezos-accused-his-girlfriends-brother-of-hiding-ownership-of-a-2-5-million-property-to-avoid-paying-his-legal-fees-court-filings-show/articleshow/83875736.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink">Jeff Bezos accused his girlfriend's brother of hiding ownership of a $2.5 million property to avoid paying his legal fees, court filings show</a>

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