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<ul><li>Twitter co-founder, <keyword id="194394" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Biz-Stone">Biz Stone</keyword>, announced that they will be investing in a Kerala based startup — <keyword id="6883189" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Sieve">Sieve</keyword>. </li><li>Sieve is a platform for tech freelancers and agencies to provide services over the cloud. </li><li>This is Twitter’s second investment in an Indian tech startup after funding <keyword id="3358959" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="ShareChat">ShareChat</keyword>, a local language social media app, in August. </li></ul>Twitter co-founder, Biz Stone, just announced that he will be investing in a startup mentored by the Kerala Startup Mission —, Sieve founded by Sanja Nediyara. This will be <keyword id="749437" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Twitter-India">Twitter India</keyword>’s second investment in an Indian technology start up within a span of two months. In August, Twitter put funding up for ShareChat, an Indian social media app for local languages. "I have used the product of Sieve as a freelancer. As an Angel, I consider the person first, and the product second. I find Sanjay as a dedicated, empathetic and extremely hardworking individual," stated Stone during a video conference at Huddle Kerala 2019. In both instances, Twitter has not disclosed the amount it has invested. What is Sieve? Sieve is a platform for tech freelancers and agencies. It provides services like infrastructure to websites, creating digital signatures or even manages invoices. As of now, Sieve only serves the US market but has plans to expand into Europe. The aim is to allow entrepreneurs to build Internet companies in the cloud. Using Sieve, freelancers from all over the world can form companies, and work from anywhere in the world. Not just Twitter Sieve’s other investor is Friends of Oorjja, an ecosystem to help individuals from the differently-abled community. Nediyara received help from mentors in the banking industry and Otis Elevators. Google also showed an interest in Nediyara’s startup when they invited him to their annual developers conference, Google I/O. See also: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/facebook-india-head-explains-3-ways-that-indian-tech-startups-need-to-transform/articleshow/71327000.cms">Facebook India Head explains 3 ways that Indian tech startups need to transform</a>

Twitter invests in its second Indian start up within a span of two months

<ul><li>As many as 19,351 startups are recognised under the <keyword id="3003094" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Startup-India">Startup India</keyword> Initiative, since 2016. </li><li>The government had set up a fund of funds infusing ₹100 billion to invest in Indian startups. </li><li>Maharashtra and Karnataka has the maximum number of recognised startups.</li></ul>The Startup India Initiative, which was introduced for the recognition of startups, has come a long way. The government had set up a fund of funds infusing ₹100 billion to <a href="http://pib.nic.in/PressReleseDetail.aspx?PRID=1576140">invest in Indian startups</a>, as a part of the Startup India Initiative. The initiative’s aim was to enable knowledge exchange and provide easy access to funding. As of now, it has listed 18,861 startups since its inception, which are recognized by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade(DPIIT). Last month, 814 new startups received recognition by the Indian government, Mint<a href="https://www.livemint.com/companies/start-ups/make-in-india-boost-govt-recognises-one-start-up-per-hour-in-may-1559716080991.html"> reported</a>. Overall, as many as 19,351 startups recognised under the initiative since 2016. And, Maharashtra recognised the maximum number of startups, according to the report. <table style="border-width: initial; border-style: none; width: 468pt;"></colgroup></colgroup></colgroup><tbody><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;">Indian States </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;">Number of recognised startups </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;">Maharashtra </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;">3661 </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;">Karnataka </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;">2847 </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;">Uttar Pradesh </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;">2552 </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;">Delhi </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;">1566 </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;">Telangana </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;">1080 </td></tr></tbody></table>

Maharashtra has the most number of recognised startups: DPIIT

<ul><li><keyword id="8196525" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Kotak-Pioneer-Fund">Kotak Pioneer Fund</keyword> is a new mutual fund that will be investing in companies that focus on technology and innovation. </li><li>It is uncommon for mutual funds in India to invest in unlisted equities since they pose a high-risk. </li><li>The new fund will be managed by Harish Krishnan, the Senior Vice President and Equity Fund Manager at <keyword id="119509" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Kotak-Mutual-Fund">Kotak Mutual Fund</keyword>. </li></ul>Kotak Pioneer Fund launched today will invest in new-age companies be it technology pioneers innovators and ground-breaking disruptors. "The investment objective of the scheme is to generate capital which invests into such companies that utilize new forms of production, technology, distribution or process which are likely to significantly challenge existing markets and value networks, displace established market operators, products and/or business models," it said in a press release. And, it will invest in companies which are either listed or unlisted too. It’s not usual for <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/mutual-funds-types-in-india/articleshow/69285779.cms">mutual funds</a> to invest in unlisted companies since they balance exposure between equity and debt securities. Kotak Pioneer Fund, on the other hand, will be looking to invest in unlisted equities that fall within the guidelines stipulated by market regulator, the Securities Exchange Board of India (<a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/topic/sebi">SEBI</a>). But, this fund has an underlying requirement. These startups or companies have to either be working on a new a new product, a new process, a new application of an existing process or a new way to reach out to customers — something the fund puts under the umbrella on ‘pioneering innovations’. The new fund will be managed by Harish Krishnan, the Senior Vice President and Equity Fund Manager at Kotak Mutual Fund. It has opened for subscription today, October 9, and will close on October 23. "Kotak Pioneer Fund will follow a thematic approach of investing in companies that have a proven track record of multiple revenue streams, resulting in improved customer salience," said Krishnan. High-risk bets on innovation According to <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/topic/Kotak">Kotak</a>, the fund is recognising that business models are quickly changing in today’s economic climate. It proposes that companies that innovate and adapt to the changing environment, are more likely to succeed in the future. The aim is to bring more companies on board that are looking to apply new forms of production, technology, distribution or processes that will challenge the existing status-quo in the markets. A <a href="https://corpgov.law.harvard.edu/2017/02/26/should-mutual-funds-invest-in-startups/">University of Utah</a> <a href="https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2911394">study</a> notes that mutual fund investments in startups pose certain concerns for investors, which is why they are uncommon. It states that liquidity can be a concern since as startups don’t trade shares in the stock market. It also points out that valuations of these startups are based on the management’s discretion, as there’s no market price for guidance. And, because of the discretion in valuation, it’s possible that these funds have a greater vulnerability for misconduct. Looking beyond India The Kotak Pioneer Fund won’t exclusively be looking at companies in India, but across the globe. Nearly 35% of the funds raised could be invested in overseas securities or funds. That being said, India recently moved up on the Global Innovation Index from ranking 57th in 2018 to 52nd in 2019. So many Indian startups could gain as well. "The fund is diversified across sectors and stock to achieve risk mitigation and provides diversification across geographies as well," said Krishnan. As much as 80% to 100% of the Kotak Pioneer Fund will make investments in pioneering innovation themes while 20% can be geared towards debt security and equity. See also: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/top-20-mutual-funds-in-india-latest-data/articleshow/70256239.cms">The top 20 mutual funds in India and their performance over the last one year</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/google-pays-new-tactic-to-take-on-rivals-paytm-phonepe-in-india-introduces-digital-gold-offerings/articleshow/68609832.cms">Google Pay wants to offer Indians their favourite investment option – gold</a>

Kotak’s new mutual fund is looking for investors with an appetite for risk to bet on startups

<ul><li>Zone <keyword id="6362513" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="startups">Startups</keyword> India recently concluded the empoWer accelerator program saw 18 <keyword id="74945" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Women-Entrepreneurs">women entrepreneurs</keyword> get seed funding for their business. </li><li>7 of them will go for a 1-week market access trip to Montreal by Government of Quebec.</li><li>The selected startups work on areas of Deep tech, Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning among others.</li></ul>After a 6-month accelerator program, 18 female entrepreneurs got a seed funding of ₹5 lakh each at the concluding demo day of Zone Startups India empoWer accelerator program. An accelerator program is a cohort-based one which helps entrepreneurs find their way into the startup world through mentorship, networking and funding. The empoWer accelerator program’s 3rd cohort concluded on March 29 and saw women in <keyword id="6355118" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="technology">technology</keyword> take a leap in business. Over the course of 3 years, through three cohorts 24 women have got equity free seed funding from the program. "Till date we have invested just about INR 2 Crores through empoWer but, the 2 past cohorts have cumulatively raised in excess of INR 40 Crores and there have been 3 acquisitions. Being through such a program and getting grant funding, definitely puts theses entrepreneurs in good stead while pitching to other investors. It is also 'validation capital' from the program,” said Ajay Ramasubramaniam director India, Zone Startups. Of the 18 winners from the latest cohort, 7 were further awarded a 1-week market access trip to Montreal by Government of Quebec. Focusing on areas such as Deep Tech, Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Enterprise Mobility, Search &amp; Feedback Engines, Enterprise Software, over the 6-month program, the founders were introduced to over 90 mentors and industry leaders. From startups that are working on a device that will analyse soil health to give a quantitative estimate of nutrients present in the soil to ones that focus on women health and hygiene and even a startup that simplifies manufacturing of steel alloys, aluminium alloys etc., there was a varied range of innovation seen as a part of the accelerator program. India is the world’s third largest startup ecosystem and still sees that <a href="https://scroll.in/article/887200/india-the-worlds-fastest-growing-startup-ecosystem-has-little-space-for-female-entrepreneurs">only 9%</a> of the startup founders in the country today are women. The Indian government has introduced several schemes like Mudra Yojana Scheme For Women which provides loans to women entrepreneurs. Recently, the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) had decided that from the government’s<a href="https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/economy/more-women-take-to-entrepreneurship-launch-businesses/article26636158.ece"> Fund of Funds</a> of ₹10,000 crore, one-third of the amount will be allocated for women-led startups. See Also: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/google-will-groom-these-10-indian-startups-that-use-ai-and-machine-learning/articleshow/68384856.cms">Google will groom these 10 Indian startups that use AI and machine learning</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/google-91springboard-launch-entrepreneurship-program-for-women-in-tier-ii-cities/articleshow/65337077.cms">Google, 91Springboard launch entrepreneurship program for women in tier-II cities</a>

18 Indian women just got funding for their technology startups

<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image">iSentiumMarket sentiment analysis platform iSentium has backing from ex-Goldman Sachs execs.</div></div></div>Startups that have built businesses parsing Twitter data to find buy and sell signals on stocks are looking to move into the investment game Miami-based startup iSentium and New York-based Market Prophit are among the companies <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/twitter-has-created-an-entirely-new-wall-street-ecosystem-here-are-the-companies-leading-the-way-2015-9">looking to bring market sentiment into real-time trading</a> for the ordinary investor. They are also now looking to launch exchange-traded funds. Gautham Sastri, CEO of iSentium, told Business Insider he's working with an investment bank to launch an ETF of his own using social data.ETFs typically track capitalization-weighted benchmarks such as the SP500. These capitalization-based benchmarks have received some criticism in the investing world as they are moved by the biggest, and potentially most overvalued, stocks, and have less exposure to smaller companies which might be undervalued. Sameer Gupta, a former JPMorgan trading executive who is now chief operating officer at iSentium, told Business Insider that an iSentium ETF would likely "be a smart beta product that delivers enhanced performance relative to a benchmark."The phrase 'smart beta' refers to an alternative form of index investing where the index in question is based on factors other than capitalization-weightings. Market Prophit meanwhile has already <a href="http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/market-prophit-launches-first-social-media-sentiment-stock-market-index-300081778.html">developed an index </a>tracking the 25 most-mentioned companies on Twitter in a partnership with S&amp;P Dow Jones Indices. Igor Gonta, chief executive at the company, told Business Insider that the company will one day launch an ETF that allows people to trade based largely on the sentiment expressed on Twitter. <div class="margin-top"> <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/life-lessons-goldman-sachs-elevator-gselevator-2015-7">Life lessons from the Goldman Sachs Elevator parody twitter account</a></h3> <div> <div> <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="Rjb3Npdjo8q2v5ZB5UOtC4ddaCiODdhz" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div> </div> </div> </div>

Startups are setting up funds based on what is trending on Twitter

<ul><li><keyword id="10387" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Microsoft">Microsoft</keyword> has announced its M12 fund in India. </li><li>M12, which was launched in 2016, is a VC fund from the global tech company. </li><li>In India, Microsoft has been actively engaged with startups with accelerator programs and funding.</li></ul>Tech giant Microsoft has launched M12 its early-stage venture capital fund, in India. The M12 fund was launched globally in 2016 but was initially called Microsoft Ventures. In 2018, the fund was rebranded as M12. It has over 75 companies in its portfolio, globally. "The introduction of M12, Microsoft's venture fund in India will create new value for startups, venture capitals and the company itself to maintain the pace and direction of innovation," Microsoft India president Anant Maheshwari<a href="https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/business/microsoft-underscores-its-commitment-to-the-indian-startup-ecosystem-4131411.html"> said</a>. This fund comprises of experienced VCs and Microsoft veterans who won’t just be putting money in a startup, but will also add value. “The portfolio development team at M12 is specifically built to support and scale companies by leveraging the expansive resources of Microsoft,” the company said. Microsoft has long been involved in the Indian startup ecosystem. The company’s initiative <keyword id="6325416" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Microsoft-for-Startups">Microsoft for Startups</keyword> has an accelerator program called – Microsoft ScaleUp. The program which is meant for seed stage or Series A funded B2B tech-enabled startups, was launched in February 2018. It helped startups crack over 120 co-sell deals, where they can co-sell with Microsoft sales teams.

Microsoft launches early stage fund to ‘keep pace with Indian innovation’

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>

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

The Indian government wants to plug the brain drain happening in the country and is taking concrete steps towards it. 
 
In a bid to support innovation and entrepreneurship, the government will help create enterprises worth $300-500 billion in next five years. 
 Speaking at <keyword id="6426108" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="surge">SURGE</keyword> in Bengaluru, Binod Bawri of the <keyword id="2746648" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Atal-Innovation-Mission">Atal Innovation Mission</keyword> said, “This fund of funds would be a significant part of the upcoming budget session.” 
 
Atal Innovation Mission, or AIM was launched by PM Narendra Modi to inculcate innovation in young minds and to fund start ups across India. 
 
Meanwhile, he also spoke about patents as India has huge pendency of patent, copyright and trademark applications and startups often get caught up in this web, when registering their innovative products and services. 
 
“The government is also working to ease the process for startups by recruiting patent officers and we will bring significant changes in patent in the coming years,” said Bawri. 
 
Another major focus under AIM would be ‘Grand Challenges’, under which top 10 challenges would be recognised in each sector and innovative ideas will be sought to resolve those. 
 Reiterating its claim to help startups, the Indian government is working towards fulfilling its promises made during ‘<keyword id="3003094" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Startup-India">Startup India</keyword>, Standup India’ initiative. 
 
“To fuel Startup India, the government is also trying to change the way it works and is bringing business models used by successful companies around the world,” said Bawri. 
 
The government is going to measure objectives, set up a benchmark, bring in policies and map the process of implementation. 
 
Talking about the brain drain happening and many startups going to other countries like Singapore and the UK to fulfil their dreams, Bawri said policies have been laid out to ease tax exemptions and exit routes and they will be implemented soon. 
 
When asked about the mindset of many entrepreneurs on giving up on their dreams due to failures, he said the thinking was changing. 
 
“The culture of accepting failure and moving on is coming up. It is important to have role models, who have success as well as failure stories to share to encourage people,” said Bawri.

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Twitter invests in its second Indian start up within a span of two months

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Maharashtra has the most number of recognised startups: DPIIT

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Kotak’s new mutual fund is looking for investors with an appetite for risk to bet on startups

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18 Indian women just got funding for their technology startups

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Startups are setting up funds based on what is trending on Twitter

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Microsoft launches early stage fund to ‘keep pace with Indian innovation’

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

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Exclusive: Brain-drain no more! The Govt is spending a whopping $300-500 billion to ensure just that

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