PhonePe raises another $100 million

Hello,

While funding may still be at bay for many Indian startups, there are green shoots of activity.

Early-stage investor pi Ventures has secured a commitment of Rs 100 crore from SIDBI-managed Fund of Funds Scheme (FFS) for startups. It is on track to make the final close of its second fund at Rs 675 crore to Rs 750 crore.

Chennai-based BoldCap, too, launched its second fund of $25 million to invest in early-stage SaaS companies over the next 24-36 months.

Meanwhile, India’s largest IT services exporter TCS reported a 14.7% growth in net profit to Rs 11,392 crore for the fourth quarter of FY23. However, it remains cautious as uncertainty looms over its key North American market.

In other news, Apple Stores’ entry into India starts with a…ban!

The company has reportedly banned 22 brands—including Amazon, Facebook, Twitter, and Google—from an “exclusive zone” ahead of the opening of its store in Mumbai. These companies can’t just open stores in the vicinity, but are barred from even buying ad space.

ICYMI: Fanta has now introduced a limited-edition fragrance that the company calls a “wearable version of their beloved drink”.

Well, anything is possible.

Also, we recently launched a new design and want to know what you think and feel about our article page reading experience. Please share your input here. It will only take 5 minutes. 🙂

In today’s newsletter, we will talk about 

• PhonePe raises another $100 million
• B2B ecommerce to clock $125B GMV
• Deliveroo bets on health, beauty

Here’s your trivia for today: Which company owns Bugatti, Lamborghini, Audi, Porsche, and Ducati?

Fintech 

PhonePe raises another $100 million

As part of its ongoing $1 billion funding round, PhonePe has raised another $100 million from its existing shareholder General Atlantic and its co-investors. General Atlantic invested $350 million in the Walmart-owned startup in January this year.

A new chapter:

• Tiger Global, Ribbit Capital, and TVS Capital have invested $100 million, while Walmart cut a cheque for $200 million in the current round, at a pre-money valuation of $12 billion.
• In 2020, the fintech startup split from its parent company, Flipkart.
• In October last year, the company moved all of its business operations from Singapore to India.

Funding Alert

Startup: PhonePe

Amount: $100M

Round: Undisclosed

Startup: SimpliContract

Amount: $3.5M

Round: Pre-Series A

Startup: GenWise

Amount: $3.5M

Round: Seed

Business

B2B ecommerce to clock $125B GMV

The Indian business-to-business (B2B) ecommerce marketplace is expected to surpass sales of $125 billion by 2027, according to a report by investment banking firm Avendus Capital. In 2022, the country’s B2B market size was estimated to be $20 billion in terms of GMV (Gross Merchandise Value).

In the cart:

• Around 100 listed B2B companies in India command market capitalisation of over $1 billion each.
• While B2B marketplaces in both manufacturing and retail are likely to attract investments, it is likely to be skewed in favour of the former.
• In the private market, B2B marketplaces have managed to raise $5.3 billion over the last five years, with nearly 67% of the capital being invested over the last two years.

Foodtech

Deliveroo bets on health, beauty

London-headquartered food delivery app Deliveroo is evaluating adding health and beauty apart from grocery delivery to its repertoire of services, Co-founder and CEO William Shu told YourStory.

Operations:

• Deliveroo projects that it will make between 20 million pounds and 50 million pounds in core earnings for FY 2023. 
• It is doubling down on expanding its network of dark kitchens to expand in the GCC market.
• Though no plans to enter India, the company looks to grow its Indian IDC from 140 to 200 by end of 2023.

News & updates

• Merger: Twitter Inc is no longer an independent company after it was merged with a shell company called X Corp. This comes as Elon Musk aspires to build an all-in-one X app—a super app that will support messaging, payments, ridesharing, food delivery etc.
• Hard fork: The Ethereum blockchain is set to undergo “Shapella” upgrade that will give investors access to more than $30 billion of digital tokens. This comes after the network switched from proof-of-work to proof-of-stake through The Merge.
• No cha-ching: Banknote maker De La Rue has said that demand for banknotes around the world is at its lowest level in 20 years. It said demand for cash had fallen since the pandemic when central banks stocked up on currency.

Which company owns Bugatti, Lamborghini, Audi, Porsche, and Ducati?

Answer: Volkswagen Group.

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