A naukri.com initiative
Startup News
Yourstory
4d
77
Image Credit: Yourstory
Indian investors hold on to crypto bets; Making Indian roads safer
- Bitcoin surged to almost $80,000 for the first time due to Trump's embrace of digital assets.
- Indian cryptocurrency investors are holding onto their investments for a much longer period than before.
- According to a user survey by Indian crypto trading platform Mudrex, 65% of its users view crypto as a long-term investment.
- Indian youngsters are setting the trend for crypto's global adoption.
- Pune-based start-up Starkenn focuses on Advanced Driver Assistance Systems tech to make Indian roads safer.
- It uses AI, machine learning, and embedded systems to create cutting-edge products for improving vehicle safety.
- Chainalysis' 'Global Crypto Adoption Index' says India is leading the way in global adoption of crypto for the second consecutive year.
- The UN's annual climate conference will take place in Baku, Azerbaijan.
- Google has updated Chrome's Safe Browsing feature, suggesting AI-powered protection is imminent.
- Talabat, the Middle East business of Delivery Hero, is set to list on the Dubai Stock Exchange in December.
Read Full Article
4 Likes
StartupDaily
4d
190
Project F’s Emma Jones launches diversity standards for Tech Council under pressure in the wake of Richard White saga
- The Tech Council of Australia (TCA) is launching a certification framework called T-EDI standards to address equity, diversity, and inclusion in the tech industry.
- The framework will require tech companies to self-assess their performance against 10 standards and develop action plans for improvement.
- The move comes after pressure on the TCA to address diversity issues following allegations against former board member Richard White.
- The TCA aims to improve diversity and inclusion in tech to support underrepresented groups in the industry.
Read Full Article
11 Likes
Yourstory
4d
385
Image Credit: Yourstory
Investing in cryptocurrency: Indian investors are in it for the long haul
- Indian investors are shifting towards placing long-term bets on cryptocurrency to diversify their investment portfolio, with 65% of Mudrex users considering cryptocurrency holdings as a long-term investment.
- Youthful investors (29-year average age) account for a large part of this shift in India, which is leading the way in the global adoption of cryptocurrencies,
- New rules under the Financial Intelligence Unit have mandated digital asset service providers and cryptocurrency exchanges to follow KYC procedures and monitor any suspicious transactions,
- Some cryptocurrency exchanges are organising seminars and writing blog posts to educate users about the asset class and how to make informed investment decisions,
- Investors are adopting strategies such as systematic Investment plans (SIP), value investing, buy-and-hold strategies, and portfolio diversification to minimise their exposure to market volatility,
- While regulatory uncertainty is held to have kept some startups out of India, on the other hand, the country is emerging as one of the global testing grounds for cryptocurrencies,
- In addition to market risks and volatility, investors have to consider the tax implications of trading, selling and spending cryptocurrency. In India, users are expected to pay up to 30% of profits obtained from cryptocurrency transactions in tax, and 1% in TDS,
- Tech-savvy investors in the country are also learning the complex technical aspects of cryptocurrency and diversifying their portfolios across various long-term opportunities,
- Proposed legislation, such as the Cryptocurrency and Regulation of Official Digital Currency Bill, has failed to pass through parliament, leaving investors uncertain about the future of the asset class,
- Cryptocurrency exchanges are calling for regulations to promote more organised activity, which could encourage mainstream investors to participate in investing in the asset class.
Read Full Article
23 Likes
StartupDaily
4d
401
Metigy founder David Fairfull charged with fraud over the startup’s collapse
- David Fairfull, the bankrupt founder and former CEO of marketing startup Metigy, has been charged with fraud following an ASIC investigation into the company's failure.
- Fairfull allegedly provided false information about the company's revenue and income to potential investors and used his position as a director to obtain a personal loan of over $7 million.
- Metigy, a digital marketing startup that aimed to provide small businesses with data and strategic insights, collapsed in July 2022, just 20 months after raising $20 million in a Series B round.
- Fairfull admitted to providing false bank statements but claimed to have acted alone. The matter will be heard in court on December 10.
Read Full Article
24 Likes
TechCrunch
4d
223
Image Credit: TechCrunch
Equal has a plan to fight India’s growing cyber fraud problem
- Equal, a Hyderabad-based startup, aims to address India's growing cyber fraud problem with its suite of identity verification and financial data-sharing products.
- The startup helps businesses streamline know-your-customer (KYC) requirements, fraud prevention, and regulatory compliance by integrating more than 50 identity databases and thousands of API providers.
- Equal recently raised $10 million in a Series A round led by Prosus Ventures to scale its operations and expand the product suite.
- The startup differentiates itself by playing the role of an aggregator and partnering with competitors to provide efficient and reliable services.
Read Full Article
13 Likes
Medium
4d
93
Image Credit: Medium
Balancing productive tension: the essential push-pull between developers and management
- Balancing productive tension: the essential push-pull between developers and management
- Software developers strive for high-quality and scalable products, while management focuses on market opportunities.
- To navigate extremes, developers should emphasize the importance of investing in quality over scalability to management.
- Developers need to understand when to push back and when to fulfill their tasks, fostering a culture of trust and collaboration.
Read Full Article
5 Likes
Insider
4d
4
Image Credit: Insider
Meet Peter Thiel, the controversial tech billionaire and GOP kingmaker
- Peter Thiel, Silicon Valley's controversial billionaire has become a powerful GOP kingmaker and is known for his outspoken political views. He actively supported Trump in 2016 and helped in VP-elect JD Vance's rise to election, securing his position as a conservative kingmaker and one of tech's most powerful political players. Thiel is a former PayPal CEO and venture capitalist who has spent his career as a connector, mentor, and invested in early-stage tech startups. His personal politics and contrarian streak define Thiel, setting him apart from the largely Democrat Bay Area.
- Thiel's net worth jumped after Trump's re-election, reaching a record high of $14 billion on Friday, making him a billionaire with silo political and economic interests. Interestingly, although he did not donate to the 2020 presidential campaigns, Thiel has become a major GOP donor and has supported more than a dozen Conservative candidates for senate, and other political offices in 2022.
- Thiel has been known as a mentor and helped create the Thiel Fellowship which gave $100K and two years of support to founders under 20. His political beliefs are those of a Libertarian. He hates confiscatory taxes, totalitarian collectives, and the idea of the inevitability of the death of every individual.
- Thiel's relationship with Vance goes back to at least 2011 when Thiel visited Yale Law School, where Vance was a student. Vance, who praised Thiel's Christianity, called the talk where Thiel discussed the achievement rat race, the most significant moment of his time at Yale Law School. Thiel went on to champion Vance's career, writing a blurb for Vance's 2016 'Hillbilly Elegy' book, hiring him to work at his VC firm Mithril Capital, and investing in Vance's own venture fund, Narya Capital.
- Thiel was pivotal in turning Vance, who was once a Never-Trumper into a MAGA Republican. He helped bankroll Vance's campaign, pouring at least $15 million into his 2022 senatorial bid, aiding him in securing an endorsement from Trump following a 2021 Mar-a-Lago meeting where he introduced Vance to Trump.
- Thiel is also known for his involvement with PayPal Mafia, one of tech's most influential groups, which includes Elon Musk, Keith Rabois, David Sacks, and Reid Hoffman. He also has early investments in Facebook, LinkedIn, and Palantir, a startup he co-founded. Thiel's venture capital firm, Founders Fund has invested in SpaceX and Airbnb, where he remains a partner. He also cofounded Valar Ventures and Mithril Capital.
- Thiel's feud with Gawker led to a attack on free speech, causing rifts with others in the tech world. Reed Hastings at that time, on Facebook's board with Thiel, called Thiel's Trump support 'catastrophically bad judgment,' and there were calls for Y Combinator, where Thiel worked as an advisor, to fire him. He also called Silicon Valley a 'one-party state' at a 2018 talk at Stanford.
- Thiel is now one of tech's most powerful political players and conservative kingmakers. With Vance in the White House, it remains to be seen what Thiel's relationship with Trump will be.
- Thiel's contrarian point of view is proving right at least this time. His involvement with JD Vance is likely to continue and he will remain a controversial figure in both tech and politics.
Read Full Article
Like
Medium
4d
162
Image Credit: Medium
HardTech Reads vol. 8-European Edition
- Deep Tech sector is growing rapidly and addressing some of the world’s most pressing challenges.
- Europe is progressing in the Deep Tech market, establishing itself in fields such as green technology, advanced robotics, and space exploration.
- Deep Tech is one of the biggest VC investment categories in Europe, and in 2023 alone, venture capital investments in European deep tech startups exceeded $16 billion.
- Europe faces several challenges in scaling and commercializing its innovations, particularly the United States.
- Deep Tech start-ups face similar failure and success rates as regular tech start-ups, the time to reach unicorn status, or exit is comparable to traditional tech start-ups.
- European Deep Tech start-ups are more likely to scale to unicorn status than regular tech ventures.
- European investors face challenges in scaling and exiting Deep Tech ventures.
- The US leads in Deep Tech with around 50–60% of global funding.
- Europe has strong foundational capabilities, including R&D expenses, science publications, and the number of developers.
- The European Deep Tech sector is at an inflection point, with significant potential to grow and generate outsized returns.
Read Full Article
10 Likes
Yourstory
5d
69
Image Credit: Yourstory
Singapore Airlines to invest additional Rs 3,195 Cr in Air India post-Vistara merger
- Singapore Airlines plans to invest an additional Rs 3,195 crore in Air India after the Vistara merger.
- The merger between Vistara and Air India is set to be completed on November 11, 2024.
- Singapore Airlines will have a 25.1% stake in the enlarged Air India post-merger.
- The merger will result in SIA recognizing a non-cash accounting gain of around 1.1 billion Singapore dollars.
Read Full Article
4 Likes
Insider
5d
53
Image Credit: Insider
Silicon Valley is on edge as Trump's immigration policy sparks fears of a high-tech talent shortage
- U.S. tech firms are concerned that President-elect Donald Trump may make it harder to hire immigrants, potentially cutting off an important source of technical talent for the sector.
- The largest work visa programme is the H1-B visa programme and according to USCIS data, of petitions approved in the previous fiscal year, 65% went to workers in computer-related roles.
- Trump's new administration could snap back to a pandemic-era worker shortage for tech firms, leading to an impact on the country's global artificial intelligence standing.
- Elon Musk is being suggested as someone who could help change the US's high skilled immigration system along with VP-elect JD Vance who has a venture capital background.
- In his first term, Trump signed an executive order to suspend temporary work visas like the H-1B for skilled workers.
- The tech sector is already understaffed, and recruiting for artificial intelligence skills is particularly tough.
- Experts say stricter immigration laws could hinder America's global edge in artificial intelligence.
- Aaron Levie, the CEO of Box and one of Silicon Valley's senior statesmen, offered hope that Elon Musk, at Trump's side, could bring a fresh approach to the issue.
- Shin Yi Chong, a H1-B visa holder, makes the case that H-1Bs visa's may become more difficult to obtain under Trump.
- Many companies are scouring university programs, enticing students with six-figure salaries and resources to fill the AI skills gap.
Read Full Article
3 Likes
Inc42
5d
240
Image Credit: Inc42
Cloud Kitchens Turning Up The Heat In India’s Food Delivery Paradigm
- India's food delivery ecosystem is changing rapidly on the back of advanced technology, a shift in eating habits and the gig economy.
- Cloud kitchens are shaping the country's food and beverage industry, with faster order processing and delivery times on online food delivery platforms. The low entry barriers and the little requirement of capital have given rise to the likes of unicorns like Rebel Foods.
- With the tech-led approach of players in the ecosystem, customer data is being leveraged to gauge demand and make more informed and data-driven decisions to drive sales.
- As of now, the country's cloud kitchen market is expected to cross the $3 Bn mark by FY31.
- Biryani By Kilo (BBK) raised $9 Mn (INR 72 Cr) in its Series C funding round led by Alpha Wave Ventures. Curefoods secured INR 200 Cr (about $25 Mn) from Flipkart cofounder Binny Bansal's fund Three State Ventures and made multiple acquisitions in the food sector. And FreshMenu recently bagged $6.5 Mn or INR 50 Cr.
- Incorporated in 2019 by Karan Tanna, Ghost Kitchens currently runs more than 15 self-owned cloud kitchens in Mumbai and Ahmedabad and partners with over 1,200 restaurants across 40 cities in India.
- Bengaluru-based Kitchens@ offers shared kitchen solutions to food brands and provides space for expansion and solutions for scaling up.
- Founded in 2011, Rebel Food is the IPO-bound cloud kitchen startup, housing popular brands such as Faasos, Behrouz Biryani and Sweet Truth.
- The Gurugram-based food delivery chain, Salad Days, has been running on a bootstrapped model, operating 21 cloud kitchens in total.
- Cloud kitchens are spearheaded by budding and aspiring chefs and restaurateurs who saw an opportunity to build full-fledged businesses in this segment.
Read Full Article
14 Likes
Startupnation
5d
298
Image Credit: Startupnation
Enhancing Customer Relationship Management with AI
- Enhancing Customer Relationship Management (CRM) using artificial intelligence (AI) can boost your business by improving efficiency and providing unique experiences to your customers. AI filters through customer data to create targeted marketing campaigns and even anticipate future customer needs, reducing the need for repetitive tasks and boosting customer satisfaction by providing 24/7 support. While AI-powered CRM is becoming more accessible, it has some limitations and potential pitfalls, such as biased data and concerns over privacy and cost. The balance between technology-driven efficiency and genuine human interaction will ultimately drive the future of business.
- Traditional CRM and its methods are quickly becoming outdated as the number of customers and interactions grows.
- AI, the fusion of data and CRM, is revolutionizing digital customer interactions and driving business growth.
- Amazon and Netflix use AI and CRM to give personalized product recommendations and to make your customer experience unique.
- Smaller businesses can access AI-powered tools like Rosie, the AI answering service, which can level the playing field for small businesses and solopreneurs.
- AI enhances CRM by uncovering hidden insights, personalizing experiences, predicting and preventing problems, boosting efficiency, and providing 24/7 support.
- AI is limited by biased, incomplete, or inaccurate data, and it cannot replace the human touch that builds trust and loyalty.
- Businesses can balance tech-enabled efficiency and human interaction by using AI to improve the way they connect with their customers.
- Embracing the power of AI and focusing on building genuine human connections can drive business success.
- Ultimately, AI in CRM can unlock untold levels of value and insight to businesses of all sizes.
Read Full Article
17 Likes
Yourstory
5d
65
Image Credit: Yourstory
Sensitivity, reflection, engagement–curator tips for creative success from Karnataka Chitrakala Parishath
- Karnataka Chitrakala Parishath recently showcased the exhibition titled Timeless Treasures: A Tribute to Artistic Journey, with 180 artworks by 70 artists.
- The curatorial team at Karnataka Chitrakala Parishath emphasizes the need for art appreciation in society and calls for constant public engagement and exchanges.
- Vijayashree CS, Curator at the Karnataka Chitrakala Parishath Museum, suggests that people should visit art institutions, museums, and heritage spaces more frequently.
- She also offers tips for aspiring artists, emphasizing the importance of being sensitive, reflective, and engaged with society and the environment.
Read Full Article
3 Likes
Yourstory
5d
183
Image Credit: Yourstory
Sustainability, health, ecosystems: test your business creativity with Edition 161 of our weekly quiz!
- The 161st edition of YourStory's Lateral Sparks quiz presents issues that were faced by entrepreneurs in their startups journey.
- Issues like tackling misunderstandings in the climate sector, and supply chain innovation are some of the topics discussed.
- Climate Hires, a climate-focused recruitment firm, helps people who want to transition into the climate space without taking a pay cut.
- Collaboration between the tech industry, startups and high education institutions will help India's tech landscape evolve.
- New-age companies are revolutionizing cold chain warehousing through advanced automated racking systems.
- Pet owners often face challenges during vet visits such as a lack of comprehensive data that can help with accurate diagnoses. This can lead to health issues and sudden illnesses.
- VETiNSTANT has created a non-invasive device and a mobile app that connect pets, vets, and pet parents for timely diagnosis.
- Amwoodo is a startup that is attempting to replace conventional materials in sectors like construction with bamboo, which is more sustainable.
- The startup offers bamboo-based infrastructure solutions such as flooring, wall panels, and facades for airports.
- Take a look at the quizzes here and answer the questions related to startups and entrepreneurs. Check out how entrepreneurs tackled the problems and find out if you would have done things differently.
Read Full Article
11 Likes
Medium
5d
44
Image Credit: Medium
FSA & METI — Venture Capital: Recommendations and Expectations
- Following a public consultation, the Expert Panel finalized and published "Venture Capital: Recommendations and Expectations," which outlines recommended and expected practices for Venture Capital firms in Japan.
- The practices suggested in the report are aimed at improving governance standards of VCs seeking funding from institutional investors and also enhancing the overall appeal of VC as a long-term asset class.
- The recommendations and expectations are intended for VCs seeking funding from a broad range of domestic and international institutional investors and represent a principles-based approach rather than imposing strict rules.
- The document emphasizes that implementing these practices is left to the discretion of individual LPs and GPs, and the practices are based on current market practices and the perspectives of institutional investors.
- The recommended strategies aim to enhance VC governance, facilitate smoother capital flow from domestic and international institutional investors, and promote the growth of later-stage investments.
- The primary goal of these practices is to promote the development of a vibrant startup ecosystem in Japan by providing a valuable framework for the maturation and development of the Japanese VC industry.
- The practices highlight the importance of strengthening the investment value chain, where household funds flow to asset management companies, to growth companies via investments, and then back to households as returns.
- The Expert Panel on Venture Capital, hosted jointly by the Financial Services Agency (FSA) and the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI), held three meetings before publishing the final version on November 8, 2024.
- The document calls for ongoing monitoring and review by stakeholders to ensure that the recommended practices remain relevant and effective in the ever-evolving market conditions.
- This document provides a much-needed framework for the development of a flourishing startup ecosystem, aiming to attract more institutional capital and promote the growth of the VC industry in Japan.
Read Full Article
2 Likes
For uninterrupted reading, download the app