STARTUP DIGEST: Right here’re prime startup tales of the day

There have been a number of developments within the startup area on Tuesday, which embody Dream11 wins IPL 2020 title sponsorship for RS 222 crore, Amazon evaluates registering Prime Video, Music in India, Lightspeed India Companions has closed its new fund Lightspeed India Companions III, with a dedication of $275 million, and FPL Applied sciences raises $10 million. Right here’s the wrap of the information from the startup universe:

Dream11 wins IPL 2020 title sponsorship for Rs 222 crore

Gaming unicorn Dream11 has gained the title sponsorship rights of Indian Premier League 2020 for Rs 222 crore. The opposite bidders included Tata Group and Unacademy.

Dream11 is a fantasy sports activities platform that permits customers to play fantasy cricket, hockey, soccer, kabaddi and basketball. The IPL will probably be held between September 19 and November 10 within the UAE this 12 months and the profitable bidder will maintain the rights for 4 months and 13 days.

Earlier this month, Chinese language firm Vivo had pulled out of this 12 months’s dedication because the title sponsor of IPL.

Based in 2008 by Harsh Jain and Bhavit Sheth, Dream11 is India’s solely gaming unicorn, valued above $1 billion. The platform has greater than eight crore customers. In 2018, it introduced a partnership with ICC (Worldwide Cricket Council), Professional Kabaddi League, Worldwide Hockey Federation (FIH) and BBL.

In line with Crunchbase, Chinese language know-how conglomerate Tencent has invested $100 million in Dream11. Different buyers within the Indian gaming unicorn embody Kalaari Capital, Steadview Capital and Multiples Alternate Asset Administration. In 2018, Dream11 had roped in Indian cricket staff wicket-keeper and former captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni as its model ambassador.

Dream11’s income grew 3x to Rs 800 crore in FY2019 from Rs 230 crore in FY18. Nevertheless, its losses widened to Rs 130 crore in FY19 from Rs 65 crore in FY18, in response to Traxcn knowledge.

New digital tax impression? Amazon evaluates registering Prime Video, Music in India

International ecommerce big Amazon is evaluating registering a few of its entities equivalent to Prime Video, Amazon Music and Audible in India which were providing providers to clients within the nation however weren’t registered as separate impartial entities, in response to sources.

The transfer is available in gentle of the equalization levy, which got here into impact this 12 months that levies a 2 % tax on every digital transaction finished by international ecommerce firms, the primary instalment for which was due on July 7.

Whereas it’s not clear if Amazon will register all these companies individually in India, sources say Amazon is at the moment evaluating the prices of compliance for registering a few of these entities in India, since they must pay GST and different taxes. Amazon can also be evaluating the FDI laws for the sectors that these companies function in, the sources mentioned.

Amazon instructed CNBC-TV18 that it doesn’t touch upon tax issues. Amazon has been registering a number of entities In India over years throughout the companies that it affords, together with its market, its wholesale enterprise, transport, meals retail, in addition to, funds.

Lightspeed India seems to construct ‘daring entrepreneurs’ in India with $275 million fund

Multi-stage enterprise capital agency Lightspeed India Companions has closed its new fund Lightspeed India Companions III, with a dedication of $275 million from world institutional LPs. As companies work in direction of an ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’, Lightspeed will probably be searching for ‘daring entrepreneurs’ constructing for India and the world.

“With the Indian digital alternative accelerating, many extra sectors in B2B and B2C and classes are rising the place know-how is enabling new companies and fashions. With this fund, as with every of its earlier funds, Lightspeed stays dedicated greater than ever, to its mission of partnering with daring entrepreneurs constructing distinctive firms of tomorrow,” it mentioned in a press release.

Lightspeed India Companions III is the enterprise capital agency’s greatest fund in India thus far, having raised $175 million through its second fund in 2018 that wager on shopper web and software program gamers and $135 million when it launched its first India devoted fund in 2015.

With the brand new fund, the enterprise capital investor’s property below administration will exceed $1 billion within the nation. It has already invested over $750 million in India to date, throughout its home and world funding arms.

Since its inception in India in 2007, Lightspeed has targeted on accelerating disruptive improvements and tendencies within the enterprise and shopper sectors. Over the past 13 years, the agency has picked companies which have develop into market leaders, launched merchandise in new & rising classes, and are fixing for the numerous wants of India.

The agency is an investor in a few of the most beneficial startups within the nation like edtech platform Byju’s, B2B commerce agency Udaan and hospitality group OYO.

FPL Applied sciences raises $10 million from Sequoia India, others

FPL Applied sciences has raised $10 million in Collection-A financing spherical with participation from Sequoia India, Matrix Companions India, Hummingbird Ventures, and a clutch of angel buyers.

The corporate has additionally introduced the launch of its mobile-first bank card, OneCard. Claiming to be an industry-first, a person can apply for OneCard digitally through the OneScore app, evading any bodily contact with card brokers. The innovation goals to supply easy accessibility to potential customers within the wake of social distancing.

A VISA Signature steel bank card, OneCard is issued in partnership with a banking companion. Constructed by FPL on a full-stack proprietary know-how platform in India, a mobile-first bank card, OneCard goals to redefine the bank card expertise for the digitally savvy younger Indians. Card members can management each facet of their OneCard from a cell app – whether or not enabling home/worldwide transactions, locking their card, enabling on-line/offline transactions, paying their bank card invoice, and far more. There are not any annual or becoming a member of charges and OnceCard affords foreign exchange mark-up charge of 1%, among the many lowest out there.

DrinkPrime closes $three million funding led by Omidyar Community India and Sequoia Surge

‘Pay-As-You-Use Water Air purifier’ startup DrinkPrime has raised Rs 21 crore or $three million in a pre-series-A spherical from Omidyar Community India and Sequoia Surge.

The Bengaluru-based firm plans to make use of the funds to strengthen its staff and increase to new markets within the nation. The DrinkPrime service is at the moment operational in Bengaluru.

DrinkPrime permits customers to ‘subscribe-to-use’ the corporate’s modular water purifiers that purpose to scale back excessive upfront prices and ongoing servicing expenses for water purifying programs at houses.

DrinkPrime has constructed the sensible water purifiers leveraging Web of Issues (IoT) know-how and a seven-stage filtration course of, that give its clients entry to wash consuming water on faucet whereas being charged on a ‘pay-as-you-use’ mannequin.

Schooling start-up Masai Faculty raises $2.5 million in Pre-series A funding

Profession-focused different training start-up Masai Faculty has raised a pre-series A funding spherical of $2.5 million led by Unitus Ventures, together with India Quotient & AngelList India. The coding faculty is focusing on 10x development in scholar enrolment within the subsequent 12 months. It plans to make use of the funds to rent trainers and introduce new programs

Masai Faculty started operations in June 2019. It at the moment trains tech aspirants in Full Stack Internet and Android Growth, and helps them get positioned by its companion community. By integrating the Earnings Sharing Settlement (ISA), they permit college students to pay the course payment after they get a paying and related job.

Examine expenses of Fb India’s pro-BJP bias, Congress tells Mark Zuckerberg

The Congress get together has written to Fb CEO Mark Zuckerberg demanding an enquiry into alleged bias by Fb India’s management in favour of the ruling BJP.

AICC Common Secretary KC Venugopal additionally demanded to take away the present management of Fb’s India management from the helm till the proposed investigation is accomplished.

The letter from the Congress got here after a Wall Road Journal report that mentioned Fb ignored making use of its hate speech guidelines to politicians of the ruling get together in India.

Within the report printed on Friday, the US newspaper cited interviews with unnamed Fb insiders to say that one in every of its senior India coverage executives intervened in inside communication to cease a everlasting ban on a BJP MLA from Telangana after he allegedly made communally charged posts.

The report claimed that Ankhi Das, Fb’s public coverage director for India, South and Central Asia, allegedly instructed staff that initiating punitive motion in opposition to BJP politicians indulging in hate propaganda would harm the corporate’s “enterprise prospects” in India.

In its response, Fb mentioned the corporate’s social media platform prohibits hate speech and content material that incites violence, including these insurance policies are enforced globally with out regard to political affiliation. Nevertheless, Fb, which counts India amongst its largest markets globally, acknowledged that “there’s extra to do”.

Walmart Q2 earnings: Lockdown in India hits worldwide gross sales

Walmart’s ecommerce gross sales within the US shot up by 97 % as clients had packages shipped to their houses and used curb facet pickup. The retailer’s US same-store gross sales grew by 9.three % within the second quarter, fuelled by purchases of meals and common merchandise.

Q2 income got here in at $137.74 billion and web revenue rose to $6.48 billion.

Nevertheless, the lockdown in India hit Walmart’s worldwide gross sales within the second quarter because of the closure of Flipkart’s enterprise. Worldwide web gross sales fell 6.eight % to $27.2 billion (adjusting for forex), excluding forex, web gross sales would have are available in at $29.6 billion.

Walmart Worldwide mentioned, “Web gross sales included the consequences of the government-mandated closure of the corporate’s Flipkart enterprise in India for a portion of the quarter, in addition to related actions in markets in Africa and Central America. Since re-opening, GMV of Flipkart has exceeded pre-COVID-19 ranges”. Walmart invested $1.2 billion in Flipkart in July guaranteeing that the ecommerce platform has sufficient room and money to function given the chance in India.

Google takes on Australian regulators over new regulation

Web big Google criticised proposed Australian antitrust legal guidelines saying its free search service could be “in danger” and customers’ private knowledge could possibly be shared whether it is made to pay information organisations for his or her content material.

The Alphabet-owned firm mentioned the proposed legal guidelines would additionally assist large media firms artificially inflate their search rankings, luring extra viewers to their platforms and giving them an unfair benefit over small publishers and customers of Google’s YouTube streaming web site.

The open letter marketed on Google’s principal search web page, marks an escalation of tensions between large tech firms and the Australian Competitors and Client Fee (ACCC) which has known as for sweeping modifications to rein in how Google and social media titan Fb Inc use native content material and shopper knowledge, in response to Reuters.

“You’ve all the time relied on Google Search and YouTube to indicate you what’s most related and useful to you,” Google Australia Managing Director Mel Silva wrote within the open letter. “We may now not assure that below this regulation.”

The ACCC accused Google of publishing “misinformation” and mentioned the legal guidelines wouldn’t require the US firm to cost Australians for its providers or share any private knowledge.