Fintech Funding Drop 💰, Swiggy Valuation Increase 📈, Ford Endeavour Plans 🚗

Catch up on the latest in 🇮🇳 Indian 🇮🇳 startups and tech landscape - all in 5 minutes. [Newsletter Banner] Daily 🇮🇳 IndiaTech 🇮🇳 Roundup Welcome to today's edition of the NextBigWhat Daily IndiaTech News! Today's top stories include Fintech funding drop, Swiggy's valuation increase, and Ford's plans for Endeavour. 🤖 Help us reach your your friends and colleagues! Share the NextBigWhat newsletter. [Tweet it]( [Whatsapp]( Indian FinTech sector sees 63% funding drop in 2023 🇮🇳 IndiaTech - In 2023, Indian FinTech sector funding fell by 63% to $2bn, with only five $100 million+ funding rounds and one new unicorn, InCred. - Despite the decline, India ranked third globally in FinTech startup funding, and led in digital payments with transactions surpassing the top four countries combined. - Alternative Lending and Banking Tech funding also decreased, but growth is expected due to new government regulations and initiatives like the Digital Personal Data Protection Act and the BharatNet project. Invesco increases Swiggy’s valuation to $8.3 billion 🇮🇳 IndiaTech - Invesco has raised the valuation of foodtech company Swiggy to $8.3 billion, marking a consecutive increase over the past three months. - Swiggy, which reached a peak value of $10.7 billion in January 2022, is planning an initial public offering (IPO) in 2024. - Despite an 80% increase in losses to $545 million in FY23, largely due to investment in its grocery business, Swiggy aims to achieve profitability in its grocery delivery service by March 2024. Transform your 2024 : Build winning habits ! [NBW Newsletter Ad]( 50% Launch Discount ! Win your 2024 🚀 "We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit." Reset and Build Better Habits for 2024​! 21-days email based course, No app to download 😎 [Enroll 👊]( Ford plans to reintroduce Endeavour in India by 2025 🇮🇳 IndiaTech - Ford has filed a patent in India for the Endeavour, sparking speculation of its return after closure in 2021. - The company is considering assembling the Endeavour at its Chennai plant or directly importing it. - The new Endeavour shares design elements and powertrains with the Ranger pickup, and features modern safety and infotainment systems. OneCard secures Rs 95 Cr in debt funding from Alteria Capital 🇮🇳 IndiaTech - Mobile-first credit card startup OneCard has raised Rs 95 crore ($11.44 million) in debt from Alteria Capital, marking its second round of debt funding in recent months. - The funds will be used for business operations and were raised through the issue of 9,500 Series B debentures, with a tenure of 30 months and an interest rate of 13.85% per annum. - OneCard, which turned unicorn in 2022, offers co-branded credit cards in partnership with various banks and competes with firms like Slice and Uni. Get NBW News: The short news app for busy professionals. [App Store]( [Google Play]( Reliance Jio progresses in satellite communication plans 🇮🇳 IndiaTech - Reliance Jio is set to receive landing rights and market access authorizations from the Indian National Space Promotion and Authorization Centre (IN-SPACe), advancing its satellite communication (satcom) services. - Jio, which has a majority share in both wired and wireless broadband communication markets, has suggested auctioning spectrum in the satcom space, contrasting with other players’ demands for administrative allocation. - Despite Jio’s auction proposal, the recently passed Telecom Act has favored administrative allocation, indicating more players could soon enter the Indian satcom market. Sugar Cosmetics experiences 89% revenue growth in FY23 🇮🇳 IndiaTech - Sugar Cosmetics reported an 89% increase in its scale during FY23, with revenues rising to Rs 420 crore from Rs 222 crore in FY22. - Major costs for the company included advertising and promotion, accounting for 32% of overall expenditure, and employee benefits and procurement. - Despite the growth, the company’s losses remained flat at Rs 76 crore, suggesting a potential push for an IPO in the near future. UPI’s Tap and Pay feature set to launch on January 31, 2024 🇮🇳 IndiaTech - The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) announced that UPI’s Tap and Pay feature will be operational from January 31, 2024, enabling users to make payments by tapping their smartphones at supported merchants. - The feature uses near-field communication (NFC) technology and works in addition to existing UPI payment modes, simplifying transactions as users don’t need to scan codes or input numbers for low-value transactions. - Transactions below Rs 500 will debit the user’s UPI Lite account, if enabled, and the feature may potentially extend to smartwatches and other NFC-supporting wearables in the future. Ahmedabad introduces first AI-enabled city surveillance system 🇮🇳 IndiaTech - Ahmedabad has become the first city to implement an AI-enabled surveillance system, analyzing real-time and recorded footage for issues like illegal parking and garbage accumulation. - The system was developed following a tender in August 2023 for surveillance camera supply and maintenance, though it did not originally mention AI. - The city has previously used AI for traffic management, with 130 junctions having ‘zero tolerance’ for red light violations as of 2022. Indian government considers amending IT rules to regulate AI and deep fakes 🇮🇳 IndiaTech - The Indian government is considering amendments to its IT Rules, 2021, to regulate AI and deep fakes, with new provisions potentially requiring AI models to be bias-free and stress-tested. - The amendments may also address deep fakes and synthetic content, and introduce mandates to prevent platforms from hosting apps without regulatory approvals. - Despite previous statements suggesting no plans to regulate AI, the government appears to be reconsidering its stance, with efforts to standardize responsible AI development guidelines underway. ISRO to launch GSAT-20 satellite using SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket 🇮🇳 IndiaTech - Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) will use SpaceX’s Falcon-9 rocket to launch its heavy communication satellite GSAT-20, marking the first time ISRO has utilized SpaceX’s services. - The GSAT-20 satellite, which weighs about 4,700 kg, will enable high-speed internet services across India, including in-flight internet services and connectivity in rural and remote areas. - The launch has been facilitated by NewSpace India Limited (NSIL), ISRO’s commercial arm, which entered into a launch agreement with SpaceX last year. © 2023 Zakti Techmedia Pvt. Ltd. All rights reserved. | [Unsubscribe](