📢 Ola parent narrows losses in FY23

Start Your Day with YS Buzz: Your 8 AM Snapshot of Today's Top Startup News! 11 January 2024 [View in Browser]( Hello, Crypto crackdown continues. Apple App Store has removed three [crypto exchange apps]( OKX, and KuCoin—for Indian users after the central government stepped up its crackdown on offshore crypto exchanges operating without local registrations. [Binance]( users can rest easy as the company assured customers that their funds were safe, and they could continue using the current version of the app. In other news, more dry powder in the ecosystem. Investment firm [Gruhas]( by Zerodha’s Nikhil Kamath and Abhijeet Pai—has partnered with Collective Artist Network to establish a Rs 150 crore fund to invest in consumer brands. Then, revenue-based financing platform [Velocity]( launched a Rs 300 crore growth-focused fixed-term credit capital fund. Also, alternative-financing fintech platform [GetVantage]( announced a Rs 250 crore SaaS Accelerator Fund II. Moving on, ZestMoney founders Lizzie Chapman and Ashish Anantharaman have set up [SwiffyLabs]( a subsidiary of Jio Platforms, which is reportedly building a B2B infrastructure, including API for banks and financial institutions. [ICYMI:]( This Indian state now has a GI tag for its red ants' chutney—a delicacy not restricted to Southeast Asian countries! Lastly, here’s an explainer on [spot bitcoin ETF](. In today’s newsletter, we will talk about - Ola parent narrows FY23 losses by 65% - Paytm to invest Rs 100 Cr in GIFT City - A ragi revolution in Jharkhand Here’s your trivia for today: Which American financier was convicted of running the largest Ponzi scheme in US history? --------------------------------------------------------------- Mobility Ola parent narrows FY23 losses by 65% Bhavish Aggarwal-led ANI Technologies, the parent company of Ola, managed to reduce its losses in FY23, especially as revenue showed solid growth. Its standalone loss in FY23 narrowed by nearly 65%, coming in at Rs 1,082.56 crore. Its revenue rose 62.9% to Rs 1,987.54 crore in FY23 from Rs 1,220.29 crore a year ago. Key takeaways: - On an audited consolidated basis, ANI Technologies—also the parent company of Ola Financial, Ola Fleet, and Ola Stores—posted a loss of Rs 772.25 crore and revenue of Rs 2,799.38 crore in FY23. - Ola Financial—which operates Ola Money—swung to a loss in FY23 at Rs 54.64 crore after posting a profit of Rs 8.68 crore the previous year. Its revenue also declined 22%. - The company's ride-hailing platform, Ola Fleet, narrowed its losses to Rs 387.64 crore in FY23 from Rs 467.99 crore the previous year. [Read More]( --------------------------------------------------------------- Top Deals of the Week 1) Country Delight: $20M| Series E 2) Mylapay: $550,000| Seed 3) Glamplus: Rs 16.5 Cr| Pre-Series A --------------------------------------------------------------- Fintech Paytm to invest Rs 100 Cr in GIFT City Communications, the parent company of Paytm, is planning to invest Rs 100 crore in Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT City) to build an AI-driven remittance and establish an innovation centre. The investment, subject to requisite approvals, aligns with Paytm's vision to build a global financial ecosystem. Expansion: - The fintech aims to develop technology facilitating global investments in India by positioning GIFT City as an innovation hub for cross-border activity. - The development centre within GIFT City is set to create employment opportunities for engineers and create effective financial products and services. - By leveraging artificial intelligence, the company also seeks to streamline remittances, reducing friction with cost-effective solutions. [Read More]( --------------------------------------------------------------- Immerse yourself in a world of insightful and meticulously researched business narratives with our daily stories, weekly newsletter The Crux, and comprehensive organisation charts that map out the leadership of India's hottest startups. With hundreds of articles already in our archive, The CapTable cuts out the clutter to bring you the most important stories shaping India's economy. As a YS Buzz subscriber, enjoy early access to this limited time offer. Use code "Freedom75" to avail this discount on our annual plan. [Get Subscription Now]( --------------------------------------------------------------- From the CapTable Fintech face-off: Paytm takes on Juspay in clash for payments supremacy As the race for dominance in India's digital lending sector intensifies among the country's various fintech giants, a fresh rivalry is unfolding within the payments sphere between two SoftBank-backed companies—Paytm and Juspay. The former, renowned as a pioneering fintech unicorn, has harnessed its artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities to craft a suite of products aimed at expediting and making payments seamless for merchants. Paytm’s suite, which encompasses features such as routing payments to the most efficient gateways and tokenising credit and debit card details, places the fintech giant on a collision course with Juspay. Initially developed and used internally to decrease reliance on platforms like Juspay, Paytm realised the need to take this suite to its existing set of merchants to improve its client retention rate. Launched in October 2023, Paytm is already targeting processing payments worth Rs 1,500 crore by March. [Continue Reading]( --------------------------------------------------------------- Agriculture A ragi revolution in Jharkhand IAS officer Sushant Gaurav won the Prime Minister’s Award for Excellence in Public Administration for transforming Jharkhand's Gumla district through ragi (finger millet) cultivation. The crop fetches around Rs 30 per kg, leading to a substantial increase in the farmers’ incomes. The officer has also formed a system to help women sell ragi-based products in and out of the state and enable them to earn a livelihood. A crop change: - Beginning with over 5,000 farmers, Gaurav has empowered more than 30,000 farmers in the district to grow ragi. - As per the district agriculture department, there has been a 217% increase in the net acreage—from 3,500 hectares of ragi cultivation in 2022-23 to 11,100 hectares in 2023-24. - Gaurav started a women-led FPO, Baghima-Palkot Farmer Producer Company Ltd, which has 40 members tasked with buying ragi from local farmers and further producing varied products. [Read More]( --------------------------------------------------------------- News & Updates - [Listings:]( US stock exchange Nasdaq held talks with Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and SEBI Chairperson Madhabi Puri Buch on potentially allowing local Indian companies to list directly on foreign stock exchanges. - [Big apps:]( According to the latest report by data.ai, TikTok and Disney+ drove an 11% rise in consumer app sales in 2023, showing resilient demand, while the games industry dealt with a double-digit sales decline in China that dragged global sales down 2%. - [Layoffs:]( Besides the 500 layoffs at Twitch, Amazon is also making cuts at Prime Video and MGM Studios, laying off “several hundreds” of employees to “reduce or discontinue investments in certain areas while increasing our investment and focus on content and product initiatives that deliver the most impact”. After a massively successful first edition, TechSparks, India’s most influential startup-tech conference, is returning to the country’s financial capital for a spectacular second edition from February 29 to March 1, 2024 at Grand Hyatt Mumbai. The event is expected to bring together more than 3,000 attendees, comprising 60% C-suite attendees; 49% early stage and growth stage founders; 21% decision makers at India’s leading enterprises and 10% reputed investors representing the ecosystem. Keen to come on board as a sponsor or partner? Get in touch with us with your requirements and we'll get back to you with further details. [Get In Touch]( Did you know? Which American financier was convicted of running the largest Ponzi scheme in US history? Answer: Bernie Madoff We would love to hear from you! To let us know what you liked and disliked about our newsletter, please mail nslfeedback@yourstory.com. If you don’t already get this newsletter in your inbox, [sign up here](. 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