📍 Can Ola Maps take on Google?; Org Chart: Indifi’s digital lending DNA

The most interesting news selected specially for you! 11 August 2024 [View in Browser]( POWERED BY Hello, In today's newsletter, we will talk about: - Can Ola Maps take on Google? - The evolution of Indifi's digital lending DNA - Pioneering the natural beauty market - A pot full of lofty goals - VC funding’s steady recovery Oh, and don’t forget to [grab your tickets]( for the 15th edition of TechSparks Bengaluru, to be held on September 26-28! Here’s your trivia for today: What sport was reintroduced to the Olympics in 2016 after a 112-year absence? --------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------------- In-depth Can Ola Maps take on Google? Aggarwal has been dangling many financial incentives for developers to use Ola Maps—including a year’s free access to Ola's navigation tech platform and free credits of over Rs 100 crore. Now his attention has moved to navigation tech to tackle the distinct challenges on Indian roads—by enhancing navigation in crowded areas, adding regional language support, and using India-specific algorithms. Long road ahead: - “Mapping is a very intensive business. You just can’t create a great mapping service in a very short amount of time unless you put in a huge amount of meticulous effort,” opines Ashutosh Sharma, VP and Research Director at Forrester. - While targeting the consumer market may not offer quick returns, focusing on a B2B strategy in Tier II and III cities could be a game-changer for Ola, notes Shivani Palepu, Principal Analyst, Gartner. - In its early days yet, Ola has partnered with ISRO’s IRNSS programme to provide accurate GPS data, said sources familiar with the matter. Astrology platform Astro India AI and e-grocery delivery app KPN Fresh Product have also tapped into its services. [Read More]( --------------------------------------------------------------- From the CapTable The evolution of Indifi's digital lending DNA When Alok Mittal, Siddharth Mahanot, and Sundeep Sahi founded Indifi nearly a decade ago, the company only had 10 employees and focused largely on building technology. In fact, Sahi, who exited the company in 2017 to begin his own venture, was brought in as a technical co-founder by Mittal and Mahanot. Sahi was later replaced by Animesh Sharma, who continues to lead the technology vertical. “When you start a company, there is very little functional specialisation,” Mittal says. “For example, the tech guys were also doing product work, and the business development people were also doing sales. Then over time, the structure starts to change as you start hiring more specialists. We eventually separated the analytics function from the risk function, the product function from the technology one, and so on,” he adds. Today, after just over $90 million in funding raised from investors such as Accel, ICICI Venture, British International Investment, Omidyar Network India, and others, Indifi’s team has grown to over 900 employees, with a new CEO in place since last year. [View Org Chart]( --------------------------------------------------------------- Women Entrepreneurs Pioneering the natural beauty market Tuli’s love for nature and everything organic has been a prominent fixture and a guiding principle in her life for years—from DIY summer projects on vermiculture, all the way to her plans for a career in landscape architecture. But it was her personal experience of growing up with sensitive skin that pushed Tuli towards opting for natural skincare products and discovering an opportunity in the market, for Soulflower. Focus on quality: - Initially, Soulflower operated out of Bangkok, then moved production to India “for sustainability reasons”, manufacturing everything from aromatherapy products to healthy hair oil and natural soaps. - During the pandemic, Soulflower pivoted to ecommerce, securing investment from Wipro and moving manufacturing to a farm in Rajasthan. The farm employs local tribals and women to promote sustainability and quality. - Even as the wellness market has boomed unprecedentedly since the decade that Soulflower launched, moving forward with curiosity rather than fear has helped Soulflower carve out its own niche, Tuli says. [Read More]( --------------------------------------------------------------- Startup A pot full of lofty goals In India, biryani is more than just food; it’s an art form with carefully crafted blends of spices, rice, vegetables and choices of meat—all of which vary from region to region. In a crowded market where cloud kitchens including BiryaniByKilo, Behrouz Biryani, and EatFit are one-upping each other on foodtech platforms, Potful is now vying for the top spot above the rest. Beyond biryani: - Operating 25 cloud kitchens across Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Chennai, Potful claims to be the largest handi biryani brand and the second-largest cloud kitchen brand in south India. - From a revenue of Rs 5 crore in 2019, Potful reached Rs 70 crore in FY24, attained PAT profitability in June 2024 and became EBITDA positive in the previous quarter. - Beyond running a cloud kitchen, the company also provides livelihood to over 100 potters from Chinnandahalli a village near Hoskote, Karnataka. [Read More]( --------------------------------------------------------------- Funding VC funding’s steady recovery Capital (VC) funding into Indian startups crossed the $1-billion mark on a month-on-month basis for three months in a row, auguring well for the ecosystem which seems to be slowly stepping away from the funding winter. This psychologically important benchmark of $1 billion is important for the Indian startup ecosystem as it will boost the overall fund inflow. Milestone: - The total VC funding for July 2024 came in at $1.1 billion, which was a 103% rise compared with the same period a year ago when the amount stood at $529 million, according to data from YourStory Research. - In terms of stage-wise funding, the early category continues to see the highest traction, garnering $447 million for the month, followed by the growth stage and then the late-stage category. - In terms of sectors that received the highest funding in July, fintech garnered the highest amount at $145 million, followed by ecommerce at $141, and mobility stood at $120 million. [Read More]( --------------------------------------------------------------- Techsparks 2024 Application open for Tech30 Are you a visionary founder at the helm of a startup poised to redefine industries? Look no further than Tech30, the ultimate platform to showcase your innovation. Tech30 is more than just a recognition; it's a catalyst for the future. We're on a mission to bring together India's brightest tech minds to unravel the next big thing. If you're building groundbreaking solutions that have the potential to reshape our world, Tech30 is your launchpad. Join us as we celebrate the pioneers driving India's tech revolution. [Apply for Tech 30]( --------------------------------------------------------------- News & Updates - [AI probe:]( The UK’s antitrust regulator has confirmed that it’s carrying out a formal antitrust investigation into Amazon’s ties with Anthropic, after the ecommerce giant recently completed a $4 billion investment into the AI startup. - [Video maker:]( ByteDance has expanded its offering of software that can generate videos based on text prompts, joining a growing number of Chinese tech firms entering an emerging market also targeted by ChatGPT creator OpenAI. - ['Thousand Sails':]( Chinese state-owned enterprise, the Shanghai Spacecom Satellite Technology, launched the first batch of satellites for a mega-constellation designed to rival Space X's Starlink's near-global internet network. The project aims to deploy 15,000 low-Earth orbit satellites. Did you know? What sport was reintroduced to the Olympics in 2016 after a 112-year absence? Answer: Golf. 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