Startup funding slows in October; RIL commits Rs 3,000 cr investment at 'Make in Odisha' conclave

October turned out to be a somewhat dull month in terms of funding raised, closing at just $714.13 million across 51 deals. This was just 50 percent of the funding raised in October 2017 and just over 25 percent of what was raised in September this year. While September saw larger and more late-stage companies raise bigger funding rounds, October saw more M&As, including acqui-hires. YourStory Research recorded 30 exits in the Indian startup ecosystem last month, as compared to 20 in September.

With Make in Odisha, the Odisha government is keen to put the state on the fast track to development. The state’s flagship biennial event was inaugurated by Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik at Janata Maidan in Bhubaneswar on Monday. Mukesh Ambani, Chairman and Managing Director of Reliance Industries (RIL), announced that the company will invest Rs 3,000 crore in the state over the next three years. Most of this investment is aimed at creating Odisha’s digital infrastructure.

Verizon’s media technology division Oath promoted Rose Tsou, Head of Oath APAC, to Head of International for the business, effectively making her the first person to be appointed to this newly created role. In her expanded role, Rose is mandated with driving the strategic direction of markets outside of US and Canada, including India. In a conversation with YourStory, Rose spells out Oath’s growth strategy for the Indian market, how she went on to script Yahoo Asia’s success, and what motivates and drives her every day.

Amazon Pay has raised funds from parent Amazon for the second time in a month. This infusion of Rs 220 crore is the ecommerce giant's fourth fund infusion in Amazon Pay this year. Prior to this, in October, Amazon Pay had raised Rs 590 crore. However, heavy spends on sales and promotions led to an increase of 88 percent in Amazon Pay losses in India, the company's recent filings with the Registrar of Companies revealed.

Hasmukh R Patil is on a mission to make tractors - and more importantly their operation - affordable for farmers. A farmer from Mandal near Ahmedabad, Hasmukh started by using scraps and automobile parts bought from different garages and mechanics and assembled and reassembled his tractor multiple times until he got it right. He has now assembled a solar-powered tractor that will help millions of farmers bring down their cost of cultivation, and reduce dependence on expensive fossil fuels.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is unlikely to be a big eliminator of jobs but the technology can create new openings, according to a Gartner survey, which finds that AI eliminates fewer jobs than expected. The survey reveals AI will change the workforce but its impact will not be detrimental to all workers. People will learn how to do less routine work, the report states, adding that they will be trained in new tasks, while old tasks that have become routine will be done by machines.

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