UrbanClap raises $50 million in Series D; PornHub VP warns against India porn ban
Hyperlocal home services marketplace UrbanClap has raised equity funding of $50 million in Series D from Steadview Capital and Vy Capital. In addition, the company is facilitating a secondary sale of Employee Stock Option Plan (ESOP) and stocks worth $4 million. “We have always believed that ESOPs in India aren't understood and exercised in the right manner,” said co-founder Abhiraj Bhal adding, “we at UrbanClap want to change that.”
No Internet, no problem! 'Where Is My Train' is here to make the travelling experience better
In a country where 8.2 billion passengers are ferried across 7,400-odd stations by the Indian Railways, making things and travelling experience easier is a brand new app, called Where is My Train. The Bengaluru-based app allows you to check live train status, understand coach position in platforms, and browse through seat/berth layouts. And that’s not all. It doesn’t need data connectivity – it uses cell-tower data to locate trains.
PornHub’s India ban will open door to illegal content, warns Vice-President
One of the most-visited adult entertainment sites, PornHub, has also been banned in India. The step was taken by the government in order to curb porn, however, could turn against the interest of the people, according to PornHub Vice-President, Corey Price. Now that this multilingual porn site is down, chances are people would end up visiting risky websites, opening up the door to illegal content.
‘You can raise a billion dollars only in India’
Paytm founder and CEO Vijay Shekhar Sharma said that there is no better time than now to be an entrepreneur in India. At the third edition of TiE Global Summit, he implored entrepreneurs in India who have a great idea or the passion to build something amazing to kick-start their entrepreneurial journey right away. He added that it is easier to raise a billion dollars in India than anywhere else in the world.
Elon Musk drops huge Tesla news bomb: ‘Summon’ car from “across the continent”
There is no doubt that Tesla is one of the coolest cars around. Its ‘summon’ feature allows car owners to have their vehicles drive on its own to their phone’s location. But as it turns out, this is just the tip of the iceberg. Give Musk a few years, and he promises he would soon roll out a revamped feature to “summon” the cars from “across the continent”.
18-year-old Aryaman Kunzru helps digitise medical records in rural India
A lot happens in real-time in urban India. But, the same cannot be said for rural villages, where things like keeping a digital track of medical records is still a fairly new concept. Solving this menace is teenage entrepreneur Aryaman Kunzru, whose startup, Polyclinic, is making life a little easier by changing the way healthcare operates in rural India.
Three years of funding: How Indian startup ecosystem fares
From the track record, one thing is evident – the funding raised in India has been increasing steadily over the past three years. In 2018, the defining trend was the entry of foreign fund houses, specifically from China, Japan and South Korea. In fact, most Chinese investors exploring the Indian markets believe that India offers the upside that is missing back home.
Can Blockchain help with governance?
The benefits of blockchain technology are being reaped across sectors and for multiple purposes, from recordkeeping to banking. And it shouldn’t come as a surprise that even the state governments in the country are leaning towards Blockchain to smoothen access to various services. As of now, the biggest focus is on land reforms – this and few other key revelations were dropped at the 21st Bengaluru Tech Summit.
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