Why logistics is the new darling of the startup ecosystem; Capacita Connect gives RAIN's first exit

Wednesday May 22, 2019 , 3 min Read

When ecommerce took flight in India, another sector reaped the benefits alongside - the logistics space. Many startups rushed to provide efficient B2C supply chain solutions to these new-age online retailers. Today, the large but fragmented sector is becoming the darling of investors. But, this time, it is in the B2B space. In fact, in 2019 alone, the logistics sector witnessed a capital infusion of $6.25 billion - a six-fold increase from last year. So, what makes the logistics sector an interesting bet?

Woman-led Capacita Connect gives RAIN its first exit

Jaipur-based skill development startup Capacita Connect became the first startup to give an exit to Rajasthan Angel Innovators’ Network (RAIN). The woman-led startup was founded in 2017 by Shipra Bhutani, Nimish Bhutani, and Vivek Lodha. The startup turned profitable in FY 2019, and is aiming for global presence by 2021.

Shipra Bhutani, Co-Founder, Capacita Connect

TikTok-maker to launch music streaming service in India

Chinese company ByteDance is developing a music streaming service to take on the likes of Spotify and Apple Music. Currently the world's most valuable startup at $75 billion, ByteDance is the company that made TikTok. It plans to tap into emerging markets with a free/ad-supported model as well as a subscription-based model.

Ethnic-wear startup Craftsvilla raises Rs 6 Cr

Mumbai-based Craftsvilla, an online retailer of ethnic brands, raised Rs 6 crore from Singapore-based parent company Supera Investments. With an aim to push its offline foray, the company plans to invest Rs 100 crore to open 1,000 outlets next year. Craftsvilla has received about Rs 30 crore from Supera this year.

Influencer marketing agency leaks Instagram data of 49M users

Mumbai-based Chtrbox connects Instagram influencers with brands. The company left a large database exposed on an AWS server, containing public information like bio, picture, location and private data like phone number, etc. Facebook-owned Instagram said it is investigating the matter.

Google's AI model can predict lung cancer

Tech giant Google announced its new research - an AI model that can predict lung cancer. This will help boost survival rates with a 94.4 percent success rate. The research was initiated in late 2017, and used advances in 3D volumetric modelling alongside datasets from its partners. The model uses a current CT scan and if possible, past CT scans as input for each patient to give an overall malignancy prediction.

Endiya Partners completes first close of new fund

Endiya Partners, an early-stage investment fund, announced that it has completed the first close of its second fund "Endiya Partners Fund 2" at $40 million. The fund, which is supposed to be the largest B2B-focussed seed fund, is expected to have a total corpus of $70 million. The firm aims to hit its final close by the end of 2019.