Startup news and updates: daily roundup (May 14, 2021)

PE/VC deals slowing down because of second COVID-19 wave: EY

The ongoing second COVID-19 wave is affecting private equity and venture capital investments in terms of the deal numbers witnessed in April, a report said on Thursday. However, going by deal value, the PE and VC investments jumped to $ 7.5 billion in April, up 37 percent over March's $ 5.5 billion, and 6.5 times higher than the $ 1.1 billion registered in April 2020, during the national lockdown after the first wave, the report by consultancy firm EY and industry lobby Indian Venture Capital Association said.

Facebook to roll out new campaign in India to fight COVID-related misinformation

Facebook on Thursday said it will roll out a new campaign in India in the coming weeks to "educate and inform people" about how to detect misinformation related to COVID-19, and encourage users to check the information they receive against an authentic source. The social networking giant has removed over 12 million pieces of "harmful" misinformation on COVID-19 globally from Instagram and its own platform during the pandemic, including falsehoods about approved vaccines.

Airtel Payments Bank launches 'DigiGold' platform for customers to invest in gold

Airtel Payments Bank on Thursday launched DigiGold, a digital platform for its customers to make investments in gold. DigiGold, which allows customers to start with an investment of as low as Re 1, has been launched in partnership with SafeGold, a provider of digital gold. With DigiGold, Airtel Payments Bank's savings account customers can invest in 24K gold using the Airtel app

Bitcoin slips below $50k after Elon Musk says Tesla won't take it

The price of bitcoin fell below 50,000 on Thursday morning after Tesla CEO Elon Musk tweeted a day earlier that the electric car maker would stop accepting the digital currency as payment for its vehicles. Musk on Wednesday cited environmental concerns for the change in policy.

Samsung brings 60 oxygen concentrators from South Korea for UP, 30 of them for Noida

Samsung Electronics provided 60 oxygen concentrators to Uttar Pradesh, half of them to Gautam Buddh Nagar district on Thursday, as the South Korean company joined efforts to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic in the state, officials said. The help comes as part of corporate social responsibility (CSR) of Samsung, which has its biggest mobile phone-manufacturing factory at Gautam Buddh Nagar, Noida, and is one of the leading investors in Uttar Pradesh, the officials said.

Ola launches its electric ride-hailing category in London in 'global first'

Indian ride-hailing company Ola on Thursday announced that it is launching a new electric vehicle (EV) category on its platform, which will allow riders in London to specifically book rides in a fully electric vehicle. The new category called Ola EV has been described as a "global first" for Ola and will be available across the UK capital from this week and over time will be rolled out to other cities around the world.

Government pro-actively looking for action on WhatsApp privacy issue: MeitY official

The government is "pro-actively" looking at best possible options around WhatsApp's new privacy rules, a senior Ministry of Electronics and IT official said on Thursday. WhatsApp had set May 15 for its users to accept a change in privacy policy but later scrapped the deadline for users to accept the controversial update. The instant mobile messaging firm has also said that not accepting the terms will not lead to the deletion of accounts.

Health and wellness startup ThriveFNC raises seed round (Funding)

ThriveFNC, a Pune-based startup focussed on reversing lifestyle disorders, on Friday announced that it has raised an undisclosed amount of funding from Rajesh Ranavat, Executive Director at Fung Strategic Investments. With this funding, the startup aims to focus on increasing market reach and growth.

Arzooo rolls out COVID-19 vaccine slot tracker

Retail-tech startup Arzooo on Thursday announced the launch of a COVID-19 vaccine slot tracker on its business-to-business platform as well as its main website. Arzooo said the latest initiative would enable people to check availability, and also get notified for the next available vaccine slots.