Startup news and updates: daily roundup (June 4, 2021)
YourStory presents this daily roundup of the latest startup news and updates from the Indian startup ecosystem and beyond. Here's the roundup for Friday, June 4, 2021.
India among top markets for Clubhouse within weeks of launch
India features among the top markets for Clubhouse within weeks of launch of the voice-based social networking app in the country, according to senior company officials.
The platform, which launched its Android version and expanded to the Indian market last month, also said it will work towards following the recently announced social media rules in the country.
Reliance spends Rs 1,140 Cr under CSR initiatives in 2020-21
Reliance Industries spent Rs 1,140 crore in the fiscal ending March 2021 on corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives, including COVID-19 support, rural transformation, education, health, sports, and disaster response.
According to the company's latest annual report, Reliance had spent Rs 1,022 crore in 2019-20 on CSR initiatives.
VC firm Artha Venture Fund announces final close of Rs 220 Cr debut fund
Artha Venture Fund (AVF), a Mumbai-based early-stage micro-VC fund, announced the final close of its debut fund at Rs 220 crore.
In a statement, AVF said, 50+ limited partners (LPs) participated in the fund, with almost half of the LPs increasing their investment commitments in the last three months. More than 50 percent of the investments came from family offices, and from over 20 listed companies participating directly or through promoter entities. NRIs, HNIs, super angels, and SIDBI invested the remaining capital.
Twitter launches subscription offering in Canada, Australia
Microblogging platform Twitter has announced the launch of Twitter Blue, its first subscription service that will offer exclusive features, including undoing tweets within a stipulated time.
The "first iteration" of Twitter Blue is being rolled out in Australia and Canada, and the service will be available for a monthly price of CAD 3.49 (about Rs 210) or AUD 4.49.
US President Joe Biden announces international COVID-19 vaccine-sharing plan
US President Joe Biden has announced that the US will allocate 75 percent - nearly 1.9 crore of the first tranche of 2.5 crore doses - of unused COVID-19 vaccines from its stockpile through the UN-backed COVAX global vaccine sharing programme to countries in South and Southeast Asia as well as Africa as part of his administration's framework for sharing 80 million (8 crore) vaccines globally by the end of June.
