A stellar week for Indian startups: IPO, M&As, and a new unicorn

The fourth week of July was truly momentous for the Indian startup ecosystem — one of its leading members listed on the stock markets, another made entry into the unicorn club, and an edtech decacorn went on an inorganic quest.

Zomato went public on Friday and received a good response on the stock exchange. The foodtech unicorn shares opened at Rs 116 per share on the National Stock Exchange (NSE) and rose rapidly to a level of Rs 133. The market capitalisation crossed Rs 1 lakh crore, with over 40 crore shares being traded.

Edtech decacorn BYJU'S acquired one more company, and this time in the US — Epic — for $500 million. The acquisition is aimed to support BYJU'S larger strategy of bridging the learning gap among kids in the US. It confirmed it is looking to make $300 million in revenue from the US in a year.

Lastly, we had online trucking startup BlackBuck entering the unicorn club after raising Series E funding of $67 million led by Tribe Capital, IFC Emerging Asia Fund, and VEF, among others. 

Amidst these defining moments, the venture funding during the week stood at $547 million, which was more than double the amount recorded in the comparable previous week. There were 28 deals during the week, with an overwhelming number of them in the early-stage deals.

Read all about how the Indian startup ecosystem is battling the second wave of COVID-19 here.

Here are some useful tools to help you find the nearest vaccine centres in real-time.

You can also share a tribute to COVID-19 warriors, saviours, and survivors here.

The Interview

Catch Gulshan Saluja, Co-founder, Healthcoco, and Amway Direct Sellers as they discuss how the health and wellness industry has evolved and how it has changed their perception about passion and purpose in an engaging discussion.

Editor’s Pick: Meet Tahmima Anam, the author of ‘The Startup Wife’

In 2020, Bangladesh-born British writer Tahmima Anam created a fake website that showcased a secret incubator called Utopia and its fictional startups. It caught the attention of some investors who didn’t know it was fake.

The fictitious company was called EMTI and was part of an elaborate satire by Tahmima before she set out to write her novel, ‘The Startup Wife’. Read on more to know what the comical and satirical book has in store for you. 

Startup Spotlight

Converting a Rs 198 Starbucks coffee into an investment opportunity

What if your late-night binge on Swiggy could net you monetary returns, along with satiating your hunger? What if saving money became second nature to you, so much so that you set aside a little every month to invest?

Chennai-based micro-investing app, Roundups, rounds up users’ expenditure to the nearest hundred and invests the spare change in a mutual fund, which means if you bought a book off of Amazon for Rs 180, the app rounds it off to Rs 200, and invests the spare change, i.e, Rs 20. Read more.

News & Updates

• Manipur-based weightlifter Mirabai Chanu ended India's 21-year wait for a weightlifting medal at the Olympics by clinching a silver medal in the 49kg category to open the country's account in Tokyo on Saturday.

• Digitisation has provided an impetus to the startup ecosystem in India, and IPOs will drive the country's startup revolution, Niti Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant said while addressing a virtual event organised by Innovation Venturing and Entrepreneurship in India Network (iVEIN).

• Tesla may set up a manufacturing unit in India if it succeeds with imported vehicles in the country, according to company CEO Elon Musk. He, however, said that at present, import duties in India are "the highest in the world" and is hoping for "at least a temporary tariff relief for electric vehicles".

• Amazon India said it has expanded its fulfilment network in Bihar with the launch of a new specialised fulfilment centre in Patna. With a storage capacity of close to 3 lakh cubic feet, the new warehouse is specialised to store and process customer orders from the large appliances and furniture category.

Before you go, stay inspired with… 

“BlackBuck started with a dream to re-imagine trucking, to make it 10X simple and 10X efficient. It has been six years and we are just getting started to make a difference.”

— Rajesh Yabaji, Co-founder and CEO of BlackBuck

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