Startup news and updates: Daily roundup (September 17, 2021)

Biocon Biologics to offer 15 pc stake to Serum Institute Life Sciences at valuation of $4.9B

Biocon Biologics, a subsidiary of Biocon, on Thursday said it will offer around 15 percent stake to Serum Institute Life Sciences at a post-money valuation of about $ 4.9 billion. Serum Institute Life Sciences (SILS) is a subsidiary of Serum Institute of India (SII). For offering the 15 percent stake, Biocon Biologics Ltd (BBL) will get committed access to 100 million doses of vaccines per annum for 15 years, primarily from SILS' upcoming vaccine facility in Pune with commercialisation rights of the SILS vaccine portfolio, including COVID-19 vaccines, for the global market, Biocon said in a regulatory filing.

Codeless AI-platform Pyxis One raises $17M from Celesta Capital, Premji Invest

California-based Pyxis One has raised $17 million in a Series B funding round co-led by Celesta Capital, a Silicon Valley-based investment firm, and Premji Invest, according to a release shared by the company.

The round also saw participation from existing investors - pi Ventures, Chiratae Ventures, and Exfinity Venture Partners.

Belfrics to resume crypto and blockchain operations in India with $15M investment

Global blockchain and crypto exchange firm Belfrics today announced it is expanding its business operations in India with an investment of $15 million. It plans to invest $10 million for the Beflrics crypto exchange and the rest in its blockchain platform. The startup is looking at resuming the operations of its crypto currency exchange along with its flagship blockchain platform ‘Belrium’, it said in a statement. In 2018, it had put its crypto operations in India on hold after the RBI had banned banks from supporting crypto platforms and transactions.

India has 4.8M women learners on platform, second highest globally: Coursera

Edtech major Coursera on Thursday said India accounts for the second-largest base of women learners on its platform, with 4.8 million registered women learners. Women in India are learning online at higher rates compared to pre-pandemic, representing 44 percent of new learners in 2021, up from 37 percent in 2019, according to Coursera data. "With 4.8 million registered woman learners, India ranks second worldwide for the highest number of registered women learners on Coursera," the company said in a statement.