Startup news and updates: Daily roundup (September 27, 2021)

Fin-edtech startup Akudo raises $4.2M seed round from Y Combinator, JAFCO Asia, Incubate Fund India, and marquee angels

Akudo, a learning-focused neobank for teenagers in India, on Monday announced that it has raised $4.2 million in its seed round led by Y Combinator, JAFCO Asia, Incubate Fund India, and AET Fund. The round also saw participation from Tribe Capital, Cabra Capital, and marquee angels like Lalit Keshre (Co-founder Groww), Rohit Taneja (Co-Founder Decentro), Anup Singh (Ex Axis Bank, ICICI Bank), Romeen Sheth (Metasys), Sriram Krishnan (Ex Spotify, Tinder), Mohit Daga and more. 

Kerala one of top 20 global ecosystems in affordable talent as per GSER 2021: KSUM

Kerala was featured in the 2021 Global Startup Ecosystem Report (GSER) as one of the top 20 global ecosystems in terms of affordable talent, which is an encouraging development for startups in the state during the COVID pandemic, KSUM said on Sunday. Kerala Startup Mission (KSUM), in a release said the report also ranks the state as the fifth Asian Ecosystem in the affordable talent category.

India needs 4-5 'SBI size' banks to meet growing needs of economy: FM

India needs 4-5 "SBI size" banks to meet the growing needs of the economy and industry, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Sunday. Addressing the 74th Annual General Meeting of the Indian Banks' Association (IBA), she said the industry needs to imagine how Indian banking has to be in the immediate and long-term future. As far as the long-term future is concerned, she said it is going to be largely driven by digitised processes and there is a need for seamless and interconnected digital systems for a sustainable future for the Indian banking industry.