Startup news and updates: Daily roundup (October 7, 2021)

Alia Bhatt invests in D2C startup Phool.co (Funding)

Actor and entrepreneur Alia Bhatt has invested in Phoola startup that focuses on flowercycling technologies to upcycle cellulose waste and specialises in manufacturing charcoal-free incense and other wellness products.

Earlier, Phool.co had raised $2 million in a seed round from IAN Fund, Social Alpha (FISE), Draper Richards Kaplan Foundation (San Francisco), and IIT Kanpur.

Paytm valuation at $20B, excluding new business potential: Damodaran

Digital payments and financial services firm Paytm's valuation is around $ 20 billion if the potential of its new business is excluded, according to US-based valuation expert Aswath Damodaran.

Damodaran, a professor specialising in finance at the Stern School of Business at New York University, values the unlisted shares of the IPO-bound firm at Rs 2,950 apiece.

Twin Health raises $140M in Series C round to scale up its service (Funding)

California and Chennai-based healthcare startup Twin Health raised $140 million (around Rs 1,000 crore) in Series C funding from Sequoia Capital India, ICONIQ Capital, Perceptive Advisors, Corner Ventures, LTS Investments, Helena, and Sofina.

Founded in 2018 by Jahangir Mohammed, Twin Health developed a precision health platform, Whole Body Digital Twin, to help people reverse and prevent chronic metabolic diseases while improving their energy and physical health.

Flipkart’s social commerce arm Shopsy records 40x growth

Shopsy, the social commerce offering from Flipkart, has recorded 40x growth since its launch in July this year. The platform has over 2.5 lakh sellers, 51 lakh users, and a catalogue of over 150 million products.

Under Shopsy, any user can register on the app using their phone number, and set up their business without the need for investment, inventory, or logistics management. Users can share catalogues with potential customers via popular social media and messaging apps, place orders on their behalf, and earn commissions on the transactions.

Reliance Retail to run 7-Eleven convenience stores in India

Reliance Retail Ventures Limited (RRVL) on Thursday said it has entered into a Master Franchise agreement with 7-Eleven to run convenience stores in India. The first 7-Eleven store is set to open on Saturday, in Andheri East, Mumbai, RRVL, the retail arm of Reliance Industries Ltd, said.

Retained top spot in electric two-wheeler space with sales of over 6,500 units in September: Hero Electric

Hero Electric on Wednesday said it has retained top position in the electric two-wheeler segment with sales of over 6,500 units last month.

The overall rise in demand for electric vehicles fuelled the growth for Hero Electric high speed vehicles, securing its top position in the segment, the company said in a statement. The company's city speed scooters Optima and NYX in the high speed category continue to drive the sales, it added.