Startup news and updates: daily roundup (September 22, 2022)

SentinelOne Launches S Ventures Fund

SentinelOne, an autonomous cybersecurity company, launched S Ventures, a $100 million fund to invest in the next generation of category-defining security and data companies.

“Our focus on cybersecurity and data innovation brings SentinelOne’s technology and engineering expertise, go-to-market, and customer base to S Ventures portfolio companies. We’re committed to investing in innovation that solves mission-critical problems for the enterprise – and digital society at large,” said Tomer Weingarten, CEO, SentinelOne.

S Ventures will invest across all stages of the startup lifecycle with a focus on security and data companies that bring innovative use cases to the Singularity Marketplace, the company’s open application ecosystem allowing security teams to extend Singularity XDR use cases.

HP to enable 2,000 digital classrooms across government schools in India

HP India would enable up to 2,000 digital classrooms under the HP ALFA (Accessible Learning for All) initiative. These digital classrooms will be set up in government or government-aided schools across 17 states for the students of classes 9 to 12.

HP is inviting corporate foundations and NGOs to participate in this initiative, and the last date to submit requests is October 7, 2022. HP will fund the capital expenditure required to equip each classroom with technology, including multi-function printers, webcams, a laptop for teachers, smart TVs, Android boxes, and an internet dongle for connectivity. 

Implementation will be managed by HP’s NGO partner NIIT Foundation, with active support from other corporate foundations and NGOs, which will deploy cluster coordinators to monitor project implementation and progress across different clusters.

Usha Financial on-boards Nupur Gupta as non-executive director

Usha Financial an emerging finance service company in India onboarded Nupur Gupta as a non-executive director for formulating and overseeing the corporate strategies of the company. 

Nupur holds a business administration bachelor's degree and finished her entrepreneurship course at Harvard Business School. With over two years of experience in company management, Nupur will be in charge of objectively reviewing the executive team's plans and contributing to the formulation and oversight of corporate strategy by offering constructive criticism and a broader perspective on the external factors affecting the business.

Usha Financial works with a diversified portfolio, including loans for small NBFCs, MSME loans, and small and medium loans. It also recently forayed into the EV and agriculture segment.

PhysicsWallah appoints Imran Rashid as VP - Product Partnerships

Edtech platform Physics Wallah has appointed Imran Rashid as Vice President of Product Partnership, who will focus on partnerships with schools and edu-preneurs, expanding its franchise model PW Pathshala, and educational retailers across India. 

He will also focus on enhancing PW’s school tech associated with college and career readiness for K12 schools. 

An IIT (BHU) alumnus, Imran brings over a decade of experience in edu-preneurship. He started providing tech-enabled e-learning services to 300+ schools in his final year in college, followed by a collaboration with the Uttar Pradesh government, where he helped digitise over 1,000 schools.

He also founded a startup called Aptence that aims to develop aptitude and critical thinking skills like reasoning, problem-solving, and decision-making through gamification. 

Brands are playing their cards right with advertising on mobile games, says InMobi report

InMobi released the findings of its latest Mobile Game Advertising 2022 report for India. According to the report, 75% of brands have been advertising on mobile game apps for over a year, leading to a two-fold increase in gaming ad spending since the pandemic.

InMobi surveyed 205 Indian mobile marketing leaders, including senior executives from brands and media organisations, as part of this study. The report also reveals how brands and agencies are addressing the four most common myths associated with mobile game advertising that might be preventing wider adoption.

(This article will be updated with the latest news throughout the day.)