Startup news and updates: daily roundup (Sep 26, 2022)

Aarav Unmanned Systems rebrands to Aereo

Drone startup Aarav Unmanned Systems has rebranded itself to Aereo, as the company pivots towards a "Make in India, for the World" mission statement.

Founded in 2013, the Bengaluru-based company provides end-to-end drone technology-based solutions to enterprises across mining, urban planning, large-scale topography mapping, irrigation, infrastructure, and other use cases.

So far, Aereo has mapped more than 5.5 million acres in India, in over 30,000 villages and 45 cities. It has also surveyed 500 mines and 350 stockyards or mining, metal, and power companies like Tata Steel, Hindalco, and Coal India.

Vipul Singh, Co-founder and CEO, said, "Aereo represents the new energy, new ideas, and the new technology that we have got to offer to the world. Our solutions are proven, delivering impact on large scale applications for governments and enterprises. Aereo embodies our drive to relentlessly innovate even more impactful solutions that cater to more and more applications.”

Edtech platform PrepInsta sees 20% Y-o-Y growth in Aug 2022

PrepInsta, a startup that helps train and place users, has announced a 20% average salary increment year-on-year for students on its platform. On an average, students were able to get a Rs 7.6 lakh salary package, with the highest earning student bagging Rs 47 lakh per annum.

"We saw some interesting stories and dreams come true. For instance, a student from non-tech background pursuing chemistry getting placed in Amazon at Rs 47 LPA and a mechanical student getting placed in JusPay. We are constantly striving to develop a placement-centric online pedagogy based on technology that not only supports and builds productive employees but also backs strong placement and corporate relations support," said Atulya Kaushik, CEO and co-founder of PrepInsta.

The company expects the number of placements to be two to three times higher in October 2022 compared to August, due to the fact that many service-based companies such as TCS, Wipro, and Infosys are yet to conduct interviews.

Two Indian paint-tech startups join Akzo Nobel's accelerator program

Bengaluru-based Hyperreality Technologies and Mumbai-based Fluid AI were the winners of Akzo Nobel's 'Paint The Future' startup challenge, and have signed letters of intent to join the global coatings company's accelerator program.

“Over the next six months, the goal is clear–to work together with our winners and develop a digital value proposition," said Oscar Wezenbeek, Managing Director, AkzoNobel Decorative Paints, South-East South Asia (SESA) and Chairman Akzo Nobel India Limited.

HyperReality Technologies is working on a collaborative platform for inspiration and visualisation of a customer's space through metaverse tech, and Fluid AI is building a multi-channel conversational immersive and interactive AI platform to guide consumers during their painting journey.

Indian employees to see over 10.4% salary increase in 2023: Survey

The 28th annual Aon Salary Survey has found that salaries of Indian employees are set to increase by 10.4% in 2023, compared to a 10.6% increase in 2022. This was against a projected increase of 9.9% by Aon in February.

This increase is partially explained by the high attrition rate in the country's workforce of 20.3% in the first half of 2022. In comparison, the attrition rate in 2021 was 21%, and this is maintaining the pressure on employers to increase salaries.

Four out of the five sectors that are expected to have the highest projected salary increase are technology related and experience the highest volatility and impact of current global economic uncertainty. Ecommerce leads the way with an expected salary increase of 12.8%, followed by startups at 12.7%, hi-tech/information technology and information technology-enabled services at 11.3%, and financial institutions at 10.7%.

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