Propelling deeptech startups

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Since April this year, Apple Inc.’s iPhone exports from India crossed $1 billion. At this rate, outbound shipments of India-made iPhones, mainly to Europe and the Middle East, are set to reach $2.5 billion by March 2023, Bloomberg reported citing sources.

That’s almost double the $1.3 billion worth of iPhones India exported in the year through March 2022, signalling that the country is on its way to becoming a global electronics manufacturing hub.

On the other hand, the European Parliament has approved a law that would require electronic devices to use a common charger — a USB Type-C charger.

If passed, all mobile phones, tablets, and cameras sold in the European Union must be equipped with the same charging port by the end of 2024. This means, Apple, which uses its proprietary lightning charger, would now need to include the common charging type if it were to sell its iPhones in the EU.

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ICYMI: Mr Doodle doodled around his house for three years to fulfil his childhood dream, and it’s nothing like the back of our notebooks! 

In today’s newsletter, we will talk about 

• Propelling deeptech startups 
• Traxcn’s public foray
• Funding in India’s fintech sector 

Here’s your trivia for today: 'Hobby horse' was the first 'mass production' name of which invention? 

Deeptech

Propelling deeptech startups 

The National Centre for Combustion Research and Development (NCCRD) has supported seven deeptech startups since its inception, including the likes of Agnikul Cosmos and The ePlane Company. 

A brainchild of Satyanarayanan R. Chakravarthy, better known as Professor Satya, the centre was established to provide a large-scale research and development facility for massive global industrial projects to validate their work in India. 

Inside NCCRD:

• The pioneering combustion centre at IIT Madras started with an investment of Rs 90 crore.
• NCCRD provides deeptech support for its startups, access to world-class facilities, a faculty with a personal interest in the projects, a shared workspace with researchers from global industry giants, and some investment from the IIT-Madras incubation cell.
• Speciale Invest, a deeptech-focussed VC fund that has invested in at least four NCCRD startups

IPO

Tracxn’s public foray 

Bengaluru-based private market data company Tracxn Technologies will open its initial public offering (IPO) from October 10 to October 12 and has fixed the issue price band at Rs 75-80.

Tracxn's IPO will comprise an offer for sale of 38,672,208 equity shares by promoters and other key shareholders. Investors can bid for a minimum of 185 equity shares, and in multiples of 185 equity shares thereafter.

Tracking data:

• Co-founders Abhishek Goyal and Neha Singh will offload up to 7,662,655 equity shares each. 
• The IPO will also see Flipkart co-founders Binny Bansal and Sachin Bansal offloading up to 1,263,096 equity shares each.
• In FY22, it reported a revenue of Rs 63.45 crore from operations, a rise of 44.94% compared to Rs 43.78 crore in fiscal 2020-21, primarily due to an increase in income from the sale of subscription services of its platform.

Fintech

Funding in India’s fintech sector 

Fintech startups, especially those in the growth stages, are struggling to raise capital. 

Funding in the sector peaked in the fourth quarter of 2021 and has been on a decline ever since, with late-stage funding taking the maximum hit—down almost 45% in August 2022 from the same month last year, according to a report by Tracxn.

Key takeaways:

• The country’s market share in terms of global funding for the fintech sector has increased to 6.1% in the first eight months compared to 5.1% in the same period last year. 
• The most active investors (VC) in the Indian fintech space are BeeNext and Blume Ventures (Seed), Tiger Global Management and Sequoia Capital (Early), and SoftBank Vision and DST Global (Late). 
• Niyo, KhataBook, Clear, smallcase, Turtlemint, Rupeek, M2P Fintech, FamPay, InCred, and Lendingkart are among the top 10 fintech soonicorns in the Tracxn list. 

News & updates

• TikTok around the world: TikTok reported a 5X surge in turnover to $1 billion across its operations in international markets, including the UK and Europe last year, as trend-setting teens and young adults continue to make the video-sharing platform the hottest social app of the moment.
• Under Pressure: Credit Suisse shares briefly sank to an all-time low this week while credit default swaps hit a record high, as the market’s skittishness about the Swiss bank’s future became abundantly clear.
• Worms for plastic: Enzymes that rapidly break down plastic bags have been discovered in the saliva of wax worms, which are moth larvae that infest beehives. The enzymes are the first reported to break down polyethylene within hours at room temperature and could lead to cost-effective ways of recycling the plastic.

'Hobby horse' was the first 'mass production' name of which invention?

Answer: Bicycle

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