Ride an EV without buying one

Hello Reader,

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has a vision for India. "Today, India is working with a new mindset and new work culture," he said as he laid the foundation stone for a C-295 medium transport plane manufacturing facility in Vadodara. 

The first Made-in-India aircraft to be rolled out in September 2026 will be produced by a consortium of European aerospace major Airbus and the Tata Group. The remaining 39 will be produced by August 2031.

In other news, Adani Group now eyes a $1 trillion valuation. For this, the ports-to-energy conglomerate has planned to invest $150 billion across various businesses. 

According to CFO Jugeshinder 'Robbie' Singh, the group plans to invest $50-70 billion in green hydrogen business and another $23 billion in green energy over the next 5-10 years. It will also invest $7 billion in electricity transmission, $12 billion in transport utility, and $5 billion in the road sector.

ICYMI: Archivists have discovered the oldest known map of the stars under a Christian manuscript.

What a way to keep things secret!

In today’s newsletter, we will talk about 

• Ride an EV without buying one
• Changing the course of startup investments
• A cricket strategy game

Here’s your trivia for today: Which brand overtook Coca-Cola as the most well-known brand globally in 1996?

Startup

Ride an EV without buying one

Electric vehicles (EVs) may play a critical role in the future of mobility but the journey so far has been fraught with challenges. While customers may fundamentally be in favour of switching to electric alternatives, when it comes to buying one, they are still hesitant. 

Here is where SWYTCHD hopes to make a difference by helping customers ride EVs without the hassles of ownership—through an affordable monthly subscription model. 

Comfortable riding:

• The Bengaluru-based startup, founded in December 2021 by Sameer Arif, offers a range of EVs (both two-wheelers and cars) on a monthly subscription model. 
• The subscription includes costs of insurance, general servicing, maintenance (including normal wear and tear), breakdown support, and charging refunds, up to a maximum distance of 1,200 km a month. 
• It has partnered with Bounce as the official leasing and subscription partner for its Infinity scooter. 
• Besides, the company also offers two-wheelers from Ather, Revolt Motors, Hero, and Ola, and cars such as TATA Tigor XZ+, TATA Nexon EV XZ+ Lux, Hyundai Kona Premium, and MG ZS EV Exclusive.

Investor

Changing the course of startup investments

Three seasoned women professionals with diverse work experience and educational backgrounds—from IIT and ISB—came together to set up a venture capital (VC) fund to create a sharp differentiation with their startup investments.

Founded in 2019, Enzia Ventures is an early-stage VC firm founded by Jayshree Kanther Patodi, Karuna Jain, and Namita Dalmia, who believe a sector-focused fund will generate better outcomes than a broad-based approach to investment.

Key takeaways:

• Enzia Ventures invests in early-stage companies in three sectors—healthcare, education, and environment. 
• Before receiving its licence from SEBI in September 2021, the VC firm invested as a syndicate, similar to an angel investment platform, and made about five investments.
• It plans to invest in 15-20 startups at the seed to the pre-Series A stage with a cheque size of Rs 4-5 crore. It aims to devote around one-third of the $40 million fund to each of the three sectors. 

Gaming

A cricket strategy game

Keerti Singh and Kashyap Reddy, Co-founders of Hitwicket, launched the mobile cricket strategy game in 2015. The game combines the adrenaline rush of playing cricket with the thoughtful brainstorming that goes into owning and coaching a cricket team. 

In this episode of the Prime Venture Podcast, the co-founders talk about building the world’s largest cricket strategy game. From India’s evolving gaming landscape to the rise of Web3 gaming, they discuss it all.

Hitting out of the park:

• Hitwicket is different from its competitors as it’s accessible to players across different age groups, genders, and geographic locations. That, in turn, has helped enhance its mass appeal.
• The powerful gameplay experience has helped Hitwicket attract over three million downloads across 70 countries.
• The use of technologies like blockchain and decentralisation lets developers add new layers to enhance the gaming experience. 
• Players can now play to earn real money and trade their assets from a game in an independent marketplace.

News & updates

• A Musk-Twitter effect?: Dogecoin is receiving tremendous boost from a number of positive stimulus over the last few days as it maintains its bullish momentum. The dog-themed cryptocurrency was able to increase 125% in the past seven days and has also gone up by 129% on its biweekly performance.
• Escaping COVID: Workers are departing Apple Inc.’s biggest iPhone plant in China, seeking to escape hastily enacted COVID measures that left many of the 200,000 staff grappling with inadequate living conditions.
• Warning from IMF: Asia and Pacific countries could lose over 3% in gross domestic product if trade is cut off in sectors hit by recent US chip sanctions on China and if non-tariff barriers in other areas are raised to “Cold War-era levels,” the IMF said in research. 

Here’s what you should watch out for

• National Unity Day

Which brand overtook Coca-Cola as the most well-known brand globally in 1996?

Answer: McDonald's

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