Startup news and updates: daily roundup (November 21, 2022)

Edtech startup Skill-Lync acquires Crio

Engineering-focused edtech startup Skill-Lync has acquired Crio.do, an experiential learning platform for tech careers, in an effort to enhance its offerings in the higher education space.

Both Skill-Lync and Crio have been working towards providing high-quality experiential learning opportunities to consumers. Through the acquisition, both companies aim to support over 25,000 students with relevant jobs in the next 2-3 years. Crio will operate as an independent brand under the Skill-Lync Group.

“Crio focussed on computer sciences and Skill-Lync focussed on mechanical, electrical, electronics and civil engineering. Today, as both the companies come together, we believe that we have a unique opportunity to build one of the best higher education platforms where we can provide value at scale,” said SuryaNarayanan PaneerSelvam, Co-founder, Skill-Lync, said in a statement.

Founded by former Flipkart and Google employees, Crio offers experiential learning programmes for professionals and students and helps them land their dream jobs in tech. The startup is backed by Binny Bansal and other former Flipkart employees.

Shadowfax launches Express service 

Shadowfax Technology, a crowdsourced third-party logistics platform providing last-mile delivery services, has launched Shadowfax Express to facilitate same-day ecommerce delivery service for D2C brands. The service is available in all Indian metro cities. 

With Shadowfax Express, the logistics platform will extend its delivery services until 11 pm, with a wide array of pickup time options at optimal cost. Shadowfax will also provide air delivery across multiple locations.

“The service (Shadowfax Express) enables a unique, never-seen-before mix of hyperlocal hub along with spoke logistics aided with air movement which gives D2C brands a super-fast experience to the consumer at a great cost,” Praharsh Chandra, Co-founder and CBO, Shadowfax, said in a statement.

Shadowfax recently partnered with Shiprocket and Zomato. With Shiprocket, Shadowfax has started same-day and next-day delivery for D2C brands. With Zomato, it has begun next-day food delivery across the major metros of the country through its Inter-City Legends programme.

HDFC Bank partners with Flywire

HDFC Bank has partnered with Flywire Corporation, a global payments enablement and software company, to enable Indian payers to seamlessly and digitally pay international education fees to higher education institutions all over the world. 

The integration would provide students and families with a streamlined experience when making high-value tuition payments and help them comply with Liberalised Remittance Scheme requirements.

“Our combined network and scale of solutions will allow students and families to conveniently and securely manage their international payments, whether they’re in India or abroad. By partnering with Flywire, we’re expanding the footprint of our payments solutions to benefit the next generation of students,” Jatinder Gupta, Business Head - Retail Trade and Forex, HDFC Bank, said in a statement.

According to the company, through the partnership, students can make payments in Indian rupees and benefit from a secure and streamlined payment experience, with an assurance that the funds are delivered to the educational institution. Likewise, institutions accepting payments through Flywire can benefit from receiving payments on time, in the local currency, and full transparency into the transaction history.

Unacademy signs MoU with Govt of Rajasthan

Learning platform Unacademyhas announced the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Rajasthan Council of School Education, Department of Education, Government of Rajasthan, to enable government students to prepare for various competitive exams.

Unacademy will offer subscription-based scholarships to 1,500 learners to help them achieve their goals. It will identify 1,000 children from government schools in Rajasthan through a series of aptitude tests. Students from class 9 till graduation can apply for the test.

The learning platform will extend scholarships to up to 500 top-ranking girl students under its national programme ‘Shikshodaya’. 

Unacademy will also organise sessions to help scholarship students with career-related queries through structured guidance sessions on upskilling and emerging career opportunities.

GlobalLogic acquires Fortech

Global Logic announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Fortech, a software engineering services company based in Romania. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

The acquisition will help GlobalLogic further expand its customer and talent base as it aims to address the robust global demand for digital transformation, the company said, adding that Fortech’s seasoned leaders will bring valuable technical and domain experience along with

strong relationships across European markets and marquee clients.

“Fortech is a leading firm with proven track record and specialisation in technology that is needed for digital evolution,” said Nitesh Banga, President and CEO, GlobalLogic. “This acquisition will further enhance GlobalLogic’s presence in Europe, and accelerate our access to the rich technical talent in Romania; it will arm Fortech with the resources and strong backing of GlobalLogic and Hitachi.”

Under the agreement, Fortech will continue to operate with its existing leadership and staff as a wholly owned subsidiary of GlobalLogic. The transaction is subject to customary regulatory approval and is expected to close by the end of calendar Q4, 2022.

Koo launches in Brazil

Microblogging platform Koo App was launched in Brazil with the addition of the Portuguese language, making the social networking service available in 11 native languages now.

The company claims that within 48 hours of launch, the platform received over 1 million user downloads. Celebrities from Brazil, like Claudia Leitte, Actor Babu Santana, Author Rosana Hermann, and News portal Choquei have joined Koo App, the Bengaluru-based firm noted.

“We are very happy to see the kind of love and support Brazil has shown us. It's great to be the top app in both the Google Play Store and Apple App Store in Brazil within 48 hours of being known in the country. This support is a testimony that we are solving a problem for native language speaking users not only in India, but across the world,” Aprameya Radhakrishna, CEO and Co-founder, Koo, said in a statement.

Koo said it aims to make the app available to more countries and launch in multiple global languages. It will soon offer the ability to import tweets and follow lists from Twitter to a Koo account.

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