SVB contagion spreads

Hello,

The fallout from Silicon Valley Bank’s shutdown has claimed another scalp.

New York-based Signature Bank saw customers withdraw over $10 billion on Friday after the sudden collapse of SVB, leading US regulators to take over the bank on Sunday to “protect its depositors and the stability of the US financial system,” reported CNBC. This marks the third-largest bank failure in US history.

Another bank, San Francisco-based First Republic saw its shares plunge 60% in pre-market trading on Monday despite announcing fresh funding from the Federal Reserve and JPMorgan Chase (JPM) on Sunday and announcing that it has $70 billion in unused liquidity.

In fact, multiple regional banks across the US saw their stocks fall on Monday as investors rushed to minimise their exposure, reported Bloomberg.

All this despite President Joe Biden assuring that the US banking system was safe and that SVB and Signature depositors will have access to their accounts starting Monday. He also called for tougher regulation and accountability.

But most of India’s attention was elsewhere—the country had a big night at the Oscars. RRR banger Naatu Naatu took home the Best Original Song trophy, while short documentary The Elephant Whisperers impressed the Academy's judges.

ICYMI: A 214-year-old clam was discovered by a man in Florida while digging for shellfish to make chowder.

Believe it or not, it’s named Aber-clam Lincoln, as it was likely born in 1809, the same year as former US President Abraham Lincoln. 

In today’s newsletter, we will talk about 

• Indian SaaS startups hit panic button
• Banks step in post-SVB collapse
• Flipkart Labs execs join Polygon

Here’s your trivia for today: Which is India's first talking film?

SaaS

Indian SaaS startups hit panic button

The collapse of the SVB would've been an "extinction-level event" for Indian SaaS companies with SVB accounts had US authorities not helped save around Rs 20,000 crore of their deposits. Founders and investors YourStory spoke to suggested there was widespread panic in the ecosystem.

The panic:

• At least 600 SaaS startups headquartered in the US with roots in India, or India-based, had bank accounts with the SVB.
• Some of them have either their entire chunk of money lying in SVB accounts or a significant portion tied up at the shuttered bank. 
• Investors and founders across the board advised not to put all eggs in one basket and add controls to assess financial risks.

Funding Alert

Startup: The Ayurveda Co

Amount: $12.2M

Round: Series A

Startup: OmniBRx

Amount: Rs 30 Cr

Round: Series A

Startup: Raaho

Amount: Rs 20 Cr

Round: Pre-Series A

Finance

Banks step in post-SVB collapse

Indian banks including Axis Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, ICICI Bank, and HSBC have set up crack teams to help startups move their funds from collapsed SVB accounts to their branches in GIFT City, Gujarat. 

Extending help:

• The banks have set up their International Financial Services Center Banking Unit (IBU) in GIFT City to cater to non-residents and foreign entities.
• Axis Bank exec Ganesh Sankaran said B2B ecommerce entities, large online car marketplaces, and agri/foodtech startups have expressed interest in moving funds to GIFT City.
• Several fintechs including Razorpay, GetVantage, Kluband Recur Club, Salt.Pe etc have also offered a line of credit to manage expenses.

Corporate

Flipkart Labs execs join Polygon

Ajay Ponna Venkatesh and Sai Krishna VK, who led Flipkart's experimental division, Flipkart Labs, have officially quit the ecommerce firm. They will now join Polygon as Senior VPs and lead its Developer Studio division.

New roles:

• Venkatesh and Krishna will continue to serve as advisors to Flipkart and the Centre of Excellence (CoE).
• Under their leadership, Flipkart forayed into the metaverse with Flipverse. It also launched digital collectibles, Firedrops.
• The two will now work with developers to scale Polygon to its next set of billion users.

News & updates

• Steadying: Major cryptocurrencies stabilised on Monday after US authorities announced plans to limit the fallout from the collapse of SVB and the issuer of USDC said it remained redeemable with the dollar. Bitcoin, meanwhile, gained 6% to $23,350, a recovery of over 13% from a day earlier.
• To the rescue: HSBC averted a crisis in Britain’s tech sector by rescuing SVB’s UK arm, a fire sale sealed after all-night talks led by PM Rishi Sunak and the Bank of England. The deal, which will see HSBC pay a symbolic £1 for SVB UK, avoids the UK government having to step in to protect depositors.
• Unredacted: Employees at Meta Platforms and ByteDance were aware of the harmful effects of their platforms on young children and teenagers but disregarded the information or in some cases sought to undermine it, court filings show. 

Which is India's first talking film?

Answer: Alam Ara, released in 1931.

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