IPO-bound Ola Electric raises Rs 3,200 Cr; Funding in the agritech sector

Hello,

More companies have posted their earnings.

B2B unicorn Ofbusiness's revenue from operations more than doubled—grew 2.14X in FY23—to Rs 15,342 crore, while its profits rose 2.3X to Rs 463 crore. The growth in profits was driven by its huge scale and good control of overheads. 

Also, SoftBank-backed ecommerce rollup startup GlobalBees has narrowed its losses from Rs 30 crore in FY22 to Rs 6.15 crore in FY23. The Thrasio-style startup's revenue more than tripled to Rs 64.68 crore from Rs 18.84 crore in FY22 on a standalone basis.

Across the world, Facebook parent Meta has posted the highest revenue growth in eight quarters, driven by improved digital ad spending. Its net profits in the July-September quarter surged 164% to $11.6 billion, while revenue increased 23% to $34.1 billion.

In other news, Cartrade Tech has decided to shutter the OLX auto business it acquired over two months ago. The company said it will retain OLX's classified business but will shut down its auto unit due to "unit economics challenges".

ICYMI: The Beatles’ final song will soon be released—all thanks to AI. 

Oh, and five Indian villages have been honoured with the “Best Tourism Village” by the UN World Tourism Organisation.

Among them is Dhordo in Gujarat. It’s famous for being the gateway to the white desert of the Rann of Kutch.

In today’s newsletter, we will talk about 

• IPO-bound Ola Electric raises funds
• Funding in the agritech sector
• Building a visible online presence

Here’s your trivia for today: Which is the largest prison in Asia?

Electric Mobility

IPO-bound Ola Electric raises funds

Ola Electric has raised Rs 3,200 crore in equity and debt funding from investors led by Temasek, as well as the State Bank of India, to fund the expansion of its electric vehicle business. 

The e-scooter maker added it will use the funds to also set up its lithium-ion cell manufacturing facility—Ola Electric calls it its 'Gigafactory'—in Krishnagiri, Tamil Nadu.

Plans ahead:

• Ola has planned the setup of the Gigafactory in two stages. Its initial capacity will be 5 GWh, which will then be scaled up in phases to 100 GWh.
• The fundraise comes at a time when Ola Electric is headed for an IPO, where it hopes to raise $1 billion in net proceeds at a valuation of $10 billion. 
• Bhavish Aggarwal, at YourStory's TechSparks 2023 event, expressed his hopes to set up a four-wheeler factory near the Gigawatt factory and make it a one-stop hub for all things Ola Electric.

Agritech

Funding in the agritech sector

Agritech startups closer to the farmer and the supply chain (upstream) saw a 24% year-over-year increase in investments, overtaking consumer-facing companies (downstream) for the first time in years, as per Asia-Pacific AgriFoodTech Investment Report 2023. 

Upstream startups raised $3.2 billion in 2022 versus the downstream's $2.7 million, as per the report by AgFunder, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Omnivore, and AgriFutures Australia.

Key takeaways:

• In 2022, farm-to-fork agritech startups in the Asia-Pacific region garnered a total of $6.5 billion in funding, marking a significant 58% decline from the record-breaking $15.2 billion raised in 2021.
• In terms of deal value, India briefly overtook China in 2022, securing the top position with a total of $2.3 billion in funding.
• E-grocery retained its status as the largest category in agritech funding for 2022, raking in a total of $1.6 billion.

MSME

Building a visible online presence

Vyaparify, a digital solutions provider, creates SEO-integrated mini websites for businesses, granting them a digital identity and visibility in local search results. Through the platform, Founder Ruby Jain seeks to narrow the digital gap between conventional businesses and traditional stores and preserve their legacy in the age of the internet. 

Mini websites:

• Vyaparify employs an AI interface that prompts merchants to answer basic questions related to business name, establishment year, type of business, and location. This tool, available in Hindi and English, helps merchants generate a description for their business. 
• The mini site also provides a platform for personal branding, where businesses compile all their social media accounts and other identities, such as Google or Amazon IDs, in one place. 
• The platform offers a subscription-based model at a fee of Rs 1,700 for six months and Rs 3,000 for an annual subscription.

News & updates

• Economic growth: The US economy grew faster than expected in the July-September quarter, buoyed by a strong consumer despite higher interest rates and ongoing inflation pressures. The GDP for the quarter rose at 4.9% YoY—up from the 2.1% pace in the second quarter.
• New functionality: X, formerly Twitter, has officially started rolling out audio and video calling capabilities. Elon Musk recently shared a post on the platform hinting the feature will be soon available to everyone. CEO Linda Yaccarino earlier said the functionality would be available within the DM menu.
• Pink wave: Barbie billings jumped 16% in the July to September period compared with 2022, driven by the success of the first-ever film starring the doll. The gains marked a big turnaround, helping to lift Mattel to its first quarter of sales growth in a year.

Which is the largest prison in Asia?

Answer: Tihar Jail, Delhi. It has nine functional prisons spread over 400 acres and houses 12,000 inmates.

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