What 2024 holds for Indian crypto exchanges; Pocket FM’s FY23 revenue jumps 647%

Hello,

The Indian startup ecosystem is growing.

Over the past three years, Indian tech startups bagged a total funding of over $70 billion, according to a NASSCOM- Zinnov report. 

The sector, despite the global economic slowdown and regulatory challenges, has surged in recent years with over 950 tech startups founded in 2023 alone. Around 750 companies raised a total of $6 billion in equity funding, with seed-stage deals comprising 72% of total funding. 

Moving on, the benchmark equity indices ended Thursday’s session in the green. The NSE Nifty 50 inched 141.25 points higher or 0.66% to settle at 21,658.60 points. While S&P BSE Sensex gained 490.97 or 0.69% to settle at 71,847.57 points. 

Meanwhile, Chennai, Bengaluru, Pune, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Delhi, Coimbatore, and Jaipur have emerged as the top 10 cities for women in India, a report by Avtar Group revealed.

Among the category 1 cities–those with a population of over a million–Delhi debuted at the eighth position this year, while Chennai remained a favourite among women, retaining its top rank.

ICYMI: Thirteen-year-old Willis Gibson has become the first human player to beat Nintendo's classic video game Tetris, 34 years after its release. 

Did you know that the original Nintendo Entertainment System’s version of Tetris was technically a pirated port because it was not an officially licensed version of the game? 

Here’s a deep dive into the drama behind the game’s origins. 

In today’s newsletter, we will talk about 

• Indian crypto exchanges in 2024
• Vitra.ai breaking language barrier
• Pocket FM’s FY23 revenue jumps 647%

Here’s your trivia for today: "Project Purple" was the internal company codename for which popular cell phone?

Outlook

Indian crypto exchanges in 2024

In 2023, Indian cryptocurrency exchanges were rattled with significant challenges domestically and internationally. Elsewhere, the collapse of Sam Bankman-Fried-led FTX continued to have ripple effects on cryptocurrency companies everywhere. 

Nonetheless, hope seems to be on the horizon for Indian crypto exchanges, with the renewed price rise of Bitcoin and the US SEC’s approval of a Bitcoin ETF (exchange-traded fund).

Watch out for:

• While the implementation of a tax on crypto assets was a major landmark in the regulatory space, another was the requirement of companies who dealt with crypto to register with the Financial Intelligence Unit.
• Per industry insiders who spoke with YourStory, signing up with the FIU could be seen as a sign of legitimacy, and the fact that their business was genuine.
• Companies are also ensuring transparency in their operations. Players like WazirX and CoinDCX have both undertaken the initiative to make public a proof of reserve—a document that shows the existing balances of the exchange, and any other related transactions it may have undertaken.

Startup

Vitra.ai breaking language barrier

Finding an interesting video or article online, only to later realise that it is in an unfamiliar language can be disappointing. To solve this problem, Akash Nidhi PS and Satvik Jagannath founded the AI-based video translation platform Vitra.ai.

Founded in 2020, the AI-based video translation platform helps customers translate all rich content media formats like videos, images, websites, podcasts, and text to over 75 languages with one click.

Translating to:

• While Vitra.ai’s primary focus is on news, social media, and video content creators, the startup has also engaged with a broad spectrum of clients across industries such as edtech, media, fintech, and healthtech.
• Nidhi PS elaborates that the global market size for translation is $72.22 billion in 2023 and is expected to reach $98.11 billion by 2028.
• Unlike traditional systems, the Bengaluru-based startup doesn't do literal word-to-word translations, instead, it says it uses a context-aware engine for more natural and human-like translations. 

Earnings

Pocket FM’s FY23 revenue jumps 647%

Pocket FM, an audio series platform, saw its Indian subsidiary's revenue surge more than 7X for FY23 on the back of increasing microtransaction and advertising revenues. According to the Registrar of Companies filings, the entity reported Rs 131 crore in revenue in FY23, a 647% jump from Rs 17.5 crore in FY22. 

Key takeaways:

• The Bengaluru company also narrowed its loss before tax to Rs 75.7 crore in FY23, a 56% decrease from Rs 171.6 crore in FY22.
• Its microtransaction revenue, money earned from content monetisation, leapt by 417% to Rs 82.8 crore, while advertising revenue soared by 1120% to Rs 12.17 crore in FY23.
• The company also noted that its expenses grew by 9.32% to Rs 206.78 crore, while advertising and marketing expenses decreased by 45% to Rs 70.57 crore in FY23.

News & updates

• Copilot key: Microsoft said it is adding a button to its Windows keyboard that would pull up the tech giant's Copilot service, in the first change for the device in nearly three decades. The "Copilot key" marks the latest effort by the company, which is investing billions in AI, to incorporate the technology in its products.
• Google rival: Perplexity, a startup going after Google’s dominant position in web search, has won backing from Jeff Bezos and venture capitalists betting that artificial intelligence will upend the way people find information online. 
• Record win: India completed the quickest victory in Test history, levelling its two-match series against South Africa by winning early on the second afternoon in Cape Town. India chased down a fourth innings total of 79 in 12 overs at Newlands on Thursday to wrap up the game, scheduled to end on Sunday evening, in 642 balls.

“Project Purple" was the internal company codename for which popular cell phone?

Answer: iPhone. The cell phone began as a Steve Jobs–approved project reportedly codenamed Project Purple around the end of 2004. 

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