Nykaa’s beauty bet pays off; Making math easy as 2+2

Hello,

In the latest season of IPOs, FirstCry had a blockbuster debut. 

At the end of the first day of listing, FirstCry parent Brainbees Solutions saw its market capitalisation jump to $4.1 billion, while its shares gained 44.8%. 

The omnichannel retailer made a strong gain at the opening, with its stock price touching Rs 651 apiece and rose to a high of Rs 707.70 apiece before closing at Rs 673.50 per share on NSE.

Similarly, Unicommerce’s shares jumped nearly 9% on the first trading day. The SoftBank-backed firm’s stock opened at Rs 235 per share on the NSE, marking a 117.6% premium over its issue price of Rs 108. 

Moving on to the unicorns, Ather Energy joins the club!

The electric two-wheeler maker raised Rs 600 crore ($71 million) shortly after its rival, Ola Electric’s stock market debut, at a valuation of $1.3 billion (Rs 10,900 crore). 

ICYMI: Forbes’ next-billion dollar startups!

In other news, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India has directed service providers to stop all promotional calls from unregistered callers and blacklist them as TRAI looks to tackle a surge in spam and phishing calls.

Spammers—be aware, you will be backlisted!

Lastly, meet the “zombie star” or ‘SN 1181’—one of a handful of supernovas documented before the invention of telescopes that has puzzled astronomers for centuries.

In today’s newsletter, we will talk about 

• Nykaa’s beauty bet pays off
• Making math easy as 2+2
• Stigma-free sexual health solutions

Here’s your trivia for today: Who was the first American astronaut to orbit the Earth? 

News 

Nykaa’s beauty bet pays off

Cosmetics and fashion marketplace Nykaa posted a 120% rise in quarterly profit after tax, helped by a strong performance of its beauty and international segment.

Separately, the Falguni Nayar-led company said it will purchase 5.29 lakh shares in Dot & Key and hold a 90% equity interest post the investment. It also said it was acquiring a majority stake in Earth Rhythm Private Limited through a combination of primary and secondary transactions.

Doubling profits:

• FSN E-Commerce Venture, the parent company of Nykaa, clocked a profit after tax of Rs 14.24 crore during the first quarter compared to Rs 6.45 crore in 2023. 
• The company posted a 23% growth in operating revenue to Rs 1,746 crore, in line with its expectation of 22%-23% revenue growth in the April-June quarter.
• In a separate filing, Nykaa said it acquired an additional 39% stake in Dot & Key Wellness Pvt Ltd for up to Rs 265.3 crore and a majority stake in Earth Rhythm Pvt Ltd for up to Rs 44.5 crore.

Funding Alert

Startup: Vayana

Amount: $20.5M

Round: Series D

Startup: Fresh Bus 

Amount: $10.5M

Round: Series A

Startup: Beco

Amount: $10M

Round: Pre-Series B

Startup

Making math easy as 2+2

Most people are no strangers to the terror of math as kids; Math phobia is such a well-known phenomenon that it is a buzzword on its own.

Pune-based edtech startup Khare Classes wants to buck this trend. It is achieving it through “one-to-one” personalised teaching with support from artificial intelligence (AI).

Personalised learning:

• IIT Mumbai graduates Aseem Khare, Agam Garg, and Ajay Bhatt felt that despite the presence of numerous edtech startups that teach mathematics, the outcome was not satisfactory. The trio founded Khare Classes in 2022.
• Khare Classes provides demo classes to the students to understand their aptitude level to narrow down the courses more suited to them.
• The startup leverages AI technology and trains OpenAI’s API on its curriculum to respond to any doubts that students have. In addition, regular feedback reports are sent to their parents.

Women Entrepreneurs

Stigma-free sexual health solutions

In 2021, Shailaja Mittal had her first look into the state of sexual healthcare in India. She understood that sexual health still remained a taboo subject, and even if people overcame the “shame” associated with seeking help, they were not able to find the right doctor or treatment.

This understanding led Mittal to start Qurex in 2023, a healthtech startup dedicated to sexual health solutions.

Raising awareness:

• A person can book a 40-minute discovery call on Qurex, where they are connected to an in-house certified sex therapist who understands the root cause of the problem, based on which a treatment journey is recommended to the user on the same call.
• In a year, Qurex has collated data of close to 15,000 users, with 5,500 taking the root cause analysis call and over 1,700 people have completed their treatment journeys.
• Understanding that awareness is key for sexual health, Qurex recently concluded a pilot under the supervision of gynaecologist Dr Sangeeta Saksena to create animated courses on puberty for children.

News & updates

• Nuevo boss: Starbucks replaced CEO Laxman Narasimhan with Chipotle CEO Brian Niccol as the coffee chain tries to reverse a sales slump. The coffee giant’s performance has struggled this year, hurt by weak sales in the US and China. In its latest quarter, Starbucks reported a 3% decline in same-store sales.
• Sale: Auctions of King Charles III bank notes with low serial numbers have raised £914,127 ($1.17 million) for charity, according to the Bank of England. A £50 sheet was auctioned for a record-breaking £26,000, while a single £10 note with the serial number HB01 00002 was sold for as much as £17,000.
• Strikes: Samsung Electronics' biggest workers' union in South Korea would begin a four-day strike on Thursday to pressure the company over higher wages and bonuses after talks with management fell through in July.

Who was the first American astronaut to orbit the Earth?

Answer: Astronaut John Glenn. He circled the Earth three times in 1962.

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