Breaking the menopause taboo; Eruditus prepares to shift base to India

Hello,

All that glitters is gold.

The precious metal surpassed the $2,700 mark for the first time on Friday. Its price surge comes amid expectations of further monetary policy easing and safe-haven demand due to uncertainty about the Middle East conflict and upcoming US presidential elections. 

Meanwhile, in India’s startup ecosystem, early-stage venture capital firm 8i Ventures has reportedly struck gold. 

The VC firm said it has earned a 12x return on its investment in M2P Fintech in about four years, marking a complete exit from the startup. It had made an initial investment of Rs 9.7 crore in M2P Fintech in early 2020 and it realised a return of Rs 115.9 crore with an internal rate of return of 131%. 

In other news, Byju Raveendran, the founder of what was once India's biggest startup, BYJU’S, told Reuters that he overestimated the growth potential of the edtech brand, which is now “worth zero” as it faces insolvency. The founder is, however, hopeful of a turnaround. 

ICYMI: 23andMe, one of the world’s largest biotechnology companies, is about to go belly-up. Where does its treasure trove of genetic data go?

Lastly, remember Sam Altman’s cryptocurrency project, Worldcoin?

The company has rebranded itself and dropped the word “coin” from its name. Now called “World”, the firm will focus on its biometric eye-scanning tech used to confirm human identities. 

In today’s newsletter, we will talk about 

• Breaking the menopause taboo
• Eruditus prepares to shift base to India
• An unconventional business approach

Here’s your trivia for today: In which country would you find the active volcano "Popocatepetl"?

Health

Breaking the menopause taboo

Perimenopause and menopause are not just phases that a woman has to go through in her lifetime. The period leading to menopause can last several years and is wrought with many challenges–physical, emotional, and social.

On World Menopause Day, we take a deep dive into how women in India are navigating perimenopause and menopause and its diverse challenges. We look at startups offering help and support with communities and products, and how workplaces are hand-holding women through this transition.

Finding comfort:

• The physical challenges of menopause are varying and numerous. Diversity Simplified’s Tina Vinod talks of weight gain despite being conscious about diet and exercise, and mood swings. 
• “Common mental health challenges at this time are anger and irritability, low mood and feelings of sadness and depression, anxiety, forgetfulness, brain fog, loss of motivation, loss of self-esteem due to physical changes, and problems with sleep,” says Sareena Daredia, Psychologist at MPower.
• Femtech startup Miror’s communities on WhatsApp have over 1,500 women all talking about their challenges and sharing their experiences. It also offers advice from doctors, nutrition experts, and fitness experts on its platform. 

<Top Deals of the Week>

Startup: Eruditus 

Amount: $150M

Round: Undisclosed

Startup: Purplle 

Amount: Rs 500 Cr

Round: Series F

Startup: GIVA Jewellery

Amount: Rs 225 Cr

Round: Extended Series B

Edtech

Eruditus prepares to shift base to India

SoftBank-backed Eruditus raised $150 million in a new funding round as the demand for upskilling remains robust, marking a rare growth area among online education platforms that have otherwise experienced a significant decline since the pandemic. 

The funding round coincides with the company's decision to shift its domicile to India from Singapore. “We will start work with the Big Four (audit firms) and lawyers and maybe by early next year, file for the reverse flip [relocating to India],” CEO and Co-founder Ashwin Damera told YourStory.

Key takeaways:

• TPG’s The Rise Fund led Eruditus’ Series F funding round with a $100 million investment, at a slightly lower valuation of $3.1 billion. The remaining funds came from SoftBank, Accel, Leeds Illuminate, CPP Investments, The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, and others. 
• The fresh capital will help Eruditus pursue acquisitions and investments that have historically driven its growth, particularly in India and the US. It is focusing on acquisitions in sectors such as enterprise solutions and study abroad programmes.
• The US remains Eruditus' largest market, contributing nearly 40%. Damera expressed a goal of having India contribute 40-45% to Eruditus’ revenue “in coming years.”

Interview

An unconventional business approach

KPR Mill, with a market cap of ~Rs 28,400 crore, is among the largest apparel manufacturers in India. But beyond its market cap and industry leadership, KPR Mill's story is one of heart. KP Ramasamy or KPR as he is fondly called, believes in building businesses with compassion, a philosophy he has followed at KPR Mill. 

The textile company boasts a 30,000 workforce, of which 95% are women. These women are recruited from villages and trained on the job to become skilled workers.

Building future:

• Unlike many corporate work environments, where gender diversity has only recently become a boardroom priority, KPR Mill has long fostered a strong women-led workplace culture.
• Directly and indirectly, KPR Mill and Ramasamy have impacted the lives of over 1 million women. “I believe in treating everyone equally, no matter what their position or their status. What drives me is humanity,” he says.
• The company’s career development initiatives have helped 194 employees land jobs at well-known organisations such as Tata Electronics, Tech Mahindra, and Titan.

News & updates

• WFO: Amazon Web Services CEO Matt Garman gave employees a frank message about the company’s recently announced five-day in-office mandate. Staffers who don’t agree with Amazon’s new policy can leave, he said during an all-hands meeting at Amazon’s second headquarters in Arlington, Virginia.
• Issues: The top US automotive safety regulator has opened a new investigation into Tesla’s so-called “Full Self-Driving (Supervised)” software after four reported crashes in low-visibility situations—including one where a pedestrian was killed.
• Stream: All live sporting events streamed by the newly merged Disney-Reliance business in India, including IPL cricket, will only be available on Disney's Hotstar app. The decision marks the first major integration of the businesses. 

In which country would you find the active volcano "Popocatepetl"?

Answer: Mexico.

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