News Summary: This Week’s Startup Story

Akshay Kumar, an academy that enters the unicorn club from the government’s 117 app ban, launched FauG, and Eruditius raised money from the Chan Zuckerberg Fund, and this week’s startup was crowded with funding news and new developments.

Here is a summary of what made the startup world headlines:

Government bans PUBG and quotes 117 other apps for security concerns

On Wednesday, the central government banned 118 mobile apps, including the famous game app PUBG. They state that they are engaged in Indian sovereignty and integrity, Indian defense, national security and activities that harm public security.

These banned apps include PUBG MOBILE Nordic Map: Livik, PUBG MOBILE LITE, VPN for TikTok, Baidu, LivU Meet, Carrom Friends and Ludo All Star.

PUBG Ban: Akshay Kumar, nCore Games Launch FAU

A few days after the government banned PUBG and 117 other apps, actor Akshay Kumar partnered with nCore Games in Vishal Gondal to launch an action game called FAU-G. The game is based on real-world scenarios that Indian security forces face to deal with internal and external threats. The game is set to launch at the end of October, with the first level set against the backdrop of Galwan Valley, with subsequent releases followed by a third-person shooter.

RBI expands its priority sector lending category. Including startup

The RBI has expanded the scope of its priority sector lending to include financing up to Rs. 5 billion and providing loans to farmers for the installation of solar and compressed biogas power plants. The Priority Sector Lending (PSL) guidelines were comprehensively reviewed and revised to focus on inclusive development in line with emerging country priorities after extensive consultation with all stakeholders, Said the RBI on Friday.

Academy zooms into Unicorn Club

The Ed-tech platform Unacademy has invested $150 million in a round led by SoftBank Vision Fund 2i. Existing investors General Atlantic, Sequoia Capital, Nexus Venture Partners, Facebook and Blume Venture also participated in the round. This latest funding round valued Unacademy at $1.45 billion. Unacademy plans to use the money to launch new products and build world-class teams and organizations.

Paytm’s FY20 revenue increases to Rs 3,629 crore as losses are reduced by 40%.

Its home financial services platform Paytm announced that its revenue for the year 2020 increased to Rs 3,629, with a loss of 40% at Rs 2597.46. The company said it has expanded its financial services by providing financing, asset management, and insurance, opening up new revenue streams. Paytm’s Android-based POS devices are gaining popularity among small businesses, and the kirana store is rapidly adopting it.

$500 Million WeWork India Global CEO Sandeep Mathrani Joins Board

WeWork’s parent company raised $100 million in June, bringing WeWork India to a value of $500 million. Funded, WeWork Global CEO Sandeep Mathrani has also become part of the Board of Directors of WeWork India. According to Kalan Verwani, head of the co-working company, the investment made through convertible bonds will result in The We Company holding a 20% stake in WeWork India by the end of the following year.

Zuckerberg’s IT Minister: Facebook India team dominated by people with certain’political beliefs’

Union IT and Minister of Justice Ravi Shankar Prasad shot a fiery letter to Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg. Prasad said “serious concerns”, called on Facebook’s CEO to implement country-specific community guidelines, and said the outsourcing of fact checks to the company’s third-party fact checkers was a “major problem.” ..

Twitter confirms Indian Prime Minister Modi’s personal website has been hacked

On Thursday, Twitter confirmed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s personal website account was hacked with a series of tweets asking followers to donate to a bailout fund through cryptocurrencies. The incident occurs in July after several Twitter accounts of celebrities have been hacked. Twitter said it was aware of activity on Modi’s website account and has taken steps to protect it.

SoftBank bets on TikTok in India: report

Reportedly, SoftBank Group Corporation is seeking to build a bidder group for TikTok’s Indian assets, and people familiar with the matter are actively looking for a local partner. A large Japanese company that has invested in TikTok’s Chinese parent, ByteDance, also met with executives at Reliance Jio Infocomm and Bharti Airtel over the past few months, asking for details as they are private.

Zoom benefits from working from home. Witness a sharp increase in revenue

Pandemic-One of Video’s biggest beneficiaries of Zoom, Zoom’s revenues increased 355% to $663.5 million in the quarter ended 31 July. Previously it went from $1.78 billion to $1.8 billion.

As of the end of the second quarter of fiscal 2021, Zoom had more than 10 employees, approximately 370,200, an increase of approximately 458% from the same quarter of the previous fiscal year. About 988 customers have contributed more than $100,000 to revenue over the last 12 months, up about 112% from the same quarter last year.

This week’s funds

Eruditus will raise $113 million from the Chan Zuckerberg Fund and others. Evaluation doubling

The Eruditus Group, which consists of Eruditus Executive Education and its online division EMERITUS, has raised $113 million (including secondary sales) of Series D funding led by Leeds Illuminate and Prosus Ventures (formerly Naspers Ventures). Announced. India and Ved Capital.

Zomato raises Rs 456 Claw from Temasek

Food tech company Zomato has raised Rs 456 claws from a subsidiary of existing investor Temasek Holdings, an investment company owned by the Singapore government, according to data from Tofler. MacRitchie Investments, a subsidiary of Tamasek, invested 15,188 shares of Rs 455.99 Claw in the company. As reported, new investors Tiger Global and Kola Capital also participated in the round.

Other funding news

Home interior and remodeling platform Livspace has raised $90 million in an oversubscribed round led by Kharis Capital and Venturi Partners.

Railofy, a WL & RAC protection startup, raised a seed round of Rs 70 million from Chiratae Ventures to solve the waitlist problem in India.

Home Interior Company Home Lane has raised Rs 60 claws in a bridge financing round from Stride Ventures and existing investors.

Vertical Expert Network of Gray and Blue Collar Workers-Apna.co has raised $8 million in Series A from existing investors Lightspeed India and Sequoia Capital India.

Supported by Y Combinator, Bikayi has raised a $2 million seed round from a group of international investors, including the Mantis Venture, a VC fund driven by the popular band Chainsmokers.

The dating app TrulyMadly 2.0 raised the Rs 8.1 crore of the pre-series of series 8.1 via Angelist, Inflection Point Ventures and The Chennai Angels. Entrepreneurs and CXOs from startups such as Unacademy, Haptik, Innov8 and AirBnB have invested in this round.

WinZO, a vernacular entertainment company, has raised a $18 million Series B investment round led by Global Interactive Entertainment Fund, Singapore-based Makers Fund, and New York-based Courtside Ventures.

A consumer electronics startup has raised Rs 25 from a venture bond and specialist Innoven Capital.

Early stage venture capital firm 3one4Capital has launched a $100 million fund to invest in technology-driven start-ups. Fund III plans to increase the assets under management of 3one4 Capital to more than Rs.155 billion or $210 million.