Discover the top 10 global hotspots for entrepreneurial success in this exciting listicle. We've compiled an engaging, high-quality read to unveil the most supportive ecosystems, thriving economies, and innovative environments for your startup journey, along with some notable success stories from each region.

1) California, USA: Home to Silicon Valley, California boasts an unparalleled tech ecosystem, abundant venture capital, and a world-class talent pool. Successful startups: Apple, Google, and Facebook

2) Berlin, Germany: As Europe's startup capital, Berlin offers a vibrant community, affordable living, and a thriving creative scene. Successful startups: SoundCloud, N26, and Zalando

3) Singapore: With its strategic location and strong government support, Singapore is a startup haven in Southeast Asia. Successful startups: Grab, Sea Group, and Razer

4) Tel Aviv, Israel: Dubbed "Silicon Wadi," Tel Aviv fosters innovation with a high concentration of startups and tech-focused investors. Successful startups: Wix, Mobileye, and Fiverr

5) London, UK: The financial and tech hub of Europe, London attracts startups with its skilled workforce and diverse opportunities. Successful startups: Revolut, TransferWise, and Deliveroo

6) Stockholm, Sweden: The birthplace of successful startups like Spotify, Stockholm boasts a collaborative startup culture and excellent government support. Successful startups: Klarna, iZettle, and Mojang

7) Bangalore, India: As India's Silicon Valley, Bangalore offers a massive talent pool, strong tech sector, and growing market opportunities. Successful startups: Flipkart, Ola, and Swiggy

8) Toronto, Canada: A diverse and inclusive city, Toronto provides a strong talent pool, advanced infrastructure, and a supportive government for startups. Successful startups: Shopify, Wattpad, and Wealthsimple

9) Sydney, Australia: With its strategic location and thriving tech scene, Sydney is an ideal gateway for startups targeting the Asia-Pacific region. Successful startups: Atlassian, Canva, and Zip

10) Amsterdam, Netherlands: Combining a high quality of life with a strong tech ecosystem, Amsterdam is a magnet for startups seeking to make their mark. Successful startups: Booking.com, Adyen, and TomTom.

The US dollar has long been the dominant currency in international trade, shaping the global economic landscape. However, recent trends show countries increasingly reducing their dependence on the dollar. This article explores the history of the dollar's dominance, the recent de-dollarisation trend, its advantages and disadvantages, and implications for the startup ecosystem.

The Rise of the US Dollar:

The dollar's ascendancy began during World War I, as the US emerged as a global economic power. The Bretton Woods Agreement in 1944 solidified the dollar's status as the primary reserve currency, and events like the Marshall Plan, the end of the gold standard, and the emergence of the petrodollar further cemented its dominance.

De-dollarisation: A Growing Trend:

Countries are increasingly seeking to reduce their reliance on the US dollar. Examples include China and France's yuan-settled LNG trade, Russia turning to China's yuan amid geopolitical tensions, and China and Brazil's deal to trade in their own currencies. These events highlight the desire to reduce dollar dependence and foster closer economic relationships.

Advantages and Disadvantages of De-dollarisation:

De-dollarisation offers both advantages and disadvantages. Benefits include diversified risks, strengthened national currencies, increased monetary policy independence, and reduced vulnerability to US sanctions. Drawbacks encompass transition challenges, potential short-term instability, and limited global acceptance of alternative currencies.

Implications for the Startup Ecosystem:

De-dollarisation presents both opportunities and challenges for startups. Easier access to capital in regions moving away from the US dollar could attract domestic and regional investments. However, attracting international investments may be hindered by currency concerns. Cross-border transactions might become more complex, leading to higher transaction costs and operational challenges. Market volatility may increase as markets adjust to new currency dynamics, requiring startups to manage financial risks effectively. Global expansion could be more challenging due to limited global acceptance of alternative currencies, affecting growth strategies and market entry decisions. Increased regional collaboration could foster innovation, offering opportunities for startups to collaborate on new technologies and business models. Changes in the regulatory environment may require startups to adapt to new regulations and adjust their business models.

De-dollarisation has significant implications for the global economy and the startup ecosystem. While there are benefits to reducing reliance on the US dollar, the transition also poses challenges. Understanding these implications is crucial for businesses, investors, and policymakers to adapt to the evolving nature of international trade and finance.

Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) has the potential to revolutionise the world, bringing immense benefits but also challenges. To ensure a positive outcome, it is crucial to have a framework that guides its development and deployment. Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, has outlined three critical components for a good AGI future: aligning super-intelligence, coordinating AGI efforts, and implementing a global regulatory framework. In this article, we will examine how these guidelines have been applied to other groundbreaking technologies and their impact on the future of those fields.

Aligning a Superintelligence

The first component of a good AGI future is the technical ability to align a super-intelligence with human values and goals. This involves ensuring that AGI systems act in the best interests of humanity and are designed to minimise any unintended harmful consequences.

A historical parallel can be drawn with the development of Nuclear technology. Early on, scientists and policymakers recognised the need to control the potential dangers of this powerful technology. As a result, international agreements were established, such as the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), which aimed to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons and promote peaceful uses of nuclear energy. Aligning nuclear technology with human values and goals has helped mitigate potential risks while enabling its beneficial applications, such as nuclear medicine and power generation.

Coordination Among Leading AGI Efforts

The second component, coordination among leading AGI efforts, is crucial to avoid competitive races without adequate safety precautions. Collaboration between different organisations and research teams can promote the sharing of knowledge, resources, and best practices, reducing the likelihood of potential risks and unintended consequences.

An example of successful coordination in a groundbreaking technology can be seen in the Human Genome Project (HGP). This international research collaboration aimed to map the entire human genome, involving scientists from various countries and institutions. By working together and sharing data, the project was completed ahead of schedule and has since led to significant advances in genetics and medicine.

Global Regulatory Framework and Democratic Governance

Lastly, an effective global regulatory framework, including democratic governance, is essential for the responsible development and deployment of AGI. Such a framework should promote transparency, accountability, and public involvement in decision-making processes to ensure that AGI benefits all of humanity.

The development of the Internet serves as an example of the importance of a global regulatory framework. As the internet rapidly expanded, international organisations, such as the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) and the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), were established to develop and maintain standards, protocols, and policies that govern the global network. These organisations have played a crucial role in ensuring that the internet remains an open, interoperable, and accessible resource for everyone.

Conclusion

The guidelines set forth by Sam Altman for a good AGI future draw upon lessons learned from other groundbreaking technologies. Aligning a super-intelligence, coordinating leading AGI efforts, and implementing an effective global regulatory framework are critical factors that have shaped the development of technologies like nuclear power, genomics, and the internet. By applying these guidelines to AGI, we can maximise its benefits while minimising potential risks and unintended consequences, ensuring that AGI serves the best interests of humanity.

While the fintech sector may have started getting overcrowded with many players, industry insiders believe many areas in the credit space are waiting to be disrupted through technology.

In a panel discussion at TechSparks Mumbai 2023, Alok Mittal, Co-founder, Indifi; Bhavik Vasa, Founder, GetVantage; and Treasa Mathew, Director at impact investing company Omidyar Network argued that technology is changing the way lending happens, and entrepreneurs can take advantage of that.

“Real-time data has changed the game and allowed many tech-driven platforms to tap into the liquidity by partnering with traditional lenders,” said Vasa.

He pointed out data sources like GST filings, ad spends on Google, or even transaction data which shows digital revenues for a company can help underwrite small businesses better. Such data sources were never available in the past, he added.

For liquidity, they can enter into interesting co-lending partnerships with traditional lenders, which can help create granular exposure and thereby reduce risk, he added.

Mathew of Omidyar Network spoke about how her own portfolio companies have changed with time. The first generation of lenders whom Omidyar invested in 2014-15 were all physical players. But over time, startups started focusing on digital data sources.

They started tapping into supply chain finance and embedded finance opportunities. Startups have access to high-quality data which helps them to embed contextual credit products, Mathew argued.

While the panel members discussed the opportunity, Mittal of Indifi wanted to take a step back to analyse why India, which prioritises MSME loans, still has a 50% unmet demand. He pointed out that while the market is big, it is heterogeneous in nature, hence a one-size-fits-all product would never solve the problem.

“The definition of MSME is fluid and all these variations make MSME lending harder,” he said.

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Mathew observed that new-generation companies are using technology extensively in three major areas:

1. Segmenting target customers better.
2. Leveraging supply chains and thereby working towards reducing customer acquisition costs.
3. Developing high data analytics capabilities to be able to tap into the data sources and understand them better.

Mittal added that fintechs should not bother about doing everything themselves, rather they can unbundle the entire fintech value chain and specialise in certain domains. 

“So we don't have to straddle ourselves where we are borrowing at 14%, rather we can work with a bank who has a lower cost of capital,” he said.

The Indifi co-founder also added that there is a lot of private equity and venture capital money chasing fintech startups, so there is no dearth of capital.

Vasa of GetVantage added saying that there is a need to build lending models which are not dependent on physical collateral only. Talking about the ability to generate massive revenues through lending, Vasa pointed out that almost every founder no matter which part of the lending value chain they start from, eventually intends to monetise through credit. 

So this goes on to show the massive opportunity in digital lending.

India's transformative digital public infrastructure will be central to its ambitious goal of becoming a $5 trillion economy, the head of an American venture capitalist fund said on Thursday, even as she urged global policymakers and business innovators to pay attention to the country's rapid digital development.

Digital public infrastructure (DPI) refers to blocks or platforms such as digital identification, payment infrastructure and data exchange solutions that help countries deliver essential services to their people, empowering citizens and improving lives by enabling digital inclusion.

A fully operational, interconnected and robust national infrastructure of this scale and magnitude does not have a global precedent and India's DPI success story is an outlier and first mover, Melissa Frakman, CEO and founding partner of Emphasis Ventures said.

She made these comments at the Sherpas meeting of G20 member countries in Kerala's picturesque resort town of Kumarakom, where they are holding multilateral discussions on economic and developmental priorities.

"Global policymakers and business innovators alike should pay attention," Frakman said.

"As India aspires to become a $5 trillion economy in the future, and the world's third-largest economy within a decade, its thriving DPI will be central to delivering on this economic promise and achieving these audacious goals," she said.

India has the potential to grow at 6.5-7% and become a $5 trillion economy by 2025-26 and $7 trillion by 2030, India's Chief Economic Advisor V Anantha Nageswaran has said.

Frakman noted that India's DPI is fuelling its thriving start-up ecosystem that is gearing up for a major global expansion.

Start-ups, Frakman said, have leveraged open networks for consent-based verification of identity (Aadhaar), settlement of payments United Payments Interface (UPI), sharing of financial data (Account Aggregator) and storage of documents and certificates (DigiLocker).

Built with key objectives of access, convenience, affordability and infrastructure such as UPI has propelled economic transformation and financial inclusion in the country, Frakman observed.

In addition, it has been a major tailwind for tech innovation and investment in India, she said.

In January 2023, UPI garnered transactions worth $157 billion. The volumes on this platform have grown by 50 times over the past five years.

"For context, this is greater than the combined digital payments volumes of the US, UK, Germany and France and equals 55 per cent of India's GDP," she said.

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As a precursor to the US FEDNOW, a few years back, Google wrote to the US Federal Reserve recommending a UPI-like fast, open and real-time payments settlement platform, she recalled.

Google CEO, Sundar Pichai, most recently called India a "shining example" of what can be accomplished with digital development.

In February this year, India kicked off its first cross-border real-time payment system by integrating UPI with Singapore's PayNow to enable low-cost and real-time settlement of cross-border payments.

"UPI is already in use or running pilots in 12+ other nations, and multiple other countries have expressed interest in the various APIs of India Stack. This opens a USD 500 billion global cross-border payments market, for any Indian companies building financial services on top of these rails," she added.

India's sprawling DPI also received a glowing endorsement from billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates recently as he praised the country's "great" digital network, and reliable and low-cost connectivity.

Delhi-based fantasy esports platform FanClash has reportedly laid off about 100 employees or 75% of its workforce, a year after it raised over $50 million in funding.

The Sequoia-backed startup undertook the layoffs in three rounds and offered two months' salary as a severance package, according to an Inc42 report.

YourStory could not independently verify the report. The copy will be updated with FanClash's queries once we receive a response.

FanClash is backed by investors such as Sequoia Capital, Alpha Wave Global, and Info Edge, according to data from Tracxn.

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FanClash had been struggling since the Indian government banned the battle royale game Battlegrounds Mobile India (BGMI) in July last year, which resulted in the downsizing of the company, according to the report.

The startup earned the majority of its revenue from BGMI as the game grew in popularity among its customers from Tier-II cities and beyond. As such, the ban on BGMI was a big blow to FanClash, the report added.

The company also shut down FanGuild, a fantasy Web3 gaming platform, and halted operations of its fan engagement platform FanSpace.

FanClash recently forayed into cricket ahead of the Indian Premier League (IPL).

The layoffs at FanClash come at a time when other fantasy gaming platforms such as Dream11, My11Circle, and MPL are gearing up for the IPL. BharatPe Co-founder Ashneer Grover has also forayed into the segment with the launch of CrickPe under his new venture Third Unicorn.

The Asian Venture Philanthropy Network (AVPN), a network of social investors, has selected 13 non-governmental organisations (NGO) grantees of the Asia-Pacific Sustainability Seed Fund at the Asian Development Bank’s Southeast Asia Development Symposium (SEADS) 2023.

The fund—which totals $3 million—is supported by the philanthropic arm of Google and the Asian Development Bank (ADB). The fund was revealed in June last year as a way to support innovative tech-driven solutions to combat climate change and drive sustainability in the region.

AVPN is looking to empower local impact organisations and drive change in the communities they serve, it said in a statement.

"We hope to inspire other organisations to come forward, and support grassroots changemakers across the region," said Michaela Browning, Vice President, Government Affairs and Public Policy for Asia-Pacific, Google in the statement.

AVPN has more than 600 diverse members across 33 markets. Its mission is to close the SDG gaps in Asia, by enabling members to increase the flow of financial, human, and intellectual capital towards impact.

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This fund makes it possible for the most innovative non-profit sustainability initiatives to help vulnerable and underserved communities across eight markets adapt and mitigate the detrimental effects of climate change, according to Dini Indrawati, Indonesian Country Director at AVPN.

"Local impact organisations are developing innovative climate actions using technology like AI, which combined with their on-ground expertise is evolving sustainability practises that are truly successful and tailored to the unique needs of markets in the Asia-Pacific," Indrawati added.

India needs $540 billion of investment between 2020 and 2029 to meet its ambitious targets for electricity generation from renewable sources, S&P Global Ratings said on Thursday as it saw private-sector-led energy transition entering a new phase.

India is targeting to cut its emissions to net zero by 2070. In the transition to that, it is targeting 500 gigawatts (GW) of non-fossil electricity capacity, half of the energy from renewables, a reduction of emissions by one billion tonnes and an emissions intensity of the GDP by 45% by 2030.

"Meeting India's renewables target of 500 GW by 2030 requires more than 40 GW of new capacity additions annually (compared to 10-15 GW actual)," it said.

In its report 'Asia-Pacific's Different Pathways To Energy Transition', S&P Global Ratings said the addition of renewables capacity in India is outpacing coal, but demand growth and intermittency issues are leading to greater coal usage and new coal plants.

"Policies are creating an enabling environment while private sector investments will lead the energy transition," it said, adding investments of $540 billion are required from 2020 to 2029 to meet India's renewables target.

Half of these investments will be in renewables and batteries, and another third in strengthening the grid.

"Private sector will lead generation capex while public sector utilities will likely lead grid investments," it said. "Domestic long-term bank funding is available against projects and cash flows."

There is, however, limited appetite for unsecured holding company funding.

India is the world's fourth biggest emitter of carbon dioxide after China, the US and the EU. But its emissions per capita are much lower than other major world economies. India emitted 1.9 tonnes of CO2 per head of population in 2019, compared to 15.5 tonnes for the US and 12.5 tonnes for Russia that year.

Net zero, or becoming carbon neutral, means not adding to the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.

Energy transition refers to the shift from fossil-based systems of energy production and consumption—including oil, natural gas and coal—to renewable energy sources like wind and solar, as well as lithium-ion batteries.

S&P said renewables face increasing intermittency issues, necessitating grid flexibility/energy storage solutions.

As much as 12.1 GW of energy storage is likely to be added from now till 2030 against a target of 27 GW of battery and 10 GW of pumped storage by 2030, it said, adding 20% tariff on Chinese batteries and subsidies for domestic production aim to develop the ecosystem.

In the report, S&P said the countries of Asia-Pacific still have a long way to go before they can meet their ambitious energy targets.

"Policies are still evolving and some key countries such as China and India have no specific timeline to phase out coal," said S&P Global Ratings credit analyst Abhishek Dangra.

"Access and affordability will trump long-term energy-transition goals while energy security considerations may delay transition for some."

India's transition is progressing, led by the private sector.

"India is entering into the next stage—Renewables 3.0—with industry diversification into hybrid, pumped storage, round-the-clock projects, etc. It is moving away from feed-in-tariff (1.0) and highly competitive bidding (2.0). Execution risks and return profiles can significantly diverge," Dangra said.

Energy security considerations will affect the policy direction and pace of the energy transition; not always delaying the transition. "Economics (India) and policies (China) will lead to growth in renewables. Countries with ambiguous policies (Vietnam) or cheaper fossil fuels (Indonesia) face a more difficult transition," it said.

QubeHealth partners with NPCI, Falcon to launch health wallet

Healthcare financing startup QubeHealth has partnered with the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) and Falcon to roll out premium healthcare payment products for employed Indians. 

This partnership will provide QubeHealth with a fast and cost-effective way to reach customers and embed payment and lending products into its offering, a statement said.

Under this alliance, Falcon provides its full-stack backend-as-a-service (BaaS) platform to Qubehealth to embed a healthcare wallet and RuPay co-branded prepaid card for end users. This card will enable employees to get reimbursements on healthcare expenditures from employers.

QubeHealth aggregates healthcare providers, lenders, payment services providers, and Indian corporates to offer healthcare borrowing and payment experience to salaried employees of some of India’s corporates.

Khan Academy India introduces online certification course for teachers

Khan Academy India has launched a free online certification course for the professional development of teachers in India. It is available free of cost in English, Hindi, Punjabi, and Marathi.

The creation of this course was funded by the online B2B marketplace IndiaMart.

Khan For Educators consists of instructional videos for teachers on how to use Khan Academy and leverage the platform for managing students and tracking their progress. This course will help them with advanced pedagogical practices like mastery-based learning and differentiated learning. 

This course is designed to enable teachers to integrate Khan Academy into their daily teaching practice and mitigate the challenges of using an online tool. Additionally, dedicated learning modules for school principals and teacher educators can effectively support them. 

Teachers will have access to training opportunities with certification that acknowledges their efforts to keep up-to-date in the field of education.

(The story will be updated throughout the day with the latest news.)

In an ecommerce market expected to reach $163 billion by 2026, online sales will account for over 25% of the sales across major retail categories barring grocery, by 2026, according to consulting firm RedSeer Consulting.

In its recent report titled Digital Disruptors, the firm came up with a list of 75 companies which account for nearly $15 billion worth of online sales, making them category leaders. The rankings were based on metrics including the online market share of the brands in their category, percentage sales from ecommerce, growth and performance on the ecommerce platforms, among others.

While digital first brand boAt led the electronics and appliances category, while BBK which owns smartphone brands like OnePlus, Oppo and Vivo came a close second, followed by computer and phone hardware manufacturer Asus. 

“In the case of BBK, Oppo and Vivo have largely been offline brands. Asus is more of a youth-centric gaming laptop brand and hence its focus on online channels is higher,” said Mohit Rana, Partner at Redseer during the report launch. He added that Samsung India trailed at the number 10 as the sale of white goods such as refrigerators etc was still higher through offline channels. In case of Apple India which came in at 24, promoting the offline franchisee model over online sales seemed like a conscious decision on the brand’s part due to the high value of the product. 

In the home and fashion category, Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail topped the list, followed by sports and casual wear brand Puma India and mattress brand Wakefit in the third spot. Grocery and personal care was dominated by large FMCG companies with Hindustan Unilever and L’Oreal India topping the list, followed by direct-to-consumer meat brand Licious. 

The report tracked the performance of over 1000 companies and 2000 brands across 50 sectors to come up with the list. 

“With digital-first brands accounting for ~25% of online sales and expanding their footprint in the offline market, traditional brands have newer challenges to conquer. Legacy companies need to focus on building digital capabilities and adopt an omnichannel approach to stay relevant in the digital age,” said Anil Kumar, CEO and Founder of Redseer in a statement issued by the company. 

The report categorised the companies into four quadrants based on their adoption of digital strategy, with Tigers being the early movers, legacy players and dominant offline players being clubbed into Elephants. The other two categories included digital first companies under the Rabbits list leveraging ecommerce channels while Turtles included offline brands with slow adoption of online sales. 

PhonePe has reportedly decided to scrap the acquisition of ZestMoneyafter months of negotiations.

The fintech company has called off the merger, and the corporate boards and investors of the companies were made aware of this news recently, The Economic Times reported.

After months of due diligence, it added that PhonePe has decided not to proceed with the transaction.

The report noted that failures with due diligence, conflicts over valuation, company viability, and ZestMoney's ownership structure were among the reasons the discussions failed to materialise. 

YourStory could not independently verify this report.

YourStory has reached out to PhonePe and ZestMoney for comments. Both company have not responded to the queries sent. This copy will be updated to reflect their comments.

This comes as a setback for the cash-strapped buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) platform when the whole technology ecosystem—particularly fintech—is experiencing a capital constraint.

In November, YourStory reported that PhonePe was in the final stages of acquiring ZestMoney for $200 million to $300 million.

The BNPL startup was last valued at $470 million after its latest funding round when it raised $70 million in a Series C round in September last year.

Founded in 2015 by Priya Sharma, Ashish Anantharaman, and Lizzie Chapman, ZestMoney offers BNPL plans of ticket sizes Rs 50 to Rs 5 lakh payable over 30 days to 24 months. It has partnered with 25 banks and non-banking lenders and works with large merchants, including Amazon, Flipkart, Google Pay, Apple, and Xiaomi, to offer its services to customers.

BNPL companies such as ZestMoney and its peers LazyPay, Uni Cards, Slice, etc., are grappling with uncertainty ever since the Reserve Bank of India released guidelines around digital lending, essentially making it hard for fintech startups to extend personal credit lines via a card. 

Over the last few years, India’s startup ecosystem has truly come of age. India is home to more than 40,000 startups, making it the third-largest startup ecosystem in the world. However, according to a NASSCOM report, 45 to 50 percent startups fail even before securing seed funding.

Startup and scaleups are, strictly speaking, not quite the same type of organisation. While a startup is in the early stages of getting its product into the right hands and securing funding, a scaleup has already established its product in the marketplace and is on its way to accelerated, scaled growth.

So how does one close the gap between startup and scaleup and empower more startups to successfully scale up?

When it comes to startups, we at Dell Technologies don’t just want to have a ring-side view of the ecosystem. We want to be in the ring with the startups – nurturing and accelerating them to become the best versions of themselves - successful scaleups.

More recently, Dell Technologies partnered with Startup India, to launch the Startup Challenge - to empower startups to scale, and leverage the right technology to drive innovation and competitive advantage.

The partnership is focussing on helping startups establish the right foundation for GTM strategy, sales & marketing, IT and automation, people and HR, supply chain and DevOps Scaling and creating their own marketplace.

This partnership intends to engage with the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT)-registered startups to create a market opportunity for startups in growth stage, enabling them to not only build their business but also put them on a path to generate working capital via market access collaborations.

Building a cohesive tech stack

Growing pains are the name of the game in the transition from startup to scaleup, and the initiative is designed to help startups solve the key challenges of tech, exposure, collaboration, and business mentorship.

Successful scaleups have to keep up with the changing wants and needs of customers on a regular basis. This includes leveraging technology to scale-up and target their potential customers using an effective and time-saving approach.

Moreso, as startups transition into scaleup mode, they could lose their competitive edge if they don't monitor their marketing funnel and keep an eye on key growth metrics - and leveraging tech to do so.

To help startups build a cohesive tech stack, the association will focus on supporting and enabling 75 startups, which will be selected from applications submitted on the platform website. The last date to submit the application is 15^th April, 2023

Dell Technologies will help the shortlisted startups with specially-tailored exclusive two-hour ‘Tech-Teardown’ sessions, and five hours of expert engineering counselling focused on technology scalability issues. The startups will also have access to go-to-market collaborations with Dell Technologies, and focused engagement with Dell Technologies’ customer ecosystem in India.

A short video that details how Dell Technologies will guide all the shortlisted startups on technology and business to address various startup challenges.

Growth-hacking masterclasses

A successful scaleup also needs to establish its product-market fit to the point of being able to confidently execute everything on a larger scale without sacrificing their current niche for the sake of growth.

Based on the potential shown during the first leg of interactions, 15 startups will be shortlisted from the 75 for the next level of the challenge. These startups will have access to an exclusive business masterclass organised by Dell leaders and powered by IIM Udaipur Incubation Centre, on multiple domains for two weeks.

Through this partnership Dell aims to impact and support startups that leverage emerging technologies to address business challenges. With the innovative technology engine, expertise in strategic guidance and consultancy, Dell is committed to help startups be future-ready and thrive in the new digital age.

Micro tinkering lab support worth $5000

In the final level of the challenge, Dell will further incentivise seven startup winners with a micro-tinkering lab support worth $5000.

The startup challenge is open to all tech startups and is sector-agnostic. If you’re a startup with a promising idea and are keen on scaling successfully, I urge you to go through the finer details of the initiative here, and apply for the challenge.

Renowned entrepreneur and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman is embarking on an international trip this May and June to engage with OpenAI users, developers, and those interested in artificial intelligence in general. Among the cities on his itinerary, Altman is scheduled to visit New Delhi, marking a significant opportunity for the Indian AI community to connect with one of the leading figures in the global AI landscape.

The trip, as announced by Altman in a recent tweet, includes stops in major cities across the globe such as Toronto, Washington DC, Rio de Janeiro, Lagos, Madrid, Brussels, Munich, London, Paris, Tel Aviv, Dubai, Singapore, Jakarta, Seoul, Tokyo, and Melbourne. Apart from meeting users and developers, Altman is also planning to give talks in some of these cities and engage with policymakers to discuss the implications of AI and its potential benefits for society.

India has been making strides in the field of artificial intelligence, with a growing number of startups and established companies incorporating AI technologies into their products and services. Altman's visit to New Delhi presents a unique opportunity for Indian AI enthusiasts and professionals to learn from his experiences at OpenAI, a leading AI research organisation. OpenAI has been responsible for groundbreaking developments in AI, such as the GPT series of natural language processing models, which have set new benchmarks in language understanding and generation capabilities.

During his visit, Altman is expected to share insights into OpenAI's mission to develop artificial general intelligence (AGI) that is safe and beneficial for humanity. By engaging with the local AI community, he aims to foster collaborations and encourage dialogue on critical topics such as long-term safety, ethical considerations, and the responsible development of AI technology.

As India continues to emerge as a key player in the global AI ecosystem, Sam Altman's visit is a testament to the country's growing prominence in this rapidly evolving field. By connecting with the Indian AI community, Altman is helping to strengthen the ties between OpenAI and India, opening up possibilities for future collaborations and joint efforts in addressing the challenges and opportunities that AGI presents.

Edtech major Unacademyhas reportedly laid off 380 employees or 12% of its workforce in another round of job cuts in an effort to increase the profitability of its primary business.

“We have taken every step in the right direction to make our core business profitable, yet it’s not enough. We have to go further, we have to go deeper,” Gaurav Munjal, Co-founder and CEO of Unacademy wrote in an internal memo, according to a report in The Economic Times.

“Unfortunately, this has led me to take another difficult decision. We will be reducing the size of our team by 12% to ensure that we can meet the goals we are chasing in the current realities we are facing,” Munjal added.

YourStory has reached out to Unacademy for a comment. This story will be updated to reflect the company's response.

This development comes a day after the edtech unicorn spun off its coding platform Codechef, which it acquired in 2020, into an independent business. Codechef was developed as a platform to help programmers enhance their skills and create a community.

Last November, Unacademy laid off 10% of its workforce, or about 350 employees. In January, Unacademy-owned Relevel let go of another 40 employees, or about 20% of its workforce. 

This round of layoffs comes at a time when edtech unicorns are witnessing losses, slowing expansion plans, and trying to burn as little cash as possible amid the funding winter.

A recent report by Moneycontrol noted that Unacademy and BYJU'S-owned Aakash are considering a possible merger. However, BYJU'S and Aakash have denied any such move.

Unacademy clocked a loss of Rs 2,848 crore for FY2022. The startup’s losses have widened by 85% since the previous fiscal year, when it reported a loss of Rs 1,537.4 crore.

Hello,

GoMechanic seems to have finally found a buyer. 

Two months after the car servicing startup admitted to financial irregularities and received a notice to initiate insolvency proceedings, it has found an unlikely buyer in Delhi-based Lifelong India Pvt Ltd.

Under its Servizzy entity, the company is acquiring GoMechanic as the majority shareholder. A Lifelong Group spokesperson confirmed the deal to YourStory, adding that it will focus on building upon GoMechanic’s business. Most of GoMechanic's employees will be laid off, while a few are likely to be absorbed into Lifelong.

Elsewhere, a two-member bench of the NCLAT has upheld the order of the Competition Committee of India (CCI) imposing a penalty of Rs 1,337.76 crore on Google, asking the company to deposit the amount in 30 days. 

Speaking of the CCI, on Wednesday, the Lok Sabha passed the Competition Amendment Bill, 2022, which provides for the CCI to impose penalties on entities based on their global turnover instead of the current practice of considering only the relevant market turnover.

Oh, and ChatGPT came up with 500 ways to end a letter. 

You know, to jazz up all your passive-aggressive emails.

In today’s newsletter, we will talk about 

• NPCI clears doubt over UPI charges
• upGrad raises Rs 300 crore
• Healthtech funding falls 55% in 2022

Here’s your trivia for today: When was the first Indian edition of Reader’s Digest magazine published? 

Fintech 

NPCI clears doubt over UPI charges

Starting April 1, an interchange fee of 1.1% will be levied on UPI transactions of over Rs 2,000 made through prepaid payment instruments (like wallets and credit cards), revealed a National Payments Corporation of India's (NPCI) circular, leaving several users confused. 

But, good news! Nothing is chargeable for users. 

Respite for you:

• If you are making a UPI payment at a store via a wallet, the wallet provider will receive the applicable interchange fee from the store itself. This is similar to how merchants are charged for payments made by users via credit cards—also known as the merchant discount rate.
• The issuer of prepaid instruments will also be required to pay 15 basis points of the fee to the remitter bank for loading a transaction value above Rs 2,000.
• Meanwhile, NPCI has enabled BharatPe, Cashfree Payments, Google Pay, Razorpay, Paytm, PayU, and Pine Labs to help merchant transactions through RuPay credit cards on UPI in the Indian market.

Funding Alert

Startup: The Souled Store

Amount: $16.4M

Round: Series C

Startup: Vitraya Technologies

Amount: $5M

Round: Series A

Startup: DesignCafe

Amount: Rs 40 Crore

Round: Series B

Edtech

upGrad raises Rs 300 crore

Edtech startup upGrad completed an internal rights issue of Rs 300 crore from existing shareholders and founders. Co-founder and Chairperson Ronnie Screwvala contributed Rs 212 crore and existing shareholder Temasek contributed Rs 81 crore while other minority stakeholders completed the balance.

Key takeaways:

• The company is focused on organic and inorganic growth across multiple verticals of formal education via degree, diploma, and doctorate courses in partnership with the best universities in India and globally.
• The edtech startup is also focusing on segments like skilling, short certification courses, bootcamps, and job-linked programmes, the spokesperson added.
• Last August, upGrad raised $210 million from ETS Global, Bodhi Tree, Singapore's Kaizen Management Advisors, the Family Office of Bharti Airtel, and existing investors Temasek, IFC, IIFL, and others.

Healthtech

Healthtech funding falls 55% in 2022

Total funding pumped into the healthtech sector fell 55% in 2022 compared to 2021, hurt by a massive decline in the number of late-stage deals. More than 70% of the total funds raised throughout 2022 were recorded in the first half of the year, according to Tracxn's Healthtech India report. 

Winter continues:

• Late-stage investments, which are meant to support companies that have grown beyond the development phase, dropped 75% to $606 million in 2022.
• The healthtech sector saw only two late-stage funding rounds of over $100 million in 2022 compared to 10 deals in the previous year. 
• Sequoia Capital, Accel, and Chiratae Ventures emerged as the top investors in the healthtech segment in India to date.

News & updates

• Comeback CEO: Sergio Ermotti will return to UBS as CEO to tackle the integration of Credit Suisse, less than two weeks after the shotgun marriage of the two Swiss banking giants. Ermotti, who led UBS for nine years until 2020, is credited with restoring the bank to health after a government bailout in 2008. 
• Workers wanted: Japan may face a shortage of more than 11 million workers by 2040, a study has found, underscoring the economic challenges the nation faces as its population ages rapidly. The working-age population is expected to rapidly decline from 2027.
• Mammoth meat: A giant meatball made from flesh cultivated using the DNA of an extinct woolly mammoth was unveiled at a science museum in the Netherlands. It has been created by the Australian cultured meat company Vow, which wanted to get people talking about cultured meat.

When was the first Indian edition of Reader’s Digest magazine published? 

Answer: In 1954, with a circulation of 40,000 copies.

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As demand for co-living spaces grows with time, there is a perceptible shift in millennial expectations of what these spaces entail.

From being traditionally restrictive bachelor pad hostels or even PG accommodations that served the purpose of board and lodging, the new co-living spaces provide an unprecedented level of sophistication and luxury to millennial living. They are fully-furnished, well-maintained spaces that can be called their own without ownership hassles. With serviced rooms and all thinkable amenities, the new-age co-living spaces offer the combined experience of high-end boutique hotels juxtaposed with a warm and homely setting.

Many view this concept as an upscaled version of student living for people who have recently stepped into their professional lives. The mindset shift is what makes this a disruptive level change in real estate, as new-gen millennials seek a more refined way of living with opportunities to interact without overbearing scrutiny and nosy neighbours.

A recent survey by Housr reveals that over 60% of respondents prioritise a fully-managed space that includes all necessary amenities as their top luxury. This suggests that for millennials, the experience and convenience of a well-managed space are more important than the cost, and accessibility is a key factor in their housing preferences.

Also, according to a report by FICCI in collaboration with JLL, the luxury co-living market in India is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 17.2% from 2019 to 2024, driven by the growing demand for affordable and hassle-free accommodation options.

The report also says that the supply of beds by organised co-living players is expected to increase by more than 5X to about 541,000 beds by 2023. Delhi-NCR and Bengaluru will account for more than 50% of this cumulative capacity. In response to this strong expansion in supply, demand will grow in tandem to about 470,000 beds. Also, 90% of millennials staying in co-living accommodation said that they were satisfied and would continue to stay in organised co-living spaces according to the JLL survey.

Also Read

How Housr created differentiation by offering “business class of co-living” accommodations

Bridging the gap

A factor that may have pushed the demand and expectations for these co-living spaces is the yearning for travel and mobility among GenZ before they consider settling down. Hence, these franchise-modelled, co-living and rental spaces often provide the most convenient way to lead a nomadic lifestyle for people starting their careers in a different city, planning to live independently, or working remotely while experiencing living in different cities.

With growing disposable incomes, consumers don’t want to compromise on comfort or luxuries, and modern co-living spaces can meet this demand. Sensing and perhaps, fueling the yearning for this new luxurious lifestyle, a few new-age co-living startups aim to offer their residents a premium lifestyle experience in serviced and furnished spaces.

Facilities in many of these new co-living condos include:

● Premium Interiors

● Three-tier security solutions

● App-enabled servicing and house-keeping

● Entertainment and social zones for community interactions

Perhaps, the key differentiating factors in these new-age homes lie in uninterrupted hi-speed Wi-fi connectivity, laundry services and professional housekeeping services, gaming zones, vending machines and cafeterias—all of which offer the combined experience of shared living while ensuring privacy, comfort and convenience as opposed to hostels of yore.

In the premiere of these companies, the services are mobile-operated via apps offering one-click resolutions to any day-to-day problems. In addition to the above, these properties are often located in prime locations and well-connected neighbourhoods, implying that travelling to work or getting access to hangout spots is effortless.

Another enticing factor that gives a peak into ease of living is that one can book site tours online before making a final decision of moving in. Not only is the entire booking process online, but related paperwork and lease agreements are also seamlessly managed virtually removing the hassles of back and forth with brokers!

Also Read

[Startup Bharat] How this Coimbatore-based company is leveraging technology to standardise co-living

Beyond millennials

Given the comforts and sleekness of the apartments and the entire moving-in process, the properties are not just attracting millennials but also smaller family units. Recent records show that many nuclear families and young couples find living in such spaces quite fulfilling. With state-of-the-art amenities and physically and virtually well-connected networks, couples working remotely want to balance work with travel without the hassle of worrying about housekeeping or arranging amenities for themselves.

Where is this headed?

The disruption caused by changes in the shared living market is most definitely here to stay as traditional substandard accommodation is no longer acceptable to individual professionals or nuclear families setting up houses.

Co-living spaces are reimagining the way people live together and pioneering a revolution in urban living. Their design-led approach provides unique and bespoke spaces for people to live, work and relax in. As the co-living spaces combine community-inspired social spaces, smart technology, enhanced services and comfortable private housing.

As millennials are pro-mobility, the demand for such spaces is only likely to grow with time. The digital nomads of the world have had a taste of next-generation shared living and are unlikely to give it up. Such spaces will be the future of living as they allow for an exciting and hassle-free way of being grounded and yet agile, enabling privacy and yet creating communities.

(Deepak Anand is the Founder and CEO, Housr—an aggregator of properties which offers premium co-living spaces enabled by tech.)

The Good Glamm Group, a pioneer of the ‘house of brands’ model in the direct-to-consumer (D2C) space, and Bollywood actor Akshay Kumar have formed a joint venture (JV) to produce personal care and wellness products for men.

The association, which is the Bollywood celebrity’s latest venture as an entrepreneur, marks the entry of the Good Glamm Group into the men’s personal care and wellness category. Both Kumar and the D2C conglomerate will invest capital and work together to scale the business.

“I have always wanted to create natural yet efficacious products based on all the learnings I have had and practised in holistic wellness,” Kumar said in a statement. “I am excited about the products we will be developing and the business that we will be building together.” 

The Bollywood actor will be deeply involved in the brand and product development, the company said, adding that Kumar has been following a disciplined personal care and wellness regime for the last forty-five years spanning yoga, martial arts, fitness, and a healthy diet. His tried and tested regime will be introduced in the product range which is expected to launch by mid-2023.

Also Read

The Good Glamm Group adds a 'Tweak' to its content strategy

“Akshay epitomises hard work, discipline and age-defying looks based on natural principles of holistic wellness. We couldn't think of a more authentic, trusted and knowledgeable partner to develop and launch this unique product line with,” Darpan Sanghvi, Group Founder and CEO of The Good Glamm Group said.

The JV will leverage the Good Glamm Group’s content-creator-commerce moat as well as the R&D strengths and offline distribution network of Good Brands Co across over 150 cities in  India.

Founded by Sanghvi, Priyanka Gill and Naiyya Saggi, the Good Glamm Group is one of South Asia’s largest content-creator-commerce beauty and personal care conglomerates that comprises a portfolio of D2C beauty and personal care brands.

The house of brands strategy refers to the practice of acquiring multiple companies across sectors and bringing them together under one parent.

In October 2021, the Good Glamm Group acquired ScoopWhoop, a digital media and lifestyle content platform for men, in anticipation of the group's entry into the fast-growing DTC male grooming and personal care segment.

Apple has announced the introduction of Apple Pay Later, an innovative payment solution designed to enhance users' financial health. The feature enables users to split purchases into four interest-free payments over six weeks. Initially available to select users in the United States, Apple plans to expand the service to all eligible users in the coming months.

Apple Pay Later allows customers to apply for loans between $50 and $1,000 for online and in-app purchases made through iPhone and iPad with merchants that accept Apple Pay. Jennifer Bailey, Apple's Vice President of Apple Pay and Apple Wallet, highlighted the flexibility of the new payment option, stating that it was "designed with our users' financial health in mind, so it has no fees and no interest."

Users can apply for loans within the Wallet app without impacting their credit. A soft credit pull during the application process ensures users are in a good financial position before taking on the loan. Once approved, the Pay Later option appears when Apple Pay is selected at checkout.

Apple Pay Later is currently available for users with an invite, which is sent out randomly. The service can be used for online and in-app purchases on iPhones and iPads running iOS 16.4 and iPadOS 16.4.

Users can manage their loans within the Wallet app, easily tracking total amounts due and upcoming payments. Notifications and email reminders help users plan for upcoming payments, and only debit cards are accepted for loan repayments to prevent further debt accumulation.

Apple Pay Later is built on privacy and security, requiring Face ID, Touch ID, or passcode authentication, with transaction and loan history never shared or sold to third parties. Apple Financing LLC, a subsidiary of Apple Inc., oversees credit assessment and lending, with plans to report Apple Pay Later loans to U.S. credit bureaus starting this fall.

The new payment solution is enabled through the Mastercard Installments program, ensuring that merchants already accepting Apple Pay do not need to make any additional changes. Goldman Sachs is the issuer of the Mastercard payment credential used for Apple Pay Later purchases.

Back in 2019, Apple launched its inaugural credit service, the Apple Card, specifically tailored for Apple users. Integrated into the Wallet app on iPhones, the Apple Card provides users with a physical metal card and offers a 3% cashback on transactions, accompanied by round-the-clock support and a user-friendly spending overview.

Edtech major Unacademy has spun off its coding platform Codechef, which it acquired in 2020, into an independent business.

“We are excited to see CodeChef operate as an independent company, and we are proud to have played a role in its growth and success,” Gaurav Munjal, Co-founder and CEO of Unacademy Group, said in a statement. “We look forward to supporting CodeChef as an investor such that it continues to innovate and provide high-quality programming education to students around the world.”

Unacademy will hold a 30% stake in the new hived-off programming company as an investor, the edtech unicorn said, adding that it has also infused initial capital that will help the separate entity function for the next 12-18 months.

“We are grateful to Unacademy Group and Gaurav for believing in the team and taking this leap with us. We are super excited to build a successful and profitable learning product as we continue this journey,” Hrishikesh Kelkar, Business Head, CodeChef said in a statement.

CodeChef was started in 2009 by Bhavin Turakhia, Founder and CEO of Flock, Radix and Zeta, as a part of Directi. It was developed as a platform to help programmers enhance their skills and create a community.

In June 2020, Unacademy acquired CodeChef and added it under its umbrella, instead of Directi.

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“In the past, we never really focused on the financial viability of CodeChef, but being generously supported by Directi, and later by Unacademy, allowed us to keep doing our work without worrying about the financials,” the programming platform said in a tweet.

“But recently, due to the larger global economic slowdown, it has become clear that this cannot continue, and we need to find ways to sustain ourselves. Starting April, CodeChef will be an independent company owned and run by the current team,” it added.

This development comes at a time when edtech unicorns are bearing losses, slowing expansion plans, and trying to burn as little cash as possible amid the funding winter.

Recently, Unacademy rival BYJU’S denied a media report that it was considering a plan to shut WhiteHat Jr, the coding startup it had acquired in 2020, to reduce costs. In November, speaking at TechSparks 2022, Founder and CEO Byju Raveendran said the company was still figuring out the go-to-market strategy for WhiteHat Jr.

Markets regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI)on Wednesday approved a slew of proposals, including ending the practice of individuals holding permanent directorship at boards of listed companies and putting in place a framework to prevent frauds by stock brokers.

The proposals were cleared by the board of the SEBI during its meeting here on Wednesday.

The watchdog has approved a regulatory framework to allow private equity funds to become sponsors of mutual funds, a move that will help further deepen the mutual fund industry.

Besides, the regulator has given its nod for norms for Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) disclosures by listed companies.

According to a release issued after the board meeting, SEBI said it has decided to end the practice of individuals having permanent seats on boards of listed companies. The move is part of efforts to further boost the corporate governance ecosystem.

Among other measures, the regulator will put in place a formal mechanism to prevent frauds and market abuse by stock brokers.

Further, SEBI will introduce a fund-blocking facility for secondary market transactions like being done for Initial Public Offerings (IPOs). The measure is aimed at safeguarding investors' money from misuse by stock brokers.