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10Oct By PriyankaNo Comments

FUNDING

Grammarly Raises $90M in funding, Valuation Soars over $1 billion

SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 10, 2019-- Grammarly, the AI-powered digital writing assistant used by more than 20 million people daily raises $90 million in its latest round of funding. Existing investors General Catalyst, IVP led the round with participation from new investors. With this investment, Grammarly will continue to advance its cutting-edge technology to build a full-fledged communication assistant for individuals and businesses. "Communication is a fundamental human need that helps us all connect and thrive," said Brad Hoover, Grammarly CEO. "But effective communication requires talent and time, and it can be very challenging. Grammarly's AI fills this gap by empowering people worldwide both native and non-native English writers, for personal, professional, and academic reaso...

22May By AdityaNo Comments

ACQUISITION

Snapdeal set to acquire Shopclues

New Delhi: Online e-commerce platform Snapdeal is in talks to acquire rival ShopClues in a deal likely to be pegged around $200-$250 million, according to sources. Snapdeal has started the due-diligence process and is likely to take a call on the acquisition over the next few weeks, the sources close to the development said. When contacted, a Snapdeal spokesperson declined to comment, while ShopClues said the company does not comment on market rumours. The two e-commerce companies have engaged in such discussions in the past as well, but this is the first time that it has made it to the due-diligence phase. The deal will be an all-stock deal and is expected to be valued between $200 and $250 million, the sources added. ShopClues' investors, including Singapore’s sovereign w...

8May By AnkitaNo Comments

ACQUISITION

Softbank Acquire more stakes in Yahoo

Softbank, Japanese telecom and leading investment company said it will spend USD 4 billion to acquire more stakes in Yahoo Japan. After this acquisition, Japan will hold nearly 45 percent stakes of Yahoo Japan. On Wednesday, the company releases its forecast report and mention that with the additional stake in Yahoo, its revenue will rise to 4.8 trillion yen ($43.6 billion) in this fiscal year. Softbank, the Japanese mobile subsidiary of Softbank Group Corp., listed its shares in December in Japan's largest-ever initial public offering, at more than 2 trillion yen ($18 billion). It now holds a 12 percent stake in Yahoo Japan, which will become a subsidiary of Softbank Corp. with the acquisition of a 36 percent stake in the internet company held by its parent. Softbank Corp....

1Apr By reutersNo Comments

FUNDING

Airbnb invests in OYO’s series E funding round

Home-renting company Airbnb has invested in Indian hotel reservation start-up OYO's series E funding round, as it dives deeper into the hotel-booking business. Airbnb did not disclose the details of its investment in OYO, however, as per sources, the round is close to between $100-$200 million. It expects revenue to more than treble every year over the next five years, as it expands locally and in international markets, a senior company executive told Reuters earlier this year."Airbnb's strong global footprints and access to local communities will open up new opportunities for OYO Hotels & Homes..." said Maninder Gulati, global chief strategy officer at OYO Hotels & Home. U.S.-based Airbnb will look at ways to make the OYO accommodation available on its platform, the c...

Trump says Google CEO Sundar Pichai committed to US, not Chinese military

28Mar By Press Trust of IndiaNo Comments

USA

Trump says Google CEO Sundar Pichai committed to US, not Chinese military

US President Donald Trump said that Google CEO Sundar Pichai, whom he'd previously accused of indirectly boosting China's military, has reassured him that he is "totally committed" to US security. "Just met with @sundarpichai, President of @Google, who is obviously doing quite well," Trump tweeted after a White House meeting. "He stated strongly that he is totally committed to the US Military, not the Chinese Military." Earlier this month Trump complained that Google's business activities in China were "helping China and their military. "There was also criticism from General Joseph Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who told Congress "the work that Google is doing in China is indirectly benefiting" China's armed forces. America's top military officer has also urged U...

How Agriculture is changing in India Using Technology

1Feb By PriyankaNo Comments

Story

How Agriculture is changing in India Using Technology

I worked as a media person and a writer who would share her opinions about various issues and trends concerning the urban population of the nation. While I was exploring options for a job change I came across an interesting and challenging opportunity of understanding the needs of a completely different target group i.e. the farmers! Without having any agriculture background, I joined Gramophone, an AgTechstartup that aims to solve real problems faced by farmers in India. My team at Gramophone provides assistance to more than 150,000 farmers for growing their crops in a better way. It felt counter-intuitive that a farmer who is doing agriculture for years would need external help in growing the crops. I mean, he does this every year. I was curious to understand why are so many farmers ...

Zuckerberg to integrate WhatsApp, Instagram and Facebook Messenger

27Jan By PriyankaNo Comments

News

Zuckerberg to integrate WhatsApp, Instagram and Facebook Messenger

As per the report, Facebook Inc Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg is planning to unify the underlying messaging infrastructure of the WhatsApp, Instagram and Facebook Messenger services and incorporate end-to-end encryption into these apps. The three services will, however, continue as stand-alone apps, the report said, citing four people involved in the effort. Facebook said it is working on adding end-to-end encryption, which protects messages from being viewed by anyone except the participants in a conversation, to more of its messaging products, and considering ways to make it easier for users to connect across networks. "There is a lot of discussion and debate as we begin the long process of figuring out all the details of how this will work," a spokesperson said. After the...

7Jan By Press Trust of IndiaNo Comments

FUNDING

Indian Startups raise $38.3 bn Funding in 2018: Report

New Delhi: Indian startups are estimated to have raised $38.3 billion in funding in 2018, behind only the US and China, a report by Yostartups said Thursday. Flipkart’s $16 billion deal with American retailer Walmart accounted for the biggest piece of the pie, followed by Swiggy raising about $1.3 billion over three deals, and OYO picking up $1 billion in 2018, the report said. Other big funding deals included those by Paytm Mall ($895 million), ReNew Power ($495 million), Byju’s ($422 million) and Zomato ($410 million). Around 1,000 deals were signed by Indian startups in 2018 with areas like e-commerce, fintech, sustainability and renewable energy, transportation and logistics, health and wellness, and travel and tourism attracting the highest investments, it add...

India’s Popular Social Media Platform Will Double The Hiring

24Sep By AnkitaNo Comments

News

India’s Popular Social Media Platform Will Double The Hiring

After raising USD 100 million, India's regional language social media platform ShareChat will double its employee numbers from current 75 to 150 people as it looks to further strengthen its technology platform and reach 100 million monthly active users. The Bengaluru-based company has recently raised USD 100 million in series C funding led by Shunwei Capital and others like Yuri Milner, Lightspeed US, handset maker Xiaomi and Morningside Venture Capital. "We are focused towards scaling up business in India, the financing will be used to scale up the business by creating and maintaining infrastructure. One of our main focus areas will also be to hire talent. We have about 75 people right now and we expect to double that to about 150 people in the next one year," ShareChat CEO Ankush Sac...

Softbank Net Profit Surges Record 50 Fold After Flipkart Acquisition

7Aug By PriyankaNo Comments

BUSINESS

Softbank Net Profit Surges Record 50 Fold After Flipkart Acquisition

Masayoshi Son led Japanese leading tech company SoftBank net profit soared more than 50-fold from a year earlier to 313.7 billion yen (USD 2.8 billion) in the latest quarter thanks to Flipkart acquisition and coworking space Wework growth in India. Last year in the same quarter, SoftBank's profits slumped to 5.5 billion yen due to its investment in Chinese e-commerce company Alibaba. Sales in the April-June quarter edged up 4 percent to 2.3 trillion yen. The value of the fund's stake in Flipkart increased 164.3 billion yen after Walmart agreed in May to buy it. Sales were flat at SoftBank's U.S. mobile provider Sprint, dropping 0.4 percent to USD 8.1 billion. The Tokyo-based company realized a one-time gain of 161.3 billion yen from the sale of a large share in the Chinese o...

Taxi Aggregator OLA Appointed Simon Smith as MD of Australia Operation

4Jul By AdityaNo Comments

News

Taxi Aggregator OLA Appointed Simon Smith as MD of Australia Operation

The former CEO of eBay Australia, Simon Smith appointed as a Managing Director of taxi aggregator OLA in Australia. Simon held various roles previously including Chief Executive Officer of eBay Australia, Non-Executive Director of Sportsbet, VP of Virtual Offices at Servcorp and a consultant at McKinsey and Company. "Simon is a very entrepreneurial and strategic leader who has demonstrated strong business and people leadership in his career. He will lead Ola's mission to build the future of mobility in Australia and create impact for the millions of consumers and tens of thousands of driver partners," Ola co-founder and CEO Bhavish Aggarwal said. Joining the company, Smith will lead the team and will work on building Ola's presence, including strategy, marketing, product development, ...

Online Startup SaleBhai Received BSE Approval for SME IPO

3Jul By AnkitaNo Comments

Market

Online Startup SaleBhai Received BSE Approval for SME IPO

New Delhi, 3rd July, 2018: B2C e-commerce company SaleBhai Internet Limited, the owner and operator of SaleBhai.com have received BSE approval for its Initial Public Offering (IPO) on SME Platform of BSE. The company had filed a Draft Prospectus (DP) with BSE for listing on the SME platform of BSE Ltd on May 17, 2018, and has now received in-principle approval from BSE. BSE’s approval means that the Ahmedabad-based E-commerce startup will be the first to raise money through public route at such an early stage. Salebhai had already received funding and support from 71 high net worth individuals. This interest from existing customers propelled the company to raise money from the general public through an IPO. Commenting on the IPO, Vishwavijay Singh, Co-Founder, SaleBhai, said, “We ...