Venkatraman Dhamodaran

India’s Oyo, once valued at $10 billion, is finalizing new funding at a $2.5 billion valuation. This marks a steep decline from its $10 billion valuation in 2019. The startup, which has raised over $3 billion from backers like SoftBank, Peak XV Ventures, Lightspeed, Airbnb, and Microsoft, has struggled to attract institutional investors. In recent months, it has aggressively pitched to high-net-worth individuals after withdrawing its IPO application twice in the past four years. Once a red-hot Indian startup active in markets including the U.S. and Europe, Oyo has now scaled back its international presence. #venture #downround https://lnkd.in/gE2GjYnM

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BizDateUp has taken part in Swiggy's pre-IPO round via an off-market secondary deal, attracting attention from multiple high-profile investors.   BizDateUp, known for supporting startups, saw considerable growth in FY 2023-24, having funded over 25 startups and raised a $10 million fund. With an average return of 3.5X, the company continues to expand its influence in the startup ecosystem. This move aligns with their focus on high-potential sectors like food delivery, which is evolving with tech innovations. #BizDateUp #Swiggy #Investment #FoodDelivery #StartupEcosystem #TechInnovation #IndianStartups #PreIPO #Startup77

AppsForBharat Secures $18M Series B Funding to Expand Devotional Tech Platform! AppsForBharat, the company behind India's devotional app Sri Mandir, has raised $18 million in a Series B funding round led by Nandan Nilekani’s Fundamentum. This funding round also saw participation from Susquehanna Asia VC and existing investors like Elevation Capital, Peak XV Partners, and Mirae Asset Global Investments VC. The funds will be used to expand Sri Mandir’s operations across India and internationally. The company plans to onboard new temples, launch additional services, and build a tech stack that can digitize the devotional ecosystem. Prashant Sachan, founder of AppsForBharat and IIT Bombay alum, shared that the platform currently has over 50 temples, and the goal is to increase this ten-fold in the next 12 to 18 months. The app allows users to book poojas, access a library of spiritual content, and consult astrologers and priests. Since its launch in 2020, AppsForBharat has seen impressive growth. Over the past year, 5 lakh devotees have completed 27 lakh pujas through the Sri Mandir app, which has been downloaded over 30 million times. The devotional sector in India is estimated to be a $50 billion market, and the company believes 15% of this market will be digitized within the next 4-5 years. Ashish Kumar, co-founder of Fundamentum, stated that AppsForBharat is well-positioned to capture a significant share of this growing market. Notably, E-Cell IIT Bombay alums, Prateek Jajodia, Prerna Chhaparwal, and Atharwa Gade, have been a part of AppsForBharat's journey, contributing to its growth and success. In the coming years, the company aims to introduce spiritual tourism, facilitate Darshan ticket bookings, and offer Prasad delivery services. They also plan to expand into key international markets like the USA, UK, and Canada, while making the app available in five new regional languages. #fundingnews #appsforbharat #srotechnology #digitaltransformation #devotionalplatform #smandir #seriesbfunding #spiritualtechnology #templeservices #indianstartups #ecell #iitbombay

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Monolithic CeAI 🐇 vs Modular DeAI 🐢 👇🏻 #CeAI 🐇 Early out of gate & rapid tech gains (with resulting shock & awe media hype) from centralised & closed decision making, masked malpractice & ethical shortcuts.. but whose negative monopolistic outcome stalls broad ecosystem engagement, where product outcomes eventually plateaux leading to UX theatre 🎭 and equally creating a regulatory backlash #DeAI 🐢 Early tech dev slowed by fragmented and decentralised decision making, building in public, auditable infra… However which, when combined with better incentive alignment, network hardening, eventually kick in to catalyse an ecosystem flywheel with better regulatory fit and buy in. This is not theory. I’ve bet the farm on this outcome. Tell me which approach is the most likely to coordinate the $7.5 trillion in funding Sam Altman thinks he needs to reach AGI? And if I’m wrong we are all screwed anyway because CeAI can not ever produce Sovereign AI… if users don’t feel comfortable with it watching their most personal of life moments they will always hold back the stuff that makes it truly our best of best friends Sam’s @OpenAI approach is Web2 move fast and break things 🔥 with Web3 (Worldcoin) bandaids 🩹 #ChatGPT4o

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Zintlr, a B2B SaaS platform specializing in sales intelligence and prospecting, has raised Rs 7.5 crore in a seed funding round led by Om Jain and other investors, including JIIF and Vimal Shah. The startup plans to use the raised capital to scale its team, drive market expansion, and innovate to build new product verticals in intelligence. Read the full story here: 👇 https://lnkd.in/d6VVdgez #b2b #saas #funding #investors #startup #technology #ai #indianstartupnews

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Enterprise SaaS startup Everstage has raised $30 Mn (around INR 252 Cr) in a Series B funding round led by Eight Roads Ventures. The round also saw participation from existing investors — Elevation Capital and 3one4 Capital. The Chennai-based startup plans to use the fresh funds for product innovation and improving its in-house services for enhanced customer experience, said Siva Rajamani, cofounder and CEO of Everstage. Additionally, Everstage has also announced an INR 5 Cr employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) buyback programme to reward its early employees. While Everstage has 200 staffers on its payroll, it’s unclear how many of them would benefit from the ESOP buyback scheme. Founded in 2020 by Rajamani, a former Freshworks executive, and Vivek Suriyamoorthy, Everstage offers a platform that enables enterprises, and their sales teams, to keep track of how much they’re earning in commission. To read the in-depth article, click here: https://4-2.co/3NtqnMR #news #saas #funding

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Rohit Bansal, co-founder of Snapdeal and Titan Capital, an early-stage investment firm with a diverse portfolio of over 250+ startups, including unicorns like Mamaearth, Razorpay, and Urban Company, engages in a dynamic conversation with Abhishek Singh Mint, on the latest episode of #RollinWithTheBoss. From assessing market potential and scalability to scrutinizing team dynamics and innovation, he shares invaluable insights essential for both aspiring entrepreneurs and seasoned investors. Catch the full conversation airing today at 8 PM on the Mint YouTube channel. #Snapdeal #TitanCapital #Startup #Investment #Entrepreneurship #RollinWithTheBoss #Mint #StartupFunding

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Meet Ankur Bansal, a Senior Product Consultant at BlueStacks, who is not just a community member but also a 1% Club Commando. He has seen his stock market portfolio rise by 67% in 4 years. In an interview with the team, Ankur shares some simple but interesting insights from his investing journey till now. Here’s his full story - https://lnkd.in/dwCn4z-c #stockmarket #investing #community #financialplanning

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Startup Central | ThinKuvate: Bolstering tech-enabled startups Addison Appu, Partner at ThinKuvate, sheds light on the latest ₹100 cr fund, 'glocal' approach, key sectors in focus and more Avanne Dubash Addison Appu

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Our vision at Niti AI is to empower the next billion (non) developers to build and ship products with AI! Whenever I reflect on ambitious goals like this, I'm reminded of the below quote from The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand. Hari Subramanian | Aravind R. | LoopX

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Have you ever been lost in a railway station, not knowing where to go or which way to take? Left or right? Even nobody else knows. That’s how I felt opening the Paytm app after a few months. I couldn’t get to the transaction history page, and I really didn’t know how to figure it out. It turned out that it took me 15 minutes to get to the transaction history, check some previous activity, confirm, and close the app. And in 15 minutes, my iPhone started heating up really bad. What a royal mess! Advise product managers and designers: Please make your UI simpler and easier to understand and navigate. Just don’t think using simple colors will lead to a simple UI. There’s an art behind it. Learn it.

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It was nice meeting you and your team at the JITO INCUBATION & INNOVATION FOUNDATION event. Your idea and startup around this good. Keep the focus and build solutions for end consumer and at the same time for lawyers. Use #artificialintelligence and #generativeAI with some real #data to do further #innovation in #legaltech. ALL THE BEST

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Key Insights from Meet X Jaipur ➡️ Underserved Markets: Tier 2 founders have a deep understanding of India’s middle-income 'Bharat' market, spotting niche opportunities missed by Tier 1 startups ➡️ Cost Efficiency: Operating from Tier 2 cities means lower costs for rent, salaries, and overhead, boosting startup efficiency ➡️ Local Insight: Tier 2 founders understand regional consumer behaviour and preferences, enabling them to create products tailored to local needs ➡️ Bootstrapping Skills: Limited funding access forces Tier 2 founders to master bootstrapping, ensuring financial discipline and sustainable growth Kulmani Rana Anchal Suryavanshi Preksha Razdan Ridhi Khurana Vatsal Sarawgi Rohit Rawat Hardik Vaibhav

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CredFlow founder Kunal Aggarwal achieved a major milestone by securing $3.7 million in pre-Series B funding from Inflexor Ventures. This strategic investment brings CredFlow’s total funding to over $13 million, following $9.2 million raised in earlier rounds. Read about how CredFlow is revolutionizing SME's finances: https://lnkd.in/ebv7N7m3 #CredFlow #Funding #Investment #EntrepreneurshipStudio

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LogicLadder, a climate-tech SaaS startup, has secured $2.5 million in a Series A round led by BIG Capital and Zerodha’s Rainmatter. With backing from ONGC, Shell, and IIM Lucknow EIC, the company plans to expand its footprint in South Asia and North America. Founded in 2011, LogicLadder offers ‘The Sustainability Cloud,’ a platform that helps enterprises manage ESG, track carbon emissions, and meet environmental compliance. The software adheres to global standards like GHG Protocol and SBTi. Its products—TSC Water, TSC Energy, and TSC Enviro—drive efficiency-led decarbonization and sustainability in water and waste management. Serving over 1,000 clients including NTPC, Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited, PVR-INOX, and Mother Dairy, LogicLadder is set to lead the way in sustainable business practices. #Sustainability #ClimateTech #SaaS #Funding #ESG #EnvironmentalCompliance #Decarbonization #WaterManagement #WasteManagement #SustainableBusiness #GlobalExpansion

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Struggling to keep your projects on track? Watch this: https://lnkd.in/gQsJbYQT Ever felt like your projects are all over the place? A clear roadmap can be your saving grace! In this video, Kanika Agarwal, Ex-Product Manager at Spinny dives deep into how a roadmap can help you run a tight ship and ensure your projects stay on course. HelloMeets - Upskilling platform for PMs. #hellomeets #roadmap #productmanagement #spinny

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