Product Owner

Growth And Strategy

Next stop  Shutdown!  https://techcrunch.com/2024/01/11/blackrockcutsbyjusvaluationby95to1billion/

Welcome to News Discussion's Private Community

Next stop - Shutdown!

https://techcrunch.com/2024/01/11/blackrock-cuts-byjus-valuation-by-95-to-1-billion/

New Unicorn🦄

Product Manager

New Unicorn🦄- Grapevine

- Raise Financial Services, the parent company of trading app Dhan, is in early discussions to raise $100 million, potentially boosting its valuation to $1.5 billion and entering the unicorn club.
- Investment banking firm Avendus has been shortlisted to manage the fundraising, with new and existing investors expected to participate.
- The fresh funds will be used for business expansion, including new services like financing, payments, and insurance, to compete with rivals such as Groww, Zerodha, and Upstox.
- Dhan's founder, Pravin Jadhav, previously led Paytm Money but left on contentious terms; he has since taken jabs at his former employer on social media.
- Despite a competitive market, Dhan has seen significant growth, with a 330% year-over-year increase in its active client base, while competitors like Paytm Money have struggled. 

 Source: Moneycontrol

Unicorn Alert: Dhan in Talks to Raise $100 Million at $1.5 Billion Valuation

Journalist

Welcome to Indian Startups's Private Community

Sad state of Indian Edtech. Next would be Unacademy.

BlackRock has yet again cut the value of its holding in Byju's, slashing the implied valuation of the Indian startup to $1 billion from $22 billion in BlackRock has cut the value of its holding in Byju's, slashing the implied valuation of the Indian startup to $1 billion from $22 billion in early 2022.

BlackRock cuts Byju's valuation by 95% to $1 billion | TechCrunch

Just in : BlackRock cuts Byju’s valuation by 95% to $1 billion 🌀

Software Developer

Program Manager

Been spending way too much time on Grapevine lately - absolutely loving it @Micheal_Scott!

Posted the Prosus report takeaways yday - lots of you DMed asking questions. Then I saw NewsAnchor break down the entire Prosus Annual Report - great stuff.

I was an Associate at one of the largest VC funds in India, so I enjoy going through new reports and summarising them - found my notes from Bain's India Venture Capital Report 2024. Thought of sharing the unedited summary that I shared with the Partners at the fund, have a bunch of these - can share more if of value to any of you here (ofc removing the confidential parts)

Notes:
1/ India's maintaining its gravitational pull despite the global funding crunch. Sure, overall funding nosedived 63% to $9.6B, but we're still the #2 destination in Asia-Pacific. Might not necessarily be a crash, it's a necessary course correction.
2/ Early-stage investing is showing remarkable resilience. Seed deals now comprise 70% of all deals, up from 60%, with average check sizes holding steady at $1.4M. Smart money is quietly positioning itself for the next wave of innovation.
3/ The tech-only playbook is being rewritten. While consumer tech, fintech, and SaaS still command 60% of funding, traditional sectors like BFSI are gaining ground, with average deal sizes jumping from $8M to $15M. We're witnessing the birth of tech-enabled, not just tech-centric, growth stories.
4/ The unicorn factory has hit pause, with only 2 new billion-dollar valuations vs. 23 in 2022. Mega-rounds ($100M+) plummeted from 48 to 15. This isn't a drought; it's a return to fundamentals. The era of grow-now-profit-later is firmly behind us.
5/ Generative AI isn't just hype; it's reshaping the landscape. Funding exploded from $15M to $250M, with 80% flowing to existing companies integrating AI. India's quickly becoming a laboratory for practical AI applications, not just speculative moonshots.
6/ Electric mobility is rewiring itself. While overall funding dipped slightly to $600M+, charging infrastructure investment surged 50%. The real opportunity isn't just in vehicles; it's in building out the entire EV ecosystem.
7/ Exits are defying gravity, leaping 1.7x to $6.6B. Public market sales led the charge at 55%, even as IPOs cooled. LPs are getting liquidity, and the secondary market is proving surprisingly robust. There's still appetite for quality assets.
8/ PE is no longer just watching from the sidelines. These players doubled their share to 25% of investments, going toe-to-toe with traditional VCs. The lines between growth equity and venture capital are blurring, and it's changing the game for late-stage rounds.
9/ We're watching natural selection in real-time. Yes, 35,000+ startups shuttered and 20,000+ layoffs hit the headlines. But companies like Groww and Indifi turned profitable. This isn't a bubble bursting; it's an ecosystem strengthening its foundations.
10/ Domestic VCs are coming of age. While overall fund-raising halved to $4B, homegrown VCs led 90%+ of raises. They're not just following; they're specializing, with thematic funds like Omnivore's $150M agritech vehicle. The ecosystem is bootstrapping its own future.
11/ Regulation isn't just tightening; it's evolving. Angel Tax expanded and lending norms got stricter, but we're also seeing innovative policies like UPI for foreign travelers. India's crafting a uniquely balanced approach to fostering innovation while maintaining stability.

Topics we can discuss during our standup:
1/ Can India produce global tech giants if it's primarily adopting rather than pioneering in areas like AI? How do we enable this?
2/ How will the shift towards profitability impact India's ability to foster truly disruptive innovations? Implications for us, how should we be evaluating deals differently?
3/ With domestic VCs leading the charge, how will this change India's startup narrative on the global stage?
4/ Is this maturation setting the stage for more resilient, globally competitive Indian startups, or are we risking our innovation edge? How do we look at thesis driven investing v/s fomo investing?

Link to Bain's report - https://www.bain.com/insights/india-venture-capital-report-2024/

P.S. Do note that this is 6+ months old - data points mostly look diff now but sharing it anyways. Will post more as and when I get time :)

My notes on Bain's 2024 VC report as a VC Associate

Investor

So Zepto was the first, InCred becomes the second one. 2 unicorns this entire year 🙀

InCred becomes 2nd unicorn of 2023 after raising $60 Mn in a new round. At $1.03 Bn valuation.

Corporate Strategist

https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/technology/bhavish-aggarwals-ai-startup-krutrim-turns-unicorn-after-raising-50-million-12129991.html

2024 first unicorn

Welcome to Office Gossip's Private Community

https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/business/startup/blackrock-cuts-byjus-fair-value-by-62-for-the-second-time-since-october-2022-10701291.html

Byjus valuation dropped to $8.4 billion by BlackRock

Engineering Manager

Picture speaks a thousand words

Software Engineer

Krutrim has become a unicorn after securing $50m in funding, making it the first Indian AI startup with a valuation of $1bn. It seems like an extremely overvalued company being built yet again. Thoughts?

India's 1st Unicorn in 2024

Are we going back to good golden days of insane salaries. I am really curious on how was the valuation decided. On what basis? Did this platform earned a single penny yet.

As per latest report only 67 Unicorn left which once was 100+

Can you name any ex-unicorn.

Currently, India has 67 unicorns, as per a report by the Hurun Research Institute. This makes the country rank third on the global list. However, it's way less 

India Ranked Third with 67 unicorns: Report 

Only 67 Unicorn are left 🦄

Last 6 months have been dominated by layoff announcements, didn’t realise not a single new unicorn in this period!

"BYJU’S grew considerably since our first investment in 2018, but, over time, its reporting and governance structures did not evolve sufficiently for a company of that scale. Despite repeated efforts from our Director, executive leadership at BYJU’S regularly disregarded advice and recommendations relating to strategic, operational, legal, and corporate governance matters. The decision for our Director to step down from the BYJU’S Board was taken after it became clear that he was unable to fulfil his fiduciary duty to serve the long-term interests of the Company and its stakeholders."

https://techcrunch.com/2023/07/24/prosus-questions-byjus-governance-says-indian-edtech-regularly-disregarded-advice/?tpcc=tcplustwitter

This is major - Prosus just publically said that BYJU's had improper governance and failed to improve despite their recommendations

Largest shareholder saying this publicly, I wonder if there is any way of recovering from this point

Investment Associate

BYJUs, Dunzo are dead. Which unicorn will tumble next?

Are you a first time manager or do you have any questions around workplace productivity, team management, culture? Ask away!

15 yrs of exp., 2x founder, 1 exit, led diverse teams. AMA

Founder

I had heard Waycool was also talking to raise at unicorn valuation, but they've fired like 300 people on Monday, so that's pretty uncertain. What to make of Zepto, though?

New Unicorn🦄

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