How Incubators and Accelerators are Changing the Game for Indian Start-ups

Once home to the mythical Indian rope trick and turbaned Maharajas, India today proudly boasts of the third largest number of start-ups worldwide. The history of Indian start-ups can be traced back to the birth of the Indian information technology industry in 1984 followed by the launch of the first commercial internet service by VSNL…

Building war chest: Bharti board’s nod to Rs 16,500 crore fundraise

Bharti Airtel board on Monday approved a proposal to raise up to Rs 16,500 crore through a combination of privately placed non-convertible debentures and foreign currency bonds for conducting treasury operations. In its ongoing efforts to raise funds to reduce debt as well as meet the competitive challenges posed by Reliance Jio, the Bharti Airtel…

Lockheed Martin to invite innovative ideas from Indian startups

The US aircraft manufacturers Lockheed Martin will soon invite innovation ideas from startups through its annual scheme “India innovation growth programme,” meant for startups and university students “The applications for this programme, launched in 2007, will be received from March 21. It looks for startups and university students, who have got innovative ideas. They may…

Deals Buzz: Ola seeks $1 billion in new round of funding

Essar Steel: Numetal, ArcelorMittal may be headed for legal battle Early signals emanating from ArcelorMittal and Numetal, the only companies to have placed binding bids to acquire Essar Steel, hint at a protracted legal battle that could mire the resolution of the steelmaker’s debts, says Mint’s report. The report further says, in the weeks following…

Estonia pitches Indian startups with ‘Make in India & Sell in Europe’ proposition

Touting its e-Residency programme, Estonia is pitching for budding Indian entrepreneurs looking to ride the next digital wave and start up their ventures in a seamless, hassle free and technology-driven environment to set up base in the county. Terming it as the perfect solution that enables access to a government-issued digital ID and providing an…

This startup just raised $5 million to automate the clunky real estate appraisal process

When Noah Isaacs and John Meadows were best friends growing up in Berkeley, Calif., they dreamed of remaining friends for life. What they didn’t imagine was living together in New York and starting a company together — yet they have. It’s called Bowery Valuation, and it’s aiming to bring commercial real estate appraisals — currently…

$9 billion Stripe just bought a payments startup backed by Eric Schmidt as it goes after even larger customers

Stripe, the $9 billion payments processing startup, has purchased Index – an in-store payments startup backed by former Google CEO Eric Schmidt’s venture capital firm Innovation Endeavors. Index provides software for in-store payments systems, like the PIN pads that you probably already use to pay with a debit or credit card at your local Target…

Grabr raises $8 million to let travelers deliver goods to international shoppers

Grabr, a peer-to-peer marketplace that pairs travelers with international shoppers, has raised $8 million in a series A round of funding led by Foundation Capital, with participation from a number of angel investors, including Facebook executive Javier Olivan and Square’s product engineering lead, Gokul Rajaram. Founded out of San Francisco in 2015, Grabr is essentially…