📉 Inside the upheaval at Upstox

byCOVID-19 -
 
06 May 2023View in Browser
 
 
 

Hello,

 

It’s official. COVID-19 no longer represents a global health emergency, says the World Health Organisation.

 

The announcement, made on Friday, signals a major step towards the end of the pandemic that has killed more than 6.9 million people over the last three years.

 

However, this is only a sign of the progress the world has made in these areas and COVID-19 is here to stay, cautioned WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, adding, “If we go back to how things were before COVID-19, we will have failed to learn our lessons, and failed our future generations.” 

 

ICYMI: LinkedIn turned 20 yesterday. Earlier this year, Fast Company spoke to its founders, key employees, early users, independent observers, and current executives to trace the company’s ‘unlikely’ evolution.

 

Closer home, layoffs among Indian startups continue. Bengaluru-based edtech firm Teachmint reduced its workforce by 70 just five months after its last round of layoffs, reported Inc42, while social ecommerce platform Meesho let go of 251 employees (15%) as part of cost-cutting measures, announced during a townhall meeting on Friday.

 

In slightly better news, venture capital inflow continues to remain in the positive territory for two weeks in a row, with the first week of May seeing $184 million raised across 21 deals, slightly lower than the $214 million raised in the previous week.

 

Also, Paytm had a phenomenal FY23 with revenue growing 61% to just under $1 billion and losses down 26% from the previous financial year. It achieved operational profitability almost 17 months ahead of target which the company attributes to the "increased pace of monetisation, better cost management, and higher operating leverage."

 

Lastly, unlock the history of art with the help of seven key colours—from Picasso and Hokusai's Prussian Blue to Vermeer's shade of red.

 

 In today’s newsletter, we will talk about 

  1. Inside the upheaval at Upstox
  2. Back to childhood with Toy Face Tour
  3. Reducing maternal and infant mortality

Here’s your trivia for today:  Which astronaut ​​holds the record for the longest single human spaceflight?

Fintech

Inside the upheaval at Upstox

Stock brokerage firm Upstox has seen at least a half dozen C-suite exits in the past year or so, with chief technology officer, chief human resources officer, and chief growth officer leaving in just the last two months. Four former senior executives YourStory spoke with flagged a lack of autonomy in running departments.

 

Rough patch:

  1. A few company executives said the tech team was pushed to meet tough targets and data breaches were ignored.
  2. While Zerodha, Groww, and Angel One have gained market share and users, Upstox has registered among the steepest declines.
  3. The company has decided to pause plans to expand to the US and instead will double down on the Indian market.

Read More

 

Top Funding Deals of the Week

 

1) BluSmart Mobility: $42M|Series A2

2) Ace Turtle: $34M|Series B

3) Pando: $30M|Series B

Art and Culture

Back to childhood with Toy Face TourVisual artist, 3D illustrator and art director Amrit Pal Singh's first solo art show, Toy Face Tour, evokes childhood nostalgia as it features a series of toy face artwork inspired by iconic pop culture references Charlie Chaplin, Frida Kahlo and Godfather, among others. 

 

NFT art:

  1. The Toy Face Tour coincides with Singh's 100th NFT drop. Each Toy Face and Toy Room is priced at 3 ETH (approx Rs 5 lakh). 
  2. The illustration project started in 2020 as Singh wanted to create something to spread cheer amid the doom and gloom of the pandemic.
  3. In February 2021, he minted his first NFT—the Frida Toy Face—which sold for 3.9 ETH.  

Read More

Startup Saturdays with Shradha Sharma

 
YourStory is proud to present "Startup Saturdays with Shradha Sharma", an exciting and unique LIVE show hosted by Shradha Sharma, Founder and CEO of YourStory. The show is exclusively available on our LinkedIn page and airs every Saturday at 6 PM.
 
Tune in to see a first-of-its-kind opportunity for early and mid-stage startups to showcase their products and ideas without the luxury of a retake or a chance to tweak their pitch. 
 
And if you want to join us, fill out this form to get a chance to pitch your startup in front of YourStory's audience alongside Shradha Sharma.

Watch Now

Healthtech

Reducing maternal and infant mortality

Sheena Gill was alarmed by the maternal and infant mortality rates and became one of the founding members of CognitiveCare. The startup has created an AI platform to detect, quantify and stratify the propensity of 48 maternal and infant health risks.

 

Solving challenges:

  1. Gill joined as Chief Growth Officer to convert the pilot platform into a reality for women on ground and forge strong relationships.
  2. In 2022, the company received a $1 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to provide antenatal risk stratification AI support.
  3. It has partnered with LV Prasad Eye Institute to advance the early detection of eye diseases and adverse eye conditions in infants and children.

Read More

 

News & Updates

  1. AI reviewer: The UK Competition and Markets Authority is launching a review of the AI market, including the models behind popular chatbots such as ChatGPT, as the industry comes increasingly into global regulators’ crosshairs.
  2. Money talks: Warner Bros. Discovery reported a surprise profit in streaming TV even as its legacy cable networks continued to lose advertising and viewers. Advertising revenue decreased 14% in the first quarter, primarily due to audience declines in domestic general entertainment and news networks. 
  3. Sky’s the limit: US private equity firm Bain Capital is nearing the final close of its fifth and biggest Asia-focused fund after having raised around $6 billion from global investors. The committed capital to the fund has exceeded the firm's initial target of $5 billion.
 
 

Here's what else we have for you

 
SaaS Central is back on popular demand! Three days of focused sessions, investor interactions, and discussions
In association with AWS and Prime Venture Partners
 
Despite the recent economic downturn, the growth of SaaS in India remains capital-efficient at all stages. However, to attain a global leadership position, Indian SaaS startups must stay on track. For the past three years, SaaS Central has been supporting early-stage SaaS startups in accelerating their growth journeys. The program, spanning three days, offers participating startups the opportunity to benefit from the guidance of AWS experts, Prime Venture Partners, and established SaaS founders.
 
 
 

Community Voices: How AI-powered CamCom helped a car manufacturer identify defects with its computer vision stack

In association with Plugin Alliance

 

Quality inspections in an automobile production or manufacturing facility can be tedious and inefficient. Know how CamCom is revolutionising the space with its AI platform!

Know More

 
 
 
 

Did you know?

 

Which astronaut ​​holds the record for the longest single human spaceflight?

 

Answer:  Valeri Polyakov, who spent 437 days and 18 hours on the Mir space station between 1994 and 1995.

 
 
 
 

We would love to hear from you! To let us know what you liked and disliked about our newsletter, please mail nslfeedback@yourstory.com. 


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