Ram Divedi is an investor, a professor of Economic Warfare and co-founder of Pravaig Dynamics, which is an Indian EV startup building one of the country’s first premium electric car – Extinction Mark I.

In this podcast, Ram and Prithvi discuss the importance of building a professional network and how it can be used for securing your dream job, raising funds for your startup or even finding your co-founders.

00:00 Introduction

05:08 How having a good network helps

09:18 Importance of building a network for someone building a startup

11:11 What not to do when building a network

13:14 Mental tool on how to think about a networking

17:02 Networking and Social Media

19:15 How to add value to your network when you are starting out and have no expertise

26:10 Benefits of being young and having no network

30:42 Finding a balance between seeking help and being helpful

33:10 Benefits of reading

37:10 Building a network across countries

39:11 Personal Branding

52:30 A Network is for life

54:00 Creating value and prioritizing networking 

This week in Indian Startup News, Bellatrix Aerospace becomes the first Indian private company to develop and test a hall effect thruster, Zetwerk forays into aerospace and defense, Paytm could launch India’s biggest IPO ever, RBI orders all mobile wallets to become interoperable, Pharmeasy acquires Medlife, upGrad acquires Impartus, Tata in talks to acquire CureFit, PolicyBazaaar fined $33,000 for sending misleading SMS, WhatsApp is suing the Indian government over privacy rights violation and Twitter vs Indian government.

In funding news, Oyo is looking to raise $600 million in debt, Zeta raises $250 million to become a unicorn, FarEye raises $100 million, Locus in talks to raise $60 million, InVideo in talks to raise $40 million and Koo raises $30 million.

Bellatrix Aerospace becomes the first Indian private company to develop and test a hall effect thruster: Bellatrix Aerospace, the startup that wants to build a space taxi for satellites, has successfully tested India’s first privately developed hall effect thruster – which is an electric propulsion system for microsatellites weighting 50-500 kg.

Zetwerk forays into aerospace and defense: Online B2B marketplace for manufacturing products Zetwerk has set up a facility to start manufacturing aerospace and defense products.

Paytm could launch India’s biggest IPO ever: Paytm is planning to launch India’s biggest IPO ever this November – could raise $3 billion at a valuation of up to $30 billion.

RBI orders all mobile wallets to become interoperable: RBI has ordered all mobile wallet operators like PhonePe, Paytm and Google Pay to make their mobile wallets interoperable by 1st April 2022. You will be able to transfer money across mobile wallets using UPI.

Pharmeasy acquires Medlife: Pharmeasy has acquired Medlife and discontinued Medlife – onboarding all their customers on its own platform making it India’s largest healthcare delivery platform.

upGrad acquires Impartus: Edtech startup upGrad has acquired video-based learning solutions provider Impartus and they will be rebranding it as upGrad Campus.

Tata in talks to acquire CureFit: Tata is looking to acquire health and fitness startup CureFit as it plans its Super App.

PolicyBazaaar fined $33,000 for sending misleading SMS: PolicyBazaar was fined $33,000 for sending misleading SMS to its customers regarding the increase in insurance premium prices.

WhatsApp is suing the Indian government over privacy rights violation: WhatsApp is suing the Indian government over the new IT rules which asks them to identify the ‘first originator of information’ – which is seen as a violation of privacy rights by the tech giant.

Twitter vs Indian government: After Twitter labelled a tweet from a BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra as ‘manipulated media’, Delhi Police was sent to Twitter’s offices in Delhi and Gurgaon to hand them the notice of the inquiry.

Oyo is looking to raise $600 million in debt: Oyo looks to be in trouble as the hospitality giant is looking to get a loan worth $600 million for investors.

Zeta raises $250 million to become a unicorn: Banking tech startup Zeta has raised $250 million led by SoftBank Vision Fund 2 – making it India’s latest unicorn.

FarEye raises $100 million: FarEye has raised $100 million in a round led by TCV and Dragoneer Investment Group.

Locus in talks to raise $60 million: Locus is in talks to raise $60 million from Singapore government’s GIC.

InVideo in talks to raise $40 million: Online video editing platform InVideo is in talks to raise $40 million.

Koo raises $30 million: Indian version of Twitter for regional language users Koo has raised $30 million led by Tiger Global Management as the Indian government’s relationship with American social media giants like WhatsApp and Twitter turns sour.

Shreyaan Daga was just 15 years old when he started an edtech startup called Online Live Learning (OLL) – which is a marketplace for teachers to offer live courses to students on everything from graphic designing to yoga to guitar to astrology to astronomy.  In this video, Shreyaan talks about discovering his passion, starting up as a young entrepreneur and building a profitable edtech startup.

Introduction

From selling paintings in 4th grade to lending money in 7th grade

Journey of self-discovery and entrepreneurship

Turning pandemic into an opportunity

Moving from free courses to a paid business model

Shreyaan on the importance of learning

Future of Online Live Learning

From selling paintings in 4th grade to lending money in 7th grade: Before Shreyaans even started his latest venture Online Live Learning, he had been on a path to entrepreneurship since he was 10 years old. He started selling paintings online to his friends and family when he was in 4th grade. It grew into an online marketplace for paintings when his friends using the platform to sell their paintings as well. Later in 7th grade, he started lending money to his schoolmates at high-interest rates and he even learnt about investing in the stock market on his own.

Journey of self-discovery and entrepreneurship: Fascinated by the story of Gautam Buddha, Shreyaan went on his own journey of self-discovery when he decided to leave everything he owned behind. He got on his bicycle and started donating everything he owned until he was left with just his bicycle, which he gave to a kid on the street. Fortunately, he was discovered by his friend and was taken home. But this experience made him realise that instead of focusing on materialistic things, people should focus on dreaming big and spending their lives in the pursuit of those dreams. The only way he thought we can do that is through education. That’s why he decided to start Online Live Learning.

Turning pandemic into an opportunity: He discussed the idea for Online Live Learning with his parents and hired a team of IIM graduates to help him build the platform. During the pandemic, teachers were finding it hard to make money, students had a lot of time on their hand and schools were still figuring things out. That’s when Shreyaan launched Online Live Learning to help teachers make some money through courses and provide a platform for students to continue their learning.

Moving from free courses to a paid business model: Initially, they were offering the courses for free but with their initial investment of Rs 2 lakh running out, they realised that it wasn’t a sustainable model and people don’t really value free courses. So, they started charging money for the classes and started building a stable revenue source. Their growth has been organic from the beginning but things started to slow down when schools were opening up once again.

Shreyaan on the importance of learning and dreaming big: He believes that the first time we are introduced to a subject, it’s called awareness. But learning happens when you start connecting and applying those concepts in the real world.

Future of Online Live Learning: Their platform is already offering courses ranging across multiple fields ranging from graphic designing to astronomy to astrology to machine learning. But he and his team want to build Online Live Learning into a school for the world where students can learn any skill they chose. They now have an ambitious goal of getting 1 billion students on their platform by 2025.

This week in Indian Startup News, Ola launches EV category in London, Simple Energy to launch their Ather 450X killer - Mark 2, PUBG starts pre-registrations, Made in India cryptocurrency Polygon makes it among the global top 20, Emeritus acquires iD Tech and PhonePe looking to acquire Indus OS.

In funding news, Pine Labs raises $285 million, Moglix raises $120 million, Lenskart raises $95 million, GOAT Brand Labs in talks to raise $20 million, Agnikul Cosmos raises $11 million and another space tech startup Skyroot Aerospace raises $11 million.

Ola launches EV category in London: Ola has launched the EV category for their customers in London – allowing them to book electric vehicles exclusively. The company claims to have onboarded 700 drivers already and they are hoping to get more drivers soon as they are not going to charge any commission from their drivers for the first three months.

Simple Energy to launch their Ather 450X killer - Mark 2: Simple Energy is launching its electric scooter Mark 2 on 15th August (Independence Day). With a range of 240 km and a top speed of 100 km/hr, Mark 2 is priced at Rs 1.1 lakh – making it a perfect competitor to Ather 450X.

PUBG starts pre-registrations: After months of wait and trying to launch PUBG India, the game is finally back as Battlegrounds Mobile India. While the official launch date is yet to be announced, the game has started pre-registrations.

Made in India cryptocurrency Polygon makes it among the global top 20: Polygon (formerly known as Matic Network) has a market capitalization of $13 billion – making it the 15th largest cryptocurrency in the world. Its market cap has grown 10X since February.

Emeritus acquires iD Tech: Edtech startup Emeritus has acquired iD Tech for $200 million as it looks to enter K12 learning and eyes the US market – pitting them against Byju’s Future School.

PhonePe looking to acquire Indus OS: PhonePe is in advanced talks to acquire Indus OS for $60 million as it looks to strengthen its mini-app store ‘Switch’ and eyes its own super app.

Pine Labs raises $285 million: Digital commerce and payments platform Pine Labs has raised $285 million from the likes of Marshall Wace, Baron Capital Group, Duro Capital, Moore Strategic Ventures & Ward Ferry Management at a valuation of $3 billion.

Moglix raises $120 million: B2B ecommerce startup Moglix has raised $120 million led by Falcon Edge Capital and Harvard Management Company – making it India’s 12th unicorn this year.

Lenskart raises $95 million: Omnichannel eyewear brand Lenskart has raised $95 million from KKR as it plans to expand abroad and strengthen its VR technology.

GOAT Brand Labs in talks to raise $20 million: GOAT Brand Labs is expected to raise $20 million from Tiger Global, Mayfield Fund and Flipkart’s venture fund.

Agnikul Cosmos raises $11 million: Space tech startup Agnikul Cosmos has raised $11 million led by Mayfield India as it gears up to become India’s first private company to launch satellites in space next year.

Skyroot Aerospace raises $11 million: Space tech startup Skyroot Aerospace has raised $11 million led by Greenko Group founders Anil Kumar Chalamalasetty and Mahesh Kolli for the development of their Vikram rocket.

In this episode of Backstage with Millionaires, we take a look at the top 10 defence startups in India making India aatmanirbhar in defence technology.

#10 Big Bang Boom Solutions: Founded by R. Shivaraman and Praveen Dwarkanath in 2018, Big Bang Boom Solutions is among one of the youngest defence startups in India. The company is working on multiple technologies for the defence sector. Its flagship product which is called a 360 Advanced Battle Interface is focused on enhancing the visual capabilities of T-Series tanks used by the Indian armed forces.

#9 Sagar Defence Engineering: Founded by Nikunj Parashar and Mridul Babbar in 2016, Sagar Defence Engineering has some ambitious goals. Sagar Defence Engineering has developed a product called ‘Genesis – Boat in a Box’. It is an AI-enabled device that can be programmed to carry out smart and specific tasks that are not safe for humans like cleaning oil spills, surveying marine borders and providing flood relief.

#8 Optimized Electrotech: Founded by Anil Yekkala, Dharin Shah, Kuldeep Saxena, Purvi Shah, and Sandeep Shah in 2017, Optimized Electrotech is an electro-optics startup that is making security and surveillance systems for India’s defence forces. The company has developed a range of products that use high-resolution sensors and cameras to capture detailed images at low lighting conditions or even in complete darkness.

#7 Dimension NXG (AjnaLens): Founded by Pankaj Raut, Abhijit Patil and Abhishek Tomar in 2014, Dimension NXG (AjnaLens) is an augmented reality (AR) startup that has launched – AjnaBolt, which is India’s first AI-powered mixed reality glasses for defence.

#6 Vinveli: Founded by Gokul Anandayuvarj, Essaki Durai and Yuan Qu in 2014, Vinveli is an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) startup. They have two versions of their flagship made in India drone named Vero. They can not only carry and fire explosives but also provide food  to the soldiers on the battlefield.

#5 IdeaForge: Founded by IIT graduates Ankit Mehta, Ashish Bhat, Rahul Singh, Vipul Joshi, and Amardeep Singh in 2010, IdeaForge claims to be India’s largest drone manufacturer for defence, homeland security and industrial applications. Unlike Vinveli, whose drones are capable of firing grenades and carrying ammunition, IdeaForge’s drones are specifically built for surveillance purposes.

#4 EyeROV: Founded by Johns T Mathai and Kannappa Palaniappan in 2016, EyeROV is an underwater drone startup that has developed India’s first commercial underwater drone called EyeROV Tuna. ROV stands for Remotely Operated Vehicle. Underwater inspections carried out by human divers can only go up to 30-40m and there are also risk to their lives due to high underwater currents, poor visibility and wild marine creatures.

#3 Cron Systems (Cron AI): Founded by Tushar Chhabra, Tommy Katzenellenbogen, and Saurav Agarwala in 2015, CRON Systems (Cron AI) is an IoT-based startup that is developing security solutions that are being deployed at Indian borders to detect any intruders and protect the troops.

#2 Axio Biosolutions: Founded by Leo Mavely in 2008, Axio Biosolutions has developed India’s first FDA approved wound care product – Axiostat. Axiostat is a haemostatic dressing that is now used by the soldiers on the battlefield to control the bleeding from gunshot wounds or blast injuries that would otherwise be fatal.

#1 Tonbo Imaging: Founded by Arvind Lakshmikumar, Ankit Kumar, Sudeep George and Cecilia D'Souza in 2012, Tonbo Imaging builds advanced imaging and sensor systems for the defence industry. Tonbo Imaging’s flagship product is called STAR (See-through armour) which is a combination of multiple 3 day and 3 night vision sensors (with a field of vision of 120 degrees each) creating an imaging system that can help any armoured vehicle to get a 360-degree view.

This week in Indian startup news, CarTrade gears up for an IPO, Ziffyhomes is in trouble – might shut down soon, Oyo announces four-day work week, Zerodha says no to work calls after 6 P.M., Groww to acquire Indiabulls' mutual fund business and FuelBuddy acquires MyPetrolPump.

In funding news, Flipkart is in talks to raise $1 billion, Acko looking to raise $200 million, Grofers could get $100 million from Zomato, Mamaearth in talks to raise up to $80 million, Rapido raises $43.4 million and Cron AI raises $4 million.

CarTrade gears up for an IPO: CarTrade, an online platform for selling used cars, is expected to file for IPO this month – which would make it the first online classified company to go public in the country. The startup was founded in 2009 by Vinay Sanghi and over the years it has expanded its offerings to become a one-stop-shop providing everything from loans and insurance. They are also among the few startups that are actually profitable.

Ziffyhomes is in trouble – might shut down soon: According to a report by Entrackr, Ziffyhomes is in the final stages of shutting down its operations. At the moment, their website and app are non-functional and their customer care number isn’t working either. While the company’s co-founder Saurabh Kumar has said that they are scaling down their operations but not shutting down altogether. However, things are looking pretty grim for Ziffyhomes.

Oyo announces four-day work week: OYO is moving towards a four-day work week to ease their employees' mental stress and they are also implementing a “no questions asked flexible infinite paid leave” policy.

Zerodha says no to work calls and chats after 6 P.M.: Online stock trading unicorn Zerodha’s founder Nithin Kamath took to Twitter to announce that they have “killed all work-related chats post 6 P.M. and holidays”.

Groww to acquire Indiabulls’ mutual fund business: Online investment platform Groww has signed a deal with Indiabulls to acquire their mutual fund business for Rs 175 crore. This will allow Groww to create its own mutual fund products and use its network of 15 million users to grow the business.

FuelBuddy acquires MyPetrolPump: On-demand fuel delivery startup FuelBuddy has acquired another online fuel delivery platform MyPetrolPump as it looks to expand into new geographies.

Flipkart is in talks to raise $1 billion: E-commerce behemoth Flipkart is looking to raise $1 billion at a $30 billion valuation ahead of its expected IPO via SPAC.

Acko looking to raise $200 million: Online insurance platform Acko is in the market looking for a $200 million investment.

Grofers could get $100 million from Zomato: Online grocery delivery startup Grofers could get a $100 million investment from food delivery giant Zomato as it looks to expand into grocery.

Mamaearth in talks to raise up to $80 million: Direct to consumer personal care brand Mamaearth is in talks with Sofina to secure anywhere between $60-80 million in a new funding round.

Rapido raises $43.6 million: Bike taxi aggregator Rapido has raised $43.6 million in a round led by WestBridge Capital.

Cron AI raises $4 million: Deeptech startup Cron AI has raised $4 million in a round led by VenturEast and Kitaki Ventures. 

Pradeep Poonia is a software developer, who was sued by WhiteHat Jr for Rs 20 crore ($2.7 million) for defamation and copyright infringement. He is the guy who created the YouTube channel called ‘WhiteHat Sr’ and started questioning WhiteHat Jr’s marketing tactics and business model when no one was listening. After speaking out against WhiteHat Jr, his 16 videos, two YouTube channels, two Reddit accounts, one Twitter handle, three articles on LinkedIn and Quora accounts were either removed or temporarily disabled.

In this video, Pradeep Poonia talks about his journey in fighting the Rs 20 crore ($2.7 million) lawsuit filed by WhiteHat Jr and Karan Bajaj against him, how it bought a positive change, India’s edtech space and his plans for the future.

WhiteHat Jr withdraws the lawsuit against Pradeep: It came as a surprise to Pradeep and his team but he is glad that some sense prevailed in the end and WhiteHat Jr decided to withdraw the lawsuit. He is also grateful to everyone who supported him in his journey, especially everyone on Reddit, Telegram and LinkedIn.

Impact of Pradeep’s fight against WhiteHat Jr: At the time when Pradeep was the only one criticizing WhiteHat Jr and didn’t have a lot of support but now a lot of people are not just supporting him but also coming out and sharing their own stories and feedback on WhiteHat Jr’s business and marketing practices openly. The company has also stopped using FOMO to drive growth, due to which their sales have also gone down significantly.

Benefits of Pradeep speaking out against WhiteHat Jr: Initially, the company was aggressively quashing dissenting views and taking down posts and accounts across social media platforms. Now, however, parents, students and even their employees are able to openly share their views without the fear of their account being suspended.

Talking about India’s edtech space: The pandemic has been a perfect opportunity for edtech startups to grow rapidly and because they have been so focused on growth that a number of problems have cropped up like in the case of Vedantu, their own sales team had been taking advantage of the ‘any time refund’ policy to get more people to sign up to grow the numbers and claiming the refund later. This means their growth isn’t what it looks like from the outside and that is the case with most edtech startups that are too focused on growth at all costs.

Possible solutions to edtech problems: Some suggestions from Pradeep include opening a dialogue with all the involved stakeholders like parents, students, entrepreneurs, teachers and startups to better understand the needs of each other. He also believes that it is time for the government to step in and create their own edtech platforms that can help reach the sections of society that are not served by these startups and also there needs to be a balanced approach when regulating the industry in order to leave room for innovation while keeping things in check.

Focus on the solution, not the problem: More and more edtech startups are trying to get into the coaching market but the problem is that we still have more students that want to get into premier colleges like IITs and IIMs but there aren’t enough good colleges. So, rather than preparing everyone for IITs and IIMs, it’s time to create better schools and colleges.

What’s next for Pradeep Poonia: While Pradeep is still preparing for his UPSC exams, he is also working on some ideas on how to teach computer science concepts to kids in a more effective manner. Now that he is free of the lawsuit, he will be focusing on a bunch of ideas that come his way.

This week in Indian Startup News, WhiteHat Jr withdraws defamation case against Pradeep Poonia, Government approves experimental drone deliveries, Private banks looking to ban crypto transactions again, PUBG’s return to India, Swiggy’s four-day workweek and Ola’s international expansion plans.  In funding news, Byju’s in talks to raise $150 million, Teachmint raises $16.5 million & Nivesh raises $1.6 million.

Introduction

Government approves experimental drone deliveries

WhiteHat Jr withdraws defamation case against Pradeep Poonia

Private banks looking to ban crypto transactions again

PUBG’s return to India

Swiggy’s four-day workweek

Ola’s international expansion plans

Byju’s in talks to raise $150 million

Teachmint raises $16.5 million

Nivesh raises $1.6 million

WhiteHat Jr withdraws the defamation case against Pradeep Poonia: After months of slugging it out in court, Pradeep Poonia has got some relief after WhiteHat Jr finally withdrew their defamation case against him. Pradeep Poonia has been a vocal critic of WhiteHat Jr for a long time and has been crucial in unveiling some of the companies alleged questionable marketing and business practices.

Government approves experimental drone deliveries: The government has approved experimental drone flights for 20 consortiums including Swiggy, Dunzo, ShopX and Asteria Aerospace. They will be testing the drone for deliveries for the next year and the government will be updating the drone rules based on results.

Private banks looking to ban crypto transactions again: Top Indian private banks like HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Axis Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank and Induslnd Bank have allegedly been ordered by the RBI to ban cryptocurrency transactions.

PUBG’s return to India: PUBG has announced the launch of Battlegrounds Mobile India (previously known as PUBG Mobile India). While the date of the launch has not been revealed, it is expected to open pre-registration for the game in May or June.

Swiggy’s four-day workweek: Amidst the rising number of COVID19 cases in India, Swiggy has decided to make work more flexible for their users in the month of May by allowing for a four-day workweek and the employees can choose the days they want to work.

Ola’s international expansion plans: Ola Electric has hired Wayne Burgess as their new head of design, a guy who has worked with leading car companies like Bentley, Aston Martin and Jaguar, to help Ola Electric design their electric scooters and also electric four-wheelers in the future. Furthermore, the company is planning to enter European markets like France, Italy, and Germany in FY22.

Byju’s in talks to raise $150 million: Byju’s is in talks with the UBS Group to raise up to $150 million at a valuation of $16.5 billion – which would make it India’s most valuable startup.

Teachmint raises $16.5 million: Edtech startup Teachmint has raised $16.5 million in a round led by Learn Capital to get more teachers on their platform and explore acquisition opportunities.

Nivesh raises $1.6 million: Wealth management startup Nivesh has raised $1.6 million in a round led by Indian Angel Network Fund to add new insurance and credit products.

This week in Indian Startup News, Ola to set up the world’s largest two-wheeler EV charging network, Tvasta builds India’s first 3D printed house, Zomato files for IPO, Indian startups fight against COVID19, CCI approves BigBasket-Tata deal, Lenskart acquihires DailyJoy and Instamojo acquihires Showman.

In funding news, OneWeb raises $550 million, Urban Company raises $190 million, upGrad raises $120 million, Stanza Living raises over $100 million, ElasticRun raises $75 million, Bizongo raises $51 million and LEAD School raises $30 million.

Ola to set up world’s largest two-wheeler EV charging network: Ola is setting up the world’s largest two-wheeler EV charging network – Hypercharger Network. Their Hypercharger Network will consist of 100,000 charging points across 400 cities – expected to be completed in the next five years at an estimated cost of $2 billion. You will only be able to charge Ola’s electric scooters at their hypercharger network and they will be able to charge the electric scooters up to 50% in just 18minutes – giving a range of 75 km.

Tvasta builds India’s first 3D printed house: Tvasta, a startup by three IIT Madras alumni, has built India’s first 3D printed house. This is a 1 BHK house with a built-up area of 600 square feet. It demonstrates the ability of 3D printing in bringing down the time of building houses from 4-5 months to just 5 days but also reducing the cost by 20-30%.

Zomato files for IPO: Indian food delivery startup Zomato has filed for the IPO – on track to becoming the first Indian unicorn to go for IPO. Through the IPO, Zomato will be raising $1.1 billion - $1 billion in fresh offering and $100 million coming from Info Edge selling their shares.

Indian startups fight against COVID19: A bunch of Indian startups are working to fight the second wave of COVID19 – Delhivery is flying chargers to bring Oxygen concentrators into India, dating app TrulyMadly is using their matchmaking algorithm to match plasma donors with patients, NoBroker is organizing doorstep vaccination drives and MapmyIndia is installing free GPS devices in vehicles that are suppling essential medical equipment.

CCI approves BigBasket-Tata deal: CCI has approved the acquisition of BigBasket by Tata Digital – as Tata looks to build their own Super App.

Lenskart acquihires DailyJoy: Lenskart has acquihired Hyderabad-based grocery delivery startup DailyJoy to strengthen their Hyderabad tech centre.

Instamojo acquihires Showman: Instamojo has acquihired vernacular content startup Showman to strengthen its tech and product capabilities.

OneWeb raises $550 million: Satellite internet company OneWeb has raised $550 million from Eutelsat Communications after launching 36 more satellites into space. The company now has 182 out of 648 satellites in space for their constellation.

Urban Company raises $190 million: On-demand home services provider Urban Company has raised $190 million at a $2 billion valuation – making it India’s 11th unicorn this year.

upGrad raises $120 million: Edtech startup upGrad has raised $120 million from Singapore’s Temasek in their first external funding round.

Stanza Living raises over $100 million: Student housing startup Stanza Living has raised more than $100 million in a round led by Falcon Edge.

ElasticRun raises $75 million: ElstaicRun has raised $75 million in a round led by Avataar Ventures and Prosus Ventures to help neighbourhood stores in securing working capital and inventory.

Bizongo raises $51 million: B2B platform for packaging products Bizongo has raised $51 million in their Series C round to expand into the Southeast Asian markets.

LEAD School raises $30 million: Edtech startup LEAD School has raised $30 million in a round led by GSV Ventures and WestBridge Capital.

This week in Indian Startup News, Dream11 explores IPO in the US, NPCI looks to ban all gaming transactions on UPI under Rs 50, LIC picks Paytm to handle their digital payments, Paytm expands ESOP pool to $604 million and MPL acquires GamingMonk.

In funding news, SoftBank in talks to invest up to $500 million in Swiggy, Licious in talks to raise up to $200 million, GoMechanic in talks to raise $100 million, Razorpay raises $160 million, Druva raises $147 million, Chargebee raises $125 million, Pristyn Care raises $53 million and M1xchange raises $10 million.

Dream11 explores IPO in the US: Indian gaming giant Dream11’s parent company Dream Sports is looking to go public in the US by raising around $1.5 billion at a valuation of $6 billion. With Harsh Jain (co-founder of Dream11) being the board member of a newly minted SPAC focused on taking Indian companies public in the US could hint at a Dream11 taking a SPAC route to IPO.

NPCI looks to ban all gaming transactions on UPI under Rs 50: National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) is set to ban all gaming transactions below Rs 50 through its UPI platform. A large part of the exponential rise in the UPI transactions is attributed to low-value gaming transactions which clog the banking systems leading to delayed and failed payments.

LIC picks Paytm to handle their digital payments: One of India’s largest insurance companies Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) has picked Paytm to handle their growing digital payments.

Paytm expands ESOP pool to $604 million: India’s most valuable fintech startup Paytm has added nearly $62 million to their ESOP pool – expanding it to $604 million and making it the largest among Indian startups.

MPL acquires GamingMonk: Mobile Premier League (MPL) has acquired esports gaming platform GamingMonk to strengthen their newly launched platform Esports Arena in order to take esports to the masses.

SoftBank in talks to invest up to $500 million in Swiggy: Masayoshi Son’s SoftBank is in talks with Swiggy to invest up to $500 million.

Licious in talks to raise up to $200 million: Online meat delivery startup Licious is in talks with multiple investors to secure up to $200 million at an $800 million valuation.

GoMechanic in talks to raise $100 million: Car servicing startup GoMechanic is in talks with Tiger Global to raise $100 million in fresh capital.

Razorpay raises $160 million: Fintech startup Razorpay has raised $160 million in a round led by Sequoia Capital India and Singapore’s GIC to accelerate growth in the Southeast Asian market.

Druva raises $147 million: Cloud data protection startup Druva has raised $147 million at a $2 billion valuation.

Chargebee raises $125 million: Subscription and billion management platform Chargebee has raised $125 million to become India’s 10th unicorn of the year at a valuation of $1.4 billion.

Pristyn Care raises $53 million: Healthcare startup Pristyn Care, which operates a chain of multispecialty clinics specializing in surgeries, has raised $53 million in a round led by Tiger Global to expand into new surgery specialities and foray into new geographies.

M1xchange raises $10 million: Invoice discounting marketplace M1xchange has raised $10 million in a round led by Amazon to expand in more cities and reach more businesses.