MUMBAI: Microsoft has launched the 100X100X100 program for B2B SaaS startups in India.

Each participating company will commit to spend $100K over a course of 18 months on solutions provided by the SaaS startups.

More than 50 startups are part of the program at launch.In a statement, Anant Maheshwari, President, Microsoft India , said, “India has one of the largest B2B SaaS startup ecosystems in the world, and it's growing exponentially.

At the same time, it will aim to create a profitable domestic market for the fast growing Indian B2B SaaS startup segment by increasing their revenue and customer base.The initiative is open to Microsoft co-sell enabled startups associated with Microsoft India with Startups.

As part of the program, these startups will also have access to regular speed-contracting sessions with prospective customers at Microsoft industry and customer events. | To read full story, visit https://startuparound.com/read/1582524005.5510533/Microsoft-launches-new-program-for-B2B-startups?ref=audio_experience

The round is led by Entrust Family Office with an investment of INR 43 CrMobile-based train booking app RailYatri, on February 17, raised INR 14.03 Cr from Samsung Venture Investment Corporation as a part of Series B funding round.

Besides this, RailYatri also raised INR 65.58 Cr funding from Entrust Family Office, Omidyar Network and Blume Ventures Services in January this year, which was also a part of the Series B round.

ON Mauritius (Omidyar Network) bought 24,549 for INR 11.58 Cr, whereas Milestone Trusteeship Services (Blume Ventures) bought 22,882 shares worth INR 10.80 Cr.

Related Article: Omidyar Network Leads Series B Funding In Travel Startup RailYatriPrior to this, RailYatri has also raised $10 Mn in Series B funding round led by Omidyar Network.

Infosys cofounder and former UIDAI chairman Nandan Nilekani, Blume Ventures and Helion Venture Partners had also participated in the round. | To read full story, visit https://startuparound.com/read/1582522206.0573456/RailYatri-Bags-Series-B-From-Samsung-Ventures,-Omidyar-and-Blume?ref=audio_experience

“They have made representations, they are fine with the tax deduction plan, but they want the date to be at a later time.

The idea is to bring more participants of ecommerce (sellers) within the tax net.

The move to tax e-commerce transactions at source was one way to reduce litigation,” the sources said.

The ecommerce companies had earlier shared their displeasure over the government’s proposal of TDS saying it was an increased burden for sellers on online marketplaces.

The mandate for ecommerce platforms to deduct TDS from sellers is an undue burden on ecommerce platforms, IAMAI said in a statement. | To read full story, visit https://startuparound.com/read/1582520405.9470563/Amazon,-Flipkart-Agree-To-Levy-Ecommerce-TDS,-But-Seek-More-Time?ref=audio_experience

Continue reading to know more about using a business dialing platform to help your startup firm.

Your startup needs an excellent business dialing platform to cater to these calls.

On the other hand, a call to a business dialing platform would reduce the time it takes for the company to resolve any customer-related concerns.

Furthermore, using a business dialing platform can reduce the chances of call bias for agents.

Also, aim to use a business dialing system that follows the DNC frequently and updates their systems accordingly. | To read full story, visit https://startuparound.com/read/1582518607.0833857/The-Startup-Magazine-How-Using-a-Business-Dialing-Platform-Can-Help-Your-Startup-Business?ref=audio_experience

The new financing round, Series C, was co-led by Lightspeed Venture Partners and Lightspeed China Partners.

Cathay Innovation, which led the startup’s Series B+ round and Wu Capital, which led the Series B round, also participated in the new round.

Robotic process automation (RPA) allows software to mimic several human behaviors such as keyboard strokes and mouse clicks.

“We believe robotic process automation will achieve its full potential when it combines AI and the best human talent,” he said.

Laiye’s announcement today comes as the market for robotic automation process is still in nascent stage in China. | To read full story, visit https://startuparound.com/read/1582516808.7532408/Lightspeed-leads-Laiye’s-$42M-round-to-bet-on-Chinese-enterprise-IT-–-TechCrunch?ref=audio_experience

BENGALURU: Fintech startup BharatPe has raised $75 million led by hedge fund Coatue Management and Palo Alto-based fintech investor Ribbit Capital, as it looks to fund its non-banking financial company ( NBFC ) arm that is awaiting licence approval from the Reserve Bank of India.The latest funding round has nearly doubled BharatPe’s valuation to $425 million.New investor Amplo, a US-based venture capital firm, and existing investors Insight Partners and Steadview Capital also participated in the Series C round.

This brings the total capital raised by the one-and-ahalf year-old startup to $143 million across four funding rounds.BharatPe said one reason for the latest fundraising was to invest around $70 million in equity capital in its NBFC arm Resilient Capital, and leverage that by 3-4 times to raise a pool of around $300 million to service loans for merchants on its platform.It will use the NBFC to offer lines of credit to its base of small merchants.“We have already disbursed Rs 100 crore of term loans to merchants through partner NBFCs and are ready to extend lines of credit to our merchants, for which we need our own NBFC to innovate,” said Ashneer Grover, CEO of BharatPe.

“We applied for the licence in August last year and we’re hoping we’ll get the license from the RBI by March.” | To read full story, visit https://startuparound.com/read/1582515006.5181322/BharatPe-gets-$75-million-from-Coatue,-Ribbit?ref=audio_experience

Auric retails its Ayurvedic beverages on both Flipkart and Amazon, but as a seller Deepak prefers Amazon over Flipkart.

And as far as existing categories are concerned, there is premium in doing it at a lower price with private labels.

On the issue of private labels versus other sellers, Harminder said competing with customers and partners was a “bit of a conflict inherent in private labels”.

Late last year, the government reportedly sought details from Amazon and Flipkart on private labels, according to a Times of India October report.

The government’s Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) is said to have sought several details such as the private label’s contribution to total sales in terms of percentage, their sourcing, and the categories in which the ecommerce giants sell their private labels. | To read full story, visit https://startuparound.com/read/1582513215.0675924/How-the-Amazon-and-Flipkart-private-labels-affect-other-sellers-on-the-ecommerce-platforms?ref=audio_experience

Certain traits seem to be a common theme among most entrepreneurs.

While they all possess their own unique idiosyncrasies, there are a few overlapping qualities that are shared among the most well-known and successful entrepreneurs.

These traits have really nothing to do with schooling, backgrounds, or their fields of interests, but more with the innate qualities that have made the most successful and revered entrepreneurs that we know today.

While they may utilize these traits differently, the end results have all been the same.

Here is a look into the five common personality traits that most successful entrepreneurs share, even if they display them in different ways. | To read full story, visit https://startuparound.com/read/1582511410.8759494/[Video]-5-Common-Personality-Traits-in-Entrepreneurs?ref=audio_experience

Last year saw India’s fintech startups cornering the highest amount of funding in the ecosystem, and early signs of 2020 reveal that this trend is likely to continue.

In its funding report for 2019, YS Research, YourStory’s research arm, noted that fintech and financial services startups represented 28.6 percent of the total $11.1 billion raised, by mopping up $3.18 billion.

All these developments clearly point towards a big market opportunity for startups in the financial services ecosystem.

In such a scenario, it means that the fintech startups will need to reengineer themselves both from a technology point of view as well as with the way they approach the markets.

“The next big wave is most likely to be in the fintech segment, not just for India but for the entire world,” says Siddarth. | To read full story, visit https://startuparound.com/read/1582509608.666565/Are-Indian-fintech-startups-poised-to-grab-the-$1-trillion-opportunity??ref=audio_experience

If you belong to the tech industry and are exploring product road-mapping and cutting-edge technology, Future of Work 2020 is almost custom-made for you to boost your career growth and learning curve.

With Future of Work 2020, we promise multiple niche and deep-dive sessions to understand the future of technology and its impact on how we work and live.

Hear from the finest tech leadersThis year, Future of Work will bring together some of the finest tech minds in the business.

Some of the highlights of Future of Work 2020 are – in-depth discussions on technology, full-day dedicated tracks on product and design; focussed workshops, exhibits, experiences, training zones, talent discovery, product demos, employer branding showcases, expert connects, and the Future of Work report launch.

For more, find out the complete offerings of Future of Work 2020 here. | To read full story, visit https://startuparound.com/read/1582507806.0209255/Here’s-why-you-need-to-be-at-Future-of-Work-2020?ref=audio_experience