BENGALURU: Rebel Foods , which runs cloud kitchens like Faasos Oven Story Pizza and Behrouz Biryani, is eyeing a valuation of about $1 billion as it looks to mop up new round of funding of $100-150 million.

SoftBank had also held discussions with Rebel last year, but these did not fructify as its portfolio company Oyo was also making an aggressive push in the category.

Although recently, Oyo has been cutting costs and has laid off significant staff in its kitchens business, according to reports.An emailed query to Rebel Foods CEO Jaydeep Barman and Coatue did not elicit a response till the time of going to press.

A SoftBank spokesperson “declined to comment on market speculation”.What is attracting global interest in the category is the increasing spends on home delivery with the proliferation of online food delivery applications.

The company is expected to close the year ending March 2020 with total revenues of Rs 600-650 crore and is currently doing monthly revenues of Rs 75 crore, according to two sources mentioned earlier. | To read full story, visit https://startuparound.com/read/1581312709.7731607/Rebel-Foods-targets-$1bn-valuation?ref=audio_experience

The investment into Pepperfry comes a month after the Fevicol maker co-invested $30 Mn in online interior design company Home Lane.

Back in 2018, Pepperfry raised close to $38.5 Mn from State Street Global Advisors, which is the asset management business of State Street Corporation.

Goldman Sachs also led a $100 Mn funding round in Pepperfry in 2015.

In the second half of 2019, Pepperfry opened 25 new Pepperfry Studios.

“We have been trying to blur the line between offline and online through our omnichannel strategy by opening Pepperfry studios. | To read full story, visit https://startuparound.com/read/1581311013.4458308/Pepperfry-Bags-$40-Mn-Funding-From-Fevicol-Maker-Pidilite?ref=audio_experience

One of the Middle East’s largest venture capital funds hired Ivan Jakovljevic from Google to help transform its portfolio of startups into so-called unicorns .

Jakovljevic will join Saudi Arabia’s STV — which backed Dubai-based ride-hailing firm Careem before its sale to Uber — as chief development officer next month, the company said.

He was previously head of new markets for Google in the Middle East and North Africa.“Saudi startups are at an inflection point,” STV CEO and former Google executive Abdulrahman Tarabzouni said.

The fund is “nurturing what could become another two-to-three unicorns over the next few years,” he said.

Startups with a market value of $1 billion are typically referred to as unicorns. | To read full story, visit https://startuparound.com/read/1581309005.3056202/Former-Google-exec-to-help-build-unicorns-for-Saudi-VC-Fund?ref=audio_experience

Startups need to think of opting for IPO: Kris Gopalakrishnan | To read full story, visit https://startuparound.com/read/1581307206.2816849/Pidilite-leads-$40m-round-in-Pepperfry?ref=audio_experience

Facebook and Twitter will remove content which has misinformation about the virusWith the outbreak of coronavirus in China, misinformation about the diseases has also taken over the internet.

To tackle any such misinformation regarding coronavirus, global social media and tech giants such as Twitter, Facebook, Google and YouTube have decided to regulate online content.

This means that whenever a user searches for coronavirus or any other related term, Twitter will flash links to WHO’s website.

Facebook’s third-party fact-checkers have already started removing content with claims that have been debunked by WHO and local health authorities.

Chinese short video app TikTok has also started asking its users to verify facts about coronavirus with trusted sources, by flashing warnings in eight Indian languages. | To read full story, visit https://startuparound.com/read/1581305608.5178094/Facebook,-Twitter-And-TikTok-Fight-Fake-News-On-Coronavirus?ref=audio_experience

As layoffs become par for the startup course, YourStory takes a look at the likely impact they will have on young talent and professionals keen to work in these companies.

Given this context, will the events at Oyo not have a bearing on the talent pool entering the ecosystem?

Talent still keen on startupsThis puts the focus on the kind of people keen to work in the startup ecosystem.

HR industry experts say employees keen on startups are extremely driven and are not interested in corporate bureaucracy.

We are at a stage where a lot of startups are coming up, and will continue to attract talent,” Rohit says. | To read full story, visit https://startuparound.com/read/1581303714.5060718/This-is-why-the-startup-ecosystem-will-continue-to-attract-talent-despite-Oyo-layoffs?ref=audio_experience

Now, let's focus on how auto companies can build a supply chain that is future-ready and maintains optimum inventory and service levels.

While creating a future-ready supply chain, auto companies need to be on top of the latest trends that are shaping the industry.

A recent study, named The Smarter Supply Chain of the Future, revealed that supply chain executives face five major challenges: visibility, risk, cost containment, customer demands, and globalisation.

To build future-ready supply chains, automobile companies will have to think of new ways to achieve success in the digital age.

A future-ready automotive supply chain can tap into instrumentation, interconnectivity, and intelligence to lower costs, ensure on-time in-full deliveries, increased customer experience, and handling exceptions better. | To read full story, visit https://startuparound.com/read/1581301806.6439233/How-auto-companies-can-build-a-future-ready-supply-chain?ref=audio_experience

- Kica Founder, Aneesha LabrooThe trick to learn before entering the Indian market is how to reduce the cost and then the price.

- Sanjay Anandaram, TiE BangaloreIndia has made great strides in increasing the productivity of farmers, but the post-harvest supply chain is inefficient.

- Upma Kapoor, Teal & TerraThere is lot of potential in youngsters and they can take our Indian design language to the world.

- Byju Raveendran, BYJUsThe business world is really recognising the power of APIs.

- Tazeen Kapadia, LagomGreat things never come from staying in your comfort zone. | To read full story, visit https://startuparound.com/read/1581300005.6076846/‘Great-things-never-come-from-staying-in-your-comfort-zone’-–-60-quotes-from-Indian-startup-journeys?ref=audio_experience

It is one of busiest roads in the world and it takes two hours to commute that distance during peak hour.

That we need to address this unsustainable traffic problem is obvious, especially in Bengaluru, said to have the worst traffic in the world.

Even public buses are crowded during peak hours, making it difficult for the office goer to commute with ease.

Easing up Bengaluru trafficFounded in 2019, the startup is aiming to ease up city traffic by providing users first/last-mile connectivity to Metro stations and office-to-home commute.

We connect groups of friends/colleagues who would like to commute to work in 12-15-seat comfortable AC shuttles. | To read full story, visit https://startuparound.com/read/1581298208.5206528/Join-this-Bengaluru-commute-platform-to-reach-office-in-time,-and-make-friends-along-the-way?ref=audio_experience

Closer home in the startup world too, founders face innumerous obstacles before they "make it."

Case in point: Mikkel Svane and Morten Primdahl, co-founders of Zendesk, who were once selling old school helpdesk ticketing software.

Undeterred, they went back to the drawing back and the result was Zendesk – today a global leader in customer service, with annual revenue of $758 million.

In the Indian startup space, Neetu Kurian, Founder of Kochi-based OnPageOne Digital Agency, set out to solve branding for businesses.

Neetu KurianThe stories of these intrepid entrepreneurs resonate what William Edward Hickson famously said, "If at first you don't succeed, try, try again." | To read full story, visit https://startuparound.com/read/1581296406.768518/From-Zendesk-to-OnPageOne-Digital-Agency,-founders-who-never-said-never-–-your-startup-fix-for-the-week?ref=audio_experience