The widespread Internet of Things (IoT) revolution has been a lot slower to arrive than expected.

One such rival technology is Narrowband IoT (NB-IoT), which has the backing of most of the large telecoms companies and has been deployed by more than 142 operators worldwide.

Aapo Markkanen, senior director and IoT analyst at Gartner, says it has been a tough few years for Sigfox.

But it may be that Sigfox failed to anticipate what businesses would want to use the Internet of Things for.

IoT arms raceHowever, to fund this Internet of Things arms race, Sigfox is raising its seventh round of finance. | To read full story, visit https://startuparound.com/read/1578297826.7818818/IoT-arms-race-is-on:-Sigfox-promises-1bn-connections-in-three-years?ref=audio_experience

What roles do augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) play in edtech?

Related Article: Current Reality Of Augmented Reality And Virtual Reality In Indian MarketHighly Personalised Learning ExperiencesThis brings us to personalised learning.

Just like textbooks, without the right content, VR headsets will only gather dust on a shelf.

Shallow or Inadequate Learning Content: While VR content developers have more recently gained prominence, most learning content is not deep enough to have an impact or borders on the cartoonish or childish.

And most founders believe it will take a long time to bring relevant VR content for all use-cases. | To read full story, visit https://startuparound.com/read/1578295809.0958881/VR-In-The-Indian-Edtech-Industry??ref=audio_experience

India needs to focus on creating jobs that give a reasonable income to tackle the issue of inequality, Infosys Co-founder and Chairman Emeritus N R Narayana Murthy said.

He also emphasised on shifting more people from agriculture, where the per capita GDP income is low, to low-tech manufacturing and services, where income levels are comparatively better.

"The only way you can reduce inequality in a country like India is through creation of jobs, and creation of jobs with reasonable income," Murthy said, addressing a techfest organised by IIT Bombay through video conferencing.

In India, nearly 58 percent or about 650 million people depend on agriculture, which contributes only 14 percent to the GDP, he said.

Murthy also said there is a need to improve agriculture productivity by using more and more technologies. | To read full story, visit https://startuparound.com/read/1578294008.2338722/Only-reasonable-income-jobs-can-help-curb-inequality-in-India,-says-Narayana-Murthy?ref=audio_experience

Reports have now surfaced that SoftBank has given Oyo deadline of March 31, 2020, to phase out contracts/businesses, which are not EBITDA-profitable.

But the ET report has said that Oyo is now working on meeting the deadline by SoftBank to turn its business profitable.

The company reportedly has a deadline of March 2020 to post positive EBITDA for its self-operated hotels and July 2020 as the deadline for positive EBITDA of its ancillary businesses.

It is to be noted here that Oyo’s self-operated business includes Oyo Townhouse, Silverkey, Collection O, Oyo Flagship and Oyo Homes, etc.

The valuation report projected Oyo to be profitable in 2022. | To read full story, visit https://startuparound.com/read/1578292209.0753767/Will-Oyo-Shut-Down-Unprofitable-Businesses-With-SoftBank’s-FY23-IPO-Deadline??ref=audio_experience

Currently, unlisted companies have at least six months after completion of fiscal to file documentsThe Indian government may soon introduce provisions in the companies law that would require unlisted companies to submit financial statements on a quarterly or half-yearly basis, which would require the companies to file every three to six months.

An unlisted company is a company whose shares are not available to the general public for trading.

The Companies Act, 2013 passed by the parliament on 29th August, 2013, consolidates and amends the law relating to companies.

However, last year, the tax department had said that assessees must provide details of any investment they have made in unlisted companies.

It also sought information on directorial positions they hold in unlisted companies in their tax returns. | To read full story, visit https://startuparound.com/read/1578290409.228303/Unlisted-Companies-May-Have-To-File-Financials-Every-Three-To-Six-Months?ref=audio_experience

India is steadily on the verge of becoming the largest market for content marketing.

And the influx of digital media has acted as a catalyst in creating the momentum for content marketing, a major part of which is the written content.

Instoried aims at helping enterprises globally to improve their sales by creating emotionally engaging content,” Ali told ET.comInterestingly, Instoried isn’t Ali’s first stint with content.

I had been doing content marketing with CXOs globally at the same time.

Hence, it is important that the content written by marketers should exude the basic human emotions that can strike a rapport and connect with customers,” Ali quipped.This approach to optimise written content here can help in augmenting sales for content marketers and save time. | To read full story, visit https://startuparound.com/read/1578288607.179688/Instoried-predicts-success-rate-of-content,-invokes-right-set-of-emotions-in-customers?ref=audio_experience

Switch to the dark mode that's kinder on your eyes at night time.

Switch to the light mode that's kinder on your eyes at day time. | To read full story, visit https://startuparound.com/read/1578286806.283992/New-Year-Eve:-Indian-Users-sent-20-Billion-messages-on-WhatsApp?ref=audio_experience

“With this move, drivers are clearly able to ascertain earning and differentiate it from variable incentives,” a person directly aware of the matter said.

SoftBank-backed Ola has been trying to cut its losses per ride over the last 18 months, and gear up for a public market debut in the coming year.

Regulatory filings show Ola had property, plant and equipment worth Rs 1,237 crore on its balance sheet for the fiscal year ended March 2019.

Ola and Vogo had jointly said they will add 100,000 two-wheelers onto the roads with an investment of $100 million in sourcing the scooters.

Since then, the company has also trimmed its workforce and restructured the organisation to make it more streamlined. | To read full story, visit https://startuparound.com/read/1578285008.885744/Ola-rejigs-commissions-to-retain-drivers?ref=audio_experience

BENGALURU/CHENNAI: Robin Li, the CEO of Chinese search engine Baidu , has made his first ever visit to India, at a time when rival Chinese technology giants Alibaba and Byte-Dance are making inroads in the country.

“Baidu has been monitoring India.

Alibaba and Tencent have been aggressively investing in India,” said Santosh Pai, a partner at Link Legal , a law firm which advises Chinese companies investing in India.

It may look at VC investments in India like Alibaba and Tencent did.”Baidu, Alibaba and Tencent are known as BAT in China.

Baidu’s Lisaid in the age of AI, search was evolving too. | To read full story, visit https://startuparound.com/read/1578283207.3316982/Baidu-CEO-is-talent-shopping-in-India?ref=audio_experience

However, the entry of TH Capital, which has raised $17 billion in capital for its clients from primary markets, into one of the world’s most vibrant ecosystems will be the first instance of a major financial advisory firm looking to actively source deals from India.

“It’s (India) a new market for us, and we have been here only for the last three quarters or so.

There are multiple companies that we are working with in India, helping them get term sheets.

We are targeting capital raises of about $50-100 million at this point,” Wallace Guo, cofounder at TH Capital, told ET in an exclusive chat.

So, if they want to shift their focus to new economy, perhaps that’s where we can help,” Guo said. | To read full story, visit https://startuparound.com/read/1578281406.590151/Tech-driven-investment-behemoth-TH-Capital-set-to-Bank-on-India?ref=audio_experience