For those unfamiliar with the company, Kone is among the top providers of elevators and escalators globally, with 450,000 customers and around $9 billion in annual revenues.

Remote controlThe new Kone DX Class elevators build on a digital platform first unveiled by Kone last year, and which has been available as an upgrade to customers looking to modernize their elevator systems.

PartnersOne of the more high-profile service integration partners for Kone’s digital platform is Amazon’s Alexa digital assistant, which residents could use to beckon a lift while they’re still inside their apartment, thus saving them from having to wait.

The Kone DX Class elevators will be available in Europe first from December 2019, with other markets following in 2020.

“We are changing our business profoundly towards a platform business. | To read full story, visit https://startuparound.com/read/1575108006.6545818/Kone-monetizes-connected-elevators-with-Alexa,-Spotify,-and-digital-displays?ref=audio_experience

NEW DELHI: The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade ( DPIIT ) on Saturday said it will give national startup awards to those entrepreneurs who are developing innovative products.The last date for filing the application for the award is December 31.

"The awards will recognise exceptional startups across various categories that are providing innovative solutions to solve real problems and challenges for India, developing innovative technologies, products and solutions from India to the world, building businesses that are scalable, sustainable and responsible and delivering measurable developmental gains," DPIIT said in a statement.The award will be conferred in 35 areas, classified into 12 broad sectors namely agriculture , education, enterprise technology , energy, finance, food, health, Industry 4.0 , space, security, tourism, and urban services A cash prize of Rs 5 lakh each will be given to the winning startup in each area.

The winner and four runners-up will also be given opportunities to present their solutions to relevant public authorities and corporates for potential pilot projects and work orders.

A cash prize of Rs 15 lakh each will be awarded to a winning incubator and an accelerator. | To read full story, visit https://startuparound.com/read/1575106306.7257502/DPIIT-to-confer-national-startup-awards-for-developing-innovation-products?ref=audio_experience

OYO Hotels & Homes has raised INR 50 Cr ($6.9 Mn) in debt from MyPreferred Transformation, which is a joint venture between the hotel chain, Japan-based conglomerate SoftBank and non-banking finance company (NBFC) Avendus Finance.

Avendus Finance is the first external investor who has invested in OYO in a long time.

Hotel chain OYO will use this funding to upscale and upgrade the quality of the living spaces, bringing more affordable housing for the Indian audience.

OYO has raised a funding of close to $ 1.7 Bn from Airbnb, SoftBank Vision Fund, Greenoak Capital, Sequoia Capital and Hero Enterprise.

In September 2019, OYO has also reportedly raised $750 Mn to $1 Bn from SoftBank, at a valuation of $13.5 Bn-$15 Bn. | To read full story, visit https://startuparound.com/read/1575104406.3449419/OYO-Raises-$6-Mn-Debt-From-JV-With-SoftBank,-Avendus-To-Upgrade-Indian-Hotels?ref=audio_experience

A startup that helps job seekers acquire skills is one thing, yet it’s quite another to see the successful workings of a startup that has scaled.

Licious has partnered with 180 vendors to date with 56 delivery centres and an employee strength of 2,000.

Contractual arrangements with large institutional meat vendors trained in managing livestock and meat handling techniques, according to international standards, it is FSSC 22000 certified.

Talking about lessons, the Techie Tuesday column this week featured a startup that disrupts in the truest sense.

Started in February 2018 with two people — founders Ninad Bhagwat and Keshav Sunder — the startup is now a 20-people-strong team. | To read full story, visit https://startuparound.com/read/1575102606.9475267/WATCH:-The-week-that-was-–-from-meat-that-is-Licious-to-the-future-of-cricket,-here-are-some-great-startup-lessons?ref=audio_experience

As a part of its 6th Annual Summit, apex healthcare industry body NATHEALTH in association with National Health Authority (NHA), Government of India organised a carnival for healthcare startups in Delhi around the themes of digital health, investment, skilling, and mainstreaming innovation to drive a stronger healthcare narrative.

Indu Bhushan, CEO, NHA and Sudarshan Ballal, President, NATHEALTH with their team during the NHA-NATHEALTH Startup Carnival in New DelhiThe carnival aimed at supporting healthcare startups with access to capital and market, industry partnerships, mentorship and technology development assistance.

“NATHEALTH and NHA have already agreed to create the future of Indian healthcare through an accelerator programme that supports startups to grow and to collaborate better with the government and industry.

We aim to provide support to innovation through startups by leveraging our member’s product and technology expertise, global network, and capital partners,” said Sudarshan Ballal, President, NATHEALTH.

“Entrepreneurship and a vibrant startup ecosystem is an absolute necessity to compete with the circle of innovation in healthcare. | To read full story, visit https://startuparound.com/read/1575100805.7087176/NATHEALTH-and-NHA-to-set-up-accelerator-programme-to-support-healthcare-startups?ref=audio_experience

The portal will not be looking into cybercrimes tooThe Indian government has decided to launch an online portal, on November 28, to filter out fake news and misinformation on social media platforms.

The launch of the platform comes at a time when the Indian government is pushing for regulations on social media platforms.

A day before (November 27) the official launch of the PIB portal, the government also announced the revision of the intermediary guidelines before finalising the rules of social media regulation.

The rules are expected to come into implementation in 2020 and will help make social media safer by taking strict action against cybercrimes.

The guideline will also scrutinise the social space and take down fake news and ban websites that contain child pornography. | To read full story, visit https://startuparound.com/read/1575099108.5143876/Indian-Govt’s-Fake-News-Portal-Will-Not-Monitor-Politics?ref=audio_experience

One of the common and widely accepted facts about Indian ecommerce consumers is their attraction towards discounts.

However, over the last few years, international shopping events such as Black Friday, Christmas and other non-Indian holidays have also gained popularity in India.

This Black Friday (November 29) many popular ecommerce companies in India including Shein, Club Factory, Nykaa, Myntra, Faballey and others are trying to create a buzz with ‘Black Friday Sales’ and discounts on their websites.

A report by UCWeb said that over 20 Mn Indians logged on to UC Browser to take part in the recently concluded 11.11 UC Shopping Festival, part of Alibaba’s 11.11 Global Shopping Festival.

It remains to be seen whether India will indeed have the same reception for Black Friday this year. | To read full story, visit https://startuparound.com/read/1575097206.0581572/Can-India-Embrace-Black-Friday-With-The-Same-Appetite-As-Ecommerce-Festive-Sales??ref=audio_experience

We bring to you the latest edition of Funding Galore: Indian Startup Funding Of The Week!

Apart from this, 15 startups raised around $83.1 Mn funding and three startup acquisition took place in the Indian startup ecosystem.

AckoBengaluru-based online insurance startup Acko has raised $16 Mn funding of from Ascent Capital.

This fresh funding is a part of a funding round, where the company is planning to raise $40 to $42 Mn.

Stay tuned for the next week edition of Funding Galore: Indian Startup Funding Of The Week! | To read full story, visit https://startuparound.com/read/1575095820.3363993/Funding-Galore:-Indian-Startup-Funding-Of-The-Week?ref=audio_experience

KOLKATA: Emagine People Technologies , a vendor marketplace in recruiting, has appointed a boutique investment bank to raise Series A round to fund investments in technology and enhance the integrated AI/ML platform, which the company has been developing.

The proceeds of this round will be deployed to build a technology centre housed in Pune and also fund market expansion activities.The company is said to be in advanced discussions with a couple of international investors.

Another investment firm from NY, backed by seasoned Wall Street bankers, have already confirmed their intent to co-invest in the platform.The company was set up through a seed investment via the India arm of global executive search firm EMA Partners K Sudarshan, managing director of EMA Partners India, confirmed the development but did not elaborate the specifics as they are still in discussions with potential investors.

But he said Emagine has already fulfilled over a 1,000 jobs with marquee clients in the last 16 months through its platform, which houses over 500 vendors.The business model is scalable and the company has the potential to expand to other emerging economies, added Sudarshan. | To read full story, visit https://startuparound.com/read/1575093706.8109531/Emagine-People-Technologies-in-talks-to-raise-Series-A-round?ref=audio_experience

We bring to you the latest edition of News Roundup: Indian Startup Stories Of The Week!

OYO’s operational revenue increased to INR 6456.9 Cr in FY19, a jump of 3.56x from INR 1413 Cr in FY18.

Employee benefits wise, it reported a jump of 1.23x reaching INR 222.57 Cr from INR 99.39 Cr in FY18.

It said that more than 3K Indian users were exposed to the security breach, and asked the users to reset the password.

The Indian government is now planning to push its plan to mandate digital companies to store data of Indian users in the country. | To read full story, visit https://startuparound.com/read/1575091806.8287778/News-Roundup:-11-Indian-Startup-News-Stories-You-Don’t-Want-To-Miss-This-Week-[Nov-25-–-30]?ref=audio_experience