WoodenStreet gets Rs.230cr to further develop its tech platform

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WoodenStreet has secured almost  Rs 230 crore in a funding round led by WestBridge Capital. Among other things, the home decore startup will use the money to further develop its technology platform.

WoodenStreet, an online furniture and home décor platform, announced on Wednesday that it has raised $30 million (almost Rs 230 crore) in funding led by WestBridge Capital at a valuation of Rs 1,200 crore.

According to the business, which has over 50 experiential stores in key cities and claims to service more than 15 lakh clients, this is the largest capital raised by any vertical furniture player in India this year.

WoodenStreet, founded in 2015 by Lokendra Singh Ranawat, Virendra Ranawat, Dinesh Singh Rathore, and Vikas Baheti, previously raised $3 million in series A funding from IAN and RVCF (Rajasthan venture capital funds).

Co-founder and CEO,  Ranawat, said, “We focus on design and innovation, allowing practical and designer things at a reasonable price.”

The Jaipur-based business intends to develop 200 outlets over the next two years and to work with almost 3,000 home design manufacturers.

WoodenStreet also has six production and research and development centers.

WoodenStreet will use the fresh money to fund new market expansion, additional development of the technological platform, supply chain expansion, and the creation of new category offerings.

WestBridge Capital co-founder Sandeep Singhal, said, “We are impressed by WoodenStreet’s ability to efficiently scale capital in a crucial consumer market.”

Rathore added, “WoodenStreet has increased 100% year on year in the last three years while retaining net profitability. With this fund raising, we intend to attain a turnover of Rs 600 crore in the next two years.”

ToTheCulture presenting “Where’s The Drip” a Streetwear, Fashion, Art, and Music Festival

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ToTheCulture is a 360° media and entertainment organization working across various media and experiential formats to impact Urban Culture. On April 30th at 12 pm at Club Amethhyyst, Mumbai will have it’s very first Multi Culture Popup Where’s The Drip organised by ToTheCulture hosted by Deev Thakrar.

As part of India’s expanding streetwear pop-up culture, our goal with the upcoming event is to support local Indian streetwear brands and sneaker resellers. When it comes to Indian-made brands, we have a great collection to show off. The Popup will showcase brands such as Hophead, Blue Brew, Prosperity, Evemen, Kicksclub, Mirage, and more. The event has a great line-up for you to enjoy your weekend.

ToTheCulture has a multitude of entertainment zones that create a one-of-a-kind living experience. By combining dance, music, art, fashion, gaming, and lifestyle industries. The next event will benefit the Indian streetwear, sneaker, and reseller businesses by promoting them. Not only will the sneakers be on show, but there will also be some exciting activities for the crowd to engage in, such as music and street art. ToTheCulture has already started planning for Delhi and Bangalore. The event will be one-of-a-kind and will leave you speechless.

NetApp starts 10th round of its flagship startup accelerator program

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NetApp has opened the 10th round of its flagship startup accelerator program. With this, the NetApp Excellerator claims to have successfully fast-tracked the course of more than 60 deep tech startups.

NetApp has announced the opening of its flagship startup accelerator program’s tenth round. The NetApp Excellerator claims to have effectively accelerated the development of more than 60 deep tech firms as a result of this.

NetApp, a global cloud-led, data-centric software corporation, recently announced the tenth cohort of its flagship startup accelerator program, NetApp Excellerator. With this, the NetApp Excellerator claims to have successfully expedited the journey of over 60 deep tech startups in just 5 years since its beginning.

NetApp has added eight new firms to Cohort 10 that are using cutting-edge technology to solve real-world problems. These firms come from a variety of industries, including green technology, kubernetes, computer vision, health technology, and cloud security. This elite group includes Streamingo Solutions, EduFuse, LivNSense, NeuroSAPIR, AccuKnox, ShardSecure, Subcom, and Kubermatic, who were rigorously chosen for their technological competence and problem-solving ability.

NetApp has mentored eight women-led deep tech firms so far through NetApp ExcellerateHER, a dedicated effort that promotes female founders. NetApp ExcellerateHER, which will be available in 2020, is gaining popularity among tech entrepreneurs both nationally and globally. Three tech businesses will participate in the current ExcellerateHER cohort: EduFuse, LivNSense, and Streamingo.

Ravi Chhabria, Managing Director, NetApp India, said, “As the NetApp Excellerator marks its fifth anniversary, we are navigating a new generation of companies that are all hybrid multi-cloud enabled and based on data at scale across the world’s most prominent cloud services.”

NetApp Excellerator, NetApp India, Director – Engineering Programs & Leader, Madhurima Agarwal, said, “We set out five years ago on a quest to find like-minded organizations and mentor them with our extensive understanding of data management.Through the NetApp Excellerator, we have built long-term technological collaborations with over 60 enterprises and influenced the courses of hundreds more. We accelerate our customers’ success by engaging with these entrepreneurs and providing well-engineered, innovative solutions.”

Meet Vinita Rathi whose startup helps businesses invest their idle money

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Shootih, founded in 2021 as part of the software development company Systango by Vinita Rathi, intends to assist businesses in investing their money in liquid mutual funds and other risk-free investment asset classes. At the moment, the startup’s AUM exceeds Rs 10 crore.

Vinita Rathi, CEO of software development firm Systango, was concerned when she couldn’t discover any solutions that could readily help her triple the idle capital sitting in the company coffers.

She knew there was a way to make money work for her as an ex-Goldman Sachs banker, but solutions for mid-cap companies like hers were few and far between. She realized she wasn’t alone when she spoke with other business owners in her network.

Businesses largely left funds in their accounts idle between payrolls, holiday weekends, and expenses that were still several weeks away.

Even if one was actively looking for ways to invest that money, determining how much money was available to invest, calculating upcoming expenses, and then locating secure instruments to invest it in was a time-consuming, laborious procedure.

Vinita, a financier with a strong interest in financial technology, wanted to employ artificial intelligence to tackle this problem and assist firms like hers in generating returns on idle funds.

Under Systango, she established Shootih, an online investment platform for SMEs, MSMEs, and mid-cap enterprises, in 2021.

The Indore-based startup essentially assists businesses in tracking their finances, sending real-time warnings anytime there is idle cash in their accounts, and assisting them in investing that money in risk-free asset classes such as mutual funds and money market instruments.

The software anticipates extended holiday weekends, large gaps between payrolls and other expenses, and warns firms anytime an investment opportunity arises – even if it is only over the weekend.

Vinita says,  “Our objective is to become a one-stop business wealth management platform for SMEs and MSMEs, offering everything from cash flow insights to investment options, access to numerous asset classes for quick and easy investments, and tax-harvesting opportunities.”

So far, the startup has onboarded 11 companies on the platform with whom it is conducting a test project.

It focuses on enterprises in the IT and services industries since they have more cash in circulation, and it now manages Rs 10 crore in investments.

Shootih assists businesses in making better financial decisions based on their cash flows and prospective outflows — and it does so across all of their bank accounts, providing them with a 360-degree perspective of their money.

Sagar Patidar worked from home to build a Rs6cr IT business during Covid-19

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Many people are in a dilemma today whether to work from home or go to the office. Here’s the inspiring story of Sagar Patidar who launched Primathon Technologies in 2019 and worked hard from home to turn it into a Rs 6 crore turnover business.

Sagar Patidar, the 28-year-old founder and director of the Gurgaon-based software firm Primathon Technologies, has come a long way from his birthplace in Madhya Pradesh.

Sagar’s journey is an inspiring tale of a young man from a village with low financial resources making a name for himself in the field of information technology.

Sagar says he is the only formally trained and academically competent engineer in his whole family, which is agriculture oriented.

Sagar founded Primathon Technologies in January 2019 with Rs 40 lakh in personal savings and loans from friends.

The company develops scalable software services and tailor-made software solutions.

Despite the Covid epidemic, his company’s revenue increased to Rs 2.4 crore in 2020-2021, and it has now surpassed Rs 6 crore this year.

“We are aiming for $100 million (about Rs 750 crore) in revenue and an IPO in this decade,” says the first-generation entrepreneur.

The company began with just two employees from a co-working space in Gurgaon and has since grown to 45 employees.

Employees worked from home throughout the outbreak.

Sagar and his staff worked from home for their clients, unfazed by the pandemic-induced lockdown.

With the number of Covid cases decreasing, they have rented a co-working space in Gurgaon again, and some of the staff have begun to come to the office for work.

“We were just getting started in 2019 when the epidemic hit,” Sagar recalls of his startup’s early days.

“He claims that as a software company, all they needed were laptops and internet connections to continue working from home.

He continues, “My goal was to save money for unexpected expenses.

Sagar established ‘Primathon Academy’ in February of this year, a training platform for new developers or engineers wishing to build a career in software development.

Sagar founded Primathon Academy to teach and hire new developers and engineers.

According to Sagar, the six-month course costs Rs 2 lakh and comes with a job placement guarantee.

Once the candidate is placed in a company, the cost will be repaid in EMIs over a two-year period.

They presently have 30 students enrolled, and their first batch will graduate this summer.

He received his B.Tech in computer science and engineering from IIT Delhi (2011-2015).

Between 2013 and 2015, he and some of his undergraduate friends founded Cibola, a startup dedicated to making mobile payments more user-friendly and developing a mobile wallet system.

In 2014, angel investors contributed Rs 50 lakh to their proposal.

Sagar and his friends skipped college to work on this project.

However, despite working on it for six months, the initiative did not succeed due to RBI guidelines.

They subsequently decided to close the firm and return to college.

In March 2016, he began working as a software developer at Rivigo, a logistics firm in Gurgaon, where he assisted in the development of their core technology.

In 2018, I resigned from my work and began investigating agri-tech “Sagar explains.

He recognized that agri-tech was a capital- and operations-intensive area and decided to pursue other opportunities.

Sagar is driven by Malcolm Gladwell’s “10,000 Hours Rule.”

Sagar says he recognized that his competence was in software and technology.

“After dabbling with my hobbies and nearly dropping out of my last year at IIT, I saw the light and started Primathon.

But, Sagar’s family, while supportive of his entrepreneurial decisions, was unable to invest financially in his new venture.

“However, he perseveres, gaining a great deal of inspiration and courage from a golden rule he follows.”

“I believe in Malcolm Gladwell’s ‘10,000 hours rule,'” the determined young guy says.

Gladwell wrote the book ‘Outliers: The Story of Success.’

According to this theory, in order to become world-class in any subject, you must put in 10,000 hours of purposeful practice, which equates to around three hours each day for 3,333 days.

Sagar says hard work is the only way to achieve success.

Sagar’s life objective, he says, is to produce money not only for himself, but also for those who work for him.

He claims that, in addition to a fair pay and higher-than-industry-standard increments of 50% -60%, employees at Primathon are also given equity and constant training.

Sagar also contributes to Anubhuti Samiti, a non-governmental organization that teaches and cares for roadside children who are unable to attend school.

He says you can give back to society even if you are not successful or wealthy.

India’s largest startup funding platform opens with Rs 65 crore corpus

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On the IIM Calcutta Alumni Association and IIM Calcutta Innovation Park-backed platform, promising companies can pitch their business ideas to 5,000+ angels and 7+ institutional investors who have committed a corpus of over Rs 65 crore.

Clarion Call 5.0, India’s largest startup funding and mentoring platform a corpus, is now accepting applications. With new-age entrepreneurs coming up with novel ideas to solve distinct commercial, consumer, and technology concerns, India’s startup ecosystem has grown exponentially in the last half-decade.

However, there are numerous problems associated with entrepreneurship, such as funding, team building, legislation, and so on.

Clarion Call was created and launched in 2016 to assist creators in overcoming these challenges.

Prior to this next version 5.0, the IIMCAA organized four editions of Clarion Call (CC). This year’s highlight is the opportunity for promising companies to pitch their business ideas to 5,000+ angels and 7+ institutional investors who have committed a corpus of over Rs 65 crore.

The IIMCAA-M is a non-profit organization that is organizing this event with the goal of creating a platform and a program that will provide outstanding and deserving entrepreneurs with access to investment, incubation, mentoring, as well as visibility, prizes, and credits. According to the official website, CC 5.0 will be a virtual event that does not require any travel or face-to-face encounters to participate in.

Winners will be able to obtain investment at an early stage and find the necessary guidance to help their businesses expand quickly.

The top 20 finalists will be incubated with a variety of partners, including IIM Calcutta Innovation Park, BSE Incubator ZONE Startup, and others.

Finalists would not only interact with possible investors, but they would also be exposed to industry experts and IIMCAA mentors. The initiative invites renowned IIM alumni from around the world to mentor the finalists and help the startup ecosystem.

Subrat Pani, Co-founder of OneAssist, Member of the IIMCAA-MUMBAI, and Lead Organiser of Clarion Call 5.0, spoke on the impending event.

“With Clarion Call, we hope to keep IIMC alumni linked and to explore the new business ideas being developed in our country. Its goal is to contribute to the ecosystem by giving support and acceleration for these ideas to thrive and prepare for their next stages in the market. This year is the 5th edition of Clarion Call, and we are excited to see several great entrepreneurs receive well-deserved funding. Through Clarion Call, we at IIMC hope to bring complementary knowledge, experience, and networks together to help businesses accelerate. With our forum’s continued success and the funding of start-ups, the hype surrounding the event is growing.”

Ashish Chauhan, MD and CEO of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) and Honorary President of the IIMCAA-Mumbai, stated, “It’s a fantastic idea for IIMC alumni to stay connected and contribute to the ecosystem. We are all looking forward to a successful Clarion Call 5.0, so come and register with us and watch your concept become a success!”

The application deadline is April 30th, 2022 (Midnight IST).

Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal may get $42M if fired after Elon Musk deal

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Elon Musk has struck a deal to acquire Twitter.Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal would receive $42 million if he will be fired after the acquisition.

On Monday, entrepreneur Elon Musk agreed to buy Twitter for $44 billion, thereby terminating the business’s existence as a public company since 2013.

According to research firm Equilar, Twitter Inc CEO Parag Agrawal would receive an estimated $42 million if he were fired within 12 months of a change in power at the social media business.

Musk expressed his lack of confidence in Twitter’s management in an April 14 securities filing.

According to an Equilar spokesman, the estimate comprises a year’s worth of Agrawal’s base pay plus accelerated vesting of all stock awards, based on Musk’s offering price of $54.20 per share and clauses in the company’s latest proxy statement.

A spokesman from Twitter declined to comment on Equilar’s assessment.

Agrawal had previously served Twitter as its chief technical officer. But, in November, he was named CEO and his overall pay for 2021 was $30.4 million, primarily in stock awards, according to Twitter’s proxy.

NEET PG 2022 Aspirants say they will have to surrender medical degrees

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Aspirants of National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) PG 2022 want the exams to be postponed. Doctors say that they will have to surrender their medical degrees to the government.

Aspirants for the National Eligibility Cumulative Entrance Test (NEET) PG 2022 have submitted a letter to President Ram Nath Kovind requesting that the tests be postponed.

They have stated that the NEET PG counselling 2021 is not yet complete, and that the test for the next year would commence soon.

While the application forms are now available, doctors who passed the NEET PG 2021 test claim that if they wait until the NEET PG 2021 counselling is over, they will lose the opportunity to apply for the NEET PG 2022. Doctors claim they will be forced to hand over their prestigious medical degrees to the government.

They also stated in the letter that the exam bodies are harassing them and that there is no one to show empathy or compassion to them.

The NEET PG 2022 exam is set to take place on May 21. NEET PG is an entrance test for postgraduate medical education. The admission test is open to practicing doctors and recent MBBS graduates.

The letter continues, “We selected this profession to serve our country and people; little did we anticipate that we would be hounded by exam bodies like this. We are being mentally tortured by the NMC (National Medical Council) and the NBE (National Board of Examination) as a result of their mishandling.”

We are not at fault, but we are suffering as a result of the chaotic bodies such as the NMC and NBE “it went on to say

As many as 5000 interns are disqualified to take the exam because they served during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Furthermore, the National Medical Commission (NMC) requires a reasonable amount of time between one session’s counselling and the following exam. This year, though, is not one of them, as the students  say counseling will end on May 3 and the exam will be held on May 21, leaving a small gap between the two, which is “unfair.”

They also stated that the last year’s exam counselling schedule was revised seven times this year.

“According to NMC policy, there must be a sufficient space between Counselling of one session and the next examination.”

However, this year’s all-India counselling will complete on May 3, 2022, and state counselling will begin, which may last till the middle or end of the year. The exam is set for May 21, just a few days after All India Counselling concludes.

This is clearly unfair,” the letter stated, adding that NMC is “adamant” about not modifying the exam date because the academic term is set to begin in August. They also stated that postponing the exam till July will not have any impact on the academic term.

According to the letter, “Because of the insufficient time gap, we are unsure if we should attend counseling or prepare for the exam. Whatever occurs in our lives as a result of any drastic decisions made out of depression and helplessness, NMC must bear sole responsibility.”

Envision Energy Awarded 2000 MW Wind Turbine Contract in India

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Delhi, India – Envision Energy today announced that it has been awarded a 2000 MW wind turbine order in India. The 596 wind turbines, all manufactured in Envision’s India factory, will be delivered by the end of 2023.

Envision will supply and commission its state-of-the-art EN156/3.3 wind turbines for the projects. EN 156/3.3 has a 156m rotor – the largest in the country. This rotor is coupled with a 3.3MW generator and a hub height of 140m. This design is uniquely suited to maximize energy produced from the low wind regimes predominant in the country.

Envision invested $25M USD to establish its 1200 MW-capacity nacelle and hub assembly plant at Pune in 2018. To meet the additional market demand, Envision will be ramping up to double the current capacity. Envision is also building a blade factory in India, which is expected to be completed by Q1 of 2023.

Envision’s existing projects in India, the 198MW Khagashree wind farm and 35MW Kagvad wind farm equipped with EN- 131 / 2.5MW wind turbines, have been in operation since May and October 2019 respectively. So far, these projects have generated more than 1.76 billion kWh clean energy for the region.

“Envision India is proud to contribute towards India’s commitment to achieve 500 GW and 50% energy requirement from renewable energy sources by 2030. With the growth of our wind and energy storage business, we are expecting to recruit more than 300 employees locally to meet the growing needs of the country as well as the newer markets of the Asia Pacific region.” says R P V Prasad, Country Head – India Region.

Kane Xu, Managing Director of Envision India and Global Vice President says, “We are delighted for the confidence our partner in India has in us, and we are proud to continue delivering our best solutions in India. Being an expert in utilizing digital technologies, we can maximize efficiency, save cost, and innovate fast to better serve our customers. In addition to wind power, we are also bringing our energy storage, digital, and other net-zero solutions to our customers, to help accelerate the energy transition, globally. “

About Envision Group

Envision Group is a world-leading green technology company and net zero technology partner. With the mission of “solving the challenges for the sustainable future of humankind”. Envision designs, sells, and operates smart wind turbines and smart storage system through Envision Energy; AIoT-powered batteries through Envision AESC; and the world’s largest AIoT operating system through Envision Digital. It also owns Envision Racing Formula E team. Envision continues to promote wind and solar power as the “new coal”, batteries and hydrogen fuel as the “new oil”, the AIoT network as the “new grid”, the net-zero industrial parks to the “new infrastructure”, and to promote the construction and cultivation of green “new industry”.

Envision Group was ranked among the Top 10 of the 2019 ‘World’s 50 Smartest Companies’ by the MIT Technology Review. In October 2021, Envision was ranked second in the world on the Fortune “Change the World” list. Envision Group joined the global ‘RE100’ initiative and became the first company in mainland China committed to 100% renewable electricity by 2025.On April 22, 2021, Envision Group announced it will achieve carbon neutral in operations by 2022 and achieve carbon neutral throughout its value chain by 2028.

For more information, please visit www.envision-group.com

Newton School gets US$25M in new funding to improve teaching with AI

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Newton School has secured US$ 25 million in a new round of funding. Among other things, the edtech startup will invest the money in breakthrough technologies like AI to improve teaching.

Newton School, a Bengaluru-based edtech firm that is constructing a neo-university for aspiring software developers, has acquired $25 million in a Series B fundraising round. Steadview Capital, a global investment firm whose portfolio includes Indian startups Nykaa, Polygon, Zomato, and Freshworks, led the round.Nexus Venture Partners and RTP Global, both existing investors, also participated in the round.

The funds received will be utilized to accelerate the company’s growth, as well as to expand its personnel, technology, and brand-building activities.

Newton School was founded in 2019 by IIT batchmates Nishant Chandra and Siddharth Maheshwari with the goal of democratizing higher education. It offers outcome-oriented learning experiences to both freshmen and working professionals, allowing people from all over India to become highly proficient software developers and pursue high-paying careers in technology.

At just over two years, the neo-university has successfully placed over 1,500 students in over 600 major firms such as Google, Lenskart, Razorpay, Flipkart, Zomato, Deloitte, Meesho, and Target. It just developed a Master’s degree program for those with non-tech backgrounds in order to give flexible learning to working professionals. Newton School is on track to have a 100 million annually run rate by 2023.

Newton School founders Siddharth Maheshwari and Nishant Chandra, stated, “This funding will help us to establish a strong brand and leadership team while investing in breakthrough technologies like AI to improve teaching.”

Every year, over a million college graduates in India fail to find appropriate work prospects, despite the fact that thousands of organizations struggle to locate talent.

Newton School’s learning platform attempts to bridge this gap, and we are pleased to collaborate with like-minded investors who believe in the revolutionary power of industry-focused education and the internet.”

Puneet Kumar, Managing Director of Steadview Capital, said, “We’re happy to support Siddharth, Nishant, and the Newton School team in fulfilling their vision of a technology-driven neo-university. Newton School’s innovative concept and platform will assist the goals of millions of Indians by removing location constraints and cutting expenses in a country where graduates have single-digit employment rates despite spending considerable amounts of money on education. We believe in Newton School’s growth potential and are excited to work with them to address critical gaps in the Indian education sector.”