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Hello,

At last, a unicorn.

Mobility startup Rapido has joined the unicorn club—a term used for companies with $1 billion or more in valuation. The company raised $120 million in a new funding round led by WestBridge Capital.

Rapido is the third startup to become a unicorn this year after fintech platform Perfios and AI company Krutrim.

Up ahead: Ola Electric’s IPO.

The e-scooter manufacturer will offer shares in the price band of Rs 72 to Rs 76 per equity share in its IPO, which will open on August 2. It will include a fresh equity issue of Rs 5,500 crore and an offer for sale of about 8.5 crore shares worth up to Rs 645.56 crore. 

With India’s stock market boom leading to more than 150 Indian companies raising nearly $5 billion through public listings between January and July this year, Ola Electric’s IPO will test investors’ appetite for EVs.

Meanwhile, Ather Energy, another Indian e-scooter maker that plans to go public, has raised Rs 60 crore in debt funding from InnoVen Capital India.

Lastly, the Russia-Ukraine war is disrupting mobile signals in India as telecom towers across the country fall prey to heists. The CapTable unearths the story behind stolen radio equipment worth Rs 1,000 crore. 

In today’s newsletter, we will talk about 

• Championing preventive healthcare
• Space: Opportunities abound

Here’s your trivia for today: What was the first feature-length motion picture with sound?

Woman Entrepreneur

Championing preventive healthcare

Tanya Khubchandani Vatsa understood the importance of wellness and a preventive healthcare system while working in New York. 

In 2022, she founded Elixir Wellness. The Mumbai-based wellness centre offers preventive care, skin care, and anti-ageing solutions, among others, to improve a person’s general quality of life. 

Quality of life:

• Elixir Wellness’ services include physiotherapy and pain management, lymphatic drainage, chiropractic adjustments, cryotherapy, and more.
• For its anti-ageing services, it offers a telomere testing service that allows one to gain information about their tissue age, which can play a crucial role in understanding their body’s ageing process.
• The startup has 27 centres across Delhi, Bengaluru, and Mumbai. It follows a franchise model for its Delhi and Bengaluru centres.

Funding Alert

Startup: Gruner Renewable Energy

Amount: $60M

Round: Undisclosed

Startup: Simple Energy

Amount: $20M

Round: Series A

Startup: Ather Energy

Amount: Rs 60 Cr

Round: Debt

Space tech

Space: Opportunities abound

Srinath Ravichandran, Co-founder and CEO of Agnikul Cosmos, believes it’s crucial to demystify the perception that space is an exclusive domain for boys and the wealthy.

“I grew up as an aerospace enthusiast… Being able to actually attempt building a real rocket that can go to space from Chennai is a dream come true,” said Ravichandran.

Out and beyond:

• After four failed attempts, Agnikul Cosmos made history this year with a sub-orbital test flight of its launch vehicle, Agnibaan SOrTeD, powered by the Agnilet engine—the world’s first single-piece 3D-printed semi-cryogenic rocket engine.
• Ravichandran pointed out that the goal is to develop a framework wherein, with just three inputs (mass destination, and origin), a launch can be scheduled within two weeks.
• According to the Agnikul CEO, the spacetech firm is actively working on having a multi-mission testing plan, so that, within the next 10 missions, the startup will be fully sustainable from a vehicle standpoint. 

News & updates

• Crypto push: Shares of New York-listed cryptocurrency firms gained before the open on Monday after Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump talked up Bitcoin and promised friendlier regulation for the industry.
• Slow quarter: McDonald’s reported a surprise drop in sales worldwide, its first decline in 13 quarters, as the higher cost of Big Macs kept cash-conscious customers away from the burger giant’s outlets.
• No data: China took another step to obscure information about overseas funds going into and out of its sagging stock market, saying it will stop publishing daily flows data in the middle of August.

What was the first feature-length motion picture with sound?

Answer: The Jazz Singer 

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