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Hello,

Has the pandemic turned us into anti-social goblins?

Welp, the numbers do hint at that possibility! More than 318,000 English speakers around the world chose “goblin mode“—behaviour that is unapologetically self-indulgent, lazy, slovenly, or greedy—as the Oxford word for 2022.  

Honestly, just blame the pandemic. 

In other news, Warner Bros. Discovery is close to finalising the name for its upcoming streaming service, which will combine HBO Max and Discovery+, reported CNBC. The expected name “Max” is currently being vetted by the company’s lawyers.

Lastly, here’s a sneak peek inside the world’s “skinniest” skyscraper.

The pencil tower—super-slender skyscrapers that became popular in Hong Kong in the 70s—is called Steinway Tower. It is 1,428 feet tall and has a record 24:1 height-to-width ratio.

Of course, it’s on New York’s iconic Billionaire’s Row.

In today’s newsletter, we will talk about 

• Coliving startups see strong recovery post-COVID
• Tata 1mg-owned Healthkart raises $135 million
• The Good Glamm Group acquires Tweak India

Here’s your trivia for today: When was the world’s first human-to-human heart transplant performed? 

Hospitality

Coliving startups see strong recovery post-COVID

Between 2015 and 2021, India’s coliving sector saw a sharp rise with several startups—Zolostays, Colive, Your-Space, Isthara, Housr, Settl, and Hyphen, among others—stepping up to offer the ideal home away from home. 

Then, COVID-19 happened and the whole sector came to a standstill. However, now that workplaces and colleges are opening up, the sector seems poised to bounce back with rigour to pre-pandemic levels, say experts. 

Room for more:

• According to IBEF, India has more than 75 coliving companies, with the market expected to grow to 5.7 million by 2025 in terms of beds, from 4.19 million in 2019. 
• Coimbatore-based Isthara Parks entered the pandemic phase with 6,000 beds. Today, it has over 24,000 beds, a 400% growth.
• Delhi-based student housing startup Your-Space doubled its capacity post-COVID-19, with over 85% occupancy across markets. Its revenue also grew 5X from pre-pandemic levels.

Funding

Tata 1mg-owned Healthkart raises $135 million

After raising $65 million just a couple of weeks ago, Tata 1mg-owned Healthkart has raised another $135 million in a round led by Temasek. The company will use the fresh funds to build its D2C brands, increase offline distribution, expand international operations, and for acquisitions.

Nutraceutical focus:

• Founded in 2011 as Bright Lifecare Pvt Ltd (BLPL), Healthkart was carved out from BLPL to form 1MG Technologies later acquired by Tata Digital.
• The nutraceuticals brand has eight popular supplement brands that include MuscleBlaze and TrueBasics.
• MuscleBlaze now has a 25% share of India’s sports nutrition market and HKVitals has a ~20% share of the online health supplement market.

Acquisition

The Good Glamm Group acquires Tweak India

Doubling down on content, The Good Glamm Group is now set to acquire a majority stake in digital media company Tweak India. It will function under the parent’s Good Media Co while Tweak founder Twinkle Khanna will remain in her role, as well as become a shareholder of The Good Glamm Group.

Content strategy:

• The Good Glamm group has spent an estimated $270 million on about 11 acquisitions since 2021.
• Within the Good Media Co, it has invested in POPxo, ScoopWhoop, BabyChakra, MissMalini Entertainment, and now Tweak.
• The latest acquisition will give the group an audience of 6 million Monthly Active Users (MAUs) and 15 million monthly impressions.

News & updates

• Optimistic: Venture capitalist Tim Draper thinks bitcoin will hit $250,000 a coin by the middle of 2023, even after a bruising year for the cryptocurrency marked by industry failures and sinking prices. Bitcoin would need to rally nearly 1,400% from its current price (~$17,000) for this prediction to come true. 
• Scaling down: Tesla plans to cut December output of the Model Y at its Shanghai plant by more than 20% from the previous month, two people with knowledge of its production plan said. The planned production cut comes after Tesla reported record sales in China for November.
• Falling apart: Indonesia’s ambitious plan to move its capital from Jakarta to Nusantara isn’t working. With just 18 months left in his final term, President Joko Widodo is still aggressively courting international investors to finance 80% of the project he hopes will elevate Indonesia’s economy. 

When was the world’s first human-to-human heart transplant performed? 

Answer: December 3, 1967, at Groote Schuur Hospital in Cape Town, by South African cardiac surgeon Christiaan Barnard. However, the patient Louis Washkansky died 18 days later from pneumonia.

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