Deconstructing battery swapping

We are just one week away from TechSparks 2022!

The 13th edition of India’s largest and most influential startup-tech conference will be flagged off by Nirmala Sitharaman, Union Minister Of Finance And Corporate Affairs, Government Of India.

Other exciting things to look forward to at TechSparks 2022, which is offline this year, include a conversation with Tony Fadell, the creator of the iPod, and co-creator of the iPhone, a chance to meet India’s top creators, and witness the unveiling of Tech30 cohort for 2022. Click here to find out more.

In other news, sweets and savoury foods maker Bikaji Foods International Ltd mobilised Rs 262 crore as it opened for public bidding on Thursday.

ICMYI: Meta (formerly Facebook) India country head Ajit Mohan has quit the company to join Snap. At Snap, Mohan will serve as the president of the company’s APAC business.

And, here’s something to ponder over your next cup of coffee. Aston University scientists have produced high-quality biodiesel microalgae fed on leftover coffee. The research could potentially decrease decrease the cutting down of palm trees, which is currently used to extract oil to produce biofuel.

In today’s newsletter, we will talk about

Deconstructing battery swapping
Bringing tech to the seas
Why the Middle East is the next frontier for content-led commerce

Here’s your trivia for today: Before emerging as the iconic Grand Theft Auto, what was the original GTA going to be called?

Electric vehicles

Battery swapping promises to jumpstart the electric vehicle (EV) market in India by alleviating range anxiety and reducing cost of ownership. Both homegrown startups and players from Taiwan have expressed interest in this segment. However, battery swapping in India has several roadblocks in its path.

Powering EVs:

Battery swapping is swift (a matter of a few minutes/seconds) and customers do not have to play the waiting game anymore.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in her Budget for this year had announced that the government would introduce a battery swapping policy with interoperability standards.
The technology could reduce EV costs. With battery swapping, customers have the option of buying an EV without a battery; they can opt for a swap subscription and load a swappable battery into the vehicle.

Funding Alert

Startup: The Sleep Company

Amount: $21.3M

Round: Undisclosed

Startup: CashKaro

Amount: Rs 130 Cr

Round: Series C

Startup: SolarSquare

Amount: Rs 100 Cr

Round: Series A

Logistics

Bringing tech to the seas

Singapore-headquartered maritime logistics tech startup Smart Ship Hub is working on a technology that will enable ships to connect with each other and share information. This will help optimise capacity, routes, and procurement, thereby creating a “shared economy” in maritime logistics.

Optimising shipping:

The company was set up in 2019 by Joy Basu and Captain Harminder to address the pain points of the maritime industry.
Smart Ship Hub’s digital platform gives ship owners, ship operators, and charter companies access to a host of information such as the vessel’s health, machinery condition, cargo condition, ETA assessment, and possible delays due to weather.
According to a report by UNCTAD, around 80% of global trade by volume and over 70% of global trade by value are carried out by sea and handled by ports worldwide.

Startups

Why the Middle East is the next frontier for content-led commerce

Founded in 2016 by Saurabh Singh, Rahul Jain, and Nagendra Sandra, Flickstree uses AI voiceover and AI script to auto-generate branded video content. These videos are distributed through its own apps and websites such as PlusYou Club and a network of more than 150 publisher partners. The founders are looking at the Middle East to power its next growth phase.

Key takeaways:

Flickstree currently has an active client base in India, the Middle East, South-East Asia, the UK, Australia, and the USA.
Earlier in October, it raised $5 million in a Pre-Series B funding round led by Venture Catalysts.
India accounts for 30% of the company’s revenue, the rest 70% is from the US, UK, and Middle East.

News & updates

Crypto advocacy group: Top crypto firms including Coinbase and Polygon are among the firms that have formed an industry body in India to promote dialogue between key stakeholders and drive awareness about Web3, months after the largest local crypto advocacy group was disbanded.
The great train hack: A major breakdown of Denmark’s train network during the weekend was the result of a hacker attack on an IT subcontractor’s software testing environment, Danish train operator DSB said on Thursday.
Layoffs: Stripe has announced that it’s laying off 14% of its workers, impacting around 1,120 of the fintech giant’s 8,000 workforce.
One vaccine: US drugmaker Pfizer Inc and its German partner BioNTech SE have started an early-stage study to evaluate a combination vaccine targeting COVID-19 and influenza, the companies said on Thursday.

What you should watch out for

SoftBank Corp earnings results briefing for Q2 FY2022
The UN’s Food and Agricultural Organization will release its monthly index of world food prices.

Before emerging as the iconic Grand Theft Auto, what was the original GTA going to be called?

Answer: Race’n’Chase. The first Grand Theft Auto was originally intended to be a fast-paced multiplayer game of cops and robbers centred on racing.

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