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Venture funding for Indian startups remains uneven.

After raising $504 million last week, the Indian startup ecosystem saw a steep decline in the second week of June, scraping together a mere $107 million across 20 deals. This is largely due to VCs still being cautious, especially in the large-deals category.

On a more positive note, shares of Paytm and Zomato soared on Friday. One 97 Communications, Paytm’s parent company, saw its shares close the day at an increase of 5.41%, shortly after it received an upgrade from the Bank of America Securities. 

Zomato, on the other hand, hit a 52-week high in Friday’s intra-day trade at Rs 77.95, ending at Rs 77.9, slightly above its listing price of Rs 76 per share. 

Meanwhile, troubles continue for BYJU’S. After the edtech company filed a lawsuit against its lenders in the New York Supreme Court, accusing them of ‘predatory practices’, the lender group called the suit ‘meritless’ in a statement on Thursday.

The consortium of lenders—who hold a combined ownership stake exceeding 85% of BYJU’S $1.2 billion term loan—categorised the suit as an attempt by BYJU’S to ‘avoid complying with its obligations, including making contractually required payments’.

Last but not least, on the occasion of World Gin Day today, here’s a throwback to YS Life’s deep dive into India’s growing gin market—with Goa at its nerve centre.

Did you know before gin became a cocktail staple, it was used to treat a variety of ailments?

Cheers!

In today’s newsletter, we will talk about 

• After Sequoia split, what’s next for Peak?
• Indian women and the rise of self-pleasure
• The secret to building a world-class restaurant

Here’s your trivia for today: What is the scientific study of ants called?

Venture capital

Peak XV’s future plans

With $9.2 billion raised across 13 funds, investments in over 400 companies and $4.5 billion in exits through M&As and IPOs, Sequoia India & Southeast Asia has had an impressive track record in the region. 

Its split from parent Sequoia Capital–and rebranding as Peak XV Partners–begins a new chapter for the VC firm, MD Shailendra Singh tells YourStory. 

New trajectory:

• Singh has been with Sequoia for about 17 years and has played a key role in the firm making investments in startups such as Zomato, Freshworks, BYJU’S, and Ola.
• Singh said that although the investment climate has changed for the startup ecosystem due to the ongoing funding winter, “the best companies are founded and the best investments are made in downturns…tough funding cycles are a gift for investors.”
• As Peak XV Partners, the company will be a lot more agile in its investment process, he said. 

<Top Deals of the Week>

Startup: HealthifyMe

Amount: $30M

Round: Pre-Series D

Startup: Lentra

Amount: $27M

Round: Extended Series B

Startup: River 

Amount: $15M

Round: Undisclosed 

Lifestyle

Indian women explore self-pleasure

Until a few years ago, self-pleasure was an alien concept for most Indian women. Not anymore.

Women in urban India—married or otherwise—are now turning increasingly unapologetic about their sexual needs. This shift is credited to the emergence of pleasure-positive and inclusive sex educators on social media, as well as the availability of enjoyable and user-friendly sex toys that enhance intimacy, pleasure, and self-exploration.

Shattering stigma:

• Leeza Mangaldas, a sex-positive content creator, author, and the founder of Leezu’s, has a playful personal care brand that offers a dual-ended clitoral massager called Pyaari, and coconut self-love oil. 
• Sachee Malhotra, Founder of That Sassy Thing, says the startup’s products are sold across 200 cities.
• Its customer base isn’t limited to Tier I towns and cities, but also Tier II and Tier III centres like Ludhiana, Indore, Lucknow, Jodhpur, Coimbatore, Patna, Salem, and Siliguri. 

Food

What’s cooking at Indian Accent

Since its launch in 2009, Indian Accent by chef Manish Mehrotra has been curating tasting menus that incorporate the diverse food palate of the Indian subcontinent in small bites. 

The fare at Indian Accent features unconventional and innovative dishes–an amalgamation of traditional Indian cuisine with global ingredients and techniques. 

Perfect plate:

• Indian Accent has been featured on the World’s 50 Best Restaurants list (an honour it has held since 2015) and Time magazine’s World’s 100 Greatest Places list. 
• According to Chef Mehrotra, maintaining consistency depends on how well one trains the staff. Having a sound system ensures that the quality of food is maintained despite the change in staff.
• Mehrotra recently collaborated with JW Marriott Hotel Bengaluru to bring Indian Accent to Bengaluru for the first time ever. 

News & updates

• Abolished: Robinhood Markets will remove three tokens from its crypto trading platform, after a high-profile regulatory crackdown on some of the industry’s biggest exchanges. Users will no longer be able to trade Solana, Cardano or Polygon on Robinhood. The change will go into effect on June 27.
• Charged up: Tesla’s stock is on track to match its longest winning streak of 11 straight days in the green. This is after General Motors joined Ford in using Tesla’s electric vehicle charging network to charge their cars. The last time the stock was up for so long was in January 2021.
• Triumphant: Daily U.S. sign-ups for Netflix jumped in the first few days after its password-sharing crackdown came into effect on May 23. To make money in a saturating market and a tough economy, Netflix moved to regulate the sharing of account passwords with friends and family.

What is the scientific study of ants called?

Answer: Myrmecology

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