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Moore’s Law is powering India’s semiconductor dream.

The observation that the number of components on a chip doubles every two years has been the bedrock of semiconductor advancement. India wants to be central to this growth as Prime Minister Narendra Modi made a pitch to boost investments in domestic manufacturing of semiconductors at SEMICON 2024.

“When the chips are down, you can bet on India,” he said.

The country is reaping benefits from the rise of AI companies and the China+1 strategy. 

Recently, L&T declared plans to invest $300 million to create a domestic chip company. Dutch tech giant NXP Semiconductors also announced a $1-billion investment to boost R&D initiatives in the country. Meanwhile, Apple has begun negotiations with Micron, the Tata Group and other chip manufacturers for setting up plants in India.

India is also collaborating with the US Department of State to ensure semiconductor supply chain security.

And, without semiconductors, the EV dream would remain just that.

MG Motor India has come up with an interesting push to get more consumers to own its electric vehicles. It recently launched Windsor EV which comes with a ‘battery-as-a-service’ rental programme that allows car owners to pay for the usage of the battery pack at Rs 3.5 per km. 

Such a programme can blunt the cost of owning an EV as the battery itself costs anywhere from Rs 2.5 lakh to Rs 5 lakh.

Clean air, silent engines. What more can one ask for?

In today’s newsletter, we will talk about 

• Rapido’s cash flow plans
• Good Capital’s investment philosophy
• Non-metros power ecommerce dream

Here’s your trivia for today: Where is the highest bungee jumping platform in the world?

Mobility

Rapido’s cash flow plans

Rapido’s Co-founder and CEO Aravind Sanka is optimistic that the ride-hailing company will turn cash flow positive next quarter. In an exclusive interview with YourStory, he said that Rapido has doubled its GMV annually and reduced losses by over 50%.

In green:

• Earlier this month, the company raised $200 million in a Series E funding round at a post-money valuation of $1.1 billion, marking its entry into the unicorn club. 
• Sanka added that Rapido will use the capital to increase the number of its operational cities to almost 250-300 in the next year. At present, the company services more than 100 cities in India. 
• Rapido is also looking to expand into Tier II and III cities in the quick commerce segment with Swiggy and other partners in the future.

<Funding Alert>

Startup: InMobi

Amount: $100M

Round: Debt

Startup: FlexiLoans 

Amount: Rs 230 Cr

Round: Series C

Startup: Zivy 

Amount: $1.2M

Round: Seed

Venture capital

Good Capital’s investment philosophy

Delhi-based micro venture capital firm Good Capital believes fewer investments with high conviction in an entrepreneur’s idea is a better strategy rather than sprinkling capital all over the place. 

Established in 2019, the company makes about seven investments in a year with cheque sizes between $100,000 and $1.2 million.

Key takeaways:

• Good Capital’s portfolio companies have been acquired by larger players. For example, YouTube acquired ecommerce company Simsim; Ford acquired vehicle connectivity platform Autonomic; and Groq bought generative AI startup Definitive Intelligence.
• In its first fund, it raised $25 million in 2019 and its second fund, with a size of $50 million, is expected to close this month.
• From the second fund, Good Capital aims to invest $1-1.5 million in each startup.

Ecommerce

Non-metros power ecommerce dream

Over 60% of shoppers on ecommerce marketplace Meesho intend to increase their online shopping budgets, indicating a growing trend of ecommerce adoption in Tier II cities. 

Social media has a significant impact on festive shopping, with 40% of shoppers driven by FOMO (fear of missing out) on popular products, according to a report titled E-commerce Festive Forecast 2024.

Key takeaways:

• The survey, which was rolled out to over 10 lakh Meesho customers and 2.5 lakh sellers, explored the shifting trends among online festive shoppers.
• Positive reviews have become a key driver of online purchases on Meesho, with almost 54% of shoppers citing them as the main influence.
• The report further revealed a growing impact of influencer content on consumer choices, with around 70% following social media influencers for reviews and hauls of products.

News & updates

• AI race: Adobe will unveil a new generative AI-powered video creation and editing tool in a limited release later this year. Dubbed Adobe Firefly Video Model, the AI tool will be released in beta and will join the Photoshop maker’s existing line of Firefly image-generating applications.
• Job cuts: Samsung Electronics is reportedly planning to cut up to 30% of its global workforce across various divisions. The job cuts will primarily impact sales, marketing, and administrative staff in regions such as the Americas, Europe, Asia, and Africa.
• Meme stock: GameStop Corp shares took a dive Wednesday after the videogame retailer surprised investors with a quarterly profit, but sales dropped more than 30% to below analyst expectations. However, the meme stock, which was lifted by the return of influential trader Keith Gill, also known as Roaring Kitty, to social media earlier this year, is up 33.8% in 2024.

Where is the highest bungee jumping platform in the world?

Answer: Zhangjiajie Glass Bridge, China. It has a 260-metre-high platform.

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