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Hello,

Meet Bigbasket supersaver.

The Tata Digital-backed grocery platform rebranded its slotted delivery service to ‘supersaver’, where users can get an additional 5% savings on a larger assortment of products than before and get it delivered within two hours. Its quick commerce division will continue to be called bbnow.

Meanwhile, financial services conglomerate DMI Group acquired BNPL platform ZestMoney to widen its engagement with current and potential customers by adding the ZestMoney checkout financing platform to its product suite. 

In other news, even as local electric vehicle (EV) firms resist, the government is yet to decide on lower taxes for imported EVs under a new policy proposed for carmakers that commit to local manufacturing, which could ease Tesla’s entry into the Indian market.

Speaking of EVs, Delhi-based ALT Mobility raised $6 million in a funding round co-led by Shell Ventures, Eurazeo, EV2 Ventures, and Twynam, among others. 

Also, International Battery Company, which manufactures large-sized lithium-ion NMC (nickel manganese cobalt) batteries, raised $35 million from investors, including RTP Global, BEENEXT, Veda VC, and other Korean and US investors. 

ICYMI: Japan counts down to precision ‘moon sniper’ landing!

If all goes according to plan, the country will become the fifth in the world to land on the lunar surface.

In today’s newsletter, we will talk about 

• A kidswear brand that targets mothers
• How startup founders view fundraising
• Bringing luxury to furniture market

Here’s your trivia for today: Which is considered the largest bird of prey in the world?

Startup

A kidswear brand that targets mothers

Started in April 2023, Includ was born out of the need to cater to women or mothers who are the key decision-makers in most Indian households.

“There are several sub-categories in the online retail space. While electronics is largely male-dominated, kidswear, womenswear, and home improvement are driven by women,” Ashwin Rastogi, Founder and CEO of Includ, tells YourStory.

Ecommerce influence:

• Includ has a portfolio of apparel for children aged 2-14 years, and presents over 5,500 styles. With prices starting from Rs 449, Includ hosts a variety of accessories for kids such as hair bands, handbags, and hats.
• The company—with the help of its 25-member team—is making sales up to Rs 2 crore each month, and is working actively towards expanding its product line to keep up with the purchase frequency.
• Includ intends to go offline over the next few years. The plan is to master the kidswear category and then venture into western womenswear and ultimately home products, the founder notes.

Funding Alert

Startup: International Battery Company

Amount: $35M

Round: Pre-Series A

Startup: FinAGG Technologies

Amount: $11M

Round: Series A

Startup: Groyyo

Amount: $5.4M

Round: Debt

Report

How startup founders view fundraising

AI was termed the most hyped sector among startups in 2023 while manufacturing and business-to-business (B2B) focused sectors were underrated, according to a report by venture debt firm InnoVen Capital titled ‘India Startup Outlook Report’.

Trends:

• Around 23% of respondents believe that AI will have a significant impact on their business models over the next 2-3 years as an increasing number of startups adopt AI in their offerings. 
• At least 64% of entrepreneurs looked at an initial public offering (IPO) as a preferred mode of exit—up from 63% in 2022. Preference for mergers and acquisitions continued a downward trajectory, falling to 22% from 28% in 2022.
• In terms of workforce expansion, 61% of founders expect the pace of hiring to stay at the same levels or go down compared to last year.

Luxury

Bringing luxury to furniture market

Sunil Suresh, Founder and Owner of the luxury sofa and home décor company Stanley Lifestyles Ltd, started his entrepreneurial journey from a humble car garage in Bengaluru, making leather seats for cars.

Today, Stanley Lifestyles houses six factories, and 63 stores across India, with 3,000 SKUs.

The rise:

• Stanley Lifestyles imports leather from Italy, Germany, Europe, Argentina, and locally from Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh while timber is imported from Canada and New Zealand.
• The price range for sofas and chairs starts from Rs 2.5 lakh and goes up to 25 lakh. Stanley also works as a contract manufacturer for various companies including Swedish multinational IKEA.
• In September 2023, it filed its Draft Red Herring Prospectus with SEBI. Having received approval, the company is poised to go public later this year, seeking to raise funds through an IPO.

News & updates

• Departure: Sheryl Sandberg is to step down from the board of Facebook’s parent company, Meta, nearly two years after quitting her executive role at the business. Sandberg was the lead architect of Facebook’s digital advertising-driven business model as Meta’s chief operating officer.
• Not required: Sam Altman was “surprised” by The New York Times’ lawsuit against OpenAI, saying its AI models didn’t need to train on the news publisher’s data. Describing the legal action as a “strange thing,” Altman said OpenAI had been in “productive negotiations” with the Times before news of the lawsuit broke. 
• A first instance: Japan Airlines has named a woman, Mitsuko Tottori, as its next president for the first time, a rare appointment for a major Japanese firm and a global airline. Tottori joined the airline as a flight attendant in 1985 before working her way up. 

Which is considered the largest bird of prey in the world?

Answer: The Andean Condor. An endangered species, it has an enormous wingspan measuring 3 metres (9.8 feet) and weighs up to 15 kg (33.1 lbs).

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