Looks like the new fiscal has opened the floodgates for Indian startups to enter the unicorn club.
Two more startups — ShareChat and Gupshup — are the latest entrants to the coveted $1 billion valuation club.
Indian language social media platform ShareChat raised $502 million in a round led by Lightspeed Ventures and Tiger Global, taking the company’s valuation to $2.1 billion.
Also, Silicon Valley-headquartered conversational messaging tech startup Gupshup raised $100 million from Tiger Global, which took its valuation to $1.4 billion.
So far, in the month of April 2021, 6 Indian startups gained unicorn status — including social commerce platform Meesho and fintech company CRED.
In all probability, 2021 will have more unicorns than 2020, which saw 11 startups turning unicorns, with NASSCOM expecting the total number of unicorns to reach 50 by the end of this year.
The Interview
Mobility has become an essential part of our lives — whether it’s moving to another city for opportunities, or using vehicles to carry out our daily jobs. Many women are also now breaking gender barriers by travelling solo. Sumitra Senapathy, Founder of Women on Wanderlust, Shell India Chairman Nitin Prasad, and Bollywood stuntwoman Geeta Tandon discuss how mobility can play a significant role in creating a socio-economic impact.
Editor’s Pick: App Friday
A lot of us had to test our cooking skills during the COVID-19 lockdown, trying out new recipes and kitchen hacks. Many recipe planners and kitchen management apps helped people make most of the available resources. One of them is StashCook that lets users save recipes from multiple sources on the web to create their own cookbook. Read more.
Startup Spotlight
Manush Labs bridges the gap between international investors and India’s entrepreneurs
As per the economic surveys, half of India’s startups come from Tier-II cities and beyond. However, many of them still face challenges of sustainability and scalability. Founded by MIT graduate Piyush Verma, Manush Labs empowers innovators and entrepreneurs from Tier-II cities and beyond to build sustainable businesses and scalable solutions through access to funding, mentoring, and network-building. Read more.
News & Updates
Before you go, stay inspired with…
“Content is spread across a long tail of genres. To figure out what the user wants is an exciting problem.”
— Debdoot Mukherjee, Vice President – AI, ShareChat
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