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India’s benchmark indices closed in the green on Monday, even if they rose by just around 0.8% each. BSE Sensex rose by 442 points, closing the day just above 59,245 while Nifty50 closed over 17,665, an increase of just 126 points.

Meanwhile, we have some exciting news. The application window is now open for YS’s Tech30 2022, a specially curated list of India’s 30 most promising, high-potential and disruptive early-stage tech startups.

If you think your startup has the right credentials to make it to the list, please fill out this form. The deadline is October 20, 2022.

In today’s newsletter, we will talk about 

• Solving monetisation for connected TV and OTT 
• Klub closes Rs 200 crore maiden fund
• CCI clears BillDesk’s acquisition by PayU

Here’s your trivia for today: Who was the first person to hold 100 Guinness World Records at once?

Startups

Solving monetisation for connected TV and OTT

VDO.AI began with an aim to create an automated tech platform to help publishers and advertisers reach out to users in the most effective manner. Today, it helps connected TV and OTT apps like Disney Hotstar and Prime Video win the war for consumer attention and win the monetisation game. 

It aims to achieve enhanced brand awareness via “direct reach, proprietary technology, and high-impact creative formats” that provide “high viewability and user engagement”.

Money talks:

• VDO.AI’s tech platform creates a framework where users spend more time on the site to help publishers while advertisers reach out to the audience with the right kind of ads—resulting in higher revenue for both.
• The startup has registered a double-digit million-dollar yearly turnover and has grown 500% CAGR since its establishment.
• It serves about four billion direct impressions every month across 3,000 publishers. 

Investment

Klub closes Rs 200 crore maiden fund

Revenue-based financing platform Klub has announced the final close of its Rs 200 crore maiden fund Acelere8. The first close was announced in December 2021. 

Klub will accelerate disbursement across growth-stage businesses during the festive season from the fund.

Join the Klub:

• The fund has already deployed nearly 30% of its corpus.
• It invests capital ranging from Rs 5 lakh to Rs 30 crore in businesses for a tenure of up to 24 months.
• Over the last few months, Klub has made 33 investments across growth-stage businesses.

Mergers and acquisitions

CCI clears BillDesk’s acquisition by PayU

In the biggest takeover in the Indian fintech space, the Competition Commission of India (CCI) has approved the $4.7 billion acquisition of online payment gateway BillDesk by Prosus-backed PayU India. 

The deal involves the merger of the payment gateway business of two of the country’s largest players. 

A mega entity:

• Billdesk would be consumer internet group Prosus-owned PayU’s fourth Indian acquisition, after Citrus Pay, Wibmo and PaySense. 
• The mega deal, which was announced in August last year, had hit a roadblock after it came under the scrutiny of the CCI following its concerns over a ‘potential monopoly’ in the online payment gateway space. 
• The combined entity would emerge as one of the top online payments providers with an annual total payment volume (TPV) of $147 billion. 

News & updates

• New boss: Liz Truss comfortably won the race to become leader of the Conservative party and on Tuesday will become Britain’s latest prime minister, facing one of the most daunting economic crises of recent times.
• Infractions: The Irish Data Protection Commission has fined Meta-owned social media platform Instagram €405 million for violations of the General Data Protection Regulation. The fine is the third for a Meta-owned company handed down by the Irish regulator.
• Job opportunity: Asia’s richest man Gautam Adani is scouting for a new leader for his mergers and acquisitions strategy as the incumbent will soon take a new role within the group, according to people familiar with the matter.
• Homecoming: Dozens of ancient artefacts that investigators believe were looted have been seized from the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art. The office seized 27 artefacts from the Met using three search warrants. They will be repatriated to their countries of origin.

What you should watch out for

• The first phase of the Ethereum Merge is set to take place.
• Megaflex Plastics’ IPO to start today.

Who was the first person to hold 100 Guinness World Records at once?

Answer: Ashrita Furman of Brooklyn, New York.

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