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Hello,

2024 has brought an uncomfortable truth to the fore: hustle culture can kill. 

Ever since the tragic passing of a young EY employee earlier this year, authorities in Maharashtra and Karnataka have stepped up their scrutiny of office practices in private firms as well. 

Labour authorities in Maharashtra are considering proposals to regulate hiring and layoff practices at firms, while Bengaluru has begun to ramp up inspections regarding compliance with overtime rules and timekeeping—

a sorely needed move. 

Pressure on the services sector is just one of the global challenges ahead of India as it strives to keep its growth momentum going, something that the country’s new RBI governor has pledged to focus on as he begins his tenure.

Whether that means a rate cut is on the cards soon remains to be seen. 

Even faltering growth hasn’t been enough to stop Indians from travelling. Nearly 1.9 million Indian tourists visited the US in the first 10 months of 2024. And US hotels are banking on those numbers to fill the gap left by fewer tourists from East Asian countries.

Those with travel plans to the States may just find a piece of home away from home, as properties try to entice Indian travellers with chai, samosas, and even popular Indian TV shows in the guest rooms. Yet another excuse to pack your bags!

However, if staying in is your thing, here are 10 short books you can blaze through before the year’s up.

A good book holds a new adventure in every page, after all.

In today’s newsletter, we will talk about 

• Stellaris Venture’s daring playbook
• A green alternative to ACs
• AI startup Haber sets sights on the US

Here’s your trivia for today: Which wine is released annually on the third Thursday of November each year?

Interview

Stellaris Venture’s daring playbook

They say the best VCs are contrarians, and Stellaris Venture Partners embodies that spirit. In 2017, when most VCs were chasing unicorns, this homegrown firm chose to build differently. Now, in 2024, with the successful Mamaearth IPO delivering returns and a formidable $300 million Fund III in their arsenal, that approach has paid off handsomely. 

But here’s the plot twist: It wasn’t always champagne and term sheets for this venture capital firm. 

Charting its path:

• Looking back at Stellaris’ own journey, the early days were no cakewalk. When even raising $20-30 million for their first fund seemed like a daunting challenge, and COVID-19 threw a curveball, it was partnership strength that kept them standing.
• Rahul Chowdhri reflects, “Despite these hurdles, the strength of our partnership carried us through. Today, we’ve delivered returns to our investors, built a strong team, and welcomed Naman as a partner.”
• With Fund III locked and loaded at $300 million, Stellaris is ready to back 25-30 more startups over three years across consumer tech, AI, SaaS, and financial services.

Funding Alert

Startup: CarDekho SEA

Amount: $60M

Round: External

Startup: Haber

Amount: $44M

Round: Series C

Startup: Avanti Finance

Amount: $14.2M

Round: Series B1B2

Startup

A green alternative to ACs

Air conditioners pose a major stumbling block to becoming carbon neutral and account for 7% of global electricity consumption. 

Hyderabad startup Ambiator, which offers alternate cooling solutions, claims it uses 80% less electricity. Its flagship product Ambiator 5TR is a modular, scalable cooling solution for residential, commercial, institutional, and industrial use.

Be cool:

• The product operates on dewpoint regenerative cooling technology. “At the heart of the Ambiator 5TR is a heat exchanger that works in all hot and dry climates where air and water don’t meet,” explains Co-founder Jeeten Desai.
• The entire system can cool indoors comparable to an air conditioner. “If the temperature outside is 45 degrees Celcius with 30% relative humidity, we can actually reduce indoor temperature to 18-20 degrees Celcius inside.”
• Ambiator 5TR is compatible to run on solar energy and is suitable for hot/dry regions. In offices, the heat exchanger is centralised, with ducts bringing air into all rooms.

Funding

AI startup Haber sets sights on the US

AI-powered industrial robotics startup Haber secured $44 million in Series C funding led by Creaegis, BEENEXT, and Accel as it prepares to expand its presence in the American market. 

The Pune-based company, which automates industrial processes for over 100 clients across India, the Middle East, and Africa, secured $38 million in equity and $6 million in debt in this round. 

Targets:

• Founded in 2017 by Vipin Raghavan, Arjunan PN, and Priya Venkat, Haber develops AI-driven robots that automate factory tasks from sample collection to analysis. The company’s technology has helped clients save over 50 billion litres of water and eliminate half a million tonnes of carbon emissions.
• In 2021, Haber had raised $20 million in a Series B funding round led by Ascent Capital. 
• COO Priya Venkat said Haber’s success has laid the foundation for its next big step—expanding into the Americas, “where the demand for industrial AI solutions is immense”. 

News & updates

• Integration: Apple released updates for its iPhone, iPad, and Mac software that include a long-awaited ChatGPT integration with Siri, which triggers when users ask Siri complicated questions. Apple said it has built-in privacy protections into the feature, and that OpenAI won’t store requests. 
• Showroom: Elon Musk’s Tesla has resumed its search for showroom space in Delhi, in the first sign it is rethinking entering the Indian market after putting its investment plans on hold earlier this year. It is now in early-stage talks with DLF to help secure space in the capital region.
• Change: General Motors is pivoting from self-driving robotaxis to focus on developing autonomous driving technology for personal vehicles in the future. GM said it sees a better business opportunity with personal vehicle autonomy rather than building a robotaxi fleet with its San Francisco-based self-driving subsidiary Cruise.

Which wine is released annually on the third Thursday of November each year?

Answer: Beaujolais Nouveau. The red wine is from the Beaujolais region of France, made with Gamay grapes. 

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