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Hello,

It’s a free fall, y’all.

The first week of November saw Indian startups raise a meagre $64 million in funding, quite the decline after $456 million cornered last week. Moreover, continued global macroeconomic challenges mean a steady flow of VC money looks unlikely in the near future.

Elsewhere, Apple reported stronger-than-expected performance for the quarter ended September 30, largely driven by iPhone sales and revenue from services. This is despite a decline in its overall sales for the fourth consecutive quarter. Additionally, CEO Tim Cook said there are “lots of positives” in India as the iPhone maker achieved an all-time revenue record in the country.

Meanwhile, Reliance Industries has entered into a partnership with LVMH-owned beauty retailer Sephora to operate its India store and expand its presence in the country. Earlier this year, the Mukesh Ambani-led conglomerate launched its own beauty platform Tira to win over the country’s growing beauty market.

ICYMI: Exactly how small can a spacecraft be? 

Lastly, here’s a chart visualising the global wealth distribution.

At the top, controlling 45.8% of the worldwide net private wealth of $454.4 trillion, is just 1.1% of the total adult population.

In today’s newsletter, we will talk about 

• Zomato marks second profitable quarter
• Shiprocket’s revenue grows as losses widen
• MPOWER expands lending capacity

Here’s your trivia for today: Which country is home to the most number of pyramids?

Foodtech

Zomato marks second profitable quarter

Food delivery company Zomato serves another profitable quarter in FY24, with a profit after tax of Rs 36 crore in the July to September period. Revenue from operations rose 71% to Rs 2,848 crore helped by a 47% year-over-year growth in gross order values (GOV) in the food delivery, going out (which comprises dining out and live events), and quick commerce segments.

Bumper quarter:

• Zomato’s food delivery vertical saw healthy growth in the second quarter with GOV rising 20% to Rs 7,980 crore compared to the same quarter last year.
• Zomato Gold, the company’s loyalty programme, now has 3.8 million members—up from 2 million sign-ups in June. It contributes close to 40% of GOV in the food delivery business.
• Quick commerce vertical Blinkit showed a 29% quarter-on-quarter GOV growth and added 28 new stores during the quarter which took the overall store count to 411 stores.

Top Deals of the Week

Startup: Aequs

Amount: Rs 448 Cr

Round: Equity

Startup: Skyroot Aerospace

Amount: Rs 225 Cr

Round: Pre-Series C

Startup: Vridhi Home Finance

Amount: Rs 150 Cr

Round: Series A

Logistics

Shiprocket’s revenue up 80%, losses widen

Ecommerce enablement platform Shiprocket’s operating revenue rose 80% in FY23 to Rs 1,089 crore on the back of business growth. Its losses increased to Rs 341 crore in FY23 from Rs 93.15 crore in the previous financial year.

Its spending included Rs 318 crore on employee benefits—a 160% year-on-year rise—with Rs 88 crore allocated to the employee stock ownership plan.

The journey:

• Shipkart has acquired five companies over the last 18 months: ROCKETBOX, Glaucus, Wigzo, Pickrr, and Omuni. 
• “We failed several times and then we learned that the way to do it is using the best in class ecosystem providers and not trying to verticalise everything ourselves,” Co-founder and CEO Saahil Goel told Shradha Sharma, Founder and CEO, YourStory, in an exclusive chat.
• The pivot to Shiprocket was a long-term play, not a quick two-year journey with a goal of 10X or 20X returns, Goel noted.

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Shiprocket team. | Image credit: Shiprocket

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Fintech

MPOWER expands lending capacity

MPOWER Financing, which offers education loans to students, has secured debt financing, expanding its total lending capacity to over $300 million with active funding commitments from Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs, and Värde Partners.

“This financing is critical for us as our growth continues to be exponential. More graduate students than ever before want to come study in North America, particularly in STEM and business fields,” Manu Smadja, CEO of MPOWER Financing, told YourStory.

Growth trajectory:

• In May, the company secured a $150 million revolving asset-backed warehouse facility in a strategic partnership with Goldman Sachs, adding to a prior facility it had arranged with Deutsche Bank in 2022.
• India represents the company’s largest market by student volume, accounting for about 20% of the total student volume, and it is experiencing growth, Smadja said.
• Earlier this year, MPOWER unveiled a 22,000 sq ft office in Bengaluru—its largest global office that accommodates nearly 90% of its staff.

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Manu Smadja, Co-founder, MPOWER FINANCING

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News & updates

• Verdict delivered: Sam Bankman-Fried was convicted of a massive fraud that led to the collapse of his FTX exchange. He was found guilty of seven counts of fraud and conspiracy, and faces as much as 20 years in prison on each of the most serious charges. 
• Mission revival: After a $4 million takeover, World of Neopia CEO Dominic Law aims to revive Neopets, a 24-year-old web browser game. To do that, he plans to utilise its intellectual property to create merchandise, as well as launch new games using the Neopets brand.
• A new AI model: Elon Musk’s AI startup xAI will release its first model to a select group on Saturday. This comes nearly a year after OpenAI’s ChatGPT caught the imagination of businesses and users around the world, spurring a surge in the adoption of generative AI technology.

Which country is home to the most number of pyramids?

Answer: Sudan, with over 200 extant pyramids.

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