• startup funding: ETtech Deals Digest: Startup funding falls 30% on year to $73 million this week

    Startup funding in the penultimate week of April 2024 declined by nearly 27.9% from the same period a year ago, totalling $74 million across 14 deals. However, deal density in the latest week improved to $5.3 million per deal, as per Tracxn data. From April 6 to April 12, 2023, startups had raised about $2.4 million per deal. Funding was down sequentially as well, from $103 million across 15 funding rounds in the previous week. Of the total corpus raised this week, fundraises of...

  • India smartphone growth continues

    Smartphone demand in India remained strong in the opening quarter of 2024, with four of the top five vendors recording year-on-year growth driven by aggressive pricing for premium models, data from Canalys showed.

  • 6 Effective Funding Strategies for Startups

    Navigating startup financing is complex. Entrepreneurs find themselves at the crossroads of innovation and survival, where a single decision can either fuel their dreams or extinguish their aspirations. Here we look at six ways you can finance your startup to support your business for long-term success.

  • OpenAI Startup Fund quietly raises $15M

    The OpenAI Startup Fund, a venture fund related to — but technically separate from — OpenAI that invests in early-stage, typically AI-related companies across education, law and the sciences, has quietly closed a $15 million tranche. According to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, two unnamed investors contributed the $15 million in […] © 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

  • Deadline to apply for startup chip funding on the horizon

    The tech minister is urging semiconductor leaders to apply for funding through the soon-to-expire Chips Joint Undertaking. UK semiconductor companies and researchers are currently eligible to apply for access to a £5m funding pot for research. British firms gained access to the funding in March when the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) announced […]

  • Agritech startup Ecozen raises $30 million in funding

    Pune-based agritech firm Ecozen on Friday said it has raised $30 million (about Rs 250 crore) in a mix of equity and debt from existing investors including US-based global investment manager Nuveen.The debt support in the deal was fulfilled by InCred Credit Fund and U.S. International Development Finance Corporation through Ecozen’s exclusive advisor Setuka Partners, said a company statement.Ecozen said it has grown fivefold over the past two years, with a threefold increase in profit. The maker...

  • India defers approval of Paytm's investment in its payments arm

    India has deferred approval of Paytm's Rs 50 crore ($6 million) investment in its Paytm Payment Services arm in part due to concerns about a Chinese shareholding in the parent company, according to three government officials and a document seen by Reuters. One 97 Communications, popularly known as Paytm, is already under the scrutiny of India's banking regulator and financial crime-fighting agency after the central bank ordered it to wind down its payments bank in January. The sources indicated...

  • Fintech retakes top spot for UK startup investment

    Fintech is once again the UK’s best-funded startup sector after climate tech secured the most investment in 2023. In the first quarter of 2024, UK fintech companies raised $1.4bn across 73 rounds, according to data from Dealroom and HSBC Innovation Banking. Fintech funding rounds over the period include £340m raised by challenger bank Monzo and […]

  • Narendra Modi accused of stirring tensions as voting in India continues

    Opposition says prime minister targeting Muslim minority with ‘hate speech’ and violating election rulesIndia’s prime minister, Narendra Modi, has been accused of hate speech during a campaign rally where he called Muslims “infiltrators” who had “many children” and claimed they would take people’s hard-earned money.The opposition accused Modi of “blatantly targeting” India’s 200 million Muslim minority with comments made while addressing voters at a speech in Rajasthan on Sunday. Continue...

  • Seraphim Space launches second fund for early-stage startups

    Investment group Seraphim Space has announced the first close of its second early-stage space tech venture fund. The Seraphim Space Venture Fund II (SSV II) will back early-stage space tech startups from seed to Series A round. A Seraphim spokesperson declined to comment on the target size of the fund, but said it would be […]

  • Meet the fund managers: Lessons from 40 years in the investment industry

    In City A.M.'s weekly series, Elliot Gulliver-Needham sits down with David Coombs, head of multi-asset investments at Rathbones.

  • Israel launches fund to entice institutional investment in tech firms

    Israel's government has launched a new fund to encourage institutional investors to boost investments in high-tech companies, the Israel Innovation Authority said on Sunday. The tech sector is a key driver of Israel's economy, accounting for close to 20% of output, 12% of jobs, more than 50% of exports and 25% of tax income. The high-tech sector is a central and significant pillar of the Israeli economy, and we must ensure diversity in its sources of funding, said Finance Minister Bezalel...