Apple to invest $500 billion💰
Zepto strengthens footprint, Market slump hits new-age stocks, Anthropic close to $3.5 billion fundraise, Funding Deals and more.
Good morning and welcome to Wednesday’s edition of Rise & Shine!
"Solve small problems before they become big ones."
— Robin Chase
Today, Chase’s words remind us that small problems, if left unattended, often grow into bigger obstacles.
Taking action early can prevent unnecessary stress and setbacks. The key to staying ahead is handling things when they’re still small.
Tech Updates
Zepto strengthens footprint with more than 20 dark stores operational in Tamil Nadu
Quick commerce company Zepto has strengthened its presence beyond Chennai in Tamil Nadu and is now serving several districts including Coimbatore, Tiruchirappalli, Madurai, Vellore and Salem, the company said. In Tamil Nadu, over 100 farmers provide tender coconuts and green vegetables from Palacode and Pollachi to serve various customers including users of Zepto platform.
Market slump hits new-age stocks; many trade below IPO price
Almost half of the 15 new-age companies that have gone public since 2021, now have stock prices below their IPO levels, with Paytm, Delhivery, and Honasa Consumer facing the steepest declines. The underperformance of these stocks may arise from specific company issues; however, even those with gains show a broader trend of pressure amid the overall market slowdown.
Apple to invest $500 billion, create 20,000 US jobs; joins Meta, SoftBank in $1 trillion push
Apple Inc. became the latest company in the list of tech giants who have pledged hundreds of billions of dollars in US investments, which President Donald Trump claims credit for. The iPhone maker said that it will spend $500 billion in the US over the next four years, hire 20,000 new employees and produce AI serves domestically.
AI startup Anthropic close to $3.5 billion fundraise, sources say
Amazon-backed AI startup Anthropic is seeking to raise $3.5 billion in a funding round at a $61.5 billion valuation, two sources told Reuters on Monday. Among its potential backers are Lightspeed Venture Partners, General Catalyst and Bessemer Venture Partners. The funding round would be larger than the $2 billion the company sought to raise last month.
Funding Deals
Full-stack electric vehicle ecosystem platform Vidyut has raised $2.5 million in funding from global fintech investor Flourish Ventures.
Cross-border payments platform HiWiPay has raised $2 million in a seed funding round led by Unicorn India Ventures. The round also witnessed participation from Dewang Neralla's family office, Jupiter Metaverse LLP, and other angel investors such as Ritesh Malik, Mitesh Shah, and Nilesh Doshi.
Bengaluru-based IT startup Technodysis has secured Rs 10 crore in debt funding from Recur Club, a debt marketplace for startups and SMEs.
Healthcare HRtech firm Jobizo has raised $1.4 million in its pre-series funding round led by Alkemi Growth Capital.
Triple Tap Games, a Mumbai-based gaming studio, has raised $1.2 million in its pre-seed funding round led by Eximius Ventures and Kalaari Capital, along with angel investors from the entertainment and gaming community.
Fintech startup Dodo Payments has raised $1.1 million in its pre-seed round led by Antler, 9Unicorns, and Venture Catalysts. Nitin Gupta (Uni Cards and PayU), Maninder Gulati (former Oyo CSO/Lightspeed), Raymond Russell (former Chief of Staff at Boom Supersonic), Preethi Kasireddy (former Partner, a16z), and Nishant Verman (former Flipkart CorpDev head) have also participated.
Deep-tech startup Make in Box (MIB) has raised $260,000 in a pre-Series funding round led by Mile Deep Works and its affiliate, Mile Deep Capital.
🚰 Short Story: The Leaky Tap
Neha noticed a tiny leak in her kitchen tap but postponed fixing it. Weeks later, the leak turned into a burst pipe, flooding her kitchen and leading to costly repairs. She realized that had she addressed the small issue earlier, she could have saved time, money, and stress.
From that day forward, she proactively handled small problems before they escalated.
Tweet of the day🐥
Take a look around. Are there small challenges in your life that need attention? Address them now, and you will thank yourself in the future.
Rise & Shine reminds you that solving little problems today prevents big problems tomorrow.
Have a proactive and stress-free Wednesday!
Thanks for reading till the end!
Apple's $500B investment is massive 20,000 new jobs and a push for AI production in the U.S. could reshape the industry. But how much of this will actually go into groundbreaking innovation versus just scaling existing operations?
Zepto’s expansion into Tamil Nadu highlights how hyperlocal supply chains are evolving. Could this be the key for quick commerce players to turn profitable?