BharatPe gets a new CEO😎

Byju's another acquisition, Birla steps down, and even more.

Aug 05, 2021

Hi 👋🏻,

Rise n Shine comes in your inbox every day with curated tech and business news snippets to kick-start your day.

Let’s get started:

BharatPe gets unicorn status and a new CEO💰

BharatPe, an online payments startup focused on offline stores and merchants, announced a $370 mn investment, bringing the company's valuation to $2.85 billion.

Suhail Sameer, who joined the company as group president last year, has been named CEO of BharatPe. He replaces Grover, who will transition to the role of managing director.

Last month, Rise n Shine reported about BharatPe's offer of BMW bikes, as well as the $350-million fundraising round.

Byju's acquires AR startup Whodat👀

BYJU'S has made its seventh acquisition in 2021. Ed-tech giant Byju's has acquired augmented reality (AR) startup Whodat for an undisclosed amount.

Whodat's AR platform is likely to help Byju's product development, impacting students' learning experiences.

Whodat's AR platform enables you to experience immersive settings without using physical markers to overlay 3D material spontaneously. We mentioned Byju’s acquisition history in our previous newsletter.

Byju's is on an acquisition spree.🛍

Hot Shorts ⚡

Stride Ventures, a venture lending fund, announced the first closure of Stride Ventures India Fund II on Wednesday, with funds totaling Rs 550 Cr, making it one of the region's fastest fundraisings of this scale.
The Souled Store has raised Rs 75 crore in Series B funding. The funding will be used to increase the company's product portfolio on licensed items and casual clothing, raise brand awareness, and expand its offline retail presence across India.

Birla steps down as Director of Vi!😈

On August 4, Vodafone Idea Ltd announced that Kumar Mangalam Birla will stand down as non-executive director and non-executive chairman of the board, effective at the close of business hours on August 4, 2021.