Mensa Brands fastest 🦄 | Deep-tech startups 🔥 | Flipkart Q2💪🏻
Mensa Brands fastest 🦄 | Deep-tech startups 🔥 | Flipkart Q2💪🏻
Mensa Brands becomes a unicorn in six months, Deep-tech startups become hot targets, Flipkart sees strong quarter, Funding Deals & more.
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Mensa Brands bags unicorn status just in 6 months after starting up🦄
Mensa Brands has entered the unicorn club after raising $135 million in a new funding round led by Alpha Wave Ventures (Falcon Edge Capital). Prosus Ventures (previously Naspers) joined the company as a new investor.
The company, which only began operations six months ago, is now valued at more than $1 billion, making it the latest—and fastest—Indian startup to achieve unicorn status.
Mensa acquires majority stakes in independent brands, aiming to help them scale up using technology such as data analytics and machine learning.
"We're trying to look for brands that are not just from India but can also be taken global," Narayanan, a former CEO at Walmart's Indian online fashion unit Myntra, said.
Mensa is already profitable, Narayanan said, adding it will use the new funds to invest in technology and increase the number of brands in its portfolio to around 40 by the end-2023.
In addition to India, Mensa's brands are available in the United States, the UK and Germany and are also sold via brick and mortar partner stores.
Deep-tech startups become hot targets for global firms👩🏻💻
Several deep-tech startups in India are being acquired by larger global companies to gain access to niche technologies and quality talent, indicating a strong demand for startups focusing on disruptive tech that can solve complex global problems.
Deep-tech startups are those whose business models are based on high-tech innovation in engineering or significant scientific advances. India had about 2,100 deep-tech startups as of 2020, as per industry body Nasscom.
Deep-tech companies are increasingly targeted for acquisitions for two possible reasons, said industry experts and investors. “One is, large companies may want to fill certain technology gaps in their portfolio. The other reason is a very good tech team of a startup may be working on the wrong problem.”
In September, US-based cloud video surveillance firm Eagle Eye Networks acquired Bengaluru-based AI startup Uncanny Vision to boost its capabilities in artificial intelligence (AI) and analytics.
A month later, Accenture agreed to buy BRIDGEi2i, an AI and analytics firm based in Bengaluru.
Hot Shorts⚡
Non-fungible token (NFT) ecosystem technology platform GuardianLink.io has raised $12 million in a Series A funding round led by Kalaari Capital and a private investor group.
Cookware and kitchen appliances brand Wonderchef has raised close to $20 million in a funding round led by Sixth Sense Ventures.
Clinikk, a Bengaluru-based insurtech and healthtech startup, has raised $4 million in pre-series A funding led by MassMutual Ventures, with participation from Kunal Shah (Founder, Cred), and other prominent individual investors.
Digivriddhi Technologies (DGV Bharat), a dairy-focused neo-banking startup, has raised $3.1 million in pre-Series-A funding from Info Edge Ventures and Omnivore.
Flipkart doubles fulfillment capacity YoY, sees strong quarter, says Walmart🛒
Ecommerce major Flipkart doubled its fulfillment capacity versus last year preparing for the festive season, with dozens of new fulfillment centres, more than 1,000 last-mile delivery hubs and expanded relationship with kirana partners, Walmart said during its Q3 earnings call on Tuesday.
"Flipkart had another strong quarter, with strong sales and favourable trends in monthly active users,' the Walmart management said during the call, adding that Flipkart, China and Mexico saw strong growth during the September quarter.
Walmart saw international sales growth of 10% in constant currency terms, led by India, China and Mexico. International Profit was up 17.5% excluding divestitures, the company said.
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