Meta unveils VR headset👓
Zepto first in LinkedIn’s 2024 list of India’s top startups, HomeLane acquires DesignCafe, OpenAI discusses giving Sam Altman 7% stake, Funding Deals and more.
Good morning and welcome to Thursday’s edition of Rise & Shine!
"If you work on something a little bit every day, you end up with something that is massive."
— Kenneth Goldsmith
Today, Kenneth Goldsmith’s quote highlights the power of consistency and reminds us that even small, daily efforts can lead to extraordinary results over time.
Progress may feel slow at first, but over time, those small actions add up to something remarkable.
Tech Updates
Meta unveils cheaper VR headset, AI updates and shows off prototype for holographic AR glasses
Meta unveiled updates to the company's virtual reality headset and Ray Ban smart glasses on Wednesday as it tries to demonstrate its artificial intelligence prowess and the next generation of computing platforms beyond smartphones and computers. CEO Mark Zuckerberg also showed off Orion, a prototype he called "the most advanced glasses the world has ever seen."
Zepto ranks first in LinkedIn’s 2024 list of India’s top startups
Quick commerce platform Zepto, for the second consecutive year, has been ranked first in LinkedIn Top Startups India List 2024 -- an annual ranking of emerging companies where professionals want to work. The list draws insights from data based on actions of more than 1 billion LinkedIn members globally. It measures startups based on four pillars: employment growth, engagement, job interest and attraction of top talent.
HomeLane acquires DesignCafe, raises Rs 225 crore from Hero Enterprise, Ranjan Pai
Home interior services startup HomeLane has acquired its smaller rival, DesignCafe, in a share-swap deal that values the combined entity at Rs 3,000 crore. Following this merger, the company has raised Rs 225 crore from new investors, including Sunil Kant Munjal’s Hero Enterprise and Claypond Capital, the family office of Manipal Group’s Ranjan Pai, with participation from existing investors such as WestBridge Capital and others.
OpenAI discusses giving Sam Altman 7% stake in for-profit shift
OpenAI is discussing giving Chief Executive Officer Sam Altman a 7% equity stake in the company and restructuring to become a for-profit business, people familiar with the matter said, a major shift that would mark the first time Altman is granted ownership in the artificial intelligence startup.
Funding Deals
Digital adoption platform (DAPs) Whatfix has secured $125 million in a Series E funding round, led by Warburg Pincus with participation from existing investor SoftBank Vision Fund 2.
Zomato-backed adtech startup AdOnMo has raised $25 million (about Rs 209 crore) in a funding round led by Singapore-based venture capital (VC) firm Rigel Capital and Indonesia-based Sinar Mas.
Omnichannel jewelry startup Giva has raised Rs 100 crore ($12 million approximately) in an extended Series B round from Premji Invest.
Biotech startup Ahammune Biosciences has raised $5 million in Series A funding round led by pi Ventures. The round also witnessed participation from Capital2B, Colossa Ventures, Bipin Agarwal, Unicornus Maximus LLP, and existing investors Ideaspring Capital, Kotak Alternate Assets, Legacy Assets LLP and IAN.
High protein and nutrition bread brand The Health Factory has raised $3.5 million in its seed round led by Surge, Peak XV’s scale-up program for early-stage startups. Kartik Mehta, Ali Tambawala, and Sunil Tulsiani have also participated in the round.
Aarna.ml, an open-source GPU-as-a-Service (GPUaaS) AI Cloud software, has raised $1.25 million in Series A funding round from Exfinity Venture Partners.
Speciality coffee brand First Coffee has raised $1.2 million in its seed round led by BEENEXT. The round also saw participation from other investors such as Ashish Gupta (Helion Venture Partners), AngelList India, Dr. Ritesh Malik (founder, Innov8), Sahil Malik (founder, Da Milano), Chandini Purnesh (Owner, Harley Coffee Estate), Aman Arora (co-Founder, Board – Keventers), Agastya Dalmia (director, Keventers), Aman Bahel (Apex Group), Nakul Dev Chawla (Art Mumbai) and Dr. Shriram Nene.
Software-as-a-service (SaaS) fintech firm Zaggle has acquired a 26% stake in fintech startup Mobileware Technologies for Rs 15.6 crore on a post-issue, fully diluted basis.
Proptech startup Flent has raised Rs 6.5 crore in its pre-seed round led by WEH Ventures, with participation from US-based 2 AM Ventures, Pareto Holdings, and a group of angel investors, including Sanchan S Saxena (ex-GM, Airbnb), Aneesh Reddy (founder, Capillary Technologies), Arjun Vaidya (founder, Dr. Vaidya’s), and Abhilash N (co-founder, Ivy Homes).
📝 Short Story: The Daily Writer
Emily, an aspiring novelist, often felt intimidated by the prospect of writing a full-length book. She struggled to find time for long writing sessions and was discouraged by the enormity of the task.
One day, she came across Kenneth Goldsmith’s quote and decided to take a different approach: writing just 500 words a day.
At first, it seemed like a small effort, but as the days and weeks passed, Emily realized she was steadily building her manuscript.
A few months later, she had completed her first draft. By working on her novel a little each day, she transformed her dream into a reality.
Tweet of the day🐥
As you tackle today’s tasks, remember that consistency is the key to accomplishing even the largest goals. By focusing on small, daily actions, you will build something massive over time.
Rise & Shine encourages you to trust in the power of steady progress and to keep moving forward.
Have a productive and incremental Thursday!
Thanks for reading till the end!