Ola chooses banks for its $1 Bn IPO🏦
PhonePe bags insurance broking licence, TikTok takes first step into VR, Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games.
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Ola Ropes In Citigroup & Kotak Mahindra To Manage Its $1 Bn IPO💸
Ola has chosen Citigroup, Morgan Stanley, and Kotak Investment Banking to manage its initial public offering (IPO), Bloomberg reported today, citing people familiar with the matter.
Ola is said to be seeking a valuation of more than $8 Bn in the IPO.
Ola currently partners with about 1.5 million drivers across 250 cities in India, Australia, New Zealand and the U.K.
A fortnight ago, the company unveiled its S1 and S1 Pro electric scooters, which undercut rival offerings from Ather Energy, Bajaj Auto, and TVS Motors on price while promising greater range and higher performance.
The 11-year-old Ola would be joining a strong pipeline of Indian startups that are ready to tap the IPO market in the coming months.
PhonePe bags insurance broking licence💪🏻
Digital payments and financial services fintech PhonePe on August 30 said it has been issued an Insurance Broking licence from the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI).
With this direct broking licence, it can now distribute products from all insurance companies in India.
The new broking licence also allows PhonePe to start offering personalised product recommendations to its over 300 million users, and offering a much more diverse portfolio of insurance products for Indian consumers, the company said.
PhonePe is India's leading digital payments platform with over 300 million registered users. It facilitated 1.4 billion UPI transactions in July, giving it a 46% market share.
Hot Shorts ⚡
Elevar, a Mumbai-based D2C sports brand, has raised Rs 19 crore in a Series A round-headed by Kalaari Capital and Dream Sports. Elevar plans to use the capital to grow its product portfolio, increase marketing activities, and build its team.
Factors.AI is a B2B SaaS startup situated in the US and Bengaluru. Factors.AI said on Monday that it has raised $2 million in seed funding headed by Elevation Partners and Emergent Ventures.
TikTok owner ByteDance takes the first step into virtual reality🧐
TikTok owner ByteDance has made its first foray into virtual reality (VR) through the acquisition of a start-up called Pico.
Pico was the third-largest virtual reality headset maker globally in the first quarter of 2021, with shipments growing 44.7% year-on-year, according to IDC.
Its acquisition of Pico marks a push to diversify its business.
ByteDance’s acquisition of Pico could pit it against Facebook’s Oculus VR division. Last year, Apple bought NextVR, a virtual reality company, sparking speculation it could be working on its own VR headsets.
Tweet of the day🐥
Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games
🥇 Sumit Antil won gold in the men's javelin (F64) with a new world record throw of 68.55m. He smashed the world record thrice during the final in Tokyo on Monday.
🥇 Shooter Avani Lekhara became the first Indian woman to win a gold medal at the Paralympic Games. The 19-year-old bagged gold, India's first at Tokyo 2020, in the women's 10m Air Rifle SH1 with a world record score of 249.6.
🥈 Yogesh Kathuniya Won a silver medal in Men’s Discus Throw event.
🥉 Devendra Jhajharia won a silver medal in the Javelin throw.
🥉 Sundar Singh Gurjar bagged bronze in the same game. Now India medal tally increases to 7 in Paralympics 2020 games so far.
"Learning is the only thing the mind never exhausts, never fears, and never regrets."
- Leonardo Da Vinci
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