Porter turns unicorn🦄

May 17, 2024

Greetings, dear readers!

"We are too weak to discover the truth by reason alone."
- St. Augustine

As we close the week, we turn to the wisdom of St. Augustine, who reminds us of the limitations of reason in our quest for truth.

His words encourage us to recognize the value of humility, faith, and the search for deeper understanding beyond mere rationality.

Join us as we reflect on the balance between reason and intuition in our journey toward truth.

Porter quietly turns unicorn, closes internal round at $1 billion valuation

Tiger Global-backed logistics services provider Porter has turned into a unicorn after completing a fresh friends and family round, where individuals bought shares from the employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) pool at a valuation of $1 billion. A unicorn is a privately held company that is valued at or above $1 billion. There are about 106 unicorns in India. Porter is the third unicorn this year after AI startup Krutrim and B2B SaaS company Perfios.

Zoho plans $700 million foray into chipmaking

Software company Zoho is planning to venture into chipmaking, seeking incentives from the government, with one of them pegging the investment plan at $700 million. Zoho's proposal is being reviewed by the electronics and IT ministry.

Online platforms take to gamification to boost user engagement

Online platforms such as YouTube, Google Pay, Amazon, Zomato, Cred, and LinkedIn have adopted gamification strategies to boost user engagement, drive conversions, and maximise advertising revenues due to the increase in user time spent on these platforms.

India's top draw for data centre business in Apac gets $40 billion funds

India has marched ahead in data centre capacity in Asia-Pacific (excluding China), overtaking Singapore, Australia, South Korea, Japan and Hong Kong, reflecting the rising demand for data in the country. By the numbers: As per global real estate body CBRE, India leads in the Apac region with an installed capacity of 950 MW and anticipated addition of a further 850 MW until 2026.

Battery tech startup Battery Smart has raised $45 million in a new round from investors including Acacia Inclusion Limited, MUFG Bank, Blume Ventures, The Ecosystem Integrity Fund, and British International Investment.
Education-focused fintech startup Propelld has raised a debt funding of $25 Mn (about Rs 208 Cr) for its non-banking financial company (NBFC) Edgro Finance. The round saw participation from nine lenders, including Credit Saison India, AU Small Finance Bank, InCred Financial Services, and Northern Arc Capital.
Rooftop solar startup SolarSquare has raised $4.2 million from existing investors Zerodha’s Rainmatter Capital, Abhijeet Pai and Nikhil Kamath’s Gruhas Proptech, Lowercrabon Capital, Climate Angels and Good Capital.
Authentication and access management platform OTPless has raised $3.5 million in its pre-Series A funding round led by SIDBI.
Online astrology platform InstaAstro has raised Rs 18.50 crore in its pre-Series A round led by Artha Venture Fund. The round also saw participation from LogX Ventures, Singularity Ventures, IR Capital Partners, Blume Founders Fund, and Aloke Bajpai, MD & CEO of Ixigo.
The Betel Leaf, an FSSAI-certified online paan startup, has raised $1.2 million in its bridge round led by Inflection Point Ventures and Venture Catalysts.

🛡️ Short Story: The Limitations of Reason

David, a dedicated scientist, believed that reason and logic could solve all problems.

However, he encountered a personal dilemma that no amount of rational thinking could resolve.

He realized that embracing his emotions, intuition, and faith led him to a deeper truth.

Inspired by St. Augustine's wisdom, David found that combining reason with other forms of understanding enriched his life and decisions.

As we ponder today's quote, let's remember that while reason is a powerful tool, it is not the sole path to truth.

Embracing other aspects of our humanity can lead us to profound insights.

Thank you for joining us this week, and we look forward to sharing more inspiring quotes and stories with you next week.

Feel free to share it with someone who could use a little inspiration. Let's pass on the good vibes and make someone's day!

Thanks for reading till the end!

Stay inspired, and stay informed! See you tomorrow!

Rise & Shine ☀