The 21st startup unicorn of ’21🦄
Amazon pilots grocery pick-ups, ByteDance’s IPO plans and more.
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UpGrad is India's 21st startup unicorn of ’21🦄
UpGrad, a Bengaluru-based higher education platform, is the latest entrant to India's fast-growing startup unicorn club. Unicorns are privately held companies with a valuation of at least $1 billion.
UpGrad has raised $185 million from investors, valuing the company at $1.2 billion.
Ronnie Screwvala, a media entrepreneur, had already invested around $25 mn of his own money in UpGrad since its founding.
UpGrad set aside $250 mn for mergers and acquisitions over the next seven to nine months last month. It acquired KnowledgeHut last week in order to enter the short-term upskilling and reskilling market.
Check out the link for a list of the first 20 unicorns of 2021.
Amazon is testing grocery pick-ups🥦
Amazon began using its store network to fulfill online orders after acquiring US grocery store chain Whole Foods for more than $13 billion in 2017. Now, the company is testing a similar approach in Bengaluru, with More Retail outlets that they bought in 2019.
Although Indian e-commerce is known for being one of the first areas to test cash-on-delivery, Amazon's current model for grocery pick up is only available for prepaid orders—at least for the time being.
Hot Shorts ⚡
Log 9 Materials, a startup developing advanced battery and fuel technology for electric vehicles, has raised $8.5 million in a round of fundraising led by automotive battery producer Amara Raja Batteries, which has contributed $5 million for an 11.36 % stake.
Oyo Hotels and Homes will shortly join the list of startups in the country launching an initial public offering (IPO). Currently, India and Southeast Asia account for 43% of Oyo's revenue, with Europe accounting for 28% and the rest coming from other worldwide regions.
Bytedance renews IPO plan🎶
TikTok's parent company, Bytedance, has resurrected its intention to go public, aiming for a Hong Kong offering in the fourth quarter of this year or early 2022, according to the Financial Times.
Bytedance announced in April that the company had no plans for a public offering in the near future.
According to the report, the Chinese internet conglomerate has spent the past few months addressing Chinese regulators' data security concerns, including details on how it maintains and manages consumer information.
Tweet of the day🐥
✅ Cloudtail India, one of Amazon India's largest sellers, will be halting operations from next May.
✅ Tech Mahindra is looking to diversify its talent base amid an ongoing war for tech talent in India. TechM is ramping up hiring in its delivery centers across Eastern Europe and Latin America.
Who you are becoming is more important than who you've been.
-Richard Feynman
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