<ul><li>Ixigo is looking for professionals for the technology and customer experience roles. </li><li>Some of the open positions include UI Technology Lead, QA Lead, iOS, and Backend Developers. </li><li>These are all full-time roles based in Gurugram, requiring approximately 3 to 6 years of industry experience. </li><li>The 13-year-old company has also reinstated salaries and granted ESOPs (Employee Stock Ownership Plan) to all its employees. </li></ul>Indian traveltech platform Ixigo says it has resumed hirings as it plans to bounce back strongly in the post-COVID world. The company has transitioned to a virtual onboarding model and is looking for professionals for the technology and customer experience roles. That includes job roles like UI Technology Lead, QA Lead, iOS, and Backend Developers. <div type="twitter" handle="alokebajpai" handlename="Aloke Bajpai" image="http://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/1177175803953438721/-U1mVDq5_normal.jpg" favoritecount="191" retweetcount="121" status="We're hiring again! Android / backend / UI folks interested in building for travel in the post-Covid world, DM me." createdat="1594109210000" id="1280412947840299008"></div> “Our hiring plan is gradually making headway and we’re continuously adding roles in line with our evolving business plans,” Rajnish Kumar, its Co-founder &amp; CTO told Business Insider. These are all full-time roles based in Gurugram, with a requirement of 3 to 6 years of industry experience. Ixigo also plans to onboard recent graduates in engineering and management — who are currently working as interns in the company. Ixigo has 150 employees as of now. The 13-year-old company has also reinstated salaries and granted ESOPs (Employee Stock Ownership Plan) to all its employees. It says that this is aimed at ‘compensating for the pay cuts’ that were done in the last three months to keep up with the operational costs. “The current ESOP grant announced will result in an additional 2.3% of the company’s overall shareholding being given to all 150 ixigems (ixigo employees). This is one of the largest and most deeply discounted ESOP grants in the company’s history, and with the lowest stock vesting period of just one year,” Ixigo said in a statement. Travel and hospitality industry was one of the worst hit sectors due to coronavirus. Given the uncertainty, the Ixigo suspended hirings from March to June, 2020. However, a recent survey report suggests that close to 70% of Indians are willing to travel amidst the pandemic. This has instilled hopes of revival among the industry players. “We are the only travel player in India to retain 100% of our staff amidst the pandemic. In the beginning of March we started working on a plan that could potentially let us survive even if revenues were to remain zero for 3 to 6 months,” Kumar added. The company says that the leadership team took a 60% pay cut while it slashed salaries by up to 50% for other employees. See also: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/lockdown-restrictions-for-it-ites-units-in-chennai-relaxed/articleshow/76885047.cms">Lockdown restrictions for IT, ITES units in Chennai relaxed</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/international/news/nepal-bans-all-indian-news-channels-except-doordarshan/articleshow/76885110.cms">Nepal bans all Indian news channels except DD News</a>

Ixigo is hiring for UI designers, iOS and backend developers — existing employees get ESOPs to make up for the pay cuts

<ul><li><keyword id="6433699" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Ixigo">ixigo</keyword>’s parent company <keyword id="735664" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Le-Travenues-Technology">Le Travenues Technology</keyword> ⁠has filed preliminary papers for the IPO.</li><li>The company aims to raise ₹750 crore through fresh issue and ₹850 crore through secondary issue.</li><li>The issue would offer partial exits to investors such as Elevation Capital and Micromax.</li></ul>Gurugram-based online ticketing startup Le Travenues Technology ⁠— which operates the <keyword id="9276563" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="travel-app-ixigo">travel app ixigo</keyword> ⁠— has filed the draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) to raise ₹1,600 crore through its initial public offering (IPO). According to the preliminary prospectus submitted with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), ixigo’s IPO would include a fresh issue of ₹750 crore and an offer for sale (OFS) component of ₹850 crore. <table style="border-width: initial; border-style: none;"><colgroup></colgroup><col /><col /><tbody><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Issue size </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">₹1,600 crore </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Fresh issue </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">₹750 crore </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Offer for Sale (OFS) </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">₹850 crore </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">OFS by </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Elevation Capital, Micromax, and founders Aloke Bajpai and Rajnish Kumar </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Investment bankers </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">ICICI Securities, Axis Capital, Kotak Mahindra Capital &amp; Nomura </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Legal advisors </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas and Khaitan &amp; Co </td></tr></tbody></table> ixigo’s DRHP highlights that Elevation Capital (formerly known as SAIF) would be selling shares worth ₹550 crore. Meanwhile, Micromax would be selling shares worth ₹200 crore. Both Aloke Bajpai and Rajnish Kumar, who founded the company in 2007, will be selling shares worth ₹50 crore each. Earlier this week, MakeMyTrip, which invested about $5 million in ixigo back in 2011,<a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/makemytrip-fully-exits-travel-aggregator-ixigo-deep-kalra-to-resign-from-the-board/articleshow/85240387.cms"> completely exited</a> Le Travenues Technology ahead of its IPO. With this, MakeMyTrip’s founder Deep Kalra also stepped down from ixigo’s board post this sell-off. The publicly listed company has made about 8-fold return on its initial investment in ixigo. It sold the shareholdings for $38.5 million, clocking $33.1 million as net returns. SEE ALSO <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/ecommerce/news/swiggy-reports-nearly-three-fold-increase-in-annual-revenue-in-neck-and-neck-race-with-zomato/articleshow/85233393.cms">Swiggy reports nearly three-fold increase in annual revenue, in neck and neck race with Zomato</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/careers/news/lenskart-aims-to-hire-over-2000-employees-to-ramp-up-its-operations/articleshow/85235059.cms">Lenskart aims to hire over 2000 employees to ramp up its operations</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/mobile/news/samsung-may-dominate-the-foldable-smartphone-market-with-88-share-says-report/articleshow/85091203.cms">Samsung may dominate the foldable smartphone market with 88% share, says report</a>

Travel app ixigo files for a ₹1,600 crore IPO

<ul><li><keyword id="54613" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="makemytrip">MakeMyTrip</keyword> had made an investment of $5 million in <keyword id="6433699" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Ixigo">ixigo</keyword>, and now sold its shares for $38.5 million.</li><li><keyword id="11838988" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="trifecta-leaders-fund-1">Trifecta Leaders Fund-1</keyword>, Bay Capital, Malabar Investments and <keyword id="4804542" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="white-oak">White Oak</keyword> bought shares from MakeMyTrip.</li><li>Ixigo has already converted itself to a public entity and plans to file for IPO this month.</li></ul>Online travel aggregator (OTA) MakeMyTrip has sold its shares in initial public offering (IPO)-bound Le Travenues Technology, which operates travel app ixigo. MakeMyTrip’s founder Deep Kalra would be stepping down from ixigo’s board post this sell-off, the two decade old company has confirmed. MakeMyTrip announced its exit from ixigo on August 9 in its regulatory <a href="https://s22.q4cdn.com/244830719/files/doc_downloads/sec/2021/c267209d-e17d-4ace-8f6a-2ebe5dd16b69.pdf">filings</a>. “On August 9, 2021, we completed the sale of our entire equity investment in the securities of an unlisted entity (classified under “Other investments” in our statement of financial position), for a total cash consideration of $38.5 million and recorded a gain on sale of $33.1 million, net of transaction related costs, which will be reflected in our financial results for the six months ending September 30, 2021,” MakeMyTrip said in its filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The publicly listed company had invested close to $5 million in ixigo in 2011 and got almost 8-fold return on its initial investment. The company sold its shareholdings for $38.5 million, clocking $33.1 million as returns. Gurugram-based ixigo is yet to respond to Business Insider’s query seeking comments on the development. However, sources aware of the development said that MakeMyTrip has sold its shares to Trifecta Leaders Fund-1, Bay Capital, Malabar Investments and White Oak. Ixigo raised $53 million in a pre-IPO round from Singapore-based GIC. The above-mentioned investors had also participated in the round, along with InfoEdge Ventures and Orios Venture Partners. Moneycontrol was the <a href="https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/business/makemytrip-exits-ipo-bound-ixigo-with-8x-returns-deep-kalra-steps-down-from-firms-board-7316731.html">first</a> to report development on MakeMyTrip’s exit. Ixigo is <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/travel-portal-ixigo-moves-a-step-closer-to-ipo/articleshow/85006033.cms">planning</a> to file a draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) with India’s market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) this month. It plans to raise ₹1500 crore- ₹1800 crore through this issue, sources aware of the development told Business Insider. SEE ALSO <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/ecommerce/news/swiggy-reports-nearly-three-fold-increase-in-annual-revenue-in-neck-and-neck-race-with-zomato/articleshow/85233393.cms">Swiggy reports nearly three-fold increase in annual revenue, in neck and neck race with Zomato</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/careers/news/lenskart-aims-to-hire-over-2000-employees-to-ramp-up-its-operations/articleshow/85235059.cms">Lenskart aims to hire over 2000 employees to ramp up its operations</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/mobile/news/samsung-may-dominate-the-foldable-smartphone-market-with-88-share-says-report/articleshow/85091203.cms">Samsung may dominate the foldable smartphone market with 88% share, says report</a>

MakeMyTrip fully exits travel aggregator ixigo, Deep Kalra to resign from the board

<ul><li><keyword id="55847" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="postman" source="Orion">Postman</keyword> has overtaken BrowserStack in valuation with this round.</li><li>The company has now raised more than $430 million across four rounds, and was valued at $350 million in 2019.</li><li>Postman will use the funding to hire across multiple verticals like sales, marketing, product and engineering.</li></ul>San Francisco and Bengaluru-based software-as-a-service (<keyword id="6395918" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="SAAS" source="Orion">SaaS</keyword>) platform Postman has raised $225 million in a Series D round, at valuation at $5.6 billion. The round was led by existing investor <keyword id="7496169" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="insight-partners" source="Orion">Insight Partners</keyword>. New investors like Coatue, Battery Ventures, BOND, DoorDash product leader Gokul Rajaram and Freshworks founder Girish Mathrubootham also participated in the round, along with existing investors CRV and <keyword id="175881" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Nexus-Venture-Partners" source="Orion">Nexus Venture Partners</keyword>. Founded in 2014 by Abhinav Asthana, Abhijit Kane, and Ankit Sobti, Postman helps developers and companies simplify their application programming interface (API) workflow. It also enables the companies to streamline collaboration and create API faster. The company has over 17 million developers and 500,000 organisations on its platform. Postman will now use this Series D funding to hire across multiple verticals like sales, marketing, product and engineering. The company will also invest in its community of developers across the globe, support students through innovative APIs and contribute towards open source projects. The company has now raised more than $430 million across four rounds. Postman had raised $150 million in 2020 at a valuation of $2 billion valuation in its Series C investment round led by Insight Partners. It was valued at $350 million in 2019. In June 2020, BrowserStack was positioned as the highest valued venture capital (VC) funded SaaS company in India. The company had raised $200 million in a Series B round led by US-based investment firm BOND, at a valuation of $4 billion. Postman has overtaken BrowserStack in valuation with this round. Other Indian highest valued <keyword id="3499933" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="SaaS-startups" source="Orion">SaaS startups</keyword> are Zoho, Freshworks, Icertis, Druva, Postman, Zenoti and ChargeBee in the ‘unicorn club’. A unicorn is a privately valued company with a valuation of over $1 billion. Zoho is not venture capital-backed and its valuation is not publicly known. <table style="border-width: initial; border-style: none; table-layout: fixed; width: 468pt;" class="redcator-table-advance"><colgroup></colgroup><col /><col /><tbody><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">SaaS unicorns </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Valuation </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Postman </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">$5.6 billion </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">BrowserStack </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">$4 billion </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Freshworks </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">$3.5 billion </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Icertis </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">$2.8 billion </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Zenoti </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">$1.5 billion </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Chargebee </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">$1.4 billion </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">MindTickle </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">$1.2 billion </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Highradius</td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">$1 billion </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Druva </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">$1 billion </td></tr></tbody><tbody></tbody><tbody></tbody><tbody></tbody></table>SEE ALSO <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/retail/news/a-third-of-internet-users-would-be-actively-shopping-online-by-the-end-of-this-decade-offline-retail-to-take-a-back-seat/articleshow/85390712.cms">A third of internet users would be actively shopping online by the end of this decade, offline retail to take a back seat</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/with-pharmeasy-mobikwik-and-ixigo-all-set-to-hit-the-public-market-orios-plans-to-go-deeper-into-pre-ipo-bets/articleshow/85359703.cms">With PharmEasy, MobiKwik and ixigo all set to hit the public market, Orios plans to go deeper into pre-IPO bets</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/auto/news/tamil-nadu-government-is-upset-about-losing-money-on-luxury-cars/articleshow/85322536.cms">Tamil Nadu government is upset about losing money on luxury cars</a>

Postman is now the highest valued VC funded-SaaS startup in India, after a $225 million fundraise

<ul><li>Shares of <keyword id="80004" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="info-edge" source="Orion">Info Edge</keyword> (India) Limited reached ₹6,692 at 11:56 a.m. on September 8.</li><li>The development coincides with ICICI Securities issuing a buy call on Info Edge (India) with a target price of ₹8,040.</li><li>The analyst expects increase in hiring, real estate rentals and wedding trends to fill Info Edge’s pockets in the near term.</li></ul>Sanjeev Bikhchandani-led Info Edge’s shares reached ₹6,692 at 11:56 a.m. This represents an increase of ₹509 in value compared to the previous close of ₹6,183 on September 7. Over the last one month, Info Edge’s share price has increased by 23%. Each share was valued at ₹5,368 on August 9 compared to ₹6,692 at 11:56 a.m. The development comes as ICICI Securities has issued a buy call on Info Edge (India) with a target price of ₹8,040 today. The analyst expects the share to reach the target price in a span of one year. The analyst had issued a similar buy call in June with a target price of ₹6,300. ICICI Securities have now revised the target as <keyword id="6740899" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="info-edge-shares" source="Orion">Info Edge shares</keyword> have crossed the said target. In its latest report on Info Edge, ICICI Securities has elaborated on the strong points that would lead the company’s stock price to increase. The broking house has also revised the estimated valuations of Info Edge and its subsidiaries. “We value Naukri at 75x [times] financial year 2023 estimates earnings per share. We value 99 Acres and Jeevansathi [Info Edge’s subsidiaries] each at 20x FY 2023 estimated sales. As elaborated in our report, our 1-year forward valuation of Zomato [a portfolio company of Info Edge] stands at $22 billion.” <div type="image" title="Here is how Naukri parent Info Edge’s stock went up 23% in the last one month" msid="86032580" hostid="261"></div> Meanwhile, Info Edge’s portfolio companies — Zomato and Info Edge — are also moving away from the ‘startup’ tag to a maturity stage. Zomato has already hit the public market and bought over <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/info-edges-remaining-stake-in-zomato-is-worth-15000-crore/articleshow/84668883.cms">₹15,000 crore</a> in return for Info Edge, PolicyBazaar has filed <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/news/policybazaar-ipo-all-you-need-to-know-the-details-of-sixth-largest-fintech-startup/articleshow/84967042.cms">preliminary papers</a> to go public soon. Further Info Edge invested in another <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/travel-app-ixigo-files-for-a-1600-crore-ipo/articleshow/85292327.cms">initial public offering (IPO)</a>-bound company ixigo in July. Key points working in favour of Info Edge <div type="image" title="Here is how Naukri parent Info Edge’s stock went up 23% in the last one month" msid="86032598" hostid="261"></div> Strong hiring could benefit Naukri.com Trends in other markets like the US, which publish job market data periodically, hint towards a significant demand-supply mismatch when it comes to hiring. In India, entrepreneurship, preference to work in startups and flexibility of workplace are going to be biggest drivers of this demand-supply mismatch in hiring, as per ICICI Securities. This is likely to benefit job search platforms like Naukri.com for the next 12-18 months. Vibrant job market will push more people to move out ICICI Securities in its latest report noted that several new trends have emerged in the proptech segment — low interest rate, strong pipeline, print to online shift in advertising, recent direct-to-customer (D2C) approach taken by builders to drive traction in online real estate classifieds. The brokerage firm predicted the spike in paid listing going ahead, which will enable Info Edge-owned 99acre.com’s EBITDA [earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation] profitability to exceed the street estimates. ICICI Securities, however, also noted that competitive intensity is one of the key reasons for the suboptimal profitability in this segment for Info Edge. Besides this, the decline of funding in the real estate segment is also pushing Info Edge’s competition to reduce cash burn. “Nevertheless, the full stack aspirations of competitors like Square Yards is a key risk to watch out for,” the report added. Matchmaking is back on the table Easing of lockdown restrictions and best-in-a-decade job security will encourage more people to look for their partners on matchmaking platforms. ICICI Securities is anticipating a sharp increase in paid listings in the near term to also drive EBITDA profitability, in FY23. This will be a surprise to the current street expectation, the ICICI Securities added. SEE ALSO <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/zomato-policybazaar-investor-info-edge-invested-in-nearly-2-startups-every-month-in-2021/articleshow/86028438.cms">Zomato, PolicyBazaar investor Info Edge invested in nearly 2 startups every month in 2021</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/byjus-bags-another-150-million-to-fund-its-acquisition-spree/articleshow/86027937.cms">Byju’s bags another $150 million to fund its acquisition spree</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/zoho-corp-invests-5-million-in-medical-devices-startup-voxelgrids/articleshow/86000656.cms">Zoho Corp invests $5 million in medical devices startup Voxelgrids</a>

Here is why Naukri parent Info Edge’s stock went up 23% in the last one month

<ul><li>The round was led by Elevation Capital, along with <keyword id="2457593" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="India-Quotient">India Quotient</keyword>, <keyword id="8830555" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="titan-capital">Titan Capital</keyword> and <keyword id="9908413" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="first-cheque">First Cheque</keyword>.</li><li><keyword id="10331594" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Yellow-Class">Yellow Class</keyword> plans to expand its presence in 500 cities in India and international markets.</li><li>The company claims to have over a million students listed on the platform and it plans to onboard 9 million more by next year.</li></ul><keyword id="1464841" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Edtech">Edtech</keyword> startup Yellow Class has raised $6 million in a Series A round led by Elevation Capital, with participation from existing investors India Quotient, Titan Capital and First Cheque. Other participants of Yellow Class’ Series A round include Meesho’s cofounder Vidit Aatrey, Indifi’s founder Alok Mittal, Bounce cofounder Vivekananda Hallekere, <keyword id="2808667" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="OYO">OYO</keyword>’s global chief strategy officer Maninder Gulati, OYO’s chief operating officer Abhinav Sinha, PropTiger’s chief executive Dhruv Agarwala and Xiaomi Indonesia’s country director Alvin Tse. Yellow Class will use the funds for improving the product experience for both parents and children, developing more content and building brand awareness. A part of the funding would also be used to hire for leadership roles across the product, technology and engineering verticals as it plans to expand to 500 cities in India and international markets. In November 2020, it had raised $1.5 million in a seed round led by India Quotient. The company was founded in 2020 by Anshul Gupta and Arpit Mittal to offer extracurricular and co-curricular classes to students between 3-12 years of age. The company currently offers courses across 40 categories like art, craft, dance, yoga, general knowledge, logical reasoning and more. These courses are taught by experienced mentors including influencers, professionals and celebrities. Each class is attended by 10,000 children simultaneously and the platform has over a million students registered on its platform. The company aims to onboard 10 million monthly active teachers in the next one year. Yellow Class’ founders Gupta and Mittal, in a joint statement, said, “Studies have shown that more than 100 million Indian kids below 13 years of age spend an average of 100 hours per month on YouTube and other similar platforms. Parents are actively looking for better, interactive alternatives that would be beneficial for their child’s cognitive growth.” The company claims to have grown 18-fold in the last six months and plans to build new categories of extra/co-curricular classes on its platform. It is also looking to incorporate classes in vernacular languages, driving social peer-to-peer engagement and ensuring deeper progress tracking. SEE ALSO <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/retail/news/a-third-of-internet-users-would-be-actively-shopping-online-by-the-end-of-this-decade-offline-retail-to-take-a-back-seat/articleshow/85390712.cms">A third of internet users would be actively shopping online by the end of this decade, offline retail to take a back seat</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/with-pharmeasy-mobikwik-and-ixigo-all-set-to-hit-the-public-market-orios-plans-to-go-deeper-into-pre-ipo-bets/articleshow/85359703.cms">With PharmEasy, MobiKwik and ixigo all set to hit the public market, Orios plans to go deeper into pre-IPO bets</a>

Edtech platform Yellow Class raises $6 million in a funding round led by Elevation Capital

<ul><li>This is SoftBank’s second bet in <keyword id="2000014" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="MindTickle" source="Orion">MindTickle</keyword>, which helps enterprises improve their sales.</li><li>MindTickle will use this funding to expand its presence, acquire companies and hire aggressively.</li><li>The company has over 200 clients across the globe, including Dabur, Johnson &amp; Johnson, Wipro</li></ul>MindTickle, a startup that helps small and large enterprises improve their sales, is the latest entrant to India's <keyword id="3009432" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="unicorn-club" source="Orion">unicorn club</keyword>. The decade old startup on Thursday, August 8, announced a $100 million Series E funding round led by existing investor SoftBank, at a valuation of $1.2 billion. Existing investors Norwest Venture Partners, Canaan, NewView Capital, and Qualcomm Ventures also participated in the Series E round. This makes MindTickle the third Indian software-as-a-service (SaaS) startup to become a unicorn in 2021, after Chargebee and BrowserStack. Overall, there are over nine venture capital (VC) funded SaaS unicorns in India. A unicorn is a privately valued company with a valuation of over $1 billion. <table style="border-width: initial; border-style: none; table-layout: fixed; width: 468pt;" class="redcator-table-advance"><colgroup></colgroup><col /><col /><tbody><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">SaaS unicorns </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Valuation </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">BrowserStack </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">$4 billion </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Freshworks </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">$3.5 billion </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Icertis </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">$2.8 billion </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;"> Postman </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">$2 billion </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;"> Zenoti </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">$1.5 billion </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Chargebee </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">$1.4 billion</td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">MindTickle </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">$1.2 billion </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Highradius </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">$1 billion </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Druva </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">$1 billion </td></tr></tbody><tbody></tbody><tbody></tbody><tbody></tbody><tbody></tbody><tbody></tbody><tbody></tbody></table> MindTickle wants to gain greater momentum in international markets MindTickle was founded by Krishna Depura, Mohit Garg, Deepak Diwakar and Nishant Mungali in 2011. It helps companies build sales capabilities. It also offers solutions for onboarding, micro-learning and skills development. MindTickle plans to use this funding to expand its presence in multiple verticals as well as markets like Europe and Asia. A part of the funding would also be used to acquire more companies and expand their technology stack, MindTickle’s chief executive officer (CEO) and cofounder Depura told Business Insider. “So a reasonable chunk of [the] money will go into global expansions, getting into more territories and geographies. The second amount [sic] will go into R&amp;D [research and development], which we’ll use to develop our stack. I think $100 million is a lot of money and it’s not like we’ll deploy the money in the next six months or one year. But it’ll give us sufficient power to plan for the next three-four years to set up our base and continue to think over the horizon,” Depura added. He also highlighted that the company has a good presence in India at the moment, especially in the automotive and pharmaceutical sectors. MindTickle will also use a part of the funding to go aggressive on hiring across geographies and functions. It has already hired over 100 employees in 2021 and has openings for 115 positions. The company has a workforce of 500 employees. MindTickle’s current clientele has already set its global presence This is SoftBank’s second investment in the Pune and San Francisco-based startup. The Japanese conglomerate had previously led MindTickle’s $100 million round raised in November 2020. Existing investors Norwest Venture Partners, Accel Partners, Canaan, NEA, NewView Capital, and Qualcomm Ventures had also participated in the round. The SaaS startup has raised over $281 million to date. Its clientele includes 200 enterprise companies like Johnson &amp; Johnson, Splunk, Wipro, Ola, Cloudera, Dabur and United Colors of Benetton. Its customer base includes a few dozen Fortune 500 and Forbes Global 2000 companies, which is an annual ranking of the top corporations worldwide measured by revenue. MindTickle claims to have presence in over 115 countries as its clientele has subsidiaries across the world. “We continue to be impressed by Mindtickle’s performance in creating and becoming a category leader in the sales readiness space. The product has become an essential part of any sales organisation and we are excited to support the company in its growth,” Munish Varma, managing partner with SoftBank Investment Advisers, said. SEE ALSO <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/ipo-bound-ixigo-acquires-bus-ticketing-platform-abhibus-to-strengthen-its-footprint/articleshow/85062903.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink">IPO-bound ixigo acquires bus ticketing platform AbhiBus to strengthen its footprint</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/ecommerce/news/flipkart-and-tiger-global-have-a-billion-dollar-notice-to-respond-to-in-the-next-90-days/articleshow/85059732.cms">Flipkart and Tiger Global have a billion dollar notice to respond to in the next 90 days</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/whitehat-jrs-ceo-karan-bajaj-quits-exactly-a-year-after-byjus-acquisition/articleshow/85029450.cms">WhiteHat Jr’s CEO Karan Bajaj quits exactly a year after Byju’s acquired the company</a>

MindTickle is the third SaaS firm from India to enter the unicorn club in 2021

<ul><li>Shell Ventures, CRED’s <keyword id="192201" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Kunal-Shah">Kunal Shah</keyword>, Spotify India’s CEO Amarjit Singh Batra also participated in the round.</li><li><keyword id="3269053" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Rapido">Rapido</keyword> plans to use this funding to onboard 50 million new users in the next 18 months.</li><li>The company claims to have over 1.5 million driver partners, serving 15 million users</li></ul>Japanese motorcycle manufacturer <keyword id="48197" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Yamaha">Yamaha</keyword> has participated in bike taxi platform Rapido’s latest $52 million funding round. The Bengaluru-based startup plans to use this funding to onboard 50 million new users in the next 18 months. Several new investors participated in the round such as Shell Ventures, CRED’s founder Kunal Shah, Spotify India’s chief executive Amarjit Singh Batra and Positive Moves Consulting. Existing investors Hero group’s Pawan Munjal, Hero Group, <keyword id="563236" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="WestBridge">Westbridge</keyword>, Nexus Ventures and Everblue Management also participated in the round. A part of the funding would be further used to invest in cutting edge technology and innovation, hiring talent and fueling its growth across the country. “Today, Rapido is the largest bike taxi player in the country operating in around 100 cities. Even though our product and business model are lucrative and have the potential to churn out an exceptional revenue, this fundraising indicates more of the investors’ confidence in us than the need for capital,” Rapido’s cofounder Aravind Sanka said. Founded in 2015 by Sanka, Pavan Guntupalli and SR Rishikesh, Rapido is a bike taxi service that is spread across 100 cities in India. The platform claims to have over 1.5 million captains, known as driver partners on the platform, serving over 15 million customers. The company largely offered business-to-customer (B2C) services until last year. However, the COVID-19 pandemic pushed the company to try out other business models as well in order to keep the cash flow running while customers moved to a work-from-home setting during nationwide lockdown. Rapido started expanding its business-to-business (B2B) offering (launched in 2018) last year, under which it offers last-mile logistics service to retail stores, e-commerce players and restaurants. It also launched Rapido Stores last month to allow both online and offline businesses to deliver products to the customers. It claims to have witnessed a strong business recovery of 85% as compared to pre-covid. Rapido has raised $130 million in funding to date from several marquee investors like Westbridge AIF, Nexus Ventures, Sabre Investment, Skycatcher LLC, BAce Fund, Integrated Growth Capital, among others. The startup was a competitor to another Bengaluru-based bike rental startup Bounce, which decided to move to an electric vehicle (EV) manufacturing mode last year. SEE ALSO <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/with-pharmeasy-mobikwik-and-ixigo-all-set-to-hit-the-public-market-orios-plans-to-go-deeper-into-pre-ipo-bets/articleshow/85359703.cms">With PharmEasy, MobiKwik and ixigo all set to hit the public market, Orios plans to go deeper into pre-IPO bets</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/auto/news/tamil-nadu-government-is-upset-about-losing-money-on-luxury-cars/articleshow/85322536.cms">Tamil Nadu government is upset about losing money on luxury cars</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/india-now-has-four-edtech-unicorns-byju-unacademy-eruditis-upgrad/articleshow/85300757.cms">From Byju’s to Eruditus — India now has four edtech unicorns, thanks to a $4 billion funds flowing in since 2020</a>

Yamaha invests in bike taxi startup Rapido’s $52 million funding round

<ul></ul><ul><li><keyword id="5325646" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Ashok-Kumar-Saxena">Ashok Kumar Saxena</keyword>, who served as a director in <keyword id="2205155" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="One-97-Communication">One 97 Communication</keyword> between 2000-2004, alleged that he had invested in the company for a 55% shareholding. </li><li><keyword id="6357120" type="DEFINITION" weightage="20" keywordseo="paytm">Paytm</keyword> in its submission to police confirmed that such a ‘letter of intent’ was signed, but it never materialised into a ‘definitive agreement’ as Saxena ‘lost interest’. </li><li>The digital payments giant has also reportedly claimed that allegations against Paytm are attempts to harass the company. </li></ul>Ashok Kumar Saxena, a former director in Paytm’s parent company One 97 Communications, is now urging India’s market regulator to stall the digital payments giant’s $2.2 billion initial public offering (<keyword id="6354763" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="ipo">IPO</keyword>). Saxena alleges that he is the co-founder of One 97 Communications and had invested about $27,500 in the company about two decades ago. However, the company never transferred his 55% shareholdings to him, as per Saxena. At the centre of the argument is a one-page document signed by Saxena and Paytm founder and chief executive Vijay Shekhar Sharma in 2001. The document reportedly highlights that Saxena would get a 55% equity stake in Paytm's parent company One 97 Communications. The remaining 45% equity shares would be owned by Sharma. As per a media report, the former director of the company had reached out to market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI). According to a media report, Saxena had also reached out to Delhi police to file a complaint against the company, but no case was registered. However, Saxena has now reportedly approached a New Delhi court, urging the judge to direct the local police to register a case on his complaint. The court had ordered the police to respond and the matter will be heard on August 23, as per the media report. Business Insider was not able to reach out to Saxena immediately. The development was first<a href="https://www.reuters.com/business/exclusive-ex-director-seeks-stall-2-bln-paytm-ipo-company-calls-it-harassment-2021-08-12/"> reported</a> by Reuters. Paytm, in a legal document submitted to the Delhi Police, claimed Saxena's allegations against Paytm are attempts to harass the company, as per the Reuters report. The company has listed the dispute under 'criminal proceedings' in its draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) for its IPO. Paytm in the documentation submitted to the Delhi Police, has reportedly agreed that Saxena was one of the first few directors in the company who served between 2000 and 2004. However, a company source has denied that Saxena was the co-founder of One 97 Communications. The document was accessed by Reuters. Business Insider has reached out to Paytm seeking comments. We will be updating the copy if and when we receive a response. The digital payments giant states that Saxena did extend funds to the company, however, he gradually “lost interest”. The company also emphasised that the letter being referred above was merely a “letter of Intent” and not a formal agreement. Paytm has also mentioned this in its legal statement to the police. Saxena had started disassociating himself from the company after the document was signed and stopped attending board meetings, Paytm said in the legal statement. Therefore, the intent never reached a full agreement. Paytm in the legal document also stated that Paytm and Saxena had reached a private understanding and transferred the shares to an Indian firm. Saxena said he had never received any shares and there was no misunderstanding. "The shares and money are one thing, but I also want to be recognised as the co-founder," Saxena told Reuters. SEE ALSO <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/travel-app-ixigo-files-for-a-1600-crore-ipo/articleshow/85292327.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink">Travel app ixigo files for a ₹1,600 crore IPO</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/ecommerce/news/swiggy-reports-nearly-three-fold-increase-in-annual-revenue-in-neck-and-neck-race-with-zomato/articleshow/85233393.cms">Swiggy reports nearly three-fold increase in annual revenue, in neck and neck race with Zomato</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/careers/news/lenskart-aims-to-hire-over-2000-employees-to-ramp-up-its-operations/articleshow/85235059.cms">Lenskart aims to hire over 2000 employees to ramp up its operations</a>

Paytm IPO: Former One 97 Communication director urges SEBI to stall the public issue

<ul> <li>India has seen three startups turn unicorn and one into a decacorn between January 2020 and August 2021.</li><li>Dexter Capital Advisors's CEO believes that Teachmint, Classplus, Quizziz could make an entry to the unicorn club.</li><li>Indian <keyword id="1464841" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Edtech">edtech</keyword> startups have raised about $4 billion in the same time frame.</li></ul>Education technology or edtech was one of the least funded sectors in India until 2019, but the rise of remote learning during the COVID-ridden 2020 has given a new set of wings to this otherwise ignored segment. From January 2020 to halfway through 2021, India has seen three startups turn unicorn and one into a decacorn. A unicorn — in a startup parlance — is a company valued at above $1 billion and a decacorn is a company valued above $10 billion. A major reason for this series of <keyword id="11853360" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="edtech-unicorns">edtech unicorns</keyword> in India has been the greater interest of the investors in the segment. Indian edtech startups have raised about $4 billion since 2020, of which $2.2 billion was raised in 2020 and<a href="https://yourstory.com/2021/08/byjus-unacademy-edtech-sector-funding-2021/amp"> $1.9 billion</a> was raised between January-August 3, 2021. <div type="image" title="From Byju’s to Eruditus — India now has four edtech unicorns, thanks to a $4 billion funding inflow since 2020" msid="85300875" hostid="261"></div> India’s edtech unicorn revolution to continue <keyword id="2900267" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Byju">Byju</keyword>’s was the first Indian edtech company to turn into a unicorn in 2018. The company is now valued at a whopping $16.5 billion, positioning it as the highest valued Indian startup and the highest valued <keyword id="4534291" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="edtech-startup">edtech startup</keyword> across the globe. It took about two years and a pandemic to make <keyword id="6630114" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="unacademy">Unacademy</keyword> the second Indian edtech unicorn in September 2020. In 2021, India has found two unicorns in Ronnie Screwvala-led <keyword id="2008319" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Upgrad">upGrad</keyword> and Ashwin Damera-led Eruditus. Meanwhile, kids' live learning platform Vedantu is <a href="https://www.hindustantimes.com/business/vedantu-planning-a-fundraise-not-up-for-sale-founder-and-ceo-vamsi-krishna-101628298041357.html">reportedly</a> all set for its unicorn round and is in talks with investors across the board. <table style="border-width: initial; border-style: none; table-layout: fixed; width: 468pt;" class="redcator-table-advance"><colgroup></colgroup><col /><col /><col /><tbody><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Unicorn </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Valuation </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Year </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Byju’s </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">$16.5 billion </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">2018 </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Unacademy </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">$3.4 billion </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">2020 </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Eruditus </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">$3.2 billion </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">2021 </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">UpGrad </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">$1.2 billion </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">2021 </td></tr></tbody><tbody></tbody><tbody></tbody><tbody></tbody><tbody></tbody><tbody></tbody><tbody></tbody><tbody></tbody><tbody></tbody></table> Devendra Agrawal, founder and CEO of Dexter Capital Advisors told Business Insider as the edtech sector matures, more sectors can be seen progressing in the unicorn directions. “Though, it may take some time as scale wise a number of players are still not that big. The players, which have a good growth momentum definitely have a shot at this coveted slot and in that players like Teachmint, Classplus, Quizziz should lead the pack,” he added. Edtech startups speculated to sashay their way into India’s unicorn club <table style="border-width: initial; border-style: none;" class="redcator-table-advance"><colgroup></colgroup><col /><col /><col /><tbody><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Startup </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Funding to date </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Key investors </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Teachmint </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">$40 million </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Learn Capital, Better Capital, Lightspeed India Partners </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Classplus </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">$60 million </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Falcon Edge Capital, Tiger Global Management, RTP Global, GSV Ventures </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Quizziz </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">$47 million </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Tiger Global, Nexus Venture Partners, GSV Ventures, Eight Roads Ventures India </td></tr></tbody><tbody></tbody><tbody></tbody><tbody></tbody><tbody></tbody><tbody></tbody><tbody></tbody><tbody></tbody><tbody></tbody></table> Vaibhav Tamrakar, senior vice president at consultancy firm PGA Labs, in an email interaction with Business Insider shared that India’s edtech domain will gain more investor confidence especially after China’s latest regulation that has ordered all school curriculum and live tutoring edtech startups to go non-profit. “India is well-positioned to be the ‘tutor of the world’ with a strong presence of key ingredients including a large market of over 350 million learners, English-speaking population and tutors, and access to capital including both domestic and foreign investors. Edtech players in India had already expanded footprints in the global markets pre-COVID-19,” he added. Sydney-based maths learning platform Matific — which has operations across 60 countries — decided to enter India in 2019. Its chief executive Craig Shotland, talking about why Matific decided to expand to India, told Business Insider, “We see India as a key strategic market driven by factors like robust market potential, strong demand for edtech, and government policies like NEP. But most importantly the passion for education and learning, willingness to adopt technology, and strong affinity to gamified educational content makes it a great place to be right now.” What led to the rise of Indian edtech Tamrakar of PGA Labs told Business Insider, “While these trends [National Education Policy, accessibility to education and teachers, demand in upskilling and remote learning] were already transforming the market pre-COVID-19, the lockdowns did to edtech what demonetisation did to the fintech sector in India [in 2016] – accelerate these decade-long shifts within a year.” Dexter Capital Advisors’ Agrawal noted that the edtech sector was forgotten till 2015 and the issue was whether the companies operating in this segment could scale up. He added that proven players like Byju’s were able to build investors' trust in the segment and show that India had an appetite for edtech as well. 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From Byju’s to Eruditus — India now has four edtech unicorns, thanks to a $4 billion fund flowing in since 2020

<ul><li>The Supreme Court, on June 12, diluted the government’s order that mandated companies to pay wages to employees without deductions during the <keyword id="8637077" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Coronavirus-lockdown">coronavirus lockdown</keyword>. </li><li>The employer and the employees should ‘negotiate’ to resolve the matter, the court said. </li><li>This has stirred a debate on how the law protects the employers more than the employees. </li></ul>In a major development, the Supreme Court, on June 12, diluted the government’s order that mandated companies to <a href="https://www.livelaw.in/know-the-law/21-notable-judgments-delivered-by-courts-during-covid-19-lockdown-157947?infinitescroll=1">pay wages to employees without deductions</a> during the coronavirus lockdown. And that has turned the order in favour of the employers — at least for now. The apex court said that the government should not take any coercive steps against those private companies who haven’t paid their employees. In fact, the employer and the employees should ‘negotiate’ to resolve the matter, the court said. However, the next hearing is scheduled for end of July. SC order gives a ‘bargaining power’ to employers This has stirred a debate on how the law protects the employers more than the employees. “This is a classic case of judicial evasion. The court refrained from answering the legal question before it, but its refusal to answer created a status quo where one party benefitted at the expense of the other,” <a href="https://www.livelaw.in/columns/coronavirus-and-the-constitution-xxxii-payment-of-wages-and-judicial-evasion-in-a-pandemic-158293?infinitescroll=1">said</a> <keyword id="318837" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Gautam-Bhatia">Gautam Bhatia</keyword>, who has published nearly 20 scholarly papers. According to Anshul Prakash, partner at a corporate law company Khaitan &amp; Co, “since no coercive action can be taken against the private companies, they have a good bargaining power to enter into negotiation for <keyword id="4051159" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="payment-of-wages">payment of wages</keyword> at a reduced rate for the lockdown period and settle disputes.” However, in that case, the companies should obtain a ‘no claim letter’ from the workers pursuant to making such payment, added Prakash. Despite the orders… Many companies have already implemented pay cuts and laid off staff. A recent survey of CEOs, that included over 50 Indian startups, shows that <a href="https://qz.com/india/1830676/salary-cuts-arrive-at-indian-startups-amid-the-coronavirus-slump/">one in four startups in India already announced pay cuts</a>. And, a third of them are considering doing so. Goibibo and redBus also slashed employee salaries. There is an extent to which industry can fund unemployment insurance On the other hand, though a few organisations can safeguard their employees from bearing the brunt of the pandemic they will not be able to take the hit for a long time since there is uncertainty around Covid-19 and its possible impact. According to a recent <a href="https://telecom.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/50000-bsnl-contract-workers-remain-unpaid-for-a-year/76353325">ET report</a>, nearly 50,000 contract employees at Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) were left unpaid despite the government order on payment of wages. Meanwhile, startups like Droom Swiggy, Zomato, MakeMyTrip (MMT), ixigo axed jobs too amid the lockdown. “Some organisations can give away the salaries if they have deeper pockets. However the question is, for how long and are they willing? There is an extent to which industry can fund unemployment insurance. In the long run, organisations cannot afford to bear the burden of unemployment insurance fully,” Rituparna Chakraborty, Co-founder of TeamLease Services told Business Insider in an earlier interview. See also: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/reliance-backed-fynd-turns-your-screen-into-a-mirror-and-lets-you-try-make-up-products-virtually-before-buying-them/articleshow/76382060.cms">Reliance-backed Fynd turns your screen into a mirror and lets you try make-up products virtually before buying them</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/careers/news/tech-mahindra-intel-wipro-and-other-multinationals-hiring-engineers/articleshow/76379519.cms">Tech Mahindra, Intel, Wipro and other multinationals hiring engineers</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/these-three-indian-startups-feature-in-the-50-global-future-unicorns-list/articleshow/76379083.cms">These three Indian startups feature in the 50 global future unicorns list</a>

You Searched For "ixigo hiring" and got 11 results

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