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<ul><li>LB Investments co-led the round, with participation from <keyword id="2441277" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Samsung-Ventures">Samsung Ventures</keyword> and others.</li><li><keyword id="8861782" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Trell">Trell</keyword> has raised $62 million since its launch in 2017.</li><li>The company has over 100 million downloads and 50 million monthly active users.</li></ul>Bengaluru-based video-focused discovery platform Trell has raised $45 million in a Series B funding round led by financial group Mirae Asset, clothing and fashion brand H&amp;M Group. LB Investments co-led the round, with participation from KTB Network, Samsung Ventures and Fosun RZ Capital. Trell had raised $11.4 million in Series A funding, in August 2020, as a aftermath of the growth momentum it had gained post the TikTok ban in India. The discovery platform had also launched a <keyword id="623994" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="social-commerce">social commerce</keyword> section on its app around the same time to enable users to watch personalised product recommendations across beauty, personal care and wellness categories. Trell, founded in August 2017 by a team of Indian Institute of Technology-Bombay alumni Pulkit Agrawal, Prashant Sachan, Arun Lodhi and NITIE alumnus Bimal Kartheek Rebba, has raised $62 million to date. It will use the latest fundraise to expand its social commerce operations by entering the apparel, home care, mom and baby-care categories in the months to come. The startup claims to have over 100 million downloads on its platform and over 50 million monthly active users (MAU). Its content library features videos in 8 regional languages garnering over 20 billion monthly views, Trell said in a press note. The company is now looking to launch in additional six languages and expand its footprint in over 2000 cities and towns of India. Over the last few months, Trell has on boarded over 500 personal care and beauty brands, including Maybelline, L'Oréal and Garnier. “Trell has become the launchpad for many up-and-coming D2C [direct-to-consumer] brands and advertisers, who are leveraging our community of regional content creators to advertise their products and services on the platform… Our aim is to enable over 2000 brands to penetrate the deeper pockets of the country and communicate with their potential customers through regional content creators by 2022,” the company’s chief operating officer and co-founder Rebba, said. Meanwhile, the company’s chief technology officer and co-founder Lodhi added that they have been leveraging on their artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) technology and neural networks to create users’ psychographic profile of customers’ behavioural patterns on the platform. This allows the platform to provide personalised content and product recommendation for the customers. These developments have also led Trell to record 10-15 times year-on-year growth and 30% month-on-month growth since inception, the company said. Social commerce is still at a nascent stage in India, but the players in this segment have been growing at an exponential rate. Earlier in May, Meesho became the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/advertising/brands/article/meesho-the-latest-company-to-join-the-unicorn-club-aims-to-build-a-single-ecosystem-to-help-smbs/articleshow/81953840.cms">first social commerce</a> platform to enter the unicorn club. It has raised $515 million to date from <keyword id="163404" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Softbank">SoftBank</keyword>, FaceBook and <keyword id="270604" type="ENTERTAINMENT" weightage="20" keywordseo="Sequoia">Sequoia</keyword>. DealShare, on the other hand, recently closed a <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/social-commerce-startup-dealshare-raises-144-million-from-tiger-global/articleshow/84227890.cms">$144 million round</a>, taking its total fundraise to $183 million to date. Its investors include Tiger Global, <keyword id="678811" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Westbridge-Capital">WestBridge Capital</keyword>, Alpha Wave Incubation and Z3Partners. Other players in this segment are Glowroad,<a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/citymall-a-startup-that-helps-budding-entrepreneurs-start-their-ventures-on-whatsapp-has-raised-over-22-million/articleshow/83741383.cms"> CityMall</a> and SimSim. SEE ALSO <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/ecommerce/news/flipkart-raises-3-6-billion-at-a-valuation-of-over-37-billion/articleshow/84338594.cms">Flipkart raises $3.6 billion at a valuation of over $37 billion, to focus on ‘millions of small and medium Indian businesses’</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/paytm-money-users-can-now-apply-for-zomato-ipo-from-today/articleshow/84334784.cms">Paytm Money now allows investors to apply for an IPO before opening, Zomato being the first</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/ola-electric-has-raised-100-million-in-debt-to-start-producing-its-electric-scooters-soon/articleshow/84338315.cms">Ola Electric has raised $100 million in debt to start producing its electric scooters soon</a>

Fashion retailer H&M has led a $45 million round in video discovery and commerce app Trell

Lifestyle social commerce platform <keyword id="8861782" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="trell" source="Orion">Trell</keyword> has seen another wave of employee exodus as it struggles to pay creators in the country. At least 100 more employees have left the video commerce platform as several creators and influencers wait for their dues to be cleared, sources told IANS on Monday. The Instagram community page of Trell was full of complaints from the creators who requested the company to clear their pending payments. "How about you clear the pending payments of your creators," one such affected creator wrote. Others said Trell is clearing dues of popular creators with large fan following while ignoring small influencers. A query sent to Trell went unanswered. The platform recently asked more than 300 employees to go as it had to do "some right-sizing within the firm". In April, Trell was probed by a forensic team from EY India over financial irregularities amid allegations that its founders siphoned off money. The audit firm's review last month alleged serious financial irregularities at the company. The founders -- Pulkit Agrawal, Bimal Kartheek Rebba, and Arun Lodhi -- were investigated by the forensic team of EY India. The allegations also stalled Trell's $100 million funding round. In July last year, Trell raised $45 million in a Series B round led by financial group Mirae Asset, H&amp;M Group and co-led by LB Investments. With the closing of the Series B round, Trell had raised $62 million. Previous investors, along with KTB Network, Samsung Ventures, and Fosun RZ Capital also participated in the Series B round. In August 2020, Trell launched its social commerce section on the app, enabling users to watch personalised product recommendations across beauty, personal care and wellness categories that they can buy from within the app. SEE ALSO <a class="tout-title-link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/adani-enterprises-maruti-suzuki-infosys-among-stocks-to-watch-out-for-on-june-27/slidelist/92481042.cms">Adani Enterprises, Maruti Suzuki, Infosys among stocks to watch out for on June 27</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/oil-prices-could-slump-to-75-a-barrel-in-a-recession-or-jump-to-150-if-european-sanctions-slam-russian-supplies-bofa-says/articleshow/92474354.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink">Oil prices could slump to $75 a barrel in a recession — or jump to $150 if European sanctions slam Russian supplies, BofA says</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/international/news/tesla-is-laying-off-workers-who-only-just-started-and-withdrawing-employment-offers-as-elon-musks-job-cuts-begin/articleshow/92470514.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink">Tesla is laying off workers who only just started and withdrawing employment offers as Elon Musk's job cuts begin</a>

Employee exodus at Trell which is struggling to pay its influencers

<ul><li><keyword id="6762469" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="TikTok">TikTok</keyword> might have taken a hit with the growing resentment against Chinese apps, but it has also opened up the line of investors with the likes of Microsoft and Oracle in the US and Reliance in India. </li><li>But it’s not just TikTok alone. The ban on the app in India along with several other Chinese apps in late June this year gave its clone apps overnight popularity.</li><li>In August alone, Indian video-sharing apps have closed almost $20 million in funding so far.</li></ul>TikTok doesn’t just have millions of users dancing to its tunes, it also has marquee investors around the world picking up a tune to sing along with the Chinese giant. From Microsoft and now, <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/272cfc69-b268-45ac-88d6-d55821f27e78">reportedly Oracle</a> looking to buy TikTok in the US, to India’s richest man Mukesh Ambani looking to buy the Indian business, the company has investors looking to cash in on its popularity. But it’s not just TikTok alone. The ban on the app in India along with several other Chinese apps in late June this year gave its clone apps overnight popularity. It even saw Facebook pushing out its new Instagram update and TikTok lookalike – <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/instagram-reels-is-being-quietly-tested-in-india-just-days-after-the-tiktok-ban/articleshow/76768337.cms">Instagram Reels,</a> just days after the ban. While TikTok’s real number of users aren’t reported by the company, the app was high up on the top downloads charts in India and had seen over<a href="https://www.newindianexpress.com/business/2020/aug/13/reliance-likely-to-acquire-tiktok-in-india-for-5-billion-2182978.html"> 611 million downloads</a>. And with these users looking to move to newer video destinations, Indian <keyword id="9777126" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="video-sharing-apps">video sharing apps</keyword> wanted to ride on the ban and the country’s AtmaNirbhar initiative. So evidently, venture capital money has also made its way to its India clone apps. In August alone, the Indian video-sharing apps have closed almost $20 million in funding so far, and as reports say, there are bigger ones on the cards. Indian social media startup Sharechat, which had also launched its own video sharing platform Moj, is <a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/small-biz/startups/newsbuzz/google-in-talks-with-sharechat-as-latter-scouts-for-150-200-million/articleshow/77582440.cms">reportedly</a> in talks with Microsoft and Google for an investment. Sharechat was also Twitter’s first startup investment in India. <keyword id="40682" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Chingari">Chingari</keyword> Chingari, shot to fame overnight, so much so that its founders were tracking the hundreds of thousands of users coming in every hour right after the TikTok ban while working for 48 hours with no sleep. The app also won the best video sharing app in the Indian government’s AtmaNirbhar app challenge. Chingari raised $1.3 million in August from LogX Ventures, iSeed, Village Global along with angel investors like Brian Norgard, the former Chief Product Officer of Tinder, who has invested in SpaceX, AngelList, Notion among others. <keyword id="3961149" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="mitron">Mitron</keyword> Mitron, which gained popularity, even before the TikTok, thanks to its name being a word used famously by PM Narendra Modi, has raised two rounds of funding in recent times. Today the company has announced that it has raised $5 million, led by Nexus Venture Partners. 3one4 Capital and Arun Tadanki’s private syndicate on LetsVenture, along with a slew of angel investors like Deep Kalra (MakeMyTrip founder), Amarjit Batra (Spotify India head), among others. The startup said that it has over 33 million downloads on the Play Store and garners 9 billion video views per month. <keyword id="8861782" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Trell">Trell</keyword> Trell raised $11.4 million in a Series A round led by KTB Network. The round also saw participation from Samsung Ventures, Gokul Rajaram (Board Member, Pinterest, Square, DoorDash), Sequoia’s Surge, Fosun RZ Capital, among others. With 75 million downloads, the app claims to have grown over 27 times in the last 12 months and also has 25 million monthly active users. “Since the Chinese App ban, Trell has witnessed 500% growth with over 15 million creators on its platform receiving more than 5 billion monthly views,” the company said. Bolo Indya Another TikTok clone app, Bolo Indya, closed a seed funding round of $500,000 with over 40 lakh monthly active users. The startup’s funding was led by Eagle10 Ventures and India Accelerator. With a focus on vernacular language growth, the company’s founder Varun Saxena had said he aims to “see ourselves to be on at least one smartphone of every Indian household with a non-English user within the span of next 18 months”. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/oyo-byjus-investor-lightspeed-india-closes-its-third-fund-with-275-million/articleshow/77603896.cms">OYO, Byju's investor Lightspeed India closes its third fund with $275 million</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/tata-motors-sbi-card-bandhan-bank-ril-britannia-sbi-cards-share-price-are-top-movers-on-dalal-street-today/articleshow/77605529.cms">Top stock movers on Dalal Street today — Tata Motors, SBI Card, Bandhan Bank, RIL, Britannia</a>

It's not just TikTok, its clone apps in India too have a beeline of investors

<ul class="summary-list"><li>VC firm <keyword id="13647765" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="sequoia-capital-india" source="Orion">Sequoia Capital India</keyword> has spoken out about fraud allegations at multiple <keyword id="6362513" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="startups" source="Orion">startups</keyword> it's backed.</li><li>The firm said it was difficult to conduct due diligence on early-stage businesses.</li></ul><keyword id="11904329" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="sequoia-capital" source="Orion">Sequoia Capital</keyword> India, a major investor in Southeast Asian startups, has said due diligence on early-stage startups is tough as four of its portfolio companies face fraud or misconduct allegations.<a href="https://india.sequoiacap.com/build/corporate-governance-the-cornerstone-of-an-enduring-company/">In a blogpost not attributed to a particular author</a>, the firm said: "Recently some portfolio founders have been under investigation for potential fraudulent practices or poor governance. These allegations are deeply disturbing."The post added: "It is easy to think of this issue as ascribed to poor due diligence. But let's remember that when investments are made at seed or early stage there is hardly a business to diligence. Even later stage investors can face negative surprises, post investment, if there is willful fraud and intent."<keyword id="12116150" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="sequoia" source="Orion">Sequoia</keyword> didn't name check any firms, but one of these negative surprises has been <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/zilingo-ceo-suspended-accounting-probe-singapore-startup-report-2022-4">Zilingo</a>, a Singapore-based fashion e-commerce startup first backed by Sequoia in 2015 and estimated to be worth $970 million. <keyword id="13616941" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="zilingo" source="Orion">Zilingo</keyword> earlier this month suspended its cofounder and CEO Ankiti Bose amid a financial probe into its accounting practices. A lawyer acting for Bose called her suspension "unfair" in <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-04-14/sequoia-s-singh-leaves-zilingo-board-amid-accounting-probe">a statement to Bloomberg</a>.Sequoia and another backer, Temasek, raised their concerns with Zilingo's board. Sequoia's Shailendra Singh subsequently resigned as director of Zilingo's board, Bloomberg reported.Three other Sequoia-backed startups are also under scrutiny.In mid-March, Indian news media reported that EY India was investigating social e-commerce platform <a href="https://inc42.com/buzz/trells-founders-under-scrutiny-for-financial-irregularities/">Trell</a> for alleged financial irregularities. The same month, <a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/tech/startups/tax-officials-raid-zetwerks-offices-founders-homes-suspecting-tax-evasion/articleshow/90293975.cms?from=mdr">Zetwerk Manufacturing</a> was reportedly raided by Indian tax officials over alleged tax evasion concerns. Also in March, financial platform <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/ashneer-grover-loses-singapore-arbitration-bharatpe-probe-to-continue/articleshow/89887218.cms">BharatPe's</a> cofounder Ashneer Grover was <a href="https://techcrunch.com/2022/03/01/bharatpe-founder-ashneer-grover-siphoned-off-money-fintech-startup-says/">accused of misappropriating funds</a> by the firm and quit as CEO. Sequoia in its post called for better "guardrails" for the startup ecosystem, such as agreeing new rules around corporate governance, and said startup "boards can only work with the information shared with them" to uncover wrongdoing.Sequoia's post highlights the risks of investing in early-stage startups, where <keyword id="11897927" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="venture-capital" source="Orion">venture capital</keyword> firms plow cash into unproven companies, often trusting in a founder's vision more than the solidity of their business model. The firm wrote that a startup's board "is not responsible to investigate on an ongoing basis" for potential bad behavior unless it's explicitly flagged up.But some regional investors shot back at suggestions that the wider ecosystem was at fault."Sequoia India, caught with their pants down with 4 portfolio companies. Decides to blames the 'eco-system,'" wrote Sam Gibb, managing partner of Singapore-based fintech investor Resolution Ventures, <a href="https://twitter.com/samngibb/status/1515837214499827714">on Twitter</a>. He said that bigger investors encourage a "growth-at-all-costs" mentality at startups, leading founders to step "over gray lines" to hit metrics."The interests of career VCs (where a bulk of remuneration is fixed) diverge from founders as status is more important to them than building lasting economic value," he wrote.Sequoia could not be reached over the phone for further comment.

Big-name investor Sequoia says startup due diligence is hard as 4 of its Asian portfolio companies face allegations of fraud or misconduct

'm very excited about this new collaboration. <keyword id="868697" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="plum" source="Orion">Plum</keyword> has been one of my favourite brands - it does what it says," states actress <keyword id="3677061" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="rashmika-mandanna" source="Orion">Rashmika Mandanna</keyword> who joins the joins vegan skincare brand Plum as an investor and brand ambassador. Adding, "I am excited to represent and also invest in a brand that is passionate about adding genuine goodness to the world we live in! Plum has experienced tremendous growth in recent years, and I am confident that the brand will soon become the "go-to" vegan brand. The brand creates no-nonsense products that our skincare desperately needs right now, given our hectic lifestyles and exposure to sun and pollution. I've been using Plum's products for a while now and I absolutely adore them. I am beyond thrilled to bring some skincare love and goodness into everyone's homes!" Plum is one of India's leading vegan, cruelty-free, and toxin-free beauty and personal care brand. This collaboration between the Pushpa: The <keyword id="6405795" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="rise" source="Orion">Rise</keyword> star and one of the fastest-growing beauty and personal care brands is expected to further solidify the brand's position as a fan favourite and open up new channels for customer acquisition, particularly among India's <keyword id="159493" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="gen-z" source="Orion">Gen Z</keyword> and millennial audiences. It has grown 15x since its first funding round in late 2018, thanks to a strong leadership and investor team focused on creating value for - People, the Planet, and Profit-sharing participants. Because of its high-quality product lines, lovable brand personality, and strong Omni-channel presence, it remains one of the fastest-growing brands in the new-age beauty space. Commenting on the announcement, <keyword id="232375" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="shankar-prasad" source="Orion">Shankar Prasad</keyword>, CEO, and Founder at Plum said, "We are delighted to have Rashmika on board as we look forward to reinforcing our brand connect with consumers. She is a popular youth icon and fits very well with the brand ethos of Plum, with her real, approachable persona. This partnership is an important milestone as we continue to build Plum into a lovable brand that stands for keeping things clean, real and good." Rashmika's investment comes after A91 Partners' $35 million funding round in March 2022. Plum has raised over $50 million from consumer-focused institutional investors to date, indicating its future growth as the category leader in the new-age, direct-to-consumer beauty space. ALSO SEE <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/google-invests-in-indian-fintech-startup-progap-which-provides-credit-to-smes/articleshow/92509038.cms">Google invests in Indian fintech startup Progap which provides credit to SME</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/employee-exodus-at-trell-which-is-struggling-to-pay-its-influencers/articleshow/92483791.cms">Employee exodus at Trell which is struggling to pay its influencers</a>

Rashmika Mandanna invests in vegan skincare brand Plum

Another <keyword id="1464841" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="edtech" source="Orion">edtech</keyword> startup <keyword id="4248184" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="udayy" source="Orion">Udayy</keyword>, backed by <keyword id="80004" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="info-edge" source="Orion">Info Edge</keyword>, has shut shop, laying off all 100 employees as schools, colleges and physical tuition centres reopen. Udayy's co-founder <keyword id="6553566" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="saumya-yadav" source="Orion">Saumya Yadav</keyword> said that the startup was witnessing the post-pandemic world for the first time as "as the kids went back to school, we faced roadblocks in growing the original model of online, live learning". "After a lot of deliberation, we decided that it's better to shut down the business than to spend more time and capital on it,a Yadav said. The development was first reported by startup news coverage portal Entrackr. The startup has paid employees severance packages and helped them find new jobs. "We are returning the remaining capital, around $8.5 million back to our investors," Yadav was quoted as saying in media reports. The live-learning platform catered to students from Grades 1 to 5. The platform raised $2.5 million in a seed funding round led by Alpha Wave Incubation (AWI), managed by <keyword id="4675626" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="falcon-edge-capital" source="Orion">Falcon Edge Capital</keyword> and <keyword id="12772224" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="infoedge-ventures" source="Orion">InfoEdge Ventures</keyword>. Udayy is the second edtech startup after Lido Learning to completely shut operations. Led by the edtech platforms, over 8,000 start-up employees have been recently hit by layoffs In India. This includes more than 1,000 employees at WhiteHat Jr, over 600 at Unacademy, over 424 at Vedantu and over 150 at Lido Learning. Another edtech firm FrontRow laid off nearly 150 full-time and contractual employees earlier this week. The Bengaluru-based non-academic upskilling startup fired almost 30 per cent of its workforce, owing to fund crunch and the market downturn. Apart from edtech firms, startups that have laid off employees in the past few months include social commerce platforms Trell (more than 300) and Meesho (150), used cars platform Cars24 (More than 600) and digital health platform Mfine (more than 500), among others.

Edtech startup 'Udayy' lays off all 100 employees as schools, and colleges physically reopen

<ul><li><keyword id="982553" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="indian-startups" source="Orion">Indian startups</keyword> raised only $1.6 billion in April 2022, which is almost half of the capital raised last year in the same period.</li><li>VerSe Innovation — the parent company of Dailyhunt and Josh — raised the biggest funding round last month.</li><li>Indian startups are currently facing pressure from investors to focus on profitability, We Founders Circle’s Gaurav VK Singhvi added.</li></ul>Things are not as bright for the Indian startup ecosystem as they were last year. The segment which thrived during the pandemic is now facing the brunt of the Russia-Ukraine war, leading to a slowdown in their capital raising ability. According to the latest report by IVCA-EY, Indian startups raised only $1.6 billion in April 2022. This is almost half of the capital raised by the same ecosystem in April 2021. To make matters worse, no company entered the <keyword id="152045" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="unicorn" source="Orion">unicorn</keyword> club last month whereas April 2021 had flagged off the momentum of unicorn creation last year with eight new additions. <table style="border-width: initial; border-style: none; table-layout: fixed; width: 468pt;" class="redcator-table-advance"></colgroup><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;">Month </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;">Number of 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;">Unicorns Created </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;">April 2021 </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;">8 </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;">Meesho, PharmEasy, CRED, Groww, ShareChat, Gupshup, Chargebee, Urban Company, </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;">April 2022 </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;">0 </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;">Nil </td></tr></tbody><tbody></tbody><tbody></tbody><tbody></tbody><tbody></tbody></table>Source: Media reports <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Slowdown in unicorn creation" comment="subhead" text="Slowdown in unicorn creation">Slowdown in unicorn creation</cmsannotation> According to several experts Business Insider spoke to, the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/he-slowdown-in-unicorn-creation-may-be-there-for-the-next-two-months-too/articleshow/91116175.cms">slowdown in unicorn creation </a>is likely to continue all through the second quarter till June 2022 but this is not something to worry about. Gaurav VK Singhvi, cofounder of investment firm We Founder Circle, further explained that the startup market has been witnessing an upward trend for the last 18 months and “now for a few months it looks a little slow”. He also specified that the trend would be quite positive in the long term and more unicorns may be created this year. But there is more to it than just the number of unicorns. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Even higher valuation may be an issue" comment="subhead" text="Even higher valuation may be an issue">Even higher valuation may be an issue</cmsannotation> The decline in funding in April 2022 is majorly because of the decline in large funding rounds. VerSe Innovation — the parent company of Dailyhunt and Josh — raised the biggest funding round last month when it bagged $805 million at a<a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/josh-dailyhunt-parent-company-verse-raises-805-million-takes-valuation-to-5-billion/articleshow/90675633.cms"> valuation of $5 billion</a>. This represented nearly half of the capital raised by Indian startups in April. While Dailyhunt has been able to increase its valuation amid this funding slump, not all have been able to do so. According to Media reports, ecommerce company Meesho has been trying to close another funding round at a valuation of around <a href="https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/meesho-to-raise-1bn-at-valuation-of-8bn/articleshow/87859070.cms">$8 billion</a> but no investor is willing to accord it to the company at the moment. Instead, the investors are unwilling to accord any higher valuation to Meesho — which was valued at $4.9 billion last year — due to its monthly cash burn rate of $46 million. Singhvi of We Founder Circle explained that several startups have ignored their bottom line for a long time and the investors are now putting pressure on these companies to focus on their finances and numbers. “Revenue is all good but now they are looking at profitability and long term sustenance,” he added. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Layoffs come off as a rescue plan for several startups" comment="subhead" text="Layoffs come off as a rescue plan for several startups">Layoffs come off as a rescue plan for several startups</cmsannotation> Several companies have already started preparing for the worse. According to Business Insider’s calculations, Indian startups laid off<a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/indian-startups-have-already-laid-off-over-5700-employees-in-the-last-four-months/slidelist/90980198.cms"> 6,900 employees</a> in the first four months of 2022. In May alone, unicorns like Vedantu and <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/cars24-is-the-latest-unicorn-to-lay-off-600-employees-after-unacademy-and-vedantu/articleshow/91660002.cms">Cars24 fired over</a> 1,200 employees. <table style="border-width: initial; border-style: none; table-layout: fixed; width: 468pt;" class="redcator-table-advance"></colgroup><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;">Company </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;">Layoff </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;">Better.com </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;">3000 </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;">Ola </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;">2,100 </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;">925 </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;">Vedantu </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;">624 </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;">Cars24 </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;">600 </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;">Trell </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;">300 </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;">Lido Learning </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;">200 </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;">Furlenco </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;">200 </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;">Meesho </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;">150 </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;">OkCredit </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 </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;">Total </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;">8,139 </td></tr></tbody><tbody></tbody><tbody></tbody><tbody></tbody><tbody></tbody></table>Source: Media Reports, Company Announcements Vamsi Krishna, chief executive officer and co-founder of Vedantu, in a<a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/after-unacademy-vedantu-has-laid-off-600-people/articleshow/91643403.cms?utm_source=google_newsstand&amp;utm_medium=google_rssfeed&amp;utm_campaign=news_referral"> blog post noted </a>that they had to take this harsh decision since capital may be scarce in the upcoming quarters due to “war in Europe, impending recession fears, and Fed rate interest hikes”. Yogita Tulsiani of iXceed Solutions and Sarbojit Mallick of Instahyre emphasised that there are more layoffs to come in the near future. Tulsiani, the managing director and cofounder at global tech-recruiter provider iXceed Solutions, noted that both low-funded and highly-funded startups would be impacted by this drive as most companies carried out aggressive hiring drives during the start of the pandemic and are not able to handle their workforce now. Each company has a long term plan and unprecedented scenarios such as the events happening now can impact their hiring and team sizes, Sarbojit Mallick, cofounder of advanced hiring platform Instahyre, added. He noted that the plan would also include consolidation of internal departments, streamlining of operations and tightening of the gaps. “The fear [for the workforce] is further mounted by rationalisation in funding which will weed out quality companies and hence lead to winding up of some startups,” Neha Khanna, director at management consultancy firm ValPro, concluded. SEE ALSO <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/news/heatwave-has-turned-acs-from-a-luxury-to-a-necessity-but-margins-remain-muted-for-the-players/articleshow/91655568.cms">Heatwave has turned ACs from a luxury to a necessity — but margins remain muted for the players</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/the-state-of-uttar-pradesh-and-how-its-been-feeding-facebook-ad-revenues/articleshow/91660700.cms">The state of Uttar Pradesh and how it’s been feeding Facebook ad revenues</a> <a class="tout-title-link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/prudent-corporate-advisory-services-surprises-ipo-investors-with-nearly-5-listing-gains/articleshow/91678900.cms">Prudent Corporate Advisory Services surprises IPO investors with nearly 5% listing gains</a>

The worst for Indian startups is yet to come — be prepared for layoffs, unicorn slowdown and startup shutdowns in 2022

<ul><li>Indian startups have already laid off over 6,000 employees in the last five months.</li><li>The layoff season is likely to continue in the coming months as investors get cautious.</li><li>So far companies like Ola, Unacademy, Vedantu have laid off over 3,600 employees this year.</li></ul>Indian startups have already laid off around 6,000 employees in the last five months. But this startup firing season will continue, according to several experts that Business Insider spoke to. Archit Garg, co-founder at Glamyo Health, pegs <keyword id="4234518" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="startup-layoffs" source="Orion">startup layoffs</keyword> at 10 times the current number at — 60,000. “Unfortunately there is more pain in the ecosystem and funding environment could take 6- 9 months to reverse, so chances are that the actual number will be 10 times of this as I expect there will be more negative news which we will hear about in the near future,” said Garg. Edtech employees could be the biggest victims as students are going back to schools. “With the significant crisis brewing in the Indian edtech sector, a lack of clarity in structure and processes comes as a blockage,” Naveen Jangir, co-founder of HRTech company Incluzon, said. So far companies like Ola, Unacademy, Vedantu have laid off over 3,600 employees this year, according to media reports as well as company’s announcements. <table style="border-width: initial; border-style: none; table-layout: fixed; width: 468pt;" class="redcator-table-advance"></colgroup><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;">Company </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;">Layoffs </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;">Ola </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;">2,100 </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;">925 </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;">Vedantu </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;">624 </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;">Cars24 </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;">600 </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;">Mfine </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;">600 </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;">Trell </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;">300 </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;">Lido Learning </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;">200 </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;">Furlenco </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;">200 </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;">Meesho </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;">150 </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;">OkCredit </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 </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;">Total </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;">5,739 </td></tr></tbody><tbody></tbody></table>Source: Company Announcements, Media Reports Read more: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/the-worst-for-indian-startups-is-yet-to-come-be-prepared-for-layoffs-unicorn-slowdown-and-startup-shutdowns-in-2022/articleshow/91681195.cms">The worst for Indian startups is yet to come — be prepared for layoffs, unicorn slowdown and startup shutdowns in 2022</a> <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Hired too, and now there will be much firing" comment="subhead" text="Hired too, and now there will be much firing">Hired too, and now there will be much firing</cmsannotation> Yogita Tulsiani, the managing director and cofounder at global tech-recruiter provider iXceed Solutions, noted that both low-funded and highly-funded startups would be impacted by this. Most companies hired aggressively during the start of the pandemic and are unable to handle it now. Each company has a long term plan and unprecedented scenarios such as the events happening now can impact their hiring and team sizes, said Sarbojit Mallick, co-founder of advanced hiring platform Instahyre. He noted that the plan would also include consolidation of internal departments, streamlining of operations and tightening of the gaps. Sujata Pawar, co-founder and CEO of menstrual care startup Avni, noted that startups that fail to manage their runway and carefully grow the business will be subjected to such layoffs. “As long as organisations are successful in adapting to the changing market dynamics, retaining talent won't be much of a hassle. In this new world, with the workforce ready to jump into multiple opportunities, consulting, contractual projects and more, these obstacles will not concern either employers or employees." Piyush Raj Akhouri, co-founder and business head at recruitment firm Bridgentech Consulting, said. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Startups will keep hiring too" comment="subhead" text="Startups will keep hiring too">Startups will keep hiring too</cmsannotation> Piyush Bhartiya, co-founder and CEO of AdmitKard — which helps with end-to-end career advisory startup for students studying abroad — highlighted that for every company that is laying off employees there are another 100 who are hiring. “Like I said, some companies are laying off, others like ours are hiring. I do not see that will impact the employment ratios too dramatically,” he added. SEE ALSO <a class="tout-title-link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/vodafone-coal-india-bpcl-among-stocks-to-watch-out-for-on-may-26/slidelist/91801171.cms">Vodafone, Coal India, BPCL among stocks to watch out for on May 26 </a><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/auto/news/vehicle-insurance-premiums-may-increase-from-april-2022/articleshow/90043466.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink"></a><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/retail/news/biscuits-ghee-and-hair-oil-to-get-cheaper-after-government-duty-cut-but-after-three-months/articleshow/91784809.cms">Biscuits, ghee and hair oil to get cheaper after government duty cut — but after three months</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/zomato-to-grasim-to-aditya-birla-capital-here-are-six-stocks-that-brokerages-say-you-should-buy/articleshow/91788937.cms">Zomato to Grasim to Aditya Birla Capital — here are six stocks that brokerages say you should buy</a>

It would be a long firing season for startups —  experts say 60,000 could lose their jobs

11,000 and counting — that’s how bad startup job losses are after Ola, Byju’s & 22 others cut costs

New Delhi, July 1 (IANS) The ban on 59 Chinese apps has given homegrown app developers a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to create world-class products across chat, short videos, and photo/video sharing segments and led by ShareChat, desi apps are now scouting for fresh finds to invest intelligently into scaling their platforms and handle the upcoming rush. In a country where nearly 300 million people are on Facebook, another 400 million on WhatsApp and over 120 million on Chinese app TikTok -- not to forget the millions who are hooked to Instagram, Twitter and Snapchat -- there has not been a single social media platform to date with its roots in India that has created headlines globally. The time is ripe to rise to the occasion and show that Indian programmers can build top-notch social media apps right here, without going to the US or other countries. The regional language social media platform ShareChat is changing the way in which the next billion users will interact on the internet. With over 1 billion monthly Whatsapp shares, users spend more than 25 minutes daily on the platform. ShareChat has a user base of over 60 million monthly active users spread across the country and available in 15 languages including Hindi, Malayalam, Gujarati, Marathi, Punjabi, Telugu, Tamil, Bengali, Odia, Kannada, Assamese, Haryanvi, Rajasthani, Bhojpuri and Urdu. The Bengaluru-based regional language social platform has become so popular that even Twitter came onboard when the four-year-old company raised $100 million in its Series D round of funding last year. "ShareChat is silently leading a social media revolution with a strong focus on regional outreach keeping its Bharat connect pristine," said Berges Y Malu, Director, Public Policy, ShareChat. "We welcome the move from the government against platforms that have had serious privacy, cyber security and national security risks. We expect the government to continue their support for the Indian startup ecosystem," Malu added in a statement. Public is a video-only social platform and has already registered 50 million users, with more than one million videos being created every month. According to Azhar Iqubal, Founder and CEO of Public, we have immense talent and resources in India and the vacuum created by this ban is a great opportunity for Indian app makers to launch products that have the potential to do well globally. "It will also make users more vigilant in checking what permissions they have given to apps as smartphones store sensitive information," said Iqubal. Public is currently available in five Indian languages: Hindi, Bengali, Gujarati, Tamil and Telugu, and aims to have over 100 million users by the end of the year. Roposo is another leading homegrown short-video making app with more than 65 million downloads in the country. TikTok users, including influencers with huge fan followings, have started switching to Roposo in large numbers after the ban. "We have built Roposo as a clean and ethical platform. The unique idea of channels in Roposo provides every talented Indian with an opportunity to grow rapidly," said Mayank Bhangadia, co-founder of Roposo. Indians have rushed to download social app Chingari, a desi alternative to Chinese TikTok, which is witnessing nearly 1 lakh downloads and over 2 million views per hour since the government banned 59 Chinese apps over national security concerns. Already downloaded over 3 million times, the app which was founded by Bengaluru-based programmers Biswatma Nayak and Siddharth Gautam last year, was trending at the top spot on Google Play Store. "As Chingari is setting new benchmarks, a lot of investors are showing interest in our app. We are holding crucial discussions to get a good investor(s) on board so as to scale up our free-of-cost social platform," informed Nayak. Launched in October 2017, Khabri is another fastest-growing digital audio platform providing content in the regional language. "We urge Indian corporate leaders to come forward and reclaim the country's business ecosystem and consumers through supporting/investing in Indian startups," said Sandeep Singh, co-founder and president, Khabri. "Since the word spread that Indians now have a homegrown and more entertaining alternative to TikTok, we have been recording traffic beyond expectations on our app," said Nayak. Lifestyle community commerce platform Trell has witnessed more than 1 million downloads after India banned Chinese apps. With over 30 million downloads and 9 million monthly active users on its app, Trell has witnessed a 25 times growth within one year. "We welcome all the Tiktok and Chinese apps content creators with open arms to come and engage on Trell. As the largest Indian lifestyle social app, we will continue to ensure that the privacy and data of users will be protected," said Pulkit Agarwal, Co-Founder, Trell. --IANS na/in

Homegrown social media apps turn restless for big leap

<ul><li>Shares of Avenue Supermarts (Owner of DMart) closed 1% lower as the company reported less than expected net profit in June quarter, which disappointed investors. </li><li>The company said that it had comparatively more restrictions on store operations in June quarter 2021 than last year. </li><li>The company reported net profit of ₹115 crore, a jump of 130% from ₹50 crore a year ago.</li></ul>During a global pandemic, when most people are buying groceries and food online, Dmart is continuing to expand its offline presence. The supermarket chain has added 22 new stores after the April-June quarter of the last financial year. Further, the company is witnessing gradual expansion in its DMart Ready business, a pick up point for customers who can order online. “The DMart Ready business continued its gradual expansion across the Mumbai Metropolitan Region region, Ahmedabad, Pune, Bangalore and Hyderabad. Thus far the results on topline are very encouraging. The second wave has given further impetus to the business,” the company added in the exchange. Analysts at Axis Securities highlighted the rising e-commerce adoption by customers as a risk for the company. It expects gradual recovery for one of the largest retail chain companies on disappointing sales per square foot, lower operating hours per day, slower scale up business amid rising ecommerce adoptions like JioMart. It has hence maintained its ‘reduce’ recommendation to investors. Shares of Avenue Supermarts, owner of retail chain DMart, closed 1% lower, on July 12, as investors were disappointed with the company’s less than expected net profit in June quarter. A consensus estimate by <a href="https://www.bloombergquint.com/business/dmart-q1-results-profit-misses-estimates-as-second-wave-hits">Bloomberg reportedly </a>showed that investors estimated profits of ₹159.7 crore. <div type="image" title="DMart stores" height="900" width="1200" msid="84346944" hostid="261"></div> Meanwhile, the supermarket chain said that the store needs at least 45 days of unhindered operational time to get back to pre-pandemic sales momentum. This indicates high dependence on physical store sales. Retail stores have higher operational expenses and require physical presence of the workforce to run smoothly. This may be challenging for such businesses when the country is still not fully vaccinated. The brick-and-mortar retailer has reported a net profit of ₹115 crore, a jump of 130% from ₹50 crore a year ago. Revenue surged by nearly a third to ₹5,032 crore from ₹3,833 crore, year-on-year. <div type="image" title="DMart revenues" height="900" width="1200" msid="84346969" hostid="261"></div> Restrictions induced by the global pandemic have impacted the supermarket chain of <keyword id="9289879" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="dmart-stores">DMart stores</keyword>, which earns a large portion of revenues from its physical store sales. “Q1 FY 2021-22 saw a much stronger second wave of COVID-19 restrictions. We lost significantly more days or had higher restrictions on [the] number of hours of store operations compared to the same period last year, said Neville Noronha, chief executive officer and managing director at Avenue Supermarts in an exchange filing. However, the company pointed out that they have not seen any significant impact on the supply chain during the quarter. “Our inventory is also gradually moving towards normal levels. Construction activity has also commenced at all our sites,” the company said in an exchange filing on July 10. <div type="image" title="DMart shares" height="900" width="1200" msid="84346984" hostid="261"></div> Meanwhile, e-commerce startups like BigBasket scooped a good portion of market share during lockdown. Online grocery startup BigBasket, acquired by Tata Group, has clocked gross sales of $1.1 Bn or ₹8,000 crore in FY21, according to a <a href="https://inc42.com/buzz/bigbasket-claims-1-bn-gross-sales-in-fy21-expects-fy22-to-be-even-bigger/">report by Inc42</a>. Grofers reported a revenue of ₹176 crore in FY21, a jump of 84% from FY19. Reliance’s grocery segment had hit its all-time high revenues with a strong double-digit growth quarter on quarter, the company had said in its FY21 annual report. There has been three times growth in JioMart’s kirana partnerships over the last quarter with a reach of 33 cities. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/fashion-retailer-hm-has-led-a-45-million-round-in-video-discovery-and-commerce-app-trell/articleshow/84342711.cms">Fashion retailer H&amp;M has led a $45 million round in video discovery and commerce app Trell (businessinsider.in)</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/fashion-retailer-hm-has-led-a-45-million-round-in-video-discovery-and-commerce-app-trell/articleshow/84342711.cms"></a><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/paytm-money-users-can-now-apply-for-zomato-ipo-from-today/articleshow/84334784.cms">Paytm Money users can now apply for Zomato IPO from today (businessinsider.in)</a>

You Searched For "trell investor" and got 11 results

Fashion retailer H&M has led a $45 million round in video discovery and commerce app Trell

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It would be a long firing season for startups — experts say 60,000 could lose their jobs

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11,000 and counting — that’s how bad startup job losses are after Ola, Byju’s & 22 others cut costs

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Homegrown social media apps turn restless for big leap

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DMart obsessed with opening new offline stores while Reliance and Tata run after ecommerce

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