Homegrown ecommerce company Flipkart is looking to take on MakeMyTrip and Yatra Inc as it ventures in the online travel agency (OTA)  space. As per reports, Flipkart will be providing some new travel services to its customers and also target an audience that is actively engaged in online bookings for their travel needs.

So, once the Indian ecommerce giant, starts to traverse in the OTA space, customers will be able to book flights, trains, buses and hotels through Flipkart’s platform.

Flipkart will be launching these services through tie-ups with partners from specific industries. According to some sources, Flipkart is out head-hunting for a category head as well.

An email sent to Flipkart did not elicit any response till the time of publication.

These speculations started when Rajesh Magow, Co-founder and CEO of MakeMyTrip (MMT), returned to its board after a gap of two years.

Interestingly, Rajesh Magow is not the only common thread between Flipkart and MMT. Other than the co-founder of MMT, both of them also have a common investor i.e. Naspers.

Earlier, Flipkart’s CEO Kalyan Krishnamurthy had said that increasing the number of monthly active users on the platform would be crucial to the upcoming strategies that would be adopted by the ecommerce giant.

The number of its live audience would be a key metric in adopting strategies, as a result, the strategy to diversify through the travel vertical must well be in line with Flipkart’s strategy.

This move by Flipkart is not surprising, as the ecommerce unicorn has been making a foray into diversification for some time now. It launched an exclusive line of air conditioners and smart televisions under its private label MarQ, at the Consumer Electronic Show (CES) 2018 in Las Vegas.

It also launched  Supermart, with which the company started tapping on the rising opportunity in the Indian online grocery segment, but with much caution this time, considering the bitter experience it had in its previous stint (Nearby) in the segment.

To bolster its business against rival Amazon, the Bengaluru-headquartered company was also reported to be looking into the diversification route through investment and acquisition.

According to sources close to the development, Flipkart has expressed interest in backing online food delivery app Swiggy, hyperlocal services firm UrbanClap, furniture retailer UrbanLadder as well as startups in insurance and wealth management sectors.

Flipkart’s plans to diversify has created quite a buzz in the market with industry speculations taking place to understand the extent of the development. All this when Flipkart hasn’t commented anything on it yet.

The post Flipkart Set To Be An OTA Giant After Conquering Ecommerce, To Take on MakeMyTrip, Yatra appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Bringing global market at the fingertips of tribal artisans, Union Minister for Tribal Affairs, Jual Oram has launched ‘e-Tribes: Tribes India’, an ecommerce initiative to bring tribal artisan made products to platforms like Snapdeal, Flipkart, Amazon, Paytm and government eMarketplace.

With the initiative, more than 55K tribal artisans who are connected to TRIFED (Tribal Cooperative Marketing Development Federation of India Limited) will get access to the local as well as the international markets under the Tribes India banner on ecommerce platforms.

Applauding the dedicated team of officers for promoting ecommerce for tribal artisans, which will provide a window to national and international markets, Union Minister Oram said, “No stone should be left unturned in the empowerment process of the tribals through trade and all steps must be taken to ensure that they get full and timely payments.”

The organisation has also targeted to achieve the retails sales target of $15.32 Mn (INR 100 Cr) during 2018-19, with the help of ecommerce sales. Also, Pravir Krishna – Managing Director of TRIFED said, “TRIFED will make all efforts to expand the sale of tribal products through ecommerce.”

At the event, the retail inventory software prepared by TRIFED – wherein all sales and procurement would be digitised – was also launched.

Commenting on the ecommerce venture, Sudarshan Bhagat, Minister of State for Tribal Affairs, said, “The launch of ecommerce site will help to eliminate intermediaries and bring artisans directly in touch with buyers.”

Also, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed with the National Research Development Corporation (NRDC) and the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) for improving the research and development component of TRIFED and tribal training in the organisation.

A special training module is also being prepared in consultation with the NSDA, Ministry of Skill Development, Government of India to streamlining the training and linking it to the provisions of gainful employment in the future for tribal trainees.

With a special focus on digitisation with programmes like Digital India, the government has continued its digital focus with its portal, GeM. Launch in August 2016 as an e-marketplace for online purchase of goods and services by the central and state government ministries and departments, GeM is expected to touch $7.8 Bn (INR 50,000 Cr) worth transactions in 2018.

GeM at present has 19,002 buyer organisations, 79,617 Sellers and Service Providers for 4,89,534 products. So far, over 17 states including Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Gujarat, Telangana, Puducherry and Arunachal Pradesh, have signed MoUs with the Centre for on-boarding on the government e-marketplace.

As the government recognises the power of ecommerce, the step to bring the global market for tribal artisans can be seen as a positive development to uplift the weaker sections of the society in India such as the tribal community. It will give a long way in helping such tribal communities to get a global platform to showcase their distinctive products to the world at large.

The post Union Minister Jual Oram Launches Ecommerce Banner For Tribal Artisans appeared first on Inc42 Media.

While the cab hailing majors, Ola and Uber, are busy handling the strikes by their drivers on the frontend, Ola is in talks to acquire Uber’s Indian operations. The deal will be facilitated by the common stakeholder, SoftBank.

Sources close to the matter told Inc42 that Ola will acquire Uber’s operations in India and the deal has become fierce. The finer details of the deal are still under discussion and will be revealed in the coming months.

As per the Business Standard report, the person quoted above didn’t reveal the executives involved in the deal at the present but went on to inform that the deal is being negotiated by SoftBank, which is the biggest investor in both the companies.

Earlier, Rajiv Misra, CEO of the SoftBank Vision Fund, stated that the company should focus on recovering its market share in the US and growing in key European markets, to have a faster path to profitability. He had also added that Uber exiting unprofitable countries was not solely about cutting its losses but that growth prospects were more promising in its core markets.

Prior to these developments, Uber had come out strongly to claim that the company is 100% committed to India. Soon after, Dara Khosrowshahi, CEO of Uber, visited India and reiterated, “We continue to make aggressive strides in India and we consider India as one of our forts. How we perform as a company after 10 years very much depends on our success in India.”

However, the person close to the possible deal said that with Uber targeting initial public offering in the US in 2019, it is necessary for the company to cut off its losses, which the SoftBank has been continuously focussing on.

Earlier to this, SoftBank had very clearly advised that Uber had a faster path to profitability if it returned to its core markets such as the US, Europe, Latin America and Australia.

On reaching out, Ola Spokesperson said, “In India’s transformative digital journey, Ola will always be an active and integral part of decades to come. SoftBank and all other investors are committed to realising this ambition. Ola is always actively looking for opportunities for expansion of its footprint.”

In an email reply to Inc42, Uber quoted its CEO Khosrowshahi saying, “The company will invest whatever we have to in order to succeed in India.”

Khosrowshahi said India is already among the top three markets (besides the US and Latin America), accounting for 10% of its trips globally. On the merger with Ola, he said that the company will “look at any deals that can add value to its partners and shareholders, but we believe in controlling our own destiny in India”.

Mounting Losses Of Uber

The development has come in light of Uber’s recent exit from Southeast Asian market by selling its arm to Grab and taking 27.5 % of the enlarged group.

On the sell out, CEO Dara Khosrowshahi addressed a letter to Uber staff saying, “This transaction now puts us in a position to compete with real focus and weight in the core markets where we operate, while giving us valuable and growing equity stakes in a number of big and important markets where we don’t.”

However, amid this, the balance sheet of the company has been marked red at majority places with the company posting $1.5 Bn losses in the third quarter of 2017, up from its $1.46 Bn in the second quarter.

At the end of 2016, Uber’s net revenue reached $6.5 Bn; an impressive number if we don’t consider the $2.8 Bn losses it encountered during the same period. In the case of India, the total revenue reported in FY15 was only $3 Mn (INR 18.7 Cr) higher than losses incurred. In July last year, the cab aggregator poured $7.99 Mn (INR 51.64 Cr) into Uber India as per filings with the Registrar of Companies.

In the last two years, Uber has also left some of its biggest emerging markets. In August 2016, it sold its China business to rival Didi Chuxing. Similarly, in July last year, Uber called it quits in the Russian market, as well. The cab aggregator announced a $3.7 Bn merger deal with the Russian rival Yandex.Taxi, which is owned and operated by the Baltic search engine giant Yandex.

Ola’s Expanding Portfolio

Ola, on the other hand, is projected to become profitable during 2018-19 and report a net operating profit of over $180.7 Mn (INR 1,170 Cr), which is further expected to grow further to $992 Mn (INR 6,423.33 Cr) by FY 2020-21.

The company posted a net operating loss after tax of $429.68 Mn (INR 2,781.70 Cr) in FY2016-17, almost double of its losses from the previous year. A year earlier, the company’s losses were about $123.9 Mn (INR 796 Cr).

Amid this, Ola expanded its operations in Australia by launching its services in Sydney while running a pilot in Perth. Reports also surfaced that the company is eyeing expansion in other countries in Asia and North Africa.

Recently, reports also surfaced that Ola is in talks with Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund Temasek and other investors to raise another $500 Mn to $1 Bn in funding.

With the companies continuing their battle for a stronger foothold in India, the merger has been in sight for a long time. However, if Ola acquires the Indian operation of Uber on SoftBank’s continuous nudge, it will be an interesting watch and a rebuttal of current commitment being announced to India.

The post Ola Might Acquire Uber India With SoftBank Playing The MatchMaker appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Small businesses fail – a lot. According to a Business Insider report, an estimated 50-70% of small businesses will fail within their first 18 months. I know firsthand that starting your own business can feel like you’re dodging one disaster after the next.

No matter how many companies you’ve worked at before, how many advanced degrees you hold or how much industry experience you’ve amassed, you will make mistakes. Some of these mistakes will be frustrating, but you’ll bounce back. There will always be a learning curve associated with anything you do. But what if you could avoid making the same mistakes that sink other startups?

Identifying what actions cause failure – and learning how to avoid them – is a bit more challenging. Picking the wrong co-founder, for example, is cited as a common problem entrepreneurs face. The relationship you have with your partner and the skills they bring to your startup can set the tone for success or failure.

All too often, entrepreneurs lack sufficient self-awareness regarding their own strengths and weaknesses and don’t choose a partner with complementary skills.

I’ve worked in my fair share of entrepreneurial environments over the years and have certainly made mistakes along the way. From my personal experience, these are three of the most common mistakes first-time entrepreneurs make.

They’re the three mistakes I have made myself, and ultimately learned the hard way how to avoid repeating them in the future.

Hiring Employees Based On Salary Requirements Rather Than Talent Or Experience

When funds are tight, foregoing top talent can help cut costs. But those short-term savings can haunt you down the road. Talented people know their value. Sure, some may be willing to take a small pay cut to join your team, but they’re not going to work for peanuts.

Using cost as the primary driver for hiring decisions is one of the biggest mistakes I made at my startup. Despite being advised against this approach, I went with my (incorrect) instincts to hire unproven and inexperienced employees.

I thought I was being smart by being scrappy. I believed I could train these employees to make up for their lack of experience. I got what I paid for poor execution, with output lacking in both quality and quantity. A better approach? Hire for fit.

Waiting To Launch the “Perfect” Product

Your product will never be perfect. The longer you wait to launch, the more you will start to obsess over details that ultimately won’t matter to the user. Build something quickly, get the early model out and start testing.

Otherwise, you risk sinking significant time, energy and financial resources in a product that is not aligned with consumer needs.

When I founded my startup, we acquired a product that we could have gone to market with on day one. But my background at Fortune 500 companies and product teams had conditioned me to a very exacting product standard.

Consequently, I resisted launching since the product wasn’t perfect. Instead, I decided to rebuild it from scratch. I wanted to incorporate new technology stacks and deliver a superior user experience.

After months of execution, we were way off from our development timeline and not even remotely close to launching the new version. In the end, we were forced to launch our initial product and saw significant traction within a matter of just weeks.

What if we had launched sooner?

The right thing to do would have been to launch with a minimal viable product, test it for market fit, identify problems and evolve the product accordingly.

Failing To Create And Listen To An Effective Support Group

Who has your back? A strong support network should. When I founded my startup, I became consumed by day-to-day management. I knew it was important to build a network of advisors, but I kept putting it off.

As a result, I made strategic mistakes that experienced advisors would have caught (and advised against) if only I had taken the time to actually build my advisory team in the first place.

Being a successful entrepreneur takes more than just accepting that you do not know everything. You need to proactively take steps to surround yourself with the people who can make up for these knowledge gaps and who will speak up to stop mistakes. Seek their advice and act on it.

Starting your own business is inherently a risky venture. You may not be able to control external factors, like a sudden fluctuation in global markets. But there are many factors that are within your control.

The biggest one?

How you react to mistakes. Even if you avoid making the mistakes I discussed above, it’s inevitable that other mistakes will happen along the way. Don’t let your business become a failure statistic. Acknowledge what went wrong, pivot where necessary and keep moving forward with a new plan.

BusinessCollective, launched in partnership with Citi, is a virtual mentorship program powered by North America’s most ambitious young thought leaders, entrepreneurs, executives and small business owners.

The post 3 Of The Most Common Mistakes First Time Entrepreneurs Make appeared first on Inc42 Media.

In my time working in marketing, PR and communications, I have learned a thing or two. Am I always proud of how and what I spin, to deflect from negative press or opinion?

You bet I am.

I find the spin of PR to be bloody fun and while I recognise how problematic it can be, I want to take a moment to share some of it.

These are my 8 principles of spinning anything.

Always tell the truth

If you want to spin a negative into a positive, it’s not about hiding the truth or denying anything. It’s about controlled transparency that never hides a single fact, where the facts come from you, on your own terms.

Have a life-changing experience

If you want to spin a career change or failure, a business pivot or failure, or a total personal rebrand, the easiest way to do it is through a real or impossible-to-disproval “life-changing experience” – a distinct point you can refer to that provides context for change.

Nobody actually needs to believe you…

It’s not about how believable any argument or explanation for any action is. It’s about how much you commit to repeating it, how little you pause when questioned on it and always having a response based on it no matter what.

…because you want them to block it out anyway

People think they can tell when they’re being spun a story. They cannot. Good spin becomes almost white noise that you can’t even tune into, that you eventually just accept or at least stop thinking about.

Always plan your spin in advance

Before I start any project, I already have my exit spin in case it doesn’t work out. If I lose a job or a contract tomorrow, I know exactly what story to tell, how to present the unedited but carefully curated truth and how to play whatever comes next.

Be the best at telling the truth

Good spin requires you to openly admit and wave your arms at and point to the truth so much that you are the one everyone believes is the right one to tell it.

Think like a general, not a Pope

Good spin requires you to think strategically. To work out exactly what parts of your position or message you are willing to sacrifice at any moment in order to cede ground to media or public opinion in a way that disarms them.

I.E., can you think ahead and make or invent a point, that you are totally willing to sacrifice, into a major part of your platform so that when you burn it or admit it was wrong, it looks like a victory for your critics that will provide a simple end to the narrative?

Your best case scenario isn’t winning. It’s making everyone else think they won.

Good spin isn’t your client or your company or you getting off the hook. It’s when you control the price that is paid for a bad move and ensures a small price is paid so that the incident is never left open to be referred to again and again.

Look, is this cynical? Sure. But spin is always cynical. You don’t have to take this article as a how-to guide. You can take it as a codebook so you know when someone is spinning to you.

But at the end of the day, we are living through the most powerful time in human history for the crystallisation of public opinion through social and digital media. Knowing how to spin is fucking essential.

[This post by Jon Westenberg first appeared on Medium and has been reproduced with permission.]

The post 8 Crucial Principles Of Spinning Anything Successfully appeared first on Inc42 Media.

With plans to offer a major boost to angel funding in startups, the SEBI (Securities and Exchange Board of India) has reportedly given indications to double the maximum investment limit by angel funds in venture capital undertaking to $1.5 Mn (INR 10 Cr) from the current $770.5 K (INR 5 Cr).

SEBI board has approved the amendments to Alternative Investment Funds (AIF) regulations with respect to “angel funds” after recommendations of its working group. However, the final decision is yet to be announced.

The working group comprising of angel networks, consultants and startups is looking to simplify certain provisions of AIFs to provide ease of doing business for angel funds.

At present, 398 AIFs are registered with SEBI, of which 114 are registered under Category I, including eight angel funds. Angel funds are aimed at encouraging entrepreneurship by financing small startups at an early stage where it is difficult to obtain capital from banks and financial institutions.

As Inc42 had earlier reported, here are the major amendments recommended for boosting the angel funding:

• The minimum investment by angel investor remains $38.5K(INR 25 Lakh).
• The minimum corpus size required for an angel fund to register with SEBI will now be $770.5K (INR 5 Cr)
• The maximum period of accepting funds from an angel investor has been raised to five years, from current three years.
• Instead of filing a memorandum with SEBI, angel funds will now be required to file a term sheet containing material information, as specified by the regulator within 10 days of launching the scheme.
• The provisions of the Companies Act will apply to the Angel fund if it is formed as a company.

These amendments are further expected to help improve the angel funding status in the Indian startup ecosystem. As reported earlier, 512 active angel investors participated in the Indian tech startup funding in 2017. This is a 22% decrease in comparison to 2016, according to Inc42 DataLabs’ Funding Report 2017.

Angel Funding And Angel Tax Provisions

With the growing discontent and protests from Indian startups, entrepreneurs and angel investors, the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) is planning another exemption regarding angel tax, stating that startups founded before 2016 and with up to $1.5 Mn (INR 10 Cr) in angel funding will also be eligible for tax exemptions.

This is expected to benefit about 300 startups that received funding from the Angel Investors Network.

In conjugation with DIPP, after CBDT recently issued a circular instructing IT officials not to take any coercive measures to recover angel tax from startups, DIPP is also in talks with the Ministry of Finance to exempt individual angel investors from angel taxes as well.

Furthermore, the Income Tax Department has stayed the recovery proceedings of angel tax levied on companies that are recognised as startups by the Department of Policy and Promotion (DIPP).

After angel funding had plunged by 53% last year, the new provisions announced by SEBI are bound to give a major relief to Indian startups and their investors.

Update 1: Thursday, 19:00: The post earlier stated that “SEBI has doubled the maximum investment limit by angel funds in venture capital”. However, the post has now been corrected to suggest that the development is yet to be announced and SEBI has only given indications for the same.

[The development was reported by LiveMint]

The post New Hope For Indian Startups: SEBI Decides To Double Angel Funding Limit To $1.5 Mn appeared first on Inc42 Media.

At a time when Amazon is doubling down to strengthen its food retail business in India with a pilot in Pune and 15 new fulfilment centres, homegrown ecommerce rival Flipkart is also evaluating ways to expand its online grocery business.

As per reports, the ecommerce unicorn is set to enter the country’s food retail market. To that end, the Bengaluru-based ecommerce company has earmarked several hundreds of millions of dollars of its investor money to bolster its online grocery arm, people in the know have revealed.

The development comes ahead of global retail behemoth Walmart’s proposed $7 Bn investment in Flipkart, as part of which it will be acquiring a 25% to 51% stake in the online marketplace.

According to sources close to the development, Flipkart is also in the process of launching an indigenous range of consumables and fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) under its Billion private label.

Launched in June 2017, Billion by Flipkart was said to be inspired by the government’s Make In India initiative. Through this brand, the company intends to cater to the unique needs of Indian customers.

As part of the initiative, the ecommerce unicorn has teamed up with a number of domestic manufacturers to bring low-cost products across various categories, including small and large appliances, clothing, smartphones and other electronics, home decor accessories, among others.

In other news, Flipkart is also looking to enter the movie ticketing market. The company had earlier attempted to make a foray into the online ticketing segment with a proposed minority investment in BookMyShow, which didn’t materialise in the end.

Flipkart And Its Online Grocery Push

Flipkart made its first attempt to enter the online grocery segment a couple of years back with ‘Nearby’, which later shut down in 2016. While in 2016 Flipkart was struggling with lack of funds and leadership changes, the situation has completely been reversed now.

Under the leadership of CEO Kalyan Krishnamurthy, the company made a soft launch of its online groceries category under, Supermart in Bengaluru last November.

For now, the service is available for its employees only. Accessible via Flipkart app, Flipkart grocery marketplace requires a minimum order amount of $7.72 (INR 500) and reportedly offers free delivery for orders above $15.45 (INR 1000).

Reportedly, Flipkart is building a dedicated supply chain for its grocery category under Supermart. To further lure the consumers, the company is experimenting with options such as ‘open-box delivery’ to verify products before acceptance and ‘doorstep returns’ if the customer faces any issue with the product.

At the same time, Flipkart is engaged with US-based retail giant Walmart for a potential multi-billion dollar investment. Recently, it was reported that SoftBank was preparing to sell a part of its share in the company to Walmart.

The retail chain plans to invest in Flipkart through a mix of primary and secondary purchase of shares. As suggested by the sources, the $10 Bn-$12 Bn secondary share sale will take place at a discounted valuation. It was also estimated that if the deal goes through, Flipkart’s valuation will rise to $20 Bn from its current valuation of $14.2 Bn.

If the deal materialises, Flipkart will be able to procure grocery and consumer goods directly from Walmart’s wholesale stores, which would, in turn, ensure better delivery speed and product availability.

Walmart already has a strong presence in the country through its B2B arm, which currently boasts a network of 21 Best Price Modern Wholesale stores. The partnership with Walmart, therefore, would not only increase Flipkart’s cash balance significantly but would also enable it to expand its footprint in the offline retail segment.

Apart from Amazon’s online grocery business Amazon Now, Flipkart will face stiff competition from established players like BigBasket and Grofers.

Additionally, post-BigBasket’s $196 Mn fundraise from Alibaba, reports surfaced that  Paytm was planning to integrate the Bengaluru-headquartered online grocery delivery company on its platform. As more than half of Paytm Mall’s orders belong to the grocery and FMCG categories, this integration is expected to increase the orders to 60%.

Ecommerce Giant Flipkart To Refocus On Book Business

In a related development, Flipkart is reportedly looking to revive its book business, which was what originally shot the company into the limelight. As a result of the online marketplace’s astronomical growth, its book business, over the years, has somewhat been overshadowed by other better-selling categories.

However, the ecommerce giant has claimed that, in the last six months, the books category has grown by around 70%, thanks largely to its efforts to strengthen that business.

As per reports, Flipkart is now in the process of adopting a new strategy to regain its dominance in the country’s online book market. At present, rival Amazon boasts the largest market share of 60% in this segment.

During a recent media interaction, Nishit Garg, who is now heading the company’s books business, said that customers buying books have a higher engagement rate and tend to buy other products in different categories.

He added, “Since our decision to put the focus back on the category, we have more than doubled the collection to 7 Mn from about 3 Mn books six months back. We are working out exclusive deals with publishers and authors to get certain titles only on Flipkart. All these efforts are being made to get the loyal set of book buyers back on the platform,” he said.

India’s ecommerce market reached $33 Bn registering a 19.1% growth in 2016-2017, as per Indian government’s Economic Survey 2018. To gain a stronghold in this sector against arch nemesis Amazon, Flipkart is increasingly foraying into new categories, including online grocery, movie ticketing, etc.

The post Flipkart Earmarks Millions Of Dollars For Online Grocery Business; Eyes Movie Ticketing Market appeared first on Inc42 Media.

As the ecommerce sector prepares for the Consumer Protection Act, 2018, the Consumer Affairs Ministry is out looking for opinions of consumers as well as the ecommerce industry.

As Inc42 had earlier reported, the Consumer Protection Bill aims to ensure the protection of consumer interests and for the said purpose Additionally, it aims to establish authorities for timely and effective administration and settlement of consumers’ disputes as well as for matters, connected therewith or incidental thereto, be taken into consideration.

For this, the Department of Consumer Affairs has sent a questionnaire to companies issued by the Indian Institute of Public Administration, which was accessed by ET. The survey seeks to know the nature of consumer complaints, steps being taken on protecting consumer data and privacy, and policies needed to regulate the sector.

In a letter issued in February, industry members through associations like FICCI,

“Insight on the National Consumer Helpline -IIPA (Indian Institute of Public Administration) survey on consumer grievance redressal and its findings for government and industry discussions and action road-map are still awaited by ecommerce companies. All key industry players have responded to NCH questionnaire and if not closed yet, industry would be glad to jointly work with NCH on developing the report and analysis, to draw fair outcomes and learnings.”

The consumer front survey will include queries regarding the liability of the ecommerce marketplace on private information being used by sellers, liability around defective products and whether regulations are required for the ecommerce sector.

On the mandate, Yatish Rajawat, Chief Strategy Officer, LocalCircles reportedly said, “LocalCircles has been given the mandate by the department to find out consumer views on this issue. A report on the issue covering all aspects of the challenges faced by consumers will be released soon.”

Furthermore, reports surfaced that the department will also create an online community for sellers and firms to discuss the regulations. However, seller associations such as All India Online Vendors Association said they have not received communication on this yet.

Stringent Fears Of Ecommerce With The Consumer Protection Act

After the Consumer Protection Act, 2018, ecommerce companies would be required to register these platforms with the consumer affairs department and would also have to disclose their business details and seller agreements.

The companies would also be required to disclose the intention and applications of consumer data that they store. The authority will also delve into the details of whether the companies take the consent of consumers while sharing their details with their advertisers or others.

However, ecommerce companies have already sent a letter, stating that this will create issues and unnecessary inconvenience in the smooth running of the business and may consume resources towards bringing clarifications and resolutions to problems.

The $33 Bn worth-ecommerce sector is already under pressure as a result of policy changes such as the implementation of GST, Tax Collected at Source (TCS) levy (which was deferred later), and corporate taxation, all of which have affected the overall market of ecommerce marketplace in mixed ways.

However, amid the booming ecommerce sector, the government has identified the need for supervision and regulations, which is bound to regularise the ecommerce sector. The survey of ecommerce companies and consumers is expected to help the Consumer Affairs Ministry bring out a balanced consumer protection act.

The post Consumer Affairs Ministry Gears Up For Consumer Protection Act 2018, Conducts Survey Of Ecommerce Industry And Consumers appeared first on Inc42 Media.

As the startup culture is rapidly gaining momentum in the Indian society, agriculture – which is one of the most traditional business sectors in India –  has suddenly become the apple of the eye for the investor fraternity. Thanks to the wave of innovation the Indian startups are eventually bringing in the agritech space with a fusion of new age techs like AI, ML and Big Data. One such startup which recently gained attention is Carmel Organics. Based out of Neemuch, Madhya Pradesh, the startup has boarded the agritech portfolio of Ankur Capital, an India-focussed VC fund backing early-stage startups.

This is the seventh addition to Ankur Capital’s agritech startup portfolio. Prior to that, it had invested in agritech startup, Agricx Lab which has developed an AI-overlayed imaging technology for agri-produce quality assessment. Other agritech startups in its portfolio include Cropin Technologies (agri-SaaS), BigHaat (online agri-input distribution), Suma Agro (sustainable bio-inputs), TESSOL (cleantech cold chain)  and Health Sutra (superfoods),

“We were attracted by Carmel Organics’ positioning as a quality supplier of medicinal herbs and its traction in markets like Europe and Australia. In the founders, we saw a great combination of strong on-ground connect with farmers as well as the drive to build a global scale company,” said Krishnan Neelakantan, Senior Investment Director at Ankur Capital.

Carmel Organics was founded in 2012 by Shailendra Dhakad and Rajesh Sagitla with the aim of helping small farmers in India increase their incomes by the sales of organic herbs and the production of the spices and their subsequent distribution.

The company has developed an integrated supply chain to deliver traceable, organic, functional herbs to the global markets. It works directly with more than 1,500 farmers, educating and training them on practices that will yield products that meet the quality requirements for certified organic produce across major global markets. In turn, farmers realise significant income gains from this association.

The raised funds from Ankur capital shall be utilised by the company to scale-up its business, particularly targeting the global markets.

As PM Modi’s government is aggressively trying to double the average income of the farmer by 2022, the startups such as Carmel Organics are certainly an asset to the country. A few other promising startups which are working to boost the agritech space in the country include names such as AgroStar, EM3 Agri Services, Farm Taaza, Crofram, Aibono, Gold farm amongst others.

Further, as per Inc42 DataLabs Funding Report 2017, around $36 Mn was invested in 15 startups in the space in 2017. Investors such as Omnivore Partners, Future Venture Capital Company Ltd. (FVCCL), Epsilon Venture Partners, Global Innovation Fund and IDG Ventures amongst others have given signals to stay their grounds in India and to continue investing in the Indian agritech community.

The agritech space in India is one of the hottest sectors to invest or startup currently. As PM Narendra Modi has given indications to launch the ‘Startup Agri India’ scheme, as well as organise regular hackathons to facilitate innovation in agriculture, the time is certainly ripe for the startups to scale ahead and make a mark both in the local as well as the global markets.

The post Ankur Capital Backs Carmel Organics, Expands Its Agritech Portfolio To 7 appeared first on Inc42 Media.

After a long absence, Microsoft is now planning to revive Microsoft Ventures in India. As per reports, the tech giant is looking to open an office and invest in Indian tech startups using new age technologies like autonomous vehicles, Internet of Things (IoT) and Blockchain.

As per reports, Peggy Johnson, Executive Vice President, Business Development, Microsoft, has onboarded her former Qualcomm colleague Nagraj Kashyap to lead Microsoft Ventures and relocated its headquarters to Silicon Valley with offices in New York, London and Tel Aviv, Israel and the planned one in India.

In conversation with ET, Johnson said, “We look largely around our core ambitions — cloud infrastructure, AI, machine learning (ML) and connectivity. But India is very unique because the productivity here is mobile only. We have learnt a lot and look forward to learning more. We generally focus on Series A and B (funding), with a little bit of seed. But largely Series A and B and it is anywhere between $2 Mn and $10 Mn. It will be part of our global corpus.”

Microsoft Ventures had an active presence in India in 2016, and at that time had announced the names of 12 startups in India that was selected for its 8th Accelerator batch of its Hi-Po and Scale Up Program. It is Microsoft’s strategic venture capital investment team whose mission is to be an active partner at key stages of a startup’s growth, typically investing in Series A and D.

The company continued to run its accelerator program in India and help 12-14 emerging firms to stand up before they seek funding from venture capital firms to grow business.

Till now, Microsoft Ventures has backed over 45 startups globally. Johnson believes that with Microsoft Ventures, the company will now be able to back its accelerated startups.

She added, “Basically, we lacked a fund before. When the companies graduated from accelerator we did not have the ability to invest in them. So now we will have that option. We have that option in the US, in India.”

Talking about her team, Johnson said that diversity has been her team’s strength.  “I had freedom to build the team from scratch. We did not have a number of resources. When I spoke to people who run it for me, I told them we need to have diversity. What it produced is one of the most diverse VC community. There is a real business impact to diversity and I think this is a great example of that,” she said.

In December 2016, Microsoft Ventures launched a new fund for investment in AI companies focussed on inclusive growth and positive impact on the society. The first investment from this fund was for Montreal-based Element AI, an incubator and platform that helps organisations embrace an AI-first strategy in support of these principles.

In another development, Microsoft India also claimed that it is helping 650 India-based partners use the Microsoft cognitive services, IoT, AI and machine learning platforms to build solutions for India. Over the last year, Microsoft and its partners have deployed AI solutions in areas such as healthcare, education, agriculture, retail, ecommerce, manufacturing and financial services.

Some of the tech startups which have partnered with Microsoft to work or develop AI technologies include Ola Play, Flipkart, ZingHR, WittyParrot etc.

As Microsoft Ventures dives back into tech startups in India, Microsoft continues its efforts to help and support startups in their growth with programmes like Microsoft for Startups, Microsoft Accelerator programmes etc.

The post Microsoft Ventures Plans A Come back To India, Targets New Age Tech Startups appeared first on Inc42 Media.

After the Election Commission of India announced that it will continue its partnership with Facebook for the upcoming Karnataka Assembly Polls, calling the recent fiasco a mere “aberration”, the Indian government has sent the social media giant a letter, seeking details of how the breach was perpetrated by British firm Cambridge Analytica.

Whether such data have ever been used to manipulate the electoral process in India, the Ministry of Electronics and IT (MeitY) has sought to know.

Facebook has until April 7 to respond to MeitY’s letter. Commenting on the development, a spokesperson for the company told ET, “As (CEO) Mark Zuckerberg has said, we are working hard to tackle past abuse and prevent future abuse. We appreciate the opportunity to answer questions the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology has raised, as we continue our review of the situation.”

Further, in the notice, the government has reportedly asked Facebook to share details of its privacy protection system, especially in cases where a third-party entity has misused user data as well as the specific steps the social media platform is planning to take to ensure that such activities do not recur.

“Facebook today has its largest footprint in India in terms of its user base and, therefore, what proactive measures are being taken to ensure the safety, security and privacy of such large user data and to prevent its misuse by any third party,” MeitY reportedly asked in the letter.

The development comes just days after the Indian government sent Cambridge Analytics a notice on the breach, seeking their response latest by March 31, 2018.

At the time, MeitY had said in a statement, “The government is deeply concerned about such developments and is committed to ensuring the protection of the fundamental right of privacy and safety and security of data for every citizen of India. There have also been imputations that such data could also have been used to influence the behaviour of individuals.”

So, What Happened In The Aftermath Of The Controversy?

In the aftermath of reports claiming Cambridge Analytica harvested the profiles of up to 50 Mn Facebook users without their approval during the last US elections, Facebook Chief Mark Zuckerberg assured that it is taking a series of measures to ensure that the social platform will not be misused by any agency or anyone to influence election results, be it India or other countries.

While Facebook had already accepted and apologised for the platform’s misuse during the US presidential election 2016, a recent report by The Guardian, found that Cambridge Analytica relied on dirty tricks to swing elections which included an unauthorised access to the tens of millions of Facebook users’ data.

Posting a timeline of how Cambridge Analytica benefitted from the Facebook users’ data that were, in 2013, shared with Cambridge researcher Aleksandr Kogan as anonymised data which tallied 57 Bn friendships around the world, Zuckerberg averred that it was Kogan who later shared his apps with Cambridge Analytica, enabling them access to the Facebook users’ data.

Meanwhile, the Board of Cambridge Analytica recently suspended CEO Alexander Nix with immediate effect, pending a full, independent investigation.

In response to the controversy, the acting CEO Alexander Tayler expressed his regret over the entire episode, stating, “I am sorry that in 2014 SCL Elections (an affiliate of Cambridge Analytica) licensed Facebook data and derivatives from a research company (GSR) that had not received consent from most respondents. The company believed that the data had been obtained in line with Facebook’s terms of service and data protection laws.”

Is India At A Risk Of A Similar Breach?

Interestingly, in September 2017, reports surfaced that a major Indian opposition party was looking to join hands with Cambridge Analytica for reaching a larger section of the country’s voting population in the upcoming 2019 general elections.

According to the website of the company’s Indian arm Ovleno Business Intelligence (OBI), which has now been suspended by the Indian government, Cambridge Analytica had run a research and communication campaign and carried out an in-depth electorate analysis for BJP-led NDA in the Bihar assembly elections, way back in 2010.

The OBI, in fact, claimed to have influenced four election campaigns of the BJP in various states including Haryana and Maharashtra. The OBI Director, in his LinkedIn profile, also claimed to have helped the BJP during the general elections of 2014 to achieve the target of 272+ by managing call centre management project, thereby managing the profile of each and every volunteer as well as the constituency-wise database.

The Indian arm OBI led by Amrish Tyagi in India, son of a senior political leader of JDU, an NDA alliance, calls BJP, Congress, JDU and the ICICI bank among its clients. Reportedly, the Congress had reached out to Cambridge Analytica for its reputation building solutions.

In the aftermath of the recent blowout, privacy advocates in India raised concerns that a similar breach could happen here to target voter opinion. At the same time, Union Information Technology Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad issued a warning against any abuse of social media in elections in India.

India’s general elections are due in 2019. There are already several states electing new assemblies this year. Prasad told reporters at the time, “Abuse of social media including Facebook cannot be allowed to impact the fairness of elections.”

On its part, in light of the recent data breaches and concerns regarding data security on Facebook, the Election Commission gave assurance that care will be taken to avoid any kind of data breach. “Social media is a reality and the EC will take all precautions at its command, to prevent episodes which adversely affect Indian elections,” OP Rawat, India’s Chief Election Commissioner proclaimed.

Facebook Rolls Out New Security Settings

Amidst all this, Facebook has announced that it will make it easier for users to alter their privacy settings and even delete data they might have unknowingly shared with the social media platform.

Post the rollout, Facebook users will be able to change their privacy and security settings from a single page, rather than having to go to multiple pages.

Speaking on the development, Erin Egan, Vice President and Chief Privacy Officer, Policy said in a statement, “The last week showed how much more work we need to do to enforce our policies, and to help people understand how Facebook works and the choices they have over their data.”

“So in addition to Mark’s announcements last week – cracking down on abuse of the Facebook platform, strengthening our policies, and making it easier for people to revoke apps’ ability to use your data – we’re taking additional steps in the coming weeks to put people in more control over their privacy. Most of these updates have been in the works for some time, but the events of the past several days underscore their importance,” Egan added.

However, Facebook users will still not be able to delete data that they shared, in the past, with third-party apps on the platform.

As digital transactions and Internet penetration in the country increases, it is but inevitable that more such issues around privacy and security of information will spring up. Whether the government takes heed of the concerns that have come to light as a result of the recent Facebook data breach, remains to be seen.

The post Indian Government Writes Letter To Facebook Seeking Details Of The Recent Data Breach appeared first on Inc42 Media.

One of the most dominant stakeholders of the startup ecosystem globally, SoftBank has been facing what appears to be an in-house war and campaign for the promotion and demotion of favourites and disliked ones in the SoftBank Group board.

Amid news over how Kremlin, Russia campaigned to support Trump’s presidency and how Cambridge Analytica misused Facebook data and ran campaigns, the binoculars now seems to be focussing on other countries and how the data can be manipulated to sway people’s mind in favour of certain candidates in India, Ghana, Kenya, Brazil and many other countries. SoftBank has now appointed a special committee to investigate the smear campaign against its former President Nikesh Arora and current Chief Strategy Officer Alok Sama.

Confirming the development, a SoftBank spokesperson stated that a special committee of the SoftBank Group board of Directors is investigating these matters. While the SoftBank board has already thoroughly investigated claims against Nikesh Arora and Alok Sama and found them to be baseless, it will now investigate the sources of unsubstantiated attacks on SoftBank and its executives and remain committed to protecting the interests and reputation of SoftBank.

A Smear Campaign That Targeted To Oust Nikesh Arora From the Board

According to an investigative story by WSJ, the campaign, which involved public shareholder letters, complaints with the US SEC and media leaks targeted Nikesh Arora, a one-time heir apparent to SoftBank Chief Executive Masayoshi Son, and Alok Sama, the company’s current chief strategy officer. The purported campaign that lasted from 2015 to 2017 had its India connections as well.

By late 2011, SoftBank had invested some $200 Mn directly in an ad network startup InMobi and it remained so, as a solo investment for the next 2-3 years. However, in 2015, once Nikesh Arora, a former Google Executive came on board, SoftBank’s investments in India grew by manifolds to $2 Bn. As a deal cracker, he led investments of worth $627 Mn in Snapdeal and $210 Mn in a cab-hailing service Ola. He extended the company’s portfolio to four more companies: Housing.com, budget-stay aggregator OYO and on-demand grocery delivery service Grofers.

After Nikesh took charge of SoftBank, the Group that was so far concentrating mostly on big investments such as buying Vodafone Japan at $15 bn or Sprint at $20 Bn witnessed a sudden shift in investments in terms of markets and verticals.

As SoftBank’s President, Nikesh also became one of the world’s highest-paid executives.

In spite of all the criticism, Masayoshi Son appeared to be on the same page with Nikesh in exploring new markets and verticals such as those that are existing in India. However, someone else in the board apparently was either not on the same page or saw a mischievous opportunity in this design of thinking.

The same WSJ report claims that Alessandro Benedetti, an Italian investor and CEO of Italy-based SAE Capital – the mastermind behind the campaign – started convincing other board members that it was a great mistake and risk to invest in the Indian market. By then, there were also some media-leaks pertaining to Nikesh’s personal finances.

As per the report, insiders of the campaign informed that Alessandro was, in fact, working to make way for another SoftBank Insider.

Nikesh was perhaps ahead of his time, and his decisions pertaining to the India investments didn’t go well, at least in the short term.

As part of Nikesh’s India drive, except InMobi, other investments turned risky. Coupled with that, the letters from the shareholder and demand to oust him then triggered Nikesh to quit the post of SoftBank President. SoftBank, in fact, set an internal inquiry against both Arora and Sama, which later gave a clean chit to both the men.  An anonymous complaint was also filed with India’s Enforcement Directorate. However, the Indian ED didn’t take the matter further.

The India investments getting murkier wasn’t the only headache for Nikesh. In 2015, Benedetti had also hired the London office of K2 Intelligence LLC to investigate Nikesh Arora’s involvements in sourced investments in Geek telecom TIM Hellas, escalating the matter further.

Both Nikesh and Alok have claimed that they have been victims of someone’s vicious campaigns. Not much later, Rajeev Misra who was introduced in the SoftBank Head of Strategic Finance in 2014 rose to head the SoftBank-led $100 Bn Vision Fund.

Son after taking back the steering into his hands actually didn’t write off Nikesh’s investment plans but bolstered them. SoftBank’s India investment has gone over to $6 Bn now, this includes the mega-investments of $1.4 Bn in Paytm and $2.5 Bn in Flipkart. Son has also promised to invest $6.5 Bn more in the next few years.

Why Investigate Now?

SoftBank is fighting on several fronts. While SoftBank’s Sprint merger with T Mobile in the US and Snapdeal’s merger with Flipkart in India fell apart; Flipkart, Paytm, and Ola along with Nvidia are a few investments where SoftBank is aggressively counting on.

Interestingly, barring Nvidia, these are the same companies locked by the former President of SoftBank Nikesh Arora for investments. However, they invited a huge criticism from SoftBank board back then. The recent failed multi-billion deals, despite Son’s best efforts, have put a question mark on Masayoshi Son’s reputed deal maker image.

Amid rising bank debts, SoftBank’s net profit has also plunged down by 87% for April-September 2017. However, the company managed to register 21% growth in operating profit owing to the Sprint-T Mobile merger talks. “Interest payments for the year ended March 2017 topped $4.1 Bn, up sevenfold in four years. That figure was one-fifth of debt-servicing costs for all of Japan’s listed companies combined, putting the company head and shoulders above second and third-place,” wrote Japan’s leading daily Nikkei Asia.

Unfazed by broken deals in 2017, SoftBank has set the tone for 2018 by winning Uber’s 15% stakes at its own terms.

At a time when it is also reportedly in the process of selling a major chunk of Flipkart shares to global retail giant Walmart, enriching its presence in China and relisting ARM Holdings, SoftBank understandably wants to ensure that the Boardroom environment is aligned in the same direction.

Further, Sama and Arora both have been repeatedly suspected of a foul play against them. In such a scenario when SoftBank’s internal investigation has already given a clean chit to these gentlemen, for Son, it is time to take upon himself the task of investigating what has been alleged against the duo.

This will also clear the speculated role of Rajeev Misra in this alleged smear campaign if there is any, which his lawyers have already termed null and void. The investigation is expected to highlight the ongoing fight between Misra and Sama.

It is worth noting that Sama has been prevented to further work for Vision Fund which is being headed by Rajeev Misra.

Unsurprisingly, thus, the investigation has been welcomed by Sama. His lawyer stated,  “We’re glad that the SoftBank Board has appointed a special investigative committee and hope that those involved in this nefarious scheme will be held fully accountable.”

Taking a queue from boardroom brawls at Tata, Birla and the Reliance in India to Procter & Gamble and General Electric, globally, Masayoshi Son wants to, therefore, avoid any possible future boardroom coup.

The post The SoftBank Conspiracy: Who Is Conspiring Against Group’s Ex-President Nikesh Arora And Its Current CSO Alok Sama? appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Reaffirming its commitment to the Indian startup ecosystem, global search giant Google has led Series C funding in O2O fashion ecommerce platform, Fynd.

Others who participated in the round include Fynd’s existing investors: Kae Capital, IIFL, Singularity Ventures, GrowX, Tracxn Labs, Venture Catalyst, Patni family office and HongKong based Axis Capital among other angel investors.

The company plans to use the funding to enhance the way it engages with consumers and retailers in a better way.

Commenting on the investment, Seema Rao, Head of Corporate Development – India, Google, said, “Fynd has built an impressive, tech-first platform that has tremendous potential to scale within and beyond fashion and India. Fynd’s unique store-driven commerce approach, without inventory or warehouses, gives it a unique position in the marketplace.”

Founded in 2012 by Farooq Adam, Harsh Shah, and Sreeraman MG as Shopsense Retail Technology Pvt. Ltd, and pivoted to Fynd in November 2015, the platform functions via an O2O model and directly sources products across various categories – including clothing, footwear, jewellery, and accessories, from prominent brands in the country. The startup optimises delivery time by sourcing products from the outlets nearest to the customer.

On the funding, Harsh Shah, co-founder, Fynd said, “Fynd is growing steadily and has managed to seal some exciting partnerships in the past few months. Our vision is to revolutionize the online and offline shopping experience across all channels and customer touch-points. We expect that the capital raised will help us further bolster our growth trajectory.”

In 2017 alone, the Mumbai-based startup raised about $3.4 Mn spread across three rounds. The startup also counts people like Anand Chandrasekaran (Global Director, Platform/Partnerships at Facebook), Rajiv Mehta (CEO of Arvind Sports Lifestyle Limited), and Ramakant Sharma (co-founder of Livspace) among its investors.

With more than 8K outlets onboard, the O2O fashion ecommerce startup has been working essentially to enable customers to discover fashion in real-time and know the exact specifications of the products available.

In May 2016, Fynd launched Fify– a fashion shopping “botfriend.” Fify is a conversational commerce bot for discovery and transactions. Following that, in December 2016, it launched a new feature called ‘Fynd Store’, that aimed to provide retailers an opportunity to increase sales through omnichannel user-engagement.

Google Betting High On Indian Startups

The investment round led in Fynd is the second such investment by Google in India.

Earlier, in December 2017, Chat-based hyperlocal services app Dunzo raised $12 Mn funding from Google. The deal was done under the search giant’s Next Billion Users (NBU) push.

So far, Google has been funding and mentoring the Indian startups majorly through its Launchpad Accelerator program. Earlier in February 2017, Google also revealed that it has begun exploratory talks with Indian startups to make direct investments and acquisitions.

As the Indian ecommerce segment bolsters its growth propositions, the Indian online fashion market was pegged at $3.7 Bn in 2017, wherein Flipkart, with its subsidiaries Myntra and Jabong, claims to hold a 70% share.

In the $33 Bn worth ecommerce segment, Fynd has got a major boost to enhance its activities and product portfolio with the latest funding led by Google.

The post Google Leads Series C Funding In O2O Fashion Ecommerce Startup Fynd appeared first on Inc42 Media.

The Sachin Tendulkar backed gaming company Smaaash has raised $6.17 Mn (INR 40.2 Cr) funding from 23 High Networth Individuals (HNIs).

As per the fillings available with the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, Smaaash Entertainment Private Limited allotted 1,06,05,350 preference shares of $0.15(INR 10) each at a premium of $0.43 (INR 27.92) each on March 23, 2018. The allotments have been made to Ravi Modi, founder of Manyavar; Lakshmi Narayanan, former vice chairman of Cognizant, and Vijaylaxmi Poddar of Balkrishna Industries amongst others.

An email query sent to the company didn’t elicit any reply till the time of publication.

Smaaash: Triumphing The Gaming World

In 2017 itself, the company raised $ 24.24 Mn in three separate rounds. On its November 2017 funding, the company’s post-money valuation was said to be more than $100 Mn (INR 640.5 Cr).

As per filings with the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA), Smaaash’s operating revenue nearly doubled to $16 Mn (INR 103.26 Cr) in FY17. During the said fiscal year, its losses also jumped by around 33% to $5 Mn (INR 32.8 Cr).

In 2012, film director and producer Shripal Morakhia established Smaaash as a gaming arcade operator with multiple digital entertainment centres for cricket, football, go-karting, bowling and other recreational activities.

The centres are currently situated in Mumbai, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Gurugram and Noida, in addition to locations in the US. Smaaash is co-owned by Sachin Tendulkar, who is also one of the investors in the venture.

The company has also gained a foothold with its acquisitions in the space. In August 2017, the gaming startup took over bowling company bluO Entertainment, as part of a $13.4 Mn (INR 86 Cr) all-cash deal.

Later in September, it acquired 100% stake in SVM Bowling & Gaming, which, in turn, enabled it to expand its reach across Hyderabad, Mysore, Madurai, Vijayawada, Mangaluru, and Pune.

Smaash’s Major Competitors In The Indian Landscape

Recognising the strength of synergy, Nazara Technologies Ltd. has acquired 55% stake in NODWIN Gaming, one of the leading Indian esports venture. With this investment, Nazara aimed to strengthen its portfolio of offerings in the virtual interactive sports genre in India and other emerging markets. Post acquisition, NODWIN became an independent subsidiary of Nazara.

Prior to that, in December 2017, investor Rakesh Jhunjhunwala acquired a minority stake in the company for approximately $27.99 Mn (INR 180 Cr). It followed $51.1 Mn funding round led by IIFL Special Opportunities Fund.

In November 2017, Passion Gaming, which owns and operates online gaming startup RummyPassion, raised $3.75 Mn funding in an all-cash deal from UK-based Stride Gaming.

Other active startups in the space are PlaySimple, Flixy Games, GameXS, RedMonsterGames and more.

Booming Indian Gaming Industry

As per data available, India accounts for around 13% of the world’s online mobile gaming population.

According to a report by Flurry Analytics, India currently ranks among the top five countries in the world for online and mobile gaming.

As per a Google KPMG report published in May 2017, the online gaming industry in India is estimated to be worth over $360 Mn. Poised to grow to $1 Bn by 2021, the industry will likely reach more than 310 Mn gamers around the country by then.

With the ever growing stronger war chests with various fundings, all the eyes are on the gaming industry in India and Smaaash continues to give high hopes to the gaming world.

The post Gaming Startup Smaaash Raises $6.17 Mn Funding From HNIs appeared first on Inc42 Media.

“The march of technology cannot be at the expense of further increasing the difference between societies over access to technology. The evolution of technology has to be rooted in the ethic of ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikaas’.”

PM Narendra Modi made this statement during a press conference earlier this year, urging the Indian startup ecosystem stakeholders, teachers, and students to build artificial intelligence solutions that are ‘Made to work for India’. He further believes that AI can be utilised to eradicate poverty and disease, and by doing so, prosperity can be brought to the poor and underprivileged sections.

Although in comparison to its global counterparts, India is a bit late to the AI party, the energy and enthusiasm of the Indian government is at its peak. Right after allocating $480 Mn to the development of 5th generation technologies like artificial intelligence, machine learning (ML), Internet of Things (IoT), 3D printing and blockchain, the government has now geared up to formulate guidelines and policies for the AI utilisation in the different industries.

As a first step towards streamlining the artificial intelligence utilisation in the country, the Task Force constituted by Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government of India has recently released its report on the adoption of AI in India. The report has suggested building an AI policy with a five-year mission with a targeted investment corpus of $184 Mn (INR 1200 Cr) spread across the different initiatives under various government departments.

The Task Force has been established with members from varied administrative and professional backgrounds. In addition, a website has also been created to solicit public opinions on various issues pertaining to AI.

Here Are A Few Key Highlights Of The AI Task Force Report

• 10 areas where artificial intelligence utilisation can add significant value to the existing processes and boost productivity include Manufacturing, Fintech, Healthcare, agriculture/ food processing, retail/ customer engagement, Aid for Differently Abled/Accessibility Technology, public utility services, education and national security.
• The most important challenge in India is to collect, validate, standardize, correlate, archive and distribute AI-relevant data and make it accessible to organizations, people and systems without compromising privacy and ethics.
• The four grand challenges for artificial intelligence  incorporation in India are improving manufacturing, especially in the SME (small and medium-sized enterprises) sector; improving healthcare quality; improving agriculture yields; and improving delivery of public services.
• Strong IP mechanisms are required to encourage and protect innovations in AI
• Government policies to be framed around corporate stakeholders, educational and legal institutions,
• Data is the fuel that powers artificial intelligence and there is a need for creating ecosystems that could encourage the free flow of data and information.
• AI may in fact be essential to retaining the competitive edge in many areas of manufacturing and services, thus preventing the future loss of jobs.

“These are the areas where the Indian government must focus to play a prominent role. If implemented well, these guidelines pertaining to different sectors can certainly lead to an improved quality of life for the Indian citizens as well as generate employment and growth,” states the Task Force Report.

Big Organisations + AI Startups: Creating Universalisation In India

The report quotes that India has a stack of 750+ startups actively working in the space of AI, ML, Big Data and Cloud Analytics.

Some of the promising Indian AI startups included in the report are:

• Ruuh: It is an AI-based social media chatbox working with handloom weavers.
• ChironX.AI: It is working with hospitals and charity organisations to deliver AI-based solutions for early detection of diseases
• Avanijal: It offers an irrigation system which monitors and controls irrigation by combining user input and actual on ground conditions
• GRobomac: Green Robot Machinery Private Ltd. is working to mechanise tasks by building smart machinery using 3D vision technology and robotics
• BYJU’S: A recently turned unicorn, this startup is using feedback driven learning mechanism powered by machine learning to augment K-12 education

The Task Force report further notes that big companies collaborating with startups is proving to be a successful strategy for universalisation in India.

For instance, Bengaluru-based Niki.ai is one prominent startup working with several organisations such as Paytm, Ola, Uber. The startup, through its chatbot SDK, leverages the technology of natural language processing and machine learning to converse with the customers over a chat interface, to shop for products and services. Niki currently supports over 20 categories including entertainment, travel, daily utilities, with partners such as BookMyShow, Redbus, OYO, Ola, Uber, JustRechargeIt, HDFC, among others.

Another startup is Flutura, whose clientele include Henkel, Hitachi, GTT, Stewart & Stevenson and Sodexo, etc. Uncanny Vision, Active.ai, and FORMCEPT, Arya.ai, Boxx.ai, Cuddle.ai, Embibe, Edge Networks, Haptik, Zenatix, Tricog amongst others are also adding value to different industries in India.

Other Government Initiatives In Pipeline To Promote AI Adoption In India

So far, the Indian government think tank NITI Aayog has already organised two international hackathons on artificial intelligence, and has also initiated a national case competition to explore the application of artificial intelligence in the field of agritech.

During the Budget 2018 session, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley announced that the government will be investing extensively in research, training and skill development in robotics, artificial intelligence, digital manufacturing, Big Data intelligence and Quantum communications, among others.

As an added boost to the country’s fledgeling AI sector, Jaitley announced that the government-run think tank NITI Aayog will be launching a national programme, aimed towards facilitating research in artificial intelligence-related areas. Furthermore, the programme will be focussing towards developing new applications of the AI technology.

As Atul Rai, co-founder and CEO of Staqu, shared with Inc42 in an earlier interaction, “With NITI Aayog to establish a national programme for artificial intelligence, we look forward to supporting the nation with R&D and more programmes like ABHED which is already assisting the Police forces with AI capabilities.”

The task Force report further suggested a few key areas where government intervention can create a smooth road for the artificial intelligence adoption at scale in the country. This includes:

• Establishing a network of alliances among Academia, Services Industry, Product industry, startups,  and government ministries
• Funding national level studies to identify concrete projects in each domain of focus, particularly social issues such as cataract detection by mass screening, aided by an AI-based diagnostic tool
• Establishing National AI Challenge funds
• Organise AI yatras to spread AI awareness
• Convene talent conferences (Hack-a-mela) for promotion and identification of AI-enables solutions to solve social and mass issues
• Establishing a generic AI test bed for verification and validation of key performance indicators  of different AI-based products and technologies

Editor’s Note

Artificial intelligence has been considered to add $957 Bn to the Indian economy, according to an Accenture report. Further, as per Inc42 DataLabs Funding report 2017, in the last four years, about $456 Mn has been invested across 137 deeptech deals. However, the average ticket size for deeptech startups has fallen from $8.07 Mn in 2016 to $2.7 Mn in 2017 which is a significant drop of 66%.

From time to time, the Indian tech companies have indicated that the Indian B2B consumers are not mature enough in comparison to their western counterparts. This has forced many early-stage tech companies to scout for their target market outside India. However, as the Indian organisations, catering to the needs of the Indian citizens at a mass level, in segments such as banking, healthcare, manufacturing have shown readiness to adopt AI skills in their day to day processing, the scenario is expected to take a 360 degree turn.

With the Indian government’s recent push towards the adoption of AI, certainly, the sector will get heated up further. But unless the suggested guidelines are implemented and executed with the proper measure, the road will stay long for the Indian ministry to raise its flag on the global charts.

Also, despite having laid down the specific guidelines, AI can’t be pushed alone; but needs an ecosystem to rise. This includes ML, data derivability, big data analytics and IoT. A slight mistake at the early stage i.e. at ML part can lead to a much bigger mistake in AI. With telecom and internet revolution in India, while the ML has been strengthened by manifolds, the question that comes is that is the ecosystem ready with other parts such as explainability and derivability of the data accumulated to enter the AI part?

The post Indian Government Gears Up To Make AI Work For India appeared first on Inc42 Media.

This week, a special task force constituted by government-run think tank NITI Aayog has proposed the removal of all permit requirements for electric vehicles. Created to offer suggestions on clean transportation, the task force has argued that electric vehicles are largely environment-friendly and should, therefore, be promoted more actively by the government.

As a further step to promoting the adoption of electric vehicles in the country, the Indian government is reportedly planning to extend financial support of up to $1.3 Bn (INR 8,730 Cr) under the second phase of FAME India.

In a similar move, the central government is gearing up to offer incentives to local battery makers, with the aim of facilitating the establishment of more manufacturing units in the country.

As a testament to the growing interest in the Indian EV market, a number of global companies – including Kia Motors and China’s BYD – have expressed interest in participating in the government’s tender for electric vehicles.

Coming to international news, Google parent Alphabet-owned autonomous car company Waymo has joined hands with Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) to develop a luxury, self-driving electric car. The vehicle will be utilised for a ride-hailing service operated by Waymo, reports have claimed.

Given that so much has been happening in the country’s electric vehicle sector, we bring to you the 18th edition of the weekly EV roundups.

NITI Aayog Urges Govt. To Remove All Permit Requirements On EVs

A special task force constituted by government-run think tank NITI Aayog has proposed the removal of all permit requirements for electric vehicles. Created to offer suggestions on clean transportation, the task force has argued that electric vehicles are largely environment-friendly and should, therefore, be promoted more actively by the government.

Furthermore, renewing permits on a yearly basis is not only costly but also time-consuming, stated the task force in a report jointly created by NITI Aayog and the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII). “It would require a change in existing permit regime, at national and state level. Safety issues will need deliberation such that they do not impede the success of such intervention,” it added.

In the report, the newly-constituted task force also advocated a long-term vision for intra-city electric buses. The country’s growing two-wheeler and three-wheeler market represents a huge opportunity for the adoption of EV technologies, according to the special committee. In this segment, the Indian government should encourage a large-scale integration of such solutions.

Nissan May Set Up A Digital Hub In Kerala

Japanese automotive major Nissan might set up a digital hub in Kerala. A Nissan delegation led by Corporate Vice-President and Chief Information Officer Tony Thomas recently met state officials to explore further possibilities around the deal. If realised, the facility will be set up in Kerala’s IT park, TechnoPark.

As per reports, the digital hub will basically work as an R&D centre for the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi alliance, as part of the Franco-Japanese strategic partnership. The facility will be a host to a team of engineers and scientists working to create innovations in automated and electronic vehicles space.

The digital hub is further expected to create 300 to 500 high-end jobs in the first phase. Apart from Kerala, Nissan is also considering other cities such as Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai, Pune, Bhubaneswar and Warangal to start its facility.

In a related news, the automobile manufacturer has announced that it aims to sell 1 Mn electric vehicles annually, starting from 2022. The focus, as per Nissan’s spokesperson, will be on low-emissions all-battery and gasoline-hybrid cars, instead of more expensive EV technologies such as plug-in hybrids.

China-Based BYD Might Bid On Indian Govt’s Second EV Tender

Chinese EV maker BYD might bid on the Indian government’s second tender for 10,000 electric cars, against homegrown giants like Mahindra and Mahindra and Tata Motors, sources have revealed.

The development comes less than a month after state-run Energy Efficiency Services Ltd (EESL) floated the second tender for the procurement of 10,000 electric sedans by the government.

Among those that participated in the pre-bid meeting were Tata Motors, Mahindra and Mahindra, Hyundai, Nissan and solar power developer ACME. BYD is yet to make the final decision, as per reports. Commenting on the development, a person in the know said, “BYD has also been looking at the EV tender, but they were missing from the pre-bid meet.”

On the matter, Saurabh Kumar, MD of EESL stated, “Carmakers like Hyundai and Kia Motors have been showcasing their electric vehicles at different occasions recently. I would assume they would take part in our second tender. We hope to get responses from more players this time.”

Hero MotoCorp Aggressively Pursuing EV Wave

Two-wheeler major Hero MotoCorp is preparing to make a strong foray into the country’s burgeoning EV market. The move is backed by an in-house R&D facility in Jaipur as well as a $31.4 Mn (INR 205 Cr) investment in Ather Energy.

According to sources close to the development, the company is looking to launch both electric scooters and motorcycles. Speaking on Hero MotoCorp’s plans, CMD Pawan Munjal said, “ We are definitely getting into electric mobility. We have invested in Ather Energy (30% stake) which will launch its brand and products in a matter of months. Hero Motocorp will also be developing electric motorcycles and scooters on its own which will be launched under our own brand and that R&D work is currently underway.”

“Hero Electric is a completely different part of the erstwhile larger Hero group and after the settlement, it is now an independent entity. Any company has the right to get into whatever business they think will work for them. So it is not an issue,” he added.

Mahindra And Ford Sign MoU To Build Small Electric Car

The country’s first electric vehicle manufacturer Mahindra and Mahindra has forged a partnership with American automotive giant Ford to jointly develop midsize and compact SUVs as well as a small electric vehicle.

To that end, the two companies have signed five MoUs, as a part of the strategic alliance forged in September 2017 to co-innovate. “Built on the Mahindra platform, the new SUV will drive engineering and commercial efficiencies and will be sold independently by both companies as separate brands,” the companies said in a statement.

On the development, Jim Farley, Ford Executive Vice President and President of Global Markets added, “Ford is committed to offering the best vehicles, technologies and services that fit the lifestyles and preferences of Indian consumers. Listening to our customers and incorporating their future needs is the core premise of this collaboration. With utility vehicles and electrification as key focus areas, we are glad to see the progress our two companies have made.”

Govt. To Extend Financial Support Worth $1.3 Bn Under FAME II

As a further step to promoting the adoption of electric vehicles in the country, the Indian government is reportedly planning to extend financial support of up to $1.3 Bn (INR 8,730 Cr) under the second phase of FAME India.

Spread over the course of five years, subsidies and incentives under FAME II will be limited to new energy vehicles for public transport, commercial purposes and high-speed two-wheelers. According to the Ministry of Heavy Industries, the central government has decided to adopt a “technology-agnostic” approach and will favour advanced chemistry batteries under Phase II of FAME.

Scheduled to be implemented from April 1, of the total $1.3 Bn financial support under FAME II, around $851.8 Mn (INR 5,550 Cr) will be kept as demand-side incentives over the next five years. Apart from that, it will earmark $383.6 Mn (INR 2,500 Cr) for electric buses and $153.4 Mn (INR 1,000 Cr) for four-wheelers.

Another $92 Mn (INR 600 Cr) will be used to offer incentives on high-speed two-wheelers, while high-speed three-wheeler manufacturers and owners will get $115.1 Mn (INR 750 Cr).

On the government’s decision to remove subsidies for lead-acid battery-powered two-wheelers, Hemalatha Annamalai, South Chapter Chief of SMEV said, “There has to be some financing options from the banks for the lead battery EV two-wheelers. Banks need to handhold the lower and middle-income class and act as an enabler.”

“Whilst subsidy may not be required for long-term, it may be required until the industry gets volume drivers, ending the subsidy under FAME will completely make it unaffordable as it will be very difficult to buy EV two-wheeler at their own, so financing through banks must be mandated quickly,” Annamalai added.

Govt. To Offer Incentives To Local Battery Manufacturers

In line with FAME II, the Indian government is gearing up to offer incentives to local battery makers, with the aim of facilitating the establishment of more manufacturing units in the country.

As per reports, Renewable Energy Minister R. K. Singh recently held talks with battery manufacturers, inviting them to set up manufacturing facilities in India. According to sources close to the development, the government is also looking to forge alliances with other countries for an adequate supply of raw materials needed for lithium-ion batteries.

“(Singh) exhorted the industry to set up battery manufacturing units in India as future demand was going to be very high with the government promoting e-vehicles in a big way,” the ministry stated.

Will Wait Until EV Infrastructure Is In Place In India: Mercedes-Benz

An adequate charging infrastructure is essential before German automotive giant Mercedes-Benz decides to enter the Indian EV space. As per reports, the company is currently evaluating the needs of Indian customers and is reportedly looking at multiple options, including different drivetrains or different body styles.

Commenting on the development, Daimler AG Member of Board of Management Britta Seeger said, “We are aware that India is strongly pushing into e-mobility by 2030. This is now something we have to take into consideration in order to see what could be the right product that fits the Indian market.”

Mercedes-Benz is part of the Daimler Group. “We need to observe to what extent the infrastructure is getting ready especially for E-mobility. And we see in other markets, that’s a key prerequisite in order to enter e-mobility,” Seeger added.

Kia Motors Might Participate In Indian Govt’s EV Tender

South Korea-based Kia Motors, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Hyundai Motor Corp, is planning to participate in the Indian government’s tender for electric vehicles, once its manufacturing unit becomes operational in the Anantapur district of Andhra Pradesh.

As part of its foray into the Indian market with a compact utility vehicle, called SP Concept, the company is aiming to launch an electric powertrain in India by 2021.

Commenting on the development, a company spokesperson said, “Kia Motors has the intent of introducing EVs in India and participate in the bids to supply these vehicles to the Union government as soon as the plant starts production. It will also depend on the kind of direction the government gives regarding specifications of the vehicles and the infrastructure available. Kia has technologies required for electrified vehicles like hybrids, plug-in hybrids and electric vehicles.”

Developments From Around The World

Waymo Teams Up With Jaguar Land Rover

Google parent Alphabet-owned autonomous car company Waymo has joined hands with Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) to develop a luxury, self-driving electric car. The vehicle will be utilised for a ride-hailing service operated by Waymo, reports have claimed.

According to sources close to the development, the duo will be working on a “premium self-driving electric vehicle” based on a new I-PACE model. Equipped with Waymo’s autonomous technology, the car will undergo testing, starting from late 2018.

If things go according to plan, around 20,000 I-PACE units will be manufactured within the first two years. Confirming the development, the Waymo team said, “This is just the beginning. The ultimate goal: with Waymo as the driver, products tailored for every purpose and every trip.”

Electric Vehicles To Get Cheaper Than Fossil Fuel Counterparts By 2025: Report

Electric vehicles might become cheaper than fossil fuel-based cars by 2025, provided the cost of lithium-ion batteries continues to fall, predicts a new report by Bloomberg New Energy Finance.

As per the report, some electric models may cost the same as combustion engine counterparts by 2024, and will likely become cheaper the following year. According to the study, for that to happen, battery pack prices will have to fall.

Over the next few years, the expected increase in the mass production of lithium-ion batteries could bring down the prices to around $70 a kilowatt hour by 2030, the report claims. Elaborating further, Colin McKerracher, Transport Analyst at BNEF said, “Electric vehicle sales will continue to ramp up in the coming years but battery prices still need to decline further for real mass market adoption. If battery material costs keep rising sharply this could push back the crossover point.”

BMW To Wait Until 2020 Before Mass Producing Electric Vehicles

German automotive giant BMW has announced that it will refrain from mass producing electric cars until 2020. The reason behind the move, as per the company’s CEO Harald Krueger, is that the technology is not profitable enough to scale up the production volume.

“We wanted to wait for the fifth generation to be much more cost competitive. We do not want to scale up with the fourth generation. If you want to win the race, you must be the most cost competitive in the segment, otherwise you cannot scale up the volume,” Harald explained.

The electric vehicles (EV) market is expected to record double-digit growth rates with rise in sales volume annually in India till 2020, according to ASSOCHAM-EY joint study.

The study titled ‘Electric mobility in India: Leveraging collaboration and nascency’, further said that despite electric vehicles not being mainstream, stricter emission norms, reducing battery prices and increasing consumer awareness are driving EV adoption in India.

As per the study, at present, electric vehicle industry is at a nascent stage comprising 1% of the total vehicle sales and is dominated by two-wheelers (95%). The study also suggests that EVs will be a stepping stone in designing an intelligent transport infrastructure in India.

In the light of the government’s decision to extend financial support on electric vehicles under FAME II, the industry could receive a major boost and could, in turn, facilitate India’s transition into an all-electric car nation.

Stay tuned for the next edition of our weekly series of Electric Vehicles Roundup!

The post Electric Vehicles This Week: Govt. To Extend $1.3 Bn Fund Support To EVs Under FAME II appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Nandan Nilekani and Sanjeev Aggarwal owned Fundamentum has raised an initial investment of $20 Mn from CDPQ, a Canada-based institutional investor, for its first growth fund  “Fundamentum Partnership – Fund I”.

With a targeted corpus of approximately $100 Mn, Fundamentum Partnership – Fund I is expected to invest an average of up to $15 Mn in select startups. It will focus on investments in consumer and enterprise technology businesses across retail, logistics, travel and outsourcing. Fundamentum will combine financial and intellectual capital to scale these businesses.

Commenting on the investment, Nandan Nilekani, Cofounder, Fundamentum said “We are pleased to welcome CDPQ to the Fundamentum platform. We will greatly benefit from CDPQ’s knowledge of global trends and deep investment expertise. Both Fundamentum and CDPQ are bullish about the opportunity to build a host of large and enduring world-class organisations out of India, in the next decade and beyond.”

The investment in Fundamentum’s first growth fund (Series B) is a new strategic investment for CDPQ, enabling it to diversify its activities in India. Beyond this, CDPQ will also explore direct investments in Fundamentum’s portfolio companies.

On the development, Michael Sabia, President and CEO, CDPQ said “The Fundamentum management team has a remarkable track record in the technology sector. By fostering long-term investments and acting as a mentor to companies, the team provides an entrepreneurial approach that is fully aligned with that of CDPQ. We view this as the beginning of a long‑term partnership leading to subsequent rounds of investment.”

Founded in July 2017, the Fundamentum Partnership aims to invest in consumer technology businesses, particularly ventures that are solving unique Indian problems. In an official statement then, both co-founders Nandani Nilekani and Sanjeev Aggarwal were said to mentor startups as well.

Other names such as Stayglad co-founder Prateek Jain, serial entrepreneur Ashish Kumar, Sanjay Purohit who worked on the Tata Business Excellence Model as well as BigBasket’s HR Head TN Hari are part of the Fundamentum advisory team.

Other Venture Capital Firms In India

Recently, an early stage investment firm Fireside Ventures also closed its first fund with a corpus of $52.12 Mn (INR 340 Cr). The VC firm now aims to invest in 20-25 consumer brand businesses from this fund over the next two to three years.

Another Helion Venture Partner, MD Rahul Chandra floated a new venture capital fund called Unitary Helion. The new fund will focus on deals in the financial technology space.

However, US-headquartered VC firm Sequoia Capital slashed its sixth fund size and is looking to raise $650 Mn-$700 Mn for its sixth India Fund.

Some of the other venture capital firms operating in India include homegrown Nexus Venture Partners, Accel Partners, Blume Ventures, Matrix Partners, Kalaari Capital and Lightspeed Venture Partners, among others.

With the increasing focus and investments in the Indian startup ecosystem, the startups that  Fundamentum Partnership decides to invest in with the latest investment of CDPQ in its growth fund is something to look forward to.

The post CDPQ Invests $20 Mn In Nandan Nilekani Led Growth Fund Fundamentum Partnership appeared first on Inc42 Media.

A self-driving Uber car fatally crashed into a pedestrian in Tempe, Ariz., last week, tragically illustrating the fears that some of us have long held about the dangers of these technologies. The woman appeared from a darkened area onto a road, and the police said the accident would have been hard to avoid even with a human driver behind the wheel.

Yet this is not the way it was supposed to be: Autonomous cars were supposed to be better than humans in exactly such situations.

The lidar, radar, and cameras that self-driving cars employ are designed to have an advanced vision, and their computers have the ability to make instantaneous decisions. Yet the crash suggests that the technology may not be ready for prime time. The race among technology companies to be the first to put these cars on the road is having fatal consequences.

Uber’s self-driving vehicle system appeared to have several flaws, according to my colleague Raj Rajkumar, who heads Carnegie Mellon University’s self-driving laboratory. As he explained in an email,

“What we saw on the video indicates several trouble spots with the Uber approach, design and software capabilities. There is a serious mismatch between its sensor configuration and actual usage contexts. For example, even though Uber’s self-driving vehicle has multiple cameras, their usefulness at night time is extremely limited at best and add no value during those dark hours when they do operate the vehicles.”

Rajkumar also didn’t let the operator off the hook. “The operator’s role is to act as the safety backup — when the technology fails, (s)he is required to step in. The operator, in this case, was distracted for a shockingly long duration of time, which culminated in the death of the pedestrian,” he wrote.

The reality is that self-driving cars are far from being able to coexist with humans on local roads. Both sides are learning. It is one thing for a human to put the car into autopilot on a highway and another to navigate city streets onto which adults, children, and animals may suddenly wander. Autonomous cars need to be relegated to special tracks and highways for at least two or three more years, till they can deal with such contingencies.

To be clear, I am not an opponent of the technology. I own a Tesla Model S and am comfortable with letting the car take control of the wheel on highways — despite the Tesla crash that occurred in 2016. But using autopilot on local roads is as dangerous as using cruise control on local roads: You just shouldn’t do it.

Toyota did the wise thing by halting testing of its autonomous cars on local roads. All other makers of autonomous cars need to do the same. Or governments may need to call the race off by declaring a moratorium until the vehicles to be road-tested demonstrate certain minimum capabilities.

Self-driving cars may bring profound improvements in our lives and slash accident and fatality rates, saving millions of lives. They could reduce the need for ownership because we would be able to share them, and they could deliver incontrovertible social benefits, offering the disabled on-demand personal drivers. People living in the country could finally gain access to transportation services that put them nearly on par with their city cousins. Crossing or walking next to roads may cease to be a high-risk activity.

And, eventually, these autonomous systems could replace humans at the steering wheel, just as horseless carriages replaced the horses. But injudiciously rushing into autonomous driving will lead to unnecessary accidents, justifying calls to outlaw it and halting the progress of the technology. It is better to proceed cautiously with it and ensure that the rewards outweigh the risks.

[This post by Vivek Wadhwa first appeared on Wadhwa.com and has been reproduced with permission.]

The post Why It May Be Time To Put Self-Driving Cars In The Slow Lane appeared first on Inc42 Media.

The battle for market share between companies today is a particularly high stake one, and its outcome will depend largely on which organisations have the best talent. Having skilled employees can not only drive productivity and help organisations in navigating extant business challenges, but also pave the way for future growth. The importance of acquiring quality talent and retaining it in the long-term, however, is something that most companies often overlook.

In today’s digital age, the skills required of candidates are vastly different from what the benchmark was five years ago, especially in fast-growing sectors like IT and finance. Traditional recruitment methods can no longer help HR managers and recruiters accurately assess a candidate’s technical skills.

What they need, in such a scenario, is to make the hiring process more efficient through engaging recruitment tests and assessments.

Game on: Why Gamification Is The Future Of Hiring

Gamified recruitment assessment software offers a highly accurate analysis of a candidate’s overall personality by incorporating psychometrics and machine learning.

Game-based recruitment solutions can help organisations assess a candidate’s various mental and intellectual capabilities such as problem-solving skills, critical thinking, verbal communication skills, etc. These solutions aid recruiters in understanding a candidate’s strengths and weaknesses through scientific methods, rather than gauging them from what is presented on a resume.

Candidates also benefit from such methodologies, as they are allowed to be their authentic selves and can easily apply the skills and qualities they possess to practical situations.

Hiring good coders, for instance, is quite difficult, a fact many recruiters would confirm. According to a report by Deloitte, 85% of the candidates applying for the position of a developer drop out during the recruitment process and only 3% end up getting hired. Consequently, many companies end up spending huge sums of money trying to hire candidates that are not fit for the job role.

Recruitment and assessment tools can help eliminate the limitations faced by hiring managers in this regard by assessing whether the candidate has the right skills for coding jobs. Moreover, those companies who find it difficult to reach candidates through traditional channels can conveniently ask them to log into web or mobile applications. By subjecting each candidate to a comprehensive game-based assessment, they can handpick candidates with the best scores and shortlist them for interviews.

Hackathons are also an engaging and effective way for tech companies to get several potential candidates under one roof and find the best from among them. Google, for instance, has been organising Google Code Jam, an international programming and software-writing competition, for the past 15 years as a means to identify, and subsequently hire, top engineering talent. Coding simulations and hackathons have proven to be quite effective, even for companies that are not Google, in finding the right talent and approaching them to fill open job roles.

While these methods can help companies project themselves as new-age employers among young candidates, they can also substantially reduce the capital and time they spent on traditional recruitment campaigns.

Companies today possess immense opportunity to build a robust and skilled team of employees that can enhance efficiency and productivity, as well as drive long-term, sustainable growth in the market. As most companies today are targeting millennials to fill various job roles, they need to speak the same language as this highly technology-savvy demographic.

The recruitment strategies that employers use should, therefore, be agile and technology-driven in order to motivate and attract talented candidates, and gamification could be just the “game-changer” the industry has been looking for.

The post Playing To A Digital Gallery: How Gamifying The Recruitment Process Can Help Companies Hire The Best Technical Talent appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Mumbai-headquartered online ticketing platform BookMyShow reported a 27% jump in operational revenues to $46.2 Mn (INR 300.6 Cr) in FY17, from $36.2 Mn (INR 236 Cr) in the fiscal before that.

As per its filings with Registrar of Companies accessed by Inc42, the company’s business in India alone generated over $46 Mn (INR 299.5 Cr) in operational revenues during the last financial year.

The documents further revealed that, while BookMyShow’s online ticket booking arm clocked a 30% surge in terms of value from $27.1 Mn (INR 176.7 Cr) in FY16 to $35.3 Mn (INR 230 Cr) in FY17, the growth rate was nearly half of that registered in the year-ago period.

At present, movie ticketing accounts for around 60%-65% of the platform’s overall ticketing revenues.

During the fiscal year ending in March 2017, the company’s total expenses nearly doubled $38.1 Mn (INR 248 Cr) in FY16 to $72.7 Mn (INR 473 Cr). This, as per its regulatory filings, came on the back of a four-fold increase in BookMyShow’s advertising expenses, which reached $22.5 Mn (INR 146.5 Cr) in FY18 compared to $4.6 Mn (INR 30 Cr) in the year-ago period.

Consequently, its losses increased by 138 times, touching $21.4 Mn (INR 139 Cr) in the last fiscal, as opposed to a mere $153.6K (INR 1 Cr) of net loss in the year ending in March 31, 2016.

In the document, BookMyShow stated, “In FY18, with the objective to further grow this category, expand the market size and increase penetration for online entertainment ticketing, BookMyShow made numerous strategic and long-term investments in new and existing businesses and territories.”

“These investments, which have already started to yield results, are in line with our sound business strategy and vital for the overall development of the ecosystem we operate in,” the online ticketing company’s RoC filings further read.

BookMyShow Growth Story: 2007 To Present

BookMyShow was founded in Mumbai in 1999 and officially launched in 2007. It is currently present in over 650 towns and cities across 4,500 screens. In 2012, Accel Partners invested $18 Mn in the company. BookMyShow later raised $25 Mn in 2014 in a round led by SAIF Partners that also saw participation from existing investors Accel and Network 18.

In one of the largest fundraises of 2016, BookMyShow raked in $80 Mn from US-based Stripes Group with participation from existing investors such as Network18, Accel Partners, and SAIF Partners.

The company then rolled out a brand-new version of its Android app  v5.0.7, simplified the interface and caters to users in regional languages such as Tamil, Telugu, Hindi, and Kannada besides the default English language option.

This rollout was followed by the acquisition of MastiTickets in January 2017. MastiTickets has a strong presence in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, a new region BMS was looking to tap into at the point.

Less than a month later, the online ticketing platform acquired a majority stake in Townscript, a DIY event registration and ticketing portal. This move was focussed on strengthening its ticketing requirements of small and medium events such as workshops, marathons, trips, college festivals etc.

In the meantime, BookMyShow also launched Jukebox in June 2017. According to the website, users can choose from a catalogue and avail of free song downloads every time they book movie tickets.

BookMyShow made its third acquisition in July 2017, taking over Mumbai-based local food and recommendation engine Burrp. nFusion marked the online ticketing platform’s fourth acquisition in 2017, making for an extremely aggressive strategy that is far removed from its core basics of just booking tickets and movies.

In September last year, WhatsApp announced the launch of WhatsApp for Business in collaboration with BookMyShow. As part of the new programme, users who book tickets on BookMyShow will now receive a message on WhatsApp with the confirmation text or an M-ticket (mobile ticket) QR Code, along with an email.

A month later, in October 2017, homegrown ecommerce unicorn Flipkart was reportedly looking to forge a strategic partnership with online ticketing platform, BookMyShow. If the deal had gone through, Flipkart would have acquired minority stake in the online ticketing platform, thereby raising the latter’s valuation to $500 Mn-$700 Mn.

Towards the beginning of this year, reports surfaced that BookMyShow was in the final stages of raising $50 Mn–$60 Mn funding from private equity firm TPG Growth. If the deal materialises, TPG will gain a 10% stake in the company.

Most recently, in the fourth week of January, following in the footsteps of PayU, the online ticketing firm announced that it was planning to discontinue its wallet service, MyWallet, by the end of February. BookMyShow’s decision to shut down its wallet was likely triggered by the RBI’s introduction of stricter guidelines on the issuance and operation of Prepaid Payment Instruments (PPIs), including mobile wallets.

What Online Ticketing Competitors Are Up To

In the online ticketing segment, BookMyShow faces stiff competition from digital payments giant Paytm. Recently, in the month of February, Paytm claimed to have achieved 5x growth in online ticket sale in 2017 as it sold 52 Mn movie and events tickets.

As claimed by Madhur Deora, Chief Financial Officer and SVP at Paytm, the company currently contributes 25%-30% towards the opening weekend box office collection of major movies. Regional movies contribute 35% of their overall sales.

It now aims to sell over 100 Mn tickets by the end of this year, and is working towards bringing onboard more regional theatres with single and multi-screens to provide them with the online exposure.

Paytm entered the segment back in March 2016 in partnership with PVR. In a short span, Paytm has scaled its presence to 660 cities, a bit ahead of  BookMyShow which is currently operational in 650 cities and towns.

However, it must be noted that while Paytm’s dominance is largely present in tier II towns and beyond, BookMyShow leads the race in metros with an average ticket size of around $3.8 (INR 250).

Recently, reports surfaced that ecommerce giant Flipkart was looking to enter the movie ticketing market. The company had earlier attempted to make a foray into the online ticketing segment with a proposed minority investment in BookMyShow, which didn’t materialise in the end.

How the entry of Flipkart will affect the market, which is already seeing increasing competition between Paytm and BookMyShow, will be interesting to watch.

The post While Paytm Clocked 5x Growth In Online Ticket Sale in FY17, BookMyShow Saw Its Losses Widen 138 Times appeared first on Inc42 Media.