Caller identification app Truecaller has named Airtel veteran Seema Jindal as the head of public affairs, telecom in India.

In her new role, Jindal will work with government agencies like TRAI and DoT to aid Truecaller’s growth and compliance efforts, the company said in a statement.

“As the digital communication landscape evolves in India, my focus will be on ensuring that Truecaller remains at the forefront of regulatory compliance while continuing to build and strengthen partnerships with government bodies and industry stakeholders,” said Jindal. 

With over 25 years of experience across various roles in regulatory, interconnection and compliance, she was at the helm of Airtel in implementing regulations around telecommunication spam using digital ledger technology.

In her most recent position at Airtel, she served as the head of regulatory affairs for DLT, DTH, teleports, and VSAT, leading the implementation of a regulatory framework for telecommunication spam.

It is pertinent to note that India is Truecaller’s largest market and it contributed 74.2% of the Swedish caller identification platform’s total net sales in the first quarter of 2024 calendar year. 

India generated $29.2 Mn (INR 244.2 Cr) in revenue, an 8% increase year-on-year (YoY). 

The company’s net sales also grew 9% YoY in Africa and the Middle East, and 24% YoY in other regions. Overall, Truecaller’s revenue rose 10% YoY to $39.4 Mn (INR 329.3 Cr) from $35.7 Mn (INR 298.4 Cr) in the same quarter last year.

The growth comes as Truecaller expands its services in India, introducing an AI-powered call recording feature in February and launching Truecaller Assistant, an AI feature that supports Hindi, English, and Hinglish.

Last year, Truecaller acquired the Bengaluru-based TrustCheckr, which helps businesses verify customer information and detects the risk of fraud based on phone numbers and digital signals.

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Market intelligence platform Tracxn has expanded its employee stock option plan by allocating over 2.42 Lakh stock options to eligible employees. 

In an exchange filing, Tracxn said, “We wish to inform you that the nomination and remuneration committee of the company vide circular resolution dated October 05, 2024, has approved the allotment of 2,42,855 equity shares under TRACXN ESOP 2016 to the eligible grantees.”

Based on the stock’s closing price on Friday, the total value of these stock options stands at INR 2.09 Cr.

With the fresh allotment, the total paid-up equity share of the company has increased to over 10.49 Cr from 10.47 Cr. 

Notably, all these newly allotted stock options can be exercised within five years from the date of vesting of the options. 

The latest ESOP expansion follows its September allotment of 1.8 Lakh equity shares under its Employee Stock Option Plan 2016 (ESOP 2016) to eligible employees. Prior to that, the company allotted 99,707 equity shares under its ESOP plan in early August.

Tracxn began expanding its Employee Stock Option Plan (ESOP) pool in August 2023, when it allocated 99,707 equity shares to eligible employees under its ESOP 2016 plan. 

It made its debut on the bourses in October 2022 at the listing price of INR 83 on the BSE, a premium from the issue price of INR 80. 

Founded in 2013 by Abhishek Goyal and Neha Singh, both of whom have backgrounds in venture capital, Tracxn is a SaaS platform based in Bengaluru that specializes in providing market intelligence and data on private companies.

The development comes against the backdrop of a Bengaluru-based company reporting an 84.6% yearly jump in the June quarter (Q1) of the financial year 2024-25 (FY25). It posted a profit after tax (PAT) of INR 1.27 Cr in Q1 FY25, an 84.6% jump from INR 68.93 Lakh in the year-ago period. 

Its revenue from operations stood at INR 20.53 Cr in Q1 FY25, up 3.6% from INR 19.82 Cr in the corresponding quarter previous year.

 Shares of Tracxn were trading 2.96% low at INR 83.65 at 12:40 PM on the BSE.

The post Tracxn Expands ESOP Pool With Additional 2.42 Lakh Stock Options appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Listed drone startup DroneAcharya has joined hands with American Blast Systems (ABS) to expand its footprint into the US, UK and European markets. 

The MoU will focus on manufacturing and distributing drones across sectors such as defence, law enforcement, agriculture and logistics.

Under the partnership, both companies will co-design and co-develop drones in Los Angeles, with applications targeted at surveillance, security, and logistics.

“This partnership opens up a vast overseas market for DroneAcharya’s drone hardware and services. We see tremendous potential in this collaboration, which positions India at the forefront of the global drone industry,” said Prateek Srivastava, founder and managing director of DroneAcharya.

Founded in 2017, DroneAcharya provides drone solutions including multi-sensor surveys, pilot training, and data processing. 

The company went public in December 2022 at a listing price of INR 102 per share, a significant premium over the issue price of INR 54 apiece.

Financially, DroneAcharya has shown strong growth, with operating revenue increasing nearly 90% to INR 35.19 Cr in the financial year ending March 2024, up from INR 18.56 Cr in FY23. 

The company also reported a consolidated profit after tax (PAT) of INR 6.2 Cr in FY24, almost double the INR 3.42 Cr from the previous fiscal year.

In January, DroneAcharya secured a contract from the Indian Army to provide capacity building and advanced drone training at the Mechanised Army Courses Group in Ahmednagar. 

Earlier this year, the startup also received an order from the Adani Group to provide Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) certified drone pilot training, aimed at supporting drone operations for mapping, monitoring, and inspection across Adani Group’s diverse businesses in energy, infrastructure, logistics, resources, and agribusiness.

Notably, DroneAcharya expanded into the drone manufacturing and spacetech industries last year.

The post DroneAcharya Joins Hands With ABS To Expand Into Overseas Markets appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Chennai-based SaaS unicorn Zoho marked a significant milestone last year when it surpassed 100 Mn users across its suite of business applications. With this, it became the first Indian bootstrapped SaaS company to achieve this milestone. 

In an industry where startups often chase valuations over sustainable growth, Zoho has been focussed on prioritising operational and revenue growth over fancy valuations. The company’s operating revenue for the fiscal ending March 31, 2023, INR 8,703.6 Cr, up 30% YoY. 

Although North America was a key pillar of this growth, contributing nearly half of its total revenue, the company is now keenly focussed on boosting its presence in the Indian market.

For this, the company recently ventured into the payments space with the launch of Zoho Payments. 

Recently, Zoho also unveiled two new offerings:

• Vikra, an app aimed at simplifying the onboarding process for businesses participating in the Open Network for Digital Commerce, and
• Zoho IoT, a low-code platform empowering companies to develop custom IoT solutions. 

Besides, the founder expressed his vision to leverage India’s potential in the global supply chain, especially in power electronics.

Speaking with Inc42 on the sidelines of its annual event Zoholics, Vembu shared insights into the company’s vision for the future.

Here are the edited excerpts…

Inc42: Zoho recently made two announcements about entering new domains. Could you explain the reasoning behind these moves and how they fit into your overall strategy?

Sridhar Vembu: First is Vikra App, our solution for sellers on the ONDC (Open Network for Digital Commerce). The goal of ONDC is to reduce the cost of ecommerce transactions for both sellers and buyers, unlike other proprietary platforms that charge high commissions.

Through Vikra App, we are integrating Zoho Inventory, Books, Payments, and more into the ONDC ecosystem. We are starting with sellers, many of whom are already Zoho customers using our software for GST filing, so it’s a natural fit.

In addition, we are expanding our focus to include IoT. Zoho traditionally empowers people, organisations, processes, and collaboration. Now, we are focussing on physical assets like buildings, air conditioning systems, generators, factory machines, and moving vehicles. 

Our IoT is capable of integrating with our CRM, allowing vendors to monitor customer premises as part of their services. This push into IoT complements the Zoho ecosystem.

Inc42: Zoho’s portfolio now offers over 50 products, covering a wide range of business functions, from ecommerce to semiconductors. What key areas will you prioritise for future growth, especially in R&D?

Sridhar Vembu: Our goal is to bring critical technologies to India and create jobs for youth. We are investing in critical technology access for national interest, not just company interest. Our unique approach is fostering rural development through research and development. It’s a very mission-driven initiative.

Inc42: With AI becoming a key focus across industries, how is Zoho incorporating AI into its product suite? 

Sridhar Vembu: We are doing two things. First, we are developing smaller, context-specific models — like an AI writing assistant for document creation, tools for summarisation, customer churn prediction in CRM, or anomaly detection in IoT. These models are efficient, often running on CPUs without needing expensive GPUs. 

Then we have large language models (LLMs), where we are conducting R&D and also collaborating with major AI providers, integrating their APIs into our systems.

Lastly, we are focussing on AI for software development, aiming to make it more productive, though accuracy is still a challenge that we are working on.

Inc42: With the rise of AI, there’s been increased emphasis on data privacy. Zoho has always been vocal about keeping user data within the country of origin. How are you balancing the growing need for privacy and compliance with global data regulations while continuing to innovate? Are there any new measures or products you’re planning to introduce to address these concerns?

Sridhar Vembu: We are heavily investing in privacy, security, and compliance, especially given that governments are adopting stricter regulations like GDPR in Europe, privacy laws in India, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, and other countries. We are focussed not only on protecting our customer data but also on providing security software for our customers’ systems.

Additionally, we are exploring AI’s potential to detect threats early on, which ties into the concept of zero trust — a security model where no one, not even employees, is trusted by default. It’s an added layer of security, and we are investing in that.

Inc42: The SaaS segment is becoming more competitive, especially with the rise of AI. What are the key differentiators Zoho is focussing on to stay competitive? 

Sridhar Vembu: Our balance comes from deep investments in R&D, which is higher in percentage of revenue compared to companies like Salesforce, where a lot is spent on sales and marketing. This gives us a long-term edge. Take Slack, for example. They were acquired for $27 Bn, but now that ecosystem is losing momentum.

Meanwhile, our Zoho Cliq is growing strong because of continued R&D investment. That’s the edge — investing in R&D, not just competing on price.

Inc42: Last year, we saw Zoho decentralising its operations. Could you elaborate on the strategy behind this move, particularly establishing offices in rural India and beyond? What impact has this had on talent acquisition and innovation?

Sridhar Vembu: We are focussing on rural areas for two main reasons. First, there’s untapped talent in these regions. Second, it’s about rural development. I believe in fostering rural development through R&D. The skills and capabilities we create and nurture through these jobs are critical for rural growth.

This is also about decentralising development. We cannot afford to bring more people into our already crowded cities. For instance, we are here in Bengaluru, and we all know how bad the traffic situation is. From a national priority standpoint, it’s crucial to move these jobs to smaller towns and even villages.

Inc42: What kind of growth did you see in FY24? 

Sridhar Vembu: In FY24, we saw over 30% growth in customer count and 21% in revenue. As long as we remain profitable, we are not too concerned about profit growth in the short term. We are making necessary long-term investments in R&D, which will secure our future growth.

The post Zoho’s Competitive Edge Lies In Investing In R&D, Not Just Competing On Price: Sridhar Vembu appeared first on Inc42 Media.

SoftBank-backed B2B SaaS startup Whatfix has secured $125 Mn ( around INR 1,045 Cr) as a part of its Series E funding round led by Warburg Pincus, along with participation from existing backer SoftBank.

The latest round, which is a mix of primary and secondary deal, catapulted the startup’s valuation close to $900 Mn (around INR 7,524.4 Cr), a 50% jump from the earlier $600 Mn.

While Warburg Pincus infused $100 Mn into Whatfix, SoftBank invested $25 Mn via its Vision Fund 2. 

Whatfix plans to use the fresh proceeds to expand into new geographies, including Southeast Asia and the Middle East while also adding new products to its portfolio. 

Besides, the funds will enable Whatfix to enhance its integrated product suite through both organic growth and strategic acquisitions. 

Founded in 2013 by Khadim Batti and Vara Kumar, Whatfix earns revenue by selling subscriptions and professional services to other businesses. The digital adoption platform offers solutions for onboarding new customers, effective training and better support to users through contextual content display at the time of need.

Whatfix’s founder Bhatti told Inc42 that the company aims to break even in the next eight quarters without compromising on growth.

As per the company, $67 Mn and $58 Mn were made via primary and secondary investments.

Notably, Whatfix trimmed its net loss by 53% in FY23, bringing it down to INR 328.33 Cr on the back of a reduction in finance costs. 

Khadim added that for FY24, the startup reported a 45% increment in revenue from INR 284.74 Cr reported in FY23. 

In terms of subscription revenue, the founder revealed that the startup achieved an annual recurring revenue (ARR) of around 75 Mn. 

He further outlined that 50% of this revenue came from the newly launched products over the past three years which include products in the lines of mobile adoption, simulation and data analytics. 

Geographically, the US accounts for 67% of Whatfix’s revenue, while Europe contributes 27-28%. 

Khadim also noted that the company logged a net revenue retention (NRR) rate of 115% for the past three years, while the Average Revenue Per Account (ARPA) for the same period was 135%. 

Founded in 2013 by Khadim Batti and Vara Kumar, Whatfix earns revenue by selling subscriptions and professional services to other businesses. The digital adoption platform offers solutions for onboarding new customers, effective training and better support to users through contextual content display at the time of need.

In terms of its diversification in its product offerings, Khadim said, “In the past 3 years, we have grown from single product offering to multi-productsuite. From becoming a full stack adoption solution in the mobile, desktop and web, we added a data product line like product analytics and product insights while also adding a simulation product called Mirror”

The web and desktop adoption product lines were developed in-house, while the mobile adoption offering was included through the acquisition of mobile-first onboarding platform Leap in 2022.

The startup claims to offer its solutions to several Fortune 500 companies.

This funding round comes three years after Whatfix’s $90 Mn Series D round led by SoftBank Vision Fund 2 in 2021. 

Before that, the startup raised raised $32 Mn in Series C funding round led by Sequoia Capital India, Eight Roads Ventures, F-Prime Capital, and Cisco Investments. 

To date, the startup has raised over $265 Mn in funding. 

This funding comes at the heart of growing digital adoption in India due to huge smartphone penetration and affordable internet charges. As a result, enterprises are also doubling down on their digital adoption play to optimise their productivity. 

Whatfix claims to further enable digital adoption for these enterprises and it claims to have contributed to the industry by developing over 4,100 DAP experts since 2021.

As per a report by Fortune Business Insight, the global digital adoption platform market was valued at $702.0 Mn in 2023. The market is projected to be worth $943.6 Mn in 2024 and reach $3,660.4 Mn by 2032, exhibiting a CAGR of 18.5% during the forecast period.

The post Whatfix Inches Closer To Unicorn Status With $125 Mn Funding From Warburg Pincus, Others appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Continuing its spree of new launches, SaaS unicorn Zoho has launched two new offerings – Vikra and Zoho IoT.

While Vikra is a seller app that will facilitate onboarding of businesses on the state-backed Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC), Zoho IoT is a low-code platform that will allow companies to build and deploy custom IoT (Internet of Things) solutions.

In a statement on Wednesday (September 25), the company said that Vikra will offer a seller app on the government-backed ONDC and facilitate businesses with easy onboarding, setting up stores and making product catalogues on the network. 

Besides, it will also offer personalised solutions for managing operations, reconciling payment settlement from the ONDC network, and resolving customer disputes.

Built on Zoho’s finance and operations platform, the company said that Vikra can also be integrated with its other applications such as Zoho Books, Zoho Inventory and Zoho Commerce. The Chennai-based SaaS major said that users will be charged a seller app fee of 1% of the total transaction amount on every sale as part of its introductory offer.

“Vikra represents the kind of innovation that supports ONDC’s mission to make ecommerce accessible to all. By integrating such advanced solutions from Zoho, we are not just simplifying technology for businesses, we are also opening doors to a vast, inclusive digital economy,” said ONDC’s managing director and chief CEO T Koshy.

Meanwhile, the second new product Zoho IoT will allow customers to collect and manage IoT device data in real time, and leverage this information to gather insights and streamline operational analysis. 

“The platform’s (Zoho IoT’s) AI capabilities transform data into actionable insights, predict system outages, identify anomalies or forecast trends, optimise operations, and enhance customer experiences,” said a statement from Zoho. 

Zoho IoT will be chargeable at plans starting INR 2,940 for up to 25 devices and INR 29,940 for up to 500 devices. 

The launches come at a time when the Chennai-based company has been on a launch spree lately. Earlier in the day, CEO and founder Sridhar Vembu said that Zoho has applied for permissions to launch a semiconductor venture, adding that the matter was currently being evaluated by the authorities. 

Work on multiple aspects, like finalising the technology and various partners, is currently underway, he told reporters, adding that it is “too premature” to talk about details including the final location for the project.

Earlier this year, Zoho also rolled out a host of product offerings for its global enterprise customers, including revamped ‘Zoho CRM for Everyone’ to boost customer growth and improve their experience.

In February, the company rolled out Zakya, a new business division for retail business in India to offer a point-of-sale (PoS) solution for retail stores to streamline their day-to-day operations.

Zoho reported a 30% jump in its operating revenue to INR 8,703.6 Cr in the financial year 2022-23 (FY23) from INR 6,710.7 Cr in FY22. Meanwhile, net profit rose 3% to INR 2,836 Cr during the year under review as against INR 2,749 Cr in the previous fiscal year.

The post Zoho Joins ONDC With Seller App Vikra, Launches Low-Code Platform Zoho IoT appeared first on Inc42 Media.

HRtech startup Atomicwork has secured an additional $3 Mn (INR 25 Cr) in its seed funding round from more than 40 chief investment officers (CIOs), chief technology officers (CTOs), chief experience officers (CXOs) and a clutch of industry veterans.

This brings the startup’s total funding raised till date to $14 Mn. 

Among the host of investors include Tray.ai cofounder and CEO Rich Waldron, former ecosystem leader at Salesforce, ServiceNow and Google Cloud Avanish Sahai and Arun Penmetsa, partner at Storm Ventures.

The company said in a statement that the new funding will be deployed into investing more in AI-driven modern service management and to expand its go-to-market teams in the United States over the next three years.

Founded in 2022 by Kiran Darisi, Parsuram Vijayasankar and Vijay Rayapati, Atomicwork leverages AI to improve employee experience while simplifying the number of tools employees interact with every day.

Atomicwork operates atop collaboration tools such as Slack and Microsoft Teams, harnessing conversational intelligence to automate support, service delivery, and operational tasks at a large scale.

The company counts Blume Ventures, Z47 Partners, Neon Fund and Storm Ventures among its investors.

“The team has built a world-class product and this is further validated by this investment round by leading global CIOs and CXOs who want to be part of the Atomic journey. We are elated to continue supporting Atomicwork as they reimagine and build the modern service management platform of the future,” said Sanjay Nath, cofounder and partner at Blume Ventures.

Investors across the globe are pumped to place their bets on companies that operate with AI advancements and offer innovative solutions to address limitations.

Only a day ago, Nurix AI, a venture floated by Myntra and Cultfit founder Mukesh Bansal, secured $27.5 Mn (around INR 230 Cr) in a seed funding round from Accel and General Catalyst, a day ago.

Meanwhile, medtech startup Qure.ai raised $65 Mn (INR 543 Cr) in a Series D funding round co-led by Lightspeed Venture Partners and 360 ONE Asset Management.

Additionally, artificial intelligence (AI)-powered legal tech startup jhana.ai bagged $1.6 Mn in its ongoing maiden funding round, led by Freshworks cofounder Girish Mathrubootham’s venture capital firm Together Fund.

The San Francisco-based company, previously, raised $11 Mn in its seed funding round and officially launched its platform after emerging from stealth mode, in September 2023.

The post Atomicwork Bags $3 Mn To Boost Workflow Automation For Enterprises appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Amid the ongoing initial public offering (IPO) boom in the country, artificial intelligence-powered SaaS unicorn Fractal is considering filing its draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) with SEBI as soon as November.

India’s first AI unicorn may seek to raise $500 Mn through its IPO at a valuation of at least $3.5 Bn, as it readies a cash chest in a highly competitive market, Bloomberg reported, citing sources.

Fractal’s IPO will likely be a combination of fresh issue of equity shares and offer for sale, with the startup eyeing a public listing in the first quarter of 2025.

Inc42 has reached out to Fractal for comments on the development. The story will be updated based on the response.

The development comes almost a couple of months after it was reported that Fractal could file its draft IPO papers in August to raise around $600 Mn. The startup was then said to be eyeing a valuation of $3 Bn for its IPO.

Founded in 2000 by Srikanth Velamakanni, Pranay Agrawal and Ashwath Bhat, Fractal offers AI and advanced analytics solutions to scores of Fortune 100 companies. Its offerings include Qure.ai, which assists in medical imaging diagnostics. Fractal also operates platforms such as Theremin.ai, Eugenie.ai and Samya.ai.

It is pertinent to note that Fractal entered the unicorn club in 2022 after raising $360 Mn from TPG Capital.

The startup has raised $685 Mn in funding till date and counts the likes of TPG Capital, Khazanah Nasional and Apax Partners among its backers.

Fractal’s potential bid for an IPO comes at a time when a number of new-age tech startups are lining up to go public amid the bull run in the Indian equities market. 

At least 10 Indian startups, including the likes of FirstCry, Ola Electric, Unicommerce, ixigo — have already made their public listings this year as compared to just 5 startups last year.

Earlier this week, MobikWik also received the approval from SEBI for its INR 700 Cr IPO. Meanwhile, the likes of Swiggy, Ecom Express, BlackBuck, among others are awaiting SEBI nod to proceed with their IPOs.

The post SaaS Unicorn Fractal Eyes $500 Mn IPO, To File DRHP By November appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Listed travel tech SaaS startup RateGain’s executive vice president of product management Nitin Kumar has resigned from his post, after less than a year of joining the company.

Kumar resigned via email on September 20 and will officially leave the company on November 21, 2024, as per filing.

Kumar joined RateGain in November 2023  where he focused on enhancing product offerings and driving innovation. 

He has held diverse roles in product management and technology. Before RateGain, he worked with Myntra as vice president of product management from 2021 to 2023 and has also held the same positions at Paytm from 2018 to 2021. 

Kumar, alumnus of IIT Delhi, has also founded a real-time carpooling Startup called  Coridr in 2016. 

The resignation comes amidst the startup’s founder Bhanu Chopra outlining that the company is looking to double its revenue in the next three years leveraging AI to cut operational costs and demand booms in India’s hospitality and tourism sector. 

It is pertinent to note that RateGain clocked a revenue of INR 998.59 Cr in the fiscal year ended March 2024 (FY24), up 70.7% from INR 585.06 Cr in FY23 on strong demand. 

Founded in 2004 by Bhanu Chopra, RateGain is a global provider of SaaS solutions for the travel and hospitality sectors, enabling enterprises to accelerate revenue growth through acquisition, retention and wallet share expansion. The startup claims to cater to more than 3,200 customers and has a presence in over 100 countries.

Going forward, RateGain also plans to deepen its presence in certain geographies in the US and European markets and is also looking to acquire new companies in the travel tech space. 

In March, RateGain’s promoter and promoter group offloaded a 3% stake in the traveltech SaaS from a total holding of 51.25%.

Last year in November, RateGain launched a qualified institutional placement (QIP) to raise fresh capital at a floor price of INR 676.66 per share. 

As per its latest financials for Q1 FY25, RateGain reported an 82% jump in its consolidated profit after tax (PAT) at INR 45.37 Cr from INR 24.91 Cr in the year-ago quarter.

Its operating revenue rose 26% year-on-year to INR 278.28 Cr in Q1 FY25.

Shares of RateGain were trading at INR 745 per piece on BSE at 1:12 PM, down 1.6% from the previous close. 

The post RateGain’s Executive VP Nitin Kumar Steps Down After Less Than A Year appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Listed travel tech SaaS startup RateGain is looking to double its revenue in the next three years as the company leverages artificial intelligence to cut operational costs and demand booms in India’s hospitality and tourism sector, its founder and managing director Bhanu Chopra said.

During the company’s 12th annual general meeting on Monday (September 16), Chopra said that RateGain aims to double its revenue by FY27 compared to FY24. 

“… the growth in Q1 has been pretty healthy at 21% and organically and inorganically combined to get to the goal of doubling our revenues entails about 26% CAGR and we’re confident that we should be able to achieve that over the next three years,” Chopra said.

Founded in 2004 by Bhanu Chopra, RateGain is a global provider of SaaS solutions for travel and hospitality sectors, enabling enterprises to accelerate revenue growth through acquisition, retention and wallet share expansion. The startup claims to cater to more than 3,200 customers and has a presence in over 100 countries.

It is pertinent to note that RateGain clocked a revenue of INR 998.59 Cr in the fiscal year ended March 2024 (FY24), up 70.7% from INR 585.06 Cr in FY23 on strong demand. 

The RateGain MD also said that the company is looking to expand its EBITDA margins by about 150 basis points to 200 basis points over the course of FY25, in line with its Q1 FY25 numbers.

RateGain plans to deepen its presence in certain geographies in the US and European markets, which remain key focus markets for the company, said Divik Anand, senior director of investor relations & corporate development at RateGain. 

While key geographies within Europe are witnessing a strong summer season, Asia Pacific is still seeing strong tailwinds, given it is one of the last geographies to open up following the COVID-19 lockdowns, Anand noted.

Anand remains bullish on the company’s prospects in the international market. With the recreational and leisure travel segment seeing a healthy discretionary spending by consumers, it opens new opportunities for RateGain to expand its position there, he said.

RateGain is also looking to acquire new companies in the travel tech space and is in talks with some potential targets, according to Anand. The company is currently focusing on adding new customers, enhancing its product capabilities to better serve existing customers and competition.

RateGain reported a 82% jump in its consolidated profit after tax (PAT) at INR 45.37 Cr in the first quarter of the financial year 2024-25 from INR 24.91 Cr in the year-ago quarter.

Operating revenue rose 26% year-on-year to INR 278.28 Cr in Q1 FY25.

The post RateGain Aims To Double Revenue In Next 3 Years: Bhanu Chopra appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Hours after a media report emerged that Chennai-based tech giant Zoho’s semiconductor venture could come up in Odisha with an investment of INR 3,034 Cr, the company’s founder and chief executive Sridhar Vembu dismissed the report, calling it “inaccurate”.

Taking to social media platform X, Vembu said, “I do not like to comment on rumours and speculation but today’s news item on our semiconductor investment is inaccurate. Our investment proposal is still pending with various authorities and decisions have not yet been made. That is all I can say at this point.”

As per BusinessLines’ report, a semiconductor venture from the Zoho group would be built in Odisha with an investment of INR 3,034 Cr. It further said that a company named Silectric Semiconductor Manufacturing Pvt Ltd, formed by Zoho directors in March, has been planning to set up a silicon carbide manufacturing unit in Odisha’s Khurdha district.

The news gained traction following a post on X by Sampad Chandra Swain, Minister of State for Industries, Skill Development and Technical Education, Government of Odisha. 

Swain announced that the Odisha High Level Clearance Authority (HLCA) approved 12 major industrial projects, with half of the total INR 39,000 Cr investment being sanctioned. 

As per the initial reports, the proposed Silectric facility aimed to establish a comprehensive silicon carbide manufacturing value chain, from ingots to wafers, MOSFETs, modules, and packaging. 

The unit was said to have a planned annual capacity of 72,000 each for EPI wafers, MOSFETs, and modules. The end products were reportedly intended for use in power electronics for electric vehicles, automotive applications, and renewable energy sectors.

While Vembu’s statement clarifies that no final decisions have been made, it’s worth noting Zoho’s previous interest in the semiconductor sector. In May 2024, reports emerged about Zoho considering a $700 million investment in chip manufacturing, focusing on compound semiconductors. At that time, the company had reportedly applied for approval under the government’s Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme.

Zoho Corporation, founded in 1996, is primarily known for its suite of cloud-based business software applications. The company has grown significantly over the years, with its operating revenue reaching INR 8,703.6 Cr ($1 Bn) in FY23, a 30% year-on-year increase.

Unlike many of its peers, Zoho remains bootstrapped and profitable. The company reported a net profit of $340 Mn in FY23. Zoho’s success stems from its focus on research and development, with the company reinvesting a substantial portion of its profits into innovation.

India’s push for domestic semiconductor manufacturing has gained significant momentum in recent years. 

The government’s Semicon India programme, with an allocation of ₹76,000 crore, aims to develop a robust semiconductor and display manufacturing ecosystem in the country. 

According to a report by Inc42, India’s semiconductor market is projected to surpass $150 billion by 2030, growing at a 24% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) between 2023 and 2030.

Several major players have already made strides in this sector. In February 2024, the union cabinet approved the country’s first semiconductor fab to be set up by the Tata Group in partnership with Taiwan’s Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp (PSMC), with a net investment of ₹91,000 crore. Other approved projects include ventures by Tata Semiconductor Assembly and Test Pvt Ltd (TSAT) and a collaboration between CG Power and Japan’s Renesas.

The post ‘Inaccurate’: Zoho’s CEO Sridhar Vembu Shrugs Off Report On Its INR 3K Cr Chip Investment In Odisha appeared first on Inc42 Media.

As a part of its move to further bolster technological innovations, HR tech unicorn Darwinbox has rolled out a payroll platform with RIVeR (review, initiate, verify & e-approve, release & report) framework to facilitate 100% digital payroll processing. 

According to the company, this four-step approach aims to make payroll management fully online, accurate, user-friendly, and audit-ready. 

“By providing a single system, process, and dashboard, it aims to streamline and enhance the efficiency of global payroll processes across diverse geographies,” it said in a statement.

With this new offering, Darwinbox aims to redefine payroll management, providing a transformative solution that streamlines and enhances efficiency for organisations.

Existing payroll systems in India often suffer from fragmented processes, resulting in manual interventions, high error rates, increased audit risks, and time-consuming reconciliation. These issues escalate as businesses grow, particularly across multiple geographies and Darwinbox’s integrated payroll offering, built on its comprehensive HCM platform, aims to address these challenges. 

The payroll solution features automated data flows from CoreHR and workforce management, ensuring precise payroll processing with minimal errors. It provides in-the-flow reconciliation and e-verification on a unified dashboard, eliminating the need for manual data extraction and simplifying approvals. Additionally, it includes controls and compliance features, such as detailed audit trails and stringent data control, enabling organisations to maintain high audit standards and avoid hidden costs, the statement added.

Chaitanya Peddi, cofounder, Darwinbox said, “The existing payroll systems in market needed an upgrade to meet the evolving needs of large enterprises, which still face complexity and leakages in managing payroll. With this latest innovation, organizations can now consolidate all payroll operations into a single system and dashboard, streamlining processes across geographies and involving all stakeholders.”

“This same framework will soon be extended to other regions across Southeast Asia

and the Middle East, where our customers operate,” he added.

The company currently serves over 900 clients in more than 130 countries, including notable names like Adani, MatchMove, and Mahindra. It has also extended its reach into key international markets such as the US and UK.

Founded in 2015, Darwinbox provides cloud-based HCM software and has been backed by investors including TCV, Microsoft, Salesforce Ventures, Peak XV, Lightspeed, and Endiya Partners. 

Darwinbox achieved unicorn status in January 2022 after raising $72 Mn in a funding round led by Technology Crossover Ventures (TCV). 

Meanwhile, the startup’s consolidated loss jump over 7.6X to INR 66.6 Cr in the financial year 2021-22 (FY22) from INR 8.7 Cr in the prior fiscal on the back of a sharp rise in employee benefit expenses.

Despite this, its operating revenue more than doubled to INR 116.7 Cr in FY22, compared to INR 50 Cr in FY21.

In the HR tech sector, the startup competes with the likes of Workday, Oracle Fusion, among others. A Fortune Business Insights report estimates the global HR tech sector to grow to more than $81.84 Bn by 2032, expanding at a CAGR of 9.2% between 2024 and 2032.

The post With Tech Frenzy On Card, Darwinbox Unveils Platform To Help Enterprises Streamline Payroll Processes appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Shares of drone startup DroneAcharya Aerial Innovations jumped as much as 19.98% to reach INR 142 apiece, hitting the upper circuit during the intraday trading session on BSE today (September 13).

Over 1.3 Mn shares of DroneAcharya changed hands on the BSE till the stock hit the upper circuit limit and its market capitalisation has leaped to INR 340.64 Cr ( around $4 Mn )

This comes a day after the company said that it is targeting 200% growth in revenue, EBITDA and profit after tax (PAT) in the financial year ending March 2025 (FY25), according to its exchange filing. 

Beside, the startup also said that it is aiming to achieve 4X growth in the total number of DGCA certified drone pilot training centres. 

The company further said in its filing that it will be targeting the drone-as-a-service (DaaS) market in India. For instance, it is working on drone based AI solutions for agriculture. 

It further added that it is developing advanced defence grade drones for intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) missions, while also loitering a munition product line for counter strike missions. 

Furthermore, the startup is also developing anti drone solutions for government and defence organisations. 

Droneacharya made its market debut in December 2022 at the listing price of INR 102 per share, which was a significant premium over the issue price of INR 54 apiece. 

On the financial front, DroneAcharya’s operating revenue increased nearly 90% to INR 35.19 Cr in the financial year ending March 2024 from INR 18.56 Cr in FY23. 

The company reported a consolidated PAT of INR 6.2 Cr in FY24, almost 2X increase from INR 3.42 Cr in the same period of the previous fiscal year.

In January this year, the company secured a contract from the Indian Army to provide capacity building and advanced drone training at the Mechanised Army Courses Group, Ahmednagar. 

The shares of the startup are down by 25.69% since the start of the calendar year.

Notably, the startup forayed into drone manufacturing and spacetech industry last year.

The post DroneAcharya Jumps 20% To Hit Upper Circuit On Co’s Bullish Growth Forecast For FY25 appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Adtech startup InMobi has secured $100 Mn (around INR 840 Cr) in debt funding from Mars Growth Capital, a joint venture between MUFG and Liquidity Group, as India’s first unicorn prepares for its initial public offering (IPO).

The SoftBank-backed startup plans to deploy the fresh capital towards strengthening its artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities and potential AI-focused acquisitions.

Founded in 2007 by Naveen Tewari, Piyush Shah, Mohit Saxena and Abhay Singhal, InMobi provides marketing and monetisation technology to app developers worldwide.

In 2019, it diversified from its core adtech business with Glance, an AI-based unicorn startup that operates an Android lockscreen platform.

InMobi’s subsidiary, Roposo, is also transitioning from an influencer-led commerce model to a broader social commerce platform. The new model will allow users to set up their own stores and leverage GenAI tools to sell products online.

Commenting on the funding, InMobi CEO Tewari said, “AI is the bedrock of both InMobi’s consumer and enterprise businesses, and we are using it to power the revolutionary lock screen experiences and InMobi Advertising’s platforms. We are reimagining how ads can be made truly native by driving superior engagement and outcomes for consumers, advertisers and publishers.”

“We’re pleased to have the confidence and funding from MARS Growth Capital to further accelerate our growth trajectory,” Tewari added.

The funding comes at a time when InMobi is gearing up for its public listing. The 17-year old company plans to file its draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) with market regulator SEBI this year or next year for a public listing in 2025-26.

It was earlier reported that InMobi was eyeing a $10 Bn valuation for its IPO and expects to clock a revenue of $700 Mn by the end of March. It is pertinent to note that InMobi earns 70-80% of its revenue from North America.

In the run up to its IPO, InMobi is planning to shift its domicile back to India from Singapore.

According to Inc42 data, InMobi has raised $320.1 Mn in funding till date and counts Sherpalo Ventures, SoftBank Vision Fund and Kleiner Perkins among its investors.

It competes with giants like Google, Meta, Yahoo in the adtech market. In India, it competes with Dailyhunt parent VerSe and Crackle among others.

The Indian ad tech market is projected to grow at a CAGR of 25.7% from 2024 to 2030, as per a report by Grand View Research.

The post Ahead Of IPO, InMobi Nets $100 Mn Debt To Boost Its AI Stack appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Market intelligence firm Tracxn Technologies has allotted 1.8 Lakh equity shares under its Employee Stock Option Plan 2016 (ESOP 2016) to eligible employees.

In an exchange filing on Thursday (September 5), the company said its Nomination and Remuneration Committee approved the allotment of 1,82,892 equity shares at an exercise price of INR 1 per share.

With the fresh allotment, the paid-up share capital of Tracxn has increased to INR 10.47 Cr from INR 10.45 Cr earlier.

Shares of the company during yesterday’s (September 6) trading session ended 0.71% lower at INR 93.54 apiece on the BSE. 

As of last close, the company’s market capitalization stood at INR 978.14 Cr.

It is pertinent to note that Tracxn had also allotted 99,707 equity shares under its ESOP plan in early August.

The Bengaluru-based company reported its first quarter results in late July.

The company posted a profit after tax (PAT) of INR 1.27 Cr in the June quarter (Q1) of the financial year 2024-25 (FY25), a 84.6% jump from INR 68.93 Lakh, a year ago, leading the stock to touch a six-month high of INR 107.93 on July 31.

Meanwhile, revenue from operations stood at INR 20.53 Cr in Q1 FY25, up 3.6% from INR 19.82 Cr in the corresponding quarter previous year.

This new ESOP announcement of the company comes at a time when startups across sectors have been expanding and allocating employee stock option plans for their eligible employees.

In the past week alone, companies such as PB Fintech, Delhivery and Honasa Consumer have approved the allotment of ESOP.

Updated at 12:01 PM

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InMobi-owned Roposo is in the process of moving to a social commerce model and broadening its focus on short videos beyond the creator economy.  In its new avatar, Roposo will look to replicate the social commerce model popularised by Meesho before the latter pivoted to a marketplace model. 

Currently in a transitional phase, Roposo has stopped new user signups and existing users cannot edit or post content, even though the Roposo app and website are still functional. 

Mansi Jain, senior vice president and general manager of Roposo, told Inc42 that the platform is pivoting from a creator or influencer-led commerce model to social commerce where anyone can sell or resell products within their circle of influence. 

This is essentially the pitch used by Meesho and Limeroad before at least Meesho moved to a marketplace model in 2022. Jain indicated that Roposo would allow users to set up their own stores and use the platform to extend reach. She also claimed product development for the new model is in advanced stages and it will be launched as early as November. 

“Roposo in its current form was purely driven by influencer and brand collaborations, where the users could consume content and shop directly from the app, while the order fulfilment was being done by us. However, we are now making it more interactive with users using GenAI tools to sell products online,” Jain told Inc42.

Jain added that the full potential of AI in commerce hasn’t been leveraged yet and InMobi is looking to fill the gap allowing users to leverage GenAI tools to post content, videos and sell or resell products. 

In its earlier format, Roposo allowed the creators and influencers to use dropshipping to deliver products through Roposo Clout. Influencers could use Shop 101 (also acquired by InMobi) to purchase products and sell them on the Roposo app for a cut of the transaction. 

It wasn’t immediately clear whether the users on its social commerce platform can also avail products and services from Clout or Shop 101.

InMobi acquired Roposo in 2019 and was one of the dozens of short video apps that looked to fill the vacuum left behind by TikTok in 2020 after its ban from India. It was originally acquired to bolster InMobi’s Glance product which displays ads and links on smartphone lockscreens 

Before the acquisition, Roposo had raised $38 Mn in funding from investors such as Tiger Global, Bertelsmann India.

InMobi is meanwhile planning to expand its video commerce business substantially by integrating GenAI tools within Glance and Roposo. Naveen Tiwari, CEO, InMobi reportedly said that leveraging AI for Glance would unlock new consumption patterns by helping smartphone users buy from their lock screens instead of from individual apps. 

Video Commerce Gaining Traction?

With Instagram and YouTube dominating in terms of users, Indian short video apps have struggled to monetise and have looked at various new streams to remain relevant. VerSe Innovation’s Josh and ShareChat-backed Moj have tested video commerce in the hope that it will bring in the users and brands, but the outcome has not been favourable in terms of revenue and traction. 

In June this year, Flipkart said that video commerce offering is gaining popularity with more than 75 Mn users having watched videos while shopping on the app between January 2024 and June 2024 on its curated video sections ‘Liveshop+’ and ‘Vibes’.

“We have realised that just short-form content will be extremely challenging to monetize in the wake of increasing streaming costs, server expenses and influencer charges. Ecommerce industry growth in particular that of quick commerce platforms has also led to many players now strategising ways to engage audiences/ users and which is why video commerce will be crucial,” VerSe CEO Umang Bedi told Inc42 earlier. 

InMobi’ is betting that features such as product discoverability will set it apart from others in this space. Roposo’s Jain added that AI will unlock new commerce behaviour. “The world of Gen AI can change the way products are being sold and purchased which is what we are working on now and will be launched soon,” she claimed.

[Edited By Nikhil Subramanian]

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Conducting its third restructuring exercise in about 16 months, virtual event startup Airmeet laid off around 80% of its tech team last month, sources told Inc42.

The Prosus-backed startup also fired some employees from its product and design teams as part of the restructuring exercise. Overall, around 30 employees, or 20% of Airmeet’s workforce, were laid off, the sources added.

The layoffs were a part of a cost-cutting exercise as the startup has continued to struggle to increase its revenue in the post-pandemic world, one of the sources said, adding that the number of employees impacted by the latest restructuring could be higher.

Airmeet cofounder and CTO Vinay Kumar Jasti held one-on-one conversations with the impacted employees to inform them about the layoffs. 

The impacted employees will receive a severance package based on their notice periods.

Confirming the layoffs, Airmeet cofounder and CEO Lalit Mangal told Inc42, “We have right sized the team to focus on investing in better and more AI-powered features.” 

Airmeet’s Post-Pandemic Struggles

Founded in 2019 by ​​Mangal, Jasti, and Manoj Kumar Singh, Airmeet is an online meeting and event hosting platform. It also allows participants to connect with other attendees for one-to-one and one-to-many online interactions. 

The startup saw a surge in demand during the Covid-19 pandemic amid the stay-at-home mandates. This also resulted in a lot of investor interest in the startup. However, as the world opened up after the pandemic and virtual events started seeing a sharp decline, Airmeet struggled to increase its revenue. 

Now, the startup seems to have decided to focus on new products. “We are already working on our second product which will be launched soon. Our outlook is to build an R&D function which is largely in-person, based in Bengaluru and wired with the latest AI-powered tools,” Mangal said.

While he didn’t give details about the new product, the CEO said that it will not be focussed on the events space.

This is in line with what the aforementioned sources told Inc42. They said that the startup has decided not to upgrade the existing event management product, which led to the decision to let the entire engineering team go. 

The fresh round of layoffs came almost five months after Inc42 reported that the startup laid off around 20% of its workforce to cut costs.

Prior to that, the startup fired around 30% of its 250-300 people workforce, or at least 75 employees, in May 2023.

Overall, Airmeet has sacked over 100 employees in the last 16 months. 

Airmeet has raised a total funding of about $50 Mn till date and counts the likes of Accel, Peak XV Partners, Sistema Asia Fund, DG Daiwa Ventures, and Nexxus Global among its backers.

On its website, the startup claims to have worked with over 4,000 organisations, including Ford, Unilever, PwC, Capgemini, among others.

The post Exclusive: Prosus-Backed Airmeet Undertakes Another Restructuring Exercise, Fires 80% Tech Team appeared first on Inc42 Media.

NASDAQ-listed SaaS startup Freshworks has roped in Murali Swaminathan as its chief technology officer (CTO).

In his new role, Swaminathan will lead Freshworks’ global engineering and architecture teams, overseeing its technology roadmap and strategy, the company said in a statement.

“Swaminathan’s experience aligns exceptionally well with our commitment to deliver products that provide rapid impact and real returns on AI investment,” said Freshworks’ chief executive and president Dennis Woodside.

“Our talented global engineering and architecture teams are pivotal to meeting this goal and I look forward to working with them to continue driving innovation and delivering exceptional products that meet the evolving needs of our customers,” Swaminathan said.

Previously, Swaminathan held leadership roles at several global technology companies, including ServiceNow, Recommind (now OpenText) and CA Technologies (now part of Broadcom Inc). 

At ServiceNow, he served as vice president of engineering, overseeing the company’s IT service management and strategic portfolio management products.

Founded in 2010 by Girish Mathrubootham and Shanmugam Krishnasamy, Freshworks offers a suite of software for customer service and support, customer engagement and IT service management. The company went public on the NASDAQ in September 2021, raising $1.03 Bn in its initial public offering.

Freshworks, which serves more than 68,000 customers globally, including American Express, Bridgestone, and Sony, is aiming to achieve a revenue target of $1 Bn by 2026. 

This appointment comes amid a series of leadership changes at Freshworks. In May, chief executive Girish Mathrubootham stepped down to become executive chairman, with Dennis Woodside taking over as CEO. Last month saw the resignation of chief product officer (CPO) Srinivasagopalan Ramamurthy.

Despite these moves, Freshworks has maintained strong financial performance. In Q2 2024, the company reported a 19% year-over-year increase in revenue to $145.1 Mn. The number of customers contributing more than $5,000 in annual recurring revenue grew 17% year-over-year to 19,105.

The post Freshworks Names Former ServiceNow Executive Murali Swaminathan As CTO appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Community and security management startup Mygate has ventured into the consumer devices market with the launch of a range of digital smart lock doors.

Mygate Locks will enable users to manage access to their homes remotely via its app. The lock will also facilitate remote unlocking via OTP, end-to-end data encryption, easy user management and real-time notifications, the company said in a statement.

The product is launched in three variants –Lock SE, Lock Plus and Lock Pro. 

This comes on the back of the Bengaluru-based startup looking to expand into the smart home appliances segment.

“Mygate Locks is the very beginning of this journey and delivers a smart security solution that is both revolutionary and user-friendly, making it an ideal choice for every home,” said Mygate’s cofounder and chief technology officer Shreyans Daga.

Founded by Daga, Vijay Arisetty and Abhishek Kumar in 2016, Mygate offers security solutions for apartment complexes at entry and exit gates. The company also claims to be a replacement for other security-related systems such as RFID cards, biometrics and vehicle stickers.

Mygate posted a 35.3% rise in operating revenue to INR 96.2 Cr in the financial year 2023-24 (FY24) from INR 71.1 Cr in the previous fiscal, helped by growth in its key revenue streams of advertising and software-as-a-service (SaaS) subscriptions. 

The startup earned INR 85.4 Cr as enterprise revenue, which increased 35.1% year-on-year (YoY), as per the startup’s business summary. This includes income from enterprise sources, including resident welfare associations, security agencies, and builders.

On the other hand, revenue from consumer services, which includes utility bill payments, maintenance bills, and home services, also grew almost 38% YoY to INR 10.9 Cr in FY24.

Mygate said its total revenue stood at INR 109.1 Cr in FY24, an increase of 41% from INR 77.2 Cr the previous year.

Meanwhile, the startup claimed to have reduced its cash burn by 85% during FY24, with zero cash burn recorded in the March quarter (Q4).

The post Mygate Enters Consumer Electronics Space With Launch Of Smart Door Locks appeared first on Inc42 Media.

HR tech unicorn Darwinbox has elevated Vineet Singh, its Chief Technology Officer (CTO), to the position of co-founder. The move comes as the company reports significant growth and expansion in global markets.

Singh, who joined Darwinbox in 2015, has been instrumental in scaling the company’s engineering and R&D teams to 400 members. He has played a key role in developing Darwinbox’s HR tech platform into a full-fledged Human Capital Management (HCM) suite with 15 modules.

“Vineet has been pivotal in realising Darwinbox’s vision to build a global-standard enterprise tech product from India,” said Chaitanya Peddi, co-founder of Darwinbox. “He has successfully scaled our engineering and R&D teams and has played an active role in areas beyond technology to positively impact Darwinbox’s growth.”

Darwinbox reported a near doubling of its operating revenue to INR 224.04 Cr in FY23, up from INR 116.73 Cr in FY22. However, the company’s net loss increased to INR 158.25 Cr due to higher expenses, including employee costs and cloud hosting expenses.

Singh said, “As I step into the role of co-founder, we will further accelerate our technological innovations, embedding AI as a platform capability to deliver better experience and contextual intelligence to our customers.”

Darwinbox currently serves over 900 customers across more than 130 countries, with clients including Adani, MatchMove, and Mahindra. The company has expanded its presence in various international markets, including the US and UK.

Founded in 2015, Darwinbox provides cloud-based HCM software and has been backed by investors including TCV, Microsoft, Salesforce Ventures, Peak XV, Lightspeed, and Endiya Partners.

The post Darwinbox Promotes CTO Vineet Singh To Cofounder appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Sridhar Vembu-led SaaS unicorn Zoho has forayed into the payments space with the roll out of Zoho Payments, designed to facilitate business-to-business (B2B) transactions.

The company’s new offering allows businesses to receive payments through various methods, including UPI, net banking and cards.

According to the company, by integrating Zoho Payments with the company’s existing finance and operations applications, including Zoho Books, Zoho Invoice and Zoho Billing, businesses can streamline their payment processes and boost overall efficiency.

The B2B payments capabilities of Zoho Payments are powered by Bharat Bill Payment System (BBPS) of NPCI Bharat BillPay Limited (NBBL). Zoho obtained a payment aggregator licence from RBI in February. 

“At Zoho, we strongly believe that business finance, banking, and payments should work together,” Sivaramakrishnan Iswaran, Global Head of Finance and Operations BU, Zoho, said in a statement. 

“Towards this vision, we had launched our ‘Connected Banking’ solution across our finance apps, integrating with leading banks. With the launch of Zoho Payments today, along with B2B payment capabilities, we are able to achieve our goal.”

“NBBL’s BBPS standardises invoice presentment and payments, providing multiple payment modes, instant payment confirmations, invoice financing, and a unified platform for invoice transmission and reconciliation. This marks a major advancement in the fintech domain. As a result, we can now offer a more holistic financial management solution for businesses,” Iswaran added.

This comes almost six months after Zoho launched its new business division Zakya to offer POS solutions to its retail business in February. 

Zakya offers improved inventory management, omnichannel sales, and customer experience, and can be implemented in under an hour for businesses with thousands of items in their inventory,

Meanwhile, Zoho has maintained the diversification of its offerings for quite some time now. 

The Chennai-based SaaS unicorn last year launched Zoho Practice, a free end-to-end practice management solution tailored for chartered accountants (CAs), to increase their productivity and operational efficiency. 

Earlier in the same year, it launched a privacy-centred browser ‘Ulaa’ to secure personal data with pre-built capabilities to universally block tracking and website surveillance. 

Founded in 1996 by Padma Shri awardee Sridhar Vembu, Tony Thomas, Zoho was initially known as AdventNet INC. It has offices in the US, Singapore, the UAE, and Japan. 

The company offers more than 50 integrated online applications that support multiple business operations spanning sales and marketing, finance, email and collaboration, app creation and analytics, among others.

It earns its revenue by selling its software and charging subscription fees to its customers across six continents.

On the financial front, the company’s sales crossed the $1 Bn mark in the financial year ended March 31, 2023. 

The bootstrapped unicorn reported an operating revenue of INR 8,703.6 Cr ($1 Bn) in the financial year 2022-23 (FY23), a jump of 30% from INR 6,710.7 Cr in FY22. North America continued to be the biggest contributor to Zoho’s revenue. 

However, the startup’s total expenditure also zoomed at INR 5,392.7 Cr during the year under review, an increase of 51% from INR 3,571.7 Cr in the previous fiscal year.

The post Zoho Rides The Fintech Wave, Launches Payment Gateway appeared first on Inc42 Media.

SaaS unicorn BrowserStack has acquired Berlin-based enterprise tech platform Bird Eats Bug in a $20 Mn deal. 

While the company did not disclose the details of the transaction, an Economic Times report claimed that BrowserStack acquired the company in a cash-and-stock deal, with a commitment of future investment for product development.

Bird Eats Bug offers a SaaS platform that claims to help enterprises debug their codes up to 30% faster on average. With this acquisition, BrowserStack will leverage Bird Eats Bug’s tech stack to streamline bug reporting processes and eliminate fragmented toolchains in testing. 

As part of the deal, Bird Eats Bug has now been rebranded as “Bug Capture by BrowserStack”.

“By integrating Bug Capture’s approach to bug reporting into our platform, we’re boosting development teams’ productivity so they can focus more on building great products and less on managing the intricacies of the testing process,” said BrowserStack cofounder and CEO Ritesh Arora.

Commenting on the acquisition, Bird Eats Bug cofounder and CEO Dan Makarov said, “We’re truly excited about our joint future with BrowserStack… It’s hard to think of two products that would be a better fit. My cofounder, Jacky Chung, and I have been highly impressed by the quality of the team and their ambitious vision for Bird”.

Founded in 2020, Bird Eats Bug claims to have more than 30,000 users under its belt and last raised $1.65 Mn in seed funding round led by Nauta Capital in 2021. The Berlin-based company is BrowserStack’s fifth acquisition since 2020. The Ritesh Arora-led company previously acquired SaaS platforms Percy, AutomatePro, Nightwatch.js, and Quail.

Founded in 2011 by Arora and Nakul Aggarwal, BrowserStack offers a platform for software testing across various devices and browsers. The company claims to be profitable since its inception and has more than 15 products in its portfolio, 10 of which have been launched in the past 18 months.

BrowserStack last raised $200 Mn in a round led by US-based investment firm BOND in 2021, The funding round valued the company at $4 Bn. 

Notwithstanding this, the acquisition comes at a time when BrowserStack is embroiled in legal challenges. In April this year, Deque Systems sued BrowserStack in a US court alleging intellectual property theft.

BrowserStack’s Indian entity saw its standalone net profit jump 52% to INR 114 Cr in the financial year 2022-23 (FY23) from INR 75 Cr in the previous fiscal year. Operating revenue jumped 46% year-on-year (YoY) to INR 612 Cr in the fiscal year ended March 2023.

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The spirit of digital transformation in India is gaining significant momentum, particularly among MSMEs. These enterprises contribute 45% of industrial output 40% of exports, and produce over 8,000 high-quality products for domestic and international markets. 

MSMEs have significantly contributed to the country’s economic growth recently, but there is still room for improvement. Enhanced regulatory compliance has made it essential for them to leverage advanced tools and technology. For example, e-invoicing introduced by the GST council initially became mandatory for businesses with a turnover exceeding INR 500 Cr—a threshold that has recently been revised to INR 5 Cr. 

E-invoicing can significantly reduce the risks associated with manual invoice processing, including high time and staffing costs, strained supplier and customer relationships, and the risk of inventory shipment cut-offs.

The government aimed to simplify the tax system and promote digital inclusivity in a phased manner. Initially introduced for large organizations, e-invoicing has become necessary for small businesses. By including MSMEs in the e-invoicing fold, they can become part of the formal economy and contribute substantially to the country’s economy.

Tech Solutions For GST Compliance And MSME Growth

The GST system has streamlined transactions, billing, enhancing compliance and increasing tax revenues. However, challenges remain, including fake invoices, fraudulent registrations, and improper input tax credit claims. To address these problems, advanced technology solutions across value chains are essential. The government has implemented several measures to combat these issues, such as e-invoicing, the e-way bill system, auto-population of key information, and mandatory invoice matching for input tax credit claims.

MSMEs require advanced tools and innovative software solutions to stay compliant with evolving GST norms, achieve sustainable growth, and remain competitive in domestic and international markets. However, financial constraints and the high cost of a skilled workforce make it challenging for them to upgrade to advanced technology. Therefore, MSMEs need an affordable and effective solution for regulatory compliance. The answer lies in embracing SaaS solutions.  

SaaS Technology Combating  Fraud 

Fintechs recognise the above benefits and the government’s aim to improve the GST filing processing and step up to contribute to achieving them. They offer SaaS-based invoicing platforms that replace manual paper invoice processing with streamlined electronic systems, including validation, approval, and simplified global invoice payment and reconciliation. These platforms aim to prevent fraud and errors while ensuring compliance with tax regulations. 

This approach will help to expand the GST base and improve transparency in the taxation system by facilitating better synchronisation of sales data and input tax credit claims. The significance of this approach was highlighted in December 2023, when 4,153 bogus firms suspected of ITC evasion totaling approximately INR 12,036 Cr were detected. 

SaaS-based invoicing platforms can prevent fraud by maintaining data integrity, ensuring that the information remains unchanged from when the supplier creates the invoice to when the buyer makes the payment. These automated invoices offer security and fraud protection through secure delivery, advanced encryption, and legally binding security elements like e signatures.  Governments, financing organizations, service providers, and tax authorities are eager to review the insights within this data. 

From a financial perspective, an e-invoicing platform can facilitate access to short-term unsecured loans by enhancing trust among financiers in identifying legitimate trade transactions. Fintechs use digital data and strategic partnerships to offer low-risk supply chain financing (SCF) options to smaller businesses that traditional lenders often overlook. This support empowers credit-constrained MSMEs and fosters sustainable relationships between financial institutions and these enterprises.

Preparing For Future

The growth of globalisation and digital trading has made tax collection more challenging due to increasing incidents of frauds, but SaaS-based invoicing is a powerful platform for reducing fraud and increasing revenue. This is not just a domestic trend; over 55 countries worldwide have adopted or are considering e-invoicing mandates due to its numerous advantages. MSMEs recognise these benefits and are increasingly transitioning to SaaS-based invoicing platforms for daily business operations and financial processes.

The true potential of SaaS platforms is realised when MSMEs collaborate and share data securely. This collective approach allows them to gain valuable insights, predict trends, and make well-informed decisions. These platforms are crucial for automating invoicing processes for transitioning to a real-time economy, where the swift exchange of critical business information between trading partners is key to growth and success. 

Moreover, utilising digital public infrastructure (DPI) like e-way bills enables MSMEs and consumers to achieve greater value for money while reducing compliance burdens for producers. The e-way bill system’s digital record-keeping simplifies compliance, reduces errors, and ensures accurate transaction records, leading to smoother audits and inspections.

Looking ahead, MSMEs can harness SaaS technology to stay compliant and secure in the evolving tax landscape. By adopting digital solutions, MSMEs can streamline their operations, improve transparency, and effectively adapt to regulatory changes, ensuring ongoing growth and resilience in a dynamic business environment.

The post How SaaS-Based Invoicing Platforms Mitigate GST Fraud Risks appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Pune-based DroneAcharya Aerial Innovations has bagged a service order worth INR 50.44 Lakh from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Ropar, to upskill 150 individuals in drone technology. 

In a filing with BSE, DroneAcharya said that this service order stems from an agreement between IIT Ropar and the Centre for Training and Employment of Punjab Youth (C-PYTE), under the aegis of the Punjab government. 

As a part of this order, DroneAcharya will conduct training programme in 14 batches from August 2024 to January 2025 under the guidelines of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).

This order forms a broader part of the Punjab Skill Development Mission (PSDM), aiming to provide specialised drone pilot training to the selected individuals.  

The development follows the listed drone startup securing another order in March from Adani Group to provide DGCA certified drone pilot training. 

Then, the order constituted DroneAcharya’s training for the use of drones for mapping, monitoring, and inspection purposes within Adani Group’s diverse operations spanning energy, infrastructure, logistics, resources, and agribusiness.

The drone tech startup in recent times has bagged numerous orders to provide drones and drone-related training and services. For instance in February, the startup inked a pact with with Vimaan Aerospace to provide drones and drone-related training and services. 

Before that, it also received a contract from the Indian Army to provide capacity building and advanced drone training at the Mechanised Army Courses Group, Ahmednagar, in January. 

Among other orders, it bagged an INR 53 Lakh word order from Alter Dynamics & Artificial Intelligence for offering drones for inspection of piles above water, catering to the stringent requirements of Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC).

Also last month, it received DGCA’s nod to open its fifth remote pilot training centre in Karnataka. 

Currently, DroneAcharya runs four training centres in Pune, Chandigarh, Gandhinagar and Jaipur. These facilities offer comprehensive drone pilot training programmes, including DGCA-certified courses, drone building, data processing, aerial cinematography, and application-specific training for sectors like agriculture and disaster management. 

Founded in 2017, DroneAcharya offers drone solutions like multi-sensor surveys, pilot training, and data processing. The company went public in December 2022, listing on the BSE SME platform at INR 102 per share.

On the financial front, the drone startup reported a consolidated profit after tax (PAT) of INR 6.2 Cr in the financial year 2023-24 (FY24), almost a 2X increase from INR 3.42 Cr in the corresponding period of the previous fiscal year.

DroneAcharya’s operating revenue increased nearly 90% to INR 35.19 Cr in FY24 from INR 18.56 Cr in FY23. The startup attributed this increase to the company’s steady and consistent growth as a drone solution provider and drone centric training organisation.

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