New Delhi, July 3 (IANS) Indian startups have raised nearly $7 billion in funding during the first half (H1) of 2024, more than the $5.92 billion raised in H1 2023.

However, the figures are still far less than $20 billion in H1 2022, according to data compiled by TheKredible.

The $7 billion funding included 182 growth or late-stage deals worth $5.4 billion and 404 early-stage deals worth $1.54 billion. About 99 were undisclosed deals, reports Entrackr.

During H1, Indian startups produced a couple of unicorns — Perfios and Krutrim SI Designs. Last year, only two startups managed to cross the unicorn valuation while 2022 and 2021 witnessed the emergence of 26 and 44 unicorns, respectively.

When it comes to month-on-month trends, June witnessed nearly $2 billion in funding which is more than double the average of $1 billion monthly funding until May this year, the report mentioned.

Late-stage companies such as Zepto, Flipkart, PharmEasy and Lenskart topped with $665 million, $350 million, $216 million, and $200 million funding, respectively.

Moreover, H1 2024 saw 55 mergers and acquisitions, which is lower when compared to 2023. The year 2021 witnessed over 250 mergers and acquisitions which dropped to 204 in 2022 and further reduced to 145 in 2023.

Segment-wise, e-commerce topped the list with 124 startups raising more than $1.87 billion. Fintech, healthtech, SaaS and EV startups were next on the list. Amount-wise, EV startups secured more funding than SaaS and healthtech. Agritech, foodtech, edtech and proptech saw a decline in funding during H1 2024.

–IANS

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New Delhi, July 3 (IANS) After reported layoffs of around 250 employees in the latest job cuts, edtech firm Unacademy Co-founder and CEO Gaurav Munjal on Wednesday denied the reports of a possible merger or an outright acquisition, saying “ignore the rumours”.

“There is a lot being said about Unacademy currently,” Munjal wrote in a post on X.

He further said that the edtech firm have its best year in terms of growth and profitability and many years to run the company.

“To set the record straight, Unacademy will have its best year in terms of growth and profitability. We also have many years of runway. We are building Unacademy for the long run,” the CEO said.

As per reports, Unacademy has approached coaching institute Allen, edtech firm Physics Wallah, education services company K12 Techno and other large education coaching companies.

According to TechCrunch, citing sources, the edtech firm will be letting go of 100 employees from marketing, business and product, and about 150 in sales.

The layoffs bring Unacademy’s total job cuts to around 2,000 since the second half of 2022.

Last month, Munjal, in a post, commented on edtech firm Byju’s fall.

He said that Byju Raveendran, Founder and Group CEO of Byju’s, faced setbacks as he put himself on a pedestal and stopped listening to anyone.

“Byju failed because he didn’t listen to anyone. He put himself on a pedestal and stopped listening. Don’t do that. Never do that. Don’t listen to everyone but have people who can give you blunt feedback,” Munjal said.

“You might not always like the feedback, but take the feedback and act on it,” he added.

–IANS

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New Delhi, July 3 (IANS) Amid the rise in Zika virus cases in Pune, the Centre, on Wednesday, issued an advisory to all states asking them to step up vigil.

Zika virus disease (ZVD) is a mosquito-borne disease transmitted by Aedes mosquitoes. While it is usually mild to moderate disease in adults and requires no specific treatment, in pregnant women, it may cause microcephaly — a condition in which the head is significantly smaller due to abnormal brain development — in the foetus.

Maharashtra has reported eight cases of Zika virus till July 2. Of these, six are from Pune, one each from Kolhapur and Sangamner, and 2 are pregnant women.

“In view of some reported cases of Zika virus from Maharashtra, Dr Atul Goel, Director General of Health Services (DGHS), has issued an advisory to states highlighting the need for maintaining a state of constant vigil over the Zika virus situation in the country,” the Health Ministry said.

The ministry urged states “to instruct the health facilities in the affected areas or those catering cases from affected areas to screen the pregnant women for Zika virus infection.”

The health workers must also “monitor the growth of the foetus” of Zika-positive women and “act as per Central government guidelines,” the ministry said.

It also asked health facilities and hospitals to identify a nodal officer to monitor and act to keep the premises free of Aedes mosquitoes.

Besides, the advisory called on states to “strengthen entomological surveillance and intensify vector control activities in residential areas, workplaces, schools, construction sites, institutions, and health facilities.”

Currently, Zika testing facilities are available at the National Institute of Virology (NIV), Pune; the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), Delhi; and a few selected virus research and diagnostic laboratories of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR).

The ministry will continue to monitor the situation closely, the advisory noted.

–IANS

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New Delhi, July 3 (IANS) India has a unique approach to making AI more beneficial for people and OpenAI is committed to learning from it, Srinivas Narayanan, Vice President of Engineering at OpenAI, said here on Wednesday.

He said that India had made AI use more impactful while reducing user harm through initiatives like the Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) and OpenAI was committed to learning from the country in order to make this technology more impactful.

Speaking at the ‘Global IndiaAI Summit’ here, Narayanan said an ascendant India has a leading role to play in the development of digital institutions and leading the beneficial adoption of AI towards becoming ‘Viksit Bharat’ by 2047.

“We are really committed to learning more from India. We want AI to be aligned with human values and safety is deeply at the core of our mission. We want to maximise the benefits while reducing the harms,” he told the gathering.

He said that India is already harnessing the power of AI.

“First, AI has added speed and dynamism to the already dynamic entrepreneurial ecosystem in India. Entrepreneurs are building innovative products with tools like ChatGPT which are helping them accelerate in a completely new way. We’re reducing the cost of intelligence,” Narayanan told a packed house.

He said that OpenAI is enabling developers to write code and helping them create completely conversational and natural interfaces to computing.

“OpenAI is committed to supporting the IndiaAI mission which has set a great example not just in Global South but also around the world,” the company executive noted.

–IANS

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New Delhi, July 3 (IANS) Samsung on Wednesday launched a new laptop – Galaxy Book4 Ultra, equipped with cutting-edge AI-powered technology for ultimate performance, in India.

The new laptop will be available in 32GB and 16GB memory variants at a starting price of Rs 233,990 on Samsung.com, and select offline stores.

It will be available with a 16-inch display in Moonstone Gray finish.

According to the company, the Galaxy Book4 Ultra comes equipped with the new Intel Core Ultra 9/7 processor and comes with enhanced security via a new Samsung Knox security chip.

The AI-powered Galaxy Book4 Ultra also comes with a dedicated Nvidia GeForce RTX graphics card. It has a touchscreen interface and features a Dynamic AMOLED 2X display. It is thin and light, and comes with a power-efficient and long-lasting battery, with all major ports available on board, Samsung said.

The display offers 3K super-resolution and an adaptive 120 Hz refresh rate for smooth videos and graphics without any stuttering. With touchscreen capabilities, this PC provides an interactive and intuitive touch-based user interface, the company said.

Moreover, the Galaxy Book4 Ultra will allow users to utilise their phone as a connected camera, enhancing video calls and content creation. The laptop comes with a wide range of ports, including HDMI 2.1, and a large touchpad to enhance usability and connectivity, while providing for 8 times faster file transfers than USB 3.2 through Thunderbolt 4.

–IANS

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