Listed below are some of the major news of the startup sector, take a look to stay updated:
Digital lending startups start rendering loans for education and professional courses
Digital lending startups have started giving out loans for education and professional courses, expanding from focusing mostly on the personal loans and consumer lending space. Bengaluru-based Zest Money is betting big on lending for professional education purposes and has already partnered with players like Upgrad, NMIMS, Great Learning, Acadgild, and Edureka, among others, to provide funds to entry- or mid-level executives wanting to acquire new skill sets.
The startup claims that it will disburse around 1,000 loans in this space by the end of this month and should grow at a rate of 30% per quarter.
SoftBank asks Oyo to get new investors for its fresh funding round
Japan’s SoftBank is learned to have asked its portfolio firm Oyo to get new investors, after which it will participate in a fresh funding round, which could be as high as USD 500-700 million, according to a source privy to the development.
There was no immediate clarity on the valuation being quoted for this round. However, it is likely that it will fetch the five-year-old company a unicorn status.
Oyo last raised around USD 250 million in a round led by SoftBank Vision Fund which was immediately followed by another USD 10 million raised from Nasdaq-listed Chinese hotel operator China Lodging Group in September.
Oyo, recently, launched operations in China. This is the fourth overseas market for the company. Last month, it entered Dubai while the company has a presence in Malaysia and Nepal.
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Amazon partners with Embassy Group to power smart homes
Bengaluru-based Embassy Group has partnered with Amazon to debut Alexa-enabled smart homes in India. Embassy Group has launched a new smart lifestyle project named ‘Embassy Edge’ under which smart homes will be Alexa-enabled and come preinstalled with an Amazon Echo device.
This newly launched project comprises of 1 BHK, 2 BHK, 2.5 BHK and 3 BHK apartments that range from 607 sq ft. to 1406 sq ft. with a price range starting from Rs. 36 lakes onwards. Spread across 36 acres, the Phase 1 of Embassy Edge will offer home buyers 800+ apartments spread across 5 towers in 12 acres.
This new launch will not only mark the Embassy Group’s foray into a new housing segment, but it will also bring cutting-edge technology to all its homes using Amazon Echo devices.
Flipkart CTO and WaterBridge Ventures pumps a fresh round in LetsMD
Healthcare focused fintech startup LetsMD has raised fresh funding from Ravi Garikipati, CTO & Head of Engineering of Flipkart and WaterBridge Ventures including a consortium of other HNIs a syndicated by Singapore-based ThinKuvate and SRI Capital.
While the exact investment amount can’t be ascertained, WaterBridge Ventures invested about Rs 1 crore and Garikipati participated with Rs 10 lakh.
LetsMD is full stack platform to choose doctors, compare prices across hospitals, book appointments and provide loans (via banks and NBFCs). Founded in December 2015, the company had taken a decision in early 2017 to add fintech element.
Today’s Take Away:
It is not wise to sit and wait for opportunities. It is never served to us on a silver platter, we always have to create a situation when we can avail opportunities.
Milton Berle, American actor and comedian say,
“If opportunity doesn’t knock, build a door.”
