Also in this letter:
■ Indian startups spotlight as Tiger Global eyes $6 billion venture fund
■ Judge halts Twitter lawsuit, forces Musk to close deal by Oct. 28
■ Indian SMEs Lead Global Peers in Technology Spending: Report
Karnataka orders taxi aggregators to stop ‘illegal’ auto-rickshaw services
The Karnataka Transport Department has issued notices to Uber, Ola and Rapide, making their auto-rickshaw services illegal and ordering them to stop within three days. Aggregators are also instructed to submit reports on this issue.
why? The department sent out the notice after some commuters complained that Ola and Uber were charging a minimum of 100 rupees for a car ride even if the distance was less than 2 km. Car fare in Bangalore is Rs 30 for the first 2 km and after that he is Rs 15 per km.
The ministry also told companies not to charge taxi passengers more than the rates set by the government, and warned that legal action would be taken if they did not comply with the order.
“Taxi only”: State Transport Commissioner THM Kumar said the licenses granted to aggregators apply under Karnataka On-Demand Transport Technology Aggregator Regulations 2016 and do not apply to motor vehicles.
Rapido will deny the claim. In a statement, Rapido said its business in Bangalore was not illegal and the allegations of overcharging were “absolutely false”.
“Rapido will continue to operate in Bangalore within the bounds of the law. The false allegations made against our auto-taxi service in Bengaluru are not only unreasonable but also inhumane,” the company said. added.
Union response: U C Sampath, general secretary of Adarsh Auto Drivers’ Union, said the plan to suspend the aggregator’s auto-rickshaw service would not affect drivers. “In fact, the aggregator was letting both passengers escape and cutting our incentives. We ask that you follow the fares set by the government,” he said.
CCI scrutiny: On September 9, the Competition Commission of India (CCI) issued clear and transparent rules to aggregators such as Ola, Uber and Meru on how revenues from inflated pricing should be shared with drivers. asked to formulate.
Indian startups spotlight as Tiger Global eyes $6 billion venture fund
New York-based investment fund Tiger Global, which has targeted a $6 billion corpus for its new venture capital fund, said in a letter sent to limited partners or sponsors on Oct. considered a large part of the .
Catch up soon: According to various media reports, Tiger Global’s latest fund is less than half the size of the $12.7 billion tech vehicle that closed earlier this year. The original target for the new fund he said was more than $8 billion, sources said.
India in the spotlight: Tiger has invested the majority of its PIPs (Private Investment Partners LP) 15 in the past few years in early-stage enterprise software and fintech companies in the US and India, which they say have the highest risk-adjusted returns. .
Tiger pointed to OfBusiness in India. It is a business-to-business (B2B) e-commerce company for raw material sourcing and he is one of the fastest growing companies with significant holdings and attractive profit margins. Backed by SoftBank and Alpha Wave, OfBusiness is valued at nearly $5 billion.
Tiger Global has previously backed Flipkart, Delhi, Ola, Zomato and more. PIP 16 will be his 15th fund (skipping Fund 13).
Small Bet: Tiger Global said its average investment size has dropped to $30 million, making investments “in small amounts to give meaningful ownership to key companies.”
meltdown: Tiger Global’s latest fund news sees billions of dollars lost in this year’s technology meltdown, with publicly traded companies including software maker Snowflake, used-car sales platform Carvana, retailer JD.com and food delivery app , after being forced to reduce positions across its portfolio. Dash, and cryptocurrency player company Coinbase.
Judge Stops Twitter Lawsuit, Gives Musk a Deal Until Oct. 28
A Delaware judge ordered a stay on Twitter’s lawsuit against Elon Musk on the eve of the trial, giving the billionaire time to fund a $44 billion acquisition of the social media platform.
Catch up soon: Musk was scheduled to go on trial on Oct. 17, but Thursday’s deposition was postponed by mutual agreement.
The judge’s order said Musk would be scheduled for trial in November if he failed to reach a deal by the Oct. 28 deadline.
The ruling means that the wayward entrepreneur must testify under oath this week about Mr. Musk’s allegations that Twitter unfairly misled him after days of uncertainty about Mr. Musk’s intentions. Removed the threat of not being.
Twitter reaction: In a statement, Twitter said, “We look forward to closing the transaction at $54.20 by October 28. He called the plan “an invitation to further pranks and delays.”
Indian SMEs Lead Global Peers in Technology Spending: Report
According to Microsoft SMB Voice and Attitudes to Technology Study 2022, Indian Small and Medium Enterprises (SMBs) lead their global peers in spending on technology, with nearly 35% spending 10% or more of their revenue on technology . A survey of his 3,000+ companies with fewer than 300 employees in 10 markets around the world.
detail: Growing customer base and increasing customer retention rates are some of the biggest drivers of technology adoption by SMBs in India. Less than a third of his SMBs consider cost and/or cost-effectiveness when evaluating new technology, while half see it as a barrier to adoption.
Startups lead the way: Startups are particularly invested in technology potential and are 1.6x more likely than mature SMEs and declining SMBs to increase their technology budgets by more than 10%.
Tweet of the day
Ecom Express raises $39 million from existing investors
Ecom Express, a logistics company specializing in e-commerce, has secured $39 million in funding from existing investors Warburg Pincus, CDC Group and Partners Group, according to a regulatory document source for business intelligence platform Tofler. .
Partners Group invested $29 million, Warburg Pincus invested approximately $5.8 million, and CDC Group contributed the remainder.
The company raised money from existing investors after struggling to attract new investors. ET reported on July 1 that he is looking to raise $150 million to $125 million in an undisclosed funding round. Ecom Express is he one of the top start-ups with pending initial public offering (IPO) plans.
ETtech Trading Digest
Indian startups continued to bear the brunt of an ongoing tech winter this week. Large PE and VC funds are still betting cautiously in a volatile macroeconomic environment, and the drought looks set to continue for some time.
EV startup Euler Motors and e-commerce-focused logistics company Ecom Express led the funding charts this week.
Here is a list of all the startups that raised funding this week.
Today’s ETtech Top 5 Newsletter was curated by Zaheer Merchant from Mumbai and Gaurab Dasgupta from New Delhi. Graphics and illustrations by Rahul Awasthi.