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Jugaad Genius: Iris Rolls Out, Swiggy's IPO Sizzle, & India's M&A Makeover 🔥📊

Jugaad Genius: Iris Rolls Out, Swiggy's IPO Sizzle, & India's M&A Makeover 🔥📊

Today, desi innovators are making waves with "jugaad" by creating Iris. Swiggy, just got a spicy valuation boost, a positive news in its preparations for upcoming IPO. To keep up with this fast-paced environment, India's competition authority is easing rules for mergers and acquisitions. Read on for the steaming hot details!

March 11, 2024

What Matters

Jugaad at its best: India’s answer to big capital-led AI innovations in the West

While companies like Tesla and Figure are investing hundreds of millions of dollars to create humanoid robots, a group of brilliant Indian students have chosen an impressive path with their creation, "Iris".

Forget fancy droids and Terminators, Iris is a jugaadu masterpiece - a regular mannequin with some extra moves (think five degrees of freedom) chilling on a four-wheeler chassis. While Silicon Valley boasts of spending several millions in training AI models, these desi Einsteins are making waves with pure jugaad. Iris is the ultimate "jugaadu" creation, a testament to what you can do with a little bit of desi brainpower and maybe some spare parts from uncle's scooter!

Bade Miyan Toh Bade Miyan Chote Miyan Subhanallah: The value of Zomato's competitor, Swiggy's Valuation Gets a Spicy Boost!

It seems like Swiggy is walking in the footsteps of Zomato and aiming to become profitable soon. US investor Baron just upped the value of their stake in Swiggy to a sizzling $87.2 million. This translates to a valuation of $12.16 billion for the Indian food delivery giant, which is gearing up for an IPO. This price hike comes just a year after Baron bought their stake for $76.7 million when Swiggy was valued at $10.7 billion. In a world where other startups are seeing a decline in their valuation, Swiggy's rise is phenomenal.

Meanwhile, Zomato, on the other hand, has admirably introduced a new dress code for female delivery partners. Now, we’ll have to see if this noble gesture keeps on increasing Zomato’s profit or not. Zomato is currently valued at a massive $17 billion

Indian watchdog loosens the leash on business deals

The Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) has upped the bar for mergers and acquisitions legislation in an effort to promote entrepreneurship and innovation. For emerging firms that frequently find themselves on the outside looking in when it comes to typical regulatory oversight, this decision represents a big shift. If an acquired firm has assets (including subsidiaries) of less than Rs 450 crore and a turnover of less than Rs 1,250 crore, companies are not required to get the approval of the regulator. The previous limitations were Rs 1,000 crore for turnover and Rs 350 crore for assets.

Cash-strapped startups often fly under the radar for India's acquisition watchdog (CCI). The MCA's rule change looks beyond just assets, focusing on a startup's future impact. This is about spotting future market shakers, not just ticking approval boxes.

Fundraising News

The Shell Hair secures Rs 30 lakh at a valuation of Rs 10 crore. demonstrating that, in a world of exaggerated estimates and frenzied sales pitches, even ‘hairy’ promises may have a price
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With funding led by AUM Ventures and as specialized as their silicon solutions, Azimuth Al is reshaping the future one chip at a time
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D2C clothing brand Bummer raises Rs 9.25 crore under the direction of Gruhas Collective, backed by Nikhil Kamath. One stitch at a time, they are here to transform fashion faux pas into financial success.
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