🚀 Ullu in Hot Water, Paytm's Countdown, and AI's Desi Duel!

Today, Ullu app attracts the wrong kind of attention, Paytm gets in more trouble and AI battles heat up in desi startups. Read on for details!

NCPCR seeks action from govt against Ullu App for distributing "obscene, objectionable" material

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Shoot for the Moon, but Aim for the Stars: 120 workers were let go by Pristyn Care, which aims for profitability and an IPO

Is Prystn Care trying to shoot for the moon but aiming for the stars? News has it that it has recently gotten rid of 120 employees and exited as many as six cities in order to maintain profitability and launch an IPO.

This has gotten us thinking if Prystn Care is adopting a safer path and trying to avoid the path of pitfalls taken by other IPO-bound unicorns such as Zomato, Nykaa, Mamaearth, and Paytm, which faced challenges post-IPO despite initial hype.

Consider Zomato, which many hailed as a major milestone when it revealed its first-ever consolidated net profit in Q1FY24. After all, it did take the meal delivery service 15 long years from the time it started to become profitable. Let’s see if Prystan Care is able to pull that off in a shorter period of time.

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Aisa pehli baar hua hai 17-18 salo mein: RBI Likely To Suspend Banking Licence Of PPBL

Remember the hit 90s song, “Aisa pehli baar hua hai 17-18 salo mein”? Anu Malik made Salman Khan dance to his tunes.

Now, it seems we’ll get to a similar scene in the Indian startup industry as the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) might cancel PayTM’s banking license. If this indeed occurs, then the RBI will be doing this for the first time in more than 20 years. There are less than two weeks remaining until the central bank's deadline to discontinue operations.

The RBI has the authority to revoke the banking license of Paytm Payments Bank Limited (PPBL). Adding to the bucketful of tears of Paytm, the Paytm Payments Bank was fined Rs 5.49 crore by the Financial Intelligence Unit-India for violation of money laundering rules.

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Behti Ganga mein haath dhona? Physics Wallah launched his own “AlakhAI” alongside Ola’s “Krutrim AI.”

In less than two months, the Artificial Intelligence (AI) teaching suite "Alakh AI," developed in-house by Physics Wallah, an edtech platform, claims to have has drawn over 1.5 million users.

Could it be a fancy wrapper on top of ChaptGPT and alikes? May be, because Ola’s genius AI, “Krutrim,” caused a stir when it claimed to have been developed by OpenAI in response to a query.

In another snafu, the Ola-developed AI chatbot Krutrim has surprisingly declared Ather's 450X Gen 3 to be the greatest electric scooter in India. Ironically, Ola is a competitor of Ather and makes electric scooters.

Let’s wait and watch how many more such desi startups, bustling with creativity, are going to come up with their own AIs.

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Fundraising and Financial News

#1) Healthians, an Indian diagnostic company with its base in Gurgaon, Haryana, posted Rs 224 crore in revenue and Rs 184 crore in loss in FY23.

Source: Entrackr

#2) Cardiotrack, based in Bengaluru, provides life and health insurance companies with healthcare screening technology and services. Recently, it bagged Pre-Series A funding of $2 million.

Source: BioSpectrumIndia

#3) Desi baggage companies are having a field day. After Mokobara, Luggage Brand Safari Raises $27 Mn From Lighthouse Fund.

Source: StartupArticle