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Alibaba Records $16 Billion Singles Day Sale

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Alibaba Records $16 Billion Singles Day Sale,Startup Stories,Inspirational Stories 2017,Business News Updates 2017,Alibaba Singles Day Sale,Alibaba Singles Day Record,Alibaba Singles Day Record 2017,Alibaba Shopping Festival 2017,Single Day Sale 2017,Global Shopping Festival

Alibaba, the China based ecommerce giant, launched the ninth edition of the Single’s Day sale on 11 November 2017. In a matter of hours, Alibaba’s sales hit a record $ 16 billion by mid morning on Saturday and clocked a growth of more than 32%, trumping the sale of Black Friday and Cyber Monday combined. Launched at midnight, Alibaba and Alipay recorded more than $16 billion in transactions by 10:30 A.M. (7:30 A.M. IST.)

The ecommerce giant announced, within two hours of the launch, nearly $ 11.9 billion worth of total Gross Merchandise Volume (GMV) was generated by the company. In a statement, the company said, “Nearly 256,000 payment transactions per second were processed by Alipay (Alibaba’s online payment platform) within the first hour.” In this edition of the annual shopping festival, more than 60 leading international brands sold goods worth over $15 million each within the first hour of the fest. The shopping festival this year also features offers from over 140,000 brands and 15 million product listings. Experts also predict, the GMV from Alibaba’s 11.11 Global Shopping Festival can even touch the $ 20 billion mark.

Alibaba’s co founder and vice chairman, Joseph C. Tsai said, “This is a big event for China, for the Chinese economy. On Singles’ Day, shopping is a sport, it’s entertainment.” This year’s night gala saw world famous guests including actress Nicole Kidman and singer Pharrell Williams along with Chinese musicians and film stars such as Zhang Ziyi and Fan Bingbing.

The Single’s Day sale was first launched in 2009 to celebrate China’s lonely hearts. Single’s Day refers to the repeated “1’s” on November 11 and was first celebrated in the 1990s by young, single Chinese as an anti Valentine’s Day. Single’s Day currently accounts for a significant share of annual orders for many businesses. The event, which aims to raise awareness about the value of online shopping among merchants and consumers, is about 2.5 times bigger than the Black Friday and Cyber Monday sale put together. The festival grossed about $18 billion during the 24 hour sale in 2016 and $14.3 billion in 2015.

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Imarticus Learning Acquires MyCaptain for INR 50 Crore to Boost Non-Tech Upskilling

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My Captain

Imarticus Learning, an IPO-bound professional education firm, has acquired Bengaluru-based edtech platform MyCaptain for INR 50 crore in a cash-and-stock deal. This marks Imarticus’s fourth acquisition in four years and is aimed at expanding its presence in non-tech career training, especially across India’s Tier-II and Tier-III cities. MyCaptain, which has over 500,000 learners and a revenue of ₹27 crore for FY25, specializes in creative and entrepreneurial fields, with 60% of its users from smaller cities.

 

With this acquisition, Imarticus will bring MyCaptain’s employability bootcamps in digital marketing, design, and content to its 20+ classroom centers in 16 cities, blending online and offline learning. MyCaptain will operate as a fully-owned subsidiary, and all 250 of its employees will join Imarticus, expanding the combined workforce to over 850. The move supports Imarticus’s goal to reach five million learners by FY28 and deepen its offerings in non-tech domains.

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Ex-100X.VC Partners Launch 247VC, Announce INR 250 Crore Fund for Seed-Stage Startups

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StartupStories

Former 100X.VC partners Yagnesh Sanghrajka and Shashank Randev have launched a new venture capital firm, 247VC, unveiling a maiden fund with a target corpus of INR 250 crore (about $30 million). The SEBI-registered Category II AIF includes a base of INR 200 crore and a INR 50 crore greenshoe option, and is focused on backing 30 seed-stage startups across India over the next three years.

 

247VC will target high-potential founders in sectors like deeptech, enterprise tech, consumption, and Industry 5.0, with initial cheque sizes ranging from INR 3 crore to INR 4 crore and follow-on capital for top-performing companies. The fund has attracted prominent early backers, including Sachin Tagra (JSW Ventures), Vivek Mathur (ex-Elevation Capital), and Shailendra Majmundar (Johns Hopkins University).

Sanghrajka and Randev, who together have invested in over 200 startups previously, aim to support ambitious founders building for scale and innovation, especially in emerging and underexplored markets. The launch comes as seed-stage investing gains momentum in India, with average cheque sizes rising despite a cautious funding environment.

 

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Flam Secures $14M Series A to Revolutionize Mixed Reality Marketing with AI

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Flam_StartupStories

AI infrastructure startup Flam has raised $14 million in a Series A round led by RTP Global, with participation from Dovetail and existing investors, bringing its total funding to $22 million. Founded in 2021, Flam enables brands to create and deliver high-fidelity mixed reality (MR) and generative AI experiences without the need for app downloads, allowing consumers to access immersive content via QR codes or links in under 300 milliseconds.

Flam’s platform is already used by over 100 global brands-including Google, Samsung, and Netflix-reaching more than 380 million users. The new funding will accelerate product innovation, expand operations in North America, Europe, and Asia, and launch a full-stack enterprise suite for MR and GenAI-driven marketing. The company currently has over 120 employees and plans to grow to 180 by the end of 2025, aiming to transform every brand touchpoint into an interactive digital experience.

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