The month of October started off with a long weekend celebrating Dussera and Gandhi Jayanti. Post a surprise announcement by the founder of global taxi hailing startup Uber, the past week was relatively calmer with multiple investments in the Indian startup ecosystem.
Here are the highlights of the week:
Ola To Raise Fresh Funds From SoftBank And Others
The homegrown taxi service hailing startup based in Bengaluru secured a $ 2 billion investment from Japan’s SoftBank Group Corp., and from China’s Tencent Holdings. This round of funding marks the second largest funding received by an Indian startup.
Flipkart Pulls Off One Of The Biggest Employee Retention Coup Yet
In order to retain employees, Flipkart pulled of one of the biggest retention coup by providing thousands of employees Flipkart shares and providing them the opportunity to liquidate their shareholdings later. Under this scheme, 35% to 40% of its mid level to senior level employees would receive stock values instead of their salaries.
Uber Board Votes For SoftBank Deal
The board of global taxi hailing company Uber, announced major changes in their governance strategy in an attempt to move past the months of strife. The changes were adopted unanimously by the 11 members of the board, which includes expanding the number of board seats to 17 from the existing 11. The company might also pursue an initial public offering of Uber’s stock by the end of 2019.
Karnataka Government To Invest $ 6 Million In AI Hub
The Karnataka Government has always been at the forefront of technological changes and upgrades in the country. Keeping up the pace, the government is all set to invest Rs. 40 crores to build a state of the art artificial intelligence (AI) and data science capabilities center. With NASSCOM as the programme and implementation partner, the tech hub will be named as the Centre of Excellence for Data Science and Artificial Intelligence.
Mukesh Ambani: India’s Richest Man For The Tenth Year
While inheriting a business might seem like a good boost inside an industry, taking the business to the next level requires a lot of skills and capabilities. Mukesh Ambani is one such businessman who made a name for himself out the shadow of his father, Dhirubhai Ambani. By doing so, he was named as the richest Indian by Forbes for not two or three years, but ten consecutive years.
Facebook Tests Workplace Chat App For Mac And PC
Social media giant Facebook very discreetly launched the beta version of the dedicated Workplace app for desktops. This beta app, called Workplace Chat, will also support screen sharing along with voice and video calling, customized push notifications, one on one chats and group chats. The new app will allow employees to message coworkers throughout the day without relying on a browser tab.
Google Hardware Event
The global search engine giant Google finally unveiled their latest new smartphones, smart speakers and other gadgets at the Google Hardware Event. Demonstrating its commitment to making new devices along with new and improved software developments, Sundar Pichai, the CEO of Google, launched their two new Pixel smartphones along with the Google Home speakers, a new laptop, a virtual reality headset and wireless headphones.
GST Made Simpler For Small Entrepreneurs In India
Three months after the Goods And Services Tax was launched, the Government decided to revamp various aspects of the new taxation process. The renewed indirect tax regime involves a slew of new measures to reduce the burden and stress the implementation of the GST brought to exporters and small businesses. PM Narendra Modi said these changes were in line with the government’s endeavor to safeguard the citizens’ interests and ensure a growth in the Indian economy.
China’s Tencent Holdings Invests $ 400 Million In Ola
China based Internet giant Tencent Holdings invested $ 400 million in the cab aggregator startup Ola through their Singapore based investment arm Copper Technology Pte., Ltd. Ola’s parent company ANI Technologies Pvt., Ltd., will issue 1,908,143 preferential shares at Rs.13,521 apiece to Copper Technologies. Post this investment, Ola’s valuation will increase to $ 4.1 billion from the current $ 3.8 billion valuations.
The coming week seems to be gearing up to be an exciting one as well! Catch up with the highlights of the week with our The News This Week section.
