Rural women powering AI startups; Can Meesho break free of its low-cost legacy?

The most interesting news selected specially for you! 08 September 2024 [View in Browser]( Hello, In today's newsletter, we will talk about: - Rural women powering AI startups - Meesho’s attempts to escape its low-cost legacy - Inside Swiggy’s IPO gameplan - Creating a grassroots sporting culture - Matching Revfin's funding figures Imagine being at the heart of India’s innovation hub, surrounded by industry giants such as Sreedhara Panicker Somanath and Bhavish Agarwal, and accessing insights that could transform your career or startup. Join us for the 15th edition of[TechSparks Bengaluru]( Here’s your trivia for today: Which Italian city is considered the birthplace of modern gelato? --------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------------- Artificial intelligence Rural women powering AI startups models like OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Google’s Gemini are undeniably well-known names now in the generative AI segment, startups in India are going a step further to build more localised solutions to solve real-world problems. And, women in rural areas are helping startups in building these AI datasets. Key takeaways: - Sarvam AI, a Bengaluru-based startup, is working towards bringing regional language compatibility to the Indian GenAI ecosystem. It raised $41 million just five months after inception. - An increasing demand for specialised AI roles is evident from the recent surge in freelance positions for “AI Tutors” or “GenAI Speech Trainers”, which have been listed on LinkedIn and other job portals. - Jaideep Kewalramani, Head of Employability and Chief Operating Officer, TeamLease EdTech says that AI is driving growth, particularly for those unable to work traditional jobs or lacking formal education. [Read More]( --------------------------------------------------------------- From the CapTable Meesho’s attempts to escape its low-cost legacy Anshad Aboobacker, a Tirupur-based kidswear seller, hasn’t been very active on Meesho over the past year. While at one point Aboobacker relied on the e-commerce platform for most of his sales, that changed around two years ago. From a peak of 140 units a day, he now sells only around 40 units through Meesho on a good day. Instead, he shifted his focus to Flipkart. While Flipkart, unlike Meesho, charges sellers a commission, Aboobacker says he receives more than 400 orders a day from Flipkart. Three months ago, though, an account manager at Meesho made him an offer that was hard to ignore. “Meesho told me they have a programme called ROI (return on investment) Assurance,” he explains. “I have to invest more in Meesho’s ads for certain product catalogues, but they guaranteed I will see sales of 7-8X of the ad spend.” Aboobacker, who had stopped spending on Meesho ads altogether, was asked to put in Rs 25,000. In return, he would either see sales of 7-8X—so, at least Rs 1,75,000—or be refunded a portion of his ad spends based on his sales volumes. For instance, if he saw Rs 1 lakh in sales, the platform would refund half his ad outlay. Key takeaways: - Despite seeing significant revenue growth and curbing its losses, Meesho continues to be seen as a low-cost, low-trust platform. - Sellers, too, were growing disillusioned with advertising on the platform, claiming to see better return on investment (ROI) on Amazon and Flipkart. - The company has introduced seller programmes such as ROI Assurance and Meesho Gold to win back seller trust and expand beyond just low-cost offerings. - Meesho's goal isn’t to become a premium platform like Myntra. While it wants to shed the “cheap” tag, it still wants to be seen as value for money. [Continue Reading]( --------------------------------------------------------------- Foodtech Inside Swiggy’s IPO gameplan major Swiggy is targeting a valuation of between $15 billion and $17 billion. The valuation is closely tied to the revenue multiples of its publicly listed competitor Zomato in FY24. Swiggy was valued at $10.7 billion in its last round of funding of $700 million by Invesco in 2022. Valuation: - Swiggy's annual report presented to shareholders, which was reviewed by YourStory, indicates that it is banking on an increase in order values, increased advertising revenues, and cost reduction methods to improve profitability ahead of its public offering. - The company is expected to have a revenue multiple of around 11X based on FY24 revenue at a $15-billion valuation during its IPO. - This is slightly lower than Zomato's 13X revenue multiple as of March 2024, primarily due to the losses Swiggy has incurred, in contrast to Zomato's profit in the previous year. [Read More]( --------------------------------------------------------------- Sports Creating a grassroots sporting culture took 20 years for another Indian woman (Manu Bhaker) to enter the final of the shooting event at the Olympics after Suma Shirur at the Summer Olympics in Athens in 2004. Currently, Shirur is the head coach of the Indian shooting team at the Paris Olympics and says there has been a rise in the number of athletes who want to start shooting. Bullseye: - Shirur co-founded Lakshya Shooting Club in Navi Mumbai in 2006 and has been associated with it first as a shooter and then as a coach. - “What I see as a general trend is that once an athlete breaks through and reaches a certain level, then everyone wants to help him/her stay at that level. But we need to see how we can create a broader and stronger base,” she remarks. - “We need to have ranges–in every district, state, region–where athletes can practise. That’s how it works in Europe. You don’t need competition size ranges, but small ranges that can even be constructed in universities,” Shirur says. [Read More]( --------------------------------------------------------------- Electric Vehicles Matching Revfin's funding figures financing company Revfin has raised about Rs 800 crore in debt funding so far, Sameer Aggarwal, CEO and Founder of Revfin, told YourStory. The company, which raised Rs 60 crore in debt funding in August, expects to raise between Rs 100 crore and Rs 150 crore in debt this month, Aggarwal added. Key takeaways: - Revfin is looking to raise 25% of the money from equity funding and expects the rest to be funded using debt. Aggarwal said the company is commencing its equity raise shortly. - The company is acquiring 15,000 vehicles worth Rs 100 crore, operating as part of SUN Mobility’s mobility-as-a-service portfolio. - Aggarwal told YourStory that these assets are generating over Rs 50 crore of annual revenue already and will start generating revenue for Revfin as soon as the transition takes place. [Read More]( --------------------------------------------------------------- Techsparks 2024 Application open for Tech30 Are you a visionary founder at the helm of a startup poised to redefine industries? Look no further than Tech30, the ultimate platform to showcase your innovation. Tech30 is more than just a recognition; it's a catalyst for the future. We're on a mission to bring together India's brightest tech minds to unravel the next big thing. If you're building groundbreaking solutions that have the potential to reshape our world, Tech30 is your launchpad. Join us as we celebrate the pioneers driving India's tech revolution. [Apply for Tech 30]( --------------------------------------------------------------- News & Updates - [Deal talks:]( Qualcomm has explored the possibility of acquiring portions of Intel's design business, with a particular interest in Intel’s client PC design business, to boost the company's product portfolio. - [Retreat:]( A global survey by market research firm Kantar found that a net 26% of marketers plan to decrease their spending on X in 2025, the biggest recorded pullback from any major global ad platform. - [Anticompetitive:]( Alphabet Inc’s Google is abusing its dominant position in advertising technology, the UK’s antitrust agency warned, in a move that could pave the way for hefty fines and an order to change one of the tech giant’s most lucrative businesses. Did you know? Which Italian city is considered the birthplace of modern gelato? Answer: Florence. We would love to hear from you! 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