ISSUE 70 28th December, 2022

2022

Dear Reader,

The seventieth issue of UDYOGPATRA has been released. The

members of UDDYOMI, E- Cell of Calcutta Business School are
thankful to all the readers for their valued support.

On the behalf of UDDYOMI, E-Cell of Calcutta Business School,

I thank all the members in preparing this newsletter.

Looking forward to more participation in making UDYOGPATRA a

great success. Hope you will enjoy reading.
Dr. Pinaki Ranjan Bhattacharyya,

Professor - Marketing & Entrepreneurship,

Co-ordinator , E-Cell

And

Prof. Aparajita Sanyal,

Assistant Professor – Marketing,

Joint Co-ordinator,E-Cell

Self-care brand 82°E raises $7.5M in seed

Bigbasket raises $200M from parent Tata Digital
round

E-grocery player Bigbasket has raised $200 million from
parent Tata Digital which owns 64% of the company. This
is Tata Digital's fourth round of funding in Bigbasket. The
funding round is expected to value Bigbasket at a valuation
of $3-3.5 billion post-money, according to a report by the
Economic Times. The company was valued at $2.7 billion in
a secondary share sale in March this year. Bigbasket will
use the fresh capital to expand the quick commerce
vertical BB Now and use it as an expansion tool for core
Bigbasket users as opposed to converting existing users to
try the 30-minute delivery service, per the report.
Founded by Deepika Padukone and Jigar Shah,
82°E launched its skincare products Ashwagandha
Bounce moisturiser and Patchouli Glow sunscreen
drops in November 2022. Deepika Padukone’s self-
care brand 82°E has raised $7.5 million in seed
funding led by DSG Consumer Partners and IDEO
Ventures. The round also saw participation from
angel investors. The company will utilise the newly-
raised capital to grow its team, scale research and
development, and launch new products, it said in a
statement.
ISSUE 70 PERFORM YOUR TASK WHILE USING YOUR MASK 28th December, 2022
2022
PhysicsWallah forays into upskilling with iNeuron Ola Electric to launch commercial vehicles
acquisition soon

Edtech startup PhysicsWallah is set to acquire iNeuron.ai, Electric vehicle (EV) maker Ola Electric will also
marking its entry into the upskilling market that also manufacture commercial vehicles along with two-
includes fellow unicorns UpGrad, Emeritus and Byju’s wheelers and cars, co-founder Bhavish Aggarwal
(Great Learning).The startup, valued at $1.1 billion, will said. The company will soon start generating profits
acquire a portion of iNeuron.ai from NSE-listed publishing from its two-wheeler business and it will re-invest
and education services firm S Chand and Company for about the profits into these newer products. The
Rs 14 crore ($1.7 million). The Mukesh Sharma Family company, he added, is the most capital efficient
Trust, a co-investor, will also exit iNeuron.The acquisition among competitors, especially because it does not
is a mix of cash and stock, a PhysicsWallah spokesperson run on a dealership model. On plans to make its own
told ET, adding that the company has also acquired a stake battery cells, Aggarwal said that the company was
in S Chand and Co.The deal value was not disclosed. iNeuron on track to achieving its goal of starting
offers 605 courses across about 12 verticals such as manufacturing by the end of 2023. He said that Ola
business management, finance, data science, web Electric is currently the largest consumer of
development, digital marketing.A job guarantee feature lithium-ion battery cells in the country and that
included in some of iNeuron’s business will be removed with there would be huge in-house demand, and once this
PhysicsWallah’s partnership. PhysicsWallah’s employee is met, the company may explore selling its cells to
strength will increase from 5,200 to 5,300 with the other Original Equipment Manufacturers
acquisition, Pandey told ET. iNeuron will benefit from
Edtech startup upGrad has invested in for
PhysicsWallah’s existing user base of about 400,000
strengthen product vertical TuringMinds.
engineering students, Pandey said, adding that iNeuron has
10,000-15,000 unique learners in total.
Fintech Zype raises ₹146 crore

Fintech startup Zype on Wednesday said it has raised ₹146
crore in a funding round led by city-based private equity
fund Xponentia Capital. Zype, which is focused on upping
credit accessibility to millennials and help them develop
sustainable financial habits, will deploy the funds for the
technology platform, expanding team and customer
acquisition, as per a statement. Its Founder and Chief
Executive Yogi Sadana said the company intends to offer
credit products and interactive money management tools to
its target segment.
TuringMinds was set up to cater to the increasing
traction from enterprises for outsourced
research and product development, leveraging
this one-of-its-kind scholar pool. It operates over
15+ offline facilities in the US, India, Europe, UK,
and the Middle East. Further, its offices in
Hyderabad, Bengaluru, and Detroit operate with
a professional workforce of 250 product
engineers and aims to double this in the next
quarter, the company said in a statement .
ISSUE 70 PERFORM YOUR TASK WHILE USING YOUR MASK
Foodtech firm SaveEat raises $500,000 in funding
to expand business
SaveEat has raised $500,000 in pre-series A funding from
Credent Investment Pvt Ltd, bringing the foodtech start-
up’s valuation to $4 million.The firm will use the fund on
technology, increasing its team and on marketing. The
money would help the firm expand its business operations
in Mumbai, Pune and Bengaluru. This pre-seed round comes
on the heels of the product’s unique ideation, business
revenue model that is ambitious yet realistic, and the
untapped potential the business has in a country like India.
The company also aims to hire the best and competitive
talent in the country for this mission. We plan to become
a first-of-its-kind foodtech platform that’s addressing
the Rs 40,000 crore problem of food wastage in the
hospitality sector of India, said Sneh Binny, founder and
chief executive officer of SaveEat.
WeWork India raises Rs 550 crore from BPEA
Credit-managed fund
WeWork India on Monday said it has raised Rs 550 crore
from funds managed by BPEA Credit. The amount will be
used for future growth and potential consolidation
opportunities. WeWork India has a portfolio of around
70,000 desks spread over 6 million square feet area in 41
centres across Bengaluru, Mumbai, Gurugram, Noida,
Hyderabad, and Pune. The company already has presence in
Noida and Gurugram in the Delhi-NCR market and is now
looking at entering Delhi. WeWork India also recently
made its first investment in the Bengaluru-based
conferencing and collaboration platform Zoapi to offer
innovative and immersive solutions to businesses. In 2017,
WeWork Global had partnered with Bengaluru-based
Embassy Group to enter the Indian market.
28th December, 2022
2022
Wadhwani AI gets $1 million grant from
Google.org to build AI solutions in agriculture
The Wadhwani Institute for Artificial Intelligence
has received a USD 1 million grant from Google.Org.
Wadhwani AI will utilise the grant towards building
AI-powered solutions in the agriculture sector, it
said in a statement. These solutions will help
farmers gain timely, localised, and accurate
weather-related information, crop and other farm-
related information. Wadhwani AI had received a
USD 2 million grant from Google.org in 2019 to
support the CottonAce AI-powered pest
management solution. With roughly half of India's
population dependent on agriculture for their
livelihood, this is a sector where technological
advancements can lead to pervasive benefits, said
Manish Gupta, Research Director, Google Research
India.
Data science startup Tredence raises $175M
in a Series B round from Advent
Global data science and AI solutions company
Tredence has raised $175 million in a Series B
funding round led by Advent International as it
looks to accelerate data-fuelled growth and AI
value realization for industries. Advent, a global
private equity firm, has significant investment
experience in the technology services and
software sectors. The firm’s recent investments
include Encora, CI&T, NielsenIQ, Neoris, Sophos
Solutions, Aareon, Canvia, and QuEST Global
Services.
ISSUE 70 PERFORM YOUR TASK WHILE USING YOUR MASK 28th December, 2022

How Startups Can Navigate The Market Downturn In 2023 2022

As the majority of top-tier funds in India have raised record amounts of money this year, an indication that we could
witness intense investment cycles ahead, India is well-positioned to weather this winter on a global scale. India has
recently emerged as the third largest startup ecosystem, closely trailing the economic titans US & China. Even though
it may seem like a new phenomenon, the seeds for its expansion were actually planted approximately forty years ago. As
per an industry report, Indian startups received a record investment of $38 Bn in 2021, with almost 84% of founders
having a positive experience while raising the funding. However, there are now whispers of a funding winter gaining
ground as the year 2023 approaches with an upcoming recession. This is how the Startups Can Navigate The Market
Downturn In 2023. One of the best ways for Indian startups to prepare for a recession in 2023 is to focus on cost
efficiency. By cutting costs, startups can ensure that their operations remain lean and profitable during difficult
economic times. This could involve streamlining internal processes, switching to cheaper suppliers, or renegotiating
contracts with current suppliers. For startups to remain resilient during tough times, it is important to have multiple
sources of income. This could involve developing new products, entering new markets, or exploring new technologies.
Additionally, startups should also look at ways to monetize existing products and services. With the right mindset and
intentional approach, an entrepreneur can make 2023 a year to strive and thrive.

- By Pravanjan Mukherjee

E – cell Quiz
winners
1. Deepak Kumar
1. RAHUL SHAW
2. Ritesh Agarwal
2. SUDESHNA CHOWDHURY
3. Prasanjit Gorai
3. PAYALI ROY

TEAM UDDYOMI

Tania Basu, Pravanjan Mukherjee, Shohan Mukherjee, Sumit Sarkar, Deepak

Kumar, Sabujkana Naskar, Gourab Mahanto, Mandita Dey, Pratyusha Kuila,
Sourav Deb, Nikita Sasmal, Devdeep Datta , Neha Jha , Menka Chaurasia,
Gaurav Chettri , Srijita Mitra , Sidharth Jaiswal ,Srijan Bose

CONTACT ADDRESS –

UDDYOMI (ENTERPRENEURSHIP CLUB)

Calcutta Business School, Diamond Harbour Road. Kolkata- 743503

E-mail - ecell@calcuttabusinessschool.org

9007070850, 9748381465, 8777262293, 9835157703

7301671834