From headlines to sound bites - keep up with Merak's journey as we make waves in the venture ecosystem
Helium secures pre-seed funding Led by Merak Ventures to help ecommerce with advanced AI technologies
Merak Ventures, an early-stage venture capital (VC) firm said it led a Rs 4.5 crore pre-seed funding round in Helium, an AI platform which bakes product and visitor intelligence into ecommerce websites to help them convert better.Read More >>
30 Startups To Watch: Startups That Caught Our Eyes In June 2024
Even as North India seethed under the sweltering sun, the capital-starved Indian startup ecosystem witnessed a pleasant June 2024 as funding levels recovered to some extent on the back of Zepto’s $665 Mn funding round.Read More >>
Startups, including early-stage, focusing more on fundamentals than growth | Company Business News
In signs of a maturing ecosystem emerging from a harsh funding winter, investors say that startup founders even at an early stage are focusing more on core fundamentals such as operating modelsRead More >>
AbleCredit raises $1.25 million in funding round led by Merak Ventures
AbleCredit, a credit underwriting company, has raised $1.25 million in the seed round led by Merak Ventures, with participation from Venture Catalysts and Helios Holdings.Read More >>
Understanding investment thesis for hardware in Indian startup ecosystem
Hardware is hitting a sweet spot in today's tech landscape. Costs have dipped with the China+1 strategy and manufacturing advancements, allowing for rapid iteration and growth.Read More >>
Merak Ventures leads seed funding for Atomgrid, a specialty chemical manufacturing platform
Merak Ventures, an early-stage, B2B venture capital (VC) firm, has announced a new investment in Atomgrid, an R&D-first platform for contract development, manufacturing, and sourcing of Specialty Chemicals.Read More >>
Is the ice melting? Some startups defy funding slump with successive rounds
Bengaluru: Many growth- and late-stage companies have managed to secure capital in quick succession over the last 6-8 months at higher valuations, indicating a shift in investor sentiment, favoring startups with clear Read More >>
How this company plans to fight against food waste, boost farmer prosperity
In a move towards addressing food waste and supporting farmer prosperity, Merak Ventures, an early stage venture capital firm, has invested a substantial $1.45 million (₹12 crore) in Farmtheory, a B2B agri-food startup.Read More >>
Data in the Age of AI: From abundance to sudden scarcity
We are living through a data explosion. When Steve Jobs released the Apple II in 1977, a terabyte of memory occupied a large warehouse and cost over $100 million. Today, you can buy a 1TB hard drive smaller than your palm for under $100.Read More >>
Merak Ventures makes its first investment in B2B commerce SaaS platform Rupyz
Merak Ventures invests $1.2M seed funding in Rupyz, an integrated SaaS platform for B2B commerce. Rupyz enables omni-channel distribution for FMCG and consumer brands, focusing on Food, FMCG, Personal Care, and Lifestyle sectors.Read More >>
Healthtech investments drop nearly 55% in 2023
The sector, previously buoyant from 2020 to 2022 due to heightened pandemic-related investments, is now undergoing a necessary correction, with unsustainable business models facing challengesRead More >>
GenAI, fintech, green tech, EVs, SaaS, hot bets for investors in 2024
Generative artificial intelligence (GenAI), climate technology, and financial technology sectors are some of the hot bets that founders and investors at the world's largest venture capital firms are expected to pursue next year. Read More >>
The year ahead 2024: Valuations could see downgrades; Funding chill for startups may linger on in new year
While 2023 saw the funding winter becoming harsher for startups across the board, the scenario is unlikely to change much in the new year.Read More >>
2023 Year in Review | VC funding for startups down 72% to $7.5 billion
Venture capital funding for startups declined by 72 per cent this year compared to last year as the turbulence in the sector made investors skittish, severely hitting late-stage fundraising.Read More >>
Startups Key for Climate Tech Innovation, but Funding Opportunities Limited beyond EV and Energy
Startups have the potential to spearhead innovation in the climate tech sector, particularly on the software and tech side, said Ankit Jain, Co-founder and CEO of StepChange, an ESG management and reporting platform. Read More >>
New-age tech stocks are on the road to recovery; here's what that means
After a rocky start on the bourses, new-age tech stocks are recovering now. Their revival offers valuable lessons for those preparing to enter a vastly changed marketRead More >>
Redefining Risk: How Tech Transforms Insurance
Visualize a scenario where auto insurance isn't just a yearly affair, but a dynamic monthly arrangement tailored to individual driving patterns. This paradigm is not the fruit of sheer imagination but a reality being moulded by machine learning models.Read More >>
Massive Dry Powder Set To Boost Entrepreneurship, Say VCs And Startup Founders
The Indian startup ecosystem, which saw record investments in 2021 at $42 billion, is currently going through a funding winter, with many companies struggling to raise fresh capital.Read More >>
Transition from ICE to EV ~$1 Trillion Investment Opportunity
Indian startup valuations rebound on path to profit, better macros
The firm increased the face value of its investment in e-commerce firm Meesho in its books by 14.3 per cent to $43.24 million as of July, bringing the company's valuation to around $5.04 billionRead More >>
Space rickshaw to funding: Startups aim for the moon after Chandrayaan-3
Companies expect foreign collaborations and technology tie-ups after Isro's successful missionRead More >>
Speed up your startup in 'Antarctica'
If you're a startup founder or operator, chances are you've received this advice: 'Move fast! Agility is your competitive advantage. Focus on speed above all else.Read More >>
Merak Ventures: Fuelling Indian Climate Tech Startups | To Invest In Carbon & Digital Solutions |SUC
On this edition of Startup Central, Avanne Dubash caught up with Manu Rikhye, Partner, Merak Ventures.Read More >>
Are VCs seeing a Generative AI bubble?
A month ago, generative AI startup Typeface raised $100 million at a valuation of $1 billion.Read More >>
Breaking the bank: how fintech is stirring up a savings revolution in the digital age
Fintech’s global buzz has many believing it has already rewritten the rulebook for financial services.Read More >>
Major boost Indian space start-ups welcome GST exemption on satellite launches
The Indian space tech start-up ecosystem welcomed the move by the GST Council that has exempted start-ups offering satellite launch services by private players.Read More >>
Indian private space ecosystem welcome GST exemption for satellite launches
The private space industry comprising of startups, industry bodies representing such startupsRead More >>
Start-up banking: Filling an SVB-shaped hole
Silicon Valley Bank was arguably the only institution globally to comprehensively service the unique banking needs of start-ups.Read More >>
Silver Lining For Startup Funding As VC Deals Rise In May After Sinking In April
Angel investments and venture capital funding in Indian startups saw an uptick in the month of May as dealmaking gathered pace compared to the preceding month.Read More >>
Google leads $36 mn round in Pixxel in India spacetech bet
NEW DELHI : Alphabet Inc.’s Google has led a $36 million round of funding in Bengaluru-based spacetech startup, Pixxel in its maiden investment in India’s spacetech sector.Read More >>
Peeping Behind The Influencer Marketing Agency Curtain
Six huge, pumped up bodyguards in black attire are escorting a 26-year-old to his suite after a meet and greet session with his fans at a plush Delhi hotel in Connaught Place. Read More >>
Beyond rockets and satellites: The surprising ways spacetech is transforming agriculture
As a Partner at a leading VC fund, I’ve seen countless pitch decks that promise to revolutionize the world, but rarely do they come with a 100-kilometer view of the earth.Read More >>
Staring At A Turbulent Past, Will Indian Ecommerce Startups Rise To Stardom Again?
During the peak pandemic years of 2020 and 2021, the investment bull run only provided a short-lived respite for the players operating in the country’s ecommerce market pegged to reach $400 Bn by 2030.Read More >>
Private Space Companies in India Prepare for Liftoff
Since the 1970s the barrier island of Sriharikota on India’s east coast has served as the country’s Cape Canaveral, with the national space agency launching scores of spacecraft headed as far as the moon and Mars. Read More >>
Progcap's Pallavi Shrivastava is on a mission to change the gender narrative
Pallavi Shrivastava starts the conversation by narrating the ‘untold’ and the ‘other side’ of the story. Read More >>
Prolonged Funding winter to make India a hotbed for M&A deals, says Investors
The fintech funding winter has been ongoing for almost a year now. While there are arguments on shortage of funds, investors being selective and similar business models amongst fintechsRead More >>
Silicon Valley Bank collapse: Investors putting together contingency funds to manage illiquidity
After the collapse of SVB, investors are more cautious than ever. Many of them are working on alternative methods like contingency funds to encounter the liquidity issues.Read More >>
Investment opportunities in the emerging EV and future mobility sectors
The Indian electric vehicle (EV) market, pegged at USD 1.45 billion in 2021, is expected to reach a level of almost USD 114 billion by 2029 (forecast by market research firm Fortune Business Insights).Read More >>
Finding Cockroaches: Identifying Dynamics Of Becoming A Cockroach Startup In 2023
If there is one lesson that the stakeholders of the Indian startup ecosystem could have learned early on is what led to the collapse of the dotcom bubble in the US between 2001 and 2002.Read More >>
Digital page: Angel tax a dampener for start – up ecosystem
The Indian startup ecosystem mostly welcomed the multiple tax breaks and respites introduced in Budget 2023, especially on the relaxation of carrying forward of losses.Read More >>
Union Budget 2023: Voices from the startup industry
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced several measures to boost the satrtup industry in the country. Read More >>
As funds dry up, startups are forced to balance growth with profitability
NOT SO LONG AGO, the buzzword in the startup ecosystem was unicorn, a moniker for startups valued over $1 billion.Read More >>
Expectations Galore As Startup20 Engagement Group Prepares To Meet This Week
The G20 Startup20 Engagement Group is all set to hold its inception meeting in Hyderabad this week (on January 28).Read More >>
10 Tenets For Indian Startups Amid An Unprecedented Downturn
January 26 and India’s Republic Day marks the day when India formally adopted its Constitution in 1950.Read More >>
Indian spacetech startups aim for the sky, but funding craters stand in the way
The space industry in India, which has largely been dominated by government agencies, has seen a host of startups emerge in recent years after the government opened up the sector to private players in 2020.Read More >>
National Start-up Day: Why a downturn is the best time to launch a start-up? VCs, founders reflect
"Recession is the best time to start a company,” Baskar Subramanian, CEO and Co-founder of media-tech unicorn Amagi, repeats the often-stated assertion and substantiates with his own story. Read More >>
Here’s Why 2023 Will Be The Year Of Insurtech Business
Insurtech is set to emerge as one of the scene stealers in 2023. Players are sanguine about the prospects in the New Year.Read More >>
2023 to be year of temperance for start-ups
After the euphoria of 2021, 2022 was the year of caution for both start-ups and venture capital firms, as funding dried for start-ups globally. Read More >>
As investors get ready for global headwinds, 2023 will be the year of start-ups
The year 2023 could, well, be the year of start-ups. Both founders and experts feel Indian start-ups and investors are ready to face global headwinds and build resilience in the future.Read More >>
2,404 new-age tech startups wound up business this year
NEW DELHI: Indian startups faced a challenging year, with 2,404 of them shuttering in 2022, more than double the 1,012 that had shut shop in the previous year, according to data from Traxcn.Read More >>
2.4k new-age tech cos wound up biz in 2022
NEW DELHI : Indian startups faced a challenging year, with 2,404 of them shuttering in 2022, more than double the 1,012 that had shut shop in the previous year, according to data from Traxcn.Read More >>
Digitisation of the economy – The Great equalizer
India is a vast country, and sometimes it is difficult for us to comprehend how extensive it is. Read More >>
5 Indian space startups to watch in 2023
Matching its billing at the start of the year, India’s space industry hit a number of key milestones in 2022. Read More >>
Startups brace for 2023 cautiously amid huge layoffs
In June, edtech decacorn Byju’s had offered a software development engineer’s job to a Bengaluru engineering college student. Read More >>
Startup M&A wave may spill over to new year
With 230 merger and acquisition (M&A) deals in 2022 so far, India’s tech startup segment continues to witness consolidation.Read More >>
Start-ups line up for space glory, but still very far from 'SpaceX moment'
Roughly 70% of these start-ups were launched after 2020; of $245 mn that the sector has received in last seven years, $198 mn came after 2020Read More >>
Agritech: The Untapped Segment of The Indian Economy
According to the reports, Indian agritech startups raised $296 million across 27 private equity and venture capital deals in the first half of this financial year, almost double the $157 million through 23 deals during the same period in FY22.Read More >>
Skyroot plans two monthly rocket launches from 2025
NEW DELHI : Skyroot Aerospace, which successfully launched India’s first private rocket on Friday, is preparing to launch at least two rockets a month by the end of 2025 while also developing reusable rocket engines.Read More >>
Beyond the doom: Climate innovations that are bending the curve
Climate change is real. Irrespective of which part of the world you have been living in, you don’t need me to tell you how real it is. Read More >>
The criteria investors look for before investing in a health-tech startup - Manu Rikhye, Partner, Merak Ventures
Manu Rikhye, Partner, Merak Ventures talks about the criteria investors look for before investing in a health-tech startupRead More >>
Merak Ventures, Huddle launch ClimAct, to support ClimateTech startups in India
New Delhi: Merak Ventures, a sector-agnostic, early-stage venture capital (VC) firm, and Huddle, an accelerator-led fund for India's early-stage ventures, launched on Tuesday ClimAct, a ClimateTech accelerator programme. Read More >>
On strong fundamentals. SaaS companies see increased VC interest amid market downturn
According to report, India’s SaaS market has reached a critical inflection point as venture dollars deployed in the region reached $4.8 billion in 2021Read More >>
Made-in-India VCs continue to grow in numbers despite economic headwinds
One measure that shows the success of India’s start-up ecosystem is reflected in the rise of venture capitalists (VC) in the country.Read More >>
Ecommerce Funding: Investors Chase Value In Seed-Stage Bets As Late-Stage Valuations Prove Too Rich
India’s ecommerce startups raised a record $5.8 Bn across 80 deals in Q3 2021. However, the funding has been on a decline since then, with adverse global macroeconomic conditions further exacerbating the situation.Read More >>
Merak Ventures appoints Sreya Rakshit as director, brand and communications
Merak Ventures, a sector-agnostic, early-stage venture capital (VC) firm, has appointed Sreya Rakshit as Director, Brand and Communications.Read More >>
MUMBAI: Merak Ventures, a sector-agnostic early stage venture capital (VC) firm, on Thursday announced the appointment of Soumitra Mishra as venture partner for investments in ClimateTech, effective September.Read More >>
Merak launches $100 million fund for early-stage startupss
VC firm Merak plans to invest in 18-20 startups over the next three to four years.Read More >>
Merak launches $100-mn debut fund
MUMBAI : Merak Ventures is raising its maiden fund with a target corpus of $100 million, founders of the a sector-agnostic, early-stage venture capital (VC) firm Manu Rikhye and Sheetal Bahl said in an interview. Read More >>
