Promising tech startups

From left: AgniKul Cosmos co-founder and COO Moin SPM and CEO Srinath Ravichandran Chennai-based space-tech startup Agnikul Cosmos has secured a patent from the Indian government for its full-scale second-stage engine Agnilet, which they claim is the world’s first single-piece 3D-printed rocket engine. Unlike other rocket engines, Agnilet has been made in one go, without thousands of parts that are typically assembled in a conventional rocket engine. It was successfully test fired in early 2021, the startup said. Earlier, Moneycontrol was the first to report that the startup was going to apply a patent for this engine. Srinath Ravichandran, co-founder and CEO of Agnikul, said, “Rocket engines usually have 1000s of parts in them - starting from injectors that inject fuel into the engine, to the cooling channels that cool the engine, to the igniter that is necessary to ignite the propellants.” “Designing Agnilet as a single piece of hardware has not been an easy ride, … [Read more...] about Chennai-based space-tech startup Agnikul Cosmos secures patent for its 3D-printed rocket engine

Representative Image Zypp Electric, a business-to-business electric vehicle (EV) delivery service startup, has raised $25 million in debt and equity in a series B funding round led by Taiwan-based battery swapping major Gogoro. New and existing investors such as Goodyear Ventures, 9Unicorns, WFC, LetsVenture, IAN, Ivygrowth, Grip, and other angels also participated in the round. The round includes a $20 million equity round and a $5 million debt round for fleet expansion from global impact fund IIX and a large national bank. This is also the first time global impact funds and Indian banks are participating in EV debt for any fleet operator or startup in the country, the company said in a statement. "With the fund, Zypp aims to increase its fleet size from 10,000 to 200,000 (2 Lakhs) electric vehicles & expand its footprint to 30 cities in India by 2025. Further, the company will improve its driver experience, expanding its EV hub infrastructure, building sharp EV … [Read more...] about EV startup Zypp Electric raises $25 million in funding led by Gogoro

Many once-promising financial startups are cash-strapped; others have broken business models. By Jeff Kauflin & Emily Mason ; Illustration by Matt Chase for Forbes ON November 15, the cofounders of Ribbon Home, a five-year-old financial technology company that promised to fix a “broken” homebuying market by offering buyers the ability to make all-cash offers, sent a cryptic and disconcerting email to its entire staff. “During this time of uncertainty, we ask team members who are not customer- or finance-facing to shift their focus from work to self-care, spending time with family and doing things that bring you comfort,” it read in part. Six days later, New York City-based Ribbon dismissed 85% of its staff—190 people—and cut severance to one week’s pay versus the six weeks employees had been previously promised. Fewer than 30 people remain today, and the company recently announced that it has paused all new business. Ribbon’s days are … [Read more...] about Merge Or Perish: 25 Struggling Fintech Startups

Inside the chaos at Synapse, where questionable management tactics by CEO Sankaet Pathak have left the company with its future in jeopardy. I n July 2019, the 29-year-old CEO of San Francisco financial technology startup Synapse scolded five of his engineers for not making faster progress. “Do you even enjoy this project?” Sankaet Pathak asked. “Not really,” the team’s leader answered. “That’s it, you’re out,” Pathak declared, firing the employee on the spot in front of his colleagues. Synapse’s Human Resources director, Juan Aguayo, confiscated the terminated worker’s key card and computer. But as Aguayo spoke, he received a message on his laptop, and his tone started to change. Minutes later, he said to the engineer, who was now crying, “Don’t worry, you’re not fired.” The dazed, confused employee went back to his desk. Pathak never spoke to him about the incident again, acting like it never happened. The engineer started looking for a new job the following week … [Read more...] about Broken Synapse: Why Employees And Customers Are Fleeing This Andreessen-Backed Fintech Startup

From left: AgniKul Cosmos co-founder and COO Moin SPM and CEO Srinath Ravichandran Agnikul Cosmos, a Chennai-based space tech startup, is planning a full-scale commercial launch of their rocket Agnibaan in March/April 2023, according to co-founder and CEO Srinath Ravichandran. Agnilet, the startup's single-piece 3D-printed engine, was recently successfully tested at the Indian Space Research Organization's (ISRO) Vikram Sarabhai Space Center (VSSC) in Thiruvananthapuram. The startup is planning a test launch of its two-stage booster Agnibaan in December 2022. And, based on the findings of the test launch, the startup plans to conduct a commercial launch with customer payloads in March or April 2023, Ravichandran said. "There are a lot of people who have expressed interest to be part of the launch. So I think once our test is done, we will start converting them into like actual contracts," Ravichandran said. Ravichandran and Moin SPM, an operations specialist, founded … [Read more...] about Agnikul Cosmos plans commercial launch of Agnibaan around March 2023

From left: AgniKul Cosmos co-founder and COO Moin SPM and CEO Srinath Ravichandran Agnikul Cosmos, the space tech startup incubated at the Indian Institute of Technology Madras, will apply for a patent for its full-scale, second-stage engine Agnilet, which it claims is the world’s first single-piece 3D-printed rocket engine. This means it’s been made in one shot without the thousands of parts that are typically assembled in a conventional rocket engine. Agnikul Cosmos has also developed its own mobile launchpad, which allows it to launch rockets from any authorised port. The startup is awaiting final approvals from the Indian Space Research Organisation to launch its rockets from Sriharikota. By developing its own mobile launch pad, the startup is in a better position to scale up its business in the future. In an interview with Moneycontrol , cofounder and CEO Srinath Ravichandran, a Wall Street trader-turned-aerospace engineer, spoke about why India’s space technology … [Read more...] about Agnikul Cosmos to patent 3D-printed rocket engine

Sameer Nigam, PhonePe Digital payments decacorn PhonePe aspires to become a bank, but it is in no hurry, said founder and CEO Sameer Nigam. He added that PhonePe is aiming to become a full-fledged financial services super app. Answering a question at a CNN News18 Townhall in Bengaluru on whether PhonePe would ever become a bank, Nigam said that the company first needs to mature and grow to a different level to become a bank. “We need to grow on a whole different level — we have not grown enough. We are a seven-year-old tech startup — you don’t wanna put deposits in our bank right now. The answer may change in 10 years, but we are not there yet,” Nigam said. According to data released by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), PhonePe continues to be the top player in the Indian payments ecosystem and accounted for nearly 50 percent of all UPI transactions processed in December 2022. “When we started, we never thought we would be an insurance broker or a mutual … [Read more...] about We need to grow first: Sameer Nigam on whether PhonePe will become a bank

Representative Image(Source: ISRO) The policy for foreign direct investment (FDI) in space sector and the National Space Policy are in the process of securing final approval from the government, Minister of Science and Technology Jitendra Singh said in the Parliament on February 8. Singh was responding to a query on whether the government has “accepted” the involvement of private sector companies, start-ups in the space technology businesses, and the current policies to support such business. Earlier, Moneycontrol reported that the stakeholders in the space tech industry were pitching for a 74 percent foreign direct investment , which would be in line with the FDI for the defence sector. In 2022, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) Chairman S Somanath had said that a policy in this regard would be released soon. The government had also released the draft Indian Space Policy in 2022, which was reviewed by the Space Commission , and underwent consultation … [Read more...] about ‘Final approval’ awaited for National Space Policy and FDI in the space sector: Union minister

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin OBSERVATIONS FROM THE FINTECH SNARK TANK This year’s steady stream of staff layoffs by technology companies began in the summer of 2022 when fintechs started cutting staff as valuations fell. In an article titled In Fintech, 2022 Is Becoming The Year Of The Layoffs , Jeff Kauflin wrote: “Rising interest rates, worries of an impending recession and an abrupt slowdown in venture investment has caused fintech founders to aggressively reduce expenses. Every corner of the fintech industry is feeling the squeeze.” In the early part of 2023, the layoff parade has continued and spread to BigTech and established fintech companies. PayPal, for example, announced it would reduce its workforce by about 7%, roughly 2,000 jobs. That comes on the heels of news from Google that it plans to terminate 12,000 jobs and from Microsoft who will slash 10,000 positions. A comment from PayPal CEO Dan Schulman could have come … [Read more...] about The Hypocrisy Of Layoffs At Google, Microsoft, And PayPal

From left: AgniKul Cosmos co-founder and COO Moin SPM and CEO Srinath Ravichandran Agnikul Cosmos, a space technology startup based in Chennai, inaugurated India's first-ever privately designed and operated launchpad at the Satish Dhawan Space Center in Sriharikota. The facility, designed by Agnikul and built in collaboration with the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and the Indian National Space Promotion and Authorization Centre (IN-SPACe), is divided into two sections: the Agnikul launchpad (ALP) and the Agnikul mission control centre (AMCC). They are separated by a distance of 4 kilometres. Agnikul Cosmos mission control The launchpad will support liquid-stage controlled launches and address the need for the ISRO's range operations team to monitor key flight safety parameters during launches. Read More Additionally, it has the ability to share data and other vital information with ISRO's Mission Control Center as required. In December, the … [Read more...] about Agnikul Cosmos inaugurates India’s first private rocket launchpad