Drone startup DroneAcharya on Thursday (December 28) said it has bagged a contract worth INR 15.8 Lakh from Tata Consultancy Services (TCS).

This comes a day after overseas investor BofA Securities Europe SA bought 1.67 Lakh shares in DroneAcharya in a bulk deal worth over INR 3 Cr.

In an exchange filing, DroneAcharya said that the agreement with TCS encompasses the supply of a 5G-enabled drone equipped with a visual (RGB) camera, alongside a ground control station designed for remote access and seamless live data relay.

Besides, the scope of work involves co-developing and co-engineering drone-based 5G solutions for telecom, warehousing, energy and other sectors where TCS has a presence, spanning India and across the globe. 

Founded by Prateek Srivastava in 2017, DroneAcharya offers drone-based enterprise solutions across sectors like oil and gas, mining, infrastructure and agriculture. The company also provides training for drone piloting, drone building, drone data processing and using industrial drone applications, among others. 

“The integration of 5G with drones will ensure faster data transmission with low latency while transmitting and receiving vast amounts of data efficiently. In essence, the integration of 5G technology into drones will significantly enhance their capabilities, enabling faster, more reliable, and data-intensive operations, which are crucial for various industries and applications”, said Srivastava.

Shares of DroneAcharya jumped 3.2% to INR 195 during the intraday trading hours on BSE. By the end of the session today, the company’s shares shed some of the gains ending marginally higher at INR 189.75.

The company has also issued a correction notice saying that the tender it had secured from the Haryana government’s Drone Imaging and Information Service of Haryana (DRIISHYA) project for the supply of surveying drones is valued at  INR 1,41,00,000 and not INR 1,41,75,000.

The startup has cracked many deals and contracts over the last few months. Last week, it also signed an agreement to acquire a 51% stake in Pune-based PYI Technologies, a startup that offers camera drones, DIY kits and customised drones.

The company’s shares have gained over 39% year to date.

The post DroneAcharya Shares Jump 3.2% After Securing Contract From TCS & BofA’s Bulk Deal appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Drone startup DroneAcharya Aerial Innovations has signed an agreement to acquire 51% stake in Pune-based PYI Technologies Pvt Ltd, a startup that offers camera drones, DIY kits and customised drones.

However, the financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. DroneAcharya said that the terms of the share purchase agreement will be finalised in due course, outlining specific details of the transaction. 

“This strategic decision will play a pivotal move in DroneAcharya’s expansion plan aimed at broadening its service spectrum and enhancing its value-added offerings within the drone industry,” DroneAcharya said in a BSE filing. 

Founded by Prateek Srivastava in 2017,  DroneAcharya offers drone-based enterprise solutions across sectors like oil and gas, mining, infrastructure and agriculture. The company also provides training for drone piloting, drone building, drone data processing and using industrial drone applications, among others. 

Meanwhile, PYI Technologies Pvt Ltd was established by Abhigyan Ranjan in 2022. The platform offers beginner-friendly models of customised camera drones and DIY drone kits. 

In another exchange filing, DroneAcharya said that it has secured a tender valued at INR 1.4 Cr from the Haryana government’s Drone Imaging and Information Service of Haryana (DRIISHYA) project for the supply of surveying drones. 

“This is a very positive sign as it shows that drones are being widely adopted and applied in the current workflows in Haryana,” Srivastava said. 

Earlier this year, the startup also signed a franchise agreement worth $2.7 Mn (INR 23 Cr) with Switzerland’s Wollstone Capital SA to open 30 remote pilot training organisations (RPTOs) across India.

Back then, the company said that the development would help boost drone sales, services and certified training. The deal was aimed at training 500 pilots to give a major boost to the skilled workforce in the Indian drone sector. 

In the first half of FY24, the company reported a profit after tax (PAT) of INR 3.97 Cr as against a PAT of INR 13.09 Lakh (0.13 Cr) in the corresponding period of the previous fiscal year.

The company’s operating revenue shot up 998% to INR 20.89 Cr in H1 FY24 from INR 1.9 Cr in the same period of the previous fiscal. 

Aiming to grow its reach, the company also forayed into the spacetech sector. In August, DroneAcharya said it tested a reusable rocket launch vehicle, which attained an altitude of 3 kms over the ground surface. Back then, it claimed that it successfully landed the vehicle with the help of a parachute and was able to recover all vital sensors and equipment. 

According to Inc42’s analysis, the market size of the Indian drone industry is estimated to grow to $13 Bn+ by 2030 at 21.6% CAGR from $2.71 Bn in 2022.

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Community and security management platform MyGate hit zero cash burn in November, said cofounder Abhishek Kumar in a LinkedIn post on Friday (December 15).

“We finally hit Zero cash burn last month. Now the journey towards generating free cash flow starts…,” Kumar said.

Founded in 2016 by Vijay Arisetty, Vivaik Bharadwaj, Shreyans Daga, and Kumar, MyGate offers security solutions for apartment complexes at entry and exit gates, replacing security-related systems such as RFID cards and biometrics.

In FY23, the startup reported a net loss of INR 227.1 Cr, which widened more than 30% year-on-year (YoY). However, excluding ESOP costs and loss of financial liabilities, MyGate’s loss narrowed 35% to INR 76.43 Cr in FY23.

Its operating revenue during the year under review stood at INR 71.1 Cr against INR 40.1 Cr in FY22. As on March 31 2023, MyGate registered aggregate cash and bank balances of INR 100.4 Cr.

“The management has reviewed the cash flow forecast for the future period and taken various measures to contain costs and increase the revenue,” the startup said in its FY23 financial filing. 

With profitability now becoming a key focus for investors, most tech startups globally have started focussing on turning profitable. 

In November last year, MyGate bagged $12.2 Mn (INR 100 Cr) in a funding round led by Urban Company and Acko. This was three years after raising $56 Mn in a Series B funding from Tiger Global, JS Capital, and China’s Tencent Holdings.

Earlier this year, MyGate laid off 30% of its workforce after letting go of a similar percentage of employees in December 2022.

The startup competes with NoBroker’s apartment management platform NoBrokerHood, JioGate, and GateKeeper.

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Device management startup Servify’s net loss narrowed to INR 229.1 Cr in the financial year 2022-23 (FY23) from INR 2,860.8 Cr posted in the previous fiscal, helped by a sharp decline in non-operating expenses.

Besides, Servify’s operating revenue almost doubled to INR 313 Cr during the year under review from INR 611.2 Cr in FY22.

Founded in 2015 by Sreevathsa Prabhakar, Servify’s offerings include device protection, product buybacks, and device exchange. The startup earns a majority of its revenue from sale of services, including sale of device protection plans and platform licenses.

In FY23, the startup’s income from sale of services increased to INR 556.3 Cr from INR 267.5 Cr a year ago. Revenue from sale of products rose 20.6% year-on-year (YoY) to INR 54.9 Cr in FY23.

Servify operates across three continents with regional offices in the US, Canada, China, the Middle East, and Europe. Among these, India continues to be the biggest source of revenue for the startup.

It earned INR 382.2 Cr from India, with more than 85% of it coming from sale of services. The US was the second-biggest market, generating revenue of INR 213 Cr in FY23.

Europe contributed INR 5.3 Cr to its revenue, while the number stood at INR 6.7 Cr for the UAE. Canada contributed the lowest to Servify’s revenue at INR 19.56 Lakh.

Interestingly, all the regions witnessed a YoY growth in sales.

Overall, including interest income and other non-operating income, Servify’s total revenue stood at INR 613.4 Cr in FY23 as against INR 315.2 Cr in the prior year.

Servify’s Expenses Plunge

The startup reported an over 73% decline in its total expenses to INR 846.7 Cr in FY23 from INR 3,176.4 Cr the previous year.

Finance Cost: The sharp fall in expenses was led by an almost 100% decline in Servify’s finance cost which stood at INR 3 Cr in the reported year as against INR 2,665.9 Cr in FY22. Within this, other borrowing costs declined to INR 26.29 Lakh in FY23 from INR 2,662.94 Cr in the previous fiscal year.

Other borrowing costs is a non-operating expense referring to fair value of loss on financial instruments.

Excluding the borrowing costs, Servify’s net loss increased about 16% to INR 229 Cr in FY23 from INR 198 Cr in FY22.

Employee Cost: Servify managed to lower its total expenses even as its employee benefit expenses shot up almost 45% to INR 182.7 Cr in FY23 from INR 126.2 Cr in the prior fiscal.

In that, the startup’s salaries and wages rose 43.5% YoY to INR 141 Cr. Its employee share based payment (equity settled) also increased 33.8% YoY to INR 28.5 Cr in FY23.

Cost of Materials Consumed: Meanwhile, the startup’s direct operating cost in the form of cost of materials consumed shot up more than 95% to INR 495 Cr in FY23 from INR 253.7 Cr a year ago, with underwriting and servicing expenses comprising the largest portion of it.

Servify spent INR 345.9 Cr as underwriting and servicing expenses, which jumped 125% YoY.

Its commission expense also increased 52.2% YoY to INR 116.4 Cr in FY23.

Other heads in this expense bucket included protection plan purchases, subvention charges, courier charges, and service and upcountry charges.

Legal Professional Charges: Servify spent INR 22 Cr towards legal professional charges in FY23, which increased from INR 21.6 Cr in the previous year.

IT Expenses: Servify’s IT expenses zoomed almost 68% YoY to INR 13.7 Cr in FY23.

Servify is backed by the likes of BEENEXT, Blume Ventures, and DMI Sparkle Fund, among others. Earlier this year, the startup acquired AI-enabled engagement platform Jubi.ai in a cash and equity deal. 

It last raised funding in August 2022, when it bagged $65 Mn as part of its Series D funding round led by Singularity Growth Opportunity Fund. 

The post Decline In Non-Operating Expenses Helps Servify Narrow FY23 Loss Over 90% To INR 229 Cr appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Venture capital firm Elevation Capital on Friday (December 8) offloaded more than 15.66 Lakh shares of market intelligence platform Tracxn via block deals for a sum of INR 15.09 Cr.

As per NSE data, the VC fund sold a part of its stake in the company in two block deals at an average price of INR 96.35 per share. In the first tranche, the investor dumped 7.66 Lakh shares at INR 95.93 apiece and followed it up by selling another 8 Lakh shares at INR 96.78 apiece.

Elevation Capital held a 10.74% stake, or 1.09 Cr shares, in Tracxn at the end of September 2023.

Meanwhile, Tracxn also saw multiple other block deals. The likes of Crony Vyapar, Graviton Research Capital, and QE Capital indulged in buying and selling of the startup’s shares, as per the exchange’s data.

The move to sell its stake in the company could be attributed to Elevation’s bid to pocket profits as both market sentiments and financial health of the company appear to be on an upward swing.

Tracxn’s net profit surged 3X quarter-on-quarter (QoQ) to INR 2.16 Cr in Q2 FY24. Total revenue grew 8.2% to INR 22.48 Cr in Q2 FY24 from INR 20.76 Cr in Q1 FY24. 

The move is emblematic of the larger trend seen among the Indian new-age tech stocks. SoftBank Growth (Singapore) also sold 1.06% stake in listed foodtech major Zomato for INR 1,127 Cr today. The shares were bought by the likes of Invesco, Morgan Stanley, and Goldman Sachs. 

Earlier this week, Fireside Ventures sold around 2% stake in D2C unicorn Mamaearth in a block deal valued at INR 238 Cr. In November, SoftBank also sold 2.51% equity stake in Delhivery in a deal valued at INR 747 Cr at INR 403.51 per share.

Berkshire Hathaway also sold 1.6 Cr shares of Paytm amounting to INR 1,441 Cr via a block deal last month. 

Shares of Tracxn ended today’s trading session 1.24% lower at INR 93.54 on the BSE. 

The post Elevation Capital Sells Over 15 Lakh Shares Of Tracxn For INR 15 Cr appeared first on Inc42 Media.

HRtech unicorn Darwinbox’s consolidated net loss soared 2.4X to INR 158.25 Cr in the financial year 2022-23 (FY23) from INR 65.72 Cr in the previous fiscal year on higher cash burn.

The Microsoft-backed startup’s bottomline took a hit despite its operating revenue almost doubling to INR 224.04 Cr in FY23 from INR 116.73 Cr in FY22. 

Founded in 2015 by Chaitanya Peddi, Jayant Paleti and Rohit Chennamaneni, Darwinbox is a cloud-based HRtech startup that caters to companies’ HR needs across recruitment, onboarding, core transactions (leaves, attendance, directory), payroll, travel and people analytics, among others.

Being a SaaS provider, Darwinbox earns a majority of revenue from sale of services. The startup earned INR 177.95 Cr from subscription services in FY23.

Including other income, Darwinbox’s total revenue grew over 2X to INR 249.5 Cr during the under review from INR 121.21 Cr in FY22.

Where Did Darwinbox Spend?

The rise in the startup’s expenses outpaced the growth in its revenue during the year under review. Darwinbox’s total expenses soared 2.2X to INR 407.22 Cr in FY23 from INR 186.93 Cr in the previous fiscal year.

Employee Costs: Employee benefit expenses continued to account for the biggest portion of the startup’s total expenditure. Employee costs zoomed 2.1X to INR 222.31 Cr from INR 103.59 Cr in FY22. The sharp increase is an indication that the startup might have increased its headcount.

Cloud Hosting Expenses: Darwinbox’s cloud hosting expenses jumped 2.3X to INR 48.21 Cr in FY23 from 20.73 Cr in FY22. Software and technology cost also quadrupled to INR 16.66 Cr from INR 4.14 Cr in the previous fiscal year.

Advertising Expenses: Darwinbox’s advertising and promotional expenses grew 4.3X to INR 21.66 Cr in FY23 from INR 5.05 Cr in the previous year.

Backed by the likes of Peak XV Partners (formerly Sequoia India) and Lightspeed India,  Darwinbox entered the unicorn club in early 2022 after raising $72 Mn in a round led by Technology Crossover Ventures (TCV).

In FY23, Darwinbox bagged funding from Microsoft and State Bank of India.

Darwinbox was eyeing a public listing by 2025, its cofounder Chennamaneni said earlier, adding the startup was aiming to make its India operations profitable by 2023. 

The startup currently claims to serve over 800 organisations across over 115 countries and counts Adani, MatchMove, and Mahindra among its clients.

The post HRtech Unicorn Darwinbox’s FY23 Loss Surges 2.4X To INR 158 Cr appeared first on Inc42 Media.

At a time when technological advancements are boosting the means for business expansion, India’s enterprises are increasingly confronting a serious challenge – data breaches. These breaches are becoming alarmingly frequent, affecting a wide range of organisations from burgeoning startups to established corporates.

In the third quarter of 2023, India emerged as the 10th most breached country worldwide, with a significant count of 3,69,000 leaked accounts, according to cybersecurity firm Surfshark. It was the third consecutive quarter in 2023 when India found a spot in the top countries globally for data breaches, despite the breach rate declining 74% from 1.4 Mn leaked accounts in Q2.

A diverse array of businesses, including furniture rental startup Rentomojo, rail ticketing app Railyatri, stock broker AngelOne, and even government databases like Aadhaar and Cowin, have suffered data breaches in 2023 so far.

Last week, Taj Hotels became the latest entrant to this list. The luxury hotel chain, owned by the Tata Group, reportedly fell victim to a significant data breach which allegedly exposed personal information of 1.5 Mn customers.

So, the question is what is driving up these incidents of data breaches. Experts point to a combination of factors for this increase. Key among these are the dependence on third-party platforms for securing data, the varied levels at which data is handled within organisations, the use of corporate email IDs for non-corporate activities, and the complex web of interconnected systems and entities within these large enterprises.

But before we delve further into this, let’s understand what exactly happened in the Taj Hotels case.

How The Taj Data Breach Came To Light

As per an ET report, the breach was orchestrated by an individual using the moniker “Dnacookies”, who demanded a ransom of $5,000 (approximately INR 4.16 lakh) for the complete dataset. The compromised information reportedly included addresses, membership IDs, mobile numbers, and other personally identifiable details, raising concerns about the potential misuse of such sensitive data.

The attacker chose Breachforums, a platform known for hosting illicit data sales, to make the ransom demand. This marketplace, previously targeted and taken down twice, is known for being a preferred choice for threat actors seeking to sell compromised data. Last month, when reports surfaced about sensitive information of 81.5 Cr Indians, including Aadhaar and passport, being allegedly available on the dark web, a hacker named ‘pwn0001’ disclosed the data on Breach Forums.

Coming back to the story, in the Taj case, the threat actor claimed that the consumer data was not disclosed to anyone and set forth a few conditions for the ransom negotiation, including the presence of a middle person of admin designation on the forum.

Responding to the incident, a spokesperson of the Indian Hotels Company Ltd, which runs Taj Hotels, said in a statement, “We have been made aware of someone claiming possession of a limited customer data set which is of non-sensitive nature.”

The company’s claim of ‘non-sensitive data’ raised further questions as full disclosure regarding the specific personal identification information exposed was not available beyond what was reported.

Usually, a hotel gets access to data like contact information, demography including gender, address, location, and even financial information such as details of credit/debit cards of its guests.

What Is Sparking The Surge In Data Breach Incidents?

According to cybersecurity experts, large enterprises often rely on complex networks of partnerships, including with third parties. This growing reliance on external relationships adds more risks when it comes to data security and a smart approach is required to manage these risks effectively.

When a company gives third parties access to its internal assets, the security of its data can be influenced by how well these third parties handle security. If a hacker breaches a company within the network of one of these third parties, the data that the compromised company has access to comes at risk, as per them.

“Post-Covid, a plethora of products and service platforms have emerged, providing value-added services to large enterprises. These services include areas such as customer loyalty and retention, aiding in enhancing control over customer profiles. When integrated with back-end engines, the cohesive system becomes reliant on third-party capabilities to furnish a secure platform,” Pankit Desai, CEO of cybersecurity solutions provider Sequretek, told Inc42.

Furthermore, the use of corporate email IDs on non-corporate platforms is also risky. In the event of a breach on these external sites, the potential exposure of email IDs and their passcodes becomes a concerning reality, Desai added.

According to Bala Venkatramani, cofounder and CEO of access security and governance platform Securden, the weakest link in terms of data security is always the ‘human factor’.

“The human factor, when coupled with a lack of adherence to fundamental security principles, leads to disasters. The human factor involves not just employees but also third-party contractors or partners an organisation works with,” Venkatramani said.

Organisations in the hospitality sector deal with their customers’ personal and financial data and are clearly the low-hanging fruits for hackers. Data stolen from a hotel chain could be used to attack thousands of individuals, Venkatramani said, adding that large hotel chains across the world have faced cyberattacks in the recent past and the pattern remains strikingly similar.

Another expert, who didn’t wish to be named, told Inc42 that large enterprises are experiencing a surge in cyberattacks due to their vast digital footprint and vulnerabilities in the new technological infrastructure.

The rapid deployment of complex technological systems in the course of digital transformation has introduced inherent weaknesses, making these systems attractive targets for malicious cyber activities. Moreover, the growing reliance on big data and artificial intelligence (AI) has prompted ‘hoarding’ of data with aspirations of future monetisation, the expert opined.

Social Engineering Attacks — Everyone Is A Target

When it comes to consumer-facing businesses, reputable brands are prime targets. Attackers rely on advanced persistent threats (APTs) to capitalise on recently-identified zero-day vulnerabilities, while they also use social engineering attacks, often initiated through email or SMS, to target big brands, according to Desai.

In simple terms, a social engineering attack uses psychological manipulation to get access to sensitive data via human interactions.

“Hackers research LinkedIn and launch targeted attacks. They gather information about employees and third-party contractors connected with the target organisation and send phishing emails. All they need is an unsuspecting employee or a contractor clicking the link. Then, a variety of innovative social engineering actions follow, leading to APTs. The hackers end up harvesting credentials to gain access to systems and applications,” Venkatramani explained.

In the hospitality sector, cyberattacks are predominantly fuelled by a lack of password security hygiene, which encompasses issues such as inadequate credential management, widespread password reuse across various IT assets, insufficient controls on access authorisation, insecure sharing methods like phone calls, neglect of embedded credentials in development environments, and the disregard for essential practices like robust password creation and regular rotation, Venkatramani added.

Can The DPDP Act Address Such Incidents?

To address the rising cases of cyberattacks and fix responsibilities, the Indian government came out with the Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Bill. The Bill, which seeks to protect Indian citizens’ private data, was enacted in August.

Experts believe that the DPDP Act has the provisions to address data breach incidents and take remedial measures quickly in case of cyberattacks. However, the delay in releasing the rules for DPDP Act for public consultation may result in a delay in its implementation, as per reports. The Act is currently scheduled to come into effect from January 1, 2024.

The DPDP Act incorporates specific clauses and provisions to address incidents involving malicious intent. Notably, it mandates that fiduciaries promptly notify both the principal entity and the Data Protection Board in case of a data breach, Tejasi Panjiar, associate policy counsel at the Internet Freedom Foundation, told Inc42, adding it is a very crucial clause which calls for swift remedial measures in case of data breaches.

As per the act, a data fiduciary means any person who alone or in conjunction with other persons determines the purpose and means of processing of personal data, while data principal means an individual to whom the personal data relates.

“While there’s a delay in the rules getting notified under the Digital Personal Data Protection Act 2023 (DPDPA 2023), this doesn’t mean that whatever is happening till the notification of rules may not come under scrutiny. So, anything happening at this moment, like the Taj data breach, could also fall under the scrutiny of the Data Protection Board,” said Kamesh Shekar, senior programme manager at The Dialogue.

It is pertinent to note that the Data Protection Board is empowered to impose penalties of up to INR 250 Cr under the DPDP Act. Data fiduciaries can be held liable to pay penalties for breaches due to absence of reasonable security safeguards to prevent personal data breaches.

Charting The Path Forward

According to Desai, having an understanding of data flow is crucial to counter incidents of data breaches. Data flow analysis begins with understanding the origin of data, identifying the first point of contact, and determining the entities that have access to the Internet of Things (IoT). The creation, sharing, and movement of data become crucial considerations. Examining how data is archived, stored, and the pathways it takes helps in understanding potential issues that may arise.

To address these concerns, implementing specific security measures at every step is essential. However, the granularity of these security measures appears to be lacking in Indian enterprises, he added.

As per the anonymous cyber security expert mentioned earlier, it is necessary to incorporate privacy by design in all systems to align digitally transformed architectures with an organisation’s regulatory obligations. Organisations can assess the impact on privacy through activities like Privacy Impact Assessment (PIA) or Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA).

With cyberattacks on the rise, organisations often focus on acquiring advanced security solutions, but the efficacy of these measures is compromised when fundamental security practices are neglected. These practices include organisations overlooking basic security measures internally and the failure of downstream third-party vendors, who have privileged access to the upstream organisation, to adhere to sufficient security protocols, as per Venkatramani.

Addressing both these aspects is crucial for Indian enterprises to fortify overall cybersecurity defences and ensure comprehensive protection against evolving cyberthreats.

The post Decoding The Taj Hotels’ Data Breach And India’s Growing Cybersecurity Battle appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Nasdaq-listed SaaS unicorn Freshworks has appointed former Adobe and F5 executive Mika Yamamoto as its first chief customer and marketing officer (CCMO). She will lead the SaaS unicorn’s global marketing and customer experience teams.

Yamamoto joined the executive team on November 20 and reports to Freshworks founder and CEO Girish Mathrubootham and president Dennis Woodside, the startup said in a statement. 

The new CCMO has replaced Stacey Epstein, the former CMO at the SaaS unicorn. Epstein left the company in August this year, alongside CHRO Sumar Gopalan.

Speaking about Yamamoto’s appointment, Woodside said, “Mika’s combined CMO and CXO roles have given her a unique perspective that has ultimately led to innovative, measurable changes for employees, customers, and prospects. She has a long-standing track record of leading global and diverse customer experience teams and delivering exceptional go-to-market results at large public technology companies with multi-domain businesses serving customers big and small.”

Yamamoto comes to Freshworks from F5, where she most recently served as the executive VP and the chief marketing and customer engagement officer and led the company’s data, marketing, digital transformation, and customer experience efforts across all products, segments, channels, and geographies. 

Before joining F5, the new Freshworks executive served as global president of Marketo and became SVP and GM of Marketo at Adobe after it was acquired. Yamamoto previously served as chief digital marketing officer and CMO of SMB for SAP. 

Further, she has held senior leadership roles at Amazon Books, Microsoft Windows and Microsoft Stores, Gartner and Accenture. Yamamoto holds a BA in Commerce from Queen’s University, Canada and serves on the boards of BlackLine, the Rainier Valley Food Bank and the United Way of King County. 

“I am excited to join Freshworks to be a part of its journey to become a multi-billion dollar software company and to focus on a segment of companies and people I have a great passion for serving,” said Mika Yamamoto on her appointment. 

Yamamoto’s appointment also comes as Freshworks saw the exit of its cofounder and CTO Shan Krishnasamy in September last year. The SaaS unicorn has also fired tens of employees across three rounds of layoffs since mid-2022.

Freshworks reported a revenue of $153.6 Mn in the third quarter of 2023, representing a growth of 19% compared to $128.7 Mn in the year-ago quarter. It posted a non-GAAP profit of $17.4 Mn during the quarter, compared to a non-GAAP loss of $3.1 Mn in the third quarter of 2022.

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Singapore-based data collaboration software startup Atlan reported a profit after tax (PAT) of INR 7.74 Cr in the financial year 2022-23 (FY23), a decline of 18.70% from INR 9.52 Cr in FY22. Higher tax expenses in FY23 and an exceptional gain in FY22 led to the decline in PAT during the year under review.

Atlan’s tax expense stood at INR 2.23 Cr in FY23 as against INR 30.01 Lakh in FY22. Meanwhile, the company also recorded an exceptional gain of INR 5.50 Cr in FY22 as it settled the vested option with the employees at a price lower than the fair price at which the liabilities of stock option was created.

The startup, founded in 2018 by Prukalpa Sankar and Varun Banka, allows enterprise teams to collaborate on projects and help create a single source for all data assets on its platform.

Operating revenue rose 189.78% to INR 93.83 Cr from INR 32.38 Cr in FY22, as per Atlan’s filings with the Ministry of Corporate Affairs. As a SaaS platform, the startup earns a majority of revenue from software development and support services.

Overseas revenue accounted for the biggest chunk of operating revenue for the startup during the year under review. Atlan’s revenue from overseas markets almost tripled to INR 92.01 Cr in FY23 from INR 30.11 Cr in the previous fiscal year. Meanwhile, domestic revenue declined to INR 1.82 Cr from INR 2.27 Cr in FY22.

Including other income, total income surged to INR 95.51 Cr from INR 32.50 Cr in FY22.

Zooming Into Atlan’s Expenses

The data collaboration startup’s total expenses jumped 203.45% to INR 85.53 Cr in FY23 from INR 28.19 Cr in FY22.

Employee Expenses Balloon: Atlan spent INR 40.67 Cr on its employees in FY23, a massive 182.72% jump from the INR 14.39 Cr reported in FY22. Most of this expense went into salaries, wages and bonuses, while the startup also paid out INR 3.04 Cr under the employee stock option scheme.

Software Subscription Charges Surge: The startup’s second-biggest expense during FY23 was software charges, as it paid INR 23.34 Cr towards software subscriptions. This was 304.29% higher than the INR 5.77 Cr it paid in the previous financial year.

Advertising Expenses Decline: Atlan spent around INR 3.38 Cr on advertising and other promotional activities during the year ended March 31, 2023, down 62.89% from INR 9.11 Cr in the previous year.

Other Notable Entries: The startup also spent around INR 8.18 Cr on legal and professional services in FY23, 212% higher than the INR 2.62 Cr in the previous financial year. On the other hand, Atlan also reported an increase of 563% in travel expenses to INR 1.79 Cr in FY23 from INR 27.03 Lakh in FY22.

Atlan, backed by the likes of Peak XV Partners, Salesforce Ventures, WaterBridge and Insight Partners, provides integrations with Slack, Snowflake, Redshift, and other data tools to allow for better communication and collaboration within teams. Atlan was incubated while building India’s national data platform, DISHA.

The startup last made headlines during its $50 Mn Series B round last year. Atlan was valued at a post-money valuation of $450 Mn during the round. In all, it has secured around $70 Mn in funding so far.

The post SaaS Startup Atlan’s Profit Slips 19% To INR 7.74 Cr In FY23 appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Traveltech SaaS startup RateGain has launched a qualified institutional placement (QIP) to raise fresh capital at a floor price of INR 676.66 per share. 

RateGain’s board considered and approved the placement at a meeting held on Wednesday (November 15).

“We wish to inform you that… the Fund Raise Committee has, at its meeting… considered and approved the approval and adoption of the preliminary placement document… and approved the floor price for the Issue, being INR 676.66 per equity share based on the pricing formula..” said RateGain in a regulatory filing with the bourses.

The filing further noted that the company may offer a discount of up to 5% on the floor price of the issue. 

While the company refused to publicly disclose the size of the issue, sources told CNBC-TV18 that the traveltech startup plans to raise INR 600 Cr through the exercise, which will also include an INR 200 Cr greenshoe option. 

It was not immediately clear how and where the company plans to utilise the proceeds of the QIP. 

The QIP will reportedly lead to 8% equity dilution and will be overseen by Axis Capital and IIFL Capital. As per the report, the indicative issue price for the QIP would hover around the INR 643 per share mark. This represents a discount of nearly 10% from the startup’s last closing price on Wednesday. 

Founded in 2004, RateGain offers SaaS solutions for the travel and hospitality industry. The platform claims to work with more than 3,000 customers and 700 partners spanning 100 countries. 

The development comes just weeks after the traveltech startup more than doubled its consolidated net profit to INR 30.04 Cr in the second quarter (Q2) of the financial year 2023-24 (FY24) compared to INR 12.96 Cr in Q2 FY23. Meanwhile, operating revenue soared 88.4% YoY to INR INR 234.7 Cr in the quarter ended September 2023. 

Since releasing the quarterly results, markets have responded largely cheerfully. In the past one month, the company’s share prices have appreciated by more than 18% on the BSE. RateGain also notched up its 52-week high of INR 730.10 during intraday trading on the BSE on November 15. 

Eventually, the stock closed 0.89% lower at INR 711.75  on the BSE on Wednesday. 

The post RateGain Launches QIP To Raise INR 600 Cr, Sets Floor Price Of INR 676.66 A Share appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Chennai-based SaaS unicorn Zoho has unveiled Zoho Practice, a free end-to-end practice management solution tailored for chartered accountants (CAs). The platform is designed to increase productivity and operational efficiency for CAs, enabling them to channel their focus towards the strategic growth of their firms.

The software provides accountants a one-stop solution to streamline their firm’s workflows and seamlessly collaborate internally and with their clients, Zoho said in a statement.

“Over the last 15 years, we have gone from offering an invoicing solution to a suite of products, and now we have evolved into a comprehensive platform, powered by a strong ecosystem. As we have grown, working closely with various stakeholders, we have also broadened our understanding of the financial ecosystem. This has enabled us to not just expand geographically but also innovate and launch new solutions,” Sivaramakrishnan Iswaran, global head of Zoho Finance and Operations Suite, said.

Zoho Practice comes with client management, document management, task management, and timesheet and billing capabilities. The application also offers other features such as advanced collaboration through chat, voice or video call, and document sharing.

It also offers AI-driven anomaly detection to identify inconsistencies in transactions. The practice management solution comes pre-integrated with Zoho Books (accounting app), Zoho Expense (travel and expense management app), and Zoho Payroll (payroll management app).

Founded in 1996 by Padma Shri awardee Sridhar Vembu, Tony Thomas, Zoho was initially known as AdventNet INC. It has offices in the US, Singapore, the UAE, and Japan. The company offers more than 50 integrated online applications that support multiple business operations spanning sales and marketing, finance, email and collaboration, app creation and analytics, among others.

Earlier this year, Zoho unveiled its unified communications platform, Trident. It is Zoho’s first desktop native application that brings collaboration, productivity and communication experience in one place.

SaaS unicorn Zoho saw a 37% year-on-year rise in its revenue from India in the calendar year 2022, according to cofounder and CEO Sridhar Vembu.

Without giving the revenue number for India, Vembu said that the country has emerged as the fastest-growing market for the SaaS giant. India is currently the third-biggest market for Zoho, after the US and the EU.

The bootstrapped unicorn posted a net profit of INR 2,749 Cr in FY22, registering a 43% jump from INR 1,917 Cr in FY21. Recently, Zoho surpassed 100 Mn users across its various business applications. Zoho competes with the likes of Freshworks, Hubspot, Salesforce, and Microsoft.

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Amid an ongoing legal battle with WalkMe, the Whatfix founder and CEO, Khadim Batti, has told his employees that litigation was a common competitive tactic in international markets and that the Israeli SaaS major has a history of doing the same.

“We believe that our success in the marketplace has led to this litigation. This legal matter does not impact our day-to-day operations or our ability to serve our customers,” Batti said in an email to Whatfix’s employees, ET reported, citing the email.

“WalkMe has a history of resorting to legal action against competition,” Batti added. 

The email comes as Indian media widely reported the ongoing legal proceedings in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California in the US between the two SaaS companies.

The Bone Of Contention

WalkMe has levelled several allegations against the SoftBank Vision Fund and Peak XV Partners-backed startup, Whatfix. In a complaint filed on August 8, the Nasdaq-listed Israeli company alleged that Whatfix gained unauthorised access to its systems, sought to interfere with customer relationships, made misleading advertising claims about its products and used its design mark without permission.

According to the court documents accessed by Inc42, WalkMe alleged that Whatfix had interfered with multiple WalkMe customer relationships and induced those customers to breach their subscription agreements with WalkMe. 

The company added that those customers provided Whatfix employees with user accounts and log-in credentials. WalkMe further alleged that the Whatfix employees used their access to gain “unauthorised insight into and copy WalkMe’s system features, functionality, and data.”

The lawsuit against Whatfix comes as the startup reported a net loss of INR 328.33 Cr in the financial year 2022-23 (FY23), down 53% compared to a loss of INR 706.26 Cr in FY22. The SoftBank-backed startup’s operating revenue rose 65.14% to INR 284.74 Cr in FY23 from INR 172.42 Cr in FY22.

The legal tussle also comes as the Indian SaaS startup is looking to raise a new funding round and is in discussions with prospective investors. Whatfix has raised $140 Mn in funding so far from investors, including SoftBank, Peak XV, Eight Roads Venture, F-Prime Capital, Anupam Mittal, Cisco Investments and Helion Ventures.

The post WalkMe Uses Litigation To Suppress Competition: Whatfix CEO To Employees appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Bengaluru-based SaaS startup Whatfix has been dragged to court by its Israeli-origin and Nasdaq-listed rival WalkMe.

WalkMe has alleged that the SoftBank and Peak XV Partners-backed startup gained unauthorised access to its systems to interfere with customer relationships. Further, WalkMe alleged that Whatfix tried to make misleading advertising claims about its products and used its design mark without permission.

The listed Israeli entity filed the case on August 8 in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California. The last update on the matter dates back to October 23, when the court ordered WalkMe to amend its complaint after the Nasdaq-listed company sought a temporary restraining order against Whatfix.

According to court documents reviewed by Inc42, WalkMe might file its first amended complaint (FAC) or opposition to Whatfix’s motion to dismiss WalkMe’s complaint by November 22. 

In the original complaint, WalkMe accused Whatfix of interfering with its customer relationships and persuading those customers to violate their subscription agreements. The company added that those customers provided Whatfix employees with user accounts and log-in credentials.

Incidentally, the product head at Whatfix, Dipit Sharma, admitted in court to have attempted to access WalkMe’s system for ‘further competitive analysis’. According to Sharma’s testimony in the court, when he did access the WalkMe platform, he “made no attempt to access internal WalkMe systems or information [and] used the product in the same way any WalkMe customer would to observe its user interface.”

Further, WalkMe alleged that Apoorva Mittal, who is the director of customer success at the SoftBank-backed startup, used his credentials to “access and explore the following WalkMe services: WalkMe Menu Organizer, WalkMe ActionBot, WalkMe Users, WalkMe Workstation, WalkMe UI Intelligence, WalkMe Discovery, [and] WalkMe Organization.”

WalkMe alleged in its complaint that the Whatfix PL employees used their access to gain “unauthorised insight into and copy WalkMe’s system features, functionality, and data.”

The lawsuit against Whatfix comes as the startup reported a net loss of INR 328.33 Cr in the financial year 2022-23 (FY23), down 53% compared to a loss of INR 706.26 Cr in FY22. The SoftBank-backed startup’s operating revenue rose 65.14% to INR 284.74 Cr in FY23 from INR 172.42 Cr in FY22.

Founded in 2013 by Khadim Batti and Vara Kumar, Whatfix earns revenue by selling subscriptions and professional services to other businesses. The digital adoption platform offers solutions for onboarding new customers, effective training and better support to users through a contextual content display at the time of need.

Whatfix has raised a total funding of nearly $140 Mn to date. Besides SoftBank and Peak XV, the startup counts the likes of Eight Roads Venture, F-Prime Capital, Anupam Mittal, Cisco Investments, and Helion Ventures among its investors. It was last valued at $600 Mn.

The post Israeli SaaS Company WalkMe Drags SoftBank-Backed Whatfix To Court appeared first on Inc42 Media.

B2B SaaS startup Whatfix managed to cut its net loss by 53% in the financial year ended March 31, 2023 by bringing down its expenses. The startup posted a net loss of INR 328.33 Cr in the financial year 2022-23 (FY23) as against a loss of INR 706.26 Cr in FY22.

The Softbank-backed startup’s operating revenue rose 65.14% to INR 284.74 Cr in FY23 from INR 172.42 Cr in FY22.

Meanwhile, total income jumped 57.54% to INR 303.96 Cr from INR 192.94 Cr in FY22.

Founded in 2013 by Khadim Batti and Vara Kumar, Whatfix earns revenue by selling subscriptions and professional services to other businesses. The digital adoption platform offers solutions for onboarding new customers, effective training and better support to users through contextual content display at the time of need.

The startup claims to offer its solutions to several Fortune 500 companies.

The Expenditure Breakdown

The Bengaluru-based startup’s total expenses fell 29.65% to INR 631.31 Cr in FY23 from INR 897.39 Cr in the previous fiscal year.

Sharp Decline In Finance Costs: Whatfix reduced its finance costs by x% to INR 152.24 Cr in FY23 from INR 457.37 Cr in FY22. Total non-current financial liabilities declined to INR 32.40 Cr from INR 1,240.38 Cr at the end of FY22.

Employee Costs Shoot Up: Whatfix’s employee benefit expenses rose 41.26% to INR 416.07 Cr in FY23 from INR 294.53 Cr in the previous fiscal year.

Meanwhile, cash and cash equivalents declined 60.13% to INR 150.87 Cr at the end of FY23 from INR 378.45 Cr a year ago.

Whatfix has raised a total funding of nearly $140 Mn till date. Besides SoftBank, the startup counts the likes of Sequoia Capital, Eight Roads Venture, F-Prime Capital, Anupam Mittal, Cisco Investments, and Helion Ventures among its investors. It was last valued at $600 Mn.

The post SoftBank-Backed Whatfix’s FY23 Net Loss Halves To INR 328 Cr appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Media-focussed SaaS unicorn Amagi has signed a definitive agreement to acquire UK-based Tellyo’s business for an undisclosed amount. 

In a statement, Amagi said that the deal will bolster its offerings that cater to live sports and news broadcast segments. The acquisition of Tellyo, which offers remote production facilities, will enable Amagi to improve live video streaming and editing experience for customers globally. 

In addition, the strategic acquisition will also enable Amagi to expand its footprint in Europe and scale up investments in the eastern part of the continent. The media SaaS major also expects the pact to drive cloud innovation in the region in an accelerated manner. 

Tellyo has a research and development (R&D) centre in Poland, with offices in the UK and Finland. Amagi aims to leverage the startup’s knowledge base and team to further scale up its global ambitions. 

Commenting on the development, Amagi cofounder and chief executive officer (CEO) Baskar Subramanian said, “We are excited about the opportunities this acquisition presents for Amagi. Tellyo brings a wealth of expertise, a strong team, and innovative products that align perfectly with our strategic vision of being a frontrunner in the cloud-based live broadcast technology space.”

Subramanian also added that the acquisition will enrich Amagi’s product offerings, bring more investments in the Eastern European region and create new ‘possibilities’ for local talent.

“This move is a testament to our commitment in delivering outstanding value to our customers, employees and investors . We believe that joining forces with Amagi will provide us with the resources and scale to reach new heights. We are excited about the potential of what both our companies can offer,” added Tellyo chief executive officer (CEO) Richard Collins.

The acquisition will enable Amagi to further strengthen its footprint in the Eastern European region. Just last year, the SaaS major established its first development centre outside India in Croatia. 

Tellyo is Amagi’s second acquisition in the past year. In November 2022, the company also acquired US-based data platform for content distributors, Streamwise, for an undisclosed amount. 

The transactions have largely come on the back of a hefty $100 Mn funding raised by Amagi in November last year from PE firm General Atlantic. The capital infusion pushed the company into the league of Indian unicorns as Amagi’s valuation skyrocketed to $1.4 Bn.

Founded in 2008 by Subramanian, Srinivasan KA and Srividhya Srinivasan, Amagi offers a full stack cloud suite for clients to create, distribute and monetise content globally. It also offers broadcast and targeted advertising solutions for broadcast and streaming TV platforms. 

The SaaS unicorn claims to power more than 700 content brands and over 800 playout chains on its platform. Spanning 40 countries, Amagi has offices in global media hubs such as New York, London, Paris and Toronto. 

Amagi caters to some of the biggest names in the media world including names such as Warner Bros. Discovery, NBCUniversal, A+E Networks UK, Curiosity Stream, among others. 

The post Amagi Acquires Tellyo To Bolster Live Sports Offerings, Expand Footprint In Europe appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Bengaluru and San Francisco-based event management startup Hubilo’s net loss jumped 2.75X in the year ended March 31, 2023, as expenses shot up. The startup’s loss rose to INR 52.02 Cr in the financial year 2022-23 (FY23) from INR 18.93 Cr in the previous fiscal year.

Hubilo, founded in 2015 by Vaibhav Jain, Mayank Agarwal and John Peter, started as a virtual networking platform for attendees. However, gauging the preference for physical events, it started developing tools and executing and managing mid to large-sized events for enterprises.

The rise in virtual events during the COVID-19 restrictions saw the startup pivoting to online event management and offering a streaming platform for enterprises to cater to the needs of the industry at the time.

However, with daily life returning to normalcy after the pandemic, online events have gone down steadily and this seems to have affected Hubilo’s business.

Its revenue from operations rose marginally to INR 55.95 Cr in FY23 from INR 55.06 Cr in FY22. Including other income, total revenue stood at INR 56.68 Cr in FY23 as against INR 55.59 Cr in the previous fiscal year.

Zooming Into Hubilo’s Expenses

The startup’s total expenditure surged 1.46X to INR 108.70 Cr in FY23 from INR 74.54 Cr in FY22.

Employee Costs Surge: At INR 93.62 Cr, employee benefit expenses accounted for 86% of the total expenditure in FY23. Employee costs grew over 86% from INR 59.02 Cr in the previous fiscal year. The increase came despite the startup laying off around 160 employees across two rounds during the year.

Other Expenses: The startup categorised INR 14.07 Cr worth of expenditure under ‘Other Expenses’ in its filings, down slightly from the INR 14.77 Cr reported in FY22. Of this, consultancy charges stood at INR 3.10 Cr in FY23 as against INR 6.44 Cr in FY22. 

Advertising Costs Slide: Hubilo managed to drastically bring down its advertising spending, bringing to INR 14.30 Lakh in FY23 from INR 1.04 Cr in FY22.

On a unit economics level, Hubilo spent INR 1.94 to earn INR 1 from operations during FY23.

Hubilo has raised a funding of $153 Mn to date and counts the likes of Alkeon Capital, Lightspeed Venture Partners and Balderton Capital among its investors.

The post Hubilo’s FY23 Loss Surges 2.75X To INR 52 Cr As Expenses Mount appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Beerud Sheth, a technology major from MIT and IIT-Bombay, wore many hats. He had an extensive career as a financial industry professional and launched Elance, a services marketplace, before setting up Gupshup in 2004. It started as a conversational engagement platform to change the way brands communicate with people. In the following decades, Gupshup went full throttle, powering companies to manage customer lifecycles through conversations in critical areas like marketing, sales and support.

The platform uses a single API to automate business operations across 30+ channels, including WhatsApp, Instagram, Viber, Telegram, voice, SMS, web and app, among others. It has also launched ACE LLM, which uses generative AI (genAI) to transform customer experience.

Gupshup is now catering to more than 45K customers worldwide and expanding rapidly into various international markets such as the Middle East and the Asia-Pacific, Southeast Asia, Latin America, the EU, the US and Africa. The Mumbai- and San Francisco-based SaaS player entered the unicorn club in April 2021. 

In September 2021, the company forayed into the UAE market and later boosted its presence by acquiring Knowlarity Communications (the target company was operational there) in 2022, which provides cloud telephony, contact centre automation (AI-based voice assistants, chatbots and video solutions) and speech analytics. It served more than 6K customers in 65 countries at the time of acquisition. 

“India is our oldest market and 60% of Gupshup’s business still comes from there. However, the UAE market has contributed nearly 4-5% of our revenue in the past 18 months. Gupshup’s monthly recurring revenue (MRR) has tripled in the MENA region due to the rapid adoption of its products,” said Mukul Yadav, senior director and head of the MENA region. Inc42 had an exclusive conversation with him on the sidelines of this year’s GITEX Global held in Dubai.

According to Yadav, the Middle East is the third-largest market for Gupshup after India and LatAm. Apart from Dubai, where Gupshup has a strong presence, the SaaS provider also operates in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), the Kingdom of Bahrain, the State of Qatar and the State of Kuwait. 

Its most prominent clients in the region include Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank (ADCB), Emaar, Talabat, Bayut, Lulu Exchange, Apparel Group, Sharaf DG and Qatar Islamic Bank, among others. 

Gupshup also works closely with ‘big tech’ companies such as Meta and has set up a GPT-based chatbot for Dubai Electricity & Water Authority (DEWA). The bot helps DEWA customers with quick and intelligent responses to frequently asked questions like bill paying, address change and requirements for new connections. 

“The number of companies using our solutions has grown 3x in the MENA region,” said Yadav. “Our clients range from BFSI, telecom and retail to new-age tech industries like on-demand food delivery. Batelco (Bahrain Telecommunication Company) and Qatar’s Ooredoo, two leading telcos in the region, are our clients.”

The SaaS unicorn is looking to double its growth in the MENA region by FY24. 

Decoding Two Years Of Gupshup Growth In The MENA Region

Although Gupshup has not yet disclosed its consolidated FY23 results, Yadav said that at the group level, its consolidated revenue grew by 55% YoY in FY23 and now stands close to $300 Mn. Gupshup’s total revenue in FY22 (ended March 2022) reached INR 1,140.7 Cr, up 53% from INR 747.6 Cr in the previous fiscal. However, its consolidated net profit narrowed by 24% YoY to INR 39.9 Cr, from INR 52.5 Cr in FY21, due to an expenditure surge. 

Yadav emphasised that 2021 and 2022 (calendar years) were a period of aggressive growth for Gupshup. The company entered new markets like the UAE and invested in as many as five acquisitions – OneDirect, AskSid Technology Solutions, Active.ai, Knowlarity Communications and Dotgo – all of which were successfully integrated. 

Operating in the UAE has its challenges, though. Although earnings are higher in the MENA region, so are the costs, said Yadav. But compared to India, businesses are likely to see a decent hike in revenue.

“While India is a large volume market, the middle east is a high value market. The WhatsApp messaging cost (as offered by Meta) is higher for middle east in terms of dollar value,” he added.

Gupshup’s UAE team has now grown to 10 people and more people are getting hired in Saudi Arabia and other countries of the MENA region.

Strategies And Solutions That Strike Gold

The MENA region boasts a large number of ultra-high-net-worth individuals (UHNWI), family offices and global business groups like Emaar that look to benefit their close-knit communities in concrete, quantifiable ways. When Gupshup entered the market, it realised that other companies in the region were already offering similar solutions and most of them had long-term contracts with their existing customers. 

“Breaking into that community posed a major challenge, but we also realised something vital. We know by now that India is more price-sensitive, while the UAE is more product-sensitive,” said Yadav.

Besides, the Dubai government is eager to embrace the latest technology trends such as predictive and generative AI. (For context, ChatGPT is just one component of the humungous genAI ecosystem.) The authorities here have allocated funds and different departments are carrying out the implementation. Dubai has an AI minister, quite a rarity, and it is always planning five to 10 years in advance, he added. 

That the UAE is diving deep into innovation makeover was evident at Gitex Global 2023, where Inc42 interacted with H.E. Omar Sultan AlOlama, the UAE’s minister of state for AI, digital economy and remote work applications, and the chairman of Dubai Chamber of Digital Economy. AlOlama pointed out that the UAE and India have historical ties across different fields. Today, both countries are building many bridges on the AI front, and the Emirates can collaborate with India on critical AI fields. 

He also believes there are very few use cases which AI cannot solve today. However, the question here is how one can use AI responsibly.

Given these ground realities, the Gupshup team cracked the market dynamics before long and developed strategies that worked in its favour in the past 18 months. Here is a look at the company’s business principles:

Pushing the product, not the price: According to Yadav, when Gupshup started operating aggressively in the region, it never pushed the pricing or offered a basic product (to match customers’ pricing criteria). Instead, potential customers were asked to try its solutions first.

To add value to simple messaging solutions, Gupshup offered 20 additional features, such as AI chatbots and multiple journeys on WhatsApp chat. Plus, it kept pushing customised and innovative products to meet customer requirements across industries. Gupshup is also working with Meta on entirely new solutions and features, and Meta will soon launch these. 

Adopting a community-led approach: When in Rome, do as the Romans do. The company remembered the adage and adopted it to increase traction. When the team bagged more than 10 customers, it approached them to become Gupshup’s advocates, and soon, it managed to reach out to hundreds of companies in the MENA region. 

“That’s what is different from India. Sizewise, India is huge. So, it is difficult to leverage that community thing, which works in the UAE. We used that community to [kind of] push our products in the best way possible. That’s how everything changed in the past two years,” said Yadav.

Betting big on new-age tech solutions works: As the UAE and the entire MENA region are aggressively adopting new-age technology solutions, Gupshup’s WhatsApp and AI bet worked like a charm. For instance, its offerings around conversational marketing and conversational support are in great demand among ME customers. 

Companies primarily look for Gupshup’s services to build brand/product awareness, generate leads, engage with existing users, offer personalised deals and discounts, provide 24×7 support and streamline operations using AI.

Yadav mentioned an interesting use case for ticket booking on WhatsApp. Gupshup worked with a leading amusement park operator in Dubai to enable easy ticket booking for popular activities, thus ensuring greater visitor convenience.

“WhatsApp came to India first (2012), and we have been using it for almost a decade. But in the Middle East, especially in the UAE, the pick-up started only two and a half years ago. Now, people are quite tech-savvy and they want these solutions. They might have started late, but they are moving really fast,” he added.

The Growth Ahead

The company aims to accelerate its newfound growth trajectory across the MENA region in the near future. As Yadav emphasised, Dubai-based businesses are expanding their operations in Abu Dhabi, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and other countries, providing Gupshup an excellent opportunity to grow its global footprint further.

Besides, the UAE has a huge expat base, making it easier for companies to build an open culture. Having its solutions in more than 30 languages also adds to the many advantages Gupshup has in the region. 

The SaaS player also claims it has entered China as part of its ongoing effort to grow globally.

To sum up the growth potential, Yadav cited what Gupshup CEO Beerud Sheth said at a recent conference in Mumbai. 

“There is a difference between an autorickshaw and a car. An autorickshaw can get you from point A to point B, but when you get in the car, you can go on the highway, switch on the AC and drive in cruise mode. You can do so many extra things. People get excited about it. They want more. That’s the thing with this market. And that’s what Gupshup is offering them.”

The post Decoding How SaaS Unicorn GupShup Cracked The Middle East Market appeared first on Inc42 Media.

NASDAQ-listed Indian SaaS unicorn Freshworks has reported a revenue of $153.6 Mn, representing a growth of 19% compared to $128.7 Mn in the third quarter of 2022. The SaaS unicorn said that adjusting for constant currency, the revenue was up 18% YoY.

Interestingly, the company has posted a non-GAAP (Generally Acceptable Accounting Practices) profit of $17.4 Mn during the quarter, compared to non-GAAP (loss) from operations of $3.1 Mn in the third quarter of 2022.

The SaaS unicorn is now optimistic and has raised full-year 2023 financial outlook midpoint for non-GAAP operating profit to $40 Mn. Freshworks is also confident to achieve its goal of $1 Bn in revenue in the next three years.

The increase in revenues can be attributed to the rise in the number of customers contributing more than $5,000 in ARR to 19,551, a Y-o-Y increase of 17%. The company added to its community customers such as ASPCA, Cenveo, Giant Eagle Inc., Kelly Benefits, Qualfon, Salvation Army Australia and Tri Pointe Homes.

“Our continued traction with larger customers over $50,000 in ARR, and — combined with our expansion motion and large SMB opportunity, create a go-to-market motion unique to Freshworks. We believe it is this combination of growth levers that gives us confidence in our ability to reach our goal of $1 billion in revenue in the next three years,” said Dennis Woodside, President, Freshworks during the company’s third quarter 2023 earnings conference call held on October 31, 2023.

During the quarter under review, the SaaS unicorn also unveiled an AI-powered customer service suite which brings together self-service bots, agent-led conversational messaging, and automated ticketing management in an all-in-one solution by uniting Freshchat, Freshdesk, and the company’s generative artificial intelligence technology, Freddy AI.

Further, the company has further reported a GAAP (loss) from operations of $38.7 Mn in Q3 2023. This is 33.6% less compared to $58.3 Mn loss in the third quarter of 2022.

Freshworks registered that net cash provided by operating activities was $23.9 Mn, compared to net cash (used in) operating activities of $4.2 Mn in the third quarter of 2022. Free cash flow was reported as $22.1 Mn, compared to $7.2 Mn in Q3 2022.

“We delivered another solid quarter of execution as we outperformed our estimates across our key financial metrics and further improved our profitability. Our market traction is fueled by continued product innovation that brings generative AI and rapid time to value to companies of all sizes,” said Girish Mathrubootham, CEO and Founder of Freshworks.

Founded in 2010 by Girish Mathrubootham and Shanmugam Krishnasamy, Freshworks offers a suite of software for customer service and support, customer engagement and IT service management. The company went public in 2021, though its share price has been in freefall since hitting a peak of $50.25 in October 2021.

The SaaS unicorn’s share price stood at $17.94 during Tuesday’s (October 31) close, giving it a market cap of $5.27 Bn.

Freshworks competes with the likes of Zoho, Hubspot, Salesforce, Microsoft and many other Indian and international tech majors.

Earlier in November 2022, bootstrapped SaaS unicorn Zoho reported its annual revenue surge beyond $1 Bn mark in the calendar year 2021. It reported a net profit of INR 2,749 Cr in FY22, registering a 43% jump from INR 1,917 Cr in FY21. In September 2023, it also surpassed 100 Mn users across its various business applications and now serves over 700K businesses across 150 countries.

The post Freshworks’ Revenue Jumps 19% To $153 Mn In Q3, Sets Sight On $1 Bn Revenue By 2026 appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Tiger Global-backed professional networking platform Apna’s revenue from operations surged nearly 3X in the financial year ended March 31, 2023. The Bengaluru-based startup reported an operating revenue of INR 180.2 Cr in the financial year 2022-23 (FY23), an increase of 182% from INR 63.8 Cr in the previous fiscal year. 

Founded by Nirmit Parikh in 2019, Apna, which initially called itself the LinkedIn for blue- and grey-collar workforce, has now started posting job listings for white-collar workforce as well. 

The startup primarily earns revenue by providing recruitment solutions.  Including other income, the startup reported a total revenue of INR 188.1 Cr, an increase of 186% from INR 65.7 Cr it reported in the previous fiscal year. 

Despite the increase in operating revenue, Apna’s loss rose in FY23. The startup incurred a loss of INR 120.3 Cr in FY23, an increase of 7% from INR 112.5 Cr in FY22. 

Employee Benefit Costs Ballon

With the rise in revenue, Apna’s total expenses also rose, albeit at a much lower pace. The startup’s total expenditure grew 73% to INR 308.4 Cr in FY23 from INR 178.3 Cr in the previous fiscal year.

Employee Count Rises? Apna’s biggest expenditure during the year under review was employee costs. At INR 203.7 Cr, employee benefit expenses accounted for 66% of the total expenditure. This was also a rise of 162% from INR 77.8 Cr the company spent on employee benefits in FY22. The sharp increase indicates that the startup has increased its headcount. As per LinkedIn, Apna’s current employee headcount stands at 924. 

Advertising Expenses Decline: In what seems to be a bid to reduce cash burn, Apna cut down its advertising expenses by 28% to INR 62 Cr in FY23 from INR 86 Cr in the previous fiscal year.

Apna started its journey as a networking platform for carpenters, painters, field sales agents, beauticians. Now, it also offers its services to white-collar employees. The startup currently caters both to employers and job seekers. It now has job listings under categories such as work for home, part-time job, freshers job, and night shift job to cater to a wider audience.

Inc42 has learnt that the startup recently also forayed into the international market and now has job postings from countries like Singapore, the UAE and Poland.

Apna entered the unicorn club in 2021 after raising $100 Mn in a funding round. At that time, it was the fastest Indian startup to turn into a unicorn.

The startup is backed by marquee investors such as Peak XV Partners, Insights Partners, Lightspeed India, and Tiger Global. 

It competes against the likes of LinkedIn, Naukri.com, and Indeed. 

The post Tiger Global-Backed Apna’s FY23 Revenue Nearly Triples To INR 188 Cr appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Crafting a solid introduction is undeniably important for startups seeking success. However, in the ever-evolving business landscape, reaching the $5 Mn milestone is just the beginning. 

To achieve long-term success and surpass this benchmark, startups must have a well-defined plan for continuous expansion. It requires an aggressive and comprehensive approach that goes beyond initial growth strategies. 

Particularly in the context of the predicted software-as-a-service (SaaS) market growth by 2030, startups must be prepared to seize opportunities and outpace the competition. There are some necessary elements that can propel a SaaS startup beyond $5 Mn and pave the way for sustained success in the dynamic marketplace. 

By understanding the importance of continuous expansion and taking a proactive stance, startups can position themselves for future growth and thrive in the predicted SaaS market landscape.

Focusing On Growth-Oriented Leading Indicators

Focusing on growth-oriented leading indicators is crucial for startups to achieve sustainable expansion. By shifting the emphasis from lagging metrics to proactive measurements, businesses can identify opportunities, make data-driven decisions, and stay ahead of the competition. 

This involves analysing predictive analytics and forward-looking insights to capitalise on emerging trends and drive continuous growth.

Bookings To MRR (Monthly Recurring Revenue)

Also known as Monthly Recurring Revenue (MRR), this factor is vital for sustained growth. Startups should not solely focus on the number of bookings but also delve deeper into analysing trends over time and the factors that influence them. 

By optimising sales strategies, nurturing customer relationships, and maximizing revenue streams, businesses can achieve consistent and predictable MRR, fuelling their expansion efforts.

Bookings To Invoicing

Understanding the relationship between bookings and invoicing is critical for managing a startup’s financial health and forecasting future growth. Startups must closely examine these metrics to identify bottlenecks or inefficiencies in their sales processes. 

By streamlining operations, improving invoicing cycles, and ensuring timely payments, businesses can establish a healthy financial ecosystem that supports sustained expansion.

Invoicing To Cash

Effective cash flow management is essential for a startup’s survival and growth. Startups should closely monitor the gap between invoicing and actual cash collections, understanding the dynamics of revenue generation. 

By prioritising timely payments, optimising receivables management, and refining working capital strategies, businesses can maintain a healthy cash flow position, fuel growth initiatives, and seize new opportunities as they arise.

Pipeline Per $ By Channel

Strategic allocation of marketing resources is crucial for startups aiming to scale. Analysing the pipeline per dollar by channel helps identify the most effective channels for generating leads, conversions, and revenue. 

Continuous monitoring and analysis enable businesses to optimise their marketing strategies, make informed decisions, and achieve maximum returns on their marketing investments.

Win Rates By Geo, Use Case, Lead Source

Analysing win rates by geography, use case, and lead source provides valuable insights into sales performance. Startups can identify regions or customer segments that yield higher success rates and tailor their strategies accordingly. 

Prioritising real-time reporting and journey orchestration can enhance customer retention rates and unlock expansion opportunities within existing customer bases.

In Conclusion

To ensure long-term success and capitalise on the predicted growth of the SaaS market, startups must adopt an aggressive and comprehensive approach to continuous expansion. 

By focusing on growth-oriented leading indicators, startups can make informed decisions, optimise operations, and drive sustainable growth. Crafting a solid introduction may open the door, but it is the strategic execution of expansion plans that paves the path to success. 

By embracing these elements and fostering a culture of adaptability and innovation, startups can position themselves to not only surpass the $5 Mn milestone but also thrive in the competitive SaaS landscape.

The post Scaling From $1 Mn To $5 Mn And Upwards: What More Should You Be Doing? appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Pune-based drone startup DroneAcharya Aerial Innovations reported a profit after tax (PAT) of INR 3.97 Cr in the first half (H1) of the financial year 2023-24 (FY24), a massive increase from INR 13.09 Lakh (0.13 Cr) in the corresponding period of the previous fiscal year.

DroneAcharya released its financial numbers for the second time on Friday (October 27) after its public listing on the BSE SME exchange in December 2022. In FY23, the startup posted a PAT of INR 3.42 Cr.

DroneAcharya’s operating revenue shot up 998% to INR 20.89 Cr in H1 FY24 from INR 1.9 Cr in the year-ago period. The startup attributed this increase to the growth in its drones and defence technology business and its recent foray into the spacetech sector. 

In a statement, DroneAcharya said it is now aiming to become a platform agnostic deeptech data science company.

Including other income, the startup’s total revenue grew to INR 21.96 Cr in H1 FY24 from INR 1.90 Cr a year ago.

In line with the increase in revenue, expenses also surged over 9X to INR 16.62 Cr in H1 FY24 from INR 1.73 Cr in H1 FY23. 

Employee benefit expenses grew to INR 2.57 Cr during the period under review from INR 1.01 Cr a year ago. The company spent INR 12.13 Cr on other expenses in H1 FY24 as against INR 58.88 Lakh (0.58 Cr) in  H1 FY23.

Founded by Srivastava in 2017, DroneAcharya offers an array of drone solutions for multi-sensor drone surveys, pilot training, and data processing, among others. The startup forayed into drone manufacturing earlier this year. It partnered with Gujarat-based robotics company Gridbots Technologies for commercial production, assembly, and export of drones and associated products from July 2023.

“Through our franchises and partners, we are set to expand our reach and solutions not only across India but also globally. Our performance in terms of revenue marks a strong base for our team’s capabilities and bandwidth to take on more challenging projects in the years to come,” Prateek Srivastava, founder and managing director of DroneAcharya, said. 

It must be noted that DroneAcharya signed a franchise agreement with Wollstone Capital SA last month to open 30 remote pilot training organisations (RPTOs) across the country.

“We have a vision to become India’s first platform agnostic deeptech data science company. Achieving this, we will not be limited to only drones but will be able to provide data intelligence and services coming from various platforms positioned aerially, in space, underground and underwater,” Srivastava added.

In the spacetech space, DroneAcharya said it is all set to make a debut as a system integrator in CubeSat and NanoSat technologies.”These platforms enable localised capture and determining different orbital paths, making them more mobile and versatile as compared to the conventional large satellites, while at the same time being cost-effective and time efficient,” it said.

DroneAcharya got listed on the BSE SME platform last year at a 90% premium to its issue price of INR 54 apiece, despite the lull in the equity markets. 

Shares of the company ended Friday’s trading session 1.53% higher at INR 196.10.

The post DroneAcharya’s Profit Soars To INR 3.97 Cr In H1 FY24, Revenue Surges 998% appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Traveltech SaaS startup RateGain’s consolidated profit after tax more than doubled to INR 30.04 Cr in the second quarter (Q2) of the financial year 2023-24 (FY24) from INR 12.96 Cr in the same period last year due to strong travel demand, which led to growth across verticals.

On a quarter-on-quarter (QoQ) basis, the company’s profit after tax grew 21% from INR 24.9 Cr.

RateGain reported a 88.4% year-on-year (YoY) jump in operating revenue to INR 234.7 Cr in Q2 FY24, which also grew over 17% from INR 124.61 Cr in the preceding quarter.

EBITDA margin expanded to 19.8% from 14.1% in the corresponding quarter of last year, while EBITDA surged 163.9% YoY to INR 46.4 Cr.

“The company continues to drive growth and all-round operational performance through
expansion of relationships with its marquee enterprise global customer base across the travel &
hospitality space, addition of new clients and continued monetisation of key contracts wins in the past few quarters,” RateGain said in a statement.

With travel demand beyond 2019 levels, the traveltech industry is now investing into adopting new technologies including AI to improve customer experience, drive cost efficiencies and optimise revenue, the startup added.

“With the travel industry making AI a priority to create predictable revenue streams and drive cost efficiencies, RateGain is emerging as a natural choice for industry leaders to help them get access to accurate pricing and travel intent data, powered by a dependable digital infrastructure to improve conversions,” Bhanu Chopra, founder and chairman of RateGain Travel Technologies, said.

In terms of expenses, total expenditure rose 53% YoY and 6% QoQ to INR 199.1 Cr during the quarter under review.

The most substantial component of these expenses remained employee benefits. RateGain spent INR 94.3 Cr on employee benefits in Q2 FY24 as against INR 58 Cr in the year-ago quarter.

RateGain’s employee count rose 18.8% to 746 at the end of Q2 FY24.

Founded in 2004, RateGain is a global provider of SaaS solutions for travel and hospitality. It works with 3,000+ customers and 700+ partners in 100+ countries, helping them accelerate revenue generation through acquisition, retention, and wallet share expansion.

Following the release of Q2 financials, shares of the company ended Friday’s session 3.8% higher at INR 624.80 on the BSE.

The post RateGain Q2 PAT Surges 132% YoY To INR 30 Cr On Strong Travel Demand appeared first on Inc42 Media.

New York-based AI intelligence unicorn Fractal turned profitable in the financial year ended March 31, 2023. The TPG-backed SaaS company reported a profit of INR 194.4 Cr in FY23 as against a loss of INR 148.4 Cr in the previous fiscal year. 

The company would have been in loss in FY23 if not for a gain of INR 494.9 Cr from an exceptional item. As per the financial statement, Fractal made the exceptional item gain from the loss of control of a subsidiary company. 

Inc42 has reached out to the company seeking further details on this one-time gain. The story would be updated on receiving a response.

Without the exceptional gain, Fractal, which reported a profit of INR 36 Cr in FY21, would have reported a loss of INR 181.5 Cr in FY23.

Founded in 2000 by Srikanth Velamakanni and Pranay Agrawal, along with core team members – Nirmal Palaparthi, Pradeep Suryanarayan, and Ramakrishna Reddy, Fractal offers artificial intelligence and advanced analytics solutions to Fortune 500 companies.

Fractal took 21 years to enter the prestigious unicorn club when private equity firm TPG pumped in $360 Mn at a valuation of over $2 Bn. 

Fractal’s Cash Cow – The US 

Fractal’s operating revenue increased 53% to INR 1,985.4 Cr in FY23 from INR 1,295.3 Cr in the previous fiscal year. The startup primarily earns revenue by offering analytics solutions. 

• It generated INR 1,333.9 Cr from the US region, a jump of 56% from INR 852.9 Cr in FY22. 
• Fractal earned INR 346.7 Cr from the European region, an increase of 40% from INR 247.2 Cr in FY22.
• The APAC & others region, which includes India, too saw a robust growth in revenue. It made INR 304.8 Cr in revenue from this region, a jump of 56% from INR 195.2 Cr in FY22. 

Fractal, including other income, reported a total revenue of INR 2,043.7 Cr in FY23, a 55.5% increase from INR 1,314 Cr in the previous year. 

Where Did Fractal Spend?

Total expenditure surged 52% to INR 2,225.2 Cr in FY23 from INR 1,461.5 Cr in the previous fiscal year. 

Employee benefit expenses were the biggest contributor to the startup’s growing expenses. Fractal spent INR 1,767.2 Cr on employee benefit expenses in FY23, an increase of 59.5% from INR 1,107.9 Cr in the previous year. It spent INR 1,524.3 Cr on salaries in FY23 as against INR 1,030.8 Cr in FY22. As per LinkedIn, Fractal’s total employee count stands at above 4,500. 

Fractal also granted ESOPs worth INR 158.7 Cr in FY23 as compared to INR 21.9 Cr in the previous fiscal year. 

Fractal Analytics has raised a funding of around $680 Mn to date and counts TPG, Apax Partners, Khazanah Nasional among its investors. Its offerings include Qure.ai that assists radiologists, Crux Intelligence to assist CEOs and senior executives, Theremin.ai to improve investment decisions, among others. 

The post Exceptional Gain Helps SaaS Unicorn Fractal Post INR 194 Cr Profit In FY23 appeared first on Inc42 Media.

In recent years, industries across the spectrum have felt the transformative impact of artificial intelligence. The transportation sector, for instance, is on the brink of a monumental shift with autonomous vehicles anticipated to outclass human drivers. 

Similarly, the realm of legal documentation is poised for a game-changing revolution. In less than 18 months, we predict that every contract will be analyzed and reviewed by AI. Here’s why.

The Superiority Of AI In Document Review

A contract is more than a mere aggregation of terms; it represents the foundation of countless professional relationships, establishing mutual rights, and responsibilities. 

Similar to how autonomous vehicles combine sensors, data, and algorithms to navigate complex terrains, AI harnesses vast datasets and machine learning to dissect contractual terms with precision. This includes:

• Accuracy And Efficiency: Human error, biases, and oversight are inevitable in manual contract review. However, AI promises to eliminate these inaccuracies. It can scan through vast swathes of text, ensuring that the right clauses are used and the correct legal language is applied consistently.
• Strength Analysis Of Clauses: Beyond identifying and correcting, AI can assess the robustness of each clause. It uses deep learning algorithms to evaluate how enforceable and strong each term is in real-world scenarios, ensuring contracts are not just legally sound but practically enforceable.
• Litigation Predictions: AI isn’t limited to mere textual analysis. By referencing vast legal datasets, AI can offer predictive insights. If a contract’s terms were to lead to litigation, the system can forecast which party would likely have the upper hand, based on the strength and wording of the contract.
• Decision-Making Guidance: One of the most transformative features of AI in contract review will be its advisory capacity. It won’t just analyze contracts; it will guide stakeholders on the implications of terms and whether they should proceed with the agreement. This proactive guidance can prevent potential disputes and misunderstandings down the road.
• Benchmarking With Historical Data: Contracts don’t exist in a vacuum. With each litigation or dispute, a wealth of data gets generated. AI can reference this historical data, comparing the contract’s clauses against past litigations to provide insights on potential outcomes or risks.

The Ripple Effects: A New Era In Contract Management

The benefits of AI-powered contract reviews extend beyond efficiency and accuracy. By ensuring contracts are sound from the outset, businesses can minimise potential disputes, fostering smoother professional relationships. 

Moreover, by gaining insights into potential litigation outcomes, organisations can make more informed decisions, strategically navigating potential legal challenges.

Furthermore, as the business world becomes increasingly global, contracts often span multiple jurisdictions, each with its unique legal nuances. AI, with its data-driven capabilities, can ensure that contracts are compliant with the relevant local laws, mitigating cross-border legal risks.

The Future Of Legal Contracts: AI At The Helm

The trajectory is clear: AI’s role in contract review is not a mere augmentation but a paradigm shift. As the legal industry grapples with the increasing complexity and volume of contracts, the adoption of AI tools will soon become an imperative rather than an option.

Just as autonomous vehicles are set to redefine transportation, AI-driven contract review tools will reshape the legal landscape, offering unprecedented accuracy, efficiency, and foresight. 

And for those wondering where to begin this transformative journey, there are some platforms that are leading the charge, pioneering the integration of AI in the world of legal contracts. 

Offering not just AI-driven contract review but the ability to convert traditional contracts into smart contracts, platforms like these are the vanguard of the future of legal tech.

In conclusion, as we stand on the cusp of this new era, businesses and legal professionals must embrace AI-driven contract tools. The future of contracts is not just about legality but about leveraging technology to drive clarity, compliance, and strategic foresight.

The post Why AI Will Dominate Contract Reviews: The Next Paradigm Shift In Legaltech appeared first on Inc42 Media.