Top news from the world of startups and technology this week

Welcome to a new edition of ETtech Unwrapped – our weekend newsletter filled with the most important stories from the week. Let’s take a look at them.

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Ecomm, Qcomm Updates

Government speeds up trade: shed more light on murky store ownership structures | Government officials have interviewed several senior e-commerce executives in recent weeks to understand the ownership structure of the flash sales companies and their black warehouses, small storage facilities that are key to foreign-backed platforms that enable them to make deliveries in 15 to 30 minutes, people familiar with the matter said.

Qcomm data could prove to be key data for new GDP calculations: The government is considering using purchases made through instant trading platforms such as Zepto, Blinkit, Instamart and BigBasket to understand changes in consumption patterns and the pace of economic activity as part of efforts to revise the base year for national accounts and other official statistics.

Online holiday sales set to top $12 billion this year: report | E-commerce companies and online retailers are expecting $12 billion worth of goods to reach Indian consumers this festive season, up 23% from $9.7 billion last year, according to research firm Datum Intelligence.

Former Cleartrip CEO taps venture capitalists to launch high-speed trading venture: Ayyappan R, former CEO of Flipkart-owned Cleartrip, is planning to launch a new retail venture and is in talks with venture capital firms Accel and RTP Global to raise a significant seed capital, multiple people with knowledge of the talks told ET.

Read also | Blinkit, Zepto pilot returns, exchanges to succeed in fashion e-commerce

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Other top news this week

ET Startup Awards 2024: Union Minister Piyush Goyal to host 10th edition of awards | Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal will be the guest of honour at the star-studded ceremony announcing the winners of the 10th edition of The Economic Times Startup Awards on Saturday, October 5. The country’s most coveted honour for excellence in entrepreneurship.

PhysicsWallah closes $210 million funding round led by Hornbill Capital, valuing it at $2.8 billion: Online coaching platform PhysicsWallah has closed a $210 million funding round led by Hornbill Capital, the largest fundraising round for an edtech company that has been struggling since the height of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Livspace to apply for Singapore domicile change for listing in 2025-2026: Ikea-backed home décor startup Livspace is ready to apply to relocate its headquarters from Singapore to India and has received preliminary approval from its board, founder Ramakant Sharma said.

Lightspeed could lead $50-60 million funding round in healthcare startup Qure.ai: Venture capital firm Lightspeed, through its growth fund, is set to close a $50-60 million deal with Qure.ai, which provides artificial intelligence (AI)-based decision-support tools for diagnostic imaging, sources told us.

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ET Soonicorns Peak

ETtech’s Digbijay Mishra with BigBasket co-founder Hari Menon

Kiranas to stay in business despite rapidly gaining popularity: BigBasket’s Hari Menon | Speaking at the ET Soonicorns Summit in Bengaluru on Friday, BigBasket co-founder Hari Menon said, “Kiranas are here to stay. They give you convenience and credit. Kirana stores will start becoming more efficient and will start delivering to homes. They will not have apps, but they will deliver efficiently for now.”

Łódź likely to go public next year: co-founder Aman Gupta | Wearables brand Boat is likely to go public next year, co-founder Aman Gupta told ET’s Soonicorns Summit. “We are working on improving some things, working a little harder in our business. But if everything goes well, the IPO will probably happen next year,” Gupta said.

India’s ‘moment to shine’ as VC funding surges, say investors | This is India’s “moment to shine” as venture capital (VC) funding in the country is picking up pace, with companies like Rapido and Ather Energy recently joining the unicorn club, investors told the ET Soonicorns Summit on Friday.

“Don’t register a startup outside India unless you have a compelling reason to do so”‘: Livspace co-founder Ramakant Sharma urged startups to register their headquarters in India unless there is a compelling reason to do so. He highlighted the benefits of doing business in India, including attracting talent and capital. This comes as Livspace prepares to shift its headquarters from Singapore to India.

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Fintech Corner

Banks increase vigilance against fraudulent account opening via digital banking channels: Banks are working to introduce stringent background checks for customers who want to open accounts through digital banking channels, a practice typically used by lenders to open credit accounts but now being replicated for deposit accounts, according to three people familiar with the matter.

M2P Fintech Inch Closer to Unicorn Status with $80 Million in Funding from Helios, Bank Muscat and More: M2P Fintech, a provider of software services to banks, is in the process of finalizing a new round of funding of approximately $80 million through a combination of primary and secondary transactions.

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Technical news

India’s progress in AI faces hurdles from privacy laws: Industry executives say many companies, including IT firms, banks and cloud storage providers, are seeking legal advice over concerns that their use of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) could breach data laws.

Japanese technology company Sharp is looking for Indian partners to open a display factory: Japanese company Sharp, backed by Foxconn, is actively seeking an Indian partner to set up a display factory under the India Semiconductor Mission (ISM) program for display manufacturing facilities, according to people with knowledge of the activities.

Read also | India to become major semiconductor player in 10 years: Union Minister Amit Shah

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Other top news