Category Archives: News

Pune’s @EZMove_in raises Rs 1 crore in angel funding from HNIs

Money Matters, News, ,

The Economic Times is reporting that Pune-based EZMove has raised Rs 1 crore in angel funding from HNIs.

Excerpts from the article:

Online home relocation service aggregator EZMove raised angel investment of Rs 1 crore from seven high networth individuals, including industrialist Hemant Bharatram, and Chicago-based Purvi Capital cofounder Ravi Srivastava, who have all invested in their personal capacity.

Founded in August last year, EZMove is an online marketplace where a user can meet a reliable packer by simply filling out an online form. The customer also receives ratings of each of these vendors based on old customer experience and also feedback based on the startup’s screening process. At a minimum, the customer gets quotations from 3-4 packers.

How are they planning on using the money?

“We will aggressively expand to smaller towns and cities, and invest on our mobile website,” said Anand Agarwal, 36, who cofounded the company with Vishwajeet Singh, who he met while working at Geometric Software. EZMove expects a revenue of Rs 12 crore by December 2014 at current run rate. The movers and packers market in India is estimated to be about Rs 10,000 crore with mostly unorganized players.

The founders Anand and Vishwajeet will be familiar to Pune techies from their earlier venture, cloud-based software development environment provider BootstrapToday.

Read the full article

>@PersistentSys acquires Pune-based Mobile Search and Ad firm @HoopzPlanetInfo

News, , , ,

Persistent Systems has announced that it has acquired Pune-based Hoopz.

What does Hoopz do?

It allows users of mobile to see “interesting” information without having to specifically search for it. Based on whatever keywords happen to be in the content you’re currently viewing on the mobile, whether it is in an app, or a document, or a website, like facebook, twitter, or anything else, or an email, sms, Hoopz will show you other content it believes you will find interesting. It will show you other apps, or information, or it will show you ads.

Based on the above description, Business Standard is calling Hoopz a “web discovery technology” company, while Medianama called it a “mobile ad firm”.

Interesting, Hoopz is not sold/provided to consumers directly. Instead they’ve chosen to go via the OEM route:

As a strategy, Hoopz is targeted towards hardware manufacturers than the application eco-system. “Hoopz is not hardware dependent, but as a technology framework layer it needs to be integrated into the operating system. Hence we prefer to work with OEMs. At present Hoopz is with over half-a-million handsets,” said Surekha. Going ahead the company will focus on international expansion into regions like APAC and China.

Why did Persistent buy Hoopz? Especially considering that Persistent now has a venture fund and could just have invested in Hoopz, like it did with wearable tech startup Hyginex, video calling iPad app Ustyme and life sciences company DxNow?

Here is what Anand Deshpande had to say about that:

“We did have the option to invest in the company through our venture arm too, but the technology and space that Hoopz is made us believe that acquiring them would be better,” said Anand Deshpande, chairman and MD, Persistent Systems. Deshpande also explains that though the application fits into the consumer internet space it can be scaled into the enterprise set-up too.

and:

The acquisition fits in Persistent’s focus area of mobility and though Hoopz is consumer focused, Deshpande is betting on the data discovery platform than can be scaled to the enterprise segment. “Our objective is to align technology and the company. We keep looking at technologies and see how we can participate in them. This also means taking smaller companies to a bigger core group,” added Deshpande.

References:

Pearson Partners with Pune’s Programmr to embed online coding in Pearson’s learning platform

News, , ,

Pune’s Programmr, an online coding technology startup, has partnered with Pearson, the global textbook publishing giant, and now an online digital learning company, to embed Programmr’s technology in Pearson’s online “Learning Labs”

Excerpts from their press release:

Each “Learning Lab” seamlessly integrates Programmr’s programming lab technology into Pearson’s web-based learning platform that includes screencast videos, graphics, and interactive assessment; all embedded within an instructional text written by Pearson’s best-selling professional technical authors. Readers will be able to learn theory while simultaneously practicing coding skills in a real-time “code sandbox” environment.

and:

Programmr has taken the programming lab and put it into the cloud so users can access the latest coding technologies from any browser, eliminating the need for complicated desktop tools, removing one of the biggest impediments to learning to code.

The first four Learning Labs cover topics including HTML and CSS, JavaScript, jQuery, and HTML5 Mobile App Development, with titles on additional popular coding technologies scheduled for publication later this year.

Read the full article

Pune’s FirstCry – Baby Products eCommerce Company – to have 100 offline stores

News,

VCCircle has an interesting interview with Supam Maheshwari, CEO of Pune-based baby-products ecommerce company, FirstCry, where he says that they will have 100 offline stores in India by the end of this year

Here are some excerpts from that interview:

You raised $15 million funding from Vertex to take the total external funding to $33 million. How are you using the fresh capital?

The capital is being used mainly to enhance our technology, product and operations. A portion of the money is also being used to open more offline stores in cities across the country. We currently run 70 stores across 58 cities and continue to add four-five stores a month. We will now look to open more stores in Bangalore, Pune, Chennai and Delhi, among others.

By the end of this year, we will have 100 offline stores across the country to beat lifestyle apparels and fashion e-tailer Myntra.com to have the most number of stores from an e-com player in India. By the end of 2017, we aim to have 400 stores across 250 cities.

And:

Are you looking at global markets?

Currently, we are focusing on India. There are millions of babies born every day in India, and their parents plan what products to be bought for their kids even before they are born. This is where we are seeing huge opportunities. Additionally, India is a very complex world, with different states, taxes and varied tastes. Once we become even more sizeable, we will look at overseas markets.

and:

Large e-com players like Amazon, Flipkart and Snapdeal are innovating on last-mile delivery to acquire more businesses. How are you positioned on that front?

In fact, we do next-day delivery in 10-12 cities free of cost while Amazon and Snapdeal charge a fee for the same. This service is available in certain cities like Mumbai, Pune, Delhi-NCR, Chennai, Hyderabad and Bangalore. We will pan to expand next-day delivery to 12 cities.

Read the full article. Try this Google search for other PuneTech coverage of FirstCry.

Pubmatic well positioned to take advantage of the growth of digital advertising

News, , ,

Business Standard has a good overview of Pune-based Pubmatic which sells products and services targeted towards the online advertising market.

Here are some excerpts:

Excerpt:

In less than the time it took to type the first word of this sentence, advertisers are bidding for and placing advertisements on websites, thanks to the power of real-time bidding, or RTB. The technology, part of programmatic function or workflow automation, has also powered the rise of PubMatic, an enterprise software platform for large digital publishers such as NBC, Fox, eBay and Kayak.

“We help these large publishers price, package and sell all their ad space in a digital manner, using real-time bidding technology, which has become the backbone of internet advertising,” explains Rajeev Goel, co-founder and chief executive of PubMatic.

Pubmatic is technically a US based company, but all its software development happens out of Pune. Here is a profile of the company’s market:

PubMatic has about 500 clients globally. Their definition of a publisher is anyone who builds a relationship with consumers. Goel estimates of the global advertising market of a little more than half a trillion dollars, about $133 billion goes into digital advertising, while RTB accounts for about $30 billion.

He says digital advertising is growing 50-70 per cent annually, and steadily increasing its share in the advertising market. “More and more radio is consumed via digital services such as Spotify and Pandora, more and more billboard advertising is digital billboards and, of course, you have all types of internet advertising, on a computer screen, on mobile devices, video ads, etc. Our focus is on that entire digital portfolio, which will eventually be 100 per cent of advertising,” Goel says.

The US is PubMatic’s largest market, followed by Europe and Asia-Pacific. The company has clients in 30 countries and significant footprints in New York and Pune, where its development team is based. PubMatic has 275 employees in Pune, and plans to hire 80 more this year. It has expanded its Pune hub to a 60,000-sq-ft facility. India is not yet a major market, but with around 100 million internet users and growing, Goel says PubMatic aims to be the top player in India through the next couple of years. He doesn’t disclose the company’s clients in India, but brands such as Snapdeal or Rediff seem to be typical examples, going by their profiles.

Read the full article

Uber (mobile based p2p cab company) Launches in Pune (offer: 2 rides free)

News, ,

Uber, the mobile app based taxi cab / ride sharing company, which allows you to get cheap car rides using your smartphone, and which is extremely popular in the US, has just launched in Pune yesterday, according to their blog.

So, here’s the breathless launch announcement:

From the bustling streets of Koregaon Park to the corporate parks at Hadapsar, Punekars went all out to grab their first Uber! The music community took the ‘lead’ with Vishal Dadlani, Bollywood music director and Pentagram vocalist, grabbing that coveted Rider Zero spot. He fired up his app to get an Uber to his studio and within minutes a slick beemer showed up. We only got a few seconds with him and the car, before they zoomed off. Close on Vishal’s heels were Indian Ocean, India’s first fusion rock band, who did not miss a chance to grab the gleaming white Audi that was cruising around the neighbourhood.

and here’s the more interesting part – information about their introductory offer of 2 free rides:

During our testing phase we will have limited cars available; expect longer ETAs than usual. We are working hard to add cars and deliver the ‘Uber’ experience in Pune. Give us a try if you haven’t yet! New users, use the promo code ‘UberPuneLaunch’ and get 2 free rides up to Rs. 300 each! (New users only, valid up to 30th June, 2014)

How does Uber work? BGR.in has this to say:

In Pune, Uber will have an interesting fleet of cars that include the Renault Duster, Toyota Innova, Nissan Sunny, BMW 3 Series, Toyota Fortuner, Ford Fiesta and Volkswagen Vento.

Pune will have one of the most affordable tariffs than any other Indian city. The base fare will be Rs 80 with Rs 15/km and Rs 2/minute. The minimum fare and cancellation fee will be Rs 150 each.

For more, read Uber’s original blog post and the BGR article

Pune’s CSIR-URDIP Starts India’s first ever course on PatInformatics (Patent Informatics)

News, , , ,

CSIR-URDIP, which is CSIR‘s Pune based Unit for Research and Development of Information Products. has launched India’s first ever Post Graduate Diploma Course on PatInformatics (i.e. Patent Informatics).

What is PatInformatics?

The participants will be introduced to Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) and the importance of patent information in research and business. The course will basically focus on Patinformatics and its applications which will enable the participants undertake  technology scenario analysis, white space mapping, competitive intelligence study, new product development, patentability, infringement analysis, freedom to operate study, citation analysis, patent valuation etc. This course will thus help participants develop their skills in patent searching and analysis and use this information for research and business planning. Thus the participants, after successful completion of the course will be capable of handling all the IPR related issues independently.

Source

Details about the course:

The course will begin from August 4, 2014. The course will be of one year duration and will be full time. The lectures will be delivered by Scientists at CSIR-URDIP having minimum ten years of experience in the area for Patinformatics. It will consist of four quarters with 12 modules of theory classes and hands-on practical sessions working on databases and analytical tools including daily assignments and projects.

See full course details

Who can apply?

Basically, it is open for Engineering, Science, or Law graduates. The precise requirements are:

Minimum qualification required is a Post Graduate Degree from recognized universities. The candidate should have any one of the following:

  • Masters degree with minimum of 60% marks in any of the life sciences, chemical sciences and physical sciences..
  • M. Pharm. with minimum of 60% marks and GATE qualified
  • B.E ( Min. 60% marks) and GATE qualified
  • L.L.B with Science background ( Min. 60% marks at B.Sc. and L.L.B )
  • M.Lib Sci. with graduation in science ( Min.60% at each degree)

Fees?

  • Application Fees: Rs 1000/ – to be paid in the SBI Power Jyoti account. 50% concession will be provided for SC/ST candidates.
  • Course Fees: Rs. 50,000/- to be paid at the beginning of the course.
  • Number of Seats: 30

For more details, see the PatInformatics Website

Pune’s @PersistentSys, @Zensar, Kirloskars, KPIT start I4C, a non-profit to mentor product innovators

News, , , ,

Top Executives from Pune’s Persistent Systems, Intel Ventures India, Zensar, Deloitte, Kirloskars, KPIT, and a bunch of other companies have come together to create I4C (Inter-Institutional Inclusive Innovations Center), a non-profit public-private-people-media partnership organization that aims to strengthen the product innovation market in India.

Excerpts:

The primary objective of i4C is to scout, showcase and mentor technology innovators and help them market products, which have the potential to positively impact the lives of people, he added.

Who is involved? Here are some interesting names. Anand Deshpande of Persistent is involved and:

Other prominent members of i4C include Ganesh Natarajan (Vice Chairman and CEO at Zensar), Kirloskar Brothers President (Innovations Society) Pratima Kirloskar, KPIT Chairman and CEO Ravi Pandit, Deloitte Partner Hemant Joshi and Sakal Media Group Chairman Prataprao Pawar, among others.

What are their goals?

“We want to help ‘productise’ 100 innovations in the nex three years. Innovators face a number of challenges ranging from funding to patents to right mentors and this is where we want to help,” i4C co-founding Director Arun Jamkar said.

And these are the areas that they plan to focus on:

i4C will search for technology innovations in the fields of Healthcare and Diagnostics, Water and Energy conservation, Information Technology, Engineering, Environment, Defence and Agriculture.

Read the full article

More About I4C

For more information, check out http://inclusiveinnovations.in. Anand Deshpande tells PuneTech that:

This is an open forum and we are keen to have more participants.

Those interested are encouraged to contact I4C via this contact form, or email idea@i4c.co.in

I4C also runs an annual Innovations Conference where they invite nominations for innovators in Health Care, Water, and Technology, and the best innovations are felicitated at the event, and also invited to pitch to get funded. The event was held in December last year, and received over 9000 nominations.

The call for nominations for next year’s event is already open.

Rdio acquires Pune’s Dhingana to Enter India Market

Miscellaneous, News, , , ,

MediaNama is reporting that international streaming music startup Rdio has acquired Dhingana in a bid to enter the India market.

This is really less of an “acquisition” and more of a “fire sale” (or an aquihire):

Sources also told MediaNama that the amount being offered to Dhingana is lower than the amount of funding they had raised. Dhingana had shut down its operations in February 2014 a couple of months after the biggest music label in India, T-Series, decided not to renew its contract with the company. In December, after reports that Dhingana might shut down, [CEO] Bhatia had told MediaNama that the company was in the process of restructuring its operations. He had at that point had declined to comment on the possibility of a shut-down.

Dhingana was backed by Lightspeed Venture Partners, but had also raised funding from Helion Ventures and Inventus Capital prior to this.

The founder of Dhingana will join Rdio team:

founders Snehal Shinde and Swapnil Shinde will be joining the Rdio team, where they will be responsible for Rdio’s expansion efforts in India as well as other emerging markets. Rdio India will be launching later this year.

Rdio provides ad-supported and ad-free online music streaming services in 35 countries:

Created by Skype founders Niklas Zennström and Janus Friis in 2010, it last raised funding in 2011, when it then received $17.5 million from Mangrove Capital Partners, along with earlier investors Skype, Atomico Ventures and Friis himself through some of his investment entities.

One interesting aspect of this acquisition for PuneTech readers is the technology aspect of it. There will, hopefully, soon be APIs for us:

Open for developers in India? Rdio has an API that can be used by developers to create music oriented apps. Internationally Shazam uses these APIs, but the company has a tie-up with Saavn in India for music recognition services. It’s not clear what will happen to that deal once the acquisition is completed. Gaana had also launched a similar API last month and had invited developers to submit app ideas on its website.

Read the full article

Quick Heal plans initial public offer in Dec-Jan – Financial Express

Money Matters, News,

Financial Express reports that Pune-based computer security software products company Quick Heal is planning an IPO in Dec-Jan.

This is likely to be Pune’s first software product company IPO, unless Pubmatic manages to do an IPO before that (which is still quite possible).

Excerpts from the article:

In 2010, the Pune-based company was valued at Rs 600 crore, when Sequoia invested Rs 60 crore for a 10 per cent stake.

Sales have grown from Rs 10 crore a decade ago, to over Rs 215 crore in FY 13 and expects to cross Rs 250 crore mark in FY 14, Katkar said.

“Over a span of 20 years the company’s R&D has focused on computer and network security solutions. We now plan to expand new products range with the launch of new version of end point security (EPS) in July-August this year. We are also offering data loss prevention and mobile devise management to our customers,” Katkar said.

The company has more than 8 million customers in 60 countries. The company has strong global presence with offices in Dubai, Japan, USA and Kenya. It plans to strengthen the staff strength in these offices and looking at opening new office in Europe and Australia in the near future, he added.

QuickHeal, which claims a 35 per cent market share in India’s consumer anti-virus market, was founded by Pune-based brothers Kailash Katkar and Sanjay Katkar.

Read the full article