BUSINESS
Chaayos raises $53 million to expand stores, hire talent
The latest round saw participation from existing investors Elevation Capital, Tiger Global and Think Investments. Founded in 2012 by Nitin Saluja and Raghav Verma, Chaayos runs 190 stores across six cities and plans to add 100 more by the end of this year. "The latest capital raise will help us deepen our technology investments to further enhance our guest experience and build a ubiquitous brand that is an integral part of Indian society over decades to come," said Saluja, Founder and CEO.
European countries turn back to coal as sanctions on Russian energy backfire
Germany, Austria, Poland, the Netherlands and Greece are among the first European nations to reopen coal power plants or take measures to support coal power, underlining the importance of energy supply security in the upcoming winter, Xinhua news agency reported. The European Commission noted on Monday that "some of the existing coal capacities might be used longer than initially expected" because of the new energy landscape in Europe.
Indian drone start-up Garuda Aerospace to set up plant in Malaysia
"We have decided to set up a drone production facility in Malaysia with a production capacity of about 50 drones per day. We will be importing the components from India and other countries," Agnishwar Jayaprakash, Founder & CEO of Garuda Aerospace, told IANS. The city-based company has tied up with with HiiLSE Global Sdn Bhd (HiiLSE Drones), a drone start-up in Malaysia.
SoftBank Group International CEO quits in just 5 months
Alex Clavel, currently Managing Partner at SoftBank Group International, is replacing Combos from June 30. According to the company, Combes has decided to leave SoftBank to pursue new opportunities. "I am confident that Clavel's experience combined with the strong SoftBank team around him -- will serve us well as we continue our journey as Vision Capitalists," said Masayoshi Son, Chairman and CEO of SoftBank Group.
Global VC firm Accel announces $4 bn late-stage fund
Accel set up local teams and establish a deep presence in exciting regions such as Europe (since 2000) and India (since 2008). The VC firm has a sizable presence in India and has invested in companies like Flipkart (now Walmart-owned), Freshworks, Swiggy, Spinny, Vedantu, Zetwerk, Infra.Market, Moglix, Browserstack and others. In March this year, Accel announced its seventh India fund with $650 million.
Thomson launches affordable Alpha series smart TV in India
"We are excited to launch the all-new Thomson Alpha 32 smart TV, we want consumers to be part of digital India. Therefore, we are offering a price of non-smart, this will be one of the most affordable official smart TVs," Avneet Singh Marwah, CEO, SPPL, which is an exclusive brand licensee of Thomson in India, said in a statement.
Europe told to prepare immediately for Russia to turn off all gas exports
Fatih Birol said that the reductions in supplies in recent weeks the Kremlin has attributed to maintenance work could, in fact, be the beginning of wider cuts designed to prevent the filling of storage facilities in preparation for winter, as Russia seeks to gain leverage over the region, The Guardian reported. "Europe should be ready in case Russian gas is completely cut off," he said in an interview with the Financial Times.
Nepal traders dealing with China incur huge losses
Tatopani-Zhangmu and Rasuwagadhi-Kerung are the two main trading points between Nepal and China that share a 1,415 km border. The Tatopani trade point, though officially reopened in 2020, often remains closed, halting the movement of goods into Nepal. Most trucks and containers are now being rerouted through Kolkata which is substantially adding to the cost for the traders.
Bollywood movies not able to recover investments in the last two quarters
The recent underperformance is in stark contrast to the pre-Covid times during which 35-40 per cent were able to cover production costs from theatrical release. The performance of Bollywood movies recently has clearly been underwhelming, with several mid- to high-budget films failing to leave a mark at the box office. On the other hand, regional (South) movies have managed to attract audiences to the theatres, the report said.
Meta agrees to stop algorithmic discrimination in housing ads
The housing discrimination lawsuit, filed by the government in 2019, accused that Meta enabled and encouraged advertisers to target their housing ads by relying on race, colour, religion, sex, disability, familial status, and national origin to decide which Facebook users will be eligible, and ineligible, to receive housing ads.
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