The weekly Tech update
- This startup wants to solve the social care crisis with AI – London-based social care startup Cera has launched an AI to help carers and patients answer questions – and in future, help spot symptoms of illness
- Indians seek corporate job security as startup dreams fade – “A startup is a rollercoaster. One day you are on top of the world, the next day you are fighting to save the startup. The contrast is not only telling, everyone in the firm can feel it,” said Srinivasan Venkataraman, who worked at a software newcomer set up to build an app called Tweetalyst, which analyzed users’ Twitter data.
Funding
- Foodtech Startup BOX8 Secures $1 Mn Venture Debt From Trifecta Capital- Mumbai-based on-demand food delivery startup Box8 has raised about $1 Mn (INR 7 Cr) in venture debt funding from Trifecta Capital. This development comes right on the heels of the startup raising $7.5 Mn (INR 50 Cr) Series B funding from IIFL Seed Ventures Fund and Mayfield Ventures in October 2016.
- Top VC Firm Benchmark Just Poured Millions Into This Startup’s Marijuana Breathalyzer – Venture capitalist Mike Lynn was cycling in the Berkeley Hills in 2014 when the cars started passing him at high speed. As they whizzed by on the winding roads in California’s Bay Area, they left behind mementos: the distinct smell of marijuana. Lynn’s day job was to invest in startups, but he was a doctor by training and a reserve police officer, too. He started seeing examples of drivers showing up at hospitals injured who’d clearly been using cannabis before their accidents. The business and public safety parts of his brain conspired together. Lynn quit his job at Adams Street Partners to work on what he hoped would be the industry’s first breathalyzer for THC.
- BofA, HSBC, Intel, others invest $107 million in blockchain startup R3 – Financial and technology companies led by Bank of America Corp (BAC.N), SBI Holdings Inc (8473.T), HSBC Holdings Plc (HSBA.L), Intel Corp (INTC.O) and Temasek Holdings have invested $107 million in R3 CEV, a startup which runs a big bank consortium seeking to develop blockchain technology, it said on Tuesday. Over 40 institutions from more than 15 countries participated in the first two tranches of the New York company’s fundraising round, making it one of the largest investments in a blockchain company to date, R3 said in a statement.
RIP
- Food Delivery Startup Sprig Shuts Down as It Fails to Find Buyer – On-demand food delivery startup Sprig Inc. is shutting down, the company said Friday. Sprig, which cooked its own meals in-house and delivered them with drivers, was part of a bounty of such services that sprung up a few years ago, when venture funding for on-demand startups was strong. Like many of its peers, it struggled to make the business work: Bloomberg reported last week that it was burning $850,000 a month and seeking a buyer. Others like SpoonRocket and Maple have shuttered in the last year or so.
- B2B logistics startup Turant Delivery shuts shop – Delhi-based hyperlocal logistics startup Turant Delivery has ceased operations less than two years after its launch, with a deepening fund crunch and failure to raise capital rendering the business unviable. Run by Always Turant Delivery Pvt. Ltd, the startup was in talks with multiple venture capital funds to raise about $2 million in a pre-Series A round, but couldn’t close the deal.
- FoodTech startup Eatonomist Closes; Founder to Join UberEats – Food Tech Startup Eatonomist which is runned by Fitmeal Solutions Pvt. Ltd, has reportedly shut down their operations. The startup has quoted ” Will be Back Shortly” on their official website.The Gurgaon-Based startup was founded in 2014 by Anisha Dhar and Nupur Khanna. Eatonomist is an online food delivery startup that used to deliver meals prepared in its own kitchens.