Alibaba’s Global MD Guru Gowrappan joins Paytm board
Online payments service Paytm, has named K Guru Gowrappan of Alibaba Group as an additional director on its board, in the ongoing board of directors shuffle in the company.
He is the third top-level executive to join Paytm in the last one week and the fourth from Alibaba. Besides Gowrappan, the other two executives who joined Paytm are Google’s Amit Singhal and former vice-chairman of Goldman Sachs, Mark Schwartz. (Source)
Messaging app Hike denies buyout talks with Creo
Hike Messenger has denied that the startup is in buyout talks with Bangalore-based Creo, maker of the media streaming device Teewe.
The news about the buyout was first reported by the news website The Ken, but Hike’s founder and chief executive Kavin Bharti Mittal categorically denied any such move by the company, saying that “We’re not acquiring them”. (Source)
India home to about 4,700 startups: report
With home to about 4,700 startups, India is the third largest startup base in the world, putting behind countries like China and Israel.
According to a report published by industry lobby body Nasscom and consultancy firm Zinnov, about 1,400 new startups were founded in India in 2016, which is an 8-10% year-on-year growth. The report estimates that the number of startups in India will more than double to about 11,000 by 2020, employing a 210,000-250,000-strong workforce.
Health-tech startup Idea Bubbles receives $700k funding from 1Crowd, others
Idea Bubbles has secured $700,000 in funding from early-stage funding platform 1Crowd, health and hygiene company Eureka Forbes Ltd and its parent Shapoorji Pallonji & Company Pvt Ltd.
Founded in 2014 by serial entrepreneur Gururaj Potnis, Bangalore-based Idea Bubbles developed ‘Eureka Forbes Good Health’ (EFGH) platform that enables doctors to offer patients teleconsultation services.
The investment will help Idea Bubbles to create a healthcare enterprise with a pan-India presence, the company said. (Source)
