Hello,

The end of the funding winter may just be in sight.

ChrysCapital is looking to infuse $100 million in eyewear retailer Lenskart, which would mark one of the largest investments by the private equity (PE) firm in a new-age entity. Tata Motors is also reportedly talking to sovereign wealth funds and PE investors to raise up to $1 billion for its EV business.

However, Flipkart will not be handing out increments to its senior leadership while saying that 70% of its employee base will continue to get an increase in their compensation. Elsewhere around the world, Japanese motor giants, Toyota and Honda, have agreed to give their workers in the country the biggest pay rises in decades.

In other news, Indians are taking over the world. 

US President Joe Biden has nominated former Mastercard CEO Ajay Banga to lead the World Bank. If appointed, he’ll be among a growing list of persons of Indian origin heading important global institutions.

Also, looks like the four-day work week is a hit! A six-month trial with 61 organisations in the UK resulted in a 35% increase in revenue from a year earlier, with 58 companies wanting to stick to the new week.

As they say, work smarter and not harder.

In today’s newsletter, we will talk about 

• Ekart launches warehouse-as-a-service
• Untubed toothpaste, unbottled mouthwash
• Repurposing electric vehicle batteries 

Here’s your trivia for today: Which word is derived from the practice of the Roman army paying soldiers with salt instead of money?

Logistics

Ekart rolls out warehouse-as-a-service

Ecommerce company Flipkart has been experimenting with end-to-end supply chain management solutions. Latest in its efforts is Ekart’s launch of warehousing-as-a-service for brands, manufacturers, and retailers across industries.

Ekart, Flipkart’s in-house logistics arm, has rolled out the service for over 20 categories, onboarding brands and manufacturers from mobile phones and international and domestic apparel brands.

Wider network:

• Ekart Logistics—a separate entity founded in 2009 by Flipkart—was rolled back into the parent company in 2015. 
• In 2014, Ekart piloted logistics delivery for third-party businesses with last mile, introducing courier and hyperlocal services later in 2016. However, it pulled the plug on these services in 2017.
• Ekart recently restarted third-party delivery services. 

<Funding Alert>

Startup: Kratos Studio

Amount: Rs 160 Cr

Round: Seed

Startup: DawnTown 

Amount: $500,000

Round: Seed

Startup: Blingg 

Amount: $100,000

Round: Pre-Seed

Startup

Untubed toothpaste, unbottled mouthwash

At a time when sustainability is the way to go, why should oral care be any different?

Founded in 2020, Bengaluru-based D2C startup Live-A-Bit is a sustainable and innovative oral care brand that offers solid plant-based formulations such as toothpaste and mouthwash tablets. 

A fresh idea:

• Around half of the world’s population suffers from oral diseases, and about 4 out of 5 adults and 1 out of 2 kids have some sort of oral health problem, as per the World Health Organisation. 
• The oral care industry happens to be the world’s second-largest plastic polluter. 
• Live-A-Bit offers sustainable products such as untubed toothpaste, unbottled mouthwash, and under-manufactured toothbrushes that replace plastic with biodegradable wood.

Electric vehicle

Repurposing EV batteries 

A battery accounts for almost 60% of the total cost of electric vehicles (EV), making battery repurposing a lucrative business. 

Not only does reusing and recycling batteries lower the cost of EVs, but also significantly reduces the industry’s impact on the environment, Rajat Verma, Founder and CEO, Lohum Cleantech tells AutoStory.

The green cycle:

• Since its inception, Lohum has built a battery recycling market share of 70-80% in India, Verma says.
• Lohum recently signed a multi-year agreement with Mercedes-Benz Energy to secure high volumes of second-use battery modules.  
• He says the Budget 2023 was very encouraging, especially with regard to the import duty waiver on capital goods for the production of Lithium-ion cells.

News & updates

• Ecommerce to health: Amazon closed its acquisition of healthcare provider One Medical and its parent in a $3.9 billion deal. The ecommerce giant is now a provider of primary medical care for roughly 815,000 One Medical members and has access to 200+ offline stores.
• Love wins: Bumble projected annual revenue growth above market estimates on optimism over rising paying users on its eponymous dating app. Bumble forecast 2023 revenue growth between 16% and 19% as the company plans to try out several new paid features later in the year.
• Quantum effort: Google has claimed a breakthrough in correcting for the errors inherent in quantum computers due to loss of information. Researchers found a way to spread the information being processed, marking a potentially significant step towards mainstreaming the new form of computing.

Which word is derived from the practice of the Roman army paying soldiers with salt instead of money?

Answer: Salary. It is derived from the Latin word for salt, ‘sal’.

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