This infusion fills up Paytm’s coffers with a total of US$220M and increases SoftBank’s stake to 11.99 per cent while bringing down Alibaba’s stake to 50.8 per cent

India’s Paytm Mall receives US$110M from Alibaba, SoftBank [ETtech]

Japan’s SoftBank and China’s Alibaba have together infused $110 million into the online marketplace, according to the company’s latest filings with the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA).

This infusion fills up Paytm’s coffers with a total of US$220 million and increases SoftBank’s stake to 11.99 per cent while bringing down Alibaba’s (along with Alipay’s) stake to 50.8 per cent.

This infusion comes as the e-commerce industry seems to be getting intensely competitive with no dearth of funds. While Amazon India has its war chest full, Flipkart currently is in talks to receive a massive investment from Walmart.

Nintendo sees the best annual profit in nine years on Switch [Reuters]

Japan’s Nintendo said on Thursday it expects operating profit to rise 26.7 per cent in the year through March to a nine-year high, as its Switch games console maintains sales momentum in its second year.

The initial success of the hybrid home-portable Switch has boosted Nintendo’s gaming software sales and encouraged more third-party publishers to make games for the console, a cycle which could further push up console sales.

The Kyoto-based company also said it named Managing Executive Officer Shuntaro Furukawa as new president to succeed Tatsumi Kimishima, effective after the general shareholders meeting in June.

Kimishima, a former banker who succeeded charismatic leader Satoru Iwata in 2015, decided to step down as he has “fulfilled almost fully his responsibilities” to turn around the company, he said at an earnings briefing.

Nintendo estimated profit to reach 225 billion yen (US$2.06 billion) from 177.56 billion yen a year prior. If achieved, it would be Nintendo’s highest operating profit since the year ended March 2010.

Companion robotics startup emotix secures US$2M funding [press release]

emotix, a new-age Indian robotics and consumer electronics company founded on the pillars of Artificial Intelligence and Internet of Things, has secured a US$2 million investment through funds advised by IDG Ventures India and YourNest.

Existing investor Keshav Murugesh, Group Chief Executive Officer of WNS Global Services, and a few individuals also participated.

Companion or social robots go a step beyond voice-assisted devices. They incorporate emotion. This is achieved by going beyond the speech interface to include non-verbal cues like motion or physical gestures which enhance human engagement.

The company’s first offering is Miko. Miko started retailing through its channel partners in October 2017 and currently retails across more than 100 offline stores in India. It is also widely available in the ecommerce marketplace like Amazon and Flipkart.

NSI Ventures rebrands to Opensource Ventures [press release]

Northstar Group and NSI Ventures today jointly announced the rebranding of NSI Ventures to Openspace Ventures and its transition to its own Monetary Authority of Singapore licence and independent operating model.

Hian Goh and Shane Chesson, Co-founders and Managing Partners of Openspace Ventures, will continue to manage the business.

Openspace Ventures will assume the management of NSI Ventures, L.P. and NSI Ventures II, L.P. with aggregate capital commitments of over US$150 million and investments in 19 portfolio companies. These funds will also be rebranded as Openspace Ventures, L.P. and Openspace Ventures II, L.P.

Openspace Ventures will continue to focus on investing in promising new markets and supporting the rollout of new technology models, all while building a dynamic, regionally skilled team, and maintaining an industry-leading investment process.

DFID, Shell, Zone Startups announce startup program for women entrepreneurs in energy [press release]

DFID India and Shell Foundation in partnership with Zone Startups India announced the POWERED Entrepreneurship programme. The programme aims to nurture and support women entrepreneurs building ventures in the energy value chain.

The POWERED programme aims to address today’s economic problems related to energy access, and tomorrow’s opportunities by empowering women entrepreneurs thereby addressing several of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals.

The other partners to the programme include Department of Science and Technology (Government of India), Microsoft and HDFC Bank.

“At Shell Foundation, we believe integrating gender-inclusion strategies leads to better performing businesses. Women entrepreneurs have limited access to blend of early-stage support and capital they require to grow sustainably. This program is a unique opportunity to create an enabling ecosystem to nurture and support women entrepreneurs innovating in the energy value chain through products and business models,” said Sam Parker, Director, Shell Foundation.

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