Chennai-based Rural Startup 'InThree' Gets Investment From IAN

Just few days after recent investment in UK-based Startup India's ace angel investors network IAN (Indian Angel Network) on Thursday said it has invested an undisclosed amount in Chennai-based rural startups - Inthree, which acts as a channel to distribute products and services of social value to lower income groups. Inthree as an impact venture helps the Indian hinterland access the most significant products and services, by leveraging its rural distribution network and expertise in project management in rural areas and social sector, said a statement.

While the big cities in the country are getting ready to rub shoulders with metros, the semi-urban and rural areas too are getting out of dark areas. Inthree focuses on achieving the triple goals of rural distribution, rural project implementation and rural consultancy, taking advantage of years of experience in last mile distribution and expertise in working in rural markets.

IAN funding to Inthree will be principally used to fuel it's evolution into a complete rural consumer company with a strong sourcing and technology backbone.

Founded by R.Ramanathan, Inthree have distributed products that improve quality of life, to over 4,00,000 housholds in semi urban and rural locations using non-traditional channels like India Post, community based NGOs and micro finance institutions, among others. It also assists corporates in designing and implementing projects in rural locations, aimed at improving health care and education.

Some of the products Inthree distribute in rural areas of India include Solar Lamps, Smokeless Stoves and Micronutrients.

"There has been a considerable increase in the consumer spends in rural India as the overall sense of well-being has increased. From product development to marketing strategies, companies are increasingly beginning to change the way they target the country's rural population. In this scenario, Inthree plays a vital role in bridging the huge gap between manufacturers and rural consumers," said IAN member, Ashvin Chaddha in a statement.

Amazon To Acquire First Indian Startup QwikCilver Solutions

If some rumours doing round the market are to be believed, Amazon India is all set to buy a minority stake in QwikCilver Solutions, a gift card technology and retail firm. This deal, if finalized, will mark the Seattle based firm’s first investment ever in an Indian Startup. Amazon India is currently facing tough competition from Snapdeal and Flipkart in the Indian Online retail business. Amazon will reportedly buy 20% stake in QwikCilver.

QwikCilver Solutions is a Bangalore based Company which was founded by Bhaskar Vasudevan, Kumar Sudarsan and TP Pratap in 2008. The firm provides various retailers like Croma, Shoppers Stop, Lifestyle and Westside etc. with backend technology for their gift card businesses. According to some sources, the company was also approached by Flipkart but in the end talks progressed with Amazon. The firm retails physical and electronic gift cards online on its site GiftBig. QwikCilver also has on offer gift cards of Flipkart and Amazon.

"Amazon has promised to let them run as a separate business where they can continue to service other clients, including Flipkart", said a source to Economic Times.

QwikCilver Solutions has recently raised an undisclosed amount of funding from its two main investors, Helion Venture Partners and Accel Partners.

The valuation of this strategic investment will be about two to three times the projected net income including a premium of about twenty percent. The Bangalore based startup has an aim of reaching Rs. 1,000 crore in all its transactions this fiscal.

Amazon and Flipkart have accumulated huge investments this year in order to escalate their way to the top position in the Indian online retail business. Amazon has received $2 billion from its parent investor and Flipkart has raised around $1.2 billion this year.

Gift cards are a very important vertical for Amazon on the global level but in India, the requirement of a Reserve Bank of India license acts as the primary hurdle.  According to a white paper published by QwikCilver Solutions, by 2016 the Indian gift card industry could grow to a whopping Rs. 9,000 crore.

Amazon To Acquire First Indian Startup QwikCilver Solutions

If some rumours doing round the market are to be believed, Amazon India is all set to buy a minority stake in QwikCilver Solutions, a gift card technology and retail firm. This deal, if finalized, will mark the Seattle based firm’s first investment ever in an Indian Startup. Amazon India is currently facing tough competition from Snapdeal and Flipkart in the Indian Online retail business. Amazon will reportedly buy 20% stake in QwikCilver.

QwikCilver Solutions is a Bangalore based Company which was founded by Bhaskar Vasudevan, Kumar Sudarsan and TP Pratap in 2008. The firm provides various retailers like Croma, Shoppers Stop, Lifestyle and Westside etc. with backend technology for their gift card businesses. According to some sources, the company was also approached by Flipkart but in the end talks progressed with Amazon. The firm retails physical and electronic gift cards online on its site GiftBig. QwikCilver also has on offer gift cards of Flipkart and Amazon.

"Amazon has promised to let them run as a separate business where they can continue to service other clients, including Flipkart", said a source to Economic Times.

QwikCilver Solutions has recently raised an undisclosed amount of funding from its two main investors, Helion Venture Partners and Accel Partners.

The valuation of this strategic investment will be about two to three times the projected net income including a premium of about twenty percent. The Bangalore based startup has an aim of reaching Rs. 1,000 crore in all its transactions this fiscal.

Amazon and Flipkart have accumulated huge investments this year in order to escalate their way to the top position in the Indian online retail business. Amazon has received $2 billion from its parent investor and Flipkart has raised around $1.2 billion this year.

Gift cards are a very important vertical for Amazon on the global level but in India, the requirement of a Reserve Bank of India license acts as the primary hurdle.  According to a white paper published by QwikCilver Solutions, by 2016 the Indian gift card industry could grow to a whopping Rs. 9,000 crore.

Bangalore Startup iViz Acquired by US-Based Security Firm Cigital

iViz Security, a Bangalore based company has been acquired by Cigital, which is a software security firm based in the United States. Both the companies involved in the transaction denied commenting on the size of the transaction.

Cigital will leverage the technology and capabilities from the iViZ acquisition to offer 3D Unlimited Application Security Testing, featuring unmatched flexibility across three dimensions: the number of tests, the depth of tests, and the number of applications tested.

iViz Security provides cloud based application security testing to its clients and is backed by Venture Capital firm IDG Ventures. The company was founded in 2006 by two IITians Nilanjan De and Bikash Barai. iViz is now a 60 member team and provides its clients with on demand scheduling of tests and a comprehensive analytics dashboard to view the results of these tests and determine each organization’s security posture and position. The firm has over five hundred customers which include high profile names like Flipkart, NSDL and ING. Seventy percent of the firm's revenue comes from Europe and the United States.

According to Bikash's statement to TOI, "iViz has been growing steadily, we grew by 57 percent last year and we achieved cash flow breakeven in late 2012. However, in order to realize our vision of being one of the top three players in our segment, we needed to grow at a much faster pace. Cigital has complementary market reach and technologies that can help iViz to realize its dream."

iViz Security is all set to become a wholly owned subsidiary of Cigital after the acquisition is finalized. Post acquisition, Bikash will continue to be the Chief Operating Officer (CEO) of the firm and join the Cigital Board, while Nilanjan will look after technology development.

“The acquisition of iViZ enables Cigital to deliver the most flexible and scalable Dynamic Application Software Testing-as-a-Service in the market,” said John Wyatt, chief executive officer at Cigital. “This capability is fully realized through the introduction of Cigital’s 3D Unlimited Application Testing, which profoundly alters the way organizations reduce risk at the application layer. The dynamic nature of the offering gives organizations real agility to respond to new threats, regulatory requirements, and constantly changing business pressures.”

Bangalore Startup iViz Acquired by US-Based Security Firm Cigital

iViz Security, a Bangalore based company has been acquired by Cigital, which is a software security firm based in the United States. Both the companies involved in the transaction denied commenting on the size of the transaction.

Cigital will leverage the technology and capabilities from the iViZ acquisition to offer 3D Unlimited Application Security Testing, featuring unmatched flexibility across three dimensions: the number of tests, the depth of tests, and the number of applications tested.

iViz Security provides cloud based application security testing to its clients and is backed by Venture Capital firm IDG Ventures. The company was founded in 2006 by two IITians Nilanjan De and Bikash Barai. iViz is now a 60 member team and provides its clients with on demand scheduling of tests and a comprehensive analytics dashboard to view the results of these tests and determine each organization’s security posture and position. The firm has over five hundred customers which include high profile names like Flipkart, NSDL and ING. Seventy percent of the firm's revenue comes from Europe and the United States.

According to Bikash's statement to TOI, "iViz has been growing steadily, we grew by 57 percent last year and we achieved cash flow breakeven in late 2012. However, in order to realize our vision of being one of the top three players in our segment, we needed to grow at a much faster pace. Cigital has complementary market reach and technologies that can help iViz to realize its dream."

iViz Security is all set to become a wholly owned subsidiary of Cigital after the acquisition is finalized. Post acquisition, Bikash will continue to be the Chief Operating Officer (CEO) of the firm and join the Cigital Board, while Nilanjan will look after technology development.

“The acquisition of iViZ enables Cigital to deliver the most flexible and scalable Dynamic Application Software Testing-as-a-Service in the market,” said John Wyatt, chief executive officer at Cigital. “This capability is fully realized through the introduction of Cigital’s 3D Unlimited Application Testing, which profoundly alters the way organizations reduce risk at the application layer. The dynamic nature of the offering gives organizations real agility to respond to new threats, regulatory requirements, and constantly changing business pressures.”

India Startup Report 2014 - India is Fastest Growing & 3rd Largest Start-Up Ecosystem Globally

Yesterday, NASSCOM Unveils key findings of India Start-up Report 2014 at the 11th edition of its annual flagship Product Conclave in Bangalore. The conclave builds on the fast growing product and startup ecosystem in the country and provides a platform to engage with thought leaders in the product space, discuss issues of common interest and network with startups and partners to create a common framework for the future of the product startup ecosystem in India. The event will feature 225+ international and national speakers, showcase of 120+ product companies and curated 250+ meetings.

The NASSCOM top Emerge 10 companies will also be showcased on the sidelines of the conclave. These success stories are a mixture of burgeoning product innovations and exciting new solutions.

Key findings of India Startup Report 2014 by NASSCOM

• ~3100 startups present in India, 3rd largest base in the world



• 800+ start-ups setting up annually



• By 2020 there would be ~11500 startups; employing over 250k people



• ~300 VC/ PE & ~225 angel investment deals worth over USD 2 billion



• Over 20 M&A’s worth ~USD 1 billion in last 3 years

The growth of the software product industry in recent years has signaled a transformation - in India and across the globe. With increasing numbers of online active users becoming consumers of e-commerce solutions and the related marketplaces, Indian startups today are building global digital solutions to capitalize on this rapid growth. Hyper-growth, capital availability and acquisitions are the leading drivers of the growing startup ecosystem in India. Indian start-ups today are well positioned to address the entire Asian market opportunity and also expand beyond the US and European region.

Expressing his views, Mr. R Chandrashekhar, President, NASSCOM, said, "The Indian startup ecosystem is rapidly evolving driven by an extremely young, diverse and inclusive entrepreneurial landscape. This is leading to emergence of focused domain solutions for verticals like healthcare, agriculture, and education etc. An additional driving force is a four-fold increase in access to capital through VCs, angel investment and seed funding is allowing Indian entrepreneurs to work on building tailor-made products for their customers. Simultaneously, we need to also work addressing challenges on creating supportive government policies in terms of ease of doing business, tax incentives, participation in government contracts, availability of risk capital etc. NASSCOM will continue to actively engage with stakeholders across to address these challenges."

Speaking on the sidelines of the conclave, Mr. Ravi Gururaj, Chairman, NASSCOM Product Council, said "Scaling up, Design and Growth Hacking are the key priority for startups today. On the innovation front, it is imperative to increase collaboration and partnerships for product companies with platform players, IT Services, Global MNCs and CIOs. The conclave this year will showcase interesting technologies that are evangelizing the product space and that are poised to become ubiquitous across both the consumer and industrial fabric of our society."

11,500 Startups To Come Up In India By 2020 - NASSCOM

As many as 11,500 startups would come up in the country employing over 2,50,000 people by 2020, according to key findings of India Start-up Report 2014 of industry body Nasscom.

Unveiling the findings of the India Start-up Report 2014, Nasscom President R Chandrashekhar said 300 VC/PE (venture capital and private equity) and 225 angel investments deals amounting to over $2 billion had been made in India. He said over 20 mergers and acquisitions worth $1 billion were done in last three years.

As many as 3,100 startups are present in India which is the third largest base in the world, Chandrashekhar said. Also, 800 plus startups are being set up anually, he told reporters at the eleventh edition of NASSCOM's annual flagship Product Conclave here.

Earlier, the NASSCOM launched its three-day annual flagship Nasscom Product Conclave 2014.

The conclave builds on the fast growing product and start-up ecosystem in the country and provides a platform to engage with thought leaders in the product space and discuss issues of common interest, Mr Chandrashekhar said.

The event will feature 225 plus international and national speakers and showcase of 120 plus product companies Chandrashekhar said.

The Nasscom top Emerge 10 companies will also be showcased on the sidelines of the conclave, Chandrashekhar said. "These success stories are a mixture of burgeoning product innovations and exciting new solutions."

The growth of the software product industry in recent years has signalled a transformation - in India and across the globe.

With increasing numbers of online active users becoming consumers of e-commerce solutions and related marketplaces, Indian startups are building global digital solutions to capitalise on this rapid growth, he said.

Hyper-growth, capital availability and acquisitions are the leading drivers of the growing startup ecosystem in India, he added.

Meet Top 5 Finalists Entrepreneurs of Marriott's 'The Elevator Pitch' Business Idea Competition

Courtyard by Marriott's innovative campaign The Elevator Pitch, which commenced a month back to foster the next generation of entrepreneurs, announced its top five finalists. True to its brand attributes, the five contestants had to pitch their business idea in a unique and unconventional format. They had exactly 60 seconds each to impress the judging panel in the elevator of Courtyard by Marriott Mumbai International Airport.

The panel included names like Mr. Rajeev Menon, Area Vice President of South Asia, Marriott International; Mr. Pratul Gupta, Vice President - Portfolio of Avigo Capital and Mr. Pallav Nadhani, co-founder and CEO of FusionCharts, with India's champion woman golfer and model Ms. Sharmila Nicollet as the host. The winning project will be awarded a cash-prize of 1 million rupees to turn their idea into reality.

The top five finalists are:

'The Itch List' - Ms. Smriti Modi, Mumbai, Maharashtra -

‘The Itch List’ brings people together to share and fulfil their desires. It is a social media networking site for like-minded individuals where people can share their list of things they want to do in life, from travel adventures to picking up a new extreme sport.

'GALEA: Smart Helmet'

Mr. Amar Kaushik, Bangalore, Karnataka
"Galea" is an equipped helmet device with a full rear-view camera and navigation system, much like a car, and a heads-up display interfaced with the rider’s smartphone so that it gives them the required information while allowing one to keep their eyes on the road.

'DiVYA – Power Now at Home'

Mr. Ranjeet Singh, Singrauli, Madhya Pradesh
'DiVYA – Power now at home' is the brainchild of Mr. Ranjeet Singh who lives in a small town Singrauli in Madhya Pradesh. ‘DiVYA – Power now at home’ is a gravitational device that will generate energy for lighting, charging batteries in rural area and also aims to replace Kerosene.

'Fluid as Shield'

Mr. Saikat Acharya, Patna, Bihar
Mr. Saikat Acharya shared an idea to construct an armor for the Indian Army called ‘Fluid as shield’. The concept is to create an armor using air and water which will act as a medium to destroy or alter the direction of bullets.

'SafeLock'

Mr. Ankit Machhar, Mumbai, Maharashtra
SafeLock is an, affordable, portable gadget which can be installed anywhere to alert users remotely on break in of their doors, locker, drawer, glass window, cars, bikes and shutters. Product will be ready within 3 months and prize money will go towards development. Prelaunch through blogs, Vodafone, Flipkart, Croma, Durian, CCTV dealers would help in advance bookings.

With over 1,000 entries received from across the country in a short span of 4 weeks, the campaign received a tremendous response from public among diverse industries.

Moving into the second phase of this campaign, starting November 3 – 16, 2014, people will be invited to predict their favorite finalist explaining why they deserve to win. The voter who predicts the right winner (same as the judges) with the best reason stands a chance to a win three nights stay in a Courtyard Hotel in India of their choice. People can vote for their choice on the Elevator Pitch website www.courtyard-elevatorpitch.com.

The winner of ‘The Elevator Pitch’ will be announced on November 17, 2014.

Microsoft To Launch SmartWatch Within Few Weeks

Microsoft, the technology giant, is soon going to make its debut in the wearable device market in the coming weeks, according to some reports. Whether the wearable device is a fitness watch with limited smartwatch capabilities or a smartwatch with fitness band capabilities is not clear yet.

According to the reports, the wearable device is all set to have a screen but maybe not a big one. The device will be able to support cross platform notifications from Windows, iOS and Android Phones. It will further be able to monitor your heart rate even when you’re sleeping. The device’s battery will be able to withstand two days of regular usage.

The wearable marvel from Microsoft is expected to compete with the Apple Smartwatch that was launched last month. The Apple Smartwatch which combines the best of fitness and health tracking with basic communications is expected to hit the markets in the early part of next year. The Microsoft device will also compete with Samsung's Galaxy Gear which was unveiled long back in 2013.

Microsoft Smartwatch will not be confined only to Windows ecosystem. As CEO of Microsoft Nadella believes that Microsoft services and products must compliment all platforms, Microsoft Smartwatch will work with both Android smartphones and iPhone, besides Windows Phone OS.

The upcoming Microsoft smartwatch will draw on optical engineering expertise from Microsoft's Xbox Kinect division to continuously measure heart rate through the day and night, moreover the battery will last for two days, roughly on par with Samsung's Gear Fit.

The watch will look similar to Samsung's Galaxy Fit, sources have confirmed, but offers many more intuitive features than a smart fitness tracker or band.

The timeline for the watch's release date is unclear but Microsoft could be gunning for as soon as December this year.

Microsoft To Launch SmartWatch Within Few Weeks

Microsoft, the technology giant, is soon going to make its debut in the wearable device market in the coming weeks, according to some reports. Whether the wearable device is a fitness watch with limited smartwatch capabilities or a smartwatch with fitness band capabilities is not clear yet.

According to the reports, the wearable device is all set to have a screen but maybe not a big one. The device will be able to support cross platform notifications from Windows, iOS and Android Phones. It will further be able to monitor your heart rate even when you’re sleeping. The device’s battery will be able to withstand two days of regular usage.

The wearable marvel from Microsoft is expected to compete with the Apple Smartwatch that was launched last month. The Apple Smartwatch which combines the best of fitness and health tracking with basic communications is expected to hit the markets in the early part of next year. The Microsoft device will also compete with Samsung's Galaxy Gear which was unveiled long back in 2013.

Microsoft Smartwatch will not be confined only to Windows ecosystem. As CEO of Microsoft Nadella believes that Microsoft services and products must compliment all platforms, Microsoft Smartwatch will work with both Android smartphones and iPhone, besides Windows Phone OS.

The upcoming Microsoft smartwatch will draw on optical engineering expertise from Microsoft's Xbox Kinect division to continuously measure heart rate through the day and night, moreover the battery will last for two days, roughly on par with Samsung's Gear Fit.

The watch will look similar to Samsung's Galaxy Fit, sources have confirmed, but offers many more intuitive features than a smart fitness tracker or band.

The timeline for the watch's release date is unclear but Microsoft could be gunning for as soon as December this year.

Indian Angel Network Made First UK Investment in Lowdownapp

Lowdownapp Ltd. has become the first investment by the recently formed United Kingdom operations unit of the Indian Angel Network (IAN), according to a statement released by IAN. The amount of investment made by IAN in the London based company has not been disclosed yet. Lowdownapp Ltd. is the mobile software company behind Lowdown mobile application which allows time crunched business professionals to access critical information about the important meetings in advance.

The mobile application is faster than the search option and works by fusing together a custom built narrow artificial intelligence engine and the inbuilt calendar of your Smartphone. The mobile app provides a very uncluttered and clear view to its users by bringing together real time data from various Internet based information sources such as Twitter and LinkedIn.

The mobile app can prove to be a great help to business professionals and increase their productivity by manifolds as according to some recent figures, a business professional spends an average of 1.5 days per week in meetings and dedicates an extra 0.5 day per week in preparing for them. Further, some studies have also revealed that the usage of Lowdown app can result in saving of two hours of preparation time per week, which would further result in saving of twelve working days in a year, which is huge for business professionals as for them each minute counts.

This investment made by IAN with the help of UKTI Innovation Gateway marks the first investment made by the network in the UK. Indian Angel Network had recently become the first Angel group in the world to launch its operations outside its home country.

According to the statement released by IAN, the network found the company to be extremely attractive. The statement further added "with an ever increasing number of smartphone users and better bandwidth capabilities the mobile applications space is set to become a market of the future. Lowdown being a forerunner in the information based mobile apps category simply offers the perfect combination of the right technology, a passionate team and focused approach."

The investment raised by Lowdownapp will be used by the company to fund outreach to its corporate clients globally and expand its reach to self-employed individuals and customers.

 

Indian Angel Network Made First UK Investment in Lowdownapp

Lowdownapp Ltd. has become the first investment by the recently formed United Kingdom operations unit of the Indian Angel Network (IAN), according to a statement released by IAN. The amount of investment made by IAN in the London based company has not been disclosed yet. Lowdownapp Ltd. is the mobile software company behind Lowdown mobile application which allows time crunched business professionals to access critical information about the important meetings in advance.

The mobile application is faster than the search option and works by fusing together a custom built narrow artificial intelligence engine and the inbuilt calendar of your Smartphone. The mobile app provides a very uncluttered and clear view to its users by bringing together real time data from various Internet based information sources such as Twitter and LinkedIn.

The mobile app can prove to be a great help to business professionals and increase their productivity by manifolds as according to some recent figures, a business professional spends an average of 1.5 days per week in meetings and dedicates an extra 0.5 day per week in preparing for them. Further, some studies have also revealed that the usage of Lowdown app can result in saving of two hours of preparation time per week, which would further result in saving of twelve working days in a year, which is huge for business professionals as for them each minute counts.

This investment made by IAN with the help of UKTI Innovation Gateway marks the first investment made by the network in the UK. Indian Angel Network had recently become the first Angel group in the world to launch its operations outside its home country.

According to the statement released by IAN, the network found the company to be extremely attractive. The statement further added "with an ever increasing number of smartphone users and better bandwidth capabilities the mobile applications space is set to become a market of the future. Lowdown being a forerunner in the information based mobile apps category simply offers the perfect combination of the right technology, a passionate team and focused approach."

The investment raised by Lowdownapp will be used by the company to fund outreach to its corporate clients globally and expand its reach to self-employed individuals and customers.

 

Gurgaon-based GHV Accelerator Partners With Japan-Based World Innovation Labs

Green House Ventures (GHV), which is a recently launched Delhi/Gurgan based Accelerator has partnered with a Japan based Capital fund called WiL (World Innovation Labs). The Capital fund invests in disruptive startups that have a global appeal, the fund further helps these startups by bridging the gap between the United States market and their home markets. WiL’s this partnership with GHV marks its glorious entry into the Indian startup Ecosystem.

Gen Isayama and Masataka Matsumoto are the wonder brains behind the Japan based Capital fund. Gen is a serial technology and Internet Entrepreneur, while Matsumoto on the other hand is the ex-chief incubation officer of Yahoo.  Both Gen and Matsumoto will dedicate five days a month as mentors for various startups housed at GHV.

According to Gen, CEO and co-founder, WiL, “India today looks like what China was 10 years back and growth here will be much stronger in the next few years. We would like to fund a couple of companies from GHV if there is a strong connection to Silicon Valley or Japan. If we see benefits of cross-border mentorship and regular dialogue, the next step will be set up a fund or facility which we can jointly run to continue our relationship.”

Through its this partnership with GHV, WiL is looking forward to support the growth and expansion of GHV housed startups in the global market, predominately US and Japan. WiL will help these startups in increasing their visibility, client reach and building a strong product. Post acceleration, the Japan based capital fund will fund GHV startups as Series A investors. The capital fund usually invests $5-30 million in early growth stage technology and internet startups through various rounds of investments and is set to follow the same pattern with the GHV startups. WiL is all set to bring its network of companies based in the US and Japan to help these startups in expanding globally.

According to Vikram Upadhyaya’s statement to Economic Times, “The partnership brings an entire ecosystem in place, mentoring support, global expertise and a Series A funding opportunity for startups. I see these three things as a strong value for our partnership.” Vikram Upadhyaya is the chief mentor at GHV.

 

Gmail for Android Soon Support Other Email Services Like Yahoo & Outlook

All the Gmail users on Android have a reason to rejoice. If some sources are to be believed, Google is in midst of planning a big update for Gmail users on Android devices which would finally allow them to handle email accounts from other service providers like AOL, Yahoo and Microsoft Outlook etc. People at Android Police have apparently discovered some evidences of a redesigned Gmail Android App that is expected to launch soon in the market.

The new redesigned app is all set to follow the tech giant’s new Material Design language. The app would have a much cleaner and brighter design than the previous one and include round icons and support for third party email accounts. Google Mail famously known as Gmail always supported POP3 accounts but this new update of third party email integration will allow users to make their phone cluster free by dumping all other email applications. According to The Verge, IMAP, POP and Exchange are also supported.

The long anticipated update can be expected to be launched anytime soon in the coming weeks. This new update will surely make Android users at par with iOS users, as Apple’s iOS already supports multiple email accounts. Although Android itself has had a dedicated Email app for all services, the app is called the "email" app available as pre-loaded in all Android phones by default.

Have a look at the unified Gmail app for Android in the video tour below brought to you by Android Police.



Apple's iOS has long supported multiple email accounts, so you Android folks out there will finally get on par — although, to be honest, if you’re still using antiquated email services today, then you’ve only got what you deserve up to this point.

Top Image - Gaharoni [Flickr]

Gurgaon-based GHV Accelerator Partners With Japan-Based World Innovation Labs

Green House Ventures (GHV), which is a recently launched Delhi/Gurgan based Accelerator has partnered with a Japan based Capital fund called WiL (World Innovation Labs). The Capital fund invests in disruptive startups that have a global appeal, the fund further helps these startups by bridging the gap between the United States market and their home markets. WiL’s this partnership with GHV marks its glorious entry into the Indian startup Ecosystem.

Gen Isayama and Masataka Matsumoto are the wonder brains behind the Japan based Capital fund. Gen is a serial technology and Internet Entrepreneur, while Matsumoto on the other hand is the ex-chief incubation officer of Yahoo.  Both Gen and Matsumoto will dedicate five days a month as mentors for various startups housed at GHV.

According to Gen, CEO and co-founder, WiL, “India today looks like what China was 10 years back and growth here will be much stronger in the next few years. We would like to fund a couple of companies from GHV if there is a strong connection to Silicon Valley or Japan. If we see benefits of cross-border mentorship and regular dialogue, the next step will be set up a fund or facility which we can jointly run to continue our relationship.”

Through its this partnership with GHV, WiL is looking forward to support the growth and expansion of GHV housed startups in the global market, predominately US and Japan. WiL will help these startups in increasing their visibility, client reach and building a strong product. Post acceleration, the Japan based capital fund will fund GHV startups as Series A investors. The capital fund usually invests $5-30 million in early growth stage technology and internet startups through various rounds of investments and is set to follow the same pattern with the GHV startups. WiL is all set to bring its network of companies based in the US and Japan to help these startups in expanding globally.

According to Vikram Upadhyaya’s statement to Economic Times, “The partnership brings an entire ecosystem in place, mentoring support, global expertise and a Series A funding opportunity for startups. I see these three things as a strong value for our partnership.” Vikram Upadhyaya is the chief mentor at GHV.

 

Gmail for Android Soon Support Other Email Services Like Yahoo & Outlook

All the Gmail users on Android have a reason to rejoice. If some sources are to be believed, Google is in midst of planning a big update for Gmail users on Android devices which would finally allow them to handle email accounts from other service providers like AOL, Yahoo and Microsoft Outlook etc. People at Android Police have apparently discovered some evidences of a redesigned Gmail Android App that is expected to launch soon in the market.

The new redesigned app is all set to follow the tech giant’s new Material Design language. The app would have a much cleaner and brighter design than the previous one and include round icons and support for third party email accounts. Google Mail famously known as Gmail always supported POP3 accounts but this new update of third party email integration will allow users to make their phone cluster free by dumping all other email applications. According to The Verge, IMAP, POP and Exchange are also supported.

The long anticipated update can be expected to be launched anytime soon in the coming weeks. This new update will surely make Android users at par with iOS users, as Apple’s iOS already supports multiple email accounts. Although Android itself has had a dedicated Email app for all services, the app is called the "email" app available as pre-loaded in all Android phones by default.

Have a look at the unified Gmail app for Android in the video tour below brought to you by Android Police.



Apple's iOS has long supported multiple email accounts, so you Android folks out there will finally get on par — although, to be honest, if you’re still using antiquated email services today, then you’ve only got what you deserve up to this point.

Top Image - Gaharoni [Flickr]

Fundlined wants to be KickStarter for Indian Crowdfunding

Fundlined is a Crowdfunding Platform, just for India. Anyone who has an Idea, Project, Startup or Cause can raise Funds on Fundlined.com. The portal looks promising and close and it won't be an exaggeration if we say that it is about to become KickStarter of India.

Goa based crowdfunding portal wants to empower people by democratising funding and with this belief the portal claims to revolutionise crowdfunding in India, forever. The portal is currently in beta state.

Fundlined has been developed for artists, musicians, filmmakers, journalists, designers, entrepreneurs, inventors, event organisers, social-organisations, software developers, anyone and everyone, to help you make great things possible.

Similar to KickStarter.com FundLined takes zero set-up for creating funding campaigns and when your campaign raises funds the portal takes mere 5% from successful funding campaigns and 15% from unsuccessful campaigns.

Fundlined founder Siddharth Shetty founded the crowdfunding platform at just 18 years of age, the portal was released officially in May 2014 and in less than a month, the portal already become one of India's Largest Crowdfunding Platforms, claims Siddharth. Currently, FundLined is organising India's biggest crowdfunding contest - With over 20 Lakhs worth of extra funding up for grabs.

The team behind this new crowdfunding platform is a Pan India team, with members based in Bangalore, Mumbai, Chennai, Jaipur, besides other cities.

The crowdfunding portal is currently organising India's Biggest Crowdfunding Contest - With over 20 Lakhs worth of extra funding up for grabs! You may visit contest.fundlined.com for further information.

The portal aims big, but comparing other crowdfunding platforms Fundlined currently have very few funding campaigns probably it was released officially just five months back (May 2015). Recently another crowdfunding platform for India called Wishberg.com has just announced to shutdown in coming days. Wishberg lived just for couple of years which raises questions on sustainability for crowdfunding platforms just for India. When it comes to online crowdfunding interested individuals/teams based out of India eye towards crowdfunding platforms such as Kickstarter and Indiegogo.com.

Interview With Arsh Shah Dilbagi, The 16 Year Old From Panipat Who Invented 'TALK' which Turns Breath Into Words

Last month we published story about young inventor Arsh Shah Dilbagi who was among finalist of Google Science Fair 2014, for his invention called - 'TALK', a device which converts breath into words and enables mutes to communicate in normal form of speech.Arsh has won the Voters Choice Award in Google Science Fair 2014. (Find more information on device - 'TALK' Here)

Arsh was visiting his family doctor when he saw a man sitting in the waiting room crying for long time. In a conversation with his doctor, he understood that the man was suffering from a developmental disability and was unable to express himself to anyone. Arsh thought, 'Why can't technology solve such problems for us?' After 3 months of research, Arsh started developing 'TALK', a device which converts breath into speech. 7 months later, he came up with a product which could be used by anyone suffering from any kind of speech impairment.

In an interview with him, we understand all about his journey, inspiration and his future plans.

IndianWeb2: Tell us a little about yourself and your achievements.
Arsh: I'm 16 years old and studying in 12th Grade at DAV Public School, Panipat. I like Photography, Cinematography, Web Designing, 3D Modelling & Rendering and Swimming. I am very fascinated by the power of Science and Mathematics and love 'Making Things'.

I conceived and designed a working prototype of an Autonomous UGV for which I was honored by the President of India. I won IRO 2010 at National Level, IRO 2011 and FLL 2011 at Regional Level. I have also made a Home Automation System using Arduino, WordPress Plugin and designed a Quizzing Social Network. I started researching and working on talk in 2013.

IndianWeb2: Tell us a little about your product ‘TALK’ and how it works.
Arsh: TALK is basically an AAC device for people suffering from Developmental-Disabilities. Talk expects a person to be able to give two distinguishable exhales (by varying intensity/time) for converting into electrical signals using MEMS Microphone. The signals are processed by a microprocessor and labeled as 'Dots' - for short exhales and 'Dashes' - for longer exhales.

These are further interpreted as Morse Code, converted to words/sentences and sent to another microprocessor for synthesizing. Talk features two modes - one to communicate in English and other to give specific commands/phrases, and 9 different voices.

IndianWeb2: How is ‘TALK’ different from the AAC devices available in the market?
Arsh: Talk has made two major breakthroughs by increasing speaking rate and becoming the world's most affordable AAC device. The device was tested on a person suffering from SEM and Parkinson's Disease. Stephen Hawking has been suffering from ALS from the past 7 years. The speech generating device which he uses is very expensive, bulky, slow and consume a lot of power. ‘TALK’ is generic, affordable, has faster speaking rate, portable and consumes less power. The cost of the device (when made available in the market) would be Rs 5000 only.

'TALK' used pressure sensor which can be used to monitor variations in breath and generate two distinguishable signals. These signals can be further processed as a binary language and synthesized into speech accordingly.

IndianWeb2: What stage is the product at? When can we expect it in the market?
Arsh: The product has been tested on patients suffering from the diseases and improvements have been made in the product. I have filed a patent for it, which is in process right now. I am also waiting for certification to come along so that the product can be launched by the end of next year. It will be available for Rs 5000.

IndianWeb2: Who are your mentors?
Arsh: My parents are my mentors. They have been the biggest strength for me and are very supportive of my decisions. They have always inspired me to do better. Apart from them, I do not have anyone mentoring me in the project. This has turned out very well for me as I do not have someone redirecting me to a particular path. There is Google to always help out if I need anything.

IndianWeb2: Describe a typical day in your life and how has it changed since you have won the award.
Arsh: It has pretty much been the same. I start my day early around 5am. I go to my school (DAV Public School, Panipat) and come back around 1pm. I study for a while, play for a bit and then come back and do my research. Work a little on making ‘TALK’ better. ‘TALK’ has changed from a research project of my own to a social responsibility now. So many people have people have pinned up their hopes on this and are looking forward to the device coming out commercially.

IndianWeb2: Tell us for instance about people’s reactions.
Arsh: While a lot of people have congratulated me on making ‘TALK’, a lot of people are also looking forward to the product coming out in the market so that their near and dear ones can use it. I received a mail from a father congratulating me and thanking me for coming up with this idea. I got to know that his son was suffering from Developmental disability and the father was happy because he finally would get to listen to his son's voice. It feels very good to see how happy this will make people.

IndianWeb2: Tell us a little about your future plans.
Arsh: After I finish my class 12, I will not be joining a college, instead keep working on the product, trying to make it better and better. The patent for 'TALK' is currently processing. I am not sure about which college I would be in a year, or if I would attend a college. I would like to add auto-predictions to my Computing-Engine and integrate Talk with modern technology like Google Glass to make the world a better place to live people with Developmental-Disabilities.

IndianWeb2: Give a message for future entrepreneurs
Arsh: It all depends on how you see things in life. Don’t ask 'What should I make?', instead ask 'What should I do to solve a problem?' When there is a cause or purpose behind what is being done, things will come in place.

StoryXpress Automating Pro-Video Creation Easy for Startups & SMBs

Having a good product is not enough nowadays. A good product becomes a successful product only through its rightful promotion and with increasing reach of Internet the medium is being increasingly used by consumers to discover new businesses and products online.

Nowadays having a website and videos are the two most famous means for businesses to gain visibility online. Websites have now become a common thing but people are still skeptical about spending money on making videos but with StoryXpress they can leave all their worries behind. StoryXpress is a cloud based video creation service that makes creation of video content an easy and money efficient task. Its first product helps the businesses to convert their audio, video clips, photos, tweets and texts into beautiful and attractive videos. Videos have proved to be a great promotional tool in today’s internet age.

The process involved in making these videos has just three easy steps. The first involves choosing a theme for the video. Currently StoryXpress provides three themes for products, services and apps. It’s is going to add more themes very soon. A theme should be chosen by keeping the kind of business you’re into in mind.

The second step involves uploading images, for example, if it’s an app, one needs to upload the screenshots of the app; similarly if it is for a service, you'll be required to screenshots of the website. And further it also provides opportunities to create a store or product video by clicking some photographs of the store or product and then uploading them.

The third and the final step involves sharing your videos and acquiring new customers through it. The video created can be embedded in your website and easily shared on Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and various other social networking sites.

StoryXpress is a bootstrapped company started in 2013. The company is a product of hardwork of basically four people, Ankit Mishra, Mudit Tanwani, Sanyam Kapoor and Chinmay Jindal.

The Hyderabad based startup specializes in API, StoryBoard and automated video creation. The startup is actually a product of a campus idea and according to the founders this has actually worked in favor of them as being a college startup, no one expects a salary from you, so you don’t have to pay yourself. According to them, their door room doubles up as their office and they even get access to free Wi-Fi.

StoryXpress Automating Pro-Video Creation Easy for Startups & SMBs

Having a good product is not enough nowadays. A good product becomes a successful product only through its rightful promotion and with increasing reach of Internet the medium is being increasingly used by consumers to discover new businesses and products online.

Nowadays having a website and videos are the two most famous means for businesses to gain visibility online. Websites have now become a common thing but people are still skeptical about spending money on making videos but with StoryXpress they can leave all their worries behind. StoryXpress is a cloud based video creation service that makes creation of video content an easy and money efficient task. Its first product helps the businesses to convert their audio, video clips, photos, tweets and texts into beautiful and attractive videos. Videos have proved to be a great promotional tool in today’s internet age.

The process involved in making these videos has just three easy steps. The first involves choosing a theme for the video. Currently StoryXpress provides three themes for products, services and apps. It’s is going to add more themes very soon. A theme should be chosen by keeping the kind of business you’re into in mind.

The second step involves uploading images, for example, if it’s an app, one needs to upload the screenshots of the app; similarly if it is for a service, you'll be required to screenshots of the website. And further it also provides opportunities to create a store or product video by clicking some photographs of the store or product and then uploading them.

The third and the final step involves sharing your videos and acquiring new customers through it. The video created can be embedded in your website and easily shared on Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and various other social networking sites.

StoryXpress is a bootstrapped company started in 2013. The company is a product of hardwork of basically four people, Ankit Mishra, Mudit Tanwani, Sanyam Kapoor and Chinmay Jindal.

The Hyderabad based startup specializes in API, StoryBoard and automated video creation. The startup is actually a product of a campus idea and according to the founders this has actually worked in favor of them as being a college startup, no one expects a salary from you, so you don’t have to pay yourself. According to them, their door room doubles up as their office and they even get access to free Wi-Fi.

IIT Delhi Alumni Startup ‘Digital Vidya’, Asia's Leading Digital Marketing Education Firm

Digital Vidya is one of Asia's leading Digital Marketing education company. Pradeep Chopra started it in 2009 along with Kapil Nakra, his batchmate at IIT Delhi. The company is the first to launch Social Media Marketing Workshop Series in India. Since 2009, over 5000 professionals (including CXOs) from over 2000 brands such as Nokia, Google, eBay, Reliance, Star TV, Cisco, MakeMyTrip, Naukri, SAP, Citibank, Toyota, Intel, ITC, CNBC, Madison and CII have participated in more than 200 Digital Marketing trainings by Digital Vidya across Asia.

Pradeep and Kapil have been working together since 2000. "They touched the power of Digital Media, when we accidentally sold our first product through SEO at Whizlabs Software, our 1st venture. Till 2009, they were informally helping other entrepreneurs and professionals leverage Digital Marketing by sharing their experience at various forums. A friend suggested to give a formal shape to our motive of supporting others to grow through Digital Marketing. That's how Digital Vidya came into existence," says the founder Pradeep. Pradeep has personally trained & advised over 2000 professionals including CEOs across Asia in helping them grow their businesses through Digital Vidya's hands-on Digital Marketing trainings.

The company offers various certification courses. They are partnering with Vskills, a Govt of India initiative. Being exclusive partner for Digital Marketing certification programs with Vskills, the Participants of the programs get joint certification from Vskills and Digital Vidya.

Their team of more than 25 people is based out of Delhi.They are currently one of Asia's leading and India's largest Digital Marketing training firms. What distinguishes them from others is our 14+ years of experience in leveraging Digital Marketing across multiple businesses. “Due to this participants of our programs get extremely high quality of learning in leveraging Digital Marketing for their personal and organizational growth,” says Kapil, the co-founder. They also offer customized Social Media/Digital Marketing Workshops for corporations, who are interested in leveraging Digital Marketing to scale up their businesses.

They plan to expand their Digital Marketing certification programs to multiple geographies beyond Asia in future. The company has been bootstrapped from the beginning. Pradeep shares a small story of the time when he decided to startup. “We did not have a lot of family support when we wanted to leave take the road less travelled. Because of this, initial phase of our 1st business was extremely painful. We'd many more reasons to quit than to continue,” he says. They decided to listen to their heart and never give up!

[caption id="attachment_95556" align="aligncenter" width="700"] Pradeep Chopra and Kapil Nakra, Co-founders- DigitalVidya.com[/caption]

Pradeep is the recipient of Social Media Entrepreneur Award (at Global Youth Marketing Forum), PIMR Marketing Excellence Award and CMOAsia's Brand Slam Leadership Award for his contribution to Digital Marketing industry. Being an expert at what he does, Pradeep is one of the most sought after international speakers on Digital Marketing and Entrepreneurship. His speaking assignments include ad-tech, SES (USA), World Social Media Summit at Kuala Lumpur, Social Media Workshops across Asia, Click Asia Summit, Global Youth Marketing Forum, TiEcon and NASSCOM India Leadership Forum.

As a message for future entrepreneurs, Pradeep says, “The day you decide to start is the BEST day.” A graduate from IIT Delhi, Pradeep is also a core member of the Global Committee at SEMPO USA, a non-profit that nurtures the growth of Digital Marketing globally. He also sits on the advisory board of Social Media Chambers Malaysia. His obsession for the digital medium has led him to believe that the Internet connectivity is more important than the water supply.

Social Startup 300FT Creating Infrastructure For Every Citizen To Trash

300ft really is the maximum distance there should be between two dustbins on the street. It is also the average distance a person walks in a minute. That is to say, an individual should never have to carry his/her trash for more than a minute. This premise is reflected in their tagline of 300 Feet Eco Solutions – 'A Minute to Bin It'.

300 Feet Eco Solutions is a Waste Management Solutions Company based in Bangalore, India. It was founded in November 2012 by four like-minded individuals who wanted to bring about radical changes in the way Bangalore city, or any other city in the country in general, dealt with its waste. The four engineers Preetam Murthy, Ananth Nagaraj, Alex Cherian and Aditya Seshnath studied together in college.

"I have always believed that cleanliness and waste management are crucial aspects of urban planning and are important factors to judge a society's development. In one of my business trips to Indonesia, the first thing that struck me was the stark difference in cleanliness and hygiene standards in India and Indonesia, even though it was also a developing country and lagged behind India in various other developmental parameters", says Aditya. He quickly realized that there was significant business potential in waste management, while also contributing to society. Instead of merely commenting on the issues, he left his high paying corporate job to join hands with his batch mates and start 300ft.in.

[caption id="attachment_95520" align="alignleft" width="352"] (clockwise) Preetam Murthy, Ananth Nagaraj, Aditya Seshnath
and Alex Cherian, Co-founders - 360FT[/caption]

"It was obvious that there was no miracle cure for the waste management problem in the city. The effort would have to be systematic and sustained. We set about to find a single root cause that could be fixed to bridge a gap in the unsystematic waste collection system. Our root cause analysis highlighted the absolute lack of dustbins in the commercial areas of Bangalore City. We are not talking about bad dustbins or inadequate dustbins; we are talking about no dustbins!! A bit more research convinced us that introducing the dustbins in commercial spaces would go a long way in bringing about cleanliness on the streets," says Preetam. That's how 300ft came into existence.

They have presently deployed 50 litterbins in Bangalore. They have also received MLA funding to expand the litterbin initiative to 250 litterbins covering all the commercial districts South Bangalore. "We see a necessity for a total of 2000 litterbins to cover all the commercial districts of Bangalore. We are in talks with a few companies to expand this initiative to other parts of the city as part of their CSR campaigns," adds Preetam.

"We wanted to put our money where the mouth was (test our idea per say). So we embarked on a project to install uniquely designed dustbins to cover the streets all over the Jayanagar 4th Block Shopping Area. This was more than a year ago. In the time since then, we have forayed into providing end-to-end Waste Management Services," says Ananth. They have carved out a niche for themselves in the Event Waste Management area by adopting segregation practices even for the waste collected at the events, thereby reducing their environmental impact.

Their vision is two-fold, to bring cleanliness onto our streets and to reduce the burden of waste ending up in landfills. 300ft offers professional waste management services to Large Event Spaces and other establishments. They actively propagate waste segregation as an essential activity in all their offerings, be it a restaurant, commercial building, or an event. The final goal of all our offerings is to achieve "Zero Waste to Landfill". They generate revenues through advertisements, where a client has an option to display back-lit advertising on their surfaces. "Our clients have the option of using these spaces as effective branding mediums or as a platform to advertise their offerings. Deploying these bins also have the potential of making the entire waste management effort more cost effective and in some cases even profitable for our clients. When deployed on the streets, these bins can turn into highly effective social messaging platforms. We are actively marketing a combination of our services to change the way corporations and individuals view the waste management problem in the country," says Alex.

They have partnered with a number of organizations in an effort to provide effective services. These include waste recyclers, organic waste converters, NGOs working in the waste management segment as well as resident and commercial associations. They intend to create crowd-sourced waste management applications in the future to effectively track waste management across the city. In the long run, they plan to bring systematic waste management system to India. "In the near future, we intend to set up a state of the art waste management center that would work to segregate and dispose waste in an environmentally sustainable manner, thus further reducing the burden on landfills.," says Aditya. As a message for future entrepreneurs he says, "If you believe in an idea, stick with it. See it through."

Biotecnika Labs Catering To The Needs of Bio-Industry in India

Biotecnika Info Labs Pvt Ltd is an eight year old organization which effectively caters to the needs of Bio-industry in various forms such as job portal, coaching, magazine and web TV. Started by Shekhar Suman and his sister, Dr Neha Suman, the company aims to strive towards making 'life science' sector a better and a more hopeful sector for graduates.

"I still remember the day when I had to convince my father that my soul lies in being an entrepreneur. I was still pursuing my Bachelors from Krupanidhi College of Pharmacy. Belonging from the bio-science sector I completely understood the intricacies woven around the biotech employment sector. I wanted to bring in a solution to this prevailing problem," says Shekhar. This is when he came up with the idea of Biotecnika. While Shekhar was still pursuing his studies in pharmacy, he made a team of 14 people. This entire team composed of research fellows and scholars working from different places across India to make the best portal for life science students.

8 years ago, there was a dearth of services which could help the bioscience students to be on par with the sector. Shekhar dedicated the initial 12 months just to letting people know about Biotecnika. "As the entire domain was looking for a resource where they could browse for bio-jobs, we received commendable response from all quarters. The philosophy was simple. Being a doctor myself, I wanted to dedicate myself to the sector and extend support for its unfaltering progress," says Neha.

Biotecnika's CSIR NET coaching, runs all around the country, in the form of online classes, a unique feature making them stand out of the many competitors. "We, at Biotecnika, see to it that no bioscience individual who come to us, either seeking for mentorship or guidance, leave in disappointment," says Shekhar, proudly.

A team of 30 members is dedicated towards maintaining and improvising the services that they offer. Biotecnika is based out of Bangalore, a city which is popularly considered to be the ‘heart’ for biotechnology sector. Throughout these eight years in the industry, Biotecnika has aided the bio-community and have recently expanded their reach to the city of Noida.

The company plans to expand to all the corners of the country and help out every biotech individual seeking our assistance at every level. As a message for future entrepreneurs, Shekhar says, “Measure your stamina and then jump. Swimming in the entrepreneurial pool is awesome.”

will.i.am Announces i.amPULS, World’s First Untethered Smartband Wearable Device

Musician, philanthropist, entrepreneur, and Founder of i.am+ will.i.am tonight unveiled his new smartband wearable device, i.amPULS, at the i.am+ keynote presentation during Dreamforce 2014.

The industry-first PULS wearable is untethered and has the ability to make/receive calls and operates independently of any smartphone, whereas most wearables use Bluetooth and require close proximity to a smartphone. This mean no smartphone is necessary to use the i.amPULS and this was done very deliberately.

The device has 1 GB of memory, 16 GB of storage, 780 mA of power, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS, a pedometer and accelerometer and will run untethered on a 3G cellular network provided exclusively through AT&T.



PULS features an intelligent personal assistant "AneedA" powered by Nuance Communications. Developed with a "voice first, touch second" functionality, AneedA is an intuitive personal assistant that takes dictation for texts and emails, plays music, posts to social media, queues maps and a fitness app, schedules appointments, make calls, and more.

The device will launch in stores across US by the end of the year for a price of $499, a little high for our taste but some people will surely hand over their money for this product without blinking. Although, when the device will be launched in rest of countries like India is still unclear.

In an interactive showcase that featured music, video, imagery, poetry, and a fashion runway show, will.i.am demonstrated the i.amPULS smartband is truly the industry’s first standalone communications device.

"i.amPULS represents digital freedom, individuality, intelligence and the intersection where fashion and technical innovation meet," said will.i.am. "I'm honored to share my vision for the PULS with this global audience."

Founded by musician and entrepreneur will.i.am, i.am+ is a entrepreneurial entity nurturing powerful and developing technology into products and ideas driven by innovation. i.am+ is positioned at the intersection of pop-tech and fashionology. i.am+ is a way of life, a culture that empowers and inspires.

Priceburp.com Indian Coupon site raises under $100K from Netherlands based Angel Investors

Coupons and online deals portal PriceBurp.com, owned by Mumbai based Priceburp Media Pvt. Ltd., raised under $100K from Bright Ventures B.V, an early stage investment company from the Netherlands. The investment will be used to facilitate tech development and hire competent workforce, the company announced. "Indian consumers have pre dominantly been very cautious when it comes to shopping online. The recent spur in the number of people now comfortably purchasing everything online, right from a pair of shoes to mobile phones, is a sign that this market is now open and acceptable to online shopping. This has mainly happened in the last 2 years with innovations in payment methods like COD and mobile payments and the growth of mobile phones. The flexible exchange and return policies have further added to the consumers confidence to shop online," said Nirav Dave, Founder & Director of Priceburp.

"In a scenario while most of the e-commerce websites are eyeing for conversions, coupons come in handy to induce a prospective buyer and convert his intention to purchase in a sale transaction. Coupon Sites, like ours, come into picture at this point and help these retailers"

According to estimates today there are more than 200+ coupon sites and the competition is only growing. In such a scenario Priceburp has targeted to grow its store partners to 2500+ stores by November 2014 and become the largest coupon site in India. It is already adding close to 1500+ coupons every week, for the 850+ stores, it has partnered with at present.

Currently, the site has covered most of the categories including coupons and deals for electronics, fashion, health & beauty, home & lifestyle and travel etc. Their plan is to expand to other important ecommerce categories as well including online education and other services.

When asked about how they are going to differentiate themselves from the other coupon players in India, Nirav Dave said, “This business is not an innovation or technology lead. Every other coupon site is either a theme based portal with 50- 100 stores or clone of one another. In such a situation it is important that the consumers get the best possible working coupons and discounts they are looking for once they are on your site. We check our coupons every single day and remove all the expired coupons to ensure our users have an enjoyable shopping experience.”
Furthermore, he also mentioned that Priceburp will soon be announcing a partnership, which is not heard of in the coupons industry, and this will enable them to stand out from the current coupon competitors in India.

Google Profit Dips to $2.8 Billion, Revenue Grows To $16.5 Billion

Google's zest for innovation and newer markets has costed it a dip in the third quarter earnings of this financial year. The hiring of three thousand more employees has also added to the dip. The results which came in on Thursday saw the search giant's stock drop by 2.4 percent, or $12.92, to 524 dollars in extended trading. Google’s shares had already plunged by 4 percent this year.

The search engine's digital ad network which is powered by its dominant search engine has constantly been delivering profits that have been keeping the interests of its investors high over the years.

According to Larry Page, Google's CEO, the company needs to sacrifice some short term gains and goals so that it can invest in projects and other researches that could take a long time to take off or make money. The CEO described these small dips and risky initiatives as “moon shots”. Page further defends these steps by pointing out the fact that company might not have ever been able to develop its Chrome Web browser and Android mobile software if it hadn’t gone out on a limb.

The search giant is currently working on a string of innovations like Internet beaming balloons, driverless cars, Internet connected eyewear and a fleet of drones.

As far as investors are concerned, exploring new technologies always prove to be expensive for them. This is one of the reasons why the San-Francisco based search giant's operating expenses increased by a whopping 30 percent from a year earlier to 5 billion dollars in the third quarter, this is after subtracting the employee stock compensation costs. These rising expenses brought Google’s third quarter revenue to $16.5 billion.

A big percentage of the rising expenses were spent on hiring more employees. Some 3,000 employees were hired in the third quarter which was roughly double the number of employees hired last year at the same time.

In what could be assumed as a positive sign, the search giant's average ad prices in the third quarter dipped by a mere two percent from last year. This is the smallest dip in the prices paid to the search giant for the advertisements which appear alongside search results and other content on the web.

Google Profit Dips to $2.8 Billion, Revenue Grows To $16.5 Billion

Google's zest for innovation and newer markets has costed it a dip in the third quarter earnings of this financial year. The hiring of three thousand more employees has also added to the dip. The results which came in on Thursday saw the search giant's stock drop by 2.4 percent, or $12.92, to 524 dollars in extended trading. Google’s shares had already plunged by 4 percent this year.

The search engine's digital ad network which is powered by its dominant search engine has constantly been delivering profits that have been keeping the interests of its investors high over the years.

According to Larry Page, Google's CEO, the company needs to sacrifice some short term gains and goals so that it can invest in projects and other researches that could take a long time to take off or make money. The CEO described these small dips and risky initiatives as “moon shots”. Page further defends these steps by pointing out the fact that company might not have ever been able to develop its Chrome Web browser and Android mobile software if it hadn’t gone out on a limb.

The search giant is currently working on a string of innovations like Internet beaming balloons, driverless cars, Internet connected eyewear and a fleet of drones.

As far as investors are concerned, exploring new technologies always prove to be expensive for them. This is one of the reasons why the San-Francisco based search giant's operating expenses increased by a whopping 30 percent from a year earlier to 5 billion dollars in the third quarter, this is after subtracting the employee stock compensation costs. These rising expenses brought Google’s third quarter revenue to $16.5 billion.

A big percentage of the rising expenses were spent on hiring more employees. Some 3,000 employees were hired in the third quarter which was roughly double the number of employees hired last year at the same time.

In what could be assumed as a positive sign, the search giant's average ad prices in the third quarter dipped by a mere two percent from last year. This is the smallest dip in the prices paid to the search giant for the advertisements which appear alongside search results and other content on the web.

Snapdeal To Raise $600-$650 Million Funding

In order to expand its operations, famous online ecommerce site Snapdeal is in the process of raising around $600 to $650 million from its existing investors. According to some people involved in the process, the fundraising is being led by SoftBank Corp from Japan.

The figure, which is the second biggest investment in the growing ecommerce market of India, will most probably be announced next week. The biggest investment of $ 1 billion was raised by Flipkart in July this year.

With more and more Indians turning towards online shopping, online Indian retailers have been working hard towards raising funds in order to compete with the growing competitive ecommerce market of the country.

According to a July research note by Analysts at Nomura, the ecommerce market in India could take a massive leap to $43 billion in the coming five years from the 2013 $10 billion figure and that too just by online retail.

Snapdeal's existing list of investors includes Ratan Tata, SoftBank Corp, Temasek Holdings Pvt Ltd and eBay Inc.

The online retailer since its inception has been successful in raising around 400 million US dollars. The Company had also raised around 100 million dollars in May this year. In February, it raised around USD 133.7 million from its existing investors.

Snapdeal has more than 5 million products in over five hundred diverse categories from over fifty thousand sellers, selling everything from mobile phone to clothes to shoes. The company for the last two years has seen over 600 percent growth year on year.

Indian Online retailers have been successful in raising the interest of industry veterans like Azim Premji and Ratan Tata and private equity firms at the same time.

Amazon had also announced a USD 2 billion dollar investment in India this year. The announcement came soon after Flipkart’s 1 billion investment announcement in July.

According to a report by Assocham and consultancy firm PwC, the ecommerce companies are expected to spend up to 1.9 billion US dollars on warehousing, logistics and infrastructure by 2017-2020.

Snapdeal To Raise $600-$650 Million Funding

In order to expand its operations, famous online ecommerce site Snapdeal is in the process of raising around $600 to $650 million from its existing investors. According to some people involved in the process, the fundraising is being led by SoftBank Corp from Japan.

The figure, which is the second biggest investment in the growing ecommerce market of India, will most probably be announced next week. The biggest investment of $ 1 billion was raised by Flipkart in July this year.

With more and more Indians turning towards online shopping, online Indian retailers have been working hard towards raising funds in order to compete with the growing competitive ecommerce market of the country.

According to a July research note by Analysts at Nomura, the ecommerce market in India could take a massive leap to $43 billion in the coming five years from the 2013 $10 billion figure and that too just by online retail.

Snapdeal's existing list of investors includes Ratan Tata, SoftBank Corp, Temasek Holdings Pvt Ltd and eBay Inc.

The online retailer since its inception has been successful in raising around 400 million US dollars. The Company had also raised around 100 million dollars in May this year. In February, it raised around USD 133.7 million from its existing investors.

Snapdeal has more than 5 million products in over five hundred diverse categories from over fifty thousand sellers, selling everything from mobile phone to clothes to shoes. The company for the last two years has seen over 600 percent growth year on year.

Indian Online retailers have been successful in raising the interest of industry veterans like Azim Premji and Ratan Tata and private equity firms at the same time.

Amazon had also announced a USD 2 billion dollar investment in India this year. The announcement came soon after Flipkart’s 1 billion investment announcement in July.

According to a report by Assocham and consultancy firm PwC, the ecommerce companies are expected to spend up to 1.9 billion US dollars on warehousing, logistics and infrastructure by 2017-2020.

KinTrans Translates Sign Language Into Voice & Text In Real time; To Help Hearing Impaired

KinTrans is a state-of-the-art system that allows hearing impaired to communicate with others by translating sign language into voice and text in real time, naturally without any sensors or electronics on the hands, unlike other systems in the same field that record and then translate. It was founded in Sep'13 with initial seed funding of $24,000 from Dubai based accelerator TURN8 (DP World initiative).

KinTrans Logo and slogan 'Hands Can Talk' represents the core of their vision in the product. The logo has the shape of Clover Flower or the luck flower according to the Arabic culture. "Here it represents the communication, which is the gift we are trying to give to the hearing impaired back," says the CEO.

It provides an integrated device (hardware and software) that allows the translation of sign language into voice & text. Service providers can install KinTrans at information desks and other appropriate locations to facilitate communication between the hearing impaired and the service provider. The next stage of KinTrans will be a mobile based application targeting the hearing impaired people themselves, to enable them to communicate anywhere and during phone calls as well.

"We believe in KinTrans that the good vision attracts talents. We are partnering with organizations like Intel and Microsoft who believe in what we are doing right now, KinTrans is Microsoft BizSpark member, Intel Development Partner, Egyptian Council of Deafness," says Mohamed Elwazer, the founder.

KinTrans is currently in the process of securing seed funding of approximately $550,000 from a strategic investor in the UAE and seeks to raise between $2 million and $3m in its second round of funding in the future. This will help KinTrans achieve their vision of helping the hearing impaired people with a set of solutions that will enable them to communicate again with the community. The sign language translator is the first step along the way. They envision to create the first Global digital library for different sign languages, which will help in sign language analytics and reporting to have a unified sign language across the world.

Kin Trans has been the Dubai Regional winner in SeedStars World . It has also been nominated as one of the best accessibility project from Egyptian ministry of communication, has been chosen among 400 international projects to be accelerated in Dubai at TURN8 accelerator.

As a message for future Entrepreneurs, the CEO says, "The vision draws the future of your start-up, choose a vision that you truly believe in and other will believe in you & support you. And choose an investor that truly believe in what you are doing."

This team is led by people with a cumulative experience of 40 years in the field of Entrepreneurship, Image Process, Artificial Intelligence, Engineering and R&D.

Mohamed Elwazer, KinTrans Founder & CEO, computer system engineer. He is young and passionate engineer who lead a lot of successful Events, e.g. Program Manager of 'Egyptian Engineering Day' held by IEEE.
 

Ayman Taha, KinTrans Co-founder & COO. An IT manager at 'Egyptian Ministry of Communication'. He holds a MBA degree & specialized in the field of finance & business development.

 

Dr. Hazem Said, KinTrans CTO. He is Instructor of Image processing & Data Structure. He got his PhD in ‘Building sophisticated Algorithms’ that forms the core of KinTrans system.


Dr. Mahmoud Elfouly, KinTrans CBDO. A full time Business Development Director & Professional Life/career Coach accredited with more than 5000 Hours of coaching & consultation for individual/ Executives/Business Owners.

 

Dr. Thanos Mitrelias, KinTrans Business Mentor & Director. He has been in the forefront of entrepreneurial and scientific activities in Cambridge for over 14 years; Founding CEO "Cavendish Nano Therapeutics" & Director 'Cambridge Bio Magnetics'.

Pixelbug, KinTrans Technical Mentor. A leading Augmented Reality & Gestures Control Company in the MENA Region.

VC Funds To Invest Over $1.6 Billion In Internet of Things In 2014

According to Cisco, a networking solutions giant, more and more Venture Capital firms are expected to invest in Internet of things (IoT) technologies this year. The expected investment can be more than $ 1.6 billion. The IoT market has been successful in improving the quality of people’s lives connecting more and more devices to the Internet.

The US based firm added that more than 13.69 billion devices have been connected through Internet so far. “10.69 billion Things were connected till Oct 2013, which has gone up to 13.69 billion in October 2014”, said Wim Elfrink, Chief Globalization officer, Cisco at the Internet of Things World Forum. The figure is expected to reach 50 billion by 2020.

According to the present figures, 37 percent of IoT consumers are industrial consumers and this figure is expected to cross the 50 percent mark in the next three years.

Elfrink also added that the IoT investment is expected to exceed $ 1.6 billion mark this year.

The Internet of things space is booming like never before as more and more devices are getting through the internet. This has in return led to the consumers expecting for more intelligence from these connected devices, infrastructure and equipment.

More and more startups are coming up to cash upon the booming market of IoT. This has led to the number of startups increase from just 13 last year to a whopping 189 this year. The IoT has provided jobs to about 300,000 people so far.

Cisco, a networking solutions giant, has about 250 happy public customers with thousands of connected devices deployed round the globe. According to Elfrink, more and more connectivity has led to an increase in the concern about education and security.

Education is an important area of action for IoT. According to Jeanne BeliveauDunn, VP and General Manager, Cisco, there is an urgent need to re-skill and overhaul the education system of people involved in networking.

The US networking giant also announced the expansion of its fog computing strategy along with the second phase of its IOx platform for industrial scale Internet of things deployment at the Internet of Things World Forum.

VC Funds To Invest Over $1.6 Billion In Internet of Things In 2014

According to Cisco, a networking solutions giant, more and more Venture Capital firms are expected to invest in Internet of things (IoT) technologies this year. The expected investment can be more than $ 1.6 billion. The IoT market has been successful in improving the quality of people’s lives connecting more and more devices to the Internet.

The US based firm added that more than 13.69 billion devices have been connected through Internet so far. “10.69 billion Things were connected till Oct 2013, which has gone up to 13.69 billion in October 2014”, said Wim Elfrink, Chief Globalization officer, Cisco at the Internet of Things World Forum. The figure is expected to reach 50 billion by 2020.

According to the present figures, 37 percent of IoT consumers are industrial consumers and this figure is expected to cross the 50 percent mark in the next three years.

Elfrink also added that the IoT investment is expected to exceed $ 1.6 billion mark this year.

The Internet of things space is booming like never before as more and more devices are getting through the internet. This has in return led to the consumers expecting for more intelligence from these connected devices, infrastructure and equipment.

More and more startups are coming up to cash upon the booming market of IoT. This has led to the number of startups increase from just 13 last year to a whopping 189 this year. The IoT has provided jobs to about 300,000 people so far.

Cisco, a networking solutions giant, has about 250 happy public customers with thousands of connected devices deployed round the globe. According to Elfrink, more and more connectivity has led to an increase in the concern about education and security.

Education is an important area of action for IoT. According to Jeanne BeliveauDunn, VP and General Manager, Cisco, there is an urgent need to re-skill and overhaul the education system of people involved in networking.

The US networking giant also announced the expansion of its fog computing strategy along with the second phase of its IOx platform for industrial scale Internet of things deployment at the Internet of Things World Forum.

Drivekool: India’s First Driving School Booking Portal

DriveKool.com is India’s first driving school booking site. It's a cloud based innovative platform that acts as a bridge between motor driving schools and their customers. For those who look to learn driving, it provides totally new and pleasant user experience of learning driving. Searching school based on various search criteria and rating while having a cup of coffee to become possible, thanks to this solution. They can complete process of booking a training slot in a matter of few clicks versus visiting multiple schools physically, which is highly inconvenient.

The portal was launched by Mahesh Gidwani, Saumitrya Kayal and Kumar Gaurav and already has served few of hundred customers through 50+ affiliated driving schools across Bangalore. Drivekool now have major motor driving schools including Bimal Maruti Driving School on its platform.


[caption id="attachment_95461" align="alignleft" width="293"] (L-R) Mahesh Gidwani, Kumar Gaurav and Saumitra Kayal, Co-founders of Drivekool[/caption]On asking on how all this came together, Mahesh recollects "My wife always wanted to learn how to drive. I had a busy schedule and whenever I went to the driving school, I either couldn’t find responsible person there or didn’t see the kind of professionalism that I was expecting. Also my wife wasn’t comfortable speaking to them because of the language barrier.” Frustration of dealing with all these led him and his cohorts to start 'Drivekool'."

With a team of 5 members, Gaurav is looking after the sales and marketing, Saumitra shoulders the responsibility of creating technology platform at Drivekool and Mahesh looks after the overall operation at the company and a go to person for everything and anything.

"Drivekool is using LAMP Stack with Symfony framework for its day-to-day work. Also, it is a non-funded, bootstrapped start-up venture which is offering first of its kind service in the country." says Saumitra.
Regarding expansion plan Drivekool.com is currently providing services only in Bangalore, and intent on spreading across India in near future.

According to Kumar "Brand building and customer acquisition are the key challenges that keep us awake. Besides, managing with limited resources is always something that I guess most of the star-up have to deal with.”

While discussing major problem that they are trying to solve team says "As already mentioned, major problem for customers are to finding credible driving schools with best rates and quality service Drivekool.com solves that problem with the help of technology. We not only help customers book training slots but also help with other RTO services such as driving license, change of address, registration and so on".

They also are running various campaigns to spread road safety awareness to keep our road safe for one and all. Taking up the challenge of avoiding honking or blowing horn while driving and nominating five friends for the same is one of the campaigns Drivekool is running on social networking platforms.

Google Released New Android 5.0 'Lollipop' (No Laddu or Lassi)

People in India might get little disappointed that Google released its next Android version 5.0 and named it 'Lollipop' in contrast to speculation that Head of Google's Android division Sundar Pichai who is Indian himself will give an Indian name to the next Android version such as Lassi or Laddu !

Allthewhile, on 17th October, Google announced 13th major release of Android and Notably it's the first to be fully developed under Sundar Pichai, the Google senior vice president. Along with Lollipop, Pichai is introducing three Google-designed devices, including the supersize Nexus 6 smartphone, manufactured by Motorola Mobility (MMI) with a fairly gigantic 6-inch screen. (P.S. - The iPhone 6 Plus display is 5.5 inches.)

Lollipop is Google's largest, most ambitious release on Android with over 5,000 new APIs for developers. Lollipop is designed to be flexible, to work on all your devices and to be customized for you the way you see fit. Lollipop is made for a world where moving throughout the day means interacting with a bunch of different screens—from phones and tablets to TVs.

Lollipop also gives you more control over your device. You can now adjust your settings so that only certain people and notifications can get through, for example, when you’re out to dinner or in the middle of an important meeting. And when an important notification does come through, you can see it directly from the lockscreen.

Android Lollipop also provide a new battery saver feature that extends the life of your device by up to 90 minutes—helpful if you’re far from a power outlet. The new Android version has enabled multiple user accounts and guest user mode for keeping your personal stuff private. And you can now secure your device with a PIN, password, pattern, or even by pairing your phone to a trusted device like your watch or car with Smart Lock.

Android Lollipop's New 'Kill Switch' Could Discourage Smartphone Theft

The new Android Lollipop have a new "kill switch" feature which lets its users to enable it on their phones. The feature, dubbed "factory reset protection," requires a Google ID and password before a phone can be reset, and only works when a phone passcode is enabled.

The kill switch is a great step toward making smartphone theft less tempting when a stolen phone can't be wiped clean and resold, it becomes a useless brick. However the kill switch is still opt-in feature for users.

Kill switches work on two levels: damage control and loss prevention. If your phone’s already been stolen, a kill switch can prevent your data from falling into the wrong hands by letting you remotely wipe your phone.

With this feature Android devices will more likely to be sold out comparing to its competitors like Apple which being expensive are more prone for thefts. Notably, Android runs on 85 percent of the world’s smartphones.