Indian Startup News 213: Swaayatt Robots makes driverless cars a reality in India

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
00:00 Swaayatt Robots makes driverless cars a reality in India
01:56 Sponsor
03:29 Ola Electric gets SEBI approval for IPO
04:06 Ather Energy revenue declines in FY24
05:11 Is Stoa School dead?
06:11 CRED getting into secured loans
07:09 Kissflow lays off 11% workforce
07:42 Funding News
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Swaayatt Robots: Bringing Driverless Cars to Indian Roads and Raising $4 Million

Would you ever imagine a driverless car navigating through the chaotic traffic of Indian roads? I certainly didn’t—until I discovered Swaayatt Robots. This innovative startup has turned a regular Mahindra Bolero into an autonomous vehicle capable of handling real Indian traffic, achieving level 5 autonomy, which even giants like Tesla haven't reached yet.

Sanjeev Sharma, the founder of Swaayatt Robots, has revolutionized autonomous driving in India at a fraction of the cost. With only $650,000 spent from their initial $3 million funding in 2021, they've now secured an additional $4 million to scale their level 4 autonomous driving technology. But Swaayatt Robots isn’t competing with car manufacturers; instead, they're aiming to be a technology supplier, targeting markets like military applications and the $800 billion autonomous trucking industry in the US.

What’s truly inspiring is that this groundbreaking innovation comes from Bhopal, a city not typically known for its tech scene. I first stumbled upon them while researching for our “Top 10 Madhya Pradesh Startups” video—check it out to discover more innovative companies from the state!

Ola Electric's IPO Approval

According to recent reports, Ola Electric has received SEBI approval for their IPO, aiming to raise ₹7,250 crore. With over 50% market share, Ola Electric leads the electric scooter segment in India.

Ather Energy’s Revenue Decline

Ather Energy, once a pioneer in electric scooters, has seen a slight revenue decline in FY24, despite strong customer loyalty. Find out what went wrong and their journey in our recent video.

Is Stoa School Shutting Down?

The Ken claims Stoa School, known as “India’s best alternative to an MBA,” might be shutting down. However, co-founder Raj Kunkolienkar says they’ve paused admissions to re-evaluate their next steps. More details expected by August.

CRED Exploring Secured Loans

CRED is reportedly exploring the secured lending market, following the RBI's stricter regulations on unsecured loans. With existing success in unsecured lending through CRED Cash, they’re now considering home and auto lending products.

Kissflow Layoffs

Kissflow, a SaaS startup, laid off 11% of its workforce (45 employees) as part of restructuring. The company previously made headlines for gifting BMW cars to senior employees for loyalty.

Funding News

This week, Indian startups raised a total of $187 million. Highlights include:

BatterySmart: $65M (Series B)
Indkal Technologies: $36M (Series A)
Foxtale: $18M (Series B)
Ethereal Machines: $13M (Series A)
Ola Electric: $13M (debt)
Skye Air: $4M (Series A)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Connect with us:

[sandeepkumar-iwqs]

i can smell a scam as soon as I hear level 5 autonomy. no data on number of km driven, no details of hardware tech specs or software.

[backstagewithmillionaires]

Hey all, this one is a re-upload from earlier today. We have added a clear sponsored disclaimer.

[jaspreetmodi]

India's road conditions of no rules, no interest, no behavioral aspect actually allows making driverless vehicle easier to build. The only major things for algo to watch out is for another human and vehicle. Interestingly, the real challenge for this start up would be when US trucking company ask it to lookput for signs, follow rules of the road etc.. . 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣It seems funny but am serious

[growbetter]

Parking lot business is a big and unorganized industry in india
Nearly 2 crore car needs parking everyday

[Pankajdubey]

Would love to some deep dive video on individual sectors, disruption different start up trying to bring. Challenges . Also, some videos on challenges faced by different startup due to regulatory reasons. Would love to keep this channel to get most news for start up ecosystem in India. Thank you. Hope you grow to 1M soon! Cheers

[abhijeetdewangan]

Make video on TiHAN IIT hyderabad for autonomous vehicles

[GabaSaminu]

I'm just so in love with this song

[thomaslanders]

Full self driving can never happen in India because the road infrastructure is not up to scratch and none of the human drivers obey any of the traffic laws.
To make matters worse it seems that law enforcement is also not interested in enforcing the traffic laws.
So basically India lacks the behavioral environment for this technology 🤔

[growbetter]

Parking lot business is a big and unorganized industry in india
Nearly 2 crore car needs parking everyday