Cred Svalbard Launch: Finally Coming of Age? - Indian Startup News 250

Link to the BwM Services form: https://bit.ly/BwMServices

Welcome to the Backstage with Millionaires weekly Indian startup news show, hosted by Caleb Friesen. This week, CRED launched Svalbard and Cash Plus, Lossfunk won first place at the ElevenLabs Hackathon in Bengaluru, Paytm partnered with Perplexity, Micromax launched a new solar panel business, Ashneer Grover shut down CrickPe while Times Internet launched Cricbuzz11, and more!


Notion database: https://meadow-pillow-7fa.notion.site/BwM-Startup-Funding-Database-303101b874824f4c91fae9fc8ce6d450

This week’s funding: https://meadow-pillow-7fa.notion.site/W9-Q4-FY25-1a608566a3608079974cd4b09b2f95b1

Funding over time: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/10-sWaL38VYz--CqQNMQEwsG9xRBAx3nwOLRKzRD4BkY/edit?gid=0#gid=0

0:00 CRED Launches Svalbard and Cash Plus
01:54 Lossfunk Wins 1st Place at the ElevenLabs Hackathon
03:13 BWM's New Service platform
04:21 Paytm partners with Perplexity
05:27 Micromax Launches New Solar Panel Business, Startup Energy
06:32 Ashneer Grover Shuts Down CrickPe, Times Internet Launches Cricbuzz11
07:20 Indian Startup Funding News

CRED Launches Svalbard and Cash Plus

CRED has launched Svalbard, a platform helping Indians understand and manage their credit. Svalbard's Aurora feature makes credit scores interactive, visually changing based on financial decisions. The platform includes Foresight, which predicts how choices impact credit scores, and Compass, which helps set credit goals. CRED has also introduced Cash Plus, offering loans against mutual funds starting at 8.99 percent interest. CRED's loan book has crossed 19,000 crore rupees, with lending becoming a core revenue stream.
Lossfunk Wins 1st Place at the ElevenLabs Hackathon

Lossfunk, founded by Paras Chopra, won first place at the ElevenLabs hackathon in Bengaluru. Lossfunk's multi-agent AI system Hitchcock can create complete videos from a single prompt, handling everything from script writing to cinematography. Paras Chopra, who sold Wingify for 200 million dollars, is now funding AI projects from India. Aeos Labs, founded by Varun Mayya, secured second place with Echo, a Jarvis-like journaling assistant.
Backstage with Millionaires Integration

Backstage with Millionaires announces a new platform for business registration and compliance services. The platform connects entrepreneurs with qualified CAs and lawyers, offering company registration, regulatory compliances, GST services, founders' agreements, and legal documentation for fundraising.
Paytm partners with Perplexity

Paytm has partnered with Perplexity to integrate AI-powered search into Paytm's app. Users can ask financial questions in local languages and receive instant answers. Paytm's founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma sees AI as a future profit driver. Perplexity, with over one million Indian users, will access Paytm's 100 million monthly active users through this partnership.
Micromax Launches New Solar Panel Business, Startup Energy

Micromax has partnered with Chinese solar equipment maker Jinchen to launch Startup Energy for solar panel production. Jinchen is establishing a 5-gigawatt solar module manufacturing line in India. Micromax has also ventured into memory module manufacturing with MiPhi and digital entertainment services.
Ashneer Grover Shuts Down CrickPe, Times Internet Launches Cricbuzz11

Ashneer Grover has closed CrickPe citing concerns about gaming's gambling connotations in India. Times Internet has launched Cricbuzz11 during the Champions Trophy and Women's Premier League season. The fantasy gaming market faces challenges from established players like Dream11 and the government's 28 percent GST policy.
Indian Startup Funding News

Indian startups raised 98 million dollars this week. Geniemode secured 50 million dollars in Series C funding. MOC Cancer Care raised 18 million dollars. Astrogate Labs received 1.3 million dollars for laser-based satellite communication. Triple Tap Games raised 1.2 million dollars. Dodo Payments secured 1.1 million dollars, and Make In The Box raised 260,000 dollars for modular mobile factories.