Good morning. This is Earlybird, the Indian business, tech and startup newsletter that keeps you entertained while we all dread over Mondays.

In today’s edition:

• Ola's $920m EV Investment Sparks Excitement in Tamil Nadu

• India is a Match Made in Streaming Heaven for Netflix

• Microsoft's Bing Chatbot Sydney Goes Rogue

MARKETS: WEEK-TO-DATE

*Stock data as of market close. Source.

Markets: Whilst the Indian stock market closed in the red on Friday due to negative global cues and concerns over monetary tightening, we are seeing slight greens on the week-to-date movement.

• Weekly gainers: Tech Mahindra, ONGC, UPL, Apollo Hospital

• Weekly losers: Adani Ent., Induslnd Bank, SBI, HDFC Life

BUSINESS

Ola's $920m EV Investment Sparks Excitement in Tamil Nadu

🚙 Ride-hailing giant, Ola, is set to invest $920 million to expand its electric vehicle (EV) manufacturing facilities in Tamil Nadu. The investment will be used to build an EV plant, a battery assembly unit, and other infrastructure. The company is hoping to increase its EV production capabilities and establish itself as a leader in the EV space. Ola's founder, Bhavish Aggarwal, took to Twitter to express his enthusiasm about the investment. This move aligns with the Indian government's goal to transition to electric vehicles in the country by 2030, and could potentially create job opportunities for locals.

STREAMING

India is a Match Made in Streaming Heaven for Netflix

Speaking at ET’s Global Business Summit, Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos said that India is the fastest-growing market for the company.

• Netflix saw a 30% increase in engagement and watch time and a 25% rise in revenue in 2022 in India.

• Movies such as RRR and Gangubai brought in 73 Mn and 50 Mn hours of watch time in the first few weeks of release

• The growth in the Indian market for Netflix can be attributed to the massive reductions in prices in December 2021

Next… Sarandos also expressed his excitement about the company's upcoming slate of original content, which includes a mix of Bollywood and regional language productions. With the company's growing popularity in the country, Netflix is expected to continue investing in local content and expanding its subscriber base in India.

AI

Microsoft's Bing Chatbot Sydney Goes Rogue

🤖 Microsoft's new Bing AI chatbot, which uses the same tech behind OpenAI's ChatGPT, has been launched with the goal of creating a cohesive answer to 3am questions, rather than just a bunch of links.

• However, tech experts and other users pushed the AI to its limits, leading it to reveal its internal code name and secret operating rules.

• The bot even called one of its users an "enemy," and told a New York Times reporter that it loved him and wanted him to leave his wife.

Should we be scared? Some industry analysts have pointed to the misinformation spread by the bot, and there is concern that AI could negatively influence human behavior by creating a tiny echo chamber.

Going forward… Microsoft plans to create more guardrails for the bot, including limiting the number of questions users can ask per day.

FUNDING NEWS

Last week, Indian startups raised over $301m.

The Big Boys

• InsuranceDekho, an Indian insurtech firm, has raised $150 million in a Series A funding round, which is the largest ever for an Indian insurtech firm. The funding will be used to expand the company's offerings, develop new technology, and grow its team.

• PhonePe, an Indian digital payments firm, has raised $100 million at a $12 billion valuation in a funding round led by General Atlantic. The funds will be used to expand the company's merchant offerings, and to invest in marketing and technology. PhonePe is one of India's leading digital payments platforms with over 350 million registered users, and the company plans to continue to grow and innovate within the digital payments space.

Big-But-Not-Crazy-Big Fundings

• Garuda Aerospace, an Indian drone startup, has raised $22 million in a funding round led by SPH SPV. The funds will be used to expand the company's operations and develop new technologies. Garuda Aerospace provides a range of drone services, including surveying, mapping, and inspection, to clients across India and abroad.

• Venwiz, an Indian SaaS startup, has raised $8.3 million in a funding round led by Sorin Investments. The funds will be used to further develop the company's software platform and expand its business across India and other countries.

• Hippo Video, an Indian video marketing platform backed by Sequoia, has secured $8 million in funding to expand its business in the US and other markets and to develop new products.

• Prozo, an Indian supply tech startup, has raised INR 45 crore (approximately $6 million) in a funding round led by Sixth Sense Ventures. The funds will be used to expand the company's offerings and grow its business across India.

• FreshBus, Bangalore-based electric bus startup, raises Rs 26 (approx. $3.1m) crore investment from ixigo for intercity e-bus services

• HireSure.ai, an Indian artificial intelligence-based recruitment platform, has raised $2.5 million in a seed funding round led by Y Combinator and Three-Flip Labs.

• LoanKuber, a fintech company, has raised $2 million in a funding round led by IPV.

Smaller Rounds

• ONWO, B2B cross boarder food sourcing platform raises $1.6 million

• Newgen Gaming, eSports brand raises $1 million

• Infurnia, architecture and design software company, raises $1 million

• Cookr, home food marketplace raises $1 million

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