ALLEN acquires Doubtnut; IAN’s Alpha Fund secures Rs 355 Cr

Hello,

At long last, some positive news for the crypto market.

On Monday, Bitcoin crossed the $41,000 mark in Asia for the first time after the collapse of Terra-Luna. Another key token, Ether, also crossed the $2,200 mark.

Bitcoin's upward movement can also be attributed to factors like the possibility of the US Federal Reserve approving a Bitcoin ETF, as per several media reports.

ICYMI: Bitcoin has rallied more than 120% this year, with many optimistic about the surge continuing into 2024.

Elsewhere, music streaming company Spotify has slashed about 1,500 jobs, or about 17% of its workforce, in its third round of layoffs this year as it looks to become “both productive and efficient.”

Meanwhile, BYJU’S continues to struggle. The embattled edtech company has called for an annual general meeting (AGM) on December 20 at 6 pm amid troubles on multiple fronts.

According to media reports, Founder Byju Raveendran has pledged homes owned by him and his family to raise money to pay pending November salaries of employees.

Oh, and here’s a chart showing the world’s top electronics exporters.

Spoiler alert: China has seen its market share rise from 9% in the 2000s to 34% in 2021. 

In today’s newsletter, we will talk about 

• ALLEN acquires Doubtnut
• IAN’s Alpha Fund secures Rs 355 Cr
• Trans lives and systemic violence

Here’s your trivia for today: Which Microsoft program was originally called Presenter?

Edtech

ALLEN’s first edtech acquisition

Kota-based ALLEN Career Institute has acquired Gurugram-based edtech startup Doubtnut, marking its first acquisition in the edtech space as it looks to make more impact in the online channel after more than three decades of offline coaching. 

Expansion:

• The strategic acquisition of the AI-based doubt-solving platform is part of ALLEN’s plans to build technology-led learning solutions focused on improving students’ learning outcomes.
• The Doubtnut team will continue to build doubt-resolution experiences for students while ALLEN will integrate its curriculum and academic offerings into the edtech startup’s student base, addressing their educational requirements.
• While the specifics of the transaction were not revealed by the companies, it is said to be a stress deal closed at around $10 million, reported Entrackr. 

Funding

IAN’s Alpha Fund secures Rs 355 Cr

Indian Angel Network's (IAN) Alpha Fund—a venture capital fund with a corpus of Rs 1,000 crore ($119 million)—announced its first close at Rs 355 crore. This is the second VC fund in IAN Group’s series of funds. Besides several investors from IAN Fund I, marquee investors like SIDBI and SRI Fund also participated in the Alpha Fund.  

Investment goals:

• Registered with SEBI under AIF Category II, the Alpha Fund aims to invest across cleantech, healthtech, fintech, deep-tech, spacetech, consumer, agritech, and robotics, among other sectors. 
• The fund will further the IAN Group’s mission "to invest Rs 5,000 crore in 500 startups to create 5,00,000 jobs and bring Indian innovation to global markets". 
• The IAN Group has invested more than Rs 900 crore in over 250 startups, currently valued at over $9 billion (Rs 75,000 crore).

SocialStory

Trans lives and systemic violence

On November 20—observed as the Transgender Day of Remembrance to honour the memories of transgender people whose lives were lost in acts of violence—Dalit-trans activist Grace Banu put out newspaper reports online and gathered FIRs of 29 trans people in Tamil Nadu who were murdered or had to resort to suicide in the last one year. 

Experts and activists working on the ground tell SocialStory that the appalling underreporting of these crimes can be attributed to the lack of documentation and barely reflects the situation on the ground.

Ground reality:

• Even though the Supreme Court’s 2014 NALSA judgment affirmed that transgender persons have the right to self-determine their gender identity, they still need to approach the District Magistrate to issue a Certificate of Identity as mandated in the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019.
• Transwoman activist and member of Chennai-based LGBT group, Nirangal, says many transwomen want to live and be accepted as women in their relationships and families, and like anyone else, they crave to be desired and loved.
• Assigned female at birth, transmen struggle to come out in a largely patriarchal society that makes their access to healthcare, employment and safe spaces almost impossible.

News & updates

• Lawsuits: The AMI media association, representing 83 Spanish media outlets, has filed a 550 million euro ($600 million) lawsuit against Facebook owner Meta Platforms, citing unfair competition in the advertising market in a case that could be replicated across the European Union.
• Weight loss: Roche agreed to take over obesity drug developer Carmot Therapeutics for $2.7 billion, joining a list of global contestants seeking to challenge the dominant makers of weight-loss drugs Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly.
• Climate finance: Money pledges grabbed the spotlight again at COP28 in Dubai on Monday, as delegates turned their focus to the yawning gap in the need for climate finance and what's on offer.

Which Microsoft program was originally called Presenter?

Answer: PowerPoint. Initially named Presenter, the software was released for the Apple Macintosh in 1987. 

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