Enabling data-driven training for athletes; Elevation Capital bets on cancer care

Hello,

Quick commerce and food delivery player Swiggy has allotted 8.64 lakh equity shares under the Swiggy ESOP Plan 2021.

This comes less than a week after the company announced the allotment of 1.71 crore equity shares under the Swiggy ESOP 2015 and Swiggy ESOP 2021 programmes.

Swiggy is not alone. Just the day before, beauty and personal care retailer Nykaa allotted 90,500 equity shares under its ESOP scheme, adding to previous allotments of 4.8 lakh equity shares in the December quarter alone.

Then there is Paytm parent One97 Communications, which expanded its ESOP scheme earlier this month. 

Speaking of expansion, quick commerce company Zepto has strengthened its presence beyond Chennai in Tamil Nadu and is now serving several districts including Coimbatore, Tiruchirappalli, Madurai, Vellore and Salem, the company said.

ICYMI: For new ice cream players, quick commerce is a hot market. 

Lastly, have you seen the image of “puppy mountain” that has gone viral in China? 

In a world where AI-generated images blur the line between the authentic and fake, this adorable mountain reminds us that nature is indeed mesmerising!

In today’s newsletter, we will talk about 

• Democratising performance-tracking in sports
• Elevation Capital bets on cancer care
• From service to social enterprise

Here’s your trivia for today: Why is “pound” abbreviated as “lb”?

Startup

Democratising performance-tracking in sports

In professional sports, performance tracking systems play a significant role in advancing the athletes’ strength and strategy. However, access to structured, data-driven training methodologies is largely not available to players lower down the pecking order.

SportsSkill aims to make performance insights accessible to athletes at all levels. It functions as a performance-tracking and talent-identification platform that integrates video analysis, AI-driven analytics, and scouting opportunities.

Tech platform:

• The video analysis feature enables athletes to upload training videos, which are then processed using AI to provide personalised recommendations. The coach-athlete interaction module is a chat service that allows for real-time feedback.
• The startup features a local activity finder to help users locate sports events in their vicinity, and a gamification element called ‘Skill Points,’ which rewards athletes based on their performance.
• SportsSkill’s app has reached over 1,000 downloads on both the Apple App Store and Google Play Store, and is actively used in 10-12 cities, including Hyderabad, Indore, and Mumbai.

Funding Alert

Startup: MOC Cancer Care

Amount: $18M

Round: Equity

Startup: Quick Clean

Amount: $6M

Round: Series A

Startup: Vidyut

Amount: $2.5M

Round: Equity

Funding

Elevation Capital bets on cancer care

MOC Cancer Care & Research Centre, a chain of cancer daycare centres, has raised $18 million in funding led by Elevation Capital. It is looking to expand operations in Delhi-NCR and other parts of India and develop a molecular oncology lab and preventive oncology services to expand its scope of services.

Key takeaways: 

• MOC offers personalised and quality care to lakhs of people who are diagnosed with cancer every year. It relies on clinical research, technology, and tumour boards to ensure that the care given is always evidence-based.
• “This capital boost will not only enhance our infrastructure and expand the network of taking cancer care closer to the patient but also enable us to conduct large-scale clinical trials, explore new therapies, and maximize the potential of existing ones,” said Manish Jobanputra, COO, MOC.
• Elevation Capital’s notable healthcare investments include Loop Health, which raised $12 million in a Series A round co-led by Elevation in 2021. Curelink, a Gurugram-based healthtech startup, secured $3.5 million in seed funding in 2022. 

Social Enterprise

From service to social enterprise

Belgian pharmacist David Vandevoort never expected his life to take root thousands of miles away in the vibrant temple city of Trichy in India. What started as a mission to serve evolved into an entrepreneurial journey that embraces everything local and natural. 

Prema Nature, his brainchild, is not just an incense brand—it’s a social enterprise dedicated to empowering rural women.

Teamwork:

• Leveraging his pharmaceutical expertise, Vandevoort began formulating incense using traditional ingredients such as ghee, camphor, and honey. “If we are to stand out, we decided we must be entirely natural,” he explains.
• In 2021, he officially launched Prema Nature with an initial investment of Rs 5 lakh. “This included Rs lakh for a machine and Rs 70,000 to print packaging. The research and development took another Rs 30,000,” says Vandevoort.
• Today, the company employs around 20 women from different villages, many of whom have little formal education. These women receive a share of the proceeds, contributing to their household incomes while gaining a sense of purpose and confidence.

News & updates

• Diversity win: Apple voted to keep the tech giant's diversity, equity and inclusion policies on Tuesday, a win for management which had opposed efforts by a conservative group to scrap the programme.
• Price cut: Chinese AI startup DeepSeek introduced discounted off-peak pricing for developers looking to use its AI models to build their own products, its website showed, a move that could put pressure on rivals in China and overseas to cut prices.
• Fossil fuels: British oil major BP announced plans to increase annual oil and gas investment to $10 billion through 2027 as part of a fundamental strategic reset. The beleaguered energy giant also said it planned to lower its annual capital expenditure to sit within a range of $13 and $15 billion over the same time horizon while targeting $20 billion in divestments by the end of 2027.

Why is “pound” abbreviated as “lb”?

Answer: “Libra” is Latin for pound or weight.

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