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Crypto's shopping hack; Centre eyes Meta child safeguards
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Indians are buying groceries, fuel, food and gold via gift cards on overseas crypto platforms. This and more in today's ETtech Top 5.
Also in the letter:
■ Mistral's valuation surge
■ Bajaj's TrueFan stake
■ Whatfix's new CEO
Indians are using overseas platforms to convert cryptocurrencies into gift cards and vouchers, which can then be used to buy goods and services in India.
How it works: Users send stablecoins such as USDT or other virtual digital assets from private crypto wallets to overseas platforms. These platforms then provide gift cards or vouchers that can be used at Indian stores and brand outlets.
Tell me more: The overseas platforms buy vouchers in bulk from Indian gift voucher companies and use the proceeds from selling crypto abroad to settle payments with their Indian partners.
Some platforms have issued millions of cards to Indian users and offer crypto conversion rates lower than those available on Indian exchanges.
Why it matters: The mechanism could allow crypto holders to spend their assets in India without using local banks or Indian crypto exchanges, raising questions around tax reporting, anti-money laundering (AML) rules, and cross-border payment regulations.
Quote, unquote: "India has clear rules governing cross-border payments, including the permitted manner of payment and circumstances in which a third party may settle an obligation. The concern is crypto being used to achieve an economic result outside the banking system and its attendant checks," said Moin Ladha, partner, Khaitan & Co.
The centre will ask Facebook owner Meta if it plans to introduce in India new child-safety features required under a US settlement, officials said.
Verbatim: “The government has always maintained that social media intermediaries should do all they can to protect children from the well-documented negative impacts of their platforms. We have studied the latest developments, and the company will be asked whether they plan to deploy these strict features here as well,” an official said.
Meta's current measures to limit social media use among minors are not as strict, the official added.
Quick recap: Meta signed an $18 billion settlement with 29 US states last month over allegations that Facebook and Instagram harm children's mental health, use addictive designs, and improperly collect children's data.
Per the settlement, Meta must set a default two-hour daily usage limit, overnight curfews, and block push notifications during school hours for accounts belonging to minors. Teens will also get mandatory breaks every 15 minutes of continuous screen use.
Also Read: Meta settlement opens new front in global fight over social media harm
Arthur Mensch, cofounder, Mistral
French AI firm Mistral has raised €3 billion at a valuation of around €21 billion ($24 billion), marking the biggest private tech funding in Europe, the company said on Tuesday.
More on the round:
Anthropic has dropped plans to acquire Decart AI, Bloomberg News reported on Monday.
Tell me more: Anthropic had considered a deal for Decart worth about $6 billion, according to an earlier Bloomberg News report. It eventually walked away after completing due diligence.
The two companies could still work together through other forms of collaboration, the report said.
Nimish Goel, founder, TrueFan
Bajaj Finance has acquired a 5% stake in video generation startup TrueFan as it expands its use of artificial intelligence (AI).
More on this:
Also Read: B2B startup Fundly.ai raises $4 million led by Accel, Multiply
(L-R) Ankit Choudhary and Rohit Ramesh, founders, Iztri
On-demand fabric care startup Iztri has raised Rs 10 crore (about $1.1 million) in a funding round led by All In Capital and Suashish Group.
Round details:
Enterprise software startup Whatfix has named cofounder Vara Kumar as its chief executive officer (CEO), with immediate effect.
The appointment follows the sudden death of cofounder and CEO Khadim Batti earlier this month.
About the new exec: Kumar started Whatfix with Batti in 2014 and was previously the company's head of product and research strategy. He will now lead its next phase of growth, Whatfix said in a statement.
Before Whatfix, he worked at Huawei and cofounded SearchEnabler with Batti, before the two moved to the idea that became Whatfix.
Quick recap: Batti died on September 1 after suffering a cardiac arrest, the company said. Kumar described him as a “visionary leader, a partner, and a dear friend.”
Batti had more than two decades of experience in the technology industry before founding Whatfix.
Also in the letter:
■ Mistral's valuation surge
■ Bajaj's TrueFan stake
■ Whatfix's new CEO
Indians can use crypto to buy groceries, fuel, gold through overseas gift-card platforms
Indians are using overseas platforms to convert cryptocurrencies into gift cards and vouchers, which can then be used to buy goods and services in India.
How it works: Users send stablecoins such as USDT or other virtual digital assets from private crypto wallets to overseas platforms. These platforms then provide gift cards or vouchers that can be used at Indian stores and brand outlets.
Tell me more: The overseas platforms buy vouchers in bulk from Indian gift voucher companies and use the proceeds from selling crypto abroad to settle payments with their Indian partners.
Some platforms have issued millions of cards to Indian users and offer crypto conversion rates lower than those available on Indian exchanges.
Why it matters: The mechanism could allow crypto holders to spend their assets in India without using local banks or Indian crypto exchanges, raising questions around tax reporting, anti-money laundering (AML) rules, and cross-border payment regulations.
Quote, unquote: "India has clear rules governing cross-border payments, including the permitted manner of payment and circumstances in which a third party may settle an obligation. The concern is crypto being used to achieve an economic result outside the banking system and its attendant checks," said Moin Ladha, partner, Khaitan & Co.
Government to ask Meta if US child safety features will be extended to India
The centre will ask Facebook owner Meta if it plans to introduce in India new child-safety features required under a US settlement, officials said.
Verbatim: “The government has always maintained that social media intermediaries should do all they can to protect children from the well-documented negative impacts of their platforms. We have studied the latest developments, and the company will be asked whether they plan to deploy these strict features here as well,” an official said.
Meta's current measures to limit social media use among minors are not as strict, the official added.
Quick recap: Meta signed an $18 billion settlement with 29 US states last month over allegations that Facebook and Instagram harm children's mental health, use addictive designs, and improperly collect children's data.
Per the settlement, Meta must set a default two-hour daily usage limit, overnight curfews, and block push notifications during school hours for accounts belonging to minors. Teens will also get mandatory breaks every 15 minutes of continuous screen use.
Also Read: Meta settlement opens new front in global fight over social media harm
French AI company Mistral hits $24 billion valuation in funding round
French AI firm Mistral has raised €3 billion at a valuation of around €21 billion ($24 billion), marking the biggest private tech funding in Europe, the company said on Tuesday.
More on the round:
- The round was jointly led by existing investor PSG Equity along with Samsung Electronics and the EU-backed Scaleup Europe Fund, who invested in Mistral for the first time.
- The funds will support Mistral's AI models and frontier research.
- Mistral is now Europe's second-most valuable private tech company and its fastest-growing, CFO Johan Bergqvist told Reuters.
Anthropic drops pursuit of AI startup Decart
Anthropic has dropped plans to acquire Decart AI, Bloomberg News reported on Monday.
Tell me more: Anthropic had considered a deal for Decart worth about $6 billion, according to an earlier Bloomberg News report. It eventually walked away after completing due diligence.
The two companies could still work together through other forms of collaboration, the report said.
Bajaj Finance buys 5% stake in AI video startup TrueFan
Bajaj Finance has acquired a 5% stake in video generation startup TrueFan as it expands its use of artificial intelligence (AI).
- The stake was bought through Finserv Intelligence, Bajaj Finserv's group-wide applied research and innovation initiative.
- The amount paid for the stake was not disclosed.
- Bajaj Finance has been already using TrueFan's platform to create millions of personalised videos for customers and dealers.
Also Read: B2B startup Fundly.ai raises $4 million led by Accel, Multiply
Iztri raises Rs 10 crore funding from All In Capital, Suashish Group, others
On-demand fabric care startup Iztri has raised Rs 10 crore (about $1.1 million) in a funding round led by All In Capital and Suashish Group.
Round details:
- New angel investors include Shaadi.com's Anupam Mittal, WhatsApp CEO Kunal Shah, YouTuber Tanmay Bhat and Unacademy's Gaurav Munjal.
- Early backer PedalStart, the JK Tyre family office and Shadowfax cofounders Abhishek Bansal and Vaibhav Khandelwal also invested.
- Iztri will expand into shoe care and dry cleaning, grow its hub network and strengthen its technology and operations.
Whatfix appoints cofounder Vara Kumar as CEO after Khadim Batti's death
Enterprise software startup Whatfix has named cofounder Vara Kumar as its chief executive officer (CEO), with immediate effect.
The appointment follows the sudden death of cofounder and CEO Khadim Batti earlier this month.
About the new exec: Kumar started Whatfix with Batti in 2014 and was previously the company's head of product and research strategy. He will now lead its next phase of growth, Whatfix said in a statement.
Before Whatfix, he worked at Huawei and cofounded SearchEnabler with Batti, before the two moved to the idea that became Whatfix.
Quick recap: Batti died on September 1 after suffering a cardiac arrest, the company said. Kumar described him as a “visionary leader, a partner, and a dear friend.”
Batti had more than two decades of experience in the technology industry before founding Whatfix.
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