Dexter Rewind - May 2023
April is done and dusted with. And we are back to give you a quick recap of it all.
But before we start on with the monthly rewind, here’s a special announcement that we’ve been eagerly waiting to share with you all.
Last month, Dexter celebrated 10 years in business. The celebration at Shangri-La, Bangalore was a hit. From reminiscing early days to looking forwards to what lies ahead - it was a wholesome event indeed.
On this 10 year anniversary occasion, we were also proud to announce the launching our seed fund Dexter Ventures. Dexter Ventures will be investing in pre-seed and seed stage startups.
With the philosophy based on collaboration beyond capital, leading early rounds and thesis driven investments, this new chapter in the Dexter journey is one we are all looking forward to!
And now back to Dexter Rewind!
As April comes to a close there is the quintessential feeling of “We’ve already come so far in 2023?”.
March saw PhonePe announcing the launch of its own Android app store that’s all set to compete with the giants of Google with services that are hyper-localized to India. Interestingly, the competition from PhonePe comes after Google recently was fined by the Competition Commission of India to pay $161 million for abusing its dominant position in the Indian market.
And how can we miss the big launch of Apple Inc physical stores in India for the first time ever. With crowds rushing to get a glimpse of Tim Cook, Mumbai was the first one to get the store followed by New Delhi.
Meanwhile we have some world leaders giving thought about Startups. What actually is a “Startup”? Thats what was being discussed last month at Startup20 - the first of its kind official engagement group initiated under the Indian presidency of the G20 2023. The group aims to collaboratively define startups uniformly across G20 countries.
The month also saw the release of Indian Space Policy 2023 aimed at supporting local space-tech startups. The policy aims to create a flourishing commercial presence in the space sector.
Lastly, in the ever expanding field of AI, AgentGPT was the buzz of the month. As the names suggests, this open source project has harnessed the power of ChatGPT to create your personalised digital “agents” in assisting your day-to-day work requirements.
Portfolio Update
April for our Portfolio companies was a lot about recognitions across the board.
Multibhashi founder Anuradha Aggrawal was invited on the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) podcast, SkillPod to talk about how mastery of multiple languages is an increasingly sought-after ability in this era of fast globalisation.
NeuroPixel.AI in keeping with the AI takeover theme is now letting brands completely customise their online fashion experience. The proprietary generative AI algorithms provide personalisation of catalogue images.
With their synthetic models, brands can now avail clothing items in a variety of sizes, shapes, and even ethnicities!
Omnivio’s year end Supply chain review for Supertails gave some noteworthy insights. Omnivio’s monitoring towers and logistics tech integrations for Supertails have been successful in reduction of Order to Delivery Trucks Turnaround Time (TAT) and led to significant improvement in warehouse management.
And how to forget that Pilgrim announced the exciting #PilgrimNeDhoondNikaale digital campaign along with Yami Gautam as their hair care range ambassador. The campaign invites everyone to discover their perfect hair care routine and find the right product for their hair needs. Tried their products yet?
We also celebrated Jollee founder, Akriti Gupta as being featured on Storyboard18 's Share the Spotlight section!
Right after pinning their mark in their homecity Jaipur, Jaipur Watch Company proudly presented their new point of sale in Kolkata. Our adoration doesn't stop because the company doesn't stop with its accolades!
Depo24 is not one to be left behind. They opened their first franchise store last month. Giving us all the option to discover top-quality products and expert advice to help bring our projects to life.
And finally, Qoruz made an announcement about them evolving from a SaaS to a creator ecosystem, building a professional destination for the creator economy. We can’t wait to see the benefits creators will get and the new opportunities to collaborate.
What’s brewing at Dexter?
Well, quite a lot was freshly brewed in April.
Dexter's ten-year anniversary was celebrated on April 15, 2023, at the Shangri-La in Bangalore. It was a real treat to spend the day with our employees, clients, portfolio founders and ecosystem supporters. With great weather and wonderful company, the day was a wholesome experience for all who attended in.
Back in Mumbai, we were glad to have an early Saturday breakfast at our second #BreakfastWithDexter session. Our breakfast company were some of the most insightful people from the ecosystem who got together to engage on areas of Generative AI and more!
We learned about a great deal of activity in the Mumbai ecosystem by hosting a gathering for such discourse. It's truly inspiring to see the collaborative spirit of Mumbai and the untapped potential as we move into the next leg of growth in the startup ecosystem.
During the session, we delved into some exciting themes that got everyone buzzing with ideas. From vertical commerce with Lenskart and Firstcry to the power of storytelling for business, the discussions were insightful and inspiring. We also discussed why platforms might be a stronger play than brands, lifestyle spends for India's top 1-5%, building an interoperable environment for gaming, and why creativity still trumps Generative AI.
The conversation then moved to how AI is an enabler like a chainsaw for a logger, B2B exports, the massive China+1 opportunity, and the shift from unorganised to organised in B2B. These discussions provided us with new perspectives and insights into the future of the startup ecosystem in India.
At Dexter, we are committed to fostering a culture of collaboration and community in the ecosystem. #BreakfastWithDexter has given an excellent platform to entrepreneurs, investors, and other stakeholders to connect, share ideas, and collaborate to drive growth and innovation.
Definitely keep your eyes peeled for such insights from our #BreakfastwithDexter sessions.
Lucknow incoming!
Continuing with its trend, we decided to organise a more elaborate meal for May. This month we can’t wait to host you all for our #LunchPeCharcha on the 7th of May at 1:00 pm at Renaissance Hotel in Lucknow. In town? Why don’t you drop by for some great food and fun conversations?
Deep Dive
ONDC - The journey so far
At the recent Enabling Bharat 2.0 event, Piyush Goyal, our Minister of Commerce and Industry stated, "I would like to invite all e-commerce companies, big and small, global or national, to hitch onto the ONDC bandwagon.”
Launched in August 2022, the initiative of the Indian government aims to reduce the dominance of big e-commerce giants like Flipkart and Amazon and provide a level playing field for smaller players.
The Nitty-Gritty you need to understand the current scenario
ONDC is not a super app. It is a platform allowing a buyer to do various types of purchases of different categories through its integration of service and product providers across varied categories.
The network participants on the platform that one should look out include Buyer Apps, Seller Apps, Technology Service Providers (TSP) , Logistics Providers, and Online Dispute Resolution (ODR) Providers.
You have Eunimart, ENS, and Plotch (Companies associated with ONDC) working to become TSPs for both buyer-side and seller-side apps, while the rest are just enabling seller-side apps.
Ever since ONDC launched, there have been opinions and assessments around the platforms. The keen interest has sure made industries such as Logistics and FinTechs look at the possibility of valuable integrations.
For Logistics suppliers, ONDC brings with it a huge opportunity in growing their Small and Mid-sized businesses (SMB) user base.
On the tech front, And taking the ‘two things are better than one’ approach, financial apps are looking tap onto ONDC as the platform to reach a much larger audience. All these developments happening in real-time is like a reflection of where the ecosystem is heading.
Enough time has passed since the launch of this presumed e-commerce revolution for us to take a deep dive into its progress and take stock of what's working and for whom?
How far have we come?
The government's Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) has established its footprint in 85 cities with 800 merchants and 26 participants and is set for a fruitful 2023 with the support of industry players as assessed by T. Koshy the Managing Director and CEO of ONDC.
With assistance from the Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI), we saw ONDC hiring its first handloom weavers from Kancheepuram to sell their wares throughout India.
In order to expand its open mobility pilot program across Kerala, ONDC is also collaborating with the Keralan government.
That's not the only thing. They are collaborating with growth organisations like SIDBI and NABARD to integrate farmers producers organisations (FPOs) and social sector organisations.
What does development look like?
Take boAt for example. Aman Gupta’s music & electronic brand rules the Amazon marketplace for bluetooth based earphones & collar earphones.
These are the types of situations in which ONDC steps in and provides a platform to smaller and emerging brands. Finally, buyers will have a variety to choose from.
According to Toshniwal, ONDC may charge a total commission of 5% for a contract done on its platform, whereas the commission for transactions on the platform of a large aggregator may be as high as 25%.
So, while big brands have an advantage when it comes to premium listings in marketplaces, ONDC will give all sellers, regardless of size, an equal opportunity to showcase.
Are we the only ones?
All the major parties are involved in this race to create a common e-commerce market. The 'America Innovation and Online Choice Act' is a project being worked on by Americans. The 'Digital Market Access Act,' which addresses the same issue, is an effort by the European Union.
The world is working tirelessly to leverage technology, markets, and effective policies around it.
Now we wait to see if India will be the trailblazer in creating a successful open-source and open-access platform for e-commerce.
Deal Makers
Curefoods, Thrassio-model based cloud kitchen raised Rs 300 crore in an equity and debt round led by Binny Bansal’s fund Three State Ventures.
Magenta Mobility, the electric mobility solutions provider, raised $22 million in a Series A1 funding round from bp Ventures.
Celcius, the cold chain marketplace startup has scooped up $12 million in a Series A funding led by IvyCap Ventures.
PhonePe, the Fintech platform, raised an additional $100 million from General Atlantic which had initially invested $350 million in the company in January 2023.
Servify, the post sales service firm raised $5.7 million in a new tranche of Series D round (mix of equity and debt) from CE Ventures (Crescent Enterprises Venture Capital) and Trifecta Venture.
Rebel Foods, the cloud kitchen brand raised Rs 75 crore in debt from Catalyst Trustship (Northern Arc) and Stride Ventures.
Lokal, the Hyperlocal social media platform raised Rs 120 crore in its Series B funding round from fresh backers Global Brain and Sony Innovation Fund, India Quotient and other existing investors.
Supertails, a full-stack tech-enabled pet-care startup, raised $10 million in Series A round led by Fireside Ventures, alongside existing lead investors Saama Capital and DSG Consumer Partners.
And that’s all from us from this month at Dexter Rewind! Have comments feedback or the next greatest startup idea? Reach out to us for any or all the above at hello@dexterangels.com!