A microcosm of global industry; Zolve bags $251M boost

Hello,

After multiple rounds of back and forth, Starlink is coming to India—with the help of Bharti Airtel.

The partnership will allow the US satellite internet giant to use Airtel’s retail store network to distribute its devices throughout India, subject to regulatory approvals.

With this, Elon Musk will now have another one of his companies, SpaceX—which provides satellite-based internet service via Starlink—looking to soon enter India, besides Tesla. 

Speaking of Tesla and Musk, the EV maker’s share prices plunged as much as 15% on Monday. Not to mention his social media platform, X, suffered several outages throughout the day. 

According to CNBC, Musk said he is running his businesses “with great difficulty”, as he spends more time doing DOGE work. Amidst all this, US President Donald Trump has offered his support to Musk and his company by saying he would buy one of his cars. 

ICYMI, Musk lost $29 billion in net worth in a day! 

Meanwhile, YouTuber MrBeast has a secret moneymaker—no, it isn’t his videos. It’s chocolates!

His company, Beast Industries is a majority owner of Feastables, a chocolate business that generated sales of about $250 million last year and a profit of more than $20 million.

Is MrBeast the new Willy Wonka?

In today’s newsletter, we will talk about 

• A microcosm of global industry
• Zolve bags $251M boost
• Bessemer’s focus on emerging sectors

Here’s your trivia for today: Traditionally, what do the 100 pleats in a toque, or chef’s hat, signify?

Corporate

A microcosm of global industry

Manhattan-based Guardian Life Insurance Company of America (Guardian) is a mutual life insurance firm with a legacy of over 160 years, serving customers in the United States. Over the last 10 years, it has been running a global capability centre (GCC) in India—at Gurugram and Chennai.

Guardian India operates as a microcosm of its parent company, deeply engaged with all the business lines in order to come up with technology innovations for use in the American market, according to Shiney Prasad, Country Head, Guardian India. 

Co-partners:

• Guardian India’s 2.0 strategy has three key tenets, including looking through the eyes of the enterprise to assess what India can provide in terms of service, product offering, talent, and capability, hiring techno-functional skills, and using technology to improve and adapt processes.
• The Indian GCC is connected to every business line of Guardian, including doing major technology work for individual retail businesses, group benefit businesses, investment businesses, and corporate organisations. For some products, the entire end-to-end activity is done out of India, Prasad explains. 
• As for leveraging AI, the GCC is looking at applying AI in its claims organisation for better and more efficient adjudication. It is also using it for insurance underwriting.

Funding Alert

Startup: Zolve

Amount: $251M

Round: Series B

Startup: goSTOPS

Amount: Rs 35 Cr

Round: Series A

Startup: Felicity Games

Amount: $3M

Round: Seed

Funding

Zolve bags $251M boost

Cross-border neobank Zolve secured $251 million in equity and debt funding to enhance its global financial services in a round led by Creaegis, with participation from HSBC, SBI Investment, GMO Venture Partners, DG Daiwa Ventures, and existing investors Accel, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Sparta Group, and DST Global. 

The Series B round also included a warehouse line from Community Investment Management to support its growing credit portfolio across geographies.

Expansion plans:

• With this fresh capital, Zolve said it aims to scale globally, expand its product offerings, and improve financial accessibility for international users.
• The company plans to expand into Canada, followed by the UK and Australia. Additionally, it said it will broaden its credit offerings, introducing auto loans, personal loans, and education loans to cater to the diverse financial needs of global professionals and students.
• Beyond lending, Zolve aims to evolve into a comprehensive financial platform, offering international money transfers, insurance, investment products, and services tailored to expatriates and immigrants.

Interview

Bessemer’s focus on emerging sectors

Bessemer Venture Partners on Wednesday announced the close of a $350 million India-focused fund—making this its second dedicated India fund and reinforcing its long-term strategy of investing in businesses across key sectors. 

The venture capital firm’s new fund will prioritise investments in artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled services, SaaS, fintech, digital health, direct-to-consumer brands, and cybersecurity.

Navigating emerging industries:

• Bessemer said it supports startups in their early stages, with over 80% of its investments in India over the past five years directed toward young companies. Additionally, the firm follows a roadmap-driven investment approach, allowing its team to build conviction in emerging industries before they gain mainstream recognition.
• According to chief operating officer Nithin Kaimal, the firm sees AI opportunities emerging across four key categories—the foundational layer, infrastructure layer, vertical AI-tailored solutions for sectors like fintech and healthcare, and the AI+ services layer. 
• When it comes to recent market trends, Kaimal posited that it indicates a maturing public market, increasingly receptive to well-governed, fundamentally strong businesses. According to him, it is a healthy evolution, leading to many more PE/VC-backed companies listing in the public markets.

News & updates

• New chip: Meta is testing its first in-house chip for training AI systems, a key milestone as it moves to reduce reliance on external suppliers. The push to develop in-house chips is part of Meta’s long-term plan to reduce its mammoth infrastructure costs as it places expensive bets on AI tools to drive growth.
• Rejig: Nissan CEO Makoto Uchida will step down from his position on April 1. He will be replaced by current Chief Planning Officer Ivan Espinosa. He will be Nissan’s fourth CEO in eight years. The leadership shakeup comes less than a month after Nissan and Honda terminated merger talks.
• Crypto: Crypto exchange Coinbase has registered with India's Financial Intelligence Unit, allowing it to offer crypto trading services in the country. It plans to launch its initial retail services later this year and roll out additional investments and products thereafter.

Traditionally, what do the 100 pleats in a toque, or chef’s hat, signify?

Answer: The folds showcase the chef’s culinary expertise and knowledge, and are said to signify the 100 different ways a chef can cook an egg. 

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