VC major Peak XV Partners, Mauritius-based investment firm Bisque Limited, and Delhi-based Link Investment Trust reportedly plan to offload Awfis' shares worth ₹583 crore. Citing sources, CNBC-TV18 reported that the three investors will together offload a 12.2% stake, or 85.8 lakh shares, in the flexible workspace solutions company via a block deal.

Sneakers focussed ecommerce platform Culture Circle has raised $2 million in its seed funding round led by Info Edge Ventures. The round also saw participation from angel investors. The startup plans to use the capital to scale its operations globally, enhance technology, and reinforce its position as a digital marketplace for hyper-luxury goods.

The year 2024 has been a mixed bag for India's startup ecosystem. While the number of startup IPOs, unicorns, the aftershocks of the funding winter have persisted throughout the year. Continuing the trend of startup closures witnessed in 2023, as many as 12 funded startups have already shut shop in 2024, despite raising millions in funding and securing other resources.

MobiKwik's ₹572-crore initial public offer (IPO) was fully subscribed within the first hour of the issue's opening on December 11. The fintech firm's IPO, with a price range of ₹265-279 per share, will close for subscription on December 13, with the company targeting a valuation of ₹2,168 crore. MobiKwik shares will likely list on NSE and BSE on December 18.

Google has asked US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to break up Microsoft's exclusive agreement to host OpenAI's technology on its cloud servers, Information reported. Notably, Google and Amazon also wish to host OpenAI's models so that their cloud customers don't need to access Microsoft servers for OpenAI's technology, the report added.

Supply chain financing startup Mintifi has raised $180 million (over ₹1,500 crore) in its Series E funding round. Prosus and Teachers' Venture Growth co-led the round, which also saw participation from existing investor Premji Invest. The round reportedly values the startup at $850 million, higher than the $400 million valuation it gained in March last year.

Roughly 5,000 startups recognised under the Startup India programme have closed so far, as per Ministry of Corporate Affairs data. This is about 3% of 1.52 lakh entities recognised as startups by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade as of October 31. Maharashtra recorded the highest number of closed startups (929), followed by Karnataka (644).

Flipkart is revising its policy to start charging users for cancelling orders after a specific period, Hindustan Times reported. The e-commerce major could reportedly also set a time limit beyond which users won't be able to cancel their orders. The move will enable Flipkart to compensate sellers and logistics partners for their resources involved in processing an order.

Paytm CEO Vijay Shekhar Sharma stated that all work, whether mental or physical, "will be replaced by AI". "If you aren't building a startup that removes the obligation of a [human workflow], you're not building a company that will be surviving after five years," he added. He said the most ambitious person would remove "100 thousand people off the load".

Elon Musk reacted after his 2022 emails prohibiting remote work were shared by an X user. Musk reacted with "Yes" as the user wrote, "Elon Musk on why remote work is poison." "Everyone at Tesla is required to spend a minimum of 40 hours in office/week...If you don't show up, we will assume you have resigned," an email read.