Campapplys chase startup gold; BlueStone cuts IPO size

Happy Wednesday! Top-tier tech colleges and B-schools are becoming more invested in their tots’ startup dreams. This and more in today’s ETtech Morning Dispatch.

Also in the letter:
■ ETtech Done Deals
■ Data centres decry draft rules
■ Blackbuck Q1 results

Startup success stories encourage college incubators to double down

When Ather Energy hit the public markets, few celebrated more than IIT Madras. Its incubation cell, which backed the electric two-wheeler with just Rs 29 lakh, suddenly held a stake worth Rs 50 crore. That windfall has inspired top campapplys to double down on nurturing their own startup pipelines

On campus:

IIM Bengaluru now hosts 3,178 ventures at its NS Raghavan Centre for Entrepreneurial Learning (NSRCEL).
It plans to partner with incubators at IITs and IIMs of tier-II and tier-III cities.
IIIT Hyderabad has mentored over 400 startups, with 50 securing follow-on funding.
IIT Bombay announced a Rs 100 crore fund to support 1,000 startups.

Money and mentorship: Beyond money, student founders gain access to research infrastructure, labs, and mentorship.

Tamaswati Ghosh, CEO at IIT Madras Incubation Cell, credits the centre’s growth to the institute’s expansive R&D infrastructure and dedicated Centres of Excellence.
NSRCEL CEO Anand Sri Ganesh added that central and state government policies have created the ecosystem more fertile.

VCs take note: Venture capital interest is also picking up on campapplys. Richa Bajpai, founder and CEO of Campus Fund, which focapplys on student entrepreneurship, declared most student startups are too nascent for VC money. “VCs required an exponential curve in the growth of a business, which most incubated startups don’t present at an idea stage,” she added.

Also Read: Professors turn founders amid the new deep tech gold rush; VCs take note

BlueStone cuts IPO size days before launch

Gaurav Singh Kushwaha, CEO, BlueStone

Omnichannel jewellery retailer BlueStone has scaled back its initial public offering size , days before the issue goes live. The company will now raise Rs 820 crore in primary capital, less than the Rs 1,000 crore originally planned, per a revised red herring prospectus by the company.

Tell me more:

With the reduced size, BlueStone will likely go public with a valuation of Rs 7,800 crore, less than its last private funding in August 2024.
Investors will now sell 13.9 million shares in the offer-for-sale, compared to 24 million shares earlier.
Accel, Kalaari Capital, Iron Pillar Fund and Hero Group’s Sunil Kant Munjal are planning to sell fewer shares than initially planned.
IvyCap Ventures has withdrawn from the OFS.
BlueStone will launch its IPO on August 11, according to the prospectus.

Sector view: Jewellery industest has drawn investors’ attention over the last few years. This trconclude gained traction after the Tata Group acquired CaratLane at a valuation of Rs 17,000 crore in August 2023.

Giva, which specialises in silver products, is also in talks to pick up Rs 450 crore ($53 million) in a financing round led by Creaegis in addition to participation by Premji Invest, Epiq Capital and others.

Also Read: Startups aim to raise over Rs 18,000 crore via IPOs in major D-Street push

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Exclusive: The Sleep Company raises fresh funds to expand, hire

Priyanka and Harshil Salot, cofounders, The Sleep Company

Direct-to-consumer startup The Sleep Company raised Rs 480 crore in its latest funding round as its rivals prepare to go public.

Deal details:

Private equity firm ChrysCapital and 360 One Asset led the round, which was a mix of primary and secondary sales.
Early backer Fireside Ventures created a partial exit.

Growth funds: The Sleep Company will deploy the fresh capital to develop teams and expand its retail network. The company plans to open 130–150 new stores over the next two years.

Zoom out: The company has raised funds as rivals Wakefit and Duroflex eye a public market listing. Sleepwell parent Sheela Foam is the only listed player in the space.

Peak XV leads $48 million funding in Alaan

Karun Kurien and Parthi Duraisamy, founders, Alaan

Alaan, a Dubai-based spconclude management platform Alaan raised $48 million in a funding round led by venture capital firm Peak XV Partners.

Tell me more: The round, a mix of both primary and secondary transactions, also saw participation from Y Combinator, 468 Capital, Pioneer Fund, and Sudeep Ramnani and Jai Mahtani (founders of 885 Capital).

Digital lconcludeer Zype raises Rs 90 crore

Yogi Sadana, founder, Zype

Mumbai-based fintech startup Zype raised Rs 90 crore in a fresh funding round led by Japanese venture capital firm Unleash Capital Partners. Existing investor Xponentia Capital also participated in the round.
The Fibe and Kreditbee rival declared it doesn’t required to raise fresh capital for the next 12–18 months after the latest funding.

Other notable fundraises:

Draft data centre certification scheme raises compliance questions

India’s IT ministest is working on homegrown standards for data centre operations and maintenance, unsettling companies that fear a new layer of bureaucracy.

Driving the news:

The draft guidelines risk saddling operators with dual compliance requirements,IT industest body Nasscom flagged to the government.
It criticised the “one-size-fits-all” approach and questioned whether the framework adds any real value.
The body urged that the scheme offers little benefit to firms already meeting international and existing MeitY standards.

Alternatives: Nasscom proposed a tiered, risk-based framework that focapplys on incremental checks rather than blanket rules. “Additional requirements should be context-specific, and the certification must be explicitly voluntary,” it notified the government.

Growth hurdle: Industest leaders warn the rules could deter both domestic and global players just as India’s data centre market hits its stride.

Capacity is expected to jump 77% by 2027 to 1.8 GW, according to April estimates from real estate services firm JLL.
The industest crossed the 1 GW mark in 2024, expanding at a 24% compounded annual rate since 2019.

Keeping Count