Former Myntra CEO Ananth Narayanan-founded Mensa Brands has fired at least 200 employees across divisions, Moneycontrol reported. The India Lifestyle Network division, which includes MensXP, iDiva, and Hypp, has been most impacted by the layoffs. Founded in 2021, Mensa Brands became India's fastest unicorn after it achieved a valuation of over $1 billion six months after launching its business.

Finnish startup Solar Foods has produced a food ingredient from air, water, electricity and microbes, which had its first official tasting in Singapore on Thursday. Called 'solein', the yellow-coloured powder contains 65-70% protein, 5-8% fat, 10-15% dietary fibres and 3-5% mineral nutrients. The ingredient can be used to make several food items, including bread, pasta, noodles and ice cream.

OYO Founder-CEO Ritesh Agarwal said he worked as hotel staff whenever needed during the company's early days. He recently recalled an incident when he went to clean a customer's room and they scolded him for being late, assuming he was part of the hotel's cleaning staff. However, Agarwal said he cleaned the customer's room thoroughly and got ₹20 as tip.

The Income Tax Department has reportedly sent notices to several startups, including those with unicorn valuations ($1 billion or above). The notices have sought an explanation on the nature and source of some unaccounted investments made between FY19 and FY21. Reportedly, investments of ₹100 crore and above are being questioned by the Income Tax Department.

American former biotechnology entrepreneur Elizabeth Holmes began her 11-year prison sentence in the US on Tuesday for defrauding investors through her now-defunct blood-testing startup Theranos. The former billionaire was sentenced to over 11 years in prison and ordered to pay $452 million to investors. The 39-year-old Stanford dropout will reportedly be lodged in an all-female prison in Texas.

The government-backed Open Network For Digital Commerce (ONDC) announced a revamped incentive programme ending the first phase of its discounting schemes. The revised incentives will come into effect from June 1, 2023 and succeed the programme rolled out first on January 30, 2023. The current phase of the programme will be live until June 28, 2023.

Ashneer Grover has shared an email he sent to BharatPe in 2018 after he mistakenly used the company card for a personal expense. "Kindly ensure you cut this amount from my salary/reimbursement account," Grover wrote in the email. He tweeted that people ask him if he ever gets scared. “Bilkul bhi nahi (not at all)...I find it comical,” he added.

US-based investment management firm BlackRock has slashed the fair value of BYJU'S by about 62%, effectively valuing the edtech startup at roughly $8.4 billion, as per regulatory filings. This comes nearly two months after BlackRock reportedly halved the valuation of BYJU'S from $22 billion to $11.5 billion. BlackRock holds less than 1% equity in the startup.

The prosecutors have asked a US federal court judge to deny the request by former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried to dismiss the criminal charges against him. Earlier this month, Bankman-Fried urged Judge Lewis Kaplan to dismiss most of the counts he is facing. The prosecutors have described the motions to dismiss the charges as "meritless".

Tesla CEO Elon Musk on Tuesday met China's Foreign Minister Qin Gang during his first trip to the country in three years. According to a government statement, Musk said he's willing to expand Tesla's business in the country. The minister told Musk that China would create a better market-oriented business environment for companies from all countries, the statement read.

SpaceX launched a nearly 4,500-kg telecommunications satellite to orbit on Saturday after four days of delay due to thick cloud cover. A video showed SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket topped with the Arabsat BADR-8 satellite lifting off from Florida, with the rocket's first stage landing on a SpaceX's droneship later. The satellite will provide television broadcast and data services, among others.

The Delhi High Court has granted six weeks' time to the Centre to inform it about the outcome of its consultations with stakeholders on draft rules to regulate e-pharmacies. It also asked the Centre to ensure that the pendency of ongoing cases doesn't prevent the latter from taking action against non-licenced digital pharmacies.

US-based The Private Shares Fund, which invests in late-stage venture capital-backed startups, slashed the fair value of edtech unicorn Eruditus by 9% in the March quarter, effectively valuing the startup at $2.9 billion. Eruditus was previously valued at $3.2 billion. The Private Shares Fund has a 0.2% stake in Eruditus.

Billionaire Elon Musk's EV maker Tesla may participate in the Centre's auction of lithium reserves found in Jammu and Kashmir, ET Now reported. The auction may take place later this year. Apart from Tesla, Japan's Mitsubishi and Ola Electric are also likely to participate in the auction of lithium, which is one of the key components in EV batteries.

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has reconstituted its intermediary advisory committee to add several new members including Zerodha CEO Nithin Kamath and Groww CEO Lalit Keshre. The 21-member committee will advise SEBI on matters related to market intermediaries and market safety. It'll be chaired by SEBI's former executive director S Ravindran.

BigBasket Co-founder Abhinay Choudhari's laundry services startup LaundryMate has raised $6.25 million in its pre-series A round. Blume Founders Fund, several high net worth individuals and angel investors including Ola Co-founder Ankit Bhati invested in the startup. Choudhari said the company further plans to raise $10-15 million in a Series A round in the near future.

The Income-Tax Department has invited comments from stakeholders and general public on draft rules for valuing non-resident investment in unlisted startups. As per a tweet by the department, the comments can be sent to ustpl2@nic.in, latest by June 5. This comes days after the government notified 21 countries from where non-resident investment in unlisted Indian startups won't attract Angel Tax.

Paytm Founder and CEO Vijay Shekhar Sharma took to Twitter on Sunday to share a video of the new Parliament building originally posted by PM Narendra Modi. Alongside, Sharma wrote, "New India's new Parliament...My India's pride." He added, "May Indian democracy shine like the new Parliament for years and years."

Bengaluru-headquartered virtual events platform Airmeet has laid off about 30% of its workforce, or at least 75 employees, Inc42 reported. The layoffs impacted multiple teams, including sales, marketing, tech and operations. Airmeet had to lay off employees as its "execution" was not yielding the desired outcomes, CEO Lalit Mangal reportedly said in an internal mail.

Home appliances startup Atomberg has secured $86 million in funding in a round led by Temasek and Steadview Capital. The round also saw participation from Trifecta Capital, Jungle Ventures and Inflexor Ventures. Founded by IIT Bombay alumni Manoj Meena and Sibabrata Das in 2012, the startup last raised $20 million in December 2021.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk's private jet has landed in Beijing, Reuters reported citing a witness. The jet, with its identifying tail number, was seen at Beijing Capital International Airport. On his first trip to China in three years, Musk is expected to meet senior Chinese officials. China has welcomed Musk and other business leaders looking to promote "mutually beneficial cooperation".

Fidelity Investments has reduced Meesho's fair value by 9.7%, effectively valuing the e-commerce startup at $4.4 billion, as per reports. The US-based asset management company, which holds shares in Meesho through multiple funds, reportedly revealed the markdown in the latest filings of these funds. Meesho raised $570 million from Fidelity and other investors in 2021 at $4.9 billion valuation.

Chinese hotel management company H World Group has sold a 0.15% stake in OYO for about ₹75 crore, PTI and The Economic Times reported. H World is now reportedly left with a stake worth ₹300 crore in OYO. The Chinese firm, which acquired a stake in OYO for $10 million in 2017, reportedly earned a 500% return on the sale.

The Ministry of Mines, in collaboration with IIT Bombay, is hosting India's first-ever 'Mining Start-up Summit' on May 29 in Mumbai. As per the ministry, the event is expected to see participation from more than 150 startups and 20 major industries, and will focus on innovation and techniques that can help build autonomy in the field of mining and metallurgy.

India's Startup20 Chair Chintan Vaishnav said G20 member countries are working to develop a framework to define startups. "The idea...is to come up with a....framework which is applicable across different economies," Vaishnav stated. He added that discussions will be also held on cross-border investments and supporting startups that are willing to be measured by sustainable development goals.