Startups: 2022 Year in Review: Big stories in technology and startups this year

The tech sector has been hit hard by the pandemic in 2018, thanks to the pandemic’s rise to digital platforms that offer a variety of products and services, stock market listings of new-age companies, and big-ticket funding rounds. Single year.

In the year 2022 is a real confirmation after the excitement of last year. The war between Russia and Ukraine and rising interest rates in the US have put the startup funding sector under strain, compounded by rising inflation and the threat of a global recession. At ETtech, we’ve been on top of this transformation taking place in India and here’s a list of the top tech and startup stories of 2022.



Stock crash of new age technology companies: In the year Shares of new-age tech companies listed in 2021 — Paytm, Nykaa, Delhivery, PB Fintech (parent of PolicyBazaar) and Zomato — have been hit hard in 2022 as most of them have seen sharp falls on stock exchanges. Big funds have continued to shed their stakes in some of them, with analysts warning retail investors against shorting these stocks this time around, with more pain ahead. Among all the new age companies, Paytm has been the worst hit after it lost more than 70% of its market capitalization after listing.

Read more here: New Age Trading Stocks Bleed More Analysts advise caution

Here’s eTech’s deep dive into what went wrong with the Paytm IPO

In addition, other startups such as pharma company PharmEasy, headphones and wearables company Boat and etail Snapdeal have now delayed their IPO plans as markets are volatile and startups scrutinize their financial health. Read more here: PharmEasy delays IPO, targets Ebitda breakeven next year

freeing the bird; Tech billionaire Elon Musk first announced his purchase of microblogging platform Twitter, heard the word, engaged in some social media mudslinging, and finally closed the deal a day before the acquisition went to trial. Post the acquisition, he fired the CXOs and more than half the staff, and has since embarked on a journey to rebrand the ‘free speech platform’, aligning Twitter with his own vision.

Read more here: Elon Musk freed the bird, but who freed it?

Funding for the winter, recession fears and layoffs One of the most significant events that show the health of the global tech sector is layoffs (yet to be announced) at big tech companies like Meta, Amazon, Twitter, and Google, and new hiring delays at companies like Microsoft and Apple. Glocal macroeconomic headwinds, the protracted Russia-Ukraine conflict, and high inflation contributed to lower revenue and lower ad spend.

Read more here: Google, Meta Lead Big Tech Layoffs Everything you need to know

Corporate Governance Problems: 2022 will be remembered rather sadly for the public spat between BharatPay founder Ashner Grover and the fintech firm’s board. Grover, who resigned from the fintech start-up, said he was ‘insulted’ and treated ‘very disrespectfully’ following the months-long high-decibel row.

The highly regarded Ankiti Bose, founder of fashion startup Zilingo, also had to resign over corporate governance issues. Similarly, influencer-led video trading company Trail conducted a forensic audit of allegations of corporate wrongdoing. Following the inspection announcement, the founder fired off a fiery memo to investors.

For more, see here: ETtech Exclusive: How BharatPe Co-Founder Ashner Grover Was Pushed To Resign

Also read:
Ashner Grover: The New Rage in Startup Town

RBI’s Diktat for Fintex: Following the release of RBI’s new digital lending guidelines, banks and non-banking finance companies (NBFCs) have taken a hit from First Loan Default Guarantee (FLDG) partnerships, forcing them to lend at higher costs to small fintechs. As the regulatory process on fintechs continues and the RBI takes steps to regulate various aspects of the sector, the operating environment has become difficult for the sector as a whole, paving the way for future consolidation.

Read more here: Year 2022 Review | A turbulent 2023 awaits fintech startups.

Baiju Installation Problems:- Byju Raveendran and his edtech startup Byju’s had a year to forget. The country’s most valuable start-up has been marred by everything from predatory marketing tactics to controversies over delayed financial results, ultimately laying off at least 2,500 workers, all within the year. The company has been pulled up by various government agencies for its business practices. Recently, the NCPCR was summoned following allegations that “guidelines” were violated by an edtech company. Also, the country’s biggest edtech start-up has been questioned due to the delay in the loan it took to buy it from Akash Institute.

Read more here: Baiju’s loss widens to Rs 4,588 crore in FY21 results

SoftBank has been hit by portfolio losses. Rajeev Misra, CEO of SB Investment Advisors, which manages SoftBank’s Vision Fund, stepped back from his executive role at the technology fund in a major rejig at the technology investment firm. She posted record losses, forcing portfolio companies such as WeWork, Uber and Coupang to reshape their strategies for the future. Son also said that the summer of continued funding will be prolonged for unicorn founders who are unwilling to accept low valuations and continue to believe in their previous valuations.

Read more here: Rajeev Misra returns to SoftBank to launch new fund

Tata’s foray into e-commerce: After several delays, the Tata Group finally unveiled its much-awaited super-up Tata Now in April this year. However, the journey since then has been slow, marred by high-profile exits and consolidation to further strengthen its presence in e-commerce.

Tata Group has transferred Tata Unistore, which owns and operates an ecommerce platform focused on fashion and luxury, to Tata Digital. Tata Digital will thus become the exclusive entity for online transactions of Tatas including Tata Nu, BigBasket and Chrome. He also invested in BigBasket and 1mg more this year.

Read more here: Tatas Brings All Ecommerce Operations Under Digital Business

Crypto Collapse: It all came crashing down for the cryptoverse as it faced its toughest year since its inception in 2022. Various governments have cracked down on crypto exchanges, including those in India, over allegations of money laundering and tax evasion. The crypto market took a big hit when the collapse of Storicoins like Terra and Luna sparked volatility, which got worse as the year progressed. The final nail came with the bankruptcy of FTX – the second largest crypto exchange in the world – founder and crypto mogul Sam Bankman-Fried was arrested.

Read more here: The charges against Sam Bankman-Fried