This week on Startup Street, things get messy at a Silicon Valley mobile ad startup as chief executive officer gets jailed on multiple abuse charges. Mining tycoon Anil Agarwal is hopping aboard the startup funding bandwagon. Boeing made its first investment in automated flight technology. Kerala is letting college teachers follow their dreams. And some cheeky naming by Elon Musk.
Vungle Changes Leadership As CEO Gets Charged With Child Abuse
Jaffer Zainali, chief executive officer of mobile ad startup Vungle, has been arrested for multiple charges of assault, child abuse, battery and sexual abuse, according to the San Mateo County website.
“While these charges are completely unrelated to his former role at the company, they are obviously so serious that it led to his immediate removal,” said a public media statement by new CEO Rick Tallman, who got promoted from his prior role as the chief operating and financial office.
“The actions of one individual are in no way reflective of the almost 200 dedicated and hard-working people who work for Vungle,” Tallman said in a statement put out on Twitter.
The alleged offence was against his son and daughter, according to reports by Forbes and the San Francisco Chronicle who spoke to the San Mateo County District Attorney.
Zainali is scheduled to appear in court on November 1 where he will plead guilty, according to the reports that cited his lawyer Daniel Olmos. Zainali will also not be giving any public statements, Olmos added.
Vungle previously raised funding from Google Ventures (GV), 500 Startups, Crosslink Capital and others. The company claims to be profitable in the highly competitive mobile advertisement business.
Anil Agarwal’s $1 Billion Capital Venture Fund
Metals and mining tycoon Anil Agarwal is planning to launch a $1 billion venture capital fund, joining the list of other Indian billionaires in financing startups.
The Vedanta group chairman will invest between Rs 5 crore and Rs 200 crore in select entities in the commodities and natural resources sector, Agarwal told the Times of India in an interview. The structure of the fund has not been decided and it still being debated “if the fund will be through the company (Vedanta) or in an individual capacity,” Agarwal said.
Agarwal will be the newest addition to Indian industrialists in the venture capital space. Mukesh Ambani has set up a Rs 5,000 crore Reliance Jio Digital India Startup Fund, while Ratan Tata too has his RNT Capital Advisors. Narayana Murthy invests in early-stage startups through Cataraman Ventures, Azim Premji through Premji Invests and Sajjan Jindal through the JSW Venture Fund.
Boeing Is Serious About Making Planes Fly On Their Own
The Boeing Company has backed autonomous technology startup Near Earth Autonomy through its innovation fund HorizonX, marking the first investment that the aerospace behemoth has made towards unmanned flights.
Pittsburgh-based Near Earth Autonomy, which makes sensors and robotic controls for self-flying drones, has also entered in a partnership with Boeing to explore commercial products for defense, and urban mobility, according to a media statement. The investment size has not been disclosed.
The investment will accelerate product development and “enable access to a broader portfolio of applications for aerial autonomy,” said Sanjiv Singh, chief executive officer of Near Earth, in the statement.
The startup was born as a spin-off from the Robotics Institute of the Carnegie Mellon University. The startups is developing an autonomous aerial cargo delivery platform for the U.S. Marines.
Earlier in October, Boeing had also acquired Aurora Flight Sciences Corp., the company which has teamed up with Uber to develop unmanned air taxis by 2020.
Kerala Allows College Faculty To Dropout And Startup
College teachers in Kerala will get to live their entrepreneurial dreams as the state government has green-lighted a proposal that allows giving sabbaticals to faculty members of all colleges who intend on establishing a startup.
A panel headed by the Saji Gopinath, chief executive officer of the Kerala Startup Mission, will select 10 college teachers on a pilot basis. The teachers could start their own startup or form a group of founders along with students to start a company, according to newswire PTI.
“The participation of teachers, with active support from college authorities and parents, will bring experience and responsibility in the startups,” the state's Information Technology Secretary M Sivasankar said in a media statement.
As per the proposal guidelines, faculty members can avail sabbatical leave with or without pay from their institutions.
Elon Musk Has A Not So 'Boring' Name For New Tunneling Machine
The Boring Company, which is digging underground tunnels to make speedy intercity travel possible, will add a second tunneling machine to its fleet, founder Elon Musk revealed on Twitter.
The second machine will be called 'Line-Storm' based on one of Robert Frost's poem in his 1913 collection A Boy's Will. The company's first tunneling machine was named Gadot, based on Samuel Beckett's play Waiting for Gadot.
While the machine is “almost ready”, Musk hasn't specified a date for its rollout.
Musk’s whimsical naming is reminiscent of how the innovator had established Boring Company—deciding to dig tunnels after traffic drove him “nuts”.
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