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The start-up funding 'winter' is a reality but it is going to be short and sharp, and it has been exacerbated by the banking crisis in the US and Europe, travel services provider MakeMyTrip Chairman Deep Kalra said on Tuesday. With domestic players in travel in India reporting more than 100 per cent recovery from pre-COVID period, the industry will witness steady secular growth, he said while speaking at the Times Network India Digital Fest here. "I think the startup winter, which we're talking about or the funding winter that we're talking about is a reality, but it's going to be short, but sharp," Kalra said. He further said, "And today, it's not only because of the overheated part of it, but now we have the banks crisis, not just in the US but also in Europe, which really exacerbates most of this but I've seen cycles now being shorter, sharper and it will come back. Kalra was responding to a query on the churn witnessed by the start-up ecosystem where valuations have dropped and
Ford Motor Co.'s electric vehicle business has lost USD 3 billion before taxes during the past two years and will lose a similar amount this year as the company invests heavily in the new technology. The figures were released on Thursday as Ford rolled out a new way of reporting financial results. The new business structure separates electric vehicles, the profitable internal combustion and commercial vehicle operations into three operating units. Company officials said the electric vehicle unit, called Ford Model e, will be profitable before taxes by late 2026 with an 8 per cent pretax profit margin. But they wouldn't say exactly when it's expected to start making money. Chief Financial Officer John Lawler said Model e should be viewed as a startup company within Ford. As everyone knows, EV startups lose money while they invest in capability, develop knowledge, build (sales) volume and gain (market) share, he said. Model e, he said, is working on second- and even third-generatio