The All India Consumer Products Distributors Federation (AICPDF), which represents the distributors of fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) distributors, has raised concerns over the delivery practices of quick commerce and ecommerce players in India.

The AICPDF has written to the road transport ministry and the health ministry, seeking an inquiry into the use of private vehicles by these companies for commercial deliveries, Business Standard reported.

The Federation pointed out that many quick commerce and ecommerce companies frequently rely on private vehicles for deliveries of food items, which is in violation of the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) guidelines.

“These standards are critical to prevent contamination and ensure that consumers receive safe and hygienically-handled food. However, the widespread use of private-owned two-wheelers by delivery personnel raises concerns about the adequacy of these vehicles to maintain the required food safety standards,” the report quoted the AICPDF as saying in its letter to the health ministry.

In its complaint to the road transport ministry, the Federation said that the use of private vehicles raises significant safety concerns. It said that these vehicles may not be sufficiently insured or maintained to meet the standards required for commercial operations. 

However, this is not the first time that the AICPDF has expressed concerns about quick commerce. In August, it wrote to the Ministry of Commerce and Industry seeking a probe into the rapid growth of quick commerce. 

Raising concerns over the compliance of the quick commerce companies with the country’s FDI norms, it urged union minister Piyush Goyal to regulate quick commerce players to protect small retailers. 

Following this, the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) referred the complaint to the Competition Commission of India.

While the ecommerce sector has grown by leaps and bounds over the past decade in the country, quick commerce has been seeing a rapid rise in popularity over the last 2-3 years, especially in metro cities. This has pitted the likes of ecommerce players like Amazon and Meesho against quick commerce players like Blinkit, Swiggy Instamart, and Zepto. 

However, both the sectors are also facing increasing regulatory scrutiny. While quick commerce companies are under the lens for not abiding by the rules mandating display of expiry and best before dates, the ecommerce players are likely to face the heat for flouting dark pattern regulations.

The post Distributors’ Body Flags Use Of Private Vehicles By Ecommerce, Quick Commerce Players appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Ahead of its much-awaited public listing, Hyundai Motor India’s managing director (MD) Unsoo Kim has said that the Indian EV market is poised for “strong and steady” growth until 2030. 

The automaker’s MD has projected that this growth will likely come on the back of an increased focus from various companies on the local market and robust government support. Further reflecting on the Indian EV market, Kim noted that the country is at an “early stage of electrification”.

“We believe that the Indian EV market is expected to grow strongly and steadily by 2030, mostly led by the government’s strong leadership and many OEMs’ focus on this segment. HMIL has access to global battery technologies, so we are developing an EV ecosystem,” Kim added.

Despite his optimism, data from the Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations (FADA) indicated a concerning trend in September 2024, with electric car sales dropping by 8% year-on-year (YoY) to 5,874 units. 

Meanwhile, Hyundai Motor India Limited’s (HMIL) chief operating officer (COO) Tarun Garg pointed out that the slowdown in the Indian EV market should not be compared with the global EV market, as the latter relatively has a much higher level of EV penetration. 

“We are still at a low level of electrification. There is only one way up,” Garg added. 

For the uninitiated, Hyundai Motor India has announced plans for India’s largest-ever IPO and aims to raise INR 27,870 Cr (around $3.3 Bn). The company’s IPO will comprise solely of an offer for sale (OFS) component of 14.2 Cr shares, which will see parent Hyundai Motor Corporation (HMC) offload its stake.

This will dilute HMC’s stake from 100% to 82.5% initially, and the company has plans to further reduce it to 75% over the next few years to comply with regulatory requirements. 

The development comes at a time when the Indian EV space is witnessing healthy growth on the back of government subsidies and production-linked-incentives (PLIs), as well as a surge in investments. 

The post Hyundai India MD Predicts “Strong & Steady” EV Market Growth Until 2030 appeared first on Inc42 Media.

SaaS startup Toplyne is shutting operations due to its inability to scale and find product-market fit. The startup has decided to return the capital to its investors, cofounder and CEO Rishen Kapoor shared in a LinkedIn post, without elaborating on the quantum of the capital which would be returned.

“After 3.5 years of building Toplyne, we’ve made the tough decision to wind down operations and return capital to our investors. Despite our best efforts, we couldn’t reach the scale or product-market fit we aimed for,” Kapoor said. 

The cofounder said that the startup’s team would be supported in finding new roles. 

Founded in 2021 by Kapoor, Ruchin Kulkarni, and Rohit Khanna, Toplyne offers an AI-powered platform to help product-led companies convert their free users into paid ones. It claims that its AI learns from customer data to generate audiences that can be converted with ads, in-app nudges, email, sales, and more.

Toplyne counts the likes of Canva, Grafana, InVideo, BrowserStack and Gather.Town among its customers. 

The startup has a headcount of 30 and claims to have managed over 25 Mn user data.

In 2022, the startup raised $15 Mn funding from marquee investors like Peak XV and Tiger Global. The round also saw participation from existing investors such as Together Fund, Sequoia India’s Surge and angel investors from Canva, Vercel and Zoominfo.

Before that, it secured $2.5 Mn in a seed funding round from Together Fund and Sequoia Capital’s Surge and angel investors from Freshworks, Zoominfo and Canva.

The development comes at a time when a number of startups have shut over the last couple of years amid the funding winter. As many as 15 startups wound down operations last year. The trend has continued this year as well. 

Just last month, banana cultivation-focussed agritech startup Greenikk and generative AI startup InsurStaq.ai decided to shut their operations. 

Social learning platform Bluelearn, digital health platform Nintee, fintech startup GoldPe, and neo-banking startup Muvin are among the other startups which shut operations this year. 

The post Peak XV-Backed Toplyne Shuts Operations appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Automaker JSW MG Motor India has selected seven startups as part of the fifth cohort of its accelerator programme, MG Developer Program (MGDP). 

The selected seven startups include Anuvega Powertronics, Aselector Technologies, Emerging Technologies, Gudlyf Mobility, Power Jet (EV Urjaa), Ravity, and Vocbot AI. The programme is focussed on promoting AI-led innovations in the electric mobility space. 

As per the company, the seven startups were selected out of over 100 applications received for the accelerator initiative. Under the incubation programme, the automaker will offer mentorship and aid the selected startups in building practical applications for their AI offering in the electric mobility ecosystem.

The company said that it has partnered with Startup India, office of the principal scientific adviser to the Government of India and a consortium, comprising AWS, Exicom,

Lohum, and DRIIV (Delhi Research Implementation and Innovation), to enhance the accelerator programme and foster collaboration and innovation.

In a statement, JSW MG Motor India also said that it will also select other startups to allocate grants ranging from INR 5 Lakh to INR 25 Lakh. 

“Our commitment to innovation and collaboration in the electric mobility sector is steadfast. The MG Developer Program and Grant serve as a catalyst, empowering startups to develop AI solutions that address the challenges and opportunities presented by this rapidly evolving mobility landscape…,” said JSW MG Motor India’s chief growth officer Gaurav Gupta. 

It is pertinent to note that JSW MG Motor India is a joint venture between China-based SAIC Motor and JSW Group, which sells electric vehicles in the country under the brand name “MG Motor”.

Since its inception in 2019, the accelerator programme claims to have supported 34 startups by offering grants and mentorship. The initiative comes at a time when GenAI has gripped the imagination of both Indian consumers and businesses. Owing to this, more and more companies are looking to leverage the emerging technology to streamline their products and add value to their offerings. 

MGDP also aims to piggyback on AI to build new use cases for its customers and streamline its operations. While it remains to be seen what comes out of the cohort, here is the list of the seven startups that made the cut for the MG Developer Program Season 5.0: 

Anuvega Powertronics

Founded In: 2021

Founder: Balasubramaniam SK

Headquarters: Gurugram

Anuvega Powertronics focusses on innovative technologies for efficient energy conversion and management by manufacturing motor controllers for two, three and four-wheelers. 

Aselector Technologies

Founder: Ashutosh Sharma

Founded In: 2017

Headquarters: New Delhi

Aselector Technologies is an AI-based knowledge management platform that claims to optimise workflow for businesses. 

Emerging Technologies

Founder: Sanidhya Patel

Founded In: 2019

Headquarters: Valsad, Gujarat

Emerging Technologies offers safety and efficiency solutions for its clients in the automotive industry.

Gudlyf Mobility 

Founder: Ajeet Babu Parasumanna Ph.D 

Founded In: 2022

Headquarters: Madurai, Tamil Nadu

Gudlyf Mobility offers alternate and sustainable energy solutions for hydrogen storage. It also operates an AI-driven platform that claims to maximise battery efficiency, reliability, and sustainability

Power Jet (EV Urjaa)

Founder: Sanyog Tiwari and Suyash Singh

Founded In: 2017

Headquartered: Indore, Madhya Pradesh

It is an EV infrastructure startup that enables energy operators to provide sustainable battery-swapping infrastructure for electric vehicles..

Ravity

Founder: Vikas Rungta and Ananth Ram

Founded In: 2022

Headquartered: Bengaluru, Karnataka

It is an AI-powered mobility management platform that focusses on optimising transportation and logistics through data-driven insights.

Vocbot AI

Founder: Gursimranjeet Singh Ajimal

Headquarters: Indore, Madhya Pradesh 

Founded In: 2021

It is a multilingual SaaS startup that automates customer service through AI and natural language processing (NLP) capabilities.

The post Meet The Startups That Made It To JSW MG Motor’s Accelerator Programme appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Shares of Ola Electric slumped as much as 5.8% to INR 90.19 during the intraday trading on the BSE on Thursday (October 10) amid increasing government scrutiny of the two-wheeler EV startup over customer complaints.

The stock recovered slightly to end today’s trading session at INR 90.81, down 5.19% from the previous close. As many as 4.9 Cr shares were traded today and the company’s market capitalisation stood at INR 40,054.75 Cr (around $477 Mn) at the end of the day. 

Earlier, it was reported that the Ministry of Heavy Industries (MHI) has written to the Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI) to verify if the EV maker is honouring warranties and maintaining the requisite service centres. 

The Bhavish Aggarwal-led company has been facing a lot of criticism due to rising customer complaints about its aftersales service. On Sunday, Aggarwal was involved in a social media spat with comedian Kunal Kamra. While Kamra flagged customer complaints about the company’s escooters, Aggarwal accused him of taking money to criticise the company.

The company’s shares tanked 9% on October 7. Later, Ola Electric said that the Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) issued a show cause notice to it for alleged violation of consumer rights, misleading advertisement, and unfair trade practices.

Since reaching a post-listing high of INR 157 in August, the company’s shares have tanked almost 42.1%. However, the stock is still trading over 19% higher from its listing price of INR 75.99 on August 9. 

Ola Electric is also facing pressure from competitors in terms of sales. Its escooter registrations dropped 11% month-on-month (MoM) to 23,965 units in September, marking its lowest monthly vehicle sales since October last year. 

However, brokerages are positive about the stock. Last month, Goldman Sachs initiated coverage on Ola Electric and gave a buy rating, with a price target of INR 160 apiece. BofA Securities also has a buy rating on the stock.

On the financial front, Ola Electric managed to trim its consolidated net loss by 30% to INR 347 Cr in Q1 FY25 from INR 267 Cr in the year-ago period. Operating revenue rose 32% year-on-year to INR 1,644 Cr in the reported quarter.

The post Ola Electric Tanks 6% Amid Rising Scrutiny Over Customer Complaints appeared first on Inc42 Media.

India has surpassed the US to become the largest market for AI mobile app downloads. According to data from digital intelligence platform Sensor Tower, the country accounted for 21% of the global AI app downloads.

AI app downloads by Indians surpassed the 2.2 Bn mark by August 2024.

ChatGPT, Microsoft Copilot, and Google Gemini were the top three most downloaded apps in India, alongside image/video editing and play apps.

India was followed by Latin America, Europe and South America in terms of downloads, accounting for 20%, 15% and 14% share, respectively. 

However, India accounted for just 2% of in-app purchase revenue. Overall, the revenue for in-app purchases globally stands at $2 Bn so far this year, the report said. Of this, North America and Europe together account for 68% revenue of AI apps. Just North America accounts for 47% of global AI app earnings.

Sensor Tower pegged the estimated revenue for 2024 at $3.3 Bn, a surge of 51%. The report added that AI app downloads in the first eight months of 2024 at 630 Mn surpassed the download count for the entire 2023. 

Globally, ChatGPT was the most downloaded app, followed by image editing app Remini. At number three and four were Photoroom AI Photo Editor and Google’s Gemini, respectively.  

ByteDance’s chatbot app DouBao was at fifth position, while Microsoft Copilot and Chatbot AI & Smart Assistant claimed eighth and ninth positions, respectively. 

India is among one of the biggest markets for companies in terms of app downloads due to the large population, increasing internet access, and improving penetration of smartphones. As per a report, the total app downloads in India stood at about 26 Bn in 2023. 

Artificial intelligence (AI) has taken the world by storm over the past few years. India is among the leading countries in the world in terms of adoption of AI.

This has also spawned the rise of several AI startups in the country, which are offering various use cases for the emerging technology. India is currently home to over 100 generative AI startups. These startups have also attracted a lot of investor interest. 

Indian AI startups have raised over $600 Mn in funding since 2019. Spearheading this transition are names like SarvamAI and Krutrim, which are focused on building Indic LLMs. 

However, the capital intensive nature, long gestation period and infrastructure remain the most challenging hurdles for the AI industry in India.

The post India Leads Globally In Downloads Of AI Apps Like ChatGPT, Google Gemini  appeared first on Inc42 Media.

The IndiaAI Datasets Platform, a part of the IndiaAI Mission, will go live by January, National eGovernance Division (NeGD) chief executive Nand Kumarum said

The IndiaAI Datasets Platform is aimed at streamlining access to high-quality, non-personal datasets that can facilitate AI innovation

Speaking during an event, Kumarum said that the platform will mirror the US-based collaborative and open-source forum HuggingFace, where developers can create, train and deploy their models, according to a report by Economic Times.

This unified platform will serve as a repository for a diverse range of datasets, making them easily discoverable and accessible to researchers.

Highlighting the use cases of generative AI in the government, Kumarum said it can be used for drafting requests for proposals or schemes if trained on past documents, improving office productivity, and enabling easy comparison of different states’ policies.

Similarly, he added that AI trained on norms around buildings, roads, irrigation systems and others can help partly automate the verification and approval process.

Kumarum said that data from central and state governments and the private sector will be a part of IndiaAI Datasets, adding that private partnerships are a work in progress. 

This comes after the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) presented a report last year suggesting that the government introduce a pricing model for sharing data, including non-personal data, under the India Dataset Platform (IDP). 

Last year, a working group of the government’s artificial intelligence (AI) think tank, IndiaAI, recommended sharing of non-personal data.

It is pertinent to note that NeGD provides the technology for the implementation of the ministry’s egovernance projects.

The union cabinet approved the IndiaAI mission in March with an allocation of INR 10,372 Cr over the next five years. The Mission aims to position India as a leader in the global AI landscape and foster technological self reliance and ethical practices. 

The Mission has six pillars – computing capacity, future skills, an innovation centre, application development initiative, startup financing, and safe and trusted AI. 

It not only aims to create 10,000 CPU Processing Units under AI computing but also emphasises creating a public-private model for funding and implementation that will further enable setting up data centres and AI services in the country. 

AI, especially GenAI, has taken the world by storm in the last few years. India is among those countries which are leveraging AI to improve efficiency and productivity. This has spawned the rise of several AI startups in the country, which offer various use cases for the emerging technology.

India is currently home to over 100 generative AI startups. These startups have also attracted a lot of investor interest. 

The Indian AI startups have raised over $600 Mn in funding since 2019. Spearheading this transition are names like SarvamAI and Krutrim, which are focused on building Indic LLMs. 

However, the capital intensity nature, long gestation period and infrastructure remain the most challenging hurdle for the AI industry in India.

The post IndiaAI Datasets Platform To Go Live By January To Accelerate AI Innovation appeared first on Inc42 Media.

SaaS startup Spry Therapeutics, founded by former Ola chief technology officer Brijraj Bhuptani, has raised $15 Mn (around INR 126 Cr) in a funding round led by Flourish Ventures. The round also saw participation from existing investors like Together Fund, Fidelity’s Eight Road Ventures, and F Prime Capital. 

The newly raised capital will be used to establish a sales and servicing team in the US healthcare market, with a focus on expanding the company’s client base, Bhuptani told Economic Times.

Founded in 2021 by Riyaz Rehman and Bhuptani, Spry Therapeutics offers an integrated practice management solution to therapy professionals. It claims that its platform is designed to adapt to the evolving clinical and business needs of physical therapists, occupational therapists, and speech-language pathologists.

The startup claims to digitise the entire process from the front desk to clinical operations to the back office. Spry Therapeutics also handles insurance claims, administrative tasks for therapy centres, and financial services such as payments and billing.

It claims to have onboarded 105 clinics in the US in the last 18 months. 

Including the latest round, the startup has raised a total funding of about $25 Mn to date. 

In 2022, Spry Therapeutics  raised $7 Mn in funding from Eight Roads Ventures, with participation from F-Prime Capital and Together Fund. Before that, it secured $3 Mn in a seed funding round led by venture capital fund Together Fund.

The funding comes at a time when global investors are betting big on the SaaS startups around the healthcare segment. 

Earlier in May, private equity giant KKR was reported to have bought a significant minority stake in healthcare SaaS company Infinx Services via a deal worth about $150 Mn.

According to data released by Precedence Research, the global healthcare SaaS market was expected to reach a size of around $77.43 Bn by 2032. 

The post SaaS Startup Spry Therapeutics Bags $15 Mn To Expand In US Healthcare Market appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Listed beauty marketplace Nykaa is reportedly looking to jump into the quick commerce fray in a bid to recapture market share from the likes of Blinkit, Zepto, Swiggy Instamart and others. 

An ET report claims Nykaa has launched a 10-minute delivery pilot in select parts of Mumbai covering 5% of its SKU base. 

In September, Nykaa had stated its intention to accelerate next-day and same-day deliveries to cater to the growing demand for quick commerce-like models. Nykaa chairperson, MD and CEO Falguni Nayar had said at the company’s AGM that currently next-day deliveries comprise 60% of all orders from the marketplace’s top 110 cities.

Quick commerce platforms, including Blinkit, Zepto, Swiggy Instamart, BigBasket and Flipkart Minutes, have looked to capitalise on the festive season demand by bulking up the beauty and personal care SKUs. 

For many D2C beauty brands, listing on these quick commerce platforms means moving closer to the consumer base. Plus, QC platforms cater to impulse shopping, a big draw for new-age beauty brands. 

“We have seen a very fast adoption of skin care and beauty products by quick commerce platforms which will only increase in coming months. This might hit the niche players like Nykaa, Purplle and others that have been market leaders. We expect small-ticket purchases and non-make up product orders to spike during this festive season on quick commerce platforms,” Satish Meena, adviser at market intelligence firm Datum Intelligence, told Inc42 earlier this month. 

Several of Nykaa’s private labels are listed on Blinkit, Zepto and Swiggy Instamart, which would undoubtedly have shown Nykaa what quick commerce offers. But on the flipside, Nykaa’s core marketplace business has suffered from the rise of quick commerce. 

Ahead of its Q2FY24 results, Nykaa claimed to have registered consolidated revenue growth in the mid-twenties in the second quarter of the ongoing financial year 2024-25 (FY25). 

The company said its beauty vertical saw strong performance, while the fashion vertical continues to lag behind. 

Nykaa is not alone in wanting a taste of the quick commerce magic. In recent times, the model is being extended beyond grocery to fashion and lifestyle categories such as beauty and personal care.

The post Nykaa Pilots 10-Minute Deliveries In Mumbai To Fight Quick Commerce Onslaught appeared first on Inc42 Media.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has decided to increase the transaction limit for UPI123Pay and UPI Lite to further increase UPI adoption.

Following the meeting of the RBI’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), the central bank said that the per transaction limit of UPI123 Pay will be increased to INR 10,000 from INR 5,000 currently.

Besides, the transaction cap for UPI Lite will be enhanced to INR 1,000 from INR 500 currently. To further increase its use, the central bank has also decided to increase the UPI Lite wallet limit to INR 5,000 from INR 2,000 currently.

The RBI said that the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) will issue the necessary instructions shortly to facilitate these changes.

Introduced in 2022, UPI123Pay is designed for feature phone users. It allows them to access UPI services without an internet connection in 12 languages. 

Similarly, UPI Lite was launched for small-value transactions, enabling users to make quick payments without needing a full internet connection.

This is the second revision in the transaction limit for UPI Lite over the last year or so. In August last year, the RBI increased the per transaction limit for UPI Lite to INR 500 from INR 200.

Meanwhile, the RBI also said like UPI and IMPS, it has been decided to introduce a ‘beneficiary account name look-up facility’ for RTGS and IMPS transactions to verify the name of the receiver (beneficiary) before initiating a payment transaction. 

“Remitters can input the account number and the branch IFSC code of the beneficiary, following which the name of the beneficiary will be displayed. This facility will increase customer confidence as it would reduce the possibility of wrong credits and frauds. Detailed guidelines will be issued separately,” the RBI said. 

The developments come at a time when UPI continues to grow by leaps and bounds. In September, the number of UPI transactions surged to 15.04 Bn from 14.96 Bn in the previous month.

Fintech giants PhonePe and GooglePay continue to dominate the UPI market with market share of 48.4% and 37.3%, respectively. 

The Indian government is also pitching UPI to the world. In July, PM Narendra Modi said that India plans to integrate UPI with Malaysia’s national payments network PayNet. In the same month, the NPCI rolled out the ‘UPI One World’ wallet for all foreign tourists in partnership with IDFC First Bank and Transcorp International Limited.

Not to mention, countries like Sri Lanka, Mauritius, Bhutan, Nepal, the UAE and Canada have already deployed India’s UPI payment model to some extent.

The post RBI Increases Transaction Limits For UPI123Pay, UPI Lite  appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Electric vehicle (EV) battery leasing startup Urja Mobility has raised INR 100 Cr (about $12 Mn) in its pre-Series A funding round in a mix of debt and equity. The round was led by existing investor Mufin Green Finance Limited and Hindon Mercantile Limited (Mufin Green’s parent). 

Urja Mobility founder and CEO Pankaj Chopra told Inc42 that the startup has diluted 25% of its overall equity so far.

The newly infused capital will be used to scale operations and expand its pay-per-use battery leasing model, which charges customers on a per-kilometre basis for leased batteries. The funding will also support Urja Mobility’s plans to expand its retail footprint by opening new retail outlets primarily in Tier II & III cities. 

In a statement, the startup said that a chunk of the capital will also be utilised to expand its product portfolio and for supply chain management.

Founded in 2023 by Chopra, Urja Mobility is a New Delhi-based EV battery solution startup that leases batteries to EV consumers and fleet operators on a pay-per-use model. Last year, the startup raised an undisclosed amount from Mufin Green Finance. 

It primarily caters to commercial EVs and claims to sell 45 MWh of energy per day.  Going forward, the startup has set its eyes on “selling” 300 Megawatt Hour (MWh) of energy per day. 

“This funding round marks a major milestone for us. Our goal is to revolutionise energy consumption in the emobility sector while expanding our presence across India. The pay-per-use model we’ve introduced makes emobility more accessible, and this funding will help us strengthen our retail presence and provide solutions to a wider audience,” Chopra added. 

Commenting on the fundraise, Mufin Green Finance’s founder and director Kapil Garg said, “We are thrilled to support Urja Mobility’s journey. Their unique solutions, combined with their commitment to sustainability, align perfectly with our focus on supporting India’s transition to clean energy”.

In the statement, the startup also said that it plans to raise an additional INR 250 Cr in the first quarter (Q1) of 2025 to scale up its retail network. Chopra told Inc42 that the startup will kick off the round in January 2025 and will be looking to close it by April 2025. 

“This next round of funding will allow the company to continue its rapid expansion and further scale its innovative offerings,” added Urja Mobility.

The startup competes against the likes of Battery Smart, Sun Mobility, VoltUp in the EV battery solution segment. 

This comes at a time when the EV segment is witnessing high interest from investors. Within this, the EV battery market is also poised for substantial growth, driven primarily by rising demand for EVs and regulatory tailwinds.

Last month, Clean Electric secured $6 Mn in its Series A funding round co-led by Info Edge Ventures, pi Ventures, and existing investor Kalaari Capital. 

As per a report, the Indian EV battery market is poised to become a $27.7 Bn opportunity by 2028 from $16.77 Bn in 2023. 

The post Urja Mobility Bags INR 100 Cr In A Mix Of Debt & Equity To Lease EV Batteries appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Shares of online travel aggregator (OTA) Yatra slumped as much as 1.6% to hit an all-time low at INR 119.50 during the intraday trade on the BSE today (October 8). This also marks the fresh 52-week low for the stock.

However, the stock pared some loss later and was trading 1.28% up at INR 123 at 2 PM on the BSE. 

Till 2 PM, Yatra’s market capitalisation stood at INR 1,930.07 Cr ( $229.8 Mn) and as much as 1.52 Lakh shares traded hands on the bourses. 

Yesterday (October 7), the Indian benchmark indices incurred a slump with sensex losing 202.80 points, closing at 82,352.64. 

Factors like geopolitical tensions and foreign institutional investors’ selling pressure were attributed to this downturn in the market. 

However, the senses regained 642.64 points to trade 0.85% up at 81,735.05 at 2:08 PM today. 

Yatra made its market debut in September last year, listing at INR 130 against its upper price band of INR 142 for the IPO. 

Since its listing, the stock has given a negative return of 6.5% to its retail investors. 

Eyeing to increase its customer base, Yatra is on acquisition shopping and has acquired companies like Globe All India Services Limited, Adventure and Nature Network (ANN) and Air Travel Bureau (ATB) over the period. 

Founded in 2016 by Shringi, Manish Amin and Sabina Chopra, Yatra is an online travel aggregator (OTA) and India’s largest corporate travel services provider. To date, it has bagged a total funding of $151.56 Mn till date. 

On the financial front, Yatra’s consolidated net profit declined 32.5% to INR 4.04 Cr in Q1 FY25 from INR 5.99 Cr in the year-ago quarter. Sequentially, it declined about 27% from INR 5.57 Cr.

The jump in top line came even as operating revenue declined both on an annual and sequential basis. Revenue stood at INR 100.80 Cr in Q1 FY25, down 8.5% year-on-year (YoY) and 6.3% quarter-on-quarter (QoQ).

The post Yatra Shares Hit An All-Time Low At INR 119.50 appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Online gaming startup WinZO has said that it closed the fourth round of its Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) liquidation.

As per the company, around 30% of the workforce, with at least two years of tenure, will be able to liquidate their vested ESOPs as part of the initiative.

WinZO further said that the buyback is a strategic move to attract and retain top global tech talent, especially in light of the recent steep increase in GST in the gaming industry. 

The startup also outlined that the tax hike has caused a sharp decline in foreign direct investment (FDI), impacting the sector’s ability to secure and retain talent.

“By completing our fourth consecutive annual ESOP buyback, WinZO is reaffirming its unwavering commitment to nurturing talent, fostering innovation, and driving growth in the gaming industry,” the company said.

It is pertinent to note that WinZO has completed three previous ESOP liquidations between 2021 and 2023.

This announcement comes on the heels of WinZo registering a 3X increase in its consolidated operating revenue to INR 673.94 Cr in the financial year ended March 31, 2023, from  INR 233.89 Cr in the previous fiscal year. 

Despite this surge in revenue, WinZO’s net loss surged 1.9X to INR 710.15 Cr in FY23 from INR 370.1 Cr in FY22. 

On the expansion front, last year the startup was reported to be consolidating its international presence with an investment worth $25 Mn in the Brazilian gaming market. 

Founded by Paavan Nanda and Saumya Singh in 2018, WinZO is an online skill-based gaming startup that partners with third-party developers to host games on its mobile-based application. It earns revenue through platform fees charged from users for real-money games.

The post WinZo Marks Close Of Fourth ESOP Buyback appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Chennai-based fintech startup IppoPay, which counts Coinbase Ventures, Better Capital and Blume Founders Fund among investors, has partnered with Tamilnad Mercantile Bank (TMB) to offer QR code-based UPI payment solutions to small businesses in underserved segments of Tamil Nadu.

IppoPay aims to facilitate easier transactions through this new solution by tapping TMB’s banking infrastructure, it said in a statement.

As part of this move, the startup’s affiliate Techfini will be processing all the UPI payments using the TMB handle. 

For the uninitiated, Techfini is IppoPay’s application programming interface (APIs) solution, providing UPI-based payment infrastructure to banks, financial institutions and fintech companies

“TMB’s focus on providing banking solutions and IppoPay’s focus on providing digital transaction solution would make this partnership a win-win. Tamil Nadu alone has over 1 Cr MSMEs, of which over 75% are in Tier II cities and rural areas. IppoPay’s distribution will help us bring digital financial inclusion to a significant base of these merchants,” said IppoPay’s founder Mohan K. 

“Partnering with IppoPay is perfectly in line with our vision to enhance digital payment solutions for our clients. We believe that this partnership would help us support small merchants in expanding their customer base and improving their payment processes, thereby driving growth.” TMB’s general manager  Ashok Kumar P R said. 

Founded by Mohan K and Jai Kumar in November 2020, IppoPay claims to facilitate offline and online businesses with digital payments. 

It helps companies meet the banking needs such as fund transfer, lending and buying insurance, among others. Additionally, it also helps retail sellers to accept UPI payments. Besides, it also claims to assist MSMEs to open current accounts and enable transfer of funds.

It is pertinent to note that earlier in July TechFini secured National Payments Corporation of India’s (NPCI) nod to provide UPI-based payment infrastructure to banks, financial institutions and fintech companies.

The development comes close on the heels of IppoPay securing an undisclosed funding in August from CaratLane’s founder Mithun Sacheti and Jaipur Gems’ chief executive officer Siddhartha Sacheti.

Prior to this, the startup raised $2.1 Mn in its seed funding round from Coinbase Ventures, Better Capital, Blume Founders Fund, and a host of angel investors to strengthen its technology stack, expand into new geographies, cater to SMBs and launch a BNPL service in 2022. 

In the same year, the startup also made two separate acquisitions, buying AI-enabled risk management startup Tutelar in September and Roamsoft Technologies in December for an all-cash deal.

The post IppoPay To Offer QR Code-Based UPI Payments To Small Businesses In TN appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Non-banking financial company (NBFC) Northern Arc announced the launch of its category-II alternative investment fund (AIF) Finserv Fund, with a target corpus of INR 1,500 Cr (around $178.5 Mn).

In a statement, the financial services company said that the fund will also have an additional green shoe option of INR 500 Cr (around $59.5 Mn).

Introduced via its subsidiary Northern Arc Investment Managers (NAIM), Finserv Fund will offer long-term debt to financial intermediaries which are primarily focussed on “underserved and unserved” segments.

A Northern Arc spokesperson told Inc42 that the fund will back around 45-55 entities with an average ticket size of INR 40 Cr per company. The new fund will target financial intermediaries across six segments – micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSME), affordable housing, vehicle finance, agriculture finance, microfinance and consumer finance. 

“… It will invest in a well-diversified portfolio across 45-55 entities within our key sectors. This fund targets gross returns of 14.00-14.50% XIRR (extended internal rate of return) over its four-year tenure, with a deployment period of approximately six months from the final close,” Northern Arc Investments CEO Bhavdeep Bhatt said.

He added that the latest fund marks the launch of 11th AIF by the company, besides the two portfolio management services (PMS) funds that the NBFC already manages. “We have successfully closed and exited four funds at higher-than-targeted returns to our investors,” Bhatt said.

Founded in 2009 by Dvara Holdings initially, Northern Arc is an NBFC, which offers a suite of solutions including lending, placements and investments across multiple sectors. It has backed startups such as Rebel Foods, ProsParity, slice, BharatPe, among others, so far. 

Since 2009, Northern Arc claims to have cumulatively financed over INR 1.81 Lakh Cr for its clients across 671 districts of India. 

The development comes close on the heels of Northern Arc Capital making a strong debut on the bourses on September 24. The NBFC listed at a premium of INR 351 on BSE against an issue price of INR 263. 

Its IPO was oversubscribed 110.91X, with significant interest from qualified institutional buyers (QIBs), who subscribed the public issue over 240.79X.

Prior to that, the NBFC secured INR 229 Cr (around $27.4 Mn) from marquee anchor investors last month in the run up to the IPO. The non-banking lender then said that it plans to deploy the fresh proceeds to meet its future capital requirements towards onward lending.

Earlier this year, the company raised $75 Mn from Dutch FMO and an additional $80 Mn in a mix of equity and debt from World Bank Group’s private-sector investment arm  International Finance Corporation (IFC). 

On the financial front, Northern Arc clocked a revenue of INR 1,890 Cr in the financial year 2023-24 (FY24), up 44% from INR 1,304 Cr in the previous fiscal year. Meanwhile, it reported a profit of INR 317.69 Cr during the fiscal under review as against INR 242.21 Cr in FY23. 

The post Northern Arc Unveils INR 1,500 Cr Fund To Back 45-55 Financial Intermediaries appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Kunal Bahl, the cofounder of Snapdeal and Titan Capital, has joined TV show Shark Tank India as a shark for its upcoming season. 

In a LinkedIn post, Titan Capital said, “We’re thrilled and elated to announce that our co-founder, Kunal Bahl, is joining Shark Tank as the newest Shark.”

“From co-founding Snapdeal | AceVector Group to backing some of India’s most promising startups with Titan Capital, Kunal’s entrepreneurial journey has been extraordinary. Now, he’s ready to bring his passion for building and scaling businesses to the Shark Tank India stage!”

The development comes a couple of days after it was reported that Zomato cofounder and CEO Deepinder Goyal won’t appear as a judge on the upcoming season of the TV show as the foodtech major’s competitor Swiggy sought his removal as part of a deal to sponsor the Shark Tank India.

IPO-bound Swiggy is said to be in talks to finalise a deal to sponsor the upcoming season of the TV show for INR 25 Cr.

In a teaser posted by Sony Entertainment Television for the fourth season of Shark Tank India, other sharks like Anupam Mittal of People Group, Namita Thapar of Emcure Pharmaceuticals, Ritesh Agarwal of OYO, and Aman Gupta of boAt were also seen, besides Bahl.

Bahl cofounded Snapdeal in 2010 and is also the promoter of recently listed SaaS startup Unicommerce. 

He founded venture capital firm Titan Capital in 2015, along with Rohit Bansal, to provide capital to startups across consumer internet, D2C, fintech, SaaS, and Web3 sectors. 

In August, Titan Capital raised a target corpus of INR 200 Cr to exclusively invest in follow-on rounds of breakout startups from its seed portfolio. Before that, the VC firm exited Urban Company in July. 

The firm counts over 200 startups, including Urban Company, OfBusiness, Razorpay, Ola Cabs, Mamaearth, among others, in its portfolio.

The post After Deepinder Goyal’s Exit, Snapdeal & Titan Capital’s Kunal Bahl Joins Shark Tank India appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Market intelligence platform Tracxn has expanded its employee stock option plan by allocating over 2.42 Lakh stock options to eligible employees. 

In an exchange filing, Tracxn said, “We wish to inform you that the nomination and remuneration committee of the company vide circular resolution dated October 05, 2024, has approved the allotment of 2,42,855 equity shares under TRACXN ESOP 2016 to the eligible grantees.”

Based on the stock’s closing price on Friday, the total value of these stock options stands at INR 2.09 Cr.

With the fresh allotment, the total paid-up equity share of the company has increased to over 10.49 Cr from 10.47 Cr. 

Notably, all these newly allotted stock options can be exercised within five years from the date of vesting of the options. 

The latest ESOP expansion follows its September allotment of 1.8 Lakh equity shares under its Employee Stock Option Plan 2016 (ESOP 2016) to eligible employees. Prior to that, the company allotted 99,707 equity shares under its ESOP plan in early August.

Tracxn began expanding its Employee Stock Option Plan (ESOP) pool in August 2023, when it allocated 99,707 equity shares to eligible employees under its ESOP 2016 plan. 

It made its debut on the bourses in October 2022 at the listing price of INR 83 on the BSE, a premium from the issue price of INR 80. 

Founded in 2013 by Abhishek Goyal and Neha Singh, both of whom have backgrounds in venture capital, Tracxn is a SaaS platform based in Bengaluru that specializes in providing market intelligence and data on private companies.

The development comes against the backdrop of a Bengaluru-based company reporting an 84.6% yearly jump in the June quarter (Q1) of the financial year 2024-25 (FY25). It posted a profit after tax (PAT) of INR 1.27 Cr in Q1 FY25, an 84.6% jump from INR 68.93 Lakh in the year-ago period. 

Its revenue from operations stood at INR 20.53 Cr in Q1 FY25, up 3.6% from INR 19.82 Cr in the corresponding quarter previous year.

 Shares of Tracxn were trading 2.96% low at INR 83.65 at 12:40 PM on the BSE.

The post Tracxn Expands ESOP Pool With Additional 2.42 Lakh Stock Options appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Honasa Consumer has clarified that it does not own any asset in the UAE, a day after the Dubai court upheld its previous order directing attaching assets of the Mamaearth’s parent in the region.

In an exchange filing today (October 5), Honasa Consumer also pointed out that its Dubai subsidiary has been exempted from the attachment order. 

This comes a day after Honasa said that the Court of Merits at Dubai rejected the grievance filed by Honasa and its former distributor RSM General Trading. 

These grievances included RSM General Trading’s demand to cancel the trading licence of Honasa’s subsidiary and Honasa’s objection to the attachment of its assets in UAE. 

The Dubai court’s initial ruling came on June 6 and both parties filed their appeals against the order.

The D2C brand’s parent reiterated today that it will file contempt against RSM in Delhi court for non compliance with the Delhi HC’s order of August. 

For the uninitiated, the Delhi HC’s order in August not only asked RSM General Trading to revoke its execution proceedings in Dubai against Honasa but also deposit INR 57.17 Cr along with added interest in the registry of Delhi HC until the withdrawal of execution proceedings in Dubai against Honasa. 

The order then pointed out that if the Dubai court still enforces the order against Honasa, the Delhi High Court will release the money to the D2C brand.

At the heart of this fiasco is Honasa severing its ties with RSM General Trading, with the latter alleging Honasa of abruptly terminating the distributorship agreement.

RSM General Trading was Honasa’s distributor in the Middle East and African region between July 30, 2020 and January 17, 2023.

Earlier, in May UAE’s Court of full Commercial Jurisdiction ordered Honasa to pay a compensation of AED 25.07 (around INR 57 Cr) Mn as damages to RSM General Trading. 

Apart from this, it also directed the company to pay legal interest at a rate of 5% (from the date the judgement becomes final until full payment is made) and AED 1,000 (INR 22,665) as attorney fees. 

Founded in 2016 by the husband-wife duo Varun and Ghazal Alagh, Honasa’s product portfolio comprises six beauty and personal care brands which include Mamaearth, The Derma Co., Aqualogica, Ayuga, BBlunt and Dr. Sheth’s.

The post Honasa Vs Distributor: D2C Brand Says It Has No Assets In UAE appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Goldman Sachs Asset Management has increased its stake in online classifieds and auto auction platform CarTrade to 7.19% from 5.15% at the end of the June quarter.

Goldman Sachs, along with its associated entities, acquired an additional 9.78 Lakh shares of CarTrade via open market transactions, it said in an exchange filing. 

This comes a week after private equity (PE) firm Warburg Pincus exited CarTrade by offloading over 40.76 Lakh shares or divesting the entire 8.64% in CarTrade. 

In June, Highdell Investment Limited and Macritchie Investment Private Limited also sold around 40.65 Lakh shares and 20.32 Lakh shares of CarTrade, respectively. 

In the same month, Temasek, JP Morgan and Warburg Pincus cumulatively offloaded 64.57 Lakh shares of CarTrade via separate bulk deals. 

Founded in 2009 by Vinay Sanghi and Rajan Mehra, CarTrade sells new and old vehicles. It counts brands like OLX India, CarWale, BikeWale, CarTradeExchange, Shriram Automall, Adroit Auto, and Autobiz under its umbrella and sells technology solutions for OEMs and dealers.

It competes with the likes of CarDekho, Droom, CARS24, among others, in the growing online automotive classifieds market in India.

This comes at the heart of CarTrade looking to incentivise and retain its talent through its latest ESOP offerings. It expanded its employee stock option plan (ESOP) pool by allocating 50,000 stock options in August. 

In July, it allotted 28,000 and 1 Lakh stock options. Before that in April, the company set aside an additional 3.04 Lakh equity shares under its ESOP schemes.

On the financial front, CarTrade reported a 69.4% increase in its consolidated net profit to INR 22.89 Cr in the first quarter (Q1) of the financial year 2024-25 (FY25) from INR 13.51 Cr in the year-ago period. Revenue from operations jumped 64% to INR 141.17 Cr in Q1 FY25 from INR 86.06 Cr in the corresponding quarter last year.

Shares of CarTrade ended Friday’s trading session 2.76% lower at INR 907.75 on the BSE. 

The post Goldman Sachs Ups Stake In CarTrade To 7.19% appeared first on Inc42 Media.

The ongoing dispute between Mamaearth parent Honasa Consumer and its former distributor RSM General Trading has taken another turn as a Dubai court has upheld its previous order directing attaching assets of the D2C brand’s parent.

In an exchange filing, Honasa said that the Court of Merits at Dubai on October 1 rejected the grievance filed by both the parties, including RSM General Trading’s demand to cancel the trading licence of Honasa’s subsidiary, Honasa Consumer General Trading LLC in Dubai.

The Dubai court’s initial ruling came on June 6 and both the parties filed their appeals against the order.

“The Company is now in receipt of judgment dated October 01st 2024 passed by the Court of Merits at Dubai wherein the Dubai Court has rejected the grievances filed by both the Parties and ordered to attach assets of Honasa Consumer Limited in UAE along with refusal to cancel the trading license of Honasa Consumer General Trading LLC,” Honasa said in an exchange filing. 

However, the D2C major said in the filing that it will appeal against the Dubai court’s latest ruling in Dubai. 

Following this, shares of Honasa tanked as much as 4.6% to reach an intraday low of INR 425.00. 

However, underlining an order of the Delhi HC, Honasa said that the latest order will have no financial implications on the company. 

Notably, the Delhi HC’s order in August not only asked RSM General Trading to revoke its execution proceedings in Dubai against Honasa but also deposit INR 57.17 Cr along with added interest in the registry of Delhi HC until the withdrawal of execution proceedings in Dubai against Honasa. 

The order then pointed out that if the Dubai court still enforces the order against Honasa, the Delhi High Court will release the money to the D2C brand. 

Honasa in its latest filing also pointed out that it is in the process of initiating contempt proceedings against RSM General Trading in the Delhi HC for failing to comply with the court’s ruling.  

At the heart of this fiasco is Honasa severing its ties with RSM General Trading, with the latter alleging Honasa of abruptly terminating the distributorship agreement.

RSM General Trading was Honasa’s distributor in the Middle East and African region between July 30, 2020 and January 17, 2023.

Earlier, in May UAE’s Court of full Commercial Jurisdiction ordered Honasa to pay a compensation of AED 25.07 (around INR 57 Cr) Mn as damages to RSM General Trading. 

Apart from this, it also directed the company to pay legal interest at a rate of 5% (from the date the judgement becomes final until full payment is made) and AED 1,000 (INR 22,665) as attorney fees. 

Founded in 2016 by the husband-wife duo Varun and Ghazal Alagh, Honasa’s product portfolio comprises six beauty and personal care brands which include Mamaearth, The Derma Co., Aqualogica, Ayuga, BBlunt and Dr. Sheth’s.

On the financial front, the D2C major posted a 62.9% jump in its profit after tax (PAT) to INR 40.2 Cr in the June quarter (Q1) of the financial year 2024-25 (FY25) from INR 24.7 Cr in the year-ago quarter on the back of an increase in the sales of its beauty products.

Operating revenue grew 19.3% on a year-on-year (YoY) basis and 17.3% sequentially to INR 554 Cr in the reported quarter.

Shares of Honasa ended Friday’s trading session at INR 427.95 on the BSE, down 4.04% from the previous close.  

The post Dubai Court Orders To Attach Honasa’s Assets, D2C Brand To File Contempt Plea Against Distributor appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Google has reportedly offered to settle an antitrust case after the Competition Commission of India (CCI) found that its agreements with smart TV manufacturers violated India’s competition law.

A recent report submitted by the antitrust regulator’s investigative arm found that Google violated the laws and abused its market dominance in the smart TV market, Mint reported. 

Following this, Google filed the settlement plea, which is currently being reviewed by the CCI, the report said.

With this, Google has become the first company to invoke the newly introduced settlement scheme. The scheme offers a discount of 15% on the base penalty determined by the CCI for companies found engaged in anti-competitive conduct.

A mail sent to Google seeking response on the latest development didn’t elicit any response till the time of publishing this story. 

It is pertinent to note that the CCI began investigating Google in 2021 after receiving complaints from two individuals about the tech giant abusing its dominance in the Android smart TV market.

The complainants said that Google imposed unfair conditions on smart TV manufacturers, requiring them to preinstall an entire suite of Google apps if they wanted to include any specific app like YouTube.

The CCI found Google prima facie guilty of violating competition laws.

It is pertinent to note that in 2022, the CCI fined Google a total amount of INR 2,274 Cr in two separate antitrust cases.

Besides Google, multiple other big tech companies are also under the CCI’s scrutiny.

Recently, Amazon and Flipkart were found guilty of violating the competition laws by giving preference to select sellers on their shopping websites.

American tech giant Apple was also reportedly found guilty of abusing its dominant position in the app store market. The CCI report accused Apple of imposing unfair trade practices on developers.

However, the report was later recalled after Apple expressed concern that the CCI disclosed confidential company data to its competitors.

These tech giants or their associated vendors have been approaching the judiciary seeking respite against the CCI’s rulings.

For instance, three Flipkart sellers approached the Karnataka High Court last month seeking a halt to the ongoing investigation by the CCI that implicated them. In the same month, former Amazon seller Appario also moved the Karnataka HC seeking to quash the CCI probe against Amazon.

Amidst the surge in alleged malpractices, the Ministry of Corporate Affairs introduced the draft digital competition bill to crack down on their alleged anti-competitive practices.

The bill aims to regulate major entities based on their turnover, gross merchandise value, global market capitalisation, user numbers, and other factors. 

The post Google Seeks Settlement In Smart TV Antitrust Case appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Listed logistics major Delhivery has expanded its employee stock option plan (ESOP) pool by allocating 50,100 stock options to eligible employees. 

“We wish to inform (you) that the Nomination and Remuneration Committee (“NRC”) of the board of directors of the company has approved the grant of 50,100 stock options under Delhivery Employees Stock Option Plan 2012 (“ESOP‐2012”) to the eligible employees of the company on Tuesday, October 01, 2024,” Delhivery said in its exchange filing.

These stock options are worth over INR 2.09 Cr as per Delhivery’s last closing price. 

The vesting of these options shall occur over four years from the date of grant. Of these 50.1K stock options, 10% will be vested after 12 months, 30% after 24 months, and the remaining at a rate of 15% every six months after that.

The latest ESOP expansion follows the grant of 63,538 stock options in September under Delhivery Employees Stock Option Plan 2012. 

Prior to that in August, the company granted 1,66,122 stock options under the same ESOP 2012 scheme and in July it allocated over 6.49 Lakh stock options across multiple ESOP schemes.

On the financial front, the startup has been able to record a significant turnaround from loss to profit in Q1 FY25 as it reported a net profit of INR 54.3 Cr in the quarter, from a net loss of INR 89.4 Cr in the year-ago period of Q1 FY24. 

Its revenue from services grew 13% year-on-year to INR 2,172 Cr in Q1 FY25 from INR 1,930 Cr in Q1 FY24.

The post Delhivery Expands ESOP Pool, Allots 50.1K Stock Options appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Making another investment in the Indian startup ecosystem, actress Samantha Prabhu has backed D2C wellness startup Secret Alchemist.

The brand has also onboarded her as its cofounder on the back of this investment.

While the startup did not disclose the financial terms of the deal but said that the fresh capital will be used to boost its marketing efforts, brand presence and expand customer reach.

Founded in 2021 by Ankita Thadani and Akash Valia, Secret Alchemist is an aromatherapy-based wellness brand that claims to offer a range of products centred around essential oils and holistic well being. 

“Samantha’s personal journey with aromatherapy perfectly aligns with our philosophy of addressing wellness at its roots, and together we plan to utilise the new funds to expand our product line, invest in brand building, and enhance our customer reach while deepening our impact in the personal care industry,” Thadani said. 

The startup also claimed to have raised $500,000 in a seed round led by Inflection Point Ventures (IPV), with additional participation from Pharmeasy founder Siddharth Shah and Plix founder Rishubh Satiya.

The funds will be deployed for team expansion, scaling operations, and building inventory in preparation for the upcoming festive season.

Besides, the startup is also looking to diversify its product portfolio with the rolling out of pure-grade essential oils in the form of creams, mists and shower gels.

Its handmade product range includes roll-ons, candles, pain management solutions, hair care, and skin care items. Additionally, the brand provides bulk order options and consultations with certified aromatherapists.

Secret Alchemist sells its products through its own website, as well as popular marketplaces such as Nykaa, Tata Cliq, Cred, Blinkit, Pharmeasy, and Amazon, among others.

It is pertinent to note that Samantha had earlier invested in at least three startups, including ecommerce marketplace SustainKart, vegan food product startup Nourish You and casual wear brand The Souled Store. 

This comes at the heart of several Indian startups roping in actors and celebrities as investors and cofounders.  

Earlier this month, Event tech startup Ticket9 roped in actor Nayanthara, along with her husband and renowned director Vignesh Shivan as its investors

The year 2023 witnessed a record year for celebrity investors, with Inc42 reporting over 19 personalities infusing capital into 26 startups. 

For instance, actress Alia Bhatt launched her D2C kidswear brand Ed-a-Mamma in 2020, which has now become a majority-owned subsidiary of Reliance Retail. 

Another actress Deepika Padukone, ventured into skincare with her brand 82°E in 2022, besides making investments in various startups like Blusmart and Bellatrix Aerospace.

Similarly, actor Hrithik Roshan launched his lifestyle brand HRX in 2013, which now partners with Myntra and Cult.fit, while Katrina Kaif debuted her beauty brand Kay Beauty in 2019. 

Actress Kriti Sanon entered the fitness market with The Tribe and cofounded skincare brand Hyphen. 

Actress Preity Zinta cofounded DRIVE FITT, a gym facility, while Priyanka Chopra Jonas created Anomaly, a haircare brand, and Rakul Preet Singh launched Starring You, a talent discovery platform.

The post Exclusive: D2C Wellness Startup Secret Alchemist Ropes In Samantha Prabhu As Cofounder  appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Shares of emobility major Ola Electric surged as much as 3.7% to INR 103.45 during the intraday trading session on the BSE today (October 1).

However, the stock pared some gains afterwards to trade at INR 102.85 at 2:14 PM, up 3.15% from the previous close. 

Till 2:14 PM, Ola Electric’s market capitalisation stood at INR 45,343.33 Cr (around $ 5.4 Bn) and as much as 5.27 Cr shares traded hands on the bourses. 

Yesterday (September 30), the Indian benchmark indices incurred the biggest single-day slump in nearly two months after a major selloff by a slew of foreign portfolio investors (FPI).

Even today, the sensex was below 34.63 points till the time of filing this article.

The stock has given fair returns of over 31% to its investors since its muted stock debuted at INR 75.99 on August 9, 2024. 

However, the stock lost its momentum after doubling its listing price within just seven trading sessions since its listing. 

As a result, 12 out of the last 14 trading sessions of the startup ended in the red. 

This comes close on the heels of Ola Electric’s escooter registrations dropping 11% month-on-month (MoM) to 23,965 units in September, marking its lowest monthly vehicle sales since October last year. 

The startup has consecutively lost its market share in EV two-wheeler segment, from a little over 30% market share in August, the EV startup’s share fell to 27% in September.

The development also comes a few days after Ola Electric’s S1 X 2kWh scooter obtained the Certification for Compliance for the PLI Scheme of automobile and auto components. 

It is pertinent to note that brokerage firm Goldman Sachs initiated coverage on Ola Electric with a ‘buy’ rating and a price target of INR 160 apiece. 

Goldman Sachs expects Ola Electric’s revenue to grow 2.5X faster and its volumes to increase 5X faster than its peers in the Indian electric two-wheeler market. The brokerage also expects the startup to achieve EBITDA breakeven by the end of FY27.

Ola Electric has also been tagged with a ‘buy’ rating by BofA Securities.

On the financial front, Ola Electric managed to trim its consolidated net loss by 30% to INR 347 Cr in Q1 FY25 from INR 267 Cr in the year-ago period. However, its operating revenue rose 32% year-on-year to INR 1,644 Cr in the reported quarter.

The post Ola Electric Shares Surge 3.7% Amid Broader Market Crash appeared first on Inc42 Media.