The Maharashtra government has set up an advanced cyber command and control centre in Navi Mumbai in partnership with L&T Technology Services as part of its effort to curb the cybercrimes.

Touted to be India’s first state-level cyber command centre, the facility was inaugurated by Maharashtra deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis on Friday (October 11).

The centre, set to become fully operational by October 15, is part of the INR 837 Cr Maharashtra cyber security project. The project was approved last year with the aim of curtailing the growing number of fraudulent schemes on social media platforms, such as WhatsApp and Facebook, and preventing other cyber attacks.

“Maharashtra’s digital future is safer with Maha Cyber – Maharashtra Cyber Security Project,”  Fadnavis said in a post on X.

The control and command centre will have over 150 experts working round the clock to register and resolve the complaints of cybercrime victims in a timely manner. Once the complaints have been lodged, emails will be sent to banks to freeze the accounts of victims. 

Maha Cyber Security Command Centre has a dedicated helpline that can be reached 24 hours a day at 14407. Additionally, the government plans to train 5,000 police personnel annually as part of the initiative.

Apart from the dedicated cyber command and control centre, the Maharashtra cyber project will have several other departments such as a technology assisted investigation centre with advanced digital forensics tool, CERT – Maharashtra with AI-based threat intelligence tools, security operations centre and a cyber centre of excellence.

The development comes at a time when a wave of cyber attacks has swept Maharashtra and the country. Earlier this year, cybercrime sleuths reportedly unearthed a syndicate that tricked villagers in Maharashtra’s Nanded and Dharmabad into opening mule accounts. Fraudsters used these accounts to park laundered money, crediting farmers’ accounts with lakhs of rupees every month.

A few years ago, cyber fraudsters hacked many cooperative banks in Maharashtra, wiping out crores of rupees from accounts of a large number of customers. 

However, the menace of cyber crime is not limited to Maharashtra. In a recent report, the Reserve Bank of India said that the number of online frauds in the country surged 334% year-on-year (YoY) to 29,082 in the financial year 2023-24 (FY24).

Further, India-based businesses faced over 3,000 cyber attacks in Q2 2024, second only to Taiwanese firms in the APAC region, according to a report by Check Point Research.

The country reportedly lost INR 177.05 Cr to cyber frauds in FY24, more than double the INR 69.68 Cr it lost in FY23 on account of credit, debit card and internet banking frauds.

However, the Centre has taken several initiatives to clamp down on the rising tide of cyber frauds. For instance, it has disabled over 70 Lakh mobile connections till date, which were obtained through fake or forged documents.

To strengthen the mechanism of preventing cyber attacks, the government has also set up the ‘Citizen Financial Cyber Fraud Reporting and Management System’, which has already helped save more than INR 2,400 Cr from being syphoned off by fraudsters. 

The post Maharashtra Sets Up Cyber Command Centre To Curb Cybercrimes appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Hospitality unicorn OYO has initiated a major overhaul in its top leadership, promoting five executives across technology, product, strategy, operations and distribution verticals.

To start with, Sonal Sinha has been appointed as the chief operating officer of OYO’s international business, said the company, in a statement.

Sinha joined OYO in 2015 and previously served as chief financial officer for the international business. She is said to be critical to OYO’s success in the US market post the pandemic.

Further, Rachit Srivastava has been elevated to the position of COO of OYO’s vacation homes business in Europe. He will be taking over from Ayush Mathur, who is leaving the company to start his own venture.

Shashank Jain will take over as head of technology and online revenue for the global business. He previously led product development for customer acquisition and retention, and is credited with leading app development for DanCenter and Belvilla, two of OYO’s brands in Europe.

Meanwhile, Pankhuri Sakhuja, who had been overseeing OYO workspaces vertical and hotel acquisition for some overseas markets, will now lead German home listings business Traum and coworking platform Innov8. 

The hospitality major has also announced that Abhinav Sinha, Global COO and chief product officer, will be moving to an advisory role, effective January 2025. Sinha is looking to launch his own startup, as per the company.

Further, OYO has promoted Ashish Bajpai to head of revenue & global OTA. In his current role, Bajpai will lend his expertise in driving OYO’s revenue growth through both direct and indirect channels and increasing the visibility and distribution of the group’s hotels and homes worldwide.

Commenting on the top deck rejig, founder and CEO Agarwal said, “As we pursue our growth objectives, agility and decisive action remain at the core of our strategy. Our leaders are continuously adapting and expanding their roles to stay ahead of the evolving market dynamics and drive our business forward.”

OYO is looking to go public as soon as next year, after shelving its plans twice. The company plans to refile its draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) with SEBI after completing the ongoing refinancing of its $660 Mn Term Loan B.

The company turned profitable in FY24 as it managed to trim its expenses by cutting employee costs and growing its top line. The unicorn posted a net profit of INR 229.5 Cr in FY24 as against a net loss of INR 1,286.5 Cr in the previous financial year.

Going ahead, OYO is looking to expand its premium inventory as well as its international base. 

Last month, OYO acquired G6 Hospitality, the parent entity of Motel 6 and Studio 6 brands, from Blackstone Real Estate for $525 Mn (around INR 4382.72 Cr) in an all-cash transaction.

Besides this, OYO-owned Innov8 has forayed into the office management space mirroring the business models of the likes of publicly-listed Awfis and IPO-bound Smartworks.

The post OYO Rejigs Operations, Tech, Revenue Leadership To Drive International Biz appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Saurabh Chandrakar, the alleged kingpin in the scam linked to online betting platform Mahadev Book, has reportedly been arrested in the UAE on money laundering charges.

Chandrakar was allegedly involved in money laundering and orchestrated match-fixing of major cricket matches and tournaments held in India through the Mahadev app. 

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) is likely to make a formal request for his extradition from the UAE soon, the Economic Times reported, citing sources.

It is pertinent to note that the ministry of electronics and information technology (MeitY) blocked the Mahadev app last year amid allegations that a large number of people had been defrauded of nearly INR 15,000 Cr through the gambling app.

The gambling app, allegedly run by Chandrakar and Ravi Uppal from Dubai, allowed users to bet in real-time on a number of games, including cricket, football, and tennis. The app was widely popular and had nearly 10 Mn users at its peak.

However, an investigation by the ED revealed that the app was being used to launder money between India and Dubai through dubious banking methods or ‘hawala’ transactions. The proceeds of the crime in the case are estimated to be around INR 20,000 Cr, of which INR 1,100 Cr were diverted into the stock market through dummy accounts and fake bank entities.

The ED probe into the Mahadev online gaming and betting app indicated that several high-profile politicians and bureaucrats from Chhattisgarh were allegedly involved in the scandal.

Former Chhattisgarh chief minister Bhupesh Baghel, along with other politicians and bureaucrats, was accused earlier of accepting kickbacks of over INR 500 Cr from the main promoters and operatives of the app.

The ED began its probe into the Mahadev betting app scam after Chandrakar’s lavish wedding celebration in the UAE made headlines in February last year. The wedding cost around INR 200 Cr, with at least half a dozen Indian celebrities paid to perform at the event. Private jets were hired to ferry relatives of Chandrakar from India.

Later, the probe agency reportedly froze funds worth over INR 1,700 Cr and arrested nearly a dozen persons in connection with the money laundering case linked to the Mahadev Book app.

The post Mahadev Betting App Scam: Mastermind Saurabh Chandrakar Arrested In UAE appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Bengaluru-based data engineering startup Datazip has raised $1 Mn (about INR 8.4 Cr) in its seed funding round led by Equirus InnovateX Fund.

Datazip will use the capital to strengthen its existing tech stack and develop new data engineering and data analytics tools, cofounder and CEO Sandeep Devarapalli told Inc42.

Founded in 2022 by Sandeep Devarapalli, Shubham Baldava and Rohan Khameshra, Datazip is building a composable data lakehouse platform that enables companies to use low-cost storage to store large amounts of raw data for their machine learning and business intelligence workloads.

The lakehouse platform uses open-table formats like Apache Iceberg, enabling access to data across multiple query engines, simplifying the development of apps leveraging large language models (LLMs), AI/ML models and customer-facing analytics, Devarapalli explained.

The startup claims that its data lakehouse solutions can boost the productivity of data engineers by tenfold and help businesses drive product adoption. Currently, Datazip offers three products — One-stack data, OLake, and Flatbread.

Within two years of its inception, Datazip has added 15 clients, including the likes of LimeChat, PagarBook and Wishlink.

Commenting on the funding, Devarapalli said, “As more organisations embrace open data formats and technologies like Apache Iceberg, Datazip is headed to be at the forefront of this transformative wave. Our goal is to empower data engineers, enhancing their productivity, and this investment is a crucial step towards realising that mission.”

Equirus InnovateX Fund was launched by financial services firm Equirus in January 2024. It is a $30 Mn investment fund, dedicated to support seed-stage tech startups.

“We are delighted to partner with Datazip in their mission to make data engineers 10x more productive. Their deep understanding of data engineering challenges, coupled with a clear vision, is what drew us to the founders. We believe their platform will become an essential tool for any data-driven business,” said Sunder Nookala, general partner at Equirus InnovateX Fund.

The funding comes at a time when the adoption of artificial intelligence and machine learning is on the rise in the country. India has emerged as a leader in the adoption of AI apps, with the country accounting for 21% of AI app downloads globally.

AI app downloads by Indians surpassed the 2.2 Bn mark by August 2024, with ChatGPT, Microsoft Copilot, and Google Gemini being the top three most downloaded AI apps.

To spur innovation within the homegrown AI ecosystem, the union cabinet approved IndiaAI Mission with a total outlay of INR 10,372 Cr over the next five years. Earlier today, it was reported that IndiaAI Datasets Platform will go live as soon as January 2025.

India is currently home to over 100 generative AI startups, which 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. 

The post Data Engineering Startup Datazip Bags Funding From Equirus InnovateX Fund appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Artificial intelligence (AI)-based robotics startup Haber has raised INR 317.2 Cr (about $38 Mn) from new and existing investors in a fresh funding round.

In a filing with the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, Haber said that its board passed a special resolution to raise the sum by issuing Series C compulsorily convertible preference shares (CCPS) to Accel India, Beenext Capital, and Creaegis. 

Of the total INR 317.2 Cr funding, INR 33.4 Cr came from Accel India and INR 83.5 Cr from Beenext Capital, the filing showed. The remaining INR 200 Cr was likely infused by Creaegis.

The Pune-based startup plans to use the fresh proceeds for its expansion, growth and to meet its capex requirements.

Founded by Vipin Raghavan, Priya Venkat and Arjunan PN in 2017, Haber makes AI-driven industrial robots which automate the tedious manual process of sample collection, measurement, analysis, and intervention at factories.

Haber caters to industries such as food and beverages and pulp and paper. It claims to have helped its customers save 24 Bn litres of water and eliminate 75,000 tonnes of carbon emissions.

The startup last raised $20 Mn in its Series B funding round led by Ascent Capital in 2021. It competes against the likes of Prosus-backed Detech Technologies, Altizon and Fero Labs, among others.

While Haber is yet to file its financials for the year ended March 2024 (FY24), it posted a net loss of INR 36.7 Cr on a revenue of INR 82 Cr in FY23.

The development comes at a time when the adoption of advanced robotics technology is on the rise in India. 

A number of enterprises operating in healthcare, logistics, warehousing, and retail chain management are scrambling to integrate AI-based automation systems into their business operations as demand booms for quick delivery of products and services.

For instance, Reliance Retail has integrated AI-based automation in its grocery, fashion and lifestyle verticals. A number of Indian startups across sectors and industries, from OYO to Unacademy, are using AI to streamline operations.

On the back of this, the homegrown AI ecosystem has been making massive strides. Earlier this year, Krutrim became India’s first AI unicorn. 

Overall, India has more than 100 GenAI startups which have raised more than $600 Mn since 2019. 

The post AI-Based Robotics Startup Haber Nets INR 317 Cr For Expansion appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Brokerage firm Bernstein expressed caution over the plans of insurtech major Policybazaar’s parent PB Fintech to venture into the healthcare sector. However, it has capped the downside at $100 Mn if the foray doesn’t go as expected. 

Last month, PB Fintech Group chairman and CEO Yashish Dahiya told CNBC-TV18 that the company is considering making a one-time investment of $100 Mn for a 30% stake in a new healthcare venture.

However, analysts at Bernstein said that the foray in the healthcare sector would be a sharp departure from the company’s current asset-light model to a more asset-heavy space, Moneycontrol reported. 

Shares of PB Fintech have been under pressure since it was reported that the company was considering venturing into the healthcare sector. On September 26, the stock plunged as much as 10.3% during the intraday trading session following reports about its healthcare foray.

The stock has ended in the red in 10 out of the last 12 trading sessions.

Despite the volatility, Bernstein maintained its ‘outperform’ rating, saying the healthcare foray could further strengthen PB Fintech’s position on the Indian health insurance map.

The brokerage has set a price target of INR 1,720 apiece, implying an upside potential of 4% from the stock’s previous close, as per the report.

In an interview last month, PB Fintech cofounder and CFO Alok Bansal addressed concerns around the company’s business model remaining asset-light. While the insurance aggregator is committed to improving healthcare experiences, it does not plan on buying physical assets like hospitals, Bansal reportedly said.

Taking comfort in this, brokerage Jefferies, earlier this month, reaffirmed its ‘buy’ call on PB Fintech at a price target of INR 1,800 apiece. This would imply an upside of about 9% from the stock’s last close.

PB Fintech posted a consolidated net profit of INR 59.98 Cr in the June quarter (Q1) of the financial year 2024-25 (FY25) as against a loss of INR 11.9 Cr in the year-ago quarter. The turnaround came largely on the back of robust growth across business segments.

Shares of PB Fintech were trading 0.7% lower at INR 1,642.65 on the BSE at 02:45 PM on Thursday.

The post Bernstein Cautions On PB Fintech’s Healthcare Foray, Caps Downside At $100 Mn appeared first on Inc42 Media.

The Indian startup ecosystem paid rich tributes to industrialist and chairman emeritus of Tata Group, Ratan Tata, who passed away on Wednesday in Mumbai.

Tata, aged 86, breathed his last at Mumbai’s Breach Candy Hospital, where he was admitted in the intensive care unit (ICU). 

Tata, who was also widely known for his philanthropy, was a role model for multiple founders.  He was an inspiration for millions and was hugely popular across age groups even at the age of 86. 

Tata was also an active investor in the Indian startup ecosystem, betting on the vision and commitment of entrepreneurs. Just last week, he partially exited broking platform Upstox.

He was among the early backers of giants like Paytm and Urban Company. One of Tata’s earliest investments in the startup ecosystem was in Snapdeal in 2014. 

Mourning his death, Snapdeal and Titan Capital cofounder Kunal Bahl said, “India has lost one of its greatest titans, a true statesman of industry. Mr. Ratan Tata was more than just a business leader—his compassion, humility, and kindness inspired millions. His legacy will live on forever.”

Paytm founder and CEO Vijay Shekhar Sharma called him a legend who will inspire every generation. 

“Entrepreneurs of next generation will miss interacting with the most humble businessman of India,” Sharma said on X, posting a photo of him with Tata.

“Ratan Tata’s true legacy isn’t just in what he built, but in the quiet ways he’s shaped lives,” wrote Gaurav Khatri, cofounder and CEO of Noise, in his tribute as he remembered the industry veteran who has touched “hearts in ways that last far beyond his lifetime” with “empathy”, “compassion”  and “kindness”. 

Mayank Arya, founder and CEO of YesMadam, credited Tata for laying the foundations of “the culture of possibility” which “changed the very language of ambition of India.”

Paying his tribute to the business magnate, Microsoft cofounder Bill Gates said that Tata “left an indelible mark on India—and the world.” 

Grieving Tata’s death, Ronnie Screwala, cofounder and CEO of UpGrad, said that his passing away has left a “deep void in India’s heart” while recognising his contribution to the nation’s “immense progress”.

Tata took the reins as chairman of Tata Industries in 1981. Almost a decade later, he took over as the chairman of Tata Sons, the holding company of the Tata Group, following in the footsteps of giants such as Jamsetji Tata, Dorab Tata and JRD Tata.

He transformed the group into a multinational corporation with acquisitions of high-profile brands such as Tetley, Corus Jaguar Land Rover, Brunner Mond and Daewoo, among others. 

During his 21-year stint as chairman and chief executive, Tata Group saw its revenues grow multifold to nearly $100 Bn in 2012 from $5.7 Bn in 1991. 

In his decade-long tryst with the Indian startup ecosystem, Tata backed more than 50 homegrown startups — including ride-hailing major Ola, health and fitness startup CureFit, auto marketplace CarDekho, eyewear major Lenskart, kids-focussed omnichannel marketplace FirstCry, consumer service platform Urban Company, and the list goes on. 

In one of his interviews, Tata famously said that he viewed his investments in startups as a “learning experience.” 

During an event in Mumbai in 2016, Tata reportedly said that startups “are an embodiment of creativity and innovation in young India,” and he invests in new ventures if “the idea excites him”, and the first impressions of founders are good.

Tata will be cremated later today with full state honours. 

The post Startup Ecosystem Mourns The Demise Of Industry Titan Ratan Tata appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Shares of foodtech major Zomato climbed over 4% in early trading hours today (October 8) after brokerage HSBC reaffirmed its ‘buy’ call on the stock, citing the company’s lead over Swiggy in terms of both growth and profitability across food delivery and quick commerce businesses.

The stock jumped as much as 4.4% to INR 278.15 apiece on the BSE after HSBC raised its price target to INR 330 apiece from INR 260 per share earlier. This would imply an upside potential of almost 24% from the stock’s previous close.

Notably, shares of the Deepinder Goyal-led company have rallied over 122% on a year-to-date basis. By comparison, Sensex has gained a little under 13% during this period.

The bull-run in the stock’s price has been fueled by the company’s improving profitability and growth in its top line. Zomato saw its consolidated net profit jump multifold to INR 253 Cr in the June quarter of the financial year 2024-25 (Q1 FY25) from INR 2 Cr in the year-ago period.

Meanwhile, revenue from operations jumped 74% to INR 4,206 Cr in Q1 FY25 from INR 2,416 Cr in the corresponding quarter last year. 

Analysts at HSBC noted that Zomato continues to dominate the food delivery and quick commerce markets, outpacing IPO-bound Swiggy. Although the competition intensity in the food delivery market seems to be stabilizing, there’s enough room for Zomato to improve its take rates.

On the other hand, Swiggy, which recently received approval from its shareholder to increase the fresh issue component of its IPO to INR 5,000 Cr, lags behind the Deepinder Goyal-led company in the food delivery market across parameters such as active user base, gross order volume, and order frequency growth, the brokerage said.

It further underscored that Swiggy’s quick commerce arm Instamart is struggling to keep pace with Zomato’s Blinkit, but it still has scope to recover in terms of market share and profitability.

Blinkit Leads The Quick Commerce Race

As of Q1 FY25, Blinkit achieved an annual gross merchandise value (GMV) of $2.4 Bn, up 84% from Instamart’s $1.3 Bn, driven by its outperformance across key metrics such as dark store additions, average order volume scale and orders per day per store.

Over the last two years, Blinkit has opened 260 dark stores as compared to 121 stores added by Instamart. At the end of Q1 FY25, Blinkit operated 639 dark stores while Swiggy had 581.

Blinkit clocked a GOV of INR 4,923 Cr during the quarter — 1.8X higher than Swiggy Instamart. Its take rates were also higher by 430 basis points than that of Instamart.

In a recent research note, Morgan Stanley noted that Zomato commanded a market share of 58% in the food delivery segment, up from 54% in FY22. It is also ahead of Swiggy in terms of contribution margins and adjusted EBITDA due to its scalability.

Meanwhile, Swiggy Instamart continues to underperform as compared to Zomato’s quick commerce arm Blinkit, with difference in average order volume and take rate driving the margin difference. While Swiggy Instamart posted an adjusted EBITDA loss of -11.7% in Q1 FY25, Blinkit almost reached an EBITDA break even (-0.1%), the brokerage said.

The post Zomato Shares Rally Over 4% As HSBC Raises Target To INR 330 appeared first on Inc42 Media.

The Jammu & Kashmir authorities have fined Honasa Consumer, the parent entity of D2C unicorn Mamaearth, after flagging a mismatch in unit sale prices on its product.

In an exchange filing yesterday (October 7), the company said it received an order from the Office of the Assistant Controller Legal Metrology Kulgam, Jammu & Kashmir, regarding a compounding fee of INR 50,000 which has been imposed on the company and its nominated director / executive.

“Unit sale price on the product is not calculated to correct place of decimal as prescribed under Rule 6(11) of Legal Metrology (Packaged Commodities) Rules, 2011,” the filing read.

Honasa said that barring the amount of the fine imposed on it, it does not expect any additional impact on the financials or operations of the company due to the order.

At the time of writing, shares of Honasa were trading at INR 431.7 apiece on the BSE, up 0.05% from the previous close.

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 company posted a 63% jump in its profit after tax (PAT) to INR 40.2 Cr in the June quarter of the financial year 2024-25 (FY25) from INR 24.7 Cr in the same quarter of previous year on the back of increase in the sales of its beauty products. 

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

However, shares of Honasa have been under huge selling pressure lately, with the stock having tanked almost 17% over the last month.

Last month, investors Peak XV Partners, Fireside Ventures, Stellaris Venture Partners, among others, dumped Honbasa shares worth INR 1,601.68 Cr via bulk deals. 

The post Honasa Fined By J&K Authority Over Discrepancy On Product Price appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Shares of Ola Electric tumbled over 9% to INR 89.71 apiece in early trading hours today (October 7) as dissatisfied customers flooded social media platforms with complaints against the company’s after sales and service quality of escooters.

Ola’s escooter servicing has come under scrutiny yet again after the company’s founder and CEO Bhavish Aggarwal recently engaged in a verbal spat on social media with stand-up comedian Kunal Kamra.

Kamra took to X on Sunday (October 7) and posted a photo showing a horde of Ola escooters parked outside a dealership, gathering dust, seemingly waiting for servicing.

“Do Indian consumers have a voice? Do they deserve this? Two wheelers are many daily wage workers’ lifeline …” the post read.

Kamra also tagged union road transport and highways minister Nitin Gadkari in the post, and asked if “this is how Indians will get to using EVs?” 

Responding to the post, Aggarwal accused Kamra of taking money to criticise the company after a “failed comedy career”, adding that Ola is “expanding its network fast and backlogs will be cleared soon.”

The comedian called Aggarwal “arrogant and substandard”, to which he replied saying “Chot lagi? Dard hua? Aaja service center. Bahut kaam Hai. (Did it hurt. It’s very less. Come to service center). I will pay better than your flop shows pay you,.”

Aggarwal’s X war with Kamra continued even as thousands of user complaints over Ola’s unsatisfactory servicing piled up in the comments section of the post. 

An X user pointed out Ola founder’s ‘crass’ language and objected to his ‘arrogance’ in dismissing customer complaints around the after sales and service quality of the company’s electric scooters.

“Imagine a middle-class person saving 3-4 months of salary to buy an OLA, only for it to have problems in the first week and then park at your service center for days,” another user commented.

The development comes at a time when Ola Electric is seeing its market dominance eroded in the electric two-wheeler space by new players and facing a barrage of customer complaints related to its escooters and after-sales servicing.

Ola’s escooter registrations slipped 11% month-on-month (MoM) to 23,965 units in September – the lowest monthly vehicle sales since October last year, when registrations stood at 23,594 units. From a little over 30% in August, Ola’s market share dipped further to 27%.

The Bhavish Aggarwal-led startup is also facing growing public ire over unsatisfactory servicing of EVs. Last month, a customer set an Ola Electric showroom ablaze in Karnataka over unsatisfactory servicing of a recently-purchased escooter.  

To address user complaints, Ola Electric recently launched “HyperService” to offer “one-day resolution” of service-related issues. The EV manufacturer also informed the bourses that its company secretary and compliance officer Pramendra Tomar resigned from the company with effect from October 1 due to personal reasons and commitments.

The post A Day After Bhavish Aggarwal’s Social Media Spat, Ola Electric Shares Down By 9% appeared first on Inc42 Media.

The Karnataka Crime Investigation Department (CID) has taken over the probe in a complaint filed by IPO-bound Swiggy against a former junior employee for defrauding the foodtech startup of nearly INR 33 Cr.

The case has been transferred to the Karnataka CID, with investigation underway and a breakthrough expected soon, Moneycontrol reported, citing sources within the department. The probe was initiated at the Karnataka’s Marathahalli Police Station but was transferred  to the CID given the sum involved.

In its updated draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) filed with market regulator SEBI, Swiggy said that during the fiscal year 2023-24 (FY24), it found that a former employee embezzled INR 32.67 Cr from the company’s business-to-business (B2B) arm, Scootsy Logistics.

The matter dates back to November 2023 when Scootsy filed a police complaint against a former junior employee and at least a dozen of its vendors, alleging that they colluded to embezzle INR 32.67 Cr between August 2021 and February 2022.

Last month, it was reported that Swiggy lodged a legal complaint against the employee involved in misappropriation of funds and set up an external team to look into the matter.

As per the first information report (FIR) accessed by Moneycontrol, Srikhara KM has been identified as the prime accused in the case. He reportedly served as financial manager and general manager at Scootsy when he fraudulently transferred INR 32.67 Cr to RPGS Associates — one of Swiggy’s vendors.

Several other vendors of Swiggy, such as Fresh Farm Agro, First Choice Grocery and Packingocity, along with their executives, are co-accused in the case, as per the report.

The development comes at a time when Swiggy is facing a double whammy of potential GST liabilities of over INR 326 Cr and accusation of engaging in child labour ahead of its public listing.

Meanwhile, earlier today, the startup received the approval from its shareholders to increase the size of fresh issue of shares in its IPO to INR 5,000 Cr. 

Over the last few weeks, investors have made a beeline to buy Swiggy shares in hopes of making hefty profits after the company makes its Dalal Street debut.

Ahead of the highly-anticipated IPO, US-based asset manager Invesco marked up the foodtech major’s valuation to $13.3 Bn, a 25% jump from the last fair value recorded by the investor.

The post Karnataka CID Takes Over Probe Into Swiggy’s Complaint Of INR 33 Cr Embezzlement appeared first on Inc42 Media.

IPO-bound Swiggy has reportedly received approval from its shareholders to increase the size of the fresh issue in its initial public offering to INR 5,000 Cr from INR 3,750 Cr earlier.

The foodtech major received the approval at its extraordinary general meeting (EGM) on October 3, Moneycontrol reported.

The Bengaluru-headquartered startup had earlier said that it would seek shareholders’ nod to approve raising an additional INR 1,250 Cr through the fresh issuance of shares.

Now that Swiggy has obtained consent of its shareholders, it will look to raise a total of $1.4 Bn through its IPO, up from previously planned $1.25 Bn, at a likely valuation of $15 Bn, the report said, citing sources.

Swiggy declined to comment on Inc42 queries on the development.

This comes days after the Sriharsha Majety and Nandan Reddy-led company filed an updated draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) with market regulator SEBI for its much-awaited public listing. 

As per the DRHP, Swiggy planned to raise INR 3,750 Cr through fresh issuance of shares. Besides, its IPO also has an offer for sale component of 18.53 Cr shares. 

Ahead of its highly-anticipated IPO, US-based asset manager Invesco marked up Swiggy’s valuation to $13.3 Bn, a jump of 25% over the last fair value recorded by the investor.

Recently, brokerage firm Elara Capital said it expects Swiggy to command a lower valuation in the public market as compared to Zomato as it continues to lag behind the Deepinder Goyal-led startup across several key metrics such as revenue, gross order volume, and order count.

However, investors have been lining up to buy unlisted shares of Swiggy ahead of its IPO. 

As per Swiggy’s DRHP, its consolidated net loss widened over 8% to INR 611 Cr in the June quarter of the financial year 2024-25 (Q1 FY25) from INR 564.08 Cr in the year-ago period owing to a surge in operating costs.

However, Swiggy’s revenue from operations zoomed 35% to INR 3,222.2 Cr during the quarter under review from INR 2,389.8 Cr in Q1 FY24 on the back of strong growth in its food delivery and quick commerce businesses.

The post Swiggy IPO: Foodtech Major Gets Shareholders’ Nod To Up Fresh Issue Size To INR 5,000 Cr appeared first on Inc42 Media.

From ‘enhanced fraud protection’ feature and gold-backed loans to AI-powered summaries on Maps, tech giant Google unveiled a number of new features at its annual ‘Google For India’ event on Thursday (October 3).

Google will soon pilot an enhanced fraud protection feature with ‘Google Play Protect’ in India in an effort to curb the alarming rise of financial scams and frauds sparked by the digital payments boom in the country.

The new feature will automatically block installation of malicious third-party apps from outside the Play Store, preventing scammers from collecting sensitive user information such as their bank credentials and personally-identifiable information.

Google Pay, its payment service arm, has already prevented scams worth over INR 13,000 Cr and red-flagged about 41 Mn fraudulent transactions in India, the tech giant claimed.

Google is also bringing new AI-powered features to Google Maps to improve navigation and enhance customer experience amid increasing competition from the likes of MapmyIndia and Bhavish Aggarwal-led Ola Maps.

The Google Maps app will now analyse reviews and show AI-generated summaries of places. Additionally, Maps will display photos uploaded by businesses and users when customers search for items and experiences on the app. 

India Safety Centre, Gemini Expansion & More

The Alphabet-owned internet search giant said it also plans to set up a new Google Safety Engineering Centre in India as soon as next year to combat financial fraud and ensure online safety.

Underpinned by artificial intelligence, the centre will safeguard users from online threats, add a new layer of security to businesses and government agencies, and strengthen research and development of cutting-edge technologies.

Starting today, Google’s GenAI chatbot Gemini is available in Hindi with support for eight other Indian languages coming soon. The Gemini mobile app allows users to type or talk in supported languages and even add an image to get AI assistance.

Additionally, Google is adding support for more local languages to AI Overviews, which provides users with an AI-generated snapshot with key information and links to other relevant sources with additional data related to a query. Currently available in English and Hindi, users will be able to get AI Overviews in Telugu, Tamil, Bengali and Marathi in the coming months.

The announcements are part of Google’s efforts to dominate the digital space in India, which has emerged as the world’s largest consumer internet market for tech giants. As per Inc42 data, top internet firms like Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, Google, Snapchat and YouTube have their largest user base in India.

To reap benefits of India’s digital economy boom, Google recently expanded its payment offerings in the country with the launch of new features such as UPI Circle, eRupi and ClickPay QR.

Google sees India as a big market for its Pixel smartphone. Recently, a senior Google executive said that India has huge growth potential in the premium smartphone market. The tech giant has already begun local manufacturing of its flagship Pixel 8 phones, which are likely to hit the shelves later this year.

However, the going has not been easy for the tech giant in the country as it has been under regulatory scrutiny for violating laws. In 2022, the Competition Commission Of India (CCI) slapped penalties totalling over INR 2,200 Cr on Google in two separate cases. Besides, Google is also said to be looking to settle an antitrust case related to smart TV segment after it was found guilty of breaching India’s competition laws.

In August, an industry body wrote to the antitrust regulator, accusing Google of abusing its dominant position in the Indian online advertising market. 

The post Google India Launches Enhanced Fraud Protection, AI-Powered Summaries On Maps, Other Features appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Foodtech major Zomato has expanded the pool size of its employee stock option plan (ESOP) with the allotment of nearly 1.2 Cr stock options to eligible employees.

In an exchange filing on Wednesday (October 2), the Deepinder Goyal-led company said it has received approval from its board to grant 1,19, 97, 768 stock options under various ESOP schemes.

The food delivery and quick commerce giant has granted 116 stock options under the Foodie Bay ESOP 2014 scheme and 1.19 Cr stock options under Zomato ESOP 2021 scheme.

Each stock option is convertible into one fully paid up equity share of a face value of INR 1 each and can be exercised within either 10 years from the date of vesting of options or 12 years from the date of Zomato’s public listing, whichever is later under its ESOP schemes.

The equity shares that will be allotted after the exercise of the stock options will not be subject to lock-in, the filing showed.

Shares of Zomato opened today’s trading session at INR 274.15 apiece on the BSE. As per the stock’s last opening price, the newly-allotted shares have a cumulative worth of INR 328.91 Cr.

This is not the first time Zomato has floated fresh ESOPs this year as it seeks to retain top executives and attract talent from global startups. In August, Zomato alloted of more than 35.17 Lakh equity shares. Prior to that, the foodtech major had said that it has received shareholders’ nod to adopt and implement a new employee stock option plan, Zomato ESOP 2024, to grant 18.26 Cr employee stock options.

The developments come at a time when Zomato has been consistently improving its profit margins on the back of strong growth in its business, particularly in its quick commerce vertical Blinkit.

Zomato’s consolidated net profit surged multifold year-on-year (YoY) to INR 253 Cr in Q1 FY25, while revenue from operations jumped 74% YoY to INR 4,206 Cr.

The company is looking to further shore up its revenue by focussing on going-out business. As part of this, Zomato has acquired Paytm’s events and movie ticketing subsidiaries and also launched ‘Book Now, Sell Anytime’ feature for tickets bought for any live event on the Zomato app.

Zomato has also been launching new features to woo customers and discontinuing offerings which didn’t work. Recently, it rolled out ‘Zomato for Enterprise’ (ZFE) for more seamless food expense management of the orders placed by corporates and their registered employees.

However, the tax woes of the foodtech major continue to worsen. Last month, West Bengal GST authorities slapped the company with a fresh goods and services tax (GST) demand and penalty order of over INR 17.70 Cr. In August, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal authorities levied a GST fine of INR 4.59 Cr on Zomato. 

Shares of Zomato were trading 1.6% lower at INR 269.75 apiece on the BSE at 1:58 PM today.

The post Zomato Expands ESOP Pool, Allots 1.2 Cr Stock Options appeared first on Inc42 Media.

WazirX has announced that it will form a committee of creditors (CoC) by October 9 as the cryptocurrency exchange rushes to restructure its liabilities after suffering a massive $234 Mn hack that left millions of Indians with substantial losses.

The 10-member creditors’ committee, which will comprise users affected by the hack, will give WazirX advise and feedback on its restructuring plan, it said in a blog post.

The development comes days after a Singapore court granted WazirX a four-month conditional moratorium to restructure its liabilities. In a recent town hall, the exchange’s legal advisors said that WazirX customers are likely to get back only 55-57% of their funds even after the restructuring.

“The COC aims to be representative of the broader Creditor base in selection criteria, and COC members represent the interests of all Creditors (not just their own),” WazirX said.

The hacked crypto exchange added that the CoC will focus on creating restructuring terms acceptable to other creditors. However, its role will be completely consultative. While it will have the same voting rights as other creditors on matters of restructuring, WazirX is not obligated to accept their recommendations.

To set up the CoC, WazirX said it will distribute creditors by count and value of their claims against the exchange to ensure adequate representation.

“The company will first establish a “Contingent Creditor Pool” by segmenting creditors into tranches of 10% each based upon the total value of claims (each a “tranche”) – creditors will be sorted in terms of smallest claims to largest claims, with this overall list being broken into 10 separate tranches each representing 10% of claims, with the sum of all tranches amounting to USD 546.5 Mn of claims,” WazirX said in a statement.

“Within each tranche, 1% of creditors will be selected at random to establish the Contingent Creditor Pool (~43k Creditors out of ~4.3m Creditors in total), allowing every creditor an equal chance of selection by count within their tranche, which has already been adjusted by value to mitigate impact from the significant numbers of creditors with low Claims,” it added.

Affected users will be chosen at random to be part of the contingent creditor pool. They can either volunteer to be part of the CoC or reject their selection.

In July, WazirX suffered a massive attack on one of its multisig wallets that resulted in loss of digital assets worth over $230 Mn. These stolen funds represent more than 45% of WazirX’s total reserves. The exchange has since initiated a restructuring process to address its liabilities.

WazirX founder Nischal Shetty has blamed various parties for the security breach during this period while denying any responsibility. First, he pointed finger at custody wallet platform Liminal for security lapses, which Liminal denied last month. 

In August, Shetty tried to shift the blame on Binance, alleging that the exchange held a majority of Zettai Labs’ funds. Zettai Labs is the parent company of WazirX. Binance has since rejected any claims of wrongdoing and accused Shetty of ‘falsely implicating’ it in the $230 Mn hack.

The post WazirX To Set Up Committee Of Creditors After $234 Mn Hack appeared first on Inc42 Media.

After a drought of almost two years, the Indian startup ecosystem is showing signs of the arrival of funding spring. The total funding raised by homegrown startups doubled year-on-year (YoY) to $3.4 Bn in the third quarter (Q3) of calendar year 2024 (CY24).

Indian startups had raised approximately $1.7 Bn in the corresponding period last year and nearly $3 Bn in Q3 CY22.

The overall deal count jumped to 262 in the September quarter of 2024, up almost 28% from  205 deals that materialised in Q3 2023. 

According to Inc42’s ‘Indian Tech Startup Funding Report, Q3 2024’, the median cheque size of the deals zoomed 142% to $2.9 Mn in Q3 2024 from $1.2 Mn in the year-ago period, reflecting growing investor confidence in the Indian startup ecosystem.

The funding raised by Indian startups during the quarter under review was 10% higher than $3.1 Bn in Q2 2024 and 55% more compared to $2.2 Bn in Q1 2024.

However, merger and acquisitions fell 33% year-on-year to 18 in Q3 CY24.

Mega Deals Make A Strong Comeback

After a prolonged funding winter, the number of mega deals — funding rounds of over $100 Mn — surged to 10 in the September quarter of 2024 from three in Q3 2023 and four in Q3 2022.

The number of mega deals stood at four and three in the June and March quarter of 2024, respectively. 

Startups like Zepto, PhysicsWallah and Rapido led the way when it came to mega deals in Q3 2024.

Amid the quick commerce boom, Zepto raised its second mega round this year in August, bagging $340 Mn from marquee investors such as Lightspeed Venture Partners, General Catalyst and Dragon Fund, among others. The funding round came just two months after the startup raised $665 Mn at a valuation of $1.4 Bn.

At a time when edtech startups are facing a tough funding environment following the troubles of BYJU’S, Alakh Pandey-led PhysicsWallah raised $210 Mn in the September quarter in a round led by Hornbill Capital. 

Last month, ride-hailing major Rapido turned unicorn after raising $200 Mn in its Series E funding round led by WestBridge Capital.

Other notable mega deals during the quarter included the funding rounds of hospitality major OYO and electric two-wheeler maker Ather Energy, which has filed draft papers with market regulator SEBI for its INR 3,100 Cr initial public offering (IPO).

Besides Rapido, Ather Energy and Moneyview joined the unicorn club in the September quarter. The world’s third biggest startup ecosystem has already minted six unicorns in the first nine months of 2024 as compared to just two unicorns in the entire 2023.

Overall, the funding raised by India startups inched closer to the $9 Bn mark in the first nine months of 2024. Since the beginning of this year, Indian startups have cumulatively raised $8.7 Bn compared to $7.2 Bn raised in the entire 2023.

Seed, Growth, Late Stage Investments Rebound

In line with the overall funding trends, startups across stages saw a rise in the capital raised in the September quarter.

Seed-stage startups mopped up funds worth $360 Mn in Q3 2024, a jump of a whopping 126%  from $159 Mn in the year-ago period. However, deal count fell 3% YoY to 125 across seed stage. Nutrix AI’s $27.5 Mn funding round and Centricity’s $20 Mn funding round were among the biggest seed stage deals during the quarter under review.

Growth-stage startups secured a funding of $847 Mn in Q3 2024, up 91% from $443 Mn in the year-ago quarter. Investors made 65 bets on growth-stage startups in the reported quarter, a 103% jump from 32 in Q3 CY23. Notable deals included Everest Fleet’s $30 Mn funding round and Redcliffe Labs’ $42 Mn. 

Meanwhile, late-stage investments surged 115% to surpass the $2.1 Bn mark during the quarter under review from $984 Mn in Q3 CY23, thanks in part to OYO’s $175 Mn from a clutch of investors, including Patient Capital, J&A Partners, InCred Wealth, among others. Late-stage startups were involved in 40 funding rounds in the September quarter in 2024, up 135% from 17 in the year-ago period.

Fintech Remains Investors’ Darling

The fintech sector continued to get maximum interest from investors, with fintech startups bagging $677 Mn across 45 deals in Q3 2024. The September quarter saw several notable funding rounds within the Indian fintech space. For instance, fintech SaaS startup M2P Fintech bagged $101 Mn in its Series D funding round from investors like Helios Investment Partners and Flourish Venture.

Enterprise tech remained the second-most funded sector, with startups in the space raising a combined $549 Mn across 52 deals in Q3. The enterprise tech sector received a shot in the arm last month when B2B SaaS startup Whatfix raised $125 Mn as part of its Series E funding round with participation from Warburg Pincus and SoftBank.

In a reversal of trends sectorally, the September quarter saw consumer services lose its title as the third-most funded sector to the ecommerce sector. Ecommerce startups mopped up funds worth $482 Mn during the period across 57 deals. The major funding rounds in the sector, including Purplle’s $120 Mn funding and BlueStone’s $107 Mn round. 

Bengaluru Retains Top Spot

While Bengaluru retained its title as India’s startup hub, Delhi NCR overtook Mumbai to emerge as the second-highest funded startup hub.

Startups headquartered in India’s Silicon Valley raised $1.1 Bn across 81 deals in Q3 CY24. Bengaluru was followed by Delhi NCR, with startups based in the national capital region raising $876 Mn across 59 deals. At the third spot was the country’s financial capital, with Mumbai-based startups bagging $871 Mn across 47 deals during the period.

Chennai retained the fourth spot in Q3 CY24, with startups based out of the city securing funding of $189 Mn across nine deals. By comparison, investors made 8 bets on Hyderabad-based startups during the quarter under review, worth $50 Mn.

The post Indian Startup Funding Doubles YoY To $3.4 Bn In Q3 2024 appeared first on Inc42 Media.

US-based asset manager Invesco has raised the valuation of foodtech major Swiggy to $13.3 Bn, a jump of almost 25% from the last fair value recorded by the investor. 

Invesco had participated in Swiggy’s $700 Mn funding round in January 2022 at a valuation of $10.7 Bn. Back then, the investor spent $190.47 Mn for a stake in the IPO-bound company. 

And now, Invesco’s Developing Markets Fund values its stake in the foodtech decacorn at approximately $219.25 Mn as of July 2024. The asset manager holds 28,844 shares of Swiggy, TechCrunch reported.

This is not the first time Invesco has revised its valuation of Swiggy. In July last year, it cut the valuation of the Bengaluru-based startup to $5.5 Bn when the food delivery market was facing a downturn.

At the end of April this year, it valued Swiggy at about $12.3 Bn. 

Invesco’s mark up of Swiggy’s valuation comes at a time when the foodtech major is looking to go public. Earlier this month, the foodtech major filed an updated draft red herring prospectus with market regulator SEBI to raise more than INR 3,750 Cr through its initial public offering (IPO).

Swiggy is eyeing a valuation of $15 Bn for its IPO. On the other hand, its archrival Zomato was valued at about $7 Bn as per its IPO in 2021 and got listed at a valuation of $12 Bn. 

Zomato’s market cap has since zoomed and currently stands at INR 2.42 Lakh Cr (about $28.9 Bn). 

Recently, brokerage firm Elara Capital said it expects Swiggy to command a lower valuation in the public market as compared to Zomato as it continues to lag behind the Deepinder Goyal-led startup across several key metrics such as revenue, gross order volume, and order count.

However, investors have been lining up to buy unlisted shares of Swiggy ahead of its eagerly-anticipated IPO, reflecting growing investor appetite for the stock amid a bull run in the Indian equities market.

Ace Indian cricketers Rahul Dravid and Zaheer Khan, along with celebrities like Madhuri Dixit and Amitabh Bachchan, have recently purchased a stake in Swiggy.

As per its DRHP, Swiggy saw its consolidated net loss widen by over 8% to INR 611 Cr in the June quarter of the financial year 2024-25 (Q1 FY25) from INR 564.08 Cr in the year-ago period owing to a surge in operating costs.

However, Swiggy’s revenue from operations zoomed 35% to INR 3,222.2 Cr during the quarter under review from INR 2,389.8 Cr on the back of strong growth in its food delivery and quick commerce businesses.

The post Invesco Marks Up Swiggy’s Valuation To $13.3 Bn Ahead Of IPO appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Markets regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has mandated qualified stock brokers (QSBs) to offer the facility of trading in the secondary market using the UPI-based block mechanism to their clients, similar to the ASBA facility.

The new rules will come into effect on February 1, 2025. The UPI block facility will allow investors to trade in the secondary market based on blocked funds in their bank accounts, instead of transferring it upfront to the trading member.

Alternatively, QSBs have been asked to offer a three-in-one trading account facility. A 3-in-one trading account is a combination account comprising a savings account, demat account and trading account.

The market regulator said that these facilities are optional for investors. They can also choose to continue with the existing facility of transferring funds to trading members.

The move will likely give a further boost to use of UPI by retail investors. The deployment of UPI will offer an additional layer of security and safeguard investor assets from misuse and other capital risks. 

It is pertinent to note that Application Supported by Blocked Amount (ASBA)-like facility is already available for the primary market, which ensures that money from an investor gets moved only when an allotment happens. 

To be classified as QSBs, trading members (TM) need to meet certain requirements across parameters such as the size and scale of their operations, including the number of active clients, the total assets held by clients with the TM, the end-of-day margin of all clients, and the trading volume of the TM.

However, being designated as a QSB comes with heightened responsibilities and obligations. Further, QSBs are also subjected to enhanced monitoring by Market Infrastructure Institutions.

SEBI first introduced the use of RBI-approved Unified Payments Interface (UPI) with the facility of blocking of funds, as a payment mechanism for retail investor applications submitted through intermediaries for public issues such as IPO back in 2019.

The post SEBI Mandates QSBs To Offer UPI-Based Mechanism For Secondary Market appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Shares of emobility major Ola Electric tumbled over 4% in early trading hours on Monday (September 30), slipping below the INR 100 mark amid a decline in the broader market, with Sensex and Nifty 50 suffering their worst day in almost two months. 

The stock fell as much as 4.2% to hit the day’s low at INR 97.85 apiece on the BSE. However, it recovered slightly to end the trading session at INR 99.70.

Ola Electric made a lacklustre stock market debut last month, with its shares listing flat at INR 75.99 apiece on the BSE as against an issue price of INR 76. However, the stock hit the 20% upper circuit at INR 91.18 apiece on the BSE in its first trading session. Subsequently, it rose to as much as INR 157.53.

But the shares of the Bhavish Aggarwal-led startup have ended in the red in 12 out of the last 14 trading sessions.

The decline in Ola Electric’s share price today coincided with the crash in the broader market. While the 30-share BSE Sensex fell nearly 1.5% to end the day at 84,299.78, NSE Nifty slipped 1.4% to 25,810.85. 

The benchmark equity indices logged their worst loss since August 5 due to a sell-off in domestic stocks, including heavyweights such as Reliance Industries, sparked by new stimulus measures announced by China. 

Recently, brokerage firm Goldman Sachs initiated coverage on Ola Electric with a ‘buy’ rating and a price target of INR 160 apiece. This would imply an upside of nearly 64% from the stock’s close today.

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.

It is pertinent to mention that Ola Electric saw its consolidated net loss widen 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.

Earlier this month, HSBC expressed concerns about Ola Electric losing market share to its rivals in the EV 2W market. The brokerage firm expects a 15-20% downside risk to its FY25/26 volume projections for the EV startup.

Ola Electric saw its monthly escooter registrations decline 34% to 27,517 units in August as compared to 41,712 units in July. Despite a decline in sales, HSBC remains optimistic about Ola Electric’s recovery and has maintained its ‘buy’ rating on the stock.

Brokerage firm Bernstein is also bullish on Ola Electric. In a recent research note, it pointed out that Ola has the highest gross margin among its peers in the EV 2W market such as Ather Energy, TVS Motors and Bajaj Auto. 

According to analysts at Bernstein, Ola Electric is on track to achieve EBITDA profitability on the back of a diverse product portfolio, high vertical integration, D2C distribution model and aggressive pricing. 

In August, Ola unveiled its Roadster series of electric motorbikes and plans to enter the electric three-wheeler market soon. The company’s move to expand into newer vehicle categories is likely to give it a competitive edge over its competitors.

The post Ola Electric Slips Below INR 100 Mark Amid Broader Market Crash appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Shares of TAC Infosec jumped almost 5% to INR 687.6 apiece on the NSE Emerge in early trading hours today (September 30) after the SaaS cybersecurity startup announced that it has completed two strategic acquisitions in the US and UAE.

In an exchange filing, the company said it has acquired US-based cybersecurity firm CyberSandia to strengthen its presence in the region and expand its global footprint. CyberSandia holds an exclusive government contract to provide IT services to New Mexico, it added. 

TAC Infosec did not disclose the financial terms of the deal. However, last month, the startup said it had entered into a share purchase agreement to acquire CyberSandia for $25,000.

In addition, TAC Infosec has also acquired WOS — a wholly owned subsidiary of TAC Cyber Security Consultancy LLC in the UAE — to cater to the growing demand for advanced cybersecurity services in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region.

The new UAE subsidiary will allow the company to diversify its client base and offer cybersecurity services to cross-border clients through the GCC, it said in a statement.

The developments come days after TAC Infosec elevated its head for AppSec and InfoSec, Saransh Rawat, to the position of chief technology officer (CTO). Besides, the company also announced its chief financial officer (CFO) Vishal Jain stepping down from his role due to personal reasons. 

Founded in 2016 by Trishneet Arora, TAC Infosec offers risk-based vulnerability management and assessment solutions, and other SaaS cybersecurity solutions to enterprises and small businesses. 

The Vijay Kedia-backed startup posted a 23% jump in its net profit at INR 6.33 Cr in the financial year 2023-24 (FY24) from INR 5.12 Cr in the year-ago period. 

Revenue from operations also surged 17% to INR 11.84 Cr during the year under review from INR 10.09 Cr in FY23.

TAC Infosec made its Dalal Street debut in April, with its shares listing at a premium of 173.6% over the issue price. The stock ended Friday’s (September 27) trading session at INR 654.90 on the NSE Emerge, which is almost 106% above its listing price of INR 290 apiece and a whopping 518% higher than its issue price of INR 106 per share.

The post TAC Infosec Jumps 5% After Two Strategic Acquisitions In US & UAE appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Shares of PB Fintech, the parent company of Policybazaar and Paisabazaar, jumped over 4% to INR 1,715.40 apiece on the BSE during the intraday trading today (September 30) after chairman and Group CEO Yashish Dahiya confirmed that the company is considering making a foray into the healthcare space.

PB Fintech is likely to make a one-time investment of $100 Mn to acquire a 30% stake in a new healthcare company after getting approval from its board, Dahiya told CNBC-TV18. 

Explaining the rationale behind the company’s move to venture into the healthcare space, Dahiya reportedly said that a middle class person can’t afford to spend INR 78,000 for a bed per night, adding that PB Fintech aims to bridge the gap between hospitals and insurance companies.

Reports of PB Fintech’s plans to enter the healthcare sector had surfaced last week. In an exchange filing on September 27, it said that Dahiya mentioned during the last analyst call that the company was exploring plans to enter the healthcare market.

PB Fintech has given bumper returns to investors since its public listing in 2021. The stock has surged over 67% from its issue price of INR 950 per share and is up 42% from its listing price of INR 1,150 apiece. On a year-to-date basis, it has skyrocketed over 107%.

Last week, brokerage firm Bernstein maintained its ‘outperform’ rating on PB Fintech with a price target of INR 1,750 per share. This implies an upside potential of almost 7% from the stock’s previous close.

The brokerage noted that investors are bullish on the stock owing to high growth, strong business model and cash generation.

The optimism is not without reason. PB Fintech reported its third consecutive profitable quarter in the April-June period. 

The company posted a consolidated net profit of INR 59.98 Cr in the June quarter (Q1) of the financial year 2024-25 (FY25) as against a loss of INR 11.9 Cr in the year-ago quarter. 

The turnaround came largely on the back of robust growth across business segments.

The post PB Fintech Jumps 4% After CEO Proposes $100 Mn Investment For Healthcare Foray appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Reliance Retail-backed hyperlocal delivery startup Dunzo has come under fire from the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) for failing to reach a settlement with its creditors.

The Bengaluru bench of the NCLT observed today (September 27) that although Dunzo was given 3 months to resolve its dispute with its creditors, it has still not reached a settlement with them, Mint reported. 

The tribunal insisted that Dunzo had “enough time” to reach a settlement with its creditors and refused to hear the company’s objections to the insolvency cases lodged against it. The NCLT has reportedly directed Dunzo to file an interlocutory application if it wants its objections to be heard. 

Two of Dunzo’s creditors — Invoice Discounters of Dunzo Digital and Velvin Packaging — previously moved the NCLT, seeking initiation of insolvency proceedings against the company for unresolved payments.

In January, Invoice Discounters of Dunzo Digital filed an application with the NCLT, alleging that the startup had cleared only 50% of the part payment. The exact amount Dunzo owes its creditors is unknown.

The development comes at a time when Dunzo is mired in troubles from a severe cash crunch to layoffs to bankruptcy. Last month, it was reported that the Bengaluru-based startup laid off 150 employees across supply and market verticals to cut costs.

Dunzo saw its losses widen over 3X to INR 1,801 Cr in FY23 from INR 464 Cr in the preceding fiscal. The financial turmoil caused delays in salary payments for both current and former employees, as well as outstanding dues to vendors.

Founded in 2015 by Kabeer Biswas, Suri, Mukund Jha, and Ankur Aggarwal, Dunzo connects consumers with nearby stores and facilitates deliveries of products including groceries, medicines, and food, among other daily needs. Its foray into the quick commerce space with Dunzo Daily led to a sharp increase in its cash burn.

Earlier this year, the NCLT had warned Dunzo that it would impose a moratorium on the hyperlocal delivery startup if it failed to promptly address a notice over unpaid dues worth INR 4 Cr that it owed to Betterplace Safety Solutions.

Dunzo has received multiple legal notices from its vendors for payment of outstanding dues amidst its struggles to continue its operations due to a severe cash crunch.

Last year, the startup received legal notices from Google India, Nilenso, Clover Ventures, Facebook India Online Services Private Limited (FBI), Cupshup, Koo and Glance for the same. Dunzo’s outstanding dues to these vendors stand at around INR 11.4 Cr.

At a time when Dunzo is facing insolvency proceedings, its cofounder and former chief technology officer Mukund Jha is reportedly in talks to raise INR 50 Cr to INR 80 Cr from Together fund for its new company GenAI Venture.

The post NCLT Pulls Up Cash-Strapped Dunzo For Failing To Reach Settlement With Creditors appeared first on Inc42 Media.

IPO-bound Swiggy widened its consolidated net loss by over 8% to INR 611 Cr in the June quarter of the financial year 2024-25 (Q1 FY25) from INR 564.08 Cr in the year-ago period owing to a surge in operating costs.

However, Swiggy’s revenue from operations zoomed 35% to INR 3,222.2 Cr during the quarter under review from INR 2,389.8 Cr on the back of strong growth in its food delivery and quick commerce businesses. 

The food delivery vertical accounted for INR 1,518 Cr of Swiggy’s total operating revenue in Q1 FY25 as compared to INR 1,200 Cr in the corresponding quarter last year. The growth was primarily driven by an increase in gross order value (GOV) from INR 5,958.7 Cr in Q1 FY24 to INR 6,808.3 Cr in the Q1 FY25.

Meanwhile, Swiggy’s quick commerce arm Instamart clocked a revenue of INR 374.1 Cr in the reported quarter, a 107% jump from INR 180 Cr in Q1 FY24. The quick commerce vertical’s growth was fuelled by a rise in GOV, which jumped to INR 2,724 Cr in Q1 FY25 from INR 1,741.5 Cr in the year-ago period.

Founded in 2014 by Sriharsha Majety, Nandan Reddy, Phani Kishan Addepalli, and Rahul Jaimini, Swiggy started off as a food delivery startup but later forayed into the quick commerce segment with Instamart.

It competes with the likes of listed foodtech major Zomato. 

While Swiggy saw its net loss widen in Q1, its rival Zomato posted a multifold YoY jump in its consolidated net profit to INR 253 Cr during the same period. Zomato’s quick commerce vertical clocked a revenue of INR 942 Cr in the reported quarter with a GOV of INR 4,923 Cr.

Adjusted EBITDA Loss Narrows To INR 348 Cr In Q1

While net loss rose, Swiggy managed to narrow its adjusted EBITDA loss to INR 347.8 Cr in Q1 FY25 from INR 486.8 Cr in the year-ago quarter. 

Its food delivery vertical reported an adjusted EBITDA profit of INR 57.8 Cr during the quarter under review as against INR 43.2 Cr adjusted EBITDA loss it posted in Q1 FY24.

On the other hand, the adjusted EBITDA loss of Swiggy’s quick commerce arm Instamart rose to INR 317.9 Cr in Q1 FY24 compared to INR 312.1 Cr in the year-ago period.

By comparison, Zomato posted an adjusted EBITDA profit of INR 299 Cr during the period.

In its DRHP, Swiggy said that its adjusted EBITDA excludes share based payments. The foodtech major spent INR 259.3 Cr towards share based payments in Q1 FY25, up 46% from INR 139.7 Cr in the year-ago period.

Where Did Swiggy Spend In Q1?

The foodtech major’s spending surged 27.2% to INR 3,908 Cr in Q1 FY25, primarily due to an increase in stock-in-trade purchases and food delivery, employee costs, delivery and other charges.

Cost Of Materials: Swiggy managed to cut its spending in this bucket by almost 46% to INR 7.76 Cr in the reported quarter as compared to INR 14.36 Cr in Q1 FY24.

Purchases Of Stock-In-Trade: Swiggy spent about INR 119.5 Cr under this head in Q1 FY25, a 33% YoY jump.

Employee Cost: The IPO-bound food delivery and quick commerce giant’s spending towards employee benefit expenses were up 21.3% YoY to INR 589.2 Cr in the reported quarter.

It is pertinent to note that Swiggy has filed an updated draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) with market regulator SEBI to raise more than INR 3,750 Cr through an initial public offering (IPO).

As per the DRHP, Swiggy’s public issue will comprise a fresh issuance of shares worth INR 3,750 Cr and an offer for sale (OFS) component of 18.53 Cr equity shares.

The foodtech major is said to be eyeing a valuation of $15 Bn for its IPO. Brokerage firm Elara Capital expects Swiggy to command a lower valuation in the public market as compared to Zomato as the IPO-bound company lags behind the Deepinder Goyal-led company across several key metrics like revenue, GOV, order count, among others.

However, investors are gobbling up unlisted shares of Swiggy ahead of the highly-anticipated IPO. Hindustan Composites, Modern Insulators, Madhuri Dixit, have announced an investment in the foodtech major.

The post Swiggy Q1: Loss Widens 8% YoY To INR 611 Cr, Operating Revenue Jumps 35% appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Already facing a penalty for breaching India’s antitrust laws, ecommerce major Flipkart has now been accused of anti-competitive behaviour and influencing prices of products listed on the platform. 

A Madras High Court lawyer has written to DPIIT Secretary Amardeep Singh Bhalla, alleging that Flipkart “has been running selective waivers at the product level for select sellers”, ET reported.

Inc42 has not independently verified the report.

The complaint alleges that Flipkart has notified certain sellers about offering discounts on their products listed on the platform as well as its social commerce vertical Shopsy.

Madras HC lawyer K Narasimhan also shared a screenshot of the communication between Flipkart and the sellers, which reportedly showed that the ecommerce giant plans to subsidise a portion of the product discount through waivers. The ecommerce major has also been accused of automatically opting seller listings into waiver-driven offers without obtaining their consent.

The lawyer claimed that this would directly influence the pricing of select sellers and create a “skewed and non-competitive environment”, the report said.

He has asked DPIIT to take action against Flipkart, alleging that such practices create an uneven playing field in the ecommerce space and threaten to kill competition and hurt the broader seller ecosystem.

The complaint comes at a time when Flipkart and other ecommerce majors continue to face criticism in the country for their business practices. The Competition Commission of India has reportedly asked Flipkart and Amazon to furnish turnover details to set the penalty on the duo for violating the country’s competition laws.

The ecommerce majors could be fined as much as 10% of their global turnover or income, as per the 2023 amendment to the competition law.

In its investigation against Amazon and Flipkart, India’s antitrust watchdog has found that the duo was favouring select sellers on their shopping websites. Ecommerce companies have also courted controversy over their alleged predatory pricing policies, with union minister Piyush Goyal saying their explosive growth is a “matter of concern.”

The rapid growth of quick commerce firms such as Blinkit, Zepto and Swiggy Instamart has also raised eyebrows on issues ranging from predatory pricing to deep discounting tactics. 

 It is pertinent to note that the Ministry of Corporate Affairs has come up with the draft digital competition bill to clamp down on alleged anti-competitive practices of big tech firms.

The post Madras HC Lawyer Accuses Flipkart Of Anti-Competitive Behaviour, Influencing Prices For Select Sellers appeared first on Inc42 Media.