Contract manufacturing startup Zetwerk plans to invest INR 500 Cr over the next two years to expand its manufacturing capacity for the renewables segment. 

Zetwerk cofounder and chief operating officer Srinath Ramakkrushnan told Economic Times that the startup is looking to expand in the offshore wind segment in the US and Europe.

“We have invested around INR 300 Cr over the last few years. We are looking at investing another INR 500 Cr over the next two years. This will be funded through our balance sheet in a mix of debt and equity,” Ramakkrushnan was quoted as saying.

Citing India’s target to reach 500 gigawatts of solar energy generation capacity by 2030, the cofounder said that Zetwerk sees the solar sector in India and the US as a multi-decade opportunity.

Founded in 2018 by Ramakkrushnan, Amrit Acharya, Rahul Sharma, and Vishal Chaudhary, Zetwerk connects vendors and suppliers with manufacturing companies for procuring industrial machine components

The comments come days after Inc42 reported that Zetwerk commenced preliminary discussions with investment banker JP Morgan and other banks. It is eyeing a public listing in the next two years.

Ahead of the proposed listing, Zetwerk has been aggressively ramping up its manufacturing capacity.

Earlier this year, the startup announced its foray into IT hardware and electric vehicle (EV) component manufacturing. Additionally, it set aside INR 1,000 Cr ($122 Mn) to invest in electronics manufacturing.

Zetwerk became a unicorn in 2021 and was last valued at $2.8 Bn. It has raised a total funding of over $700 Mn till date and counts the likes of Peak XV Partners, Lightspeed, Mars Growth Capital, among others, as its backers.

Zetwerk’s rival Infra.Market is also looking to file its draft IPO papers in December this year. Another competitor, Moglix is eyeing a public listing in the next two years.

The post Zetwerk To Invest INR 500 Cr To Expand Renewables Manufacturing Capacity appeared first on Inc42 Media.

The government is reportedly planning to take action against ecommerce players after receiving complaints about them flouting dark pattern norms amid the ongoing festive season sales.

The Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) is looking into  the matter and will take the necessary steps against those found violating the rules, Economic Times reported.

“We have received several complaints about companies not following dark patterns which we are examining,” the report quoted an official as saying. 

Dark patterns are design elements used by digital platforms to create a false sense of urgency and trick or mislead customers into making purchases online.

With rising internet penetration and improving access to smartphones, ecommerce has grown rapidly in the country over the last decade or so. However, besides getting complaints from offline retailers about the alleged violations of norms by the ecommerce players, the Centre has also been concerned about the use of dark patterns.

To address this issue, the government, last year, notified a host of guidelines addressing the regulation of dark patterns to curb the deceptive behaviour of ecommerce companies.

In May this year, it was reported that the government was looking to launch an app to alert customers about the use of dark patterns.

The latest development adds to the growing scrutiny of ecommerce platforms in the country. Ecommerce giants Amazon and Flipkart are already under the radar of the Competition Commission of India (CCI) for their alleged unfair trade practices.

In a recent report, the antitrust watchdog found Amazon and Walmart-backed Flipkart guilty of violating competition laws. 

Despite all these, ecommerce continues to be a lucrative opportunity for startups and enterprises. The ecommerce sector has produced 25 unicorns and 18 soonicorns in the country. The country’s ecommerce market is expected to clock at 19% CAGR to reach a size of $400 Bn by 2030 from $116 Bn in 2023, as per an Inc42 report.

The post Centre To Take Action Against Ecommerce Players For Flouting Dark Pattern Norms appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Offline mobile payments startup ToneTag is reportedly in early-stage discussions with Mumbai-based venture growth investor Iron Pillar to raise at least $50 Mn (about INR 420 Cr) in a mix of primary and secondary share sale. The funding round will also see new investors join the startup’s cap table.

“Iron Pillar may co-lead the round along with other investors, with whom talks have begun,” Economic Times reported quoting a source. 

As per the report, the funding round will see a primary capital infusion of $30-$35 Mn. The transaction is also expected to see the startup’s valuation more than double from its last valuation of $100 Mn.

ToneTag declined to comment on Inc42’s queries on the development. 

Founded in 2013 by Vivek Singh and Kumar Abhishek, ToneTag offers audio-based authentication and proximity payment solutions for online and offline commerce. It also develops integrable software to deploy voice-based digital payment systems. The startup has raised a total funding of over $10 Mn till now from investors like Amazon, Mastercard and Elevate Innovation Partners.

Last year, Iron Pillar closed its ‘Iron Pillar Fund II series’ of funds at $129 Mn. The VC firm had plans to invest in Series B and Series C stage SaaS startups operating in India.

Since then, the firm has made one investment in supply chain and logistics SaaS startup Pando. The US-based startup, which operates out of Chennai, raised $30 Mn in its Series B round back then.

Founded in 2016, Iron Pillar offers growth capital and assistance to enterprise tech and consumer tech startups to expand globally. It mainly leads Series B and C funding rounds and later doubles down on the breakout businesses with 5X to 10X of its initial investment. Its portfolio features startups like BlueStone, Curefoods, FreshToHome, Uniphore, and Skill-Lync. 

The development comes at a time when startup funding is on the rise. Indian startups cumulatively raised $8.7 Bn across 766 deals in the first nine months of the ongoing calendar year. This was a 20% increase from the $7.2 Bn raised via 691 deals in the same period last year.

The post Amazon-Backed Fintech Startup ToneTag In Talks To Raise $50 Mn appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Following the end of the production linked incentive (PLI) scheme for the drone sector, the government is reportedly planning to come out with a new PLI scheme. 

Speaking during a conference organised by industry body FICCI, civil aviation secretary Vumlunmang Vualnam said that the new PLI scheme would be more effective in terms of implementation, documentation and other aspects, news agency PTI reported.

The secretary said that some of the procedures under the first PLI scheme were onerous for startups and micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs).

Vualnam said that the drone sector has to be segregated into three segments – those for civilian use, security or defence forces use, and the rogue or unregulated use of drones. 

“We have to be cognisant of that… counter drone technologies are being developed,” he was quoted as saying. 

The Centre introduced the PLI scheme for drones in 2021 with an outlay of INR 120 Cr and a tenure of three years, commencing from 2021-22. The tenure of the scheme has ended now.

Under the scheme, the civil aviation ministry disbursed INR 30 Cr to the beneficiaries in FY23. 

The Centre has taken a number of steps over the last few years, including liberalisation of the drone regime, with an eye on making India a global drone hub by 2030.

This has spawned a number of drone startups, including Garuda Aerospace, Aereo, Skye Air, among others, in the country over the last few years. These startups have also been attracting a lot of investor interest.

For instance, former Indian skipper MS Dhoni increased his investment in Chennai-based drone startup Garuda Aerospace a week ago.

Meanwhile, Bengaluru-based drone startup Aereo raised $15 Mn in its Series B funding round led by 360 ONE Asset in July to expand its aerial intelligence solutions for capital asset management.

As per Inc42 data, India is home to over 200 drone tech startups and these startups have raised a funding of over $140 Mn since 2014. The country’s drone tech market is expected to clock a CAGR of 22% between 2022 and 2030 to reach a size of $13 Bn at the end of this period.

The post Centre Working On New PLI Scheme For Drone Sector appeared first on Inc42 Media.

After receiving complaints from consumers about quick commerce platforms not making mandatory disclosures, such as expiry and best before date for grocery and other daily essentials being sold on their platforms, the Centre is reportedly planning to take action against them.

The Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA), which operates under the consumer affairs ministry, is looking into the matter and is expected to take action soon, the Economic Times reported. 

“We are looking at the complaints we have received through National Consumer Helpline (NCH) and segregating them,” the report quoted an official as saying. 

The likes of Swiggy Instamart, Zomato’s Blinkit, and Zepto don’t show best before dates in product images or descriptions. This leaves consumers receiving large quantity orders near their expiry or best before date without any options. 

Meanwhile, the report said that Flipkart Minutes shows the date of manufacturing as well as expiry dates of products such as flour, oil and spices sold on its platform.

The Legal Metrology (Packaged Commodities) (Amendment) Rules 2017 mandate mentioning “best before or use by the date, month and year” on digital platforms.

The development comes at a time when the popularity of the quick commerce segment is on the rise in the country and companies are seeing rapid growth. However, the players in the segment have also come under regulatory scrutiny for different reasons.

In June, the Telangana food safety department raided a warehouse of Zomato-owned Blinkit in Devar Yamjal area of the state’s Medchal Malkajgiri district and found the premises “disorganised, unhygienic and dusty”.

Furthermore, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) ramped up surprise audits and spot checks on dark stores of major quick commerce players in July, particularly for packaged foods, due to rising complaints about hygiene and product quality.

Meanwhile, the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade, last month, referred a complaint filed against quick commerce players by the All India Consumer Products Distributors Federation to antitrust regulator Competition Commission of India.

The post Govt Mulls Action On Quick Commerce Platforms Not Displaying Expiry Dates appeared first on Inc42 Media.

AI-powered learning platform LearnTube has secured initial commitments, part of its larger $2 Mn seed round, from a host of investors, including Blitzscaling Ventures, Goodwater Capital, Bisk Ventures and non-profit tech-led venture philanthropy investor ACT.

The company plans to use the funds to deepen its AI & product capacities so that it can roll out an AI-powered multilingual live-learning coach. The funds will also be used for product-led growth and global expansion.

“With the support of our investors, we are now poised to scale our operations, enhance our AI capabilities, and test new markets, particularly in the United States,” Shronit Ladhani, the cofounder at LearnTube, said.

Founded in 2022 by the husband-wife duo, LearnTube is a GenAI-driven upskilling platform that transforms internet and YouTube content into bite-size courses. Formerly known as CareerNinja, it is backed by the likes of Naval Ravikant’s AngelList Quant Fund, Capria Ventures, and Goodwater Capital, among others.

The company is also part of the first cohort of the ‘Google for Startups Accelerator: AI First’ programme, which targets AI-first startups operating across sectors like gaming, manufacturing, healthcare, education, data analytics and cybersecurity. 

With the effect of classrooms and study centres reopening after the period of lockdown, it posed a heavy challenge for edtech startups, in terms of their long-term sustainability. The fall in demand for online learning deserted some startups from funding opportunities, while many had to shutter their shops.

Despite the uncertainty revolving in the sector, the digital learning providers raised $224 Mn in the third quarter of 2024, up 357% from $49 Mn in Q3 2023, as per Inc42 data. Of this, industry player PhysicsWallah alone netted $210 Mn in September.

Notably, LearnTube is one of the first bets of California-based venture capital firm Blitzscaling Ventures in the country. Some of its portfolio companies include medtech platform Flexpa, event booking portal Gametime, and locker service provider Bounce.

The post LearnTube Raises Part Of $2 Mn Seed Round From Blitzscaling Ventures, Others To Launch AI Multilingual Coach appeared first on Inc42 Media.

MSME-focussed non banking finance company (NBFC) Swara Fincare has raised INR 19.4 Cr (around $2.3 Mn) in a Series A funding round led by Bengaluru-based venture capital firm Unitus Capital’s UC Impower fund.

The round also saw participation from Piper Serica Angel Fund as well as an internal infusion from Swara Fincare’s founders Dev Verma, Mukund Madhav and Sumit Ranjan.

Founded by the trio in 2022, the fintech NBFC is looking to double its assets under management by the end of this financial year. The company said it would deploy funds to sharpen its focus in driving financial inclusion for micro and small entrepreneurs, while also boosting its distribution network, developing lending products, and enhancing the technology platform.

Swara Fincare primarily offers loans to micro and small entrepreneurs in India’s Tier 3 and 4 cities. It claims to have an offline presence through 45 branches across Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Rajasthan, Bihar, and Uttarakhand. 

Swara Fincare also claims to have debt support from over 30 prominent financial institutions, banks and three colending partnerships to sustain and propel its growth ahead.

“The stellar and experienced team of UC Impower, coupled with the diversified new age built of Piper Serica forms a partnership that truly sets the stage for Swara to navigate its next phase of evolution,” cofounder, managing director and CEO Verma said.

In recent weeks, the Reserve Bank of India has tightened NBFC norms in relation to withdrawals and emergency refunds by depositors. From January 2025, NBFCs will be required to return the full deposit amount to depositors if such requests are made in emergency situations.

Further, there are other proposed changes to the liquidity coverage ratio (LCR), which, if implemented, will likely make it more difficult for low-rated NBFCs to obtain cheaper credit from banks and other RBI-regulated lenders. 

However, for NBFCs, lending remains a massive opportunity not just in the context of MSMEs, but also small ticket personal loans, durables purchases and even retail purchases — especially in the ongoing festive season. 

Partnerships between fintech startups and NBFCs, fuelled by recent investor activity, has also led to new products such as secured lending. 

Examples of recent funding rounds include Flexiloans, which raised INR 290 Cr (around $34.5 Mn) in its Series C round in September, while Mumbai-based Arthan Finance secured INR 50 Cr ($5.98 Mn) in June this year. 

The post MSME Lender Swara Fincare Raises Funds From UC Impower To Double AUM appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Edtech unicorn Physics Wallah has reportedly finalised the names of four investment banking firms for its public listing next year.

A report by Moneycontrol said that the edtech startup has shortlisted Axis Capital, Kotak Mahindra Capital, Goldman Sachs, and JP Morgan as the bankers for its proposed initial public offering (IPO).

The public issue will likely be a mix of fresh issuance of shares and offer for sale. “No quantum has been finalised yet and the deal size may vary later, but the proposed issue may look to raise in the range of $400 Mn to $500 Mn,” the report quoted a source as saying.

Inc42 has reached out to Physics Wallah for comments on the development. The story will be updated on receiving a response. 

The development comes days after it was reported that the edtech major sent out invitations to at least 10 investment banks to make pitches for the IPO in 2025. 

Amid the funding woes of the edtech sector, Physics Wallah raised $210 Mn last month in a round led by Hornbill Capital. The startup also managed to double its valuation to $2.8 Bn.

Founded by Alakh Pandey and Prateek Maheshwari in 2020, Physics Wallah is among the few profitable edtech startups in the country. It has expanded its offerings over the years, and currently offers courses for K-12 students, test preparation, UPSC coaching, among others.

Physics Wallah’s net profit declined over 90% to INR 8.9 Cr in FY23 from INR 98.2 Cr in the previous fiscal year due to a sharp rise in its expenses. Operating revenue soared 234% to INR 779.3 Cr in FY23 from INR 233 Cr in FY22.

The unicorn’s public listing bid comes amid the ongoing IPO boom in the Indian equities market. As a result, startups have also made a beeline to list on the bourses. While 10 new-age tech companies, including Go Digit, Ola Electric, FirstCry, Unicommerce, among others, have gone public this year, the likes of Swiggy, Ecom Express, MobiKwik, among others plan to go public over the next few months. 

The post Physics Wallah Selects 4 Investment Bankers For $500 Mn IPO appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Following the FAME-II fiasco, the Centre has reportedly tightened the localisation norms for electric vehicle (EV) manufacturers seeking subsidies under the recently notified PM Electric Drive Revolution in Innovative Vehicle Enhancement (PM E-DRIVE) scheme.

The beneficiaries of the EV promotion scheme will have to disclose the source of components and inform the ministry of heavy industries (MHI) in case of any changes, Economic Times reported citing officials. 

The Centre will also have the right to clawback subsidies availed in violation of the norms of the scheme. As per the rules, testing agencies will also have the right to inspect the premises of EV component suppliers providing parts to beneficiaries of the scheme.

“EV parts shall be domestically procured. Some components will require safety testing as well,” the report quoted a senior official as saying. 

The scheme will have a phased manufacturing programme (PMP) for EV components suppliers. This programme, which equates assembly with manufacturing, will come into effect from April 1, 2025, the report said.

The development comes at a time when the sales of EVs are on the rise in the country on the back of support from Centre and state governments and declining costs. The PM E-DRIVE scheme, approved by the union cabinet last month, is a step to further increase the penetration of EVs.

The scheme will last for nearly two years and has a budgeted outlay of INR 10.900 Cr to promote EVs by providing subsidies to manufacturers, bolster charging infrastructure, and spur local manufacturing.

The latest development also comes on the back of multiple issues found with the previous EV promotion scheme, FAME-II. The Centre found that EV manufacturers like Ola Electric, Hero Electric, among others, availed subsidies in violation of localisation and other norms of FAME-II. These companies were asked to return the subsidies, while the government also slapped fines on many of them.

The post PM E-Drive: Centre Tightens Localisation Norms For EV Component Suppliers appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Neobanking startup Jupiter, which counts Tiger Global, Peak XV, QED Investors and Matrix Partners among its backers, is reportedly in discussions for a stake in SBM Bank India.

As per The Arc, the company is looking to acquire a 26% stake in the Mauritius-based SBM Group’s subsidiary. The deal, subject to the approval from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), may materialise in tranches and include an option of raising the stake.

This comes days after a report emerged that Jupiter is in early talks to acquire a 5% to 9.9% stake in SBM Bank India.

Back then, the startup’s founder and chief executive officer Jitendra Gupta declined to answer Inc42 queries, saying he does not “comment on market rumours”.

“Discussions have been underway for several quarters. A broad agreement has been finalised and will be filed with the RBI in the coming days,” The Arc report quoted a source as saying.

Founded in 2019 by Gupta, Jupiter offers a range of financial services, including debit cards, SIPs, mutual funds, personalised savings options, expense management, and UPI payments.

In June, the neobanking business secured prepaid payments instrument licence from the RBI to provide digital wallets for UPI payments, fund transfers and bill payments, and Jupiter then disclosed its plans to introduce a prepaid account facility in the coming months.

The company has, so far, raised over $171 Mn in about six rounds of funding from various investors, including Tiger Global, Peak XV Partners, QED Investors and Matrix Partners. The company last raised $2.4 Mn in June, as per Inc42 data. 

The post Neobanking Startup Jupiter Seeks RBI Approval For Stake In SBM Bank India appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Prosus, one of the most active investors in the Indian startup ecosystem, is reportedly looking to double down its investment on one of the portfolio companies ahead of the startup’s anticipated initial public offering (IPO) next year.

As per YourStory, Prosus is looking to inject $30 Mn (around INR 252 Cr) into the hyperlocal services startup Urban Company in a secondary deal, giving a partial exit to Bessemer Venture Partners.

Responding to the queries of Inc42, Prosus spokesperson said, “We do not comment on market speculation.”

Inc42 has reached out to Urban Company for comments on the development. The story will be updated based on the response.

The secondary transaction will happen at a flat $2.6 Bn valuation, the report added. 

“Both Accel and Elevation Partners were discussing selling larger stakes but have dropped the plans and will only look at selling at the IPO (initial public offering),” sources added.

It further added, citing sources, although both firms were considering further stake sales, they have now put those plans on hold and will await the company’s IPO next year.

Notably, Prosus has poured in more than $7 Bn into Indian startups so far, according to data from Inc42 and Tracxn, mostly through large ticket sizes and investments in unicorns such as Swiggy, Meesho, Pharmeasy, The Good Glamm Group, Urban Company among others.  

Urban Company, previously, raised INR 400 Cr ($50 Mn) from Bengaluru-based venture capital firm Dharana Capital through a secondary deal, in July. The transaction saw its employees and other shareholders liquidate their shares in Urban Company including two of its early investors Accel and Elevation Capital.

It is pertinent to note that Snapdeal cofounders Rohit Bansal and Kunal Bahl’s VC firm Titan Capital made their exit from the startup, with INR 111 Cr ($13.2 Mn), shortly after Urban Company’s $50 Mn fundraise.

In later July, Urban Company also posted a loss before tax of INR 93 Cr in the financial year 2023-24 (FY24), down 70% year-on-year from INR 312 Cr a year ago.

However, the Gurugram-based startup’s net revenue rose 30% YoY to INR 827 Cr, as per reports.

The post Prosus Looking To Double Down On Urban Company Via Secondary Deal appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Months after cryptocurrency exchange WazirX suffered major security breach, resulting in withdrawals of around $234 Mn, government agencies have started investigation into the heist, seeking information on the illegal transfer of crypto tokens from its wallets.

As per Moneycontrol, over the past few weeks, officials from government agencies such as the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), Intelligence Bureau (IB), and the Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) are interrogating WazirX executives in connection with the crypto hack.

However, as per the report, the company’s probe has also not found any evidence of foul play into the case.

For the uninitiated, the FIU maintains records of all crypto exchanges and entities operating in the Indian market. While IB is primarily responsible for counterintelligence, and gathering intelligence apart from other duties to bolster national security.

Also, the CERT-In is an office under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), dealing with cyber security incidents.

A team of eight to ten officials from the agencies questioned WazirX executives at its Mumbai office to figure out the $234 Mn hack, the report added, quoting sources close to the matter.

WazirX reportedly has provided details on server and laptop logs, transaction trails, and the blockchain addresses linked to the hacking.

This development comes days after the crypto exchange company announced to form a committee of creditors (CoC) by October 9, which will include 10 members comprising users affected by the massive hack, to give WazirX advise and feedback on its restructuring plan, it said in a blog post.

The company, which initially filed for a moratorium, was recently granted a four-month period from the Singapore courts, providing no room for any legal action against WazirX during this time.

“The government is concerned about the size of the illegal transfer in WazirX as it impacts retail investors. The government agencies have reached out for some data to understand the structure, how the transfers happen and liquidity, etc. The hack happened because there are grey areas as the sector is unregulated,” the report quoted another source as saying.

The post Govt Agencies Start Probe Into WazirX’s $234 Mn Crypto Hack appeared first on Inc42 Media.

In an effort to bolster its footprint ahead of the initial public offering (IPO), foodtech major Swiggy has now launched a bulk order service called ‘Swiggy XL EV’ fleet in Gurugram, designed to serve large groups.

According to the company, the new initiative was under pilot run for the past few weeks, and has now entered the market on the day of Haryana elections.

Last month, Inc42 exclusively reported about Swiggy’s pilot phase of the large order fleet in Delhi NCR region. Back then, the Invesco-backed startup partnered with a three-wheeler EV maker for the initiative.

As part of its launch, Swiggy XL EV fleet delivered 3,500 meals to electoral officials at more than 580 polling booths in Gurugram and Badshahpur constituencies. This service was provided free of cost to the district administration.

“The festival season is perhaps the best time to launch this service, when there is gaiety and joy all around, and everyone celebrates with their loved ones. Swiggy XL will ensure that there is no interruption in parties and gatherings and no delay in large orders,” said Sidharth Bhakoo, national business head of Swiggy Food Marketplace.

Swiggy XL EV fleet will be extended to new cities in the coming weeks, confirmed Bhakoo.

He went on to add, “The service has an important environmental angle as well since the entire fleet is electric and it saves multiplicity of order trips.”

This development comes at the heels of its recent launch of a new service called Swiggy Bolt, to deliver quick-to-prepare dishes in 10 minutes. This new offering is currently operational in six cities – Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Chennai, Delhi, and Pune. 

Furthermore, the company is currently experimenting on a high-priced concierge membership that offers subscribers purchase access to high-end experiences and events that are not available to the general public, as per reports.

With the startup set to go public, Swiggy has reportedly received approval from its shareholders, earlier this week, 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 post Now, Swiggy Rolls Out Electric Fleet For Larger Orders In Gurugram appeared first on Inc42 Media.

IPO-bound foodtech major Swiggy has reportedly started piloting a high-priced concierge membership that offers subscribers purchase access to high-end experiences and events that are not available to the general public. 

As per The Arc, the offering, Rare Club, is aimed at consumers prepared to pay a yearly membership fee, starting from INR 50,000.

Inc42 has reached out to Swiggy for comments on the development. The story will be updated based on the response.

“It’s an invite-only feature right now. The whole idea is to attract the top 0.1% of young consumers – the growing class of professionals and accomplished individuals who are coming into wealth and seeking convenience and exclusive access,” the report said, citing a top executive on condition of anonymity.

The report further said that the consumers subscribing to Rare Club’s membership programme would be benefitting from a unique range of experiences across food and beverages, concierge services, events and networking opportunities, besides access to exclusive deals that may not be available for consumers on large.

Swiggy is looking to make Rare Club subscriptions available for wider consumers in the market by the end of October, the report quoted another source as saying. However, the company will not run the operations directly, but will forge partnerships with event management firms and professional concierge agencies to serve its premium members.

This development comes at a time when the company is set to go public, and filed its first updated draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) with market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) for an INR 3,750 Cr ($450 Mn) initial public offering. 

Additionally, the company also received approval from its shareholders to increase the size of the fresh issue in its IPO to INR 5,000 Cr from INR 3,750 Cr earlier, a day ago.

Meanwhile, its market rival Zomato has marked its footprint in the entertainment segment, in late August, through the recent acquisition of Paytm’s events and movies ticketing subsidiaries for INR 2,048 Cr in an all-cash deal.

The Prosus-backed startup managed to narrow its loss by 44% to INR 2,350 Cr, in the financial year ended March 31, 2024, as against a loss of INR 4,179.3 Cr in FY23. 

On the other hand, Swiggy’s operating revenue surged 36% to INR 11,247.3 Cr in FY24 from INR 8,264.5 Cr, from a year ago, backed by the growth of its quick commerce business – Swiggy Instamart.

The post IPO-Bound Swiggy Pilots Concierge Subscription For Premium Customers appeared first on Inc42 Media.

The Delhi Police has arrested a 30-year-old man, who they suspect to have defrauded over 30,000 people to the tune of INR 500 Cr (around $60 Mn)

As per TOI, the perpetrator lured his victims into investing in the HIBOX mobile application, promising exorbitant daily returns.

The scam swelled when familiar social media influencers also endorsed the same on their channels and pages, who are now summoned by the cops, the report said.

The suspect was identified as J Sivaram and hails from Chennai. The cops received complaints from 29 people against the application in August.

During the investigation, one of the police sources said, “We found that the accused used e-wallets for the transfer of money,” adding that the investigators found four accounts to which the cheated money was transferred.

The cops have also seized INR 18 Cr from four of his bank accounts, which were registered in the name of a company he worked as a director with, the report said.

Police further said that these people were lured into making the investment of guaranteed returns of 1% to 5% daily, amounting to 30% to monthly 90%.

Additionally, the report said, the cops later received 89 complaints only from Delhi, and 488 complaints were discovered to be linked to the case on the National Cybercrime reporting Portal (NCRP). A case was thus registered.

Deputy Commissioner of Police Hemant Tiwari confirmed to the report that notices have been issued to YouTubers and social media influencers Abhishek Malhan alias Fukra Insaan, Elvish Yadav, Lakshay Choudhary and Purav Jha to join the investigation.

This comes at a time when online fraud has become extremely difficult to identify or control. The possibility of not falling to the traps set by scammers are growing thin, with the rising adoption of digitization of the country.

Based on the recent Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) annual report for the financial year 2023-24 (FY24), the number of online frauds in the country surged 334% year-on-year (YoY) to 29,082, and it covered instances involving cards and the internet. 

Over a week ago, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) also made an arrest of four persons for their alleged involvement in a scam carried out via online gaming application ‘Fiewin’ to defraud users to the tune of over INR 400 Cr (around $47.6 Mn).

The post HIBOX App Scam Busted: Man Held For Defrauding 30K People appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Billionaire Gautam Adani-led Adani Group will provide clean energy for Google’s cloud services and operations in India.

The group will supply energy from a new solar wind hybrid project located at its 30 gigawatt (GW) Khavda renewable energy park in Gujarat.

It is pertinent to note that Google powers most of its cloud operations and services with electricity from the grid and plans to run them entirely through clean energy by 2030.

The tech giant said in a statement that the collaboration with Adani Group is aimed at procuring bundled energy solutions and advance decarbonisation of the former’s cloud services in India.

“With proven capabilities in delivering large scale wind, solar, hybrid and energy storage projects, Adani is well-positioned to provide customised renewable energy solutions to commercial and industrial (C&I) customers to meet their energy requirements and reduce their carbon footprint,” said Adani Group in a separate statement.

The group further added, “Going forward, Adani plans to increase the focus on merchant and C&I segments to help decarbonise industries.”

Additionally, Google is also partnering with Mumbai-based renewable energy firm CleanMax to enable a portfolio of 125.4MW of new clean energy projects, consisting of 66 MW solar in Rajasthan and 59.4 MW wind in Karnataka.

“We’re thrilled to partner with Google on this decarbonization initiative in India,” said Kuldeep Jain, managing director at CleanMax.

Jain also said, “This collaboration with Google not only sets a new standard for environmental leadership but also illustrates our shared commitment to making a real difference in the fight against climate change.”

These projects are expected to start commercial operations in the fourth quarter of 2025, and reduce carbon emissions by about 250,000 tons each year, the company also said in a statement.

With the growing concerns around the need for clean energy, global companies have begun to partner with Indian cleantech firms to invest in renewable energy solutions.

For instance, iPhone maker Apple entered into a joint venture with CleanMax to invest in six rooftop solar projects, with a total capacity of 14.4 MW, in order to aid Apple in reducing the carbon footprint associated with its India operations.

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Tata Electronics has said that it will resume some of its operations at the fire-hit iPhone facility in Tamil Nadu’s Hosur. 

Last week, a major fire broke out at Tata Electronics’ iPhone plant in Hosur, prompting the officials to suspend its production for an indefinite period after which Apple has reportedly sent a supplier responsibility (SR) team to the facility to review the situation and “counsel and advise” the contract manufacturer.

“We plan to restart work in many areas of the facility today. And as we work toward resuming full operations, all our team members will continue to receive full pay,” Reuters reported, citing a company spokesperson.

Earlier today, reports confirmed that a government-related probe was underway and the director of the Directorate of Industrial Safety and Health (DISH) would inspect the unit affected by fire.

As per Reuters report, district administrative official KM Sarayu said that the director of industries for the state has given the company a go-ahead now to resume operations.

M Velu, a district fire officer, said in the report that the value of damages is not yet known.

“We will know more only after the removal of the debris. The entire shed has collapsed with little visibility into the damages,” Velu also said.

The fire incident looks to challenge the iOS owner Apple’s plans of diversifying its manufacturing units and operations outside of China.

In early September, reports confirmed that Apple supplier Jabil was planning to invest INR 2,000 Cr to build an electronics manufacturing facility in Tamil Nadu’s Trichy.

Additionally, the tech giant was considering using made-in-India chips for the iPhones produced in the country, where Apple began conversations with Micron, the Tata Group, and other chip manufacturers setting up plants in India to source supplies worth $12 Bn for the India-produced iPhones, as per reports.

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A few days after a major fire broke out at Tata Electronics’ iPhone plant in Tamil Nadu’s Hosur prompting the officials to suspend its production for an indefinite period, Apple has reportedly sent a supplier responsibility (SR) team to the facility to review the situation and “counsel and advise” the contract manufacturer.

As per ET, the SR team comprises three Apple officials which are expected to provide support to its sole Indian vendor which produces enclosures for the iPhones.

“Apple generally sends its SR team whenever there is a safety issue or labour-related incident,” the report quoted a source as saying.

“The company has around six units, of which one got completely burned out,” another source added.

On Saturday (September 28), a major fire broke out at Tata Electronics’ iPhone plant in Hosur during wee hours, temporarily disrupting the operations. Although no casualty was reported, it remains uncertain of the scale of operations impacted at the facility during the incident.

“There has been an unfortunate incident of fire at our plant in Hosur, Tamil Nadu. Our emergency protocols at the plant ensured that all our employees are safe,” a Tata Electronics spokesperson then said.

One of the sources confirmed that a government-related probe is also underway and the director of the Directorate of Industrial Safety and Health (DISH) would inspect the unit that was affected by fire, based on the report.

DISH is expected to inspect the unit and evaluate if it’s safe for workers to begin working again “in the next two days”, the person said. The company can resume production only after it gets a green sign after the inspection.

The source added, “The company would have made alternate arrangements so that the production is not impacted as much because the site has to be preserved for the enquiry. They will also probably look into factors like air quality, presence of alternate arrangements.”

This also comes at a time when telecom major Reliance Jio also faced a fire incident in the morning at the Jio IDC Data Centre leading to a severe outage across its network in Mumbai, on September 17. 

Meanwhile, multinational conglomerate Tata Group is all set for its second iPhone assembly unit in India, to be built in Hosur and is expected to go operational in November.

On the hiring roadmap, Tata Sons’ chairman N Chandrasekaran then said that Tata Electronics is set to hire over 20,000 people at its new iPhone assembly plant in Hosur soon, bringing the total headcount of employees at the facility to 40,000.

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In an effort to fuel its two wheeler rides, Uber has joined hands with IPO-bound logistics services provider Shadowfax to integrate the latters’ two wheeler fleet with the ride-hailing majors’ UberMoto bike taxi offering.

The riders who drive for Shadowfax will now be able to switch during less hours of work and provide bike-taxi services for UberMoto.

The move will further allow Uber to bolster its bike taxi services with additional two wheelers and launch operations in towns where Shadowfax is present.

“This partnership with a third party logistics provider will materially unlock the supply of two wheelers on Uber while creating additional earning opportunities for drivers on the Shadowfax platform,” Arnab Kumar, director of business development, Uber India and South Asia said in a statement.

“This integration is in line with our ambition to truly become the operating system for multiple form factors and we are incredibly excited about the potential of this partnership for Uber Moto’s growth,” Kumar added.

This development comes weeks after Uber announced the relaunch of its high-end Uber Black service in India, starting with Mumbai, after a gap of almost a decade.

The competition amid ride hailing service providers is getting stronger with new players entering the industry with unique offerings to broaden its customer base. 

For instance, a few weeks ago, Bengaluru-based unicorn Rapido was reportedly looking to place a bet on fully electrifying its bike taxi fleet in Delhi by next year.

Meanwhile, in late August, ride hailing startup Namma Yatri was also in initial talks with multiple American taxi unions to foray into the US cab market to compete with platforms such as Lyft and Uber, as per reports.

Founded in 2015 by Vaibhav Khandelwal and Abhishek Bansal, Shadowfax provides hyper-local and on-demand deliveries to businesses. Notably, the startup works with ecommerce platforms like Flipkart and Meesho. 

Praharsh Chandra, cofounder and chief business officer at Shadowfax said, “At Shadowfax, we are committed to driving innovation and adding value for our drivers and delivery partners. Our ‘One app, all opportunities’ platform will empower our partners to tap into new streams of income, whether through last-mile deliveries or mobility solutions like UberMoto.”

Additionally, Shadowfax is reportedly planning to raise INR 2,500 – 3,000 Cr through an IPO at a valuation of INR 5,000 – 8,000 Cr.

Updated at 02:38 PM

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Actual investments under the production linked incentive (PLI) schemes were INR 1.46 Lakh Cr till August and expected to cross INR 2 Lakh Cr soon, union commerce minister Piyush Goyal said.

The minister engaged with 140 companies out of the 1,300 manufacturing units across 14 sectors, which have been the beneficiaries of the scheme.

“We had estimated that in the 14 sectors, about INR 46 Lakh Cr would be invested…Our estimate is that we could look at an investment of upward of INR 2 Lakh Cr being seeded through the production linked incentive scheme (throughout the scheme period),” Goyal said.

The scheme was revised earlier in May, making a majority of the manufacturers eligible to commence production.

This development comes weeks after the PLI scheme benefitted a number of manufacturers across sectors.

For instance, the Ministry of Heavy Industries (MHI) selected Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) as the successful bidder for the global tender for PLI scheme for 10 GWh advanced chemistry cell (ACC) manufacturing.

Meanwhile, Dixon’s subsidiary Padget Electronics inked an MoU with HP India to manufacture personal computers (PCs) and laptops, enabling HP India to leverage PLI scheme 2.0 and shore up the domestic production of its products. 

Additionally, the electric two-wheeler startup Ola Electric’s S1 X escooter model (both 3 kWh and 4 kWh) received domestic value addition (DVA) certification needed to be eligible for the PLI scheme for automobile and auto components, in August.

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BharatPe has settled its two-year long legal dispute with Ashneer Grover, following which the former cofounder will no longer have association with the company, nor hold any shareholding pattern. 

“Mr Grover will not be associated with BharatPe in any capacity nor be a part of the shareholding of the company. Certain shares of Mr Grover shall be transferred to the Resilient Growth Trust for the benefit of the company and his remaining shares will be managed by his family trust,” BharatPe said in a statement.

It further added that both the parties have decided not to pursue the cases filed. “We wish Mr Grover well. BharatPe continues to focus on delivering industry leading solutions to its merchants and customers driving growth with profitability.”

“I have reached a decisive settlement with BharatPe. I repose my faith in the management and board, who are doing great work in taking BharatPe forward in the right direction. I continue to remain aligned with the company’s growth and success. I will no longer be associated with BharatPe in any capacity, nor be part of the capital table,” Grover said in a statement.

He added, “My remaining shares will be managed by my Family Trust. Both parties have decided not to pursue cases filed. I hope BharatPe continues to grow and succeed for the benefit of all its stakeholders.”

The case dates back to a complaint filed by BharatPe in May 2023, against the former head Grover, wife Madhuri and family members, including Deepak Gupta, Suresh Jain, and Shwetank Jain.

The case involved Madhuri’s alleged approval of payments amounting to INR 72 Cr to 30 third-party vendors that did not provide any real services or goods to the company.

The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) also uncovered a host of unexplained payments made to allegedly fake HR consultancies by Ashneer and Madhuri during their course of employment at the company.

A month ago, the case developed with its initial arrest of a certain vendor named Amit Kumar Bansal in connection to the fraud, being associated with Grover and family.

Following that, BharatPe’s former managing director Ashneer Grover’s brother-in-law, Deepak Gupta was recently arrested, a week ago.

Grover, who had served as managing director and cofounder of BharatPe, resigned from his position on February 28, 2022.

Updated at 03:46 PM

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As the quick commerce race heats up in India, with players expanding beyond FMCG and groceries to a wider bouquet of consumer goods, Tiger Global is reportedly conducting due diligence in Zepto-owned dark stores in Bengaluru, indicating a strong interest by the New York-based investor in the $5 Bn valued company. 

“Tiger has been visiting Zepto’s dark stores for a more intricate understanding of operations,” ET reported, citing a source close to the matter.

The source also said that the US-based investment firm is seeing “how it (Zepto) differentiates in execution from others, as well as what’s playing out differently in India compared to global markets.”

Inc42 has reached out to Zepto cofounder Aadit Palicha for comments on the development. The story will be updated based on his response.

Another source added that for Tiger Global, “the idea is to engage (with Zepto) and have a relationship from now on for the next round of funding before an IPO—a typical practice for most late-stage startups.” 

This development comes at a time when Zepto has initiated discussions with domestic and global merchant bankers to go public by August 2025, as per reports. On that note, the company eyes to raise around $450 Mn via a fresh issue of shares. 

A month ago, the quick commerce major was also planning to raise an additional funding of $310 Mn, boosting its valuation to $5 Bn, marking a 40% spike from its previous fundraise.

Additionally, the company raised a funding of $665 Mn at a valuation of $3.6 Bn, to double its dark store count to 700 by March 2025 from 350 currently, in June.

Earlier this month, Zepto launched its services in Ahmedabad and plans to further branch out into other parts of the state, like Vadodara, Surat and Rajkot.

This move aligns with a broader industry trend, where several quick commerce companies are experimenting with new offerings ahead of the festive season. 

Apart from Zepto, major players like Blinkit and Swiggy Instamart are expanding their dark store networks and adding bigger ticket items, such as electronics and fashion, to their product portfolios.

Meanwhile, a majority of ecommerce players are either looking to or have already made their foray into the quick commerce segment to ride on the latter’s market potential.

While Flipkart rolled out its line called Minutes last month, Tata-owned BigBasket has moved from being an online grocery delivery platform to a full-scale quick commerce platform. 

Reliance Industries’ digital arm JioMart also rolled out a pilot for instant delivery of groceries and fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) products in some parts of Mumbai and Navi Mumbai.

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US-based coworking major WeWork Inc’s plan to sell the entire 27% stake in its Indian unit and exit the country has reportedly collapsed, months after the Competition Commission of India (CCI) approved the proposal.

“The transaction didn’t go through due to a valuation mismatch even after the regulatory nod came in from the Indian antitrust body,” as per ET, citing three people close to the matter.

WeWork Inc currently holds 27% ownership in its Indian unit. Meanwhile, the remaining 73% is owned by Bengaluru-based real estate company Embassy Group. It is pertinent to note that OAW holds the shares on behalf of WeWork International.

The Embassy Group was set to acquire the stake owned by WeWork US in the India business, which would result in bringing in investors on the back of its plan to go public.

Meanwhile, peer coworking space provider Awfis made a strong market debut on May 30, with its shares listing at a substantial premium of 12.8% on the BSE.

Additionally, marking its first step towards its initial public offering (IPO), market rival Smartworks turned into a public company and changed its name to Smartworks Coworking Spaces Ltd, as per its regulatory filing with the Registrar of Companies (RoC).

Founded in 2010 by Adam Neumann and Miguel McKelvey, the New York-based WeWork Inc leases out coworking spaces across the globe for corporate houses and independent enterprises. The company managed to scale a peak valuation of $47 Bn. 

However, the startup was weaved into legal and corporate governance issues, resulting in its filing for bankruptcy in November 2023. 

WeWork’s valuation also plunged to $750 Mn in April. 

WeWork Inc was initially looking to sell its remaining stake in its Indian unit in April, via an INR 1,200 Cr secondary transaction. As per reports, Enam group’s family office, investment fund A91 Partners and CaratLane founder Mithun Sacheti were set to buy the stake from the coworking startup then.

This development also comes right after WeWork India roped in Janak Malkani as the head of managed office for the country and sales lead for the West region, following the CCI’s approval to sell the company’s stake. 

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In a continued series of cyber attacks, social media content creator Ranveer Allahbadia-owned YouTube channel Beer Biceps, along with his personal channel, lost all video content after being hacked.

The channels were also renamed along with their handle names by the hacking team.

As per reports, Beer Biceps channel was changed to Tesla and its handle to ‘@Elon.trump.tesla_live2024,’ while his personal channel was changed to ‘@Tesla.event.trump_2024.’

Allahbadia took to his Instagram handle, updating about the hack of both his channels, and he also mentioned that he is “working on next steps,” acting on the situation.

The content creator is known to make podcasts by interviewing Bollywood celebrities, business leaders, social media influencers for his channel.

Following the incident, YouTube has removed both of Allahbadia’s channels from the platform, as per reports.

This update comes a week after the Supreme Court’s official YouTube channel was hacked. The account showed videos promoting a cryptocurrency developed by US-based company Ripple Labs.

The issue of cyber attacks and data breach has become a common trap and netizens continue to lose their sensitive information and wealth.

It is pertinent to note that cyberattacks on Indian websites surged 261% year-on-year (YoY) in the first quarter (Q1) of calendar year 2024 (CY24), as per a report by security SaaS firm Indusface.

Earlier this month, personal data of millions of customers of listed general insurance major Star Health & Allied Insurance was allegedly up for sale on instant messaging app Telegram, which was seen to be one of the biggest data breaches in Indian history.

A few weeks ago, the government revealed its aims to create a central registry of suspects to crackdown on the rising instances of cyber crimes in the country.

Union home minister Amit Shah inaugurated the registry during the annual foundation day programme of the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C). He also launched other initiatives like creation of cyber commandos, and the Samanvay platform (Joint Cyber ​​Crime Investigation Facility System) to tackle cyber crimes.

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