Meta appears to have landed in the crosshairs of enforcement agencies over the viral deepfake video that allegedly featured actor Rashmika Mandanna. 

Delhi Police has directed the social media giant to provide the URL of the account from which the ‘deepfake’ video of Mandanna originated, according to a PTI report. In addition, the city Police has also sought information on users who allegedly shared the fake video on social media platforms. 

“We have written to Meta to access the URL ID of the account from which the video was generated,” an official probing the matter told PTI. 

This comes barely a day after the special cell of Delhi Police’s Intelligence Fusion and Strategic Operations Unit registered an FIR in the matter. The report was lodged under various provisions of the Indian Penal Code and the IT Act for flouting norms related to forgery and for harming one’s reputation.

As per the report, a source said that a dedicated team of sleuths has been constituted to look into the matter and that the case could be cracked soon. 

The flurry of developments comes just a day after the Delhi Commission for Women on November 10 sent a notice to local Police seeking action in connection with the deepfake video that went viral online recently. 

The deepfake video featured what looked like Rashmika Mandanna and used generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools to make the synthetic video realistic. The aftermath saw the actor publicly slamming the video while actor Amitabh Bachchan called for action against culprits for generating the fake video

This followed two separate deepfake images making rounds online that involved actor Katrina Kaif and cricketer Sachin Tendulkar’s daughter Sara Tendulkar. The synthetic images were met with criticism online as users called for a crackdown on those using AI for nefarious reasons. 

Close on the heels of this, Minister of State (MoS) for Electronics and Information Technology Rajeev Chandrasekhar also chimed into debate and said that the safety of and security of netizens, especially women, was the centre’s priority. 

Afterwards, the government also issued an advisory to major social media platforms, directing them to flag and remove deepfakes and illicit content within 36 hours after being reported by users. 

While Delhi Police is already probing the matter, Maharashtra Congress has sought the establishment of a government panel that would be tasked with formulating a legal and regulatory framework to curb deepfakes.

In a post on X, the general secretary of Congress’ state unit Sachin Sawant said that a separate machinery is needed to identify deepfakes and expose them.

Curiously, the development comes just a day after it was reported that Meta was looking to mandate advertisers to declare the usage of any digitally altered image or video in their ads. The policy, which will be rolled out globally, is expected to be moderated by a mix of both human and AI fact-checkers.

The post Rashmika Mandanna Deepfake: Delhi Police Seeks Info From Meta Over Video Origins appeared first on Inc42 Media.

The recent news of slapping huge GST tax demand notices on several companies operating in the nascent egaming sector surprised many. What did not surprise was the aggrieved parties’ decision to take the dispute to court. 

Of course, the stakes involved were big. Goan casino operator and now an online gaming company Delta Corp was recently issued a notice of INR 16,800 Cr in tax arrears, an amount is more than double the company’s last decade’s revenue. Delta’s revenues for the last five years amount to INR 2,260 Cr, according to Moneycontrol. The net profit stood at INR 660 Cr with INR 220 Cr worth of taxes paid. 

Dream11, on the other hand, has been issued a tax demand of INR 25,000 Cr, while its last known public valuation is INR 60,000 Cr. Previously, the largest such demand of INR 21,000 Cr was sent to Gameskraft Technology. 

The company subsequently approached the Karnataka High Court, leading to the quashing of the GST demand, underscoring the fact that no company would passively stand by while their house is being taken away. Following this, an appeal has been lodged with the Supreme Court.

These notices also inevitably raise pertinent questions on the frictions of doing business in India. We at India Development Foundation are currently conducting research on the impact of Indian regulations and their impact on Private Venture investments. During our multiple conversations with senior partners at leading VC firms, we were surprised to learn that the Indian “friction factor” is a given and is factored into the business and financial models by investors. 

The powerful of course understands it is holding all the cards in this zero-sum game. As a former union minister famously remarked during the peak of the Vodafone tax case, “Investors have no choice but to come to India.” 

There are also serious economic implications involved – while the big companies might be prepared to operate in this uncertain environment, what do we expect the small startups to do? If businesses have to live in fear and uncertainty not knowing when and how the next strike will come from up above, it perversely incentivizes small businesses to stay small, for they can sense that growing big will attract undesirable attention. 

If starting a business in India involves taking risks, growing it requires serious commitment. One must settle down, register their company locally, hire, grow, raise and invest money, and then stay put for 10 or 20 years to reach a certain scale. 

It is no hidden secret that many Indian startups like to register their businesses in Singapore, Dubai or other locations. Others do it after reaching a certain scale, in order to show that they are still small in India. 

As many as 1,777 foreign companies have closed their place of business in India, as per a Lok Sabha submission in 2022. The question to ask is why are these companies shutting down?

Uncertainty in policy making leaves all businesses grappling with the fear of the unknown – what new regulatory demand is coming up and when? Take for example the GST tax notice issued to gaming companies. 

This notice is for the period between 2017 and June 30, 2022, which is puzzling as the amendments don’t mention retrospective application, and they are being called “clarificatory” and are still said to apply to past periods. 

Another example is of the Data Protection Act – the importance of Data Protection was first mooted by the AP Shah Committee in 2012. It took 11 years for India to finally pass a law. Similarly, “Cloud computing” was first mentioned by the DoT in 2012, but we still don’t have a coherent or even a draft National Cloud Strategy (Meghraj is about GI Cloud).

In contrast, a committee was setup in February 2023, to come out with an entire draft law on digital competition in three months flat. It is still in the works. In April 2023, a circular was issued to set up Gaming SROs, ostensibly to weed out the fly by night operators and protect consumers. 

A three-month deadline was given, which has long passed. The process is still in the works. Many companies such as Fantok, a gaming platform, are suspending operations citing uncertainty in regulations as a reason.

In earlier prominent cases, such as the Vodafone-Hutchison retrospective tax dispute a protracted disagreement unfolded between the Indian government and Vodafone regarding capital gains taxes. This situation underscored the prevailing uncertainty within India’s tax landscape.

All around uncertainty in policymaking significantly increases the India friction factor. While the big guys can afford to go to court, the small guys keep wondering if they must stay small in India or take their businesses outside India. 

While the entrepreneurs would like to set up their businesses abroad, the investors in turn keep their friction-adjusted financial models in place, while continuing to look for greener and smoother pastures.

India has received roughly INR 6.5 Lakh Cr (or $77.5 Bn) of funding through the private route into startups over the last 15 years alone, according to data from Tracxn. In -commerce alone, India has created over 33,000 startups. 

The question is what these numbers would have been like if the “India friction factor” was reduced by 0.5% or 1% or 2% or if there were more regulatory certainty. Perhaps the financial models of VC firms can tell us that.

The post What The GST Tax Notices To Gaming Companies Tell Us About India’s ‘Friction Factor’ appeared first on Inc42 Media.

In India, faith is quite a profitable line of work, and it is this emotional state of humans that is fuelling the growth of many startups in the not-so-mystical realm of spiritual tech.

The statement stands true especially when the country today is witnessing a wave of startups that in some way or another are disrupting the ages-old devotion market with new-age tech.

According to a study, as of 2023, the Indian faith market stands at a whopping $58.56 Bn with religious / pilgrim tourism accounting for a major share in this sector. The industry players Inc42 spoke to for this story estimate that the startups can easily capture 10% of the burgeoning religious economy of India.

Only a decade ago, telecom service providers like Airtel, Vodafone, Idea, and Jio used to offer astrology, and horoscope services by allowing the customers to dial a particular number and charging them on a minute basis. Gradually the spiritual tech sector is trying to almost replicate the same with modern technological tools.

The spiritual tech market has also deployed evolving technology including AI, and live streaming to enhance their offerings ranging from astrology, numerology, tarot card reading, e-visits ( darshans) to temples, online Puja, e-kundalis, raashis and selling gemstones.

As a society where faith is deeply embedded in our culture, technology is significantly propelling the growth of spiritual tech startups, with many reporting robust profit margins, substantial revenue growth, and VC funding. Marketing has also been at the heart of the sudden boom in the spiritual tech industry.

If you are a regular Instagram hopper, you would have come across many advertisements where a priest/ astrologer is seen in a conversation with a person seeking to address his problems.

“Just recently, during the ongoing Cricket World Cup, a group of Indian cricket team fans organised e-puja through our application and donated INR 25 Lakh to seek God’s blessings,” a spiritual tech startup’s cofounder said, requesting anonymity.

He added that monetisation in the space is not a concern because of the way Indians donate in the name of faith, devotion and spirituality, and some of the prime areas comprise astrology, numerology, tarot card readings, virtual temple visits (darshans), online pujas, e-kundali, zodiac consultations, and the sale of gemstones.

“We have seen an NRI tech founder and his family spend INR 7 Cr on temple darshans and astrology services in the past few years,” the CEO quoted above said.

On the back of growing demand, market players anticipate more VC funds entering the market, higher margins, increasing users and even companies going public in the not-so-distant future.

Meanwhile, multiple industry leaders we spoke with have made a very interesting revelation — spiritual tech startups are drawing more than 70% of their revenue share from younger users (25-35 years).

Why The Sudden Boom In The Spiritual Tech Arena?

There are multiple factors behind the sudden rise of the Indian spiritual tech space. The UPI revolution, cheap internet, the rise of the app culture, and, of course, the unwavering and undented Indian faith are some of the major tailwinds for this interesting Indian startup sector.

“Being a technology-first platform, our substantial growth is primarily attributed to UPI, as it facilitates numerous microtransactions. Next is the penetration of 4G and 5G services. We see a lot of traction on the live streaming feature, which has been possible with a high-speed mobile internet connection,” Anmol Jain, the cofounder and chief business officer of Astrotalk said.

The price factor has also been instrumental in attracting younger age groups. A case in point is the online special puja, which can be attended for just a few hundred rupees charges at half or one-third of the conventional prices. This kind of setup is especially helpful for people who cannot travel to places but need a medium to connect with their deity’s place of worship. And this is just one of the many examples.

Besides online darshan and puja, astrology and allied services, too, have dominated this recession-proof industry. If an astrologer has asked you to undergo some religious rituals for better fortunes then some apps help you do that too.

“For instance, an astrologer informs someone that they are under the influence of “Kaal Sarp Dosh”, requiring an individual to undergo a Kaal Sarp Dosh ritual priced at INR 3,000. Subsequently, the same individual discovers on the VAMA app that every 15th of the month, a group Kaal Sarp Dosh puja takes place in a revered temple, and the cost for participation is only INR 700,” said Mannu Jain, the cofounder of VAMA.

On the astrology front, some apps provide you with a list of astrologers, who charge anywhere from INR 5 a minute to INR 50 a minute to read birth charts (kundali). Such startups are now bringing astrologers online, expanding their scope of work.

Stars Of Spiritual Tech Players Are Shining Brightly?

While still in its infancy, startups in the spiritual tech space are showing promising growth. Take, for example, Astrotalk, a startup specialising in online astrology services, which recently reported an almost twofold increase in revenues for FY23, reaching INR 282 Cr, with profits surging fourfold YoY to INR 27 Cr.

Sources suggest that the startup is on the brink of concluding a $30 Mn Series B round led by a global private equity fund.

The cofounder of Astrotalk told Inc42 that the company currently commands an 80% market share in the astrology tech space and is experiencing rapid growth.

“In terms of the number of users, we have grown about two and a half times. In terms of revenues, we would have grown similarly. Our daily transacting user and monthly transacting user base would have grown similarly,” Jain said.

Astrotalk, which boasts of 2-2.5 Lakh transacting users every month, aspires to get listed by 2026, we were told.

Meanwhile, VAMA’s Jain said that the startup is in final talks to raise $2-2.5 Mn in a seed round. VAMA boasts an annual revenue run of $1 Mn.

“This is the only space where people will burn a lot of money. This is a highly monetisable space,” the VAMA cofounder said.

With profitability not a challenge for these players, the impressive user stickiness adds to their shimmer. Astrotalk, for instance, claims that 80% of its revenues come from repeat customers.

Interestingly, the spiritual tech space is getting a massive boost from young individuals in the age group of 25-35 years. Also, a substantial number of NRIs have turned to these apps to stay connected with their culture and faith. There is also a huge chunk of Non-Resident Indians ( NRIs) who have turned to India’s spirituality-focussed apps to stay connected to the temples, astrologers, and priests of their choice.

“Temples are not just places of worship but also centres for guidance and wisdom. Many people seek solace, blessings, and advice from temple priests. Online consultations, through video calls or chat services, have become an alternative for people who are unable to visit temples in person,” said Giresh Vasudev Kulkarni, the founder of Temple Connect app.

Festive Season Spurs The Growth

Being the land of devotion, India has started witnessing a rise in the number of individuals using spiritual tech apps around the festive season. Technology has however removed many barriers when it comes to observing the traditional spiritual practices leading to a particular increased demand during the festive season. VAMA app recently livestreamed the historic Red Fort, Delhi Ram Leela on its app during Dussehra.

“We also provide daily predictions during the festive period. We have seen good traction with regards to e-puja, and this segment has grown by about 70%,” Jain of the VAMA app said. He added that the startup also organises specific Durga puja rituals and livestreams religious events.

Echoing similar sentiments, Kulkarni of Temple Connect said that e-pujas gain a lot of traction during the festive season.

“E-pujas allow devotees to request specific pujas to be conducted on their behalf, with priests performing the rituals using video conferencing platforms,” he said.

Meanwhile, the cofounder of Astrotalk said that although the demand for online astrologer consultations does not see any significant spike during the festive season, e-pujas are fetching the platform a monthly revenue of INR 25 Lakh.

Peering Into The Crystal Ball 

According to the VAMA cofounder, there was a time when Indian telecom operators raked in hundreds of crores of annual revenue just by offering astrology services.

“The market has grown manifolds since then, thanks to affordable mobile data and smartphone adoption. The market currently stands somewhere around INR 5K Cr and is only poised to move up from here,” VAMA’s Jain said.

Estimates of the cofounder of Astrotalk, too, are on similar lines. “I think it’s a multi-billion-dollar industry for sure. Mangalam camphor alone is an INR 600 Cr brand, and then we have ITC Mangaldeep agarbatti, which is again an INR 800 Cr brand… And there are INR 1,000 Cr businesses built on only products. So, the potential of the devotion market of India is huge,” he added.

Meanwhile, the cofounder of Astrotalk sees the company’s revenues touching  INR 2,000 Cr in the next two to three years. “Following this, we envision ourselves going public,” he asserted.

While it remains to be seen which part of the aforementioned predictions holds going ahead, one cannot ignore the tailwinds that the sector is receiving right now on the back of tech advancements, digital inclusion, the country’s rich demographic dividend, and an individual’s quest for spirituality.

The post Decoding The Cosmic Rise Of Indian Spiritual Tech Startups appeared first on Inc42 Media.

In its maiden financial statement since listing in August this year, blockchain and IT development company Yudiz Solutions reported a net profit of INR 1.33 Cr in the first half (H1) of the financial year 2023-24 (FY24). 

The platform had posted a net loss of INR 54 Lakh in the same period of the previous fiscal year. 

Revenue from operations jumped more than 45% to INR 15.87 Cr in H1 FY24 from INR 10.91 Cr in H1 FY23. Including other income, total income rose 47% to INR 16.18 Cr in H1 FY24 as against INR 10.97 Cr in the corresponding period last financial year. 

Meanwhile, total expenses increased 18% to INR 13.95 Cr in the six-month period ended September 2023. Its total expenditure stood at INR 11.82 Cr in H1 FY23. Employee benefit expenses accounted for the biggest chunk of costs at INR 9.17 Cr in H1 FY24, rising sharply from INR 8.71 Cr in the year ago period. 

Other expenses also rose 91% to INR 3.62 Cr during April-September 2023 compared to INR 1.89 Cr a year ago. 

Founded in 2011, Yudiz is an Ahmedabad-based IT consulting firm that specialises in web and mobile app development. It also provides services in areas of emerging technologies such as AR/VR, AI/ML, blockchain, and IoT. 

In its meeting held on November 9, Yudiz’s board of directors also approved the appointment of Pranita Singh & Associates, with immediate effect, as the new internal auditor of the company for FY24. 

Yudiz listed on the NSE SME platform on August 17 this year. The shares of the company listed at a 12% premium to the issue price at INR 185 per share. 

However, the stock has had a bumpy ride since then. In the past three months, its share price has swung wildly, seeing a 52-week high of INR 213.8 and an all-time low of INR 140. 

The company’s shares closed Thursday’s (November 9) session 0.13% higher at INR 156.85 on the NSE SME. Its market cap stood at INR 156 Cr at the end of day’s trading. 

The post Yudiz Reports A Profitable H1 FY24, Revenue Jumps To INR 15.8 Cr appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Listed matrimonial startup Matrimony.com’s consolidated profit after tax (PAT) rose 6.97% to INR 12.53 Cr during the second quarter of the financial year 2023-24 (FY24) from INR 11.71 Cr in the year-ago quarter.

On a quarter-on-quarter (QoQ) basis, the company’s PAT declined 11.58% from INR 14.17 Cr.

The company, which operates multiple matrimonial brands including BharatMatrimony, CommunityMatrimony and EliteMatrimony, saw its operating revenue rise 5.86% year-on-year (YoY) to INR 121.60 Cr in Q2 FY24. On a QoQ basis, it declined 1.36% from INR 123.28 Cr.

Commenting on the Q2 performance, Matrimony chairman and MD Murugavel Janakiraman said, “Despite Q2 being a seasonal quarter we have shown growth in revenue and profits on a y/y basis. We have launched a transformed BharatMatrimony platform, delivering enhanced user interface and functionality including connecting matches over shared interests. We expect this initiative will add further value to our customers”.

Matchmaking Services Lead Revenue Charge: The listed matrimonial startup saw matchmaking services contributing the most to its top line, as the segment saw a revenue of INR 119.16 Cr during the quarter under review. 

The revenue from matchmaking services climbed 5.95% year-on-year (YoY) to INR 112.47 Cr but declined 1.15% from INR 120.55 Cr reported in the previous quarter.

At the same time, marriage services contributed INR 2.43 Cr to Matrimony.com’s total revenue in Q2 FY24, down 11% from INR 2.73 Cr in Q1 FY24 and 1.67% higher than INR 2.39 Cr in the year-ago quarter (Q2 FY23).

While matchmaking services were a hugely profitable segment for Matrimony.com, marriage services remained largely loss-making. This trend comes down to the mostly fragmented marriage management industry in India, where family and venue staff end up taking the most charge of the celebrations.

Zooming In On Matrimony’s Expenses

Matrimony.com reported a total expenditure of INR 111.58 Cr during Q2 FY24, up marginally from INR 111.23 Cr reported in Q1 FY24 and up 5.73% from INR 105.53 Cr reported during the year-ago quarter.

The biggest cost was advertising and other promotional activities. During Q2 FY24, Matrimony.com spent INR 47.33 Cr on advertising and promotional activities, up 6.96% QoQ from INR 44.25 Cr and up 4.53% YoY from INR 45.28 Cr.

Employee benefits expenses fell 5.49% QoQ to INR 35.60 Cr during the quarter under review from INR 37.67 Cr. On a YoY basis, employee expenses rose 2.06% from INR 36.35 Cr.

Matrimony.com also reported INR 20.53 Cr as ‘other expenses’ during the quarter under review, though it did not provide a breakdown of the same in its filings with the BSE.

The Chennai-based startup also said that it has overhauled the BharatMatrimony platform. “Transformed the BharatMatrimony app and website, delivering an enhanced user interface and functionality,” the startup said. 

Matrimony.com added that the new app and website features a user-friendly dashboard, personalised match listings, daily recommendations, a streamlined mailbox, interactive chat, and detailed profile views.

Shares of the matrimonial startup ended Thursday’s (November 9) session 0.92% lower at INR 572.45 apiece.

The post Matrimony Q2 PAT Rises 7% YoY To INR 12.53 Cr appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Fresh off the fire sale, auto spare parts startup GoMechanic, recently acquired by Servizzy, has raised $6 Mn in a strategic funding round led by an undisclosed family office. 

The round also saw participation from other existing investors, including Stride Ventures. 

A company spokesperson told Inc42 that GoMechanic will utilise the fresh capital to expand its footprint to new and uncovered areas across the country. The funding will also be used to venture into new categories and launch different formats of franchisee workshops.

Commenting on the fundraise, the new cofounder and chief executive officer (CEO) Himanshu Arora said, “This achievement serves as a profound vote of confidence towards the company and in the potential of its business model from the investment community, the existing shareholders, Stride Ventures and Lifelong Group, and the startup community.”

In a statement, the company said that its ‘sole purpose’, post acquisition, has been to create transparency and be more cost-effective and efficient. GoMechanic further claimed that, going forward, it is committed to fostering strong customer loyalty and cultivating brand loyalty.

In what is arguably the first insight into the startup’s performance since acquisition, the auto after-sales startup said it has witnessed a 4X jump in revenue under the leadership of new cofounder and chief operating officer (COO) Muskan Kakkar. GoMechanic also claims to be well-poised to double its revenues by the end of the current fiscal year (FY24).

It also claims to have seen ‘exponential growth’ and an ‘increase in engagement and retention’ since the acquisition. Alongside, the startup has also expanded its business lines to include new verticals such as ‘GoMechanic Service Business’, ‘GoMechanic Spares’, and ‘GoMechanic Accessories’. 

The startup has also ventured into the premium services market with ‘GoMechanic LUXE’, offering service centres for luxury cars across the country. While the premium vertical manages over 600 luxury cars a month, GoMechanic Service handles 800 cars per day. 

As per the company, sales of its MILES membership programme per month surged 72% in October 2023 compared to April 2023. It also sells products such as vacuum cleaners, Android car screens and tire inflators on ecommerce platforms now to further spruce up the topline. 

The new fundraise comes eight months after competitor and Lifelong Group’s subsidiary Servizzy acquired the startup in a fire sale in a deal pegged at INR 220 Cr.

Founded in 2016 by Amit Bhasin, Kushal Karwa, Nitin Rana and Rishabh Karwa, GoMechanic landed in trouble earlier this year after cofounder Bhasin publicly admitted to fudging numbers, which led to an investor-led forensic audit into the company.

Recently, the Economic Offences Wing of the Delhi Police registered an FIR against the four original cofounders of the startup and key management personnel (KMP) for alleged fraud and cheating based on a complaint filed by GoMechanic’s key investors in June 2023.

The cofounders are said to have falsified bank statements, inflated revenues, and syphoned off money in a saga that began at the startup’s seed stage in 2017. Amid all these controversies, at least two of GoMechanic’s founders are said to be working on their respective new ventures.

The post GoMechanic 2.0? Auto After-Sales Startup Bags $6 Mn To Expand Footprint, Launch New Products appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Gaming major Nazara Technologies’ consolidated profit after tax (PAT) jumped 53% to INR 24.2 Cr in the September quarter (Q2) of the financial year 2023-24 (FY24) from INR 15.8 Cr in the year-ago quarter, with the esports vertical driving the growth.

The company’s PAT also rose 15.8% from INR 20.9 Cr in Q1 FY24. 

Nazara’s operating revenue grew 13% to INR 297.2 Cr in the reported quarter from INR 263.8 Cr in Q2 FY23. This was almost a 17% jump from INR 254.4 Cr operating revenue the company posted in the June quarter of the current fiscal.

The esports vertical witnessed the highest growth during the quarter, with revenue jumping almost 26% year-on-year (YoY) and 46% sequentially to INR 172 Cr.

On the other hand, the gaming vertical, which includes NODWIN gaming and SportsKeeda, registered a 13.8% YoY rise to INR 104.3 Cr in revenue. However, this was a slight dip on a quarter-on-quarter (QoQ) basis.

Meanwhile, the adtech vertical saw a contraction in the September quarter, with revenue dipping 36.5% YoY and 18.4% QoQ to INR 22.5 Cr. 

The company’s EBITDA rose 30% YoY to INR 27.9 Cr in Q2 FY24.

During its Q2 earnings announcement, Nazara reiterated that it is bolstering its acquisition playbook.

Nitish Mittersain, founder, CEO and joint MD of Nazara, said that with a consolidated cash position of around INR 1,300 Cr, Nazara is “exceptionally well-positioned” to seize acquisition opportunities and expedite its growth in the years ahead.

It must be noted that during the reported quarter, Nazara raised a fresh capital of INR 510 Cr from investors including Zerodha’s Nikhil Kamath and SBI Mutual Fund.

Recently speaking to Inc42, Mittersain said the gaming company was planning to deploy a large portion of the freshly raised capital for new investments, with some acquisitions, especially in gaming studios.

During its Q2 FY24 earnings, Nazara also announced granting 9,000 employee stock options (ESOPs) under the Nazara Technologies Employee Stock Option Scheme 2023 to the eligible employees of the company. 

The ESOPs have an exercise price of INR 833.35 per option.

Nazara’s Expenses In Q2

The gaming unicorn’s expenses grew 9.7% to INR 288.3 Cr in the reported quarter from INR 262.7 Cr in Q2 FY23.

At INR 84.7 Cr, content, event, and web server expenses accounted for the largest chunk of expenditure.

Meanwhile, the company’s spending towards the purchase of stock in trade more than doubled YoY to INR 69.7 Cr in Q2 FY24.

Nazara’s employee benefit expenses jumped to INR 48.9 Cr during the quarter under review from INR 34.4 Cr in the previous year’s quarter.

However, the company managed to bring down its advertising and business promotion expenses to INR 47.4 Cr in Q2 FY23 from INR 71.3 Cr in the year-ago quarter.

Shares of Nazara ended today’s session marginally lower at INR 831.3 on the BSE.

The post Nazara’s PAT Jumps 53% YoY To INR 24.2 Cr In Q2 appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Mumbai-based quick commerce unicorn Zepto raised an additional sum of $31.25 Mn in a Series E funding round from Goodwater Capital, Nexus Venture Partners.

Additionally, angel investors such as Oliver and Lish Jung, and Mangum II LLC also participated in the round, according to the company’s filings with Singapore’s Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA).

In August, the quick commerce unicorn Zepto raised $200 Mn in its Series E funding round at a valuation of $1.4 Bn valuation, becoming the first and only unicorn of 2023. The startup kept its plans for the newly raised funds under wraps, yet it disclosed its intention to pursue an initial public offering by 2025.

Founded in 2021 by Aadit Palicha and Kaivalya Vohora, Zepto seized the opportunity created by the increased demand for rapid ecommerce delivery during the Covid-19 pandemic. The startup gained attention when it secured $60 Mn in funding in November 2021, with investors including Glade Brook Capital, Nexus, and Y Combinator.

Zepto competes against the likes of Swiggy’s Instamart, Zomato-owned Blinkit, and Reliance-backed Dunzo.

According to industry experts, Zepto may need to raise funds approximately every 12-15 months to accelerate its revenue growth and remain competitive with players like Zomato’s Binkit, and Swiggy’s Instamart, as they benefit from a similar revenue mix advantage.

The recently turned unicorn saw its net loss surge 3.35X during the year ended March 31, 2023. The quick commerce startup reported a net loss of INR 1,272.4 Cr in the financial year 2022-23 (FY23), an increase of 226% from INR 390.3 Cr in the last financial year, as per the company’s claims.

Its revenue from operations ballooned 14.3X to INR 2,024.3 Cr in FY23 from INR 140.7 Cr in FY22. Total income, including other income, jumped to INR 2,077.6 Cr from INR 142.3 Cr in the last fiscal year.

Zepto is still experiencing increasing losses despite revenue growth which indicates its profit margins will not increase unless a substantial portion of the dark stores becomes profitable or it diversifies into other business verticals.

The post Quick Commerce Unicorn Zepto Secures Another $31 Mn In Series E Round appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Shares of Zomato touched a fresh 52-week high at INR 123.9 on the BSE on Monday (November 6) as they jumped as much as 6.4% during the intraday trading on the back of the company’s robust Q2 FY24 earnings and positive Street view on the stock.

The foodtech major reported its second consecutive profitable quarter on Friday as its Q2 PAT jumped to INR 36 Cr from INR 2 Cr reported in Q1 FY24. Zomato saw strong growth across business verticals, including quick commerce platform Blinkit, during the quarter under review.

Following the announcement of results, at least nine brokerages raised their price targets (PTs) on Zomato.

Raising its PT on the stock to INR 145 from INR 120 earlier, Bernstein said that Zomato flywheel is not only turning but also accelerating into a dominant platform across food delivery and commerce.

The brokerage increased its PT on the back of Zomato’s better-than-expected growth in the quarter, positive outlook, and an improvement in the market conditions that led to a higher uptick in monthly transacting users (MTUs). It also increased Zomato’s food delivery revenue estimate for FY24 and FY25 by 3% and 4%, respectively.

On the other hand, Kotak Institutional Equities increased its fair value for the stock to INR 130 from INR 125 earlier, which implies an upside of 5.4% to the stock’s last close of INR 123.3 on the BSE today.

The brokerage also upgraded its FY2024-26 revenue estimates by 10-11%, which it expects to be driven by all three segments of Zomato’s business. However, Kotak expects higher ESOP costs for FY25.

JM Financial said that following its Q2 results and strong gross order value (GOV) growth outlook for key businesses, Zomato’s shares will remain buoyant. 

“With food delivery EBITDA margin gradually moving towards steady state levels and Blinkit business turning contribution level profitable, we now use a lower WACC (Weighted Average Cost of Capital) assumption of 12% versus 13% earlier,” said the brokerage as it raised its PT on Zomato to INR 155 from INR 115 earlier.

It must be noted that Q2 FY24 was the first full contribution positive quarter for Blinkit. 

Highlighting that Zomato’s gold subscribers contributed about 40% to Zomato’s food delivery GOV compared to 33% and 19% in Q1 FY24 and Q4 FY23, JM Financial said this development augurs well for the business as subscriptions typically have a positive impact on customer stickiness and ordering frequencies. 

At a time when the entry of the government-backed ONDC in the food delivery space has raised some concerns about the impact on Zomato’s business, Motilal Oswal reiterated that it does not expect the competition to intensify further for the Deepinder Goyal-led company. 

It also reiterated its positive stance on the long-term growth opportunity for Zomato and increased PT to INR 135, which implies an upside of 9.5% to the stock’s last close.

Elara Capital increased its PT on Zomato to INR 150 from INR 140 earlier, implying an upside of over 21% to its last close.

“We believe Zomato’s clout in the food business (duopoly nature) and scalability prospects in Blinkit may drive share price performance,” the brokerage said.

Jefferies increased its PT on the stock to INR 165 from INR 130.

It is pertinent to note that shares of Zomato have gained 107.7% so far this year on the back of strong growth and the company turning profitable. Its market cap has also crossed the $12 Bn mark from $6 Bn at the end of last year.

Twenty three out of the 27 brokerages covering Zomato have a ‘buy’ or above rating on the stock, while four rate the stock as ‘sell’ or lower.

The post Zomato Rallies Further To Touch A New 52-Week High At INR 123.9 After Strong Q2 Show appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Meta has unveiled a new distribution model for Instant Games (IG) which enables developers to release their games directly to Facebook users, regardless of their games’ developmental stages.

“We are announcing that we will be creating a path for developers of Instant Games on Facebook to launch their games directly to people on Facebook, even if the game is in the early stages of development and historically would have been blocked by the Quality Guidelines,” Meta said in a blog post.

The tech giant also said that it plans to transform how games are distributed across its organic discovery channels.

Under this new process, the tech giant is introducing the Play Lab tier, offering an avenue for games that may not have previously met Quality Review standards to be launched on the platform. This enables them to garner users, gather feedback, and conduct experimentation.

Simultaneously, a new distribution tier, Play Tab, is being introduced for superior-quality and high-performing games. Meta said that instant games in the Play Tab tier will be featured across their organic discovery platforms and made available for promotional placements within editorial units.

Instant Games in the Play Lab tier will find their home on the Facebook Play platform but won’t be incorporated into Meta’s organic discovery or editorial spaces. However, Play Lab IGs will still have the opportunity to establish a game page and expand their player base through methods such as paid user acquisition, social discovery, and community building.

“We are excited about adopting a model that will help gamers on Facebook more easily discover and engage with the highest-quality games on our platform, while still allowing for a larger variety of games to be hosted on our platform and grow via social and paid discovery methods. Overall, we believe that these changes will create more opportunity for developer partners as play on Facebook continues to grow,” Meta said.

India’s gaming industry has witnessed a meteoric rise, boasting 568 Mn gamers in FY23. Yet, despite this burgeoning consumer base, the nation trails in game development globally. The reasons are multifaceted, encompassing inadequate infrastructure, constrained investment, and a limited talent reservoir.

Nonetheless, a cohort of developers is navigating these hurdles. Their primary struggle now pivots to visibility. An initiative aimed at these developers, particularly those in the nascent stages who lack the resources for marketing and customer acquisition, could prove pivotal.

Such support would not only enhance their exposure but also aid in cultivating a dedicated player community and honing their games for broader appeal.

While the Play Lab tier presents a platform for Indian developers, it might not offer the same revenue generation potential as its higher-quality counterparts.

Developers could encounter challenges in monetising their games within this segment. Additionally, as Play Lab becomes more accessible, it’s likely to attract a multitude of developers, both from India and abroad. This influx could lead to an oversaturated market, making it difficult for any single game to distinguish itself and capture audience attention.

For Meta, gaming emerged as a prominent factor driving year-over-year growth within ad revenue, closely following the online commerce and CPG vertical, Meta said in an earnings call. The gaming sector particularly thrived due to robust ad spending from advertisers in China targeting customers in other markets.

During the third quarter, the advertising revenue across Meta’s suite of apps, including Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, and WhatsApp, reached an impressive $33.6 Bn, marking a substantial 24% increase compared to the previous year.

Meanwhile, Facebook India Online Services, the Indian arm of global social media giant Meta, reported gross advertisement revenues of $2.2 Bn (INR 18,308 Cr) in FY23, up 13% year-on-year from $1.9 Bn (INR 16,189 Cr) in FY22.

The post Meta Allows Creators To Publish Instant Games Directly On Facebook appeared first on Inc42 Media.

On November 5, Disney+ Hotstar set a new worldwide record for live-streaming viewership, despite increasing competition from rivals such as Reliance’s JioCinema and the recent loss of digital streaming rights for several of its hit shows.

The OTT platform hit a peak of 44 Mn concurrent viewers, breaking its own record of 43 Mn viewers, which was established during the cricket match between India and New Zealand on October 22, just a fortnight prior.

Disney+ Hotstar had previously reached a milestone of 35 Mn concurrent viewers during the match between India and Pakistan on October 14, which was the highest digital viewership recorded at the time.

The 2023 ICC World Cup was viewed as a critical juncture for Disney+ Hotstar, especially with looming prospects of a takeover by Reliance.

The platform had seen a significant decline in its subscriber base, losing nearly 21 Mn subscribers over the previous three quarters. As of July 1, 2023, its paid subscriber count had fallen to 40.4 Mn, a substantial decrease from its peak of 61.3 Mn in the quarter ending October 2022.

The decrease in subscribers was largely due to Disney+ Hotstar losing streaming rights to major sporting events. This included the Indian Premier League (IPL), the media rights for the FIFA World Cup 2022, and other national matches for India’s cricket and football teams. Moreover, the platform’s multi-year contract to stream Warner Bros Discovery’s HBO shows in India concluded in 2022.

The tactical move to provide free streaming of the Asia Cup 2023 and ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup to mobile users paid off well for Disney+ Hotstar. This approach resulted in remarkable viewership numbers, with the IPL 2023 final match between Chennai Super Kings and Gujarat Titans attracting over 32 Mn viewers.

Earlier, there were discussions that Reliance Industries Ltd was contemplating the purchase of a significant stake in Walt Disney Co.’s operations in India. This deal, potentially worth around $7 Bn-$8 Bn, would involve both cash and stock transactions. Walt Disney had been considering various options for its Indian streaming and television segment, including Disney+ Hotstar, ranging from a complete sale to forming a joint venture.

A 2022 report by Deloitte highlighted that India’s OTT market had approximately 428.3 Mn viewers, but only 30% of them had active subscriptions. Projections by Statista suggest that the Indian video OTT market is poised for substantial growth, potentially more than doubling to reach $12.5 Bn by the end of the financial year 2030.

The post Disney+ Hotstar’s New Record — 44 Mn Concurrent Viewers During India-South Africa Match appeared first on Inc42 Media.

After nearly a decade in India, food delivery is finally a profitable business. Zomato’s second consecutive profitable quarter shows that the company in particular has figured it out.

The Deepinder Goyal-led company capitalised on the revenue momentum in FY24 and seems poised to become a profit-making machine based on what we have seen this year.

But it’s not just Zomato; Swiggy, too, is close to cracking profitability, and the company is also eyeing an IPO in the near future. The food delivery race has been fuelled for nearly a decade by VC money, but it seems the duopoly will now rely on cash generated by the business.

There’s of course a lot more at stake than just food delivery, but this Sunday, we wanted to see how profitability might change Zomato and its biggest rival. After these top stories from our newsroom:

• BYJU’S Strange Numbers: After multiple delays, BYJU’S finally released its FY22 financials, but only partially. The core business reported an EBITDA loss of INR 2,253 Cr, while revenue grew to INR 3,569 Cr. But the full picture is still missing
• Funding On The Rise? With Q3 2023 ending this past week, we can see that Indian startups have raised $8.3 Bn so far this year, nearly on par with 2020 levels. Does this mean we are on the road to recovery of some kind? Read our full report for more

The Zomato Express Rolls On

Last quarter, Zomato got a deferred tax boost of INR 17 Cr to eke out INR 2 Cr in profit, this time around it has taken a more certain step into the black. With a PAT of INR 36 Cr, Zomato’s profits surged 18X this quarter, thanks to Zomato Gold subscription revenue, growth in gross order value and an increase in order volume.

While there was bullishness last quarter that Zomato’s core food delivery business would soon be able to sustain Blinkit and other verticals, as it turns out, this will not be needed for long. Zomato’s quick commerce vertical Blinkit turned contribution positive for the first time in the quarter as well, with a record 45.5 Mn orders.

Hyperpure, the B2B supply arm, reported a 123% YoY surge in revenue, while dining-out vertical saw a sharp 88% increase in revenue to INR 49 Cr. But both these verticals continue to remain loss-making.

How Did Zomato Get Here?

So, how exactly did Zomato turn things around? For one, it must be noted that expenses grew 16.3% QoQ in the second quarter, whereas revenue grew 10% QoQ.

This indicates that the push has come from improving how much money Zomato keeps for itself per transaction. One of the ways it has improved this is with platform fees.

The company said that the fee, which ranges between INR 1 to INR 5, did not affect demand elasticity. So one can expect platform fee to become a permanent fixture in our food delivery bills

The other major revenue stream for food delivery is Zomato Pro, but Pro orders are less profitable for the company than regular orders. Here too, the platform fee is a major contributor to Zomato’s bottom line, and makes up for some of the lost revenue for every Pro order.

Swiggy On The Profitability Trail

Of course, Swiggy was the first one to introduce platform fee, charging consumers directly while simultaneously eliminating commissions for restaurants. This strategy protected restaurants and nudged them towards using the commissions saved for ads and promotions.

Zomato aped this strategy and the results are clear for everyone to see now. In Swiggy’s case, the company has not filed its FY23 numbers, but its loss jumped to $545 Mn for the calendar year 2022 from $300 Mn in 2021, according to Prosus, Swiggy’s lead backer.

Swiggy cofounder and CEO Sriharsha Majety claimed in May that the company has achieved profitability in its food delivery business. Majety also said that other parts of Swiggy’s business are slowly gaining traction and close to breaking into positive unit economics.

At the time, Swiggy told Inc42, “Instamart would reach unit economics positivity in the next few weeks.” And now reports indicate that Swiggy is gunning for an IPO too.

Swiggy began preparations for its IPO in 2023. However, the funding winter and a sharp fall in the valuations of tech startups globally made it keep the plan on the back burner. Now, the company is considering a stock market debut in 2024 and has engaged in discussions with bankers to evaluate its valuation.

This will bring another dimension to the rivalry between Swiggy and Zomato, which has been a mainstay in the Indian consumer services market.

How Will Zomato & Swiggy Change?

Of course, it’s not just food delivery, as Zomato and Swiggy have quick commerce and dining out as rival businesses too. Plus, Zomato recently entered the courier delivery space too, which is a direct competition for Swiggy Genie. For the moment though, Zomato is looking at B2B deliveries only.

In all likelihood, given how similar Swiggy and Zomato’s revenue strategy is and given the fact that both have subscription programmes and similar allied businesses, we expect both companies to have roughly the same scale and profit margins by 2024 and early 2025.

The revenue mix might be different but primarily, both companies will more or less grow at a similar pace given that this is not a zero-sum business category. Essentially, Zomato users also use Swiggy and vice versa.

There are possibilities that profitability will unlock better outcomes on other fronts such as customer service and issues related to gig workers, but that is still not a certainty.

What cannot be doubted is that Zomato and Swiggy will need to look for ways to maximise revenue and add more revenue streams, even perhaps outside their traditional strengths.

As per analysts that track food delivery space, fintech is one area that both Swiggy and Zomato will look to target, particularly financing for cloud kitchens and restaurants. The duopoly has the data advantage to create better risk models for lending to such businesses.

Another option is lifestyle-related verticals that are asset-light. Zomato already does events, and analysts can also foresee the company branching out into hotel and travel experience bookings.

“There is room for a disruptive player at scale, similar to what Airbnb did in Silicon Valley to the likes of Booking.com and others. And it fits what Zomato does with Zomaland and other events,” said one analyst at a Mumbai-based brokerage that covers Zomato.

Profits can change a company, and this is especially true for listed companies that have shareholders to answer to. In the past, Zomato’s experiments and pilots have been hit or miss, but in its current situation, the company needs to take a more measured approach to expansion.

For now, Zomato can bask in the afterglow of its second profitable quarter for a brief moment, but before long, it will be back to the old rivalry and figuring out the next big thing.

Financials In Focus 

It’s not just Zomato, of course — a whole host of Indian startups and listed tech companies have released their latest financial statements.

• Tiger Global-backed unicorn Apna saw revenue grow by nearly 3X in FY23, closing in on the INR 200 Cr mark
• Delhi NCR-based logistics unicorn Shiprocket saw operating revenue go beyond the INR 1,000 Cr mark, but its net losses widened due to acquisition costs
• The Indian entity of gaming unicorn MPL narrowed its loss by over 80% in FY23, while operating revenue surged by 36%
• Listed logistics unicorn Delhivery posted a net loss of INR 102.9 Cr in Q2 FY24, down 59.5% from INR 254.1 Cr
• Listed geospatial tech company MapmyIndia saw profits rise 30% YoY to INR 33.1 Cr in Q2 FY24, with momentum across business verticals
• NASDAQ-listed SaaS unicorn Freshworks reported 19% higher revenues, and stepped out of the red with a profit of $17.4 Mn in the July-October quarter

Find these and more financials in our tracker here

Sunday Roundup: Startup Funding, Tech Stocks, IPOs & More

• Funding Galore: Indian startups raised $133 Mn across 18 funding deals, a decline of 71% week-on-week. Aequs and Skyroot saw the biggest rounds of the week
• Mamaearth’s Mega IPO: D2C unicorn Mamaearth’s public issue was oversubscribed 7.61X on the last day of its IPO buoyed by huge demand from qualified institutional buyers

• Drone Battle: The NCLT has blocked RattanIndia’s attempts to alter the shareholding structure of Throttle Aerospace Systems amid an ownership dispute between the two parties
• Messaging Apps Vs Telcos: A telco body has appealed to the government to classify WhatsApp, Telegram and other apps as illegitimate channels for business communication

That’s all for this week. We’ll be back next Sunday with another roundup of the biggest stories and trends from the startup ecosystem!

The post Zomato’s Profit-Making Machine appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Foodtech major Zomato announced its financial results for the second quarter (Q2) of the financial year 2023-24 (FY24) on Friday (November 3). 

Here are the major takeaways from the startup’s Q2 financial results: 

Zomato Continues Profit Run: The foodtech major reported its second profitable quarter in Q2 FY24 with a profit after tax (PAT) of INR 36 Cr, ballooning 18X from INR 2 Cr reported in the previous quarter. 

This is in contrast with INR 251 Cr net loss reported by the foodtech major in Q2 FY23. 

The Gurugram-based company’s operating income soared more than 71% to INR 2,848 Cr in the quarter ended September 2023 from INR 1,661 Cr in the year-ago quarter. Sequentially, operating revenue jumped 18% from INR 2,416 Cr.

Food Delivery Leads The Way: Food delivery business was the company’s growth engine as it accounted for an adjusted revenue of INR 1,925 Cr, up 21.7% year-on-year (YoY) from INR 1,581 Cr and 10.5% quarter-on-quarter (QoQ) from INR 1,742 Cr.

The surge in revenue was largely led by growing adoption of its Gold programme, growth in gross order value (GOV), and an increase in order volume. 

Even as average order value (AOV) remained ‘flat’, GOV for the food delivery vertical jumped 20% YoY to INR 7,980 Cr in Q2 FY24, recovering well from the demand slowdown witnessed in the last two quarters of FY23.

In Q2 FY24, average monthly transacting customers jumped to 18.4 Mn from 17.5 Mn in the preceding quarter. 

Blinkit Turns Contribution Positive: The foodtech startup’s quick commerce vertical Blinkit turned contribution positive for the first time in Q2 FY24. Its contribution margin as a percentage of GOV in the consolidated entity improved to 1.3% during the quarter under review compared to -7.3% in Q2 FY23.

It clocked a record 45.5 Mn orders during the quarter, while GOV soared 29% QoQ and 86% YoY to INR 2,760 Cr in Q2 FY24. The AOV at Blinkit also zoomed to INR 607 in Q2 FY24 from INR 582 in Q1 FY24. 

The company attributed the high QoQ growth to low base effect as strikes disrupted the quick commerce platform’s operation last quarter. 

Zomato Bullish On Blinkit: Zomato CEO Deepinder Goyal reiterated that Blinkit is well poised to surpass the food delivery business and that the quick commerce vertical is witnessing profitable economics not only at stores but also in some cities. 

Chief financial officer (CFO) Akshant Goyal believes that Blinkit will deliver another record-high quarter in Q3 on the back of festive season demand.

Blinkit Takes The Cautious Route: The quick commerce platform added 28 new stores during the quarter, taking the total store count to 411. Zomato reiterated that Blinkit is well on its way to open at least 100 net new stores in the current fiscal year and close FY24 with 480 dark stores. 

In the post-earnings call, Blinkit CEO Albinder Dhindsa said the company is taking a selective approach to expand to new cities. He said the company first opens a dark store to test the depth of a new market and gauge demand, especially in smaller cities.

Dhindsa said the new markets won’t be ‘meaningful’ in the short term but will turn out to be growth channels in the longer run. In the shareholders’ letter, Dhindsa said that Blinkit’s adjusted EBITDA margin can only improve from here and the business is on track to achieve breakeven by Q1 FY25. 

Zomato Gold Takes The Cake: Headlining the quarterly results was the foodtech major’s customer loyalty programme Zomato Gold. The company claimed that the programme has amassed 38 Lakh members since its launch in January this year. 

Noting that Gold members are driving the food delivery business, Zomato said Gold orders contributed nearly 40% of the total GOV (around INR 3,192) of the vertical in Q2 FY24. However, the subscription service continues to be less profitable on a per order basis owing to longer average delivery and distance which pile up the costs. 

Hyperpure, Dining-Out Verticals Continue To Scale Up: B2B supply arm Hyperpure reported a 123% YoY surge in adjusted revenue to INR 745 Cr in the quarter ended September 2023. Adjusted EBITDA loss improved to INR 34 Cr in Q2 FY24 from a loss of INR 53 Cr in Q2 FY23. 

Meanwhile, the dining-out vertical saw a sharp 88% increase in revenue to INR 49 Cr in Q2 FY24 from INR 26 Cr in the year-ago period. Average GOV of the dining-out arm soared 2.28X YoY to INR 682 in the quarter ended September 2023 from INR 298 in Q2 FY23. 

Zomato Unfazed By Platform Fee: The company said that the rollout of platform fees for food delivery orders has had no impact on demand elasticity. The foodtech major also confirmed that the fee is currently being levied on all orders. 

Meanwhile, ESOP costs jumped 32% QoQ to INR 132 Cr in Q2 FY24 from INR 100 Cr. On a YoY basis, the expenditure fell marginally from INR 137 Cr. During the post-earnings call, CFO Akshant Goyal said the company’s share-based payment expenses would stand at around INR 450 Cr in FY24.

Amid all these, shares of Zomato closed the last trading session of the week 8.3% higher at INR 116.4 on the BSE, crossing the listing price of INR 115 for the first time since January 20, 2022.

The post Zomato Q2 Highlights: Profit Streak Continues, All Verticals Deliver Growth appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Listed foodtech giant Zomato has allotted nearly 10.65 Cr equity shares under multiple employee stock option plans (ESOPs).

In an exchange filing, the company said its board has approved allotment of 10,64,69,448 fully paid-up shares under Zomato Employee Stock Option Plan 2018, Zomato Employee Stock Option Plan 2021 and Zomato Employee Stock Option Plan 2022.

Most of the shares were allotted under the 2021 ESOP plan by Zomato, with 30.95 Lakh shares being allotted under the 2018 and 2022 plans. The development comes just three months after it allotted 2.52 Cr shares to its employees in August 2023. 

Following the allotment of the shares, Zomato’s issued, subscribed, and paid-up equity share capital will increase from INR 860.44 Cr to INR 871.09 Cr.

The announcement regarding ESOPs came on the same day when Zomato released its financial statements for the quarter ended September 2023. Its share-based expenses rose to INR 132 Cr in Q2 FY24 from INR 100 Cr in the preceding quarter. However, it declined slightly from INR 137 Cr in Q2 FY23.

Meanwhile, Zomato reported its second consecutive profitable quarter, posting a profit after tax of INR 36 Cr in Q2 FY24. It had reported a PAT of INR 2 Cr in Q1 FY24, its maiden profitable quarter. In Q2 FY23, the company’s net loss stood at INR 251 Cr.

Zomato’s operating income jumped to INR 2,848 Cr during the quarter under review from INR 1,661 Cr in the year-ago quarter. 

The foodtech giant also saw its quick commerce arm Blinkit turn contribution positive for the whole quarter for the first time since its acquisition in June 2022. Blinkit’s contribution margin as a percentage of gross order value (GOV) in the overall business improved from -7.3% in Q2 FY23 to +1.3% during the quarter ended September 30, 2023.

Meanwhile, shares of Zomato ended Friday’s session 8.3% higher at INR 116.40 on the BSE, closing above its listing price on the bourses for the first time in about 22 months.

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Shares of foodtech major Zomato jumped 8.3% on the BSE on Friday (November 3), ending today’s trading session at INR 116.4, above the company’s listing price of INR 115 for the first time ever since January 20, 2022.

Zomato listed on the BSE and NSE in July 2021 at INR 115 and INR 116, respectively, at a premium of about 53% to its IPO price of INR 76. The stock started rallying in the next few months and reached an all-time high of INR 169.1 in November of that year. Post that, the stock started nosediving and slipped below the listing price in January last year.

While shares of Zomato have rallied sharply since April this year on the back of its improving bottom line, it touched a level above its listing price today following its Q2 FY24 results.

Even on the NSE, Zomato ended today’s trading session at INR 117.9, above its listing price.

The stock also touched a fresh 52-week high during the intraday trading at INR 120 by jumping about 12% on the BSE.

Meanwhile, Zomato reported its second consecutive profitable quarter and posted a profit after tax of INR 36 Cr in Q2 FY24. 

The company witnessed strong growth across verticals and its quick commerce business Blinkit turned contribution positive for the first time since its acquisition.

The company had reported its maiden profitable quarter at INR 2 Cr in Q1.

The broader market, too, gained today but market participants remained cautious due to worries over high inflation rates globally and the ongoing war in the Middle East.

The post Zomato Closes Above Listing Price For The First Time In Over 22 Months appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Foodtech giant Zomato’s quick commerce arm Blinkit turned contribution positive for the first time during the quarter ended September 30, 2023 (Q2 FY24).

In its shareholders letter, released along with its financial statements for Q2 FY24, Zomato said Blinkit’s contribution margin as a percentage of gross order value (GOV) in the overall business improved from -7.3% in Q2 FY23 to +1.3% during the quarter ended September 30, 2023.

The company calculates contribution by subtracting store costs, warehouse expenses, packaging and handling costs, and recruitment expenses for delivery agents, among others, from its revenue.

It must be noted that this is the first time Blinkit was contribution-positive for the whole quarter, having turned contribution-positive in June 2023. The major milestone ensured that the quick commerce arm of Zomato was at the front and centre of the shareholder letter this quarter.

Blinkit recorded 45.5 Mn orders during Q2 F24, up nearly 24% quarter-on-quarter (QoQ) compared to the 36.8 Mn in the previous quarter, and up 74.3% year-on-year (YoY) compared to Q1 FY23, when it recorded 26.1 Mn orders.

The bumper jump is also reflected in the GOV, which rose 29% QoQ and 86% YoY to INR 2,760 Cr in Q2 FY24.

“Part of the reason for high growth was the low base effect, given the temporary disruption in the business in the previous quarter (as mentioned in our last letter),” said Blinkit cofounder and CEO Albinder Dhindsa. 

“On a YoY basis, the GOV growth was 86%, as expected and in line with the past. GOV growth was largely driven by same-store sales growth as we continue to focus on serving more customer needs and ensuring consistency of service levels,” Dhindsa added. 

Zomato CFO Akshant Goyal expects Blinkit to deliver another record-high quarter in Q3 due to the festive season.

Meanwhile, Blinkit’s net addition of new stores stood at 28 during the quarter under review, taking the total store count to 411. Giving more details on geographic expansion, Dhindsa said the quick commerce platform is aiming for at least 100 net new stores within FY24, and expects to exit March 2024 with around 480 stores in total.

Commenting on the impact of geographic expansion, Dhindsa said Blinkit’s adjusted EBITDA margin should only improve, guiding the platform for a break-even by Q1 FY25. “Having said that, what we really care about is that our existing stores increasingly make more contribution profit and at the same time the new stores that we open ramp-up at a pace that we expect them to (or better),” added the Blinkit CEO.

“…even if the aggregate margin falls as an outcome, we would not worry about that because the underlying business is solid and the fall in margin is then more a function of rapid good quality expansion in the business,” Dhindsa said.

The average order value (AOV) at Blinkit rose to INR 607 in Q2 FY24 from INR 582 in Q1 FY24. It also rose 7% YoY.

“…part of the recent uptick in AOV was also driven by the improving assortment and GOV mix in favour of high ASP (average selling price) categories such as electronics, toys, books, beauty products, home décor, festive needs, among others. While the ordering frequency of these categories is lower, their ASP tends to be 3-4x higher than other categories, thereby driving up AOV,” the Blinkit CEO explained.

Zomato CEO Deepinder Goyal reiterated his bullishness on the quick commerce business and said it can surpass the food delivery business.

Goyal said Blinkit is seeing profitable economics not just at a store level but also at a city level and some of the cities are now operating at similar contribution per order as the food delivery business in those cities. “So even from a potential profit pool perspective, we think quick commerce is a larger opportunity than food delivery,” he said.

Overall, Zomato reported its second profitable quarter in Q2 FY24, posting a PAT of INR 36 Cr.

Shares of the company ended Friday’s session 8.3% higher at INR 116.40 on the BSE.

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Foodtech giant Zomato said that its customer loyalty programme Zomato Gold has amassed 38 Lakh members in three quarters since its launch in January this year.

In its shareholders’ letter, released along with its Q2 financial statements, Zomato also said that the Gold members are driving the growth in its food delivery business. The company said Zomato Gold orders now contribute to around 40% of the gross order value (GOV) of the food delivery vertical.

Zomato’s food delivery GOV stood at INR 7,980 Cr during the quarter ended September 2023, which translates to a GOV of INR 3,192 Cr for Gold members.

However, the company also highlighted that a Gold order is less profitable than a non-Gold order due to the impact of program benefits. Zomato said that the charges paid by the customer are almost negligible due to free delivery benefits. 

The startup said that the cost for Zomato Gold programme is higher due to high delivery cost owing to longer average delivery and distance, company providing priority service to the members during peak hours, and costs on account of the no-delay guarantee. Subscription fees collected from the members covers only a small part of the incremental costs.

“All of this results in Gold orders being meaningfully worse-off on contribution margin vis-à-vis non-Gold orders. However, that gap is starting to (and should continue to) narrow, driven by efficiencies across both pricing and cost of the program,” the company stated. 

Meanwhile, food delivery GOV grew 9% quarter-on-quarter (QoQ) and 20% year-on-year (YoY) during the quarter. The company said the demand for the service is recovering well after the slowdown of the last two quarters of FY23. 

Contribution margin of food delivery improved to 6.6% during the quarter under review from 5.1% in Q3 FY23 (pre-Gold relaunch). 

Talking about platform fees, Zomato said it is charging a fee of INR 2 to INR 5 on every food delivery order “to make our economics better and viable in the long run”.

Overall, Zomato reported its second consecutive profitable quarter in Q2, posting a PAT of INR 36 Cr. Its PAT stood at INR 2 Cr in Q1 FY24, which was its maiden profitable quarter.

Its quick commerce Blinkit also turned contribution positive for the first time during the quarter under review.

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Foodtech major Zomato reported its second consecutive profitable quarter today, with profit after tax surging to INR 36 Cr during the September quarter of the financial year 2023-24 (FY24). This was an 18X jump from PAT of INR 2 Cr in the preceding quarter. 

It must be noted that Q1 FY24 was Zomato’s maiden profitable quarter. In Q2 FY23, the company’s net loss stood at INR 251 Cr.

Interestingly, Zomato also posted a profit before tax (PBT) of INR 21 Cr in Q2 FY24, as against a loss of INR 15 Cr in the prior quarter.

Meanwhile, Zomato said its quick commerce business Blinkit also turned contribution positive for the first time in Q2 FY24, which stood at 1.3% in the reported quarter as against negative 7.3% in Q2 FY23.

Zomato’s operating income jumped to INR 2,848 Cr during the quarter under review from INR 1,661 Cr in the year-ago quarter. 

Operating revenue also grew 18% from INR 2,416 Cr in Q1 FY24.

Zomato said its gross order value (GOV) surged 47% year-on-year (YoY) to INR 11,422 Cr in Q2 FY24, with improvement witnessed across business verticals.

Food delivery GOV grew 9% QoQ and 20% YoY to INR 7,980 Cr, and is recovering well from the demand slowdown it witnessed in the last two quarters of FY23, the company said.

Zomato said that the GOV growth in its core food delivery vertical was almost entirely led by growth in order volumes, while the average order value remained largely flat. 

“Order volume growth is typically negatively impacted in this quarter due to lower delivery partner availability during rains. However, this year we were able to improve on that through better all-round execution,” Zomato said in its statement. 

Another key driver of the GOV growth during the quarter was an increasing adoption of its Gold program.

The company said it had 3.8 Mn Gold members till the end of the September quarter, who contributed almost 40% of GOV in its food delivery business. Active Gold members on the platform stood at 2 Mn at the end of June 2023.

However, the contribution margin of its food delivery business grew to 6.6% in Q2FY24 from 6.4% in Q1 FY24.

Zomato saw its consolidated adjusted EBITDA also improve to INR 41 Cr in the reported quarter from a loss of INR 192 Cr in Q2 FY23.

Where Did Zomato Spend?

Zomato’s total expenses surged over 45% YoY and 16.3% sequentially to INR 3,039 Cr in Q2 FY24.

While its spending towards the purchase of stock-in-trade almost doubled to INR 685 Cr in the reported quarter, its employee benefit expenses increased 9.4% YoY to INR 417 Cr.

In the previous quarter, Q1 FY24, Zomato spent INR 338 Cr on employee benefit expense.

Meanwhile, the company also kept spending more towards advertisement and sales promotions, which increased 18.3% YoY to INR 355 Cr.

Zomato’s delivery and related expenses surged over 1.5X YoY to INR 919 Cr in Q2 FY24.

The Outlook

Zomato said it has noticed that festivals drive stronger growth for its quick commerce Blinkit compared to the food delivery business. With major festivals like Navratri, Dussehra, and Diwali coming up in the December quarter, Zomato expects another high growth quarter from Blinkit.

“The festive period in Q3 FY24 is usually a mixed bag for the food delivery business. While people order more around the festivals, at the same time, they also travel and eat-out more in this quarter,” it said.

However, the ICC World Cup should result in additional order volumes but the demand uptick is expected to be limited to a handful of match days, the company added.

Shares of Zomato ended today’s trading session 8.3% higher at INR 116.4 on the BSE today.

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The Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) has appealed to the government to classify platforms like WhatsApp and Telegram as illegitimate channels for business communication. This pertains to the use of time-sensitive one-time authentication codes required for device access and transaction validation.

Representing India’s three major private telecom companies — Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel, and Vodafone Idea — COAI sent a letter to the telecom secretary, Neeraj Mittal, dated October 31, as reported by ET.

The industry association has accused global giants like Microsoft and Amazon of “seemingly evading the legal telecom route” by utilising WhatsApp and other unregulated platforms for sending business messages to customers. This practice is allegedly resulting in an annual revenue loss of approximately INR 3,000 Cr for both the government and the service providers.

In India, domestic business communications are charged INR 0.13 per SMS, while international messages cost around INR 4-4.5 each. Before Reliance Jio’s entry into the telecom sector in 2016, voice calls and messaging were significant revenue sources for telecom companies. Over-the-top (OTT) communication apps now leverage telcos’ internet services to offer free calling and messaging, which were previously fee-based services.

According to the telecom industry association, this situation represents a significant violation of licensing and security regulations and poses substantial risks to national security and financial fraud.

Telecom operators claim that tech companies are exploiting unlicensed channels to evade international enterprise messaging charges.

COAI also pointed out that SMS communication is regulated by the Telecom Commercial Communication Customer Preference Regulation (TCCCPR) of 2018, which mandates consumer consent for businesses to send messages to customers. However, as OTT platforms operate outside the regulatory framework, the TCCCPR guidelines do not apply to them, making it easier for them to send unsolicited messages through platforms like WhatsApp and Telegram.

“If this practice is not curbed, it may encourage the use of unmonitored routes, posing a security threat to the nation,” COAI added.

In a separate letter to the telecom minister, Ashwini Vaishnaw, telecom companies have requested the regulation of communication apps by expanding the scope of telecommunication services in the upcoming telecom bill.

App developers have previously resisted attempts to subject them to telecom regulations, arguing that they are already covered under the IT Act and that further regulation would stifle innovation.

In July of this year, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) issued a consultation paper on regulating over-the-top (OTT) communication apps in the country. The paper broadly addressed two key aspects: establishing a regulatory framework for OTT communication apps and examining issues related to selective bans on such apps. TRAI sought feedback from stakeholders on the consultation paper until August 18.

Additionally, the government has been concerned about the widespread use of encryption in most OTT apps, making it challenging for authorities to trace end-users in criminal cases and national security threats. The government has also been working to enforce compliance with its directives on these platforms.

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Proptech company Housing.com said it is investing in fintech startup Easiloan as part of its plans to create India’s largest digital home loan origination platform. However, it didn’t disclose the investment amount.

Founded in 2021 by Pramod Kathuria, Easiloan is a digital home loan marketplace offering personalised home loan solutions. 

It claims to have collaborated with over 20 banks across India for offering loans. The marketplace employs customer profile-based matchmaking, enabling users to compare, select, and process home loans seamlessly through partnerships with brokers, developers, and other digital channels.

The partnership with Housing.com will help it get access to the latter’s market reach and digital presence. It will also broaden the reach of Easiloan’s mortgage products to Housing.com’s network of brokers and developers. 

Commenting on the move, Housing.com’s group CEO Dhruva Agarwala said, “Housing.com  is committed to offering its customers and consumers an exhaustive suite of real estate services, and this partnership with Easiloan marks a seminal step in that direction.”

Speaking on the home loan ecosystem in India, he said technological advancement and the Indian government’s commitment to digitisation in the lending sector will profoundly transform the home loans landscape in the forthcoming years, and Housing.com aims to leverage this opportunity.

Founded in 2012, Housing.com is a real estate advertising platform for homeowners, landlords, developers, and real estate brokers. It was acquired by REA India, which also operates PropTiger.com and Makaan.com in 2017.

On the other hand, Easiloan previously raised seed funding from Tomorrow Capital in 2021. 

“With the Indian fintech industry projected to be worth $150 billion by 2025 and the real estate market projected to reach $1 trillion by 2030, we can collaboratively define new milestones in both areas,” Easiloan’s founder and CEO Kathuria said on Housing.com’s investment announcement.

Easiloan directly competes with BASIC Home Loan, which raised $4.7 Mn in its pre-Series B round in June this year. 

Recently, another home loan startup Vridhi Home Finance secured INR 150 Cr in a round led by Elevation Capital for expansion in north Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, strengthening the tech stack, hiring, and building a liability franchise.

According to Inc42’s analysis, the Indian digital lending market is estimated to reach $1.3 Tn by 2030 from $270 Bn in 2022 at a CAGR of 22%. 

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Earlier this week, concerns about the future of WeWork India arose following New York-based WeWork Global’s announcement of its intention to file for bankruptcy.

However, WeWork India’s CEO, Karan Virwani, clarified in a statement that WeWork India operates as a distinct entity from WeWork Global. The Embassy Group, which holds a majority stake and has operational control over the business in India, backs WeWork India.

Karan Virwani emphasised that the news of potential bankruptcy and Chapter 11 filing in the United States would not affect members and stakeholders in India.

He stated, “Any developments on a global scale will not impact our day-to-day operations in India. We will continue to serve our members, landlords, and partners without disruption.”

WeWork Global: The Key Issues

Established in 2010, with the backing of SoftBank, WeWork rapidly ascended to prominence as a global coworking hub, amassing a staggering valuation of $47 Bn through significant funding.

Nevertheless, the company encountered a series of challenges after its stock market debut in October 2021. These hurdles stemmed from substantial financial losses, corporate governance issues, and the leadership approach of its then-founder and CEO, Adam Neumann, according to several media reports.

Moreover, the coworking industry bore the brunt of the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on the real estate sector, resulting in a substantial drain on financial resources.

While the company managed to reduce its net loss to $349 Mn in Q2 2023, compared to $577 Mn the previous year, it still consumed $646 Mn in cash during the first half of the year. By the end of June 2023, WeWork’s available cash amounted to a mere $205 Mn.

To address mounting financial challenges exacerbated by rising inflation affecting office workspace spending, WeWork disclosed plans in January 2023 to reduce its workforce by 300 employees across various countries.

Why WeWork India Will Not Be Impacted?

WeWork India, where WeWork Inc. holds approximately 27% ownership, has been one of the company’s fastest-growing international affiliates outside the United States. The remaining 73% ownership belongs to the Embassy Group, a prominent office development company in India.

Since its entry into the Indian market in 2017, WeWork India has been at the forefront of promoting flexible workspaces and driving the future of work. It has signed agreements for over 6.5 Mn square feet of workspace across 50 locations in New Delhi, Gurugram, Noida, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Pune, and Hyderabad.

In addition, WeWork India has launched new initiatives and made significant executive hires. In October of this year, it introduced WeWork Labs’ investments, aligning with its goal to become a hub for business creation across India.

This initiative aims to provide opportunities for India’s entrepreneurial ecosystem and support the next generation of founders and early-stage startups. Selected startups will have the opportunity to apply for pre-seed/seed capital of up to $200,000, provided by WeWork India.

Furthermore, in May 2022, WeWork India announced the appointment of Manoj Kohli, former Country Head of SoftBank India and Softbank Group International, as an independent Director on its Board. Anthony Yazbeck, President & Chief Operating Officer of WeWork Inc., also joined the Board during the same period.

WeWork India closed the fiscal year 2022-23 with a revenue of $168.99 Mn and earnings of $30.18 Mn.

The post WeWork Global’s Bankruptcy Will Have No Impact On Indian Unit appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Gaming giant Nazara Technologies on Wednesday (November 1) said the chief executive officer (CEO) of its esports arm NODWIN Gaming, Siddharth Kedia, has quit the company. 

In a regulatory filing with the bourses, Nazara said Kedia’s resignation came into effect on October 31. 

NODWIN’s co-CEO, Gautam Singh Virk, will take over the operational role from Kedia, while chief financial officer (CFO) Karandeep Singh has been entrusted with the responsibility of overseeing acquisitions and investor relations. 

Stating the reason for his resignation, NODWIN Gaming said Kedia plans to pursue ‘new challenges and opportunities’ that align with his long-term career goals.

Kedia took over as the CEO of NODWIN Gaming in November 2019. Before joining the gaming giant, Kedia served as the chief strategy officer at Viacom18. Prior to that, he also cofounded private equity (PE) firm Ambit Pragma Ventures in 2007. 

An alumni of Delhi University and NYU Stern School of Business and London School of Economics, Kedia also worked in different positions at companies such as Ernst & Young India and GE India. 

Meanwhile, the listed gaming unicorn also announced the departure of the head of the telecom business of Nazara Technologies, Chirag Shah, who put in his papers after a 16 year-long stint to pursue new opportunities. 

An alumni of Mumbai University and NMIMS, Shah rose through the ranks of Nazara Technologies to the position of ‘senior management personnel’ at the gaming company. 

Founded in 2014 by Akshat Rathee and Gautam Virk, NODWIN Gaming is an esports company that owns a slew of gaming and sports entertainment intellectual properties (IPs), and offers sports-related products and services to customers. Nazara acquired a majority stake in the esports company in 2018. 

The esports giant is also backed by the likes of Zerodha’s Nikhil and Nithin Kamath, KRAFTON, and SBI Mutual Fund among others.

The development comes at a time when Nodwin has been eyeing growth and global expansion. Recently, NODWIN Gaming acquired a 100% stake in PublishME for $2 Mn and followed it up by picking up a 51% stake in Singapore-based mediatech startup Branded in an all-cash deal.   

In May 2023, NODWIN Gaming raised $28 Mn (INR 232 Cr) from new and existing investors to expand and incubate new IPs as well as venture into new territories. 

India’s gaming market was valued at $2.6 Bn in FY22 and is expected to grow to $8.6 Bn by FY27 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 27%, as per a report by Statista. 

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Roposo, the Bengaluru-based live entertainment commerce platform, has recently expanded its operations into Indonesia.

At a recent press conference held in Jakarta, Dalip Shahri, the Market Development Director of Glance responsible for Roposo’s development in Indonesia, highlighted the platform’s unique appeal. He emphasised that content creators on Roposo can swiftly gain popularity and generate income from the moment they start producing content.

Mansi Jain, the Senior Vice President and General Manager of Roposo, said that the primary focus will be on expanding their pool of content creators, with plans to invite over 1,000 creators within the next 3-4 quarters in Indonesia.

In its initial trial phase in Indonesia, Roposo was incorporated into the Glance application, offering over 40 daily streams. Over the course of a five-month trial in 2023, it managed to captivate an average daily audience of more than 1 Mn viewers. Each month, Indonesian netizens spend almost 2 Mn hours consuming content on Roposo.

Indonesia was chosen as Roposo’s target market due to its vast population, surpassing 200 Mn people. Media reports suggest that young Indonesians are highly tech-savvy, making them an ideal audience for a digital-first platform.

Looking ahead, Jain also mentioned the company’s ambition to penetrate the US market, following their success in India and Indonesia. The company is also exploring entry into other markets, including Brazil and Japan, as per ET report.

Founded in 2014 by Mayank Bhangadia, Avinash Saxena, and Kaushal Shubhank, Roposo initially began as a fashion discovery platform employing a proprietary recommendation engine to connect shoppers. However, in August 2017, the company pivoted its business model to become a short-video application. In 2019, it was acquired by Glance.

Under the ownership of Glance, a subsidiary of InMobi, Roposo boasts a user base of over 80 Mn active users in India.

On Roposo, consumers can engage in live shopping experiences with hundreds of creators and pop-up stores representing leading brands across various categories. The company is committed to offering its creators unique entrepreneurial opportunities through live entertainment and commerce, leveraging audience preference data for guidance. Roposo has also made substantial investments in artificial intelligence technology to aid in content moderation.

A March 2023 report by Redseer Strategy Consultants suggests that the monetization potential of the Indian short-form video market is on the brink of significant growth. It could reach an estimated $8 Bn- $12 Bn by 2030, driven by the increasing adoption and usage of smartphones.

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In a bid to invest in early-stage startups, coworking space provider WeWork India launched a new investment programme under its WeWork Labs initiative. With this, the company looks forward to unleashing opportunities for India’s entrepreneurial ecosystem, and empower the next generation of founders and young startups. 

Under this programme, WeWork India will offer competitive guidance, comprehensive business support, and pre-Seed and Seed capital of up to $200K to the shortlisted startups. For the same, WeWork has also onboarded a co-investor network that includes Chiratae Ventures, Waterbridge Ventures, IIFL, Huddle, AdvantEdge Founders, and Lead Angels.

It will also be organising a 3-city roadshow series in Bengaluru, Gurugram, and Mumbai. 

Commenting on the development, WeWork India’s CEO Karan Virwani said, “Investments by WeWork Labs marks a pivotal moment in our commitment to this cause.”

The company also plans to launch an initiative called Jumpstart to equip founders with everything they need to launch and scale their startup. The company claims that WeWork Labs has already incubated over 500 startups over the last five years and currently over 330 active startups are its members. 

WeWork India seems to have been growing since the emergence of the pandemic at a steady pace. During Q1 of the current financial year, WeWork India’s revenue grew 40% year-on-year to INR 400 Cr, with its EBITDA standing at about INR 70 Cr during the quarter. Following this, it launched its 50th workspace. 

As it enters the acceleration and incubation space, it joins startups like KRAFTON, Panasonic, Flipkart and more, that have launched incubation and acceleration programmes. 

Recently, Panasonic partnered with 100X.VC to support young entrepreneurs and provide them with investment, masterclasses, expert mentorship, product strategy and growth plans. 

KRAFTON also launched an incubation programme, to support gaming startups not just with finance but also with mentorship and market resources. 

The ecommerce giant Flipkart, through its investment arm Flipkart Ventures has also recently, launched its startup accelerator programme called Flipkart Leap Ahead to back five early-stage  startups. 

According to Inc42’s Startup Investor Landscape Report 2023, India hosts over 330 accelerators and incubators which is expected to cross 450 by 2030. 

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