Online two-wheeler marketplace and financing platform Bike Bazaar has raised a debt of INR 25 Cr (nearly $3 Mn) from financial services company MAS Financial. 

As per Registrar of Companies (RoC) filings accessed by Inc42, the startup’s board passed a special resolution to allot 2,500 non-convertible debentures (NCDs) to MAS Financial at an issue price of INR 1 Lakh each. This translates to a cumulative sum of INR 25 Cr. 

As per the filings, Bike Bazaar raised the debt investment at an interest rate of 10.7% per annum for a tenure of 30 months. 

The development was first reported by Entrackr. 

Founded in 2017 by Srinivas Kantheti and Karunakaran Vadakkepat, Bike Bazaar operates an online marketplace for buying and selling pre-owned two wheelers. It also offers loans for buying new as well as old two-wheelers.

The startup also claims to provide electric three-wheeler loans and electric bikes on rentals.

The startup last raised $30 Mn in its Series D funding round last year from DEG, the investment arm of German state-owned development bank KfW, Women World’s Banking Asset Management (WAM), Elevar Equity, and Faering Capital. 

Overall, Bike Bazaar has raised over $101 Mn in funding since its inception. 

Bike Bazaar claims to have touch points spanning 100 locations across the country. It claims to have so far disbursed loans worth INR 3,400 Cr to 64 Lakh customers. 

Bike Bazaar reportedly trimmed its net loss by 21% to INR 43 Cr in the fiscal year ended March 2023 (FY23) from INR 55 Cr in FY22. Revenue from operations rose 20% year-on-year (YoY) to INR 180 Cr in FY23. 

With the fundraise, Bike Bazaar has joined the growing list of Indian startups that have raised debt in the recent past as funding winter and adverse macroeconomic pressures continue to loom over the startup ecosystem.

Earlier this week, Inc42 reported that logistics startup Ripplr has received board approval to secure INR 40 Cr in debt from IPO-bound Northern Arc. Prior to that, edtech unicorn upGrad was also said to be planning to raise INR 287.5 Cr in debt from financing platform EvolutionX Debt Capital.

In June, NBFC Northern Arc Capital raised $75 Mn in debt from Dutch entrepreneurial development bank FMO. Omnichannel jewellery brand Bluestone also bagged INR 100 Cr debt from Neo Markets last month. 

The post Bike Bazaar Raises INR 25 Cr Debt From MAS Financial appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Cofounded by Polygon’s Sandeep Nailwal, Dubai-based Sentient Labs has raised $85 Mn in a seed funding round co-led by Peter Thiel’s Founders Fund, Pantera Capital, and Framework Ventures. The blockchain-based AI startup also got backing from Robot Ventures, Delphi, Republic, Arrington Capital and few other VCs.

Besides Nailwal, Sentient Labs counts Pramod Vishwanathan (Forrest G. Hamrick Professor of Engineering at Princeton University), and Himanshu Tyagi (Professor and Scientist at IISc Bangalore) as cofounders. 

Sensys, an open source AI venture development company is also part of the launch team for the startup which was founded in January 2024. 

Sentient is built on the Polygon CDK chain and aims to develop an open-source decentralised AI and, eventually, AGI. “Sentient is building on Polygon technology, that’s my main reason to support it,” Nailwal said Inc42.

Speaking to Inc42, cofounder Tyagi said, “The funding will be utilised to scale our engineering team and the platform. Since we are committed to delivering results, it also requires building a supportive ecosystem — the developers’ community. That’s where the funds will be used.”

On the roadmap ahead, Tyagi said that Sentient will enter the testnet phase within the next two months. “Sentient is lean and thin, and we wish to remain so. The current team size is 20, and we will add a few more members,” he added.

How Sentient Differs From OpenAI And Google’s Gemini

There are over 70,000 AI projects listed on platforms like GitHub, GitLab, and OneDev. Most of them seem to be either redundant or replicas of existing AI projects. Why is there a need for another AI project like Sentient?

Nailwal has earlier explained the idea behind Sentient which is to build an open world through blockchain to achieve transparency and fairness, as opposed to a closed world dominated by large companies. He noted that the rapid development of centralised AI and its integration into daily life has brought humanity to a crossroads. 

“We can choose either a closed world controlled by a few closed-source models operated by large enterprises or an open world with open-source models and verifiable reasoning. The latter can only be achieved by using blockchain to make AI more transparent and fair,” he said at an event earlier this year. 

Tyagi stated that the difference lies in Sentient’s approach versus the AI giants such as OpenAI, Google or Meta. Most existing AI projects are either closed-source or semi-closed, with some not disclosing their data or technology. 

For example, Meta’s Llama is only partially open source because it releases model views but not the data used to create those models. Releasing such data would have legal implications due to the unknown contents within large datasets, as seen in cases where datasets contained inappropriate images.

“With Sentient’s open-source architecture, issues like plagiarism and backdoor attacks can be better monitored, similar to smart contracts on blockchain. The code and data need to be open source for better auditing and transparency,” said Tyagi.

Sentient Labs has been developed based on the Open, Monetizable, and Loyal (OML) model, where community members are invited to develop for Sentient and will be rewarded accordingly. Nailwal has previously voiced concerns about developers not being truly rewarded for their work. The intersection of blockchain and AI enables the OML model, which Sentient claims benefits all stakeholders.

When asked about issuing a token to incentivise the community, Tyagi responded, “Eventually, something like that will be done. But monetisation and value distribution are separate points. We need to create powerful, useful AI that stands at par with leading AI technologies. When our AI is used, everyone who contributed will be rewarded through the blockchain protocol, which can take one to one and a half years.”

Crypto+AI: What Does That Mean?

In a statement shared with Inc42, Nailwal said that AI centralisation and its resulting safety issues are the biggest challenges humanity currently faces. Crypto and blockchain are the only ways to counter centralisation; hence, all efforts should be made to make something work on that front, however hard it might be. I have always hoped that the Polygon ecosystem puts its effort into that front.”

While other crypto projects have ventured into the AI space, the idea was to explore AI use cases for a particular crypto. However, Nailwal defines Sentient as a cloud-sourced AI company using blockchain incentives, but fundamentally an AI company.

“Sentient differs by focusing on what crypto can do for AI, creating a decentralised infrastructure that could compete with the likes of Google and AWS. Our long-term goal is to build an AI economy for all, enabled by an open-source ecosystem,” added Tyagi.

He also mentioned the importance of AI agents for blockchain functions and the need to ensure they perform as expected, drawing parallels to privacy and reliability concerns in enterprise AI. Sentient aims to enable a new AI economy where contributors are rewarded fairly, not just using open projects to build resumes for big companies.

Nailwal has set the goal of building an open AGI, which will require significant infrastructure. 

Tyagi noted, “We are taking one step at a time. Our ethos is to have a strong team of experts who came together for this mission. We believe a lot of AI development is happening outside large companies. We start with foundational models and align our efforts with ongoing benchmarks and research. Sentient is a research-first company, continually building and evolving.”

The post Sandeep Nailwal’s New Venture Sentient Raises $85 Mn To Take On OpenAI, Llama appeared first on Inc42 Media.

The Karnataka High Court (HC) has reportedly set aside the National Company Law Tribunal’s (NCLT’s) interim order, passed right month, restraining embattled BYJU’S from undertaking a second rights issue.

Hearing BYJU’S petition against the NCLT’s order, Karnataka HC’s Justice SR Krishna Kumar sent the matter back to the Tribunal for a fresh consideration, Bar and Bench reported.

BYJU’S declined to comment on the development.

The HC order will come as a relief for the cash-starved edtech startup. Last month, hearing a petition filed by investors General Atlantic Singapore and Sofina S.A., the NCLT asked the Byju Raveendran-led company to maintain the status quo with regard to existing shareholders and their shareholding. 

It asked BYJU’S to not proceed with the second rights issue till the petition against the first rights issue was disposed of.

The petitioners argued that BYJU’S proposed a second rights issue by way of an offer letter dated May 11, which opened on May 13 and is scheduled to end on June 13. 

Meanwhile, sources at BYJU’S then told Inc42 that there was no second rights issue and the rights issue being referred to by the investors was an extension of its previous $200 Mn rights issue.

They said that while BYJU’S received commitments worth over $200 Mn for the rights issue, it was able to close it partially as some of the commitments didn’t translate to fund infusion. As a result, the company floated the new offer. 

Following the Tribunal’s stay, BYJU’S moved the Karnataka HC against the NCLT order. The next NCLT hearing in the matter is scheduled for July 4.

Behind the courtroom drama is BYJU’S contentious rights issue. It is pertinent to note that the proceeds raised by BYJU’S from its first rights issue are also held in a separate escrow account, as per the NCLT’s order. 

BYJU’S, once the poster child of the edtech ecosystem, is currently in the news for all the wrong reasons. From multiple insolvency cases, allegations of hiding funds, and rising losses to a severe cash crunch, fight with investors, and layoffs – the startup is dousing fires on multiple fronts.

The post Karnataka HC Sets Aside NCLT’s Stay On BYJU’S Second Rights Issue appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Gaurav Munjal-led edtech startup Unacademy undertook another restructuring exercise last month, which resulted in 250 employees losing their jobs, sources told Inc42.

While 150 employees were from the sales department, who were fired for not being able to meet their “sales targets”, the remaining 100 employees were from various other departments, the sources said.

A spokesperson of Unacademy confirmed the development with Inc42 but didn’t disclose the number of employees impacted by the layoff round. 

“As part of our ongoing efforts to streamline operations and enhance business efficiency, we have recently undergone a restructuring exercise. This was necessary keeping in mind the company’s goals and vision for the year, as we focus all our efforts on sustainable growth and profitability. Consequently, some roles have been impacted. While this transition won’t be easy, we will be supporting all impacted individuals during this transition,” the spokesperson said.

Financial Express was the first to report the development. As per the report, around 600 employees were impacted by the restructuring exercise. 

It is pertinent to note that the latest restructuring exercise was an addition to the growing number of layoff rounds undertaken by Unacademy over the last couple of years. As per Inc42’s layoff tracker, Unacademy has laid off around 2,000 employees since the onset of the funding winter. 

In May this year, Inc42 exclusively reported that the startup’s medical entrance test preparation platform PrepLadder undertook a layoff exercise amid a shift in its sales strategy. Sources told Inc42 then that the NEET preparation platform laid off around 145 employees, which was almost 25% of its workforce. It was PrepLadder’s third round of layoffs in the past three years. 

Unacademy has been looking to raise funds for over a year now but hasn’t been successful so far. Recently, one of Unacademy’s cofounders, Hemesh Singh, stepped down from his executive role and moved to an advisory role. 

Singh, along with Munjal and Roman Saini, founded Unacademy in 2015. The Bengaluru-based startup claims to have a network of 91K registered educators (teachers) and over 99 Mn learners.

Sumit Jain, a partner at Unacademy, is reportedly going to replace Singh on the startup’s board seat.

Last month, Inc42 learnt that K-12 Techno Services held talks to acquire Unacademy. However, the talks are at initial stages.

Peak XV Partners-backed Unacademy narrowed its consolidated net loss by almost 40% to INR 1,678.1 Cr in the financial year 2022-23 (FY23) from INR 2,847.9 Cr in the previous year, on the back of a sharp reduction in costs.

Unacademy Group has raised about $800 Mn in funding till date. Last valued at $3 Bn, the startup counts Tiger Global, Elevation Capital, General Atlantic, and Meta among its backers.

The post Unacademy Fires Another 250 Employees To Turn Profitable appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Trouble seems to be mounting for BYJU’S as now Karnataka Labour Minister Santosh Lad has asked the embattled edtech startup to settle the overdue salaries of its former employees “at the earliest”.

During a meeting with the representatives of BYJU’S parent entity Think and Learn Pvt Ltd, the minister flagged concerns over the outstanding dues owed to its former employees, Moneycontrol reported.

As per the report, Lad told BYJU’S officials to “settle at least 50% of the dues owed to former employees at the earliest” and sought assurance from the company that it will settle the remaining dues in due time.

BYJU’S has reportedly informed the Karnataka government that its funds are currently kept in an escrow account with the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT).

It is to be noted that the NCLT earlier barred BYJU’S from using the proceeds from the second rights issue and asked it to park the funds in a separate account till the settlement of the case.

The hearing on the plea is scheduled for Thursday (July 4).

The edtech company has reportedly pledged to clear all dues owed to former employees within a month of receiving a relief order from the NCLT.

Inc42 has reached out to BYJU’S for a comment on the development. The story will be updated based on the response.

This comes after Karnataka’s labour department reportedly received a barrage of complaints from about 160-200 former BYJU’S employees, alleging the edtech firm had not settled dues worth nearly INR 4.5 Cr owed to them, even months after their termination.

It was earlier reported that founder and CEO Byju Raveendran took personal debt to clear part of the overdue employee salaries for the month of March.

Meanwhile, BYJU’S has also cut fixed salaries of new hires by 90%, sources told Inc42.

Once the world’s most-valued edtech firm, BYJU’S has been facing pressure from all directions from shrinking revenues to funding vacuum and consequent mass layoffs to legal trouble with the NCLT and probe by the Enforcement Directorate.

Last week, the Ministry of Corporate Affairs said that the probe into potential governance lapses at BYJU’S was still “ongoing” and that reports claiming the edtech major had been cleared of financial fraud were “inaccurate and misleading.”

Last month, US-based asset management company Baron Capital cut BYJU’S valuation by more than 99% to $120 Mn as of March 31, 2024.

Adding to its woes, Netherlands-based Prosus, which holds a 9.6% stake in BYJU’S, wrote off its entire investment in the edtech firm.

Furthermore, OPPO has moved the NCLT, alleging BYJU’S owes the smartphone manufacturer INR 13 Cr.

The post Karnataka Labour Minister Asks BYJU’S To Resolve Dues Of Former Staff appeared first on Inc42 Media.

TIMF Holdings, which owns stake in IPO-bound FirstCry and PharmEasy, bought 12 Lakhs shares, or 1.57% stake, of online gaming major Nazara Technologies on Monday (July 1) in a bulk deal worth INR 104.64 Cr.

TIMF Holdings lapped up some of the shares offloaded by Gyaana Retreat and Services, Fashion Brands, and Parijata Trading at INR 872 apiece. They cumulatively sold 18 Lakh shares in the company today worth INR 157 Cr.

TIMF Holdings is owned by US-based Think Investments, which counts the likes of Chaayos, Spinny, Dream11 and Swiggy in its portfolio.

It is pertinent to note that shares of Nazara jumped almost 7% on Friday (June 28) after its esports subsidiary NODWIN Gaming announced increasing its existing 13.51% stake in Germany-based Freaks 4U Gaming GmbH to 100%.

Nazara witnessed high trading volume in today’s session with over 2.2 Mn shares traded together on the BSE and the NSE. The stock ended the session 1.8% higher at INR 884.8 on the BSE.

In May this year, Nazara Technologies’ promoter Mitter Infotech also sold 48.84 Lakh shares, or 6.38% equity, to Plutus Wealth Management in an on-market block deal.

Nazara’s promoters and promoter groups held a 16.43% stake in the company at the end of the quarter ended March 2024. 

After witnessing a sharp slump from the beginning of the year, shares of Nazara have been rallying since the end of May. The shares have jumped over 43% so far since May 27, after the company published its Q4 and FY24 earnings.

The company’s consolidated net profit declined 98% year-on-year (YoY) to INR 18 Lakh in Q4, while operating revenue also declined 8% YoY to INR 266.2 Cr. However, certain metrics in its results were better than expected by analysts.

The post TIMF Holdings Buys 12 Lakh Shares Of Nazara In INR 105 Cr Bulk Deal appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Beauty ecommerce marketplace Purplle has raised INR 1,000 Cr (about $120 Mn) in a funding round led by a subsidiary of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA). 

The round, which was a mix of primary and secondary share sale, also saw participation from other investors, the startup said in a statement, without disclosing their names.

While the startup didn’t disclose the valuation at which the funds were raised, a report last month said that it would be valued at $1.2 Bn-$1.3 Bn.

Commenting on the funding, Purple cofounder and CEO Manish Taneja said, “We will constantly innovate and leverage our technology and data capabilities to provide our customers with the best omnichannel experience. In increasing its shareholding in Purplle, ADIA has continued to support us as we pursue our vision of building a sustainable and profitable business.”

In addition to the funding round, Purplle announced its largest-ever Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) liquidity programme, offering liquidity of INR 50 Cr to its employees. 

Purplle said it has granted ESOPs to 320 employees till date, of which 85 have liquidated INR 75 Cr worth options across three buybacks. In the new ESOP liquidity programme, 26% of beneficiaries are women.

Founded in 2012 by Manish Taneja and Rahul Dash, Purplle sells beauty products and appliances. It sells products of several D2C brands, including Plum, WOW Skin Science, mCaffeine, Maybelline and SUGAR Cosmetics, on its platform.

Purplle claimed it has quadrupled its gross merchandise value (GMV) in the last three years. “Purplle is operationally profitable and expects to grow its online platform faster than the industry while scaling offline stores and improving profitability,” it added.

The startup saw its operating revenue rise 116% to INR 474.9 Cr in the financial year 2022-23 (FY23) from INR 219.8 Cr in FY22. However, net loss grew 13% to INR 230 Cr during the year from INR 203.6 Cr in FY22.

The Indian beauty and personal care (BPC) market is projected to reach a size of $30 Bn by 2027, growing at an annual rate of 10%, making it the fastest-growing among large economies. Major players like Nykaa, Myntra, Mamaearth, and Tira are intensifying efforts to capture market share. 

Reliance Retail ventured into the beauty and personal care (BPC) market last year with Tira, an omnichannel platform. Since then, it has expanded Tira’s offline presence to 10 stores across major cities in India. In April, Tira introduced two private labels. 

Meanwhile, Nykaa said its owned brands in the beauty segment grew 39% in FY24. 

As a result, investors are making a beeline to infuse capital in the startups in the beauty and personal care space. 

In June, D2C beauty brand RENEE Cosmetics raised INR 100 Cr (around $11.9 Mn) in its Series B1 funding round co-led by existing backers Evolvence India and Edelweiss Group. In the same month, personal care major Lotus Herbals floated a $50 Mn fund to invest in early stage startups in the beauty category. 

Last month, D2C personal care startup 82°E raised INR 50 Cr (around $6 Mn) as part of its extended seed funding round.

The post Purplle Bags INR 1,000 Cr Funding From ADIA, Others appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Electric vehicle (EV) maker Ola Electric is reportedly working on developing solid-state batteries to power its electric scooters. 

As per Reuters, Ola Electric founder and CEO Bhavish Aggarwal said that the company plans to roll out EVs with solid-state batteries by as soon as next year. “We are in very early stages of our experimentation on solid state batteries,” Aggarwal said reportedly.

The timeline will reportedly coincide with the commencement of commercial production at its battery production “gigafactory” in Tamil Nadu next year. 

For the uninitiated, solid-state batteries offer a longer lifespan and faster charging compared with conventional lithium-ion batteries. However, EV makers veer away from solid-state batteries owing to issues such as high costs, constraints in raw material availability and intricate manufacturing process. 

The CEO reportedly also said that the EV maker has already begun manufacturing the “more efficient” 4680 form of battery cells for testing purposes. These cells are said to be more efficient than their widely used 2170 counterparts but issues remain over scaling up their production. 

As per the report, Aggarwal said that Ola Electric’s 4680 cells have received a key domestic certification, adding that the startup has invested $100 Mn to build an initial capacity to produce about 1.5 gigawatt hours (GWh) worth cells annually. 

According to a separate report by Economic Times, Aggarwal said that the EV maker is “okay” with the Centre “tapering off” Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Electric Vehicles (FAME) subsidies to focus on production-linked-incentive (PLI) schemes. 

His comments come in the backdrop of reports that the government is expected to earmark a budgetary outlay of INR 10,000 Cr for the upcoming FAME-III scheme, which is expected to cover electric two, three, and four-wheelers in the country. 

The comments come as Ola Electric continues its reign as the biggest player in the Indian electric two-wheeler space, in terms of sales, accounting for nearly 50% of the market. Additionally, the company has also rapidly scaled up its manufacturing capabilities and shored up partnership with key suppliers.  

Earlier this month, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) officially greenlit Ola Electric’s plans for an initial public offering (IPO). As per its draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) filed with the markets regulator in December 2023, the company’s public issue will comprise a fresh issuance of shares worth INR 5,500 Cr and an offer for sale (OFS) component of up to 9.51 Cr shares. 

As it gears up for an IPO, the company has undertaken a company-wide restructuring exercise to cut costs and streamline operations. The EV player was also said to be planning to sack nearly 400-500 employees and also raised a debt of INR 100 Cr earlier this month in the run up to the IPO.

Ola Electric’s net loss widened 88% to INR 1,471.6 Cr in the financial year 2022-23 (FY23) compared to INR 783.4 Cr in the year ago period. Meanwhile, revenue from operations surged 605% year-on-year (YoY) to INR 2,630.9 Cr in the period under review.

The post Ola Electric Working On Solid-State Batteries To Power EVs: CEO Bhavish Aggarwal appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Meta-owned photo and video-sharing app Instagram was down for several minutes on Saturday, rendering thousands of users globally unable to access the platform.

More than 6,000 users in India reported issues with accessing the platform at the peak of outage at around 12:08 PM today, as per Downdetector, a website that tracks user reports of internet disruptions.

Of these, 57% of these complaints were about Instagram’s feed, 33% of users reported issues with accessing the app and 10% of users said they were facing server connection issues.

Several users turned to social media platform X to vent out their frustration with many complaining that Instagram’s short-video platform Reels failed to load and began displaying error messages.

The cause of the outage remains unknown and there is no official statement yet from Instagram on the outage.

This is not the first time that Meta has been hit by an outage. Earlier this year in March, two Meta-owned apps, Instagram and WhatsApp, blinked out for several hours, leaving local businesses in lurch.

Prior to that, in April last year, some Indian WhatsApp users faced disruption as they were unable to download videos on the app. In October 2022, WhatsApp suffered a two-hour service outage, prompting the company to issue a clarification to the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY).

India is home to the largest user base to Meta’s family of apps. While Facebook has 378 million users in India, WhatsApp 478 Mn and Instagram 362 Mn, as per global data and business intelligence platform Statista.

A large number of local businesses are reliant on services offered by these apps and frequent outages do not augur well for them. For instance, India has services like Meesho, where sellers are hugely dependent on communication through instant messaging app WhatsApp.

The post Instagram Outage Hits Thousands Of Users Globally, Reels Displaying Error Messages appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Amid the ongoing churn in the Indian edtech sector, Unacademy cofounder and CEO Gaurav Munjal has placed the blame of troubles at competitor BYJU’S on CEO Byju Raveendran not listening to “anyone”.

In a post on X, Munjal said, “Byju failed because he didn’t listen to anyone. He put himself on a pedestal and stopped listening. Don’t do that. Never do that. Don’t listen to everyone but have people who can give you blunt feedback.”

Sharing his learnings on the microblogging site, Munjal said that founders should always “act” on feedback even if they do not like it. 

With this, Munjal has become the latest Indian edtech cofounder to join the debate around troubles at BYJU’S. In February, upGrad’s Ronnie Screwvala said that due to ‘one rotten apple’ the industry was witnessing reputational damage. 

Responding to a tweet about shareholders of BYJU’S convening an extraordinary general meeting (EGM) to oust Raveendran and his family, Screwvala, in a post on X, had said, “Finally someone smelt the coffee!! Hope it’s not a whiff and then whimper but they will stay the course and get this done – for the whole ecosystem! For India as an investment destination! For just credibility overall of an otherwise sunrise and sunshine sector”.

However, these potshots by peers are not without reason. 

Troubles Galore At BYJU’S 

At the top of the funding boom in pandemic-hit 2020 and 2021, BYJU’S raised billions of dollars from marquee names in the venture capital (VC) and private equity ecosystem. 

However, as the pandemic-era growth waned as schools opened, the edtech major was straddled with questions about sustainability and profitability. As funding winter made matters worse for raising capital in 2022 and 2023, the company found itself at crossroads, as the bevy of acquisitions in previous years failed to pay off. 

The aftermath saw the company undertake a series of layoffs as financial reports, which were delayed multiple times, painted a bleak picture of the company’s finances. Nearly 22 months after the end of the financial year 2021-22 (FY22), the edtech giant filed its financial statements which showed that its loss ballooned 81% to INR 8,245.2 Cr during the year from INR 4,564.3 Cr in FY21.

As a result, the company has fired more than 5,000 employees since 2023. Besides, it has delayed employee salaries multiple times, seen exodus of top leadership, and restructured its business multiple times. BYJU’S is also yet to file its financial statements for FY23.

Making matters worse are a dozen-odd legal and insolvency cases filed by its investors and vendors. Earlier this year, its shareholders banded together to convene an EGM to oust Raveendran and his family from the op management. 

While representatives of three major investors left the company’s board last year, shareholders such as Baron Capital and Prosus almost entirely wrote off their stake in the edtech startup this year. As if this was not enough, BYJU’S raised a rights issue at a $250 Mn post-money valuation, down 99% from its peak $22 Bn valuation in 2022. 

And there seems to be no end to the company’s troubles, as the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) is probing BYJU’S for alleged financial fraud. 

While BYJU’S troubles are well documented, the entire edtech sector has been affected by the ongoing funding winter and high cash burn in the last two years. Earlier this month, Inc42 reported that K-12 Techno Services was in talks to acquire Gaurav Munjal-led Unacademy.

Amid all these, Munjal took to X to share his learnings from the last two years. 

Munjal’s Lessons For Founders 

In a series of posts on X, Munjal said that all 2021 valuations for startups were “bloated” and the current time is reality, not 2021. 

Calling on all founders to be transparent, Munjal said it is important to increase transparency by 10X with investors and team members when times are tough. “When making tough decisions, don’t hide behind silent layoffs,” the Unacademy CEO added. 

He also asked founders to “learn” from people who have gone through a similar journey as theirs to avoid repeating mistakes. Munjal said that “understanding unit economics on Day One” is probably the “best thing” a founder can do. 

Warning entrepreneurs against holding any biases, he said it is important to focus on what customers want. He added that it is “must” to have some form of offline play while catering to Indian audiences.

Noting that “business model innovation” is more important than product innovation, Munjal said that while the best product does not always win, the best distribution does. He also said that experimentation is the key and founders should not “give up” on research and development (R&D). 

Without taking names, he also said that while some investors are assets, others are “liabilities”. He added that the “trick” is to figure out the backers that are “assets” and listen to them.

He also urged entrepreneurs to look inwards and learn from how the “best Indian companies” scaled up operations. Concluding his posts, he added that winning “matters most” when a company is facing “constraints”. 

The post Byju Raveendran Failed As He Did Not Listen To Anyone: Unacademy CEO appeared first on Inc42 Media.

At a time when Urban Company has seen a number of protests by the workers employed by the platform, the hyperlocal services startup’s cofounder Abhiraj Singh Bhal has reportedly alleged that local politicians and unions seek advantage from such conflicts and put pressure on the firm.

Bhal addressed the criticism around the startup’s new policy for partners, which penalises gig workers for sustained low ratings from users. “Sometimes there is pressure on us. Local politicians and unions get involved; some may seek political mileage,” he was quoted as saying by Moneycontrol.

“There is pressure on us to take back the protesting workers, but it would be unfair to the vast majority of other hardworking partners and customers.”

This also marks the company’s first public statement addressing the protests against its new policies, introduced early last year under ‘Mission Shakti’.

Earlier this month, women gig workers working with the platform went on a strike at the consumer services startup’s Bengaluru office to protest against its new terms of reference.

The protestors were part of the Gig and Platform Services Workers Union (GIPSWU), which described new work conditions as “horrific” and likened to placing thousands of partners in exploitative situations akin to slavery.

Over the years, Urban Company has faced protests from certain segments of its partners. According to Bhal, these protests mainly concern two policies — the ratings system and a newly implemented order scheduling system.

Bhal said that Urban Company’s service partners have maintained an average rating of 4.83 out of 5 in 2023 and 2024 so far, with category-specific minimum thresholds ranging from 4.5 to 4.7. Partners falling below these thresholds undergo retraining and feedback, but persistent low ratings result in removal from the platform.

Founded in 2014 by Bhal, Raghav Chandra, and Varun Khaitan, Urban Company offers a range of services such as salon and massage, home cleaning, appliance repair services, and painting.

Meanwhile, the startup claimed its consolidated business turned profitable before tax in the first quarter (Q1) of the financial year 2024-25 (FY25).

In May, Bhal took to LinkedIn to claim that the startup turned profitable before tax in April 2024. In his post, he also said that the platform will focus on growing profitably and sustainably while “prioritising” the interests of customers, service partners, employees, and shareholders.

Reportedly, the company is also on track for an IPO in 2025 and will soon announce a new independent director on its board.

Ubran Company said that as per its latest Partner Earnings Index, there has been a continuous rise in the earnings of the service partners earnings.

In the second half of 2023, service partners delivering more than 30 services per month earned an average monthly net income of INR 33,469, the startup said. Additionally, the top 20% of Urban Company service partners earned an average monthly income of INR 42,792 after deducting all commissions, fees, travel, and product costs, it added.

The startup also claimed that women service partners earn 23% more than their male counterparts.

The post Amid Partner Protests, Urban Company CEO Backs Policies; Claims Pre-Tax Profitability In Q1 appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Ronnie Screwvala-led edtech unicorn upGrad is looking to raise INR 287.5 Cr (about $34.4 Mn) debt from financing platform EvolutionX Debt Capital. 

As per the startup’s regulatory filings accessed by Inc42, its members passed a resolution during an extraordinary general meeting to issue and allot 25 Lakh non-convertible debentures (NCDs) and 3.75 Lakh optionally convertible debentures (OCDs) to the investor. 

While 3.8 Lakh NCDs will be issued to EvolutionX Debt Capital India Fund I, 21.2 Lakh NCDs will be issued to EvolutionX Debt Capital Master Fund I for INR 1,000 apiece. Besides, 3.75 Lakh OCDs would be issued to EvolutionX Debt Capital India Fund I.

The startup said it plans to use the proceeds from the debt funding round to fuel its growth capital, fund operating expenses of the company, and for general corporate purposes.

The development was first reported by Entrackr. 

Earlier this year, it was reported that upGrad was looking to raise $100 Mn to acquire US-based education firm Udacity. While discussions were reportedly in advanced stages back then, there has been no update on it since then. 

Founded in 2015 by Screwvala, Mayank Kumar, Phalgun Kompalli and Ravijot Chugh, upGrad offers higher education courses and skilling programmes in collaboration with universities. 

The edtech unicorn has raised a total funding of over $672 Mn till date and counts the likes of Temasek, Lupa Systems, and International Finance Corporation among its investors. It last raised INR 300 Cr ($36.5 Mn) via a rights issue in March 2023.

In its last disclosed financial results for fiscal year 2022-23 (FY23), the startup’s operating revenue shot up 97% to INR 1,169.6 Cr from INR 595 Cr in the previous year. Its net loss surged 76% to INR 1,141.5 Cr during the year from INR 648.2 Cr in FY22.

The post Edtech Unicorn upGrad To Raise $34 Mn Debt Funding From EvolutionX appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Shares of Nazara Technologies jumped as much as 9% to INR 887.05 during the intraday trading on the BSE on Friday (June 28) after the announcement that its esports subsidiary NODWIN Gaming will increase its stake to 100% in Freaks 4U Gaming GmbH.

Earlier in the day, the online gaming major said in an exchange filing that NODWIN Gaming International Pte. Ltd is set to increase its existing 13.51% stake in Germany-based Freaks 4U Gaming GmbH to 100% in tranches through a share swap valued at up to INR 271 Cr.

This acquisition is expected to enhance NODWIN’s capabilities, bringing in the expertise, experience and network of the Freaks 4U Gaming team, also contributing materially to its revenues going forward.

“This acquisition is a pivotal step in our global growth strategy. By integrating Freaks 4U Gaming’s expertise and resources, we are poised to deliver unparalleled services and expand our global footprint in the gaming and esports industries,” said NODWIN’s cofounder Akshat Rathee.

After jumping 9%, Nazara shares shed some gains and were trading 6.8% higher at INR 868.9 by 3.26 PM IST.

It is to be noted that NODWIN today owns an 80% share of the Indian esports market basis which it garnered INR 427 Cr in revenue in FY24. The company accounted for 38% of Nazara’s total revenue in FY24 which stood at INR 1,138.3 Cr. 

Though NODWIN posted a loss of INR 20 Lakh in FY24 as against a profit of INR 7.1 Cr in FY23 on the back of the acquisition made during the year, Nazara CEO and joint MD Nitish Mittersain recently highlighted his confidence in the subsidiary given positive developments such as the success of the Playground IP, particularly with Season 3 performing exceptionally well and garnering international interest. 

“Overall, we are optimistic that FY25 will be a much stronger year for esports, building on the groundwork laid in FY24,” he said.

Earlier this year, NODWIN also picked up a 100% stake in Comic Con India for INR 55 Cr ($6 Mn).

Shares of Nazara have witnessed a significant rally over the last one month and have jumped over 32% so far since May 25, the day the company published its FY24 earnings.

The post Nazara Jumps 9% Intraday After NODWIN Acquires 100% Stake In Freaks 4U appeared first on Inc42 Media.

With an eye on diversifying its ecommerce offerings on the back of Open Network for Digital Commerce collaboration, Bhavish Aggarwal led ridesharing unicorn Ola Mobility is now all set to roll out its grocery delivery through the network over the next few days.

As per Moneycontrol’s report, citing a source, “Ola enables more than 30% of ONDC food orders in Bengaluru and Delhi-NCR, in its efforts to capture significant market share of the online food ecosystem in the immediate term. Further, it is also leveraging its core expertise in the logistics domain by offering EV-based logistics services at a highly competitive price to smaller sellers on the ONDC network.”

The report also added that Ola is already the second largest buyer-side platform after Magicpin in the food category, processing 15,000-20,000 food orders per day. 

With its new foray, Ola will be taking on Pai Platforms (Paytm Ecommerce), Swiggy’s Instamart, Blinkit, among others.

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

It is pertinent to note that this is not the first time Ola has ventured into grocery delivery. It launched its standalone food delivery app in 2015 with the idea of leveraging its cabs and drivers to deliver groceries alongside. However, it discontinued this offering just nine months after the launch. 

In 2021, the company reintroduced its grocery delivery with Ola Dash in by enabling services across Mumbai and Bengaluru, but wind down the operations after a year. 

This development comes at a time when Ola is working on giving its user base an option to purchase groceries, fashion and apparel via its app,

Moreover, the startup is deepening its ties with ONDC by inking a partnership to offer last-mile logistics services for all categories, including food delivery, grocery shopping and pharmaceuticals.

Meanwhile, ONDC is expanding its services by entering new segments and onboarding new participants. Notably, it clocked a 23% month-on-month increase in the platform’s transactions in May, recording 89 Lakh transactions across retail and ride-hailing segments. 

Startups in the likes of Paytm, Ola, PhonePe, Shiprocket, Delhivery, Dainik Jagran, Uber, IDFC Bank, Kotak, Dunzo, and Tata Neu have already integrated some of their services with the ONDC.

The post Ola To Launch Grocery Delivery Via ONDC Soon, Eyes Major Share Of Food Orders On Network appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Nazara Technologies-backed NODWIN Gaming announced that its Singapore-based subsidiary, NODWIN Gaming International Pte. Ltd, will increase its existing 13.51% stake in Freaks 4U Gaming GmbH to 100% in tranches through a share swap valued at up to INR 271 Cr.

NODWIN Pte will initially increase its stake in Freaks 4U Gaming to 57%, with the remaining 43% held by founders Michael Haenisch, Matthias Remmert, and Jens Enders to be swapped at a later time at its option. Existing investors of Freaks 4U Gaming will become shareholders of NODWIN Pte.

This acquisition will enhance NODWIN Gaming’s capabilities, bringing in the expertise, experience and network of the Freaks 4U Gaming team and is expected to contribute materially to NODWINs revenues going forward, the company said in a statement.

Freaks 4U Gaming GmbH is a marketing services company for gaming and esports, delivering its services across the world.

Back in December, NODWIN Gaming had invested INR 33.26 Cr in Germany-based Freaks 4U Gaming GmbH via convertible note. Later in January, NODWIN Gaming announced around INR 71.8 Cr investment in the company.

Since the acquisition of a minority stake in Freaks 4U Gaming in January 2024, NODWIN has been working with the Freaks 4U Gaming management on integration of the two businesses and evaluating the synergies they present.

The two teams have already worked on jointly delivering high-profile projects such as the PUBG Mobile Global Open and Esports World Cup (EWC) and have jointly explored new business vertical opportunities. Based on the outcomes of this exercise and early traction on potential synergies, NODWIN Gaming and Freaks 4U Gaming have decided to proceed with this transaction.

“This acquisition is a pivotal step in our global growth strategy. By integrating Freaks 4U Gaming’s expertise and resources, we are poised to deliver unparalleled services and expand our global footprint in the gaming and esports industries. In Michael, we have a person who is highly regarded across the world for his wealth of experience and expertise in the sectors,” said NODWIN Gaming’s cofounder Akshat Rathee.

Founded in 2014 by Akshat Rathee and Gautam Virk, NODWIN Gaming is gradually emerging as a youth-centric recreational, entertainment company with esports being its primary focus area.

Although NODWIN started with esports tournaments, it has expanded its scope over the years to organise music festivals and other youth-centric events.

In addition to growing its intellectual properties (IPs) organically, NODWIN has also pursued mergers and acquisitions to broaden its reach and influence in the industry. Currently, it has over 50 IPs.

In a bid to expand its presence in the global entertainment landscape and diversify offerings, NODWIN Gaming acquired Comic Con India earlier this year.

The post Nazara’s NODWIN Gaming To Pick Up 100% Stake In Freaks 4U Gaming For INR 271 Cr appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Telecom operator Reliance Jio will hike the tariffs for its prepaid and postpaid plans by 12% to 25% from July 3. 

While the cost of its lowest plan of INR 155 has been increased by 21% to INR 189, the INR 239 recharge will now be available at INR 299. 

Besides, the company also announced the launch of its new “unlimited” plans and increased the tariffs of its data packs. However, the price hike will not be applicable to JioBharat and JioPhone users. 

In a statement, Jio said that the “introduction of new plans” will enable it to drive sustainable growth and invest more in 5G and artificial intelligence (AI).

Commenting on the price hike, Reliance Jio Infocomm chairman Akash Ambani said, “The introduction of new plans is a step in the direction of furthering industry innovation and driving sustainable growth through investments in 5G and AI technology. Ubiquitous, high-quality, affordable internet is the backbone of Digital India and Jio takes pride in contributing to this. Jio will always put our country and customer first and will continue to invest for India.”

Meanwhile, the company has limited free 5G usage to high-end data packs. Jio said that unlimited 5G data will now only be available on packs that offer at least 2GB data per day. 

The price hike is expected to further shore up the telecom operator’s topline and improve its average revenue per user (ARPU). Additionally, the higher revenue inflow could also help the company bolster its play as its expenses continue to rise on account of 5G rollout and deployment of technologies such as AI. 

Meanwhile, Jio also announced the launch of two new apps – JioSafe and JioTranslate.

JioSafe is a “quantum-secure communication” app that will offer services such as calling, messaging and file transfers, and will be available for INR 199 a month. On the other hand, JioTranslate is an AI-powered app that will allow users to translate voice call, voice message, text and image. This offering will be priced at INR 99 per month.

However, both the apps will be accessible for free for Jio users for a year, the company said. 

Giving an update on its 5G rollout, Jio claimed that the telco accounted for 85% of the total 5G cells operationalised in India.

The development comes at a time when Jio has been witnessing net subscriber additions to its total user base for more than a year now. As per the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) data, Jio was the sole telecom operator in the country which saw widening of its subscriber base in April 2024. 

At the end of April 2024, Jio’s total active user base stood at 43.34 Cr and it accounted for a 40.48% market share of the country’s total wireless market. 

Jio’s parent Jio Platforms reported a 12% YoY increase in consolidated net profit to INR 5,583 Cr in Q4 FY24, while operating revenue jumped 13.4% YoY to INR 28,871 Cr during the quarter under review. 

The post Reliance Jio Hikes Prepaid & Postpaid Tariffs, Launches Two New Apps appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Smartphone manufacturing major OPPO has reportedly informed the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) that BYJU’S owes it INR 13 Cr for preinstalling the latter’s mobile app on phones manufactured by the company.

As per a Moneycontrol report, OPPO has sought urgent orders from the NCLT claiming the edtech major’s promoters were ‘absconding’. However, senior advocate Pramod Nair reportedly took a strong objection to OPPO’s lawyer during the hearing process for using the word ‘absconding’. 

OPPO said that BYJU’S had entered into an agreement with the company to preinstall the edtech platform’s apps on its mobile phones to reach a wider audience. However, the beleaguered edtech major did not pay the amount that was agreed upon in the deal.

In May this year, OPPO filed an insolvency plea against BYJU’S, joining several other operational creditors filing cases against the edtech major, to recover its pending dues.

OPPO has now repeatedly said that BYJU’S admitted to owing it money, and the former has a straightforward case to refer the edtech startup to the insolvency resolution process.

The hearing on the plea has been adjourned till July 3.

The development comes a day after BYJU’S settled its dispute with Teleperformance Business Services. Following this, the NCLT instructed the French digital services company to file a memo indicating its intention to withdraw the insolvency plea to finalise the case closure against BYJU’S.

Meanwhile, new reports emerged on June 26 that the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA), after investing BYJU’S for potential corporate governance lapses, could not find any evidence to prove any malpractices.

However, refuting the report, the ministry said that its probe into the affairs of the troubled edtech startup was “ongoing”. 

The financial struggles in the edtech major continue as NCLT has barred BYJU’S from raising funds through a second rights issue. Earlier this week, the company moved the Karnataka High Court challenging the NCLT’s order.

The post OPPO Tells NCLT That BYJU’S Owes The Mobile Phone Manufacturer INR 13 Cr appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Greg Moran, the co-founder of Zoomcar, has been terminated as CEO after a 12-year tenure, the Bengaluru-based car rental company said in a regulatory filing.

“On June 20, 2024, Greg Moran, the company’s chief executive officer, was terminated from his role. Pursuant to Mr. Moran’s employment agreement, Mr. Moran is required to resign from the board of directors of the company (the “Board”) as a result of such termination,” the filing read.

ET reported the development first.

The company has been facing regulatory scrutiny over the market price of its Nasdaq-listed shares and its revenue projections, as per media reports.

Amid these challenges, the board has named Hiroshi Nishijima, the current chief operating officer, as its interim chief executive officer.

Meanwhile, the company has raised $3 Mn from institutional investors.

“Zoomcar Holdings Inc entered into a securities purchase agreement with certain institutional accredited investors pursuant to which the company issued and sold an aggregate of $3,600,000 in principal amount of notes and warrants to purchase up to an aggregate of 52,966,102 shares of company common stock for gross proceeds of $3,000,000. The closing occurred on June 20,” the SEC filing added.

Founded by Moran and David Back in 2013, Zoomcar is a marketplace for renting self-driving cars. The startup connects hosts with guests, who choose from a selection of cars for use at affordable prices.

Zoomcar India’s operating revenue declined 27% to INR 69.1 Cr in FY23 from INR 94.9 Cr in the previous fiscal year. The startup generates revenue from car rentals and subscriptions, among others.

The India entity posted a net loss of INR 237 Cr in the financial year 2022-23 (FY23), a jump of 221% from INR 74 Cr in the previous fiscal year.

Zoomcar started trading on Nasdaq on December 29 after a business combination with Cayman Island-registered Innovative International Acquisition Corp. Earlier this year, Zoomcar roped in former Flipkart and Hindustan Unilever executive Adarsh Menon as its president.

The post Nasdaq-Listed Zoomcar Terminates CEO Greg Moran appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Hours after a news report claimed that the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) has cleared BYJU’S of any financial fraud, the ministry rejected the report. 

In a statement, the ministry said that its probe into the affairs of the troubled edtech startup is “ongoing”. 

“It is categorically clarified that such reports are factually incorrect and misleading. The proceedings initiated by MCA under the Companies Act, 2013, are still ongoing and no final conclusion should be drawn in this matter at this stage,” the statement said. 

Earlier in the day, Bloomberg reported that the MCA did not find any evidence of any financial fraud or accounting malpractice by BYJU’S. The report, however, claimed that the investigation found weak corporate governance at BYJU’S.

Additionally, the probe reportedly also found that the startup failed to disclose full details of acquisitions with all directors and purportedly held meetings to approve such deals at a short notice.

It is pertinent to note that the corporate affairs ministry ordered a probe into BYJU’S books after it failed to file its audited financials for the financial year ending March 2022 (FY22) on time.

The latest development comes at a time when the edtech major is fighting fires on multiple fronts. 

The biggest thorn in its flesh appears to be soaring losses, which jumped 81% year-on-year (YoY) to INR 8,245.2 Cr in FY22. The company is yet to file financial statements for FY23 and FY24. Meanwhile, operating revenue rose 120% YoY to INR 5,014.6 Cr during the year under review.

Besides, it is also grappling with issues such as a looming debt crisis, about a dozen legal cases, mass layoffs, insolvency proceedings, allegations of lax corporate governance guardrails, salary delays and a public fallout with its investors. 

From being pegged at $22 Bn in 2021, the startup’s valuation plummeted by more than 99% tio $250 Mn after it raised a rights issue at the reduced valuation. The aftermath saw investors moving court seeking the ouster and founder and CEO Byju Raveendran. 

Piling on top, Dutch investor Prosus, just days ago, wrote off its entire 9.6% stake in BYJU’S. Meanwhile, US-based asset management company Baron Capital also slashed BYJU’s valuation by more than 99% to $120 Mn at the end of March 2024.

Earlier in the day, it was reported that the edtech major settled its insolvency dispute with French digital services company Teleperformance Business Services.

The post MCA Refutes Reports Of It Clearing BYJU’S Of Fraud, Says Probe Ongoing appeared first on Inc42 Media.

IPO-bound electric two-wheeler manufacturer Ather Energy is setting up its third manufacturing facility in Maharashtra to manufacture escooters and battery packs.

Ather currently has two manufacturing facilities in Tamil Nadu. One of these is for battery production and the other for vehicle assembly. Operations will continue as it is at these units, the startup said in a statement.

The new facility in Maharashtra’s Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar will allow the electric vehicle (EV) startup to get closer to more markets in the country, thereby reducing logistics cost and hastening the delivery of its finished products to customers. 

Speaking on the development, Devendra Fadnavis, deputy chief minister of the state, said, “Maharashtra offers a conducive business environment and continues to be a top destination for investments… We are happy to have Ather in Maharashtra, solidifying the state’s position as India’s leading automotive and manufacturing hub.”

Founded in 2013 by Swapnil Jain and Tarun Mehta, Ather is one of the leading players in the Indian electric two-wheeler market in the country. After building its market on its 450 series of escooters, the startup recently launched a family escooter series Rizta and forayed into the smart helmet category.

The startup also operates a charging network, Ather Grid, and makes energy storage systems for the EV. 

Announcing the plans for setting up the new manufacturing facility, Ather cofounder and CTO Jain said, “With our expanding product portfolio and the increasing consumer demand for our scooters, we decided to strategically diversify our production capabilities to an additional location that will be closer to more markets in the country. The new manufacturing facility will not only rationalise our logistic costs but will also hasten the delivery of finished products to our customers.”

As per Vahan data, the startup’s total vehicle registrations rose to 1.09 Lakh units in FY24 from 76,941 units in FY23. However, it has been facing increasing competition from the likes of IPO-bound Ola Electric and legacy automotive players like TVS Motor and Bajaj. 

Ather, in the statement, said that with the demand for electric two-wheelers increasing, it is focussing on increasing its production capacity, expanding its product portfolio, retail outlets, and charging infrastructure across the country. The startup currently has over 200 Experience Centres and over 1,900 fast chargers across India.

As part of its IPO preparation, Ather recently turned into a public entity, changing its name to Ather Energy Ltd from Ather Energy Pvt Ltd earlier. The startup is backed by Hero MotoCorp, GIC, NIIF, Nikhil Kamath, and Tiger Global. 

Ather’s turnover stood at INR 1,753.8 Cr in the year ended March 31, 2024 (FY24), a decline of 1.5% from INR 1,780.9 Cr reported a year ago. Its net loss stood at INR 864.5 Cr in FY23.

The post Ather Energy To Set Up Third Manufacturing Facility In Maharashtra As EV Sales Rise appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Gaming major Nazara Technologies’ publishing arm, Nazara Publishing, has entered into a publishing partnership with nCore to publish ‘Made in India’ mobile game FAU-G Domination.

Developed by Dot9 Games, a studio of nCore, FAU-G: Domination features modern-day military aesthetics with Indian characters, each with unique backstories. This is the latest game from the FAU-G franchise, the previous version of which garnered up to 50 Mn downloads.

Pre-registrations for FAU-G: Domination will open on Google Play and the App Store later
this year.

The mobile shooter game will be marketed and distributed by Nazara Publishing.

“Made in India games have a huge potential to address the growing needs of the Indian gamer with locally relevant content, and we are excited to partner with nCore to bring FAU-G: Domination to all our players,” Nitish Mittersain, founder and CEO of Nazara Technologies, said.

FAU-G: Domination is a free-to-play game. Like most free-to-play shooters, monetisation will happen through in-app purchases.

Last year, Nazara Technologies launched its new game publishing division — Nazara Publishing — dedicated to launching top-quality games for both the Indian and international markets.

The gaming giant plans to collaborate with various Indian and global developers to introduce games to India’s extensive gaming community, while also facilitating the global publication of games created by Indian developers.

For each game, Nazara will invest a minimum of INR 1 Cr, the company said. Apart from financial support, Nazara will offer developers assistance in game design, localisation, data analytics, beta testing, quality assurance, improved monetisation strategies, and robust distribution through smart user acquisition spending and platform partnerships.

Nazara, a gaming and sports media platform, has a footprint not only in India but also in emerging and global markets such as Africa and North America. The company’s diverse portfolio includes interactive gaming, eSports, ad-tech, and gamified early-learning ecosystems.

Nazara Technologies’ consolidated net profit declined 98% to INR 18 Lakh in the fourth quarter of the financial year 2023-24 (FY24) from INR 9.4 Cr in the year-ago quarter. Nazara said it incurred INR 11.37 Cr charges due to goodwill impairments, and INR 10.56 Cr for intangible assets related to gaming segment during Q4.

The company’s profit from continued operations was at INR 17.1 Cr for the quarter, as compared to INR 11.9 Cr in Q4 FY23.

Operating revenue declined 8% year-on-year (YoY) to INR 266.2 Cr in Q4 FY24 from INR 289.3 Cr in the same quarter a year ago.

The post Nazara Partners nCore To Publish Made In India Mobile Game ‘FAU-G Domination’ appeared first on Inc42 Media.

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

The service is now live on the JioMart app under the ‘hyperlocal delivery’ section. While JioMart will deliver orders within an hour in the initial stages, it plans to reduce the delivery time to 30-45 minutes at a later stage, the Economic Times reported.

JioMart also intends to gradually expand its quick commerce delivery service to include apparel and electronic items.

Inc42 has reached out to Reliance Retail for a comment on the development. The story will be updated on receiving a response.

Unlike Zomato-owned Blinkit, Swiggy Instamart and Zepto, which have embraced a dark store model for their quick commerce operations, JioMart will bank on Reliance Retail’s network of over 18,000 stores across the country for fulfilling these orders.

The company is reportedly leveraging technology platforms Fynd and Locus for order fulfilment and optimisation of delivery routes.

Reliance Retail’s chief executive for grocery business, Damodar Mall, and JioMart’s chief executive Sandeep Varaganti are part of an interdepartmental team tasked with overseeing the quick commerce operations.

The company plans to scale up its team as the service gradually expands to other cities and more categories get added.

The development comes nearly a month after reports surfaced about Reliance Industries planning a foray into the quick commerce segment.

At the time, reports suggested that JioMart would roll out grocery delivery service in 7-8 cities in the initial stages, with plans to take it to around 1,000 cities in future.

It is pertinent to note that this is not JioMart’s first attempt to enter the quick commerce space. It previously offered 90-minute grocery delivery services through JioMart Express, which was shuttered last year.

Its re-entry into quick commerce comes at a time when the other players in the space are sprucing up their product catalogue amid a surge in demand for instant delivery services.

Earlier this year, Zomato-owned Blinkit launched a new category to deliver sports and fitness essentials from top brands like Adidas, Boldfit and boAt among others. Blinkit’s rivals – Zepto and Swiggy Instamart – have also been expanding their product portfolio. 

The competition in the space is expected to heat up further as Walmart-owned Flipkart is set to launch quick commerce offerings across Delhi, Bengaluru, and Mumbai.

According to a report, the Indian quick commerce industry’s gross merchandise value shot up 77% year-on-year to $2.8 Bn in 2023. 

The post JioMart Rolls Out Pilot In Mumbai, Navi Mumbai For Grocery Delivery In An Hour appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Edtech major BYJU’S has reportedly settled with French digital services company Teleperformance Business Services, the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) was told today (June 26).

Earlier today, it was reported that a year-long investigation by the government revealed that the edtech major fell short on compliance issues but found no proof of wrongdoing such as siphoning of funds or manipulation of financial accounts.

As per Moneycontrol’s report, the insolvency court instructed Teleperformance to file a memo indicating its intention to withdraw the insolvency plea in light of the settlement, to finalise the case closure.

NCLT has repeatedly advised BYJU’S to settle with Teleperformance within a week. The tribunal cautioned that if the dispute remained unresolved by then, it would proceed to hear the case on its merits and issue an appropriate order.

On February 7, the NCLT issued a notice to BYJU’S regarding an insolvency plea filed by French outsourcing firm Teleperformance Business Services. The edtech firm had previously engaged outsourcing agencies including Teleperformance, Cogent E Services, and iEnergizer until mid-2022. By mid-2022, BYJU’S discontinued services with Teleperformance and Cogent E Services as part of cost-cutting measures amidst mounting challenges.

On April 18, NCLT granted BYJU’S a week to settle its payment dispute with Teleperformance Business Services. BYJU’S counsel informed the Bengaluru bench that efforts were underway to resolve the issue with the French outsourcing firm and expressed confidence in reaching a settlement soon. The NCLT adjourned the proceedings until April 30, indicating it would hear both parties if no agreement was reached by then.

At the heart of the matter is the insolvency plea of Teleperformance Business Services India, the Indian arm of the French customer services company Teleperformance, against BYJU’S. The company alleged that the Byju Raveendran-led company failed to clear pending dues of about INR 3-4 Cr. 

Teleperformance entered into a service agreement in April 2022 and it raised over 20 invoices amounting to over INR 4 Cr between March and August 2023, which went unpaid.

According to a Moneycontrol report, Teleperformance stated that BYJU’S agreed to settle the amount in three installments: INR 1.5 Cr in the first tranche, INR 2 Cr in the second, and INR 2.2 Cr in the final installment. Although BYJU’S has resolved its dispute with Teleperformance, it is currently engaged in approximately 10 similar proceedings with other operational and financial creditors.

This comes days after  BYJU’S moved the Karnataka High Court challenging the order of the NCLT restraining it from going ahead with the second tranche of its $200 Mn rights issue.

The development comes at a time when BYJU’S is embroiled in multiple legal cases in courts across India and the US. Disgruntled investors have accused the company of violating the NCLT’s February order.

The story traces its origins to February 2024, when reports surfaced that the edtech major was looking to undertake a rights issue at a 99% valuation cut. Subsequently, investors organised an extraordinary general meeting (EGM) in a bid to remove CEO Byju Ravendran and his family from leadership at the company.

The edtech giant’s net loss widened by 81% to INR 8,245.2 Cr in FY22 from INR 4,564.3 Cr in FY21. Operating revenue rose over 120% year-on-year to INR 5,014.6 Cr during the year under review.

The post BYJU’S Settles Dispute With Teleperformance, Plea To Be Withdrawn: Report appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Less than a week after Zepto raised $665 Mn from a clutch of investors at a valuation of $3.6 Bn, the quick commerce major is now looking to raise more funds at a higher valuation.

As per a report by The Information, the Mumbai-based startup is in talks with multiple investors to raise around $400 Mn at a likely valuation of $4.6 Bn.

This would be more than 25% higher than its previous valuation of $3.6 Bn when the startup raised $665 Mn last week from investors such as Glade Brook, Nexus, and Lightspeed among others.

Earlier, Zepto said that it will deploy the funds to double its dark store count to 700 by March 2025 from 350 currently.

Additionally, the company said that its GMV has exceeded $1 Bn, with approximately 75% of its stores achieving full EBITDA positivity as of May 2024. 

Founded in 2021 by Palicha and Vohora, Zepto has grown rapidly on the back of increasing demand for quick 10-minute deliveries. Last year, Zepto became the first unicorn of 2023 after raising $200 Mn in its Series E funding round.

The fundraising spree of Zepto comes at a time when it is planning to reverse flip to India and eyeing a public listing in 2026.

Zepto’s revenue surged 14.3X to INR 2,024.3 Cr in the financial year 2022-23 (FY23) from INR 140.7 Cr in the previous fiscal year. Net loss jumped 3.4X year-on-year to INR 1,272.4 Cr in FY23.

Zepto competes against the likes of Zomato-backed Blinkit and Swiggy Instamart in the quick commerce segment.

The competition in the space is set to intensify further with Walmart-owned Flipkart set to launch quick commerce offerings across Delhi, Bengaluru and Mumbai. Earlier, the ecommerce giant also held talks to acquire a majority stake in Zepto, but the talks fell through. 

Meanwhile, Tata Digital-owned BBnow is also mulling a major investment in the quick commerce space.

As per a report, the Indian quick commerce industry’s gross merchandise value zoomed 77% year-on-year to $2.8 Bn in 2023. 

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