TECHNOLOGY
MC Interview | India should be proud of Meesho and Rapido, see potential for $50 billion firms here: Prosus chief Fabricio Bloisi
In a freewheeling conversation with Moneycontrol, the Brazilian entrepreneur and investor said Prosus’ India portfolio can grow 5X to $50 billion in the next few years, as five of its companies gear up for IPOs this year.
BUSINESS
MC Exclusive: Prosus plans five IPOs this year; Sees India portfolio hitting $50 billion within three years: CEO Fabricio Bloisi
While Prosus stands to make gains from the IPOs, Bloisi said he wants to put more money on the table, to make India grow faster and is in no rush to sell shares.
STARTUP
Breaking ranks: VC mid-management jumping ship for bigger bets, shinier titles
A top-heavy structure, better remuneration, different investing style, and a preference for investment in other stages of a business are among the key reasons why the middle layer leaves.
BUSINESS
Walmart-owned Myntra to begin operations in Singapore
Myntra is expected to go live in Singapore in the coming weeks and will majorly focus on Indian ethnic wear, among other categories, during the initial period, a source told Moneycontrol.
BUSINESS
Walmart-owned Flipkart sees a string of SVP, VP exits in top deck churn
Flipkart's SVP Ankit Jain is leaving to join Swiggy Instamart, replacing Sairam Krishnamurthy who was hired as SVP and COO in August 2024
BUSINESS
Zepto secondaries: Motilal Oswal and Raamdeo Agrawal both personally buy shares worth $100 million
Apart from the current round, Motilal Oswal, the firm, is also preparing to lead a secondaries round to the tune of $250 million in Zepto. Edelweiss and Hero Fincorp will participate in the round, too.
BUSINESS
Porter raises $200 million from Kedaara and Wellington Management; Peak XV Partners exits
The primary portion that Porter will get in its coffers is around $50-80 million, the rest $120-150 million will be the secondaries component, a source told Moneycontrol.
BUSINESS
Flipkart plans new startup within company, VP and CoS Ashish Vijayvergiya to head operations
The initial plan was for Ashish to start a fantasy gaming platform, but the ideas are still evolving so it is not clear if that will be the final form of the business
BUSINESS
Blinkit, Zepto and Swiggy Instamart scale to over 4 million daily orders in March; more than double YoY
The top five quick commerce firms delivered a total of 4.8 million orders each day in March, the data sourced by Moneycontrol showed. From December 2024 to March this year, Zepto and Blinkit added fewer newer customers while Swiggy's standalone app Instamart grew, as per Sensor Tower.
ARTIFICIAL-INTELLIGENCE
Bengaluru airport likely to partner with KPMG for AI solutions to enhance passenger experience, operational efficiency
AI-powered chatbots are among the initiatives planned to enhance the passenger experience at India’s third-busiest airport.
BUSINESS
Down rounds: Stanza Living and CityMall mull fresh funding at marked down valuations
Accel, a common investor in the two companies, is participating in the ongoing rounds at both Stanza Living and CityMall, sources told Moneycontrol.
BUSINESS
Ultrahuman in talks to raise over $120 million from WestBridge Capital, others
Ultrahuman is firming up a new round after its talks with SoftBank for a $40 million fundraise did not go through. The ongoing discussions potentially value the company at around $550-600 million, sources told Moneycontrol.
BUSINESS
Kedaara Capital, others negotiate deal to invest over Rs 500 crore in The Sleep Company
The Sleep Company is being valued at around $400 million, or about Rs 3,400 crore during the current negotiations, one of the persons cited above told Moneycontrol, a significant jump from $200 million in 2023.
BUSINESS
Zomato rejig: Rakesh Ranjan to step down as food delivery chief, CEO Deepinder Goyal to run operations
This is part of a scheduled shuffle that happens at Zomato every two years as it makes different senior executives lead separate verticals from time to time, sources told Moneycontrol. A few weeks ago, Zomato's food delivery COO Rinshul Chandra also quit the company.
BUSINESS
Fireside Ventures gets ready to raise $230 million for fourth fund
Fireside has raised money largely from domestic LPs but is now looking to have more foreign investors come in
BUSINESS
Flipkart board asks CEO Kalyan Krishnamurthy to slash spending as monthly cash burn hits $40 million
CEO Krishnamurthy has been tasked to cut the company’s cash burn to around $250 million a year, at a time when Flipkart has to become more aggressive with new business units, especially Flipkart Minutes, its quick-commerce arm.
BUSINESS
Flipkart asks all employees to work from office five days a week
Flipkart is among the last new-age firms, especially in the e-commerce space, to end its WFH policy. Most of the employees at rival firms such as Meesho, Amazon, Blinkit and Zepto have been working from the office for five days a week.
BUSINESS
Zepto changes parent name from Kiranakart for better brand recall ahead of IPO
The move is similar to what its rivals have done in the past. Swiggy, the food and grocery delivery major, had changed its name from Bundl Technologies Private Limited to Swiggy Private Limited before its initial public offering (IPO) in February 2024.
BUSINESS
Accel, Prosus and other VCs close to striking deals with half a dozen AI startups
While Accel is negotiating a deal with Vaya and August AI, Prosus is inching closer to a deal with Arivihan. Stellaris Venture Partners is negotiating a deal with Pivot AI and Vertex Ventures is doubling down on Hakimo, sources told Moneycontrol.
BUSINESS
Myntra’s chief product and technology officer Raghu Krishnananda quits Walmart-owned firm
Krishnananda is the second CPTO to depart from the Flipkart group in a span of about two months. On February 5, Moneycontrol had reported that Jeyandran Venugopal, CPTO at Flipkart, was leaving after an eight-year-long tenure.
BUSINESS
Peak XV-backed Wakefit picks Axis Capital, IIFL Capital Services, Nomura as bankers for IPO
The company is looking to raise around Rs 1,500-2,000 crore, or about $200 million through the IPO, sources told Moneycontrol.
BUSINESS
Going nuts: Dry fruit companies Nutraj and Farmley prepare to raise over $40 million each as investors line up to take a bite
While Nutraj is nearing a deal to raise around $40 million, or around Rs 340 crore, from Belgium's AvH, Singapore's Venturi Partners and homegrown PE firm CX Partners, Farmley, its new-age rival, is in talks to raise a similar amount of capital from L’Catterton, sources told Moneycontrol.
BUSINESS
Prosus-Jar deal comes unstuck due to differences in valuation
Apart from a valuation mismatch, Jar’s founders wanted to sell some of their shares in the company through secondary transactions, a move the incoming investors were not okay with, sources told Moneycontrol.
BUSINESS
Chargebee acquires Trainn, a SaaS startup founded by its alumni, as industry consolidates
Trainn is Chargebee’s second acquisition in about a month’s time as the Tiger Global-backed company accelerates its AI efforts. A few weeks ago, Chargebee acquired Inai, a firm that provides software to track and manage payments.
