One of India’s oldest travel portals now has a Chinese giant as its biggest investor. China’s Ctrip now owns 49% of MakeMyTrip after the exit of long-term investor Naspers. Naspers has sold its entire stake in MakeMyTrip in exchange for 5.6% of shares in Ctrip, effectively exiting the Indian travel portal and becoming an investor in Ctrip instead. After the deal, Ctrip owns 49% of MakeMyTrip that’s worth $1.3 billion (Rs. 10,000 crore), and has…

Quikr continues to be live up to its reputation of being the acquirer of choice for all manner of Indian startups. Quikr has acquired refurbished goods player Zefo for $30 million in a cash and stock deal. Quikr will use Zefo to scale up its own pre-owned goods marketplace. This is Quikr’s 15th acqusition since it was founded in 2008. Zefo had been founded in 2015, and had raised $19 million (Rs. 133 crore) in…

Thus far, Softbank had been heavily investing in all manner of Indian startups — everything from e-commerce to cab hailing to grocery delivery was fair game. Now it appears that it also has its eye on the biggest company in the country. Softbank is looking to buy a $2-$3 billion (Rs. 14,000-21,000 crore) stake in Reliance Jio, reports have said. SoftBank’s Vision Fund, the $100 billion fund that’s thought to be the largest ever in venture…

The clock was ticking on TikTok ever since it drew the ire of the Madras High Court, and the app’s time appears to have finally run out.   TikTok has been taken off Google’s and Apple’s app stores in India after a directive from the Madras High Court to prohibit its downloads. The move has come after the court refused a request by Bytedance, the Chinese company that runs TikTok, to suspend its ban. On 3rd April,…

In India’s internet space, everyone wants to do everything. Amazon India could soon start selling airline tickets and take food orders on its platform, ET reports. The company is beta testing flight bookings in collaboration with ClearTrip, and over time, also plans to let users order food, book cabs and hotel stays on its platform. Amazon won’t be the first e-commerce company in India to branch out into other sectors. Paytm already is actively into flight…

  Jewellery forms an essential part of a working woman’s closet. Earrings, bracelets, watches, chains, and necklaces can be counted as the starters. In today’s times, none of us really wear necklaces for regular use. You suit yourself with sleek chains and ear studs for office wear. They are easy to carry and can be matched with your wardrobe. You can customise the design in case you are allergic to any kind of metal and…

As India’s unicorn list gets bigger, it also keeps getting more diverse. Dream11 has become India’s latest unicorn startup, and also the first from the fantasy gaming space. Dream11 is now valued at $1-$1.5 billion after an investment from Steadview Capital. Three of Dream11’s existing investors— Kalaari Capital, private equity firm Multiples Alternate Asset Management and San Francisco-based hedge fund Think Investments sold a portion of their stakes in the transaction. “We are excited to welcome…

Food tech companies have made getting meals delivered easy and hassle-free, but they’re paying through the nose to get it done. Zomato has said that it loses Rs. 25 on average on each delivery it makes. That means that Zomato pays its fleet an additional Rs. 25 over and above any delivery fee it charges its customers. Zomato goes on to say that its last-mile cost for delivery is currently Rs. 65, which would imply that…

Zomato’s making more money than before, but it’s also spending a lot more money to do so. Zomato has said that it earned revenues of $206 million (Rs. 1552 crore) for FY2019. Compared to its revenues of $68 million last year, this is a healthy threefold rise. But the corresponding costs column wouldn’t bring as much cheer — in order to earn three times more revenues, Zomato’s costs rose sixfold, increasing from $80 million last year to…