Disruption can take a while to arrive, but when it does, there’s no mistaking the signs. After a surge in its stock price, seventeen-year-old car company Tesla is now worth twice as much as the century-old car giant Ford. Tesla’s stock has been on a tear over the last few months, rising from $255 in October to $443 during market close on Friday. This has meant that Tesla’s market cap has risen an astonishing 73…
Over the last couple of years, Oyo Rooms has grown at a pace that has astonished observers — it claims to be the largest hotel chain in China, it claims to have more rooms in China than it does in its home market of India, and says it now has 1.2 million rooms in 80 countries. But some of these numbers might not exactly be what they seem. Oyo created fake hotel listings on its site to…
Over the last three years, Reliance Jio has spent billions of dollars to gather an audience of 355 million telecom users. Now it’s making moves to cash in on these users outside of telecom. After venturing into broadband, a suite of consumer apps, and even e-commerce, Reliance Jio could soon start selling mutual funds. Mint reports that Reliance has already been beta-testing its mutual funds offering among its employees for a few quarters. Reliance will likely use…
Most of India might currently be busy discussing the Citizenship Amendment Act, but the country’s Prime Minister has his ear close to the ground on what really matters — the economy. PM Modi has been meeting top industry leaders to get their inputs and ideas on India’s economy, ET reports. These leaders have included Kotak Mahindra Bank CEO Uday Kotak, HDFC Bank MD Aditya Puri, SBI Chairman Rajnish Kumar, former Infosys CFO Mohandas Pai, former…
It’s been several years in the making, but it’s finally here. Reliance has soft-launched its much-anticipated e-commerce venture. Called JioMart, the venture will currently cater to shoppers in suburban Mumbai areas of Navi Mumbai, Thane and Kalyan. Jio has begun sending invites to its telecom users for registering on JioMart. JioMart bills itself as “Desh ki nayi dukaan”, and says that its app will soon be available. A Reliance Retail official confirmed the launch, adding that…
The Indian startup ecosystem has been growing in stature over the last few years — startups now get a lot more coverage by the mainstream media, startup founders are becoming as well-known as their big-business counterparts, and large numbers of young people would now rather risk joining a startup than an established company. And there’s data to show why. Startups in India raised 26 percent more money than all IPOs in 2019. Indian startups and…
Maggi has already earned itself a place for itself in Indian pop-culture — it’s well-established as a quick snack for kids, and a midnight saviour for hungry engineering students — but it’s now giving its products a decidedly Indian twist. Maggi, owned by Swiss-based Nestle, has launched ready-to-eat poha and upma as it looks to grow its brand beyond just noodles. The products were launched earlier this month, and the packs start at Rs. 20….
The festive season hasn’t brought in much cheer for the employees of India’s unicorns. After reports emerged that Oyo Rooms was going to fire 2000 people by next month, and Ola Cabs had fired 350 employees in November, Quikr has become the latest Indian unicorn to lay off employees in large numbers. Quikr has laid off 2000 employees from across its cars and bikes, jobs, Quikr Realty and Quikr homes verticals. Additionally, Quikr has discontinued its “AtHomeDiva”…
Parenting was never an easy gig, but it’s even harder in the modern world. Parents want their kids to excel at whatever they do, and there’s a dizzying array of hobby classes, activities, and sports lessons to choose from. That said, it’s hard to find classes that are conveniently located, or of a high-enough quality. That’s where ParentPal hopes to help new parents out. ParentPal, founded in 2019, aims to become a one-stop shop for…
India’s startup ecosystem, once a fledgling niche industry, is now a full-fledged global giant. India is home to the third highest number of startups in the world, the world’s biggest startup funds actively invest in India, and Indian talent has found itself in the world’s biggest tech companies. But even in India, several world-class startups that have been created, andd many have attained some jaw-dropping valuations. These are the most valuable startups in India in…