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Zomato becomes first Indian startup to enter Sensex 30

EntrackrEntrackr · 6m ago
Zomato becomes first Indian startup to enter Sensex 30
Medial

Foodtech giant Zomato has made history as the first Indian startup to join the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) Sensex 30, replacing JSW Steel Limited in the benchmark index of India’s top 30 companies. Zomato's inclusion in the SENSEX follows its strong performance over the past year. The stock has gained 38% in the past six months, 124.79% year-to-date, and 114.29% over the last year. On Monday, following its inclusion in the Sensex 30, Zomato's stock declined by 3.15% (as of 12:28 PM) to Rs 278.70 on the Bombay Stock Exchange, with a total market capitalization of Rs 2.68 lakh crore (approximately $31.9 billion) During the second quarter of the ongoing fiscal year, Zomato achieved a remarkable 68.5% quarter-on-quarter growth in operating revenue, reaching Rs 4,799 crore from Rs 2,848 crore in Q2 FY24. The Gurugram-based company also recorded a 4.8X increase in net profit to Rs 176 crore in the quarter ending September. Its arch-rival Swiggy posted Rs 3,601 crore of revenue and a net loss of Rs 625 crore during the second quarter of the current fiscal year. The recently listed firm is currently traded at Rs 592.8 per share and has a total market capitalization of Rs 1,32,695 crore (around $15.8 billion). Zomato also secured $1 billion from qualified institutional investors (QIIs) last month. The money keeps the firm with enough powder for future investments, even as the stock will benefit from index investing now, even though the BSE Sensex remains a smaller representation of India’s investment opportunities than say, the 50 share NSE Nifty. For Zomato, the index inclusion is a massive vindication of its seemingly high risk approach, where it has simply refused to rest on laurels, always pushing the boundaries to seek a competitive edge. Be it the acquisition of Blinkit, edgy communication strategies, or the investments into other startups, the firm has done enough to justify the lofty valuations, and expectations from investors thus far. The recent fundraise has also underscored its readiness to invest and invest big where it sees a need to do so. The sensex inclusion has seemed like a logical move for the pioneering tech firm, and the big question on everyone’s minds will surely be- what next?

Exclusive: Flipkart to take on Zepto, Blinkit with quick commerce foray

EntrackrEntrackr · 1y ago
Exclusive: Flipkart to take on Zepto, Blinkit with quick commerce foray
Medial

The quick commerce sector is all set to heat up once again as India’s e-commerce giant is now eyeing the segment. Flipkart has started ramping up infrastructure for its quick commerce play, three sources aware of the details of the plan told Entrackr. “Flipkart will launch 10-15 minutes delivery in at least a dozen cities in the next six to eight weeks,” said one of the sources requesting anonymity. “It’s building up a chain of dark stores across several cities including Bengaluru, Delhi (NCR) and Hyderabad among others.” Flipkart’s foray into quick commerce comes at a time when experts anticipate that quick commerce would end up eating into the e-commerce pie sooner than later in India. The total addressable market for quick commerce in India is nearly worth $45 billion, according to a 2022 Redseer report. More importantly, quick commerce has proven to be surprisingly resilient in the last couple of years, with both Zepto and Zomato’s Blinkit doing more than enough to convince investors that the concept has a future in India. While Zepto was rewarded with a unicorn round, Blinkit’s (formerly Grofers) turnaround and Swiggy Instamart’s growth have been bright spots in terms of scaling up with improving margins for their owners. “If you look at Flipkart’s recent launches, it hints at the firm’s foray into quick commerce. It launched same-day delivery in 20 cities a couple of weeks ago… the company began delivering flowers and cakes around the Valentine season (February 2024),” an analyst covering the e-commerce and quick commerce segments, requesting anonymity, told Entrackr. Sources indicate that Flipkart will have a wider catalog than incumbents such as Zepto and Blinkit. “The company will have a sharp focus on FMCG, grocery and daily essentials but it would also push categories such as electronics, fashion,” added the person quoted above. It’s worth mentioning that the current quick commerce players have also been steadily expanding and diversifying their offerings. Responding to queries sent by Entrackr, a Flipkart spokesperson said they are working towards delivering a wide range of products with speed. “Over the past few months, we have made several investments to enhance our delivery capabilities, including adding same-day delivery in 20 cities. This covers mobiles, essential items, electronics, home appliances, fashion, books and lifestyle products,” said the spokesperson. “We are committed to meeting evolving customer expectations and delivering excellence in value, selection and speed, with more initiatives expected on this front in the coming months.” Over the past three years, quick commerce gained quick ground in top 15 Indian cities and top three players in the segment—Blinkit, Swiggy Instamart and Zepto—managed to gain sizable scale. Sources outlined that BlinkIt does around 6 lakh orders a day while Swiggy InstaMart and Zepto’s daily volume hover around 5 lakh and 3 lakh, respectively. According to Entrackr sources and data available in the public domain, Blinkit has an average revenue run rate of Rs 12,000 crore in the ongoing fiscal year whereas Swiggy Instamart ARR (read as GMV) stands at around Rs 8,000-8,500 crore. Zepto’s gross merchandise value has neared Rs 7,000 crore. Fresh from its last funding round, Zepto has been noticeably feistier — with a larger catalog and stronger marketing push. Meanwhile, Reliance and Google-backed Dunzo lost its mojo. The firm failed to raise a new round in the past two years and reported only Rs 226 crore in revenue in FY23 with losses of Rs 1,801 crore. As per reports, Flipkart engaged in discussion regarding a potential acquisition of the Kabeer Biswas-led firm. While all that might sound good, the fact that no one disagrees is that the market is not big enough for so many players, making this a matter of staying in power for most. Or perhaps, even newer operating models that might ensure sustainable growth. The broad direction so far, of an ever widening catalog and higher value transactions like electronics items etc, indicates the bleeding will not stop anytime soon.

IPO-bound Unimech Aerospace raises $30 Mn in maiden funding

EntrackrEntrackr · 11m ago
IPO-bound Unimech Aerospace raises $30 Mn in maiden funding
Medial

Unimech Aerospace has raised Rs 250 crore ($30 million) from Steadview Capital Mauritius Limited, ValueQuest Scale Fund, and Evolvence India Fund IV Ltd as a part of its private placement round. This is the maiden funding round for the Bengaluru-based company since its inception in 2016. As per the company, it has raised the funds at a post-money valuation of Rs 3,250 crore ($390 million). The proceeds will be used to pursue both organic and inorganic growth and refine products, the company said in a press release. Led by Anil Puthan, Unimech Aerospace specializes in manufacturing of high precision tooling for aero-engines and airframes, along with complex high precision components, assemblies, and for the aerospace, defence, energy, and semiconductor industries. Its key clients include top aerospace, energy, defence and semiconductor OEMs. The firm has also established itself as an export-oriented company with a presence in the USA, Europe, and the United Kingdom. For the fiscal year ended in March 2023(FY23), Unimech’s revenue jumped to Rs 28 crore from Rs 16 crore while it maintained its profitability with Rs 2.81 crore in FY23 from Rs 1.69 crore in FY22. Unimech claims to have grown to over Rs 200 crore ($24 million) in revenue by FY24. The company also said that it is in the process of filing a draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) with the Securities and Exchange Board of India. Since January 2021, 26 tech startups have gone public and Unimech will become the first venture funded aerospace manufacturing company to go public in India. In the last couple of months, several established startups and companies have raised their maiden external or venture capital funding. The list includes workspace solution provider Incuspaze, ethnic wear brand Libas, consumer electronics startup Indkal, and performance wear brand TechnoSport.

Invest4Edu makes education planning easy for parents

EntrackrEntrackr · 1y ago
Invest4Edu makes education planning easy for parents
Medial

Not everyone can afford to pay for high-quality education for their children. Whether it’s about studying in a premier institution in India or colleges abroad, it’s expensive. The complexities of accessing education loans have also been a significant pain point for parents. Of late, quite a few startups have begun working in this space. For instance, GradRight helps make higher education abroad accessible and affordable. Other notable names are Leap Finance and Propelled. Another startup trying to tap into this space is Invest4edu. Based in Mumbai, Invest4Edu aims to address common anxieties around the rising cost of education, college planning, and long-term payment. We spoke to the company co-founder and CEO Peeyush Agrawal to learn more about the ‘ed-fintech’ startup, how it operates, and more. Here are the edited excerpts: What are the key challenges in the industry that have not been addressed yet? And how do you plan to address them? There has been a surge of edtech and fintech companies, and all of them are doing a great job in their respective horizons, but we have found that India still lacks tech platforms offering comprehensive education financial solutions. Only partial solutions are being offered by existing Edtech and Fintech companies. There is a lack of focused unified solutions in the market, and an absence of education goal-based planning leading to insufficient funds for education. Less than 30% of parents use money for their child’s education from dedicated education savings. Inadequate planning leads to insufficient funds for education, restricting a child’s ability to achieve their real potential. Two out of three Indian parents cannot plan for retirement due to the higher education financing needs of their children. With smart AI-based tools, we want to empower parents and students to discover and plan their education goals. Early planning with mandate-based early savings and great career-building services will help Indians manage education inflation and fulfill their commitment to quality education. We are offering an array of education services to help students and parents discover ideal career paths in the increasingly changing environment. What are the key highlights of your platform? We at Invest4Edu offer an AI-based education journey, essentially a digital toolkit aiding parents in crafting career-centric education goals from nursery to university. The toolkit is aimed to simplify learning requirements, skill development, assessments, and counseling with precise expense details. There is also a free planner that ensures holistic education. Subscription plans offer services like career counseling, skill-building, and financial investment guidance for achieving goals. We also have a College cost calculator, EduAbacus, which helps deliver informed decisions on future education costs. Subscriptions or standalone services from this tech-driven platform streamline education planning for parents and students. How do you generate revenues? Invest4Ed offers a unique blend of educational and financial services to B2C and B2B2C markets. We have an annuity-based revenue model with high customer retention. The revenue is generated from commission on financial products like MF, FD, Insurance along with fees from educational solutions and subscription plans. What are your short-term and long-term goals in terms of product and business expansion and diversification? Over the next two years, our company aims to spearhead a transformative initiative in education planning that prioritizes and enhances while ensuring accessibility for a diverse student population of more than 2 Lakh students. Our long-term goal is to create 1.5 Million User Base and 0.5 Million Families Empowered In this endeavour. We will be building a $250 Million Mutual Fund AUM & Monthly SIP Book of $60 Million. We have recently expanded our core team aimed at launching our global business.

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