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Toy marketplace Snooplay raises pre- Series A1 round led by Pravek Family Office

EntrackrEntrackr · 8m ago
Toy marketplace Snooplay raises pre- Series A1 round led by Pravek Family Office
Medial

Toy marketplace Snooplay raises pre-Series A1 round led by Pravek Family Office Toy marketplace Snooplay has raised Rs 8 crore in a pre-Series A1 funding round led by Pravek Family Office along with participation from other strategic angel investors. Prior to this, the Noida-based company had raised $535K in a seed funding round from Ajay Kumar Gupta and others. The proceeds will be utilized to launch its two proprietary innovative tech products that aim to transform how India discovers, buys, and recirculates toys - through AI, data, and empathy, Snooplay said in a press release. Co-founded in 2019 by Aanchal Mahajan and Brij Raj Singh, Snooplay builds a full-stack, AI-powered toy platform that integrates discovery, purchase, and guilt-free disposal into one seamless ecosystem. The company’s proprietary Toy Intelligence Database—an industry-first effort to map toys to developmental skills, moods, play types, and learning goals. “We are building India’s only toy app that’s serious about play. An app that helps you discover and buy the right toy when your child needs it and lets you trade it in for store credits once they’ve outgrown it. No clutter, no guilt. Just a smarter way to play,” said Aanchal Mahajan, co-founder, Snooplay. Snooplay claims that it houses over 35,000 toys from more than 600 brands, and serves a growing community of Indian parents, collectors and gift-givers. The platform aims to create a single, intelligent loop of smarter discovery and guilt-free exit - making Snooplay the first App in India to build infrastructure around play. Snooplay intends to expand its buyback program in collaboration with NGOs, enabling sustainable toy donations and encouraging conscious consumption. The brand will strengthen its private label offerings across modern retail outlets, e-commerce marketplaces, and curated gifting verticals, while also enhancing its technology, logistics, and operational backbone. The other prominent companies in the toy industry include Funskool, Mattel Toys (India), Simba Toys India, Hamleys (India), Hasbro India, and Lego India.

Toy manufacturing startup BIDSO secures Rs 63 Cr in Series A led by Blume Ventures

EntrackrEntrackr · 11d ago
Toy manufacturing startup BIDSO secures Rs 63 Cr in Series A led by Blume Ventures
Medial

Toy manufacturing startup BIDSO secures Rs 63 Cr in Series A led by Blume Ventures Toy manufacturing startup BIDSO has secured Rs 63 crore ($6.7 million) in a Series A funding round led by Blume Ventures, comprising Rs 51 crore in equity and Rs 12 crore in venture debt. The round also saw participation from existing investors Peer Capital and Sadev Capital, while venture debt was raised from Alteria Capital. The Bengaluru-based startup had previously raised $1.5 million in August 2023, including $1.2 million in a seed round led by PeerCapital and $300,000 in a pre-seed round from DeVC and other investors such as Mohit Sadaani, Nishit Garg, OfBusiness Founders Fund, Saurabh Jain, and Revant Bhate. The fresh funds will be used to enhance product design and manufacturing capabilities, expand its manufacturing footprint and production capacity, and grow its product portfolio, BIDSO said in a press release. Co-founded in 2022 by Ashwin Jain and Rahul Agarwal, BIDSO is a design-led manufacturing platform that helps consumer brands design, develop, and manufacture customised products at scale. Its integrated platform spans product design, engineering, licensing, and manufacturing, enabling brands to bring new products to market faster while serving as a long-term supply partner. Over the past 12 months, BIDSO claims to have gained strong traction through global B2B partnerships with leading toy brands. The company has also acquired licenses for globally recognised characters such as Peppa Pig, Harry Potter, Transformers, and NASA, allowing it to develop licensed product ranges for brand partners. These developments, along with an expanded product portfolio and increased manufacturing capacity, have helped BIDSO more than double its revenue over the past year. While currently focused on the toys segment, BIDSO plans to expand into adjacent consumer product categories by leveraging its design, engineering, and manufacturing capabilities. The company also aims to contribute to the Make in India initiative by strengthening demand and enhancing the capabilities of Indian SME manufacturers, while improving transparency and efficiency across the supply chain through a curated partner network. BIDSO's revenue surged to Rs 41.25 crore in FY25 from Rs 7.52 crore in FY24, while its losses edged up slightly to Rs 6.44 crore from Rs 5.67 crore.

Pine Labs sees credit line on UPI as India’s next credit growth driver

EntrackrEntrackr · 5m ago
Pine Labs sees credit line on UPI as India’s next credit growth driver
Medial

Pine Labs sees credit line on UPI as India’s next credit growth driver India has 330 million credit-ready consumers but 150–200 million remain underserved, a gap that embedded credit products like CLOU aim to address. Pine Labs’ latest industry report, supported by McKinsey, points to “credit line on UPI” (CLOU) as the big growth driver for credit-linked payments at checkout, as India’s lending landscape undergoes rapid changes. By 2030, the report estimates, credit-linked payment products could generate as much revenue as home and auto loans. The push will be led by UPI’s 65 million QR-enabled merchants and digital-native customer base, with 490 million consumers already on UPI. Despite high awareness among the non-carded base, actual usage of products like BNPL or EMI on debit cards remains low, largely due to discoverability, acceptance, and trust issues. At present, consumers prefer credit options that are easy to access on familiar apps, simple to use, transparent, and widely accepted. CLOU’s pitch is to leverage existing QR infrastructure for small-ticket credit, which unlocks viable lending economics for banks and NBFCs. The product will allow lenders to offer customized propositions, improve risk management through AI-led underwriting, and scale via ecosystem partnerships. The report also flags the need for banks and tech players to invest in configurable, modern tech stacks and develop strong merchant and TPAP (third-party app provider) partnerships for adoption. The report further highlights that the next lending revolution is starting right at the checkout, with new credit products set to change the way Indians shop and borrow.

Why EV maker Ather’s IPO didn’t tick all right boxes

EntrackrEntrackr · 11m ago
Why EV maker Ather’s IPO didn’t tick all right boxes
Medial

Why EV maker Ather’s IPO didn’t tick all right boxes Ather had to scale down its expected valuation from $2 billion to $1.4 billion ahead of the IPO — a move that, to some investors, signaled weaker demand or a lack of confidence. Ather Energy’s Rs 2,626 crore IPO — India’s third-largest public offering of 2025 so far — had all the makings of a headline event: a respected EV brand, strong engineering pedigree, and a fast-growing electric scooter market. Yet, as the subscription window closed, the response appeared muted. Institutional investors subscribed to just 1.7 times the shares allocated for Qualified Institutional Buyers (QIB) category, while Non-Institutional Investors (NIIs) subscribed to only 66% of their quota. Retail investors showed comparatively more interest, with a subscription rate of 1.78 times, thanks possibly to some last minute pushing by brokerages promising the possibility of listing gains. Ather is known for its solid engineering and high-quality scooters. But when it came to the IPO, it struggled to get attention. Many investors felt the company didn’t share a big, bold vision — something Ola did well. Ather had to scale down its expected valuation from $2 billion to $1.4 billion ahead of the IPO — a move that, to some investors, signaled weaker demand or a lack of confidence, especially when compared to the bolder positioning of rivals like Ola Electric. Even when we look at the financials of both EV companies, the contrast is clear. Ahead of its IPO, Ola Electric disclosed in its Red Herring Prospectus (RHP) that it recorded Rs 5,000 crore in revenue for FY24, with a net loss of Rs 1,584 crore — meaning the company spent Rs 1.25 to earn every Rs 1 in revenue. Ather Energy, on the other hand, reported Rs 1,579 crore in revenue with a loss of Rs 580 crore for the first nine months of FY25, translating to a cost of Rs 1.36 to earn every Rs 1. That higher per-unit cost, combined with lower scale, may have made investors cautious, especially when comparing Ather’s path to profitability with Ola’s stronger topline growth. Ather’s slow and steady approach to expansion, which ensured high customer loyalty and trust, has boomeranged when it comes to the IPO. Public markets tend to reward speed, growth, or profitability, and in Ather’s case, it appears lucky to have scraped through with none of the above. That is a huge endorsement of its reputation and promise, and possibly positive word of mouth. That the IPO was practically a compulsion is also a reason why the firm decided to forge ahead, with limited runway available and backers holding off. There is every possibility that investors will have to be more patient than usual to see the firm deliver returns. The founders have almost been timid in making claims linked to prospects, the antithesis of what Bhavish Aggarwal of Ola Electric. One can only hope that this refusal to chest thump will deliver the kind of returns that gladden the heart in time.

Microdramas clock $300 Mn revenue in a year; RMG users shift to offshore betting apps

EntrackrEntrackr · 10d ago
Microdramas clock $300 Mn revenue in a year; RMG users shift to offshore betting apps
Medial

India's digital entertainment space is changing fast, with new formats like microdramas growing quickly. At the same time, stricter rules on real-money gaming (RMG) are pushing users toward offshore platforms. According to Lumikai’s State of Interactive Media Report 2025, India’s interactive media market has grown into a $13.8 billion ecosystem, expanding at 17% year-on-year, led by over 877 million smartphone users. Microdrama platforms have already crossed $300 million in revenue within their first year, clocking over 450 million downloads and 100 million monthly active users, the report shows. The platforms are projected to scale into a $4.5 billion market by 2030. The growth shows a deeper behavioral shift; users are moving away from passive viewing to interactive, bite-sized, and habit-forming formats. Microdramas already deliver 60 minutes of daily engagement, nearing OTT levels. Another interesting thing is the RMG shift. According to the report, following the ban on real-money gaming under the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, 2025, nearly one in three RMG users migrated to offshore betting platforms, spending up to Rs 10,000 per month without regulatory oversight, taxation, or consumer safeguards. The report also highlights a measurable rise in VPN-enabled browser usage and increased traffic to offshore platforms such as Bet365 and 1xBet, indicating that demand has not disappeared but shifted beyond India’s regulatory perimeter. Interestingly, the remaining user base is not exiting digital entertainment altogether. Instead, time spent is being redistributed toward categories like microdramas, social media, and free-to-play games, accelerating growth in these segments. India’s gaming ecosystem, excluding RMG, continues to remain resilient. The market crossed $1.5 billion in 2025, supported by 555 million gamers and a 25% payer conversion rate, with in-app purchases emerging as the primary monetisation lever. At a broader level, the report shows, platforms focused on specific user needs are making more money than large, general platforms. Apps like astrology and micro-learning earn more per user ($8.4 and $5.5 annually) than social media, despite having smaller audiences. This suggests that the next big digital companies in India will be built on deeper user engagement, not just scale. Platforms that are interactive, personalised, and solve specific user needs are likely to win. What stands out is the unintended consequence of tighter RMG regulation, which seems to be pushing user spending beyond domestic oversight rather than reducing it. At the same time, the rise of microdramas shows how seamless payments, particularly UPI autopay, are enabling high-frequency monetisation at scale. Together, these trends highlight a clear shift: growth is increasingly driven by payment ease and regulatory gaps, making it harder for both companies and policymakers to keep pace.

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