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CCI Approves Google’s $350 Million Flipkart Investment and Temasek’s Stake in Rebel Foods

By
Supriya Biswas
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0

The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has granted approval for Google’s $350 million investment in Flipkart, Walmart’s e-commerce platform. This decision comes after several months of waiting, with the investment initially announced in May.

Google’s contribution forms part of Flipkart’s broader $1 billion funding round, which is primarily led by Walmart. Flipkart, which was valued at $36 billion during this round, had previously stated that the investment was contingent upon receiving the necessary regulatory approvals.

In another significant development, CCI has also given the green light for the investment in Rebel Foods by Jongsong Investments, a subsidiary of Temasek, the Singapore-based investment firm. Rebel Foods, a major player in the foodtech sector, is reportedly seeking between $100 million and $140 million through a mix of primary and secondary transactions.

This marks Rebel Foods’ first equity raise since November 2021, following a three-year hiatus. During the past two years, the company has raised nearly $50 million through five separate debt funding rounds.

Currently, Rebel Foods operates over 450 cloud kitchens across multiple regions, including India, MENA, Indonesia, and the UK, with a presence in 75 cities in India. In FY24, the company reported a rise in revenue to Rs 1,420 crore, alongside a significant reduction in its losses by more than 42%, down to Rs 378 crore for the fiscal year.

Rebel Foods faces stiff competition in the foodtech space from rivals such as Curefoods, EatClub, Biryani By Kilo, FreshMenu, Biryani Blues, Kitchens@, Bigspoon, and HOI Foods.

True Diamond Secures $1 Million in Seed Funding to Expand Its Lab-Grown Jewelry Brand

By
Supriya Biswas
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0

True Diamond, an emerging name in the lab-grown diamond industry, has successfully raised $1 million in seed funding. The round was led by Titan Capital, with additional participation from Huddle Ventures, Zeropearl Ventures, and personal investments from notable figures such as Ashutosh Valani, Priyank Shah, Aashka Goradia Goble, Ghazal Alagh (co-founder of Mamaearth), Abhishek Goyal, and Anmol Jain.

The funds will be directed toward strengthening the company’s workforce, enhancing brand awareness, and recruiting jewellery professionals, designers, and sales personnel. Additionally, True Diamond plans to launch exclusive boutique stores in Mumbai and Delhi NCR, along with expanding its branding and marketing efforts.

Founded in January 2024 by Parin Shah and Darayus Mehta, True Diamond aims to revolutionize the luxury jewelry market with a focus on sustainable, high-quality lab-grown diamonds. The brand offers an array of jewelry, including rings, earrings, pendants, necklaces, mangalsutras, bracelets, and tennis bracelets, along with customized pieces and men’s collections.

True Diamond’s lab-grown diamonds are produced using cutting-edge technology that replicates the natural diamond formation process, ensuring they possess identical chemical, physical, and optical properties to mined diamonds. These diamonds are crafted with ethical and sustainable practices in mind.

With a catalog of 5,000 customizable designs, True Diamond boasts a customer repeat purchase rate of 1.7 times and has expanded its reach across India.

Pratilipi Nears ₹60 Crore Revenue in FY24, Slashes Losses by 62%

By
Supriya Biswas
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0

Pratilipi, a Bengaluru-based storytelling platform, showcased remarkable growth in FY24 by increasing its revenue by 66% and reducing losses by 62%. The company’s operational revenue surged to ₹57.8 crore in FY24, compared to ₹35 crore in FY23, as per its filings with the Registrar of Companies (RoC).

Pratilipi specializes in text and audio storytelling across Indian languages such as Hindi, Gujarati, Bengali, Marathi, and Malayalam. Its offerings span audiobooks, podcasts, comics, web series, and movies. Revenue from its content and premium subscriptions doubled to ₹34.97 crore in FY24, contributing 60.5% of the total operating revenue. Meanwhile, brand advertising revenue rose by 79% to ₹7.53 crore, and book sales climbed by 62% to ₹10.62 crore. The company also earned ₹70 lakh from interest income, bringing its total revenue to ₹58.5 crore for FY24.

On the expense front, Pratilipi managed to cut costs significantly. Employee benefit expenses, the largest category, declined by 21% to ₹46.94 crore. Advertising expenses fell sharply by 62% to ₹19.36 crore, with cloud services and software charges also witnessing a notable reduction. These efforts brought down the company’s total expenses by 39% to ₹116.7 crore in FY24.

As a result, Pratilipi’s net losses were reduced to ₹58.13 crore in FY24 from ₹152.6 crore in FY23. The company spent ₹2.02 to generate every rupee of revenue during this period. Its cash and bank balances stood at ₹2.3 crore, with total current assets valued at ₹33.26 crore.

The startup, which has raised over $80 million from prominent investors like Krafton, Nexus Venture Partners, Omidyar Network, Shunwei Capital, and Tencent, plans to take the public route in January 2026. CEO Ranjeet Pratap Singh also revealed intentions to raise $12 million in a pre-IPO round, potentially at a lower valuation, ahead of the planned IPO.

This financial turnaround highlights Pratilipi’s strategic focus on operational efficiency while scaling its core storytelling platform.

Cars24 Achieves 25% Growth in FY24, Revenue Approaches ₹7,000 Cr

By
Supriya Biswas
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0

Cars24, a leading e-commerce platform for pre-owned vehicles, recorded impressive growth in the fiscal year ending March 2024. The company reported a 25% year-on-year increase in revenue, reaching ₹6,917 crore compared to ₹5,530 crore in FY23. Despite this, Cars24 maintained net losses of ₹498.4 crore while achieving an adjusted EBITDA of ₹318.8 crore during the period.

The sale of cars, primarily through auctions and retail, drove 92% of the company’s revenue, rising by 24% to ₹6,400 crore in FY24 from ₹5,164 crore in FY23. Financial services contributed ₹300 crore, while additional revenue came from parking fees, service charges, and value-added services such as insurance and warranties. Notably, Cars24 sold 2,00,000 vehicles in FY24.

Based in Singapore, Cars24 oversees operations across 12 subsidiaries, including India, Australia, the UAE, and Thailand. While the consolidated financials are pending, the Indian entity’s figures reveal that car procurement formed the largest cost center, accounting for ₹6,106 crore or 81.8% of total expenses. Other expenditures, including employee benefits, technology, and advertising, brought the total expenditure to ₹7,461 crore, up from ₹6,053 crore in FY23.

The company claims to have improved its gross margin by 35%, with steady losses attributed to controlled expenses amidst significant revenue growth.

As a key player in the pre-owned vehicle market, Cars24 faces competition from companies like Spinny, which reported ₹3,725 crore in revenue but higher losses of ₹590 crore in FY24. Unlike Spinny, Cars24 hasn’t raised external funding since December 2021, when it secured $450 million at a valuation of $3.3 billion. Its investors include Alpha Wave, SoftBank, Tencent, and DST Global.

Co-founder Gajendra Jangid recently hinted at plans for an IPO, though a timeline has yet to be confirmed. With steady growth and operational improvements, Cars24 continues to solidify its position in the growing pre-owned vehicle market.

ShareChat Achieves 33% Revenue Growth in FY24 with Significant Loss Reduction

By
Supriya Biswas
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0

Mohalla Tech, the parent company of ShareChat and Moj, demonstrated robust growth in the fiscal year ending March 2024. The vernacular social media giant reported a 33% year-on-year increase in revenue, reaching ₹718 crore, while its adjusted EBITDA losses dropped by an impressive 67% during the same period.

As per the company’s statement, operating revenue surged from ₹540 crore in FY23 to ₹718 crore in FY24. Live streaming emerged as the dominant revenue driver, contributing 56% of the income and growing by 41.4% to ₹403 crore. Advertising revenue grew by 23.5% to ₹315 crore, accounting for the remaining share. Additionally, non-operating income of ₹29 crore, mainly from financial gains and interest, brought the total revenue to ₹747 crore.

Cost optimization played a pivotal role in the company’s improved financial performance. Server costs, the largest expense category, were slashed by 50%, according to ShareChat’s CFO, Manohar Charan. Employee benefits costs, including ₹126 crore in ESOP-related expenses, also decreased by 17%, amounting to ₹580 crore. Despite these savings, overall operating expenses stood at ₹1,540 crore in FY24, significantly down from ₹3,119 crore in FY23.

These measures enabled Mohalla Tech to cut its adjusted EBITDA losses to ₹793 crore in FY24, a dramatic improvement from ₹2,400 crore in FY23. Net consolidated losses also reduced substantially, dropping to ₹1,898 crore from ₹5,143 crore the previous fiscal year.

Backed by prominent investors such as Temasek, Google, Tiger Global, and Lightspeed, ShareChat serves over 325 million monthly active users across its platforms, with Moj alone boasting 160 million MAUs. In 2023, the company took bold steps to streamline operations, including workforce reductions affecting 700 employees in two phases and a further 5% layoff in August 2024.

ShareChat continues to secure funding, recently expanding its debt round to $65 million with a $16 million investment from Singapore-based EDBI. Despite these financial strides, the company’s valuation experienced a dip, falling from $5 billion in 2022 to under $2 billion during its latest fundraising efforts.

Through strategic cost management and growth in revenue streams, Mohalla Tech is positioning itself for a more sustainable financial future.

NeoGrowth Secures ₹42 Crore Debt Funding from UTI International

By
Supriya Biswas
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0

MSME-focused digital lender NeoGrowth has successfully secured ₹42 crore (approximately $5 million) in debt funding through UTI International Wealth Creator. This marks the second debt infusion for the Mumbai-based company in the current calendar year.

NeoGrowth’s board recently approved the issuance and allotment of up to 4,200 non-convertible debentures (NCDs), carrying an interest rate of 11.7% per annum, as revealed in its regulatory filings. The investment was made by UTI International Wealth Creator 4, a debt fund managed by UTI Asset Management Company.

The funding comes as NeoGrowth plans to raise ₹500 crore in growth capital through private equity investments. The company, which reported managed assets worth ₹2,750 crore at the end of the last fiscal year, aims to achieve ₹4,000 crore in assets under management (AUM) by FY25.

Co-founded by Dhruv Khaitan and Piyush Khaitan, NeoGrowth is an NBFC specializing in short-term unsecured loans for MSMEs. The lender offers loans of up to ₹75 lakh with tenures extending up to 100 months.

Over the years, NeoGrowth has secured $138 million in a combination of equity and debt from prominent investors, including MicroVest, FMO, Omidyar Network, and DFC.

Financially, NeoGrowth experienced significant growth, with its gross revenue rising 57% to ₹601 crore in FY24 compared to ₹381 crore in FY23. Additionally, its profit before tax surged nearly fourfold, reaching ₹95 crore in FY24, up from ₹24 crore in the previous fiscal year.

ApnaKlub Achieves Rs 537 Cr Revenue in FY24 While Reducing Losses

By
Supriya Biswas
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0

B2B e-commerce platform ApnaKlub showcased robust growth in FY24, nearly doubling its gross revenue while effectively curbing its losses. For the fiscal year ending March 2024, the company reported a 14% reduction in losses, bringing the figure to just under Rs 50 crore.

The platform’s gross revenue surged to Rs 536.78 crore in FY24, up from Rs 278.32 crore in FY23. ApnaKlub, known for connecting FMCG brands with retailers and kirana stores, attributes its revenue boost to significant sales in various product categories.

In FY24, personal care products dominated the sales charts with Rs 250 crore, followed by beverages at Rs 95.34 crore. Home care and processed foods contributed Rs 82 crore and Rs 80.6 crore, respectively. Additionally, interest from long-term investments added Rs 5 crore, pushing the company’s total revenue to Rs 541 crore for the fiscal year.

Material costs represented a major portion of expenses, rising by 84.83% to Rs 508.05 crore. Employee benefits grew by 33.84% to Rs 31.6 crore, while transportation expenses increased by 41.56% to Rs 11.41 crore. Other expenses amounted to Rs 38.69 crore, leading to a total expenditure of Rs 589.75 crore—a 77.4% year-on-year increase.

Despite the expense surge, ApnaKlub successfully narrowed its net losses to Rs 47.93 crore in FY24, down from Rs 55.63 crore in FY23. Excluding ESOP costs, the adjusted loss stood at Rs 45.9 crore, with an EBITDA loss of Rs 44.7 crore and an adjusted EBITDA loss of Rs 42.63 crore.

The company recorded an ROCE of -79.36% and an EBITDA margin of -8.25%. It spent Rs 1.1 to generate a rupee of operating revenue, maintaining a cash balance of Rs 39.13 crore and current assets worth Rs 90.55 crore by year-end.

To date, ApnaKlub has raised Rs 190.78 crore (approximately $24.4 million) in funding from prominent investors such as Tiger Global, Blume Ventures, Whiteboard Capital, and Surge Ventures.

This steady growth trajectory underscores ApnaKlub’s resilience and its commitment to scaling operations while improving financial efficiency.

Ikin Global Secures $1 Million in Pre-Series A to Drive IoT Smart Lock Innovation

By
Supriya Biswas
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0

Ikin Global, a leading IoT smart lock company, has raised $1 million in its pre-Series A funding round. The investment was spearheaded by Unicorn India Ventures and Callapina Capital, with continued support from existing investors.

The funding will propel Ikin’s efforts to expand its product portfolio, integrating AI-powered analytics and advanced sensor technologies tailored for industry-specific applications. This expansion also includes launching innovative solutions to meet diverse market needs.

To accelerate growth, the company plans to strengthen its presence in key regions, including India, the US, and Europe. This will involve scaling up its sales, marketing, operations, and support teams to meet rising demand.

Ikin has already made significant strides by securing 2,500 trucks and 1,500 facilities, ranging from warehouses to vaults and retail outlets. It currently boasts an order book of 20,000 smart locks, with a projected revenue of ₹30 crore from the logistics sector.

The brand recently introduced cutting-edge smart products such as Portable iSeals, which feature a one-year battery life and replace disposable plastic seals for containers, as well as Smart GPS Truck Locks equipped with advanced intrusion detection sensors.

This funding marks a pivotal moment in Ikin’s journey to revolutionize the IoT smart lock industry with innovative, scalable solutions.

BitSave Secures Pre-Series A Funding to Bolster Crypto Investment Solutions

By
Supriya Biswas
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0

Crypto investment platform BitSave has successfully closed its pre-Series A funding round, raising an undisclosed amount led by Leo Capital.

The company plans to channel the funds into acquiring regulatory licenses, enhancing its product suite, and boosting brand visibility, as stated in its official release.

Founded in 2022 by Zakhil Suresh, Sajal Sharma, Asif Kattakath, and Vishnu Karthkeyan, BitSave specializes in long-term passive investment solutions tailored for working professionals and high-net-worth individuals (HNIs). Its flagship offering includes a crypto index product linked to the Bloomberg Galaxy Crypto Index, featuring a monthly SIP option.

Based in Bengaluru, BitSave simplifies crypto investments by addressing common challenges such as asset selection, transparency, and safety. The platform utilizes insured institutional custody for safeguarding client assets and employs Proof of Reserves and Liabilities to ensure accountability on the blockchain.

With an active investor base of over 500 and assets under management exceeding ₹4 crore, BitSave is on a growth trajectory. The startup is set to expand beyond India to other Asian markets by 2025, aspiring to establish itself as a globally trusted crypto investment platform.

Beardo Reclaims Profitability with Rs 173.2 Cr Revenue in FY24

By
Supriya Biswas
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0

Marico-owned Beardo has made a strong comeback in FY24, registering an impressive 62.4% year-on-year growth after a challenging FY23. The male grooming brand reported a revenue of Rs 173.2 crore in FY24, up from Rs 106.6 crore in the previous fiscal year, while also returning to profitability.

Beardo’s product range, which includes beard oils, combs, waxes, face washes, soaps, and lotions, played a pivotal role in this growth. These items, sold through its website, marketplaces, and retail outlets, formed the bulk of its revenue. The firm’s procurement costs, representing 40% of total expenditure, increased by 83.2%, reaching Rs 67.5 crore in FY24 compared to Rs 36.8 crore in FY23.

Despite an overall expenditure hike of 46.1%, which rose to Rs 168.4 crore in FY24, Beardo maintained controlled spending on advertising (Rs 43.89 crore) and employee benefits (Rs 12.5 crore). These factors, coupled with operational efficiency, contributed to a profit of Rs 3.63 crore, a significant turnaround from the Rs 6.1 crore loss in FY23. Beardo’s ROCE and EBITDA margins for FY24 stood at 75.58% and 4.21%, respectively, with a unit cost of Rs 0.97 per rupee earned.

Beardo competes with brands like Ustraa, The Man Company, and Bombay Shaving Company. Ustraa reported Rs 94.02 crore in revenue with a Rs 50 crore loss in FY24, while Bombay Shaving Company earned Rs 182 crore in FY23 and aims for Rs 260-280 crore in FY24. The Man Company recorded Rs 115 crore in FY23 but is yet to disclose its FY24 results.

Leveraging its parent company Marico’s distribution and marketing expertise, Beardo has not only solidified its position in men’s grooming but also ventured into the women’s category with high-margin perfumes. This strategic diversification, combined with its core focus on beard grooming, positions the Ahmedabad-based firm for sustained growth.

As the D2C and personal care market gears up for consolidation, Beardo is well-poised for further expansion. With the right strategies and a bit of market momentum, the company could potentially double its revenues by FY27, building on the lessons and successes of recent years.

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