CarDekho, an online marketplace for cars, is supposedly in advanced talks to choose merchant bankers for its planned IPO, which is expected to take place early next year. A media report stated that CarDekho might decide on the bankers’ appointment for the public issue as early as next week.
The business wants to fund close to $500 million, or roughly INR 4,100 crore and intends to file its draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) in March 2025. A key component of the IPO is anticipated, with a valuation goal of $2 billion to $2.5 billion.
Expansion Plans
The net revenues from the IPO will be put towards CarDekho’s planned acquisitions to broaden its service offering, as well as its further geographic and category expansion. A portion of the holdings held by early investors, such as Peak XV, Google Capital, and Hillhouse Capital, will be sold during the offer for sale (OFS) portion of the IPO.
With an estimated worth of $2 billion to $2.5 billion, the IPO would almost double its prior valuation. CarDekho has contemplated going public before; in 2021, the business discussed an IPO, but it never happened.
In order to oversee the prospective IPO, CarDekho earlier this year named Neelesh Talathi, a former executive of Mensa Brands and Pepperfry, as its group chief financial officer. CEO and co-founder Amit Jain stated in January that CarDekho planned to become profitable for a minimum of four to six quarters prior to going public.
Financial Status
Amit Jain and Anurag Jain launched CarDekho, an app-based vehicle listing platform, in 2008. The business also manages the financing website Rupyy and the insurance platform InsuranceDekho. CarDekho, which competes with CarTrade, Spinny, and Cars24, has raised more than $692 million in funding to date. The business raised $250 million in a combination of primary and secondary capital in 2021, when its valuation was last estimated at $1.2 billion.
For the fiscal year 2022-2023 (FY23), CarDekho Group recorded operating revenue of INR 2,331 crore, increasing 1.5 times from INR 1,600 crore in the prior fiscal year. Nonetheless, losses in FY22 rose slightly to INR 562 crore from INR 535 crore.
The announcement of CarDekho’s IPO intentions coincides with an increase of Indian firms looking to go public. Up to ten new-age digital businesses have gone public this year, including FirstCry, Go Digit, Ola Electric, and Awfis.
The leading UPI payments company PhonePe has announced a collaboration with microsavings startup Jar to launch a new feature on its app dubbed “Daily Savings.”
With the use of this function, users can save money in 24K digital gold by making daily donations that range from INR 10 to 5,000. With little incremental investments in digital gold, the program seeks to assist people in forming a persistent savings habit.
Run by Jar’s Cutting-Edge Technological Solution
Jar’s integrated Gold Tech solution powers the “Daily Savings” function, making investing in digital gold easier. It takes less than 45 seconds to complete the full transaction. Jar’s technology was previously only available to its own users, but thanks to this partnership, PhonePe users can now utilise it as well. Users of PhonePe may now effortlessly send and receive money while taking advantage of automated daily contributions thanks to this arrangement.
The use of Digital Gold on PhonePe‘s platform has increased significantly in recent years, according to Niharika Saigal, Head of InApp Categories, Consumer Payments. PhonePe is excited to present Daily Saves, a product that uses 24K Digital Gold to enable small, regular savings. People can gradually work towards reaching their financial objectives by starting small and saving regularly.
Digital Gold Savings Made Easy and Safe
A further goal of PhonePe and Jar’s relationship is to meet the growing need for easy and safe ways to invest in digital gold. Jar’s Gold Tech stack effortlessly interacts with PhonePe, which boasts over 560 million registered users, enabling hassle-free saving and transaction for users.
Compared to traditional savings, digital gold has a number of benefits, including the removal of the requirement for physical storage and the associated security risks. The user’s account contains digital storage for the acquired gold, which is backed up by real gold kept in safe deposit boxes.
Users’ Convenience and Adaptability
Users now have greater freedom in managing their funds thanks to the new Daily Funds function. They are free to stop or stop making daily donations at any moment, and they can exchange the gold for cash at any time.
Users can also use Jar’s proprietary brand, Nek, to turn their digital gold savings into jewellery. This gives their funds an additional level of usefulness and increases accessibility for a larger group of people.
By providing PhonePe with Jar’s Gold Tech platform, the company is allowing the payment gateway to easily include gold savings into their services, according to Nishchay AG, Jar’s founder and CEO. He was enthusiastic about the partnership. This is a big step forward for Jar since it makes gold savings more accessible than ever before by providing straightforward, scalable financial solutions to both individuals and organisations.
This article has been contributed by Megha Pavan, Founder and CEO, Arkaa Cluster Private Limited.
Food has been the basic necessity of life and Agriculture has been the central point of human civilization in one way or the other. But with the ever increasing population of the world and the pressure being put on natural resources latter is experiencing a kind of revolution. This change is anchored on AgriTech, which is a rising industry that strategically applies technology and innovation to solve some of the pressing issues in the agricultural field. Thus, relying on artificial intelligence, biotechnology, data analysis, and automation, AgriTech provides exceptional opportunities to increase the yields, sustainability, and revenues in agriculture.
The Evolution of AgriTech
Affiliated to agricultural technology or commonly known as AgriTech, is the broad term referring to innovations that seeks to optimize farming. Over the course of farming history it has been embracing new tools and methods starting from the plow to genetic modification of crops but today’s AgriTech is characterized by its focus on digitization and precision farming. In the recent past, farmers adapted to the modern technologies that include; sensors, drones, robotics, and machine learning in an attempt to enhance efficiency in the utilization of some of the resources like water, fertilizers, and pesticides. It is with this technological advancement that one expects to witness yet enhanced yields and food production plus minimized wastage hence food security considering the current changes prevalent in climatic conditions, depleting natural resource base and changing consumer trends all of which are likely to be occasioned by climate change.
AgriTech Market
Here Are Some Emerging Opportunities in the Agri Tech Sector
1) Precision Agriculture
Precision agriculture can be described as a process of closely tracking and controlling crops with the help of application of data. Soil conditions, moisture, and overall plant vigour is known using drones, satellite imaging, and remote sensoring. Using this information farmers can know when and where to irrigate, apply inputs, and spray pesticides and fertilizers; in this way, one reduces costs and gets good yields. Firms focusing on precision agriculture technologies are being paid large sums of money as the solutions offered by the industry will unlock agriculture production and reduce the impact on the environment.
2) Indoor and Vertical Farming
Due to the increase of the rate of urbanization and decrease of arable land, innovative methods like vertical and indoor farming have appeared to produce food in limited spaces. Compared to conventional farming, these systems require fewer water, less land, and generate less pesticide usage and crops can be grown all year round irrespective of weather conditions. Vertical farming, in particular, has been adopted in the cities since the available space to farm is restricted and more so the markets demand locally grown produce. Advancements in lighting technology, automation systems, and hydroponics are the main trends in the AgriTech sector, present possibilities for clients to change the approach to urban food production.
3) Millets: A Climate-Resilient Crop
Therefore, Millets are slowly proving to be a promising area within AgriTech because these crops do not require good soil, and optimum climate conditions to grow, and even yields better results in unfavourable conditions like dry lands. In comparison to other grains, these small-seeded grains are actually much drier than rice and wheat – a factor that makes them perfectly suitable to regions experiencing water stress. Millets are rich sources of dietary fiber, protein and various micronutrients which are very useful to meet the growing popularity of health foods in the world. Millet farming is one area that is hosting innovation by AgriTech companies that create solutions of increasing yield, processing and distribution. The emphasis on millets correlates with sustainability objectives and paints a picture of increased profitability for small farmers in regions of hardship common to many developing countries hence makes economic headlines for AgriTech, Food Security, Environmental stewardship.
This compels authorities in charge of agriculture to search for new solutions from available technologies, and biotechnological developments in particular. Techniques like the CRISPR system help researchers to grow crops that can withstand difficult conditions including drought, diseases, pests among others. Moreover it has presented its bio-solutions that are under development at several biotech companies which includes pest control solutions in form of bio pesticides, fertilization in form of bio fertilizers and other soil improvers which helps in improving soil health in order to make it more suitable for agriculture. Technological advancement in agricultural sector specifically biotechnology helps to minimize the hazardous chemicals usage for crop production and increase yields and has vast prospects for new business models.
5) Agricultural Robotics and Automation
Long-standing and particularly in the developed countries, the shortage of workers for agricultural work is leading to the automation of the process. These include planting, weeding, and harvesting since agricultural robots have the capacity of doing any specific job with great precision. It can also drive machinery for watering the crops and spraying fertilizers and also help identify diseases through drones at an early stage hence cutting costs.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the use of this technology in farming will create the future of AgriTech. The AgriTech sector has great potential for development since it answers two major cognizances of humanity: food security and the preservation of the planet. As a driver of high technology in the areas of precision farming, biotechnology, indoor agriculture and automation, there are much significant prospects that the sector has to offer on the changing dynamics of the food production, processing and consumption. Business people, venture capitalists, and authorities are gradually awakening to the fact that AgriTech may become the key to the further development of agriculture that will be more efficient, environmentally friendly, and able to feed the growing population. As the future of the global food industry unfolds to uncertainty in the face of climate change, resource scarcity, changing trends of diets among others, the AgriTech sector will remain to be a critical player in shaping the future of the food economy.
The leading provider of managed office spaces in Gujarat, Dev Accelerator (DevX), plans to earn an additional INR 125 crore through its upcoming initial public offering (IPO) in order to fund its continued growth.
By the end of this month, the public offer’s draft prospectus should be submitted to Sebi. The issue’s lone banker has been named as Pantomath Capital Advisors.
Company’s Expansion Plan
Various media reports stated that the new funding will be used for both domestic and international expansion, eventually reaching a 2 million square foot area. For the next two years, the firm has already committed to one million square feet.
In each of the eleven cities where DEVX is now active in India, the company intends to expand vertically. It plans to increase this average to 1 to 1.5 lakh sq ft by the next year from its current average of 35,000 to 50,000 sq ft per centre. Early in 2024, DEVX completed its third financing round, raising $7 million. The capital came from investors including banks, NBFCs, family offices, and HNIs, and was distributed equally between loan and equity.
According to the DRHP, the proceedings will also be used for “repayment and/or pre-payment” of some borrowings that the company has obtained, including the redemption of non-convertible debentures that it has issued. It further said that a portion of the earnings will be utilised for general business operations.
Company’s Financial Report Card
Moreover, DEVX provided its financials for the previous three years in the draft record. Revenue for the company was INR 108 crore in 2024, INR 69.9 crore in 2023, and INR 30.8 crore in 2022.
While it lost INR 12.8 crore in fiscal 2023 and Rs 7.5 crore in fiscal 2022, its restated profit for the fiscal year that ended in March 2024 was INR 44 lakh. At a time when India’s primary market has been thriving, DEVX has chosen to pursue the IPO route. To date, over 235 companies have raised a total of over INR 71,000 crore this year.
About DEVX
The mission of DEVX, a startup accelerator, is to provide the resources necessary for the growth and success of innovative startups. With numerous entrepreneurial adventures supported at its centres, the organisation is aware of the shifting demands of the times.
Serving as an enabler for the burgeoning startup scene by giving startupreneurs, SMEs, and corporations the necessary business support that will accelerate innovation and inspire young people to pursue their dreams of becoming entrepreneurs. It seeks to provide outstanding co-working spaces and accelerator programmes around the world in order to bolster the foundation of the country by identifying creative and high-calibre companies and serving as a catalyst for job creation and wealth creation.
Instamart, the rapid commerce division of IPO-bound online food delivery business Swiggy, has introduced free 24-hour delivery for all Delhi-National Capital Region (NCR) clients to capitalize on the expected spike in demand over the festival season.
According to the company, the quick commerce platform aims to satisfy the increasing demand by providing thousands of products across Delhi, Gurgaon, and Noida with quick delivery within 10 to 15 minutes, every day of the week.
Particularly during the hectic holiday season full of last-minute preparations, the company claims to have noticed that once the shutters go down in the late hours, the demand for necessities not only persists but also rises.
Spike in Late-Night Orders
Customers place orders all night long, according to Swiggy, during the holiday season, particularly around festive occasions like the celebrations of Diwali.
According to Swiggy Instamart’s order data, orders for late-night snacks like chips, bhujia, and ice cream, as well as products for sexual wellness and other pan corner necessities, are still placed between 11 PM and 6 AM. As the night draws in, breakfast staples like milk and eggs become more and more popular in the orders.
At the same time, Swiggy is putting all of its resources into growing its rapid commerce division. In anticipation of an initial public offering (IPO) valued at around INR 10,000 crore, the business has filed its draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI). Through a new issuance, the corporation hopes to raise INR 3,750 crore.
Company’s Plan for Expansion
With its subsidiary Scootsy, the food delivery giant intends to use up to INR 982 crore, or around 27% of the IPO proceeds, to grow Instamart’s dark shop network after the IPO. The company has 581 dark stores open as of June 30. These stores ranged in size from 1,400 to 10,000 square feet.
First quarter (Q1) of fiscal year 2025 (FY25) saw a 56% year-over-year (Y-o-Y) increase in Instamart’s gross order value (GOV) to INR 2,724 crore. On the other hand, its GOV for food delivery increased by 14% year over year to INR 6,808 crore. Even though the rapid commerce vertical was introduced six years later, its GOV already accounts for 40% of the food delivery GOV.
With the goal of making the service available to as many customers as possible nationwide, Instamart will assess expanding to additional large cities after Delhi-NCR.
Instamart, which was founded in 2020 and is presently active in 43 cities, is a competitor in the fast or expedited delivery market alongside Blinkit, Zepto, and Bigbasket.
On 30 September, the centre announced the PM E-DRIVE initiative. The initiative would be implemented from October 1, 2024, to March 31, 2026, with a INR 10,900 crore investment, according to a gazette notification. It seeks to provide a charging infrastructure, expedite the adoption of electric cars (EVs), and strengthen the nation’s EV production ecosystem.
The current Electric Mobility Promotion Scheme (EMPS), 2024, will also be incorporated into this plan. The notice stated, “The PM E-DRIVE Scheme subsumes the number of vehicles and the expenditure under EMPS, 2024.”
Electric two- and three-wheelers, e-ambulances, e-trucks, and “other new emerging EV categories” are all eligible for subsidies from PM E-DRIVE. Additionally, funding will be provided for the development of capital assets like e-buses, the construction of a network of charging stations, and the modernisation of testing facilities designated by this programme.
State and Central Government Should Align to Boost EV Sector in India
The state governments must provide additional assistance to the central government’s efforts to develop e-mobility.
The announcement said, “States need to offer a bouquet of fiscal and non-fiscal incentives,” detailing potential incentives such as waivers of registration costs, parking fees, permits, concessional road tax, and toll tax.
Schemes of INR 8,070 crore have been set aside for electric vehicles. The majority, or INR 4,391 crore, goes to buses, while two-wheelers come in second at INR 1,772 crore.
Phased Manufacturing Programme (PMP)
In order to facilitate the localisation of EV components, a Phased Manufacturing Programme (PMP) has also been notified under PM E-DRIVE. Starting on December 1, 2024, EV chargers will require a minimum of 50% domestic value addition (DVA) in order to qualify for incentives under the programme.
Financial assistance for electric two-wheelers would also be cut in half starting in 2025–2026, at INR 5,000 per vehicle, according to the notification. The maximum subsidy for electric three-wheelers will be INR 25,000 per car.
The PM E-DRIVE programme aims to subsidise vehicles that are made locally, just like its predecessor, the Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Electric Vehicles (FAME) programme. However, the previous version was tainted by cases of businesses selling mostly imported cars and fraudulently obtaining subsidies. With the new plan’s strict checks, the government has tried to allay these worries.
Project Implementation and Sanctioning Committee (PISC)
The Secretary of Heavy Industries will serve as the chair of the interministerial Project Implementation and Sanctioning Committee (PISC), which will supervise the programme. The successful implementation of the programme and progress monitoring will fall under the purview of the PISC. It will also have the power to resolve any issues that arise, such as updating the incentives, adding more e-buses, and approving policies for testing agencies.
Vehicles must be equipped with cutting-edge battery technology and registered as “motor vehicles” under the Central Motor Vehicle Rules (CMVR) in order to be eligible for the PM E-DRIVE incentives.
The battery-as-a-service (BaaS) portfolio of Bengaluru-based full-stack EV ecosystem startup Vidyut (VT) has been extended to the passenger automobile market.
The firm is offering a Battery-as-a-Service (BaaS) financing option for passenger cars, such as the MG Comet EV, MG Windsor EV, and MG ZS EV, in collaboration with JSW and MG Motor India. While most people view batteries as assets, Vidyut views them as fuel. Given that the car is not in use, why should one pay for it?
According to Xitij Kothi, co-founder of Vidyut, “This very question inspired us to introduce Battery-as-a-Service (BaaS) into the EV ecosystem.”
Allowing Clients to Lease the Battery
Customers can rent the battery under the BaaS scheme for a minimum charge that starts at INR 2.5 per kilometre, depending on usage. By renting batteries, EV owners can drastically cut their operating costs compared to conventional internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles—up to 40%.
Vidyut has made great progress in developing this funding mechanism for commercial applications since its founding in 2021. With JSW MG Motor India, the business is now thrilled to bring the same degree of innovation to personal four-wheelers, according to Kothi. The company wants to enable people to embrace sustainable transportation without the financial burden that usually goes along with it by making EV ownership affordable and accessible for all, Kothi revealed further.
How Does the Baas Model Work?
The Battery-as-a-Service (BaaS) business model considerably lowers the initial acquisition cost of an electric vehicle (EV) by allowing consumers to pay only for the vehicle (without the battery), in contrast to standard ICE vehicles that have continuous gasoline costs involved. With this model, owning an EV is more convenient and economical while also reducing driving costs.
Vidyut will give clients the choice to either continue with the battery rental programme or buy the battery altogether when the vehicle’s finance term (without the battery) has ended, which could be anywhere from three to five years, depending on the model of the vehicle. Furthermore, car owners can pay the battery’s residual value to withdraw from the programme whenever they like.
In order to increase the accessibility of passenger EVs and accelerate EV adoption in India, JSW MG Motor India values Vidyut’s approach to this innovative and industry-first ownership programme.
According to Gaurav Gupta, Chief Growth Officer of JSW MG Motor India, the company is thrilled to work with Vidyut as one of its finance partners to launch BaaS, which will help remove the initial investment barrier to electric vehicle ownership while drastically cutting operating costs.
JSW MG Motor India is optimistic that this model will encourage more prospective EV buyers to upgrade to an EV lifestyle by offering this creative plan. Gupta stated that MG EV buyers can also take advantage of the guaranteed 60% buyback value following three years of ownership, providing a smooth and secure ownership experience.
According to court documents viewed by a media house, three online vendors who operate on Flipkart, owned by Walmart, have filed a lawsuit against the Indian antitrust watchdog following an inquiry that discovered violations of competition regulations by both Flipkart and competitor Amazon. According to a media report, antitrust investigations conducted in August revealed that Flipkart and Amazon, two of their smartphone brands and sellers, had broken local competition laws by giving particular online sellers an unfair advantage and giving priority to particular listings. This is why the submissions have been made.
The three platform vendors filed requests in the Karnataka High Court to “set aside” the investigation findings and halt the Competition Commission of India (CCI) procedure in an attempt to stop the crucial proceedings.
This Move Will Delay the Investigations
The investigative process, which began in 2020 when brick-and-mortar shops of the Confederation of All India Traders protested to the watchdog, may be delayed by lawsuits from sellers on Amazon and Flipkart. However, Flipkart and Amazon have not acknowledged any misconduct. According to court documents, three Flipkart sellers—CIGFIL Retail, Wishery Online, and Xonique Ventures—claim in their cases that they were asked to provide information to authorities throughout the inquiry but were subsequently identified as suspects, which is against due process.
The sellers claimed in three different court files that the “alleged investigation… is arbitrary, opaque, and unfair.” The case is expected to be heard next week.
Ex-Amazon Vendor Files Lawsuit Against CCI
Notably, this transpires concurrently with a lawsuit that a former Amazon seller has filed against the CCI in connection with the ongoing inquiry. Additionally, the vendor Appario Retail stated that the CCI probe needs to be put on hold.
Experts at the time of the news said that it was significant since it was the first significant obstacle to the ongoing CCI investigation against Flipkart and Amazon. Natasha Treasurywala, Partner, Desai & Diwanji, previously stated in an interview with a media outlet that the seller who has contested the CCI investigation was initially a joint venture between Amazon and its Indian partner. As such, the lawsuit’s origin story might be a little off. On the other hand, the CCI will undoubtedly face some pressure if more sellers come forward.
The fact that additional sellers have now banded together to oppose the CCI raises the possibility that the case’s resolution will be postponed. Amazon and Flipkart’s attempts to get the antitrust investigation overturned have already resulted in multiple delays for the 2020 investigation. Eventually, though, the CCI carried out its inquiry and discovered, among other things, that Flipkart and Amazon had signed exclusive contracts with smartphone manufacturers like Samsung and Xiaomi, which was against the law.
After years of bitter court fights and public arguments, fintech company BharatPe has achieved a settlement with its erstwhile co-founder Ashneer Grover. A BharatPe spokeswoman stated in a statement that Grover will not be connected to the company in any way or have any ownership stake as part of the deal negotiated. Additionally, Grover’s family trust will be in charge of his remaining shares, with some being transferred to the Resilient Growth Trust for the benefit of the business. Each party has made the decision not to press the filed cases.
In order to avoid being placed on the company’s cap table, a media report stated that he would be giving 1.4% of his ownership to the BharatPe board and 3.5–3.7% to a family trust. Bhavik Koladiya, a co-founder of BharatPe, will also receive his shares back from him. Koladiya accused Grover in January 2023 of receiving 1,611 shares of BharatPe (now 16,110 shares) for INR 88 lakh, but he never received payment for them. Grover was prohibited from selling these shares once the matter was brought before the court.
Declarations by Both Parties on Public Domain
Best wishes to Mr. Grover. Published on September 30, 2024, the BharatPe statement reaffirmed the company’s commitment to offering its merchants and customers industry-leading solutions that promote growth and profitability.
Grover tweeted on X, “I have reached an important resolution with BharatPe,” in response to this event. I put all my trust in the board and management, who are doing a fantastic job leading BharatPe in the correct direction. I still support the expansion and prosperity of the business. I shall no longer be a part of the capital table or affiliated in any way with BharatPe. My Family Trust will be in charge of my remaining shares. Each party has decided not to pursue the filed cases. I hope that BharatPe continues to expand and prosper for the benefit of everyone involved.
Unfolding the Recent Developments
The Delhi Police’s Economic Offences Wing (EOW) detained Deepak Gupta, a relative of Ashneer Grover, the co-founder and former managing director of BharatPe, a few days ago on suspicion of stealing money from the fintech unicorn.
The sister of Madhuri Grover is married to Deepak Gupta. Ashneer Grover’s wife, Madhuri Grover, was let off from her position as Head of Controls at BharatPe. On September 19, Gupta was taken into custody and scheduled to appear before the Chief Judicial Magistrate Court.
In December 2022, BharatPe lodged a criminal case against five individuals: Ashneer Grover, Madhuri Grover, Shwetank Jain (Madhuri’s brother), Suresh Jain (Ashneer’s father-in-law), and Deepak Gupta (Ashneer and Madhuri’s brother-in-law).
In May 2023, the EOW filed a formal complaint in the INR 81-crore fraud case against Ashneer Grover, the co-founder of BharatPe, his wife Madhuri Jain, and their family members Deepak Gupta, Suresh Jain, and Shwetank Jain.
Amit Kumar Bansal was apprehended by the EOW last month after it was alleged that he was one of the members of the non-existent entities that had received payments of INR 72 crore from the former directors of BharatPe between 2019 and 2021.
Grover and his family have been charged by BharatPe with causing losses to the company of approximately INR 81.3 crore through payments made to fake HR consultants, payments made to pass-through vendors who are connected to the accused, fraudulent input-tax credit transactions, non-compliant payments to travel agencies, invoices that were falsified by Jain, and evidence destruction.
Part Two of Ashneer’s Innings
With an app called ZeroPe for medical loans, Grover—who rose to fame after appearing on the Indian version of Shark Tank—is gearing up for his second venture into the financial space. Grover formed Third Unicorn following his departure from BharatPe, and in 2023 it introduced CrickPe, a fantasy game platform.
Leading edtech firm Adda247, supported by Google, has announced that it has acquired PrepInsta, a premier placement preparation site. Adda247 wants to increase its presence in employment education programs in the public and private sectors, and this acquisition will help it achieve that goal. The deal’s financial details are still unknown.
After acquiring StudyIQ, a platform for UPSC preparation, in 2021; Veeksha, a platform for virtual and augmented reality learning modules, in 2023; and Ekagrata Eduserv, a company that prepares for the CA exam, earlier this year, Adda247 has now made its fourth significant acquisition.
Shifting Emphasis to the Private Sector for Employment and Training
Before announcing its recent foray into the skilling and higher education sectors, the company’s primary concentration was on government positions.
According to Bimaljeet Singh Bhasin, CEO of Adda247′s skilling and higher education business, the organisation’s mission is to become an integrated player in both the public and private sectors of job preparation, helping individuals gain the essential skills while working with enterprises to cultivate talent.
The corporation has highlighted the banking, financial services, insurance, and technology industries as priority areas for its skill development programmes, Bhasin stressed. Since the technology industry employs a huge number of people, concentrating on it will be essential to the company’s development as a significant player in job-related programmes. A crucial component of this larger endeavour is the acquisition of PrepInsta, he continued.
The Development and Products Offered by Adda247
Anil Nagar and Saurabh Bansal founded Adda247 in 2016, and since then, the company has gained a solid reputation for providing courses that prepare students for jobs in government agencies, state-run banks, and the railway sector. Live online classes, on-demand video courses, e-books, mock exams, and books tailored to particular exams are just a few of the learning methods offered by the platform. Courses are available in 12 regional languages, which enables Adda247 to encompass a broad audience.
With 2 million students registered in its premium courses, the site today serves over 40 million monthly users. The company’s sales increased by 88% to INR 243.39 crore in the fiscal year 2023–24, while its net loss decreased by 66% to INR 101 crore.
Looking Ahead: Strategies and Funding
In a 2022 investment round headed by WestBridge Capital and involving Google, Info Edge Ventures, Asha Impact, and other investors, Adda247 raised $35 million. To date, the company has raised a total of $63 million, which has fuelled its development into new markets and continued growth.
Adda247, which provides a wide range of job-related education and skill-building programmes, is able to further solidify its position as a top edtech platform with this acquisition. PrepInsta’s integration will help Adda247 in its endeavours to close the skill gap between government job preparation and private sector training, setting up the business to eventually service an even larger clientele.
Rishabh Rathi
