Tag: Ring

  • Ring Raises Inr 100 Crores In Venture Debt From Trifecta Capital

    RING(formerly known as Kissht) plans to utilize Trifecta Capital’s debt facility for on-lending and growing its balance sheet loan book.

    Mumbai, 17th April 2024: RING (formerly known as Kissht), one of the leading consumer lending fintech companies in India raises INR 100 Crores in venture debt from Trifecta Capital, one of the largest venture debt players in the ecosystem. With this funding, Trifecta is extending its partnership with founders Krishnan Vishwanathan, Ranvir Singh, and the RING team, for a second time and with a larger cheque. The firm had first backed RING in early 2022 with a debt of Rs. 50 crores.

    The company has built a scaled, digital-first consumer lending business with a focus on financial inclusion, offering personal credit to salaried and self-employed customers across Tier 1, Tier II, and Tier III cities. Equipped with an in-house NBFC license and with access to third-party balance sheets, RING has been on an incredible growth trajectory surpassing an AUM of Rs. 3,000 crores for the financial year ending March 31, 2024 and having served over 1 crore unique borrowers. RING will utilize the Trifecta debt facility for on-lending and growing its balance sheet loan book.

    Since Trifecta’s first investment in RING, the company has grown the AUM and revenues multifold. Trifecta’s conviction in the company stems from the founders’ deep understanding of the lending segment, their ability to tap capital sources across market cycles and successfully steer the business from small ticket lending to larger, medium to longer tenure loans, controlled CAC and high customer retention ratios in the business while managing loan APRs and portfolio credit quality safely within the regulatory benchmarks.

    Quote from Abhijit Joshi, Director, Venture Debt at Trifecta Capital

    “We are excited to further our commitment to RING (Formerly known as KISSHT), with our top-up debt investment of Rs. 100 crores in the company this year. RING, led by a robust founding and management team, has demonstrated that a consumer lending business can be built at a meaningful scale, despite a highly dynamic regulatory environment and variances in supply of capital. RING has achieved all this while maintaining strong unit economics and keeping credit costs under check”

    Quote from the founder Krishnan Vishwanathan

    “Building upon our recent achievements, we’re delighted to announce our renewed partnership with Trifecta Capital for the second time. OnEMi Technologies Pvt Ltd, the parent company of RING, has seen a remarkable 100% growth in AUM in FY24 and boasting a subscriber base of over 10 million. This underscores our commitment to excellence and innovation, evident in our vast network of 1.2 lakhs+ partners and the fact that over 90% of our business comes from repeat customers. Our platform’s seamless accessibility and efficient solutions drive us forward in the fintech sector. RING’S continued pursuit of innovation-led growth and dedication to customer experience is balanced by our unerring focus on unit economics and risk quality which is borne out by strong financial fundamentals.

    This infusion of venture debt from Trifecta Capital not only validates our success but also provides the financial flexibility needed to further our mission of promoting financial inclusion across India. Together, we are poised to redefine the future of finance and empower millions towards a brighter, more inclusive tomorrow.”

    About Trifecta Capital

    Trifecta Capital is India’s leading alternate financing platform for startups across their life cycle through its three offerings – venture debt, growth equity, and financial solutions. With tailor-made financing solutions, Trifecta Capital serves market leaders and category creators spanning domains like B2B, Consumer Services, Consumer brands, E-commerce, Mobility, EdTech, AgriTech, FinTech, CleanTech, Software, and Healthcare.

    Trifecta Capital has raised nearly INR 5,000 crores across three Venture Debt Funds and one Growth Stage Equity Fund over the last 9 years. It has also built a customized technology and advisory platform with cumulative managed capital of more than INR 13,000 crores to date, to support fast-growing startups. Since its inception, Trifecta Capital has made venture debt investments of nearly INR 5,000 crores across 175+ unique businesses including 20+ unicorns, and aims to be the financial partner of choice for leading new economy businesses in India.

    Trifecta Capital’s venture debt portfolio of companies has cumulatively raised USD 13.5 Bn of equity and is cumulatively valued at USD 67 Bn. The firm has a high-quality team of professionals across its offices in all the major hubs of start-ups i.e. Bengaluru, Mumbai, and NCR. Trifecta Capital also won the IVCA award for Best Overall Performance in the Venture Debt Category earlier this year.

    About RING

    RING, a consumer-first, consumer credit app launched by OnEMi technologies, offers long- term and short-term loans. Customers can avail of multi-tenured loans of up to Rs.5 lakhs at the lowest interest rates and flexible repayment options. RING also offers flexibility to make both online and offline payments. Customers can use RING to pay for transactions, pay bills and pay through UPI. RING also has over 10 lakh merchants that help them acquire customers across the country. The company has built a robust loyalty and rewards program for consumers to improve customer stickiness.

    About KISSHT

    KISSHT is a financial technology platform that enables instant, seamless credit for consumers to make purchases at digital points of sale (online and offline). Established in 2015, KISSHT is a generation next financial technology company that strategically helps individuals to enhance their borrowing capacities. They have partnered with non-banking financial institutions and created an ecosystem to facilitate easy loans for our customers.

    Today they have networked with 3000+ offline merchants and 50+ online stores in about 40 cities PAN India.

    About ONEMi Technology Solutions Pvt. Ltd.

    ONEMi Technology Solutions Pvt. Ltd. came into existence in the year 2015, intending to open up new vistas in consumer credit financing for online as well as offline purchases using the latest technology as an aid. Their constant efforts to financially empower our customers led them to be present across various segments of business like Online Purchase Loan, Personal Loan, and our newest offering – “Small Business Loans.” It is engaged in merchant acquisition / tie-ups, development of credit gateway technology, assessing the creditworthiness of the customers. Onemi Technology uses its proprietary software, algorithm, and credit marketplace platform for provisioning instant consumer loans through our financing partners.


    Top 50 Leading Fintech Startups in India 2022
    The fintech industry has transformed after the entry of fintech startups like Paytm and Cred. Here’s a look at top fintech companies in India.


  • Amazon’s Most Notable Acquisitions That Made It a Giant Global Conglomerate

    Amazon is one of the most influential economic and cultural forces in the world, as well as one of the most valuable brands. It focuses on e-commerce, cloud computing, digital streaming, and artificial intelligence. Beyond that, it has permeated our lives deeply, especially in the last couple of years. It is the American multinational technology company, Amazon.com, Inc. Amazon founder Jeff Bezos is, currently, one of the most recognizable names on the planet.

    He founded the company on 5th July 1994 from his garage in Bellevue, Washington. It was, initially, an online marketplace for books. Amazon quickly expanded into a multitude of product categories earning the moniker ‘The Everything Store. Initially named Cadabra, Inc. Bezos renamed it to Amazon as he wanted the company to be as ‘exotic and different’. In his initial days, Bezos reportedly told a journalist – “There’s nothing about our model that can’t be copied over time. But you know, McDonald’s got copied. And it’s still built a huge, multibillion-dollar company. A lot of it comes down to the brand name. Brand names are more important online than they are in the physical world.”

    The Journey
    Amazon Acquisitions
    Reasons for Acquisitions

    The Journey

    As a new start-up Amazon only sold books online because of its worldwide demand, low unit price, and large number of titles available in print. Within the first couple of months, the business grew to sell its books to all 50 states and over 45 countries. In October 1995, the company announced its intention to issue an Initial Public Offering (IPO). Within the next three years, Amazon was sued first by Barnes & Nobles in 1997 for claiming itself as the world’s largest bookstore and then by Walmart in 1998 for allegedly stealing trade secrets by hiring Walmart executives. Eventually, both lawsuits were settled out of court and Amazon implemented stricter internal policies and restrictions.

    Initially, Amazon’s growth and profit were nominal leaving stockholders wary of investing or even the company’s survival prospects. When the dot-com bubble burst in 2001, Amazon not only survived the bloodbath but went on to post a modest profit in the fourth quarter of that year. This was a boost of confidence that eased the investors. From that point on, the unconventional business model of Jeff Bezos has not stopped growing till today. In 2020, Amazon generated sales worth USD 386 billion which were 38% higher than its sales in 2019 in the US alone.  Amazon’s Marketplace sales represent an increasingly dominant portion of its e-commerce business.

    Amazon Acquisitions

    Within the time span of the last two decades, the tech behemoth has acquired or invested in at least 128 companies across the world. These companies belong to a wide plethora of industries from healthcare to entertainment, helping diversify their core revenue. It has also provided Amazon with inroads into better understanding their customer’s likes, dislikes, and preferences. The top ten Amazon Acquisitions by value are –

    Company Name Acquired On Acquired For
    Whole Foods Market Jun 16, 2017 $13.7 billion
    Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer May 26, 2021 $8.5 billion
    Zoox Jun 26, 2020 $1.2 billion
    Zappos Jul 22, 2009 $1.2 billion
    Ring Feb 27, 2018 $1 billion
    PillPack Jun 28, 2018 $753 million
    Twitch Aug 25, 2014 $970 million
    Kiva Systems Mar 19, 2012 $775 million
    Souq Mar 27, 2017 $580 million
    Quidsi Nov 8, 2010 $545 million

    Whole Foods

    Revolutionizing the domain of grocery shopping, Whole Foods is an American multinational supermarket chain. Amazon acquired Whole Foods in 2017 for $13.7 billion. The acquisition added 400 physical stores to the set of e-commerce stores that Amazon already had. Additionally, the acquisition gave a huge impetus to the tech giant in the domain of grocery shopping, which was further used by Amazon to push people to purchase their Prime membership in return for the wonderful offers given.

    MGM Studios

    Founded in 1924, MGM Studios, or Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, is a California-based studio that has produced many popular films, many of which have won academy awards as well. Some of their popular films include the James Bond franchise, the Rocky series, Robocops, Fargo, Silence of the Lambs, etc. In 2021, Amazon acquired MGM Studios for $8.5 billion. The deal was completed in March 2022.

    Zoox

    Zoox is a startup that develops self-driving technology with the aim of proving a full-stack solution for ride-hailing. In order to provide automatic self-driving capabilities, they use their own software and artificial intelligence, which has become a unique innovation in the arena of self-driving vehicles. They specifically focus on custom vehicle design, which they believe will be able to overcome the problems posed by self-driving vehicles. Amazon acquired the startup in 2020 for $1.2 billion.

    Zappos

    Zappos was founded by Tony Hsieh in 1999 as an online shoe seller after identifying the difficulties with which customers grappled due to the unavailability of the right size and desirable models. In 2009, Amazon bought Zappos for $1.2 billion.

    Ring

    Ring is a video doorbell and security camera maker that is worth more than $1 billion. They sell their products in the US, UK, and Europe. After establishing themselves as a reputable company in their area, they headed in the direction of the Internet of Things and in-home delivery spaces. In a deal that was valued at more than $1 billion, Amazon acquired Ring in 2018.

    PillPack

    It is an American pharmaceutical company that was founded in 2013 by TJ Parker and Elliot Cohen. By integrating novel technology into the midst of the business, the company saw tremendous growth over a short span of time. They were a step ahead of their fellow companies by demarcating their customers’ medications by dose and delivering them to their doorstep. In 2018, Amazon acquired PillPack for $753 million, and the company changed its branding from “PillPack, an Amazon company,” to “PillPack by Amazon Pharmacy.”

    Twitch

    It is a platform that allows users to stream their games to their followers so that they can watch them play the game. It was launched in 2011, focusing on live video gamers. In 2014, Amazon acquired the company for $970 million. Amazon’s purchase was a very prudent decision, foreseeing the pathbreaking interventions that the gaming industry and metaverse can have on humanity. With a vision to think differently, Jeff Bezos said that they were looking forward to offering better services for the gaming community.

    Kiva Systems

    It is a Massachusetts-based company that manufactures mobile robotic fulfillment systems. They innovated novel approaches in the distribution chain with the help of database systems and automated guided vehicles, which are also called bots. In 2012, Amazon acquired Kiva Systems for $775 million. Today, Kiva Systems is known as Amazon Robotics. This change came into effect in August 2015.

    Souq

    Launched in 2005 in Dubai, Souq was the largest e-commerce platform in the UAE. In 2017, Amazon acquired it for nearly $580 million. This acquisition gave Amazon tremendous anchoring in the Arab world through Souq’s 45 million visitors every month. By integrating Souq’s customer base and Amazon’s technical backing, customers can enjoy a wide range of product selections and seamless delivery.

    Quidsi

    Quidsy is an e-commerce company that was founded by Marc Lore, Vinit Bharara, and Wei Yan in 2005. This US-based firm aimed at revolutionizing the online shopping experience by improving every aspect of it, including 1-2 day delivery, the novel e-commerce experience, and excellent customer service. In 2010, Amazon acquired Quidsi for $545 million.

    Other notable Amazon acquisitions since 1998 include IMDb, Alexa Internet, Twitch Interactive, etc. Some of the companies that Amazon has acquired over the years are now defunct.

    Very recently, Amazon acquired iRobot for approximately USD 1.7 billion. iRobot is the company that makes Roomba vacuums. With this acquisition, Amazon has increased its footprint in individual households and deepened its penetration in the market.

    Reasons for Acquisitions

    Over the years, Amazon has grown from strength to strength and now is a global presence with deep market penetration. Its popularity has grown during the pandemic and the name has become synonymous with retail shopping.

    There are various reasons why a company like Amazon acquires or invests in different companies.

    Economies of Scale

    ‘Bigger is better is the ideology behind an acquisition for economies of scale. Larger companies enjoy better cost savings and competitive advantages than their smaller counterparts.

    Market Share

    This is the most common motive for an acquisition. Apart from reducing the competition, it also gives the company an immediate increase in market share and also a boost to its sales.

    Acquire New Expertise / Technology

    Over time, newer technologies get introduced introducing newer ways to work. Therefore, it becomes necessary for companies to also evolve and embrace the changes. One way to do it is to acquire companies that provide this technology and expertise.

    Similar Synergies – Creating Value

    Many times, the logic of acquiring a new company makes more sense than the numbers. This is clearly visible in Amazon acquiring Whole foods and trying to bring the power of ecommerce to traditional food retail.

    Geographical Diversification

    This is a huge value driver in acquisitions. Acquisitions are the much-preferred way to expand geographically as the company can acquire a ready cash-generating entity with a ready business platform. It is also financially beneficial to the higher costs of setting up a new operation from scratch.

    Vertical Integration

    This type of acquisition creates a new addition to the value chain of a company. It reduces dependency on third party suppliers and vendors.

    Conclusion

    Over the years, Amazon has successfully integrated various products into its portfolio by acquiring several companies for one or more reasons as mentioned above. Amazon’s sprawling eCommerce empire is a result of far-sightedness, a futuristic approach, and an adaptable business model.

    With the world shifting to the online retail platform, Amazon shows no signs of slowing down. It has, in fact, expanded its operations and offers a wide network of services.

    FAQs

    What is Amazon’s largest acquisition?

    The acquisition of Whole Foods Market by Amazon in 2017 is the biggest company take-over by Bezos’s corporation to date, with a whopping tag price of 13.7 billion U.S. dollars.

    Among its 12 subsidiaries, Amazon has AbeBooks.com, Audible, CamiXology, Fabric.com, IMDb, PillPack, Shopbop, Souq.com, Twitch, Whole Foods Market, Woot!, and Zappos.

    Did Amazon have any mergers?

    Amazon has made 98 acquisitions and 95 investments. The company has spent over $ 46.19B on the acquisitions.

    Who is Amazon’s biggest competition?

    Its biggest retail competitors are Alibaba, eBay, Walmart, JD, Flipkart, and Rakuten.

    What is Amazon’s net worth in 2022?

    Amazon’s net worth as of November 25, 2022, is $952.94B.