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  • MobiKwik: Online Recharge and Bill Payment Made Easy!

    Company Profile is an initiative by StartupTalky to publish verified information on different startups and organizations.

    Digital transactions and the usage of mobile wallets are now a reality. Easy, hassle-free payments without having to hunt for change every time you purchase something are some major benefits of using a mobile wallet. While many international players are providing mobile wallet services in India today, MobiKwik is one of the pioneer Indian mobile wallet companies, which despite the raging competition of the sector, has carved a niche for itself.

    Founded by the husband-wife duo, couple Bipin Preet Singh and Upasana Taku, MobiKwik has a unicorn valuation and the company’s IPO was successfully launched in December 2024.

    This article is all about the journey and functioning of this successful Indian startup – MobiKwik, which was started with the sole goal of making payments easy and fun for every Indian. Know more about MobiKwik and its history, its Latest News, Founders and Team, Startup Story, Business Model, revenue model, IPO, Funding and investors, Revenue, Partnerships, Growth and revenue, Awards, Competition, and more.

    MobiKwik Company Details

    Startup Name MobiKwik
    Headquarters Gurgaon
    Origin Country India
    Industry Digital Wallet, Fintech
    Founders Bipin Preet Singh, Upasana Taku and Chandan Joshi
    Founded 2009
    Parent Organization One MobiKwik Systems Private Limited
    Website mobikwik.com

    About MobiKwik
    MobiKwik – Founders and Team
    MobiKwik – Startup Story
    MobiKwik – Mission and Vision
    MobiKwik – Name, Tagline and Logo
    MobiKwik – Business Model and Revenue Model
    MobiKwik – Funding and Investors
    MobiKwik – Shareholding
    MobiKwik – Growth and Revenue
    MobiKwik – Financials
    MobiKwik – Products and Features
    MobiKwik – Challenges and Controversies
    MobiKwik – Partnership and Tie-ups
    MobiKwik – Acquisitions
    MobiKwik – IPO
    MobiKwik – Awards
    MobiKwik – Competitors

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    About MobiKwik

    To make personal wallets redundant, MobiKwik is one of the largest mobile wallets in India. It allows Indian consumers to store money in a virtual wallet and then to use it across channels (mobile, desktop, tab, SMS, IVR) to pay utility bills and shop all they want.

    For example, as a user, you could use it to recharge your mobile via its Android/iOS/BB/Windows App, or use it to buy bus tickets on any popular bus booking website or order and pay for pizza on the phone. It is a prepaid financial instrument approved by the Reserve Bank of India.

    MobiKwik was founded by Bipin Preet Singh and Upasana Taku in 2009. The Gurugram-based digital wallet claims to have over 107 million users, 3 million merchants, and 200+ billers on its platform.

    MobiKwik company is super-safe. Every penny stored in your wallet is well accounted for. You can also use the extra in-app security settings available on all mobile platforms it is operational on. These are Android, Windows, and iOS. All services of the app are also available via a desktop site and a mobile site. Besides, its simple UI is designed to give users a smooth experience.

    MobiKwik ventured out into the offline space and activated mobile payments for brick-and-mortar stores such as Big Bazaar, Domino’s Pizza and many more. It received the coveted Prepaid Payment Instrument license from the Reserve Bank of India on 18 July 2013. The company has also received in-principle approval from the RBI to set up a Bharat Bill Payments Operating Unit (BBPOU), thereby enabling users from across all parts of India, urban and rural, to pay their utility and convenience bills through the MobiKwik wallet.

    The initial service provided by the startup was a website with a closed wallet facility, but over the years, MobiKwik extended its service to mobile apps. Today it has transformed itself into a full-stack fintech company. One can do bank transfers, and can also take loans. The company has tie-ups with NBFCs like Bajaj Finance, Aditya Birla, and DMI Finance.

    As for loans, it has many options like an instant 3-minute loan, a credit line, and a term loan. It has also tied up with ICICI Lombard for accidental insurance, and also offers several other insurance products like Online fraud protection, dengue insurance, hospital cash, etc., to name a few.

    India’s payments market is fragmented with some 60 odd banks for internet banking, multiple levels of authentication on debit and credit cards, and a generally complicated electronic payment experience for the consumer. Mobikwik wallet payment options simplify all that with a 1-click Payment flow on your phone, tablet, or computer which works the same way every time.

    As a user, you just need to trust it with your money and then you can shop on any merchant without disclosing your bank or card details. Here, you can be prepared to get exclusive discounts and offers every time you shop using the wallet. One can also earn money through the app by referring a friend on the platform. With the company venturing into new verticals and having acquired a huge user base, MobiKwik is surely here to stay. The company too has exciting plans for the future. One MobiKwik Systems Ltd. is the parent company of MobiKwik.

    MobiKwik – Founders and Team

    Bipin Preet Singh and Upasana Taku are the founders of MobiKwik. The net worth of MobiKwik’s founders was INR 2,260 crore as of Dec 29, 2021.

    Mobikwik Owners
    Bipin Preet Singh and Upasana Taku – Mobikwik Founders

    Bipin Preet Singh

    The Founder and CEO at MobiKwik, Bipin Preet Singh has worn several hats – from writing Java code to Customer Support and Marketing. He graduated from IIT Delhi in 2002 with a BTech degree in Electrical Engineering. After graduation, he worked at Intel, Nvidia, and Freescale Semiconductors for 7 years before starting up his own company. He has dabbled in advertising as a Partner with Star Auto and in civic advocacy as a volunteer with Janagraaha.

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    Upasana Taku

    Upasana Taku is known as the co-founder of MobiKwik. Taku is an alumnus of NIT Jalandhar, from where she completed her Btech in Industrial Engineering before pursuing an MS, in Management Science and Engineering from Stanford University. Currently serving as the Co-founder and COO of MobiKwik and the Co-founder of Zaakpay, Upasana started with HSBC, where she worked as a Business Analyst and eventually moved to the position of Senior Product Manager at Paypal. Taku was then a Consultant at Multiple Companies before she managed to materialize her entrepreneurial dreams.

    Bipin comes with a strong payment background as a senior product manager with PayPal (an eBay company) in Silicon Valley and before that with HSBC in San Diego. She graduated with a Bachelor’s in Engineering from NIT Jalandhar and a Master’s in Management Science from Stanford University. The company had appointed Bikram Bir Singh as the Business Head of Mobikwik at the end of October 2018. However, Singh left the company in August 2019.

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    Chandan Joshi

    Staying for over 2 years in the batch of key leadership executives of MobiKwik, Chandan Joshi was elevated to the rank of Co-founder of the company in September 2020. Joshi began as an Associate Trader at Credit Suisse. He then founded Packetts, where he also served as the CEO for around a year when he exited the company by selling it to Nuvo Logistics. Joshi continued to stay with Nuvo as the Business Head of logistics for a year after which it was again acquired by Shadowfax. Joshi eventually joined MobiKwik as the Business Head – VP, Online and Offline Merchants and he is currently serving the same company as the Co-founder and CEO, of Payments.

    Mobikwik had appointed Daman Soni as the VP for Marketing and User Growth of Digital payments in October 2018. Soni joined Mobikwik in December 2016, and quit the company on June 11, 2018, thereby joining the line of other resignees including Vineet Singh, Rukaiya Rangwala, Vivek Sinha, and others, who had quit Mobikwik.

    MobiKwik has a team of 800 plus employees and 156 million registered users as of 31 March 2024.

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    MobiKwik – Mission and Vision

    The mission of MobiKwik is “to build a world-class payments and credit product for Bharat!”

    The company was started in 2009 with a vision of “transforming the digital payments landscape in India.”

    MobiKwik is a mobile-based digital payments platform that offers users effective digital wallets as a promising alternative to the physical wallets that they carry.

    MobiKwik’s new tagline says ‘Discover MobiKwik Wallet – The easiest way to pay!

    MobiKwik-Logo
    Mobikwik Logo

    MobiKwik – Startup Story

    Singh started MobiKwik in 2009 when he was tired of his easy-going corporate job and was looking to do something new in life. He wanted to create a simple payment platform for prepaid mobile users to recharge their currency. Since recharge is a small ticket-size transaction, he created a digital wallet where users could keep the money and recharge whenever they wanted.

    He seeded the company with $250 thousand of his own money, developed the website and payment options, and rented office space in Dwarka, Delhi. The initial service was a website with a closed wallet facility, but over the years, MobiKwik extended its service to mobile apps. The company launched its Android app in 2012.

    MobiKwik – Business Model and Revenue Model

    Much like the business models of any other mobile wallet-based digital payments company, MobiKwik is modeled upon the P2P transactions that take place with the help of its app.

    The revenue of Mobikwik comes from the commissions on each transaction that takes place, via partnering with companies and through the advertisements that they consider fit for their app. Furthermore, MobiKwik also gains fee-based incomes by cross-selling insurance and mutual fund products.

    The distribution of digital credit products presently accounts for 50% of MobiKwik’s revenue, with the remaining 50% coming from its payment services.

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    MobiKwik – Funding and Investors

    MobiKwik has raised a total of ~ $269 million over 21 rounds in funding. The most recent funding was raised on March 28, 2024, through a Debt Financing round.

    The company raised debt funding worth $35 million on August 4, 2022, from Blacksoil Capital to gear up for IPO. This debt fund came in after 12+ months since MobiKwik filed its draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) with SEBI. As per the regulatory filing of MobiKwik, this fund was raised after the company allotted 700 non-convertible debentures (NCD) at an issue price of INR 5,00,000. MobiKwik was last reported to be looking to raise close to $100 million.

    MobiKwik was declared a unicorn on October 12, 2021, after the end of the sale of the secondary ESOP round led by Mathew Cyriac, former head of Blackstone India.

    Here is a list of all the funding rounds of MobiKwik:

    Date Stage Amount Investors
    March 28, 2024 Debt Financing ₹500M BlackSoil
    January 16, 2023 Series E $555K BlackSoil
    August 4, 2022 Debt Funding $35 Million Blacksoil Capital
    December 30, 2021 Pre-IPO Round $13.44 Million Bennett Coleman
    June 9, 2021 Series G $20 Million Abu Dhabi Investment Authority
    April 14, 2021 Venture round $5 Million –
    December 2020 – $6.9 million Hindustan Media Ventures
    November 4, 2020 Series E $5.57 Million Hindustan Media Ventures
    March 23, 2020 Venture Round $30 Million –
    February 20, 2020 Venture Round $500K –
    July 23, 2019 Venture Round $1.17 Million NDTV Limited & Trifecta Capital
    March 1, 2019 Venture Round $0.32 Million Cisco Directors Gaurav Manglik & Tianying Fu
    January 2019 Venture Round – InnoVen Capital
    December 2018 Series E $3.38 Million Sequoia Capital India, GMO VenturePartners & Net1 UEPS Technologies, Inc.
    August 2017 Series D $35.4 Million Bajaj Finserv Limited
    May 2016 Series C $50 Million Sequoia Capital India, GMO VenturePartner, MediaTek, Net1 UEPS Technologies, Inc. & Tree Line Asia
    April 2015 Series B $25 Million Tree Line Asia, American Express Ventures
    March 2014 Series A $2.5 Million Sequoia Capital India
    September 2010 Seed $500K –

    MobiKwik – Shareholding

    MobiKwik’s shareholding pattern as of March 2024, sourced from Tracxn:

    MobiKwik Shareholding
    MobiKwik Shareholding
    MobiKwik Shareholders Percentage
    Bipin Preet Singh 19.1%
    Upasana Taku 13.3%
    Chandan Joshi < 0.1%
    Sequoia Capital 16.3%
    Tree Line Investment Management 3.8%
    ADIA 2.7%
    Brand Capital 2.1%
    Cisco Investments 2.0%
    GMO Venture Partners 1.0%
    DMI Sparkle Fund 0.3%
    Orios Venture Partners 0.2%
    Khattar Holdings 0.2%
    Trifecta Capital 0.1%
    Duroshox < 0.1%
    Polaris Banyan Holding < 0.1%
    IGE India < 0.1%
    360 One < 0.1%
    Ashika Group < 0.1%
    Spark Fund Managers –
    Burjorjee Family Private Trust –
    Infinity Alternatives –
    THE ARYANA TRUST –
    Pratithi Investment –
    MediaTek –
    BlackSoil –
    Bajaj Finserv 13.1%
    NET1 10.2%
    American Express 1.7%
    Hindustan Times 1.2%
    Universal Trustee 0.3%
    Vardhman 0.2%
    Leposhe Trading Enterprise 0.2%
    Leisure Enterprise < 0.1%
    Vijaya Diagnostic Centre < 0.1%
    Vicco Laboratories < 0.1%
    Plant Lipids < 0.1%
    Ankur Healthcare < 0.1%
    ADVIK Hi-Tech < 0.1%
    Polaris Banyan Holding < 0.1%
    Rs Partner < 0.1%
    Bhaijee Portfolio < 0.1%
    Anchor Investment < 0.1%
    RS Partner < 0.1%
    Sundar Ram Enterprise < 0.1%
    J B Chem and Pharma < 0.1%
    AlphaGrep < 0.1%
    Charishma Hotels –
    BML Enterprises –
    Acumen Wealth Advisors –
    Hedge Finance –
    NDTV –
    Angel 1.3%
    Other People 0.8%
    ESOP Pool 6.3%
    Other Investors 2.7%
    Total 100.0%

    MobiKwik – Growth and Revenue

    MobiKwik was eyeing the launching of its IPO by September 2021, as revealed by co-founder Upasana Taku in June 2021. However, the IPO was postponed following Paytm’s dismal IPO.

    On June 10, 2019, MobiKwik reported 5 times year-on-year growth to INR 362 crore in the gross transaction value of the IMPS (Immediate Payment Service) fund transfer business. With 6.7 lakh transactions during May 2019, it targeted INR10,000 crore worth of transfers, till the end of FY 2020. However, as per the latest reports, Mobikwik has been successful in clocking INR 362 crore worth of total funds transferred from its wallet to the bank. As per the National Payments Corporation of India, MobiKwik has a 26% share of the entire IMPS transfer market in India.

    Mobikwik had narrowed its losses in the previous fiscal, which is why Upasana claimed that her company was cutting the losses each year followed by a doubling of the revenue. It had done this for the last 4 years but FY21 turned out to be an exception.

    MobiKwik filed the Draft Red Herring Prospectus for its IPO on July 13, 2021. This had changed the holding of the entity, originally a private limited to a public company, which had changed its name to One Mobikwik Systems Limited.

    With this, the company declared that for its IPO the company would be inviting bids worth INR 1900 crores for equity shares. MobiKwik issued its equity shares afresh that aggregate up to INR 1,500 crores, which will be added to the other shares that belong to 7 existing shareholders of the company, amounting to INR 400 crores.

    Mobikwik announced that it would be issuing and allotting 156,17,940 equity shares, which will be live for 67 equity shareholders. The co-founders of the company, Bipin Preet Singh and Upasana Taku are deemed to be the largest beneficiaries of this bonus issue. They have been allotted 87,30,930 and 61,80,900 fully paid equity shares respectively.

    MobiKwik – Financials

    MobiKwik reported a loss of INR 55.2 crore in Q3 FY25, after making a profit of INR 5.27 crore in Q3 FY24. In the previous quarter (Q2 FY25), the loss was INR 3.59 crore.

    Revenue from operations grew 17.7% year-on-year, rising from Rs 228.93 crore in Q3 FY24 to INR 269.47 crore in Q3 FY25. However, it dropped 7.3% compared to the previous quarter (Q2 FY25), where revenue was INR 290.64 crore.

    The contribution margin also fell, from INR 87.2 crore in Q3 FY24 to INR 73 crore in Q3 FY25.

    Over the past few years, MobiKwik has demonstrated significant financial growth, culminating in its first full-year profit in FY24. The company’s revenue has consistently increased, reflecting its expanding market presence and effective business strategies.

    Particulars FY24 FY23 FY22 FY21 FY20
    Revenue INR 890.3 crore INR 561.1 crore INR 543.2 crore INR 302.3 crore INR 369.9 crore
    Expenses INR 876.2 crore INR 641.7 crore INR 665.5 crore INR 412.5 crore INR 463.0 crore
    Profit/Loss INR 14.1 crore INR -83.8 crore INR -128.2 crore INR -111.3 crore INR -99.9 crore
    MobiKwik Financials
    MobiKwik Financials

    In FY24, MobiKwik achieved a profit of INR 14.1 crore, a significant turnaround from the loss of INR 83.8 crore in FY23. This positive shift underscores the company’s effective cost management and revenue enhancement strategies.

    MobiKwik Revenue Breakdown

    Revenue Stream FY24 FY23
    Revenue from Operations INR 875.0 crore INR 539.5 crore
    Other Income INR 15.3 crore INR 21.6 crore

    The revenue from operations surged by approximately 62% from INR 539.5 crore in FY23 to INR 875.0 crore in FY24, highlighting the company’s robust business growth.

    MobiKwik Expense Breakdown

    Expense Type FY24 FY23
    Employee Benefit Expense INR 116.0 crore INR 98.2 crore
    Finance Costs INR 18.8 crore INR 20.4 crore
    Amortization & Depreciation INR 4.3 crore INR 4.3 crore
    Other Expenses INR 737.1 crore INR 518.8 crore

    Total expenses increased from INR 641.7 crore in FY23 to INR 876.2 crore in FY24. Notably, ‘Other Expenses’ saw a significant rise, indicating increased operational activities.

    MobiKwik Profit/Loss Analysis

    Profit Metric FY24 FY23
    Gross Profit INR 14.1 crore INR -80.6 crore
    Operating Profit INR 14.1 crore INR -80.6 crore
    Net Profit/Loss INR 4.3 crore INR -83.8 crore

    MobiKwik transitioned from a net loss of INR 83.8 crore in FY23 to a net profit of INR 14.1 crore in FY24, reflecting improved operational efficiency and strategic focus.

    Quick Summary

    • Revenue Growth: The company experienced a 62% increase in revenue from operations, rising from INR 539.5 crore in FY23 to INR 875.0 crore in FY24.
    • Expense Increase: Total expenses grew by approximately 37%, primarily due to higher operational activities, as evidenced by the rise in ‘Other Expenses’ from INR 518.8 crore in FY23 to INR 737.1 crore in FY24.
    • Profitability Achievement: MobiKwik achieved a net profit of INR 14.1 crore in FY24, marking its first profitable year and a significant improvement from the net loss of INR 83.8 crore in FY23.

    These financial developments indicate MobiKwik’s successful strategies in revenue enhancement and cost management, positioning the company for sustained growth in the competitive fintech industry.

    MobiKwik – Products and Features

    MobiKwik has launched many products and features. Some of these are:

    MobiKwik Products and Features About Date
    MobiKwik launches feature “Lens” Lens provide clients features like a wealth summary, intelligent money classification, trends in bank account balances, and prompts for crucial information. September 12, 2023
    MobiKwik wallet UPI feature launch This innovative feature will allow MobiKwik users to make one-click UPI payments without the need for any UPI PIN. May 24, 2023
    MobiKwik UPI payment with Rupay Credit card Feature Customers can simply make payments to merchants utilizing MobiKwik RuPay Credit Cards feature by scanning the UPI QR code and using the UPI PIN for payment authentication. February, 2023
    MobiKwik product launch “Xtra” Xtra is a cutting-edge investing strategy created to satisfy the needs of young investors. October, 2022
    MobiKwik launches ” AutoBill Pay ” feature This feature will assist MobiKwik users in automating all of their bill payments in accordance with there needs. May, 2022
    MobiKwik launches the “Clickpay later” option In partnership with NPCI Bharat BillPay Ltd. (NBBL), MobiKwik, one of India’s major mobile wallets and Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) Fintech businesses, introduced “ClickPay” for its users. Customers of MobiKwik can use this service to pay periodic online bills (including EMIs for loans, insurance, mobile, gas, water, and electricity). January, 2022

    MobiKwik – Challenges and Controversies

    Being the biggest data leak in Indian history, independent cybersecurity researchers have found that the personal data of over 10 crore customers of MobiKwik is available for sale on the dark web. However, MobiKwik is denying the alleged data leak and intends to get a third party to conduct a forensic data security audit to provide clarity on the matter.


    As per the news dated 28th May 2020, the UPI payment and wallet platform MobiKwik was taken down from the Play Store for violating Google’s ad policies. The app was restored a few hours after the contentious ad was removed. MobiKwik owner and CEO Bipin Preet Singh said in a tweet that it was done because the app had an ad linking to the Aarogya Setu app.

    Mobikwik had the ad as they were asked to by the regulator Reserve Bank of India and also as it’s in public health interest, Singh said.

    Singh said that a week ago Google had warned them for promoting the Aarogya Setu app on its platform and termed it as deceptive. However, when they contacted Google, they said it was a mistake.

    MobiKwik – Partnership and Tie-ups

    The company partnered with Uber India in July 2015, which enabled Uber and its drivers to utilize MobiKwik to process debit and credit card payments.

    On November 8, 2017, IDFC Bank entered into a strategic partnership with digital payments solution company to launch a co-branded virtual Visa prepaid card for the customers.

    In June 2019, MobiKwik announced a partnership with DT One. DT One is a global B2B network for mobile top-ups/recharge, rewards, and airtime credit services. This partnership will enable the startup to offer mobile recharge in 150+ countries across more than 550 mobile operators.

    There are many brands associated with MobiKwik. Some of them are:

    The company initially partnered with online merchants to make their wallets available as a payment option on e-commerce sites. Slowly, TV recharge and other utility bill payments were added.

    MobiKwik partnered with Cashfree Payments in August 2023 and launched the “Zip Pay Later” feature.

    MobiKwik partnered with BPCL in October 2022. With this partnership, BPCL launched digital payment for gas refilling of LPG cylinders.

    MobiKwik – Acquisitions

    MobiKwik has acquired one company to date. This maiden acquisition of MobiKwik was made on October 12, 2018, when the company acquired Clearfunds, a Mumbai-based online discount mutual funds robo advisor.

    Company Name Date Price
    Clearfunds October 12, 2018 –

    MobiKwik – Competitors

    MobiKwik’s main competitors are:

    On the wallet front, it rubs shoulders with Paytm, which has over 60 million wallet users. However, it has a strong focus on the wallet, while Alipay-backed Paytm is following a horizontal approach and has forayed into the B2C marketplace.

    MobiKwik – IPO

    The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has given the payment platform MobiKwik permission to earn INR 700 crore through an initial public offering (IPO) on 24 September 2024. There is no offer-for-sale component to the IPO, which is purely a new issue of equity shares with a face value of INR 2 per share.

    The Mobikwik IPO is a book-built issue worth INR 572 crore, consisting entirely of 2.05 crore new shares.

    Bidding for the IPO opened on December 11, 2024, and closed on December 13, 2024. The share allotment was finalized on December 16, 2024, and the shares were listed on BSE and NSE on December 18, 2024.

    The price band for the IPO was set at INR 265 to INR 279 per share.

    • Retail investors had to apply for at least 53 shares, requiring a minimum investment of INR 14,787.
    • Small Non-Institutional Investors (sNII) needed to apply for 14 lots (742 shares), with a minimum investment of INR 2,07,018.
    • Big Non-Institutional Investors (bNII) had to apply for 68 lots (3,604 shares), needing INR 10,05,516 to invest.

    Using INR 250 crore, MobiKwik intends to build its financial services division, accelerate growth in its payment services with INR 135 crore investment, and devote another INR 135 crore to data, machine learning, and artificial intelligence breakthroughs.

    Mobikwik had earlier planned to go for IPO (Initial Public Offering) by September 2021. It was also reportedly planning to raise $200Mn-$250Mn at a valuation of $1Bn in this initial offer. The company had already managed to get approval for the same from SEBI. The upcoming IPO of MobiKwik will certainly be interesting. Though the company is still not declared a market leader or hailed as a giant unicorn, like Zomato or Paytm, the draft documents of the business mention that the rapid growth of the digital payments and payment platforms, online shopping, and internet usage, marks it as a deserving IPO nominee.

    The company had already listed its draft documents back on July 12, 2021, and has mentioned that it would be raising around INR 1,900 crores in its upcoming public offering. Furthermore, it has announced that the offer will comprise of fresh issue of equity shares up to INR 1,500 crores in addition to an offer for sale for certain existing shareholders up to INR 400 crores. The offer of sale (OFS) of the company will further include the sale of shares valued at nearly INR 9.9 crores by American Express, shares worth INR 68.9 crores from Bajaj Finance, INR 11 crores from Cisco Systems, INR 94 crores by Sequoia, INR 24 crores by Treeline Asia, INR 111 crores from Bipin Preet Singh and around INR 78 crores from Upasana Taku, the founders of the company. The fintech unicorn has seen a dip in its unlisted share prices throughout the past couple of weeks, as of December 2, 2021.

    The company raised its pre-IPO round on December 30, 2021, from Bennett Coleman and said that it will be going public in 2022. The company expects to double its revenue by the end of this fiscal, indicating a 100% growth for the company. Furthermore, while referring to the upcoming IPO round of Mobikwik, the Co-founder and COO of the company, Upasana Taku mentioned that they will not be looking for an IPO soon and instead wait for the market to stabilize, as stated on January 23, 2022.

    Upasana Taku, the chairperson of MobiKwik, stated that they intend to file for an IPO in 12 to 18 months. In November 2022, the IPO became inactive. They have been permitted to raise INR 1900 crore, which would be split between a new issue of INR 1,500 crore and an offer for sale (OFS) of INR 400 crore.

    For the IPO, MobiKwik is collaborating with SBI Capital Markets Ltd. and DAM Capital Advisors Ltd., as per the news report of November 29, 2023. The financial unicorn hopes to list next year and raise $84 million (about INR 700 crore) through the IPO.

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    MobiKwik – Awards

    Some major awards MobiKwik won to date are:

    • MobiKwik won e4mPrideOfIndiaBrands Award in 2023.
    • MobiKwik won Excellence in Consumer Lending Award in 2022.
    • The company won the ET Iconic Brand of the Year Award in 2018
    • MobiKwik also won the Amity Leadership Award in 2018.
    • MobiKwik was also the recipient of the ‘AWS Mobility Award’ for the best mobile app in Financial Services
    • Moneytech’17 Awards declared Upasana Taku as the winner of The Female Entrepreneur of the Year.
    • Bipin and Upasana, the founder duo of MobiKwik was also listed in the Fortune 40 under 40 Awards 2016
    • In 2014, MobiKwik won the Billionth Award South Asia in the category of Mobile Business, for socially valuable contributions to South Asia’s digital infrastructure

    FAQs

    What is MobiKwik?

    MobiKwik is one of the largest mobile wallets in India. It allows Indian consumers to store money in a virtual wallet and then to use it across channels (mobile, desktop, tab, SMS, IVR) to pay utility bills and shop using a wallet with registered merchants.

    What does MobiKwik do?

    MobiKwik is a digital payment and financial services company that offers mobile wallets, UPI payments, loans, and Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) services.

    What is MobiKwik launch date?

    MobiKwik was launched in 2009.

    MobiKwik is from which country?

    MobiKwik is an Indian company founded in 2009 that provides a mobile phone-based payment system and digital wallet.

    Who owns MobiKwik?

    Bipin Preet Singh and Upasana Taku are MobiKwik founders. They founded the company in 2009. Bipin Preet Singh is the Mobikwik CEO.

    What is the MobiKwik official website?

    MobiKwik official website is mobikwik.com

    Who are the competitors of MobiKwik?

    MobiKwik’s competitors are Paytm, Freecharge, Google Pay (earlier Tez), and PhonePe.

    Who is MobiKwik marketing head?

    Monika Mishra is known as the Mobikwik Marketing Head, who works as the Senior marketing head of the company.

    What is the Mobikwik headquarters location?

    Mobikwik headquarters’ location is Gurugram, Haryana.

    What is MobiKwik business model?

    MobiKwik is a fintech company that offers digital payments, BNPL (Buy Now, Pay Later), and financial services like loans, insurance, and wealth management. It earns revenue from transaction fees, interest on BNPL, and commissions from financial products.

    What is MobiKwik net worth?

    As of December 2024, MobiKwik’s valuation, based on the IPO price band, stands at $197 million.

    How to change MobiKwik mobile number?

    If you want to change the MobiKwik mobile number, then you need not worry because following the below-mentioned steps will help you do it without many hassles:

    • First, you need to open your MobiKwik wallet and log into your account.
    • Next, you need to swipe left, and then open Menu/Options bar. Here, you will be able to see the “My Saved Connections” option. You need to tap and open the same section.
    • Under the Saved Connections sections, you will be able to see your Primary Number. You need to simply tap on the same to change it.
    • Then, you need to go to the three dots that you can find on the top screen in the right. Here, you can find the option that says “Edit Primary Number”. After you get the same, just tap on it.
    • Now, you need to enter your new mobile number, along with your operator details, circle, and finally type the 10-digit phone number and tap on it to save it.
    • Finally, you will get an OTP on the new mobile number that you have typed in.
    • You need to simply enter the OTP, and tap on Verify OTP.
    • After you have successfully changed your mobile number, you will get a confirmation on your old number.

    What is MobiKwik owner net worth?

    The net worth of MobiKwik’s founders was INR 2,260 crore as of Dec 29, 2021.

    How to close MobiKwik account?

    To close MobiKwik account, you need to just perform some easy steps. Here are the steps that you need to perform if you are wondering how you can close MobiKwik account:

    • First, you need to fill a support ticket.
    • Then, you have to raise a request to remove the MobiKwik account. Here, you need to write a simple message clearly to establish the reason why you want to delete your MobiKwik account.
    • After filling up the reason, you need to click on the Submit tab.
    • Finally, you have to wait for the confirmation of the deletion of your MobiKwik account.

    Which is MobiKwik parent company?

    One MobiKwik Systems Ltd is the parent company of MobiKwik.

    What is MobiKwik customer care number?

    MobiKwik customer care number is 08069808320.

  • Ixigo: How It Made Travelling Easy!

    People who wanted to travel to a different city earlier had to go through a rigorous and cumbersome process of ticket booking and sorting out accommodations through offline mediums. What the country really needed was a portal that could shorten the worries of travelers through innovative travel planning products. This was when Aloke Bajpai and Rajnish Kumar founded Ixigo in 2007.

    Ixigo, through its website and numerous mobile apps, wipes out the need for tourists to go through loads of information plus online travel contracts and facilitates curating a travel plan for satisfying and enjoyable experiences. It basically aggregates and then compares variants like real-time travel information in terms of prices and the availability of flights, trains, buses, cabs, hotels, packages, and destinations.

    With Ixigo travel solutions, railway bookings, flight bookings, and the bookings of bus tickets, hotels, and more have been a cakewalk.

    Read more about the Ixigo Founders and Team, it’s Story, History, Business Model, Revenue Model, Funding, Growth, etc in the article ahead.

    Ixigo Company Details

    STARTUP NAME IXIGO
    Headquarters Gurgaon, Haryana, India
    Sector Travel
    Founder Aloke Bajpai and Rajnish Kumar
    Founded 2007
    Website ixigo.com

    Ixigo – About
    Ixigo – How it Works?
    Ixigo – Founders and Team
    Ixigo – Startup Story
    Ixigo – Mission and Vision
    Ixigo – Name and Logo
    Ixigo – Services
    Ixigo – Products and Features
    Ixigo – Business Model
    Ixigo – Revenue Model
    Ixigo – Challenges Faced
    Ixigo – Funding and Investors
    Ixigo – Shareholding
    Ixigo – Investments
    Ixigo – Acquisitions
    Ixigo – Growth
    Ixigo – Financials
    Ixigo – Partnerships
    Ixigo – Sponsorship
    Ixigo – Marketing Campaign
    Ixigo – Awards and Achievements
    Ixigo – Competitors
    Ixigo – Future Plans

    Ixigo – About

    Ixigo is India’s leading online plus mobile travel search plus planning website. A one-stop solution for travelers, it aggregates as well as compares the finest deals on hotels, flights, buses, trains, plus packages, and reviews the best travel facts from around 100+ travel websites to extend the most reliable travel information for the users.

    Ixigo – How it Works?

    Ixigo company stands out as a premier travel platform, boasting a stellar 4.6-star rating from the Google Play Store. It, a well-known exploration app with an easy-to-use UI and objective findings, has had two sister apps before. While the other helped consumers find relevant apps and discounts across e-commerce, hyperlocal services, online travel, and food delivery through advertisers, the former enabled contextual brand outreach to train passengers.

    Notably, users could easily schedule interstate ride-sharing through BlaBlaCar with the Ixigo Trains app. This was especially helpful when there were limited train options or waitlists for tickets. Using this diverse strategy as a foundation, Ixigo has combined all of its services into one main app.

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    Ixigo – Founders and Team

    Rajnish Kumar and Aloke Bajpai are the Co-Founders of Ixigo.

    Rajnish Kumar (Group CPTO and Co-Founder) and Aloke Bajpai (Group CEO and Co-Founder), Co-Founders of Ixigo (Left to Right)
    Rajnish Kumar (Group CEO, Managing Director and C0-Founder) and Aloke Bajpai (Group CPTO and Co-Founder), Co-Founders of Ixigo

    Aloke Bajpai

    Aloke Bajpai is the Group CEO, Managing Director, and Co-Founder of Ixigo. An IIT Kanpur BTech Electrical Engineering alumnus, Aloke Bajpai, obtained an MBA, General Management from INSEAD and then an MBA, Exchange from The Wharton School. Bajpai started his career as a Software Engineer at Amadeus SAS, who was eventually promoted to the post of Sr Systems and Network Engineer.

    He then served as the Vice President at Final Quadrant Solutions before launching Ixigo in 2007. He is also serving as the Director in Freshbus and Director in Confirmtkt.

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    Rajnish Kumar

    Rajnish Kumar is known as the Group CPTO & Co-Founder of Ixigo. Like Aloke, Rajnish is also an IIT Kanpur alumnus from the Computer Science & Engineering department. He also interned at ETH Zurich in Data Modelling/Warehousing and Database Administration.

    Rajnish also worked at Amadeus SAS as a Software Engineer and was then promoted to Sr. Software Engineer and Technical Lead. He then joined as a Director of Development at Isango! Kumar finally decided to found Travenues or Ixigo in 2006.

    Ixigo was last reported to have close to 51-200 employees as per LinkedIn.

    Ixigo – Startup Story

    The entrepreneurial bug was always there inside the IIT Kanpur wingmates-cum-colleagues, Aloke and Rajnish. However, they were somewhere trapped in the 35-hour per week work rule at the French corporate Amadeus. To disentangle themselves from the clutches of the work life, both of them decided to leave their high-paying jobs in Europe and returned to India in 2006, fully geared up to follow their dreams. They rented a studio apartment in Gurgaon and set up their workplace.

    In the initial phase, the Ixigo founders didn’t have a clue of what they were going to do with the entrepreneurial itch that they nurtured, but soon they found out how painful was making travel bookings for several destinations in India was. This gave them the impetus to start up with a travel meta search website for flights in India in 2007. For a year, they worked with no salaries. Over their persistence, ixigo was born.

    The only passion behind the company was the vision to build a product to help Indian travelers search and compare hotel information at the same place online and make their lives relatively easier. It was launched in a nascent online travel segment that has since thrived to become one of India’s most viable companies.

    Goibibo India-Online Travel Booking Portal
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    Ixigo – Mission and Vision

    “At ixigo, corporate social responsibility lies at the center of our vision and mission”, says the ixigo website.

    The Gurgaon-based traveltech startup mainly focuses on empowering the Indian travelers to plan, book and manage their trips effortlessly whether it is the railways, airways, roadways or hotel stays.

    Ixigo Logo
    Ixigo Logo

    Ixigo – Services

    Ixigo Flight Booking Services enables the users to easily book, and monitor flights through the Ixigo app or its website.

    Ixigo Flight Booking Services - Ixigo App
    Ixigo Flight Booking Services – Ixigo App

    Ixigo has already acquired Confirmtkt, and with this app and its inherent app, Ixigo enables fast, easy, and guaranteed booking of train tickets.

    Ixigo Train Booking Services - Ixigo App
    Ixigo Train Booking Services – Ixigo App

    Ixigo helps the users book buses in an instant via its bus booking services, which is now available on its app itself.

    Ixigo Bus Booking Services - Ixigo App
    Ixigo Bus Booking Services – Ixigo App

    For Ixigo Hotel Bookings, Ixigo has partnered with Booking.com. Though Ixigo doesn’t directly handle the hotel bookings, it facilitates easy and affordable booking of hotels via its partner Booking.com, where the users are redirected as soon as they click on Ixigo Hotels option.

    Ixigo Hotels Booking Services – Ixigo App

    Ixigo – Products and Features

    Ixigo has various products and features. Some of the prominent products and features are:

    PLAN

    On July 10, 2023, Ixigo unveiled PLAN, an intelligent travel planner powered by OpenAI, a startup that conducts AI research and deployment. Through the utilization of OpenAI’s ChatGPT API, the platform is able to effectively process and comprehend customer preferences, providing them with customized suggestions, itineraries, and recommendations. Additionally, Ixigo is now the only travel agency in India to offer the Ixigo ChatGPT plugin.

    bhAI

    On April 1, 2023, the travel app introduced bhAI, a new AI-powered headset. This “first-of-its-kind” Bluetooth headset with AI, according to the manufacturer, is intended to help travelers.

    Ixigo – Business Model

    Ixigo’s business model is compatible with an airport’s requirements since it allows an unbiased comparison of all the available choices, aiding the travelers in deciding which website they should book through, rather than hanging midway in the deal. It mainly serves as an intermediary between the user and a travel booking website and earns commission on each booking.

    Besides, the innovative features, for example, the 180-day fare viewpoint, direct booking of airline tickets through the website, and the feature-rich hotel exploration mechanism make this portal tremendously user-friendly. Ixigo’s meta-search business model associates travel contracts from 100+ travel sites and have aided millions of explorers to save time and money on their trip.

    In April 2016, it also launched a meta-search application for cabs, which was initiated to generate revenue for the company. As an extension to revenue generation, the company also has an in-app booking alternative that permits the users to book on their website itself using a third-party power-driven app.

    Ixigo – Revenue Model

    Ixigo makes revenue from different resources; some of the prominent ones are:

    • Reservation Fees: By charging customers for the reservation of different transport services, such as bus, train, and airline tickets, Ixigo makes money.
    • Revenue from Rail Tickets: Ixigo offers consumers a convenient platform for making rail travel reservations, with a substantial percentage of its revenue coming from fees associated with reserving train tickets.
    • Revenue from Airline Tickets: By charging customers a fee to buy airline tickets, the platform meets the varied travel demands of its user base and generates revenue.
    • Revenue from Advertising: Through partnerships with advertisers, Ixigo expands its revenue stream by showcasing bargains and pertinent material to its user base.

    Ixigo Business Model | How Does Ixigo Make Money
    Explore the diverse revenue streams of Ixigo, including commissions from bookings, advertising, subscription services, and data analytics, ensuring a sustainable business model.
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    Ixigo – Challenges Faced

    Ixigo faced a number of obstacles with its user engagement approach, especially with regard to concentrating on the instant activity that happens after downloading an app. The business noticed a drop in user activity at this critical juncture and set out to redesign the onboarding process to guarantee both a strong initial impression for new users and long-term retention.

    Ixigo also attempted to employ technology to evaluate the influence of complex design and personalization on email and push notification conversions, realizing that a careful balance was necessary to properly increase user engagement.

    The decline in first-time consumers’ repeat transactions was another major obstacle for Ixigo. The difficulty was figuring out how to enhance the initial experience before, during, and after the booking process, since this was crucial in getting customers to do additional transactions.

    In order to overcome the obstacles encountered and guarantee a smooth, user-centered experience, Ixigo had to proactively manage these digital touchpoints in the world of online contacts, where emails functioned as the starting point for user conversations and conversions.

    Ixigo – Funding and Investors

    Ixigo has raised a total of $72 million in funding over 7 rounds. The last round that Ixigo had seen came on October 20, 2021.

    Here is a list of all the funding to date:

    Date Stage Amount Investors
    October 20, 2021 Debt Financing – Trifecta Capital Advisors
    July 27, 2021 Series C $53 million GIC
    March 22, 2017 Series B $15 million Sequoia Capital India, Fosun RZ Capital
    November 29, 2016 Venture Round $10 million Sequoia Capital India
    June 23, 2015 Funding Round $4 million Micromax
    August 11, 2011 Series A $6 million SAIF Partners, MakeMyTrip
    February 1, 2008 Seed Round $500K BAF Spectrum

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    Ixigo – Shareholding

    Ixigo’s shareholding pattern as of May 2024, sourced from Tracxn:

    Ixigo Shareholders Percentage
    Rajnish Kumar 8.4%
    Aloke Bajpai 8.0%
    Elevation Capital 22.9%
    Sequoia Capital 15.4%
    Gamnat 9.5%
    Trifecta Capital 3.2%
    Malabar Investments 2.6%
    Invesco 3.1%
    India Acorn Fund 1.5%
    Orios Venture Partners 0.7%
    Madison India Capital 0.8%
    Info Edge Ventures 0.5%
    Fosun Kinzon Capital 0.5%
    Planify < 0.1%
    IndigoEdge < 0.1%
    BAF Spectrum –
    RAJ Family Foundation –
    3ADeal –
    Angel –
    Total 77.1%
    Ixigo Shareholding
    Ixigo Shareholding

    Ixigo – Investments

    Ixigo made two key investments: on November 1, 2022, it contributed to FreshBus during a seed round, and on March 3, 2020, it participated in the capital round for gogoBus. These expenditures demonstrate Ixigo’s dedication to promoting innovation and expansion in the travel and associated industries.

    Ixigo – Acquisitions

    Ixigo has acquired 3 companies to date.

    Here are the details:

    Date Company Name Amount
    August 5, 2021 AbhiBus –
    February 4, 2021 Confirmtkt –
    January 11, 2017 Reach App –

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    Ixigo – Growth

    Some of the main growth highlights of Ixigo are:

    • Has 400 million annual active users as of October 2024
    • Has 76.78 million monthly active users as of 2024
    • Connects over 80 million travelers as of May 2023
    • It had over 6 million daily active users as of May 2023
    • It is growing at a velocity of over 8 million downloads as of May 2023
    • It has a run-rating 50 million bookings on a yearly basis

    Ixigo – Financials

    Over the past five fiscal years, Ixigo has demonstrated significant growth in revenue and profitability, reflecting its expanding presence in the travel industry.

    Particulars FY24 FY23 FY22 FY21 FY20
    Total Revenue INR 665.1 crore INR 517.6 crore INR 384.9 crore INR 138.4 crore INR 113 crore
    Total Expenses INR 627.8 crore INR 484.3 crore INR 402.5 crore INR 135.7 crore INR 139.6 crore
    Profit/Loss INR 73.1 crore INR 23.4 crore INR -21.1 crore INR 7.5 crore INR -26.6 crore
    Ixigo Financials FY24
    Ixigo Financials FY24

    In FY24, Ixigo reported a total revenue of INR 665.1 crore, marking a 28% increase from INR 517.6 crore in FY23. Expenses also rose to INR 627.8 crore in FY24, up from INR 484.3 crore in FY23. Despite the increase in costs, the company’s net profit surged to INR 73.1 crore, more than tripling from INR 23.4 crore in FY23. This marks a significant turnaround from losses of INR 21.1 crore in FY22 and INR 26.6 crore in FY20, showing strong financial growth and improved profitability over the years.

    Ixigo Revenue Breakdown

    Revenue Source FY24 FY23
    Revenue from Operations INR 655.91 crore INR 501.3 crore
    Other Income INR 9.2 crore INR 16.3 crore
    Total Revenue INR 665.1 crore INR 517.6 crore

    The revenue from operations grew by approximately 31% from INR 501.3 crore in FY23 to INR 655.9 crore in FY24, indicating a strong performance in Ixigo’s core business activities.

    Ixigo Expense Breakdown

    Expense Type FY24 FY23
    Employee Benefit Expense INR 141 crore INR 126.3 crore
    Finance Costs INR 2.9 crore INR 0.9 crore
    Depreciation and Amortization INR 12.9 crore INR 10.8 crore
    Other Expenses INR 471 crore INR 346.3 crore
    Total Expenses INR 627.8 crore INR 484.3 crore

    Total expenses increased by approximately 30% from INR 484.3 crore in FY23 to INR 627.8 crore in FY24, with significant rises in employee benefits and other expenses.

    Ixigo Profit/Loss:

    Profit Metrics FY24 FY23
    Gross Profit INR 38.1 crore INR 33.3 crore
    Operating Profit INR 61.1 crore INR 20.7 crore
    Net Profit INR 73.1 crore INR 23.4 crore

    Ixigo’s net profit saw a substantial increase, more than tripling from INR 23.4 crore in FY23 to INR 73.1 crore in FY24, highlighting improved operational efficiency and profitability.

    Quick Summary

    • Revenue Growth: Ixigo’s total revenue grew by approximately 28% in FY24 compared to FY23, driven by a 31% increase in revenue from operations.
    • Expense Increase: Total expenses rose by about 30% in FY24, with notable increases in employee benefits and other expenses.
    • Profit Surge: Net profit more than tripled, reaching INR 73.1 crore in FY24, indicating enhanced profitability and operational efficiency.

    These financial trends suggest that Ixigo is effectively scaling its operations while maintaining profitability, positioning itself strongly in the competitive travel industry.

    Ixigo – IPO

    Shares of Le Travenues Technology, the parent company of Ixigo, had a robust debut on the stock exchanges on June 18. The stock listed at Rs 138.10 on the NSE, reflecting a 48.5% premium over its issue price of Rs 93. Similarly, on the BSE mainboard segment, the stock listed at Rs 135.00 per share, marking a 45.16% premium over the IPO issue price of Rs 93. The Mainboard Le Travenues Technology IPO (Ixigo) was a book-built IPO priced at the upper end of the band at Rs 93 per share.

    Ixigo – Partnerships

    Ixigo has partnered with a number of organizations to date. Some of its partnerships/collaborations include:

    • Partnership with Flipkart to enhance the Flipkart flight bookings
    • Partnership with Indira Gandhi International Airport to help the passengers with the airport’s website.
    • Ixigo partnered with Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation (APSRTC) to help set up, design, configure, and maintain a ‘Unified Ticketing Solution’ (UTS) on the Cloud Platform of APSRTC.

    Ixigo – Sponsorship

    On August 21, 2023, India’s travel booking platform revealed that it would be the Men’s Asia Cup 2023’s “official sponsor.” Ixigo has never before been connected to a significant athletic event of this kind.

    From August 30 to September 17, 2023, Pakistan and Sri Lanka will jointly host the Men’s Asia Cup.

    Ixigo – Marketing Campaign

    Ixigo – Marketing Campaign

    This campaign brings back memories of the train era when we witness an astronaut outside the spacecraft waving a tea kettle, floating, and exclaiming “Chai Chai” after a tea vendor, just as we frequently do on buses or trains.

    Ixigo – Awards and Achievements

    Here are some highlights of the awards and recognition that Ixigo has gained thus far:

    • Won the Bronze Abby at the Goa Fest 2014 for its famous ‘don’t travel Patti bandh ke’ television commercial.
    • Felicitated with a gold at the Indian Digital Media Awards (IDMA) 2014 for its PNR status app
    • Received a silver Echo award in 2014 by the Direct Marketing Association International (DMAI) for the brand’s efforts in content marketing
    • Has been recognized as the fastest-growing travel company in India in the Economic Times’ 2020 growth champions report
    • Featured in the Discover Channel’s ‘India Startup Stories’ as a leading startup
    • Declared as the winner of the New code of Work Awards in the mid-size business category
    • The media company, Skift, recognized Ixigo among the 6 best homegrown online travel players in the Indian travel sector

    Ixigo – Competitors

    Ixigo has a whole lot of competitors in the market. Starting from a private applications like MakeMyTrip, GoIbibo to government applications like IRCTC train booking, the market is filled with online booking and transaction-facilitating portals. With it, indulging in both conveyance and accommodation, the range of competitors it faces gets doubled.

    Ixigo – Future Plans

    Ixigo, a prominent online travel aggregator in India, has re-filed its Draft Red Herring Prospectus (DRHP) with SEBI on February 14, 2024, indicating its intention to go public through an Initial Public Offering (IPO), marking a key step toward its ambitious goals for the future.

    The IPO is set up to comprise a new offering of 120 crore rupees, highlighting Ixigo’s calculated decision to raise money for more growth and development. In addition to the new offering, 6,66,77,674 equity shares are part of an Offer for Sale (OFS) component that gives current shareholders, such as SAIF Partners, Peak XV Partners, Micromax, and others, the chance to sell their shares.

    Notably, with a 26% increase in Ixigo’s revenue from INR 206.47 crore in Q2 FY25 from Q2 FY24, Ixigo stands out as a unique and successful company in the Indian online travel tech startup scene. Ixigo’s strong financial results set the company up for growth, innovation, and sustained profitability as it prepares to go public and establish itself as a major player in the travel technology industry.

    FAQs

    What is Ixigo?

    If you are wondering about the Ixigo app, then this app will help you find your travel solutions. The Ixigo app will help you monitor and book flights, trains, buses, hotels, and more. 

    How to create account on Ixigo?

    Creating an Ixigo account is really easy. For this, one just need to Sign up on the Ixigo website or via the Ixigo app, and then register themselves on Ixigo. After this is done, followed by some other verifications, he/she would be able to login to the Ixigo portal and go about their bookings.

    What does Ixigo do?

    Ixigo is a travel tech company that helps users book flights, trains, buses, and hotels through its platform.

    What is Ixigo net worth?

    Ixigo’s overall market cap stands at INR 6,420 crore as of 2024.

    Who owns Ixigo?

    Rajnish Kumar and Aloke Bajpai are known as the Ixigo owners.

    How does Ixigo make money?

    Ixigo mainly serves as an intermediary between the user and a travel booking website and earns a commission per booking. Ixigo’s meta-search business model associates travel contracts from 100+ travel site.

    How much Funding has Ixigo raised?

    Ixigo has raised a total of $72 million in funding over 7 rounds. Their latest funding was on October 20, 2021, from a Debt Financing round.

    Is Ixigo government or private company?

    Ixigo is a public company, it went public on Jun 18, 2024.

    What is Ixigo customer care number?

    Ixigo Customer care number is +91 116 122 4444.

  • Shadowfax – How is it Leading as an Indian On-Demand Delivery Platform?

    The call for digitalization has certainly upped the startup ecosystem and made companies reach out to their target customers with products and services online. Along with the startups and established brands and businesses, the growing digitalization has also been constantly empowering entrepreneurs and other individuals to advertise and broadcast themselves online via diverse social media apps.

    Here, it’s true that reaching the masses virtually or via the online route has become easy, but delivering them to their doorsteps and within a specific deadline has constantly been challenging. However, with the emergence of hyperlocal delivery apps and companies like Shadowfax, the world is truly turning into an easily navigable place with satisfied customers.

    The Bangalore based on-demand delivery service, Shadowfax, promises speedy, secure, and convenient deliveries that are empowered by cutting-edge technologies and a peerless network. Founded in 2015, the company has steered to become India’s largest hyperlocal delivery platform, as per its website, which offers on-demand hyperlocal delivery with improved delivery analytics. Besides, it also delivers e-commerce and quick commerce orders fast and with optimum security.

    Here’s more about the Shadowfax Founders and Team, Funding and Investors, Challenges, Competitors, Mission and Vision, Acquisition, and more.

    Shadowfax – Company Highlights

    STARTUP NAME SHADOWFAX
    Headquarters Bangalore, Karnataka, India
    Sector Courier, Logistics
    Founders Abhishek Bansal, Vaibhav Khandelwal, Gaurav Jaithliya and Praharsh Chandra
    Founded 2015
    Valuation $355 Million (as of December 2024)
    Website shadowfax.in

    Shadowfax – About
    Shadowfax – How it Works?
    Shadowfax – Industry
    Shadowfax – Founders and Team
    Shadowfax – Startup Story
    Shadowfax – Mission and Vision
    Shadowfax – Name and Tagline
    Shadowfax – Services
    Shadowfax – Business Model
    Shadowfax – ESOPs
    Shadowfax – Challenges Faced
    Shadowfax – Shareholders
    Shadowfax – Growth
    Shadowfax – Financials
    Shadowfax – Funding and Investors
    Shadowfax – Acquisitions
    Shadowfax – Partnerships
    Shadowfax – Awards and Recognitions
    Shadowfax – Competitors
    Shadowfax – Future Plans

    Shadowfax – About

    What is Shadowfax?

    Shadowfax is an on-demand hyperlocal delivery platform provider. It is committed to helping retailers concentrate on their main line of business by contracting out last-mile delivery work. Serving Indian clients, the business effectively accomplishes this through tracking orders, analyzing delivery data in depth, and gaining access to consumer insights. Customers can quickly track their orders by inputting the AWB number into an easily accessible tracking system at tracker.shadowfax.in.

    Shadowfax – How it Works?

    The company’s platform offers tech-enabled one-stop delivery services for e-commerce, restaurants, FMCG, pharmacy companies, and online and offline retailers, along with empowering businesses with cutting-edge technology in terms of logistics and access to a reliable delivery network to make fast and efficient delivery possible.

    Within a short period, Shadowfax has become one of India’s largest last-mile delivery platforms with more than 1.5 lakhs transacting delivery partner networks. The last-mile logistics network that Shadowfax offers is tech-enabled and emerges as a one-stop delivery solution. The unique app of Shadowfax helps with the effortless delivery of food, grocery, pharmacy, and e-commerce products for businesses and individuals, thereby delighting the customers for real.

    With its feature-rich technology and unmatched network, Shadowfax benefits the brands as well as the riders, making swifter deliveries possible.

    Advantages for the Brands:

    • Shadowfax makes customized deliveries possible
    • With an in-demand rider network, Shadowfax promises to meet the fluctuating business requirements
    • Home delivery of products across multiple categories

    Advantages for the Riders:

    • Shadowfax extends the flexibility of rides
    • With a single app that the riders need to handle, they can make the most of a day
    • Shadowfax boasts faster payouts and unlimited opportunities to earn for the riders

    All can use the Shadowfax app after an easy Shadowfax login process that they need to complete, which can be done once they have created their own Shadowfax accounts.

    Shadowfax has numerous big companies as its clients, which include Domino’s, Big Basket, Amazon, Paytm, Flipkart, Myntra, McDonald’s, 1MG, and many other smaller restaurants, merchants, and retailers.

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    Shadowfax – Industry

    The analysis from Mordor Intelligence indicates that there will be significant development in the courier, express, and parcel (CEP) sector in India. It is projected to grow from its valuation of $ 8.58 billion in 2024 to $15.93 billion by 2030 at a strong CAGR of 10.87%.

    According to the report, this development can be attributed to the growing e-commerce sector, changing consumer preferences, and technological advancements. According to Mordor Intelligence, these elements will play a crucial role in determining how the Indian CEP market develops over the next few years and will boost the sector’s productivity and level of competition.

    Shadowfax – Founders and Team

    Shadowfax was initially founded by IIT-Delhi alumni Abhishek Bansal and Vaibhav Khandelwal in April 2015, after which they were joined by two more IIT Delhi alumni, Gaurav Jaithliya and Praharsh Chandra.

    Abhishek Bansal (Co-Founder and CEO), Vaibhav Khandelwal (Co-Founder and CTO), Co-Founder of Shadowfax
    Abhishek Bansal (Co-Founder and CEO), Vaibhav Khandelwal (Co-Founder and CTO), Co-Founder of Shadowfax

    Abhishek Bansal

    Abhishek Bansal is the Co-Founder and CEO of Shadowfax. He graduated from IIT Delhi with a BTech in Production and Industrial Engineering. After working for Hay Group for around 2 years as a Business Analyst and an Associate Consultant, Bansal co-founded Shadowfax, where he still serves as the Co-Founder and CEO.

    Vaibhav Khandelwal

    Vaibhav Khandelwal is the Co-Founder and CTO of Shadowfax. He was also a student at IIT Delhi, where he completed his BTech in Electrical, Electronics, and Communication Engineering. Starting as a Research Intern at Adobe, Khandelwal served as a System Two Advisor, LP, at Research Analyst. However, he left the job within a year of joining and eventually decided to co-found Shadowfax with Bansal.

    Gaurav Jaithliya (Co-Founder and Chief of Business Strategy), Praharsh Chandra (Co-Founder and Chief Business Officer), Co-Founder of Shadowfax
    Gaurav Jaithliya (Co-Founder and Chief of Business Strategy), Praharsh Chandra (Co-Founder and Chief Business Officer), Co-Founder of Shadowfax

    Gaurav Jaithliya

    Gaurav Jaithliya is the Co-Founder and Chief of Business Strategy of Shadowfax. He was also a student of IIT Delhi, from where he completed his Dual Degree in Mathematics and Computing. GulfTalent was the first company that Gaurav joined, after which he joined Shadowfax as a Co-founder and the Chief of Business Strategy and he is still serving the role.

    Praharsh Chandra

    Praharsh Chandra is a Co-Founder and the Chief Business Officer at Shadowfax. Praharsh Chandra was a Mechanical Engineering student who completed his BTech degree from the IIT Delhi, much like the other co-founders, and then interned at HUL. After interning for around 3 months, Chandra joined A.T. Kearney. He worked with the company for around 2 years as a Business Analyst and a Senior Business Analyst, eventually leaving it and co-founding ShadowFax.

    Shadowfax – Startup Story

    Shadowfax when started out, its goal to transform meal delivery, and it attracted notice for its creative thinking. Seeing bigger opportunities, the founders went beyond food delivery to become a hyperlocal platform for express mail, electronics, furniture, pharmacy, groceries, and lifestyle delivery.

    With this tactical change, Shadowfax entered a new and exciting phase as a prominent participant in the delivery services industry. By accommodating a range of consumer and commercial demands, the company established itself as a flexible solution provider for different delivery needs.

    As a multi-vertical hyperlocal delivery behemoth, Shadowfax has grown from a specialized food delivery firm to a testimony to entrepreneurial vision. This voyage demonstrates its dedication to innovation and satisfying the changing needs of the market.

    Shadowfax – Mission and Vision

    The company’s mission on its website states, “Build the fastest and most reliable logistics network by empowering a million microentrepreneurs through technology to deliver anything, anywhere.”

    The company’s vision on its website states, “Enabling commerce by empowering lives for everyone, everywhere.”

    Shadowfax Logo
    Shadowfax Logo

    Shadowfax is “Derived from the mythical creature of “Lord of the Rings”, Shadowfax is named after the “Lord of all horses”, who is an epitome of monumental speed and communication, much like our reliable and agile logistic offerings.”

    The Shadowfax tagline is “We Deliver.”

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    Shadowfax – Services

    Shadowfax provides below services:

    Shadowfax Hyperlocal

    Shadowfax Services - Hyperlocal
    Shadowfax Services – Hyperlocal

    Shadowfax Ecommerce

    Shadowfax Services - ECommerce
    Shadowfax Services – ECommerce

    Shadowfax Quick Commerce

    Shadowfax Services - Quick Commerce
    Shadowfax Services – Quick Commerce

    Shadowfax – Business Model

    Shadowfax operates an unusually built business-to-business logistics network in more than 2,500 cities in India as of now. The startup works with neighborhood stores to use their real estate to store inventory and has a large network of freelancers for delivery.

    E-commerce contributes the most to Shadowfax’s business. Food and groceries are next, while reverse logistics account for the rest of them. Shadowfax also has a courier tracking system, which provides an online automatic tracking system to track shipments. Customers can track the current status of the parcel instead of visiting the courier location or calling the customer service center.

    Shadowfax – ESOPs

    Shadowfax rolled out an employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) buyback plan for its employees on December 8, 2020. The total value of the ESOP plan was estimated at around $5 million and was solely designed to reward its employees as the business recovered post the pandemic. As per the buyback plan, Shadowfax allowed the eligible employees, who have been granted the ESOP options and have completed more than 4 years with the company, to sell 35% of their assigned or vested ESOP shares.

    Shadowfax – Challenges Faced

    Shadowfax faced the challenges associated with the launch, including early operational obstacles that needed quick fixes. According to Abhishek Bansal, the business realized how important it was to operate across a variety of sectors with different peak hours. This tactical change was made in order to optimize efficiency and allow a single delivery person to service several groups at once.

    Financially speaking, Shadowfax presented a significant issue in January 2016 with a startling minus 35% margin. But the group’s fortitude and wise choices produced a stunning comeback, and by the end of the year, they had a 4% lead. In spite of these financial difficulties, Shadowfax’s growth trajectory remained stable, as seen by its threefold rise in 2017.

    Bansal noted that all platforms operating in the same-day delivery market depend on Shadowfax’s services, underscoring the latter’s critical role in the industry. The organization demonstrated its flexibility and resilience in managing the intricacies of the startup scene by taking on these difficulties head-on without focusing on the precise answers.

    Shadowfax – Shareholders

    Shadowfax shareholding as of February 2024 (source: Tracxn):

    Shadowfax Shareholders Percentage
    Abhishek Bansal 11.3%
    Vaibhav Khandelwal 8.6%
    Praharsh Chandra <0.1%
    Gaurav Jaithliya <0.1%
    IFC 5.5%
    Newquest 3.7%
    Mirae Asset Venture Investments 2.7%
    Eight Roads Ventures 25.0%
    NGP Capital 6.3%
    Qualcomm Ventures 4.1%
    Mirae Asset 5.9%
    Flipkart 15.6%
    ESOP Pool 7.8%
    Others 3.4%
    Shadowfax Shareholders
    Shadowfax Shareholders

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    Shadowfax – Growth

    Some of the major growth milestones of Shadowfax are:

    • It has 30 lakh verified riders as of February 2024
    • The company has 1.5 lakhs monthly transacting delivery partners as of February 2024
    • It delivers 15 lakhs+ orders daily as of February 2024
    • It has a presence in over 2500 cities as of February 2024
    • It is delivering to 15,000+ pin codes as of February 2024

    Shadowfax – Financials

    Shadowfax Financials FY24 FY23 FY22 FY21
    Revenue INR 1,896.5 crore INR 1,422.9 crore INR 997.4 crore INR 487.6 crore
    Expenses INR 1,908.4 crore INR 1,565.5 crore INR 1,173.5 crore INR 620.5 crore
    Profit/Loss INR -11.9 crore INR -142.6 crore INR -176.1 crore INR 132.9 crore
    Shadowfax Financials
    Shadowfax Financials

    Shadowfax witnessed strong revenue growth of 33.3% in FY24, reaching INR 1,896.5 crore, up from INR 1,422.9 crore in FY23. However, expenses also increased by 21.9%, rising from INR 1,565.5 crore in FY23 to INR 1,908.4 crore in FY24. Despite higher costs, the company significantly reduced its losses by 91.6%, narrowing from INR 142.6 crore in FY23 to INR 11.9 crore in FY24, indicating improved financial stability.

    Shadowfax Revenue

    Revenue Breakdown FY24 FY23
    Revenue from Operations INR 1,884.8 crore INR 1,415.1 crore
    Other Income INR 11.7 crore INR 7.8 crore
    Total Revenue INR 1,896.5 crore INR 1,422.9 crore

    Revenue of Shadowfax increased by 33.3% from INR 1,422.9 crore in FY23 to INR 1,896.5 crore in FY24.

    Shadowfax Expenses

    Expense Breakdown FY24 FY23
    Employee Benefit Expense INR 211.6 crore INR 213.7 crore
    Finance Cost INR 7.2 crore INR 12.9 crore
    Amortization & Depreciation INR 27.8 crore INR 24.0 crore
    Other Expenses INR 1,661.9 crore INR 1,314.9 crore
    Total Expenses INR 1,908.4 crore INR 1,565.5 crore

    Expenses of Shadowfax increased by 21.9% from INR 1,565.5 crore in FY23 to INR 1,908.4 crore in FY24.

    Shadowfax Profit/Loss

    Profit/Loss Breakdown FY24 FY23
    Profit/Loss before Tax INR -11.9 crore INR -142.6 crore
    Profit/Loss for the Year INR -11.9 crore INR -142.6 crore

    Shadowfax’s loss reduced significantly from INR 142.6 crore in FY23 to INR 11.9 crore in FY24.

    Quick Financial Summary of Shadowfax

    • Revenue grew by 33.3% in FY24 compared to FY23, reaching INR 1,896.5 crore.
    • Loss reduced significantly from INR 142.6 crore in FY23 to INR 11.9 crore in FY24.
    • Major cost drivers include an increase in operational and other expenses.
    • Business implications: Improved revenue growth and reduced losses suggest stronger financial stability and operational efficiency.

    Shadowfax – Funding and Investors

    Shadowfax has raised a total of $234 million in funding over 12 rounds. Shadowfax raised $4 million in its Series F round, led by Mirae Asset and NGP Capital, closing at a $712 million valuation in February 2025.

    Here’s a look at the Shadowfax funding table:

    Date Round Amount Lead Investors
    Feb 03, 2025 Series F $4 million Mirae Asset, NGP Capital
    Feb 28, 2024 Debt Financing – –
    Feb 27, 2024 Series E $100 million TPG
    Feb 27, 2024 Secondary Market
    July 12, 2022 Series E $12 million Flipkart, Qualcomm, Trifecta Capital
    Dec 5, 2019 Series D $60 million Flipkart
    Aug 22, 2018 Series C $22 million NGP Capital
    Jan 1, 2017 Venture Round $18.9 million Eight Roads Ventures and Innoven Capital
    Dec 25, 2016 Series B $10 million Eight Roads Ventures
    Sep 12, 2015 Series A $8 million Eight Roads Ventures
    Aug 17, 2015 Angel Round $300K –

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    Shadowfax – Partnerships

    Uber

    Uber has partnered with logistics provider Shadowfax to enhance its bike taxi service, Uber Moto, in India. The collaboration adds over 2 lakh two-wheelers to Uber’s fleet, boosting service coverage and reliability for riders seeking quick, affordable commutes.

    RapidShyp

    RapidShyp, Om Logistics’ eCommerce shipping platform, has partnered with Shadowfax to offer express delivery to D2C brands across 15,000 pin codes in India, with plans for nationwide expansion.

    Shadowfax – Acquisitions

    Shadowfax has acquired two companies to date. The company acquired NuvoExon on October 31, 2017, a specialized logistics services provider that specializes in handling reverse flow issues in the Indian e-commerce industry. On November 9, 2015, Shadowfax further broadened its range of offerings when it acquired Pickingo, an on-demand B2B hyperlocal delivery service provider.

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    Shadowfax – Awards and Recognitions

    Ever since Shadowfax came into being, the company has grabbed awards and recognition every now and then. Here is a list of the prominent awards and recognitions garnered by Shadowfax:

    • The company has been declared the best Third logistics company at the India Retail, E-commerce, and D2C Summit 2023
    • The company has won Operational Excellence Awards by ONDC’s Elevate Awards 2023
    • The company was awarded the Silver award for Outstanding Performance in the COVID Focussed Community Support at the 4th CSR Health Impact Awards, 2020 COVID Edition
    • Shadowfax was declared the winner in the category of Innovation in Transport Tech at the 10th Aegis Graham Bell Awards, 2020
    • The company was recognized as the winner of Excellence in Innovation by ET at its Now Stars of the Industry Awards, 2019
    • Shadowfax was also conferred the title of winner of Disruptive Startup Logistics of the Year at the 9th Inflection Conference & Awards, 2019
    • Amazon awarded Shadowfax, the Excellence Super Star Award in 2019, as the winner of Best Emerging Service Partner ‍
    • Shadowfax also boasts of being the winner in Providing last-mile delivery services at the Flipkart Last Mile Agency Award of 2019
    • Shadowfax was also recognised at the Mahindra Transport Excellence Awards, 2019, as the winner of Dream Chasers for Driving Positive Change ‍
    • The company was also a part of Forbes 30 under 30, listed by Forbes in 2019
    • Shadowfax won Best use of Technology in Contact Center (Logistics) in the 2nd Annual CX Excellence Awards 2023

    Shadowfax – Competitors

    The top competitors in ShadowFax’s competitive set are:

    Shadowfax – Future Plans

    Bansal stated that Shadowfax, which is now profitable, is aggressively looking for additional prospects. Within the next 24 months, the company hopes to list on the Indian stock exchanges, which would be a major accomplishment in its goal of expanding through strategic acquisitions.

    Shadowfax plans to use the recently raised funding to grow its middle-mile network over the next 18 months. Their objective is to improve delivery services to include all 20,000 Indian pin codes. This growth strategy demonstrates Shadowfax’s resolve to become a major force in the logistics industry by demonstrating its dedication to providing effective logistics solutions over a larger region.

    Logistics startup ShadowFax plans to raise INR 2,500–3,000 Cr through an IPO, aiming for a valuation of INR 5,000–8,000 Cr. Promoters and investors are in talks with merchant bankers to move the process forward.

    FAQs

    What is Shadowfax Technologies Ltd.?

    Shadowfax is an Indian company that offers on-demand hyperlocal delivery with delivery analytics by analyzing delivery data, order tracking, as well as access to consumer insights.

    Who is the CEO of Shadowfax?

    Abhishek Bansal is the current CEO of Shadowfax.

    Who founded Shadowfax?

    Shadowfax was founded by Abhishek Bansal and Vaibhav Khandelwal and was joined in by Gaurav Jaithliya and Praharsh Chandra, in 2015.

    When was Shadowfax founded?

    Shadowfax was founded in 2015, by initially by Abhishek Bansal and Vaibhav Khandelwal, while Gaurav Jaithliya and Praharsh Chandra joined the list of the company’s co-founders in December 2020.

    What is Shadowfax courier tracking and how is Shadowfax tracking done?

    Shadowfax allows all the users to track their couriers during the time they are with Shadowfax with the help of its intelligent Shadowfax courier tracking facility. To use Shadowfax tracking, you simply need to visit tracker.shadowfax.in, and then enter your AWB Number and click/tap on Track Order to track your order.

    Where is the Shadowfax office?

    The Shadowfax office is in Bangalore, India.

    How to proceed with Shadowfax login?

    The Shadowfax login is an easy process in which you simply need to visit the Shadowfax website in order to log in. However, it is important to note that you should be having your Shadowfax account first, in order to begin with it.

    How Shadowfax works?

    Shadowfax is a logistics platform that connects businesses with delivery partners for last-mile, same-day, and on-demand deliveries. It uses technology to assign orders to riders, optimizing routes for speed and cost efficiency.

  • Ather Energy: Building the Connected and Electric Future Of Mobility

    Company Profile is an initiative by StartupTalky to publish verified information on different startups and organizations.

    Fueling with electricity offers a whole lot of advantages that are clearly not available with the conventional internal combustion engine vehicles that we have been using to date. Electric motors react quicker than the latter. They are very responsive and have impressive torque.

    Besides, what’s more important is that the EVs follow the path of sustainable development because they are not driven by traditional fossil fuels like petrol, diesel, or LPG. Electric vehicles thus significantly contribute towards reducing the emissions that lead to climate change and smog, thereby putting a stop to many other forms of ecological damage and man-made environmental disasters too.

    Choosing electric vehicles for transport has been proven to improve public health and the environment. These are a few of the many reasons why electric vehicles are here to stay.

    Among the most popular electric vehicle manufacturing companies is Ather. Ather is an Indian electric vehicle company founded by Tarun Mehta and Swapnil Jain in 2013 and goes by the name Ather Energy Pvt. Ltd. It currently manufactures the electric scooters, the Ather 450X and the Ather 450 Plus, where it launched the all-new Ather 450X 2022 on July 19, 2022. Furthermore, it has also established the electric vehicle charging infrastructure, Ather Grid, and is one of the most prominent rivals of Ola Electric.

    Ather Energy has become a unicorn (a company valued at over $1 billion) just before its upcoming IPO. The company raised $71 million from the National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF), which is backed by the government, giving it a total value of $1.3 billion.

    Here’s the company profile of Ather Energy: Know all about its owners, story, funding and investors, history, shareholding, business model, revenue model, growth, challenges faced, name, tagline, logo, and more.

    Ather – Company Highlights

    Startup Name Ather Energy
    Headquarters Bangalore, Karnataka, India
    Industry Automotive Electric vehicles
    Founded 2013
    Founders Tarun Mehta, Swapnil Jain
    Valuation $1.3 billion (August 2024)
    Website Atherenergy.com

    About Ather Energy
    Ather Energy – Founders and Team
    Ather Energy – Startup Story
    Ather Energy – Name, Logo, and Tagline
    Ather Energy – Mission
    Ather Energy – Business Model
    Ather Energy – Revenue and Growth
    Ather Energy – Financials
    Ather Energy – Funding and Investors
    Ather Energy – Shareholding
    Ather Energy – ESOPs
    Ather Energy – IPO
    Ather Energy – Competitors
    Ather Energy – Awards and Recognitions
    Ather Energy – Challenges Faced
    Ather Energy – Partnerships
    Ather Energy – Future Plans

    About Ather Energy

    Ather Energy is a startup focused on designing and selling premium electric two-wheelers for the Indian market. Ather wants to change the perspective on electric vehicles by building high-performance, zero-maintenance, and smart electric vehicles.

    The company has manufactured two scooter models at present:: the 450 Plus and the the 450X. The 450X was upgraded, which helped Ather Energy launch the the 450X 2022 model on July 19, 2022. It has also established an electric vehicle charging network called AtherGrid.

    It owns and operates its experience centers (called AtherSpace) to give the customers a complete ownership experience. The company launched the Ather 450 back in September 2018 and released the Ather 450X all across the country on January 28, 2020. The new version of 450X, 450X 3, was launched on July 19, 2022.

    Though the sale of new Ather 450 scooters has been discontinued by the company since November 28, 2020, the company has pledged to fill up the gap with their 450X and 450 Plus models, where the latter will be launched soon.

    Ather 450x is currently being delivered in 11+ Indian cities so far: Hyderabad, Chennai, Delhi, Mumbai, Pune, Bengaluru, Kochi, Kozhikode, Kolkata, Coimbatore, and Ahmedabad.

    Ather Energy’s customers believe that electric vehicles will shape urban commutes in the years to come. They choose to own the experience of a vehicle that is built from scratch, offers an unparalleled ride, and is powered by intelligence.

    Ather Energy – Founders and Team

    The founders of Ather Energy are Tarun Mehta and Swapnil Jain. They founded Ather Energy in 2013.

    Ather Energy Founders
    Ather Energy Founders

    Tarun Mehta

    Tarun is the co-founder and CEO of Ather. Mehta is an IIT Madras alumnus who has completed a dual degree in engineering design before starting as a deputy manager at Ashok Leyland. He eventually decided to find Ather. Mehta interned at Mercedes Benz and BHEL during his college days.

    Swapnil Jain

    Swapnil Jail is the co-founder of Ather. He is also an alumnus of IIT Madras and has completed his integrated Master of Technology in Engineering Design. After completing a brief internship at General Motors and BHEL, Swapnil decided to find Ather with his college friend Tarun.

    Ather currently operates with an employee strength of 1,001–5,000.

    Ather Energy – Startup Story

    Ather began its journey in October 2013 at the Indian Institute of Technology-Madras Research Park. Mehta and co-founder Swapnil Jain, both IIT-M alumni (BTech and MTech batch of 2012 in engineering design), had set out to build India’s first smart electric scooter. They had brief stints at Ashok Leyland and General Motors, respectively.

    Mehta recalls the support of R. Krishnakumar, a professor at the Department of Engineering Design at IIT-Madras. “If a professor says, ‘Leave your job and come back; we will take care of everything,’ I think that is a great morale boost,” says the Ather CEO.

    “For the first five-six months, we literally camped out of the department. We were just hanging around in his labs and other department labs before we sort of reached a conclusion that ‘This seems interesting and we should actually start a company and build a product.’ It was a very important phase and he was super supportive then.”

    In December 2014, Flipkart founders Sachin Bansal and Binny Bansal invested $1 million as seed capital. Sachin Bansal and Binny Bansal expressed positive sentiments towards the company and showed an inclination towards energy-efficient vehicles.

    In December 2019, Ather Energy signed an MoU with the Government of Tamil Nadu to set up a 400,000-square-foot manufacturing plant for electrical vehicles in Hosur. The invested amount will be around ₹635 crore.

    The company added two new products to its portfolio, the Ather 450X and the Ather 450 Plus, in January 2020. The Ather 450X is a premium electric scooter built from the ground up by Ather. A step above the Ather 450 in both features and performance, the Ather 450X has been meticulously designed to redefine the two-wheeler riding experience in India.

    Ather Journey

    Ather Energy – Name, Logo, and Tagline

    Ather Logo
    Ather Energy Logo

    The logo of Ather Energy represents that every electrical circuit is different, but the two things that remain constant are the start, represented by the line, and the stop, represented by the dot, in the circuit. This was much like Ather’s long-term goal of building a company that fundamentally believes in using runnable electric energy as the future of innovation.

    Ather’s tagline: “All Brain. All Power. All Electric.”

    Ather Energy – Mission

    Ather’s mission statement says, “At Ather, we want to build the future of mobility—one that is connected and electric. We truly believe electricity is inevitable; there’s never been a better time. Intelligent vehicles are revolutionizing our commute experience, and the Ather 450 and 450X are on the cusp of this exciting reality. We are also in the midst of exploring the energy chain, including storage and distribution domains.”

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    Ather Energy – Business Model

    The company has announced an online-only purchase model for selling the product with doorstep service. It had set up its manufacturing unit in Whitefield, Bangalore, which commenced production in 2018 with a capacity of 600 vehicles per week. The company has disclosed the price of the Ather 450 to be Rs 1,35,000, and the price of the Ather 450X is Rs 1,38,006.

    It also establishes Ather Grid, an electric vehicle charging infrastructure in the cities where it is present. The company has set up over 38 fast charging points in Bengaluru and 14 charging points in Chennai as of July 2020.

    Ather Grid
    Ather Grid

    Ather will be setting up its new 400,000-square-foot facility in Hosur, Tamil Nadu, by the end of 2022. The new facility will be designed to produce 100,000 units annually and is scalable to half a million units.

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    Ather Energy – Revenue and Growth

    Ather Energy has been announced as the fourth largest-selling two-wheeler EV in India in the first half of 2021, where the company has successfully sold approximately 63,184 units. Though the valuation of Ather is yet to touch $1 billion, the company is really, witnessing good growth. It is currently operating with 38 experience centers across 32 cities in India. The company further hopes to take the number of experience centers to 150 across 100 Indian cities by 2023.

    Ather has claimed that it has witnessed a whopping 800% growth in sales in 2021. The demand for Ather scooters is growing, and Ather is standing fit to deliver them now, revealed Swapnil Jain, co-founder and CTO of Ather. However, it’s true that though Ather has witnessed a surge in demand, it has failed to match the sales figures of its chief rival, Ola Electric.

    Ather Energy Launched the 2022 450X 3 Electric Scooter

    Ather 2022 450X Gen 3
    Ather 2022 450X Gen 3

    Ather launched the 2022 450X Gen 3 scooter on July 19, 2022. Here are some of the advantages of the Ather 2022 450X 3 scooters at a glance:

    • These scooters will be equipped with bigger 3.7 kWh units instead of the earlier 2.6 kWh units
    • The batteries will be 25% larger than those of the previous generation scooters
    • These scooters boast an ARAI-certified range of 146 km and a TrueRangeTM of 105 km.
    • They will also have wider rear tires
    • The grips of the new generation Ather 450X will be 22% better than the previous generation scooter models.
    • They will offer the all-new tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS)
    • They are also built with a 7-inch built-in display and 2GB integrated RAM
    • They will be fitted with the newly designed rearview mirrors, offering 2X better visibility and 5X reliability
    • They will further have a new side-step made of single-cast aluminum

    Ather Energy Launches 450S and 450X Electric Scooter

    Ather unveiled the 450S on August 11, 2023, with prices starting at Rs 1.30 lakh. This remarkable electric vehicle boasts a 2.9 kWh battery, providing an impressive 115 km of range. When it comes to speed, the 450S can reach up to 90 kmph, making it a versatile choice for urban commuting.

    Charging the battery is a breeze. At home, it takes just 6 hours and 36 minutes to charge from 0% to 80%. Alternatively, with the Ather Grid fast charger, the 450S can charge at a remarkable speed of up to 1.5 km per minute.

    Ather also offers an upgraded version of the 450X, now available with both 2.9kWh and 3.7kWh battery options, extending the certified range to an impressive 115 km and 150 km, respectively.

    Both of these electric scooters come equipped with innovative new switchgear and include two additional switches for added convenience and functionality.

    Ather Sales

    Ather Vehicle Registrations
    Ather Vehicle Registrations

    Ather Energy scooters have seen a month-on-month growth in their vehicle registrations for some months. However, the month of July was an exception, where the company witnessed a drop of 66%. It registered just 1,283 units in July, in contrast to May and June 2022, when Ather successfully registered 3338 and 3829 units, respectively.

    Ather Energy – Financials

    Ather Financials FY24 FY23 FY22 FY21 FY20
    Revenue INR 1,789.1 crore INR 1,801.8 crore INR 413.8 crore INR 88.3 crore INR 48.8 crore
    Expenses INR 2,674.2 crore INR 2,666.3 crore INR 757.9 crore INR 321.6 crore INR 268.7 crore
    Profit/Loss INR -1,059.7 crore INR -864.5 crore INR -344.1 crore INR -233.3 crore INR -219.9 crore

    Ather Financials FY24

    Ather’s revenue in FY24 was nearly the same as FY23, slightly decreasing from INR 1,801.8 crore to INR 1,789.1 crore. However, expenses increased marginally from INR 2,666.3 crore to INR 2,674.2 crore. As a result, losses widened from INR 864.5 crore in FY23 to INR 1,059.7 crore in FY24, indicating higher costs despite stable revenue.

    Ather Energy Revenue

    Ather Energy’s revenue remained stable in FY24 compared to FY23, primarily driven by product sales.

    Revenue Breakdown FY24 FY23
    Revenue from Operations INR 1,753.8 crore INR 1,780.9 crore
    Other Income INR 35.3 crore INR 20.9 crore
    Total Revenue INR 1,789.1 crore INR 1,801.8 crore

    In FY24, Ather’s total revenue slightly declined to INR 1,789.1 crore from INR 1,801.8 crore in FY23. Revenue from operations dropped marginally from INR 1,780.9 crore to INR 1,753.8 crore, while other income increased from INR 20.9 crore to INR 35.3 crore. Despite this, rising expenses led to higher losses.

    Ather Energy Expenses

    Ather’s expenses surged due to increased material costs and employee benefits.

    Expense Category FY24 FY23
    Cost of Materials Consumed INR 1,579.2 crore INR 1,537 crore
    Purchases of Stock-in-Trade INR 27.9 crore INR 92.3 crore
    Employee Benefit Expense INR 369.2 crore INR 334.8 crore
    Finance Costs INR 89 crore INR 65 crore
    Depreciation & Amortization INR 146.7 crore INR 112.8 crore
    Other Expenses INR 437.5 crore INR 558.3 crore

    In FY24, Ather’s total expenses increased slightly to INR 2,674.2 crore from INR 2,666.3 crore in FY23. The cost of materials consumed rose to INR 1,579.2 crore from INR 1,537 crore, and employee benefit expenses grew to INR 369.2 crore from INR 334.8 crore. However, other expenses declined from INR 558.3 crore to INR 437.5 crore, partially offsetting the overall increase in costs.

    Ather Energy Profit/Loss

    Losses widened further in FY24 due to increased costs and exceptional losses.

    Profit/Loss Metric FY24 FY23
    Gross Profit INR -1,059.7 crore INR -864.5 crore
    Operating Profit -INR 885.1 crore INR -864.5 crore
    Net Profit/Loss INR -1,059.7 crore INR -864.5 crore

    Ather continues to experience high losses in both operating and net profit, though the operating loss remained the same from FY23 to FY24. The company needs a shift in its cost structure to break even and achieve profitability.

    Quick Summary

    • Revenue: Revenue remained stable at INR 1,789.1 crore in FY24, compared to INR 1,801.8 crore in FY23.
    • Expenses: Expenses increased slightly to INR 2,674.2 crore in FY24 from INR 2,666.3 crore in FY23.
    • Loss: Loss widened to INR 1,059.7 crore in FY24 due to increased operational and exceptional costs.

    Ather Energy – Funding and Investors

    Ather Energy has raised a total of $578.3 million in funding over 11 rounds.

    The latest funding was done by the Government-backed National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF) of $71 million at a valuation of $1.3 billion making it a Unicorn.

    The funding of $128 million, which came in on May 12, 2022, was led by NIIF Ltd. and Hero MotoCorp. It previously raised $56.46 million from Hero MotoCorp on January 14, 2022. Ather Energy has also raised Rs 130 crores ($17.24M) before that from Hero MotoCorp. With all this funding, Ather’s valuation is still shy of $1 billion.

    The company raised Rs 84 crore from Hero MotoCorp in July 2020, which increased the auto giant’s stake in Ather to 34.58%. Hero MotoCorp currently holds over 34.8% of the stakes in Ather.

    Ather Energy is currently funded by 5 main investors. Before the Serie E round, 34.8% stakes in Ather were held by Hero MotoCorp.

    Date Round Amount Lead Investors
    Aug 13, 2024 Series E – IV $71 million National Investment and Infrastructure Fund
    Sep 6, 2023 Private Equity Round $108.4 million Hero MotorCorp, GIC
    Oct 18, 2022 Series E $48.05 million Caladium Investments
    Sep 29, 2022 Debt Financing $6.01 million InnoVen Capital
    May 12, 2022 Series E $128 million NIIF Ltd. and Hero MotoCorp
    Jan 14, 2022 Series D $56.46 million Hero MotoCorp
    Jul 24, 2020 Series E $11.2 million Hero MotoCorp Ltd.
    May 28, 2019 Series D $51 million Sachin Bansal
    Oct 27, 2016 Series C $11.2 million Hero MotoCorp Ltd
    May 28, 2019 Series C $51 million Sachin Bansal
    Oct 27, 2016 Series B $27 million Hero MotoCorp Ltd
    May 29, 2015 Series A $12 million Tiger Global Management
    Dec 3, 2014 Seed Round $1 million –

    The company successfully secured a substantial $108.4 million in funding through a private equity round, with Hero Motorcorp and GIC as the esteemed investors, on September 6, 2023.

    Ather Energy – Shareholding

    Ather’s shareholding pattern as of September 2024 sourced from Tracxn:

    Ather Energy Shareholding
    Ather Energy Shareholding
    Ather Shareholders Percentage
    Tarun Mehta 6.5%
    Swapnil Jain 6.5%
    NIIF 16.4%
    GIC 14.6%
    Tiger Global Management 6.2%
    Three State Capital Advisors 0.9%
    RTBI 0.5%
    Mehta Family Trust 0.3%
    Jain Family 0.2%
    Tarun Swarna Family Trust 0.2%
    Innoven Capital 0.1%
    Herald Investment Management <0.1%
    Volpi Cupal Trust <0.1%
    Scale Venture Partners –
    NKSquared Global –
    Hero MotoCorp 34.3%
    Kamath Associates –
    Angel 6.7%
    Other People 0.7%
    ESOP Pool 5.7%
    Other Investors 0.2%
    Total 100.0%

    Ather Energy – ESOPs

    Ather Energy has proposed to increase its ESOP pool size. The quantum of the existing Ather Energy ESOP Plan 2021 will reportedly increase by 7,808 stock options, which will increase the ESOP pool size from 37,209 options to 45,017 options, as per regulatory filings.

    The Ather board has also approved the adoption of the founders’ stock option plan for 2022. The pool size, as per the agreement of the Series D shareholders, was 12,356 stock options. This is further reduced to 5,214 stock options, and the balance unused pool of 7,142 is proposed for cancellation, as per a separate filing by the company.

    The founder’s stock options at Ather have been accessed for the first time and are estimated to be worth around INR 25 crore.

    Ather Energy – IPO

    Ather Energy submitted its draft papers to the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) on 9 September 2024 for its upcoming IPO. The company plans to raise up to INR 3,100 crore (about $370 million) by issuing new equity shares and will also offer up to 2.2 crore shares for sale, as mentioned in the draft prospectus. The upcoming IPO is set to be valued at $2.4 billion.

    Ather Energy – Competitors

    The top 10 competitors in Ather Energy’s competitive set are:

    Ather Energy – Awards and Recognitions

    To sum up, some of the prominent awards and recognitions that Ather received would be:

    • The Economic Times Start-up Awards, The Economic Times, 2016
    • Most Promising Startup Impacting Automotive, IoT Next, 2016
    • India Electric Mobility Technology Innovation Leadership Award, Frost & Sullivan, 2016

    Ather Energy – Challenges Faced

    “The biggest challenge and opportunity when you are building an electric vehicle in India is that there is no local ecosystem and that includes not just vendors but also talent among other things. We completely missed out on this when we started the company and that’s why our timelines started looking different. The amount of money started looking very different as we got more and more into it,” says Tarun Mehta, CEO of Ather Energy.

    Being a hardware startup, Ather has seen its challenges. Tarun Mehta has pointed out that in the case of Ather, they “can’t ship a minimum viable product.” “With hardware, you can’t move fast and break things”, added Mehta. This impeded the growth and delivery of Ather hugely, but the promising EV startup is finding ways to improve the delivery process and fasten the growth of the company.

    Mehta also stated that for the EVs, “there’s no ecosystem in place in India”, which might have distributed the workload. Ather Energy CEO further added that the company is the sole manufacturer and distributor of the scooter, its batteries, and other accessories, and therefore, it must test all of them thoroughly.

    Another challenge for the scooters is that there isn’t a promising culture of designing and developing products locally. “Finding the right talent to work at Ather has been challenging,” the Ather CEO said.

    Ather e-bike fire accident

    Ather reported a fire accident in one of its Chennai showrooms on May 27, 2022, which is the first fire accident that the bike manufacturers witnessed in their EVs. Within a few hours of the accident, the company confirmed via its official Twitter handle that the accident occurred in one of its damaged vehicles on water entering through the cracks of its battery pack.

    Ather Energy – Partnerships

    The company has partnered with like-minded organizations to “accelerate the adoption of electric mobility for a sustainable future,” says the Ather website. Some of the other popular partners of Ather Energy are WeWork and Altair. Here are some of the latest partnerships.

    Vaidya Energy

    On October 9, 2023, Ather Energy entered into a partnership with Vaidya Energy, a division of Vaidya’s Organization of Industries & Trading Hoses. With the help of this partnership, the business will facilitate product sales and services in Nepal and install fast charging stations.

    OTO

    In order to make it easier for young people in India’s Gen Z population to acquire Ather cars, OTO, a digital commerce platform and operator in the two-wheeler finance market, formed a strategic digital business relationship with Ather Energy on November 16, 2023.

    Ather Energy – Future Plans

    According to Mehta, the big challenge that now lay ahead of them was how to not make Ather feel like a boring automotive company keeping the culture and excitement alive while still bringing in the rigors and discipline that they need to get a world-class hardware product out.

    With the factory plant in Whitefield, Bengaluru, the company is ready to begin production, and the orders coming in. Ather is getting ready with the first lot of production.

    “The first lot planned is for 2,000 vehicles and over a year’s time, the production planned is 10,000 vehicles. Based on the supply chain constraints, we will have to decide the batch size of production,” says Jain, adding next will be ramp up both in sales and the product map. “When you do a new product, it is not very easy to assemble… manufacturing challenges will pop up. So, we will improve product from that perspective to be able to ramp up really fast.”

    The team has begun work on developing a new vehicle platform that it says will be more scalable. It is slated to be ready soon. He won’t go with much financial detail, but according to Mehta, the 50,000-unit sales mark, when calculated on a per-unit basis, ought to be able to break even. The challenge for electric two-wheeler companies, though, will be to attract new customers.

    Tarun Mehta, CEO of Ather Energy is looking to increase the capacity of the company to manufacture 35,000 scooters by this year from the present mark of 10,000 and aims to further hit the capacity of 1 million by next year.

    Ather stands big and tall in the growing space with DNA going back to research labs, a design built from scratch, and a product that can be traced to custom spec sheets. Will that give it customers and success as a scooter company? Time will tell. But its journey this long is all about learnings, sucker punches, small wins, big bets, uncharted paths, and early positioning in a market that holds promise.

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    FAQs

    What is Ather Energy?

    Ather Energy is a startup focused on designing and selling premium electric two-wheeler vehicles for the Indian market. It is one of the best electric scooter startups in India. The company has offered two electric scooters for the Indian market, Ather 450 and 450X. Ather has recently introduced their latest electric vehicle, the 450S, to the market.

    Who are Ather Energy owners?

    Tarun Mehta and Swapnil Jain founded the Indian electric vehicle company Ather Energy in 2013.

    What is the price of Ather 450X in India?

    The price of the Ather 450X starts at Rs.1.18 Lakh and goes up to Rs.1.38 Lakh. Ather 450X is one of the two products offered by Ather Energy.

    Ather is from which country?

    Ather is an Indian company. The electric vehicle company was founded by Tarun Mehta and Swapnil Jain in 2013.

    What is the headquarters location of Ather Energy?

    Ather Energy is an Indian electric vehicle company headquartered in Bengaluru.

    Which companies does Ather compete with?

    The top 10 competitors of Ather Energy are GoGreenBOV, Ampere, Ola Electric, Okinawa Scooters, AVERA, Bajaj Auto, Hero MotoCorp, TVS, Pure EV, Tork Motors Pvt.

    Who is Ather CEO?

    The Ather CEO is Tarun Mehta.

    What is Ather tagline?

    Ather tagline is All Brain. All Power. All Electric.

    Who is Ather founder?

    Tarun Mehta and Swapnil Jain are Ather founders.

  • DeepSeek: The AI Disruptor Challenging Silicon Valley

    DeepSeek has emerged as a formidable force in the AI industry, rapidly challenging established players with its groundbreaking approach to artificial intelligence. Unlike traditional AI firms that rely on expensive proprietary models and massive computational power, DeepSeek has adopted an innovative, cost-efficient strategy that delivers high-performance results without the need for cutting-edge hardware. By leveraging open-source methodologies and advanced training techniques, the company has proven that AI breakthroughs don’t always require billion-dollar budgets.

    With its unique ability to develop powerful AI models at a fraction of the cost, DeepSeek is not just a competitor—it is a paradigm shift in how artificial intelligence is built and deployed.

    In this StartupTalky article, we will explore DeepSeek’s journey, its founder, startup story, business model, revenue model, competitors, challenges, and the implications of its success on the AI industry.

    DeepSeek ai – Company Highlights

    Name DeepSeek ai
    Headquarters Hangzhou, Zhejiang
    Founder Liang Wengfang
    Founded 2023
    Sector Chinese AI bot
    Website Deepseek.com

    DeepSeek – About
    DeepSeek – Industry
    DeepSeek – Founders and Team
    DeepSeek – Startup Story
    DeepSeek – Mission and Vision
    DeepSeek – Name, Tagline and Logo
    DeepSeek – Business Model
    DeepSeek – Revenue Model
    DeepSeek – Challenges Faced
    DeepSeek – Online and Social Media Presence
    DeepSeek – Competitors
    DeepSeek – Future Plans

    DeepSeek – About

    DeepSeek AI is a China-based company specializing in open-source large language models. Backed entirely by the Chinese hedge fund High-Flyer, it has managed to create AI tools that rival ChatGPT in performance. What’s remarkable is that DeepSeek achieved this using significantly fewer resources and at a fraction of the cost. The company developed its model despite challenges posed by U.S. sanctions on China, which limited access to Nvidia chips and aimed to curb the country’s progress in advanced AI technologies.

    DeepSeek – Industry

    DeepSeek, a Chinese AI startup, has shaken the global AI landscape with its low-cost, open-source model, R1. This breakthrough has put pressure on industry leaders like OpenAI and Meta while triggering a notable market reaction—most significantly, a decline in Nvidia’s valuation. DeepSeek’s rise underscores China’s growing influence in artificial intelligence, forcing competitors to rethink their strategies.

    Forecasted Artificial Intelligence (AI) Market Size
    Forecasted Artificial Intelligence (AI) Market Size

    Key Insights

    • Disrupting the AI Industry: DeepSeek’s cost-efficient, open-source model challenges tech giants like OpenAI and Meta, redefining AI accessibility.
    • Market Ripples: The impact of DeepSeek’s entry is evident, with Nvidia’s market cap decline signaling a shift in industry dynamics.
    • India’s AI Landscape: While India has promising AI initiatives, it lags in global competition. Prioritizing cost-effective solutions and attracting top talent could help bridge the gap.
    • Projected AI Growth: The global AI market is on track to reach $1.8 trillion by 2030, while India’s domestic AI industry is expected to grow to $17 billion by 2027, presenting significant opportunities for innovation and investment.

    DeepSeek – Founders and Team

    Liang Wenfeng, Founder & CEO

    Liang Wenfeng - Founder and CEO, DeepSeek
    Liang Wenfeng – Founder and CEO, DeepSeek

    You’ve heard of Tim Cook, Elon Musk, and Sam Altman — big names in tech and innovation. But lately, it’s Liang Wenfeng who’s turning heads. He’s the brain behind DeepSeek R1, the cutting-edge Chinese AI model that has caught the industry off guard and shaken up Wall Street.

    Liang is a Chinese entrepreneur who co-founded the hedge fund High-Flyer and later launched its AI division, DeepSeek. Born in 1985 in Zhanjiang, Guangdong, he grew up in a simple household, with his father working as a primary school teacher.

    He studied at Zhejiang University, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in electronic information engineering in 2007, followed by a master’s degree in information and communication engineering in 2010. For his master’s thesis, Liang worked on a project about low-cost PTZ cameras and tracking algorithms — a far cry from the world-changing AI he’s known for today.

    Liang’s interest in AI and finance took shape during the 2007–2008 financial crisis. While still in university, he teamed up with classmates to gather financial market data and experiment with quantitative trading using machine learning. After graduating, Liang moved to an affordable flat in Chengdu, Sichuan, where he tried applying AI to different industries. Most of his early ventures didn’t work out, but everything changed when he focused on finance, paving the way for his later success.

    Liang Wenfeng: Revolution That’s Shaking Silicon Valley | DeepSeek | Persoonal Life | Net worth | Education
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    DeepSeek – Startup Story

    Liang Wenfeng might not be a household name outside China, but his knack for merging emerging technologies with smart investments has built a reputation that’s hard to ignore. In April 2023, High-Flyer, the hedge fund he co-founded, launched an artificial general intelligence (AGI) lab focused on developing AI tools outside its financial ventures. Just a month later, this lab spun off into its entity, DeepSeek, with High-Flyer as one of its key backers.

    Venture capital firms initially hesitated to invest, doubting the lab’s ability to deliver quick returns. However, DeepSeek silenced skeptics in May 2024 with the release of DeepSeek-V2, an AI model offering impressive performance at a remarkably low cost. This move sparked what’s now referred to as China’s “AI model price war.” Tech giants like ByteDance, Tencent, Baidu, and Alibaba were forced to slash their AI model prices to keep up. Despite its affordability, DeepSeek managed to turn a profit, unlike many of its rivals that struggled with losses. Its pricing strategy earned it the nickname “the Pinduoduo of AI.”

    Interestingly, DeepSeek remains research-focused, with no immediate plans for commercialization. This approach not only sets it apart but also allows its technology to sidestep China’s strictest AI regulations, which heavily govern consumer-facing tech. By staying out of the spotlight of direct consumer applications, DeepSeek has carved a unique niche in the AI industry.

    DeepSeek – Mission and Vision

    Mission
    DeepSeek’s mission is to redefine how high-performing AI models are developed by leveraging innovative training techniques and cost-effective resources. By utilizing less-advanced chips and pioneering new approaches to model training, DeepSeek aims to make advanced AI accessible, efficient, and affordable, driving progress in artificial intelligence without the need for cutting-edge hardware.

    Vision
    DeepSeek envisions becoming a global leader in AI innovation, setting a benchmark for building powerful yet cost-efficient AI systems. The company aspires to revolutionize the AI landscape by proving that excellence can be achieved through ingenuity and resourcefulness, shaping a future where AI is both impactful and sustainable.

    DeepSeek Logo
    DeepSeek Logo

    DeepSeek – Business Model

    DeepSeek is shaking up the AI world with its large language models (LLMs) that compete head-to-head with industry giants like OpenAI, Google, and Meta. Despite hurdles such as chip export restrictions, the company has achieved extraordinary milestones, raising questions about the future of AI development and its underlying technologies.

    In December 2024, DeepSeek launched an LLM that performed on par with OpenAI’s models, capturing the industry’s attention. Just a month later, in January 2025, the company revealed another model, claiming it was developed at a fraction of the cost of its competitors. These breakthroughs, driven by open-source technology and groundbreaking training techniques, have left Wall Street analysts speculating about DeepSeek’s unique approach and its potential to disrupt the AI market.

    What sets DeepSeek apart is its ability to deliver high-performing AI systems without relying on advanced, high-cost chips. This has sparked a larger conversation about whether the demand for high-end semiconductors, a critical factor in the success of companies like Nvidia, will remain as strong as before. DeepSeek’s success demonstrates that innovation and resourcefulness may now play a more significant role in shaping the future of AI than access to the most cutting-edge hardware.

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    DeepSeek – Revenue Model

    DeepSeek, initially known for its prowess in quantitative trading and algorithm development, has leveraged its expertise in mathematics, optimization, and resource management to make waves in the AI industry. By repurposing its extensive GPU infrastructure—originally intended for trading and mining—DeepSeek has efficiently trained and deployed its AI models, including the groundbreaking DeepSeek R1, at a fraction of the cost of its competitors.

    The release of models like DeepSeek V3 and R1 as open-source and open-weights has been a game-changer for the AI industry. This bold move directly challenges major players like OpenAI and Claude, who have invested billions into proprietary models and infrastructure. By making its models freely accessible, DeepSeek has enabled anyone to reproduce and utilize its technology, shifting the focus from monetization to industry disruption and influence.

    While the models themselves are free, DeepSeek offers a highly affordable API for running the models, making advanced AI accessible to a broader audience. This low-cost strategy could attract a significant user base, allowing the company to generate revenue through scale. Additionally, DeepSeek’s innovative techniques for efficient training and inference ensure that the company can sustain its low-cost offerings while remaining profitable.

    By disrupting traditional AI business models and democratizing access to advanced AI technology, DeepSeek is not just reshaping the AI landscape—it’s redefining how innovation and efficiency can drive both accessibility and profitability.

    DeepSeek – Challenges Faced

    While DeepSeek’s rise in the AI industry has been impressive, its disruptive approach has not come without significant challenges.

    Industry Disruption and Competition

    By releasing its V3 and R1 models as open-source with open weights, DeepSeek has upended the AI industry, challenging established players like OpenAI and Claude. These competitors have poured billions into proprietary models and infrastructure, creating a stark contrast to DeepSeek’s accessible, low-cost offerings. While this strategy has earned DeepSeek praise, it has also sparked intense competition and scrutiny. Critics question whether DeepSeek’s open-source model can sustain long-term innovation and profitability in the face of giants with vast resources.

    Cybersecurity Threats

    DeepSeek has also faced direct threats in the form of large-scale cyberattacks. These attacks have temporarily forced the company to limit user registrations as it works to assess the extent of the damage and implement precautionary measures. The company’s website even issued a public notice, acknowledging “large-scale malicious attacks” that are disrupting its services. While DeepSeek has not disclosed specific details about the nature of these attacks, the situation highlights the vulnerabilities faced by tech companies, particularly those that challenge established norms.

    Operational Strain

    As its low-cost AI models continue to gain global attention, DeepSeek is grappling with the operational strain of handling increased demand while dealing with ongoing security challenges. The surge in interest, coupled with malicious attacks, has made it difficult for new users to access its services, potentially stalling its growth momentum.

    DeepSeek’s Chinese origins also add a layer of complexity in navigating global markets, particularly as geopolitical tensions and concerns over data security influence public perception and industry partnerships. The company’s reliance on innovative, cost-effective strategies may face skepticism in regions where proprietary systems are the norm.

    DeepSeek – Online and Social Media Presence

    Social Media Buzz and Public Reaction

    DeepSeek AI has taken the online world by storm, rapidly gaining traction across social media and app stores. On the Apple App Store, it has even outpaced OpenAI’s ChatGPT in popularity, thanks to its promise of delivering high-quality AI capabilities at a fraction of the cost of major US tech giants.

    Viral Hype and Memes

    DeepSeek Memes
    DeepSeek Memes

    The launch of DeepSeek-R1 has triggered a wave of online discussions, with social media flooded with reactions ranging from excitement to humor. Users have shared memes and witty commentary on the model’s unexpected rise, playfully mocking how it has disrupted the AI industry and forced competitors to rethink their pricing strategies.

    Strong Presence Across Platforms

    DeepSeek AI is aggressively promoting its models—V3, R1, and Janus-Pro-7B—on platforms like X (formerly Twitter), WeChat, and Reddit. The company’s marketing efforts emphasize its ability to challenge the status quo, making AI more accessible and affordable.

    Community-Driven Growth

    Unlike many closed-source AI projects, DeepSeek’s open approach has fueled community engagement. Developers, researchers, and enthusiasts have actively discussed the potential of its open-weight models, further amplifying its reach.

    With its mix of affordability, performance, and viral appeal, DeepSeek AI is proving that a well-executed disruption can capture both market share and cultural attention.

    DeepSeek – Competitors

    DeepSeek AI’s rapid rise has disrupted the AI landscape, challenging traditional business models and sending shockwaves through the market. Its low-cost, open-source approach threatens established players who rely on expensive, proprietary AI models. As competition heats up, major tech firms are being forced to rethink their strategies.

    Key Competitors:

    DeepSeek – Future Plans

    DeepSeek AI is making waves in the global AI landscape, proving that cutting-edge models don’t require billions in funding. With its latest release, DeepSeek V3, the company has positioned itself as a serious contender against industry giants like OpenAI and Meta, delivering impressive performance at a fraction of the usual cost.

    • Competitive Performance: DeepSeek V3 excels in text comprehension, coding, and problem-solving, matching leading AI models.
    • Unmatched Cost Efficiency: Trained using just 2.78 million GPU hours ($5.58M), far less than Meta’s 30.8 million GPU hours.
    • Breakthrough Technology: Leverages Multi-Head Latent Attention (MLA) and Mixture-of-Experts (MoE) to optimize speed and memory use.
    • Open-Source Approach: By making its models publicly available, DeepSeek fosters innovation and accessibility in AI development.

    FAQs

    What is DeepSeek?

    DeepSeek is a Chinese artificial intelligence company that develops open-source large language models (LLMs).

    Who is the founder of DeepSeek?

    Liang Wenfeng is the founder and CEO of DeepSeek.

    When was DeepSeek founded?

    DeepSeek was founded in 2023.

    Is DeepSeek a Chinese company?

    Yes, DeepSeek is a Chinese company headquartered in Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China.

  • Myntra: The Brand Which Revolutionized the Online Fashion Industry

    Thanks to the development of eCommerce and online shopping trends, it is now possible to conveniently browse through leading worldwide fashion brands and have our favorite things delivered right to our doorstep in the modern digital age.

    One of the most well-known names is Myntra. Myntra, which was established in 2007 by Vineet Saxena, Ashutosh Lawania, and Mukesh Bansal, is now the biggest online fashion store in the country. Myntra is dedicated to giving customers an easy and enjoyable shopping experience. With a wide range of brands and products, it’s simple for anyone to get their hands on the newest and most stylish things.

    Let’s dive into the article to learn all about Myntra, its Startup Story and History, Business and Revenue Model, Funding and Investors, Founders and Team, Challenges, Competitors, Future Plans, and more.

    Myntra Company Details

    STARTUP NAME MYNTRA
    Headquarters Bangalore, Karnataka, India
    Sector Ecommerce
    Founders Mukesh Bansal, Ashutosh Lawania, Vineet Saxena, Sankar Bora, and Raveen Sastry
    Founded 2007
    Parent Company Flipkart
    Website Myntra.com

    About Myntra
    Myntra – Industry
    Myntra – Founders and Team
    Myntra – Startup Story
    Myntra – Mission and Vision
    Myntra – Name and Logo
    Myntra – Business Model
    Myntra – Revenue Model
    Myntra – Challenges Faced
    Myntra – Funding and Investors
    Myntra – Investments
    Myntra – Mergers and Acquisitions
    Myntra – Growth and Revenue
    Myntra – Partnerships
    Myntra – Innovations and Initiatives
    Myntra – Advertisements and Social Media Campaigns
    Myntra – Awards and Recognitions
    Myntra – Competitors
    Myntra – Future Plans

    About Myntra

    Myntra is one of the largest fashion eCommerce stores in India that deals with a wide range of fashion and lifestyle products for men, women, and kids. It sells high-quality clothes, branded footwear, bags and backpacks, beauty and personal care products, home and living accessories, and more.

    The parent organization of Myntra is Flipkart, which is one of the largest eCommerce companies in India. Flipkart has been the parent company of Myntra since 2014 when the eCommerce giant acquired Myntra for an estimated amount close to INR 2,000 crore. The deal included both cash and stock.

    Myntra has a wide range of fashion products from brands all across the world and appeals to young and old Indians, with a special focus on Gen Y, or the millennials, and Gen Z. All of these Myntra can be aptly summed up as a one-stop-shop for fashion in India.

    Myntra – Industry

    As per a report by Mordor Intelligence, the Indian eCommerce market is anticipated to witness substantial expansion, with a valuation of $147.3 billion in 2024. The market is expected to grow rapidly, with a projected value of  $292.3 billion by 2028, according to the analysis.

    This represents a remarkable Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 23.8% from 2024 to 2028. This significant development trajectory highlights how eCommerce is becoming more and more prevalent in the Indian industry, fueled by changes in customer tastes, digitization, and technology breakthroughs.

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    Myntra – Founders and Team

    Mukesh Bansal, Ashutosh Lawania, Vineet Saxena, Sankar Bora, and Raveen Sastry are the founders of Myntra.

    Mukesh Bansal

    Mukesh Bansal - Co-Founder of Myntra
    Mukesh Bansal – Co-Founder of Myntra

    Mukesh Bansal, the co-founder of Myntra, was born and raised in Haridwar, Uttarakhand. He is a Computer Science graduate from IIT Kanpur, after which he served a wide range of companies, including Deloitte, Nextag, Ewanted.com, Centrata, and NewScale, as an Analyst, an Engineer, and in the Product Management department.

    Bansal then founded Myntra company in 2007, which was eventually acquired by Flipkart when he left. Bansal then founded Curefit in April 2016 and is currently serving as the co-founder of Cult.fit (previous name Cure.fit).

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    Ashutosh Lawania

    Ashutosh Lawania, Co-Founder of Myntra

    Ashutosh Lawania is an angel investor and the co-founder of Myntra. Ashutosh graduated from IIT Kanpur, after which he served Various Startups as a Software Engineer. Lawania co-founded Myntra, which he left in 2017. Lawania’s brilliant entrepreneurial mind is also behind a couple of other companies – Bytedge Solutions and MFine, and he is currently serving as the co-founder of MFine.

    Vineet Saxena

    Vineet Saxena, Co-Founder of Myntra
    Vineet Saxena, Co-Founder of Myntra

    Vineet Saxena, who is also an IIT Kanpur alumnus, is another co-founder of Myntra. Saxena started with Tech Mahindra in British Telecom as a Software Engineer. Saxena then joined Pramati Technologies as a Product Engineer and left it after 2 years, when he joined Tavant Technologies as an Associate Architect.

    After gaining over 4 years of experience in the last company, Saxena decided to co-found Bytedge Solutions. Myntra was the second company that Saxena co-founded; he eventually left the company in 2011. However, soon after, he co-founded IndusDiva, where he also served as CEO.

    It was only in September 2020 that this technology entrepreneur quit the company and co-founded another company, Card91, where he is currently serving as a co-founder.

    Sankar Bora

    Sankar Bora, Co-Founder of Myntra
    Sankar Bora, Co-Founder of Myntra

    An NIT Calicut and IIM Bangalore alumnus, Sankar started his entrepreneurial career by founding Engineering Exam Prep. He eventually resigned and chose to serve a list of companies—IT Solutions, Trigyn Technologies, and Tavant Technologies—as a Senior Software Engineer, Technical Leader, and Associate Project Manager.

    Bora later co-founded Myntra, where he served as a VP of Operations. After leaving Myntra in 2010, Bora served as a Mentor and Strategic Investor at Flemingo Hospitality Services Pvt. Ltd; Co-founder & Chief Operating Officer of Miraistore.com; Chief Operating Officer of AEON Learning, and a Founder & Chief Operating Officer at DealShare.in, a post that he still retains.

    Raveen Sastry

    Raveen Sastry, Co-Founder of Myntra
    Raveen Sastry, Co-Founder of Myntra

    Raveen Sastry co-founded Myntra after serving as a Product Manager in Xora and IPTouch Inc. After leaving Myntra, Sastry co-founded Hoopos.com and Babyoye.com, where he also served as the Head of Product along with being a co-founder.

    NudgeSpot was the next company that Sastry founded. Raveen left NudgeSpot to serve Boomtrain as General Manager and Zeta Global as the Strategic Advisor and Vice President before becoming a Founding Partner of Multiply Ventures.

    Nandita Sinha became the CEO of Myntra in 2022. With a strong background in business strategy, she has led Myntra’s growth and innovation in the e-commerce fashion sector.

    Myntra Startup Story

    Mukesh Bansal’s journey with Myntra company began after his time in Silicon Valley. He quit his US employment in 2007 to launch his own company in India. He toured shopping centers frequently to get ideas for creating personalized experiences while investigating both offline and internet sectors.

    A visit to an abandoned commercial area in Pune proved to be the turning point. Bansal thought of a better way after observing unsold inventory in physical stores: offering these goods online. This realization resulted in Myntra becoming a platform that revolutionized online shopping by offering shoes, accessories, and apparel in addition to these products.

    Mukesh Bansal helped other people with a background in software engineering realize their business goals as a co-founder. Between 2007 and 2010, Myntra concentrated on B2B sales of customizable gift goods that could be ordered on demand. The business gradually changed its emphasis from B2B to individual customer service.

    In 2012, Myntra accomplished a noteworthy accomplishment by broadening its product portfolio to encompass 360 Indian and global brands. This was a turning point in Myntra’s development into India’s largest B2C fashion eCommerce marketplace, capping an incredible journey of success and transformation from a B2B firm.

    Myntra – Mission and Vision

    Myntra’s mission and vision are to provide “a hassle-free and enjoyable shopping experience to shoppers across the country with the widest range of brands and products on its portal.”

    Myntra Logo
    Myntra Logo

    30th January 2021 – Myntra decided to replace its existing logo with a new one following a complaint that claimed it was offensive towards women. The Myntra logo was seen to depict the legs of women. Following all the controversy surrounding the Myntra logo issue, the online shopping app decided to change the logo on its website, its app, and all packaging material.

    Myntra old vs new Logo
    Myntra old vs new Logo

    The parent company of Myntra is “Flipkart.”

    Myntra – Business Model

    Myntra has adopted an aggregator business model, facilitating direct consumer-brand connections (B2C). From its original business-to-business (B2B) model, it underwent a dramatic change to its current consumer-centric strategy. The core of Myntra’s business strategy is to procure the newest products from affiliated companies by the current fashion. This guarantees that the most sought-after products arrive at Myntra’s eCommerce site promptly, in accordance with their availability in the corresponding retail brand stores.

    Throughout its development, Myntra has honed its function as a go-between for customers and high-end companies, simplifying the purchasing process. By transitioning to a direct-to-consumer model, Myntra ensures that fashion enthusiasts have swift access to the freshest offerings from their favorite brands, marking a seamless fusion of online and offline retail dynamics.

    Myntra – Revenue Model

    Myntra company makes revenue from different resources some of which are listed below:

    • Commission Fees: Depending on the product’s category and brand, Myntra’s primary revenue stream is the charging of a predetermined fee, which normally ranges from 4% to 5%.
    • Marketplace Services: Myntra makes money by giving different brands and merchants a place to display and sell their goods on its online marketplace.
    • Logistics Services: By making it easier for clients to store, package, and receive things, the company makes money through its logistics services.
    • Advertisement: Myntra makes use of its platform to facilitate the promotion of brands’ items to a broad audience, generating extra income.
    • Other Resources: To maintain a diversified and long-lasting financial strategy, Myntra investigates and makes money from several additional sources in addition to the main revenue streams.

    Quick commerce platforms are adding beauty and fashion to their services, but Myntra will be one of the first fashion-focused platforms to try quick commerce with “M-Now.”

    Myntra is testing quick delivery service in some parts of Bengaluru as per the reports on 23 November 2024. The service, called “M-Now,” promises delivery within two hours. Currently, it is available in a few Bengaluru areas with a small range of products to test how it works, according to a source.

    In 2022, the Bengaluru-based company started a fast delivery service called M-Express in metro cities. The service aims to deliver products within 24 to 48 hours of ordering.

    Myntra – Challenges Faced

    Logistics proved to be a significant challenge for Myntra, a critical aspect for any eCommerce company striving to meet customer demands. The creative hybrid logistics model used by Myntra is responsible for its success. Early on, Myntra addressed the issue of supply chain management and logistics by putting into practice a plan that divided up the work strategically between the company and outside service providers according to demographics.

    Nevertheless, this strategy brought with it a new set of difficulties as Myntra found it increasingly difficult to identify trustworthy third-party service providers who could give a top-notch experience. In response, the business made supply chain management a top priority and carefully selected delivery representatives who had a track record of providing top-notch service.

    Myntra as an enterprise and a team has always placed a strong emphasis on the value of comprehensive contributions. To make sure that its short-term success is consistent with the broad ideals the brand upholds, the brand places a high weight on matching its values with society’s expectations.

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    Myntra – Funding and Investors

    Myntra has raised $569.8 million in 15 rounds of funding.

    Here are the funding details:

    Date Stage Amount Investors
    January 1, 2024 Corporate Round $54 million Flipkart
    March 25, 2022 Corporate Round $116 million Flipkart
    September 24, 2021 Post-IPO Equity $58.7 million FK Myntra Holdings
    October 9, 2020 Post-IPO Equity $103 million FK Myntra Holdings
    March 6, 2018 Post-IPO Equity $63.7 million FK Myntra Holdings
    October 18, 2017 Debt Financing $7.7 million Kotak Mahindra Bank
    January 31, 2014 Venture Round $50 million –
    May 31, 2013 Venture Round $25 million –
    February 1, 2013 Series E $8 million –
    May 1, 2012 Series D $25 million –
    August 1, 2011 Series C $20.8 million –

    Myntra – Investments

    On February 11, 2019, Myntra invested Zilingo with its Series D funding round, contributing $226 million. The eCommerce platform Zilingo uses technology to optimize the fashion and cosmetics supply chain.

    Myntra – Mergers and Acquisitions

    The company has seen 9 major acquisitions to date.

    Below are the details:

    Acquired Date Price
    Pretr Online Services Pvt Ltd August 1, 2018 –
    Blink (formerly Witworks) April 16, 2018 –
    20Dresses November 29, 2017 –
    InLogg April 19, 2017 –
    Jabong.com July 26, 2016 $70 Million
    HRX July 20, 2016 –
    Cubeit July 12, 2016 –
    FITIQUETTE April 4, 2013 –
    Exclusively November 9, 2012 –

    Myntra – Growth and Revenue

    • It has 60 million average users as of March 2024
    • The company has over 6,000 brands as of March 2024
    • It has delivered to over 19,000 pin codes across India as of March 2024
    • It has 75 million new app users as of December 2023
    • Myntra offers products from more than 6,000 brands as of December 2022

    Financials

    Myntra Financials FY23 FY24
    Operating Revenue INR 4,465 crore INR 5,122 crore
    Total Expenses INR 5,290 crore INR 5,123 crore
    Profit/Loss Loss of INR 782.4 crore Profit of INR 30.9 crore
    Myntra Financials
    Myntra Financials

    Myntra – Partnerships

    Myntra has partnered with many companies. Some of the prominent ones are:

    • Abercrombie & Fitch Co. announced a multi-year partnership with Myntra Jabong to expand its brand presence in India. Myntra Jabong will establish physical stores, regional e-commerce platforms, and digital storefronts through licensed third parties as part of the franchise agreement.
    • YouTube has partnered with Flipkart and Myntra to launch the YouTube Shopping Affiliate Program in India. This allows eligible creators to tag products in their videos, Shorts, and live streams, earning revenue when viewers make purchases on the retailers’ sites. The program is already active in countries like the US, Indonesia, and Brazil.
    • Myntra signed a pact with a UK-based fashion house in November 2023, Boohoo Group. This deal will allow Booho Group brands such as Boohoo, Dorothy Perkins (DP), and Nasty Gal to enter into Indian markets.
    • 23rd August 2021 – Myntra has announced its partnership with London-based digital fashion brand Urbanic, whose selection is available from 1st September. This Myntra-Urbanic partnership would be scaling the accessibility of the brand in foreign markets, targeting especially Gen Z and the millennials, who are the trendsetters of the eCommerce platform.

    “We are elated to be joining forces with Urbanic to bring the best of fashion-in-trend to our thriving base of young shoppers namely Gen-Z and millennials, who are steadily shaping the future of eCommerce. With their extremely high digital presence combined with a keen sense of style, they are poised to become one of Myntra’s dominant consumer bases and this partnership helps us boost our portfolio to cater to their distinctive fashion choices,” Myntra’s Chief Business Officer Ayyappan Rajagopal said.

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    Myntra – Innovations and Initiatives

    Myntra has unveiled Maya, a virtual fashion influencer, as part of its commitment to enhancing the customer experience. Maya is a digital avatar that combines fashion expertise with the latest technology, providing interactive content and sharing fashion tips, style recommendations, and the latest trends. This innovative initiative demonstrates Myntra’s dedication to staying ahead in the ever-evolving world of fashion eCommerce.

    By introducing Maya as a virtual fashion influencer, Myntra showcases its commitment to pushing boundaries and embracing innovative approaches in the fashion eCommerce landscape. Maya’s presence strengthens Myntra’s position as a pioneer, constantly striving to deliver exceptional customer experiences and cater to the evolving needs of its audience.

    Myntra – Advertisements and Social Media Campaigns

    Myntra Fashion with Caution!

    Myntra launched a new ad campaign called “Fashion with Caution” in January 2025. It features Bollywood stars Ranbir Kapoor and Triptii Dimri in funny roles as regular people who accidentally create chaos just by looking like themselves.

    The campaign includes two creative ads promoting Myntra’s ‘Celeb Looks’ collection, offering stylish outfits for under INR 999.

    Myntra Campaign

    Ahead of the Big Fashion Festival (BFF) in 2023, Myntra unveiled its ‘Dress-up Season’ campaign, starring actors Sidharth Malhotra and Kiara Advani. Originally slated for October, the yearly celebratory shopping frenzy aims to place fashion at the center of the celebrations.

    The ad emphasizes the importance of fashion in festivities and the fun that comes with “dressing up” for special events. With Sidharth and Kiara celebrating their first Diwali together as a married couple, Myntra wants to convey the spirit of the occasion and highlight the platform’s significant contribution to their joyous occasions.

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    Myntra – Awards & Recognitions

    Myntra has bagged quite a few titles under its name.

    • Myntra won various awards in 2022, some of these are ET Future Ready Organization/D&I Culture, Kaleidoscope Award for best campaigns, Brand Excellence Award by Economic Times for Marketing Campaign, and more.
    • Myntra was acknowledged as India’s Most Admired and Valuable Power Brand Award 2016 at the 7th Annual India Leadership Conclave and Indian Affairs Business Leadership Awards 2016.
    • Myntra.com was announced as a winner of the Red Herring Global 100 award.
    • CNBC – TV18 recognized Myntra’s website as one of the Hottest Internet Companies of the Year.
    • It has also been awarded ‘Fashion eRetailer of the Year 2013’ by Franchise India’s eRetail Awards.
    • Myntra’s online app and website also bagged the title of ‘Best E-commerce Website for 2012’ by the IAMAI India Digital Awards.
    • The venture was also awarded ‘Images Most Admired Retailer of the Year: Non-Store Retail’ for 2012 by Images Group.
    • Puma India awarded Myntra with the ‘Best E-commerce Partner of the Year 2011–12’.

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    Myntra – Competitors

    When Myntra started, no vendors were providing such seamless and exclusive shopping experiences to consumers. However, over time, its competitors have increased in India.

    Some of the prominent competitors of Myntra are:

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    Myntra – Future Plans

    Myntra’s growth focuses on offering trendy products, increasing sales in non-clothing categories, promoting premium fashion through beauty, international, and direct-to-consumer (D2C) brands, expanding into smaller cities, and creating special products for the rising Gen-Z audience.

    To solidify its position as a major player in the Indian fashion industry, Myntra intends to capitalize on its recent franchise arrangement with UK fashion brand NEXT. Through the partnership, Myntra will be able to open NEXT-branded stores all over India, increasing its omni-channel footprint and product choices.

    In addition, Myntra wants to keep up its dedication to providing its clients with a seamless and pleasurable shopping experience by expanding its selection of fashionable goods. In addition, Myntra will concentrate on fortifying Myntra Jabong Pvt. Ltd, its B2B wholesale company, to efficiently distribute NEXT’s goods and capitalize on the sizeable and varied Indian market. In general, Myntra’s goals for the future are to propel expansion, innovation, and client happiness in the dynamic field of fashion eCommerce.

    FAQs

    Who is Myntra founder?

    Mukesh Bansal, Ashutosh Lawania, and Vineet Saxena founded Myntra in 2007.

    What is Myntra?

    Myntra is one of the largest fashion eCommerce stores in India that deals with a wide range of fashion and lifestyle products for men, women, and kids. Myntra online shopping platform offers a wide range of fashion and lifestyle products. Myntra shopping offers a seamless experience to its customers.

    Is Myntra an Indian company?

    Yes, Myntra is an Indian company founded by Mukesh Bansal, Ashutosh Lawania, and Vineet Saxena. Its parent organization is Flipkart.

    Who is Myntra parent organization?

    Myntra is owned by Flipkart. Flipkart acquired Myntra in May 2014 for INR 2,000 crores.

    What is Myntra business model?

    Myntra is an online fashion and lifestyle retailer. It operates on a B2C (business-to-consumer) model, offering clothing, accessories, footwear, and home products.

    What is Myntra launch date?

    Myntra was launched in 2007. Myntra India is a popular destination for online fashion and lifestyle shopping.

    Is Myntra B2B or B2C?

    Myntra is a B2C eCommerce fashion brand.

    How does Myntra make money?

    Myntra operates on an aggregator model and its major source of income is from commissions.

  • Larsen & Toubro Limited: Pioneering Innovation and Excellence in Engineering

    Company Profile is an initiative by StartupTalky to publish verified information on different startups and organizations.

    Larsen & Toubro Limited, commonly known as L&T, is an Indian conglomerate involved in technology, engineering, construction, manufacturing, and financial services, with global operations. The company is headquartered in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. The business interests of the company lie in basic and heavy engineering, construction, realty, manufacturing of capital goods, information technology, and financial services.

    Read on to find out more about L&T’s history, founders and owners, net worth, business model, growth, competitors, revenue model, acquisitions, future plans, and more.

    Larsen & Toubro – Company Highlights

    Startup Name Larsen & Toubro Limited
    Headquarters Mumbai, India
    Industry Conglomerate
    Founders Henning Holck-Larsen, Søren Kristian Toubro
    Founded February 7, 1938
    CEO S. N. Subrahmanyan
    Website Larsentoubro.com

    Larsen & Toubro – About and How it works ?
    Larsen & Toubro – Logo and its meaning
    Larsen & Toubro – Founder and History
    Larsen & Toubro – Mission
    Larsen & Toubro – Business Model
    Larsen & Toubro – Revenue
    Larsen & Toubro – Investments
    Larsen & Toubro – Acquisitions
    Larsen & Toubro – Competitors
    Larsen & Toubro – Challenges Faced
    Larsen & Toubro – Future Plans
    Larsen & Toubro – Conclusion

    Larsen & Toubro – About and How it works ?

    Larsen & Toubro Limited (‘Larsen & Toubro’ or ‘L&T’) is a USD 12.65 billion technology (as of 2024), Indian technology engineering, construction, projects, manufacturing, and financial services conglomerate, with global operations. It addresses critical needs in key sectors – infrastructure, construction, defense, hydrocarbon, heavy engineering, power, shipbuilding, aerospace, electrical & automation, mining and metallurgy.

    Recreating the Sun – L&T

    Three key products/services in which L&T is engaged are Construction and project-related activity, manufacturing and trading activity, and engineering services.

    For administrative purposes, L&T has been structured into five broad categories:

    • Construction: This covers Buildings & Factories, Heavy Civil Infrastructure, Transportation Infrastructure, Power Transmission & Distribution, Water & Effluent Treatment, Metallurgical & Material Handling and Smart World & Communication;
    • EPC Projects: This includes Hydrocarbon Engineering, Power and Power Development;
    • Manufacturing: This includes Defence Equipment & Systems, Heavy Engineering, Construction, Mining & Industrial Machinery, Industrial Valves and Electrical & Automation Systems;
    • Services: This includes Realty, Information Technology, Technology Services, and Financial Services.
    • Others: This includes Hyderabad Metro, Infrastructure Development Projects and corporate functions
    • Larsen & Toubro forayed into the Edtech space with the launch of L&T EduTech in October 2021. Sabyasachi Das has been appointed as the CEO of L&T EduTech, which will offer various courses centered around the engineering and technology verticals.

    Larsen & Toubro – Logo and its meaning

    The L&T logo comprises a monogram that is in blue.

    L&T logo
    L&T Logo

    Larsen & Toubro – Founder and History

    Larsen & Toubro was founded in 1938 in Mumbai by two Danish engineers, Henning Holck-Larsen and Søren Kristian Toubro.

    Henning Holck-Larsen & Søren Kristian Toubro - Founders, L&T
    Henning Holck-Larsen & Søren Kristian Toubro – Founders, L&T

    The company began as a representative of Danish manufacturers of dairy and allied equipment. However, with the start of the Second World War in 1939 and the resulting blockade of trade lines, the partners started a small workshop to undertake jobs and provide service facilities. Germany’s invasion of Denmark in 1940 stopped supplies of Danish products. The wartime need to repair and refit and degauss ships offered L&T an opportunity, and led to the formation of a new company, Hilda Ltd, to handle these operations. L&T also started to repair and fabricate ships signaling the expansion of the company. The sudden internment of German engineers in British India (due to suspicions caused by the Second World War), who were to put up a soda ash plant for the Tata’s, gave L&T a chance to enter the field of installation.

    After India’s independence in 1947, L&T set up offices in Calcutta (now Kolkata), Madras (now Chennai) and New Delhi. In 1948, 55 acres of undeveloped marsh and jungle were acquired in Powai, Mumbai. A previously uninhabitable swamp subsequently became the site of its main manufacturing hub. In December 1950, L&T became a public company with a paid-up capital of ₹20 lakh (US$28,000). The sales turnover in that year was ₹1.09 crore (US$150,000). In 1956, a major part of the company’s Mumbai office moved to ICI House in Ballard Estate, which would later be purchased by the company and renamed L&T House, its present headquarters.

    SN Subrahmanyan - L&T Owner Photo
    SN Subrahmanyan | Chairman and MD, L&T

    L&T appointed SN Subrahmanyan as the Chief Executive Officer & Managing Director of Larsen & Toubro. He took over the reins from Mr Anil Manibhai Naik on 1 July 2017 later he became chairman and managing director of L&T.

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    Larsen & Toubro – Mission

    Larsen & Toubro’s mission statement says,

    “To develop and deliver high quality education and research in project management in consonance with the vision of L&T by providing state-of-the-art infrastructure and learner friendly atmosphere with innovative pedagogy thereby creating a pool of world-class and socially responsible project professionals.”

    Larsen & Toubro – Business Model

    • Customer Segments: L&T has a niche market business model, with a specialized customer segment. The company targets its offerings at firms that operate in the industrial sector.
    • Value Proposition: The company creates accessibility by offering a wide variety of options. It is a multinational, diversified conglomerate, operating in numerous product/service categories including technology, engineering, construction, manufacturing, and financial services. The company has established a strong brand due to its success. It is one of the five biggest fabrication companies in the world, with more than 130 subsidiaries and 15 associate firms. It bills itself as India’s largest engineering and construction company and one of its largest multinational firms.
    • Channels: L&T’s main channel is its business development team. The company promotes its offerings through its website, social media pages, advertising, and participation in conferences.
    • Customer Relationships: L&T’s customer relationship is primarily of a personal assistance nature. The company provides comprehensive training to customers as well as extensive phone and email support.
    • Key Activities: L&T’s business model entails designing, developing, and manufacturing its products, as well as offering services to customers.
    • Key Partners: L&T company maintains technology alliances (e.g., joint ventures) with various firms to provide best-in-class services for its customers. The firms represent various sectors, including Power, Construction, and Hydrocarbon. Specific partners are GULF Interstate Engineering, Chiyoda Corporation of Japan, Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems (MHPS), Sargent & Lundy, and Valdel.

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    global level. Post-independence in India, these massive organizations set their
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    Larsen & Toubro – Revenue

    Larsen & Toubro (L&T) generates money from different revenue streams:

    1. Engineering and Construction: L&T earns significantly from building large-scale projects like roads, bridges, power plants, and water systems.
    2. Technology Services: Through L&T Technology Services (LTTS), it provides tech and research services to clients in sectors like automotive, aerospace, and telecom.
    3. Financial Services: L&T Finance offers loans, insurance, and investment products to people and businesses.
    4. Manufacturing: L&T makes machines and other heavy products for industries like energy, chemicals, and defense.
    5. Real Estate: The company also makes money from building and managing properties.

    This helps L&T stay strong financially, even when the economy changes.

    Larsen & Toubro - Net Revenue from 2018 to 2024
    Larsen & Toubro – Net Revenue from 2018 to 2024

    Larsen & Toubro – Investments

    As per reports on January 2025, L&T Semiconductor Technologies (LTSCT), a fully owned subsidiary of Larsen & Toubro, plans to invest over $10 billion in a silicon fabrication plant. This investment will proceed once the company gains clear visibility by 2026-27 of achieving a revenue run rate of at least $1 billion per year from selling its own patented chips and semiconductor products, which will be manufactured by third parties, in both Indian and global markets.

    Larsen & Toubro Limited invested in City Union Bank on Dec 1, 2006. This investment – Post-IPO Equity – City Union Bank – was valued at INR 45 crore.

    Larsen & Toubro – Acquisitions

    Larsen & Toubro Limited has acquired 2 organizations. Their most recent acquisition was Intelliswift in November 2024.

    Acquiree Name Date Amount About Acquiree
    Intelliswift November, 2024 – Intelliswift is a software solutions and services company
    MindTree Jun 3, 2019 – MindTree was started in 1999 by a diverse team of 10 professionals who came from three different nations and had already scripted
    Spectrum Infotech Feb 3, 2006 – Spectrum Infotech is a computer software company

    Larsen & Toubro – Competitors

    L&T’s top competitors are Reliance, Aditya Birla Group, Tata Projects, GMR Group, LANCO Group, SPCL, PEL and Afcons.

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    Mumbai, India. Reliance has its entities across domains like vitality,
    petrochemicals, materials, common assets, retail, and broadcast communications.
    Reliance is one of the most prominent businesses in India, the biggest ”…
    StartupTalkyDevashish Shrivastava

    Larsen & Toubro – Challenges Faced

    Labor shortage: L&T Group Chairman S N Subrahmanyan revealed that the company is currently facing a shortage of over 45,000 workers and engineers across its various businesses. The flagship engineering, procurement, and construction sector is dealing with a shortage of 25,000 to 30,000 laborers, while the IT and IT-enabled services division is short of 20,000 engineers, he shared with reporters.

    The company faced this challenge after COVID-19 too.

    When asked for comments about the migrant labours crisis, S N Subrahmanyan, MD and CEO, L&T, told, “We had 2.25 lakh labourers working with us pre-Covid; now we have 1.2 lakh people with us. We need to get back one lakh people to resume operations.”

    L&T is also banking on onboarding numerous laborers coming from the Gulf region who have been laid off due to the significant fall in oil prices.

    Larsen & Toubro – Future Plans

    Larsen & Toubro (L&T) plans to invest in sustainable construction, digital technologies, and oil-to-chemicals projects.

    • Sustainable Construction: L&T is teaming up with Komatsu to create construction and mining equipment that can run on biodiesel. The company is also adding renewable energy, like solar panels and wind turbines, into building designs.
    • Digital Technologies: L&T is using digital tools to improve how buildings are designed, built, and managed. It has also introduced a Smart Construction solution to make the process more efficient.
    • Oil-to-Chemicals Projects: L&T plans to invest in oil-to-chemicals projects in the Middle East to expand its reach in the energy sector.

    Larsen & Toubro – Conclusion

    L&T is engaged in core, high-impact sectors of the economy, and our integrated capabilities span the entire spectrum of ‘design to deliver’. With 8 decades of a strong, customer-focused approach and a continuous quest for world-class quality, they have unmatched expertise across Technology, Engineering, Construction, Infrastructure Projects, and Manufacturing, and maintain leadership in all our major lines of business.

    FAQs

    What is L&T?

    Larsen & Toubro Limited (‘Larsen & Toubro’ or ‘L&T’) is a USD 17 billion technology, Indian technology engineering, construction, projects, manufacturing, and financial services conglomerate, with global operations.

    Who is L&T founder?

    Larsen & Toubro was founded in 1938 in Mumbai by two Danish engineers, Henning Holck-Larsen and Søren Kristian Toubro.

    Is L&T Indian company?

    Yes, L&T is an Indian company.

    What is L&T company full form?

    L&T full form is Larsen & Toubro.

    Who is the L&T owner?

    S N Subrahmanyan is the chairman and managing director of L&T.

    Which is L&T company owner country?

    Larsen & Toubro (L&T) is an Indian multinational company, and its ownership is primarily held by Indian shareholders. The company was founded in India and is headquartered in Mumbai, Maharashtra. It is listed on the Indian stock exchanges.

    What is Larsen and Toubro business model?

    Larsen & Toubro (L&T) has a diversified business model, earning revenue from sectors like engineering, construction, technology, manufacturing, and financial services. It handles large infrastructure projects, offers tech solutions through L&T Technology Services, manufactures products for defense and energy, and provides financial services through L&T Finance. This wide-ranging approach ensures stability and growth.

  • Urban Space: Redefining Homes with Quality, Stylish Designs, and Affordable Luxury

    India’s home décor industry is growing fast and is expected to increase by 8.67% between 2025 and 2029, reaching a value of $2.97 billion by 2029. In this growing market, a name that is standing out and making a mark for itself is Urban Space. Urban Space is a home decor brand that provides premium home furnishing products at affordable prices. The brand combines traditional craftsmanship with modern designs and materials to create unique and stylish furnishings. With a focus on innovation and customer satisfaction, Urban Space is all set to make an impact in the home decor market.

    In this article, learn more about Urban Space, its founders, its business model, the challenges it faced, how its appearance on Shark Tank India helped boost its visibility and success, and more.

    Urban Space – Company Highlights

    Company Name Urban Space
    Headquarters Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India
    Sector Home Furnishing Products, Home Decor
    Founder Rohit Agarwal, Radhika Koolwal
    Founded 2018
    Website urbanspacestore.in

    Urban Space – About
    Urban Space – Industry
    Urban Space – Founders
    Urban Space – Startup Story
    Urban Space – Mission and Vision
    Urban Space – Products/Services
    Urban Space – Business and Revenue Model
    Urban Space – Launching Company Strategies
    Urban Space – Customer Growth and Retention Strategies
    Urban Space – Challenges Faced
    Urban Space – Marketing Campaigns
    Urban Space – Awards and Achievements
    Urban Space – Competitors
    Urban Space – Future Plans

    Urban Space – About

    Urban Space is a home décor brand from Ahmedabad, India’s textile hub. The brand offers a wide range of products, including curtains, bed linen, dohar blankets, bed covers, mats, rugs, and table linen, all available for convenient online shopping.

    With in-house design, manufacturing, and packaging facilities, Urban Space provides tailored solutions to meet various needs in fabric, colour, design, and pricing. The brand focuses on delivering high-quality, unique pieces to refresh and inspire living spaces, making them instantly appealing.

    Urban Space is committed to enhancing customer experience and creating better homes by offering premium home furnishing products at affordable prices.

    Urban Space – Industry

    Urban Space, a D2C brand in the home decor industry, operates within a rapidly expanding market in India. The home décor market in India is expected to grow by 8.67% between 2025 and 2029, resulting in a market volume of $2.97 billion in 2029.

    Urban Space primarily targets the mass-premium segment, offering quality, affordability, and contemporary designs to middle- and upper-middle-class consumers. The brand focuses on providing stylish, premium products at accessible price points, catering to a customer base that includes young professionals, newlyweds, and families aiming to enhance their living spaces. The mass-premium segment, particularly strong in urban areas and Tier 2/Tier 3 cities, boasts an estimated market size of 200-250 million potential customers.

    As a competitor in the fast-growing online market, Urban Space actively engages with major e-commerce platforms such as Amazon and Flipkart, as well as Q-commerce platforms like Blinkit and Zepto. Although exact market share figures are not publicly available, the brand estimates its share in the online home furnishing sector to be around 1-2% in its initial 3-4 years of operations. This figure is expected to increase significantly as the brand scales operations, enhances brand awareness, and diversifies its product offerings.

    Industry Outlook for the Next 5 Years

    The home furnishing industry in India is poised for strong growth over the next five years. The following trends are expected to drive this growth:

    1. Increased Digital Penetration and E-commerce Growth: The shift towards online shopping, driven by increased internet penetration, is set to continue. As a D2C brand, Urban Space is well-positioned to benefit from this trend, especially with the rise of quick commerce platforms.
    2. Growing Focus on Quality and Sustainability: Consumers are becoming more conscious of quality and sustainability. There is a growing demand for eco-friendly products made with sustainable materials, which is a trend the brand aims to capitalise on by offering products that are both stylish and environmentally friendly.
    3. Increased Disposable Income in Urban and Semi-Urban Areas: With rising disposable income, especially in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities, there will be greater demand for premium yet affordable home furnishing products.
    4. Personalised and Customisable Home Furnishing: The demand for personalised and customisable home decor items is expected to rise. Consumers are increasingly looking for products that reflect their unique style.

    In the next five years, the industry is expected to grow at a rate of 10-12% CAGR, and Urban Space is expected to capture a larger share of the D2C home furnishings market.

    Urban Space’s Vision for the Next 5-10 Years

    Urban Space aims to establish itself as a market leader in the Indian home furnishing sector, particularly in the online and D2C segments. The brand’s strategic goals include:

    • Brand Expansion: Expanding its presence in online and offline channels, offering more localised designs, and enhancing its product portfolio to include a wider range of premium home furnishings.
    • Product Diversification: Introducing new categories like rugs, lighting, and home accessories, which will allow Urban Space to become a one-stop shop for all home furnishing needs.
    • Sustainability Initiatives: Launching eco-friendly collections and building a strong reputation as a sustainable brand. This will resonate with the growing segment of eco-conscious consumers.
    • Global Expansion: While Urban Space will continue to strengthen its position in the Indian market, it will also see an opportunity to expand to international markets.
    • Technological Integration: Leveraging AI and data analytics for personalised shopping experiences, improving customer service, and enhancing supply chain efficiency. Urban Space will likely integrate augmented reality (AR) features in its shopping experience to help customers visualise home furnishings in their spaces.

    Urban Space – Founders

    Urban Space Founders - Rohit Agarwal and Radhika Koolwal
    Urban Space Founders – Rohit Agarwal and Radhika Koolwal

    Rohit Agarwal and Radhika Koolwal are the co-founders of Urban Space. They are married and work together to run the business, using their combined skills and vision to grow the brand in the home décor industry.

    Rohit Agarwal

    Rohit completed his Engineering in Mechanical and then pursued an MBA from MDI Gurgaon. He worked with Nokia for a couple of years before joining the family fabric manufacturing business.

    Radhika Koolwal

    Radhika completed her Engineering in Computer Science, worked with Infosys for a couple of years, and then did her MBA from IMI Delhi. She worked in a real estate firm in Dubai for some time before moving to Ahmedabad in 2016 for marriage.

    Rohit handles manufacturing and supply for the brand, while Radhika is responsible for sales and marketing. Both founders jointly manage social and product development.

    Urban Space’s Hiring Philosophy:

    Given the fast-paced nature of Urban Space, the founders’ hiring philosophy revolves around finding people who can thrive in a dynamic, innovative, and collaborative environment. They look for individuals who are not only qualified but also align with the brand’s values of creativity, agility, and customer-first thinking.

    Here are some qualities the founders of Urban Space look for in an individual:

    • Growth-Orientated Individuals
    • Entrepreneurial Spirit
    • Diversity of Thought and Experience
    • Technical Expertise and Creativity
    • Problem-Solving Ability
    • Alignment with Company Values
    • Adaptability and Team Spirit
    • Digital & E-Commerce Expertise

    Urban Space – Startup Story

    The inspiration behind starting Urban Space stemmed from years of experience in manufacturing and creating products for other brands. While working behind the scenes, the founders recognised a gap in the market for high-quality yet affordable home décor products that could bring beauty and comfort to every home.

    This vision of democratising home décor and making it accessible to everyone sparked the idea for their own brand. Drawing upon their background in manufacturing and sales, they gained deep insights into customer preferences, market demands, and industry trends. They carefully analysed consumer needs—what people sought in home décor, what they valued most, and where they felt underserved.

    To validate the concept, they studied competitors, engaged directly with potential customers, and gathered feedback from their networks. Observing a clear demand for affordable, high-quality home décor reinforced their confidence in the brand’s potential.

    The journey began with translating their vision into actionable goals. Ideas were brainstormed for products that were both stylish and functional, catering to a wide range of tastes and needs. The design and prototyping processes were meticulous, leveraging their expertise in manufacturing to ensure a focus on quality and affordability. Each product underwent multiple iterations to meet their exacting standards and deliver value to customers. Attention was paid to every detail—materials, finishes, and usability—so that the products could effortlessly enhance homes.

    The initial idea was shared with close friends, family, and trusted colleagues in the manufacturing and sales industries. The response was overwhelmingly positive, with many resonating with the concept of making high-quality home décor accessible. Their feedback and insights played a crucial role in refining the vision.

    The encouragement received, combined with constructive feedback, strengthened their determination to move forward. The belief in their expertise and mission reassured them that they were on the right path and that the brand had significant potential.

    Urban Space – Mission and Vision

    Urban Space’s long-term vision is to become the go-to destination for everything related to home décor, encompassing all aspects of creating and styling a home. The brand aspires to be synonymous with beauty, quality, and accessibility within the home décor industry.

    In the short term, the company is focused on expanding its product range, refining its offerings, and reaching more homes to establish itself as a trusted name in affordable, high-quality home décor. Urban Space remains committed to building strong customer relationships by consistently delivering products that align with their needs and style preferences.

    The core belief driving Urban Space is simple yet profound: “Everyone deserves a beautiful home.” The company upholds the idea that a well-decorated home is not merely a luxury but a source of happiness, comfort, and pride. Its goal is to make home décor accessible to all, ensuring that everyone, regardless of budget, can create a space that reflects their personality and provides a sanctuary of comfort and style.

    💡
    “Everyone deserves a beautiful home” encapsulates Urban Space’s mission to empower individuals to create spaces they love without compromising on quality or affordability.

    Urban Space – Products/Services

    Urban Space Products
    Urban Space Products

    Urban Space is an e-commerce brand specialising in home décor, with a primary focus on soft furnishings. Its product range includes bed linen, curtains, table linen, rugs, and even ceramics. The company’s platform is simple and intuitive, enabling customers to explore and shop for high-quality, stylish, and affordable home décor products from the comfort of their homes.

    Urban Space’s USP lies in its in-house manufacturing. By controlling the production process, it ensures top-notch quality while keeping costs low. This allows Urban Space to deliver products that reflect the elegance of luxury décor but remain accessible to a broader audience.

    The brand’s innovation lies in its ability to merge traditional craftsmanship with modern designs and materials. This balance allows it to offer unique, trend-forward products that meet both aesthetic and practical needs. Urban Space leverages advanced manufacturing technology in its facilities to ensure precision, efficiency, and consistency in product quality.

    On the e-commerce side, it uses a robust platform optimised for seamless navigation, secure payments, and a user-friendly shopping experience. Data analytics also play a key role in understanding customer preferences, optimising inventory, and personalising its offerings.

    Urban Space has stayed true to its focus on home décor since its inception and has not pivoted. However, the brand is constantly evolving and expanding its product range. What started as a brand focusing solely on soft furnishings has grown to include ceramics, crockery, and even handbags, as it aims to cater to every aspect of home décor.

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    Urban Space – Business and Revenue Model

    Urban Space follows a Direct-to-Consumer (D2C) model, which means that it sells directly to consumers through its website and various online marketplaces, bypassing traditional retail channels. This allows the brand to have better control over pricing, customer experience, and brand positioning. Here are the key elements of Urban Space’s business model:

    • E-commerce Sales: Urban Space sells on prominent platforms like Amazon, Flipkart, Myntra, and other specialised home décor portals.
    • Q-Commerce: Urban Space also sells through hyper-local delivery platforms such as Blinkit and Zepto, which cater to quick deliveries in urban areas.
    • Brand Website: Urban Space’s own website also serves as a critical channel, offering exclusive collections and a direct relationship with customers, where they can access special offers, promotions, and loyalty programs.

    Urban Space’s revenue model is a product-based sales model, where it generates income by selling individual products or bundles of home furnishings directly to customers.

    Product Sales

    Revenue is primarily driven by the sale of bed linen, curtains, blankets, and table linens. The brand maintains a large catalogue of products across different designs and price points to cater to a wide customer base within the mass-premium segment.

    Product Pricing

    The pricing of Urban Space’s products is designed to be affordable yet premium. Its pricing strategy aligns with the mass-premium market, ensuring that the products are accessible to a broad audience while maintaining a premium feel.

    • Bedsheets: INR 699 – INR 1699 (depending on material, design, and size)
    • Curtains: INR 999 – INR 1999 (based on fabric, design, and customisation options)
    • Blankets: INR 999 – INR 2,499 (depending on material and size)
    • Table Linen: INR 499 – INR 2,499 (for a set of placemats, table runners, etc.)

    The pricing is competitive, with a focus on offering high-quality products at affordable prices compared to other premium brands in the market.

    Urban Space operates at a gross profit margin of 15% at the brand level.

    Commission structure

    E-commerce companies charge from 20-35% commission based on their product category. After this, the brand incurs logistics costs and marketing costs too.

    Urban Space – Launching Company Strategies

    Listing on e-commerce platforms was one of the brand’s early strategies, enabling it to reach a wider audience and establish a strong online presence.

    Urban Space’s products were listed on prominent e-commerce platforms like Amazon and Flipkart during the launch phase. These platforms have a massive built-in customer base, and the brand capitalised on this by running sponsored ads and discount offers for first-time buyers.

    Offering time-limited discounts and launch offers on these platforms helped the brand increase visibility and attract early buyers.

    Results: These platforms allowed Urban Space to quickly build trust with users and bring in the first 100 customers who were willing to try products from a new, emerging brand with competitive pricing and quality.

    Urban Space’s price offering vs. the quality offering was an attractive buy for the consumer, and it translated into an instant pick-up in sales. The positive feedback and reviews bolstered the founders’ belief in the brand.

    Urban Space – Customer Growth and Retention Strategies

    Going from acquiring the first 100 users to scaling to 10,000 users is indeed a much larger challenge, requiring a more refined strategy, increased investment in marketing, and often experimentation with different growth tactics. At this stage, it’s crucial to focus on not just attracting more users but also building a strong community, leveraging data-driven insights, and amplifying brand presence through various channels. Here’s how Urban Space achieved this exponential growth:

    1. Leveraging Performance Marketing (Paid Ads)

    As Urban Space scaled, paid advertising strategy became a key driver of growth. The brand allocated a larger portion of the budget to performance-based channels, focusing on maximising the return on ad spend (ROAS).

    Marketing Budget Allocation:

    • Urban Space allocates 5% of its monthly revenue towards performance marketing, taking pride in achieving some of the industry’s best ROAS, which highlights the brand’s strong in-house marketing capabilities.
    • As positive results and ROAS improvements were observed, the marketing budget increased to 10-15% of revenue, particularly during key sales periods such as festive sales (Diwali, New Year) and Amazon Prime Day.

    2. Influencer Marketing and Partnerships

    • Influencer Marketing: After acquiring its initial user base, Urban Space leveraged influencer marketing to build credibility and scale rapidly. The strategy evolved from working with micro-influencers to implementing a more diversified influencer approach.
    • Q-Commerce Partnerships (Blinkit, Zepto): Urban Space expanded its reach by partnering with quick-commerce platforms like Blinkit and Zepto. This allowed customers to order home essentials, including home linens and décor, with hyper-fast delivery. These partnerships enabled the brand to tap into the hyper-local market and cater to customers seeking quick access to home essentials.

    Urban Space gained significant visibility and trust after being featured on Shark Tank India in February 2024. The feature gave a face to the brand and led to a 100x spike in searches on the day the episode aired. Following this milestone, the brand experienced substantial growth in its journey.

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    Urban Space – Challenges Faced

    One of the biggest challenges Urban Space faced was transitioning from a B2B (business-to-business) model to a B2C (business-to-consumer) model. This shift required rethinking every aspect of operations, from manufacturing and inventory management to customer acquisition and order fulfilment.

    • Stocking and Inventory Management: In the B2B model, production was demand-driven, with bulk orders. However, for B2C, it became essential to anticipate customer preferences, manage a wide range of SKUs, and ensure sufficient stock to avoid delays. Urban Space implemented data-driven forecasting systems to analyse demand trends and optimise inventory levels.
    • Customer Acquisition: Unlike B2B, which relies on industry networks to build relationships, B2C requires creating direct connections with individual consumers. Urban Space invested in developing a strong online presence, leveraging social media marketing, and collaborating with influencers to reach its target audience. Campaigns focusing on the brand’s “luxury meets affordability” USP played a crucial role in building customer trust.
    • Order Fulfilment: The shift from bulk shipments to managing thousands of smaller orders was a major operational change. Urban Space streamlined logistics by partnering with reliable delivery providers and establishing efficient order management systems to ensure fast and accurate deliveries.
    • Maintaining Quality: The transition to B2C increased scrutiny of product quality. To ensure consistency, Urban Space doubled down on quality control processes at every stage, from manufacturing to packaging, to meet and exceed customer expectations.

    Urban Space – Marketing Campaigns

    Urban Space on Shark Tank India

    Urban Space was featured on Shark Tank India in February 2024, which provided the brand with significant visibility and credibility. This feature gave a face to the brand and instilled trust in its quality. On the day the episode aired, there was a 100x surge in searches, and the brand has continued to experience remarkable growth since then.

    Additionally, Urban Space has been featured in various web series and movie collaborations, further enhancing its brand recognition and visibility.

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    Urban Space – Awards and Achievements

    Urban Space has been awarded Myntra’s Best Brand in Home & Living 2024.

    Urban Space – Competitors

    Urban Space’s competitors span across several segments, ranging from mass-market players like Bombay Dyeing and Trident Group to more premium brands like Fabindia and Home Centre. 

    Urban Space’s focus on quality, design, and affordability positions it well against these competitors, especially in the growing online-first home furnishing market. Expanding product lines, focusing on sustainability, and building a stronger digital presence will be key to differentiating itself and competing effectively in this dynamic space.

    Urban Space – Future Plans

    Urban Space’s key future plans include:

    • Entering the Offline Market by Starting Exclusive Brand Outlets— 95% of the market is still offline, and it is important for the brand to be present in all selling mediums. Customers get a touch and feel of the product, and the brand gets more authenticity.
    • Expanding its product range and foraying into home decor with sustainable and customisable options.
    • Enhancing digital and e-commerce capabilities through AR features and loyalty programs
    • Geographic expansion into Tier 2/3 cities, regional warehouses, and international markets.

    FAQs

    What is Urban Space?

    Urban Space is a home décor brand from Ahmedabad, India’s textile hub. The brand offers a wide range of products, including curtains, bed linen, dohar blankets, bed covers, mats, rugs, and table linen, all available for convenient online shopping.

    Who are the founders of Urban Space?

    Rohit Agarwal and Radhika Koolwal are the co-founders of Urban Space.

    When was Urban Space founded?

    Urban Space was founded in 2018.

    Did Urban Space appear on Shark Tank India?

    Yes, Urban Space was featured on Shark Tank India in 2024. On the day the episode aired, there was a 100x surge in searches, and the brand has continued to experience remarkable growth since then.

  • PharmEasy Story: From Billion-Dollar Unicorn to Million-Dollar Valuation

    Company Profile is an initiative by StartupTalky to publish verified information on different startups and organizations.

    The medicine industry has always been as disorganized as we can imagine. Though we were all pleasantly happy with the wholesale and retail market structure that the pharmaceutical industry has offered its customers, the digitalization of the same was evident. Thus, it happened.

    With the digitalization of the medical industry, we can now order our medicines from a wide range of eCommerce medical stores online and get them delivered online without any hassles. One of the major players that makes online ordering of medicines easy is PharmEasy.

    PharmEasy has developed a healthcare delivery platform to simplify and modernize the healthcare setup in India. The platform helps patients to stay connected with various local pharmacy stores and outlets. Data and technology are the driving factors behind a robust health and well-being ecosystem today and PharmEasy is leveraging both of them to strengthen healthcare in India.

    If you are wondering “What does PharmEasy do?” then PharmEasy serves as an online pharmacy and handles the hassle-free delivery of medicines and other medical equipment. PharmEasy operates in several major cities in India. Shopping for medicines online has thus, become convenient and easy through PharmEasy. The company delivers medicine and other medical equipment to thousands of customers every day.

    Recently, API Holdings, the parent company of PharmEasy, had its valuation reduced to $458 million in September 2024. This is a big drop of around 92% from its previous highest valuation of $5.6 billion in 2021. One of its investors, Janus Henderson lowered the value of its investment in PharmEasy by 91.8%.

    PharmEasy’s parent company, API Holdings, is seeing a major shift as three of its co-founders—Dharmil Sheth, Dhaval Shah, and Hardik Dedhia—step away from active roles in the organization.

    Read on to find out more about PharmEasy’s success story, founders and owners, net worth, business model, growth, competitors, revenue model, funding details, and acquisitions.

    PharmEasy – Company Highlights

    Startup Name PharmEasy
    Headquarters Lal Bahadur Shastri Marg, Mumbai, India
    Founder/Owner Dharmil Sheth, Dr. Dhaval Shah
    Founded 2014
    Net Worth/Valuation $458 million (November 2024)
    Parent Organization 91streets Media Technologies/API Holdings Private Limited
    Website pharmeasy.in

    PharmEasy – About And How It Works?
    PharmEasy – Industry
    PharmEasy – Founders and Team
    PharmEasy – Startup Story
    PharmEasy – Name, Tagline and Logo
    PharmEasy – Business Model
    PharmEasy – Revenue Model
    PharmEasy – Funding and Investors
    PharmEasy – ESOPs
    PharmEasy – Acquisitions
    PharmEasy – Challenges Faced
    PharmEasy – Customer Acquisition
    PharmEasy – Partnerships
    PharmEasy – Competitors
    PharmEasy – Growth and Revenue
    PharmEasy – Future Plans

    PharmEasy – About And How It Works?

    Pharmacy is an e-commerce platform for the purchase of medicines and other healthcare-related equipment. Whenever one uploads a prescription on PharmEasy, it is then sent to a drugstore in their vicinity. The company uses a mobile app and web technology to offer the best quality healthcare products and essentials to its customers at affordable rates.

    You might be thinking, “Ah! discounted products, they would be of cheap quality for sure.“ But no, a discount has nothing to do with compromise in terms of quality. The pharmacy provides top-notch products at par with the quality that you can find in reputed pharmacies and medical stores.

    Once PharmEasy sends your medical prescription to the drugstore, a delivery agent collects the medicines from the drugstore while adhering to all sorts of precautions and guidelines. Your order is then packaged and eventually delivered to your doorstep.

    PharmEasy – Industry

    Along with all the industries of now, the medicine/healthcare industry has also been witnessing decent growth empowered by the penetration of new-age technologies and the internet. Internet users have already grown at a CAGR of 18.17% between 2015 and 2019 and are further expected to rise at a CAGR of 9.3% till 2028. Besides, the e-commerce transactions also increased by 26.2% in 2023.

    The market of Indian e-pharmacies is predicted by a leading consulting firm to grow greater than 7X times between 2019 and 2023. It reached a total value of $394.09 million in 2024 and is expected to rise to $801.34 million by 2030, at a CAGR of 12.62%, which is fascinating, to say the least.

    PharmEasy – Founders and Team

    Dharmil Sheth and Dr. Dhaval Shah are the founders of PharmEasy.

    PharmEasy Owner, Founders
    Dharmil Sheth and Dhaval Shah

    Dharmil Sheth

    Dharmil is the Co-founder of PharmEasy along with being the Co-founder of API Holdings. He is also the founder and president of Ekagrata. Sheth also founded 91streets before founding PharmEasy. Dharmil is an Electronics Engineer with a Btech degree, after which he obtained an MBA in Marketing from IIM Ghaziabad. Techno Gravity Solutions and MakeMyTrip.com were among the first companies that Dharmil Sheth worked with in Business Development and as a Summer Intern respectively.

    Dr. Dhaval Shah

    Dr. Dhaval Shah has an MBBS from Rajiv Gandhi Government Medical College, after which he pursued an MBA from XLRI Jamshedpur. Shah has been the General Secretary at both of his colleges. He eventually became a Consultant at McKinsey & Company and then founded PharmEasy and API Holdings.

    The team behind PharmEasy has set its sights on becoming India’s best healthcare delivery venture. The focus at the moment is digitization to the maximum possible extent. PharmEasy is a private company that is adding new employees to its task force every other day.

    PharmEasy is undergoing a significant change as three co-founders of the parent organization, API Holdings—Dharmil Sheth, Dhaval Shah, and Hardik Dedhia—step back from active roles in the firm.

    Siddharth Shah, the fourth co-founder, will continue to lead the company.

    As per a company statement on 22 January 2025, the three co-founders will remain part of the group, align their shareholding for the long term, and continue as board members or observers, but they have chosen to step away from daily executive responsibilities.

    PharmEasy – Startup Story

    Dharmil Sheth, the founder of PharmEasy, and his doctor pal, Dr. Dhaval Shah came up with the idea of building an online pharmacy. Both of them agreed on the potential of technology in the healthcare sector and it is this idea that primarily gave rise to PharmEasy in 2014. Presently, the company extends its supplies to nearly 98% of the Indian pin codes.

    The company wanted to achieve the mission of doorstep delivery of everything related to healthcare, which it is always on the verge of achieving. Digitization has become an integral component of India’s healthcare industry. Be it scheduling a doctor’s appointment or delivery of reports and medicines, every step in the industry has been digitized. A major chunk of the credit goes to the e-pharmacies like PharmEasy for this initiative. The “health commerce industry” in India is growing at unprecedented rates courtesy of these e-pharmacies.

    “Take it easy PharmEasy” says the tagline of the company.

    PharmEasy Logo
    PharmEasy Logonet

    PharmEasy – Business Model

    PharmEasy delivers medicines and other medical accessories across Indian towns and cities. It is like Grofers for medicine. The pin codes maintained by PharmEasy are used to identify pharmacies closest to the customers. Customers can either access PharmEasy’s website or use its mobile app to order items. They are entitled to discounts of up to 20% if they order using the mobile app, which further increases brand recognition and adds new customers to PharmEasy.

    PharmEasy is an e-pharmacy, the processes of which are mostly online acting as a 3-way chain between the buyers, suppliers, and the distribution network.

    Buyers – PharmEasy is a ready platform from which buyers can search for their medicines or healthcare accessories and buy them online without any hassles.

    Suppliers – PharmEasy collaborates with a wide range of local suppliers and medical shops, all of which help the company arrange their stocks and keep them live online. Besides, the company also earns revenue from various pharmaceutical companies that want to showcase their products online and on the PharmEasy app as featured brands.

    Distribution channel – PharmEasy operates with a vast distribution spread out all across the nation. This helps the company to deliver its products for a broad range of pin codes all over India.

    Due to various rules and regulations set by the Indian government, the company doesn’t deliver Schedule H drugs.

    Why do people abstain from e-pharmacies? Research has found that most people do this because they aren’t sure where the medicines are coming from. PharmEasy is dispelling this notion for good!

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    PharmEasy – Revenue Model

    PharmEasy primarily earns by displaying the sponsored results of various pharmaceutical entities. These kinds of advertisements are found on the home pages of such organizations. Advertising is a major source of revenue and this e-pharmacy leverages it to the hilt. Besides, with the new-age strategies, you can now advertise your products, services, or business with little or no money and market your brand. Attractive discounts also contribute to PharmEasy’s revenue. Furthermore, PharmEasy earns commission from its customers for the healthcare products and medicines that are sold via the platform. The brand also earns through the delivery charges that get levied on the products.

    PharmEasy – Funding and Investors

    API Holdings, the parent company of PharmEasy, has raised INR 1,804 crore ($216 million) in a funding round led by Ranjan Pai’s Manipal Education and Medical Group (MEMG) along with its existing investors on 29 April 2024. However, this new investment comes with a 90% drop in the company’s valuation from its highest point. The valuation of PharmEasy as of September 2024 is $458 million, slashed 92% from the peak of $5.4 billion.

    PharmEasy has received $1.7 billion in funding to date in over 14 rounds. PharmEasy had last raised a private equity fund from VestinWolf Capital Management after raising a pre-IPO round worth $354 million from a clutch of investors. Market volatility, low investor sentiments, and the funding winter are some of the popular reasons behind PharmEasy looking to raise funds at a lower valuation.

    The primary round saw an infusion of the $354 million funding round was worth $204 million and led by Amansa Capital, Steadview Capital, OrbiMed, Abu Dhabi’s sovereign wealth fund ADQ, and more. In the second round of funding that PharmEasy received, the company mopped up around $150 mn from the partial exits of a bunch of existing angels and other early-stage investors like Fundamentum, Eight Roads Ventures, Bessemer Venture Partners, and others. PharmEasy, which is all set to file its Draft Red Herring Prospectus (DRHP) has also disclosed that over 20 senior employees, five founders, and some of the new investors had picked secondary shares at a valuation of $5.6 billion. The company was valued at $5.4 billion in February 2022. The company is yet to decide on its IPO round and will not be setting its pricing before the nod from SEBI.

    Before this round where the company has further raised $354 million worth of funding in its Pre-IPO round of funding, split into 2 rounds, it raised a whopping $500 million round via its Series F funding round that was led by Arokiaswamy Velumani, valuing the company at $1.8 billion in June 2021.

    Here are all the funding and investor details of PharmEasy to date.

    Date Series Amount Investors
    April 29, 2024 Venture Round $216 million MEMG Family office, Existing Investors
    Nov 7, 2022 Debt Financing – EvolutionX Debt Capital
    November 1, 2021 Private Equity Fund – VestinWolf Capital Management
    Oct 20, 2021 Venture Round – Trifecta Capital Advisors
    October 18, 2021 Pre-IPO Round $354 million Amansa Capital, Fundamentum, Steadview Capital, Abu Dhabi’s sovereign wealth fund ADQ and more
    July 7, 2021 Series F $500 million Arokiaswamy Velumani
    June 17, 2021 Secondary Market $20 million B Capital
    April 7, 2021 Series E $390 million Prosus Ventures, TPG Growth and others
    November 27, 2019 Series D $220 million Temasek Holdings and others
    September 26, 2018 Series C $50 million Eight Roads Ventures India and others
    September 11, 2018 Debt Financing $5.44 million InnoVen Capital and more
    February 28, 2018 Series C $27.23 million Eight Roads Ventures India, F-Prime Capital, and others
    April 25, 2017 Series B $2 Million Bessemer Venture Partners
    March 30, 2017 Series B $16 Million Bessemer Venture Partners

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    PharmEasy – ESOPs

    PharmEasy was reportedly valued at $5.4 billion in February 2022. Due to the exceptional growth that the company had seen, PharmEasy decided to reward the cofounders and employees by creating new employee stock options (ESOPs) for them.

    The healthcare major had passed a special resolution, where it has declared that it would be allotting around 79,987 ESOPs to each of the five co-founders of the firm – Siddharth Shah, Dharmil Sheth, Hardik Dedhia, Karsh Parekh, and Dhaval Shah. The collective worth of all these shares making the Founders’ ESOP pool is estimated to be around INR 236 crores. PharmEasy has also additionally expanded its ESOP pool with INR 356 crore worth of new options for eligible employees. This new ESOP pool has reportedly been expanded with 603,103 equity shares. Moreover, PharmEasy has also amended its existing ESOP Scheme to align it with the SEBI regulations.

    PharmEasy – Acquisitions

    PharmEasy has acquired 3 companies –

    Acquiree Name Date Deal Value
    Aknamed September 14, 2021 $144 million
    Thyrocare Technologies June 26, 2021 $605.70 million
    Medlife May 25, 2021 $250 million

    Aknamed – A healthcare company that strives to streamline the supply chain of the industry in India. PharmEasy has acquired Aknamed on September 14, 2021. PharmEasy acquired the majority stakes of Aknamed for an initial investment of INR 308 crores ($41.90 mn). The company will be acquiring Aknamed completely in a few months in a deal size estimated to be around INR 1000 crores ($136.04 mn).

    Thyrocare Technologies – Thyrocare is a full automatic diagnostic laboratory, which claims to be the first of its kind in India. PharmEasy acquired Thyrocare on June 26, 2021. In a definitive agreement where the company has acquired 66.1% stakes in Thyrocare, the deal size is mentioned at INR 4564 crores ($620 mn).

    Medlife – Medlife is an online medicine supplier from Bangalore, India, which has facilities for home delivery. On September 22, 2020, the Competition Commission of India approved the merger of Medlife (Online Pharmacy) with PharmEasy. It is noted as the First Major Consolidation in this sector after the entry of Amazon and Reliance. According to this deal, PharmEasy’s Parent Entity will acquire 100% equity in Medlife and the promoters of Medlife will get a 19.95% stake in the entity. Though the talks of the acquisition began in August 2020, the CCI approval was received in September 2020, and it is not earlier than May 2021, 8 months after the CCI nod that PharmEasy finally announced the merger with its rival Medlife. From May 25, 2021, Medlife discontinued its operations and fully merged into the PharmEasy platform. The company acquired majority stakes in Medlife valued at $250 million.

    PharmEasy – Challenges Faced

    The company started its journey in the year 2014 and has now become a major player in the online pharmacy segment. However, PharmEasy didn’t witness overnight success. Challenges are inevitable and the mentioned e-pharmacy also had its share of problems. It was difficult for PharmEasy to deliver products without a prescription.

    Knowing the medicines by their names wasn’t enough. A valid prescription was compulsory for supplying the products. Many didn’t want to upload their prescriptions fearing consequences. Furthermore, location tracking back then when the company started, was difficult for PharmEasy’s delivery agents. It is not like that anymore, though.

    The company eventually overcame the challenges thrown at it and has grown tremendously since its inception in 2014.

    PharmEasy Layoffs

    PharmEasy laid off 40 employees, as per the reports on June 16, 2022. The company has laid off around 40 of the employees who were working with its subsidiary Docon Technologies during the week. These employees who were laid off mainly belonged to the sales department and hailed from Mumbai, Delhi, Chandigarh, Jaipur, and more. PharmEasy has offered a two-month salary for the employees as part of the severance package and is reportedly helping the employees too in getting new jobs. It was also announced that Docon Technologies would be rebranded to PharmEasy One and would then be a whole entity and that most of the Docon employees would be shifted to any of the API Holdings’ entities.

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    PharmEasy – Customer Acquisition

    Customer acquisition of a company depends upon trust and faith. It’s a symbiotic relationship between how much the company is giving to its customers and how those users are benefitting in return.

    Acquiring new users has not been problematic for PharmEasy ever since it overcame the initial hiccups and challenges. A solid user-retention rate has proved PharmEasy’s expertise in keeping customers satisfied.

    PharmEasy – Partnerships

    Swiggy

    Swiggy plans to enter the online pharmacy market by delivering medicines in 10 minutes. Partnering with PharmEasy, it will leverage its infrastructure and regulatory framework via Instamart for rapid delivery of prescription and OTC drugs.

    PharmEasy – Competitors

    The company’s top competitors are –

    • Tata 1Mg
    • Ranger Health
    • Medibuddy
    • Myra Medicines
    • Hello Heart
    • BrownPacket and more.

    Besides, there are also other hospitals and chains like Apollo Pharmacy that are trying to boost overall sales via their online platform along with their brick-and-mortar stores. Most of the companies mentioned here are trying to reinforce their online delivery system of medicines. However, most of them are trailing PharmEasy.

    PharmEasy – Growth and Revenue

    PharmEasy Financials

    PharmEasy Financials FY22 FY23 FY24
    Operating Revenue INR 5,729 crore INR 6,644 crore INR 5,664 crore
    Total Expenses INR 8,491 crore INR 8,974 crore INR 7,254.8 crore
    Profit/Loss Loss of INR 2,731.7 crore Loss of INR 5,211.7 crore Loss of INR 2,533.5 crore
    PharmEasy Financials
    PharmEasy Financials

    In 2023, PharmEasy had an operating revenue of INR 6,644 crore, and its total expenses were higher at INR 8,974 crore, leading to a loss of INR 5,211.7 crore. In 2024, their revenue decreased to INR 5,664 crore, and expenses also dropped to INR 7,254.8 crore, resulting in a smaller loss of INR 2,533.5 crore.

    Dhaval Shah and Dharmil Sheth are playing a major role in this growth through excellent leadership and superior decision-making.

    PharmEasy Financials FY22 FY23 FY24
    EBITDA Margin -39.66% -20.38% -9.59%
    Expense/Rupee of ops revenue INR 1.48 INR 1.35 INR 1.28
    ROCE -32.11% -27.12% -15.71%

    India’s IPO market slowed in 2022 after 2021 saw the largest amount of funds raised in at least a decade. API Holdings Ltd., owner of India’s largest online pharmacy PharmEasy, withdrew its preliminary filing for an initial public offering, citing market conditions and strategic considerations. PharmEasy had filed its DRHP with the market regulator SEBI and was planning to raise INR 6,250 crore through a fresh issue of shares on November 10, 2021. The existing investors of the company were not selling any shares in the upcoming IPO, as per the DRHP.

    Furthermore, PharmEasy had announced that it would be looking for a pre-IPO fundraising of up to INR 1,250 crore via private placement after consulting with the BRLMs (Book Running Lead Manager). However, according to the latest news, PharmEasy was looking to slash its IPO valuation considering the volatility of the current market, as of February 19, 2022. PharmEasy currently partners with over 60K brick-and-mortar pharmacies from across the country and has served 20 mn+ patients since it was formed.

    Finally, there is no shortcut to success and PharmEasy is a case in point. From being an unknown candidate in the online pharmacy space to becoming an established brand, Dharmil Sheth-founded PharmEasy has conquered varying obstacles to reach the zenith of success.

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    PharmEasy – Future Plans

    PharmEasy plans to launch an IPO in the future if its performance remains strong. The company is working to reduce its debt before going public. It is waiting for approval from the Competition Commission of India (CCI) to move ahead with its plans.

    FAQs

    Who is PharmEasy owner?

    API Holdings Private Limited is the Parent Organisation of PharmEasy. Dhaval Shah and Dharmil Sheth are the Founders of PharmEasy.

    How much is PharmEasy Revenue and Profit?

    In 2023, PharmEasy had an operating revenue of INR 6,644 crore, and its total expenses were higher at INR 8,974 crore, leading to a loss of INR 5,211.7 crore. In 2024, their revenue decreased to INR 5,664 crore, and expenses also dropped to INR 7,254.8 crore, resulting in a smaller loss of INR 2,533.5 crore.

    How PharmEasy work?

    Customers can upload a prescription on PharmEasy, which is then sent to a drugstore in your vicinity. The package is then delivered to their doorsteps within the stipulated time.

    How much is PharmEasy net worth?

    API Holdings, the parent company of PharmEasy, had its valuation reduced to $458 million in September 2024.

    Is the Pharmeasy office in Bangalore its headquarters?

    No, the Pharmeasy headquarters is in Mumbai, Maharashtra but it has its office in Bangalore.

    How much funding have Pharmeasy funding rounds earned for the company?

    The Pharmeasy funding rounds have helped the company raise a whopping $1.7 bn, as of November 2024.

    What are PharmEasy acquisitions?

    Aknamed, Thyrocare, and Medlife are the 3 major PharmEasy acquisitions.