Microsoft has invested $5 million in Indian budget hotel chain Oyo, according to a regulatory filing this week. The investment confirms a TechCrunch scoop from last month. The new investment values Oyo at $9.6 billion, only slightly below the $10 billion implied valuation from the Indian startup’s previous financing round in 2019. The startup, which […]
Indian fintech CRED launches peer-to-peer lending feature Mint
India’s CRED, which rewards users for paying their credit-card bills on time, is broadening its offerings to help its 7.5 million members gain more from the service. The Bangalore-based startup said on Thursday that CRED users can now lend to one another at an interest rate of up to 9% annually. Kunal Shah, founder and […]
Amazon rolls out India’s first celebrity voice on Alexa with Amitabh Bachchan
Amazon has rolled out India’s first celebrity voice feature on Alexa with the nation’s biggest movie star Amitabh Bachchan as the company makes a push to lure more users in the world’s second-most populated nation. The company, which rolled out the voice of Samuel Jackson on Alexa in the U.S. in 2019, said users in […]
API platform Postman valued at $5.6 billion in $225 million fundraise
San Francisco-based Postman, which operates a collaborative platform for developers to help them build, design, test and iterate their APIs, said on Wednesday it has raised $225 million in a new financing round that values it at $5.6 billion, up from $2 billion a year ago. The startup’s new financing round — a Series D […]
Amazon backs Indian wealth management service Smallcase in $40 million funding
Amazon has entered the financial services and insurance markets of India in recent years. Now it is paving the way to foray into the wealth management category. The American e-commerce giant has backed Bangalore-based startup Smallcase in a $40 million Series C financing round. The round was led by Faering Capital and Premji Invest as […]
Pakistan’s Airlift raises $85 million for its quick commerce startup, eyes international expansion
A one-year-old startup that is attempting to build the railroads for e-commerce in Pakistan has just secured a mega round of funding in a major boost to the South Asia nation’s nascent startup ecosystem. Airlift operates a quick commerce service in eight cities including Lahore, Karachi, and Islamabad in Pakistan. Users can order groceries, fresh […]
Indian bike taxi service Rapido raises $52 million
Rapido, a bike taxi aggregator in India, said on Monday it has raised $52 million in a new financing round as the six-year-old startup looks to find space in a category dominated by Ola and Uber in the South Asian market. The six-year-old startup’s new funding — Series C — was financed by Shell Ventures, […]
Twitter locks account of India’s largest opposition party
Twitter has locked the account of Indian National Congress, the South Asian nation’s largest opposition party, for violating its rules. The Indian National Congress wrote about the Twitter episode on Facebook Thursday. “When our leaders were put in jails, we were not scared then why would we be afraid of closing our Twitter accounts now. […]
India’s Eruditus valued at $3.2 billion in $650 million fundraise
Mumbai-based Eruditus, which works with top universities globally to offer more than 100 executive-level courses to students in over 80 nations, said on Thursday it has raised $650 million in a new financing round led by Accel and SoftBank Vision Fund 2. The new financing round — which includes both primary and secondary transactions — […]
India’s VerSe Innovation raises over $450 million to expand Dailyhunt and Josh apps globally
VerSe Innovation, the parent firm of popular news aggregator Dailyhunt and short video app Josh, said on Thursday it has raised over $450 million in a new financing round, just five months after securing $200 million, as the Indian startup looks to expand its offerings to international markets. Siguler Guff, Baillie Gifford, affiliates of Carlyle […]