india

India’s Oyo, once valued at $10B, finalizes new funding at $2.5B valuation

Startups /

Oyo, the Indian budget-hotel chain startup, is finalizing a fresh fundraise of about $100 million to $125 million that slashes its valuation to $2.5 billion, two people familiar with the matter told TechCrunch.  That’s a steep decline in the Gurgaon-headquartered startup’s value, which was worth $10 billion in 2019. The startup, struggling to raise from […]

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Google’s updated AI-powered NotebookLM expands to India, UK and over 200 other countries

AI /

Google on Thursday said it is rolling out NotebookLM, its AI-powered note-taking assistant, to over 200 new countries, nearly six months after opening its access in the U.S. The platform, powered by Google’s multimodal LLM Gemini 1.5 Pro, has also been upgraded with new features and languages to help more people use AI to generate

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Narendra Modi-led NDA’s election win signals policy continuity in India – but also spending cuts

Government & Policy /

The BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) has emerged victorious in India’s 2024 general election, but with a smaller majority compared to 2019. According to post-election analysis by Goldman Sachs, UBS, Bernstein and Citi, this slimmer mandate may push the government – known for transforming India into a global manufacturing powerhouse and making investments in sectors

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Stripe curbs its India ambitions over regulatory situation

Fintech /

Stripe, the world’s most valuable fintech startup, said on Friday that it will temporarily move to an invite-only model for new account sign-ups in India, calling the move “a tough decision” as it navigates the country’s evolving regulatory landscape. In a statement posted on its website, Stripe said businesses in India will no longer be

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Avendus, India’s top venture advisor, confirms it’s looking to raise a $350 million fund

Venture /

Avendus, the top investment bank for venture deals in India, confirmed on Wednesday it is looking to raise up to $350 million for its new private equity fund.  The new fund, called Future Leaders Fund III, will enable the Mumbai-headquartered firm to write larger checks and maintain a meaningful position in the startups it backs,

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MARS doubles down on India’s Infra.Market with new $50M investment

Fundraising /

Infra.Market, an Indian startup that helps construction and real estate firms procure materials, has raised $50 million from MARS Unicorn Fund as it looks to expand operations overseas, the companies told TechCrunch on Tuesday.  MARS Unicorn Fund, a joint venture between AI-driven fund Liquidity Group and Japanese bank MUFG, is an existing backer of the

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Adani looks to battle Reliance, Walmart in India’s e-commerce, payments race, report says

Commerce /

India’s energy and infrastructure giant Adani Group is plotting a move into digital payments and e-commerce, according to a Financial Times report, as the conglomerate seeks to diversify its portfolio and compete with Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance, Amazon, and Walmart’s Flipkart and PhonePe. Adani is considering applying for a license to operate on India’s Unified Payments

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Indian EV startup Zypp Electric secures ENEOS backing to fund expansion to Southeast Asia

Transportation /

Indian startup Zypp Electric plans to use fresh investment from Japanese oil and energy conglomerate ENEOS to take its EV rental service into Southeast Asia early next year, TechCrunch has exclusively learned. The company aims to be in 15 markets over the next two years. Of those 15 markets, Zypp Electric plans to launch its

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India’s BluSmart is testing its ride-hailing service in Dubai

Apps /

Indian ride-hailing startup BluSmart has started operating in Dubai, TechCrunch has exclusively learned and confirmed with its executive. The move to Dubai, which has been rumored for months, could help counter the likes of Careem, Uber and Hala in the United Arab Emirates’ most populous city. The Gurugram-based startup quietly enabled the new Dubai service

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