Financial details of the deal were not disclosed but a source in the company said the transaction was valued at close to $300 million.
The company did not disclose its new holding pattern.
'If you allow Walmart to operate in India, our manufacturing will finish completely.' 'What will happen to Narendra D Modi's dream then? There will be no Make in India.'
Leading up to Valentine's Day on February 14, quick-commerce platforms like Blinkit and Swiggy Instamart have witnessed a phenomenal uptick in the sales of products related to the occasion, such as roses and chocolates. Meanwhile, e-commerce giants like Amazon and Flipkart have gone live with their respective Valentine's Day sale events, offering generous discounts on products. Sales of chocolates and roses on Zomato-owned Blinkit shattered previous records at the beginning of this year's Valentine's Day week, on February 7, which is celebrated as Rose Day.
Having 50 stores in India, it plans to double the number.
After all, talk of Amazon buying into Flipkart has been doing the rounds for long, although the two Bansals have denied it many times before.
Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal's recent comments on large e-commerce players have reignited the debate about their impact on smaller offline retailers. On Wednesday, Goyal said that the rapid growth of e-commerce in India is a "cause for concern" and is diminishing the market share of small, mom-and-pop stores by offering high-margin products such as consumer electronics and apparel at discounted rates.
Shopclues, the latest unicorn, was at the bottom of the sector loss pie.
Both Indian firms have been in talks with investors for nearly a year to raise fresh funds of as much as $ 1 billion, but with little success so far.
Amazon, however, claimed that it is just a service provider and doesn't own goods at any point of sale due to which it is not liable to pay this tax.
The filing of Swiggy's DRHP has led to direct comparisons with Zomato, which is a direct competitor in food delivery and the fast-growing quick-commerce segment where Blinkit (owned by Zomato) faces off against Instamart (and Zepto). In Q-commerce, Flipkart, Amazon, Reliance and Big Basket are all entering the space. All of them have deep pockets, hence competitive intensity will rise going forward.
The company has often come under scrutiny for being dismissive about 'profitability' and unmindful of the high cost of running an inventory-led business, aided by deep discounts and free shipping.
American chip behemoth Nvidia Corp and India's retail-to-refining giant Reliance Industries on Thursday unveiled their goal to build a formidable AI computing infrastructure in the country. Highlighting the tie-up, Jensen Huang, founder and CEO of Nvidia, made a broader appeal: India should focus on "manufacturing" AI, rather than racing to build semiconductor fabs. As part of this collaboration, Nvidia will reportedly supply its Blackwell AI processors to power Reliance's one-gigawatt data center in Jamnagar, Gujarat.
Airtel starts 4G trial in Mumbai; partners Flipkart, Samsung.
Five founders of e-commerce start-ups, four of them Bansals, say they had alternative ambitions chalked out.
India's internet economy is estimated to reach $1 trillion by 2030, primarily due to e-commerce, which is expected to be worth $325 billion and rank third globally, according to industry experts. Last year marked a crucial turning point for India's e-commerce sector, with notable changes in consumer trends, technology, and regulations. InGovern Research Services, a leading corporate governance advisory firm, hosted a virtual roundtable to deliberate on the notable developments in India's e-commerce sector in 2023, with a particular focus on the essential role of customer trust in fueling its ongoing expansion.
Recently, ex-Google executive Punit Soni joined FLipkart.
Having marked a 20-year milestone in India, global tech giant Google is upbeat about its next innings here with Artificial Intelligence (AI) playing a big role in it, India MD Roma Datta Chobey said on Thursday, adding that the company is aligning its vision and strategy fully to the country's growth and ambitions. In an interview to PTI, Chobey said Google believes that AI should be regulated but in a way that strikes a fine balance between user benefit -- which is "still at a nascent stage" -- and at the same time, fosters innovation.
Tech titan Google on Wednesday launched the Google Wallet app for Android users in India, allowing them to securely store essentials like boarding passes, loyalty cards, event tickets, and public transport passes. The digital wallet, which becomes operational in India from Wednesday, comes as a complementary service to existing payment app Google Pay, a top official said.
Did top Indian business groups miss the e-commerce opportunity by focusing on replicating the Walmart model instead of following the Amazon model of online shopping?
Bansals of e-commerce company Flipkart and Aditya Ghosh of low-cost carrier Indigo have made into Fortune's young achievers list for their initiatives in creating job opportunities.
'India has a lot of potential, not just in commercial aspects, but also in hiring of people and sourcing of products.'
Quick commerce major Zepto has raised $340 million in a follow-on financing round at a valuation of $5 billion as it gears up for an initial public offering (IPO). This is Zepto's third big-ticket fundraise within a year. With this, the company has raised more than $1 billion in 12 months.
Flipkart, founded by two former Amazon executives, Binny Bansal and Sachin Bansal, has been a talking point vis-a-vis Amazon's strategy in India.
Several firms are stepping up to help their workforce cope with soaring temperatures
After electronics and fashion, the next retail segment is food business.
After making the model work in metro cities, players in the quick commerce sector are rapidly expanding their footprint into smaller tier 2 cities and markets beyond that ahead of the festival season.
Don't hit the buy button as soon as you hear of the next BIG online sale this Diwali. Here are some very important lessons -- in the light of how some online shoppers felt cheated after Flipkart's 'Billion Day Sale' -- that could save you time, money and peace of mind, says Rajiv Raj!
Flipkart may walk away from ongoing discussions with telecom service provider Airtel for their platform 'Airtel Zero'.
The e-commerce story in India has begun to look up.
Flipkart co-founder Sachin Bansal on Friday took pot shots at Snapdeal saying India should not be blamed for the latter's failure to hire "great engineers".
They have struck gold by partnering online retailers.
Tencent reinforces India's consumer internet story. Ranju Sarkar reports.
Snapdeal and Flipkart to battle it out over Express Delivery
Kunal Shah has funded over 266 startups including Razorpay, Snapdeal, Zetwork, BlueSmart, Unacademy, Bliss Club, and Spinny, amongst others.
How much do you know Russian billionaire Yuri Milner, who has invested $ 100 million in a project to find extra-terrestrial life?
Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Wednesday questioned Amazon's announcement of $1 billion investment in India, saying the US retailer was not doing any great service to the Indian economy but filling up for the losses it had suffered in the country. He said that their huge losses in India "smells of predatory pricing", which is not good for the country as it impacts crores of small retailers.
Finally, some good news for the Indian startup ecosystem. After four consecutive half-year periods of declining funding since 2022, the first half (H1) of 2024 has shown an upward trend compared to the second half (H2) of 2023. According to the India Tech Semi-Annual Funding Report H1 2024 by Tracxn, Indian technology (tech) startups raised $4.1 billion in H1 2024, marking a 4 per cent increase from $3.96 billion in H2 2023.
After another profitable quarter, Anil Chanana, chief financial officer, HCL Technologies, tells Karan Choudhury that customer confidence is at an all-time high.
Government's decision comes in the backdrop of several complaints being flagged by domestic traders on heavy discounts being given by e-commerce players to consumers.
