Paytm Mall, Namaste Credit raise funding, Ola acquires Ridlr, Amazon launches Amazon Business

Paytm Mall, the ecommerce arm of Paytm, has received capital infusion commitment of around Rs 2,900 crore ($450 million) from Japan’s SoftBank Group and existing investor Alibaba Group Holding Ltd, documents filed with Registrar of Companies (RoC) revealed. The investment commitment comes at a time when Walmart is reportedly in talks to buy a significant equity in competitor Flipkart. Paytm Mall claims a GMV (gross merchandise value) run rate of $3 billion and is targeting a $10-billion run rate by March 2019.

Ola has acquired Mumbai-based Ridlr, an end-to-end ticketing and commuting app for public transport. Post the acquisition, the Ridlr app will be integrated into Ola's existing app. Ridlr’s team of 64 will join and integrate with Ola's team and Founder Brijraj Vaghani will continue to lead its operations within Ola. The idea of the acquisition is to combine Ridlr’s innovation in public transport with Ola’s mobility products. Ridlr currently has operations in Mumbai and Delhi, and has already tied up with Delhi Metro, Mumbai Metro and Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport, and has pilots in several other cities.

In less than a year since the launch of the Tier II-Tier III initiative, Startup India Yatra has now entered the fourth state to search for entrepreneurial talent and help develop its startup ecosystem. Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat flagged off the yatra, a 27-day tour of the State aimed at promoting entrepreneurship across the region from the capital city Dehradun on Monday. At the launch, Rawat also unveiled Startup Policy 2018 and asked officials to prepare an action plan.

Amazon is doing in India what Alibaba did in China 20 years ago – creating an online marketplace for exporters in the country to trade with the world. Named Amazon Business, this B2B selling platform is an extension of the Amazon Global Selling Programme. This programme is already present in the US, UK, Germany, Japan, and recently, France. Now Indian exporters/ B2B sellers can register on any of these Amazon marketplaces individually and export to these five countries.

Microsoft has enabled digital payments services on its work management application, Microsoft Kaizala by integrating services with YES Bank and MobiKwik, leveraging these organisations’ mobile payment infrastructure. Partnering on both the wallet and UPI, Microsoft Kaizala will have the option to make peer-to-peer payments in one-to-one and group chat conversations via the MobiKwik wallet or via YES Bank's state-of-the-art Unified Payment Interface integration.

Bengaluru-headquartered MoveInSync Technology Solutions, an office commute automation platform, raised $8 million Series-B funding led by Nexus Venture Partners with participation from existing investors Inventus Capital Partners, Saama Capital and Qualcomm Ventures. The company will use the funding to further develop the end-to-end transport offerings, accelerate customer acquisition and launch international markets.

Mumbai-based Fitternity has closed a funding round worth $2 million from its existing investors like Exfinity Venture Partners and Saha Fund, along with marquee angel investors like Arihant Patni (of Patni Family Office), Anjali Bansal (ex-TPG Partner), Akshay Chudasma (MD - Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas), Satish Khanna (ex-Group President Lupin) and the Taparia family office. On Fitternity, users can book real-time sessions seamlessly across the 'Fitternity assured' network of over 4,000 service providers.

Online lending marketplace for small-and-medium enterprises Namaste Credit has raised $3.8 million Series A funding led by Nexus Venture Partners. Founded in 2014 by Lucas Bianchi, Gaurav Anand and Krishnan Parameswaran, Namaste Credit plans to increase its channel partner programme across India, and also grow the number its technology licensing partnerships with different leading lenders across the globe.

Pune-based Sminq comprehends the trends followed by a doctor at a clinic, and the platform’s algorithms predict timing to the next appointment with the aim of removing queues, and reduce the waiting time for doctors’ appointments. In 2015, Shachin Bharadwaj, Santhosh Nagarajan and Sheldon D’Souza founded Sminq, a real-time update platform. Without having to be physically present to hold one’s spot, it allows users the ease to check status of their service before making their plans.

Bodhi AI is using Artificial Intelligence software to make learning more personalised for students. It prepares questions and give them to coaching institutes along with the platform. Students also create an account, and take tests. The software generates the score online and after three to four tests, the software begins to understand the learning pattern of each student and predicts future performance. It also recommends areas of improvement and course material to improve performance.

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