Zomato deliveries on bicycles; Google rolls out Chrome 72

Tuesday February 12, 2019 , 3 min Read

After drones, Zomato is making a shift to bicycles. The foodtech unicorn announced it has introduced electric and mechanical bicycles as part of its last mile delivery fleet. With this, the company will be aiming to change 40 percent of its fleet to e-cycles over the next two years. Zomato has even partnered up with Zoomcar's PEDL, Mobycy, Yulu, TNT and e-HIRAN to provide with the needed fleet of e-cycles for its delivery executives.

Sahabhag: Connecting rural artisans with urban buyers

The Government of Maharashtra has undertaken the Sahabhag initiative to create a marketplace for rural craftsmen and entrepreneurs at Mumbai’s largest street festivals, The Kala Ghoda Arts Festival (KGAF). The underlying idea is to connect rural artisans with urban buyers. Keeping this in mind, the initiative is aimed at mobilising the State’s youth, mapping urban demand with rural supply, and providing a “forward market linkage” to thousands of skilled kalakaars (artisans) from the State’s 36 districts.

Google rolls out Chrome 72 with bug fixes, security updates

If you haven’t updated your web browser, you should do it right away as Google is rolling out newer and improved features with its latest Chrome 72. The updates include bug fixes, new settings menu, Web Authentication API improvements, and a host of security improvements as well. The best part is that the Chrome 72 features will be applicable to a wide range of operating systems including Android, Chrome OS, Linux, macOS, and Windows. Be patient, however, as systems will be receiving updates over the next several days.

How telco partnerships spurred the growth of Netflix, Amazon Prime, others

In terms of broadcast content, while the core game remains the same - because distribution continues to be critical for all content creators - the players have changed. The action has now shifted to video-streaming platforms such as Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Hotstar, and others. With OTT services going mainstream (around 2018), however, it’s fair to say that much of the growth witnessed by these platforms was due to content distribution tie-ups between them telecom operators and device manufacturers.

OpenApp raises $1.3 M in pre-Series A funding

Bengaluru-based smart lock maker Open Appliances has raised pre-Series A funding of $1.3 million in a round led by Unicorn India Ventures and venture capital company KARSEMVEN. Existing investors Axilor Capital and Zoho Co-founder Kumar Vembu also participated in the round. With this fresh fundraise, OpenApp intends to expand in Asia and Africa and launch two new smart devices by the end of 2019.

Officepulse secures $500K from Z Nation Lab

Officepulse, an e-procurement solution for businesses, secured $500,000 in equity and venture debt funding from a list of strategic investors in India and the US. Among the investors who participated in the round are Ashish Jain, Founder and CEO of Maxton Global; Pawan Poddar, Ex-Director from a consulting firm, along with other HNIs from India and the US, and Z Nation Lab.