An in-depth study of Indian startup and VC ecosystem; Ratan Tata backs Ola Electric

Tuesday May 07, 2019 , 3 min Read

In 2013, the co-founders of Zoomcar David Back and Greg Moran moved from California to Bengaluru for one thing only - opportunity - a word David uses liberally to describe India. And boy, was he right! David believes the country is full of challenges, each being an opportunity - sometimes a “large-scale” one.

The entrepreneur makes a case for India based on his first-hand experience - from the time he was a foreign entrepreneur when the startup ecosystem was in its infancy to now. YourStory Research, the research arm of YourStory Media, in association with the IVCA unveils an insider’s view of the Indian startup and VC ecosystem through the eyes of David Nathaniel Back, co-founder of Zoomcar.

Download the report 'The case for Indian venture capital'.

In the race for retail dominance, India’s kirana stores still hold sway

India's kirana stores, or local mom-and-pop shops, continue to dominate the country's grocery retail market, with 90 percent share even as large global and domestic retail players fight each other for a growing share of the Indian consumer’s spending budget. And Reliance Retail, one of India’s largest retailers, wants in.

Ratan Tata invests in Ola Electric's Series A round

Ratan Tata, Chairman Emeritus of Tata Sons, has invested in Ola Electric, Ola's new entity, on a personal capacity. This funding is part of Ola Electric's Series A funding. It had raised Rs 400 crore funding led by Ola's early investors Matrix Partners and Tiger Global. It is currently running pilots involving charging solutions, battery swapping stations, and deploying vehicles.

BookMyShow enters Dubai through a strategic deal

India's leading entertainment ticketing platform BookMyShow announced a five-year strategic partnership with Coca-Cola Arena, Dubai's largest indoor, multipurpose arena, in a first-of-its-kind global arena partnership for the company. This is an indication of its ambitions for the Middle East market. The partnership kicks off with popular Irish pop vocal band Westlife’s ‘Twenty Tour’ concert on August 29.

Paytm's Gamepind claims to have more than 30M users

The company also formally announced the launch of ‘Gamepind Fantasy Sports’ for cricket lovers and card game enthusiasts, saying that the gaming platform currently sees close to 70 million game plays in a month. Additionally, 95 percent of its user base accesses the platform on mobile, and over 30 percent of users on the platform are female.