Manish Singh
TechCrunch
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Recent articles by Manish:
Facebook-backed Unacademy acquires PrepLadder for $50 million –
Indian online learning platform Unacademy said on Tuesday it has acquired Chandigarh-based startup PrepLadder for $50 million as the Facebook-backed edtech giant scouts for deals to expand its presence in the country. PrepLadder, which employs about 150 people, offers courses aimed at medical students. The two-year-old startup, which never raised any capital from external investors, has […] → Read More
Sequoia announces $1.35 billion venture and growth funds for India and Southeast Asia –
Sequoia Capital India on Monday announced it has secured $1.35 billion from LPs for two new funds as the storied venture firm looks to ramp up its investments in the world’s second-largest internet market and Southeast Asia. The two new funds — a $525 million venture fund and a $825 million growth fund — will help […] → Read More
Paytm, Vijay Shekhar Sharma to acquire Raheja QBE for $76M –
Paytm, India’s most valuable startup, and its co-founder and chief executive, Vijay Shekhar Sharma, announced on Monday they have reached an agreement to acquire general insurer Raheja QBE for a sum of $76 million as the financial services startup looks to tap the nation’s booming insurance market. Sharma is acquiring Raheja QBE through QorQl Pvt. Ltd, […] → Read More
Facebook makes education push in India –
Facebook, which reaches more users than any other international firm in India, has identified a new area of opportunity to further spread its tentacles in the world’s second largest internet market. On Sunday, the social juggernaut announced it had partnered with the Central Board of Secondary Education, a government body that oversees education in private […] → Read More
Intel to invest $253.5 million in India’s Reliance Jio Platforms –
Intel said on Friday it will invest $253.5 million in Jio Platforms, joining a roster of high-profile investors including Facebook and Silver Lake that have backed India’s top telecom operator at the height of a global pandemic. The chipmaker’s investment arm said it is acquiring a 0.39% stake in Jio Platforms, giving the Indian firm […] → Read More
India’s richest man takes on Zoom –
India’s Reliance Jio Platforms, which recently concluded a $15.2 billion fundraise run, is ready to enter a new business: Video conferencing. On Thursday evening, the firm — backed by Mukesh Ambani, India’s richest man — formally launched JioMeet, its video-conference service. Like Zoom and Google Meet, JioMeet offers unlimited number of free calls in high […] → Read More
Zetwerk, an Indian B2B marketplace for manufacturing items, raises $21 million –
Zetwerk, an Indian business-to-business marketplace for manufacturing items, has raised $21 million in a new financing round as it looks to scale its operations in the nation and help local businesses find customers overseas. San Francisco-based investment firm Greenoaks led the two-year-old Indian startup’s Series C financing round. Existing investors Accel, Kae Capital, Lightspeed and […] → Read More
Apple and Google block dozens of Chinese apps in India –
Two days after India blocked 59 apps developed by Chinese firms, Google and Apple have started to comply with New Delhi’s order and are preventing users in the world’s second largest internet market from accessing those apps. UC Browser, Shareit, and Club Factory and other apps that India has blocked are no longer listed on […] → Read More
Facebook is shutting down Lasso, its TikTok clone –
Facebook is no longer betting on Lasso, an app it launched a year and a half ago, to take on TikTok . The social juggernaut’s TikTok clone is shutting down on July 10, Facebook said. Launched in late 2018, Lasso was seen as Facebook’s answer to TikTok that’s gained ground with young users, both in China […] → Read More
Spotify expands Premium Duo subscription tier aimed at couples to U.S., India, dozens of other markets –
Spotify today announced it is expanding Premium Duo, a feature that allows two people who live at the same place — say couples or flatmates — to share one subscription plan while maintaining their own individual accounts, to dozens of new markets. Premium Duo is a remarkable concept from Spotify, which it first began testing […] → Read More
TikTok goes down in India, its biggest overseas market –
A growing number of internet service providers in India have started to block their subscribers from accessing TikTok a day after New Delhi banned the popular short-video app and 58 other services in the world’s second largest internet market over security and privacy concerns. Many users on Airtel, Vodafone and other service providers reported Tuesday […] → Read More
Facebook launches Avatars, its Bitmoji competitor, in India –
Facebook Avatars, which lets users customize a virtual lookalike of themselves for use as stickers in chat and comments, is now available in India, the social juggernaut’s biggest market by users account. The American firm said Tuesday it had launched Avatars to India as more social interaction moves online amid a nationwide lockdown in the […] → Read More
Indian ride-hailing giant Ola adds tipping option to its app globally –
You can now tip your Ola driver. The Indian ride-hailing giant said on Tuesday that it has rolled out this feature to its users in India, Australia, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom — all the nations where it currently operates. Ola said riders in each market will see a range of denominations they can […] → Read More
India bans TikTok, dozens of other Chinese apps –
The Indian government on Monday evening said it was banning 59 apps developed by Chinese firms over concerns that these apps were “engaged in activities which is prejudicial to sovereignty and integrity of India, defence of India, and security of state and public order” in what is the latest standoff between the two most populated […] → Read More
Amazon eliminates single-use plastic in packaging in India –
Amazon said on Monday it has eliminated all single-use plastic in its packaging across its fulfillment centers in India, delivering on a pledge it made last year to achieve this goal by June. The American e-commerce group said it had replaced packaging materials such as bubble wraps with paper cushions and was also using “100% […] → Read More
Chinese online learning app Zuoyebang raises $750M –
Zuoyebang, a Beijing-headquartered startup that runs an online learning app, said on Monday it has raised $750 million in a new financing round as investors demonstrate their continued trust in — and focus on — Asia’s booming edtech market. U.S. investment firm Tiger Global and Hong Kong-based private equity firm FountainVest Partners led the six-year-old […] → Read More
Indian startups diversify their businesses to offset COVID-19 induced losses –
E-commerce giant Flipkart is planning to launch a hyperlocal service that would enable customers to buy items from local stores and have those delivered to them in an hour and a half or less. Yatra, an online travel and hotel ticketing service, is exploring a new business line altogether: Supplying office accessories. Flipkart and Yatra […] → Read More
Indian edtech giant Byju’s in talks to acquire Doubtnut for more than $125M –
Byju’s is in advanced stages of talks to acquire Doubtnut, a two-year-old education learning app, as the Indian edtech giant looks to expand its reach in smaller cities and towns in the world’s second largest internet market. Three sources familiar with the matter told TechCrunch that the acquisition offer from nine-year-old Byju’s values the younger […] → Read More
Amazon launches ‘Smart Stores’ in India to win mom and pop –
For Amazon, it’s never too late to try something in India. The e-commerce giant is exploring ways to further spread its tentacles in the largely offline, technology-free neighborhood stores in the world’s second most populous nation. The American firm’s latest attempt is called “Smart Stores.” For this program, Amazon is providing physical stores with software […] → Read More
Mary Meeker’s Bond backs Indian online learning startup Byju’s –
Indian online learning startup Byju’s has added one more high-profile name to the list of its backers: Bond. In a statement on Friday, Bangalore-based Byju’s said it had raised an undisclosed amount from the VC fund co-founded by Mary Meeker. The one-year-old firm’s new check valued the Indian startup at $10.5 billion, according to a […] → Read More