The Latest from Manish Singh
Neobank Fi finalizing funding at $700 million valuation
Indian neobank Fi is in advanced stages of talks to raise about $100 million at a $700 million valuation, according to three sources familiar with the matter. Alpha Wave Global, formerly known as Falc
Swiggy backs bike taxi platform Rapido in $180 million funding
Swiggy has led a $180 million financing round into bike taxi startup Rapido as the Indian food delivery giant looks to broaden its fleet network across the country, the two firms said on Friday. Rapid
Tata to open up super app Neu to outside brands
Tata Group plans to expand the family of services it offers on its recently launched Tata Neu super app to include services from outside the Indian conglomerate group, the company’s top executiv
WhatsApp permitted to extend payments service to 100 million users in India
The National Payments Corporation of India, the payments body that oversees the widely popular UPI instrument, has given approval to WhatsApp to extend its payments service to 100 million users in the
India’s Meesho likely to postpone new funding amid market uncertainty
Meesho has let go over 150 employees and is looking to eliminate at least as many more positions as the Indian social commerce attempts to streamline its operations following an ongoing struggle to pu
In major reversal, Elon Musk is not joining Twitter’s board
Elon Musk, the world’s wealthiest man and the largest shareholder of Twitter, will no longer be joining the social media firm’s board, CEO Parag Agrawal said late Sunday, in a surprising r
Coinbase suspends buy orders in India days after launch
Crypto giant Coinbase has suspended support for UPI payments instrument on its app in India, making its eponymous exchange nonfunctional again for any purchase orders less than four days after launchi
Indian payments body refuses to acknowledge Coinbase’s India launch
The National Payments Corporation of India, the governing body that oversees UPI in the country, said in a statement that it is not aware of any cryptocurrency exchange using UPI payments instrument,
Indian giant Tata takes on Amazon and Ambani’s Jio with super app Tata Neu
The Indian conglomerate Tata Group, a $103 billion company whose business spans multiple industries from salt and software to telecom and steel, is ready to embrace consumer technology. The 154-year-o
Coinbase debuts crypto trading in India
Coinbase is adding support for the popular UPI payment instrument in India, making its eponymous cryptocurrency exchange functional in the world’s second-largest internet market for the first ti
Twitter rival in India Koo will let users self-verify
Indian social media app Koo introduced a voluntary self-verification service to its users on Wednesday in an unusual step that it believes will bring credibility and trust on its platform. The Bengalu
Dailyhunt and Josh apps parent firm raises $805 million at $5 billion valuation
At a time when a number of startups are finding it difficult to raise capital, VerSe Innovation, the parent firm of news aggregator app Dailyhunt and short video app Josh, said on Wednesday it has rai
India blocks 22 YouTube channels over national security concerns
India has banned 22 YouTube “news” channels for spreading disinformation on subjects concerning the national security and public order. The banned YouTube channels had amassed a combined t
At long last, web3 makes a push to fight Google Maps
Over a decade ago, a group of employees at Yahoo were struggling to compete with Google Maps as the younger firm aggressively outspent its rivals and scaled its offering with a grand vision and unmatc
India orders antitrust investigation into Zomato and Swiggy conduct
The Indian antitrust watchdog ordered a wide-ranging investigation into the conduct of food delivery firms Zomato and Swiggy on Monday over whether they are operating as “neutral” followin
Crypto giant FTX in talks to invest in Indian gaming startup MPL
India’s Mobile Premier League, or MPL, is in talks to raise capital from a number of investors including the crypto exchange FTX as the mobile gaming startup prepares to make a web3 push, three sour
Indian giant Tata Group to debut super app on April 7
Indian conglomerate Tata Group plans to debut its long-anticipated “super app,” called TataNeu, to the public on April 7, the company has disclosed on its app and Play Store page. Years in
People are sending 7 billion voice messages on WhatsApp every day
Like most smartphone users in India, I use WhatsApp a lot. But I have never sent anyone a voice message — ever. Turns out, others do. WhatsApp said on Wednesday that users on its gigantic messag
India’s Games24x7 valued at $2.5 billion in new funding
Games24x7, a Mumbai-headquartered startup that owns and operates multiple mobile games, has raised $75 million in a new financing round, it said on Wednesday. The new round — a name for which wa
India’s Slice gears up to take on PhonePe and Google Pay with UPI support
A new player is preparing to enter India’s crowded and yet duopoly-sided UPI payments market. Bengaluru-headquartered Slice, which became a unicorn late last year, plans to introduce UPI payments fo