Hello,
Meesho is finally profitable.
The SoftBank-backed value commerce company attained profitability for the first time in July at a consolidated level, riding on the back of growing order volumes and monetisation rate.
In a statement, Meesho said it was profitable across all divisions and categories at a profit-after-tax (PAT) level, without disclosing specific numbers, stating that revenue grew by 54% over the last 12 months. While it is yet to file its earnings for FY23, the startup had reported losses to the tune of Rs 3,247 crore for FY 2022.
Elsewhere, Vijay Shekhar Sharma is now the largest shareholder of One97 Communications, which operates fintech company Paytm. Sharma has entered into an agreement with Ant Group’s Antfin (Netherlands) Holdings to purchase a stake of 10.3% in Paytm, taking his total ownership to 19.42% while Antfin’s ownership post-transaction stands at 13.5%.
In other news, PB Fintech’s losses have sharply narrowed by 94% for the Apr-Jun quarter at Rs 12 crore, compared with a loss of Rs 204 in the same period last year. However, this is 33% higher than the losses PaizaBazaar’s parent company reported in the previous quarter (Jan-Mar 2023).
Lastly, at YourStory, we are continuously striving for improvement and would love to hear your feedback. It’d be great if you could take out a few minutes to share your thoughts by filling out this form.
In today’s newsletter, we will talk about
- Fame II delisting erodes EV makers’ biz
- Bhavish Aggarwal: India’s digital industrialist
- Indian SaaS companies on growth track
Here’s your trivia for today: On August 9, 1991, two astronauts aboard the Space Shuttle Atlantis sent the first e-mail from space. Which computer did they use?
Electric vehicle
FAME II delisting erodes EV makers’ biz
Months after the drastic decline in sales of electric two-wheelers (E2Ws) cast a pall over their once-bustling factories, the manufacturing units of Hero Electric and Benling India are seeing some activity again.
The precipitous decline in sales has been a direct result of the Ministry of Heavy Industries’ (MHI) September 2022 directive that barred seven electric two-wheeler makers, including Hero Electric, Benling India, and Okinawa from applying for subsidies under the FAME II programme, effectively making their vehicles costlier than their competitors.
Key takeaways:
- Hero Electric’s financial loss has surpassed Rs 2,000 crore since it was delisted from the National Automotive Board portal, even though its newer models are fully compliant with the FAME II localisation guidelines.
- Once a trailblazer in India’s electric two-wheeler sector and the first company to introduce an E2W in the country back in 2007, Hero Electric is now staring down the barrel of a gun.
- Set up in 2018, Benling India resumed production of its new vehicles only around three weeks ago. Sales bottomed out after it was forced to raise prices in the absence of subsidy discounts.
<Funding Alert>
Startup: Disprz
Amount: $30M
Round: Series C
Startup: Waaree Energies
Amount: Rs 1,000 Cr
Round: Equity
Startup: Stable Money
Amount: $5M
Round: Seed
Interview
Bhavish Aggarwal: The digital industrialist
Ola CEO Bhavish Aggarwal’s journey advertises his own gumption as well as the opportunity India presents. A young man from Ludhiana can make it big in the country today.
Despite being born into a middle-class family with no generational wealth, he has been able to use his tech expertise and resourcefulness to recast the picture of what a successful entrepreneur looks like.
Purpose and penance:
- Investment firm Matrix Partners India’s Avnish Bajaj calls Aggarwal a “digital industrialist”.
- His venture Ola Cabs is worth $4.8 billion and Ola Electric—started in 2017—is already valued at $6 billion, based on May 2023 estimates.
- He is currently working on a company that will create silicon-based infrastructure for running homegrown AI models.
SaaS
Indian SaaS cos on growth track
Although the startup ecosystem is witnessing a slowdown in funding due to macroeconomic conditions, Indian software-as-a-service (SaaS) companies will end up achieving the same scale of revenue by 2030 as indicated in the previous year, says a report by venture capital firm Bessemer Venture Partners (BVP).
Onwards and upwards:
- The report reiterates its last year’s stance on how Indian SaaS companies are more efficient than global companies due to a couple of reasons: lower cost base and the country’s inherent cultural competence/effectiveness.
- The market size of Indian SaaS will grow from $13 billion in 2022 to $25 billion by 2025, $35 billion by 2027, and $50 billion by 2030, according to the report.
- Together, Indian SaaS centaurs ($100 million in ARR) and unicorns are expected to earn about $22 billion in revenue in 2030, more than 5X the revenue recorded in 2021 ($3.9 billion).
News & updates
- Gaining edge: PayPal is rolling out a stablecoin PayPal USD (PYUSD), a potentially significant boost to the sluggish adoption of digital tokens for payments. Issued by Paxos Trust, it’s pegged to the dollar and will be gradually available to PayPal’s customers in the US.
- Alarming rise: The world’s ocean temperatures have climbed to their hottest level on record, according to data from the EU’s climate monitor. The average daily global sea surface temperature rose to 20.98 degrees Celsius (69.76 Fahrenheit) on August 4, far above the average for this time of year.
- Old normal: Even Zoom is telling its employees to come back to the office. The company is enforcing a “structured hybrid approach” meaning that employees who live near an office must return to it for a “set number of days” because it’s “most effective” for the video-conferencing service.
On August 9, 1991, two astronauts aboard the Space Shuttle Atlantis sent the first e-mail from space. Which computer did they use?
Answer: Macintosh Portable, the first battery-powered Mac sold by Apple.
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