Author: Business Matters Author

LensKart, the omnichannel eyewear giant led by Peyush Bansal, is reportedly looking to raise between $200 million to $300 million (approximately INR 1,688 to 2,532 crore) in a secondary share sale. This latest funding round will see participation from the company’s existing investors, including Fidelity, Kedaara Capital, and possibly a significant third investor, although the identity of this additional investor remains undisclosed. If successful, the deal will place LensKart’s valuation at an impressive $6 billion, representing a 20% premium over its previous valuation of $5 billion in June 2024. The secondary share sale marks another milestone in LensKart’s growth journey…

Instagram Outage Disrupts Users Across India on November 19 On November 19, Instagram, the widely-used social media platform owned by Meta, faced a significant outage that affected users across India. The disruption left thousands unable to log in, access their feeds, or connect to the platform, sparking frustration among users. According to Downdetector, a crowd-sourced platform that tracks service outages, reports of the Instagram outage began to flood in around 9:34 AM. The issues continued for several hours, with users reporting a variety of problems related to the app’s functionality. Nature of the Outage As per Downdetector’s data, the outage…

The initial public offering (IPO) of logistics unicorn BlackBuck has received an overwhelming response, closing with an oversubscription of 1.86X. Investors placed bids for a total of 4.19 crore shares, compared to the 2.25 crore shares that were on offer. The strong demand for BlackBuck’s IPO underscores the growing investor confidence in the company’s business model and its role in India’s rapidly expanding logistics sector. BlackBuck, a leading logistics platform that connects truckers and shippers, has been one of the most anticipated IPOs in the Indian market. The company’s IPO received a particularly strong response from qualified institutional buyers (QIBs),…

Zomato, India’s leading foodtech platform, has launched its new app, District, for its growing going-out business. The app, which is available for download on both iOS and Android platforms, allows users to discover and reserve tables at restaurants, as well as book tickets for movies, sports events, live performances, and other entertainment activities. This launch comes three months after Zomato first announced its intention to enter the going-out space, signaling the company’s commitment to diversifying its business portfolio. A New Chapter for Zomato’s B2C Business With the rollout of the District app, Zomato is targeting its going-out business to become…

Athina AI Raises $3 Million in Seed Funding to Empower AI Application Development Athina AI, an emerging AI startup, has successfully raised $3 million (INR 25 crore) in its seed funding round, bringing its total funding to $4.1 million. The round was backed by a group of high-profile investors, including Perplexity CTO Denis Yarats, Snorkel AI CEO Alex Ratner, Kleiner Perkins Scout Fund, and Y Combinator, among others. This investment will help accelerate Athina AI’s mission to simplify the development, deployment, and monitoring of AI applications for businesses. Founded by Himanshu Bamoria and Shiv Sakhuja, Athina AI offers a comprehensive…

In a strategic move to strengthen its leadership team, Physics Wallah (PW), the rapidly growing edtech unicorn, has appointed Amit Sachdeva as its new Chief Financial Officer (CFO). Sachdeva, who previously held a senior executive role at Blinkit (formerly Grofers), will now oversee the financial and strategic initiatives at PW, further solidifying its financial oversight and accelerating its growth trajectory. This appointment signals PW’s commitment to achieving sustainable growth and managing the financial complexities of its expanding operations as it continues to disrupt India’s education sector. Amit Sachdeva’s Expertise and Vision for PW Amit Sachdeva brings with him a wealth…

B2B travel portal Travel Boutique Online (TBO Tek) has announced a solid financial performance for the September quarter of the financial year 2024-25 (Q2 FY25). The company reported a 7% increase in its consolidated net profit, which rose to INR 60.1 crore from INR 56.1 crore during the same quarter last year. Despite a slight dip in profit compared to the previous quarter, TBO Tek’s performance highlights its continued growth in the highly competitive travel tech industry. Profit Growth Amid Strong Revenue Expansion TBO Tek’s profit growth of 7% year-on-year (YoY) reflects the company’s ability to maintain strong performance even…

**Zetwerk Explores $1 Billion IPO: B2B Marketplace Startup Eyes Public Listing in Mumbai**   Zetwerk, the rapidly growing B2B marketplace that connects manufacturing companies with vendors and suppliers for procuring industrial machine components, is reportedly preparing for an initial public offering (IPO) that could raise up to $1 billion. According to sources familiar with the matter, the Indian startup is currently in discussions with investment bankers, including JP Morgan, to chart a course for its public debut in Mumbai, with plans to list sometime in 2025.   While these discussions are still in the early stages, the potential listing has…

IdeaForge Expands Employee Stock Option Pool with Additional Equity Allotment IdeaForge, a leading drone technology company, has made a strategic move to expand its employee stock option pool by allotting additional equity shares under its Employee Stock Option Scheme (ESOP) 2018. This development comes as part of the company’s ongoing efforts to incentivize and retain talent, while also strengthening its growth trajectory in the rapidly evolving drone and aerospace industry. In a recent filing with the stock exchange, IdeaForge announced that its executive committee had approved the allotment of 2,608 equity shares, each with a face value of INR 10.…