OYO reports ₹158 crore net profit in Q2FY25

Travel tech platform OYO achieved a profit after tax of ₹158 crore in the second quarter of the current fiscal ended September, Founder Ritesh Agarwal told employees in a townhall on Thursday, as per a PTI report.

The profitability has come on the back of premiumisation efforts through the company’s serviced-hotels offering under the Townhouse brands and others.

Oravel Stays Ltd, the parent company of OYO, had posted a loss of ₹50 crore in the same period of the previous year.

In Q2 FY25, OYO’s revenue surged to ₹1,578 crore from ₹1,413 crore in Q1.

Zepto-backer General Catalyst raises new $8Bn fund to double down on global investments

Airbnb and Instacart-backer General Catalyst has raised a fresh $8 billion venture capital fund as it seeks to make more investments in tech companies globally.

This marks the Silicon Valley-based venture capital firm’s 12th global fund and comes within two years of its previous ones, which raised $4.6 billion in February, 2022.

With the latest fund, the VC firm’s total fundraise has crossed $22 billion across 12 funds set up since inception in 2011.

Some of the firm’s most-popular global investments include Airbnb, Canva, Deliveroo, Grammarly, Hubspot, Instacart, Kayak, Snap, Stripe, Vroom. In India, the firm has backed unicorns such as Zepto, CRED and Spinny.

Cabinet approves ₹1,000 Crore fund for SpaceTech startups

The Union Cabinet has approved a ₹1,000 crore venture capital fund to support India’s growing space technology startups, as announced in the Union Budget 2024-25. Managed by the Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (IN-SPACe), the fund aims to drive innovation in satellite technology, launch vehicles, and space applications.

The initiative is designed to retain talent within India while fostering a vibrant innovation ecosystem. The fund will invest between ₹10 crore and ₹60 crore in startups, depending on their stage of growth and potential to impact India’s space capabilities. It is expected to support around 40 startups over the next five years.

The fund is set to infuse capital into startups, retain companies within India, expand the space economy, and accelerate space technology development. It will also boost global competitiveness and support the Atmanirbhar Bharat initiative, creating jobs and stimulating economic growth, the government said. This initiative aligns with the government’s vision to expand India’s space economy from ₹8.4 billion to ₹44 billion by 2033.

Healthify closes $45M financing round as it seeks to drive US expansion

AI-powered health and fitness app Healthify has announced the closure of its $45 million pre-series D round led by existing investor Khosla Ventures and LeapFrog Investments with new participation from Claypond Capital (family office of Indian healthcare billionaire Ranjan Pai).

The funding comes at a time when Healthify is accelerating its global expansion, with a keen focus on entering the US market and advancing its AI capabilities.

The new $20 million adds to an earlier tranche ($25 million) raised in 2023. This takes Healthify’s total primary equity raise to approximately $125 million so far.

Healthify’s India operations have achieved operational profitability and the company in a statement said it is on track to become EBITDA-positive by the end of the fiscal year.

Hardik Pandya invests in The Souled Store

The Souled Store, a pop culture-based lifestyle startup, has elevated its relationship with Hardik Pandya and onboarded the Indian cricketer as an investor in the company. Pandya has been a brand ambassador for The Souled Store since 2022.

“I have always admired their passion for creating something fun, relatable and exciting for the youth of India. I’m thrilled to be a part of this very loved homegrown brand’s next chapter and look forward to contributing to its continued success and growth,” said Pandya.

The Souled Store primarily offers fandom merchandise and boasts over 200 licenses, including giants like One Piece, Naruto, and Marvel.

Since 2022, The Souled Store claims to have revenue increase at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 55%. The brand says it has increased its offline presence, growing from 8 stores to 30+ stores across 15+ cities and is on track to add another 5 stores by the end of this month.

India needs 145M women in workforce to achieve $30 Trillion economy by 2047, finds new study

A joint report by Magic Bus India Foundation and Bain & Company reveals that India needs to integrate 145 million women into the workforce by 2047 to meet its goal of becoming a $30 trillion economy. The report outlines the roadmap to double the female labour force participation rate (FLFPR) from the current 35%–40% to 70% by 2047.

Despite favourable socio-economic conditions, projections show that only 110 million women will be added to the workforce by 2047, bringing the total to 255 million, or an FLFPR of just 45%. To bridge this gap, the report highlights the importance of integrating an additional 145 million ‘missing women’ into the workforce. This is not only critical for economic growth but also for promoting gender equality.

Jayant Rastogi, Global CEO of Magic Bus India Foundation, emphasised the importance of empowering women, stating, “Empowering women is more than a moral choice; it is also an economic lifeline. To meet our $30 trillion GDP target, we must increase female participation to 70%, bringing 400 million women into the workforce.”

 

YouTube expands shopping offering as it looks to unlock new revenue avenues for creators

YouTube has announced an expansion of YouTube Shopping in India, with the launch of the YouTube Shopping affiliate program, creating new opportunities for creators to diversify their earnings and for viewers to discover products from their favorite creators.

The YouTube Shopping affiliate program will allow eligible creators to tag products in their videos and earn revenue when viewers purchase them on the retailers sites such as Flipkart and Myntra.

This expansion complements the existing YouTube Shopping feature that allows eligible creators to promote their own merchandise by linking their stores to their YouTube channels, the statement said.

Youtube India’s creator ecosystem has over 110,000 channels, which have more than 100,000 subscribers as of December 2023.