Zomato to establish NBFC, invests in two more startups

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January 28, 2022

Zomato Ltd, an online food delivery aggregator, said in a BSE filing on Friday that it will establish a wholly-owned non-banking finance company (NBFC) and invest in two more startups.

The announcement comes when the Company’s market capitalization has dropped.

Zomato, whose stock has dropped more than 35% this month, announced a ₹112.21 crore investment in AdOnMo Pvt Ltd, an advertising technology firm, for a 19.48% stake. The online food aggregator would also invest ₹37.39 crores in UrbanPiper Technology Pvt Ltd, a software services firm, for a 5% stake. According to the filing, Zomato intends to establish the NBFC with a proposed authorized share capital of ₹10 crores.

UrbanPiper is a B2B software platform that allows restaurants to integrate multiple players via a single digital interface. According to Zomato, UrbanPiper processes about 12 million orders per month at over 23,000 restaurant locations across the country. In October 2019, VCCircle reported that UrbanPiper had raised $7.5 million in a Series A round of funding sponsored by Tiger Global Management and Sequoia Capital. According to the filing, the Company had a turnover of ₹6.34 crore in March 2021.

AdOnMo is an advertising technology business that focuses on digital advertising beyond personal devices to outdoor digital screens, Zomato said. According to Zomato, the Company would use AdOnMo’s platform to acquire customers. The Company has a turnover of ₹3.27 crore as of March 31, 2021.

“Both UrbanPiper and AdOnMo investments are synergistic to our core business and will help accelerate growth of these companies which will help in filling impo11ant gaps in the food ordering and delivery ecosystem in India,” Zomato said.

“Pursuant to the approval of the Board, the Company has finalized and executed the relevant agreements for the Proposed Investments. The Proposed Investments are each subject to fulfillment of certain customary conditions precedent and other terms and conditions agreed under the investment agreements,” added Zomato.

OMD Mudramax unveils Bingo, a media buying tool for new brands

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BRL Editor

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January 28, 2022

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Bingo, an outcome-based and AI-backed media buying tool for new brands and business clients, has been developed by OMD Mudramax, part of the DDB Mudra Group.

Bingo identifies platforms and optimizes media spending to help advertisers accomplish their brand and sales goals. The agency stated in a press release that this is done transparently and openly with no human intervention.

Bingo is an ATD (Agency Trading Desk) that unifies all channels, including downstream. However, this isn’t just restricted to media buying platforms like Google Ads, Facebook, Yahoo, and other demand-side platforms (DSPs).

Bingo operates as a centralized control layer that ensures that all other buying platforms are in sync to meet media objectives. Ready-made marketing application programming interfaces (APIs) connect the buying platforms, allowing audience and campaign data to flow in. This historical data is utilized to optimize campaigns, maximize performance, identify problems, and recommend changes overtime to keep the campaign on pace to meet its objectives.

Rammohan Sundaram, country head and managing partner – integrated media, DDB Mudra Group, said, “The ability to buy media in an optimised and agnostic manner by setting clear objectives is what this product intends to achieve. As an advertising agency, we are also looking at acting as technology enablers and partners for our clients. Media optimisation and transparency aren’t as esoteric as they sound but require technological intervention. We want to provide those capabilities to clients and marketers in the simplest manner.”

Abhishek Sharma, partner – digital and lead programmatic, DDB Mudra Group, added, “Merely talking about transparency in the ad tech ecosystem is not enough. The entire demand-supply chain is lopsided towards closed ecosystems, which aren’t exactly built in a manner to facilitate transparency, be that pricing or audience data. It’s time to wrest control and place it exactly where it belongs, with the advertiser in a ubiquitous manner. This product is a sincere step in the direction of demand-side innovation and transparency.”

Pre-Budget Recommendations by Ankit Sehra

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Allwyn Mathew

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January 28, 2022

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The Union Budget will be presented on Tuesday, February 1, 2022, by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. Amid the ongoing surge in the Covid-19 situation, the people of India are looking forward to the Budget presentation.

Here below are the key Pre-budget recommendations by Ankit Sehra, Founder & Tax Expert, Ankit Sehra & Associates.

Provide enhanced deduction under section 80D for Mediclaim expenditure to cover COVID-19 treatment

The covid impact severely affects our lives even today and has increased the medical expenditure on individuals’ pockets for the last two years. Covid related expenditures like masks, vaccines, rapid tests, RT – PCR tests, medication, general advisory, quarantine loss, hospitalisation incur an individual’s additional burden. Hence, to boost people’s morale during this crucial time, we recommend an enhanced deduction under section 80D of Rs 1,00,000 for Medical expenditure & Medical Insurance-related expenses and creating a separate category to claim this under the income tax regime.

Increase in limit of Standard Deduction

As a tax practitioner, it is expected from the upcoming budget 2022 that there should be an increase in the standard deduction limit from 50,000 to 1,00,000 for a salaried class as they face many challenges compared to business class (who can claim their expenditure against revenue). Also, in this current work from home scenario, employees incur higher work-related personal expenditure (like higher electricity, air conditioning, furniture, food). Therefore, keeping in mind the rate of inflation and purchasing power of the salaried individual, the Government should allow them to claim this expenditure at an appropriate level compared to the business class.

Tax Clarity on Cryptocurrency

The introduction of a special regulatory and taxation regime for cryptocurrencies can be expected from this upcoming budget of 2022. It is the need of the hour. The Government should clarify legal status, reporting formats, disclosure requirements, & tax treatment in law as it attracts light speedy attention in the market.

Ankit Sehra & Associates is a modern-age Tax consulting firm offering legal & taxation services to startups and well-known businesses based in Delhi. Ankit Sehra is the Founder of Ankit Sehra& Associates, who has post graduated from Delhi University in Finance & Banking & he is an Advocate by profession & specializes in handling Income Tax & GST matters. He has over 12+ Years of experience in Corporate & Start-up consulting.

Flyhomes aims to double its headcount in India

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BRL Editor

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January 27, 2022

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Flyhomes, an end-to-end real estate brokerage and technology company, plans to double its workforce in India this year.

Over 300 individuals work for the Seattle-based company in India and over 850 internationally. The company’s global headcount has roughly tripled since its Series-C round of funding in June of last year. Engineering, analytics, operations, finance, and human resources are all areas where the company seeks new talent.

“Despite the uncertainties presented by the pandemic, we have experienced substantial growth in the past two years and are committed to widening our existing pool of talent. The objective is to onboard individuals across levels, who share the company’s vision and can catalyse its growth and expansion in the near future,” said Tushar Garg, CEO, and co-founder, Flyhomes.

The company is a remote-first company that offers all of its employees the option of working entirely remotely or in a hybrid model where they come to the office a few days a week.

“India’s engineering and operations talent has been critical to building Flyhomes and played a significant role in its growth so far. Our initial team of engineers were based in India and continue to play an instrumental part in the business, even today. In addition to the aforementioned verticals, we are also looking for growth-hackers and problem-solvers,” said Gaganpreet Luthra, managing director, Flyhomes India operations.

Norwest Venture Partners, Battery Ventures, Fifth Wall, Camber Creek, Balyasny Asset Management, Andreessen Horowitz, Canvas Partners, and Spencer Rascoff have all invested in the company.

IMGC joins with Muthoot Homefin to offer home loans

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BRL Editor

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January 27, 2022

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On Thursday, the India Mortgage Guarantee Corporation (IMGC) announced a partnership with Muthoot Homefin (India) Limited (MHIL) to offer mortgage guarantee backed home loan products to MHIL’s customers looking for affordable housing loans.

As demand for inexpensive and mid-income homes rises, Muthoot Homefin hopes to use a mortgage guarantee as a risk mitigation strategy. According to MHIL, the partnership with IMGC will assist Muthoot Homefin to improve its market penetration in existing markets throughout its 108 branches/locations, enabling homeownership in the affordable housing sector.

The loans are aimed at borrowers who work for individuals or small businesses and are paid in cash, as well as government retirees who have restricted access to a home loan because their pension is their only source of income. They are eligible for a house loan with a maturity of up to 70 years and borrowers with verifiable income but limited documentary verification. Self-employed borrowers with more housing equity can also apply for this loan with less documentation. The home loan term can be extended for an additional 10 to 15 years beyond retirement age, depending on the borrower’s profile.

“Mortgage guarantee will enable MHIL to allow higher loan amount (LTV ratio) to the customers at lower rates of interest. MHIL is currently offering ROI starting from 6.5% p.a. to Economically Weaker Sections under its Azad-i75 programme for Affordable Houses. It’s a triple Win partnership among MHIL, its customers and IMGC,” said Rajeev Khond, CEO, MHIL.

IMGC is India’s first mortgage guarantee company, and it collaborates with lenders to provide mortgage insurance and encourage early homeownership. Banking products, low LTV products, and evaluated income products are among the company’s surrogate products for self-employed customers.

“We look forward to partnering with Muthoot and expand our mutual footprint. The product has been developed using a calibrated approach and we are confident of a steady scale up. Muthoot has ambitious plans for the next financial year and we are delighted to collaborate with them in this journey,” said Mahesh Misra, CEO, IMGC.

ESR buys around 8 acres of land in Delhi

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BRL Editor

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January 27, 2022

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To expand its operations in Delhi, logistics development platform ESR has purchased approximately 8 acres of land from real estate firm TARC. The in-city warehouse at Alipur, Delhi-NCR, has a growth potential of around 4 lakh sq ft.

“TARC wants to completely focus on the upper mid-income and luxury home segments and will cash out non-core businesses,” said a person aware of the deal.

The real estate firm TARC has sold its second warehouse asset. Last year, it sold a warehouse asset in North Delhi for Rs 295 crore to BREP Asia II EIP Holding (NQ) Pte Ltd.

Tarc has been selling non-core assets such as warehousing and retail and is negotiating with global firms to sell even more retail and warehousing assets.

“The residential market has been performing exceptionally well, and sales have reached an almost 2014 level. TARC wants to fast track the residential projects and reduce debt, ” said another person aware of the plans.

Large institutional investors have flocked to the Indian warehousing sector, allocating new capital as demand from e-commerce and logistics enterprises remains robust, and laws, such as the GST reform, have been eased.

“These sites are well-suited for the mid-mile logistics requirements of large e-commerce tenants. ESR is looking to expand its in-city distribution centers, which are in high demand. The firm is looking to buy both greenfield and brownfield properties not exceeding 15 acres of land area,” said one more person quoted above.

Due to increased demand from e-commerce and retail enterprises, the industrial and logistics real estate platform wants to increase land acquisitions and create in-city distribution centers to extend its portfolio.

Last year, ESR completed two land acquisitions in Gujarat and Chennai. It currently has 16 active sites in India, with a total gross floor area (GFA) of approximately 18 million sq ft.

Microsoft hopes for strong earnings on cloud computing

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BRL Editor

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January 26, 2022

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Microsoft topped the market with excellent quarterly results in cloud computing and software, continuing to benefit from the pandemic’s migration of work, play, shopping, and learning online.

After announcing a blockbuster agreement to buy gaming behemoth Activision Blizzard last week, the US software giant claimed profit increased to $18.8 billion in the final three months of last year.

“Digital technology is the most malleable resource at the world’s disposal to overcome constraints and reimagine everyday work and life,” CEO Satya Nadella said in announcing revenue of $51.7 billion.

Microsoft is investing heavily in the expanding video game sector and the metaverse, a virtual reality vision for the internet’s future.

Last week, the Redmond, Washington-based computer giant announced a historic deal to acquire scandal-hit “Call of Duty” developer Activision for $69 billion. This would be Microsoft’s largest acquisition ever, surpassing LinkedIn’s $26.2 billion purchase in 2016.

According to the financial report, revenue at the career-focused social network increased by 37% compared to the same quarter a year ago.

After acquiring the troubled but extremely successful Activision, Microsoft will become the third-largest gaming firm by revenue, behind Tencent and Sony.

The proposed merger must be approved by regulators when Europe and the US are attempting to reign in Big Tech.

According to the earnings report, revenue in the Microsoft segment that develops Xbox systems and video game content increased by 10% in the most recent quarter.

“Redmond is continuing to see strength in the field as more enterprises continue to move to the cloud with Nadella & Co,” Wedbush analyst Dan Ives said in a note to investors. Ives saw the strong earnings from Microsoft as a “broader indication of strength we expect to see across the enterprise cloud software landscape throughout this earnings season.”

In the cloud computing market, Microsoft competes with Amazon and Google. According to the earnings release, Microsoft’s cloud services divisions had double-digit revenue growth, bringing in tens of billions of dollars.

However, in after-hours trades, Microsoft shares lost more than 4% of their value in a market shaken by fears and dreading a “correction” from high valuations.

According to Wedbush, some more positive investors expected Microsoft to provide higher financial results.

“In this jittery market we will see every tech print initially viewed as glass half empty, but ultimately this remains a core cloud name to own,” Ives said of Microsoft.

upGrad moves All-in on AWS to power career growth

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BRL Editor

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January 25, 2022

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Amazon Web Services (AWS), a subsidiary of Amazon.com, announced that upGrad, a global higher education technology (EdTech) provider, has gone all-in on AWS. To deliver online learning to individuals in more than 100 countries, upGrad has shifted the vast bulk of its information technology (IT) infrastructure to the world’s leading cloud.

upGrad takes advantage of the breadth and depth of AWS capabilities, such as analytics, security, and computation, to assist individuals in advancing their careers through upskilling, which helps promote economic growth through a competent and productive workforce. UpGrad quickly scaled its learning experience with AWS to meet the demand for online education during the COVID-19 pandemic. In just eight months, the company doubled its learner base to over two million learners and increased learners’ time spent on the platform for upskilling by four times compared to the previous equal period.

UpGrad needs to scale its services globally and deliver a seamless, reliable user experience, especially during peak periods like course registrations and assignment submissions, to fulfil the growing demand for online learning. To drive learner success, the organization needed a robust set of analytics capabilities to assess learner data, such as demographics and course uptakes, and deliver targeted career services.

UpGrad can identify and fulfil new learner needs, help learners discover and enrol in their preferred courses, and then assist learners in growing their professions through novel digital services after graduation by developing a configurable and immersive learning system on AWS.

UpGrad leverages Amazon Redshift, a cloud data warehouse service, to evaluate learners’ usage patterns, preferences, personal information, coursework, job applications, and career progression to understand them better and provide quality and customized learning content. UpGrad may use this information to recommend relevant courses and job openings, match learners’ training journeys to upskilling possibilities, and create personalized learning experiences and customized career paths.

Furthermore, using Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (Amazon EC2), AWS’s service that delivers compute power for nearly any application, and Amazon Simple Storage Service (Amazon S3), AWS’s object storage service, upGrad rapidly adjusts its workloads to match surges in demand. AWS Enterprise Support also assisted upGrad with cost optimization approaches such as Amazon EC2 Reserved Instances, Amazon EC2 Spot Instances, and cloud architecture evaluations, which helped reduce its cloud infrastructure costs by 28%.

Additionally, AWS Identity and Access Management (IAM), which enables fine-grained access control throughout AWS, aids upGrad in improving its security posture and complying with data encryption requirements mandated by its partner education institutions.

AWS Marketplace, a digital catalogue allowing companies to test, purchase, install, and manage third-party software, will be used by upGrad to procure software-as-a-service (SaaS) solutions for the company and its subsidiaries. UpGrad may pay for its software subscriptions through its AWS account by acquiring third-party software through AWS Marketplace and deploying these solutions on AWS in as little as one click. This eliminates the need to manage suppliers and billing processes separately.

“AWS is integral to our ability to onboard learners, experiment and iterate, and provide the best possible learning experience to help people accelerate their careers,” said Rohit Dhar, President of Product at upGrad. “With AWS, we can use data to personalize education for learners around the world as we strengthen our position as a leading global EdTech brand. As the demand for quality online learning content grows, we can easily scale our workloads on AWS to reliably and securely deliver rich and uninterrupted educational content, even during very busy periods.”

“upGrad builds on AWS to deliver innovative and flexible online learning solutions that help bridge the higher education needs of learners and drive development of the future workforce,” said Sunil PP, Lead—Education, Space, and Nonprofits, Amazon Internet Services Private Limited, AWS India and South Asia. “Going all-in on AWS allows upGrad to meet the rapid growth of their learner base as it scales to more than 100 countries, and provides a secure and personalized experience to learners online as they access upGrad for curriculum, mentoring, and career services.”

HR tech startup Darwinbox becomes remarkable Asian software unicorn

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BRL Editor

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January 25, 2022

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Darwinbox, a Hyderabad-based enterprise HR Tech company, has raised more than $1 billion in funding from investors, including a unit of Salesforce.com Inc. and Sequoia Capital, making it one of the few Asian software businesses to reach that milestone.

According to Darwinbox, the investment round was headed by Technology Crossover Ventures (TCV), with previous investors Salesforce Ventures, Sequoia Capital, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Endiya Partners, and 3One4Capital. The company has raised more than USD 110 million to date and has expanded by 200% since its last fundraising a year ago.

According to the business, the new funding will be used to drive product innovation and global expansion, including a launch in the United States this year. Chaitanya Peddi, Jayant Paleti, and Rohit Chennamaneni, the three co-founders, came together in November 2015 to develop a world-class technological product from Hyderabad for the rest of the world.

“We get most excited investing behind visionary founders that are fundamentally transforming large markets. I am also delighted to back an outstanding team led by Jayant, Rohit, Chaitanya based in my hometown that is doing exactly that in a highly impactful HR technology space. We are happy to partner with them in their journey to global leadership,” Gopi Vaddi, General Partner, TCV, said.

Over 650 companies use Darwinbox’s HR software throughout the world. JSW, Adani, Mahindra, Vedanta, SBI General Insurance, Kotak, TVS, National Stock Exchange, Ramky, Aurobindo, Yashoda, Bigbasket, Swiggy, and Makemytrip are among its famous customers, which include Asia’s top conglomerates and fast-growing technology unicorns.

“We started with a mission to build smarter and better technology for the modern-day employee… As we scale further and aim for global leadership, we will be looking to add great talent and hire exponentially across all geographies,” Jayant Paleti, Co-founder, Darwinbox, said.

The company currently has 12 global offices with over 700 employees and plans to expand its headcount and global footprint aggressively.

Meta builds advanced AI supercomputer to assist its growth

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BRL Editor

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January 25, 2022

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Meta, Facebook’s parent company, reported developing one of the world’s fastest artificial intelligence supercomputers.

The social media giant hopes that the machine will contribute to the development of the metaverse, a virtual reality construct that will eventually replace the internet as we know it.

Facebook said that when the computer is finished around the middle of the year, it will be the fastest in the world.

Supercomputers are highly fast and powerful machines designed to perform complex calculations that a typical home computer cannot. Meta did not reveal the computer’s location or the cost of its development.

The AI Research SuperCluster is a computer that is already up and running but is currently being developed. Meta claims it will assist its AI researchers in developing “new and better” artificial intelligence models that can learn from “trillions” of samples, work across hundreds of languages at once, and analyze text, images, and video all at the same time.

Because it relies on the performance of graphics-processing chips, which are useful for running “deep learning” algorithms that can understand what’s in an image, analyze text, and translate between languages, the way Meta defines the power of its computer differs from how conventional and more technically powerful supercomputers are measured, according to Tuomas Sandholm, a computer science professor and co-director of Carnegie Mellon University’s AI center.

“We hope RSC will help us build entirely new AI systems that can, for example, power real-time voice translations to large groups of people, each speaking a different language, so they can seamlessly collaborate on a research project or play an AR game together,” Meta said in a blog post.

The company claims that in training its AI, its supercomputer will use “real-world examples” from its systems. It claims to have used exclusively open-source and publicly available data sets in the past.

“They are going to, for the first time, put their customer data on their AI research computer,” Sandholm said. “That would be a really big change to give AI researchers and algorithms access to all that data.”

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