Hustlers Hospitality acquires stake in My Cloud Kitchen to expedite their growth

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May 25, 2022

Hustlers Hospitality, a cloud kitchen franchise company, has purchased a 31% stake in My Cloud Kitchen, a cloud kitchen consulting firm that provides end-to-end support to aspiring foodpreneurs with core services like brand design, kitchen setup, licencing, marketing, and franchise solutions for dark kitchen and QSR businesses. The current market value of My Cloud Kitchen is USD 1.3 million.

Krunal Oza, founder & CEO of Hustlers Hospitality, said, “This strategic investment helps to expand the operations of both the businesses; Hustlers Hospitality & My Cloud Kitchen, and serve the cloud kitchen market in a better way by taking leverage of our existing clientele network and already existing kitchens of My Cloud Kitchen across India.”

Be My Partner is Oza’s other proprietary campaign, and it gives a franchise chance to aspiring entrepreneurs who want to break into the world of branding and digital marketing with a profile to build franchise potential as well as Hustlers Hospitality’s renowned food and beverage brands.

Grip introduces startup equity investment for small investors

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May 25, 2022

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Grip, an alternative investment platform, announced the launch of a startup equity product in cooperation with Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi)-registered Alternative Investment Funds (AIFs). Users will be able to contribute as low as Rs. 2 lakh to the startup ecosystem.

Individual investors will be able to invest alongside venture capital funds and strategic investors in startups as part of Grip’s curated deals.

“The platform will provide the detailed necessary information (such as company profile and performance, timelines, key investment highlights and risks, etc.), based on which its users can make an informed decision,” the company said in its statement.

It added that it is only an investment medium and does not offer any advice on the opportunities listed.

“With more than a 250,000-strong investor community and partnerships with more than 80 companies, we find ourselves in a unique position. We can successfully play the role of a discovery and technology platform for such opportunities for individual investors that could generate attractive returns. At the same time, we can closely monitor the listed opportunities on a month-on-month basis and evaluate their performance and help them connect with AIFs to raise their required capital,” said Nikhil Aggarwal, founder and CEO, of Grip.

Grip will only list deals on the platform in which the funding round is led by a trusted venture capital fund or strategic investor who conducts due diligence and agrees on a valuation; Grip’s users participate along with such an investor, and the fundraising is carried out through a Sebi-registered AIF.

“We are happy to partner with Sebi-registered AIFs which help high performing companies in raising capital and provide our users access to unique opportunities to participate in such companies’ growth plans. Continuing to ride on last year’s momentum, the startup ecosystem mopped up record-breaking funding deals in the first quarter. We hope to provide our retail investor community to be a part of this growing ecosystem with our new product,” said Vivek Gulati, Co-founder, and COO, of Grip.

Mukunda Foods, a food robotics company that just raised funds from Zomato, was the first opportunity on the platform made open to small investors.

“My suggestion would be that everybody should allocate some part of their investment portfolio to alternative investments whatever they are comfortable with, whatever their risk appetite is but before you can run you must walk,” said Anupam Mittal, founder, People Group and Angel Investor during the launch of this feature. “There is an incredible future in Indian entrepreneurship, and I think angel investing is one way to participate in that. And that’s what I do, I do no public investing, I do 100% of my investing in early stage companies, yes I know its high risk but I am not recommending that for everyone.”

Zoho invests ₹20-cr in deep tech startup Genrobotics

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May 25, 2022

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Genrobotics, a Kerala-based startup developing robotics and artificial intelligence (AI)-based solutions for social issues such as hazardous working conditions, has received a 20 crore investment from Chennai-based unicorn Zoho Corp.

The investment, according to Zoho, would enable Genrobotics in its objective to eliminate manual scavenging in India and offer safety and dignity to sanitation and oil and gas workers.

This investment is by Zoho’s objective to help the country build a deep-tech ecosystem.

The Bandicoot robot, touted as the world’s first robotic machine to clean confined places including sewer manholes, sewer wells, storm water manholes, oily water sewers, and storm water sewers in refineries, is Genrobotics’ primary offering.

Bandicoot robots are currently being used in 14 states including smart cities, refineries, multinational enterprises, townships, and housing colonies to eliminate the requirement for human entrance into manholes.

Genrobotics has just entered the healthcare industry with the debut of G Gaiter, a robot-assisted gait training system designed to help patients with paraplegia recover through improved rehabilitation experiences.

Genrobotics products are created and manufactured entirely in India as part of the Make in India initiative.

“Nurturing a thriving deep-tech ecosystem in India is one of Zoho’s priorities, and the investment in Genrobotics is a continuation of that commitment,” said Sridhar Vembu, chief executive officer and co-founder of Zoho.

“Building such technological competencies and critical know-how locally can help foster sustainable growth across key sectors, like industrial manufacturing, healthcare, and energy, in turn making the country economically stronger and self-reliant. Making this a reality requires focused, long-term investments that support home-grown deep-tech startups through intensive R&D and engineering phases, and enable them to bring their ideas to the market. Looking at how far they have come already in this journey, Genrobotics’ vision resonates with us at Zoho and we are happy to fast-track their efforts and support them in their mission to end manual scavenging,” Vembu added.

Vimal Govind MK, chief executive and co-founder of Genrobotics, believes India will need more than one lakh robots to end manual scavenging in the country. “As we scale to fill the need gap, we estimate creation of nearly five-lakh jobs across the country. The investment from Zoho will help us to expand our advanced R&D infrastructure, build large-scale production facilities, hire more talent, increase our exports to ASEAN markets and expand our global footprints.”

Hilton signs new hotel with CKR Resorts Hyderabad

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May 24, 2022

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Hilton Hotels has announced that it has signed an agreement with CKR Resorts to launch its flagship brand, the Hilton Hyderabad Resort & Spa, in Hyderabad.

The business said it continues to develop its footprint in India, where it already manages 24 hotels, including seven Hilton Hotels & Resorts locations.

Navjit Ahluwalia, senior vice president and country head of the firm in India, said, “I am thrilled to announce the signing of Hilton Hyderabad Resort & Spa. We actively explore strategic opportunities to deploy our brands across the country and this signing reinforces our presence in the southern region of India. We are pleased to partner with CKR Resorts and bring our world-class hospitality to our guests in Hyderabad. I am confident that when the hotel opens, it will be a preferred destination for all travellers.”

Srinivas Chintala Reddy, director of CKR Resorts, said, “We are excited to partner with Hilton – one of the leading hospitality companies in the world – to bring the international hotel experience to the state of Telangana. Hyderabad is a city which attracts international and domestic travellers because of its historical and cultural relevance, and we are confident that we will be able to offer guests world-class hospitality through this partnership.”

The resort is located in Genome Valley, a high-tech commercial hub focused on pharmaceutical research and development, in Shamirpet, Hyderabad. There will be 115 rooms and 13 villas on the property.

Blox buys realty advisory firm Plinthstone for $1.5 million

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May 24, 2022

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Blox, a tech platform to facilitate the home-buying journey, has bought real estate advisory firm Plinthstone REMA for USD 1.5 million.

Plinthstone, a real estate advising firm launched in January 2021, has completed four mandates totaling over Rs 200 crore in sales volume.

“Plinthstone’s team that is servicing these projects will now be integrated into Blox,” the company said in a statement.

Blox did not disclose the deal value. However, the market sources said that it is around USD 1.5 million.

Blox has over 300 developers on its platform and is now working on 700 projects in Mumbai and Thane.

Aditya Jhaveri founded Blox to simplify the home-buying process. Blox, which is backed by Tinder founder Justin Mateen and other prominent Silicon Valley investors, allows homebuyers to explore completely verified inventory directly published by developers on the platform.

Aditya Jhaveri, Founder & CEO of Blox, said: “Plinthstone is our first acquisition and brings us one step closer towards achieving our goal of being the biggest and best home buying ecosystem in India.”

“We are using technology to bring e-commerce-type functionality to the home buying process and build trust and transparency with homebuyers. We want to serve millions of Indians in buying their homes over the next decade,” he said.

SILA buys Forbes Facility Services from Shapoorji Pallonji Group

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May 24, 2022

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A real estate platform, SILA has purchased Forbes Facility Services from the Shapoorji Pallonji Group in an all-cash deal, the company said in a media release.

SILA’s facilities management services division will boost its footprint in North India and expand its service offerings to include catering due to this acquisition.

Rushabh Vora, co-founder & CEO of SILA, said, “This deal will also help expand our portfolio within the high-growth sectors of Industrial, Manufacturing & Warehousing across India.”

According to the firm, the combined entity would generate over ₹600 crores in revenue this year and manage over 100 million sq ft of real estate with 15,000+ employees across India.

Jujhar Group to hire over 1000 employees this financial year

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May 23, 2022

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Jujhar Group has announced plans to hire over 1,000 employees across its offices within the current financial year. The self-funded business already employs over 3,000 people and plans to expand its workforce in India.

The company will look for expertise in technology, sales, and marketing. According to a statement, growing teams unlock development velocity through ground-up innovation, assisting with adopting external technology solutions, mergers and acquisitions, and improving experimentation.

Gurdeep Singh, Founder & Chairman, Jujhar Group, said, “It has always been because of our employee’s dedication and hard work that we have effortlessly achieved what we forecasted for our team. The group has been actively working towards creating a path for inclusivity and diversity. We are looking to rapidly grow our team and generate employment. Our priority will always be to get people who can grow with us, the way we have grown with this organization.”

Pramod Kumar, Head of HR, Jujhar Group, said, “At Jujhar, we thrive with our employees and feel that it is essential. We have invested a lot of time and thought to recruit a highly engaged team that is rallied around the vision to empower our stakeholders and be trustworthy and dependable. The organization is seeking people with similar principles and interests to help them make decisions that will help them achieve their goals.”

“Our priority has always been to choose someone who can lead and advance the company. Jujhar Group’s idea of empowering businesses and accelerating secure growth will be emphasized by the new recruit,” added Kumar.

Tata Capital announces digital loan against shares

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May 23, 2022

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Tata Capital Ltd, the Tata Group’s financial services subsidiary, has launched ‘Loan Against Shares,’ an end-to-end integrated digital financial solution that intends to provide consumers with an easy and seamless experience, according to the company.

Customers can get up to ₹5 crores in loans by pledging their dematerialized shares online through NSDL. After the appropriate permissions from each Depository Participant, the whole procedure is finished in one day.

Customers can go to Tata Capital’s website for a paperless, quick, and easy user experience. According to the firm’s statement, the loan amount is personalized based on the value of the customer’s portfolio of shares.

According to the firm, the key benefits of Tata Capital’s Digital Loan Against Shares are:

-End to End paperless journey – from registration to loan account creation

-Online KYC and pledging of shares via NSDL

-Electronic signing of loan documents along with E Nach facility

-Easy-to-use online portal for disbursement, repayment, additional pledging and de-pledging

Abonty Banerjee, Chief Digital Officer, Tata Capital, said, “Digital LAS is part of our endeavor to enable our customers to meet their financial requirements in way that is simple and convenient. Further, LAS offering can be customized and customers can have quick access to funds. We are confident LAS will immensely benefit our customers as we continue to add more such differentiated products to our suite of digital products.”

Instant Grocery startup Zepto may foray into online pharmacy business

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May 23, 2022

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Zepto, the instant groceries startup, is considering expanding into the online pharmacy space, where it would compete with Tata’s 1mg, Reliance’s Netmeds, and Pharmeasy.

The news comes as Zepto, a Mumbai-based 10-minute delivery service, prepares to expand the pilot of its “café” business, allowing Zepto customers to buy hot tea and coffee and snacks.

“It’s probably a category we will be excited about in the future,” Aadit Palicha, founder at Zepto, said. “There will be a lot of innovation that will need to be done in the space. This is something we will focus on in the medium to long term and probably not in the short term.”

Zepto, founded by two Stanford dropouts, Palicha and Kaivalya Vohra, competes in India’s expanding rapid commerce industry with well-established competitors such as Swiggy’s Instamart, Reliance-backed Dunzo, Tata’s Big Bazaar, and Zomato’s Blinkit.

“In Mumbai, we piloted the ‘cafe’ business with exciting levels of success. New categories such as these are margin drivers for the business. The margin structures we are seeing in those categories are phenomenal,” said Palicha.

Rester Hotels & Resorts enters into Mumbai with Rester Xpress

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May 21, 2022

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Rester Hotels & Resorts has expanded its presence in the city of dreams, Mumbai at Santacruz, after the successful launch of Kota, Jodhpur, Jim Corbett and Hyderabad.

Rester Xpress provides easy access to the international and domestic airports and the Mumbai Exhibition Centre, Mumbai University, malls, and shopping areas. It also has many tourist attractions nearby.

Rakshit Sharma, the CEO, commented, “Rester Xpress exactly complements our portfolio and is a great representation of our Brand in the deep demand market like Mumbai. With our delightful accommodation in the heart of the city, Rester Xpress will become one of the city’s most popular places to Rest, Revive and Rejuvenate”.

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