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<ul><li><keyword id="10926" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Reliance">Reliance</keyword> Industries is looking to buy a majority stake in the online pharmacy company <keyword id="2875740" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Netmeds">Netmeds</keyword>.</li><li>The talks of stake purchase in Netmeds come at a time when Mukesh Ambani is doubling down on its e-commerce venture <keyword id="8506093" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Jiomart">JioMart</keyword>. </li><li> In 2019, Reliance had acquired 82% stake in C-Square solutions, a Bengaluru-based startup which provides software solutions to pharma companies. </li></ul>Mukesh Ambani is strengthening his e-commerce segment and is now reportedly looking to include e-pharmacy in his list of acquisitions. According to a <a href="https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/reliance-plans-to-buy-e-pharmacy-netmeds/articleshow/75564362.cms">TOI report,</a> Reliance is looking to buy a majority stake in the online pharmacy company Netmeds. Netmeds, which was facing challenges in delivery during lockdown, had already partnered with <keyword id="58448" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Reliance-Retail">Reliance Retail</keyword> to deliver medicines in April 2020. The deal talks with Netmeds has come at a time when Reliance is doubling down on its e-commerce venture JioMart. While limited to grocery so far, JioMart had begun operations in Navi Mumbai, Thane and Kalyan. With the Facebook investment, Reliance Retail and WhatsApp are now in a commercial partnership to accelerate JioMart’s growth. Through <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/whatsapp-has-reportedly-listed-giving-loans-as-a-main-objective/articleshow/75445825.cms">JioMart and WhatsApp,</a> the entities will now help support consumer businesses. <div type="Article" hostid="261" msid="75548041" title="Both Silver Lake and Mukesh Ambani hope that Reliance Jio will replicate Alibaba's magic⁠ — and this time Zuckerberg will get a chunk" mstype="2" mssubtype="0"></div> The ten-year old Netmeds Founded in 2010 by Pradeep Dadha, the startup has so far raised about $100 million from investors like Sistema Asia Fund, Cambodian investment company Tanncam, private equity firm OrbiMed and others. The company claims to deliver products to over 19,000 pin codes across the country and has a 4 million user base. But this isn’t the first pharma related acquisition by Reliance. In 2019, Reliance had acquired 82% stake in C-Square solutions, a Bengaluru-based startup which provides software solutions to pharma companies. Reliance has also been strengthening its position in e-commerce by acquiring companies like e-commerce platform Fynd, digital solutions startup NowFloats, grocery delivery startup Grab, and AI-based chat solutions company Haptik. See Also: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/international/news/facebook-google-apple-and-microsoft-paid-h1-b-workers-below-market-wages-says-a-new-report/articleshow/75567713.cms">Facebook, Google, Apple and Microsoft paid H1-B workers below market wages, says a new report</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/corporates/news/both-silver-lake-and-mukesh-ambani-hope-that-reliance-jio-will-replicate-alibabas-magic-and-this-time-zuckerberg-will-get-a-chunk/articleshow/75548041.cms">Both Silver Lake and Mukesh Ambani hope that Reliance Jio will replicate Alibaba's magic⁠ — and this time Zuckerberg will get a chunk</a>

Netmeds partnered with Reliance Retail in April⁠— now Mukesh Ambani reportedly wants a stake

<ul><li><keyword id="3820" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Mukesh-Ambani">Mukesh Ambani</keyword>, the 9th richest man in the world, and the mastermind behind Jio has big plans and there’s no stopping him.</li><li>Jio’s growth ambitions are being compared to Chinese giants <keyword id="212412" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Tencent">Tencent</keyword> and <keyword id="302749" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Alibaba">Alibaba</keyword>.</li><li>Jio has raised over $20.3 billion in investments including the likes of Google and Facebook and they are sold on the promise of the next big tech company. </li><li>Jio, which was launched in 2016, in less than four years went on to become the largest telecom provider in India.</li></ul>Tencent and Alibaba are currently racing to be <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2020/06/24/tencent-and-alibaba-in-a-battle-for-title-of-asias-biggest-company.html">Asia’s biggest company</a> - the market capitalisation of both companies is over $600 billion each. Jio’s parent Reliance Industries (RIL)⁠, a conglomerate with businesses ranging from oil and petrochemicals to technology, retail and telecom⁠, is less than a fourth in size but the sheer expanse, and ambition, that Mukesh Ambani has displayed in recent months is causing people to compare. Now, some see Jio as the next Alibaba, and some see it as India’s Tencent. Or is it both rolled into one? “Similar to Alibaba or Tencent which created tech-based ecosystems in China, we find RIL best positioned to create a similar ecosystem in India. In the next two-three years, we expect RIL to have a captive mobile base of over 500 million users,” said a Bank of America report dated July 16. <div type="image" title="Alibaba-and-Jio" msid="77065214" hostid="261"></div> “Their idea is to get into a household and see that every activity is done through a Jio service. They are a tech company now and that is very clear,” Satish Meena, Senior Forecast Analyst at Forrester, told Business Insider, adding that Jio is clearly becoming “retail heavy” like Alibaba, one of the world’s largest e-commerce players. <div type="Article" hostid="261" msid="68422829" title="15 deals have given Mukesh Ambani’s ₹8.5 trillion Reliance Industries a distinct makeover" mstype="2" mssubtype="0"></div> Others see it differently. “They want to be the next Google or Tencent of India," said Wylie Fernyhough, <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2020/05/20/tech/reliance-jio-ambani-intl-hnk/index.html">an analyst with PitchBook, told CNN.</a> Tencent is a Chinese multinational conglomerate with businesses across internet products, entertainment, fintech and many more. <div type="image" title="Jio Tencent" msid="77059749" hostid="261"></div> During the Reliance Annual General Meeting held on July 15, Ambani stressed on the importance of startups in Reliance’s ‘golden decade’ of growth. That’s also what Tencent did in China. “RIL announced potential integration with Indian startups, including helping them with distribution/marketing and access to capital. This could potentially be a step towards acquiring stakes in Indian startups and using WhatsApp traffic to monetize these through a commission model. We note that Tencent has taken a similar approach in China for WeChat, with stakes in platforms such as Meituan, JD, PDD, etc. We see such a move by RIL to be positive for the Indian internet ecosystem,” said a Goldman Sachs report dated July 16. Jio has already invested in over 20 startups since June 2017 and, as Ambani hinted at the shareholders’ meeting, there may be more in the coming weeks and months. “I believe that there is no better partner for Indian start-ups than JIO. We are well positioned to help Indian start-ups in a number of ways. Whether it be in technology development, product development, distribution, market access, or even scale-up capital,” he said on July 15. Some of Reliance’s big investments in startups <table style="border-width: initial; border-style: none; width: 468pt; table-layout: fixed;"></colgroup><tbody><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Startup </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Sector </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Jio Saavn </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Music </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Embibe </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Edtech </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Haptik </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">AI </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Fynd </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Ecommerce </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Nowfloats </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">SaaS </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Radisys </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Open architecture business models </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Reverie </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Cloud based language as a service platform </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">SankhyaSutra Labs </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Software simulation services </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Netradyne </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Automotive AI </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Asteria Aerospace </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Robotics </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">FunToot </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Edtech </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">EasyGov </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">SaaS platform </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Kare Expert </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Healthtech </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Tesseract </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">AR/VR </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">NewJ </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Media </td></tr></tbody></table> With Facebook and Google on board with their big cheques, Jio has the push to go ahead with its super app ambitions. “Not many telecoms in the world have this kind of ecosystem control — right from content to music to movies as well as having all the different apps within that ecosystem. What was missing was the commerce piece of it,” Tarun Pathak, an associate director at research analytics firm Counterpoint, had told <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/apps/news/mukesh-ambani-wants-to-be-alibaba-with-reliance-jio-super-app-and-investment-from-facebook/articleshow/75343540.cms">Business Insider earlier.</a> <div type="image" title="Super app" msid="77059796" hostid="261"></div> A giant in its own right There are those who think that comparing Jio with Tencent is an exaggeration. Meanwhile, Arvind Singhal, managing director of Technopak, thinks it's foolish to compare Ambani’s plans to those of Tencent or Alibaba. “Many many years ago, people used to say Reliance will be the Walmart of India or the Amazon of India… no Reliance is Reliance, it deserves that credit. Their thinking is very far ahead in all sectors. In this case, Jio along with Retail is one complex piece of a puzzle,” he said. Tencent is a big player in gaming but Jio is still planning to get started with Akash Ambani’s announcement of Jio Console in the 2019 AGM of the company. While making big investments in technology, Ambani is also going big on <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/news/mukesh-ambani-next-goal-seems-to-be-the-retail-king-of-india/articleshow/76953716.cms">physical retail</a>, where Tencent is not a player, though Alibaba is. Refining and petrochemicals continues to contribute over 60% to the consolidated revenue of RIL⁠. Yet, Ambani has already disclosed his plan to spin out Jio and list it as a separate company. And when that happens, the sheer expanse of the company’s interest areas and their individual potential may be benchmarked to the value of similar businesses under the Alibaba and Tencent banners. India may be a smaller market compared to China, where Alibaba and Tencent are major players, but that also leaves a huge growth potential on the table for Jio. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/news/mukesh-ambani-next-goal-seems-to-be-the-retail-king-of-india/articleshow/76953716.cms">Mukesh Ambani’s next goal seems to be the ‘retail king of India’</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/news/mukesh-ambani-gave-google-and-facebook-a-discount-on-reliance-jio-stake-heres-why/articleshow/77032126.cms">Mukesh Ambani gave Google and Facebook a discount on Reliance Jio stake ⁠— here’s why</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/ecommerce/news/google-latest-offering-shoploop-is-similar-to-what-walmart-owned-flipkart-launched-a-week-ago/articleshow/77013646.cms">Google's latest offering Shoploop is similar to what Walmart-owned Flipkart launched a week ago</a>

If Alibaba and Tencent are rolled into one, it may look a lot like Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Jio ⁠— only much smaller for now

<a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=ola&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">Ola</a>, one of India’s leading mobile app for transportation has launched ‘<keyword id="3873925" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Ola-Play">Ola Play</keyword>’, a connected car platform for ride sharing that will transform the in-car experience for users on the go like never before. <keyword id="6354720" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Ola">Ola</keyword> Play is powered by proprietary in-car and cloud technologies from Ola, by bringing advance car controls, choice of personalized content and a fully connected interactive experience for the user. The platform hardware is a first of its kind solution built by Ola in partnership with <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=qualcomm&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">Qualcomm</a>. With this, Ola raises the bar globally, on a connected in-car experience. 
 
Beyond offering a highly personal, experience for users during their rides, Ola Play also allows various partners like Apple Music, Sony LIV, Audio Compass and Fynd to build a high quality interactive experience for users. Mahindra and Mahindra, as part of its strategic partnership with Ola, is deeply integrating this technology in its vehicles, enabling both companies to build holistic solutions for the ridesharing world. 
 Speaking at the launch, <keyword id="1543567" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Bhavish-Aggarwal">Bhavish Aggarwal</keyword>, Co-Founder and CEO at Ola said “The entire Ola team is proud to launch Ola Play, the world’s first connected car platform for ridesharing. I believe this will completely transform the consumer’s ride experience, giving the user the power to control the interactions within the car, and usher in a new era in the ridesharing industry. With over 60 million minutes spent in Ola rides every day, the impact on consumer comfort, convenience and productivity can be transformative. This will further propel ride-sharing as the first choice of mobility for many more millions.” 
 He added, “As a young Indian company, we’re proud to be at the forefront of the <keyword id="3003094" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Startup-India">Startup India</keyword> movement. Ola Play is a world first, built in India by an Indian team, which showcases that we can do better than the best in the world, and be global leaders in technology and innovation.” 
 
Ola Play thus transfers the control of the in-car experience to users from the Driver Console, which enables seamless interfacing with the consumer’s device, once a ride begins. Customers can enjoy the immersive Ola Play experience from their own devices or from the large screen devices mounted in-car, along with car's surround sound systems. This intelligent, context aware system uses customer preferences and current ride information like time and destination to offer personalised recommendations during the ride. 
 Ola Play will be made available on <keyword id="2517392" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Ola-Prime">Ola Prime</keyword> in Bengaluru, Mumbai and Delhi for select customers and will be rolled out across other cities and to over 50,000 vehicles by March 2017.

Now, you can choose your favourite song while riding in Ola, with Ola Play

Nature's FyndNature's Fynd CEO CEO Thomas Jonas<ul class="summary-list"><li>Nature's Fynd, a startup seeking to bring a 'super protein' to the alt-meat market, raised $80 million in a Series B round on Tuesday.</li><li>Breakthrough Energy Ventures, founded by Bill Gates, and General Investment Management, founded by Al Gore, led the round. </li><li>The protein's origins lie in a NASA-backed research project, Yellowstone National Park, and a process not unlike brewing beer. It's technically not a plant, and it's technically not a protein, giving it certain advantages over competitors like Impossible Foods or Beyond Meat.</li><li>Nature's Fynd CEO Thomas Jonas said it planned to use the funding to help it bring Fy-based products to the market within the next 12 months.</li><li>"With one pound of sugar, we are able to make two tons of meat-like product," Jonas said. "And we can do that using a fraction of the resources."</li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/?hprecirc-bullet">Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories</a>.</li></ul>There's a new type of meat in town, and it could be a game-changer in the alt-meat industry. Nature's Fynd, a Chicago-based alt-meat startup, announced that it raised $80 million to help it take its so-called "super-protein," called Fy, from the research lab to the market. Breakthrough Energy Ventures and Generation Investment Management LLP - funds founded by Bill Gates and Al Gore, respectively - co-led the round. Nature's Fynd <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/startup-protein-yellowstone-volcanic-hot-springs-sustainable-bioproducts-2019-1">previously raised $33 million in Series A funding</a>, back when it was known as Sustainable Bioproducts. Its latest announcement is coupled the new company name, which was changed in order to incorporate the name of the new protein into the brand.The Fy protein is neither plant-based nor animal; instead, its origins lie in the volcanic hot springs in Yellowstone National Park.During the course of a NASA-backed research project, Mark Kozubal (now the startup's chief science officer), discovered a <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/2016/05/yellowstone-national-parks-geothermals/">unique strain of microorganism</a>, which is the primary ingredient to manufacturing Fy. Nature's Fynd uses these microbes to builds its new protein, using a fermentation process similar to brewing beer.As Nature's Fynd CEO Thomas Jonas points out, while the startup's technology is unique, the notion of using fermented microbes to create food has plenty of historical precedent. "We've been using microorganisms forever," Jonas said. "Without fermentation, in my home country of France, there would be no wine and no cheese and it would be very bad."As for taste, a big part of developing the new alt-meat was to ensure that it had no particular flavor, Jonas told Business Insider, comparing it to baking or steaming chicken without any seasoning. That's in stark contrast to competitors like Impossible Foods or Beyond Meat, which built their businesses on replicating the taste of beef."A big part of the development of the technology was actually to get to a taste which was very neutral, because in reality, protein in animal cooking as well do not have much taste of flavor," Jonas said. "It's really the seasoning or the fat or the treatment of the protein where you get the flavor." The startup recently opened its production warehouse - ironically in Chicago's historic meatpacking district - and plans to sell Fy to local retailers within the next year, a timeframe that has not yet been delayed by the coronavirus outbreak. "We are currently having discussion with retailers on bringing this product to sell food in the next 12 months," Jonas said. <h2>The alt-meat market's growing popularity</h2>A growing population and increased attention to protein's role in good health has built up the meat (and alt-meat) market's popularity. But for those looking to consume more sustainably, ordinary animal meat's environmental footprint is disproportionately big. Just one ounce of beef requires <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/real-villain-in-the-california-drought-isnt-almonds--its-red-meat-2015-4">over 100 gallons of water</a> to make. If you're raising cattle on a farm, both the cows and the factories that eventually turn them into beef produce greenhouse gases that contribute to global climate change.As consumers become increasingly aware of the vast environmental impact of the industrial meat complex, demands for plant-based and lab-grown meat companies have picked up. And the alt-meat sector is a hot new space for investors. Plant-based meat company Impossible Foods <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-impossible-foods-funding/impossible-foods-raises-500-million-at-nearly-4-billion-valuation-source-idUSKBN2130JT">announced it raised</a> about $500 million in its latest round last week. And valuations for late-stage food-tech companies skyrocketed to a high of $233.4 million in 2019 according to a <a href="https://pitchbook.com/news/articles/finistere-ventures-2019-agrifood-tech-investment-review">recent report issued by Pitchbook and Finistere</a>. Nature's Fynd's unique protein, Fy, has a dramatically lower environmental impact than animal protein, using a tenth of the land, water or greenhouse gas emissions needed to produce similar amounts of animal meat. But Jonas also makes the argument for the industry's ability to scale production at much higher rate than possible with plant-based protein startups. "With one pound of sugar, we are able to make two tons of meat-like product," Jonas said. "And we can do that using a fraction of the resources."The startup was able to keep operating under circumstances that would be challenging to farmers, Jonas added. "Unlike agricultural crops, we're not dependent on rain or sun or any kind of weather issues," Jonas said. <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/bidets-better-than-using-just-toilet-paper-2019-9">Why bidets are better than buying countless rolls of toilet paper</a></h3>

This alt-meat startup just raised $80 million from investors including Bill Gates' and Al Gore's funds to develop its 'super protein' that's neither animal nor plant

<ul><li><keyword id="6484187" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="ril">RIL</keyword> has just acquired a controlling stake of 85% in the Hyderabad-based startup <keyword id="1845256" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="NowFloats">Nowfloats</keyword> for ₹141.63 crores. </li><li>Earlier in the year, the company acquired online fashion e-commerce platform Fynd and conversational AI startup Haptik.</li><li>These investments are in line with the much awaited <keyword id="10926" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Reliance">Reliance</keyword> e-commerce debut.</li></ul><keyword id="3820" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Mukesh-Ambani">Mukesh Ambani</keyword> led <keyword id="6355199" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="reliance-industries">Reliance Industries</keyword> is gearing up for its e-commerce launch and looking at its latest startup acquisitions, they all seem to be a strategic investment to enable the company’s marketplace model. RIL has just acquired a controlling stake of 85% in the Hyderabad-based startup Nowfloats for ₹141.63 crores. Nowfloats offers SaaS based solutions to SMEs, enabling their digital presence. This comes in line with Reliance’s e-commerce venture, where it is reportedly working with kirana stores and small businesses in the country, to bring them online. “The aforesaid investment will further enable the group’s digital and new commerce initiatives,” said the official statement from Reliance. It has been clear for a few quarters now that the next leg of growth for Reliance will come from its consumer business and e-commerce will be an important pillar in that aside from the telecom venture Reliance Jio.“RIL is most attractively priced large cap growth stock in India. EBITDA from consumer biz will drive further re-rating” global broking firm CLSA said in its latest report. 
 
 
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 Reliance’s startup acquisitions are driving its e-commerce dream Reliance has also mentioned that it would invest another ₹75 crore in Nowfloats if they achieve their agreed milestones. However, Nowfloats isn’t the only big startup acquisition Reliance has made this year that brings it closer to its e-commerce vertical. Earlier in August 2019, Reliance acquired a majority stake in the Google-backed startup Fynd. Working in the online fashion e-commerce space, Fynd is the middleman for physical retail outlets and e-stores. Reliance pumped in ₹295.25 crore in the startup, during which Google exited Fynd. Back then too, Reliance had said that this investment would help its commerce initiative. Prior to that, Reliance acquired the Artificial Intelligence firm Haptik for a whopping ₹700 crore. Haptik is a conversational AI platform which enables customer engagement through support, concierge services, lead generation and more. Even after rumours of a Diwali launch, Reliance’s e-commerce venture is still awaited by all. <a href="https://inc42.com/buzz/reliance-retail-pilots-ecommerce/">Reports</a> say that pilot for the e-commerce vertical has already begun across India. However, with these acquisitions Reliance is putting together a strong tech vertical with already established businesses and consumers. See Also: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/ecommerce/news/ali-express-club-factory-and-shein-wont-be-able-to-import-gifts-to-indians-anymore/articleshow/72502873.cms">If you ordered a ‘gift’ from Club Factory, Shein or Ali Express — it might not make it through customs in India</a>

Reliance Industries' latest acquisition takes Mukesh Ambani closer to e-commerce launch

<ul><li>The students at the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (<keyword id="6364696" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="ICAI">ICAI</keyword>), who were supposed to appear for the Chartered Accountant (CA) examination in July can now ‘opt-out’ and sit for the examination in November. </li><li>This is applicable to the students who have already submitted the online application for the exams. </li><li>Those who opt out will have to submit a declaration between June 17 to June 20, 2020. </li><li>However, these students will be required to apply afresh for the exams in November. </li></ul>The students at the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI), who were supposed to appear for the Chartered Accountant (CA) examination in July can now ‘opt-out’ and sit for the examination in November. In that case, this attempt (July examination) will not be counted. This is applicable to the exams scheduled from July 29 and the students who have already submitted the online application for the exams. “The students shall be allowed to opt-out and carry forward their candidature to next examination i.e. November, 2020 examination cycle,” the official notification said. <div type="twitter" handle="theicai" handlename="Institute of Chartered Accountants of India - ICAI" image="http://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/484924214860726273/m5YtyQOh_normal.jpeg" favoritecount="2307" retweetcount="580" status="Important AnnouncementFor more details please visithttps://t.co/sgEbH3qyaz https://t.co/OtOHS9g7go" createdat="1592204184000" id="1272422690742132736"></div> The development comes after multiple requests from students appealed to defer the exams due to the pandemic. Those who opt out will have to submit a declaration between June 17 to June 20, 2020. The institute said that the examination fee and other expenditure shall automatically be shifted to the next exam cycle in November 2020. However, these students will be required to apply afresh for the exams in November. On the other hand, the students who choose to appear in the exam in July will have to undergo mandatory thermal scanning. As per the guidelines by the government, the institute will take social distancing measures, hand sanitisation and mandatory wearing of masks. “Remaining students who will choose not to opt out and wish to appear for the exams commencing from 29th July 2020, the Institute is making all the required and necessary arrangements for smooth conduct of May 2020 examination (commencing from 29th July, 2020) across the globe including strict adherence to the precautions / measures related to COVID–19 which cover thermal scanning, hands’ sanitization, wearing of masks, maintaining social distancing at all times, following Government guidelines, etc. for the examinees / centre functionaries during the conduct of Chartered Accountant Examination,” ICAI said. The Union Public Services Commission (UPSC) also postponed the civil services examination recently in wake of the coronavirus pandemic. See also: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/1-in-every-10-new-patients-tested-in-india-is-covid-19-positive-and-that-just-means-community-transmission-is-underway-but-not-everywhere/articleshow/76383925.cms">1 in every 10 new patients tested in India is COVID-19 positive — and that just means community transmission is underway but not everywhere</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/reliance-backed-fynd-turns-your-screen-into-a-mirror-and-lets-you-try-make-up-products-virtually-before-buying-them/articleshow/76382060.cms">Reliance-backed Fynd turns your screen into a mirror and lets you try make-up products virtually before buying them</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/politics/india/news/legal-experts-argue-that-supreme-court-is-protecting-employers-and-not-unpaid-employees/articleshow/76382164.cms">Legal experts argue that Supreme Court is protecting employers and not unpaid employees</a>

ICAI offers CA students to ‘opt-out’ of the July examination — and sit for November exams instead

<ul><li>The Supreme Court, on June 12, diluted the government’s order that mandated companies to pay wages to employees without deductions during the <keyword id="8637077" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Coronavirus-lockdown">coronavirus lockdown</keyword>. </li><li>The employer and the employees should ‘negotiate’ to resolve the matter, the court said. </li><li>This has stirred a debate on how the law protects the employers more than the employees. </li></ul>In a major development, the Supreme Court, on June 12, diluted the government’s order that mandated companies to <a href="https://www.livelaw.in/know-the-law/21-notable-judgments-delivered-by-courts-during-covid-19-lockdown-157947?infinitescroll=1">pay wages to employees without deductions</a> during the coronavirus lockdown. And that has turned the order in favour of the employers — at least for now. The apex court said that the government should not take any coercive steps against those private companies who haven’t paid their employees. In fact, the employer and the employees should ‘negotiate’ to resolve the matter, the court said. However, the next hearing is scheduled for end of July. SC order gives a ‘bargaining power’ to employers This has stirred a debate on how the law protects the employers more than the employees. “This is a classic case of judicial evasion. The court refrained from answering the legal question before it, but its refusal to answer created a status quo where one party benefitted at the expense of the other,” <a href="https://www.livelaw.in/columns/coronavirus-and-the-constitution-xxxii-payment-of-wages-and-judicial-evasion-in-a-pandemic-158293?infinitescroll=1">said</a> <keyword id="318837" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Gautam-Bhatia">Gautam Bhatia</keyword>, who has published nearly 20 scholarly papers. According to Anshul Prakash, partner at a corporate law company Khaitan &amp; Co, “since no coercive action can be taken against the private companies, they have a good bargaining power to enter into negotiation for <keyword id="4051159" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="payment-of-wages">payment of wages</keyword> at a reduced rate for the lockdown period and settle disputes.” However, in that case, the companies should obtain a ‘no claim letter’ from the workers pursuant to making such payment, added Prakash. Despite the orders… Many companies have already implemented pay cuts and laid off staff. A recent survey of CEOs, that included over 50 Indian startups, shows that <a href="https://qz.com/india/1830676/salary-cuts-arrive-at-indian-startups-amid-the-coronavirus-slump/">one in four startups in India already announced pay cuts</a>. And, a third of them are considering doing so. Goibibo and redBus also slashed employee salaries. There is an extent to which industry can fund unemployment insurance On the other hand, though a few organisations can safeguard their employees from bearing the brunt of the pandemic they will not be able to take the hit for a long time since there is uncertainty around Covid-19 and its possible impact. According to a recent <a href="https://telecom.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/50000-bsnl-contract-workers-remain-unpaid-for-a-year/76353325">ET report</a>, nearly 50,000 contract employees at Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) were left unpaid despite the government order on payment of wages. Meanwhile, startups like Droom Swiggy, Zomato, MakeMyTrip (MMT), ixigo axed jobs too amid the lockdown. “Some organisations can give away the salaries if they have deeper pockets. However the question is, for how long and are they willing? There is an extent to which industry can fund unemployment insurance. In the long run, organisations cannot afford to bear the burden of unemployment insurance fully,” Rituparna Chakraborty, Co-founder of TeamLease Services told Business Insider in an earlier interview. See also: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/reliance-backed-fynd-turns-your-screen-into-a-mirror-and-lets-you-try-make-up-products-virtually-before-buying-them/articleshow/76382060.cms">Reliance-backed Fynd turns your screen into a mirror and lets you try make-up products virtually before buying them</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/careers/news/tech-mahindra-intel-wipro-and-other-multinationals-hiring-engineers/articleshow/76379519.cms">Tech Mahindra, Intel, Wipro and other multinationals hiring engineers</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/these-three-indian-startups-feature-in-the-50-global-future-unicorns-list/articleshow/76379083.cms">These three Indian startups feature in the 50 global future unicorns list</a>

Legal experts argue that Supreme Court is protecting employers and not unpaid employees

<ul><li><keyword id="8506093" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Jiomart">JioMart</keyword> launches as a grocery retail platform delivering in Navi Mumbai, Thane and Kalyan. </li><li><keyword id="10926" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Reliance">Reliance</keyword> is also calling for pre-registrations which promises to save ₹3,000 at the time of launch. </li><li><keyword id="2003276" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Jio">Jio</keyword>’s entry is a threat to <keyword id="35621" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="e-commerce">e-commerce</keyword> bigwigs, Amazon, Flipkart and also startups like BigBasket, Grofers, Swiggy, Dunzo. </li></ul>Reliance Industries has silently launched its much talked about e-commerce venture, JioMart. JioMart is a grocery retail platform that calls itself ‘desh ki nayi dukaan’. The website says that it is currently available in Navi Mumbai, Thane and Kalyan - suburbs of Mumbai. “Yes, we have soft-launched our operations. All Jio users are sent invites to register to avail of preliminary discounts. Though it is currently only in three regions, we would be scaling it up further. The JioMart app will be launched soon," an official told <a href="https://www.livemint.com/companies/news/ril-gears-up-to-take-on-amazon-flipkart-with-jiomart-launch-11577730323843.html">Mint</a>. Reliance is also calling for pre-registrations from users with savings of as much as ₹3,000. This step can help boost the valuation of the business which has 10,901 physical stores across the country. Reliance Industries said that it plans to spin off its retail venture, and the new digital avatar can boost its valuation. An <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/corporates/news/mukesh-ambanis-reliance-retail-is-valued-at-2-4-lakh-crore/articleshow/72988278.cms">IANS report</a> pegs the value of Reliance Retail at ₹2.4 lakh crore as per a share swap scheme. It basically calculated the value of the business as RIL offered one share of the combined entity for every four shares of retail business. Also, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/news/ril-first-indian-firm-to-hit-rs-10-lakh-cr-m-cap-mark/articleshow/72276957.cms">RIL</a> stock touched ₹10 lakh crore this year, boosting the value of all its businesses. JioMart’s debut is a threat to several e-commerce players who have been scaling up their grocery retail operations like – Amazon, Flipkart to startups like BigBasket, Grofers, Swiggy, Dunzo. For over a year now, rumours of Reliance e-commerce debut had been doing the rounds. The company has also been buying into startups in the sector. Going by an offline-to-online model, in December Reliance acquired 85% stake in the Hyderabad-based startup Nowfloats for ₹141.63 crores. Nowfloats offers SaaS based solutions to SMEs, and enables their digital presence. In August 2019, Reliance acquired a majority stake in the Google-backed fashion e-commerce startup Fynd. In March 2019, Reliance had acquired Mumbai-based logistics platform Grab A Grub. Reliance Retail has made a much bigger promise to build its online business on the back of its 364.3 million Jio subscribers. See Also: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/corporates/news/mukesh-ambanis-reliance-retail-is-valued-at-2-4-lakh-crore/articleshow/72988278.cms">Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Retail is valued at ₹2.4 lakh crore</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/ecommerce/news/reliance-industries-latest-acquisition-takes-mukesh-ambani-closer-to-e-commerce-launch/articleshow/72504542.cms">Reliance Industries' latest acquisition takes Mukesh Ambani closer to e-commerce launch</a>

Reliance’s e-commerce venture JioMart makes a silent debut, calls for pre-registrations

<ul><li>As the supply chain of essentials is affected, e-commerce platforms are depending on <keyword id="6513856" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="kirana-stores">kirana stores</keyword> for efficient delivery. </li><li>Startups are offering free online applications to mom-n-pop stores, while B2B startups are raking in revenue thanks to the kirana business. </li><li>Now, Reliance Industries too wants a piece of the pie. Jio’s e-commerce entity <keyword id="8506093" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Jiomart">JioMart</keyword> has taken the Offline to Online business model and its partnership with Facebook will only boost it. </li></ul>With the coronavirus lockdown in place, the local mom n pop stores or kirana dukans have become the go-to stores. These neighbourhood stores which had come under threat because of the rise of e-commerce, have turned into lockdown heroes. With e-commerce apps finding it difficult to deliver or managing huge volumes, many users have turned to local kirana stores. They don’t mind standing in the circles made outside a shop to practise social distancing as long as they can go home with the groceries they want. But it’s not just that. As the supply chain is affected by the district lockdown and fewer labour in place, e-commerce platforms are too banking on kiranas for efficient delivery of essentials. And this has resulted in a line-up of startups and big corporates all turning to the kirana waala dukaan with offers, new products and more. ‘Kirana stores have become India’s lifeline’ Amazon India launched ‘Local Shops on Amazon’. The program helps customers discover products from local shops in their city from the convenience of their homes, while helping shopkeepers supplement their footfalls with a digital presence and expand beyond their normal catchment, said the company. Amazon had piloted this program for 6 months with over 5000 local shops and retailers from 100+ cities across India. India is home to a vast number of B2B startups who have been working with mom n pop stores. MaxWholesale, a B2B e-commerce platform for kirana stores to source online inventory, raked in sales worth over ₹1 crore in a single day. “During such unprecedented times, kiranas have become the lifeline for the country. We have ensured that our on-ground staff and our suppliers get the best of our capabilities. The confidence that the suppliers and retailers have bestowed upon us has made us achieve this feat. We are committed to make kirana stores comfortable with technology by solving their core problem of dependable supply,” said Samarth Agrawal, Founder &amp; CEO, MaxWholesale. With kirana stores becoming the centrepoint for essentials, startups also figured out the need to start listing them online for faster delivery and efficiency. Phonepe introduced a new feature ‘stores’ with a list of kirana stores near you, and you can place your order and pay through the app for a contactless delivery. Meanwhile, startups like GoFrugal and LoveLocal started offering free applications to kirana shops to help them take their business online and serve more customers. Nearly 80,000 LoveLocal shops are serving over 10 million consumers across India with no touch delivery and no touch shop pickup. "These are difficult times. During the lockdown, when there is a need for essential goods, our neighbourhood kirana stores are the ones who have stepped up to help us. GOFRUGAL is offering our gratitude by providing free solutions till September 2020. All these functions can be managed at their fingertips using our app. Going forward we aim to upgrade all the kirana stores into a smart platform where they can continue to enjoy the benefits,” said Kumar Vembu, CEO and Founder, GOFRUGAL. The big game – JioMart and its O2O model Big guns are gunning for kirana business too. Paytm Mall, which began operations in February 2017, went through a series of ups and downs. This was until in 2019 when it switched to an O2O model led business. Now, Paytm Mall drives its online traffic to offline stores through gift vouchers, offers and uses offline strength to push online traffic through digital payments only. And now the big player Reliance Retail too wants a piece of the pie. Jio’s e-commerce entity JioMart has also taken to the hybrid model. Facilitating this offline-to-online model, in December 2019, Reliance acquired 85% stake in the Hyderabad-based startup Nowfloats for ₹141.63 crore. Nowfloats offers SaaS-based solutions to SMEs, and enables their digital presence. In August 2019, Reliance acquired a majority stake in the Google-backed fashion e-commerce startup Fynd. In March 2019, Reliance acquired Mumbai-based logistics platform Grab A Grub. Reliance Jio’s latest deal with Facebook is another such move in the same direction. One of the significant factors of the deal is that Reliance Retail and WhatsApp are now in a commercial partnership to accelerate the Indian giant’s e-commerce venture – JioMart. Through JioMart and WhatsApp, the entities will now help support consumer businesses. “The companies will work closely to ensure that consumers are able to access the nearest kiranas who can provide products and services to their homes by transacting seamlessly with JioMart using WhatsApp,” Reliance said in a statement. See Also: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/the-ceo-of-54-billion-mahindra-mahindra-pawan-goenka-says-these-four-things-will-be-normal-in-the-post-covid-world/articleshow/75316936.cms">The Managing Director of $54 billion Mahindra &amp; Mahindra, Pawan Goenka, says these four things will be ‘normal’ in the post- COVID world</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/home-delivery-of-alcohol-is-illegal-anyone-telling-you-otherwise-is-probably-trying-to-run-a-scam/articleshow/75315790.cms">Home delivery of alcohol is illegal — anyone telling you otherwise is probably trying to run a scam</a>

From Reliance’s JioMart to Amazon and startups all line up to serve kiranas – India’s mom n pop stores

<ul><li>Chairman <keyword id="3820" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Mukesh-Ambani">Mukesh Ambani</keyword>, with a net worth of $72.4 billion, is leaving no stone unturned ⁠— whether it is in adding physical stores or technological might for <keyword id="8506093" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Jiomart">JioMart</keyword>.</li><li>The RIL stock has gained 25.8% this year so far , analysts expect a lot more from RIL in the next few months.</li><li>While the big-ticket fundraising by Reliance <keyword id="2003276" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Jio">Jio</keyword> has caught the market’s fancy, the next round of unlocking potential value is likely to come from the retail vertical set for an IPO.</li><li>While a deal to buy out Kishore Biyani’s Future Retail is being worked out, here’s a look at the size and scope of Ambani’s existing retail unit, which is a giant in its own right. </li><li>Check out the latest news and updates on <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/">Business Insider.</a></li></ul>According to Reliance Industries’ annual report, the retail vertical sold 20 million electronic units, 160 million garments, 2.6 billion units of grocery among other things last financial year. Reliance is already the country’s largest retail chain but Chairman Mukesh Ambani ⁠— with a net worth of $72.4 billion ⁠— wants more and he is leaving no stone unturned, whether it is in adding physical stores or technological might (including the reach and scale of WhatsApp) for its e-commerce platform JioMart. While the big-ticket fundraising by Reliance Jio has caught the market’s fancy, the next round of unlocking potential value is likely to come from the retail vertical, which is also headed for an initial public offering (IPO) soon. While a deal to buy out Kishore Biyani’s struggling Future Retail is being worked out, here’s a look at the size and scope of Ambani’s existing retail unit, which is a giant in its own right. To start with <keyword id="58448" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Reliance-Retail">Reliance Retail</keyword> employs nearly 1.4 lakh people, and has almost 11,800 stores all across India selling everything from food and grocery, consumer electronics, to fashion and lifestyle. Adding Future Retail’s stores would straight away add 1,500 outlets to its network. Profit is a habit for Ambani Reliance Retail revenue and profit is twice as much as it was three years ago. In the last quarter, even with March being a tepid month, Reliance Retail posted an operating profit of ₹2,062 crore, up by 19.8% from the same quarter the previous year. <div type="image" title="retail charts." msid="76954033" hostid="261"></div> In the full year ending March 2020, it has added 1,500 stores and 30% to its total retail space. Reliance Retail saw 640 million footfalls during the year, and has a 125 million registered customer base, up 40% year-on-year. According to the report, the retail venture on an average adds three stores per day. <table style="border-width: initial; border-style: none; width: 468pt; table-layout: fixed;"></colgroup><tbody><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Segment </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Brands </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Margin (Source: BOB Capital Markets) </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Food and Grocery </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Reliance Fresh, Reliance Smart and Reliance Market </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">6.5% </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Consumer electronics </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Reliance Digital Jio stores </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">6.2% 2.2% </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Fashion and lifestyle </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Reliance Trends, Project Eve, Reliance Footwear, Reliance Jewels and AJIO.com. </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">24% </td></tr></tbody></table> Consumer electronics has been the big win for retail so far <div type="image" title="reliance revenue chart." msid="76954052" hostid="261"></div> 61% of the retail revenue comes from consumer electronics. “Reliance Retail, being the master distributor for Jio’s telecom services, is a strategically important entity. With 8,100+ Jio stores, the retail business is cleverly capitalising on Jio’s technology platform and moving between brick-and-mortar stores and the e-commerce business,” said a Bank of Baroda Capital Markets report. Essentially, Reliance Retail is not just selling technology, it is also using tech to boost its business Reliance is betting on e-commerce with its much talked about venture JioMart, which currently works on the offline-to-online model with kirana stores and is present across 200 cities. “The roadmap to this journey requires Reliance Retail to establish a complex yet robust physical and digital pan-India infrastructure and neatly weave this network to a smooth, sound and responsive operating system, which will enable Reliance Retail to serve consumers in partnership with traditional retailers,” Reliance’s annual report said. Facebook’s $5.7 billion investment in the company has meant that Reliance Retail and WhatsApp are now in a commercial partnership to accelerate JioMart’s growth. Reliance's various startup investments have been boosting its technological prowess like Haptik in the conversational AI (Artificial Intelligence) space, Fynd in the e-commerce sector, among various other bets in education, cloud, robotics, SaaS (Sofware as a service) and more. All this will take Reliance deep inside India’s heartland Reliance Retail already has extended beyond the big cities of India. “Under the Trends umbrella, retail operates Trends Small Town (a concept addressed to tier-3 and 4 towns). The concept has been well received by customers and has scaled up to 240 stores across 200+ towns in a short time,” said the report. And the tech investments may help it go far deeper and grow much larger. “We expect revenues to surge to ₹3.4 trillion by FY23 (33% of which will come from connectivity),” said the Bank of Baroda Capital Markets report from July. Post-covid retail All eyes will be on retail on the April-June 2020 earnings, as the coronavirus lockdown would have impacted the sales. But Reliance Retail with Mukesh Ambani’s deep pockets is likely to fare better than peers. “Business is re-imagining the store in a post COVID-19 world and reworking its interactions with customers when they come back, how they come back, their shopping journey, checkout and so on. Taking a 360 degree view of the customers, business is strengthening digital commerce and omni-channel capabilities, bolstering its supply chain / fulfillment capacity to handle 10x home delivery,” said Reliance in its annual report. The investments into the company and the planning for a future with new rules of the game have helped the stock <div type="image" title="RIL share (1)." msid="76954116" hostid="261"></div> While the stock has gained 25.8% this year so far ⁠— at a time when the Sensex has fallen 12.5% ⁠— analysts expect a lot more from RIL in the next few months <table style="border-width: initial; border-style: none; width: 468pt; table-layout: fixed;"></colgroup><tbody><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Broking firm </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Target price </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Morgan Stanley </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">₹1801 </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Angel Broking </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">₹1937 </td></tr></tbody></table> SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/news/mukesh-ambani-jio-fiber-and-reliance-invit-set-to-raise-over-1-billion-from-abu-dhabi-and-saudi-sovereign-funds-for/articleshow/76888352.cms">Mukesh Ambani is not done – Jio Fiber to get over $1 billion as Abu Dhabi and Saudi sovereign funds are set to invest in Reliance InvIT</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/google-ceo-sundar-pichai-announces-10-billion-investment-in-india/articleshow/76937372.cms">Google will invest $10 billion in India, as CEO Sundar Pichai says India will lead the next wave of innovation</a>

Mukesh Ambani’s next goal seems to be the ‘retail king of India’

<keyword id="6354720" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Ola">Ola</keyword>’s own connected car platform <keyword id="3873925" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Ola-Play">Ola Play</keyword>, which is its connected car platform for ridesharing, is now available for all Ola users through the Prime category. 
 
Ola Play, launched in November 2016, had been exclusively available for Ola Select customers until now and the company says that it has highly contributed Ola’s premium subscription category. 
 
<a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/budget-2017-china-is-still-far-ahead-of-india-when-it-comes-to-startups/articleshow/56628904.cms">ALSO READ: China is still far ahead of India when it comes to Startups</a> 
 
Ola has introduced unique innovations like OlaPlay to attract and keep users due to factors like pricing, payments, and value added services and give added competition to the global giant Uber. 
 ‘’Opening up ‘Prime Play’ category for its Select users saw hundreds of thousands of new users opt for the Select subscription, resulting in 3x growth. Beyond offering a highly personal experience for users during their rides,’’ says Ankit <keyword id="6367260" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Jain">Jain</keyword>, Head of Ola Play, Ola in regards to why this category is crucial to the company. 
 Ola Play also allows various partners like <keyword id="6354427" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Apple">Apple</keyword> Music, Sony LIV, AIB, TVF, Audio Compass and Fynd, to build a high-quality interactive experience for users. 
 
Jain also shared instances where Ola users took a longer route during their ride,’’Some riders take longer routes to make sure they finish a comedy show episode during their commute.’’ 
 
<a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/budget-2017-what-india-can-take-away-from-uks-startup-friendly-policies/articleshow/56661376.cms">ALSO READ: What India can take away from UK’s startup-friendly policies</a> 
 Jain believes that for the Indian commuter Comedy and <keyword id="4578" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="entertainment">Entertainment</keyword> will be the frontrunner in categories on OlaPlay. 
 
To engage and entertain the rider, seems to be Ola’s motto for this year with Ola Play being available to Ola Select customers alongside exclusively bundled benefits like Free Wifi, no peak pricing and getting priority rides. 
 
<a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/first-anniversary-of-pm-modis-startup-india-hits-misses/articleshow/56674954.cms">ALSO READ: First anniversary of PM Modi’s ‘Startup India’: Hits &amp; Misses</a> 
 
Ola Play is currently available in Bangalore, Mumbai, and Delhi and is expected to be extended to 50,000+ Ola Prime vehicles by March 2017.

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Why you would want to take a longer route on your next Ola Prime ride

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