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<ul><li>According to reports, the deal is in its final stages of negotiations. </li><li>The deal would give Swiggy a bigger hand to take on rival Zomato. </li><li>Swiggy had earlier announced that it is going to start grocery and medicine delivery too. </li></ul>Swiggy had a great 2018, grabbing the unicorn status. And now Swiggy wants a bigger share of the plate as it is in talks with Uber to take over the operations of <keyword id="4704786" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="UberEATS-India">Ubereats India</keyword>. According to a report on the <a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/small-biz/startups/newsbuzz/uber-eats-india-likely-to-end-up-on-swiggys-plate/articleshow/68105369.cms">Economic Times</a>, the deal is in its final stages of negotiation and is expected to close by next month. The report further mentions that the deal could be a share swap, where Swiggy in exchange for taking over Ubereats will give the ride hailing company Uber a 10% stake. Earlier <a href="https://www.businesstoday.in/current/corporate/ubereats-on-sale-swiggy-zomato-competing-acquire-food-delivery-app-report/story/321164.html">reports</a> also suggested that Zomato and Swiggy both were looking at acquiring Ubereats India operations. Both the companies together hold 80% of the online food delivery space in India. With Swiggy reportedly leading the race for acquisition now, the deal would give the company a better stand to take on rival Zomato. Ubereats launched in India in 2016 and has grown considerably over time. Jason Droege, global head of Ubereats told <a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/small-biz/startups/newsbuzz/india-fastest-growing-market-for-ubereats/articleshow/66384076.cms">ET </a>that its India wing has grown seven fold in order volume in the past six months in India, while adding over 4,500 delivery partners each week. Swiggy became one of India’s fastest unicorn in June last year, getting the prime status in just four years of operations. In December 2018, the food delivery startup further raked up a whopping <a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/small-biz/startups/newsbuzz/with-1-b-new-money-and-3-3-b-valuation-swiggy-turns-swaggy/articleshow/67186809.cms">$1 billion</a> in funding, taking up its valuation to $3.3 billion. “With this funding, we will further invest in building differentiated offerings, plugging the white spaces in the ecosystem, and developing our technology while keeping superlative customer experience at the core," said Sriharsha Majety, CEO, Swiggy had then <a href="https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/308736">said</a>. The startup is also expanding its <a href="https://www.businesstoday.in/current/corporate/not-only-food-swiggy-will-also-delivery-groceries-medicines-vegetables-at-your-doorstep/story/318547.html">offering</a>, as it announced earlier in February, that it will soon start delivery of groceries, medicines and more. It has also been on an acquisition spree – it <a href="https://www.livemint.com/Companies/AOxcPY6Gu57vSsOLz5whiM/Swiggy-acquires-ondemand-delivery-platform-Scootsy.html">acquired</a> on demand delivery platform Scootsy to leverage the Scootsy’s existent network of restaurants and grow its consumer base. It had also acqui-hired the gourmet Asian food startup 48east. On the technology side, Swiggy had also taken over Bengaluru-based AI startup Kint.io. “This acqui-hire is part of Swiggy's strategy to scale our tech prowess by bringing in entrepreneurial teams that can solve unique customer problems,” said Dale Vaz, Head of Engineering and Data Sciences, Swiggy had told <a href="https://tech.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/startups/swiggy-acquires-bengaluru-based-ai-startup-kint-io/67829829">ETtech</a>. See Also: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/swiggy-and-zomato-are-being-targeted-for-misusing-dominant-position-in-a-petition-filed-with-indias-competition-watchdog/articleshow/67376953.cms">Swiggy and Zomato are being targeted for ‘misusing dominant position’ in a petition filed with India’s competition watchdog</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/indian-food-delivery-startup-swiggy-raises-1-billion-in-nasper-led-funding-round/articleshow/67187165.cms">Indian food delivery startup Swiggy raises $1 billion in Nasper-led funding round</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/for-indian-startups-2018-has-been-a-year-of-bouncing-back-as-venture-capital-funding-doubles/articleshow/67286540.cms">For Indian startups, 2018 has been a year of bouncing back as venture capital funding doubles</a>

Swiggy wants more on its plate, in talks to acquire Ubereats India

<ul><li><keyword id="6358977" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="swiggy">Swiggy</keyword> which turns 5 today, was one of India’s fastest startups to turn unicorn in 2018.</li><li>The startup which also started delivering groceries, has added 240 cities just in 2019 so far. </li><li>Swiggy claims it gets 43 <keyword id="41887" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="biryani">biryani</keyword> orders per minute, while Subway, Domino’s, McDonald’s and Burger King lead order numbers.</li></ul>Indian <keyword id="3105315" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Foodtech">foodtech</keyword> unicorn Swiggy has come a long way from its inception in 2014. Founded by Sriharsha Majety, Nandan Reddy, and Rahul Jaimini, the food aggregator had in 2018 become India’s fastest unicorn. In December 2018, the food delivery startup further raked up a whopping $1 billion in funding, taking up its valuation to $3.3 billion. And the startup is also expanding its offerings moving on from just food delivery to groceries, medicines and more. Here’s a look at the interesting facts and figures of the foodtech unicorn <div type="Slideshow" msid="70566316" hostid="261" title="Swiggy turns five – the unicorn has gone from 6 delivery partners in 1 city to 200,000 in 290 cities" firstImageMsid="70566317" slideCount="4"></div>

Swiggy turns five – the unicorn has gone from 6 delivery partners in 1 city to 200,000 in 290 cities

<ul><li><keyword id="830092" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Zomato">Zomato</keyword> to celebrate its 11th anniversary has partnered with <keyword id="6762469" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="TikTok">TikTok</keyword>. </li><li>TikTok creators and Zomato’s <keyword id="3101480" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Feeding-India">Feeding India</keyword> conducted a <keyword id="3801770" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="food-drive">food drive</keyword>. </li><li>The food drive was held in 86 cities across 11 countries.</li></ul>Indian foodtech unicorn Zomato partnered with video sharing platform TikTok. Zomato, which is celebrating its 11th anniversary, had recently acquired Feeding India, a not-for-profit organization that aims to end hunger issues and food wastage problems in India. Zomato ran a food drive to serve one lakh meals a day and TikTok creators too contributed to the cause. “Our long-held mission of ‘better food for more people’ empowers us to target food wastage from different sources and direct them to less privileged parts of our society. This food drive was an opportunity for each one of us to live our mission,” said Durga Raghunath, Senior VP, Growth, Zomato. The food drive organized by Zomato was conducted in a total of 86 cities across 11 countries: India, UAE, Lebanon, Qatar, Indonesia, Australia, New Zealand, Portugal, Turkey, Philippines and USA. “This partnership is a testament to TikTok’s commitment as a responsible technology company by giving a platform to its creators to express themselves to a global audience and spread positive messages on the platform,” said Sachin Sharma, Director- sales and partnerships, TikTok India. More and more Indian brands have been leveraging TikTok as a messaging partner. Recently, Kerala government too had partnered with TikTok’s travel campaign.

Zomato and TikTok come together to spread the message on food wastage

<ul><li>Indian <keyword id="3105315" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Foodtech">foodtech</keyword> unicorn <keyword id="830092" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Zomato">Zomato</keyword> has reported a 105% growth in revenue – from $192 million in FY19 to $394 million in FY20. </li><li>The company has also seen its EBITDA loss widen by 5.7% from $277 million in FY19 to $293 million in FY20. </li><li>Zomato founder <keyword id="476451" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Deepinder-Goyal">Deepinder Goyal</keyword> said they expect to make complete recovery over the next 3-6 months.</li></ul>Indian foodtech unicorn Zomato has doubled its revenue from $192 million in FY19 to $394 million in FY20. The company has also seen its EBITDA loss has widened by 5.7% from $277 million in FY19 to $293 million in FY20. “While COVID-19 has impacted the size of our business, it has accelerated our journey to profitability. In terms of the size of the business, COVID-19 has set us back by a year or so – but a year is only a small blip when you are building a company for the next 100 years,” wrote Zomato CEO Deepinder Goyal in a blog. In the first quarter of FY21, with most restaurants being shut and operating on a takeaway only business, Zomato reported a revenue of $41 million and loss of $12 million. But Goyal believes that the COVID-19 pandemic has made their business healthy. “In July 2020, we estimate our monthly burn rate to land under $1m, while our revenue should land at ~60% of pre-COVID peaks ($23m per month). We expect to make complete recovery over the next 3-6 months while continuing to maintain tight control on costs/profitability,” he wrote. While Zomato had laid off 13% of its workforce due to the coronavirus pandemic, 75% of its employees volunteered for partial salary cuts resulting in a total reduction of 14% in payroll costs. However, the original salaries have now been reinstated and the burn rate of July includes the salary costs, said Goyal. Meanwhile, Zomato’s FY20 India food delivery Gross Merchandising Volume grew by 108% over FY19. “ In Q1 FY20, we used to make a contribution margin of –₹47 per order; in Q1 FY21, we made a contribution margin of +₹27 per order,” wrote Goyal. 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>

Zomato has doubled its revenue and founder Deepinder Goyal says COVID-19 has made the company lean and mean

<ul><li>The reported acquisition of <keyword id="6434843" type="LOCATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="freshmenu">Freshmenu</keyword> could happen for $60 million. </li><li>Oyo and Freshmenu have a common investor – Lightspeed Venture Partners. </li><li>The hospitality unicorn has big dreams – it wants to become the world’s largest hotel chain in two years. </li></ul>Indian hospitality unicorn Oyo Rooms is <a href="https://tech.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/internet/oyo-in-talks-to-acquire-freshmenu-for-60m/68104058">reportedly</a> looking at venturing into foodtech by acquiring cloud kitchen startup Freshmenu. The acquisition, which could be valued at $50-60 million according to ETtech, will mark Oyo’s entry in the food space. Freshmenu, as a cloud kitchen startup (accepts only online delivery), has its own kitchens and delivery. Since its launch in 2014, the startup has gone on to have over <a href="https://yourstory.com/2019/01/freshmenu-funding-lightspeed-ventures">27</a> kitchens across Bengaluru, Mumbai and Delhi. In November, <a href="https://tech.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/startups/freshmenu-revenues-jump-72-to-rs-122-3-cr-even-as-losses-remain-flat-in-fy18/66868516">ETtech</a> reported that Freshmenu had seen a jump in its revenues to 72% at ₹122.3 crore in FY18 compared with ₹71 crore in FY17. Oyo and Freshmenu have a common investor – Lightspeed Venture Partners – and <a href="https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/business/oyo-rooms-may-invest-in-freshmenu-to-enter-food-delivery-business-3571111.html">reportedly</a>, it is Lightspeed that has brought the two startups together. Oyo Rooms has big ambitions – it wants to become the world’s <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/former-indigo-chief-is-aiming-to-make-the-6-year-old-oyo-the-worlds-largest-hotel-chain/articleshow/67536612.cms">biggest</a> hotel chain in the next two years. Introducing F&amp;B services will help the hospitality chain to offer more to its consumers. Meanwhile, Freshmenu works with Zomato and Swiggy and receives most of its orders from the two platforms. The hospitality startup Oyo had turned into a unicorn in 2018 after it received a funding of $800 million at a valuation of $5 billion. It has also made a mark globally in China, Saudi Arabia, Dubai and is even considering entering the big league with its entry into the US markets. In China, it become one of the top 10 hotel chains in just one year of operations. “Globally, we have reached over 4,58,000 fully controlled leased and franchised keys (rooms) with a realised value run rate of $1.8 billion,” said its CFO Abhishek Gupta to <a href="https://www.financialexpress.com/industry/sme/oyo-grows-over-4x-on-year-to-1-8-billion-claims-adding-more-rooms-than-top-3-hotel-chains-combined/1480527/">Financial Express</a>. See Also: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/former-indigo-chief-is-aiming-to-make-the-6-year-old-oyo-the-worlds-largest-hotel-chain/articleshow/67536612.cms">A 6-year-old Indian startup wants to be world’s biggest hotel chain</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/oyo-rooms-is-the-most-valuable-hotel-chain-in-south-asia-after-softbank-investment/articleshow/65964564.cms">OYO Rooms is the most valuable “hotel chain” in South Asia after Softbank investment</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/this-24-year-old-dropped-out-of-college-won-funding-from-peter-thiel-then-raised-480-million-for-his-startup/articleshow/65910683.cms">This 24-year-old dropped out of college, won funding from Peter Thiel, then raised $480 million for his startup</a>

Oyo wants a bite of foodtech, may acquire Freshmenu: Report

<ul><li>The logistics tech startup has raised $395 million with a renewed valuation of $1.6 billion. </li><li>SoftBank has reportedly picked up a stake of 22.4% in the company. </li><li>Other investors include Carlyle Group and Fosun International. </li></ul>After months of speculation, logistics tech startup Delhivery has finally joined the <keyword id="3009432" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="unicorn-club">unicorn club</keyword> after raising $395 million from <a href="https://www.vccircle.com/softbank-carlyle-invest-395-mn-as-delhivery-joins-unicorn-club/">SoftBank</a>. The latest round of funding takes Delhivery’s valuation to $1.6 billion. Last week, the company and its investors made headlines after SoftBank received the approval from Competition Commission of India to take hold of 22.4% stake in Delhivery. Other investors in the round include US-based private equity firm Carlyle Group and Chinese conglomerate Fosun International. Delhivery also has Tiger Global, Nexus Venture Partners and and Times Internet as its investors. SoftBank-Delhivery talks had been going on since <a href="https://inc42.com/buzz/softbank-may-invest-245-mn-to-lead-delhivery-to-unicorn-club/">last year</a>, with a lot of back-and-forth between the duo regarding the stakes in the company. Delhivery had also been contemplating an Initial Public Offering, which will now be put on hold with the new investment. The logistics solutions company founded by Sahil Barua, Mohit Tandon, Suraj Saharan, Kapil Bharti and Bhavesh Manglani, had managed to create a stronghold in India with its partnership with e-commerce unicorns like Flipkart and Paytm among others. Japan-based SoftBank has a strong presence in India with investments in multiple unicorns and startups in the country. The SoftBank Vision Fund concentrates on Indian startups, with the firm having earlier said they had missed the bus on many Indian startups because of not having an India office. “Investors like Tiger Global, Sequoia Capital and DST Global spotted these companies at the right time. We were a tourist investor. So opening an office lets us handhold our companies closely. We missed them before they became unicorns, which we did not with Oyo and Policybazaar. We want to put $100 million when these companies are valued at $500 million,” SoftBank executive VP Rajeev Misra had told <a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/small-biz/startups/newsbuzz/missed-many-unicorns-as-we-were-tourist-investors-softbank/articleshow/68089128.cms">ET.</a> See Also: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/swiggy-and-bigbasket-will-battle-softbank-and-mukesh-ambani-in-online-grocery/articleshow/68204293.cms">Online grocers are back in business in India with billions more to burn – and that may be good for consumers</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/oyo-rooms-eyeing-acquisition-of-freshmenu/articleshow/68112104.cms">Oyo wants a bite of foodtech, may acquire Freshmenu: Report</a>

Delhivery becomes India’s first unicorn in 2019, thanks to SoftBank

<ul><li><keyword id="6358977" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="swiggy">Swiggy</keyword> is investing as much as ₹250 crore to bring 1,000 <keyword id="3155186" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Cloud-kitchens">cloud kitchens</keyword> on board. </li><li>In the last two years, Swiggy invested ₹175 crore in one million sqft space across 14 cities.</li><li>Swiggy claims that its cloud kitchen initiative generated 8,000 direct and indirect jobs. </li></ul><keyword id="2955508" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="food-aggregator">Food aggregator</keyword> unicorn Swiggy is investing as much as ₹250 crore to bring 1,000 cloud kitchens on board. Swiggy will invest in building the cloud kitchens for its restaurant partners. “Swiggy has always maintained that cloud kitchens will be the future of food delivery. Very soon, India will have the second-highest number of cloud kitchens in the world, only next to China. With the massive growth in online food ordering over the last 2-3 years, India has leapfrogged the widespread in-restaurant dining culture that was prevalent in many international markets,” said Vishal Bhatia, CEO of new supply at Swiggy. Swiggy Access, an initiative that was launched two years ago, helps restaurants set up cloud kitchens. In the last two years, Swiggy has invested ₹175 crore in one million sqft space across 14 cities. With this, Swiggy has the highest number of cloud kitchens in India. Cloud kitchens help startups as well as restaurants to also reach out to more cities and service more customers. “The milestone of Swiggy successfully creating over 1000 partner kitchens shows the faith the restaurant partners have in the concept and bolsters our pioneering efforts in enabling more success stories in the restaurant ecosystem,” said Bhatia. Swiggy also claims that its cloud kitchen initiative generated 8,000 direct and indirect jobs in the country. Interestingly, Uber founder Travis Kalanick also invested in the same space as the CEO of Cloud Kitchens. Kalanick's startup is also looking at expanding its business into India as it has been looking to hire India program managers and more.

Swiggy invests ₹250 crore to set up 1000 cloud kitchens

<ul><li><keyword id="6358977" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="swiggy">Swiggy</keyword> is now present in 500 cities.</li><li>The company also said that one in four Indians has access to Swiggy. </li><li>Swiggy has also seen a rise in the number of its delivery executives moving back to their hometowns to work there. </li></ul>Indian <keyword id="3105315" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Foodtech">foodtech</keyword> unicorn Swiggy is on an expansion spree. It aims to kickstart operations across another 100 cities in three months, to reach 600 in all by 2020. “As we work towards enabling this for a billion Indians, expanding to Tier 3 and 4 cities is a critical step. Our steady expansion in these cities has shown that there is a growing need for quality food, convenience and accessibility in smaller towns,” Vivek Sunder, chief operating officer, Swiggy, said. The company also said that one in four Indians has access to Swiggy now. Swiggy built some interesting use cases as it expands to newer markets. In the hilly city of Shimla, Swiggy executives deliver food on foot. In Guntur of Andhra Pradesh, the app received more than 2,500 orders on the first day of its launch. As it expands to cities beyond Tier 1, Swiggy is also saw that a number of its delivery executives are moving back to their hometowns, to work. Swiggy became one of India’s fastest unicorn in June last year, getting the prime status within four years of operations. In December 2018, the food delivery startup further raked in a whopping $1 billion in funding, taking p its valuation to $3.3 billion. “With this funding, we will further invest in building differentiated offerings, plugging the white spaces in the ecosystem, and developing our technology while keeping superlative customer experience at the core," said Sriharsha Majety, CEO, Swiggy had then said. The startup expanded its offerings to include Swiggy stores and Swiggy Go, on-demand delivery services.

Swiggy is expanding by four cities a day, aims to be in 600 by 2020

<ul><li>According to RoC filings, <keyword id="964794" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="BigBasket">Bigbasket</keyword> has raised $150 million at a reported valuation of $2.3 billion. </li><li>The funding was led by Bigbasket’s earlier investor Alibaba and was joined by new investor Mirae Asset. </li><li>This will give Bigbasket more power to take on new entrants like Swiggy in the Indian online grocery space. </li></ul>Grocery <keyword id="138263" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="startup">startup</keyword> Bigbasket is the latest entrant into India’s fast-growing unicorn club. Bigbasket has <a href="https://www.business-standard.com/article/companies/bigbasket-joins-unicorn-club-with-150-mn-funding-valuation-jumps-two-fold-119032801319_1.html">closed</a> its Series F round of funding with an investment of $150 million, according to filings with the Registrar of Companies (RoC). With this round, Bigbasket’s valuation has more than doubled to reach a <a href="https://www.business-standard.com/article/companies/bigbasket-joins-unicorn-club-with-150-mn-funding-valuation-jumps-two-fold-119032801319_1.html">reported </a>$2.3 billion. The latest round of funding was led by the startup’s existing investor Alibaba while South Korean firm Mirae Asset joined its group of investors. With growing competition in the space, Bigbasket has been fast looking at ways of expansion. In a recent <a href="https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/business/bigbasket-aims-to-double-revenue-growth-to-rs-7000-crore-in-fy20-3590891.html">interview</a>, Hari Menon, co-founder and CEO of Bigbasket said that the company is looking at doubling its revenue to ₹70 billion in FY20. The <keyword id="7475397" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="indian-grocery">Indian grocery</keyword> sector has seen a lot of action lately. Foodtech unicorn Swiggy recently joined the grocery sector with <keyword id="7317638" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Swiggy-Stores">Swiggy Stores</keyword> and has already piloted the operations in Gurugram with over <a href="https://www.business-standard.com/article/companies/swiggy-takes-on-bigbasket-grofers-to-deliver-groceries-from-local-stores-119021201294_1.html">3,500</a> local stores. But it’s not just startups that are interested in the grocery sector. Reliance industries-controlled Reliance Industrial Investment and Holdings Ltd (RIIHL) has <a href="https://tech.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/startups/reliance-industries-subsidiary-inks-pacts-to-acquire-grab-a-grub-and-c-square-info-solutions/68245460">reportedly</a> picked up stake in Mumbai-based hyperlocal delivery startup Grab. See Also: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/swiggy-and-bigbasket-will-battle-softbank-and-mukesh-ambani-in-online-grocery/articleshow/68204293.cms">Online grocers are back in business in India with billions more to burn – and that may be good for consumers</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/milkbasket-strengthens-to-take-on-rivals-swiggy-and-bigbasket-acquires-veggie-india/articleshow/68590658.cms">Four years into the business, Milkbasket has acquired one-year-old startup Veggie India</a>

Indian grocery startup Bigbasket enters the unicorn club with a reported $2.3 billion valuation

<ul><li><keyword id="6358977" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="swiggy">Swiggy</keyword> delivered 1.5 million food orders in March only on cycles. </li><li>The maximum delivery partners in cycles were in Bangalore followed by Mumbai. </li><li>Swiggy is also piloting delivery through EVs. </li></ul>Indian delivery <keyword id="6362513" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="startups">startups</keyword> have been taking a turn towards “green” delivery by switching to <keyword id="6354973" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="electric-vehicles">electric vehicles</keyword> and cycles. <keyword id="3105315" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Foodtech">Foodtech</keyword> unicorn Swiggy introduced food delivery on cycles in 2017, and it seems to have finally taken off now. Swiggy reported that in March it delivered 1.5 million food orders on cycles. In tier 2 and 3 cities like Surat, Belgaum, Guwahati and Lucknow over 20% of Swiggy’s delivery partners use cycles for delivery. In India, 10,000 delivery partners use cycles, with maximum cyclists in Bangalore followed by Mumbai. “A couple of years back, we initiated concerted efforts to make millions of our deliveries more sustainable for the environment. With close to 10,000 delivery partners on cycles each day, we have found that in some of our cities, the average travel time for a delivery partner on cycles is even lesser than bikes or scooters,” said Srivats TS, VP, Marketing, Swiggy. Swiggy’s competitor Zomato too had introduced delivery through bicycles in February 2019. According to <a href="https://inc42.com/buzz/zomato-enrols-bicycles-e-bikes-for-delivery-in-12-cities/">reports</a>, Zomato had partnered with startups like Mobycy, Yulu, Zoomcar’s PEDL among others to start the delivery service. The next mile of delivery For delivery startups, fast innovation is defining their stand in the industry. Swiggy is piloting the use of Electric Vehicles for its deliveries in 10 cities. Last year, Swiggy’s delivery partners in cities like Delhi and Lucknow carried out deliveries on e-rickshaws. The company’s official statement said that the adoption of EVs will reduce the running cost by 40%. Going one step ahead, Zomato had earlier <a href="https://www.thehindu.com/business/Industry/zomato-acquires-drone-delivery-startup-techeagle/article25671762.ece">acquired</a> drone startup TechEagle innovations. With this, the startup is reportedly testing delivery via drones. Meanwhile, logistics startup DOT which offers last mile delivery through e-vehicles has been ramping up its business and is also looking at a <a href="https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/economy/logistics/logistics-startup-dot-eyes-rs-365-crore-revenue-in-fy20/article26356832.ece">revenue </a>of ₹360 crore by 2020. See Also: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/ubers-ipo-filing-in-the-us-cites-ola-zomato-and-swiggy-as-threats-to-its-india-business/articleshow/68882407.cms">Uber’s IPO filing in the US cites Ola, Zomato, and Swiggy as threats to its India business</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/from-swiggy-vs-bigbasket-to-paytm-vs-bookmyshow-indian-startups-are-growing-by-becoming-rivals/articleshow/68351389.cms">Do Swiggy, OYO, and Paytm lack Silicon Valley’s planning and conviction?</a>

Swiggy rides the green wave, delivers 1.5 million orders on cycles; electric vehicles are next

<ul><li>Established <keyword id="982553" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Indian-startups">Indian startups</keyword> are looking at ways to expand their boundaries and are thus encroaching each other’s territories. </li><li>Investors too have been backing up these expansion plans. </li><li>So, it brings up the near possibility of a consolidated market in India.</li></ul>India has grown to be the world’s third largest startup ecosystem, with over 20 unicorns some of which have already established a global foothold. But as India’s number of startups keeps growing, there’s also another unique problem that exists - established startups are looking at ways to expand their boundaries and are thus encroaching each other’s territories. Most recently, <keyword id="6358977" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="swiggy">Swiggy</keyword> made news for venturing into grocery delivery, a segment that has been dominated by startups like BigBasket and Grofers or even the delivery services startup Dunzo. Oyo is reportedly looking at entering the foodtech sector by acquisition of Freshmenu to offer more services to its customers. Paytm which has managed to stay in the news throughout last year for good and bad news, has already been experimenting by venturing into several different verticals like e-commerce (Paytm Mall), ticketing (giving competition to the likes of BookMyShow and MakeMyTrip), and of course, how can one ignore its big entry into the world of banks with the payments bank. So what’s making these startups force an entry into another’s territory? Vivek Durai, founder of paper.vc, a data platform for business intelligence and innovation, told Business Insider that one of the reasons could be simply laziness. “It means they did not have a well-thought out plan to achieve brand and product superiority in their growth vertical. It means that their financing rounds have involved significant amounts of introspection about their ability to sustain in a lead purely on the basis of their existing value proposition,” said Durai. But there’s a silver lining. Investors too have been backing up these expansion plans of startups, proving that these startups are showing space for growth beyond their current segment. And Durai says this is the other reason - an organic one. “The territories they enter are 'features' in a product roadmap and are logical next steps to deliver better value to customers which signals alignment,” he said. While startups might not be consciously encroaching into each other’s segments for growth, what it essentially boils down to is how they are planning their growth. Neha Singh, co-founder and CEO of data analytics platform Tracxn believes that it’s a product-oriented approach – whether these companies are focusing on a single offering or multiple. “In the US, companies are typically focussed on one particular product while Chinese companies have a different approach where they diversify much earlier. Which one is a better strategy is still an open debate especially when India has seen both sides of the coin,” said Singh. The choice between single strategy or multi-strategy approach has been seen in various Indian companies. “When you initially start with one product and then diversify, companies realise it’s difficult to handle and obviously, their burn increases. So while companies can meet with success on the multi-strategy approach, they might sometimes go through a heartbreak too,” said Singh. For example, a BookMyShow has essentially stuck to its basic offering of booking tickets, while a Paytm has diversified into multiple different segments. And there’s one lesson to learn – Paytm has the backing to burn cash. It remains to be seen what works out in the Indian market but with acquisitions and mergers heating up the Indian startup space, there strikes the pertinent question – is the Indian startup world headed towards consolidation? “Eventually, yes. But given that the market itself is evolving, growing slowly – the middle class is still too small compared to China. The need of the hour is to kickstart a production-based economy where Indians are able to spend more money simply because the Indian economy is benefiting from export income,” said Durai. See Also: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/paytm-takes-on-airbnb-makemytrip-oyorooms-and-trivago-with-its-latest-offer-hotel-bookings/articleshow/67755276.cms">Paytm is competing with almost everyone in Indian e-commerce</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/oyo-rooms-eyeing-acquisition-of-freshmenu/articleshow/68112104.cms">Oyo wants a bite of foodtech, may acquire Freshmenu: Report</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/swiggy-and-bigbasket-will-battle-softbank-and-mukesh-ambani-in-online-grocery/articleshow/68204293.cms">Online grocers are back in business in India with billions more to burn – and that may be good for consumers</a>

Do Swiggy, OYO, and Paytm lack Silicon Valley’s planning and conviction?

<ul><li>Thousands lost their jobs amid a deepening funding winter in 2022 amid massive layoffs by the tech companies.</li><li>According to a PwC <keyword id="3658" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="india" source="Orion">India</keyword> report, startup funding in India hit a two-year low at $2.7 billion in the third quarter of 2022.</li><li>Seed stage rounds also experienced a contraction and dropped by 38 per cent as compared to the previous year.</li></ul> Indian startups, which saw a massive 35 per cent drop in funding in 2022 -- from $37.2 billion in 2021 to $24.7 billion (till November) -- are bracing themselves for a deepening funding winter in 2023 as recession fears loom. Although some startups, like fintech platform <keyword id="6557529" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="kreditbee" source="Orion">KreditBee</keyword> ($200 million), Foodtech platform HealthKart ($135 million) and HRtech software-as-a-service (SaaS) platform BetterPlace ($40 million), raised decent funds in December last year and in the beginning of January, the scene overall is grim as VC money has squeezed. Thousands lost their jobs amid a deepening funding winter in 2022 amid massive layoffs by the tech companies, which still continues. According to a PwC India report, startup funding in India hit a two-year low at $2.7 billion in the third quarter of 2022. In 2022, the significant drop in funding was attributed to a decline in late-stage investments, which fell by 45 per cent from $29.3 billion in January-November 2021 to $16.1 billion for the same period this year, according to data provided by <keyword id="2779670" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="tracxn" source="Orion">Tracxn</keyword>, a leading global market intelligence platform. Seed stage rounds also experienced a contraction and dropped by 38 per cent as compared to the previous year. The report said that 22 startups entered the unicorn club in 2022, as compared to 46 in the previous year.The number of big ticket ($100 million and above) funding rounds dropped by 35 per cent to 55 as compared to 85 in the reported period. The number of funding rounds saw a drop of 30 per cent, from 2,647 last year to 1,841 this year, the report said. "The funding winter, which began in Q4 of 2021, will persist in 2023 as well. In order to survive the drought, startups are taking unit economics more seriously, which has been illustrated through the series of mass layoffs that have occurred this year," said <keyword id="520013" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="neha-singh" source="Orion">Neha Singh</keyword>, Co-Founder, Tracxn. "Although we are currently experiencing a slump, the situation is prompting startups to establish clearer and more sustainable paths to growth, as investors' evaluation metrics begin to emphasise good profitability over growth at all costs," Singh had said in a statement. The startup ecosystem's funding winter could last another 12 to 18 months and the industry may face "a lot of turmoil and volatility", Flipkart CEO <keyword id="6379357" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="kalyan-krishnamurthy" source="Orion">Kalyan Krishnamurthy</keyword> warned recently. According to <keyword id="12046361" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="shrijay-sheth" source="Orion">Shrijay Sheth</keyword>, Founder, Legalwiz.in, 2023 will continue to be the year of sustenance for most, and funders will continue to remain more cautious. "Both valuation multipliers and funding opportunities will go more conservative. Startups must build better units economics as opposed to expensive acquisitions driven growth channels. Geo-political issues, Global supply chain crisis and other macro issues are expected to prevail," he said. However, this also needs to be seen as a year where resilient, innovative and problem-solving entrepreneurs shall get an opportunity to stand out from the crowd. "As the macro environment gets tougher, we can expect some excellent business models to outshine the rest with high levels of innovation and frugality. Also, mostly the serious funding houses will prevail while we will see visitors in the VC world take a break," <keyword id="262579" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="sheth" source="Orion">Sheth</keyword> noted. SEE ALSO: <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/science/health/news/there-is-a-link-between-drinking-sugary-sodas-and-hair-loss-says-beijing-based-study/slidelist/96796018.cms">There is a link between drinking sugary sodas and hair loss, says Beijing-based study</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/chaman-metallics-first-sme-ipo-of-2023-subscribed-197x/articleshow/96795916.cms">Chaman Metallics, first SME IPO of 2023, subscribed 197x</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/careers/news/60-of-blue-and-grey-collar-jobs-go-to-freshers-with-tech-skills-billion-careers-report/articleshow/96795198.cms">60% of blue and grey collar jobs go to freshers with tech skills: Billion Careers report</a>

You Searched For "foodtech unicorns India" and got 12 results

Swiggy wants more on its plate, in talks to acquire Ubereats India

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Swiggy turns five – the unicorn has gone from 6 delivery partners in 1 city to 200,000 in 290 cities

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Zomato and TikTok come together to spread the message on food wastage

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Zomato has doubled its revenue and founder Deepinder Goyal says COVID-19 has made the company lean and mean

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Oyo wants a bite of foodtech, may acquire Freshmenu: Report

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Delhivery becomes India’s first unicorn in 2019, thanks to SoftBank

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Swiggy invests ₹250 crore to set up 1000 cloud kitchens

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Swiggy is expanding by four cities a day, aims to be in 600 by 2020

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Indian grocery startup Bigbasket enters the unicorn club with a reported $2.3 billion valuation

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Swiggy rides the green wave, delivers 1.5 million orders on cycles; electric vehicles are next

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Do Swiggy, OYO, and Paytm lack Silicon Valley’s planning and conviction?

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India's startup economy stares at deepening funding winter in 2023

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