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Little Internet And Nearby To Merge, Paytm Gets Majority Stake

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Little Internet And Nearby To Merge,Paytm Gets Majority Stake,Startup Stories,2017 Business News Update,Paytm India largest digital payments,Paytm CEO Vijay Shekhar Sharma,Paytm Business News 2017,Paytm acquires majority stake in Little Internet And Nearby,Paytm acquires Nearby and Little

Paytm, India’s largest digital payments platform announced the acquisition of discovery and deals platforms for local merchants Nearby and Little Internet. According to the official statement, Paytm has arranged a merger of these two well funded startups.

Speaking about the acquisition and the subsequent merger, Paytm’s founder and CEO Vijay Sekhar Sharma said, “This combination of Nearby and Little marks a great opportunity for us to reinforce our commitment to support small and large retailers in the new age of mobile commerce and payments.

Paytm, which has been attempting to expand its offline merchant base, became the majority shareholder of the merged entity through this strategic investment. Currently, Nearbuy and Little together have a network of 40,000 small and large merchants across food, beauty, travel and other categories. With a $ 25 million capital infusion from Paytm, the merged entity is expected to be valued at $ 100 million.

The online payments and ecommerce company initially acquired 100% equity in Little and gained majority shareholding in the merged entity through a share swap with Nearbuy. Along with Paytm, Sequoia India and the founders of Nearbuy Ankur Warikoo, Ravi Shankar and Snehesh Mitra have a minority stake in the merged firm.

Founded by SoSasta, Nearby was acquired by NASDAQ listed Groupon Inc., in 2011 and was renamed as Groupon India in 2013. Without giving out any details regarding the transaction, Nearby’s CEO Ankur Waikoo said, “In the local commerce space, Little Internet and Nearbuy combined will own 88% of the market share. There are around half a million merchants in the organized retail space, which we would like to bring on our platform.

Launched in 2015, Little was backed by Paytm since the beginning with a $50 million investment along with SAIF Partners and Tiger Global Management. It is still unclear if Paytm bought out SAIF and Tiger’s stake in Little. Paytm has been aggressively expanding its services in categories which use digital payments services. The company also raised $ 1.4 billion in fresh funding from Japan’s SoftBank Group Corp., in May this year.

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Flam Secures $14M Series A to Revolutionize Mixed Reality Marketing with AI

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AI infrastructure startup Flam has raised $14 million in a Series A round led by RTP Global, with participation from Dovetail and existing investors, bringing its total funding to $22 million. Founded in 2021, Flam enables brands to create and deliver high-fidelity mixed reality (MR) and generative AI experiences without the need for app downloads, allowing consumers to access immersive content via QR codes or links in under 300 milliseconds.

Flam’s platform is already used by over 100 global brands-including Google, Samsung, and Netflix-reaching more than 380 million users. The new funding will accelerate product innovation, expand operations in North America, Europe, and Asia, and launch a full-stack enterprise suite for MR and GenAI-driven marketing. The company currently has over 120 employees and plans to grow to 180 by the end of 2025, aiming to transform every brand touchpoint into an interactive digital experience.

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Info Edge Delivers 36% Returns on Startup Investments

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Info Edge, the parent of Naukri.com, has achieved a 36% gross internal rate of return (IRR) on its startup investments since 2007, turning a total investment of INR 3,959 crore across 111 startups into a portfolio now valued at INR 36,855 crore-a nearly 9X gain. Early bets on Zomato and Policybazaar have been especially lucrative, with holdings in these two companies alone worth INR 31,500 crore as of March 2025.

The company’s investment strategy spans multiple vehicles, including the SEBI-registered Info Edge Venture Fund (IEVF), Info Edge Capital, and Capital 2B, with a combined fund corpus of INR 3,423 crore and Info Edge committing INR 1,614 crore. Early-stage investments now contribute 30-40% of the company’s overall value.

Info Edge’s Alternative Investment Fund (AIF) investments have yielded an IRR of 18.7%. Many portfolio companies, such as TrueMeds, Geniemode, Attentive.ai, and InPrime, have attracted follow-on funding from major investors like Accel, Peak XV Partners, and Tiger Global. Notably, BlueStone, the largest investment of Info Edge Capital, has filed for an IPO after securing investments from Prosus, Peak XV, and Steadview Capital.

Founder Sanjeev Bikhchandani emphasized the company’s focus on strong governance and financial controls, with a preference for value realization through public listings or strategic exits.

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Phab Raises $2M Seed Funding to Expand Healthy Snacking Brand

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Phab, the D2C healthy snacking brand co-founded by Ankit Chona of ice cream brand Hocco and his wife Gayatri Chona, has raised $2 million (around ₹17 crore) in a seed funding round led by OTP Ventures, with participation from Capri Global, Sim&San law firm, and angel investors.

Founded in 2018, phab offers protein bars and healthy milkshakes, leveraging Ankit’s decade-long food industry experience and Gayatri’s expertise as a certified nutritionist. The brand has sold over 2 million units and sells through e-commerce and quick commerce platforms like Amazon, Flipkart, Zepto, and Blinkit.

Despite a 12% dip in operating revenue to ₹5 crore in FY24, phab trimmed its net loss by nearly 3% to ₹6.8 crore, showing improved efficiency.

The new funds will be used to expand the team, invest in production capacity, and grow phab’s presence across digital, quick commerce, and offline channels. The brand competes with Yoga Bar, Beyond Snack, and The Whole Truth in India’s growing $68 billion healthy snacking market. OTP Ventures’ founding partner Suhail Sameer praised phab’s bold, differentiated approach and the founders’ vision, signaling strong investor confidence in the brand’s growth potential.

 

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