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OYO Flourishes Its Hospitality Business In China

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OYO Hospitality Business In China,Startup Stories,Startup News India,Latest Business News 2018,OYO Starts China Business with Hotel,OYO Rooms Enter Into Hospital Business,OYO Rooms Latest Business News,OYO Rooms Starts China Hospitality Business,OYO Hostels CEO

India’s largest operating hotel chain OYO Rooms, is now expanding its business in the hospitality industry in China. The company which is owned and operated by Oravel Stays Pvt., Ltd., subsists more than 11,000 rooms across 26 Chinese cities including Hangzhou, Xian, Nanjing, Guangzhou, Chengdu, Shenzhen, Xiamen and Kunming. Lately, OYO has been busy investigating new growth opportunities and boom! The expansion of the hotel budget aggregator in one of the fastest developing countries China is one big achievement for the homegrown startup.

The young lad who is the founder and CEO of OYO, Ritesh Agarwal said, after our successful overseas expansion and operations in Malaysia and Nepal, we are thrilled to offer OYO hotels’ hassle free and standardized stay experience to guests in China.

The company has been growing exponentially and it claims around 100,000 rooms in India.  Ritesh added, the expansion is in line with our mission of creating beautiful living spaces by empowering hotel owners to become better hospitality players while ensuring an end to end controlled experience for our guests. Apart from the newest China, OYO’s foreign market presence includes Dubai, Malaysia and Nepal.

Another fascinating news for OYO is that the well known investor SoftBank Group is keen on doubling its investment in the budget hotel aggregator. SoftBank has been part of four funding rounds worth $ 512 million in OYO, since August 2015. Recently, the Chairman and Chief Executive, Masayoshi Son of SoftBank, called OYO Hotels a ‘next generation hotel company using the internet service’. Mr. Son also revealed his plans to support OYO Hotels in its foray into China through a joint venture.

OYO was founded in the year 2013 by Ritesh Agarwal who was a teenager then. He also happens to be a Thiel Fellow who got the idea for the business after a not so satisfying experience of staying in budget hotels in India. The hotel budget aggregator provides various convenient services to the customers that include bringing the long tail of small hotels online to generate bookings by ensuring minimum standards for travellers such as hot water, clean towels, linen and internet services.

The company would soon enter the unicorn club when it would raise fundings in the next round of capital. A unicorn startup is valued at $ 1 billion or more! At present, OYO is valued at around $ 260 million. 

With its latest diversification, OYO is definitely aiming high!

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Zoho Pay Debuts as India’s New UPI Challenger, Taking on PhonePe, Paytm, and Google Pay

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Zoho Payment

Zoho Corporation has expanded its fintech portfolio with the launch of Zoho Pay, a UPI-based payments app built to challenge India’s top digital payment giants such as PhonePe, Paytm, and Google Pay. The new app supports peer-to-peer transfers, bill payments, QR-based transactions, and merchant settlements in a streamlined interface. Available as both a standalone app and an integrated feature inside Zoho’s privacy-driven messenger Arattai, Zoho Pay enables users to handle chats and payments in one platform, emphasizing data privacy and Made-in-India innovation.​

Through seamless integration with Arattai, Zoho Pay allows users to send or request payments, split expenses, and conduct UPI-based transactions directly in their chat windows. Users can link bank accounts, scan dynamic QR codes, and receive audio confirmations of payments, ensuring speed and security. This design mirrors the simplicity of India’s leading UPI apps but is powered by Zoho’s non-advertising, privacy-first model. The integration aligns with Zoho’s mission to build a self-reliant digital ecosystem, where messaging and money management coexist securely.​

In the competitive digital payments market, Zoho Pay differentiates itself through its tight business software integration with apps like Zoho Books, Zoho Payroll, and Zoho Commerce, offering small businesses unified access to payments, billing, and accounting. The company is also expanding its reach with POS devices for merchants featuring UPI QR, card payments, and instant reconciliation tools. With founder Sridhar Vembu’s vision of a ‘Chat + Pay’ ecosystem, Zoho Pay reflects a bold step toward redefining India’s fintech scene with a secure, ad-free, and locally developed alternative to global payment platforms.

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Meta Expands AI-Powered Reels Translation to Hindi and Portuguese, Enhancing Global Creator Reach

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Meta has expanded its AI-powered translation feature for Reels to include Hindi and Portuguese, joining English and Spanish in empowering creators to reach a broader global audience on Instagram and Facebook. Originally launched in August 2025 with support for English and Spanish, this update now allows creators to seamlessly translate and dub their short videos, breaking language barriers across some of the largest Reels markets worldwide. The AI technology mimics the creator’s voice tone and even offers lip-syncing to ensure the translated videos feel natural and engaging for viewers.​

This enhancement is especially significant for India, the largest market for Facebook and Instagram, where over 600 million people speak Hindi. Content creators who are not fluent in Hindi can now easily access this vast audience, increasing their reach and engagement across diverse linguistic groups. To maintain transparency, all translated Reels are clearly labeled with “Translated with Meta AI,” and viewers can choose to switch translations on or off based on their preference.​

In addition to voice dubbing, Meta is developing features to translate captions and text stickers on Reels, making content more accessible even without sound. These AI translation tools are available free for eligible public Instagram accounts and Facebook creator profiles with over 1,000 followers. This innovation reinforces Meta’s commitment to fostering cross-cultural content sharing and enhancing creators’ ability to connect with audiences around the world through short-form videos.

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Dunzo’s Collapse: Reliance’s ₹1,645 Crore Loss Signals Challenges in India’s Hyperlocal Delivery Market

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Startup Stories

Reliance Industries has officially written off its $200 million investment in Dunzo, a once promising quick-commerce startup in India. Despite high-profile backing and the potential to disrupt the hyperlocal delivery sector, Dunzo faced insurmountable challenges including high operational costs, unsustainable cash burn, and stiff competition from larger players like Zepto and Blinkit. Reliance’s decision follows Dunzo’s operational suspension, leadership exits, and failed attempts at securing additional funding or acquisition partners, ultimately resulting in the company’s digital platforms going offline in early 2025.​

The downfall of Dunzo was accelerated by its inability to maintain a healthy balance between rapid expansion and revenue growth, with losses in FY23 reaching an alarming ₹1,800 crore. With monthly expenses crossing ₹100 crore and mounting pressure to scale, Dunzo resorted to layoffs and delayed payments before shutting down most services outside Bengaluru. Reliance’s significant stake, initially seen as a strategic advantage, ended up limiting the startup’s flexibility in making independent decisions during its final months.​

Reliance’s write-off sends a strong message to India’s startup ecosystem about the risks inherent in quick-commerce and hyperlocal delivery models. Investors are increasingly focused on sustainable growth, disciplined scaling, and profitability. For Reliance, lessons from Dunzo’s collapse are shaping future e-commerce strategies, driving greater emphasis on operational efficiency and prudent financial planning in an intensely competitive market.

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