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SoftBank and Others Invest $250 Million In OYO

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SoftBank Vision Fund,Justin Wilson,SoftBank,SoftBank Invest $250 Million In OYO,OYO raises $250 million from SoftBank Vision Fund,Oyo Fund Raising,startup stories

SoftBank Vision Fund along with the existing investors Sequoia India, Lightspeed Venture Partners and Greenoaks Capital have invested around $ 250 million in the budget hotel aggregator startup OYO. Sunil Munjal led Hero Enterprise also participated in this Series D funding round.

The fresh funds will give OYO the growth capital to scale up its network and invest in its recently launched effort to create premium, self managed hotels under the Townhouse brand. This is OYO’s largest ever funding round and will give the company the heft to battle the large online travel agencies MakeMyTrip and Goibibo, which joined forces in October last year.

Japanese major SoftBank previously invested in OYO in April 2016, where the company raised $ 200 million from the funding round. Speaking about the company, SoftBank’s Board representative, Justin Wilson said OYO has solidified its position in India as the leading accommodation brand for consumer affordability and high quality standards and they are excited to continue their support to OYO as they further expand their position in India. SoftBank, at present, backs various other Indian startups such as Paytm, Flipkart, Hike, Grofers and InMobi.

The Gurugram based company, founded by Ritesh Agarwal in 2013, will use the capital to support their expansion into newer markets in India and abroad. OYO has already started its expansion plans in South East Asia and entered Malaysia and Nepal in January and April this year, respectively. Till date, they have raised close to $ 436 million in funds through four funding rounds. While the valuation of OYO post this round of funding was not revealed, it is expected to be much higher than its valuation of $ 460 million from their last funding round in August 2016. A news daily reported OYO’s valuation may be as high as $850 million to $900 million after this Series D round.

Ritesh Agarwal, the founder and CEO of OYO said the company will focus on accelerating network coverage to consolidate their leadership in the economy through OYO Rooms and through the Townhouse brands. “We will also deploy fresh capital to take our made in India business model to international markets which are characterized by a similar supply demand imbalance in real estate and hospitality,” he added.

Other players in the hotel aggregator market space include RedDoorz, Wudstay Hotels, FabHotels, Treebo Hotels and GoStays.

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Funding

Reliance Jio Platforms Puts $100 Billion IPO on Hold to Focus on Growth

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Reliance Jio Platforms, the digital and telecom powerhouse led by Mukesh Ambani, has decided to postpone its highly anticipated initial public offering (IPO), shelving plans for a 2025 listing. The IPO, which analysts valued at over $100 billion and expected to be India’s largest-ever stock market debut, will not take place this year. The company has yet to appoint bankers for the process, signaling that preparations for the public offering have not started in earnest.

According to sources close to the matter, Jio Platforms wants to give its business more time to grow before going public. The company is focusing on boosting revenues, expanding its telecom subscriber base, and scaling up its digital services—including apps, connected devices, and AI solutions—so it can achieve a higher valuation when the IPO eventually happens. Nearly 80% of Jio Platforms’ $17.6 billion annual revenue currently comes from its telecom business, Reliance Jio Infocomm, but the company is investing heavily in new digital ventures and partnerships, such as its collaboration with Nvidia on AI infrastructure.

The news of the delay impacted the market, with shares of parent company Reliance Industries falling by up to 1.8% following the announcement. Despite a strong IPO environment in India, Jio’s move is seen as a strategic decision to ensure stronger business fundamentals and a higher valuation before entering the public markets. Major investors, including Google and Meta, are said to support the decision, viewing it as a step toward long-term value creation.

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Flick TV Secures $2.3M to Revolutionize India’s Micro-Drama Streaming Scene

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Flick TV, India’s first mobile-focused OTT platform dedicated to micro-dramas, has secured $2.3 million in seed funding led by Stellaris Venture Partners, with participation from Gemba Capital and Titan Capital. Founded in early 2025 by Kushal Singhal, Pratik Anand, and Sanidhya Mittal, the platform aims to address the growing demand for high-quality, short-form storytelling tailored for mobile consumption. Unlike traditional user-generated short video platforms, Flick TV produces professionally shot, under-five-minute dramas across genres such as romance, thrillers, and slice-of-life—each crafted for vertical viewing to suit India’s rapidly expanding mobile internet audience.

The newly raised capital will be used to scale up content production, with plans to launch over 100 original titles, enhance the platform’s streaming technology, and expand offerings into four regional languages. Flick TV is also investing in generative AI and advanced workflows to streamline scripting and production, aiming to combine creative excellence with operational efficiency. The founders bring deep expertise from previous roles at ShareChat, EloElo, Meesho, and Pocket FM, positioning the company to bridge the gap between creator agility and cinematic storytelling in India’s nascent micro-drama ecosystem.

Industry observers see Flick TV as a frontrunner in India’s next entertainment wave, which is expected to be mobile-native, emotionally engaging, and built for short attention spans. With the micro-drama market projected to reach $5 billion in India over the next five years—mirroring the $7 billion success in China—Flick TV is poised to set new standards for premium, binge-worthy short-form content and redefine streaming for the modern Indian viewer.

 

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Imarticus Learning Acquires MyCaptain for INR 50 Crore to Boost Non-Tech Upskilling

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My Captain

Imarticus Learning, an IPO-bound professional education firm, has acquired Bengaluru-based edtech platform MyCaptain for INR 50 crore in a cash-and-stock deal. This marks Imarticus’s fourth acquisition in four years and is aimed at expanding its presence in non-tech career training, especially across India’s Tier-II and Tier-III cities. MyCaptain, which has over 500,000 learners and a revenue of ₹27 crore for FY25, specializes in creative and entrepreneurial fields, with 60% of its users from smaller cities.

 

With this acquisition, Imarticus will bring MyCaptain’s employability bootcamps in digital marketing, design, and content to its 20+ classroom centers in 16 cities, blending online and offline learning. MyCaptain will operate as a fully-owned subsidiary, and all 250 of its employees will join Imarticus, expanding the combined workforce to over 850. The move supports Imarticus’s goal to reach five million learners by FY28 and deepen its offerings in non-tech domains.

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