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Flipkart Co Founder Sachin Bansal To Exit The Firm Post Walmart Deal

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The Flipkart and Walmart deal have been making the headlines lately. The multinational retail corporation Walmart Inc., is all set to take over majority of Flipkart’s stake. Flipkart’s Founder Sachin Bansal is reportedly planning to sell his 5.5% stake in the company for nearly $1 billion to Walmart.

The retail giant firm will now emerge as the largest shareholder in Flipkart with 60-70% stake. The US based firm currently operates 21 wholesale shops in India.

According to a report, SoftBank which currently has 23.6% stake in Flipkart and Naspers which holds 13% stake in the firm are likely make an exit from the company. However, Tiger Global Management along with other investors are expected to liquidate 70 to 80% of their shares to Walmart. Among the 50 investors who own a stake in Flipkart, only Tiger and Tencent are expected to get a board seat each. Currently Flipkart is valued at $20-22 Billion. So, Walmart will have to spend nearly $14-16 billion to buy 73% of the stake. While Google will reportedly invest $3 billion, SoftBank which invested $2.5 billion last year may have to take an exit from Flipkart at $4 billion valuation. The Seattle based retail giant Amazon has also been in talks with Flipkart for months to acquire a controlling stake in the firm. Amazon has also made a formal offer to buy a 60% stake in Flipkart. But there have been no confirmations so far.

The current CEO of Flipkart Kalyan Krishnamurthy will also continue his participation in Flipkart’s operations but will not be taking up a board seat. According to the sources, co founder Binny Bansal will keep his board seat and partially sell his stake. Sachin and Binny are part of Flipkart’s 10 member board right now while Kalyan is not on the board.

Post the exit of Sachin Bansal from the firm, Binny Bansal may be appointed as the new chairman of the famous etailer Flipkart.

Flipkart was started back in 2007 when two friends, Sachin Bansal and Binny Bansal planned on establishing India’s own ecommerce website. In less than 6 years, the company climbed the ladder of success to become India’s first and biggest e retail company.

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ZILO Raises $4.5M to Boost Quick Fashion Delivery

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Zilo - StartupStories

Mumbai-based fashion tech startup ZILO has raised $4.5 million in seed funding, with Info Edge Ventures and Chiratae Ventures co-leading the round. Founded in 2025 by ex-Flipkart and Myntra executive Padmakumar Pal and entrepreneur Bhavik Jhaveri, ZILO aims to transform urban fashion retail by delivering products from over 250 brands—including Levi’s, Louis Philippe, and Puma—within 60 minutes of order placement. The new capital will be used to strengthen ZILO’s hybrid supply chain, deepen brand partnerships, and expand operations beyond Mumbai into other major metro cities by year-end.

ZILO’s quick commerce model stands out by combining the convenience of online shopping with the efficiency of offline retail. The platform operates through a network of dark stores and brand outlets to ensure fast delivery of fresh, in-season fashion items. Customers benefit from scheduled home trials, allowing them to try multiple sizes upon delivery with the option for instant returns, and receive AI-powered style recommendations for a more personalized shopping experience.

The funding comes amid surging investor interest in ultra-fast fashion delivery startups, as rapid fulfillment becomes a key differentiator in India’s competitive ecommerce landscape. With plans to expand its product range to include footwear, bags, and accessories by the festive season and scale up to nearly 100,000 styles, ZILO is positioning itself to meet the growing demand for speed, personalization, and reliability in fashion retail.

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Meta in Advanced Talks to Acquire Voice Cloning Startup PlayAI to Boost AI Capabilities

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Meta Platform is reportedly in advanced talks to acquire PlayAI, a Palo Alto-based startup renowned for its cutting-edge voice cloning technology powered by artificial intelligence. While the deal is not yet finalized, sources indicate that Meta aims to acquire both PlayAI’s proprietary technology and a significant portion of its staff. Though financial details remain confidential, industry insiders estimate the acquisition could be worth between $300 million and $500 million.

PlayAI has made a name for itself by developing tools that generate highly realistic voice clones, with applications spanning customer service, virtual assistants, and conversational AI agents. A key differentiator for PlayAI is its low-latency, edge-computing architecture, allowing for near-instant, natural-sounding voice responses. The startup has attracted over $23 million in funding from notable investors such as 500 Startups and Kindred Ventures, positioning itself as a leader in the rapidly growing field of voice AI.

For Meta, this potential acquisition fits squarely within CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s broader strategy to make artificial intelligence central to the company’s future. Integrating PlayAI’s advanced voice technology could significantly enhance Meta’s AI assistant, smartglasses, and other hands-free devices, helping the company keep pace with competitors like Google and OpenAI. The move also follows Meta’s recent multi-billion dollar investment in Scale AI and its aggressive recruitment of top AI talent, signaling Zuckerberg’s commitment to leading in the next wave of AI innovation. Both Meta and PlayAI have declined to comment on the ongoing negotiations.

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Elon Musk Bans Hashtags from X Ads, Ushering in a New Era of AI-Driven Marketing

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Hashtag on X

Elon Musk has announced that, starting June 27, 2025, hashtags will be banned from all promoted posts on X (formerly Twitter). This policy applies exclusively to paid advertisements, meaning regular users can still include hashtags in their personal posts. Musk described hashtags in ads as an “esthetic nightmare,” emphasizing that the change is intended to create a cleaner, less cluttered feed where advertisements blend more seamlessly with organic content. 

The ban reflects Musk’s long-standing criticism of hashtags, which he has called “ugly” and unnecessary. He argues that with the platform’s advanced AI tools, such as the Grok chatbot, hashtags are no longer essential for content discovery or categorization. Instead, X’s algorithms can now surface and organize relevant content and ads without relying on manual tags, signaling a broader industry shift toward AI-driven content curation.

For advertisers, this marks a significant departure from traditional social media marketing strategies, where hashtags have been key for engagement and campaign tracking. Brands will now need to adapt by focusing on compelling visuals, concise copy, and leveraging X’s AI-powered targeting. The move has sparked debate among marketers and users, with some supporting the cleaner look and others lamenting the loss of a familiar engagement tool.

 

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