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Uber Pulls Out Of South East Asian Market – Sells To Grab

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Global taxi hailing startup Uber Technologies Inc., is withdrawing its South East Asian operations and has agreed to sell its business to rival Grab.

According to reports, the US based ride hailing firm has reached an agreement to sell its business to the bigger, regional rival Grab. This move marks the second time the company had to retreat from Asia. As per the agreement, Uber would get a 30% stake in the combined business while Grab will acquire all of Uber’s operations including their food delivery service UberEats. Uber’s Chief Executive Officer Dara Khosrowshahi will join the board of the Singapore based company, post the transaction. The transaction would also value Grab at $6 billion, the same valuation it commanded in its most recent capital raising.

Speaking about the acquisition Grab’s Chief Executive Officer Anthony Tan said, “Today’s acquisition marks the beginning of a new era. The combined business is the leader in platform and cost efficiency in the region.” The cease fire also marks a victory for the Japan based venture capital firm SoftBank Group Corp., who is currently the biggest shareholder in both companies. The venture firm has been pushing to reduce competition in the Southeast Asian ride hailing market in order to reach a market capitalization of $20.1 billion by 2025.

This is the third time the company sold one of its businesses to rivals in foreign markets. In 2016, Uber had to sell its business in China to Didi Chuxing after a fierce battle in which both the companies burned through cash to court drivers and riders with rich subsidies. In 2017, Uber had to negotiate a similar deal in Russia selling the firm’s Russian business to the ride hailing firm Yandex.

After Dara Khosrowshahi took over as the chief executive officer, the company has been focusing on cleaning up the company’s financials preparing for the initial public offering set for next year. However, according to Khosrowshahi, the company is committed to key markets such as Japan and India. In a statement, Khosrowshahi said, “(The deal) will help us double down on our plans for growth as we invest heavily in our products and technology.”

Founded in 2012 in Kuala Lumpur, Grab is one of South East Asia’s dominant ride hailing service. In the past 4 years, the company has managed to raise $4 billion from investors and offer services in 191 cities across Singapore, Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Myanmar and Cambodia.

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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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