The dream of every motorbike enthusiast, Harley-Davidson was founded in the year 1903 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. This American motorcycle manufacturing company has seen several ups and downs in its 116 year long history and is one of the two motorcycle companies to survive the Great Depression.
Founder William S. Harley, along with his childhood friend Arthur Davidson, started working on a small engine in Davidson’s family shed. Based on William S. Harley’s design, the duo developed the first Harley-Davidson motorcycle, which took almost 2 years to finish. The duo were then joined by Arthur Davidson’s brothers William A. Davidson and Walter Davidson and formed their company Harley-Davidson, producing a limited number of motorcycles. Harley and the brothers then went on to build their first factory in 1906 in Chestnut Avenue, Milwaukee, where the corporate headquarters of Harley-Davidson are situated now. The Company slowly started making profits and by 1914, it was ahead of its competitor, Indian, another motorcycle manufacturing company and was producing almost 16,500 machines a year.
Harley-Davidson’s popularity rose after America entered World War I and the demand for motorcycle for war efforts increased. Harley-Davidson sold nearly 20,000 motorcycles to the American military. Another great opportunity was World War II, when the Company sold nearly 80,000 motorcycles to the allied forces.
By 1920, Harley-Davidson became the largest motorcycle manufacturing company in the world, with its presence in 67 countries. However, the Company suffered greatly during the Great Depression, when its sales plummeted from 21,000 in 1929 to 3,703 in 1933. The Company somehow survived the Great Depression by introducing various new vehicles like a three wheeled utility motorcycle called Servi-Car, while legendary motorcycle manufacturers like Excelsior-Hendersen perished.
Harley-Davidson stayed popular all over the world until the 1960s. In 1969, after it was bought by American Machine and Foundry (AMF,) the Company suffered from a tarnished reputation. The AMF fired many of the Company’s workers and reduced production, resulting in poor quality yet expensive motorcycles. This move resulted in a decline of sales and popularity and the Company almost went bankrupt.
Harley-Davidson gained its reputation back in 1981, after the AMF sold the Company to a group of investors, which included William A. Davidson’s grandson, Willie G. Davidson. The new management decided to exploit the retro appeal of the Company by adopting the look and feel of the earlier motorcycles manufactured by the Company. This was considered to be a smart move and Harley-Davidson revived its lost reputation. The Company has been growing ever since and launched various new ranges of motorcycles.
In the 21st century, Harley-Davidson established itself as one of the most respected motorcycle manufacturers in the world and became one of the strongest brands. With a net worth of over $ 5.06 billion, Harley-Davidson has come a long way.
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.
Bengaluru-based investment bank IndigoEdge, in partnership with entrepreneur Hitesh Ahuja, has launched PixelSky Capital, a secondaries fund targeting INR 400 crore. The fund will invest in eight late-stage tech and consumer companies expected to go public within three to four years, with cheque sizes of INR 40–50 crore each. PixelSky has already invested in beauty retailer Purplle and aims to close a second deal by June 2025.
The fund focuses on secondary transactions, allowing existing shareholders to sell stakes to new investors, providing liquidity ahead of IPOs. Founders have committed INR 10–15 crore, with additional capital coming from domestic family offices and startup founders. Final close is expected by March 2026.
Led by Hitesh Ahuja, who sold his foodtech startup Yumlane in 2023, and IndigoEdge cofounder Zerin Rahiman, PixelSky marks IndigoEdge’s expansion from advisory and proprietary investments into fund management. The firm has facilitated over 150 transactions worth around $3 billion and invested INR 25–30 crore as a limited partner in multiple VC funds. PixelSky is currently evaluating about 20 companies before finalizing its portfolio
Meta is developing its first true AR glasses, set to launch in 2027. Before the public release, employees will test the device starting in 2024. The company is also releasing new generations of Ray-Ban smart glasses in 2023 and 2025 with enhanced features like a “viewfinder” display.
Specifications and Features
The AR glasses are expected to feature OLED displays and Qualcomm Snapdragon chipsets, offering sophisticated AR and AI capabilities. They will enable users to interact with virtual objects and project high-quality holograms of avatars onto the real world.
Design and Competition
Meta aims for a sleek design, potentially building on its Ray-Ban partnerships. The AR glasses market is competitive, with Apple and Google also investing heavily. Meta seeks to make its AR glasses a game-changer by offering a unique user experience.
Future Plans
In addition to AR glasses, Meta is expanding its VR offerings with new headsets like the Quest 3 and exploring other wearable technologies. The company is focused on reducing costs to make the AR glasses more consumer-friendly by launch.