Koo crosses 50 Mn downloads🐤; $1Bn IPO for Aakash👩🏻🎓; DealShare to invest Rs 500 Cr💰
Indian app Koo crosses 50 million downloads, BYJU’s eyes $1Bn IPO for Aakash, DealShare plans to invest Rs 500 Cr, Funding Deals and more.
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Indian microblogging app Koo crosses 50 million downloads🐤
Indian microblogging platform Koo has crossed 50 million downloads, its CEO and co-founder Aprameya Radhakrishna told us. He added that the company expects to hit 100 million downloads over the next year.
“As an app that just started at the onset of the pandemic we have seen tremendous growth over the last two and a half years. Our monthly active users range between 10-12 million. While our downloads keep increasing, our focus is on increasing engagement. We have grown significantly in the last year. 60% of our audience only speaks Hindi on the platform,” he added.
On Elon Musk announcing that Twitter will charge $8 a month for blue-tick verification, Radhakrishna said he does not expect many users to pay for verification in India and that Koo will not demand users for this.
BYJU’s eyes $1Bn IPO for Aakash: Report👩🏻🎓
Edtech giant BYJU’s is in talks with bankers to take its physical tutor chain unit Aakash public, according to a report by TechCrunch.
BYJU’s is looking to raise $800 million to $1 billion via this IPO of Aakash at a valuation of over $3.5 billion, the report added, saying that the paperwork may be filed as early as February.
As per the report, one of the reasons why BYJU’s is considering listing Aakash on Indian stock exchanges is its apprehension about the consumer awareness of the Indian unit in the global markets.
The report added that Aakash is on track to clock over $500 million in revenue by the financial year ending 2024 at a margin of 25 percent.
Hot Shorts⚡
Direct-to-consumer sleep-tech startup, The Sleep Company, has raised Rs 177 crore (about $21.3 million) as part of a fresh funding round led by Premji Invest.
Cashback and coupons platform CashKaro has raised Rs 130 crore as part of its recent funding round led by Affle Global Pte Ltd (AGPL).
MoEVing, a commercial electric mobility tech platform has raised $2.5 million in a funding round led by JSW Ventures.
Noida-based lender, Shivalik Small Finance Bank has raised an equity round of Rs 111 crore led by venture capital firms Accel and Quona Capital.
DealShare launches private brands; plans to invest Rs 500 Cr in the business in 2-3 years🛒
E-commerce firm DealShare has launched 52 categories under its private brand business and plans to invest Rs 500 crore in the new segment in the next 2-3 years.
The company has launched 52 categories under Chemko (home cleaning) Swaccha (personal hygiene), Sampoorti (pantry staples) and X One (male grooming brands) in the first phase and plans to extend its portfolio to the skin and hair care, beauty and apparel categories over the next two years.
The e-commerce firm said it has launched "52 categories of products with the new initiative set to contribute 30 percent to DealShare's revenue" and "targets an investment of Rs 500 crore over the next 2 to 3 years for private brands business".
DealShare plans to take private label brands across 3,000 towns having more than 10,000 population in the next three years.
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