Blinkit to expand🏪, Zomato exits 225 cities🍔, Drone maker files for IPO📊
Blinkit to expand dark store count, Zomato exits 225 cities, ideaForge files for IPO, Funding Deals and more.
Morning folks👋🏻
Start your day, the smart way!
1 Mail | 2 Mins | 3 Stories
Blinkit to expand dark store count by around 40% over next 12 months🏪
Quick commerce player Blinkit is looking to expand its micro-fulfillment centers or dark stores, targeting up to a 40% increase in store count in the next 12 months, according to company CEO Albinder Dhindsa.
The company, which was acquired by online food delivery firm Zomato last year, currently has over 400 dark stores that act as warehouses.
"We have identified several new high-potential neighborhoods in existing as well as new cities. We should start seeing the net dark store number increase going forward," Dhindsa said in an earnings statement.
Zomato exits 225 cities due to “not very encouraging” performance🍔
Zomato, during its quarter three financial earnings report, noted that the food delivery tech company's losses have widened further.
The company also announced that it has ceased operations in 225 smaller cities as the performance of these cities was 'not very encouraging'.
The company reported losses of Rs 346.6 crore for the quarter that ended in December due to the reduction in the food delivery business.
The company noted Zomato food delivery service made an exit from '225 smaller cities in January, which contributed 0.3% of its gross order value in the December quarter.’
Hot Shorts⚡
Drone manufacturer Garuda Aerospace has raised $22 million (Rs 181 crore) in a Series A funding round led by early-stage investor SphitiCap.
Rezolve.ai, an AI-powered employee service SaaS Platform, has closed an $11 million Series A round led by SIG Venture Capital with participation from Exfinity Venture Partners.
Singapore-headquartered mental health startup United We Care has secured $1.5 million in seed funding led by Pramod Bhasin, (Founder and CEO, Genpact), Kunal Shah (Founder and CEO, CRED), and Asif Suraya (Founder and Editor of Inside Arbitrage and VP Mindful Health Solution), among others.
Drone maker ideaForge files for IPO📊
IdeaForge Technology Pvt, the Qualcomm Ventures-backed drone maker, is set to raise about Rs750 crore through an initial public offer (IPO), said multiple people aware of the development.
About 25% stake will be offered in India’s largest drone maker through a secondary and primary share sale. The IPO will value the company at Rs3000 crore.
Investment banks JM Financial and IIFL are the lead managers for the IPO. A DRHP has been filed on Friday and the IPO will be launched by May 2023, said sources.
ideaForge is backed by the likes of Qualcomm, Infosys and Florintree Capital Partners, co-established by former Blackstone executive Mathew Cyriac.
Tweet of the day🐥
Other Top Stories
⛰️ India finds 5.9 million tonnes of lithium deposits in Jammu and Kashmir
🕸️ Cybersecurity professionals in high demand despite hiring freeze
"Be positive, stay happy and don't let the negativity or drama of the world get you down."
Thanks for reading😊
Share with your friends/colleagues, if you enjoyed the newsletter. It’s FREE!!!