'Perfect positive storm' for Big Tech🌪

Droom vrooms into unicorn club; Ola gives employees Rs400 Cr in stocks.

Jul 29, 2021

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Google, Apple, and Microsoft report record-breaking profits💸

Global tech giants continue to grow at a startling pace, fueled by the growing demand for online services and gadgets amid the pandemic. Apple, Microsoft, and Alphabet, three of the world's largest corporations, reported a total profit of $57 billion in a record-breaking quarter.

Apple

Profits nearly doubled last quarter, iPhone sales increased by 50%, and revenue for every major product line increased by at least 12% year on year(YoY), according to the world's most valuable public company.

The company now has 700 million paid subscribers across all its services, up from 660 mn in the previous quarter.

Alphabet

Google's parent business reported a 69% gain in ad income. The major standout was YouTube, which, with $7 bn in quarterly revenue, is on the verge of surpassing Netflix's sales figures ($7.3 bn).

Google Cloud revenue grew 53% to $4.6 bn.

Microsoft

Microsoft had its most lucrative quarter in history, mainly to increased demand for its cloud computing services and workplace software. Revenue increased by 21% year on year to $46.2 billion.

LinkedIn's revenue was up 46% YoY to nearly $3 billion.

Droom vrooms into unicorn club🚗

Droom, an online automotive marketplace, has secured the first tranche of its $200 million pre-IPO fundraisings, valued at $1.2 billion, making it India's latest startup unicorn.

Droom witnessed massive digital adoption during the pandemic as people chose personal mobility over public transport.

IPO Plans: Droom intends to float on the Nasdaq or Indian stock exchanges in 2022.

Droom is the 17th Indian startup unicorn so far in 2021.

Gupshup, a conversational messaging network, has raised $240 million in preparation for an IPO in the United States next year.
Instagram declared that users under the age of 16 will no longer be able to have a public account; instead, their accounts will be turned to private by default, preventing young people from interacting with adults they don't know.

Ola expands ESOPs ahead of IPO🚕

In the run-up to its IPO, ride-hailing giant Ola is expanding its employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs) to Rs3,000 Cr and providing staff an additional Rs400 Cr in stock.

Ola claimed to have seen a good rebound in its ride-hailing business but did not provide any details.

Over the last year, the Bengaluru-based company has focused on introducing its electric vehicles, and it is about to introduce its own line of electric scooters.