Ola, India’s local rival to Uber, has seen its valuation jump to nearly $6 billion as it prepares to take in a large round of financing. The ride-hailing firm, which was founded in 2010, has raised around $3.3 billion from investors to date, and it topped that up a little this week. Ola pulled in […]
View More Uber’s India rival Ola nears $6 billion valuation ahead of huge funding roundCategory: food delivery
Meituan partners with Nvidia, Valeo and Icona for its autonomous delivery platform
Meituan Dianping, China’s largest on-demand food delivery company, announced today at CES that it has signed three new major partners for the development of its autonomous delivery open platform. They are Nvidia, Italian automotive design company Icona, and French automotive supplier Valeo. This is the first time Meituan Dianping, which went public four months ago […]
View More Meituan partners with Nvidia, Valeo and Icona for its autonomous delivery platformChinese app developers have invaded India
If you’ve conquered China, then India — the world’s second-largest country based on population — is the obvious next port of call, and that’s exactly what has happened in the world of consumer apps. Following the lead of Chinese smartphone makers like Xiaomi and Oppo, which have dominated mobile sales in India for some time, […]
View More Chinese app developers have invaded IndiaAlibaba just gave Chinese youth another reason to never leave their desk
People in China have a host of reasons not to go outdoors these days. They may be too busy to leave their office, wary of air pollution or have chosen to live isolated lives. Among them is an expanding young consumer base who prefers to dwell in the virtual world of video games, animes and […]
View More Alibaba just gave Chinese youth another reason to never leave their deskFood delivery startup Swiggy raises $1 billion more from Naspers, Tencent and others
Naspers, the South African investment giant, is back at it again in India! Days after backing educational startup Byju’s by leading a $540 million investment, it has led a $1 billion investment in food delivery company Swiggy. The new round sees Chinese internet and Naspers ally Tencent join the party, alongside fellow new investors Hillhouse Capital […]
View More Food delivery startup Swiggy raises $1 billion more from Naspers, Tencent and othersGoogle has acquired one of India’s most popular train tracking apps
Google is increasing its efforts in India after it snapped up the team behind popular transportation app ‘Where is my Train.’ The app claims 10 million registered users and, as the name suggests, it helps commuters track arrivals and departures as well as buying seats. That’s no small job given that India is estimated to operate […]
View More Google has acquired one of India’s most popular train tracking appsUber Eats test lets restaurants trade discounts for ranking boost
Uber Eats has effectively invented its own native ad unit. Uber confirmed to TechCrunch that a test quietly running in markets around India allows restaurants to bundle several food items together and sell them at a discounted price in exchange for promoted placement by Uber Eats in a featured section of local “Specials”. In some […]
View More Uber Eats test lets restaurants trade discounts for ranking boostRobot couriers scoop up early-stage cash
Much of the last couple of decades of innovation has centered around finding ways to get what we want without leaving the sofa. But there’s a catch: We can’t lie around ordering pizzas if someone still has to deliver them.
View More Robot couriers scoop up early-stage cashTiger Global returns with a $3M investment to help restaurants deal with delivery apps
Tiger Global has returned to backing early-stage Indian startups after it wrote a $3 million check for CheckMate, a U.S.-Indian startup the helps restaurant deals with the pain of multiple food ordering platforms. The deal is a Series A and it represents the first time that CheckMate has raised outside funding for its business. It […]
View More Tiger Global returns with a $3M investment to help restaurants deal with delivery appsUber Eats launches its new platform for corporate accounts
Uber Eats is expanding to enterprise customers with the launch of Uber Eats for Business. The new service allows companies to manage their employees’ food orders and positions Uber Eats to compete more directly against rivals that already offer corporate accounts, including Deliveroo, GrubHub, and Foodpanda (in some markets). Uber Eats for Business is integrated […]
View More Uber Eats launches its new platform for corporate accountsChina’s Didi Chuxing is poised to expand into hotel bookings
China’s largest ride-hailing app Didi Chuxing is entering the hotel-booking business as it strives to recover from two highly publicized murders of female passengers by drivers on its platform. That’s according to Chinese business magazine Caijing and tech news site 36kr (links in Chinese). R-Lab, the unit in charge of Didi’s new venture, is aptly […]
View More China’s Didi Chuxing is poised to expand into hotel bookingsPostmates launches food delivery in 134 new U.S. cities
Homebodies across the U.S. have reason to celebrate. Postmates — the on-demand food delivery service so popular in major cities that it’s a verb now— just launched in 134 new markets. Those 134 new cities mean that Postmates has a presence in 550 cities total across the U.S, including places like Lubbock, Texas; Athens, Georgia; […]
View More Postmates launches food delivery in 134 new U.S. cities