India’s Exponent Energy brings 15-minute charging to passenger three-wheelers

India is getting an electric three-wheeler passenger vehicle that charges from 0 to 100% in 15 minutes. The launch of the new EV — a collaboration between auto manufacturer Omega Seiki Mobility and battery-tech startup Exponent Energy — comes amid India’s ambition to electrify 80% of all its three-wheelers by 2030 in an effort to […]

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WhatsApp trials Meta AI chatbot in India, more markets

WhatsApp is testing Meta AI, its large language model-powered chatbot, with users in India and some other markets, signalling its intentions to tap the massive user base to scale its AI offerings. The company recently began testing the AI chatbot, until now available in limited markets including the U.S., with some users in India, many […]

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Truecaller launches a web client for its Android users

Caller identity company Truecaller announced a web version, named Truecaller for the web, today to provide SMS and chat mirroring, call notifications, and number search functionality. At launch, this will be available only for Android users in India with plans to expand to other territories. All Truecaller for Android users can link their devices to […]

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Indian ride-hailing giant Ola quits UK, Australia and NZ in international pullback

Indian ride-hailing giant Ola is shutting down its operations in the UK, Australia and New Zealand, six years after expanding to international markets as it shifts focus to shoring up its domestic business ahead of an initial public offering. An Ola spokesperson told TechCrunch that the SoftBank-backed ride-hailing startup sees “immense opportunity for expansion in […]

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Avendus, top India venture advisor, seeks $300 million for new PE fund

Avendus, India’s leading investment bank for venture deals, is looking to raise about $300 million for its private equity unit, according to three sources familiar with the matter. The Mumbai-based firm, backed by U.S. private equity giant KKR, has established itself as the top financial advisor in India, working with popular growth-stage startups including Zepto, […]

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Quick-commerce startup Zepto zooms to $1.2B in annualized sales, Goldman says

Indian quick-commerce startup Zepto has surpassed the annualised sales milestone of $1 billion within just 29 months of its inception, Goldman Sachs wrote in a note Thursday, citing the Zepto management. The startup, which competes with Zomato-owned Blinkit and SoftBank-backed Swiggy Instamart, is also gaining market share, now standing “close to that of the number 2 […]

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Sachin Bansal’s fintech Navi seeks $2B valuation in its first major external fundraise

Flipkart co-founder Sachin Bansal is in talks to raise capital for his new startup, Indian fintech Navi. Bansal is talking to investors to raise at a valuation of around $2 billion, three sources familiar with the matter told TechCrunch. One source said he is looking to raise between $200 million and $400 million. The Bengaluru-headquartered […]

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