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Nikhil Subramaniam

Nikhil Subramaniam

Inc42

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The Zepto Question: Slowing Down Or Just Shoring Up?

Reddit can make or break a startup. Many such startups in the US have faced the wrath of Redditors. But…

previous day 10

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Nikhil Subramaniam

Pine Labs IPO: 27 Years In The Making

Pine Labs has been on the IPO trail for what feels like an eternity; it’s been a 27-year long journey…

30.06.2025 10

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Nikhil Subramaniam

Pine Labs IPO: Indian Fintech’s New Era Of Competition

Pine Labs has been on the IPO trail for what feels like an eternity. And now it’s finally about to…

30.06.2025 10

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Nikhil Subramaniam

Dream11 Takes Casual Gaming Break From Fantasy Blues

Is Dream11’s fantasy platform hitting a wall? That’s the indication from the company’s move into WinZO and MPL (M-League) territory…

29.06.2025 10

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Nikhil Subramaniam

Delhivery Takes The Hyperlocal Turn

Put yourselves in the shoes of Delhivery. What do you do when quick commerce and hyperlocal deliveries become the norm…

23.06.2025 10

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Nikhil Subramaniam

Why Razorpay Added POP Music To Its ‘Paylist’

When we think of competition in fintech, the eye usually falls on the likes of Paytm, PhonePe, CRED and the…

22.06.2025 10

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Nikhil Subramaniam

Flipkart’s NBFC Booster Shot

More than a year ago, when we unpacked Flipkart’s fintech ambitions, we never expected this new vertical to become the…

08.06.2025 10

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Nikhil Subramaniam

Groww Rolls The IPO Dice… In Secret

Groww’s confidential IPO filing has certainly grabbed the attention of the startup ecosystem this week, particularly after its eye-catching...

01.06.2025 5

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Nikhil Subramaniam

From Slikk To NEWME: Why Quick Fashion Is Hot Right Now

India’s quick commerce economy has a new darling. Quick fashion platforms such as Slikk, Blip, KNOT, NEWME are building up…

01.06.2025 10

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Nikhil Subramaniam

Ola Electric Goes Fundraising Again 

In August 2024, Ola Electric listed on the stock markets to much fanfare, and raised more than INR 5,500 Cr…

25.05.2025 10

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Nikhil Subramaniam

MobiKwik’s Q4 Blues Usher In Litmus Test 

When MobiKwik listed last December, it was at the tail end of a cycle for startup IPOs that has not…

25.05.2025 10

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Nikhil Subramaniam

Swiggy’s Instamart Engine Needs To Kick On

Food delivery giant Swiggy finds itself at a critical juncture, and it’s almost a make-or-break time for its big bet…

18.05.2025 10

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Nikhil Subramaniam

Will India Get Squeezed Between Trump And Apple? 

The theatre surrounding Apple’s manufacturing tussle between India and China got another twist this past week, courtesy of US President…

18.05.2025 10

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Nikhil Subramaniam

 Time To Fight The Misinformation War

There’s supposed to be a ceasefire between India and Pakistan now, but the biggest lesson from this past week was…

11.05.2025 10

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Nikhil Subramaniam

India-Pakistan Conflict, The Ceasefire And Stock Markets 

Just as we were about to finalise this edition of Inc42 Markets, word broke out about a ceasefire and potential…

11.05.2025 8

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Nikhil Subramaniam

Unmasking Kult: How Rahul Yadav’s Web Swallowed The Beauty App

What’s in a name? In the case of Karishma Singh’s beauty app Kult, the name is a premonition — it…

08.05.2025 8

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Nikhil Subramaniam

Eternal Battles Its Eternal Problem

Zomato or Eternal — what’s in a name, indeed? Even with a new name, the Deepinder Goyal-led company is dealing…

04.05.2025 10

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Nikhil Subramaniam

Flipkart’s Big India Bet

Eleven years after it was founded, Flipkart was acquired by Walmart in 2018 for a staggering $16 Bn. And as…

27.04.2025 10

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Nikhil Subramaniam

Ather Energy IPO: A Litmus Test For India’s EV Pioneer

After months of waiting, it’s finally here. Ather Energy will be the first mainboard IPO for FY26, and the first…

27.04.2025 10

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Nikhil Subramaniam

What India’s Early Stage AI Investors Want: Depth In Data, Talent And Product

What is the state of early stage AI investments in India and are investors changing the way they evaluate startups…

24.04.2025 10

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Nikhil Subramaniam

BluSmart, Medikabazaar & The Ghost Of Corporate Governance Returns

If there’s one consistent theme in business, it’s that everything moves in cycles. We have a funding and growth boom…

20.04.2025 7

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Nikhil Subramaniam

Will Trump’s Tariffs Spoil Indian Startup IPO Party?

In less than three months into his second stint as the US President, Donald Trump has thrown dozens of startup…

20.04.2025 10

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Nikhil Subramaniam

It’s Now Or Never For India’s Deeptech Dreams

In the fortnight since commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal’s address at the Startup Mahakumbh, we have seen a range…

16.04.2025 9

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Nikhil Subramaniam

Urban Company Lines Up For IPO Race

At the start of the year, we knew that the IPO momentum was going to be super strong among Indian…

13.04.2025 20

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Nikhil Subramaniam

Ola Charges Up Battery Game

Ola Electric seems to be on the cusp of a transformation. And we don’t necessarily mean with the number of…

06.04.2025 20

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Nikhil Subramaniam

OYO Builds Its Tower Of Profits 

When OYO stepped out of losses and emerged into profitable territory in FY24, there was more than a healthy dose…

06.04.2025 10

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Nikhil Subramaniam

MobiKwik Spins The Revenue Wheel

Paytm went through the fire soon after its listing, and now it’s MobiKwik’s turn. The Gurugram-based fintech company has seen…

30.03.2025 20

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Nikhil Subramaniam

Swiggy Adds B2B Brick In Food Delivery Wall

Riding high at INR 617 just three months ago, the Swiggy stock has nosedived 43% from peak levels, wiping out…

23.03.2025 10

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Nikhil Subramaniam

Urban Company Joins The Rush Hour

Three years ago, we wrote about the 15-minute economy. At the time, quick commerce had just begun to find its…

23.03.2025 20

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Nikhil Subramaniam

PB Fintech’s Revenue Muddle Amid Healthcare Foray

What’s brewing at PB Fintech? That’s the question many are asking this past week after the release of a curious…

16.03.2025 10

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Nikhil Subramaniam

Indian VCs Pile Up On SaaS Deals In Chase For AI Gold

In the face of global geopolitical shifts, Indian VCs and startup investors are increasingly seeing AI and SaaS investments as…

13.03.2025 10

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Nikhil Subramaniam

Is Food Delivery The Silver Lining For Zomato, Swiggy?

Food delivery-turned-quick commerce giants Swiggy and Zomato have seen significant erosion in value and stock price in the past month,…

09.03.2025 10

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Nikhil Subramaniam

BYJU’S Stuck In Bankruptcy Limbo

Even as the tubelights go off one by one, BYJU’S founder and CEO Byju Raveendran continues to fight the fight…

09.03.2025 5

Inc42

Nikhil Subramaniam

Can Ola Electric Stop The Drop?

At an event before the Ola Electric IPO in August last year, the company’s founder and CEO Bhavish Aggarwal banked…

02.03.2025 20

Inc42

Nikhil Subramaniam

CRED Cranks Up The Loan Machine

When CRED crossed INR 2,400 Cr in revenue last year, it finally sent a message to India’s fintech ecosystem. The…

02.03.2025 10

Inc42

Nikhil Subramaniam

PhonePe Rolls Out The IPO Carpet

Ola Electric, Swiggy and now PhonePe. Another IPO from Bengaluru is all set to grab the limelight, as the fintech…

23.02.2025 8

Inc42

Nikhil Subramaniam

Zomato’s GenAI Bet: A Golden Nugget?

When Zomato announced that it would become Eternal, it kinda flipped a switch. The group became bigger than Zomato. It’s…

23.02.2025 20

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Nikhil Subramaniam

PE Funds Hone India Exits Playbook Amid Startup IPO Wave

For India’s private equity ecosystem, the wave of startup IPOs has unlocked new insights into the Indian market and in…

20.02.2025 10

Inc42

Nikhil Subramaniam

Bearish Market Curbs New-Age Tech Stocks’ Enthusiasm 

It was a week to forget for all new-age tech stocks in India, with just Honasa surviving the broad market-wide…

16.02.2025 10

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Nikhil Subramaniam

India’s OTT Battle Turns Into JioHotstar Or Nothing

‘One ring to rule them all, and in the darkness, bind them’ — the situation perhaps not as morbid as…

16.02.2025 10

Inc42

Nikhil Subramaniam

Swiggy Enters The Cauldron

After a spell of running with the bulls, Swiggy is grappling with bears. The stock fell below its issue price…

09.02.2025 10

Inc42

Nikhil Subramaniam

Ola Electric’s Slide 

Ola Electric has had a rough few months, going from a post-IPO high to crashing below its listing price and…

09.02.2025 10

Inc42

Nikhil Subramaniam

The Bull Case For Indian Startups

This is the first edition of Inc42 Markets, a special Sunday newsletter that spotlights exclusive insights, deep analysis, and expert…

02.02.2025 8

Inc42

Nikhil Subramaniam

The Blinkit Paradox

Remember that scene from Christopher Nolan’s Inception? One of the main characters takes another on a walk up a staircase,…

26.01.2025 30

Inc42

Nikhil Subramaniam

Paytm Still Waiting For Revival, One Year After RBI Action

It’s been a curious past year for Paytm. Even as the fintech giant has shown improved financial performance on paper…

20.01.2025 4

Inc42

Nikhil Subramaniam

How Dunzo Lost Its Edge

November 2024: it was a cool evening in Delhi, when the general partner of a Bengaluru VC firm frantically sought…

19.01.2025 10

Inc42

Nikhil Subramaniam

Will 2025 Bring Springtime For Startup M&As?

Despite showing signs of a funding revival, the Indian startup ecosystem is in a peculiar place now. Most of the…

16.01.2025 7

Inc42

Nikhil Subramaniam

Zomato, Swiggy’s New Hunger

Zomato and Swiggy walk into a bistro, ask to see the menu and the kitchen, have a ‘Snacc’ or two…

12.01.2025 20

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Nikhil Subramaniam

Indian VC Funds In 2025: New Faces, New Models And New Horizons  

Investors expect a bullish year ahead for startup funding, but that doesn’t necessarily mean a great 2025 for venture capital…

09.01.2025 20

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Nikhil Subramaniam

Ather Energy’s IPO Speed Bumps

Ather Energy is entering 2025 on the cusp of an IPO, but now India’s EV pioneer needs to get out…

05.01.2025 20

Inc42

Nikhil Subramaniam