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Nikhil Subramaniam

Nikhil Subramaniam

Inc42

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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…

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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 10

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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 6

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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 4

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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

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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

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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

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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 3

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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 10

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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 8

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Nikhil Subramaniam

Paytm’s Roller-Coaster Year

Paytm’s 2024 was a mirror image of 2023. The fintech giant finished 2023 on a low after coming very close…

29.12.2024 6

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Nikhil Subramaniam

PhysicsWallah’s IPO Frenzy 

In August, when we last looked at PhysicsWallah’s product strategy, we said the company is the only game in town…

22.12.2024 6

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Nikhil Subramaniam

Zepto Hits Quick Commerce Gold

Till Friday evening, Zepto was largely among the headlines this year for its massive $1.3 Bn fundraise spree. But with…

15.12.2024 20

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Nikhil Subramaniam

Unacademy’s Big Test

What’s happening at Unacademy? Reports indicate that the company is close to an acquisition, but cofounder and CEO Gaurav Munjal…

08.12.2024 5

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Nikhil Subramaniam

Swiggy, Flipkart’s Growth Pill: Will Quick Commerce Disrupt Pharmacies Next?

Aman Priyadarshi claims his startup Plazza is building India’s first instant health app. The likes of Swiggy Instamart, Blinkit and…

06.12.2024 6

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Nikhil Subramaniam

With 30 Startups At Launch, ‘Startup Policy Forum’ Looks To Fuel India’s New Economy 

Even as Indian startups have grown in prominence through funding and milestones such as IPOs, engaging with policymakers and regulators…

05.12.2024 4

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Nikhil Subramaniam

Zomato’s INR 8,500 Cr Refuel

Swiggy just netted $1.35 Bn through its IPO, Zepto armed itself with over $1 Bn in VC funding this year,…

01.12.2024 4

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Nikhil Subramaniam

How Mamaearth Lost Its Glow

One of India’s most celebrated beauty brands Mamaearth and its parent Honasa Consumer are under immense pressure. The past month…

24.11.2024 2

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Nikhil Subramaniam

Swiggy, One Year From Now

Swiggy is now a publicly listed company and there’s no looking back. But this is not the Swiggy that we…

17.11.2024 3

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Nikhil Subramaniam

Ola Electric Hits A Bottleneck

Ola Electric has always run on the fast track in India’s electric vehicle race—but after going public, the Bhavish Aggarwal-led…

10.11.2024 4

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Nikhil Subramaniam

Swiggy Wears The Concierge Hat

Would you pay INR 50,000 to Swiggy to be your personal butler? Well, not quite a butler — that would…

27.10.2024 4

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Nikhil Subramaniam

Behind The Rise Of Family Offices Changing The Indian Startup Investment Landscape

As far as milestones go, the Indian startup ecosystem crossing the $150 Bn mark in funding in 2024 is a…

24.10.2024 3

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Nikhil Subramaniam

Rebel Foods’ EatSure Gambit

Food delivery in India is a two-bike race, but Rebel Foods is living up to its name by going a…

20.10.2024 4

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Nikhil Subramaniam

RBI Vs Fintech Startups Redux: Action Against Navi, DMI Finance Revives Debate

Zeta founder Bhavin Turakhia has long held a unique view on fintech in India. He believes that startups need to…

19.10.2024 4

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Nikhil Subramaniam

Is The Line Between Private Equity And VC Funds Blurring?

The line between venture capital and private equity in India is fading rapidly. More and more PE firms are looking…

17.10.2024 7

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Nikhil Subramaniam

Ola Electric Needs Servicing

We’ve seen founders clash with founders and even their investors, but last week brought a new experience as Bhavish Aggarwal…

13.10.2024 4

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Nikhil Subramaniam

India’s Deeptech Problem: Where Are The VCs Backing Startups Creating IP, Innovation?

India’s venture capital firms and fund managers often talk about innovation, but in the age of generative AI and deeptech,…

10.10.2024 8

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Nikhil Subramaniam

Zerodha, Groww’s Revenue Conundrum

One often gets asked: where are the profitable startups? Three recent examples come to mind, all coincidentally in the same…

06.10.2024 3

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Nikhil Subramaniam

From Valuation To Value: Indian VCs Shift The Gears

With one quarter to go in 2024, we are beginning to another inflection point in the Indian startup ecosystem, with…

03.10.2024 3

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Nikhil Subramaniam