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Infra.Market Secures USD 50 Mn from MARS Growth Capital to Fuel Growth and Global Expansion
Infra.Market Secures USD 50 Mn from MARS Growth Capital to Fuel Growth and Global Expansion

Entrepreneur

time16 hours ago

  • Business
  • Entrepreneur

Infra.Market Secures USD 50 Mn from MARS Growth Capital to Fuel Growth and Global Expansion

The funds will help accelerate product development, expand retail and manufacturing infrastructure, and enhance supply chain capabilities. You're reading Entrepreneur India, an international franchise of Entrepreneur Media. a construction materials platform, has secured an additional USD 50 million in debt financing from MARS Growth Capital, a joint venture between Liquidity Group and MUFG Bank. This latest infusion brings the total debt facility to USD 150 million, with the original USD 100 million line being extended by another five years. The new capital will be deployed to support continued expansion in India and abroad, as the company prepares for a USD 700 million IPO, expected to value it between USD 3–5 billion. The funds will help accelerate product development, expand retail and manufacturing infrastructure, and enhance supply chain capabilities. "We continue to build on our vision of creating India's largest building materials platform, offering end-to-end solutions across the construction value chain, not only in India, but also globally," said Souvik Sengupta, Founder of "We are rapidly expanding our market presence and are excited about the opportunities that lie ahead." Founded in 2016 by Souvik Sengupta and Aaditya Sharda, serves both institutional (B2B) and retail (B2R) customers across the construction sector. The company offers more than 15 product categories including concrete, walling solutions, steel, tiles, paints, modular kitchens, electricals, appliances, and consumer durables. It operates a robust network of over 250 manufacturing units and 10,000+ retail touchpoints across India. has also made strategic investments in industry players like RDC Concrete, Shalimar Paints, Emcer, Millennium Tiles, and Amstrad. This financing marks second raise in 2025, following a USD 125 million Series D round earlier in the year, backed by prominent investors such as Accel, Tiger Global, and Nexus. Ron Daniel, Co-founder and CEO of Liquidity Group, commented, "This USD 150 million potential commitment reflects our conviction in vision and execution. We are proud to deepen our partnership as the company continues to redefine what's possible in India's infrastructure sector." is targeting India's USD 255 billion building materials market, with a sharp focus on infrastructure, industrial, and residential construction. Northcote Luxe FinBrokers acted as exclusive advisors for the latest debt transaction.

Q-comm firms add fees to cart; Curefoods joins IPO queue
Q-comm firms add fees to cart; Curefoods joins IPO queue

Economic Times

time20 hours ago

  • Business
  • Economic Times

Q-comm firms add fees to cart; Curefoods joins IPO queue

Happy Monday! Quick commerce players are introducing new charges to offset rising losses. This and more in today's ETtech Morning Dispatch. Also in the letter: ■ Mid-market GCC jobs outlook ■ Fresh yolk for Eggoz■ IndiaAI's LLM focus Quick commerce apps stack up extra fees to curb losses India's quick commerce players — Blinkit, Instamart, and Zepto among them — are quietly layering on new charges, such as handling, small-cart, rain, and surge fees, to shore up their fragile unit economics, executives and analysts tracking the sector told us. Driving the news: These add-on fees, charged over and above standard delivery rates, typically range from Rs 6 to Rs 30 per order, depending on city and demand. Crucially, they allow platforms to increase their take rates without adjusting base delivery fees, which remain subsidised to keep users engaged. Apps have also raised the minimum cart value, nudging users towards bigger baskets. However, this fee stacking has triggered a wave of user complaints about hidden charges. The government, too, has taken note — it recently flagged these as 'dark patterns' and asked these platforms to conduct self-audits. Also Read: Quick commerce industry's hygiene headache explained Why it matters: The top platforms control more than 80% of the market and are battling swelling losses. Blinkit posted a Rs 178 crore loss in Q4 FY25, while Instamart's losses touched Rs 840 crore in the same period. With aggressive discounting and high delivery subsidies weighing on margins, these charges aim to plug widening gaps in the business model. Zoom out: India's quick commerce market is projected to touch $31 billion by FY28. For now, though, growth is coming at the cost of profitability, even as regulators and customers push back against the tactics being used to fund it. Also Read: Quick commerce firms face delivery partner crunch amid rising demand Curefoods files for public listing amid IPO market resurgence Ankit Nagori, founder, Curefoods Cloud kitchen operator Curefoods filed its draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) for an initial public offering (IPO), joining a wave of Indian tech firms tapping into renewed interest in the IPO market. Key details: The offer will include a fresh issue worth Rs 800 crore, alongside an offer for sale (OFS) of 48.5 million shares. Early backers Accel, Chiratae Ventures and Iron Pillar PCC would offload part of their stake in the OFS. JM Financial, IIFL Capital and Nuvama are advising on the IPO. Use of proceeds: Curefoods will use Rs 152 crore from the IPO to expand cloud kitchens, restaurants and kiosks, mainly for Krispy Kreme. Another Rs 127 crore will go towards debt repayment, with some funds allocated to boost stakes in subsidiaries. India-Ratings downgrades IPO-bound on debt repayment worries Aaditya Sharda and Souvik Sengupta, cofounders, India Ratings, part of the Fitch Group, has downgraded long-term debt rating to 'BBB+ with Negative Outlook' from 'A- with Negative Outlook', citing worries around debt refinancing, weak liquidity and negative cash flows from operations in FY25. On the flipside: In response, told investors and lenders in a note last month that the downgrade fails to reflect its improving financials, recent equity infusion, and upcoming liquidity events, including its planned IPO. Meesho gets shareholder nod to go public Vidit Aatrey, CEO, Meesho Ecommerce platform Meesho has secured shareholders' approval to go public, the last step before filing its DRHP with Sebi. What's on offer: The company recently redomiciled to India in preparation for the listing. The IPO will feature a fresh issue of Rs 4,250 crore, along with an offer for sale. Zoom out: Meesho could become the first digital-only one-stop shop to list in India. Its larger rival, Flipkart, owned by Walmart, is also exploring a public listing. Also Read: IPO watch: Which Indian startups are next to hit the stock market? Mid-market GCCs likely to add 40,000 jobs by 2026 end Mid-market global capability centres (GCCs) are poised to add 40,000 jobs in India by the end of 2026, pushing their total workforce past 260,000, according to data from ANSR Global, which helps set up these captive units. Tell me more: Over 120 new mid-sized GCCs are expected to come up by the end of next year. Most of them will support functions across software, banking, finance, accounting, insurance, and retail. Hiring will remain concentrated in key tech hubs, including Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Chennai, Pune, and Gurugram. The hottest skills on the radar include AI/ML engineering, data analytics, cloud engineering, cybersecurity, full-stack development, product management, and solution architecture. Bird's eye view: Mid-market GCCs are punching above their weight when it comes to deep tech. They account for around 1.5 times more talent in areas such as AI/ML, cybersecurity, cloud, and data science, according to a Nasscom-Zinnov report. While leaner by design, these centres are doubling down on niche and high-value skills rather than chasing scale. Other Top Stories By Our Reporters Eggoz eyes to bolster presence with fresh funds: Agritech startup Eggoz secured $20 million in new funding, with mid-market private equity firm Gaja Capital leading the round, to expand its presence in existing markets. IndiaAI Mission emphasises building LLMs: Out of the 506 proposals received by the IndiaAI Mission for developing foundational AI models, 43 are specifically dedicated to creating large language models (LLMs). Global Picks We Are Reading ■ Inside the British lab growing a biological computer (FT) ■ Why tech billionaires want bots to be your BFF (WSJ) ■ Facebook is starting to feed its AI with private, unpublished photos (The Verge) Updated On Jun 30, 2025, 07:50 AM IST

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