Flipkart’s Foodtech Foray
Flipkart is all set to debut its food delivery service later this month. Backed by millions of users, lower platform fees and logistics support from Minutes and Ekart, Flipkart is gearing up to challenge Zomato and Swiggy. So, can the ecommerce giant break the entrenched duopoly?
A New Challenger: Flipkart plans to launch food delivery in Bengaluru later this month, with expansion to other cities later this year. A standalone app is in development, but Flipkart Minutes will initially manage orders and fulfilment. With roughly 500 Mn registered users and around 40 Mn SuperCoins users, Flipkart has a large base to which it can cross-sell food orders without starting from zero.
An Integrated Ecosystem: To minimise operational cash burn during rollout, Flipkart is leveraging its existing infrastructure rather than building a new network from scratch. The service will initially use Ekart’s logistics network and ONDC integration for restaurant onboarding. Meanwhile, SuperCoins loyalty integration will enable discounts without sacrificing platform margins.
Economics Over Novelty: Amid the ongoing standoff between restaurants and the foodtechs over commissions, Flipkart’s food delivery platform is centring its pitch on merchant economics. The ecommerce major is considering a base commission of 12%-13% (against 30% on rivals) and capping marketing and advertising spends, directly addressing one of the restaurant industry’s main grievances against Zomato and Swiggy.
The Road Ahead: While Flipkart will be looking to tap into its deep pockets to challenge the incumbents, scale alone has not helped earlier challengers. Amazon Food, Ola, Paytm, Tata Neu and others previously tried and failed to alter consumer behaviour. As a result, discounting, faster delivery and strategic restaurant tie-ups remain the main tools for a new entrant in the capital-intensive and low-margin food delivery businesses.
With much on its plate, can Flipkart’s lower commissions and logistics break the habits that have protected Swiggy and Zomato for so long? Let’s find out…
From The Editor’s Desk
Weekly Startup Funding Rebounds
- Indian startups cumulatively managed to raise $233.2 Mn across 19 deals last week, up 67% from $139.5 Mn raised by 12 startups in the preceding week. Navi and BookMyShow took the biggest cheques home at $100 Mn and $40 Mn, respectively.
- Fintech emerged as the most funded sector last week and raised $112.5 Mn across two deals. Consumer services was a distant second, with three deals bringing in $47.2 Mn.
- Early stage funding activity continued to pick up, with nine seed and pre-Series A startups raising around $9.3 Mn last week. Prosus accounted for a significant share of the total capital raised during the week.
Raana Semiconductors Eyes ₹100 Cr
- The semiconductor startup is in advanced discussions to raise around $10.4 Mn in its Series A round, which could be led by an India venture capital firm. The round will also see participation from another seven to eight investors.
- Raana expects to close the round by October. It plans to use the capital to scale its Czochralski (CZ) crystal-growth equipment from 6 inches to 12 inches, fine-tune the silicon-growth process, and develop a domestic supplier ecosystem.
- Founded in 2015, the Hosur-based startup designs and manufactures CZ crystal-growth systems used to produce single crystals for semiconductor, solar, defence, photonics, and atomic-energy applications. It last raised $3 Mn in January this year.
Bullish Week For Startup Stocks
- Of the 61 new-age tech stocks under Inc42’s coverage, 34 ended last week in the black and gained between 0.11% and 16.69%. The remaining 27 stocks declined between 0.01% and more than 11% last week.
- Wakefit and LEAP India shares gained the most last week, while Yudiz and TAC emerged as the biggest losers. Together, the 62 new-age tech companies, including the recently listed Shiprocket, commanded a market capitalisation of $166.84 Bn.
- Looking ahead, geopolitical developments and crude oil prices will remain the dominant drivers of market sentiment. The upcoming US inflation and GDP data would also be key indicators for the global interest-rate trajectory later this week.
CBI Books BluSmart Founders
- The CBI has registered an FIR against Gensol Engineering, Gensol EV Lease and BluSmart cofounders Anmol Singh Jaggi and Puneet Singh Jaggi over allegations that loans extended by state-run IREDA were diverted or misused.
- IREDA’s complaint was based largely on forensic audits, which estimated probable diversion or misutilisation of ₹226 Cr at Gensol Engineering and ₹64.87 Cr at Gensol EV Lease. The allegations remain subject to investigation and adjudication.
- IREDA has alleged that Gensol Engineering and Gensol EV Lease submitted forged letters to CARE Ratings and ICRA. They also claimed that their loan accounts had no overdue installments, even though the accounts were already in default.
ISRO To Exit Manufacturing?
- The Indian Space Research Organisation is now looking to gradually move away from manufacturing launch vehicles and routine satellites. The agency plans to hand over mature space technologies to private companies and PSUs for the same.
- Under the new model, ISRO will now double down on R&D, advanced technologies, scientific missions and specialised infrastructure, while private players will take responsibility for commercial manufacturing and operations.
- While ISRO has already begun transferring the technology behind the SSLV to Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, the next major opportunities are expected to involve the PSLV and the LVM3, India’s most powerful operational rocket.
Inc42 Markets
Inc42 Startup Spotlight
How SUIND Is Build Autonomous Drones For Farming
Conventional drones often struggle under dense canopies, around obstacles and in areas where GPS signals weaken. SUIND is tackling this gap with its vision-first autonomous aircraft for farmers that can navigate close to the ground and spray more accurately.
Flying Without GPS: Founded in 2022, SUIND develops unmanned aerial systems that use computer vision instead of relying primarily on GPS. Its systems interpret terrain, crop structures and obstacles in real time, allowing drones to operate in uneven, cluttered and low-altitude environments.
Going The Agri Route: SUIND’s flagship Bumblebee is a DGCA type-certified autonomous spraying drone designed for plantations and tall crops. It has already been deployed across sugarcane, rubber and banana farms, where it supports precision spraying and crop monitoring. Bumblebee can also return automatically when its spray tank is empty or battery reserves require it.
Beyond The Farm: SUIND is now extending its autonomy platform through WASP, an aerial intelligence and inspection drone for infrastructure monitoring, security, surveillance and defence. The startup believes that its capabilities proven around farms can be transferred to industrial and strategic applications.
With India’s drone technology market projected to reach $1.4 Bn by 2030, what is SUIND’s vision-first autonomous drones bet all about?
Infographic Of The Day
One company wasn’t enough. They went back and built again. Here’s a look at the founders who didn’t stop after their first big win…
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