StartupFox

This video from Al Mankhool, Dubai, shows a massive gathering of the Indian community celebrating Diwali. The UAE is home to the largest Indian expatriate community in the world. This isn't just a diaspora; it's a high-density, high-income consumer market. This concentration in key areas like Dubai makes it a uniquely efficient geography for customer acquisition, brand building, and market-entry strategies, bypassing the logistical complexities of India's Tier 1, 2, and 3 cities. For daily, sharp analysis of the biggest moves in the Indian business and startup ecosystem, follow StartupFox. #dubai #diwali #indianstartups #d2c #uae #consumerbehavior #marketstrategy #indiangcc #indiansindubai #businessstrategy #dxblife

ALLEN Career Institute has reported a sharp 70% fall in net profit for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2025, closing the year at ₹41 crore compared to ₹136 crore in FY24. This significant drop in profitability came even as its operating revenue saw only a marginal dip to ₹3,067 crore. This profit plunge is not a story of decline, but one of deliberate, high-stakes investment. ALLEN is aggressively pivoting away from its legacy Kota-centric model, which has been impacted by new edtech rivals and reputational challenges. The company is pouring capital into a massive national expansion-adding 106 new physical campuses- and building out its digital capabilities to de-risk its business for the long term. This move positions ALLEN for a war of attrition. While a 70% profit drop looks alarming, Allen remains one of the only major test-prep players that is still profitable. For context, IPO-bound rival PhysicsWallah reported a staggering ₹243 crore loss on ₹2,886 crore in revenue in the same period, while Unacademy's revenue shrank. Allen is using its legacy profits to fund a future-proofing strategy, sacrificing today's margins for tomorrow's market share. For daily, sharp analysis of the biggest moves in the Indian business and startup ecosystem, follow StartupFox. #StartupFox #AllenCareerInstitute #EdTech #Financials #FY25Results #Profitability #StartupIndia #BusinessStrategy #PhysicsWallah #Unacademy #Kota

D2C meat and seafood brand Licious has announced a strong financial recovery for FY25. The company reported a 16% year-on-year revenue growth, hitting ₹795 crore, up from ₹685 crore in FY24. More critically, Licious slashed its EBITDA losses by 45%, bringing them down from ₹296 crore last fiscal to ₹163 crore. This turnaround is the direct result of a major "operational reset." After a deliberate revenue dip in FY24 (caused by cutting unprofitable third-party distributors), Licious has aggressively pivoted to a capital-efficient omnichannel model. This strategy includes expanding its offline footprint to 50 stores -partly via its acquisition of 'My Chicken and More'-and shutting down its cash-burning plant-based brand, 'UnCrave'. This signals a watershed moment for the D2C ecosystem, marking a definitive shift from the "growth-at-all-costs" era to a model built on fiscal discipline. The data supports the move: Licious reports that omnichannel customers generate a 30% higher average revenue per user (ARPU) on repeat orders. As rivals like Zappfresh push for profitability via an IPO, Licious is building a defensible hybrid moat, proving that for D2C, the future is both digital and physical. Mentions: Abhay Hanjura, Vivek Gupta, Karishma Gupta, Sajith T, Sanu Wilfred, Sayak Mitra, Yash Bhatia, Varun Khanna, Konduru Bhaskar. For daily, sharp analysis of the biggest moves in the Indian business and startup ecosystem, follow StartupFox. #Licious #D2C #StartupIndia #FinancialResults #FY25 #Omnichannel #Retail #BusinessStrategy #StartupFunding

Saturday, October 18, 2025, aboard Air China flight CA139. The flight was en route from Hangzhou, China, to Seoul, South Korea. Mid-flight, a fire broke out in an overhead luggage compartment. According to the airline and passenger reports, the fire was caused by a lithium battery, believed to be a power bank, which spontaneously ignited inside a passenger's carry-on bag. Videos taken by passengers show flames and smoke coming from the bin as cabin crew and passengers rushed to extinguish the fire. The crew successfully put out the blaze. As a safety precaution, the pilots diverted the flight, which made a safe emergency landing at Shanghai Pudong International Airport. No injuries were reported among the passengers or crew. The passengers were later transferred to a replacement aircraft to continue their journey to Seoul. For daily, sharp analysis of the biggest moves in the Indian business and startup ecosystem, follow StartupFox. #China #AirChina #CA139 #StartupFox

Eternal Ltd., the parent company of Zomato and Blinkit, has been served a major demand order from Uttar Pradesh tax authorities for ₹128.34 crore. The order, issued by the Deputy Commissioner of State Tax in Lucknow, is split evenly between a GST demand of ₹64.17 crore and an equivalent penalty of ₹64.17 crore for the period of April 2023 to March 2024. The core of this dispute lies in complex tax calculations. Authorities allege that Eternal (formerly Zomato Ltd.) engaged in the "overuse of input tax credits (ITC)" and "underpayment of output taxes." This isn't a simple clerical error; it represents a fundamental disagreement over how GST rules apply to the intricate operations of a multi-service e-commerce platform, a common regulatory battleground for digital aggregators. This ₹128 crore order is not an isolated event but the latest shot in a wider regulatory crackdown. Tax authorities across India are intensifying their scrutiny of e-commerce and food-tech giants, with Eternal facing similar large notices from states like Maharashtra and Karnataka in the past. While Eternal has confidently stated it has a "strong legal case" and will appeal the order, assuring investors of no financial impact, this pattern signals a major, ongoing headwind for the entire sector. For daily, sharp analysis of the biggest moves in the Indian business and startup ecosystem, follow StartupFox. #StartupFox #Zomato #Blinkit #Eternal #GST #Taxation #StartupNews #IndianStartups #ECommerce #FinanceNews #Regulatory

Meta's WhatsApp is officially developing a long-awaited username feature, a major product upgrade that will allow users to connect without ever sharing their personal phone numbers. According to the latest beta reports, the platform is also working on a "username reservation" system, which will let users claim their unique handle before the feature is fully rolled out. This is a watershed moment for WhatsApp's privacy framework. For years, the platform's core limitation has been its reliance on phone numbers, which automatically exposes a user's personal contact info in large groups with strangers. This move directly addresses that pain point, offering greater anonymity and security. It's a clear strategic play to neutralize the primary advantage of competitors like Telegram and Signal, which have long offered username-based privacy. The impact on the ecosystem will be significant. By making phone numbers optional for connection, WhatsApp becomes a safer platform for larger communities, public groups, and initial business interactions, reducing the risk of spam and harassment. This pivot signals a fundamental shift for WhatsApp-from a simple contact-list-based messenger to a more versatile and secure communication platform. For daily, sharp analysis of the biggest moves in the Indian business and startup ecosystem, follow StartupFox. #WhatsApp #Meta #TechUpdate #StartupFox #ProductLaunch #Privacy #Security #Usernames #Telegram #StartupFox

US-based crypto giant Coinbase has made a significant fresh investment in Indian exchange CoinDCX. This new funding, an extension of a previous round, now values the Mumbai-based company at a post-money valuation of $2.45 billion, up from $2.15 billion in its 2022 Series D round. This is more than just a capital injection; it's a "power play" and a strategic alignment. Coinbase, which has been an investor via its venture arm since 2020, is now deepening its partnership with the parent company. This move provides CoinDCX with a formidable war chest and global validation, particularly as the Indian crypto ecosystem operates under a harsh 30% flat tax and 1% TDS regime. For Coinbase, it solidifies its foothold in India through a registered, compliant local leader. The "so what" is about consolidation and mainstreaming. As co-founder Neeraj Khandelwal posted, the focus is now on making "crypto more mainstream in India and the Middle East." This alliance signals that the largest global and local players are preparing for the long haul, betting on eventual regulatory clarity and mass adoption. This move will put immense pressure on smaller, under-capitalized Indian exchanges, likely accelerating market consolidation around dominant, well-funded platforms like CoinDCX. Mentions: Sumit Gupta, Neeraj Khandelwal, Rajbir Kaur Bindra, Mudita Chauhan, Rohan Bhandari, Marylin Rodrigues, Utkarsh Shorewala, Apoorv Srivastava, Arun Varman G, Nishant Dixit. For daily, sharp analysis of the biggest moves in the Indian business and startup ecosystem, follow StartupFox. #CoinDCX #Coinbase #Crypto #Investment #Fintech #StartupIndia #Blockchain #StartupFox #CryptoNews #StartupFunding #India

Meesho has officially filed its updated Draft Red Herring Prospectus (DRHP) with SEBI, firing the starting gun on its journey to a December 2025 public listing. The public issue is set to include a fresh issue of ₹4,250 crore and an offer for sale (OFS) of up to 17.57 crore shares by existing investors, including Elevation Capital, Peak XV Partners, and co-founders Vidit Aatrey and Sanjeev Barnwal. This DRHP filing deconstructs a dramatic "path to profitability" narrative. While the FY25 balance sheet shows a headline net loss of ₹3,942 crore, this figure is misleading. It is almost entirely attributed to a one-time exceptional charge for tax liabilities related to its "reverse flip," the complex process of shifting its domicile from the US to India. The real operational story is a staggering success: Meesho's loss before exceptional items shrank to just ₹108 crore, and more importantly, it swung from a massive cash burn to generating ₹1,032 crore in positive free cash flow for the year. This turnaround proves its asset-light, zero-commission model can be sustainable. The company isn't just profitable on an operational cash flow basis; it's still in high-growth mode, achieving ₹29,988 crore in NMV (up 29% YoY) from 1.8 billion orders in FY25. The ₹4,250 crore in fresh capital will be used as a war chest to scale its cloud infrastructure, invest heavily in Al and tech development, and fund marketing, signaling a full-scale assault on the e-commerce market share held by Amazon and Flipkart. For daily, sharp analysis of the biggest moves in the Indian business and startup ecosystem, follow StartupFox. #Meesho #StartupFox #IPO #DRHP #Filing #StartupUpdates #Ecommerce #StartupIndia #StockMarket #PathToProfitability

Reliance Jio Infocomm Limited has achieved a monumental milestone, officially surpassing 50 crore (500 million) subscribers in the July-September quarter. According to its latest earnings report, the company's total subscriber base climbed to 506.4 million. This growth was complemented by a strong financial performance, with average revenue per user (ARPU) increasing by a robust 8.3% year-on-year to reach ₹211.40. This isn't just growth; it's a strategic "twin-engine" power play. The subscriber growth (up from 478.8 million last year) demonstrates Jio's relentless capture of market share. Simultaneously, the 8.3% ARPU jump shows its increasing ability to monetize that base. This is being directly driven by the rapid adoption of its 5G services, which encourages higher data consumption, and a successful migration of users to higher-value plans. Breaching the 500 million mark is a massive psychological and market-share barrier, putting immense pressure on competitors. While Bharti Airtel has historically competed by attracting high-value customers, Jio is now proving it can win both the "scale war" (total users) and the "value war" (ARPU). For Vodafone Idea, this widening gap makes its fight for survival even more critical. Jio's massive, monetizable user base now serves as the unshakeable foundation for its next wave of growth in digital services, including JioCinema and JioAirFiber. For daily, sharp analysis of the biggest moves in the Indian business and startup ecosystem, follow StartupFox. #jio #reliancejio #telecom #relianceindustries #mukeshambani #airtel #vodafoneidea #ARPU #5G #indianbusiness #startupfox

A Bengaluru traffic police head constable, Mallikarjun Teli, has been suspended following a massive public outcry over a viral video that showed him physically assaulting a motorcyclist. The incident, which was captured on video on October 15, 2025, near the busy Silk Board junction, quickly circulated on social media, drawing immediate attention to police misconduct. In the clip, the motorcyclist is seen pleading with the officer to stop, but the constable is clearly captured slapping the rider twice across the face. The blatant misuse of authority and disproportionate response to the traffic violation led to swift action from the Bengaluru City Police Commissioner. The Commissioner's office confirmed the suspension of Mallikarjun Teli, emphasizing that the police department will not tolerate such indiscipline or violation of human rights. An internal inquiry has been initiated to take further departmental action against the head constable, whose actions have severely dented the public image of the city's traffic police. #BengaluruTraffic #ConstableSuspended #TrafficPolice #ViralVideo #BreakingNews #PoliceBrutality #MallikarjunTeli #Karnataka #Bengaluru