Meta Brings AI Assistant To India, BYJU’s Legal Challenges, Zendesk Fuels AI Innovation and more

Meta introduces AI to empower Indian users, Morgan Stanley's optimism boosts Zomato and PB Fintech amidst internet trends. Meanwhile, BYJU'S navigates legal challenges, Affle pushes for oversight in Bobble AI, and Prosus writes off a massive stake in BYJU'S. ixigo broadens horizons with PhonePe, while MapmyIndia pioneers AI with ClarityX. Paytm scales new heights in travel with Skyscanner, Google Flights, and Wego, and Zendesk fuels AI innovation with its new venture fund.

Grab your simmering cup of StartupChai and unwind with our hand-brewed memes.

What Matters

“Sahayta Ki Sakht Zarurat”: Meta Brings In AI Assistant To India

Meta has introduced its AI assistant to India, extending its GenAI-enabled search and assistance features to WhatsApp, Facebook, Messenger, and Instagram users.

Powered by the advanced Meta Llama 3 model, this assistant aims to enhance information-seeking and provide robust support across these platforms. This rollout marks a significant step in integrating AI-driven capabilities into everyday digital interactions in India.

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“Sunshine Wali Asha”: Morgan Stanley Stays Bullish on Zomato, PB Fintech Amid Internet

Morgan Stanley remains optimistic about Zomato and PB Fintech, maintaining an overweight rating on Zomato with a target price of INR 235 per share, indicating a 21% potential upside. The brokerage notes that favorable macro and microeconomic factors are boosting India's internet stocks.

Over the past five quarters, Zomato has gained significant momentum, achieving a market cap of $20 billion (INR 1.6 lakh crore), making it one of the hottest stocks.

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“Maamla Legal Hai”: BYJU'S Moves Karnataka HC Against NCLT Order

BYJU'S has approached the Karnataka High Court to challenge the NCLT order stopping its second rights issue. The NCLT's directive, issued on June 13, aims to maintain the status quo of existing shareholders and halt the second rights issue until the petition against the first is resolved.

This development follows February reports of BYJU'S planning a rights issue at a steep 99% valuation cut.

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“Court Kacheri Ki Baatein”: Affle Seeks Full Inspection On Bobble AI, Files Execution

Affle India Limited, the parent company of Appnext, has secured a Delhi High Court order demanding a full inspection of conversation media platform Bobble AI. Holding a 26.24% stake in Bobble, Affle emphasizes the importance of this inspection to protect its investment.

Last July, the court upheld Affle's inspection rights as per the shareholder agreement, requiring Bobble to comply without delay.

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“Style Mein Rehne Ka”: Prosus Writes Off Its Entire Stake Worth Around $500 Mn In BYJU'S

Netherlands-based Prosus has written off its entire $500 million investment in Bengaluru-based BYJU'S. At the edtech giant's peak valuation of $22 billion, Prosus' 9.6% stake was worth around $2.2 billion.

However, following HSBC's recent zero valuation of Prosus' stake, the company has decided to fully write off the investment.

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“Kaafi Faila Hua Business Hai”: ixigo Expands Partnership With PhonePe, Adds Bus And Flight

Hot on the heels of a stellar stock market debut, ixigo has expanded its partnership with PhonePe to include bus and flight bookings. Previously facilitating train bookings for PhonePe users, ixigo will now exclusively power these travel options on the app.

This integration includes ixigo flights for air travel, AbhiBus for bus bookings, and an expanded partnership with ConfirmTkt for trains.

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“Mera Hi Jalwa”: MapmyIndia Founders Unveil ClarityX To Help Enterprises With AI

MapmyIndia founders, alongside non-executive director Rakhi Prasad, have launched ClarityX, an AI-driven data and consulting platform. ClarityX aims to assist enterprises in identifying new markets, optimizing costs and resources, and reducing risks and frauds.

Incorporated just months ago, ClarityX has already helped several companies with strategic location analysis for their expansion plans.

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“Mauja Hi Mauja”: Paytm partners with Skyscanner, Google Flights, and Wego to expand travel market share

Paytm is set to expand its travel market share by partnering with major travel aggregators like Skyscanner, Google Flights, and Wego, according to a stock filing report. The company also plans to collaborate with international airlines such as Cambodia Angkor Air, SalamAir, and FlyDubai.

This strategic move, disclosed under SEBI regulation 30, aims to enhance Paytm's presence in the travel segment.

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“Safalta Ki Seedhi”: Zendesk announces launch of venture fund for AI-first companies

On Monday, Zendesk announced the launch of Zendesk Ventures, a global venture fund dedicated to AI-first companies. This fund aims to support emerging businesses by providing capital, customer experience (CX) and AI expertise, along with strategic partnership opportunities.

With this initiative, Zendesk seeks to foster innovation and growth in the AI-driven CX solutions space.

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1. IPO-bound Bluestone has raised INR 100 crore ($12 million) in debt from Neo Markets and is in discussions for an INR 830 crore ($100 million) pre-IPO round, aiming for a potential valuation exceeding INR 7,500 crore ($900 million).

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2. IPO-bound Swiggy reported a 24% revenue surge in 2023, alongside a 26% year-over-year growth in gross order value (GOV), reaching a user base of 104 million. Prosus highlighted Swiggy Instamart's enhanced unit economics driven by larger basket sizes and operational efficiencies.

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3. Awfis, a leading co-working solutions provider, achieved close to Rs 900 crore in income for FY24, marking a 55.8% growth in scale. Concurrently, the company significantly reduced its losses by 62%, totaling Rs 17.8 crore, under the leadership of Amit Ramani.

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