News.
What moved in Indian commerce and business, read the way an operator reads it. Sourced from the reporting that matters, decoded for the people who have to act on it.
Get the daily brief
India and US commerce, decoded for operators. One email each morning.
One email a day. No spam, ever.
Check your inbox
Tap the link we sent to to lock it in. It is valid for 15 minutes.
You are in
Confirmed. The first brief lands tomorrow morning.
Taking you back in a moment.
Festive opening GMV falls as platforms claim records
Datum Intelligence estimates online festive GMV fell 7 to 10 per cent in the opening four days, to Rs 29,800 crore to Rs 30,900 crore. Amazon and Flipkart published record claims from the same window, measuring different things.
2 min read
The Pant Project raises Rs 109 Cr Series B
The Pant Project has raised Rs 109 crore in a Series B led by Mirae Asset Venture Investments (India). No valuation was disclosed, and the money is going into doors: 25 stores today, more than 150 targeted in two to three years.
19 Oct 2026 · via Inc42Ekart cuts FY26 loss 98% to Rs 26 Cr as revenue falls
Instakart Services, the Flipkart entity behind Ekart, cut its FY26 net loss to Rs 26 Cr from Rs 1,508 Cr while revenue fell 4.2 per cent. Freight accounts for 93 per cent of the cost reduction that did it.
19 Oct 2026 · via EntrackrSnabbit matches InstaHelp on NTV, burns Rs 32 Cr less
Snabbit reported Rs 72 Cr of net transaction value in Q2 FY27 against Rs 71 Cr for Urban Company's InstaHelp, on a burn of Rs 142 Cr versus InstaHelp's Rs 174 Cr adjusted EBITDA loss. The two burn figures do not sit on the same accounting basis.
1 Oct 2026 · via EntrackrGravity raises $15 mn, portfolio already profitable
Gravity, founded by two former Livspace executives, has raised $15 million in a mix of equity and debt for India's interior materials trade. Its initial portfolio is already EBITDA positive, which is the part that matters.
1 Oct 2026 · via EntrackrNetmeds FY26: Rs 44.7 Cr is not its scale
Netmeds grew FY26 revenue 2.3 per cent to Rs 44.7 crore and stayed profitable at Rs 5.5 crore. The figure is a standalone filing for one company in the group, not the scale of the pharmacy shoppers use.
1 Oct 2026 · via EntrackrBangalore Watch Company raises $1.4 Mn from customers
Bangalore Watch Company has raised $1.4 million in seed capital from a group of its own customers. The instrument, the valuation and the investor names are all absent from the report.
1 Oct 2026 · via Inc42No UPI Day called off, then traders got the deferral
The 2 October No UPI Day protest was withdrawn after more than 20 trade associations met the finance minister, with nothing conceded on the day. On 13 October NPCI deferred the MDR past Diwali, which is the first of the three demands.
30 Sep 2026 · via EntrackrBlitz raises Rs 28.7 crore, round still open
Blitz sells fulfilment to brands, not groceries to shoppers. It has allotted Rs 28.70 crore of a pre-Series B led by IvyCap Ventures, and Entrackr says the round is not finished.
30 Sep 2026 · via Inc42Arovia: Rs 100 Cr pledged, no brand bought yet
Soulfull cofounder Prashant Parameswaran has launched Arovia Consumer to buy majority stakes in regional packaged food businesses. Fireside Ventures has committed Rs 100 Cr. No brand has been acquired yet.
30 Sep 2026 · via EntrackrBewakoof grew 40% in FY26. The bill was Rs 87.4 cr
Rs 243 crore of operating revenue, up 40.5%, with the loss widening to Rs 87.4 crore. Set it beside the two D2C fashion filings we covered this month at almost the same revenue and the contrast does the work.
30 Sep 2026 · via EntrackrApple Pay goes live in India with merchant support
Apple Pay is no longer a report. It launched with Axis Bank cards, and the aggregators most D2C brands already use have switched it on at checkout. What nobody has published is what it costs a merchant.
29 Sep 2026 · via EntrackrSubway operator EverBrands DRHP: Rs 600 cr fresh issue
A master franchisee of a global QSR brand goes to market. Rs 600 crore fresh issue, no offer for sale, and Rs 326.85 crore of it earmarked for company-operated Subway stores.
29 Sep 2026 · via EntrackrIndian Garage Co FY26: revenue up 15%, loss up 27%
A D2C menswear brand at Rs 234.6 crore. Operating revenue up 15% against 2X the year before, loss up 27%, and the advertising line more than doubled.
29 Sep 2026 · via Inc42ITC closes Yoga Bar deal with Rs 645 Cr tranche
ITC now owns all of Yoga Bar's parent. The Rs 645 Cr is the price of the last 52.5 per cent, not of the whole company.
29 Sep 2026 · via Inc42Amazon India loss up 48%, marketplace loss narrows
The 47.9 per cent jump is a four-entity group total. Amazon Seller Services, the marketplace itself, grew 15.1 per cent and narrowed its loss.
25 Sep 2026 · via EntrackrL’Oreal’s BOLD fund to co-invest with Nykaa
A strategic corporate fund and a listed retailer will take minority stakes in Indian beauty brands together. Founders keep control. Fund size, stage and deal count are not disclosed.
25 Sep 2026 · via EntrackrONYA raises Rs 12.5 crore for lab-grown retail
Eight stores, Rs 3.5 crore of monthly revenue and a cheque that has to cover four things at once. The smallest of this year's lab-grown rounds is also the most instructive.
25 Sep 2026 · via Inc42TPG exits FirstCry with Rs 202 Cr bulk deal
TPG sold its entire 2.21 per cent holding in FirstCry through a bulk deal, five years after it first invested and two years after the IPO.
25 Sep 2026 · via EntrackrAmazon Now and Fresh: Rs 1,158 Cr loss, $3 Bn reported
Amazon Retail, the arm behind Amazon Now and Amazon Fresh, nearly tripled its loss in FY26. Separately, Reuters reports a $3 Bn quick commerce commitment Amazon has not announced.
22 Sep 2026 · via EntrackrSkillmatics hits Rs 659 Cr revenue, profit up just 4.2%
A profitable Indian toy brand at Rs 659 crore is rare. The detail that matters is that 87% of it is earned abroad, and that costs grew faster than sales.
22 Sep 2026 · via EntrackrWrogn revenue hits Rs 244 Cr, FY26 loss widens 17%
The clearest live look at a celebrity equity apparel P&L. Revenue up 9%, loss up 17%, and the extra money went into marketing and brand consultancy rather than into cost of goods.
22 Sep 2026 · via Inc42Snapdeal parent AceVector: loss down 64%, IPO set
AceVector goes public with a sharply smaller loss, positive free cash flow and a marketplace that is now the smaller half of its own parent.
22 Sep 2026 · via Inc42Captain Fresh FY26: revenue up 52% to Rs 5,169 Cr
Captain Fresh reported a 52 per cent revenue jump on unaudited numbers, and did not disclose the FY26 profit figure behind it.
21 Sep 2026 · via Storyboard18Festive buyers plan for weeks, then buy in 22 seconds
Returning shoppers completed jewellery purchases in an average of 22 seconds on GoKwik's Kwik Pass, while 49 percent of festive buyers start researching 15 or more days ahead. The decision window is long. The checkout is not.
21 Sep 2026 · via Storyboard18Retail media took 19 percent of 2024 digital ads
India's digital ad spend reached Rs 88,912 crore in 2024. That is a measured 2024 number published in September 2026, not a current run rate, and the line that matters to a marketplace brand is ecommerce and retail media at Rs 17,215 crore.
21 Sep 2026 · via EntrackrCurefoods FY26 revenue up 23 percent, loss widens
Curefoods grew FY26 revenue 23 percent and still widened its loss. Rebel Foods, reporting the same week for the same financial year, grew slower and narrowed its loss. The gap sits in commission and depreciation.
18 Sep 2026 · via Inc42Apple Pay is live in India with Axis Bank cards
Apple Pay went live in India on 30 September 2026 with Axis Bank credit cards first, working at contactless terminals and also in apps and online. Eight payment providers enabled merchant support.
18 Sep 2026 · via Inc42Gillette vs Bombay Shaving: Switch4 ad revised
Bombay Shaving Company revised its Switch4 advertisement after a Delhi High Court direction in Gillette India's disparagement suit. The court recorded compliance with an undertaking. It has not ruled on the merits.
18 Sep 2026 · via EntrackrRebel Foods FY26 revenue Rs 1,951.6 crore, loss narrows
Rebel Foods grew FY26 revenue 21 percent and cut its loss 16 percent. The line worth your attention is brokerage and commissions at Rs 317.7 crore, which is 16.3 percent of revenue going to the aggregator layer.
17 Sep 2026 · via EntrackrFiri raises $3 Mn for beauty quick commerce in Gurugram
Firi has raised $3 million led by 360 ONE Asset for a curated beauty and personal care marketplace that delivers in Gurugram, in some cases inside nine minutes. The round stage is not named in the source, and no revenue, GMV or order figures are disclosed.
17 Sep 2026 · via Inc42Meta’s intermediary status under review, no decision
Government sources have questioned whether Meta should keep intermediary status under Section 79 of the Information Technology Act, 2000, the safe harbour that covers Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp. Nothing has been decided. This is PTI reporting unnamed sources, carried onward by Inc42, with no order or amendment behind it.
17 Sep 2026 · via EntrackrPhonePe and Google Pay hold 77.9% of UPI volume
PhonePe crossed 11.19 billion UPI transactions in August and Google Pay reached 7.91 billion. Between them the two apps carry more than three quarters of UPI volume and more than four fifths of its value, which makes UPI success rate a two-app question for any seller.
17 Sep 2026 · via EntrackrNPCI UPI MDR: 0.4% deferred to after Diwali
UPI MDR has a rate but no longer a date. NPCI deferred the 0.4 percent charge on 13 October, two days before it was due to start, and says the new date will be notified separately.
13 Sep 2026 · via EntrackrIndia’s food delivery nears Meituan economics
A Bernstein analysis finds Indian food delivery earning close to what Meituan earns per order, in a market it sizes at a fraction of China's. The 22X in the headline refers to one specific thing, and the per-order figures are not quite like for like.
13 Sep 2026 · via EntrackrRs 532 crore into a restaurant operator
Popo Global, which runs The Pizza Bakery, Paris Panini and Smash Guys, has raised Rs 532 crore from Artal Asia. A cheque that size going to a company that operates restaurants rather than a packaged brand is worth reading carefully, including the parts the company did not disclose.
13 Sep 2026 · via Inc42Zomato puts a price on paying in cash
Zomato has begun adding a separate charge when customers choose to pay on delivery. The amount varies, the platform has not confirmed the rollout, and the headline figure is thinner than it looks. For brands running cash on delivery, the signal still matters.
13 Sep 2026 · via EntrackrSwish raises $24 Mn for ten-minute cooked food
Swish has raised $24 million led by Bertelsmann India Investments to expand a network of neighbourhood kitchens that cook and deliver inside ten minutes. Cooked food on a ten-minute clock is a different operating problem from grocery, and the round is buying the part that makes it possible.
9 Sep 2026 · via EntrackrSorry Sugar raises $1 million seed for zero-sugar drinks
Sorry Sugar, a Gurugram beverage brand founded this year, has raised $1 million in seed funding co-led by the Dhanuka family and Amishi London. It claims more than Rs 1 crore of revenue in its first month.
9 Sep 2026 · via Inc42Circle to acquire cross-border payments firm Tazapay
Circle Internet Group has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Singapore-based cross-border payments company Tazapay, five months after taking part in its Series B. Neither party disclosed the price.
9 Sep 2026 · via EntrackrBlissClub founder holds 37% after Series B
BlissClub's post-Series B register puts founder Minu Margeret at 37.03%, Elevation Capital at 22.19% and Meesho chief executive Vidit Aatrey at 6.94%. The valuation attached to it is the outlet's computation, not a disclosed figure.
9 Sep 2026 · via EntrackrFashion brand Theater closes Rs 75 crore Series A
Digital-first fashion and lifestyle brand Theater has closed a Rs 75 crore Series A led by Niveshaay, at a post-money valuation of Rs 410 crore. That is above the Rs 56.25 crore first reported from the company's filings a day earlier.
5 Sep 2026 · via EntrackrRentomojo IPO: 152X is one cheque, not the spread
The 152X in the headline is one individual selling Rs 6 crore. Every institution in Rentomojo's offer for sale sits between 4X and 9X, and every multiple in the table is Entrackr's own calculation.
5 Sep 2026 · via Storyboard18CCPA fines Pladis Rs 1 lakh over Wholewheat claim
The CCPA fined Pladis India Rs 1 lakh over a Wholewheat claim on a biscuit that was 19.5 percent whole wheat flour and 52 percent maida, and held that a small disclaimer did not save it.
5 Sep 2026 · via EntrackrComet raises Rs 100 crore Series B led by Verlinvest
Comet raised Rs 100 crore at a Rs 535 crore post-money, and the plan attached to it is 10 stores this month against Rs 29 crore of FY25 revenue.
5 Sep 2026 · via Inc42SUGAR raises Rs 144.47 crore at a sharply lower mark
A91 Partners put Rs 144.47 crore into SUGAR Cosmetics at a Rs 433.6 crore pre-money, in a year when the brand's revenue fell about 20 percent and its net loss roughly doubled.
4 Sep 2026 · via Storyboard18HUL: 30,000 creators, most premium media on digital
More than 60 percent of premium brand media now goes to digital, and HUL has disclosed influencer activity covering 100 percent of its brands under an advocacy-led model.
4 Sep 2026 · via EntrackrCars24 revenue falls for a second straight year
The used-car marketplace booked Rs 5,092 crore of operating revenue in FY26, down about 18 percent, while trimming its net loss to Rs 441 crore.
4 Sep 2026 · via EntrackrRentoMojo files RHP for Rs 1,255.6 crore IPO
The rental subscription company goes to market on FY26 profit that grew far faster than revenue, with an offer for sale that makes up almost 88 percent of the issue.
4 Sep 2026 · via EntrackrPlum crosses Rs 500 crore revenue, profit roughly doubles
Revenue moved from Rs 402 crore to Rs 515 crore in FY26 and profit roughly doubled in the same year, which is not the usual shape for a beauty and personal care brand at this size.
2 Sep 2026 · via EntrackrEcommerce gets $48.23 million in a $954 million August
Indian startups raised about $954 million across 88 deals in August. Ecommerce took $48.23 million of that, spread across 12 deals.
2 Sep 2026 · via EntrackrZostel opens Zo Selections premium tier in Jaipur
Zostel has launched Zo Selections, a premium hospitality vertical, with the first property open in Jaipur and four more locations planned.
2 Sep 2026 · via EntrackrUltrahuman closes $70 million round led by Qualcomm
Qualcomm Ventures has led a $70 million Series C in Ultrahuman, a consumer hardware brand that reported a profit after tax in FY25.
2 Sep 2026 · via EntrackrMokobara Series C now reported at Rs 170 crore
Mokobara Series C is now reported at Rs 170 crore, above the Rs 90.66 crore recorded in its filings, with roughly Rs 80 crore of the round still unexplained.
1 Sep 2026 · via EntrackrGood Flippin’ Burgers raising Rs 55 cr at Rs 480 cr
Revenue more than tripled across FY23 to FY25 and the loss line grew faster still. The new round funds more outlets on the bet that density fixes the second number.
1 Sep 2026 · via Storyboard18Influencer usage rights: a separate, steeper fee
The content fee and the right to run that content as paid media are now two separate negotiations, and the second one is being priced as a multiple of the first.
1 Sep 2026 · via EntrackrUPI AutoPay mandates may become portable: report
If a customer moves their recurring mandate from one UPI app to another without cancelling it, a churn event you never caused disappears from your subscription numbers. That is what is being reported, not announced.
1 Sep 2026 · via EntrackrSatvacart shuts down: profitable in 2019, still closed
An e-grocery company that demonstrated profitability in 2019 has closed after twelve years, and the reason given is that profitability at its scale was not what investors or acquirers were buying.
30 Aug 2026 · via Storyboard18FSSAI Prohibits Everest, Laljee Godhoo Hing Sales
FSSAI has stopped the sale of compounded hing made by Everest Food Products and Laljee Godhoo and Company, with immediate effect and till further orders. Any seller carrying those SKUs has a delisting job today, whoever manufactured them.
29 Aug 2026 · via EntrackrFurlenco FY26 revenue Rs 370 Cr, profit up 19 times
Furlenco posted FY26 revenue from operations of Rs 370.43 crore and profit of Rs 59.52 crore, with 92% of revenue from furniture rental. The source does not reconcile the profit figure against reported total expenses.
India's Commerce Engine