![](https://img.etimg.com/thumb/msid-109708586,width-1070,height-580,imgsize-1329932,overlay-ettech/photo.jpg)
Also in this letter:
■ BluSmart FY24 revenue jumps
■ Drop in renewal deals troubles IT cos
■ Ola Cabs CEO Hemant Bakshi resigns
Paytm Payments Bank’s mobile wallet business in a spot
Paytm Payments Bank is staring at an uncertain future after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) asked the bank to stop offering basic banking services. Now, data from the RBI shows transactions in the bank’s various business areas are dying down.
Measuring impact: Across prepaid payment instruments or mobile wallets to Paytm Payments Bank accounts being used for UPI payments, there has been a drop of 60 to 70%. In terms of using the wallet for fund transfer, the number of transactions is down 64%. The number of times these wallets are being used for buying goods and services has fallen a steep 74%.
![The Paytm Playbook Apr 2024 Graphic ETTECH The Paytm Playbook Apr 2024 Graphic ETTECH](https://img.etimg.com/photo/msid-109708603/The Paytm Playbook Apr 2024 Graphic ETTECH.jpg)
Missed opportunity: One 97 Communications, which runs fintech app Paytm, had built its wallet business over the last decade. Boasting almost 600 million wallets, it was the country’s largest mobile wallet player. Now all these wallets could fall into a state of disuse. While Paytm has moved its business from the beleaguered payments bank to other commercial lenders, wallets were a revenue-generating product for the Noida-headquartered fintech.
![Peer pressue The numbers game Apr 2024 Graphic ETTECH Peer pressue The numbers game Apr 2024 Graphic ETTECH](https://img.etimg.com/photo/msid-109708606/Peer pressue The numbers game Apr 2024 Graphic ETTECH.jpg)
Catch up quick: Paytm Payments Bank landed in this soup after the regulator ordered it to stop offering basic banking services from end-February, eventually extending the deadline to mid-March. Paytm founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma stepped down as chairman of the bank’s board on February 26. Eventually, the entire board of the bank was replaced. On April 8, Paytm Payments Bank CEO Surinder Chawla resigned as well, effectively leaving the bank rudderless.
Tribe Capital’s new SPV set to put $75 million more in Shiprocket
![arjun sethi arjun sethi](https://img.etimg.com/photo/msid-109708611/arjun sethi.jpg)
Tribe Capital cofounder Arjun Sethi
Silicon Valley-based investor Tribe Capital has set up an intricately structured India entity to drive its presence in the country, with the first investment happening in its biggest bet here — logistics startup Shiprocket — cofounder Arjun Sethi told us in an interaction.
Dig deeper: Tribe Capital Management India, a special purpose vehicle (SPV) co-owned by Sethi, Shiprocket cofounder Vishesh Khurana and Raj Snehil Juneja, will be the umbrella entity for Tribe’s India presence. Besides investing in startups, the SPV will also build and acquire companies in the country.
![Tribe Capital new India structure Apr 2024 Graphic ETTECH Tribe Capital new India structure Apr 2024 Graphic ETTECH](https://img.etimg.com/photo/msid-109708626/Tribe Capital new India structure Apr 2024 Graphic ETTECH.jpg)
India strategy: Gurugram-based Shiprocket will be the first investment for the SPV. This will be through a $75-million cheque to double down Tribe’s bet on the startup. In addition, the SPV will run the India operations of Termina, an artificial intelligence-based investment platform cofounded by Sethi.
Also read | Exclusive: Silicon Valley’s Tribe Capital plans to raise $250 million India-dedicated fund
There’s more: The SPV will also manage an alternate investment fund (AIF), which will be $150-200 million in size. Tribe has applied to capital markets regulator Sebi for its approval. This fund will look at investing in segments such as financial services, logistics and shipping, and commerce.
Quote, unquote: “For Tribe Capital India, moving forward, over the next five years, we would probably make a maximum of five to eight investments where we would be deploying hundreds of millions of dollars per company, if we’re doing it the right way,” Sethi said.
BluSmart FY24 revenue jumps to Rs 390 crore
![BluSmart Anmol Singh Jaggi CEO cofounder cab services THUMB IMAGE ETTECH BluSmart Anmol Singh Jaggi CEO cofounder cab services THUMB IMAGE ETTECH](https://img.etimg.com/photo/msid-109708643/BluSmart Anmol Singh Jaggi CEO cofounder cab services THUMB IMAGE ETTECH.jpg)
Anmol Singh Jaggi, cofounder and CEO, BluSmart
All-electric ride-hailing startup BluSmart exited FY24 with over Rs 390 crore in revenue, from about Rs 160 crore in FY23, said cofounder Punit Goyal.
Fast forward: BluSmart has also reached Rs 500 crore in annualised revenue run rate (ARR). The company, founded in 2019, is now aiming to cross Rs 800 crore in revenue in FY25.
Amidst giants: With only two operational cities, BluSmart is much smaller than incumbents Ola and Uber. While Ola Cabs saw its total revenue grow 58% to Rs 2,135 crore in FY23, Uber reported a 54% increase in operating revenue to Rs 2,666 crore in the same period.
Competition heats up: Besides incumbents like Uber and Ola, BluSmart also competes with new entrants like Rapido and Namma Yatri in the cab-based ride hailing ecosystem. In April, Namma Yatri, which was focused on auto rickshaws, launched cab services in its biggest market, Bengaluru. In December, bike-taxi-focused platform Rapido also expanded into cab services.
Need for funds: In mid-2022, the firm had said it was looking to raise $250 million from investors including BP’s venture capital division. However, it ended up conducting two smaller fundraises totaling about $66 million in 2023, including a rights issue later last year that saw its founders increase their stake in the firm. BluSmart also raised $25 million in a mix of debt and equity in January this year.
Other Top Stories By Our Reporters
![IT services industry THUMB IMAGE ETTECH 2 IT services industry THUMB IMAGE ETTECH 2](https://img.etimg.com/photo/msid-109708670/IT services industry THUMB IMAGE ETTECH 2.jpg)
Drop in renewal deals poses revenue challenge for top IT firms | Despite record deals announced in the final quarter of 2023-24, the deal momentum for top IT firms has slowed down from a year ago with clients signing more net new and transformational deals rather than renewing old deals, said analysts.
Ola Cabs CEO Hemant Bakshi resigns; company to lay off 200 employees | Ola Cabs chief executive Hemant Bakshi is leaving just three months after his appointment at the ride-hailing firm was made public, people in the know told ET. The company will also undertake a restructuring that will see at least a 10% reduction in the team size, impacting about 200 employees, sources added.
Ex-ante regime will hurt user experience, innovation: Big Tech company | The ex-ante regulations proposed in the draft Digital Competition Bill to pre-empt certain practices is a significant departure from the current system and will come with trade-offs that have an impact on user experience and innovation like the European Union’s Digital Markets Act (DMA) had with its rigid rules, executives at a Big Tech company told ET.
Global Picks We Are Reading
■ Recruiters are going analog to fight the AI application overload (Wired)
■ Investors are showering AI startups with cash. One problem: They don’t have much of a business (WSJ)
■ ‘Everything has changed’: foreign auto groups embrace local technology in China (FT)