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Last month, Netradyne, the logistics AI startup, became India’s first unicorn of 2025 after it raised 90 million dollars in series D funding.
You see, it did not take it long to realise that its sweet spot is the long-distance trucking segment. It serves over 3,000 customers across eight countries, including the likes of Amazon, Shell, Indian Oil and Greenline Mobility. And it all began with one rather primitive prototype. Of course, now it has morphed into a compact device with a built-in GPU, up to four cameras, and a disembodied voice alerting drivers not to crash the vehicle.
The Ken reporter Abhirami G recently found herself in the backseat of one of Netradyne’s test cars in Bengaluru's Whitefield neighbourhood. The driver of the car was a Netradyne employee. And as he weaved through the traffic, the company’s signature always-on surveillance cameras didn’t just watch his every move, but also apparently “understood” and “analysed”. As he drove, he was generating the precious training data that powers the company’s bread and butter. Apart from making roads safer, this whole system also doubles up as a driver’s best legal defence in times of trouble. The company’s executive Vice president of Engineering Teja Gudena said that on multiple occasions, it has saved drivers from liability by proving their innocence in accidents.
Apart from its new-found unicorn status, it reportedly managed to clock Rs 1,000 crore in revenue in 2023. It also currently has a stronghold in the US and other major global markets. Reaching all of these milestones within nine years is pretty remarkable. But despite all that success, Netradyne is now grappling with an existential crisis. Because now, driverless vehicles are no longer science fiction, they are a logistical inevitability. And that leaves Netradyne in a rather tricky spot.
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It’s 2025 and the idea of “masculinity” has undergone a complete overhaul. You see, after several product life cycles, the men’s grooming business has reached a stage where brands aren’t just formulating shampoos and body washes exclusively for men. They are also coming up with compacts and concealers, and a bunch of other makeup products targeted at men.
In fact, in the last decade or so, India has actually become the biggest market in the Asia Pacific region for beauty products for men.
And yet, nothing much has changed about how these brands pitch their products to men.
Tune in.
Daybreak is produced from the newsroom of The Ken, India’s first subscriber-only business news platform. Subscribe for more exclusive, deeply-reported, and analytical business stories.
We are now on WhatsApp at +918971108379. Text us and tell us what you thought of the episode!
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Saknas det avsnitt?
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Over the next three to five years, Zepto wants to be known as the startup that created the most multimillionaires.
Which is why these days, the standard pitch that people applying for VP-level roles at the startup get is as follows: "Would you like to create generational wealth? Think 50-100 crores in just four years." That’s what Zepto HR has been promising these applicants. They’ve been making it seem like bagging a job at Zepto is like winning a lottery ticket.
And it’s not just bravado.
By “generational wealth”, the company means offering Employee Stock Ownership Plans or ESOPs to senior executives, based on their performance.
But it comes at a price.
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Listen to 'One Billion in 10 Minutes', our new mini series based on The Ken's inaugural case competition.
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Indian startups are making the most of the increasing demand for surveillance by securing high visibility government contracts. But while these can boost a startup's profile, government projects are unpredictable and often difficult for smaller startups to win.
As a result, there is a shift underway — private clients are becoming increasingly crucial for profitability.
This divide between public and private contracts is forcing these surveillance startups to do a fair bit of monkey balancing. How are they pulling it off?
Tune in.
**This episode was previously published in December, 2024
Daybreak is produced from the newsroom of The Ken, India’s first subscriber-only business news platform. Subscribe for more exclusive, deeply-reported, and analytical business stories. -
Nvidia’s dominance in the AI market is forcing Big Techs like Microsoft to produce chips of their own. So, the software giant is changing its tack in hiring from Indian colleges.
The Ken reporter Abhirami G joins host Rahel Philipose in this episode.
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Listen to 'One Billion in 10 Minutes', our new mini series based on The Ken's inaugural case competition.
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CIBIL or Credit Information Bureau (India) Ltd is one of only four credit information providers in the country that is licensed by the RBI. It is considered the oldest and the most reliable. It essentially calculates your credit score, a three digit number between 300 and 900, and provides it to banks so they can judge your creditworthiness. Usually, anything over 700 is considered good.
But this whole process is anything but straightforward. In fact, it is shrouded in mystery. Each of these bureaus typically have their own algorithm to compute your credit score. And they are all somewhat similar. But nobody–not the borrowers and not even the banks–fully understand how these credit information providers, like Cibil, actually rate finances.
In this episode, we try to demystify these credit bureaus and their mystery calculations that decide our fate.
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Daybreak is produced from the newsroom of The Ken, India’s first subscriber-only business news platform. Subscribe for more exclusive, deeply-reported, and analytical business stories.We are now on WhatsApp at +918971108379. Text us and tell us what you thought of the episode!
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*This episode was originally published on 17 September, 2024.
Subway, the globally popular sandwich-eatery chain, is now grappling with sweeping changes in India—and not for the better. For one, the world’s largest quick-service restaurant (QSR) brand is moving away from the franchise model it has operated under for the past 25 years. In doing so, it’s also shedding the very thing that made it popular in the first place: choice.Tune in.
Listen to 'One Billion in 10 Minutes', our new mini series based on The Ken's inaugural case competition.
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Back in 2016, the government launched a scheme called UDAN. It stands for Ude Desh Ka Aam Nagrik, which roughly translates to every ordinary citizen will fly. This was a scheme that promised affordable, hassle free air travel to tier-2, 3 and 4 cities across the country.
But eight years later, flying in and out of smaller towns and cities could not be more cumbersome. Direct flights are rare, and cancellations and delays are constant. So, that prompts the question – where did Udan go wrong?
A report by the Comptroller Auditor General shows that more than half of the 770 odd approved flight routes under the scheme had not even commenced operations by March 2023. This largely had to do with two things – inadequate airport infrastructure and the lack of flights.
But now the government is trying to fix it.Tune in.
Daybreak is produced from the newsroom of The Ken, India’s first subscriber-only business news platform. Subscribe for more exclusive, deeply-reported, and analytical business stories.We are now on WhatsApp at +918971108379. Text us and tell us what you thought of the episode!
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The luggage industry seems to have undergone quite a makeover in the last few years. Back in the day, VIP and Safari were synonymous with the plain black and grey suitcases. But now, luggage is as important as the clothes you wear--it's part of the whole airport look.
Startups like Mokobara, Nasher Miles, Assembly, and Uppercase have turned luggage into an aspirational lifestyle product with smart social-media marketing and a vibrant aesthetic.
Also, important to note is that travel changed after Covid pandemic. The duration of trips has shortened, but the frequency of general travel has increased from once every three months to once every 45 days.The suitcase now has to fit in with the instagram aesthetic so it has gone from being functional to a style statement. As of now, VC-backed, new-age luggage brands only have a tiny slice of the market.
But that slice has been growing quickly, and that’s enough to get the old guard nervous.
Tune in.
Daybreak is produced from the newsroom of The Ken, India’s first subscriber-only business news platform. Subscribe for more exclusive, deeply-reported, and analytical business stories.
We are now on WhatsApp at +918971108379. Text us and tell us what you thought of the episode!
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'As the battle for winning 10-minute deliveries heats up, so do the stakes. Pick one of five quick commerce companies. Determine what winning looks like. Write your solution’
That was the challenge we threw at some of India’s smartest, most ambitious and creative students from top business schools across the country. In our brand-new mini series 'One Billion in 10 Minutes', you will hear their ambitious and creative pitches – all rooted in the real world and centred around five quick commerce platforms that have completely changed the way we all shop.
The six-episode mini series goes live on Monday, February 3. But before that, we thought we would give you a sneak peak here on Daybreak. Check out the first episode of the series, where two teams — Metamorphosis from IIM Ahmedabad and Voldemort from IIMK Kozhikode — go head to head with their billion dollar strategies for the OG quick commerce platform, Big Basket.
Tune in.
Daybreak is produced from the newsroom of The Ken, India’s first subscriber-only business news platform. Subscribe for more exclusive, deeply-reported, and analytical business stories.
We are now on WhatsApp at +918971108379. Text us and tell us what you thought of the episode!
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A new generation of designers is on the rise. These designers are expected to be a lot more than just “one trick ponies”. The new-age ‘Designer X’ is expected to bring a little bit of everything to the table. They understand the basics of sustainability, how their designs would impact things like climate change and culture. And they would also generally know a little bit of coding too.
And that is because the whole perception of design has shifted. Just last month, IIT Delhi announced a new certificate course in design thinking. It quoted multiple reports explaining why aspirants should take it. One of them was a 2023 Deloitte report that said companies that integrated design thinking in their innovation process brought new products to market 50 per cent faster than others and saw 2.5 X more revenue growth.
The latest batch of design generalists are the products of a new era of design education that has been sweeping through India’s universities. As of now, about a dozen have started their own design schools. Some of these universities are leaning into the industry’s demand for a well-rounded designer.
But now that more universities have entered the picture and generalist designers are becoming a dime a dozen, landing good jobs is going to get tougher as the job market matures.
Tune in.
*This episode was previously published on November 4, 2024
Daybreak is produced from the newsroom of The Ken, India’s first subscriber-only business news platform. Subscribe for more exclusive, deeply-reported, and analytical business stories.
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Nothing can dampen a vacation like a chronic migraine. Sunayani Sarkar, a 22-year-old biotechnology student learnt this the heard way during a trip to the Andaman and Nicobar islands last year. A month of terrible migraines later, her doctor suggested she try out a wearable device called Nerivio, developed by Pharma major Dr Reddy's through a partnership with an Israeli bio tech firm called Theranica Bio Electronics.
The device connects to an app via Bluetooth and controls the electronic pulses sent to the arm. It also stores the patient’s data to track migraine episodes over a period of time. It seemed simple enough and Sunayani’s migraines weren’t getting any better, so she decided to give it a go.
She isn’t alone. Turns out in the last few years, the market for devices to treat and manage chronic and non communicable diseases has been blowing up. Despite its high costs, thousands of Indians are opting for digital therapeutics to manage their migraines better and monitor heart health. And company's like Dr Reddy's and Lupin are making the most of it. And why wouldn't they? After all, it opens the doors to bundled products, robust patient data and a chance to be pioneers in global healthcare.
Tune in.Daybreak is now on WhatsApp at +918971108379. Text us and tell us what you thought of the episode!
Daybreak is produced from the newsroom of The Ken, India’s first subscriber-only business news platform. Subscribe for more exclusive, deeply-reported, and analytical business stories.
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Welcome to the world of luxury-lifestyle management, where firms like RedBeryl, Indulge Global, and Quintessentially play the role of concierge for their ultra-wealthy clients, making the impossible possible.
Now this sort of thing has become even easier for the rich. Because their wealth managers are also taking care of some of these requests.
It isn’t a one -off thing. Companies like RedBeryl, Indulge GLobal, Quintessential – all of which play the role of concierge for their ultra wealthy clients – are increasingly partnering with wealth managers to edge out competition and increase their clientele.
In today’s episode, we dive into how wealth managers are finding new ways to delight the ultra-rich.
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Daybreak is now on WhatsApp at +918971108379. Text us and tell us what you thought of the episode!Daybreak is produced from the newsroom of The Ken, India’s first subscriber-only business news platform. Subscribe for more exclusive, deeply-reported, and analytical business stories.
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One of the largest deals to acquire a D2C brand took place last week. India’s largest manufacturer of consumer good, Hindustan Unilever acquired the skincare company Minimalist, a 90% shareholding for nearly 3000 crore rupees.
Homegrown startup beauty brands have been on a roll in India. Scores and scores of new age skincare brands have cropped up since the pandemic and all of them harp on the science of it. And their whole appeal is transparency. Transparency about the ingredients that go into each of their products.
Among all of them, Minimalist is the one that really stands out. It is an active ingredients based skincare company that sells things like niacinamide, retinol, Vit C, glycolic acid, and salicylic acid. It launched around the end of 2020, and within a span of eight months, it built a 1000 crore rupee business. What’s even more surprising that the brand has remained in the green, meaning profitable, from the very first month itself.
For years, legacy brands like, HUL, Ponds, and Loreal have been selling products with similar ingredient--the only difference being they either didn't launch them in India or the kept the names hidden away in tiny fonts at the back of the bottles.
It was Minimalist that came around and broke that mould.
And now, seeing the success of brands like Minimalist, legacy brands are rethinking their strategy.
Case in point: Hindustan Unilever
The company’s has been wanting to turn its beauty and well-being portfolio into a “high-growth" premium category for a while now and the acquisition of Minimalist is a big step in that direction.
But how did Minimalist manage something that a giant like HUL couldn't?
Tune in.
Daybreak is now on WhatsApp at +918971108379. Text us and tell us what you thought of the episode!Daybreak is produced from the newsroom of The Ken, India’s first subscriber-only business news platform. Subscribe for more exclusive, deeply-reported, and analytical business stories.
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Property prices across Indian cities have gone through the roof, up by nearly 30% in the last two years. This along with ever increasing rent and general cost of living has made planning for the future quite challenging for those in their 20s and 30s.
So has the idea of home ownership changed among the younger generations, like in many Western countries where more and more people are choosing to rent rather than buy? Or are we still attached to the idea of owning a home?
And what's behind these record-breaking property prices anyway?
Tune in to find out.
Daybreak is now on WhatsApp at +918971108379. Text us and tell us what you thought of the episode!
Daybreak is produced from the newsroom of The Ken, India’s first subscriber-only business news platform. Subscribe for more exclusive, deeply-reported, and analytical business stories.
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FROM THE ARCHIVES (This episode was first published July 1, 2024)
The Economic Times reported yesterday that Zepto, the quick-commerce startup, is in talks to increase the size of its initial public offering to $800 million-$1 billion. Zepto earlier planned to raise $450 million through the issue. Even when it entered the quick commerce scene for the first time in 2021, Zepto was a disruptor. Now, it is the third largest company in the market after Blinkit and Swiggy Instamart. Last year, it secured its biggest funding ever at a US$3.6 billion valuation, mainly from its existing investors.
Venture Intelligence, a data provider told The Ken that the US$660 million funding was the largest bet made by VCs in Indian startups in 2024.
What did Zepto do to get all this attention from investors?
Tune in.
Also listen to:
Daybreak: Why we date, marry, or breakup with Swiggy Instamart, Blinkit, Zepto & BigBasket
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A dialogue from Munnabhai has become the ultimate source of inspiration for Acko, a digital general insurer.
"When someone’s dying, do they necessarily have to fill out forms?"
The Ken spoke to multiple Acko executives who said that this line is frequently repeated in meetings of its 21-month-old retail health insurance business. The inspiration seems to be working.Despite being new to the retail health insurance game, the company was able to sell health insurance policies worth about Rs 51 crore in the segment. That’s 40 per cent more than Godigit, which is listed and had the advantage of being around longer.
Most people who understand this space are thrown off by the route it has gone down. You see, conventionally, the industry has depended heavily on agents and point of sale personnel to sell policies. But Acko has no interest in this approach.
Tune in.Daybreak is now on WhatsApp at +918971108379. Text us and tell us what you thought of the episode!
Daybreak is produced from the newsroom of The Ken, India’s first subscriber-only business news platform. Subscribe for more exclusive, deeply-reported, and analytical business stories.
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A bunch of startups are not entering the booming Indian e-bus ecosystem and becoming overnight successes. Just take the case of EKA mobility. Before 2023, EKA was barely a company. It was more the R&D wing of Pinnacle Industries, which is a major manufacturer of seating and interiors for legacy automakers like Tata Motors and Ashok Leyland.
But when the government launched the PM E-Drive subsidy back in September, everything changed for Eka Mobility. The five-year-old startup turned into a full-fledged EV manufacturer. Eka Mobility is one among many beneficiaries of the EV wave here in India. But naturally, it does not come without its challenges.
Which is why, despite India’s e-bus ambitions slowly gaining momentum thanks to government funding, the private sector has barely put its foot on the pedal.
Tune in.Daybreak is now on WhatsApp at +918971108379. Text us and tell us what you thought of the episode!
Daybreak is produced from the newsroom of The Ken, India’s first subscriber-only business news platform. Subscribe for more exclusive, deeply-reported, and analytical business stories.
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Last week, Ola Electric’s shares saw a three-day slump after the Central Consumer Protection Authority asked the company for more documents for its investigation against it post receiving thousands of consumer complaints. But shares going up and down is regular stuff right? Not for Ola Electric.
The company went public in August 2024 at a debut price of Rs 76 becoming the only startup that went public at a lower price.
In his newsletter The Nutgraf, my colleague Praveen said it was a bold decision which paid off for Ola Electric. You see, when startups go for an IPO, it becomes clear that most of the value has already been extracted when it was private, leaving little for public investors. If it were shown to you as a graph, you’d see a sharp fall in growth post going public. That is the usual trend.
But Ola Electric dodged it thanks to its lower debut price. This is exactly what makes its falling share prices a matter of concern. And somewhere in the middle of all this is CEO Bhavish Aggarwal's public perception.
Tune in.
Daybreak is now on WhatsApp at +918971108379. Text us and tell us what you thought of the episode!
Daybreak is produced from the newsroom of The Ken, India’s first subscriber-only business news platform. Subscribe for more exclusive, deeply-reported, and analytical business stories.
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A couple years ago, quick commerce platforms were the place to be for up and coming brands across the country. Just a little sliver of real estate on a rapid delivery app was enough to put them on the map.
But now, many of these brands are very quickly realising that success on a Blinkit or a Zepto is a double edged sword. With it comes high commissions, marketing fees, and the constant pressure to never run out of inventory.
Some brands have now had enough.
How did it get here? The Ken reporter Nuha Bubere explains.
Tune in.
Daybreak is now on WhatsApp at +918971108379. Text us and tell us what you thought of the episode!
Daybreak is produced from the newsroom of The Ken, India’s first subscriber-only business news platform. Subscribe for more exclusive, deeply-reported, and analytical business stories.
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