Oyo Buys Co-Working Startup Innov8 For $30 Million

Hospitality startup Oyo, which has now expanded its hotel chain business to over 80 countries and has also entered co-working segment, has bought local co-working venture Innov8, as the SoftBank-backed hospitality chain looks to venture into the commercial real estate business under the brand name Oyo Workspaces.

Though no official information on financials are disclosed, few media reports suggest that the Gurgaon -based Oyo will buy Innov8 for $30 million in an all-stock deal.

The acquisition comes at time when Oyo's fellow SoftBank-backed co-working giant WeWork is gearing up for an IPO. The recntly launched co-working space unit if Oyo, 'Oyo Workspaces', was launched recently which will directly compete with WeWork in India.

The brand will open over 21 of its shared work spaces in more than 10 cities across the country and it plans to expand presence to over 50 centres by the end of 2019, according to a report on same by NDTV

Oyo said it would offer three options of co-working real estate in the upper-mid scale, mid-scale and economy categories.

OYO, which raised $1 billion last year from investors, including SoftBank and ride-hailing firm Grab, operates hotels in India, China, Britain, Dubai, Indonesia and Malaysia.

The company's revenue jumped nearly three-fold in the last fiscal year, and it said it expects revenue to more than treble every year for the next five years, as it expands locally and in international markets.
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New Delhi-based Innov8 offers upmarket shared workspaces, where a private office costs as high as Rs. 64,999 a month, while a desk is sold for Rs. 9,999 per month.

Besides being backed by VCs like LestVentures, Venture Catalysts, Innov8 counts many startup leaders as its independent angel investors which include Vijay Shekhar Sharma(Paytm), Rajan Anandan (Google), Kunal Shah(Freecharge/Snapdeal), Girish Mathrubhootham (Freshdesk), Punit Soni (Ex-Flipkart CPO), Anand Chandrasekeran (Facebook), Sunil Kalra (Via Projects), Utsav Somani (Angel List India), Vishal Gondal (GOQii), Vikram Limaye (IDFC Bank) and other investors. Co-founded by serial entrepreneurs and investors, Dr. Ritesh Malik and Shailesh Gupta, Innov8 provides shared workspaces, community and services to startups, freelancers, entrepreneurs and even divisions of large corporates.

10 Startup Stories That Made Healines This Week [12 - 17 June]

IndianWeb2 is back again with its weekly round-up. Here are the 10 news which made the headline this week:

Here Comes The News Of Mobikwik Raising Funds

If sources to be believe, Gurgaon-based startup, Mobikwik is in talks to raise $100 - $150 million in a round that would value the company at more than $1 billion. Upasana Taku, co-founder of Mobikwik has confirmed the news to one of the digital media. This round will lead the company towards the India’s elite club of unicorn startups. Investor's names are not yet revealed by the co-founder, however, she has said that the startup would include one major strategic investor and a number of financial institutions.

The possible fund raise will happen in next couple of months. Further, post raising funds, company plans to invest $45 million of the capital raised on growing user and merchant bases, and expand its current base of six offices to more than 20.

Google Launches Website Builder For SMBs And Startups

The tech giant, Google has rolled out “Website With Google My Business”, a new feature that will help SMBs and startups in India to build a mobile optimised website instantly right from their phone in less than 10 minutes. Being made available in ten languages including English, Hindi, Bengali, Telugu, Marathi, Tamil, Urdu, Gujarati, Kannada and Malayalam, the tool will let businesses create their first website absolutely free of cost.

Available for Google My Business users, this new feature will provide templated, editable websites for SMBs created from their data and photos on Google Maps. The tech giant makes use of small businesses listing to build the website, taking care of the design and makes sure that their website is easily found in Search and Maps.

Co-working Space Innnov8 Elevates Shailesh Gupta As CEO

Co-working space, Innov8 is further strengthening its foothold by adding 7 more centres to its portfolio in next 6 months. The company plans to be in 5 major cities by FY 17. Further company’s board has elevated Shailesh Gupta, one of the two co-founders, as CEO while Dr Ritesh Malik will become the MD of the company.

Within a year and a half of its launch, the startup is operational in Bengaluru, Chandigarh and Delhi and is expanding to Mumbai, Noida and Gurugram by the year-end.

PayTm Mall Rope In Amit Sinha As COO

Paytm Mall has appointed Amit Sinha as the Chief Operating Officer (COO). He will be responsible for overall operations of Paytm Mall and expanding the team to ensure customers have access to the widest assortment of products across categories, delivered quickly through an efficient and optimised partner logistics network. Sinha has served in several key business roles in Paytm and helped implement critical business, HR and financial processes for the company.

Indian Startups Fasten Your Seatbelt And Get Ready To Bag Investment From 500 Startups

Silicon Valley-based early-stage venture fund, 500 Startups is on its way to make 10-12 investments in the Indian startup industry this year. Some of 500 Startups’ global micro funds have already started making investments in the Indian subcontinent this year.

Founded by Dave McClure and Christine Tsai in 2010, the seed accelerator is on the verge of making seven deals in totality, starting with the investment in Spoyl, a used-goods marketplace in December 2016.

Chip Maker Intel Corporation To Invest $178 Mn

Intel Corporation will soon going to invest $178 million in expanding its R&D presence and building a new state-of-the-art design house in Bengaluru. The R&D infrastructure in India will enable the company to continue their momentum in doing cutting-edge innovation and design work from India. Intel India is Intel’s largest design center outside the United States and is engaged in cutting-edge engineering work such as chip or system-on-chip design, graphics, software and platform for the cloud, devices and IoT markets involving advanced technology areas such as artificial intelligence, virtual reality and 5G.

Spark10 Accelerator Invites Application For Its Cohort

As part of its newly designed accelerator program, Spark10 accelerator has invited applications for its latest cohort. Previously run two cohorts, in Hyderabad and Bangalore, the accelerator in the past 18 months has invested in 13 Indian startups from fields ranging from artificial intelligence, machine learning, cybersecurity, e-commerce to nightlife discovery with a collective approximate valuation of over Rs. 50 crores.

The 2016 cohort saw the brightest of Indian startup-brains compete for selection to the first accelerator programme by Spark10. The nine startups mentored in this cohort gained immensely from the mentorship of the experienced team of entrepreneurs, investors and mentors of Spark10.

Visakhapatnam, The Next Tech Startup Hup

Visakhapatnam is all set to be the hub for technology startups. V Valli Kumari, Chief Executive Officer of APIS has stated that they’re looking at young and local talent whose ideas could be turned into successful business models.

The incubation centre which will be specifically promoting IT, electronics, telecom, fabrication and manufacturing startups will soon be coming up. Further, they will soon be organising ‘India International Innovators Fair’ in Visakhapatnam that will see participation from innovators from 30 countries.

Rape Victim Files A New Lawsuit Against Uber

A woman who was raped by an Uber driver in India has filed a new lawsuit against the Uber as company’s executives had obtained her medical records following the attack.

Identified as Jane Doe, the Indian woman and current Texas resident previously filed suit against the company in 2015 after being raped by an Uber driver, charging the ride-hail giant with negligence and fraud. The case was reportedly settled for over $3 million, while her attacker Shiv Kumar Yadav was convicted and imprisoned for life.

An Update On Indian Bitcoin Startups

When it comes to India, bitcoin is still in its nascent stage in the South Asian country. Though not yet recognised by the country’s government, but the bitcoin industry in India is still seeing an increasing growth in number of bitcoin players as well as users. According to experts, the increasing acceptance of the digital currency is fuelled by the surge in its value. The year 2017 especially has been a good one for bitcoin so far as its value touched an all-time high. So, where does India stand on bitcoin? This article aims to make you aware of just that.

Innov8 Appoints Shailesh Gupta, Co-founder as CEO; Plans to be in 5 Cities by FY17

India’s leading workspace brand, Innov8, after opening its third & largest co-working space in Bangalore, is further strengthening its foothold by adding 7 more centers to its portfolio in next 6 months. The company plans to be in 5 major cities by FY 17. In line with growth plans, the Board has elevated Shailesh Gupta, one of the two co-founders, as CEO while Dr. Ritesh Malik will become the MD of the company.

Shailesh Gupta, an IIT graduate, a serial entrepreneur and an Angel Investor, brings an entrepreneurial experience from Valley with his last venture Workplace (Airbnb for Offices). His unparalleled experience in growth, strategy and product thinking has been the key driving force behind the success of Innov8. In his new role, he will spearhead strategy, partnerships and foster new talent to support the growth of Innov8.

Speaking on the announcement, Shailesh Gupta, Co-founder and CEO Innov8 said, “I am very excited to embark upon this new role and expand Innov8 experience to more cities in India. There is a huge untapped market, where entrepreneurs are looking for the kind of services we offer, which is beyond just a space to sit and work. The new partnerships and more centers will make the Innov8 community stronger & develop pan India footprint.”

Dr. Ritesh Malik, Managing Director said “In the last 2 years we have built a community of entrepreneurs and thought leaders by channeling their ventures through our co-working experience. All our centers have received overwhelming response even before the launch. Our focus is to now make Innov8 into a brand with a national presence. I still remember when I approached Shailesh for joining Innov8 as a cofounder & his love for India made my job of convincing much easier. He has been very instrumental in scaling up Innov8 and together we’ll ensure building Innov8 into a global workspace company.”

Within a year and a half of its launch, the startup is operational in Bengaluru, Chandigarh and Delhi and is expanding to Mumbai, Noida and Gurugram by the year-end. Recently, the company received angel funding from Vijay Shekhar Shamrma (PayTM), Rajan Anandan (Google), Venture Catalysts and few other HNI’s.