Adani Group Shuts Down Super App Ambitions Amid Financial Losses and Internal Turmoil

The Adani Group has reportedly pulled the plug on its ambitious Super App project, Adani One, marking a strategic retreat from its digital consumer play, said a report by Bloomberg. Launched in December 2022 by Adani Digital Labs, the app was envisioned as a one-stop platform for travel, hospitality, and airport services, modeled after global super apps like WeChat and domestic counterparts such as Tata Neu.

Despite initial traction and a user base of over 30 million by early 2024, the app failed to meet profitability benchmarks. Sources close to the development revealed that Adani One processed transactions worth ₹750 crore (~$90 million) by March 2024, but struggled to scale sustainably. The group had set an ambitious target of 500 million users by 2030—a goal that now appears out of reach.

The decision to shutter the app was accelerated by internal disagreements over its direction and scope. The exit of Chief Digital Officer Nitin Sethi, amid an internal probe into operational mismanagement, further destabilized the project. Leadership churn and strategic misalignment ultimately led to the app’s integration into Adani’s airport business, effectively ending its standalone digital journey.

The move signals a broader shift in Adani Group’s priorities. Alongside the app’s cancellation, the conglomerate is also exiting the FMCG space, having sold its stake in AWL Agri Business (Adani Wilmar). The group is now refocusing on its core strengths—energy, infrastructure, logistics, and urban redevelopment.

Industry analysts view the development as a cautionary tale for Indian conglomerates venturing into digital ecosystems. Like Tata Neu and Reliance’s MyJio, Adani One struggled with fragmented services, low user retention, and unclear value propositions.

With the digital detour behind it, Adani Group appears poised to double down on its infrastructure-led growth strategy, backed by multi-billion-dollar investments in airports, ports, and renewable energy.

Reason	Details
Financial Losses	Despite ₹750 crore (~$90M) in transactions by March 2024, the app failed to become profitable.
Low User Growth	Target: 500 million users by 2030; Reality: only 30 million users by 2024.
Internal Disagreements	Disputes over app direction and scope led to leadership churn.
Leadership Exit	Chief Digital Officer Nitin Sethi resigned amid an internal probe into mismanagement.
Strategic Refocus	Adani merged the digital unit into its airport business, shifting focus back to core infrastructure sectors.

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Microsoft Has Shut Down Its Office in Pakistan After 25 Years

Microsoft has shut down its office in Pakistan after 25 years, marking the end of a significant chapter in the country’s tech landscape.

It is to be noted that Microsoft has not released a formal public statement or press release specifically announcing the closure of its Pakistan office. However, the decision has been widely confirmed through statements by Jawwad Rehman, Microsoft Pakistan’s founding country manager, who shared the news on LinkedIn and called it a “sobering signal” about the business climate.

Why Did Microsoft Exit Pakistan?

Microsoft cited a combination of global restructuring and a strategic shift to a cloud-based, partner-led model as the primary reasons for the closure. But the story runs deeper:

Global Factors

• Microsoft is undergoing massive layoffs—over 9,100 jobs cut globally—as part of its cost optimization strategy.
• The company is consolidating operations and shifting to regional hubs like Ireland for licensing and commercial contracts.

Local Challenges

• Economic instability: Currency depreciation, high inflation, and a shrinking tech investment climate.
• Regulatory hurdles: Inconsistent policies, import restrictions, and taxation on IT and telecom sectors.
• Political uncertainty: Frequent regime changes and lack of long-term digital policy planning.

What Microsoft Leaves Behind

Despite the closure, Microsoft’s products and services will continue in Pakistan via:

• Certified local partners
• Cloud platforms and regional offices (e.g., Ireland)

However, the loss of direct presence means:

• Fewer local training programs and digital skilling initiatives
• Reduced corporate engagement and innovation partnerships
• A symbolic blow to Pakistan’s aspirations of becoming a regional tech hub

Reactions

• Former President Arif Alvi called it a “troubling sign” and revealed that Microsoft had once considered Pakistan for expansion but chose Vietnam instead due to instability.
• Jawwad Rehman, Microsoft Pakistan’s founding country manager, said: “Even global giants like Microsoft find it unsustainable to stay.”

What’s Next for Pakistan?

• Stabilize macroeconomic policies
• Reform regulatory frameworks
• Improve ease of doing business
• Foster a consistent digital strategy

Microsoft, IFC Backed Builder.ai Collapses After AI Fraud Exposed

Founded in 2016 by Sachin Dev Duggal and headquartered in London, Builder.ai burst onto the tech scene with the promise of revolutionizing app development. The company marketed its platform as an artificial intelligence–powered solution, touting an AI assistant named Natasha that could build software as effortlessly as ordering a pizza.

With a dazzling valuation of $1.5 billion, Builder.ai attracted heavyweight investors including Microsoft, the Qatar Investment Authority, SoftBank’s DeepCore, and IFC, and raised more than $450 million in funding.

Beneath the glossy marketing narrative, however, a very different story was unfolding. Rather than relying on groundbreaking algorithms and autonomous machine learning, Builder.ai’s “AI” was fueled by human ingenuity. Investigations revealed that more than 700 skilled engineers in India were manually crafting the code that the company claimed was generated by Natasha. These engineers, working from hubs in cities like Bengaluru and Noida, were responsible for delivering customized software solutions for clients, all while their efforts were misrepresented as the output of advanced AI.

The exposure of this deception sent shockwaves through the industry. Former employees and insiders began to speak out, pointing to a well-orchestrated façade where human developers were camouflaged as an AI solution. What initially appeared to be a leap forward in technology turned out to be a classic case of “AI washing”—where a company exaggerates its technological capabilities to lure in investments and boost its market presence. This revelation not only undermined the credibility of Builder.ai but also called into question the ethics of promoting technology based on inflated claims

The financial repercussions were swift and severe. Builder.ai’s management had previously reported stellar revenue figures—claims of $220 million in 2024 were later debunked by an independent audit showing actual earnings closer to $50 million. With lender Viola Credit seizing $37 million from the company’s accounts and mounting debts including approximately $85 million owed to Amazon and $30 million to Microsoft, the startup found itself on a downward spiral.

These financial misrepresentations led to insolvency proceedings across multiple jurisdictions, forcing the company to lay off nearly 1,000 employees in India, the UK, and the US.

Beyond the immediate fallout, the collapse of Builder.ai has ignited a broader debate about transparency and accountability in the AI industry. The scandal stands as a stark reminder that in a time dominated by the promise of artificial intelligence, authenticity remains paramount. Investors and regulators are now urged to conduct greater due diligence and demand verifiable evidence behind any claims of AI-driven innovation. The Builder.ai debacle serves as a cautionary tale, urging the tech community to distinguish genuine technological breakthroughs from marketing-driven illusions.

As the industry reels from this saga, many are left questioning the ethical responsibilities of startups seeking to capitalize on AI hype. The case of Builder.ai underscores the need for clear standards and robust verification mechanisms to prevent similar deceptions in the future. In a rapidly evolving technological landscape, the lessons learned from this collapse may pave the way for stronger industry regulations and a renewed focus on real, substantive innovation.

The story of Builder.ai is more than just a tale of financial misrepresentation; it is a reminder that in the race toward the future, innovation built on transparency and truth will always outlast the fleeting allure of hype. The fallout is prompting a broader discussion on how best to balance bold visions with ethical practices in the age of artificial intelligence.

Wipro Shuts Down Baddi Unit Amid Labor Unrest, 80 Workers Left Jobless

Wipro has permanently shut down one of its manufacturing units in Baddi, Himachal Pradesh, leading to the layoff of 80 employees. The closure was announced on May 24, 2025, following months of labour unrest and a workers’ strike that began in December 2024. Many employees were reportedly caught off guard, learning about the shutdown only when they arrived for their shifts and were stopped at the factory gates.

Wipro cited economic unsustainability as the primary reason for shutting down the facility, pointing to continued operational disruptions and financial losses. Despite discussions between the company and the workers’ union, no resolution was reached, with one major sticking point being Wipro’s refusal to withdraw police cases filed against certain protesting employees.

The company has stated that it will provide statutory compensation and support to the affected workers, but the abrupt nature of the layoffs has triggered protests in the area. The workers’ union has filed a formal complaint with the Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister and the state Labour Department.

While this closure is a significant blow to the local workforce, another Wipro facility in Baddi remains operational.

Apart from Wipro’s recent shutdown of its Baddi manufacturing unit, there have been other notable closures in India’s manufacturing sector. Nissan India was rumored to be considering shutting down its manufacturing operations in India, but the company issued an official statement denying these speculations and reaffirming its commitment to the Indian market.

Maruti Suzuki, MG, and Toyota temporarily shut down their plants due to rising COVID-19 cases, though these closures were not permanent.

While Wipro’s closure wals driven by labour unrest and financial losses, other shutdowns have been influenced by market conditions, global strategies, or temporary disruptions.

Apple Reportedly Stopped Production of Its Vision Pro Headset

Apple has reportedly stopped the production of its Vision Pro headset due to weak demand and customer dissatisfaction.

According to an October 2023 report by The Information, Apple has sharply scaled back production of its Vision Pro headset due to weak demand and customer dissatisfaction.

Apple scaled back production starting in the summer of 2024 and completely stopped by November 2024.

Many users returned the Vision Pro due to discomfort and limited use cases. Apple is rethinking its strategy in the mixed-reality space to reach a broader audience with a more affordable model. Apple's cautious approach indicates a shift in focus towards creating a more accessible mixed-reality experience.

Apple sold approximately 420,000 units of the Vision Pro headset in 2024. This figure includes around 370,000 units sold in the first nine months, with an additional 50,000 units sold in the fourth quarter.

Despite the initial excitement, the high price point and limited content ecosystem led to weaker-than-expected demand.

Inventory: Apple has enough stock to meet demand through 2025, with warehouses filled with tens of thousands of undelivered parts.

Reasons for Weak Demand: The high price point ($3,499), insufficient content ecosystem, and issues like headaches, vision problems, and motion sickness contributed to the low demand.

Future Plans: Apple is focusing on developing a more affordable mixed-reality headset, potentially launching between late 2025 and early 2026.

Impact:

Customer Feedback: Many users returned the Vision Pro due to discomfort and limited use cases.

Market Strategy: Apple is rethinking its strategy in the mixed-reality space to reach a broader audience with a more affordable model.

It seems like Apple is taking a cautious approach to address these challenges.

Notably, Apple's Vision Pro headset has not been officially launched in India . The high price point of $3,499 (approximately ₹3 lakh) has been a significant barrier to entry in the Indian market. As a result, Apple has focused its rollout on other markets like the US, UK, China, Japan, and Taiwan.

Given the current economic conditions and the niche market for such high-end devices, it's likely that Apple is waiting for the right time to introduce any gadget like the Vision Pro, in India, possibly with a more affordable version in the future.

IBM Shutting Down Its R&D Labs in China and Layoff 1000 Employees

IBM has officially confirmed that it will completely shut down its China research and development (R&D) operation, affecting more than 1,000 jobs. The decision comes amid the company’s struggles with falling demand for its hardware and challenges in growth markets like China.

However, IBM emphasizes that these changes will not impact its ability to support clients across the Greater China region. IBM’s R&D labs in China were operational for several years before the recent its to shut them down.

Going forward, IBM will focus on assisting private enterprises and select multinationals with hybrid cloud and AI solutions.

IBM’s decision to shut down its R&D labs in China and lay off over 1,000 employees is part of a strategic shift. The company aims to better serve clients across the Greater China region by focusing on assisting private enterprises and select multinationals with hybrid cloud and AI solutions. This move reflects IBM’s realignment of resources and priorities.

Several companies have scaled back their operations in China due to geopolitical headwinds and challenges in the domestic market. These include Ericsson, Tesla, Amazon.com, and Intel.

These actions reflect the intensified Sino-US rivalry and the need for global businesses to adapt their operations in response. While IBM's sales in China have declined in recent years, the company remains committed to supporting clients across the Greater China region by focusing on hybrid cloud and artificial intelligence solutions.

Maersk-IBM Joint Blockchain Venture TradeLens is Shutting Down

Early last week, Maersk and IBM announced that they are shutting down TradeLens, their joint project based on blockchain technology to improve supply chain industry.

Founded in 2018, TradeLens platform has been jointly developed by Maersk and IBM. It was founded on the bold vision to make a leap in global supply chain digitization as an open and neutral industry platform underpinned by blockchain technology.

"TradeLens team is taking action to withdraw the offerings and discontinue the platform, and the intent is that the platform will go offline by end of quarter one, 2023. During this process all parties involved will ensure that customers are attended to without disruptions to their businesses." said the news announcement of Maersk.

Citing the reason for discontinuation of the platform, Rotem Hershko Head of Business Platforms at Maersk said that TradeLens has not reached the level of commercial viability necessary to continue work and meet the financial expectations as an independent business.

With TradeLens, Maersk and IBM implemented a block-chain-enabled solution creating more efficient and secure global trade. However, due to a lack of adequate viability in the market, TradeLens will currently no longer be offered by Maersk.

In the year when its launched, IBM and Maersk announced that 94 organizations were actively involved or have had agreed to participate on the TradeLens platform. Besides, it was also claimed that about 234 marine gateways/ports worldwide have had or would be actively participating on TradeLens. 

To recall, in July 2020 Mumbai-based Shipwaves, a digital freight forwarder, also joined TradeLens platform aimed at accelerating the digitization of the ocean logistics space, especially in India and the Middle-East.

TradeLens eventually shutting the shop now. 

"We will leverage the work of TradeLens as a steppingstone to further push our digitisation agenda and look forward to harnessing the energy and ability of our technology talent in new ways,” said Rotem Hershko. 

During the process of closing of TradeLens platform, a dedicated team will continue to support the platform and assist the customers in the transition, said the company.

78% Indian MSMEs Shutdown During Covid-19 Pandemic - Study

• Spocto conducted study on Loan Moratorium for lending organizations, titled "The Ground Truth - Voice of Indian Borrowers”,
•  Study reveals support customers need, its current awareness and understanding of Moratorium & its impact on their payment amount

As the coronavirus pandemic unleashes a devastating impact on businesses, institutions and society, Spocto, one of India’s leading big data analytics-based banking and financial services company, has initiated a comprehensive well detailed study entitled ‘The Ground Truth – Voice of Indian borrowers’. It consists of views and insights from 1.800 account holders across cities pan India such as Mumbai, Pune, New Delhi, Bangalore, Kolkata, Ahmedabad etc., wherein the study presents actual and actionable insights from the consumers on moratorium

The pandemic left countless working professionals bereft of employment opportunities, and factors like layoffs, salary cuts and reduced earnings have resulted in a mass exodus of both skilled and unskilled workers from the big cities to their hometowns. In this light, the data received from these retail loan account holders brings in insights pertinent to the ground reality, the support they need, their current awareness and understanding of Moratorium & its impact on their payment amount. 

The study primarily revealed the following key findings; 

• 59% of consumers witnessed complete loss of income due to COVID-19
• 34% employees from present workforce pool have lost their jobs
• As a result of the fiscal depravity, a staggering 78% of the MSMEs were forced to shut down operations due to zero revenue generation.
• 76% of the overall account holders have taken small-ticket loans amounting to Rs 50,000 in EMIs while it is mostly the unsecured loans that have contributed to the plunge in repayments than secured loans
• 78% of the consumers opted in for the initial Moratorium period (March to May), which implies that 22% either willingly chose to opt out or did not OPT IN from their bank’s Moratorium offer.
• 75% of the borrowers highlighted the need for more clarity and education surrounding moratorium. In a similar vein, 64% of the borrowers affirmed that they are aware regarding the interest that is levied on availing the moratorium clause.  
• 38% consumers prefer to speak or interact with a human interface to get their queries resolved
• Digital is the new de-facto medium for 62% of the loan borrowers reflecting on their need for real time, bias free, consistent & authentic resolutions
•  In another frame, about 28% consumers were discontented with the level of conversation with their banks 46% only are satisfied with the banks efforts on explaining the terms of Moratorium to its customers
• 37% consumers stated that they require support from the financial system in the form of essential loans for personal expenditure in the next 12 months
• Lastly, more than 56% customers are now yearning to opt out of the Moratorium 

Commenting on the revelations of this diligent and eye-opening study, the spokesperson for Spocto Solutions, Mr. SumeetSrivastava, Founder and CEO said, “The year 2020 has proven to be the proverbial Black swan event for all industries and their professionals. This period has also unfolded a few valuable takeaways, namely, that it is time the banking and lending ecosystem revamp their engagement policies and strategies, as their customers may not have the means to pay back their loans within the allotted time-frame. But this also on the other end implies that, they may have the willingness, but not the ability to pay right now. The banks must also keep in mind that these customers who are victims of the market inertia with all probability shall return to the financing space in the span of a year or two with at least 15-20 years of potential service. Hence banks should rather value the long term customer rather than smite down a short term defaulter. The banks too should focus on the heightened optimization of digital and efficient pathways of loan disbursement and recovery to generate greater consumer traction and engagement. This will not only help the ailing sector get back to its feet in due time but will also catalyze the re-building and recuperation of the considerable hammering that the sector experienced due to the catastrophic contagion. “

Lending organizations that prioritizes consumer engagement and digital collections, will witness the resurgence of revenue flows and hopefully carve a better and ebullient future in contrast to the present doldrums of the stifling post-pandemic scenario.

Vodafone-Idea's Money App M-Pesa Shutting Down, Writes-off ₹210 Cr for Payment Bank Closure

Vodafone Idea Ltd has decided to close m-pesa vertical following the closure of Aditya Birla Idea Payments Bank Ltd (ABIPBL), in which it was being merged with, a top official said on Monday. Launhed in 2007, M-Pesa is a mobile phone-based money transfer, financing and microfinancing service launched by Vodafone for Safaricom and Vodacom.

Last week, ABIPBL had announced that it is winding up of its business on account of "unanticipated developments" that made its economic model "unviable".

"The merger of Vodafone m-pesa with ABIPBL has thus been called off and business prepaid instruments and business correspondence are in the process of closure," Vodafone Idea Chief Executive Officer Balesh Sharma said company's earning call. He attributed regulatory changes for the payments bank business and deterioration in health of telecom sector to the decision.

"Now, that we are proposing not to have the payments bank as well as the m-pesa business. Instead of having m-pesa of our own, we will explore the market and partner with fintech companies," Sharma said.

Vodafone Idea wrote off Rs 210 crore in the June quarter on account of decision to close its payments bank business.

"The impairment charges include impairment in payments bank and m-pesa entities of Rs 2.1 billion (Rs 210 crore) following the decision to discontinue payments bank, wallet and business correspondent businesses in the respective entities," Vodafone Idea Chief Financial Officer Akshaya Moondra said.

The company had written off a total amount of Rs 580 crore during the first quarter of 2019-20. Vodafone m-pesa was one of the 11 firms that was given payments bank licence by the Reserve Bank of India in 2015.

Tech Mahindra, Cholamandalam Investment and Finance Company and a consortium of Dilip Shanghvi, IDFC Bank Ltd and Telenor Financial Services surrendered their payments banks licences even before commencing their business.

Sharma said that decision to close down payments bank business is also part of the company's strategy to focus on core business which is the telecom business. Vodafone Idea is phasing out 3G services and re-farming all spectrum for 4G services.

The company is looking to check the churn of customers onto other network which led it to lose market leadership position to Reliance Jio in June.

Reliance Jio had a user base of 331.3 million by June 2019 while that of Vodafone Idea subscriber base declined to 320 million in the same month. Sharma said after a minimum charge of Rs 35 per month introduced by the company, many customer consolidated to single SIM which showed 4G subscribers moving out of the Vodafone Idea network.

He said the churn has come down to 3.7 per cent and the company is making effort to curb it further with high revenue generating customers.

Few days back, a report from economists at SBI said that, "The future is "uncertain" for payments banks and the model aimed at deepening financial inclusion requires regulatory support in order to be effective."

Aditya Birla Idea Payments Bank to Close Operations

Nearly 17 months after it began operations, Aditya Birla Idea Payments Bank Limited (ABIPBL) Saturday announced winding up of its business on account of "unanticipated developments" that made its economic model "unviable".

"...we wish to inform you that the Board of Directors of our associate company Aditya Birla Idea Payments Bank Limited (ABIPBL), has subject to receipt of requisite regulatory consents and approvals, approved the voluntary winding up of ABIPBL," Vodafone Idea Limited said in a regulatory filing.

The decision has been taken due to unanticipated developments in the business landscape that have made the economic model unviable, the filing added.

In February 2018, Aditya Birla Idea Payments Bank became the fourth such entity to begin operations since the issuance of licences to 11 firms by RBI in August 2015.

The company is the fourth payments bank to shut shop after Tech Mahindra, Cholamandalam Investment and Finance Company and a consortium of Dilip Shanghvi, IDFC Bank Ltd and Telenor Financial Services that pulled the plug of operations.

Vodafone Idea Limited in a regulatory filing said, "the Board of Directors of our associate company Aditya Birla Idea Payments Bank Limited (ABIPBL), has subject to receipt of requisite regulatory consents and approvals, approved the voluntary winding up of ABIPBL".

ABIPBL had received the banking licence from the RBI on April 3, 2017, for carrying on the business of a payments bank and had also received an authorisation to carry on the business of Prepaid Payments Instrument business. It commenced business from February 22, 2018.

Sources privy to the development said that the payments bank has about 200 employees and a majority of them are likely to be absorbed in other group entities, while the rest will be offered outplacement assistance.

Total deposits with Aditya Birla Idea Payments Bank stand at about Rs 20 crore, according to sources.

"The payments bank does not want customers to worry about what happens to their money. They will be given enough time and notice to transfer or withdraw it," the source said adding that the closure of operations could take about three months.

Aditya Birla Payments Bank is promoted by Grasim Industries Limited and Vodafone Idea Limited with 51 and 49 per cent shareholdings respectively.

According to the filing, ABIPBL incurred a loss of Rs 24 crore at the end of 2017-18.

Aditya Birla group said ABIPBL has made full and complete arrangement of funds for the return of customer deposits and meeting its all liabilities and is taking steps to ensure smooth closure of all the customer accounts and settlement of their balances.

"The Bank will continue to be operational for limited banking transactions and will provide a facility to the customers for withdrawing/transferring their balances," the group said in a statement.

India's 1st Bitcoin Company Shuts Down Amid RBI's Crypto Ban

It all started in late 2012 when Mahin Gupta started India's first Bitcoin exchange, buysellbitco.in, and made it most trusted and used exchange in India pioneering online purchase of Bitcoin in the country and voted as best new bitcoin company at CoinAgenda conference in Las Vegas in 2014. Later in September 2014, Buysellbitco.inwas was rebranded to Zebpay -- a bitcoin wallet. In 2016, the company announced that it had crossed a whopping ₹100 crore (~$15 Million) turnover milestone.

Everything was going well with Zebpay, one of the first to usher buying Bitcoins in India, until one silly day India's central bank Reserve Bank of India (RBI) banned banks from servicing crypto exchanges/wallets.

Despite the ban, Zebpay has survived and was up and running by introducing Crypto-to-Crypto trading but all gone in vain as on Friday, the crypto exchange Zebpay announced that it is shutting down after the long fight the exchange has given to prejudiced and pessimism about cryptocurrencies in India.

In its official blog post, ZebPay officially announced that it was forced to stop activity due to legal and regulatory obstacles.

"Despite regulatory and banking problems along our journey, we continued to look for solutions as we did not want India to miss the bus of digital assets that power the public blockchain," said the blog post of Zebpay.

[caption id="attachment_126431" align="aligncenter" width="700"] Zebpay Co-founders (From Left ) Sandeep Goenka, Mahin Gupta and Saurabh Agrawal [Image ForbesIndia.com, Mexy Xavier][/caption]

It further said, "At this point, we are unable to find a reasonable way to conduct the cryptocurrency exchange business. As a result, we are stopping our exchange activities. At 4 p.m. today (28 September 2018), we will cancel all unexecuted crypto-to-crypto orders and credit your coins / tokens back to your Zebpay wallet. No new orders will be accepted until further notice.”

In a statement to Crypto-News India, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Zebpay Ajeet Khurana, said "The Indian environment is highly non-conducive to the crypto business. Our revenue model is only through transaction fees. So by shutting the exchange, we have effectively made our revenue zero. Naturally no company would want to do that if it has a choice.”

Notably in February 2017, Zebpay along with other bitcoin startups in India -- Unocoin, Coinsecure and Searchtrade, jointly launched Digital Asset and Blockchain Foundation of India (DABFI) for the orderly and transparent growth of virtual currency market. It however didn't resulted into anything fruitful and nothing substantial happened in DABFI apart from the fact that in November 2017 the self-regulatory body eventually merged with the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI), the internet industry body. The new merged entity is called as 'IAMAI FinTech Council' however even after this no new development has been heard since then.

Ironically, in January this year, a nationwide survey revealed that people in India have invested in Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies worth whopping $3.5 billion. Seeing this, income tax (I-T) department had even sent notices to tens of thousands of such people who have done trading in any of the cryptocurrencies.

Zebpay’s might have lost its fight, but still there are quite a few Indian cryptocurrency exchanges up and running work without interruption and seek new solutions such as Peer-to-Peer transactions. These companies include WazirX, Koinex, LocalBitcoins, Unocoin, and many others.

Its Not Just Startups, Tech Accelerator Jaarvis Shuts India Operations, Write-off Investment

In India, its not just startups facing the hard times as in a recent unfortunate instance a Hong Kong-based tech startup accelerator Jaarvis is shutting down its India operations and is also in the process of writing off investments in its portfolio, reported Economic Times.

Launched in 2015 in India and operating from Gurgaon, Jaarvis Accelerator takes early stage technology based startups and helps them rapidly build a sustainable business. It used to have 4-months residence accelerator program and at the end of each four-month program, all Incubatees will be invited for a “Pitch Night” where they were given an opportunity to showcase their product/business to institutional investors and attract further funding.

Till date, Jaarvis accelerated nearly 13-14 startups in the space of Internet of Things, robotics, online-to-offline, fintech, mobility, and other emerging technologies. As part of its accelerator programme, selected startups got access to office space, mentors, prospective customers in Asia Pacific and funding of up to USD50,000 in return of 10-12% stake.

In December 2016, Jaarvis also launched ‘CoWork’, which was touted as India’s first co-working space within a tech accelerator.

Jaarvis' portfolio companies include Arbunize, Comparometer, DesignDodo, Drinks on Me, Edurev, Psychd, R2 Robotronics, Sniffer, Spotwrks, Extra Carbon, iManageMyHotel, and PromOn.

Citing an industry expert, the Economic Times report further said that shutting down of Jaarvis is not shocking as other startup accelerator in India especially of private-label are not doing good as well.

Accelerators are shifting their business models as they find it hard to sustain operations out of revenue from the equity startups give them. This is the key finding in a new report based on a survey of 579 accelerator programs that invested $207 million into 11,305 startups in 2016. Out of this, about US$18 million went into 1,368 startups from 76 accelerator programs in the Asia Pacific region, according to an annual Gust report released in September 2017.

Abof.com To Shut Shop By Year End

In a shocker of a news, Aditya Birla Group’s fashion e-commerce platform Abof.com has decided to shut its shop by the end of 2017, according to a report in the Economic Times.

Aditya Birla Online Fashion started its operations two years ago in October 2015. The platform lists clothing and accessories for men and women, both from Aditya Birla’s brands as well as clothing curated from other brands. Last year, global ecommerce giant Amazon ended up adding Abof.com as a seller on its marketplace.

Reportedly, the company has already informed all of its 240 employees about the decision and has finalised December 31, 2017 as its last day of operations. The employees have an option of either accepting four-and-half months’ salary as a severance package and leave the organisation or continue being a part of the Aditya Birla Group in some other department other than Abof. Reportedly, November onwards they will also start closing down their stocks.

Aditya Birla’s director of human resources Santrupt Misra confirmed ET about the development. He further shared that the news shouldn’t come as much of a shock since most ecommerce players in the country are currently finding it hard to survive and it is time to realise that there’s something wrong with the segment.

Aditya Birla Group started Abof saying the platform would not offer discounts and, instead, sell a more limited and fashionable range of merchandise. In an interview in March, chief executive Prashant Gupta had told ET that their “target consumer is not the guy who is looking for a deal”.

Interestingly, Aditya Birla had earlier launched another e-commerce platform called TrendIN.com in 2013. The group used the platform to sell its in-house brands such as Van Heusen, Louis Philippe, Allen Solly, Pantaloons, People, Peter England and Planet Fashion. However, it ended up shutting down this platform and started its separate online platforms for individual brands.

11 Promising Indian Startups that Shut Down in 2017 [January- July'17]

Indian startup ecosystem is very interesting to watch. With the rise of every new startup, we can witness the failure of one or the other startup at the same time. If we look at the report by Institute for Business Value and Oxford Economics, it highlights that more than 90% of startups fail within the first five years. Whereas, 2016 NASSCOM states that the reason behind the failure of startups in India is none other than lack of innovation which led some startups to shut their shops within a few years of their inception.

In 2016, it was reported that between January and August, 29 startup shutdowns in India took place. Startup shutting their shops in 2017 (from January to July) have a no different story to tell. Until July 2017, the year has seen the total of 11 major startups closing down their operations and winding up some part of their business. The Stayzilla shutdown has been the most talked about affair. If we look at the main reason for startup shutdowns, it is none other than cash crunch. Today’s investors are taking less risk and cautiously investing in startups.

We at IndianWeb2 has curated the list of startups that end up breaking dead instead of breaking even.

Finomena

Founded in: 2015
Founded by: Abhishek Garg and Ridhi Mittal
Headquartered in: Bengaluru
Shut Down in: July 2017

Though its still has to come officially from the company officials about the shutdown announcement, its quite evident that Finomena users could not able to log in on its app. Moreover the startup's Google business listing also shows that its permanently closed.

Founded by IIT-Delhi graduate Abhishek Garg and Stanford graduate Ridhi Mittal in 2015, Finomena had shut its shops after it failed to raise series-A funding. It is said that the main reasons for shutdown were the high cash burn and moreover cost of acquisition was high for any plausible buyout.

The Bengaluru-based fintech startup used to facilitate small ticket loans to students and young professionals for buying electronic devices and appliances. For the same, startup had inculcated data and machine learning to reassess the creditworthiness of borrowers for the disbursal of loans.
The startup which was funded by notable private equity firm Matrix Partners was the only fintech company from India to have made it to “International Innovator of the Year award” by LendIt USA 2017, the world’s largest show in lending and fintech.

Finomena was different from P2P lending firms but was in competition with rivals such as ZestMoney, CashCare, Capital Float, and Lendingkart, among dozen other alternate loans startups that have cropped up in the country.

Surpluss

Founded in: 2014
Founded by: Amit Gupta
Headquartered in: New Delhi
Shut Down in: July 2017

Owing to internal business issues aggravated by demonetization, an online retail store for refurbished electronics, Surpluss has shut their operation. Surpluss used to sold refurbished and surplus products ranging from mobile phones and tablets to fashion apparel.

Owned and operated under, Pluss Digital Ventures Private Limited had directors such as SN Rai, co-founder of Lava Mobiles, Amit Gupta, former director Channel Strategies at Samsung India and HS Bhatia, founder of Green Lava, a battery rejuvenation business.

Cardback

Founded in: 2012
Founded by: Nidhi Gurnani and Nikhil Wason
Headquartered in: New Delhi
Shut Down in: June 2017

Online platform for loyalty cardholders Cardback has shut down its operation due to fund crunch and less demand in India for multiple credit cards. During his five year journey, the startup had raised $170Kfrom some of the prominent angel investors including Rajan Anandan, Sunil Kalra, and Alok Mittal. It was a platform for credit, debit and loyalty cardholders to check rewards.

Eatonomist

Founded in: November 2014
Founded by: Anisha Dhar and Nupur Khanna
Headquartered in: Gurugram
Shut Down in: May 2017

An online food delivery startup, Eatonomist has recently shut down its operation. The startup used to deliver meals prepared in its own kitchens. Founded in November 2014 Eatonomist was operational in Gurgaon and Delhi and followed a full-stack business model wherein it controls the kitchens and delivery services. According to the reports, one of the Eatonomist co-founder, Anisha Dhar has joined UberEATS, a food delivery service launched by Uber.

In 2016, the Gurugram-based startup had raised an undisclosed amount in seed funding from MCube Capital Advisors Pvt Ltd. However the firm failed to raise much-needed follow-on funding, and this might be one of the reasons for the shutdown.

HotelsAroundYou

Founded in: 2013
Founded by: Harsha Nallur, Mohsin Dingankar and Animesh Chaudhary
Headquartered in: Mumbai
Shut Down in: May 2017

Owned and operated under, Instant Hotels Around You Pvt Ltd, HotelsAroundYou has recently ceased its operations as it could not raise follow-on funding. An online platform that allowed room bookings at the last minute had raised an undisclosed amount of seed funding from VentureNursery in 2014. Not only this, startup was also graduated from the accelerator’s fifth batch.

Besides VentureNursery, other prominent investors who backed the firm includes Amit and Arihant Patni and the then founder and chief executive of Aditya Birla private equity group Bharat Banka.

As per the media reports, the firm had closed its functioning in the latter half of 2016, although the timeline was not clear. The company’s website was defunct and the mobile app was not working when an attempt was made to install it from the Android play store.

Turant Delivery

Founded In: 2015
Founded by: Satish Gupta, Ankur Majumder, Siddharth Arora
Headquartered in: Delhi
Shut Down in: May 2017

Turant Delivery, an intra-city logistics company has shut down its operation as the firm was unable to raise funds and burning money blindly was not advisable. The last social media update was on March 28, 2016, but the shutdown was reported in May 2017. The startup used to utilize its technology platform to help customers book and monitor their deliveries on a daily basis. With the help of a zone-based algorithm, it claimed to provide services at less than 15% less. It was operational in Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Kolkata, and Surat.

Genie

Founded in: 2015
Founded by: Sreekesh Krishnan, Rakesh Mani and Parth Shah
Headquartered in: Chennai
Shut Down in: March 2017

Due to the insufficiency of funds and lack of investor interest, in March 2017, hyper-local delivery startup Genie cease its operations. Founders had announced the close down of the operation through Facebook post. In October 2015, the startup bagged funding from Wayne Burt Group, a Singapore-based group that invests in oil and gas, aerospace and petrochemicals.
 
Genie started off as an on-demand delivery platform for customers. A year after the startup launched Genie for Business to look after on demand, bulk and scheduled orders for restaurants, home bakers and any other business that needed assistance with deliveries. Genie is one among many startups in hyper-local delivery sector who couldn’t survive even for two years since starting their operations.

Cube26

Founded in: 2012
Founded by: Saurav Kumar, Abhilekh Agarwal and Aakash Jain
Headquartered in: New Delhi
Shut Down in: March 2017

Mobile technology startup Cube26 Software Pvt. Ltd has closed its Internet of Things (IoT) business which has led to several job cuts. The firm had raised $7.7 million (Rs 50 crore then) in seed funding from Tiger Global and Flipkart in October 2015. The firm has now decided to solely focus on its software and services business.

Cube26 launched its first IoT product, a Bluetooth-controlled colour-changing smart bulb, in November 2015 under the brand IOTA. The company introduced a new IoT brand, Reos, in August last year, under which it launched a suite of smartphone apps as well as a new version of the smart bulb, Reos Lite.

Stayzilla

Founded in: 2005
Founded by: Yogendra Vasupal (Yogi), Rupal Yogendra, Sachit Singhi
Headquartered in: Bengaluru
Shut down in: February 2017

Yogendra Vasupal, co-founder Stayzilla announced the shutdown of the venture through a Medium blogpost in February 2017. The reason stated by Yogi was the lack of local network effect, inability to expand quickly, and cost effectively plus high costs and low revenues. Not only this, the firm was in plenty of legal trouble, following the startup shutdown with Yogi being arrested on charges of fraud.

Founded as an online travel agency for hotel bookings named as Inasra, Stayzilla was latterly renamed and pivoted to a hotel aggregator model in 2010. Backed by investors including Matrix Partners and Nexus Venture Partners, the company had raised $33.5 million funding in three funding rounds – $500K in 2012, $20 million in 2015 and $13 million in 2016.

Taskbob

Founded in: December 2014
Founded by: Aseem Khare, Abhiroop Medhekar, Ajay Bhatt and Amit Chahalia
Headquartered in: Mumbai
Shut Down in: January 2017

Home and beauty services startup, Taskbob, shuts down its operations due to unforeseen circumstances. According to the media reports, the decision of shutting the operation came after the startup failed to raise fresh funds since February last year.

Startup that had also acquired Zepper, a Bengaluru-based home services startup had raised Rs 28-crore Series A funding from Ivy Cap Ventures and existing investors Orios Ventures Partners and Mayfield India.

Prophesee

Founded in: 2014
Founded by: Ishaan Sethi, Harshil Gurha, Jitesh Luthra
Headquartered in: Delhi
Shut Down in: January 2017

Prophesee has recently shut down its operation. The reason for shutdown remains unknown.The startup empowered brands with data-driven insights that allow managers to compare and analyse digital campaigns and execute directly from the platform. The firm had raised $516K funding in an angel round from Indian Angel Network (IAN), Stanford Angels and Entrepreneurs India (SA&E India). Ajay Lavakare, Bikky Khosla and Satveer Thakral were the lead investors in the company.

Our Take

Plenty of startups in India are failing to sustain its existence in the last couple of years, particularly in food-delivery segment, hyperlocal, etc. Last year, several food-tech startups shut down its operations including Bite Club, an another Gurgaon-based food delivery startup, along with others similar ones such as Frsh.com, iTiffin, Zuper Meal, MealHopper, and and Zeppery, which shut shop due to poor unit economics and unsustainable business models.

On the one hand, the government is making its efforts to provide entrepreneurs with the adequate resources. It has recently launched Startup India Online Hub to encourage entrepreneurs and business in the emerging economy.
But, as it is said startup shutdowns are the part of the business ecosystem, now we have to wait and watch what 2017 hold for these upcoming startups. Time will only tell that how many more wickets are gonna fall in coming months.

Food delivery startup TinyOwl reportedly shuts down in all cities except Mumbai

Foodies all over India are well aware of the name, TinyOwl. Well, here's some sad news for all regular TinyOwl users. The Indian-based restaurant delivery app service that had recently raised more than a whopping $27 million from investors including big names like Matrix Partners and Sequoia Capital, has now decided to put a stop to its service in all its functional cities except for Mumbai. A week back some of the loyal TinyOwl users were shocked to see a notification stating that their services will be discontinued after May 22 in their area. The notification was visible everywhere except for some areas of Mumbai, where the company is headquartered. Prior to this, the startup was functional in eleven cities all around India. The food delivery app is one amongst many Indian startups that have recently been witnessing troubles times despite of receiving substantial support from investors. Most experts believe that this is because of the incapability of these startups to effectively manage their operations. Last year, the startup was in limelight when Gaurav Choudhary, one of its founders, was detained for two whole days by few of the startup's ex-employees after they were unceremoniously fired with post-dated checks. Well, it does seem a little gloomy for TinyOwl but all is certainly not lost. According to tech rumour mills, the startup is soon going to announce its merger with Roadrunnr, a logistics firm handling the last-mile deliveries for various food and e-commerce delivery companies. The two companies, which are both backed by Nexus Venture Partners and Sequoia, are expected to enter in an all-stock deal and give birth to a new food delivery service, Runnr. Whether this deals materialises or not, is something we will have to wait and watch. Further, for Roadrunnr itself, the path hasn't been rosy for quite sometime now. Last month, there were several news-pieces floating in the media about how the logistics firm was planning to exit the e-commerce business after it failed to raise more funding.