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Meesho, an Indian social commerce with 150M transacting users, secures $275M in new funding | TechCrunch

May 11, 2024 12:10 PM0


Meesho, a leading e-commerce startup in India with about 150 million transacting users, has secured $275 million in a new funding round, it disclosed in a securities filing. The new funding is part of a larger financing round, which is likely to include secondary transactions and balloon to over $500 million, people familiar with the […]

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Software Development in Sri Lanka

Robotic Automations

Walmart heir Lukas Walton’s Builders Vision puts S2G on a path to independence | TechCrunch

May 2, 2024 7:04 PM0


S2G Ventures is graduating today, so to speak.

The climate tech investment firm has been living under Builders Vision, an umbrella organization for Walmart heir Lukas Walton’s philanthropic and investment activities, for the past three years. Walton was S2G’s sole limited partner. Now, the organization is bringing others on board.

Walton started S2G in 2014 to invest in startups focused on energy, agriculture, and the oceans, with the goal of creating a new crop of companies that would benefit the climate and the environment.

Walton will continue to invest in and support S2G, according to sources close to the firm, so while he’s giving the firm a bit more room to run, he’s not stepping away entirely.

S2G has over 100 portfolio companies, and according to PitchBook data, has $2 billion in assets under management. S2G has also made more than 180 investments in the last decade. The firm’s strategy spans seed stage to growth and infrastructure investments, making it one of the few to not just invest in early stage companies, but also guide them across the “valley of death” that has made scaling so challenging for climate tech startups.

The ‘valley of death’ for climate lies between early-stage funding and scaling up

Though Walton himself is worth a hefty sum — $28.3 billion according to Bloomberg — the amount of investment required for the world to reach net zero carbon emissions by 2050 makes his fortune look paltry. For the next 25 years, $9.2 trillion needs to be spent on physical assets every year, some $3.5 trillion more than the world spends today, according to McKinsey.

By setting S2G loose from Builders Vision, Walton is following a well-worn path used by many philanthropists, who often provide initial and some ongoing funding to get an endeavor off the ground. But once the project gets its legs underneath it, philanthropists tend to let others step in to foster continued expansion so they can tackle other problems.


Software Development in Sri Lanka

Robotic Automations

Sam's Club's AI-powered exit tech reaches 20% of stores | TechCrunch

April 30, 2024 8:59 PM0


Amazon may be scaling back its AI-powered Just Walk Out checkout-free tech in its stores in favor of smart shopping carts, but Walmart-owned Sam’s Club says it’s turning to AI to speed up its own exit technology. Instead of requiring store staff to check members’ purchases against their receipts when leaving the store, Sam’s Club customers who pay either at a register or through the Scan & Go mobile app can now walk out of the store without having their purchases double-checked.

The technology, first unveiled at the Consumer Electronics Show in January, has now been deployed at over 120 clubs across the U.S., which is 20% of the total number of Sam’s Club locations. Since rolling out, the company claims that it’s significantly sped up exits, as members leave the store 23% faster. The retailer plans to expand the tech to all its stores by year-end.

The system works via a combination of computer vision and digital tech that captures images of customers’ carts and then verifies payment for the items in their basket. Sam’s Club says AI is used in the background to speed up the process. The AI also learns and improves over time as thousands of exit transactions across locations are analyzed.

Before the technology was put into place, Sam’s Club members would have to queue up at the store’s exit to wait to have their receipts checked. The new solution keeps them moving along and frees up store staff to focus on other tasks.

The company also took a subtle shot at rival Amazon in announcing the expansion, noting that its technology arrives as “other retailers have struggled to deploy similar technology at scale, with some abandoning efforts” — a clear reference to Amazon’s pullback on Just Walk Out. In addition, Amazon had to fend off criticism that its AI tech had relied on human workers to review transactions. Amazon said machine learning had powered its technology and that contractors were only annotating the AI and shopping data to improve the system.


Software Development in Sri Lanka

Robotic Automations

Walmart will deploy robotic forklifts in its distribution centers | TechCrunch

April 22, 2024 12:51 PM0


The story of warehouse robotics is a story of attempting to keep up with Amazon. It’s been more than a decade since the online giant revolutionized its delivery services through its Kiva Systems acquisition. As Walmart works to remain competitive, it’s taking a more piecemeal approach to automation, through partnerships with a range of different robotics firms.

On Thursday, the mega-retailer announced a partnership with Fox Robotics, which brings 19 of the Austin-based startup’s robotic forklifts to its distribution centers. Today’s news follows a 16-month pilot, which found Walmart trialing the technology in Distribution Center 6020.

That Florida distribution center is the first of what the company calls its “high-tech DC.” These are warehouses where it trials automation and various other technologies, before rolling them out to its wider channel of distribution and fulfillment centers. DC 6020 is the place where Walmart began trials with Symbotic’s package sortation and retrieval technologies.

Following that successful trial, Walmart announced plans to roll out the technology to all 42 of its Regional Distribution Centers — that was nearly double the original target of 25. This week’s news is more modest, targeting four high-tech DCs, but if things go well, the retailer will order more.

Robotic forklifts are emblematic of a brownfield approach to automation, which is to say that the company is effectively retrofitting existing warehouses with technology, rather than building that space ground-up around the tech. It’s certainly a faster and less expensive approach, though there may be trade-offs in the end.

So, why automate forklifts? In addition to efficiency, properly automated systems bring an added sense of safety. Around 95 people are injured by forklifts each day in the U.S. Imagine driving a piece of heavy machinery with blind spots and two massive metal prongs jutting out the front, and you can start to see why they’re potentially very dangerous — particularly in tight spaces with a lot of human workers hanging around.


Software Development in Sri Lanka

Robotic Automations

India scrambles to curb PhonePe and Google's dominance in mobile payments | TechCrunch

April 17, 2024 10:09 AM0


The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), the governing body overseeing the country’s widely used Unified Payments Interface (UPI) mobile payment system, is set to engage with various fintech startups this month to develop a strategy to address the growing market dominance of PhonePe and Google Pay in the UPI ecosystem.

NPCI executives plan to meet with representatives from CRED, Flipkart, Fampay and Amazon among other players to discuss their key initiatives aimed at boosting UPI transactions on their respective apps and to understand the assistance they require, people familiar with the matter told TechCrunch.

UPI, built by a coalition of Indian banks, has become the most popular way Indians transact online, processing over 10 billion transactions monthly.

The new meetings are part of an increasing effort to address concerns raised by lawmakers and industry players regarding the market share concentration of Google Pay and PhonePe, which together account for nearly 86% of UPI transactions by volume, up from 82.5% at the end of December. Walmart owns more than three-fourths of PhonePe.

Paytm, the third-largest UPI player, has seen its market share decline to 9.1% by the end of March, down from 13% at the end of 2023, following a clampdown by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

An overview of India’s UPI ecosystem. (Image: Macquarie)

The conversation follows the central bank expressing “displeasure” to the NPCI over the growing duopoly in the payments space, a person familiar with the matter said. An NPCI spokesperson declined to comment.

In February, a parliamentary panel in India urged the government to support the growth of domestic fintech players that can offer alternatives to the Walmart-backed PhonePe and Google Pay apps.

The NPCI has long advocated for limiting the market share of individual companies participating in the UPI ecosystem to 30%. However, it has extended the deadline for firms to comply with this directive to the end of December 2024. The organization faces a unique challenge in enforcing this directive: It believes that it currently lacks a technical mechanism to do so, TechCrunch previously reported.

The RBI is also weighing an incentive plan to create a more favorable competitive field for emerging UPI players, another person familiar with the matter said. Indian daily Economic Times separately reported Wednesday that the NPCI is encouraging fintech companies to offer incentives to their users, promoting the use of their respective apps for making UPI transactions.


Software Development in Sri Lanka

Robotic Automations

Amazon takes on India rivals with low-cost fashion store | TechCrunch

April 16, 2024 2:22 AM0


Amazon has quietly introduced a “special store” called Bazaar in India, featuring affordable and trendy fashion and lifestyle products, as it ramps up efforts against Walmart-owned Flipkart and Reliance’s Ajio, which have made deeper inroads in the Indian fast-fashion market.

The world’s largest e-commerce firm has rolled out the new store on its India Android app. Amazon began recruiting sellers for the new store in February, TechCrunch previously reported, promising them “hassle-free” delivery, zero referral fees, and access to a vast customer base.

“You can find items from clothing, accessories, and jewelry to handbags, shoes, traditional and western wear, and a wide array of home goods including kitchenware, towels, bed linens, and décor items,” the company wrote on a support page.

The growing popularity of affordable fast-fashion is increasingly driving purchases on many Indian shopping apps, making it crucial for Amazon to have a strong play in a category where it has traditionally struggled in the country, according to brokerage firm Bernstein.

“India e-commerce category mix is changing; Mobiles and Consumer electronics share is declining. Fashion has seen the strongest growth since FY19, and now holds the highest category share,” Bernstein analysts wrote in a note last month.

Bazaar’s offerings include “trendy” T-shirts starting at 129 Indian rupees ($1.55) and sneakers priced under $3.

India is a key overseas market for Amazon, which has invested more than $11 billion in the country to date. Despite the company’s cloud unit, AWS, maintaining its market-leading position in India, Amazon’s e-commerce arm holds the second spot behind Flipkart.

Last year, chief executive Andy Jassy announced plans to invest $12.7 billion in AWS in India by 2030, while also committing over $2 billion to the e-commerce division during the same period.

Screenshot of Amazon India Android app. Image Credits: TechCrunch

The fast-fashion e-commerce market has gained significant traction in India in recent years, with local startups drawing inspiration from global pioneers like Zara, H&M, and Uniqlo. While Flipkart (which owns fashion e-commerce platform Myntra) currently leads the category, it faces increasing competition from Reliance’s Ajio, which has captured approximately 30% market share in about a year, according to Bernstein.

Ajio launched its own fast-fashion platform, Ajio Street, last year, offering a wide selection of clothing and accessories at prices as low as 199 Indian rupees ($2.4). The platform guarantees the “lowest price” for its products, waives delivery charges, and offers a straightforward returns process.

Shein, a global pioneer in the category that was earlier banned by India, said last year it was prepping a return to the country through a joint venture with Reliance, the nation’s most valuable company. The oil-to-telecom giant also operates Reliance Retail, which is the nation’s largest retail chain.


Software Development in Sri Lanka

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