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But the best investing route is still shut for the retail investor
The Indian government’s apparent flip-flop on social-media platforms monitoring misinformation raises more questions than it answers
Sex-ed and news content creators are under fire. Their reach, discoverability, and income are taking a hit. All thanks to social-media platforms curbing the wild west of content
With 73 million livestream shoppers, the Philippines is not just the biggest live-selling market but also the biggest playground for scammers. Blame it on the country and the platforms
Nationwide groups exploit big-tech platforms to defraud users, while regulations fall short and self-governance continues
Blocking third-party data tracking will hurt smaller digital entities and hand over near-monopolistic control over the advertising market to large corporations such as Google and Meta
The hit retail telecom business can’t do much for Jio Platforms’ success or valuation. With two data centres ready to launch, a 10-year Microsoft partnership is kicking in gear as Reliance begins to assemble the pieces of its crown jewel US$65B Jio Platforms
As the pandemic changed the nature of work, professional networking platform LinkedIn had to change itself, too. Like its other social media peers, it’s now doubling down on India’s Rs 900 crore (US$113 million) creator economy and striving for a new identity
VerSe’s latest US$800 million fundraise has stupefied the Indian startup ecosystem. The company claims industry-beating numbers—a 7X jump in revenue, monthly average users higher than that of Facebook, to name a few—to back its valuation. But are Dailyhunt and Josh really as big as parent VerSe says they are?
Indian microblogging site Koo’s moment to shine came last year when prominent ministers of the Indian government decided to join and endorse Koo—as part of a move to boycott Twitter. Now, Koo wants to grow on the back of Uttar Pradesh elections, but without appearing too… political
For Big Tech firms, public policy teams operate in the shadows to remove all obstacles to growth. In the past, this has even entailed pushing the boundaries of ethicality. As the stakes get higher and regulators get more aggressive though, the likes of Google, Facebook, and Amazon are ramping up their public policy teams and changing how they do business
Facebook struck gold when TikTok was forced out of India. But its winning formula for Instagram Reels, which sees upwards of six million videos uploaded daily, is now a narrative that exerts an outsized influence on India’s short video space
Disney+ Hotstar is planning for the worst—that it could lose its crown jewel, the Indian Premier League, which generates nearly 50% of its ad revenue in India. Up its sleeve is a revamped subscription strategy and a focus on original content
Amazon’s ad business is not only eating into the market share of rivals Google and Facebook, it’s also taking over Amazon Web Services’ role as the company’s hidden gem. And it’s doing so by using Google’s own pay-per-click strategy
It has been a year since Reliance rolled out JioMart in 200 cities, but things haven’t gone according to design. JioMart has stumbled in its plans to woo kiranas and is still a ways from becoming a full-fledged e-commerce store, even as it has made gains as an e-grocer
Despite scoring a US$2.1 billion valuation, the content moderation of Mohalla Tech—the parent firm of ShareChat and Moj—is still a work-in-progress. Heavily reliant on third-party contractors to monitor its 280 million users, Mohalla Tech’s approach to screening posts falls below global standards on both the tech and transparency fronts
The Reserve Bank of India wanted entities with new ideas to take digital payments beyond 100 million. Not only does it now have a pitched battle on its hands, but the consortiums scrambling for a licence want to duplicate existing payments products
Already a feature of the US investment scene, Southeast Asian alumni networks are now banding together to offer ‘smart’ capital to fledgeling startups. And the trailblazer is, ironically, Uber, which exited the region in 2018
Google tried and failed with a public WiFi play. Facebook is still in the game but has struggled to scale. A new government programme aims to rapidly scale public WiFi, but is it enough to make WiFi hotspots viable?
Big tech has big tie-ups with Indian telcos but other countries are trying to fend them off. As regulated telecom gets into bed with soon-to-be-regulated tech, profound changes are around the corner.
India is witnessing the emergence of a few “super corporations” that dominate across sectors, both on their own and in partnership with each other. This does not bode well for their current or potential competitors
Reliance Jio boasts the most mobile subscribers in the country, but its 4G-only network cuts it off from ~300 million 2G users. Desperate to convert them, Jio wants to get rid of India’s 2G networks altogether
A year ago it didn’t exist. Today it’s worth $65 billion. In 2 years, $103 billion. Can it deliver the cash flows?
There’s a reason Microsoft, Google, Facebook, and a host of PE investors lined up to invest billions in Jio Platforms. With a finger in every online pie, the company and its digital ecosystem could change India’s online space forever
In yet another pandemic downer, the Philippines is 18% short of its tax target for the first five months of this year. It’s now issued a reminder to online sellers—the one industry to see an uptick—to pony up taxes, or else...
WhatsApp Business—Facebook-owned WhatsApp's app for businesses—should've seen a surge during Covid as more customers choose to buy online. But in India, retailers on WhatsApp often prefer the regular consumer-facing app. Or, at least, they find themselves resorting to it
But does it still have the narrative?
Armed with data from mobile app analytics firms Apptopia and AppsFlyer, The Ken takes a closer look at TikTok, Zoom, Facebook, Grab, Agoda, and a bunch of new games that have recently made their way into phones in the region
Gojek’s fintech ambitions are super charged after it landed an investment from Facebook, PayPal and existing backers. Its GoPay payment service is now the centre of attention
One hour more than the global average. That's how much screen-time most people living in Southeast Asia get. The data reveals a fair bit: Facebook frenzy, a Chinese dark horse, Grab's stronghold, and more
There’s a palpable sense of fear following Covid-19. Businesses are spending less. VCs are waiting and watching. Startups have reported drops in their toplines ranging from 5% to 50% in under a week
WhatsApp payments is stuck at the RBI's door in India. Facebook's workaround? To open up conversational commerce on the messaging app for financial inclusion and rural services. Except for healthcare. After all, WhatsApp's willing 400 million active user base is ripe for the picking
Sanjay Gupta, the head of Hotstar parent Star and Disney, joins Google India next year. But he’s not the first Hotstar executive to jump to Big Tech in India—ex-CEO Ajit Mohan left to join Facebook in Jan. A recurring theme for Hotstar, and barely a coincidence
China’s Bytedance, the most-valued startup globally, is laying the groundwork for an edtech invasion of India. From hosting events to wooing edtech content creators, Bytedance’s emissary TikTok is leaving no stone unturned
India’s data centre market is set to explode as large conglomerates like Adani, realtors like Hiranandani and telco majors like Jio look to service Big Tech’s data storage needs. For now, they don’t mind the 60 govt permissions necessary or the lack of a data protection policy
Facebook’s new digital currency Libra is supposed to bring the convenience of digital payments to the world. Something which Modi, too, wants to do
For the company that runs TikTok, Helo and Vigo, India may very well be the battlefield where it proves why it’s the world’s most valuable startup
Margrethe Vestager, Dina Srinivasan and Lina Khan lit the antitrust debate on Big Tech and market dominance. Is the Indian regulator ready to listen?
India’s edtech space is crowded. Companies are jostling for screen time and user retention. Byju’s, the largest one, is ahead by miles. Their “fun-learning” videos and pedagogy have captured the market’s attention. But has the Byju’s magic actually worked?
Paytm has launched a subscription-based loyalty programme to hold on to its users, but there’s a lot that just doesn’t add up
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