UC Founders Rolling In Cash, Q-Commerce In The AI Age & More

Urban Company Founders’ INR 779 Cr Payday

The founders of IPO-bound Urban Company are rolling in cash. The three cofounders — Abhiraj Bhal, Varun Khaitan, and Raghav Chandra – cumulatively sold shares worth INR 779 Cr ahead of the company filing its DRHP. However, the trio still jointly hold a 20.1% stake in the company.

Not just the founders, backers Bessemer, Accel and Tiger Global have exited partially, cumulatively selling shares worth INR 615 Cr in the run-up to the IPO. 

Buyers Made A Beeline: The shares were lapped up by existing backers Prosus Ventures, Dharana Capital, Think Investments, and others. Besides, Swiggy cofounder and Group CEO Sriharsha Majety acquired Urban Company shares worth INR 88 Lakh. 

IPO Dream In A Snapshot: Just a day ago, the hyperlocal services startup filed its DRHP for an INR 1,900-Cr IPO, which will comprise a fresh issue of shares worth INR 429 Cr and an OFS component worth INR 1,471 Cr. 

The Profit Card: What could attract retail investors is the profitable show of the company in the first nine months of FY25. Urban Company reported a consolidated net profit of INR 242.6 Cr in the first nine months of FY25 due to a deferred tax gain and a 41% YoY surge in operating revenue to INR 846 Cr. 

But, concerns remain over volatile broader markets, high employee expenses and tax notices totalling INR 51 Cr in various states for non-payment of taxes and availing excess input tax credit. 

With the ball now in SEBI’s court, the spotlight is on Urban Company’s founders and the windfall they’ve pocketed ahead of the much-anticipated IPO. Here’s a breakdown of how much money the cofounders and investors made.

From The Editor’s Desk00

Quick Commerce In The AI Age: Quick commerce platforms are embedding AI across the stack, from GenAI-powered ads and content to predictive logistics and customer retention, to move beyond speed as the only differentiator. But who will win the race in the age of AI.

Inside Blue Tokai’s 4-Point Strategy: Blue Tokai Coffee Roasters is redefining Indian coffee with farm-sourced beans, standardised cafés, and innovative FMCG products. With 150+ outlets and strong D2C traction, it’s eyeing INR 1,000 Cr ARR by FY27 and a future IPO.

The Souled Store Buys Redwolf: The D2C fashion brand has acquired the clothing brand to leverage the latter’s expertise in creative and pop culture-inspired clothing. Redwolf’s founders will now join The Souled Store’s leadership team.

Medial To Raise $5 Mn From OG Capital: The Bengaluru-based networking platform is in final talks to raise $4 Mn to $5 Mn in Series A round from existing backer OG Capital and two other VC firms. Medial helps founders, investors and professionals connect and collaborate.

Ather IPO Day 2: The EV maker’s IPO was subscribed 28% on the second day of bidding, led by strong interest from its employees. Of the 1 Lakh shares reserved for employees, the company’s workforce bid for 3.18 Lakh shares, while the retail quota was oversubscribed 1.12X. 

IndiaMART Q4 Profit Zooms 81%: The B2B marketplace’s consolidated net profit zoomed 81% to INR 180.6 Cr in Q4 FY25 from INR 99.6 Cr in the year-ago quarter. Meanwhile, revenue from operations surged nearly 13% YoY to INR 355.1 Cr. 

ED Probes Amazon, Flipkart: The Enforcement Directorate has asked Apple and Xiaomi to share sales data and other documents as part of its probe into the two ecommerce platforms. ED is probing whether the players broke the law by controlling inventory and influencing pricing. 

NPCI’s Diktat To Banks: In view of the multiple UPI outages in the past few months, the payments body has directed banks to monitor and moderate a high number of API requests to UPI, especially to “check transaction status”.

Inc42 Startup Spotlight

Astrogate Labs Pushes Laser Tech For Faster Space Data Transmission?

As the number of satellites in orbit continues to increase, traditional radio frequency (RF) communication systems are failing to handle the large volumes of data transmitted by modern satellites, creating a bottleneck in space communication.

Founded in 2017, spacetech startup Astrogate Labs is solving this communication bottleneck with its optical satcom technology. 

Astrogate’s Solution: Using laser-based systems, the startup enables data transfer speeds up to 100 times faster than RF, targeting small satellites (CubeSats). Astrogate’s technology, which allows data transmission rates of 1 Gbps over 1,000 km, could scale to 10 Gbps in the future.

The Market Opportunity: The global optical satellite communication market is expected to exceed $5 Bn by 2030, offering significant opportunities for Astrogate Labs, especially in government and defence contracts. Its collaboration with ISRO and the Indian Navy also positions it to capitalise on India’s large satellite constellations.

What Lies Ahead? It plans to have its tech in space by the end of 2025. It is also setting up optical ground stations in Australia and the Middle East, and is also working to develop inter-satellite terminals for laser-based communication. With the groundwork to transform the rapidly growing spacetech industry in place, can Astrogate lead the way in revolutionising satellite communication?