Myntra has acqui-hired Cubeit, a Bangalore-based tech startup focused on content aggregation on mobile. Post acquisition, the entire team of Cubeit will join Myntra. The amount and other terms of the deal remain undisclosed.
The step aims at further strengthening Myntra’s technology team. Myntra had also acquired tech startups Native 5 (May, 2015) and Fitiquette (April, 2013).
Shamik Sharma, Chief Product & Technology Officer, Myntra, said, “Technology is at the core of our operations and we are looking at leveraging it to further enhance customer experience through social and community interactions on our platforms. We have always been on the lookout for quality talent and the Cubeit team brings with it the expertise and experience to help strengthen our offerings.”
Cubeit was founded in 2014 by Sarthak Jain, Nithinkumar Gadiparthi, and Prathamesh Juvatkar. It was running in private beta since last year and came out of stealth mode this year only. In September 2014, it raised seed funding of $3 Mn from Accel Partners and Helion Venture Partners. It is also backed by – IIT Gandhinagar, and Asha Jadeja (Silicon Valley investor).
The startup aims at making content collection, organisation and sharing easier by allowing users to aggregate content from any given location. The user can access multiple apps, as per the requirement, through a smart interface, and can share the same with individuals or groups. Its services are mainly utilised in indoor locations such as malls, museums and airports. As of March 2016, the company was working with 2000 users.
Sarthak Jain, co-founder & CEO, Cubeit, said, “We are excited to embark upon this new adventure that allows us to learn and test our capabilities as we move along. Myntra offers us the opportunity to leverage our skills and further build upon a very strong technological base.”
Myntra, after its failed attempt of going app-only, seems to be planning something more interesting and reliable this time. This is Myntra’s third technology acqui-hire in a row. Also, Myntra is one of the strong contenders for acquisition of Jabong. If that works out, with Myntra, Flipkart and Jabong together, we can anticipate a war against Amazon, which is on a aggressive growth path in Indian market.
