Chinese investors have a growing interest in the Indian market due to its vast number of consumers who are hungry for tech products and services. On a related note, the 2017 BRICS summit was held last week in China’s southern coastal city, Xiamen. Among the summit’s aims was the continued economic integration of the five member countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa).
These 5 Indian tech startups received noteworthy investment from China’s giant internet companies this year and last year.
1. Flipkart (e-commerce)
Founder: Binny Bansal and Sachin Bansal
Founded in: 2007
E-commerce platform Flipkart raised USD 1.4 billion from Chinese internet giant Tencent, along with Microsoft and eBay in April.
Flipkart is one of India’s largest e-commerce marketplaces with over 100 million registered users. In the 10 years since its inception, Flipkart has come to offer over 80 million products across about 80 categories including smartphones, books, media, consumer electronics, furniture, fashion, and lifestyle items.
Flipkart is known for offering services like cash-on-delivery, no cost equated monthly installments (EMI), and a 10-day replacement policy. Yet, the startup is perhaps most notable for guaranteed one-day delivery of goods across 50 cities and same-day-delivery across 13 cities. The company claims to have 100,000 registered sellers on the platform.
2. Paytm (fintech)
Founder:Vijay Shekhar Sharma
Founded in: 2010
Online payment startup Paytm received USD 200 million from China’s Alibaba Group and SAIF Partners in March.
Paytm is India’s largest mobile payments and e-commerce platform. It started with online mobile recharge services and bill payments and now has a large scale online marketplace. The startup has scaled to over 250 million registered users. Paytm is the consumer brand of India’s leading mobile internet company One97 Communications. One97’s investors include SoftBank, SAIF Partners, Alibaba Group, Ant Financial (Alipay), and Mediatek. Paytm’s partners include India’s main telecom players Airtel, Vodafone, etc.
The Paytm Wallet application enables users to book air tickets and taxis, top up their mobiles, and make broadband and electricity bill payments, etc. A wide range of products can be purchased from Paytm in categories including electronics, home appliances, mobile phones, and clothing — all with a good cashback scheme for users. Booking bikes, cars, and digital gold have been recently added in 2017.
3. Practo (healthcare)
Founder: Shashank ND and Abhinav Lal
Founded in: 2008
Health-tech platform Practo landed USD 55 million for Series D round of funding led by Chinese internet giant Tencent in January.
Practo is an online healthcare platform that connects patients with healthcare providers around the world and helps people make better healthcare decisions. Practo provides a one-stop solution helping consumers with all their healthcare needs. It offers services like finding a healthcare provider, booking an appointment, online doctor consultation, patient tests, and even ordering medicines.
Practo also makes software products that help healthcare providers ranging from clinics to hospitals digitize and deliver more efficient healthcare to patients.
4. BYJU’s (edtech)
Founder: Byju Raveendran
Founded in: 2015
Education tech startup Byju’s secured USD 40 million from Chinese internet conglomerate Tencent in July.
Byju’s created India’s largest K-12 learning app, which offers learning programs for students in grades 4-12 and competitive exams like JEE, NEET, CAT, IAS, GRE, and GMAT. The startup uses geography-agnostic learning tools that sit at the cross section of mobile and interactive content with adaptive learning methodologies. The learning app utilizes original content, animations, interactive simulations, and engaging video lessons from selected teachers.
The startup reports to have over 7 million downloads, 3.3 lakh (INR 330,000) in annual paid subscriptions, and a growth rate of 30,000 students every month. The startup also claims that students spend an average of 40 minutes on the app every day, and that their renewal rates are as high as 90%.
5. Hike Messenger (social network)
Founder: Kavin Bharti Mitta
Founded in: 2012
Messaging app Hike closed USD 175 million in a funding round led by Chinese internet giant Tencent and manufacturing firm Foxconn in August 2016.
Hike is a mobile messenger platform. Launched in 2012, it is a leading Indian internet startup and the main rival of WhatsApp in India. Hike claims to exchange 40 billion messages per month between its 100 million users. The startup reports that users normally spend over 120 minutes per week on Hike. Hike was cited by Softbank as one of its best performing portfolio companies in India.
(Top photo from Pixabay)