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Rcube Projects to Launch Rs 120 Crore Mall in Noida, Plans Another in Delhi

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Rcube Projects to Launch Rs 120 Crore Mall in Noida, Plans Another in Delhi

Rcube Projects Pvt Ltd has committed Rs 120 crore to launch the Rcube Monad Mall in Noida, which spans 2,50,000 sq. ft. in GLA. 

In addition, the company plans to invest Rs 80 crore in another project in Pitam Pura, Delhi, covering 1,00,000 sq. ft. of space.

Project Official Explains Details of the Upcoming Mall

The mall’s layout allocates 40% of the space to Family Entertainment Centers (FEC) and Food & Beverage (F&B) outlets, while the remaining 60% is dedicated to retail, according to Anuj Malhan, founder of Rcube Projects Pvt Ltd, in an interview with ETRetail.

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In a statement, Malhan made the following comments: “It will take us at least one year to get the Noida mall at the sustaining level and post that we will be able to get our RoI. The mall runs on the lease model with a minimum guarantee and revenue share from the tenants”

Ambitious Targets & High Profile Brands Onboarded 

Housing around 80 brands, the mall expects to reach 90-95 occupancy by March next year. He further continued: “By April, we’ll be launching a mall loyalty program and once the mall is fully operational, we are expecting a footfall of 14,000 – 16,000 over the weekends and 8,000 – 9,000 over the weekdays,”

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The mall features a carefully curated mix of both national and international brands, including Lifestyle, Fab India, Modern Bazaar, Nestasia, and Home Stop, along with specialty stores such as Shoppers Stop Beauty, Metro Shoes, Dayal Opticals, Nykd by Nykaa, Sweet Dreams, and Bata. It also offers a variety of F&B chains like Starbucks, Blue Tokai, Miss Nora, Birch by Romeo Lane, Amritsari Express, and Haldiram. For entertainment, the mall includes MovieMax Edition and Funky Island, providing a complete shopping and leisure experience.

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Swiggy Expands Dineout with “Scenes” for Event Bookings at Partner Venues

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Swiggy Expands Dineout with “Scenes” for Event Bookings at Partner Venues

Foodtech giant Swiggy has launched a fascinating new service name “Scenes” offering customers to book events at their partner restaurants.  

A part of its “Dineout” offering, the service lets users book events, live music, events, celebrations etc at partner venues. 

Swiggy’s Scenes Joins a Growing List of New Services 

Swiggy’s latest offering joins a growing list of services developed by the company. This includes a recently released premium invite-only membership programme, One BLCK. Swiggy also launched its 10 minute food delivery service named Bolt a couple of months back. 

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This appears to be Swiggy’s first new initiative for its out-of-home consumption vertical in the past year. This vertical includes its exclusive events and experiences platform, Swiggy SteppinOut, as well as the restaurant reservations and booking service, Dineout. 

Swiggy’s Financials Paint a Positive Picture 

In Q2 FY25, Swiggy generated INR 60 crore in revenue from this vertical, marking a 71% increase from INR 35 crore in the same quarter last year. According to Swiggy’s investor presentation, the company expects its out-of-home consumption vertical to reach adjusted EBITDA break-even by the end of the current fiscal year. 

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The vertical’s losses shrank by 79%, falling to INR 9.26 crore from INR 44.34 crore in Q2 FY24. The adjusted EBITDA margin as a percentage of GOV improved to -1.3% in the latest quarter, compared to -8.8% in the previous year’s quarter.

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Uber Launches Moto Women in Bengaluru: A Women-Only Bike Ride Service

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Uber Launches Moto Women in Bengaluru: A Women-Only Bike Ride Service

Uber has launched a new service named Uber Moto Women in Bengaluru offering women only bike rides. 

This service would connect women drivers to women riders, and would thus address women safety and mobility concerns. 

Uber’s Moto Women Would Soon Scale Operations Across India 

The company intends to soon scale its operations to all major cities in India, as it sees great potential for it. The head of regional business operations of the company Abhishek Padhye told Business Standard: “For Uber, this is a global-first initiative. We don’t have such women-only products anywhere else in the world. We started with Bengaluru, as it is the largest market for bike-taxis. The city sees 5 million bike-taxi trips across all the platforms per month and this serves about a million riders and 100,000 drivers.”

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Explaining the rationale behind the first of its kind service in the world, he explained: “Last mile transportation is in huge short supply in Bengaluru. What we realised is that 30 per cent of our women riders were already taking bike-taxis. With Uber Moto Women, we’re not just offering a safer and more convenient ride option for women, but also empowering female drivers with the opportunity to earn flexibly in one of India’s fastest-growing mobility segments”. 

Moto Women Serves a Huge Untapped Market 

This service was launched after extensive consultation with women and a deep understanding of their safety and mobility concerns. 

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Bike taxies are super affordable, quick and a very attractive commuting option in major cities and this new women only service by Uber promises to cater to a huge untapped market. 

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Zomato’s Blinkit Launches Bistro to Challenge Zepto Cafe in the Quick Food Delivery Race

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Zomato’s Blinkit Launches Bistro to Challenge Zepto Cafe in the Quick Food Delivery Race

Zomato’s BlinkIt has launched a new service named Bistro, a food delivery application delivering snacks, and other like food items within 10 minutes. Bistro will take on existing brands like Zepto’s Cafe. 

Bistro is in its pilot phase and is only operational in select locations in Gurugram. It delivers food items like: meals, snacks, beverages like tea and coffee in 15 minutes. 

Zomato’s Bistro Takes on Zepto Cafe

This is Zomato’s second attempt at this category. Zomato’s previous attempt with Zomato Instant wasn’t successful. Launched in 2002, Zepto Cafe is rapidly expanding to various cities in India and in a recently made announcement Zepto stated that it would expand Cafe to 120 cities in the country, including Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Delhi NCR, Chennai, Pune.

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On the other hand Swiggy’s quick food delivery service Bolt was launched in September. Zepto’s co founder said: “We’re launching a separate app for Zepto Cafe next week! The team is shipping an MVP (minimum viable product) and iterating quickly, so it may not be perfect on Day 1, but it’s worth it to launch fast :D”

Zepto Cafe has Seen Phenomenal Growth 

Taking to LinkedIn, he further explained: “Zepto Cafe is scaling rapidly; we’re launching 100+ cafes a month and already clocking 30K+ orders/day”.  Zepto has been expanding exponentially and it has some impressive numbers to prove that. 

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Recently, co founder Aadit Palicha said: ”The response has been phenomenal, with Zepto Cafe now achieving an (estimated) Annual Run Rate (ARR) GMV of Rs 160 crore with just 15 per cent of our expanding dark store network with proven unit economics.” 

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Former Cleartrip CEO’s FirstClub Bags $8M to Disrupt Quick Commerce in India

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Former Cleartrip CEO’s FirstClub Bags $8M to Disrupt Quick Commerce in India

Former Cleartrip CEO Ayyappan R has secured $8 million in seed funding for his quick commerce startup FirstClub. The seed funding round was led by venture capital firms Accel and RTP Global. 

The said round also featured high profile investors including Flipkart founder Binny Bansal, Cred founder Kunal Shah, Myntra founder Mukesh Bansal, and Groww cofounder Lalit Keshre.

FirstClub Intends to be the Costco of India

The platform is said to go online sometime in mid 2025 in Bangalore. The CEO told ET: “We will probably have two-three experience centers in the first 12 months”. Dubbed as the “Costco for India” this ambitious venture will reportedly start with a subscription model. These funds will go into building the technology for the platform and for hiring talent. 

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CEO Ayyappan told ET: “The next set of retail evolution and disruption in the country is going to happen on the back of the kind of selection you offer to the consumer, similar to what has happened in the western retail markets over the last 20-30 years”. 

FirstClub’s Plan to Establish Itself 

The platform would launch with an offering of mass premium products belonging to categories like food, FMCG, bakery, dry fruits, dairy, and health and fitness supplements, all delivered within 30 minutes. FirstClub also reportedly intends to have an offline retail presence & in the future expand to categories like general merchandise, fashion, home products, and kids’ toys.

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FirstClub’s foray into quick commerce comes amidst a slew of high profile firms taking the plunge into the space, chief of which would be Amazon’s quick delivery service launching in Bangalore. 

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Bhuvan Bam Joins Peppy as Investor and Co-Founder

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Bhuvan Bam Joins Peppy as Investor and Co-Founder

Popular influencer and actor Bhuvan Bam has joined the popular sexual wellness brand Peppy as an investor and cofounder. 

The fast emerging brand was founded by entrepreneurs Devansh Agarwal and Shyamal Gupta last year. Currently valued at INR 50 crores, it plans to raise more money in the seed round. 

Bhuvan Bam Explains His Association with Peppy

Explaining the reasoning behind his association with the brand Bam said: “For me, Peppy represents an opportunity to drive a much-needed change in how sexual pleasure is perceived in India. While society has made significant changes in many areas, the taboo surrounding physical intimacy continues to hold people back.”

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He continued: “It prevents open and honest discussions on personal needs, highlighting the crucial need for creating spaces where open conversations can happen”. The angel investors included Bam, Rohit Raj, founder and CEO of BBKV Productions and Ruchi Gupta, among others. 

The Booming Sexual Wellness Market 

The global sexual wellness market is booming, with a projected value of $32.5 billion by 2033, according to Allied Market Research. This represents a 4.7% annual growth rate from 2024 to 2033, starting from a $20.6 billion valuation in 2023.

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India is also experiencing significant growth in this sector. The market, valued at $1.15 billion in 2020, is expected to reach $2.09 billion by 2030.

Founder Devansh Agarwal further opined: “Intimate wellness has often been brushed under the rug in India, but we cannot deny the fact that a fulfilling sex life is a crucial part of our overall happiness and well-being. With Bhuvan and Rohit’s signature creativity and knack for connecting with people, we’re breaking barriers and normalizing conversations around pleasure. Peppy is not just about products; we’re about revolutionizing the way India thinks about intimate happiness”. 

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Sneaker Platform Culture Circle Raises $2M

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Sneaker Platform Culture Circle Raises $2M

Sneaker centric e-commerce platform Culture Circle has raised $2 million in funding in a round led by Info Edge Ventures. Angel investors also participated in the same. 

This capital would be super useful for the startup to scale its operations globally, enhance technology and solidify its position as a rising e-commerce player. 

Culture Circle’s Expanding Footprint 

Culture Circle operates a luxury e-commerce platform which boasts more than 3,500 sellers and 35 lakh listings. Apart from sneakers it also deals in streetwear and luxury fashion items like bags, blazers, backpacks, cardholders, among others. 

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Major brands that the platform deals in are Nike, Yeezy, Dior, Supreme, Common Projects, and Louis Vuitton. Based in Delhi NCR, the company recently expanded its operations in foreign jurisdictions including Qatar, Oman, the UAE, Singapore, the UK, and Thailand. 

Founder Devansh Jain Naval told Inc42: “When we launched the platform in January this year, our goal was to be the best in India for sneakers, streetwear, and high luxury. We believe we achieved that. Now, our benchmark is to be the best globally – offering the largest collection, best prices, and guaranteed authenticity. We’re competing with global players like StockX and GOAT, and honestly, our user experience is arguably better (than them)” 

The Expanding Business of Culture Circle

Currently, sneakers and footwear make up the bulk of the startup’s revenue, contributing 60%. Apparel follows at 30%, and accessories round out the remaining 10%. The startup operates on an inventory-free model, earning commissions of 9% to 30% on every sale made through its platform.

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Nawal shared that Culture Circle generated Rs 2.2 crore in revenue during its first three months of operation in early 2024. The startup is now aiming to achieve a revenue of Rs 50 crore for the entire fiscal year 2025.

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Tech Titans Unite: Elon Musk and Sundar Pichai Discuss Quantum Innovation and Space Exploration

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Tech Titans Unite: Elon Musk and Sundar Pichai Discuss Quantum Innovation and Space Exploration

Two of the brightest minds in technology had a hearty exchange about major issues including quantum computing, space exploration, and future energy solutions. 

Musk seemed amazed with Sundar Pichai’s description of Google’s new Willow quantum chip that pushes boundaries of current technology. The exchange on X was fascinating and touched upon a broad spectrum of topics. 

A Fascinating Exchange between the Heads of Google & Tesla

Pichai posted an impressive description of Google’s new Willow quantum chip on X, and Musk responded with “wow”. To this, the Google CEO pitched a futuristic collaboration: “We should do a quantum cluster in space with Starship one day.” The Tesla CEO seemed confident in its inevitability: “That will probably happen”. 

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The conversation flew on to a philosophical note, and Musk wrote ”Any self-respecting civilisation should at least reach Kardashev Type II. In my opinion, we are currently only at..”, Pichai seemed to be in complete agreement to this and he wrote: “We should scale solar so much more. Amazing that we keep looking at alternatives when the most obvious path is staring at our eyes, literally!”

Netizens Celebrate the Cordial Exchange 

This fascinating intellectual back and forth between the two titans of technology was celebrated by netizens, who loved the honest and friendly exchange between the two. 

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On the other hand Alphabet, saw its share price rise by about 5% following the announcement of its latest quantum computing chip, Willow. Google has been at the cutting edge of technological and computing innovation and this latest move seems to only reinforce its position as an industry leader. 

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Elon Musk Backs Trump’s Proposal for Expedited Permits, But Environmentalists Push Back

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Elon Musk Backs Trump’s Proposal for Expedited Permits, But Environmentalists Push Back

The president elect of the United States, Donald Trump announced a fascinating new scheme for investors and businesses. He said companies that invest $1 billion or more in the US would get fully expedited permits & environmental approvals. 

This proposal targets energy projects related to natural gas pipelines, export terminals, solar farms, and offshore wind turbines. 

President Elect Trump’s Exciting Proposal

Taking to X (formerly twitter), Trump said: “Anyone making a $1 billion investment in the U.S. will receive fully expedited approvals and permits, including, but in no way limited to, all environmental approvals.” He got a resounding approval from Tesla CEO Elon Musk. 

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This comes across as a great relief to businesses who had been critical of the lengthy processes associated with environmental assessments mandated by the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). The agency is currently mandated to conduct analysis on the environmental impacts of proposed projects. 

Harsh Criticism from Environment Protection Groups 

However, President Trump’s plan was met with fierce opposition and resistance from environmental groups including Evergreen Action, a Washington-based organisation. They alleged that this move violates the NEPA and prioritises wealthy corporations over public welfare. 

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Alexandra Adams, chief policy advocacy officer at the Natural Resources Defense Council cautioned the President elect, arguing: “What if someone wants to build a waste incinerator next to Mar-a-Lago or a coal mine next to Bedminster golf course?” On the other hand, the proposal has its set of proponents like Musk who champion it as a great measure. 

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Meta’s Yann LeCun: The Real AI Revolution is Still Ahead, and Global Cooperation is Key

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Meta’s Yann LeCun: The Real AI Revolution is Still Ahead, and Global Cooperation is Key

 

A thought leader in AI & Meta’s Chief AI Scientist Yann LeCun opined that the real AI revolution is still yet to come. 

Speaking at the prestigious 2024 K-Science and Technology Global Forum in Seoul, hosted by South Korea’s science ministry, he gave several thought provoking remarks about the current state of AI and its future. 

The Future of AI & the Need for Global Cooperation 

In a riveting speech, he said: “The real AI revolution has not yet arrived, In the near future, every single one of our interactions with the digital world will be mediated by AI assistants”. He also warned against premature regulation of the AI industry which is in its early stages, warning that it could stifle innovation and creativity. 

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He also discussed how generative AI models like ChatGPT have their inherent limitations: “LLMs can deal with language because it is simple and discrete, but it cannot deal with the complexity of the real world”

On AI Governance and Regulation 

In answer to the aforementioned problem/ limitation, he talked about Meta’s research into a new AI architecture capable of observing and learning from the physical world. This could potentially revolutionise the AI landscape. 

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Advocating for Global AI collaboration and cooperation, he said” We can’t have a single entity somewhere on the West Coast of the United States train those models”. However, he warned about the dangers of excessive and premature AI regulation, “Regulation can kill open source”. He emphasised the need for avoiding restrictive laws and regulations that could stifle innovation. Concerns about the risks posed by AI should not hinder the development of Artificial Intelligence technologies. 

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