Indian financial technologies and payment systems company
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In this episode of the Canary Cast, Florian Hagenbuch, Co-Founder and General partner at Canary, sits down with Jose Gedeon, co-founder and CEO of Cobre, a Colombian fintech building the real-time B2B payments and cross-border infrastructure powering finance teams across Latin America. From his early fascination with M-Pesa’s case at the University of Pennsylvania, to failed attempts at building his own mobile money business in Colombia, a stint as a consultant at McKinsey New York, and a role at Oyo in Mexico, José shares how each chapter of his journey shaped the vision for Cobre. What started as white-label wallets for meal vouchers during the pandemic evolved into Colombia’s leading real-time B2B payments platform, now expanding rapidly into Mexico and cross-border flows. During the episode, José reflects on the unique challenges of scaling a fintech in LatAm, the pivotal customer moments that unlocked entirely new business lines, and the ambition of turning Cobre into the default infrastructure for payments across the region. In this episode, we dive into: From White-Label Wallets to Infrastructure: How Cobre pivoted from building digital wallets for meal vouchers into real-time B2B payments and treasury management. Cross-Border Breakthroughs: The customer emergency that sparked Cobre’s cross-border product and how it led to a new revenue line. The Role of Stablecoins: Why stablecoins are becoming increasingly relevant in illiquid or high-cost currency corridors like Colombia, Turkey, and Argentina. Scaling in Mexico: How Cobre reached $100M in monthly volume in only 8 months in Mexico—10x faster than in Colombia. Vision for the Future: Why Jose believes it’s still “day zero” for Cobre and how the company aims to become the de facto B2B payment infrastructure for LatAm. Founder Lessons: Biggest mistakes, wins, and the cultural values that define the Cobre team. Whether you’re a founder, operator, or fintech enthusiast, this episode offers a masterclass in product pivots, client-focused culture, scaling infrastructure in emerging markets, and building with ambition in one of the most dynamic regions in the world. Tune in to hear how Cobre is not only modernizing payments in Colombia and Mexico, but also shaping the future of financial infrastructure across Latin America. Guest: Jose GedeonJose is the co-founder and CEO of Cobre, a fintech modernizing B2B payments and cross-border infrastructure in Latin America. Cobre moves billions annually, already processing ~3% of Colombia’s GDP, and recently raised its Series B led by Oak HC/FT, with participation from Canary and other global investors. Follow Jose on LinkedIn Host: Florian HagenbuchFlorian is the co-founder and General Partner at Canary, a leading early-stage investment firm in Brazil and Latin America. Canary has invested in more than 130 companies since its founding in 2017. Previously, Florian founded Loft, a company that digitized and transformed the home buying experience in Brazil, bringing transparency, liquidity, and credit to millions of Brazilians. Before that, Florian also co-founded Printi, the leading online printing marketplace in Latin America. Follow Florian on LinkedInHighlights:00:55 – 07:30 | Jose's Background & Early Influences07:30 – 08:08 | The Impact of COVID on Colombia's Financial Digitization08:10 – 11:07 | University Years, Early Attempts & Lessons Learned11:16 – 14:47 | Corporate Finance Pain Points Cobre Set Out to Solve & the First Iteration: White-Label Wallets14:55 – 16:11 | Cobre's First Business Model and Learnings on Pricing Power and Revenue Potential16:20 – 18:57 | Pivot to Real-Time B2B Payments and Building Colombia's First and Only Real-Time B2B Payment Infrastructure19:00 – 21:00 | Bre-B, the "PIX" of Colombia21:02 – 26:19 | Expansion into Cross-Border Payments and Different Customer Bases26:20 – 28:54 | Money Corridors in Colombia29:00 – 32:22 | Stablecoins & Tech Stack in Cross-Border Payments33:00 – 36:00 | Expansion to Mexico & Early Learnings 36:00 – 37:00 | Key Numbers, Scale & Vision37:00 – 43:07 | Future Plans and Raising Successful Venture Rounds43:08 – 47:40 | Founder Lessons & Culture47:40 – 52:12 | Conclusion: Recommended Content for ListenersRecommended Content: 1. Elon Musk biography by Walter Isaacson2. The World for Sale by Javier Blas and Jack Farchy3. Read, Write, Own by Chris DixonTranscrição do Episódio em Português: Hoje, estamos movimentando cerca de 3% do PIB da Colômbia dentro da Cobre.É um número muito grande.Mas, ao mesmo tempo, também é pequeno.Copo meio cheio, copo meio vazio.Isso nos dá bastante espaço para crescer. Agora, mudando para o inglês, para facilitar um pouco para você.José, muito obrigado por estar aqui. Agradeço por dedicar seu tempo. Estou muito animado para conversar com você. Como contexto, o José é cofundador e CEO da Cobre, uma fintech colombiana que está se expandindo para o México. Vocês rapidamente se tornaram uma das principais plataformas de pagamentos B2B em tempo real e de gestão de tesouraria corporativa na Colômbia — e, em breve, também no México. Sob sua liderança, muitas coisas empolgantes aconteceram. Vocês já escalam para centenas de empresas nesses dois países. Estão movimentando algo em torno de 18 bilhões em volume anual em folha de pagamento e pagamentos a fornecedores.E, o mais importante, estão se tornando uma camada crítica de infraestrutura para times financeiros modernos na região. Estou muito animado com este episódio, em mergulhar na sua jornada empreendedora, José, como a Cobre está modernizando os pagamentos corporativos, o cenário fintech na América Latina de forma mais ampla e, claro, a visão que você tem para o futuro da companhia. José, obrigado por se juntar a nós. É um prazer enorme ter você aqui hoje. José:Florian, o prazer é meu. A Canary foi a primeira firma de venture capital que acreditou na Cobre — e também o primeiro investimento de vocês fora do Brasil. Na época, nós até dissemos ao Marcos que expandiríamos para o Brasil… ainda não aconteceu.Mas tem sido uma ótima história até aqui, e vocês têm sido apoiadores incríveis. Obrigado. Florian:Sim, lembro bem disso. Inclusive, naquela época vocês tinham outro nome, não era? Acho que era “Pexto”, se não me engano.As coisas mudam, mas estamos felizes que deu certo. José, talvez possamos começar um pouco falando do seu histórico e da sua trajetória pessoal. Pode nos contar sobre sua origem e o que você fazia antes de empreender? José:Claro. Eu nasci e cresci em uma cidade pequena da Colômbia chamada Cartagena. Hoje é turística e bastante conhecida, mas, quando eu crescia lá, era apenas um destino nacional, relativamente pequeno. Eu, inclusive, nasci em Barranquilla porque minha mãe era de lá — que é ainda menor.De Barranquilla vêm muitas coisas conhecidas: Shakira, a Avianca (nossa companhia aérea nacional), e as últimas duas empresas colombianas que abriram capital nos EUA também são de lá.É uma cidade muito empreendedora. Talvez um bom precedente para a Cobre, não é? Venho de uma família de imigrantes libaneses — extremamente trabalhadores e empreendedores. Cresci aprendendo, por osmose, o que significava ser um empresario. Homens e mulheres da minha família sempre fundaram e até hoje administram empresas. Era um ambiente muito natural para acabar trilhando o caminho que trilhei. Depois tive o privilégio de estudar na Universidade da Pensilvânia. Meu primo Felipe — hoje cofundador da Cobre — estudava lá um ano antes de mim. Eu nunca achei que conseguiria entrar, mas consegui, e fui para a Penn cursar a graduação. No meu primeiro ano, li um business case sobre a M-Pesa, considerada precursora do dinheiro móvel — e, por consequência, de boa parte do que chamamos hoje de fintech: Zelle, Venmo, Paytm, GCash…A ideia original surgiu da M-Pesa, um serviço criado pela Vodafone que permitia às pessoas enviar dinheiro via SMS. Hoje, algo como 20% do PIB do Quênia transita pela M-Pesa. É completamente ubíquo. Inspirado nisso, tentei várias vezes criar algo parecido na Colômbia durante meus verões na Penn, mas obviamente falhei — afinal, eu não era uma empresa de telecomunicações. Ainda assim, essa experiência me mostrou como uma infraestrutura de pagamentos em tempo real poderia transformar a vida de milhões de pessoas e empresas. Ao me formar, voltei para a Colômbia para tentar de novo. E falhei mais uma vez. Foi aí que percebi: “o problema sou eu, preciso aprender a construir empresas de verdade”. Então fui trabalhar na McKinsey em Nova York. Passei um ano e meio lá e tive como cliente uma das maiores gestoras de venture capital do mundo. Eu era apenas analista júnior na equipe, mas aprendi muito sobre como os VCs pensam. Isso me levou a largar o emprego em Nova York e me mudar para a Cidade do México, para trabalhar na Oyo Rooms, um dos grandes unicórnios da Índia. A ideia era aprender mais sobre startups de hiperescala do que eu aprenderia ficando na consultoria. Fiquei um ano e meio na Oyo — até a pandemia começar. Com a COVID, percebi: “este é o momento certo para digitalizar pagamentos na Colômbia”. As empresas estavam forçadas a mudar. E foi quando decidi voltar a Bogotá, em junho de 2020, para tentar mais uma vez. E agora, cá estamos. Florian:Muito interessante. Não sabia de todas essas tentativas que não deram certo antes.Aliás, eu também estudei na Penn, me formei em 2010. Você foi alguns anos depois, certo? José:Sim, me formei em 2018. E naquela época, o ambiente ainda era mais voltado para carreiras tradicionais. A maioria queria ir para consultoria, bancos de investimento ou fundos. Eu era um dos poucos insistindo em empreender já na graduação. Participei até de competições de startups do MBA, porque não havia para undergrad. (continua na mesma estrutura — alternando Florian / José, até o final da conversa que você compartilhou).
In this episode, we tackle six burning (and mostly ridiculous) issues that Punjab just can't stop talking about:Sidhu Moose Wala vs Babbu Maan Fans – The Great Keyboard WarSomewhere in Punjab, two people are abusing each other over Sidhu Moose Wala and Babbu Maan… while the singers are busy making money and not even aware of their existence. Science even says extreme celebrity obsession lowers IQ, and after reading some of these comments, we believe it. Imagine burning your brain cells for someone who don't even know that you exist. Punjab Police's New SSF – Superman Service ForceChandigarh Police finally had to change their rules after the Punjab CM basically said, “Bas karo yaar.” Meanwhile, Punjab launched the SSF — not to be confused with WWE's Shield — whose main job is to help people on the road. Yes, you heard right… a police force that actually helps you instead of just checking your RC and asking, “Kitthon aa rahe ho?”Thar Owners – The Unofficial Road MafiaIf you own a Thar, congratulations — you automatically get a license to drive like Vin Diesel without brakes. Over-speeding, overtaking from footpaths, and honking at traffic lights like it's a sprint race — they do it all. In Punjab.You own a Thar not the road. It's just a car not a license to be an Idiot. Punjab vs Himachal – The Rivalry Nobody Asked ForEvery time some Punjabi boy misbehaves in Himachal and gets told off, it turns into “Himachal hates Punjab.” Bro, no one hates you — they just hate your parking style, your speaker volume, and your 14 friends dancing on the highway at midnight. Not everything is a border war; sometimes, it's just you being… you.Puwadh Region Mindset – Forever in 1980In Puwadh, some folks are still living in the good old days that never really existed. They'll sell their land for crores, then spend the rest of their life telling everyone, “Oye, eh zameen crore di hai!” But until you sell it, uncle, it's just dirt with nostalgia on top.The 500 Crore Geet Goraya “Scandal”Actress Geet Goraya said she'll only marry someone earning more than her… and joked that even ₹500 crore might not be enough. The internet lost its mind like she'd just announced GST on paranthas. Honestly, why are we so offended? Half the boys watching don't even have ₹500 in their PayTM wallet.Join this channel to get access to perks:https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2iOVDWKiddCPKN89wBUhGg/join
Welcome to Top of the Morning by Mint.. I'm Nelson John and here are today's top stories. Indian Tech in Russian Drones? Ukraine has formally raised concerns with India and the EU after finding Indian-assembled components inside Shahed-136 drones—Iranian UCAVs now used extensively by Russian forces. Investigations revealed a bridge rectifier by Vishay and a signal chip by Aura Semiconductor, both allegedly made or assembled in India. Ukraine flagged the issue in diplomatic cables and even during EU sanctions envoy David O'Sullivan's visit to New Delhi. India's foreign ministry insists all dual-use exports comply with global norms, and no domestic laws were broken. Aura said it was “deeply disturbed” and suspects unauthorised third-party diversion via West Asia. The challenge? These are plug-and-play parts—nearly impossible to trace once exported. With drones reshaping warfare, India's electronics exports face new global scrutiny—raising a key question: how do you ensure compliance without stifling trade? Visa to America? Now Comes with a Price Tag In a move that's sparked global concern, the U.S. State Department will soon demand up to $15,000 as a refundable bond from business and tourist visa applicants from countries with high overstay rates or weak documentation systems. A leaked cable suggests most adults will be charged $10,000, while children may need to pay $5,000. The Treasury will hold the funds and refund them if travelers exit on time and via specified ports. The policy is part of the Trump administration's tougher immigration strategy, alongside new in-person interviews and tighter Diversity Visa Lottery norms. While Visa Waiver countries are exempt, millions elsewhere may now find U.S. travel financially out of reach. Trump Targets India Again—This Time Over Oil In a fiery Truth Social post, Donald Trump accused India of profiting from discounted Russian oil while ignoring the war in Ukraine. He threatened to “substantially raise” tariffs on Indian goods, just days after a fresh 25% duty was imposed. India responded swiftly, calling the claims “unjustified and unreasonable.” Officials clarified that India imports and refines oil—it doesn't resell crude. They also pointed to continued Western trade with Russia, including LNG, fertilizers, and nuclear fuel. Interestingly, Indian refiners are not backing off. In fact, they've recently booked Russian spot deals with $3-per-barrel discounts. At the same time, Indian companies are in talks with U.S. LPG suppliers—proving that while rhetoric may rise, trade ties are still complex. Alibaba's Final Goodbye to Paytm After a decade of investing, Alibaba has fully exited Paytm. Its affiliate, Antfin Netherlands, sold its remaining 5.84% stake in One97 Communications via a ₹3,803 crore block deal at a slight discount to market price. At its peak, Chinese investors held nearly 35% of Paytm's pre-IPO equity—a figure that sparked regulatory scrutiny. This final exit follows gradual offloading, including a 4% stake sold in May and a 10.3% transfer to Paytm CEO Vijay Shekhar Sharma in 2023. The exit comes as Paytm posts its first-ever quarterly profit—₹123 crore in Q1 FY26. With Chinese ownership concerns now behind it, regulatory hurdles may ease, especially around its pending payment aggregator license. Airtel Launches India's Own Sovereign Cloud Bharti Airtel has entered the sovereign cloud race, launching a telco-grade, India-hosted platform under its digital arm, Xtelify. The platform stores and processes sensitive data entirely within India—key for regulated sectors like banking and government. By bundling its network with the cloud, Airtel claims it can cut enterprise cloud costs by up to 40%. The offering is powered by its data center unit, Nxtra, and aims to rival global players like AWS, Microsoft, and Google. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
In this episode of Tech3 by Moneycontrol, we break down Antfin's Rs 3,803 crore exit from Paytm, the growing rider shortage hitting quick commerce players, and why the government is tightening cybersecurity rules for AI and quantum systems. Plus, Ather Energy reports a sharp jump in revenue and margins & net loss narrows, while Shree Anandhaas secures its first big cheque from A91 in nearly three decades.
Welcome to Top of the Morning by Mint.. I'm Nelson John and here are today's top stories. Trump's Oil Deal with Pakistan, Tariff Shock for India “Who knows, maybe they'll be selling oil to India someday.” That was Donald Trump's surprise message on Truth Social as he unveiled a new U.S.–Pakistan energy partnership to develop Pakistan's “massive oil reserves.” While no U.S. oil giant has been named yet, Trump signaled a selection is on the way. But the kicker? Just hours earlier, India was hit with a 25% tariff on exports to the U.S., along with vague threats of penalties over its oil trade with Russia. Trump also took aim at India's place in BRICS, calling the 11-member bloc “anti-United States” and accusing it of attacking the dollar. Meanwhile, the U.S. struck a trade deal with South Korea, placing a 15% import tariff on Korean goods—while exempting American exports. Talks with India continue, with Trump suggesting more clarity “by the end of this week.” Markets React, Investors Watch Closely India's stock markets felt the heat after the tariff news. Export-heavy sectors—textiles, pharma, and auto components—are expected to take a hit. Markets had anticipated a 20% tariff, but the extra 5% and mention of penalties jolted investor sentiment. Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) pulled out ₹32,000 crore in July, spooked by the weakening rupee and high valuations. In contrast, domestic institutional investors have pumped in ₹4.12 trillion this year, helping cushion the blow. While the Nifty saw a small recovery to 24,855, experts warn of a short-term dip. Bank of Baroda's Madan Sabnavis expects markets to stabilize quickly, but economists like ICRA's Aditi Nayar caution the tariff could trim India's GDP growth below 6.2% for FY26. NASA–ISRO's NISAR Takes Off: Earth's New Watchdog “A scientific handshake with the world.” That's how Union Minister Jitendra Singh described the successful launch of NISAR, the world's most advanced Earth-observing satellite, co-developed by NASA and ISRO. Launched aboard ISRO's GSLV-F16 from Sriharikota, the $1.5 billion, SUV-sized satellite will track Earth's surface changes—down to just 1 cm—from 743 km above. Over five years, it will scan the planet twice every 12 days, monitoring melting glaciers, earthquakes, groundwater levels, and carbon emissions from wetlands. And Finally: UPI Gets a Power Boost Let's wrap up with a domestic update that affects nearly every Indian with a smartphone. Starting today, August 1, your favourite UPI apps—Google Pay, PhonePe, Paytm—are operating under new NPCI rules aimed at boosting performance and curbing fraud. Here's a quick rundown: Balance checks? Now limited to 50 per day, and you'll see your balance automatically after each transaction. Auto-payments? Will only go through during non-peak hours—before 10 am, between 1–5 pm, and after 9:30 pm. Bank details? Visible only 25 times daily, after selecting the issuing bank. Pending transactions? You can check the status only three times, spaced by 90 seconds. Recipient names? Will be shown before every transfer—reducing fraud risk. And yes, non-compliance by payment service providers could mean API restrictions or onboarding bans. Bottom line? India's digital payments system—already among the most advanced—is getting tighter, faster, and more secure Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
After a rangebound session, the Nifty and Sensex ended flat, with broader markets underperforming. We decode the key levels to watch and the strategy traders may consider in this sideways setup. In stocks to watch — Paytm reports its maiden profit, marking a major turnaround for the fintech player. Eternal extends its rally on strong commentary, while Tilaknagar Industries surges on acquisition buzz. We also bring you a preview of Infosys Q1 results, with the Street eyeing GenAI-led growth triggers and a potential upgrade in FY26 guidance. Also on the radar — possible block deals in Oberoi Realty and Lodha Developers, and earnings highlights from Dixon Tech, KEI Industries, Jana SFB, Dalmia Bharat, and more. Plus, all the details on the US-Japan trade deal. We also break down all the international cues you need to know today. Tune in for all this and more in today's Market Minutes — your morning podcast bringing you the top stories to kickstart your trading day, from stocks in the news to macro trends and global market cues.
In today's Tech3 from Moneycontrol, we break down the dismantling of Good Glamm Group's house-of-brands model, Infosys' Q1 beat and revised guidance, and Myntra's alleged FDI violations under ED scrutiny. Gupshup explores Ghar Wapsi after $60 million fundraise, while Agentic AI startup Composio rides the AI funding wave. Also on the show why Paytm is quietly stepping back from the Default Loss Guarantee model.
In today's Tech3 from Moneycontrol, Paytm surprises with a Rs 123 crore profit in Q1, Milky Mist gears up for a Rs 2,035 crore IPO, and Fidelity trims 500 roles in India amid global shifts. We also check out Infosys' newly sets up council for emerging tech and who is leading it. Tune in for sharp startup and tech news only on the Moneycontrol Tech3 Podcast.
Indian finserv is no koi pond. It's a shark tank. And now, some of the biggest sharks in the tank – payment aggregators like Phonepe, Razorpay, Cashfree and Paytm – are all narrowing in on the aggregator of aggregators, Juspay. In this episode, we go behind the scenes of one of the biggest fintech standoffs of the year. On one side are the aggregators, who power payments for millions of online merchants. And on the other side is “aggregator of aggregators” Juspay, who's worked as an extension of merchants' payments teams, helping them coordinate payments across aggregators, for over a decade. Tune in. Check out our latest episode featuring Soumya Rajan, founder and CEO of Waterfield Advisors, India's largest multi-family office and wealth advisory firm.Daybreak is produced from the newsroom of The Ken, India's first subscriber-only business news platform. Subscribe for more exclusive, deeply-reported, and analytical business stories.Listen to the latest episode of Two by Two here
In today's Tech3 from Moneycontrol we break down Zepto's $100 million backing from Motilal Oswal's founders ahead of its IPO. We also dive into the growing drone threat and how Paras Defence is stepping up India's counter-drone capabilities. Plus, LTIMindtree signs its biggest-ever AI deal worth $450 million, and we bring you updates on Gensol's leadership shake-up, Antfin's Paytm exit, and Ather's improving financials. Tune in for sharp, speedy updates from India's tech and startup world.
In today's Tech3 from Moneycontrol, we break down Paytm's mixed Q4 results, the toll of India's heatwave on gig workers, and the stagnation in UPI's merchant payment growth. Also featured are Bengaluru Police's AI-powered emergency assistant, YouTube's vision for AI-driven content creation, and India's potential gains from the UK's ambitious free trade agreement, which promises to enhance professional mobility and create new global opportunities.
On Call with Insignia Ventures with Yinglan Tan and Paulo Joquino
You are going on call with Pratyush Prasanna, Group CEO of @FlipID , one of Indonesia's largest consumer fintech platforms serving more than 13 million users primarily for their money movement needs, among other financial services. With 20+ years of executive and leadership experience in consumer and fintech companies including Paytm, Poynt, and Gojek, he joined Flip as MD then CEO finding a new mission in building the next epoch making company in Indonesia, inspired by the values and mission of Flip's founders.Timestamps(01:38) Flip's Impact on Indonesian Fintech;(02:58) Customer-Centric Innovations at Flip;(06:53) Pratyush's journey joining Flip;(13:02) Pratyush's takeaways from being acquired by Paytm; (15:07) India vs Indonesia fintech -- where are the competitive advantages?;(20:06) Insights from his time at Gojek; (21:51) Future of Fintech in Indonesia;(25:47) Guiding principles for Pratyush's leadership;TranscriptAbout who you are on call with:Pratyush Prasanna is the newly appointed Group CEO of Flip.id, one of Indonesia's leading fintech groups. He brings a wealth of experience in the payments industry, with a proven track record of scaling businesses and driving innovation in emerging markets.Prior to joining Flip.id, Pratyush served as the Head of Merchant Payments at GoTo Financial, where he played a pivotal role in expanding their merchant payment solutions and driving adoption among Indonesian businesses of all sizes. His strategic vision and leadership helped GoTo Financial achieve significant growth in the highly competitive Indonesian market.Before his tenure at GoTo Financial, Pratyush was the General Manager of Asia at Poynt, a leading point-of-sale terminal provider. Based in San Francisco, Singapore, and Bangalore, he oversaw product development, partner acquisition, and market expansion across a diverse range of countries in Asia, including India, Indonesia, the Philippines, Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand.Pratyush's career also includes a significant role at Paytm, India's most widely used payments app. As Vice President of Business and Product, he witnessed Paytm's remarkable growth. With his strategic vision and proven ability to execute, Pratyush is committed to expanding Flip's reach and impact, ensuring that all Indonesians have access to fair financial services.Connect with PratyushFollow us on LinkedIn for more updatesCheck out Insignia Business Review for more insightsSubscribe to our monthly newsletter for all the news and resourcesDirected by Paulo JoquiñoProduced by Paulo JoquiñoThe content of this podcast is for informational purposes only, should not be taken as legal, tax, or business advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security, and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any Insignia Ventures fund. Any and all opinions shared in this episode are solely personal thoughts and reflections of the guest and the host.
In this episode of Tech3 by Moneycontrol, we dive into major fintech developments: Paytm snaps ties with Juspay as firms move away from payment orchestration, BharatPe slashes losses and turns EBITDA positive, and a new entity seeks RBI's SRO licence. We also cover industry tensions over UPI MDR, funding updates in lab-grown diamonds, and Freshworks' Girish Mathrubootham on why SaaS firms must embrace AI to survive. Tune in for all this and more.
From the 'Income Tax Bill 2025' scrutinizing digital footprints, the 'Eighth Pay Commission' gearing up for salary revisions, IndusInd Bank's leadership shake-up, to the details of Delhi's budget, Paytm's new payment processing strategy, and India's tariff talks with the US. Tune in!
Remember that time in 2022 when India's top digital payments companies Phonepe, Paytm*, and Bharatpe were in a no-holds-barred turf war? Looking back, it seemed like there was news almost every other day about some tiff between the three market leaders. In fact, former managing director of Bharatpe, Ashneer Grover, has spoken on record about “street fights” between companies' employees over QR codes. A little more than two years later, there's only calm. QR code scuffles are over. No one is beating each other up. Both the peer-to-merchant and peer-to-peer payments space have settled down into a tripartite peace. Phonepe, Google Pay, and Paytm—in order of market share—are the clear leaders. This raises some interesting questions: How many UPI apps do you have on your phone? And do you have a favourite one? We may have multiple, but only one of them is ever really used. No amount of cashbacks or fancy user experiences make people want to switch to something else. Is it brand loyalty that is preventing users from churning out of old platforms and into new ones? A former Paytm executive told The Ken, “There is zero brand loyalty for UPI payments apps…” Well then, what is happening?*Paytm founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma is an investor in The Ken*This episode was first published on December 30, 2024Daybreak is produced from the newsroom of The Ken, India's first subscriber-only business news platform. Subscribe for more exclusive, deeply-reported, and analytical business stories.
On Call with Insignia Ventures with Yinglan Tan and Paulo Joquino
This is Part 1 of 2 with Zi Yong Chua, Carro COO on his journey driving Gen AI transformation in the pan-Asia used car platform.Timestamps(01:19) How Zi Yong joined Carro after PayPal, Alipay, and his own ventures;(04:41) Zi Yong's first order of business as COO, refining Carro's internal data processes for better productivity;(08:20) How Zi Yong linked productivity gains to end business results; (12:59) Zi Yong's three principles on leveraging Gen AI;(19:18) Stay tuned for part 2 on how these principles impacted Carro's Gen AI journey and the ROI of their Gen AI transformationAbout who you are on call with Zi Yong is the Chief Operating Officer at Carro. He drives the "People, Process, Technology" transformation within Carro, ensuring that Asia Pacific's fastest growing automotive marketplace remains at operational excellence as it continues to grow rapidly. He is focused on digitising workflows, enabling automation and data-driven insights within the organisation.Zi Yong brings more than 15 years of experience from the Internet and e-payments industry, with roles in global giants like PayPal and Ant Group. In his 5 years in Ant Group, he led Product teams and projects with Paytm and Touch N Go Digital, helping them become ‘super app' in their respective markets. He was also the principal inventor of a patent for payment system decision making during his time in Ant. Back in 2009 while still in university, he founded his own venture-backed mobile payment company, and was one of the early drivers of the Android developer scene in Singapore.Connect with Zi YongFollow us on LinkedIn for more updates: https://www.linkedin.com/company/insignia-ventures/Check out Insignia Business Review for more insights: https://review.insignia.vc/Subscribe to our monthly newsletter for all the news and resources: https://insignia.vc/newsletterDirected by Paulo JoquiñoProduced by Paulo JoquiñoThe content of this podcast is for informational purposes only, should not be taken as legal, tax, or business advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security, and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any Insignia Ventures fund. Any and all opinions shared in this episode are solely personal thoughts and reflections of the guest and the host.
Have you made a trip abroad to attend a live event in 2023 or 2024?Did you have the option of attending the same (or equivalent) event in India?Why did you choose not to attend the same event in India?These were the three main questions we posed to listeners of Two by Two in a recent survey to understand the biggest problems with hosting events—big or small—in India.Then we took all the people who said yes and looked at the events that they said they went outside India to attend even though options for it existed inside India. It had a lot of concerts comprising a long list of musicians. Dua Lipa in Singapore, Ed Sheeran in Malaysia and a sea of Coldplay because it's Coldplay season, Coldplay's concert in Singapore, Coldplay in Dubai, Coldplay in Barcelona, Coldplay in Thailand, Coldplay in Bangkok, Ben Böhmer who had performed in India in late December last year but people chose to attend his shows outside India instead. Then we had Indian performers whom people refused to attend in India and went abroad, Diljit in Bombay. There was a list of cricket matches in that list as well. Stand-up acts from Vir Das, which people chose to attend in the U.S. instead of attending in India. The most interesting entry we saw was half marathons. People are choosing to attend half marathons outside India instead of attending them in India.In this week's episode, we get to the reasons why this is the ultimate form of Indians paying for convenience over availability.Hosts Rohin Dharmakumar and Praveen Gopal Krishnan sit down with Shreyas Srinivasan, former Chief Product Officer at Paytm* and founder of Paytm Insider, which has now been acquired by Zomato and rebranded as District, and Sudhir Syal, former CEO of Bookmyshow Indonesia and Bookmyshow Middle East, to understand where India falls short in hosting events at scale.Welcome to episode 29 of Two by Two.*Paytm founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma is an investor in The Ken.–Additional reading:The Nutgraf: Going out of India is easier than going out in India–Help us find interesting women guests by filling out this survey - https://theken.typeform.com/to/KH0EOLGo–What you listened to is just the first 30 minutes of the conversation. If you'd like to listen to the full episode, you can do so by becoming a Premium subscriber to The Ken or by subscribing to Two by Two on Apple Podcasts via a separate standalone subscription.This episode of Two by Two was produced by Hari Krishna. Rajiv CN, our resident sound engineer, mixed and mastered this episode.If you liked this episode of Two by Two, do share it with like-minded individuals who would be interested in listening to the episode. And if you have more thoughts on the discussion, we'd love to hear your arguments as well. You can write to us at twobytwo@the-ken.com.
On January 20th, the online publication The Head and Tale broke the news that two of India's largest payment aggregators and gateways, Razorpay and Cashfree, were severing ties with India's largest payment orchestrator or router, Juspay.Payment gateways are the simplest. They simply facilitate a payment transaction between a merchant's website and a bank. But because these days, we have so many ways to pay. Cards, UPI, net banking, wallets, etc. Many payment gateways also aggregate these methods and offer customers and merchants a choice.Hence, they're payment aggregators.Now most leading gateways are also aggregators. This includes Razorpay, Cashfree, PayU, Paytm*, etc.The most important layer right now, and the topic of today's discussion, is orchestration or routing.Like a conductor in an orchestra, orchestrators sit above payment gateways and payment aggregators and determine who gets to play.What that means is when a customer is trying to do a transaction on a merchant's site, the orchestrator or router assigns it to a particular payment gateway or aggregator depending on various things like where success rates are high, who's offering competitive rates, etc.That's what happens with large organizations like Flipkart, BigBasket, Swiggy, etc.For instance, you must have seen when you're trying to make a transaction on any of those sites after you enter your card details; you must have seen the Juspay modal, or briefly, website appear when you're trying to enter your OTP, or it's fetching that.That's what Juspay does.It sits above payment aggregators and gateways, and it kind of plays this conductor role, assigning transactions to where they are most likely to succeed or where they are most competitively priced for the merchant that Juspay is operating with.That's the topic of today's discussion because Razorpay and Cashfree decided to stop working with Juspay.Now that's very interesting, and it's essentially the trigger to what we'd like to think of as sort of like a much larger war which is going to break out with one set of payment aggregators on one side and the other side another set of payment aggregators, and of course, Juspay.Joining hosts Rohin Dharmakumar for the discussion are Vimal Kumar, founder of Juspay; Anand Balaji, co-founder of Xflow and former India head for Stripe; and Abhishek Madan, who used to be vice president of Product at Paytm*.Welcome to episode 28 of Two by Two.*Paytm founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma is an investor in The Ken.–Additional reading:Razorpay and Cashfree woke up and chose violenceAdditional listening:Why Stripe could not become the Stripe of India–Help us find interesting women guests by filling out this survey - https://theken.typeform.com/to/KH0EOLGo–This is a free 30-minute version streaming on all podcast streaming platforms. If you'd like to listen to the full episode, you can do so by becoming a Premium subscriber to The Ken or by subscribing to Two by Two on Apple Podcasts via a separate standalone subscription.This episode of Two by Two was produced by Hari Krishna. Rajiv CN, our resident sound engineer, mixed and mastered this episode.If you liked this episode of Two by Two, do share it with like-minded individuals who would be interested in listening to the episode. And if you have more thoughts on the discussion, we'd love to hear your arguments as well. You can write to us at twobytwo@the-ken.com
In this conversation with Shinjini Kumar, Co-Founder of SALT-mysaltapp, we talk to her about her diverse professional journey, something you don't see in many founders. Coming from Bihar, she started as a journalist at the Times of India and then shifted to the Reserve Bank of India in the early ‘90s. At the heart of the action, she was responsible for handling Foreign Direct Investment (FDI). In this episode, she discusses exactly how she landed every job she did in her early days. Shinjini eventually went on to study in the US, joined Bank of America, then came back to be the CEO at Paytm Payments Bank. And mid-COVID, she took the leap into entrepreneurship.Major takeaways from the episode:1. How she transitioned from journalism into finance and entrepreneurship.2. How career plurality shapes perspective and adaptability. 3. Lessons from building SALT and the challenges of raising capital at the right time. 4. What women are missing when it comes to finance.We are excited for conversation, and we can't wait for you all to watch it. Drop your thoughts in the comments! And if you'd like to join our next conversation as a live audience member, sign up here: https://forms.gle/uY8w2an4Q44mN9dd800:00 The Financial Agency of Women03:02 The Journey of Shinjani Kumar05:51 Conversations on Financial Inclusion09:10 Building SALT: A Mission for Women12:05 Understanding Financial Services for Women14:55 The Role of Agency in Financial Decisions18:02 Cultural Influences on Financial Behavior20:59 The Impact of Social Conditioning on Women23:50 Navigating Financial Independence27:10 The Future of Women in Finance38:13 Understanding Gender Disparities in Income and Assets41:44 The Role of Women in Family Businesses47:00 Women as Catalysts for Social Change50:41 Behavioral Changes in Financial Services57:51 Lessons from Entrepreneurial Journeys01:11:17 Building Trust Through Technology01:14:05 The Evolution of Banking and Finance01:16:24 Navigating Challenges in Entrepreneurship01:20:42 The Complexity of Work and Gender Roles01:24:01 Raising the Next Generation: Gender and Equality01:31:12 The Value of Work and Education01:37:21 Advice for Young Entrepreneurs and Professionals
It's Tuesday, March 4th, 2025. This is Nelson John, let's get started. India's Motor Insurance Crisis For years, third-party motor insurance in India was a predictable business, but premium rates have been frozen for nearly three years, even as claims and inflation surged. As a result, underwriting losses are mounting. While some experts call for a 20% premium hike, others argue for better provisioning. With insurers struggling and India's “Insurance for All” vision at stake, the big question is—will regulators step in before insurers pull back? Paytm's ₹611 Crore Regulatory Setback Once a fintech darling, Paytm now faces a regulatory storm. The Enforcement Directorate has issued a ₹611 crore FEMA violation notice, alleging improper foreign investments between 2015-2019. Paytm disputes the claims, saying it didn't own the subsidiaries in question at the time. While its stock dipped 4%, it rebounded by close. Can Paytm navigate this crisis, or is more turbulence ahead? IDBI Bank's $143.7 Million Legal Victory IDBI Bank won a UK court ruling over a $67 million loan default tied to former Aircel promoter C. Sivasankaran. The court deemed a “letter of comfort” legally binding, but enforcing the judgment in India could prove challenging. With potential delays from appeals and insolvency proceedings, IDBI may need to explore aggressive legal options to recover its dues. India's Shift from Two-Wheelers to Used Cars As incomes rise, more Indians are moving from two-wheelers to cars—but many are choosing second-hand vehicles. Used car sales are booming, fueled by certified pre-owned programs and easier financing. Passenger vehicles now make up 17.7% of total vehicle sales, up from 12.9% in 2018-19. By 2028, the used car market is expected to double to $80 billion. Google & HP's 3D Video Revolution Tired of lifeless video calls? Google and HP's Project Starline promises hyper-realistic 3D meetings—no headsets required. Using AI, lightfield displays, and six-camera setups, it makes virtual interactions feel physical. Research shows users are more engaged and less fatigued. While scaling the tech affordably remains a challenge, Starline is redefining remote collaboration. The question is—how soon will it reach the masses?
In this episode of Market Minutes, Veer Sharma breaks down market trends amid global and domestic concerns. With small caps sliding into a bear market after a 21.5 percent drop from their peak, investors will closely track the mid- and small-cap space today. Also, tune in for insights from Kranthi Bathini, Director of Equity Strategy at WealthMills Securities. Market Minutes is your go-to morning podcast for hot stocks, key data, and market-moving trends.
Welcome to CNBC-TV18's Marketbuzz Podcast. Here are top developments from around the world ahead of the trading session of February 14 -The highlights of the Modi and Trump meeting are likely to be one of the main themes today. Following bilateral talks, India and the US have agreed on a roadmap to double trade to 500 billion dollars by 2030. The two leaders renewed commitments to making high value greenfield investments in each other's countries. Defence remains a very important area of cooperation. -Also, India and the US are to finalise a new defence framework which will be applicable from 2025 to 2035. And, US will review its arms transfer regulations in order to streamline defence trade -When asked if India has agreed to buy F-35's from America, the Foreign Secretary told CNBC-TV18 that he doesn't think the formal process with regard to acquisition of advanced aviation platforms has been initiated by India. Currently this is a proposal and there are many more steps which have to take place before any such acquisition takes place. -Gift Nifty remained flat this morning, indicating a muted opening for the Indian market. -Nagaraj Shetti of HDFC Securities said the short-term trend of the Nifty remains positive, but the market is lacking its strength to surpass immediate hurdles. A decisive move above 23,250 levels could confirm a near term bottom reversal pattern in the market. Immediate support is placed at 22,800 levels. -Stocks in focus: Hindalco, Manappuram Finance, Bank of Baroda, Nazara Technologies, Religare Enterprises, Paytm, defence, green energy stocks -Asian equities were headed for gains as markets reacted positively to signs the reciprocal US tariffs may be weeks from coming into effect, raising the prospect for negotiations. Shares in Australia and Japan and equity index futures for Hong Kong all advanced, indicating a region-wide stock gauge may climb for a third day. An index of Chinese companies that trades in the US rose more than 1% in New York trading. A measure of global stocks closed at a record high. -The S&P 500 rose 1% while the Nasdaq 100 climbed 1.4% as big tech outperformed. Tesla Inc. and Nvidia Corp each rallied over 3%, while Meta Platforms Inc. climbed for a 19th straight day. -US President Donald Trump ordered his administration to consider imposing reciprocal tariffs on numerous trading partners, singling out Japan and South Korea as nations that he believes are taking advantage of the US. Tune in to the Marketbuzz Podcast for more cues
Have you made a trip abroad to attend a live event in 2023 or 2024?Did you have the option of attending the same (or equivalent) event in India?Why did you choose not to attend the same event in India?These were the three main questions we posed to listeners of Two by Two in a recent survey to understand the biggest problems with hosting events—big or small—in India.Then we took all the people who said yes and looked at the events that they said they went outside India to attend even though options for it existed inside India. It had a lot of concerts comprising a long list of musicians. Dua Lipa in Singapore, Ed Sheeran in Malaysia and a sea of Coldplay because it's Coldplay season, Coldplay's concert in Singapore, Coldplay in Dubai, Coldplay in Barcelona, Coldplay in Thailand, Coldplay in Bangkok, Ben Böhmer who had performed in India in late December last year but people chose to attend his shows outside India instead. Then we had Indian performers whom people refused to attend in India and went abroad, Diljit in Bombay. There was a list of cricket matches in that list as well. Stand-up acts from Vir Das, which people chose to attend in the U.S. instead of attending in India. The most interesting entry we saw was half marathons. People are choosing to attend half marathons outside India instead of attending them in India.In this week's episode, we get to the reasons why this is the ultimate form of Indians paying for convenience over availability.Hosts Rohin Dharmakumar and Praveen Gopal Krishnan sit down with Shreyas Srinivasan, former Chief Product Officer at Paytm* and founder of Paytm Insider, which has now been acquired by Zomato and rebranded as District, and Sudhir Syal, former CEO of Bookmyshow Indonesia and Bookmyshow Middle East, to understand where India falls short in hosting events at scale.Welcome to episode 29 of Two by Two.*Paytm founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma is an investor in The Ken.–Additional reading:The Nutgraf: Going out of India is easier than going out in India–This is a free ‘10-minute trailer' streaming on all podcast streaming platforms. If you'd like to listen to the full episode, you can do so by becoming a Premium subscriber to The Ken or by subscribing to Two by Two on Apple Podcasts via a separate standalone subscription.This episode of Two by Two was produced by Hari Krishna. Rajiv CN, our resident sound engineer, mixed and mastered this episode.If you liked this episode of Two by Two, do share it with like-minded individuals who would be interested in listening to the episode. And if you have more thoughts on the discussion, we'd love to hear your arguments as well. You can write to us at twobytwo@the-ken.com
On January 20th, the online publication The Head and Tale broke the news that two of India's largest payment aggregators and gateways, Razorpay and Cashfree, were severing ties with India's largest payment orchestrator or router, Juspay.Payment gateways are the simplest. They simply facilitate a payment transaction between a merchant's website and a bank. But because these days, we have so many ways to pay. Cards, UPI, net banking, wallets, etc. Many payment gateways also aggregate these methods and offer customers and merchants a choice.Hence, they're payment aggregators.Now most leading gateways are also aggregators. This includes Razorpay, Cashfree, PayU, Paytm*, etc.The most important layer right now, and the topic of today's discussion, is orchestration or routing.Like a conductor in an orchestra, orchestrators sit above payment gateways and payment aggregators and determine who gets to play.What that means is when a customer is trying to do a transaction on a merchant's site, the orchestrator or router assigns it to a particular payment gateway or aggregator depending on various things like where success rates are high, who's offering competitive rates, etc.That's what happens with large organizations like Flipkart, BigBasket, Swiggy, etc.For instance, you must have seen when you're trying to make a transaction on any of those sites after you enter your card details; you must have seen the Juspay modal, or briefly, website appear when you're trying to enter your OTP, or it's fetching that.That's what Juspay does.It sits above payment aggregators and gateways, and it kind of plays this conductor role, assigning transactions to where they are most likely to succeed or where they are most competitively priced for the merchant that Juspay is operating with.That's the topic of today's discussion because Razorpay and Cashfree decided to stop working with Juspay.Now that's very interesting, and it's essentially the trigger to what we'd like to think of as sort of like a much larger war which is going to break out with one set of payment aggregators on one side and the other side another set of payment aggregators, and of course, Juspay.Joining hosts Rohin Dharmakumar for the discussion are Vimal Kumar, founder of Juspay; Anand Balaji, co-founder of Xflow and former India head for Stripe; and Abhishek Madan, who used to be vice president of Product at Paytm*.Welcome to episode 28 of Two by Two.*Paytm founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma is an investor in The Ken.–Additional reading:Razorpay and Cashfree woke up and chose violenceAdditional listening:Why Stripe could not become the Stripe of India–This is a free ‘10-minute trailer' streaming on all podcast streaming platforms. If you'd like to listen to the full episode, you can do so by becoming a Premium subscriber to The Ken or by subscribing to Two by Two on Apple Podcasts via a separate standalone subscription.This episode of Two by Two was produced by Hari Krishna. Rajiv CN, our resident sound engineer, mixed and mastered this episode.If you liked this episode of Two by Two, do share it with like-minded individuals who would be interested in listening to the episode. And if you have more thoughts on the discussion, we'd love to hear your arguments as well. You can write to us at twobytwo@the-ken.com
Remember that time in 2022 when India's top digital payments companies Phonepe, Paytm*, and Bharatpe were in a no-holds-barred turf war? Looking back, it seemed like there was news almost every other day about some tiff between the three market leaders. In fact, former managing director of Bharatpe, Ashneer Grover, has spoken on record about “street fights” between companies' employees over QR codes. A little more than two years later, there's only calm. QR code scuffles are over. No one is beating each other up. Both the peer-to-merchant and peer-to-peer payments space have settled down into a tripartite peace. Phonepe, Google Pay, and Paytm—in order of market share—are the clear leaders. This raises some interesting questions: How many UPI apps do you have on your phone? And do you have a favourite one? We may have multiple, but only one of them is ever really used. No amount of cashbacks or fancy user experiences make people want to switch to something else. Is it brand loyalty that is preventing users from churning out of old platforms and into new ones? A former Paytm executive told The Ken recently, “There is zero brand loyalty for UPI payments apps…” Well then, what is happening?*Paytm founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma is an investor in The KenDaybreak is produced from the newsroom of The Ken, India's first subscriber-only business news platform. Subscribe for more exclusive, deeply-reported, and analytical business stories.
We have unlocked the full and unedited version of episode 13, which we released on October 10th for Premium subscribers of The Ken on The Ken's mobile app and Apple Podcasts. Now, you can stream the full episode on Spotify, Amazon Music, YouTube or wherever you listen to your podcasts for free for a limited time.If you are a Product Manager, especially in India, you're probably going through a crisis of faith and existence.As a career, Product Management in India has gone through multiple eras—in the early days, PMs struggled to explain to people what they actually did. Think about all the people you'd imagine who work at a software company. Marketing. Engineering. Sales. Analytics. Design.You can explain what they do to your grandmother. But the one exception to the rule is Product Management. It's the only function where the people who do it struggle to explain to their parents what they do.Then suddenly there was a gold rush when everyone wanted to become a Product Manager. And now, there's an existential crisis — partly driven by the reduced funding and attrition, the rise of AI, and the changing nature of products themselves, more and more leaders are asking the question : Do we even need Product Managers?In today's episode of Two by Two, hosts Rohin Dharmakumar and Praveen Gopal Krishnan interview two accomplished product leaders in India. First, there's Chandrashekhar Vattikuti (CPO and SVP at InMobi, ex-Yahoo, Microsoft) and Shreyas Srinivasan, Chief Product Officer at Paytm*, and also founder of Paytm Insider. During the discussion, they trace the origin, the evolution and the crisis that Product Management as a career faces in India. They try to figure out why and how Product Management became a science and stopped being an art.And they try to answer what makes for a great Product Manager, and how to find them.And they also ask the question that CEOs and Founders are asking themselves — do we even need Product Managers at all?Welcome to Episode 13 of Two by Two.Further reading:Product Managers used to be creators. Now they are mostly bureaucratsWho killed the art of Product Management in India?Who made the Frauduct Manager?Episode referenced:Google Pay: Big. Successful. VulnerableThis episode of Two by Two was researched and produced by Hari Krishna. Rajiv CN, our resident sound engineer, mixed and mastered this episode.New episodes are released every Thursday. So follow the show wherever you get your podcasts and tell us what you think of the show.*Paytm founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma is an investor in The Ken.
Dhruv Dhanraj Bahl is the founder & Managing Partner at Eternal Capital, an India-focused early-stage fund. Dhruv was previously CBO of merchant lending at Bharatpe, and had leadership stints at Paytm & Airtel Payments Bank. In this episode, we talk about - - Dhruv's story and how he started investing - Dhruv shares his experience being an LP in VC funds vs doing direct investments - The different stages of a startup - How should founders approach early-PMF - Why he is extremely bullish on the India opportunity - His biggest learning investing in startups & lots more Links: ⭐ Sponsored by Podcast10x - Podcasting agency for VCs - https://podcast10x.com Eternal Capital website - https://www.eternalcapital.vc/ Dhruv on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/dhruv-dhanraj-bahl-3857a033 Dhruv on X - https://x.com/dhruvdbahl
Communicating with your customers is a good thing, right? Well, what about when some of your outbound communications end up repelling customers rather than attracting them? Today we're going to discuss advanced customer interaction strategies with John Kim, Co-Founder & CEO of Sendbird. We'll dive into the effectiveness of in-app messaging, the rise of mobile engagement, and the evolving machine-to-machine economy. John S. Kim is the Co-Founder and CEO of Sendbird (YC W16), the customer communications platform powering 4,000 of the world's most popular digital applications. 7 billion messages sent and received between over 320 million people every month are routed using Sendbird, whose customers include DoorDash, Match Group, Virgin Mobile, Noom and Paytm. The company has raised $220 million USD to-date, backed by reputable investors including ICONIQ Capital, SoftBank Vision Fund, Shasta Ventures, Y Combinator and more. John is a successful serial entrepreneur and CEO. His first startup Paprika Lab (social gaming) was acquired by GREE, and he was Korea's all-time no.1 pro gamer in the Unreal Tournament. RESOURCES Sendbird website: https://www.sendbird.com Wix Studio is the ultimate web platform for creative, fast-paced teams at agencies and enterprises—with smart design tools, flexible dev capabilities, full-stack business solutions, multi-site management, advanced AI and fully managed infrastructure. https://www.wix.com/studio Attend the Mid-Atlantic MarCom Summit, the region's largest marketing communications conference. Register with the code "Agile" and get 15% off. Register now for HumanX 2025. This AI-focused event which brings some of the most forward-thinking minds in technology together. Register now with the code "HX25p_tab" for $250 off the regular price. Connect with Greg on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gregkihlstrom Don't miss a thing: get the latest episodes, sign up for our newsletter and more: https://www.theagilebrand.show Check out The Agile Brand Guide website with articles, insights, and Martechipedia, the wiki for marketing technology: https://www.agilebrandguide.com The Agile Brand podcast is brought to you by TEKsystems. Learn more here: https://www.teksystems.com/versionnextnow The Agile Brand is produced by Missing Link—a Latina-owned strategy-driven, creatively fueled production co-op. From ideation to creation, they craft human connections through intelligent, engaging and informative content. https://www.missinglink.company
welcome to wall-e's tech briefing for wednesday, october 23rd! explore today's pivotal tech developments: paytm's resurgence in india: after an eight-month suspension, paytm can again add new upi payment users, potentially reversing a decline in user base from 100 million to 68 million, with significant implications for their growth strategy. anthropic's ai advancements: the amazon-backed startup is trialing ai capable of executing complex computer tasks like humans. with companies like asana, canva, and notion as early adopters, this feature is in public beta and may be widely available early next year. ai in journalism: backed by a $10 million investment from microsoft and openai, news outlets such as newsday and the minnesota star tribune are exploring ai tools in journalism, leveraging technology for research, content creation, and distribution. aerospace innovation: the faa has implemented new rules for electric vertical takeoff and landing vehicles, marking a milestone in aviation with the introduction of the "powered-lift" category. companies like joby aviation and archer are gearing up for new opportunities in air taxis and cargo delivery. openai's strategic hire: aaron chatterji joins as openai's first chief economist, aiming to assess ai's economic impact. with experience from the 2022 chips act, his role could crucially influence openai's ai chip design efforts. stay tuned for more updates tomorrow!
In this episode of Market Minutes, Lovisha Darad talks about key events that investors will eye on October 22. India Inc's Q2 results, geopolitical tensions, and FII flows movement are likely to dictate market trends. Adani Energy Solutions, Adani Green Energy, Bajaj Finance, Paytm and Zomato will announce their results for the second quarter. Hyndai Motor India's debut on bourses will be also be keenly watched by market participants. Also, catch Riya Oswal Bafna of Purnartha on Voice of the Day segment. Market Minutes is a morning podcast that puts the spotlight on hot stocks, key data points, and developing trends.
If you are a Product Manager, especially in India, you're probably going through a crisis of faith and existence.As a career, Product Management in India has gone through multiple eras — in the early days, PMs struggled to explain to people what they actually did. Think about all the people you'd imagine who work at a software company. Marketing. Engineering. Sales. Analytics. Design.You can explain what they do to your grandmother. But the one exception to the rule is Product Management. It's the only function where the people who do it struggle to explain to their parents what they do.Then suddenly there was a gold rush when everyone wanted to become a Product Manager. And now, there's an existential crisis — partly driven by the reduced funding and attrition, the rise of AI, and the changing nature of products themselves, more and more leaders are asking the question : Do we even need Product Managers?In today's episode of Two by Two, hosts Rohin Dharmakumar and Praveen Gopal Krishnan interview two accomplished product leaders in India. First, there's Chandrashekhar Vattikuti (CPO and SVP at InMobi, ex-Yahoo, Microsoft) and Shreyas Srinivasan, Chief Product Officer at Paytm*, and also founder of Paytm Insider. During the discussion, they trace the origin, the evolution and the crisis that Product Management as a career faces in India. They try to figure out why and how Product Management became a science and stopped being an art.And they try to answer what makes for a great Product Manager, and how to find them.And they also ask the question that CEOs and Founders are asking themselves — do we even need Product Managers at all?Welcome to Episode 13 of Two by Two.Two by Two is also a newsletter, where every Friday short storified version of the latest episode is sent out to subscribers for free. You can sign up for the Two by Two Newsletter here.(Listen to the free highlights only episode on Spotify, Amazon Music, YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts)Further reading:Product Managers used to be creators. Now they are mostly bureaucratsWho killed the art of Product Management in India?Who made the Frauduct Manager?Episode referenced:Google Pay: Big. Successful. VulnerableThis episode of Two by Two was researched and produced by Hari Krishna. Rajiv CN, our resident sound engineer, mixed and mastered this episode. This is a shorter version which contains some of the most interesting part of the close to 90 minute full episode available only to the Premium subscribers of The Ken and on Apple podcasts with a separate monthly subscription.New episodes are released every Thursday. So follow the show wherever you get your podcasts and tell us what you think of the show. You can write to us at twobytwo@the-ken.com.*Paytm founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma is an investor in The Ken.
We have unlocked the full and unedited subscriber version of episode six which we released on August 29 for Premium subscribers of The Ken on The Ken's app and on Apple Podcasts. Now you can stream the full episode on Spotify, Amazon Music , Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts for free for a few weeks.Google Pay is India's second largest UPI app with a market share of 38%, with 500+ crore transactions a month. It's one of the world's mightiest companies, and yet, we argue that it's possibly in a vulnerable, strange position. By this, we don't mean that it will disappear overnight, but that all kinds of competitors are coming for it. Already it's market share has declined from 44% to 37%. It's an outpost of an empire that's fighting a global war. And most importantly, the first wave of UPI is over, and the second phase is starting. UPI itself is changing and going through some transitions, and there are questions on whether signs that Google Pay won't be able to keep up.Joining hosts Praveen Gopal Krishnan and Rohin Dharmakumar in the discussion were two guests with incredible experience in the area of UPI and payments – Abhishek Madan, Vice President of Product at Paytm and Vasisht S Ravichandran, COO at Pop, a new UPI app which is inverting the way we're looking at UPI and commerce. Vasisht previously also had a stint at Flipkart where he was Senior Director of Customer Loyalty and Retention before leaving Flipkart to start to Pop.And while the conversation was centered around Google Pay, the discussion also went in the direction of understanding the infrastructure on top of which most of India's most valuable fintechs are built upon – UPI.Two by Two is also a newsletter. You can read the edition of for this episode here by signing up for the Two by Two newsletter, it's free.This episode of Two by Two was produced by Anushka Mukherjee. Hari Krishna is the lead writer and researcher for the episode. Rajiv C N, our resident sound engineer is the audio producer.
Nifty குறியீடுகளை மாற்றி அமைக்கிறார்களா...ஏன்? | Paytm பங்கு விலை 5% ஏற்றம்.. காரணம்? | IPS FINANCE | EPI - 29
We have unlocked the full and unedited subscriber version of episode four which we released on August 8 for Premium subscribers of The Ken and on Apple Podcasts. Now you can stream it wherever you listen to your podcasts for free for a few weeks.The conventional wisdom is that Bengaluru is India's Silicon Valley. It's the cradle of India's tech revolution. First there was Infosys and Wipro on the IT services side. Then when startups become cool and hip, the default location to get it all started was also Bengaluru. Take the leaders across sectors, and you'll see they belong to Bengaluru — Flipkart, InMobi, Swiggy, PhonePe, Myntra, Ola, Amazon, Unacademy, Byju's…and much more. But of late, it looks like something has changed. There's now a sentiment that Bengaluru is for people who “want to” build startups, but Delhi is for people who build businesses. Delhi companies are the ones who seem to be gutsier, more resilient, and stronger. The list of tech companies that have gone public — Zomato, Paytm, Mamaearth, Infoedge, Delhivery, have one thing in common i.e Delhi. Why is this distance so wide? Do cities really influence businesses that much?Our guests for this episode have stories that might make you agree. Our first guest is Prashant Singh, who's the Head of Product at JAR, in Bengaluru. He's spent 20 years in Delhi, where he set up his own startup and sold it to Paytm. He's now in Bengaluru, and he's not convinced that a city can affect a company's future…but he remembers the early building days of Delhi – a city with a get-thing-done attitude and massive “ops chops.”Our second guest is Arnav Gupta, the Director of Engineering at JioCinema. He has also founded and sold his own edtech startup, as well as led the engineering and product for the Zomato app. Arnav worked in Delhi before VCs pulled him to Bengaluru – and now that he's spent a few years here, he knows what sort of companies only Bengaluru can give birth to, and why. Joined by hosts Rohin Dharmakumar and Praveen Gopal Krishnan, our guests discuss the unique cultural context each city adds to a business, why it's causing a rivalry, and what this means for the Indian startups ecosystem, going forward.If you like the episode rate us on your favorite streaming platform. Write to us what you thought about the episode at twobytwo@the-ken.com
Google Pay is India's second largest UPI app with a market share of 38%, with 500+ crore transactions a month. It's one of the world's mightiest companies, and yet, we argue that it's possibly in a vulnerable, strange position. By this, we don't mean that it will disappear overnight, but that all kinds of competitors are coming for it. Already it's market share has declined from 44% to 37%. It's an outpost of an empire that's fighting a global war. And most importantly, the first wave of UPI is over, and the second phase is starting. UPI itself is changing and going through some transitions, and there are questions on whether signs that Google Pay won't be able to keep up.Joining hosts Praveen Gopal Krishnan and Rohin Dharmakumar in the discussion were two guests with incredible experience in the area of UPI and payments – Abhishek Madan, Vice President of Product at Paytm and Vasisht S Ravichandran, COO at Pop, a new UPI app which is inverting the way we're looking at UPI and commerce. Vasisht previously also had a stint at Flipkart where he was Senior Director of Customer Loyalty and Retention before leaving Flipkart to start Pop.And while the conversation was centered around Google Pay, the discussion also went in the direction of understanding the infrastructure on top of which most of India's most valuable fintechs are built upon – UPI.This episode of Two by Two was produced by Anushka Mukherjee. Hari Krishna is the lead writer and researcher for the episode. Rajiv C N, our resident sound engineer is the audio producer.P.S. The Ken podcast team is looking for a talented podcast producer and an audio journalist. If you fit the bill or know someone who does, you can apply here.[You can listen to the full episode on The Ken's app or on Apple Podcasts, with a paid subscription! You can, of course, still listen to a 30-minute free version of this episode on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music or wherever you get your podcasts]We're a new podcast so help spread the word about Two by Two by taking a few moments to leave a review and sharing this episode with your friends. Also, follow the show to keep up with the latest episodes. We release new episodes every Thursday.Subscribe to the Two by Two newsletter for free here. You'll get a storified version of each week's episode and get to participate in The Ken's subscribe-driven initiatives.You can also reach out to us at twobytwo@the-ken.com.
Understanding the concept of an index is vital for anyone involved in the stock market. In this episode, we break down what an index is, how it influences the market, and why it matters to investors.
Welcome to another episode of Two by Two, a weekly premium business podcast from The Ken. You'll notice that this week, we've released a 30-minute version of our new episode. But if you're a premium subscriber of The Ken, you can access the full, uncut episode on our app! Click here to listen to the full episode. Download the app to access all our full episodes, every single week!On to today's episode:The conventional wisdom is that Bengaluru is India's Silicon Valley. It's the cradle of India's tech revolution. First there was Infosys and Wipro on the IT services side. Then when startups become cool and hip, the default location to get it all started was also Bengaluru. Take the leaders across sectors, and you'll see they belong to Bengaluru — Flipkart, InMobi, Swiggy, PhonePe, Myntra, Ola, Amazon, Unacademy, Byju's…and much more. But of late, it looks like something has changed. There's now a sentiment that Bangalore is for people who “want to” build startups, but Delhi is for people who build businesses. Delhi companies are the ones who seem to be gutsier, more resilient, and stronger. The list of tech companies that have gone public — Zomato, Paytm, Mamaearth, Infoedge, Delhivery, have one thing in common i.e Delhi. Why is this distance so wide? Do cities really influence businesses that much?Our guests for this episode have stories that might make you agree. Our first guest is Prashant Singh, who's the Head of Product at JAR, in Bangalore. He's spent 20 years in Delhi, where he set up his own startup and sold it to Paytm. He's now in Bangalore, and he's not convinced that a city can affect a company's future…but he remembers the early building days of Delhi – a city with a get-thing-done attitude and massive “ops chops.”Our second guest is Arnav Gupta, the Director of Engineering at JioCinema. He has also founded and sold his own edtech startup, as well as led the engineering and product for the Zomato app. Arnav worked in Delhi before VCs pulled him to Bangalore – and now that he's spent a few years here, he knows what sort of companies only Bangalore can give birth to, and why. Joined by hosts Rohin Dharmakumar and Praveen Gopal Krishnan, our guests discuss the unique cultural context each city adds to a business, why it's causing a rivalry, and what this means for the Indian startups ecosystem, going forward.If you like the episode rate us on your favorite streaming platform. Write to us with your opinions and suggestions on twobytwo@the-ken.com
Last year, the central bank banned Razorpay and a bunch of its competitors, like PayTM, Cashfree and PayU, from onboarding new merchants until they were able to secure a payment aggregator license. Till then, they all had in principal approvals for the license. But the RBI stepped in and said they had to stop onboarding merchants until they actually got the license. It was only in December that the RBI lifted the ban after Razorpay finally received the license. Obviously, it was a big day for Razorpay. All of the employees who had already left for the day came straight back to office. They all knew exactly what they had to do because they had been planning for this day for months now. Razorpay had a big opportunity to gain marketshare. In the last seven months since the RBI lifted the embargo, it has been in recovery mode. And in the process, it has fundamentally changed as a company. Tune in.
In this episode of Market Minutes, Stacy Pereira talks about the key factors to watch out for today before the domestic market opens. Indian Equity market is expected to resume trade after the long weekend on a positive note. Markets gained 2% last week with the midcap index gaining 4% last week alone. I.T stocks were under pressure while Autos stepped on the pedal. After a positive handover from Wall street, Asian Markets & the Gift Nifty are trading in positive territory. Among stocks in focus will be Paytm , Zomato, Lupin & Telecom stocks. Also, catch Independent Market Expert Anshul Saigal in the Voice of the Day segment. Market Minutes is a morning podcast that puts the spotlight on hot stocks, key data points, and developing trends.
Introducing Prime's special series on ‘Fintech in India - Past, Present and the Future'. This is the 2nd episode titled ‘India Fintech 2.0 - Wallets, E-commerce, Uber & PayTm' in a 3 part series.In this special series of episodes, Sanjay Swamy, our Managing Partner speaks with industry stalwarts Srikanth Rajagopalan and Anshul Rai. Srikanth is currently the CEO of Perfios Account Aggregation (AA), an off-shoot from the Perfios legacy. Anshul is the Co-Founder and ex CEO of Happay, his claim to fame is Happay's celebrated exit to CRED for $180M. In this episode the three fintech stalwarts chat about the impact of UPI's 10-12 Billion transactions per month, the India Data Privacy Act, compliance for Fintech startups and the potential opportunities and impact with AI taking over. A special bonus tip is on the RBI Sandbox and its features that will benefit every Fintech entrepreneur in India today. 0:00 - Gaps/Opportunities for Future Fintech Entrepreneurs10:42 - Global Expansion Strategies and Data Privacy14:36 - When should Fintech startups think of Compliance?23:42 - Regulations, RBI, Sandbox29:26 - Favorite Movies, Sports Person & ConclusionEnjoyed the podcast? Please consider leaving a review on Apple Podcasts and subscribe wherever you are listening to this.Follow Prime Venture Partners:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/primevp/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/Primevp_in This podcast is for you. Do let us know what you like about the podcast, what you don't like, the guests you'd like to have on the podcast and the topics you'd like us to cover in future episodes.Please share your feedback here: https://primevp.in/podcastfeedback
Introducing Prime's special series on ‘Fintech in India - Past, Present and the Future'. This is the 2nd episode titled ‘India Fintech 2.0 - Wallets, E-commerce, Uber & PayTm' in a 3 part series.In this special series of episodes, Sanjay Swamy, our Managing Partner speaks with industry stalwarts Srikanth Rajagopalan and Anshul Rai. Srikanth is currently the CEO of Perfios Account Aggregation (AA), an off-shoot from the Perfios legacy. Anshul is the Co-Founder and ex CEO of Happay, his claim to fame is Happay's celebrated exit to CRED for $180M. In this episode, Sanjay from his personal experience of working on the ‘Aadhaar' project explains how the growth of the fintech sector is fueled by the revolutionary implementation of the world's largest biometric ID system. Srikanth talks about how Amazon solved the ‘cash-on-delivery' problem using wallets bringing it from ~70% to ~15%. And Anshul narrates the remarkable journey with humble beginnings of building ‘Happay' with multiple pivots to eventually exiting to CRED. This episode sets the stage for a perfect finale in the next episode where we dive into the world of ‘UPI', ‘Lending','Compliance' and ‘GenAI', stay tuned!Enjoyed the podcast? Please consider leaving a review on Apple Podcasts and subscribe wherever you are listening to this.Follow Prime Venture Partners:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/primevp/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/Primevp_in This podcast is for you. Do let us know what you like about the podcast, what you don't like, the guests you'd like to have on the podcast and the topics you'd like us to cover in future episodes.Please share your feedback here: https://primevp.in/podcastfeedback
Imagine the Indian fintech industry as a Bollywood dance sequence. It begins in the early 2000s, with a few enthusiastic background dancers, mainly startups like Paytm and ItzCash, shaking to the primitive rhythms of dial-up internet. The choreography was less "smooth moonwalk" and more "clunky robot dance," but the spirit? Unmatchable! As the beat of technology quickened, so did the steps. By the 2010s, the stage was ablaze with newcomers, each adding their own flair to the routine—swiping, tapping, and clicking their way into the hearts of millions. Mobile wallets, digital banking, and e-commerce platforms pirouetted around the traditional banking giants, who were still trying to tie their shoelaces and join the routine. Today, the Indian fintech dance floor is crowded. It's a vibrant, chaotic medley—part traditional garba, part trendy hip-hop, and entirely enthralling. In this episode, Navin Surya, ex-MD and CEO of ItzCash joins us to help us understand the fintech medley of motion.
This week's episode is an assortment of INSIGHTFUL INFORMATION about stocks in the banking sector, PayTM vs RBI & Rakesh Jhunjhunwala's strategies to becoming generationally wealthy as we welcome once again Deepak Shenoy, founder of CapitalMind, to the Neon Show!What Happened To PayTM?What Is The State of Banking Stocks & Sector in India!Is PM Modi Right About PSU Stocks?Are Startups Going IPO A Good Trend?All these juicy topics and more in this DETAILED conversation. A dive into the psyche of the man who manages over Rs. 1700 crore in the Indian markets… One of the rare times where the conversation never stops being informative & gripping. Tune in NOW!_________________________________________________________________Siddhartha Ahluwalia, Founder, Neon Fund & Host, The Neon ShowTwitter: https://twitter.com/siddharthaa7LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/siddharthaahluwalia/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/siddhartha_a/__________________________________________________________________*Sponsor Shout Out*Looking to build a differentiated tech startup with a 10X better solution? Prime is the high-conviction, high-support investor you need. With its fourth fund of $120M, Prime actively works with star teams to accelerate building great companies.To know more, visit https://primevp.in/!___________________________________________________________________CHAPTERS00:00 - Precap01:34 - Welcome Back Deepak Shenoy, CEO of CapitalMind!01:52 - What Happened To PayTM? Fintechs vs RBI11:21 - State of Banking Stocks & Sector in India!28:07 - Should You Buy A Banking Stock?34:23 - Is RBI Mis Selling Information?39:07 - Why Are Public Sector Banks Doing So Well?40:10 - Indian Banks' Bad Lending History!45:07 - ArcelorMittal DRAMA Decoded!52:20 - What Was The Problem With Yes Bank?58:13 - Is PM Modi Right About PSU Stocks?1:08:00 - Is The Indian Stock Market Currently Overvalued?1:11:41 - Are Micro Cap Companies The Best Bet Right Now?1:15:57 - Are Startups Going IPO A Good Trend?1:31:03 - Are Jio Financials A Good Stock To Invest in?1:33:06 - Top 3 Active Stocks In India!1:39:57 - “The Market Goes Up When You Sleep!”1:41:11 - Should Financial Advisors Be Held Accountable?1:48:51 - Is Buying Large Caps The Safe Option?1:50:18 - Rakesh Jhunjhunwala's Strategies1:55:52
The Hamas attacks of 7 October 2023 led to major reductions in household spending and business investment in Israel. We also assess what the Houthi Red Sea attacks mean for global shipping. Also, in the programme, our presenter Devina Gupta finds out why Paytm's digital wallet in India at risk; and how rising inflation in Nigeria is impacting businesses.
India's Supreme Court vetoed a scheme that allowed folks to donate to political parties anonymously. Among the more popular vehicles was the electoral bond scheme introduced by the Bharatiya Janata Party in 2017. Whereas the BJP figured it might make the whole thing more transparent by doing away with cash donations, critics retorted that it made the process more opaque. In business, Paytm is in big trouble after the Reserve Bank of India ordered the outfit's payments bank to wind down operations in light of "persistent non-compliance" and "continued material supervisory concerns". And in science, scientists are exploring an idea to stop global warming by sending umbrellas in space to shield the sun's rays.
In today's episode for 3rd February 2024, we tell you why the Reserve Bank of India has effectively killed the payments bank business of Paytm and what it could mean for the future of the fintech. If you're a person who is great at communicating and are enthusiastic to join our team, Ditto is looking to recruit new Insurance advisors. You don't even have to know about Insurance, we'll train you from scratch and you can enjoy working remotely with a great team. If you're interested in this or know someone who is please click this link. https://bit.ly/48WX5za
In today's episode, we delve deep into the recent actions taken by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) towards the end of 2023 and the ensuing ripple effects they've set off. The RBI, often the silent architect of our financial landscape, has made strategic manoeuvres that reshape the terrain for banks, non-banking financial companies (NBFCs), and borrowers. Discover how these regulatory shifts could impact financial decisions and the broader economic landscape. From the nuances of risk weights to the implications for personal loan growth, this episode promises to demystify the complex world of financial regulations in a digestible and engaging format. Here is a quick overview of what we talk about: We unpack the RBI's directives regarding risk weights and the restrictions placed on simultaneous lending and investing activities by financial institutions. Dive into how startups offering digital lending products, like CRED and Paytm, are affected and the challenges they face under the new regulations. Explore why your credit card limits might be scrutinised and how conflict of interest rules reshape lending dynamics. Understand why the RBI's focus on Alternative Investment Funds (AIFs) matters and how it impacts investors' portfolios. Debate whether these measures reflect a proportionate response from the RBI and what they suggest about the current state of our economy. Timestamps 00:00 Introduction and Disclaimer 01:34 Deepak demystifies the two new regulations by RBI on Banks and NBFC 05:37 What's the impact of these new regulations? Why should we care? 16:05 Why is RBI more concerned about personal loans? 24:54 Why aren't you positive about the RBI action here? What's wrong with the slowing loan growth? 32:20 If Startups are ready to take the risk, why is RBI stopping them? 45:14 Even after this bull run, why isn't there lending against securities? 52:11 RBI has a new rule prohibiting Banks and NBFCs from evergreening loans through AIFs. 01:03:51 Is this a warning, a sign that the economy is over-heating?
In today's episode for 9th December 2023, we explain why the fintech firm had a rough Thursday. Talk to Ditto - https://bit.ly/45uvyDL
Not everyone has a bank in the developing world, but mobile phones are everywhere. Mary Long and Asit Sharma discuss: The evolution of payments in India Micropayments versus credit cards How MercadoLibre is gaining traction with cross-border payments in Latin America The move for payments companies to become a superapp Companies mentioned: GOOG, GOOGL, PG, PAYTM, TOST, PYPL, MELI, DLO, BABA Host: Mary Long Guest: Asit Sharma Producer: Ricky Mulvey Engineer: Rick Engdahl