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...

Software engineering careers used to be a ladder. You studied for 4 years, got a job as a fresher, and could virtually take for granted a steady career filled with learning opportunities, salary hikes, and role promotions.   In fact being an engineer was so cool that we mocked MBAs and MBA-types – “suits” – for their desperation to find that elusive technical co-founder. The one who would translate an idea (common) into code and products. Except, that’s increasingly not true. An NYT story...

The Swiggy of 2024 is a shadow of its former self.  Boxed in by younger, nimbler and hungrier competitors from all sides, it has been defending itself for so long that it seems to have forgotten how to play offense.  It wasn’t always like this. Swiggy used to define innovation, product chops and “Bengaluru cool”.  In many ways it pioneered food delivery in 2014 after pivoting from a courier service. Zomato, originally a restaurant discovery company, got into food delivery a year after...

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....

In 2021, as the pandemic still raged on and we washed our vegetables and supplies before consuming them, a young delivery startup promised that you can get all your groceries – everything you need – delivered right to your doorstep. In 10 minutes.  This was pretty crazy, back then.  Zepto was written off as an ambitious, overhyped startup run by two founders who had barely outgrown their teenage – by competitors and experts alike.  In 2024, Zepto has now raised $1.2 billion in venture...

Startups used to be the promised land where ambitious, young people spent their time doing exciting, ground-breaking and challenging work. And why not? Back in the day, startups promised to change the way business was done. Ideas became organizations, and pulled in people who threw away cushy jobs for the thrill of building something fun and interesting. They moved cities and changed their lives to fulfil their aspirations of being a part of something big and having real impact – as opposed...

Welcome to the first episode of The Ken’s brand new premium business podcast: Two by Two! In this episode, hosts Rohin Dharmakumar, CEO of The Ken and Praveen Gopal Krishnan, COO of The Ken, sit down with Professor R. Srinivasan and Srikanth Rajagopalan to discuss Flipkart and Phonepe – both owned by the American giant Walmart – are stepping over each other’s toes in an effort to create more avenues. Why? Of course, to bring in revenue and strengthen their bottom lines. Flipkart is trying to...