BigBasket Resets, Gameskraft Wins Relief, and Ola Electric Seeks Settlement

BigBasket’s biggest problem is not that Blinkit became faster.

It is that Blinkit came from the same old grocery war BigBasket had already won. Hari Menon built BigBasket by proving that grocery needed control, warehouses, cold chain and reliable delivery slots. Grofers tried a lighter model, struggled, pivoted, rebranded as Blinkit, and then used Zomato’s backing to make speed the new grocery habit.

That is the irony of this story.

Menon was right in the first grocery war. BigBasket’s inventory-led model was better suited for Indian grocery than Grofers’ early marketplace model. Fresh produce, staples, fill rates and substitutions could not be managed like food delivery. BigBasket understood that early and built a serious grocery machine.

But the costly mistake was treating quick commerce as a weaker version of grocery rather than a new consumer behaviour.

Once Blinkit, Zepto and Instamart made “need it now” the default habit, BigBasket’s old strength became partly heavy. A ₹1,400-1,500 slotted grocery basket can absorb delivery cost. A ₹450-650 instant grocery basket cannot, unless dark-store throughput, private-label margin and delivery density work perfectly.

That is why Tata’s reset is expensive. BigBasket’s B2C revenue fell about 3% in FY25 to ₹7,673 crore, while B2C losses widened from ₹1,267 crore to nearly ₹1,851 crore. Consolidated losses crossed ₹2,000 crore even as revenue slipped to around ₹9,900 crore. This is not normal growth burn. This is the cost of rebuilding the business for a market that moved while BigBasket was defending the old one.

The Amit Nanda appointment fits this moment. Menon built the fortress. Nanda, coming from Amazon India’s marketplace engine, has to decide which parts of that fortress should become faster and which parts should not be dragged into the speed race at all.

BigBasket still has one serious weapon: private labels. Fresho, BB Royal, BB Popular and others are estimated to contribute 35-40% of turnover, with some categories carrying 30-40% gross margins. In quick commerce, that matters. Blinkit may have density. Zepto may have youth recall. BigBasket’s chance is grocery margin.

But it also has another under-discussed layer: BBDaily.

This is not the same as instant grocery. BBDaily competes more with Milkbasket and Country Delight, where the habit is milk, eggs, bread, curd and other essentials delivered quietly every morning. The economics are different. The ticket size is smaller, but the route is predictable, demand is subscription-led, and the household touchpoint is daily. That makes it valuable if used well.

In simple terms, BigBasket now has to manage three grocery behaviours at once: monthly stock-up, instant top-up and morning routine.

That is hard, but it can also be a moat.

The mistake would be to force everything into one speed promise. Milk at 7 am does not need a 10-minute dark store. Monthly staples do not need instant delivery. Snacks, forgotten onions and emergency diapers do.

Let’s go through what else is happening in Indian startup world - Grab your simmering cup of StartupChai.in and unwind with our hand-brewed memes.

“Rahat Ki Saans”: Gameskraft Founders Get HC Relief In ED Arrest Case

The Karnataka High Court ordered the immediate release of Gameskraft founders Deepak Singh, Vikas Taneja and Prithviraj Singh, holding that their ED arrests were not in accordance with law.

The relief is limited to the arrest issue for now, while the money-laundering investigation is expected to continue. The case keeps online gaming under the scanner, especially after heightened tax and compliance heat on real-money gaming companies.

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“Achha Chalta Hoon, Duaon Mein Yaad Rakhna”: BigBasket Founders Step Back As Amit Nanda Takes CEO Chair

BigBasket cofounders Hari Menon and Vipul Parekh have stepped down from daily operations, while former Amazon executive Amit Nanda is taking over as CEO.

The transition comes as BigBasket faces intense quick-commerce pressure from Blinkit, Zepto and Instamart. Nanda’s mandate will be to sharpen strategy, regain market share and improve margins at one of Tata’s key consumer internet bets.

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“Galti Se Mistake Ho Gaya”: Ola Electric Seeks Settlement In Disclosure Probe

Ola Electric and founder Bhavish Aggarwal have reportedly approached SEBI to settle a probe into alleged misleading disclosures around sales, deliveries and service network expansion.

The matter relates to disclosures made after Ola Electric’s August 2024 listing. SEBI has reportedly questioned claims around service-centre scale, sales numbers and Roadster motorcycle delivery timelines.

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“Apna Sapna EMI EMI”: BytePe Launches Zero Cost Store Beyond Smartphones

BytePe has launched its zero cost store, bringing no-cost EMI and cardless EMI options into one platform for premium technology and lifestyle products.

The startup, founded by former Flipkart executive Jayant Jha, is moving beyond smartphones into laptops, wearables, audio products and lifestyle brands.

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“Mausam Badalne Wala Hai”: 100x100 Floats $100 Mn Climate Fund

Singapore-based climate venture builder 100x100 has launched its second fund with a target corpus of $100 million to create and scale 50 climate-focused companies across India and Southeast Asia.

Unlike a traditional VC, 100x100 builds companies from scratch with entrepreneurs. The fund will focus on energy, food, materials and supply chains, signalling rising investor appetite for climate businesses that can move from lab to large-scale commercial deployment.

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“Jio Dhan Dhana Dhan”: Jio May File $4 Bn IPO Papers This Week

Reliance Jio Infocomm is reportedly expected to file its DRHP for a $4 billion IPO this week, ahead of Reliance Industries’ AGM on June 19.

The IPO is expected to be among India’s largest public issues and may include only a fresh issue of shares. For India’s tech and telecom ecosystem, Jio’s listing could become a major benchmark for scale, valuation and public-market appetite.

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“Sheher Se Gaon Tak”: EbixCash Expands Network To 2,250 Cities And Towns

EbixCash World Money has expanded its payments, remittance and forex network to 2,250 cities, towns and villages across India, up from 2,143 a year ago.

The company added more than 573 retail touchpoints, with 89% of new merchant additions coming from Tier 2 and Tier 3 locations. The expansion points to smaller markets becoming more important for assisted digital transactions and remittance access.

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1. Influish has raised an undisclosed pre-seed round from Clovia cofounder Pankaj Vermani and angel investors Jeetendra Tewani and Sachin Harneja. The creator platform is the first startup in CoFounder Circle Accelerator.

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2. Xtovia has raised Rs 6.9 crore in pre-seed funding led by V3 Ventures, with participation from Consumer Collective by Atrium and angel investors. The haircare startup will use the funds for IP, team expansion, market launch and growth.

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3. Mental health startup Lissun has raised ₹2.77 crore in fresh funding, led by Zerodha-backed Rainmatter and the India Foundation Fund. This new capital has boosted the Gurugram-based company's valuation by 40% to approximately ₹101 crore.

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