Latest news with #OYO
Mint
5 days ago
- Business
- Mint
OYO's Ritesh Agarwal says India-UK FTA deal game-changer for startups, jobs, AI growth
OYO Rooms founder and CEO Ritesh Agarwal hailed the India-UK FTA deal, stating that the agreement is likely to be a game-changer for startups, jobs, AI growth. 'The India- UK FTA is a major step forward— other industries travel, services and startups are going to see a major uplift. As one of the fastest growing investors in the UK with 220+ hotels in 65+ UK cities and £50m investment in premium expansion, it means more jobs (1,000+ planned), smarter AI innovation, and a stronger role in local communities,' the OYO founder said in a clip posted on Instagram. The OYO rooms founder was among the eight other business tycoons, including Bharti Enterprises chairman Sunil Mittal, Vedanta Resources Chairman Anil Agarwal, others who attended the signing of the historic deal between India and the UK. India and the UK, on Thursday, July 25, signed a landmark free trade agreement, aimed at boosting goods and services trade between the two countries. It was signed by Piyush Goyal and his British counterpart Jonathan Reynolds in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and UK prime minister Keir Starmer. The FTA will cut tariffs on most products traded between India and the United Kingdom. According to an official release, the deal also specified that the average tariff on UK products will fall from the current 15% to just 3%. The Free Trade deal will exempt at least 75,000 Indians working in the UK from social security payments for three years. Youth in IT, services, and education will gain from easier access to the UK's high-value markets. Union Minister Piyush Goyal said the FTA would allow duty-free access for 99 per cent of Indian exports, unlocking $23 billion in opportunities for labour-intensive sectors. India's seafood shrimp, tuna, fishmeal gets zero-duty entry to the UK's $5.4 billion marine market after the Free Trade deal comes into effect. The FTA will also make it easier for British firms to export whisky, gin, cosmetics, medical devices, cars and other products to India The Free Trade deal will also offer simplified customs, equal treatment and procurement access. MSMEs can now bid for the UK government contracts.
Mint
23-07-2025
- Business
- Mint
Kluisz.ai raises $9.6 million in largest AI seed round of 2025 so far
Hospitality chain OYO's former global chief operating officer (COO) Abhinav Sinha has launched a B2B-focused startup for private cloud infrastructure after raising $9.6 million in seed funding. Sinha started the company two-and-a-half months ago with his co-founders Vamshidhar Reddy and Abhijeet Singh, who formerly worked at McKinsey & Co and AT&T, respectively. Kluisz's seed round is the largest in the artificial intelligence space so far this year, according to Tracxn data. Overall, the company has raised the seventh largest equity seed round, out of 489 deals so far this year. Notably, Kluisz is the only AI software company among the top 10 seed investments so far this year, with five others being deep-tech, while the rest are split between investment tech, religion tech, fintech and B2B-ecommerce. The number one and two spots are held respectively by electric commercial vehicle maker EKA, which raised $23 million from Enam Holdings, and RackBank, a provider of AI-focused data centre colocation services that raised $16.5 million from investment firm KRIIS. New York-based early-stage venture capital firm RTP Global led the round, with participation from Unicorn India Ventures, Blume Founders Fund, Climber Capital and a few angel investors including OYO founder Ritesh Agarwal. Apart from his previous role as COO at OYO, Sinha was chief product officer as well and credits his time in the dual roles as the reason for his new venture. 'We were honing down on drivers in the cloud ecosystem, trying to figure out efficiency, reducing latency and experimenting. We always wanted to set up a private cloud for ourselves but found it daunting," Sinha told Mint in an interview. Kluisz will be spending about 80% of the seed funding on hiring its engineering talent while the rest will go towards expanding its go-to-market team. Currently, the firm's main focus is on India as a market, while also looking at the Middle East. 'The tailwinds, from a data sovereignty perspective, is very high. Even from the perspective of enterprises focusing on generative AI and agentic solutions," said Sinha. The company aims to have its first customer by the end of the year or by January 2026, and eventually have a mix of small and medium businesses as well as enterprise customers contributing to revenue. Kluisz is targeting banking, financial services and insurance (BFSI), as well as manufacturing as early customers. 'The private cloud infrastructure market will continue to grow, fuelled by the increasing adoption of data-intensive workloads among enterprises," D.D. Mishra, vice-president analyst at technology consulting firm Gartner, told Mint in a written response. The company's pitch is that while cloud infrastructure set-ups generally need a lot of people to operate efficiently given that data requirements are always scaling, AI can do a lot of the heavy lifting, especially when it comes to private cloud systems. As a result, a generative AI private cloud reduces costs and manpower. 'While traditionally favoured by sectors with strict compliance and security needs, private clouds are gaining some traction more broadly as organizations seek greater control, customization, and performance, especially for AI applications requiring specialized hardware and low-latency data access," Mishra said. How large is the market really? With AI becoming more prevalent across enterprise, data security is becoming a pressing requirement for large companies. As a result, they'll see private cloud offerings as a boon for AI-related workloads. An IBM report from last year shows that 32% of Indian companies use only a private cloud, while 18% use a public one. However, 47% said that they use a hybrid cloud environment. In fact, hybrid continues to be the dominant IT infrastructure. A hybrid cloud is a form of cloud computing that allows organisations to manage their ecosystem using a combination of private, public and on-premises data centres. Last year, cloud computing company Nutanix's survey found that 46% of the 1,500 respondents had already adopted hybrid cloud ecosystems. Technology consulting firm Gartner's own survey is even more bullish, suggesting that 90% of organizations will adopt a hybrid cloud approach by 2027. That being said, end-user spending on public cloud services dwarfs private cloud significantly. Company spends on private cloud are expected to exceed $84 billion by 2029, according to Gartner's IT Services forecast. Public cloud end-user spending is expected to touch $723 billion this year alone.
Time of India
18-07-2025
- Business
- Time of India
65% growth in visa-easy destination bookings, Bali and Dubai top choices: OYO report, ETHospitalityWorld
Global hospitality technology company OYO released its International Summer Holidays Travelopedia 2025, revealing the defining trends shaping how Indians are traveling overseas this summer. The report highlights 65 percent YOY growth in visa-easy destination bookings by Indian travelelrs in H1 2025 underscoring a shift in preferences driven by relaxed visa policies, enhanced air connectivity, and a growing appetite for premium experiences. Some of the most popular destinations on this list include Dubai, Bali, and Bangkok, among others. Dubai tops the charts, Bali emerges as honeymoon hotspot Dubai has emerged as the leading international destination for Indian families, registering a record 3X year-on-year growth in bookings, fueled by five-year multiple-entry visa for Indian nationals that mostly include family travelers and budget business travelers. Bali, meanwhile, has seen a surge in bookings from couples and honeymooners, reflecting its status as a romantic getaway of choice. Advt Advt Indian travellers are increasingly opting for premium and mid-premium accommodations, with OYO's Sunday and Palette brands becoming top preferences. In H1 2025 alone, OYO added 13 new premium properties across Southeast Asia and the Middle East, strengthening its premium footprint in these high-demand markets. The report reveals that Sunday Mega Hotel at Sheikh Zayed Road in Dubai and Super OYO Townhouse Hotel Gunung Sahari in Jakarta, Indonesia are the most booked properties in this stay duration: Indian travellers favour 5–7-day trips for Southeast Asia and 3-5 days for the middle east, making the most of long weekends and holidays, while long-haul destinations in Europe and the US see stays of 10–15 preferences: Proximity to beaches, nightlife, and easy access to cultural attractions are the most sought-after features among OYO's Indian and Dubai are emerging as popular choices in visa easy countries for destination weddings according to the booking patterns recorded by OYO Total Holidays-OYO's dedicated platform for providing complete travel solutions. These destinations offer bespoke event facilities and scenic locales, making it convenient for guests. Additionally, digital nomads are choosing Indonesia and Malaysia for affordable living, reliable connectivity, and vibrant coworking on the development, Ankit Tandon, global CBO and CEO, OYO Vacation Homes, Southeast Asia, Middle East, Latin America, OYO said "Our premium property expansion program includes both hotels and serviced apartments, designed to meet the needs of business and leisure travellers alike. In the UAE, we have a network of over 400 premium apartments in Abu Dhabi and 350+ in Dubai, catering primarily to professionals seeking long-term stays. At the same time, we are rapidly growing our portfolio of premium hotels across leading tourist destinations in Asia, including Dubai, Bali, Bangkok, Pattaya, Kuala Lumpur, Langkawi, Jeddah, Riyadh, Angeles, and many others." By , ETHospitalityWorld Join the community of 2M+ industry professionals. Subscribe to Newsletter to get latest insights & analysis in your inbox. All about ETHospitalityWorld industry right on your smartphone! Download the ETHospitalityWorld App and get the Realtime updates and Save your favourite articles.
Hans India
18-07-2025
- Business
- Hans India
Dubai, Bali top picks for Indians in Jan-June
New Delhi: Dubai, Bali and Bangkok topped the overseas travel preferences of Indians booking through the OYO app between January and June this year, with 65 per cent Year-on-Year growth in bookings for travel destinations offering easier visa processes, the IPO-bound travel tech unicorn said on Thursday. According to the 'OYO Travelopedia 2025', which is based on its responses on 20,000 bookings made via the app, Dubai topped the list with three times year-on-year growth in bookings made by Indian families, whereas Bali witnessed a rise in bookings by couples and honeymooners. The average travel duration for bookings made via the OYO app was 5-7 days for Southeast Asia and 3-5 days for the Middle East, while long-haul destinations in Europe and the US see stays of 10-15 days. 'The report highlights 65 per cent YoY growth in visa-easy destination bookings by Indian travellers in H1 2025, underscoring a shift in preferences driven by relaxed visa policies, enhanced air connectivity, and a growing appetite for premium experiences. Some of the most popular destinations on this list include Dubai, Bali, and Bangkok, among others,' OYO stated. The travel tech platform has a network of 50 premium hotels in these countries, including 23 in Southeast Asia and 27 in the Middle East, mostly under the SUNDAY and Palette brand names. OYO stated that it plans to further expand its premium offerings in emerging global hotspots, with a focus on aspirational properties and personalised guest experiences.
India.com
17-07-2025
- Entertainment
- India.com
Shah Rukh Khan, Madhuri Dixt, Sidharth Malhotra and more celebs invested in this Rs 1,400 crore company, its name is…, owner is…
Home Entertainment Shah Rukh Khan, Madhuri Dixt, Sidharth Malhotra and more celebs invested in this Rs 1,400 crore company, its name is…, owner is… Shah Rukh Khan, Madhuri Dixt, Sidharth Malhotra and more celebs invested in this Rs 1,400 crore company, its name is…, owner is… One will be amazed to know that many A-list actors have invested in Ritesh Agarwal's OYO. Scroll down to read their names. In recent years, the trend of startups has been touching the sky — from Boat to Swiggy and many more such companies that are making skyrocketing money every year. Among these top brands, another brand that has successfully become people's favourite is Ritesh Agarwal's OYO. However, the brand is extremely special because many celebs including Shah Rukh Khan, Sidharth Malhotra, and more are investors. In the last few years, many celebrities have come forward to invest in emerging brands, marking a shift from their earlier roles that were restricted to brand ambassadors or endorsers. Top Indian celebrities, including actors and A-list cricketers, are now investing in online travel platforms, signaling a shift in the funding landscape of the travel industry. A-List Celebrities Who Invested in OYO Recently, Ritesh Agarwal's OYO raised over Rs 1,400 crore in its Series G funding round. If reports by Skift are to be believed, producer and designer Gauri Khan, wife of Shah Rukh Khan, is one of the investors in OYO's latest fundraiser. The report further claimed that Gauri picked around 2.4 million shares in the company. Madhuri Dixit and Her Connection with Ritesh Agarwal's OYO The same report in Skift claimed that Madhuri Dixit and her husband Dr. Sriram Nene, along with Dr. Ritesh Malik, founder of Innov8, have also invested in the brand. They have together bought 2 million shares in OYO. Meanwhile, actor Amrita Rao and her husband, radio jockey Anmol Sood, have invested in Innov8 through the secondary market. Bollywood stars Sidharth Malhotra and Kiara Advani have also previously purchased shares in OYO. For breaking news and live news updates, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter and Instagram. Read more on Latest Entertainment News on
