Latest news with #Sahi
Time of India
2 hours ago
- Business
- Time of India
Stock-trading firm Sahi lands $10.5 million in a round led by Accel, Elevation Capital
Stock trading platform Sahi , founded by former Swiggy chief technology officer Dale Vaz and ex-Kotak Securities executive Manish Jain, has raised $10.5 million in a funding round led by Accel and Elevation Capital . The Bengaluru-based startup plans to use the capital to accelerate product innovation, especially in automation, as the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) moves to allow algorithmic trading for retail investors . Sahi also intends to scale its team and expand its reach across India to serve more active traders. As part of its roadmap, Sahi will roll out new automation tools, including visual no-code strategy builders and multi-leg options execution capabilities. The company is also set to launch its trading website this week, expanding beyond its existing mobile and desktop offerings. Earlier this year, Sebi cleared the way for retail participation in algorithmic trading, with the new rules taking effect from August 1, 2025. Currently, only institutional investors are permitted to use algorithms, which are automated programmes that execute trades based on pre-defined instructions. Live Events 'Sahi began with the intent of helping the individual investor. We focus on people interested in making their own financial decisions, both as investors and even as traders. The idea is to build this as a single, end-to-end product, which will cover the entire trader journey,' Vaz told ET. Discover the stories of your interest Blockchain 5 Stories Cyber-safety 7 Stories Fintech 9 Stories E-comm 9 Stories ML 8 Stories Edtech 6 Stories Launched in December 2024, Sahi offers a chart-first interface with tools such as real-time Greeks, open interest tracking, technical indicators, and one-click trade execution. The platform leverages AI-driven insights to assist individual traders to make more informed decisions. The platform has seen over 200,000 app downloads and a 50% month-on-month growth in active traders. According to the company, over 20% of users have executed more than 500 trades within five months, while more than half have placed over 100 trades. Sahi also claims to charge about 50% lower brokerage than larger incumbents by leveraging a lean team structure and AI-powered infrastructure. The platform charges Rs 10 per trade, Vaz said. Manasi Shah, vice president at Accel, said, "The future of trading globally is going to be disrupted by AI, and Sahi is racing ahead to be the best-in-class AI-led trading platform. As Accel, we are excited to double down on Sahi as part of our thesis that AI will disrupt consumer experiences across verticals.' While acknowledging some short-term impact from recent regulatory curbs on futures and options (F&O) trading, Vaz remains optimistic about long-term prospects. 'We are extremely bullish about the larger financialisation of the Indian wealth story that is playing out, and which will continue to play out in our belief over the next 5-10 years at least,' he said. "Existing tech-first brokers have solved customer access to markets really well; but as users and technology have both matured significantly, there is an opportunity to re-imagine the entire experience ground-up,' said Vaas Bhaskar, partner at Elevation Capital. 'We believe that Dale and Manish are building with deep customer obsession and have built a never-before seen broking experience, combining all parts of the trader's journey - research, execution and post-trade.'
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Business Standard
15 hours ago
- Business
- Business Standard
Amazon India extends Prime Day to 3 days as it pushes into smaller cities
Amazon India said Prime Day 2025 will run for three days for the first time, from 12:00 am on July 12 to 11:59 pm on July 14. The 72-hour event will offer deals and new product launches exclusively for Prime members. For the first time, members will get an additional 24 hours to shop across major brands and small businesses. This expansion reflects Amazon India's push to grow its Prime membership base in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities, with a clear shift in adoption patterns beyond traditional metropolitan strongholds. Akshay Sahi, director, Prime, deliveries and returns for India and emerging markets, emphasised the widening geographic footprint of Prime, citing that last Prime Day the firm had 60 per cent or higher sign-ups from cities outside the top 20. 'We have a bunch of new FCs which have actually come up or are coming up... in the hinterland of India,' Sahi told Business Standard, referring to fulfilment centres aimed at enabling faster delivery—same-day and next-day—in underserved regions. Sahi also highlighted the need to tailor offerings by geography and customer segment: 'Our job is to serve customers from wherever they come,' he said, adding that Amazon is simultaneously making Prime 'more affordable, more accessible' in urban areas while driving speed and savings in emerging markets. The company recently introduced a Rs 5 fee per order, even for Prime members, which Sahi called a very small charge compared to the cost of shipments, noting that such pricing aligns with standard industry practice in India. To support this geographic expansion, Amazon India has significantly scaled its logistics network to boost delivery speed and reliability in smaller cities. The company has expanded its same-day and next-day delivery footprint. 'We've increased the number of pin codes served by over 10 per cent in 2024,' Sahi said, adding that the pace of growth has continued into 2025. Amazon's sub-same-day delivery speeds now start at 'a couple of hours,' with ongoing investments aimed at bringing products closer to customers. Sahi said quicker deliveries not only improve customer satisfaction but also reduce return rates. 'When products get to customers faster, they actually return less,' he said. 'Expectation is met faster.' The push into smaller cities has intensified competition, with Amazon's chief rival Flipkart—owned by Walmart—also ramping up its same-day delivery capabilities across a range of product categories, targeting customers in both metro and non-metro regions. The initiative is supported by a network of fulfilment centres strategically located across the country, enabling faster order processing and delivery at scale. As quick-commerce players like Blinkit, Instamart and Zepto reset consumer expectations around delivery times, Amazon India is also doubling down on its core advantage: the breadth of its selection combined with progressively faster delivery. Sahi acknowledged the growing demand for instant gratification but stressed the importance of consumer choice. 'It's not that you or I want everything in 10 minutes... but there are certain things which you want faster and there are certain things which you're willing to wait for,' he said. Amazon is actively testing its quick-commerce service 'Now' in Bengaluru but remains focused on delivering value across a broader range. 'It's obviously impossible to serve tens of millions of products in 10 minutes,' Sahi said. Prime Day Details During the upcoming three-day Prime Day event, Amazon will offer Prime members early access to thousands of new product launches from over 400 Indian and global brands, alongside offerings from small and medium businesses. The Prime Day will feature over 1,600 new product launches from more than 190 small and medium businesses, alongside deals across smartphones, appliances, fashion, groceries and more. Prime members will also enjoy same-day delivery on over 1 million products and next-day delivery on 4 million items, spanning everything from baby care to electronics. Shoppers can unlock 10 per cent savings using ICICI and SBI credit and debit cards, including EMI options. Last year's Prime Day marked Amazon India's biggest ever, with a 24 per cent increase in Prime member participation and record sign-ups, highlighting growing demand across the country. 'It's the best time to become a Prime member,' he added.
Mint
20 hours ago
- Business
- Mint
Amazon to focus on small towns this year with three-day Prime Day sale
Amazon India will extend its flagship Prime Day sale to three days in July with a deeper focus on small towns and cities, a top executive said, underscoring the importance of sale events for e-commerce platforms when the industry is facing slowing growth. Prime Day will be held on 12-14. Prime members will get earlier access to new product launches across categories, including consumer electronics, groceries and essentials, and furniture and home improvement items. 'India is a country that has multiple-day events and sales events. We realized that every time we would finish Prime Day, there was always feedback from customers saying that they missed buying one thing or another. We also got great interest from brands and sellers on the platform,' said Akshay Sahi, director, Prime, delivery and returns, India and emerging markets, in an interview. Despite touching nearly $60 billion in 2024, India's e-commerce market growth slowed to 10-12% during the year from over 20% seen historically, due to macroeconomic and consumption stress, showed a March 2025 report by Flipkart and Bain & Co. According to the report, consumption growth in the country has declined from 11% in the pre-covid period (2017-19) to about 8% post-COVID (2022–24) due to inflationary pressure and stagnating real wages. As a result, sales have become critical for e-commerce companies to drive revenue and increase purchase frequencies throughout the year. The Indian arm of the global e-commerce giant will introduce a greater number of deals this year across products with additional discounts and no-cost EMI payment options for select credit and debit cardholders. These deals are likely to increase traction in smaller towns, putting Amazon head-to-head with the likes of SoftBank-backed Meesho and Walmart-owned Flipkart. Flipkart holds the pole position in e-commerce with a 48% market share, while Meesho is the country's fastest-growing e-retailer in terms of user base, according to January 2024 estimates by AllianceBernstein. Amazon lagged with a 13% growth in its user base, attributed to its relatively premium offerings compared to peers. Prime subscribers from outside metro cities are growing every year, with sales events like Prime Day showing accelerated adoption, said Amazon's Sahi. 'We're seeing every year that Prime is no longer a metro phenomenon. Customers from smaller towns are increasingly enjoying Prime's offerings, and adoption is accelerated during sale events. Today, Prime members are shopping from 98% of PIN codes in India.' Amazon introduced Prime in India in 2016, offering one-day and two-day deliveries, for ₹ 499 per year. Today, the membership costs ₹ 1,499 for a year and ₹ 299 for a month. The company is also doubling down on its tiered membership plans—Prime Lite ( ₹ 799 for 12 months) and Prime Shopping Edition ( ₹ 399 for 12 months) to capture a larger consumer base, Sahi said. 'Over the last year, we have tried to really push Prime to be more accessible to customers from all socio-economic classes. The tiered plans are a step towards that.' Prime Day offers will include discounted prices on flight and hotel bookings as well as new shows and movies on Prime Video. Amazon is also investing heavily in speeding up its delivery windows as it looks to catch up with quick-commerce turnaround times and compete with rivals like Flipkart, which has surged ahead in recent months. Last week, the company announced that it would earmark ₹ 2,000 crore ($233 million) to strengthen its pan-India operations, including upgrading delivery infrastructure, improving safety and well-being programmes for delivery associates, and developing new tools and technologies for its fulfilment network. 'This allows us to build fulfilment centres and delivery stations closer to customers, and have great technology that allows us to place products and move products faster. At the same time, make life a lot easier for our sellers, delivery associates, and mid-mile operators who are helping us deliver everything fast and reliably to our customers,' Sahi said.
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Business Standard
28-05-2025
- Business
- Business Standard
General insurers launch ₹120-cr campaign to raise insurance awareness
With penetration slipping to 3.7% in FY24, general insurers roll out "Acha Kiya Insurance Liya" campaign modelled on mutual fund success to drive awareness Mumbai Listen to This Article Taking a leaf out of the mutual fund playbook—famous for the tagline 'Mutual Fund Sahi Hai,' which successfully encouraged the public to invest in mutual funds—the non-life insurance industry has launched the campaign 'Acha Kiya Insurance Liya' to boost insurance penetration in the country, which remains abysmally low. The industry has committed ₹120 crore for the first year and is expected to allocate additional funds to ensure the campaign's success. The Acha Kiya Insurance Liya campaign highlights the importance of general insurance and how it preserves hard-earned savings during emergencies, accidents, and unforeseen circumstances. However, this campaign does not cover
News18
27-05-2025
- Business
- News18
How to Plan Your Dream Trip with SIP: The Sahi Kadam for Travel Without Financial Stress
Last Updated: News18 Dreaming of exploring new countries, relaxing on a beach, or taking that much-awaited family vacation? For many, travel is no longer a luxury but an essential part of life's aspirations. Yet, the cost of a dream trip can often feel daunting. The good news: with a little planning and the power of a Systematic Investment Plan (SIP) in mutual funds, you can turn your travel goals into reality without dipping into savings or taking on debt. This is truly 'Nivesh ka Sahi Kadam" and a shining example of why 'Mutual Funds Sahi Hai." Why Plan Your Vacation with an SIP? Most people either fund their trips at the last minute with credit cards or personal loans, or dip into their emergency savings-both of which can derail your financial health. Instead, planning your trip in advance and investing regularly through an SIP allows you to: Step-by-Step Guide to Planning Your Trip with SIP Your Dream Trip and Budget → Decide where you want to go (domestic or international), how long you'll stay, and the experiences you want. → Estimate the total cost, including flights, accommodation, food, local travel, shopping, and a buffer for inflation (usually add 10-15%). How far away is your trip? The time you have determines the type of mutual fund you should choose. → Less than 1 year: Consider liquid or ultra-short-term debt funds for minimal risk. → 1-3 years: Look at short-term or corporate bond funds for better returns with moderate risk. → 3+ years: You can consider balanced advantage or hybrid funds for potentially higher growth. 3. Calculate Your SIP Amount → Use an SIP calculator: Input your target amount, expected return, and time horizon to find out how much you need to invest monthly. → Example: For a ₹4 lakh international trip in 2 years, if you assume a 7% annual return (which is a reasonable estimate for a suitable debt mutual fund), the Goal SIP calculator shows you would need to invest approximately ₹15,600 per month to reach your goal. 4. Start Your SIP and Stay Consistent → Automate your SIP so you never miss an installment. → Treat this investment as non-negotiable-just like your rent or utility bill. 5. Track Your Progress and Adjust if Needed → Review your SIP annually or if your trip plans change. → If you get a bonus or extra income, consider topping up your SIP for a bigger travel fund. Why SIP is the Sahi Kadam for Your Travel Goals Disciplined Saving: SIPs encourage regular, disciplined savings, making your dream trip a reality without financial strain. Power of Compounding: Even small amounts invested regularly can grow significantly over time, thanks to compounding. Flexibility: You can start, stop, or modify your SIP as your plans evolve. No Compromise on Other Goals: By creating a separate travel fund, you don't have to sacrifice your long-term goals or emergency savings. Watch this video where Subbu explains how by setting aside a portion of your income for travel through SIPs, you can experience the world without compromising your financial well-being. With a little discipline and planning, your dream vacation is just a few SIPs away. For more details: top videos View all Disclaimer: Mutual fund investments are subject to market risks. Please read all scheme-related documents carefully before investing. Past performance is not indicative of future results. This is a Partnered Post. First Published:
