Latest news with #onDemand
Entrepreneur
29-05-2025
- Business
- Entrepreneur
Snabbit Raises USD 19 Mn Series B to Transform On-Demand Home Services
The Series B round was led by Lightspeed, with continued participation from Elevation Capital and Nexus Venture Partners. You're reading Entrepreneur India, an international franchise of Entrepreneur Media. Snabbit, the Mumbai-based on-demand home services startup, has raised USD 19 million in its Series B round, led by Lightspeed, with continued participation from Elevation Capital and Nexus Venture Partners. This fresh infusion comes just four months after Snabbit's USD 5.5 million Series A, underscoring strong investor conviction in the startup's breakout potential and its vision to revolutionize how Indian households access everyday services. The newly raised capital will be strategically deployed to expand Snabbit's operations from 10 to over 200 micro-markets in the next nine months. The company also plans to scale its workforce, investing heavily in team building and training, as it ramps up operations to meet rising demand. "At Snabbit, we're leading the biggest disruption in Indian consumer internet today, fundamentally changing how households access regular services," said Aayush Agarwal, Founder and CEO. "While ride-hailing transformed mobility and e-commerce reshaped fashion, regular home services remained largely undigitised. With Snabbit, we're solving for trust, quality, and speed — all at the tap of a button." Founded in 2024 by Aayush Agarwal, Snabbit is a quick-service app for home services, offering on-demand assistance for tasks like cleaning, dishwashing, and laundry. Users can book trained professionals by the hour, who arrive within 10–15 minutes, enabled by Snabbit's hyperlocal, tech-enabled infrastructure. Snabbit operates on a full-stack model, managing everything from sourcing and training experts to quality assurance and pricing. Its innovative time-based pricing and commitment to speed make it a daily utility for urban families. Snabbit is also reshaping the lives of service providers, many of whom are women from informal employment backgrounds. "They now have Aadhaar-linked bank accounts, insurance, and steady incomes," said Aayush. "Once invisible and underpaid, they're now trained, trusted, and celebrated professionals." Rahul Taneja, Partner at Lightspeed, remarked, "Aayush and the team are building a platform that brings structure and dignity to a sector long ignored. We're proud to support this transformation." Suvir Sujan of Nexus Venture Partners and Manish Advani of Elevation Capital echoed similar optimism, praising Snabbit's scalable model and its ability to crack a complex, underserved market. With this new funding, Snabbit is well on its way to making trusted, high-quality home services a mainstream part of urban Indian life.
Newsweek
24-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Newsweek
The Legend of Ochi Gets New Digital Release Date
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Entertainment gossip and news from Newsweek's network of contributors The Legend of Ochi starring Helena Zengel, Willem Dafoe, Emily Watson, and Finn Wolfhard crept into theaters in April and made an impact on critics who gave it a Certified Fresh rating of 77% on Rotten Tomatoes. The sweet family film may have missed you while it was at the box office, but have no fear, it is now available to watch on digital, and even is heading to 4K Ultra HD and Blu-ray this summer. Helena Zengel in The Legend of Ochi, now available to watch digitally. Helena Zengel in The Legend of Ochi, now available to watch digitally. Courtesy of A24 READ: Snow White Gets New Digital Release Date – How to Watch With plenty of options on how to watch The Legend of Ochi available, we've put together a guide that includes details on where to watch The Legend of Ochi, as well as The Legend of Ochi digital release date, and The Legend of Ochi streaming information. The Legend of Ochi – How to Watch The Legend of Ochi is now available to rent or buy across Video on Demand platforms. You can purchase it on places such as Fandango at Home, YouTube, and Google Play for $19.99 to rent and $24.99 to buy. Where Can I Watch The Legend of Ochi? The Legend of Ochi is now available to watch digitally. You can rent or buy the film from Video on Demand platforms. The Legend of Ochi is also available for pre-order on physical media in the 4K Ultra HD and Blu-ray formats. The Legend of Ochi Physical Release Date The Legend of Ochi is now available for pre-order in 4K Ultra HD and Blu-ray formats from the A24 shop. The listing says copies are expected to ship in July. Bonus features include: Commentary with Writer-Director Isaiah Saxon "The Ochi Quest" Behind-the-Scenes Featurette Deleted Scene: Emily Watson's "Singing Bird" Six Collectible Postcards with Behind-the-Scenes Photography by Alexandru Ionita Bonus features may vary depending on format and retailer. The Legend of Ochi Digital Release Date The Legend of Ochi will be available to watch digitally from May 20, 2025. Is The Legend of Ochi Available to Stream in the US? The Legend of Ochi is not yet available on any streaming services in the US. Due to the exclusive streaming deal between HBO, Max, and A24, The Legend of Ochi will likely be available to stream on Max in the coming months. What Is The Legend of Ochi About? The official synopsis for The Legend of Ochi, as per A24, reads: In a remote village on the island of Carpathia, a shy farm girl named Yuri is raised to fear an elusive animal species known as ochi. But when Yuri discovers a wounded baby ochi has been left behind, she escapes on a quest to bring him home.
Daily Mail
19-05-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
The great American ice cream truck is roaring back with on-demand desserts delivered to a street near you
Once a nostalgic staple of American summers, the ice cream truck had all but disappeared — a casualty of changing tastes, tighter regulations, and the rise of delivery apps. Now, one New Jersey startup is reviving the tradition with a digital-age twist — letting customers summon sweet treats on demand via text. Scream Truck operates 17 vans across select neighborhoods in the state, alerting fans when they're nearby and letting them reserve a stop with a simple 'Y.' It's a far cry from the old-school trucks that were a beloved fixture of American neighborhoods from the 1950s through the early 1990s. The company has big plans to expand nationally, aiming to roll out 1,000 trucks within five years. Each truck ditches the old-school jingle for 'actual music,' blasts bright LED graphics, and serves up seasonal sundaes, shakes, and cones — many dreamed up by founder and CEO Eric Murphy himself, who calls it a 'really fun part of the job.' 'Our business model is built around impulse buying, where we text our customers when Scream Truck will be visiting their neighborhood,' Murphy told 'Customers can simply reply Y (for yes!) to reserve a stop at their house. Who can say no to a text message for ice cream?.' Murphy launched the company in 2020, after selling his previous ventures to Condé Nast in 2017. With little ice cream experience but a deep background in experiential marketing, he set out to create something new. 'With a 30 year career in experiential marketing and entertainment, I had always dreamed of creating a whole new experiential food delivery concept,' he said. 'Food delivery has become a behemoth (especially after Covid), but it's a pretty terrible experience.' That is when he decided to create a food truck with a twist, providing customers with goodies via text message request. All of the technology that powers the Scream Truck experience runs on IMPLSE, a proprietary logistics platform developed by the company. 'Scream Truck, and our customer experience and logistics software, are building the foundation for a much larger initiative to deliver 'surprise and delight' food and beverage experiences to people's homes,' he stated. However, the company is also concocting items through partnerships with collaborators to create one-of-a-kind treats, and has also rolled out its first pizza truck concept. 'We are targeting premium, 'not available everywhere' kind of brands like Pat LaFrieda, Levain Cookies, and treats made by celebrated chefs from around the country,' Murphy revealed. Over the last five years, more than 100,000 individuals have signed up for alerts. It also ended 2024 with nearly $4 million in revenue, a 25 percent increase from its 2023 sales. With its popularity soaring, Scream Truck is now slowing down to work more on improving its technology and preparing for a nationwide expansion. 'We just signed our Las Vegas deal, so they will launch their first truck later this summer, and plan to launch 10-15 trucks over the next 18 months. It is the perfect market for Scream Truck,' Murphy said. The business will also be making its way into the tri-state area of Long Island, Florida. Other areas Scream Truck hopes to do business in are 'key hospitality and entertainment cities' like Los Angeles, Austin, Nashville, Miami, and Denver.' Although the business is booming, the CEO revealed that there will not be any new owned and operating trucks hitting their current routes. Scream Truck still expects modest revenue growth this year and massive sales growth starting in 2026. Besides expansions, Scream Truck provided a sneak peek into the promotions it plans to offer this year. Murphy revealed the business is working on a partnership with a 'very big slasher franchise' for Halloween and will bring back its fan-favorite 'Santa Social's' special this winter. Some items included in its Santa-themed special are holiday music, a holiday menu, and hot chocolate. Other specials and discounts will be revealed at later dates on Scream Truck's Instagram and Facebook pages.
Yahoo
13-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Vonage Fuels Entrepreneurial Innovation with Robust Enablement of Next-Gen APIs
Vonage Startup Program focuses on early-stage growth with increased credit offers, training, and premier access to advanced platform capabilities HOLMDEL, N.J., May 13, 2025--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Vonage, a global leader in cloud communications helping businesses accelerate their digital transformation and a part of Ericsson (NASDAQ: ERIC), has announced a redesigned Vonage Startup Program. The updated program is aimed at empowering emerging businesses to build transformative customer experiences through Vonage's industry-leading, next-generation API Platform. Recognising the unique agility and innovation present in the startup ecosystem, Vonage has reimagined its Startup Program to ensure access to the building blocks needed in the discovery of next-wave breakthrough applications. Through the Program, member businesses will receive customised connectivity to Vonage APIs for voice, video, verification, messaging and more - including Network APIs and Rich Communication Services (RCS). The versatility of RCS branded communications allows startups to easily enable verified communications that help them build customer trust, improve click-through rates (CTR), and boost conversion rates right from the start. With Network APIs, members can create AI-led transformational solutions with access to intelligent network capabilities, enabling them to build advanced applications - faster and for additional use cases not possible before, including seamless authentication, financial fraud prevention and Quality on Demand (QoD) for remote technical support. "Startups embody the innovative spirit from which Vonage's vast portfolio of products are built," said Christophe Van de Weyer, President and Head of Business Unit API for Vonage. "With the Vonage Startup Program, we are empowering developers to build or enhance applications, and create value for enterprises. Through early access to communications APIs and network APIs, they can develop innovative solutions that help them scale their businesses, create operational efficiencies, enhance customer experiences and accelerate growth." The Vonage Startup Program includes a competitive tiered system for credits, uniquely designed to provide startups with the leg up needed to succeed in a competitive marketplace. Members will have access to hands-on mentorship, dedicated onboarding support, training and education on Vonage's broad portfolio of APIs, including tutorials on how to embed these programmable capabilities into applications, website and workflows. Program members will also receive a credit bonus for referring other startups that are accepted into the program. The Vonage Startup Program will also provide members with resources and support based on its founding four pillars: Learning - Startups will gain access to Vonage technical resources and curated startup content to learn how to use Vonage APIs and save valuable time. Building - Startups will utilise Vonage products through a credits package and tailored technical sessions to build their minimum viable product (MVP), reach more customers and grow their business. Supporting - Startups can leverage Vonage resources tailored to their needs to solve challenges they are facing. Connecting - Startups will join the Program community and have the opportunity to engage with other founders, developers and advocates. For more information about the Vonage Startup Program or to become a member, please visit About Vonage Vonage, a global cloud communications leader, helps businesses accelerate their digital transformation, providing a comprehensive set of engagement solutions to deliver richer, more personal and meaningful communications across the entire customer and employee experience. Vonage's Unified Communications as a Service (UCaaS) and Contact Center as a Service (CCaaS) solutions enable companies to transform how they communicate and operate from the office or anywhere. Vonage's Communications Platform as a Service (CPaaS) offering is fully programmable and allows developers to embed video, voice, chat, messaging, AI and verification into existing products, workflows and systems using communications APIs. Leveraging the power of the network, Vonage's CPaaS is expanding to incorporate new network capabilities exposed as APIs to help developers worldwide pioneer new, advanced applications that help enterprises reimagine their business, transform their operations and improve customer experiences. Vonage is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Ericsson (NASDAQ: ERIC), and a business area within the Ericsson Group called Business Area Global Communications Platform. To follow Vonage on LinkedIn, visit To become a fan on Facebook, go to To subscribe on YouTube, visit View source version on Contacts Media Contact: Vonage Media RelationsMobile: +44 (0)207 785 8888Email: Sign in to access your portfolio
Business Wire
13-05-2025
- Business
- Business Wire
Vonage Fuels Entrepreneurial Innovation with Robust Enablement of Next-Gen APIs
HOLMDEL, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Vonage, a global leader in cloud communications helping businesses accelerate their digital transformation and a part of Ericsson (NASDAQ: ERIC), has announced a redesigned Vonage Startup Program. The updated program is aimed at empowering emerging businesses to build transformative customer experiences through Vonage's industry-leading, next-generation API Platform. Recognising the unique agility and innovation present in the startup ecosystem, Vonage has reimagined its Startup Program to ensure access to the building blocks needed in the discovery of next-wave breakthrough applications. Through the Program, member businesses will receive customised connectivity to Vonage APIs for voice, video, verification, messaging and more - including Network APIs and Rich Communication Services (RCS). The versatility of RCS branded communications allows startups to easily enable verified communications that help them build customer trust, improve click-through rates (CTR), and boost conversion rates right from the start. With Network APIs, members can create AI-led transformational solutions with access to intelligent network capabilities, enabling them to build advanced applications - faster and for additional use cases not possible before, including seamless authentication, financial fraud prevention and Quality on Demand (QoD) for remote technical support. 'Startups embody the innovative spirit from which Vonage's vast portfolio of products are built,' said Christophe Van de Weyer, President and Head of Business Unit API for Vonage. 'With the Vonage Startup Program, we are empowering developers to build or enhance applications, and create value for enterprises. Through early access to communications APIs and network APIs, they can develop innovative solutions that help them scale their businesses, create operational efficiencies, enhance customer experiences and accelerate growth.' The Vonage Startup Program includes a competitive tiered system for credits, uniquely designed to provide startups with the leg up needed to succeed in a competitive marketplace. Members will have access to hands-on mentorship, dedicated onboarding support, training and education on Vonage's broad portfolio of APIs, including tutorials on how to embed these programmable capabilities into applications, website and workflows. Program members will also receive a credit bonus for referring other startups that are accepted into the program. The Vonage Startup Program will also provide members with resources and support based on its founding four pillars: Learning - Startups will gain access to Vonage technical resources and curated startup content to learn how to use Vonage APIs and save valuable time. Building - Startups will utilise Vonage products through a credits package and tailored technical sessions to build their minimum viable product (MVP), reach more customers and grow their business. Supporting - Startups can leverage Vonage resources tailored to their needs to solve challenges they are facing. Connecting - Startups will join the Program community and have the opportunity to engage with other founders, developers and advocates. For more information about the Vonage Startup Program or to become a member, please visit About Vonage Vonage, a global cloud communications leader, helps businesses accelerate their digital transformation, providing a comprehensive set of engagement solutions to deliver richer, more personal and meaningful communications across the entire customer and employee experience. Vonage's Unified Communications as a Service (UCaaS) and Contact Center as a Service (CCaaS) solutions enable companies to transform how they communicate and operate from the office or anywhere. Vonage's Communications Platform as a Service (CPaaS) offering is fully programmable and allows developers to embed video, voice, chat, messaging, AI and verification into existing products, workflows and systems using communications APIs. Leveraging the power of the network, Vonage's CPaaS is expanding to incorporate new network capabilities exposed as APIs to help developers worldwide pioneer new, advanced applications that help enterprises reimagine their business, transform their operations and improve customer experiences. Vonage is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Ericsson (NASDAQ: ERIC), and a business area within the Ericsson Group called Business Area Global Communications Platform. To follow Vonage on LinkedIn, visit To become a fan on Facebook, go to To subscribe on YouTube, visit
