Sachin Bansal in talks to buy Essel MF; Netflix to offer mobile-only subscription for Indian users

Flipkart co-founder Sachin Bansal is planning a fintech foray. Netflix is planning a mobile-only service for India. Yoga startup Sarva has got funding from Rajnikant’s daughter Aishwaryaa.

Flipkart co-founder Sachin Bansal plans to buy out Essel MF

Flipkart co-founder Sachin Bansal is in talks to buy Essel mutual fund, The Economic Times reported.

Bansal is in advanced talks with the Zee group to buy out the fund, the report added. 

Bansal’s plan is to transform the fund into a tech-based platform. Former Bank of America executive Ankit Agarwal, who is also a friend of Bansal, is leading the talks on behalf of Essel MF, the report said.

Netflix to offer mobile-only plan for India

California-based media services provider Netflix Inc will be launching a new mobile-only plan at a lower price compared to its regular plans for Indian users, The Economic Times reported.

The plan will enable users to watch standard definition (SD) content on a single mobile or tablet screen at a time, the report said.    

The scheme is likely to be launched in the third quarter and would be priced lower than the existing plans of around Rs 500-800 per month.

The new mobile-only plan will help Netflix expand its base in the country since India has been one of the biggest mobile phone markets for the video streaming service, the report said.

Rajnikanth’s daughter Aishwaryaa R Dhanush backs yoga startup Sarva 

Yoga and wellness startup Sarva has raised an undisclosed amount from Aishwaryaa R Dhanush, daughter of film actor Rajinikanth, The Economic Times reported.

Aishwaryaa will be partnering with Malaika Arora to become a member of the ‘Diva Yoga’ team and will be leading operations in the South, the report added.

Prior to the current investment, Sarva has raised funds from Shahid Kapoor, Jennifer Lopez, Malaika Arora, and the American baseball legend Alex Rodriguezjoin.

Sarvesh Shashi, chief executive officer and co-founder of Sarva, told ET the company has grown 12X in terms of revenue in the last 3 years.

Mumbai-headquartered Sarva aims to provide services to over 100 million customers in the next five years. The startup will have 100 studios in the country by next month, the report said.

Bike taxi startup Rapido raises Rs 1.49 crore from Karina Choudrie

Bangalore-based bike taxi platform Rapido has raised Rs. 1.49 crore from Karina Choudrie, according to a report by Entrackr that cited the company’s RoC filings.

Last month, the Economic Times had reported that Roppen Transportation Services Pvt. Ltd., which operates bike-taxi startup Rapido, is in the final stages of closing a $50 million (around Rs 350 crore) investment round, led by private equity firm WestBridge capital.

In April,  Rapido had said it is raising up to $11.19 million (Rs 78.23 crore then) in fresh funding from a clutch of news and existing investors.

In January, the bike taxi startup had raised $10 million (Rs 71 crore then) in a Series A funding round, led by Hong-Kong based multi-strategy private investment firm Integrated Capital.