In Brief: Embassy Group lines up co-living foray; Mastercard may invest in Pine Labs

Bengaluru headquartered real estate developer Embassy Group is entering the co-living space, The Economic Times reported. The company plans to roll out 10,000 beds under co-living residential offering Olive with an investment of Rs 1,000 crore by 2021. Olive will be launched in Bengaluru, Chennai and Pune, with 75% of the proposed inventory coming up in Bengaluru, in its first phase, the report said. Separately, Embassy Group is also in the process of raising Rs 4,000 crore through the divestment of assets to retire debt and invest in the expansion of WeWork India. The realtor currently has around Rs 7,000 crore in debt, the report added.

Read: 2020 likely to see rise in ownership model of co-working spaces, says Anarock’s Puri

Mastercard in talks to invest in Pine Labs

Global payments technology giant Mastercard is in talks to invest in point-of-sale (PoS) solutions provider Pine Labs as part of a $300 million financing round, The Economic Times reported. Venture capital firm Sequoia Capital could make a partial exit, the report said. Sequoia holds an estimated 68% stake. It might offload 15-25% to the incoming investor.

Government to launch AIRAWAT to boost AI

The government’s think-tank NITI Aayog plans to set up India’s first AI (artificial intelligence)-specific cloud computing infrastructure AIRAWAT (AI Research, analytics and knowledge assimilation platform), The Inc42 reported. The platform aims to guide the research and development of new and emerging technologies, the report said. AIRAWAT will be established on the recommendation of the National Strategy for Artificial Intelligence (NSAI). The government plans to use the platform to tackle the challenges related to lack of access to computing resources.

Ghost Kitchens invests in QSR, Ethaos

Ghost Kitchens, a professional food preparation and cooking facility set up for delivery-only meals, has bought a majority stake in internet restaurant brands QSR Brands India and Eathos Group, The Economic Times reported. Financial details of the deal were not revealed. Ghost Kitchens will offer capital, infrastructure, backend, marketing, and administration services to the two brands, the report said.  It also plans to scale business across multiple geographies over the next few months. QSR is valued at $5.5 million whereas Eathos Group valued at $2.2 million.