Two top-level exits at Paytm; former Tiger Global execs back Lifelong: Reports

Two senior executives at digital payments giant Paytm have resigned from the company, according to an Entrackr report.

Paytm’s chief operating officer Kiran Vasireddy and Amit Sinha, the former COO of Paytm Mall, are both departing after long stints.

Vasireddy, who has been leading the company’s payment business, is quitting the firm after nearly 10 years of service. The report said that pressure from rivals Google Pay and PhonePe, which have been eating into Paytm’s market share, had prompted Vasireddy to quit.

Sinha, another long-term lieutenant of Paytm founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma, has donned many executive roles in Paytm’s parent company One97 Communication Ltd during his long stint spanning over 11 years. He was leading Paytm Mall up until early this year.

Paytm Mall is believed to be in the midst of a pivot from a consumer-facing business to the wholesale and offline-to-online (O2O) segments in the wake of heightening competition and mounting losses. Thus far, a cashback model has been central to Paytm Mall’s pure-play e-commerce strategy. But both the company and its key investors now seem to be realising that this game plan has not worked. 

While dismissing reports of a shutdown earlier this year, Sharma had said that Paytm Mall would generate the bulk of its business from the (O2O) segment.

Lifelong Online

Gurugram-based home appliances manufacturer Lifelong Online has raised Rs 40 crore (around $5.7 million) in fresh funding led by Tanglin Venture Partners, according to a report in The Economic Times.

Citing people it did not name, the report said that the round includes a mix of both primary and secondary investments. 

Founded in 2015, Lifelong Online controls end-to-end manufacturing and distribution for its line of over 40 products. It also plans to launch products in the health and fitness category, the report added.

Lead investor Tanglin Venture Partners is a $50-million fund floated by former Tiger Global executives Ravi Venkatesh and Edwina Yeo. 

Earlier this year, Tanglin had put in Rs 22.5 crore as part of the Rs 250 crore ($35 million) Series B round of funding for Bengaluru-based 63Ideas Infolabs Pvt. Ltd which owns business-to-business (B2B) agri-marketing platform NinjaCart.

Awfis

Co-working startup Awfis Space Solutions Pvt. Ltd is in talks to conclude a $25 million (Rs 175 crore) round of funding led by private equity firm ChrysCapital, The Economic Times reported.

Citing people in the know, the report said that Awfis intends to harness the capital to consolidate and quicken the pace of growth as deep-pocketed competitors continue to commit investments in the sector.

Seeded by Three Sisters, Awfis has cumulatively raised $51 million in funding from Sequoia Capital, Yes Bank promoter Rana Kapoor and InnoVen Capital. Last July, it announced a $20 million Series C round of funding led by existing investors.

The homegrown office space provider recently received a tranche of Rs 25 crore (around $3.6 million) as part of the funding round that was announced last year. The investment resulted in Awfis’ valuation rising to $100 million.

Homegrown ChrysCapital manages assets worth $3 billion.