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Byte-sized ownership: Bytepe turns smartphone dreams into subscriptions
MUMBAI: Why buy when you can subscribe? Bytepe, India’s first tech subscription platform, is reprogramming the way Indians think about smartphone ownership, with a model that swaps EMIs for easy monthly subscriptions and outdated devices for yearly upgrades.
Founded by serial entrepreneur Jayant Jha, the former Flipkart leader who co-founded and sold Yaantra to Flipkart, Bytepe promises to make premium smartphones, including the latest iphone 17 series, more accessible, affordable, and flexible than ever before.
“With Bytepe, we’re democratising luxury,” said Jha. “After years of watching consumers get locked into long EMIs and old devices, we wanted to create a model that’s lighter on the wallet, better for the planet, and puts control back in the user’s hands.”
The concept is refreshingly simple: pick your phone, pay a monthly subscription that’s lower than traditional EMIs, enjoy 100 per cent damage protection, and upgrade every year, no hidden costs, no long-term lock-ins. Bytepe also offers its own Bytepe EMI for non-credit card users, ensuring access for all.
For instance, the new iphone 17 (256 gb), priced at Rs 82,900, can be subscribed to for a fraction of that monthly, with the option to upgrade, return, or own it outright after 12 months. For those who prefer to pay upfront, Bytepe offers 50 per cent assured buyback after 12 or 24 months, plus full insurance coverage.
Starting with smartphones, Bytepe plans to expand into other tech categories including electronics and accessories, creating what Jha calls “a smarter, circular economy of ownership.”
In a market where affordability often comes at the cost of flexibility, Bytepe is offering something refreshingly new: the freedom to stay up to date, without being tied down.
Brands
UK’s OnlyFans seeks US investor at $3bn valuation after owner’s death
The adult video platform is seeking stability after the death of its billionaire owner
LONDON: OnlyFans is looking for a new partner. The London-based adult video platform is in advanced talks to sell a minority stake of less than 20 per cent to Architect Capital, a San Francisco-based investment firm, in a deal that would value the business at more than $3bn (£2.2bn).
The move is driven by an urgent need for stability. Leonid Radvinsky, the Ukrainian-American billionaire who owned OnlyFans, died of cancer last month at the age of 43, leaving the future of one of Britain’s most profitable privately held businesses suddenly uncertain.
The choice of Architect Capital is not arbitrary. The firm has deep expertise in financial services, which aligns neatly with OnlyFans’ ambitions to offer banking products to its creators, many of whom have long struggled to access basic financial services because of the nature of their work.
The numbers behind OnlyFans are, by any measure, staggering. The platform posted revenues of $1.4bn in the year to 30th November 2024, with a pre-tax profit of $684m, up four per cent on the prior year. Payments to creators totalled $7.2bn over the same period, a rise of nearly ten per cent. Radvinsky personally collected $701m in dividends from the business in 2024 alone, on top of more than $1bn in such payments he had already received. The platform, run through its parent company Felix International, hosts 4.6m creator accounts, with performers keeping 80 per cent of subscription proceeds and the platform pocketing the remaining 20 per cent. It has 377m fan accounts in total.
The current minority stake talks represent a notable scaling back of ambitions. In January, OnlyFans was reported to be in discussions with Architect about selling a majority stake of 60 per cent. Before that, the company had explored a sale to a consortium led by Forest Road Company, a Los Angeles-based investment firm. Neither deal materialised.
OnlyFans has built an enormously lucrative business on content that mainstream finance has long refused to touch. Now, with its owner gone and a $3bn valuation on the table, it is looking for the kind of respectable institutional backing that might finally persuade the banks to take its calls.
