Brands
Uber Eats, CCD partner to launch India’s largest virtual restaurant network
MUMBAI: Uber Eats, the world’s largest food delivery network and Café Coffee Day, India’s largest café chain, have announced a partnership to launch the country’s largest network of virtual restaurants, which will soon bring foodies a greater choice of ‘delivery-only’ restaurant brands exclusively on the Uber Eats app.
The first restaurant brand under this partnership is scheduled to launch in November.
This partnership will leverage Café Coffee Day’s robust and innovative F&B expertise, pan India café network with the technology that Uber Eats is renowned for. Uber Eats will help Café Coffee Day with data, analytics and insights to help identify food or cuisines that consumers crave the most. This will enable Café Coffee Day and Uber Eats to launch menu offerings as per evolving consumer trends, for multiple ‘delivery-only’ virtual restaurants.
Uber Technologies vice president Jason Droege says, “Using experience and lessons learnt in the virtual restaurant space from our global operations, we hope to provide our Indian restaurant partners greater growth opportunities. Our customers too will enjoy ordering and eating their favourite everyday meals at the tap of a button.”
Café Coffee Day chief executive officer Venu Madhan adds, “With this association we aim to take the goodwill and trust earned in the F&B space and combine it with new age reality of virtual restaurants to offer everyday meals that can be delivered to nomadic millennials at home or at work in a convenient manner. Uber Eats’s strength and expertise in the business of home delivery will ensure delight to millions of aspiring youngsters who have moved away from their homes with great quality products from Café Coffee Day’s virtual restaurants every day across the country.”
Virtual restaurants are digital-only eateries that allow business owners to explore new culinary options and reach a wider audience by using the space in their existing kitchen. Virtual restaurants allow partners to test new opportunities in today’s dynamic market in a nimble manner.
Uber Eats is currently present in 37 cities in India with a strong presence in tier 2 cities. In the last 3 months, the number of orders on the app has grown 6 times and Uber Eats is adding 100 new restaurants to its platform everyday. Café Coffee Day currently has a network of 1742 cafes across 246 cities in India.
Uber Eats started in 2014 as a small delivery pilot in Los Angeles and launched as a separate application in Toronto in December 2015. Since then, it has grown incredibly fast, and is now a stand-alone app available in 350+ cities around the globe. In India, Uber Eats was first launched in Mumbai in May 2017.
Brands
Apple CEO Tim Cook to step down after 15 years, John Ternus to take over
Leadership shake-up sees long-time hardware chief step up from September
CUPERTINO: Apple has confirmed that chief executive officer Tim Cook will step down from his role and transition to executive chairman, with senior vice president of hardware engineering John Ternus set to take over as CEO from September 1, 2026.
The transition, approved unanimously by the board, marks a carefully planned leadership shift at one of the world’s most valuable companies. Cook will remain CEO through the summer, working closely with Ternus to ensure a smooth handover before moving into his new role, where he will continue to support Apple and engage with policymakers globally.
In a memo to employees, Apple CEO Tim Cook reflected on his 15-year tenure, recalling the moment Steve Jobs asked him to step into the role. “It was an emotional and challenging moment for all of us at Apple,” he wrote, adding that the company’s core values, from simplicity and innovation to a commitment to improving lives, remain unchanged.
Explaining his decision, Cook said the company’s strong roadmap and future outlook made this the right time for a transition. “I have never been more optimistic about Apple’s future,” he noted, while announcing Ternus as his successor. He described Ternus as “a visionary in his own right” with “remarkable integrity” and the right leader to guide Apple into its next phase.
Cook said, “John Ternus has the mind of an engineer, the soul of an innovator, and the heart to lead with integrity and with honour.”
Ternus, in his own note to employees, struck a steady, execution-focused tone. Ternus said, “It has been such a privilege to lead the hardware engineering team… I still plan to be very hands-on,” signalling continuity rather than a strategic reset.
As part of the leadership reshuffle, Ternus will step away from leading hardware engineering, with Tom Marieb taking over the role. Marieb will report to Johny Srouji, who assumes an expanded position as chief hardware officer, aligning hardware development more closely with Apple’s silicon and technology teams.
Cook also used his memo to thank employees, calling them “the most remarkable people in the world” and crediting them for building Apple into what it is today. A town hall has been scheduled at the Steve Jobs Theater to discuss the transition further.
The leadership change also sees Arthur Levinson move to the role of lead independent director, while Ternus joins Apple’s board.
Cook’s tenure has been defined by massive growth and expansion, with Apple’s market value rising from around $350 billion in 2011 to $4 trillion, alongside the launch of new product categories and a booming services business. Ternus, a 25-year Apple veteran, has played a central role in shaping the company’s hardware roadmap, from iPhone and Mac to newer innovations in materials and sustainability.
The transition signals a generational shift, but not a dramatic change in direction. If anything, both memos point to continuity, discipline and a belief that Apple’s next chapter will be built on the same values that shaped its last.
