e-commerce
Zomato Q1: Reports net profit of Rs two crores for the first time
Mumbai: Zomato reported a consolidated net profit of Rs two crore for the quarter ended June 2023 against a loss of Rs 186 crore in the corresponding quarter of the last financial year.The company reported a loss of Rs 189 crore in the quarter ended March.
The revenue from operations for the reporting quarter stood at Rs 2,416 crore which was up nearly 71 per cent YoY against Rs 1,414 crore reported by the company in the year-ago period.The quarterly earnings were announced during the market hours and the stock jumped over 2 per cent on the NSE.The company in its exchange filing said that the quick commerce (Blinkit) business turned contributive positive for the first time ever in the month of June 2023.
The consolidated adjusted EBITDA stood at Rs 12 crore, versus a loss of Rs 152 crore in Q1FY23. The adjusted EBITDA margin stood at 0.4 per cent, up by nine percentage points YoY. The adjusted revenue excluding the quick commerce business stood at Rs 2,402 crore which was up 33 per cent YoY.
The company reported a jump in its gross order value (GOV) for the reporting quarter at Rs 7,318 crore versus Rs 6,425 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous financial year. It was also up sequentially from Rs 6,569 crore in the March quarter. The average monthly transacting customers were at 1.75 crore in Q1FY24 versus 1.67 crore in the year-ago period.
e-commerce
American Express to acquire AI startup Hyper to boost automation
Deal targets expense management as AI reshapes corporate spending tools.
MUMBAI: From receipts to robots, the expense sheet is getting a brain upgrade as American Express moves to bring artificial intelligence into the heart of corporate spending. The company has announced plans to acquire Hyper, a relatively young but fast-rising startup founded in 2022 that builds AI-powered agents capable of organising expenses, generating reports, verifying compliance with budgets and policies, and nudging users with timely reminders. The deal, expected to close in the second quarter of 2026, underscores a growing shift among financial institutions to automate traditionally manual, time-heavy workflows.
Hyper counts Sam Altman among its backers, adding a layer of Silicon Valley credibility to the acquisition. While financial details remain undisclosed, the strategic intent is clear: deepen automation capabilities and sharpen American Express’s position in the competitive corporate spending ecosystem.
The two companies are not strangers. They previously collaborated in 2024 on a co-branded credit card product, suggesting that the acquisition is less a cold buy and more an extension of an existing relationship. With this move, American Express is effectively bringing that capability in-house, aiming to embed AI directly into its commercial services stack.
Chief executive Stephen Squeri had already signalled the direction of travel in a recent shareholder letter, describing AI as a “structural shift” in how businesses operate. The Hyper acquisition appears to be a direct response to that shift, particularly in expense management, where processes such as approvals, compliance checks and reporting remain ripe for automation.
Alongside the acquisition, the company is also expanding its product suite. A recently launched business credit card offers cashback and benefits at an annual fee of $295, with another card expected later this year moves that complement its broader push into commercial services.
Taken together, the strategy points to a future where managing expenses may require fewer spreadsheets and more algorithms. For American Express, the bet is simple, if businesses are rethinking how work gets done, the tools that power that work need to evolve just as quickly.
