MAM
BharatPe appoints Ex-Walmart Labs’ Ankur Jain as chief product officer
MUMBAI: BharatPe has strengthened its leadership team by appointing Ankur Jain as chief product officer. Ankur will be responsible for the complete product lifecycle and innovation at BharatPe. Jain is the fifth CXO at BharatPe and joins Vijay Agarwal (CTO), Nishit Sharma (chief revenue officer), Puneet Agarwal (chief risk officer), and Nishant Jain (chief business officer) in the core team.
Heading product management and user experience across customer touch points, Jain will contribute to BharatPe’s aggressive plans to scale up its footprint to 10 million merchants this year. Jain, an alumnus of Stanford University has a rich experience of working in deep technology startups like Kosmix and Instalocate and the world’s largest company Walmart. He has developed large scale products which have been used by millions of people across the globe driving huge revenues for the organisations. He was part of the founding team to set up Walmart Labs office in India and has substantial experience of building cross-functional teams in business, technology and product verticals across the globe.
BharatPe co-founder-CEO Ashneer Grover said, “We are at an interesting point in our growth phase that requires constant innovation and fast delivery of products for the rapidly evolving digital and financial needs of Indian shopkeepers. We are methodically getting the right people in the right positions to meet these requirements. Talent will be our biggest differentiator.”
“I have a deep respect for the talent that has worked in the US – the vision with and scale at which professionals who have come back from the US operate is commendable. Ankur joining in a critical role will strengthen our core team, he has deep experience in accelerating revenue through new products and solutions, driving large-scale organisational change, and anticipating market dynamics to create new products and segments which will help us drive product innovation at a higher velocity,” Grover added.
Prior to BharatPe, Jain was CEO and co-founder of Instalocate. The mission of Instalocate is to bring the fintech revolution to the travel industry through an AI-powered travel assistant and convert travel disruptions into instant money. Prior to Instalocate, he worked at Walmart Labs as senior director of product management where he developed artificial intelligence (AI) based products to help merchants in understanding the customer pulse, to decide which products to sell and to set the right price.
Jain joined Walmart Labs as part of the acquisition of Kosmix by Walmart in 2011. He was the early employee of Kosmix and saw the full product life cycle from initial days to a successful acquisition. At Kosmix, he led the product and growth teams and scaled the user base to hundreds of millions of users. He has deep research experience at some of the prestigious labs in the world including MIT Media Lab, Stanford Technology Ventures, Ericsson Eurolab and Institute for Infocom Research.
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Hyundai and TVS Motor partner to develop electric three wheelers
Joint development pact targets last mile mobility with localisation push
MUMBAI: Three wheels, one big ambition and a charge towards the future. Hyundai Motor Company and TVS Motor Company have signed a joint development agreement to co-create electric three-wheelers (E3Ws), aiming to crack India’s complex last-mile mobility puzzle. The collaboration moves beyond concept talk into execution mode, building on the E3W prototype first showcased at the Bharat Mobility Global Expo 2025. The goal now is clear, design, develop and commercialise a purpose-built vehicle tailored to Indian roads, riders and realities.
Under the agreement, Hyundai will lead design and co-development, bringing its global R&D muscle and human-centric engineering approach to the table. TVS Motor, meanwhile, will anchor the product on its electric platform, leveraging deep three-wheeler expertise and local market insight. It will also handle manufacturing and sales in India, with an eye on exports down the line.
The timing is strategic. India remains the world’s largest three-wheeler market, where affordability, durability and adaptability often outweigh sheer innovation. The upcoming E3W aims to strike that balance combining advanced technology with practical features such as adaptive ground clearance for monsoon-hit roads, improved thermal management for tropical climates, and flexible interiors suited for passengers, cargo or emergency use.
A key pillar of the partnership is localisation. Major components will be sourced and manufactured within India, a move expected to strengthen the domestic supply chain, create jobs, lower costs and improve after-sales support.
The shift from prototype to production will involve rigorous testing, certification and refinement to meet regulatory standards and consumer expectations. Dedicated cross-functional teams from both companies are already in place to accelerate timelines.
At a broader level, the tie-up reflects a growing trend in mobility, global players partnering with local specialists to navigate emerging markets. For Hyundai and TVS, the bet is that combining scale with street-level insight could unlock a new chapter in sustainable urban transport, one that runs not just on electricity, but on relevance.
