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Uber Lite launched in India & other developing nations
MUMBAI: India is Uber’s most crucial market in Asia! Earlier this year, Uber sold its business in Southeast Asia to local rival Grab.
Now, to tap the consumers in India and other ‘developing’ nations, the ride-sharing app has announced the launch of a lighter version of its app, Uber Lite. Lite will be a simple version of the rider app that saves space, works on any network. Currently, it is only compatible with Android phones, which the majority of the app’s target audience uses.
The app will feature only entry-level specifications and low internet speeds.
Uber Lite is launching first in India, but the company will roll it out in other emerging markets in the future.The app will be initially available in Delhi, Jaipur, and Hyderabad.
Uber Lite is less than 5MB to download, as compared to the regular Uber app’s 181.4MB size and will come with a 300-millisecond response time, where the booking process is fast even in low connectivity.
Uber Lite will also have in-built existing features like in-app support and the ability to share trip with friends and family.
Uber Lite was designed to make booking rides easier and quicker in spotty connectivity and slower than average internet speeds, on basic Android phones, and for people with limited data plans. Uber Lite guides users through the request experience by detecting their current location, so minimal typing is required. If it can’t detect your location because of GPS or network issues, it will surface popular pickup points nearby from you to choose from.
To keep the app light and fast, maps in Uber Lite are optional, but available with just a tap if you want them. Going forward Uber will also include the option to request a ride even when offline.
The lite app looks like a great add-on for users who still have a smartphone with 2G or slow speed connections. In January this year, Ola launched its Lite app that takes only 1MB of download space and offers a stripped down version of its designs and features.
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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.
