e-commerce
Walmart picks Flipkart stakes from Binny Bansal
Mumbai: Binny Bansal, co-founder of Flipkart, along with Accel, one of the company’s earliest investors, and US-based Tiger Global Management have all fully exited the e-commerce giant by selling their stakes to Walmart, according to media reports.
Accel, both India and US together held more than 20 per cent in Flipkart initially when they backed the company in 2008, but gradually reduced their stake to about six per cent before Walmart acquired a majority share in Flipkart in 2018, according to Tracxn, a private markets data provider.
However, Accel retained a small 1.1 per cent stake more recently after the acquisition, only to fully exit the company in 2023, generating cumulative returns of around $1.5-2 billion, generating a whopping 25-30X return on its total investment of about $60-80 million over the years.
In 2018, everyone took notice as Walmart decided to acquire a majority stake in Flipkart for a staggering $16 billion, underscoring the immense potential of India’s startup ecosystem. Despite the acquisition, Bansal chose to retain a small percentage of his stake in Flipkart, demonstrating his belief in the company’s vision and future prospects.
MUMBAI: From flights to tracks, Cleartrip is now trying to keep every journey on the same ticket. Cleartrip, part of Flipkart, has launched train ticket bookings through a partnership with Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation, marking its entry into India’s vast rail travel ecosystem.
The integration allows users to search, book and manage train journeys directly within the app, as the company pushes towards becoming a unified, multi-modal travel platform. The move plugs Cleartrip into one of the world’s largest transportation networks, where over 800 million reserved passengers travel annually, alongside a daily footfall of around 23 million across Indian Railways.
The offering includes bookings across routes nationwide, covering General and Tatkal quotas as per Ministry of Railways guidelines. Users can also access real-time seat availability, fare insights, PNR status tracking, berth preferences and digital payment options within a single interface.
The expansion reflects a broader shift in travel platforms from specialising in a single mode to stitching together end-to-end journeys. For Cleartrip, the bet is not just on scale, but on simplifying a system often seen as complex and fragmented.
Company executives said the focus is on embedding predictive intelligence and personalisation into the booking journey, aiming to make everything from discovery to post-booking support faster and more intuitive.
The train booking feature is currently live on the app, with plans to extend it to the web platform soon, signalling a push towards a seamless cross-platform experience.
In a country where railways move billions each year, the next battleground for travel apps may well be decided not in the skies, but on the tracks.
