Pine

Manipal group head Ranjan Pai will soon become the largest shareholder in Aakash Institute—one of the few remaining valuable assets of troubled edtech Byju’s. This and more in today’s ETtech Morning Dispatch.Also in this letter:■ Rario NFT product shut, users cry foul■ MeitY’s 10-year roadmap■ SoftBank pares stake in PaytmPai in the sky: Ranjan to own 40% of Aakash Ranjan Pai, chief of the Manipal group, is set to be the largest shareholder in Byju’s-owned Aakash Institute. Let’s get you all the details here.…

Funds managed by financial services giant Fidelity have marked down the valuations of ecommerce marketplace Meesho and fintech firm Pine Labs, according to filings made with the US Securities and Exchange Commission.As per the filings, Fidelity's funds have set Meesho’s fair value at around $4.1 billion as on October 31, 2023, down from around $5 billion two months earlier. Meesho was valued at $4.9 billion after it raised $570 million in 2021.Elevate Your Tech Prowess with High-Value Skill CoursesOffering…

Merchant payments company Pine Labs reported a total revenue of Rs 1,588 crore in the financial year ended March 31, 2023, up 56% from a year ago. Its overall losses dipped marginally to Rs 227 crore, down from Rs 259 crore in the previous financial year, data sourced from business intelligence platform Tracxn showed.Pine Labs largely deploys point of sales (PoS) terminals at retail merchant outlets. It has recently expanded into online ecommerce payments through its gateway solutions platform Plural.Elevate Your Tech…

As indie adventure Pine Hearts nears launch, NME sat down with Scottish developer Hyper Luminal Games to discuss the game’s accessibility support, themes of loss, and “Souls-like level design”. An isometric adventure game set in Pine Hearts Caravan Park, Pine Hearts follows protagonist Tyke as they fill out their hillwalking journal, solve puzzles, and reminisce on their childhood memories of the area. Speaking to NME, creative director Rob Madden shared that Pine Hearts was made following the loss of his father, who…

Fans have been trained to expect the worst from Hollywood adaptations. Anytime something you love is announced as the next mega blockbuster, your heart sinks. Surely, they’re going to screw it up and ruin your childhood. Which is what happens 90% of the time.Go Behind the Scenes of Fantasy Classic Dragonslayer in This Special Edition Sneak PeekBut that 10% of the time? When Hollywood doesn’t screw it up? It’s glorious. And that’s what happened, rather surprisingly, earlier this year with Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among…

Walt Disney Animation is celebrating Disney at 100 this fall with the release of Wish. The next of the upcoming Disney movies draws inspiration from the House of Mouse’s century of beloved animated titles, including building upon the components for which the studio is most famous. Between fun music numbers, magical happenings, talking animals and memorable villains, Wish has all those Disney trademarks. And it almost had another, but the filmmakers decided to leave it as a rough sketch. When I spoke to Wish producers…

The Enforcement Directorate (ED), days after probing premises linked to Byju’s for alleged Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) compliance issues, is planning to approach its lenders to seek more details on the edtech major's funding and loan transactions. This and more in today’s ETtech Morning Dispatch.Also in this letter:■ Govt may release first draft of Digital India Act soon■ Homegrown dating apps swipe right on Indian market■ Demand for tech talent is growing at non-tech companies: report ED to seek details on…

Digital payments major Pine Labs joins the growing list of new age technology companies deferring their initial public offering (IPO) plans. Its CEO Amrish Rau told ET in an exclusive interview that he will not go ahead with a planned listing considering the rout in the global markets and wait for better climes.“But there is no window for an IPO (right now) and there are no qualms to say that at this point,” Rau said.“As far as we are concerned, financially Pine Labs is in a sound position and has already raised more than…

Image via Paramount Pictures Good news, Star Trek fans! Paramount has finally got its act together and is moving forward with a new movie, after numerous failed attempts to get Star Trek 4 off the ground for the past seven years. Well, actually, things are still deathly quiet on that track as the Trek franchise’s return to feature-length projects is taking an unexpected turn. Specifically, with a project that is destined to have nothing to do with Chris Pine, but at least it’s got a fan-favorite Oscar-winning…

Image via Lucasfilm / Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back (1980) The ever-expanding Star Wars universe continues to dominate the sci-fi sphere, as fans prep themselves for fresh releases and finally settle in to properly enjoy The Mandalorian’s third season.  It’s been two decades since the final entry in his dedicated origin story hit theaters, but it seems time is not enough to settle the Anakin Skywalker debate. The iconic Star Wars villain once again cropped up in conversations recently, after a fan…