Digital war intensifies as big players vie to grab mkt share

Race for super apps hots up

- Big business houses increasingly investing in internet startups

- Roping in global tech giants for partnership

- Tata Digital acquired controlling stakes in e-grocer BigBasket

Bengaluru: Large Indian business conglomerates starting from Tata Group to Reliance are spending big on digitalisation drive and are tying up with technology giants to face the competition arising in the post pandemic period.

According to sources, Tata Group is in talks with Microsoft to bring in the latter as an anchor investor for its new digital platform. This proposed move is aimed at facing the competition coming from Amazon, Reliance Industries (RIL), which have clubbed up their various offerings under one digital platform umbrella.

Tata group is already planning to come up with a super app which will house all consumer-facing businesses of the group under one umbrella. Tata Digital has already acquired controlling stakes in e-grocer BigBasket and digital health company 1mg and invested in fitness company CureFit. Tata group has pumped in Rs5,025 crore this fiscal year into this holding company.

"All big business houses of India are increasingly investing in internet startups. As technology is the core of these digital startups, global tech giants are being roped in for partnership. This will also help these groups to monetise part of these assets when required," said a Bengaluru-based analyst tracking the startup ecosystem.

Apart from investing in startups, the country is also seeing a race for 'superapps'. For instance, Tata group is planning to come up with a super app called 'Neu' that will act as an ecommerce gateway for its consumer products and services, ranging from appliances to groceries and medicines to resorts and jewellery.

Similarly, Adani Group under its wing 'Adani Digital Labs' is planning to develop a 'super app' for over 400 million large consumer base across all verticals.

Currently, Reliance offers Jiomart for online grocery retail and mobile apllication App, My Jio. The group plans to create a one stop super app for all its services and offerings.

"Indian digital ecosystem is at the cusp of witnessing an intense war for acquiring customers through these super apps. When everyone is competing to grab a large market share, technology firms will have many business opportunities in the coming days," said the analyst.