Reliance Industries, one of India’s biggest industrial houses, has obtained a majority stake in NowFloats, an Indian startup that serves businesses and people build an online presence without any web developing skills.

The Introduction of NowFloats

In a governing filing on Thursday, Reliance Strategic Business Ventures Limited stated (PDF) it has gained an 85% stake in NowFloats for 1.4 billion Indian rupees ($20 million).

Seven-and-a-half-year old Hyderabad-situated NowFloats runs an eponymous platform that enables individuals and businesses to create an online presence quickly. 

Working with NowFloats’ services, a mom and pop store, for example, can create a website, publish their catalog, plus engage with their consumers on WhatsApp.

The startup, which has put around $12 million in equity funding before this announcement, claims to have served over 300,000 participating retail partners. 

NowFloats computes Blume Ventures, Omidyar Network, Iron Pillar, IIFL Wealth Management, and Hyderabad Angels amongst its investors.

Last year, NowFloats obtained LookUp, an India-based chat service that joins consumers to local businesses.

The Story of LookUp

LookUp was financed by Vinod Khosla’s private fund Khosla Impact, Twitter co-founder Biz Stone, Narayana Murthy’s Catamaran Ventures and Global Founders Capital.

Reliance Strategic Business Ventures Limited, an entirely owned subsidiary of Reliance Industries, told that it would fund up to 750 million Indian rupees ($10.6 million) of extra capital into the startup.

 It also raises its stake to around 89.66% if NowFloats achieves particular unspecified purposes by the end of next year.

In a report, Reliance Industries stated that the investment would “further facilitate the group’s digital and latest commerce initiatives.” 

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NowFloats is the newest acquisition Reliance has made in the nation this year. 

In August, the conglomerate announced it was purchasing a majority stake in Google-backed Fynd for $42.3 million. 

In April, it acquired a majority stake in Haptik in a transaction worth $100 million.

In current years, Google has also observed this space. 

It has started tools — and given guidance — to support neighborhood stores establish some presence on the web. 

In September, the company declared that its Google Pay service, which is utilized by more than 67 million users in India, will instantly enable businesses to receive digital payments and reach their consumers online.

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