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Mealtime

OYO is SoftBank’s Trojan Pig

OYO Rooms is a company on a tear and wants to be the world's biggest hotel chain but are these dreams its own or is it merely a proxy for someone else's ambitions?

11/12/18

Sumanth Raghavendra

OYO recently raised $1 billion to fund expansion all over the globe. This round of funding reportedly valued the company at $5 billion

But even before it has proved its model in India, OYO is on an overseas spree

The company represents multinational conglomerate SoftBank and its $100-billion Vision Fund

What does it take to be an SPV for SoftBank? How does this impact the market and competitors?

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For a moment, imagine yourself in the shoes of Deep Kalra, the founder of travel website MakeMyTrip. You start an India-focused internet startup long before India becomes the destination du jour for VCs worldwide, long before Indians get comfortable with transacting online. You build a business over a decade, wading through policy changes, technology upheavals,…

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