Startup Street: Innov8’s New Co-Working Space Has A Room Full Of Fun

This week on Startup Street, a co-working space startup inaugurated its facility in Mumbai that has a dedicated room to get rid of stress. Paytm Mall’s train is now on the express track. A cool new spacesuit, by none other than the internet’s darling Elon Musk. And cab-hailing startup Ola has partnered with Google Maps.

Innov8 Mumbai: Featuring Rock Climbing, Sponge Balls

Co-working space provider Innov8 has finally come to the country's financial capital Mumbai. It launched its fourth co-working Mumbai earlier this week in the Andheri East area.

The co-working space is spread across 10,000 square feet, encompasses an open terrace and a cafeteria, according to a media statement on its website. The space offers 110 private office seats and also has an event area for around 200 people.

The launch in Mumbai is the startup’s fourth space in the country. Earlier this year, it had set up a 350-seat centre in Bengaluru, majority of which is occupied by Paytm. Its other centres are in Chandigarh, and New Delhi, where the startup is headquartered.

In February, Innov8 had raised an undisclosed amount of angel funding led by Lets Venture and independent investors like Google's Rajan Anandan, Paytm founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma and FreeCharge founder Kunal Shah.

One of the highlights of Innov8's Mumbai space is that it as a dedicated room for rock climbing which is full of yellow smiley balls.

Paytm Mall Offers Express Delivery As Festive Season Begins

Investing $35 million into the expansion of their logistics network, Paytm Mall is now offering same day and next day deliveries in the country’s top 25 cities.

The first phase of the expansion will only include electronics and appliances across the 25 cities, the e-commerce counterpart of the fintech unicorn, Paytm, said in a statement. It will eventually increase the number of items and with delivery to 100 cities.

The same-day and next-day delivery option for the top 25 cities will give an extra edge to the company to inch upwards in the hyper-competitive e-commerce space. The timing of the expansion is even better as it comes right at the beginning of the festive season through September to November when e-commerce websites offer heavy discounts and demand is at its peak.

Paytm Mall has partnered with three national couriers: Delivery, Xpressbees and Bluedart. Its partners Shadowfax and Book a Wheel will help drive the next wave of expansion, the statement said.

Spacesuit Alert!

Tech guru Elon Musk revealed the first look of the spacesuit made by one of his startups -SpaceX, and it looks like one right out of a sci-fi movie.

"First picture of SpaceX spacesuit. More in days to follow. Worth noting that this actually works (not a mockup),” said Musk while posting the picture on social media website Instagram.

SpaceX’s first manned trip to the International Space Station is scheduled for June 2018.

Ola Partners With Google For Outstation Rides

If you are planning for intercity travel then Google Maps will now suggest using ride-hailing startup Ola.

Earlier this week, Ola announced a partnership with Google that will let commuters looking at long distance travel discover Ola Outstation, its facility for inter-city travel, according to a media statement.

While Google Maps has a similar pact with Uber, it is confined to booking cabs for travelling in the city. This partnership is the first of its kind in India, said the statement.

Currently, the service is enabled from 23 cities to more than 215 one-way routes in the country. The partnership will see that number go up to 500 in the coming weeks, it added.

In Case You Missed It...

1. Read how Keishi Kameyama went from being an adult entertainment mogul to Japan's startup guru.
2. Here's how Uber made its first ever investment pitch, back in 2008.
3. Bill Gates is betting on meat without slaughter.