RentoMojo Files RHP, Uber India Axes 200 Jobs & More

RentoMojo Gears Up For IPO

RentoMojo is just weeks away from its D-Street debut. The furniture and appliance rental startup has filed its red herring prospectus with SEBI, which will comprise a fresh issue and a reduced OFS component. But what does RentoMojo’s public market play look like?

The IPO Book: RentoMojo’s IPO will open on September 9 and close on September 11. The public issue comprises a fresh issue worth ₹150 Cr and an OFS of up to 2.7 Cr shares, which will see early backers and cofounder Geetansh Bamania trimming their stakes. The fresh proceeds will fund offline expansion, new warehouses, debt repayment and general corporate needs. 

The Profitability Pitch: The rental startup’s FY26 numbers paint the picture of a startup growing steadily and profitability. Here is how RentoMojo fared on the financial front in FY26:

• Restated profit after tax surged nearly 142% YoY to ₹104.2 Cr, aided by a one-time tax credit of ₹36.6 Cr
• Operating revenue also climbed 45.5% YoY to ₹387 Cr
• Total expenses also rose 41,5% YoY to ₹323.8 Cr

The Rental Momentum: RentoMojo enters the public market with strong operating momentum, fuelled by healthy top-line growth and profits. The startup benefits from predictable subscription-based cash flows across 22 major urban markets, supported by a growing network of retail stores and fulfilment hubs. The IPO proceeds will further scale offline expansion, which will significantly lower capital costs and boost long-term operating leverage. 

Underlying Pressure? Despite strong headline figures, RentoMojo faces many structural pressures. The FY26 bottom line growth was heavily aided by a one-time tax credit of ₹36.6 Cr, masking a lower operating margin. Meanwhile, rising competition could further pressure margins and increase customer acquisition costs in the near-term. 

On top of this, former cofounder Ajay Nain has filed a lawsuit to halt the IPO over disputed equity transfers, introducing a lingering legal overhang. But with subscription dates set, here is a sneak peek into RentoMojo’s upcoming IPO…

From The Editor’s Desk

Uber India Axes 200 Jobs

• The ride-hailing giant is laying off around 200-250 employees in the country as part of a broader global restructuring, which will eliminate about 3,300 roles. The India layoffs will impact the company’s AI, technology and operations teams.
• Globally, Uber is cutting about 10% of its workforce as it looks to simplify its organisational structure, reduce management layers and redirect resources towards its core mobility and delivery businesses as well as its autonomous vehicle ambitions. 
• Separately, US-based fintech major PayPal has also laid off nearly 220 employees in India. The layoffs impacted roles in tech, engineering, operations, payments and finance across the company’s offices in Chennai, Bengaluru and Hyderabad. 

Simple’s Mass Market Play

• Earlier this week, the OEM launched its Wave range of family electric scooters at an introductory price of ₹1.10 Lakh. With this, the startup appears to be betting that the next leg of India’s EV adoption will come from the mass market.
• The Wave models are intended to serve as an entry point for a larger mass audience and unlock demand beyond its existing premium customer base. Simple Energy is targeting monthly sales and manufacturing capacity of 10,000 units by March 2027.
• Simple expects the Wave portfolio to deliver a 20-25% contribution margin over the next 12 months despite rising input costs and lower price point. The EV maker also plans to expand its retail footprint from 90 stores currently to 170 outlets by March 2027.

Furlenco’s FY26 Profit Zooms

• The furniture rental startup’s net profit zoomed 20X YoY to ₹59.5 Cr in FY26, while operating revenue surged 61.9% YoY to ₹370.4 Cr in the fiscal under review. 
• Meanwhile, EBITDA nearly doubled YoY to ₹129.5 Cr in FY26, while its EBITDA margin expanded to 35.01% from around 29% a year earlier. However, expenses continued to bite and zoomed 45.1% YoY to ₹343.9 Cr in FY26.
• Founded in 2012, Furlenco runs a subscription-driven furniture and appliance rental platform that offers more than 300 SKUs across 28 cities. Overall, it has raised more than $290 Mn to date.

The Ayurveda Co Shuts Down

• More than a year after ceasing operations, the D2C ayurvedic beauty and personal care brand and its sister brand Khadi Essentials have shut shop. Their assets have since been liquidated and the entities are now undergoing a formal winding-up process.
• Cofounder Param Bhargava attributed the shutdown to overhiring and the startup expanding faster than its systems and business could support. Bhargava also claimed that he tried to keep the business afloat by mortgaging his parental property.
• Founded in 2021, TAC sold ayurvedic products across skincare, haircare, wellness and supplements. The brand operated a network of 20 offline stores, raised $15 Mn over its lifetime, scaled to ₹250 Cr in revenue and served 20 Lakh consumers.

slice’s $100 Mn Down Round

• The fintech unicorn turned small finance bank is all set to raise around $100 Mn in fresh funding at a valuation of $450 Mn-$465 Mn. This marks a sharp 62% decline from $1.2 Bn at which the startup was pegged at during its last fundraise.
• The fundraise will likely see participation from Neo Group, Japan-based Kado Global and existing backer Moore Strategic Ventures. The round could also include a secondary component.
• slice’s original business was built around prepaid card products, but regulatory changes in 2022 disrupted that model. It subsequently acquired NESFB and has since expanded its offerings to include deposits, lending and payments. 

Zerodha’s Merchant Banking Play

• The stockbroking major’s subsidiary Zerodha Corporate Advisors has received SEBI’s nod to operate as a merchant banker. The entity is now setting up operations and expects to be up and running over the next few months.
• Zerodha Corporate Advisors will initially focus on equity IPO, particularly new-age businesses looking to list on the bourses. This places Zerodha in the same league as SBI, Kotak, Axis Capital and ICICI Securities. 
• Inside Zerodha, the bet is that its deep retail and HNI footprint can become an edge in the investment banking space. It aims to tap into its 68 Lakh+ users and purported 10% of retail and HNI AUM through its wealth tech arm to carve a niche in the space. 

Inc42 Markets

Inc42 Startup Spotlight

How Red Balloon Is Trying To Conquer The Stratosphere

India’s current aerial infrastructure is fragmented. Satellites are expensive, drones have limited endurance and terrestrial networks struggle in difficult terrain. Red Balloon is betting that the stratosphere can become a low-cost platform to fix the gaps in connectivity and research.

A Near-Space Stack: Founded in 2024, Red Balloon is building super-pressure balloons, tethered aerostats and solar-powered airships. Its flagship Vista platform completed India’s first indigenous super-pressure balloon flight in May 2026, reaching nearly 25 km up in the sky and carrying seven commercial and research payloads.

Aiming For The Stars: Vista is engineered for long-duration flights of over six months with payloads up to 25 tonnes. The startup is also developing Altis, a tethered aerostat for low-altitude validation, and Helix, a reusable solar-and-battery-powered airship designed to hover at 20-25 km for extended missions. Sitting above the hardware is Dive, an AI analytics engine that turns aerial imagery into real-time intelligence for governments and enterprises.

The In-House Edge: Red Balloon has developed a multi-layer nanocomposite film (30–65 microns thick) to withstand -80°C temperatures and low air density of the stratosphere. Supported by a 20,000 sq ft facility in Hyderabad and four provisional patents, it has already received commitments for at least eight launches.

Gearing up to raise its seed round, the startup now has to navigate ICAO flight approvals, India’s geospatial policies and spectrum clearance. So, can Red Balloon make stratosphere a profitable layer of India’s infrastructure stack?

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