Tata Group weighing to put in an additional $1 billion in its super app venture

Tata Group is reportedly mulling to put in $1 billion of fresh capital into its super app venture as the conglomerate seeks to improve the digital business. The injection is on top of the $2 billion that Tata Group invested in the venture earlier this year. Tata Digital Pvt. will receive the new funding in the coming year should a deal proceed.  

The conglomerate has asked the digital unit, which runs its flagship online platform Tata Neu, to streamline its operations and fix glitches in the app to make it more user-friendly, according to one of the people.  

Tata Group has also urged the super-app venture to explore tapping global sovereign and financial investors for future funding needs. This would be in line with the strategy adopted by its rival Reliance Retail Ventures, which has consistently been raising money from external sources. Qatar Investment Authority and KKR & Co. in recent months invested in Reliance Retail at $100 billion valuation.  

However, deliberations are ongoing and details of Tata Group’s capital injection into the venture could still change. 

Tata Neu, India’s first super app since at least mid-2020, was modeled on China’s ubiquitous Alipay and WeChat but ran into technical glitches and customer complaints soon after its launch last year. Tata Neu allows users to buy groceries and gadgets as well as reserve airplane tickets and restaurants from brands under Tata. The app also comes with membership service and offers financial products.