Paytm acquires Near.in; Bets big on O2O commerce

The move is a part of Paytm’s ramped up focus on O2O (online to offline commerce). With this acquisition, Paytm forges ahead with its promise of creating significant disruption in the high-potential hyperlocal space in India

by exchange4media Staff
Published: Dec 8, 2015 2:00 PM | 1 min read

Paytm acquires Near.in; Bets big on O2O commerce

Mobile payments and commerce platform Paytm, has acquired Near.in, a marketplace app for local services. The move is a part of Paytm’s ramped up focus on O2O (online to offline commerce). With this acquisition, Paytm forges ahead with its promise of creating significant disruption in the high-potential hyperlocal space in India.

Speaking on the acquisition, Kiran Vasireddy, Senior Vice-President and head of investments for Paytm said, “We see enormous potential for O2O in India, which is a perfect blend of online and offline commerce. With this core belief, we have acquired Near.in and we will continue to invest more in this space. Near has a significant network of local service providers in place and a stellar team leading it. We are confident that their platform and team will add further strength to our other O2O initiatives, which is a key focus area for us.”

Near.in was launched by Wirkle co-founder Sunil Goyal, Lomesh Dutta and Akshay Khanna in December 2014.