Ratan Tata acquires stake in Kaaryah.com

After announcing his retirement in 2012, Ratan Tata is busy acquiring stakes in several start-ups. Now he has said to have picked a stake in online women’s fashion portal Kaaryah, in his personal capacity.

Last year, he invested in furniture start-up Urban Ladder, leading marketplace Snapdeal and BlueStone Jewellery. The investments were made through RNT Associates, a company registered by him in 2009. Bangalore-based Urban Ladder and Bluestone are already looking for a fresh funding round to raise 50 million dollars (over Rs 300 crores) each, while Snapdeal wants to raise 400-500 million dollars (over Rs 2,400 to Rs 3,000 crores).

This move by one among India’s biggest corporate head honchos, signals rising interest in India’s ecommerce growth story. The market is expected to hit nine billion dollars (over Rs 61,000 crores) over the next two years, according to US venture capitalist Accel Partners. Even other biggies in the Indian business like Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Retail and the Aditya Birla Group are pursuing the online retail channel.