By Business Connect Magazine

In a bold stride beyond its food delivery and quick commerce roots, Swiggy India has launched Crew, a premium travel and lifestyle concierge app, currently in its beta phase. Unveiled on June 20, 2025, this invite-only pilot targets affluent consumers, offering personalized services that blend human expertise with cutting-edge AI.

As Swiggy diversifies its portfolio, Crew positions the Bengaluru-based giant as a formidable player in India’s burgeoning concierge market, signaling a strategic pivot toward high-margin, luxury services. Here’s everything you need to know about this exciting venture.

Swiggy’s Vision: A ‘House of Apps’ Strategy

Swiggy, founded in 2014, has transformed from a hyperlocal food delivery platform into a multifaceted tech powerhouse operating in over 580 Indian cities. With offerings like Instamart for quick commerce, Pyng for professional services, and Scenes for events, Swiggy’s latest move with Crew reflects its ‘house of apps’ approach—creating specialized platforms for distinct consumer needs, unlike the ‘superapp’ model that has yet to gain traction in India. This strategy mirrors global tech giants like Alibaba and Meituan, allowing Swiggy to cater to niche markets with precision.

Crew builds on lessons from Swiggy’s earlier concierge experiment, Rare Life, a subscription-based service for elite experiences that was discontinued in 2024 after a limited trial. By integrating human concierges with generative AI, Crew aims to deliver seamless, high-touch services, setting a new benchmark for convenience in the premium segment.

What Crew Offers: Personalized Luxury at Your Fingertips

Available on both Apple App Store and Google Play Store under Swiggy’s parent entity, Bundl Technologies Pvt Ltd., Crew is designed to simplify the lives of high-net-worth individuals (HNIs) and urban professionals. Key services include:

Bespoke Travel Planning: From crafting European vacation itineraries to managing travel documents, Crew ensures hassle-free journeys.

International Driving Permits: Streamlined assistance for securing permits, ideal for globetrotters.

Curated Gifting: Sourcing premium, budget-specific gifts for special occasions.

Lifestyle Management: Booking dinner reservations, arranging laundry services, or hiring locksmiths with ease.

Currently in an invite-only beta phase, Crew is being tested in major Indian cities, targeting affluent consumers who value convenience and exclusivity. Sources suggest the app may adopt a subscription-based revenue model, similar to competitors like Indulge Global and RedBeryl, though Swiggy has not officially confirmed this.

The Concierge Market: Opportunities and Challenges

India’s concierge and lifestyle management market is witnessing a surge, driven by rising disposable incomes and a growing HNI population. Valued at $1.2 billion in 2025, the sector is projected to grow at a 12% CAGR through 2030, fueled by demand for personalized services. However, Crew faces stiff competition from established players like:

Indulge Global: Known for its $4 lakh annual membership, targeting ultra-luxury clients.

RedBeryl: An invite-only platform with a $5 lakh joining fee, emphasizing exclusivity.

Quintessentially India and Pinch: Offering high-end lifestyle management with global networks.

Unlike food delivery, the concierge space demands high-touch, human-driven execution, posing a challenge for Swiggy’s tech-first model. Experts like Advita Bihani of Indulge Global emphasize the need for specialized talent in hospitality and luxury to meet HNI expectations. Swiggy’s success will hinge on its ability to forge strategic partnerships and diversify its workforce to deliver world-class service.

Swiggy’s Broader Expansion: A Pre-IPO Push

The launch of Crew aligns with Swiggy’s aggressive diversification ahead of its $11.3 billion IPO in November 2024. Recent ventures include:

Pyng: A professional services marketplace launched in January 2025, connecting users with financial advisors, wellness coaches, and travel consultants in Bengaluru.

Assure: A B2B procurement platform for restaurants, competing with Zomato’s Hyperpure.

Scenes: An events and ticketing service introduced in December 2024, enhancing Swiggy’s out-of-home consumption segment.

These initiatives reflect Swiggy’s focus on high-margin categories to bolster long-term growth, especially as it navigates rising losses and competition from Zomato, Zepto, and e-commerce giants like Amazon. The suspension of Swiggy’s peer-to-peer delivery service Genie and the transfer of its cloud kitchen brands to Kouzina further underscore its strategic realignment toward premium and scalable verticals.

Market Response and Future Outlook

Swiggy’s shares surged 4.2% to ₹390.10 on June 20, 2025, reflecting investor optimism about Crew and its non-food ventures. Social media buzz on platforms like X highlights excitement around the app’s potential to redefine convenience, with users praising its diverse offerings, from vacation planning to gifting solutions.

Looking ahead, Crew’s success will depend on its ability to scale beyond the beta phase while maintaining service quality. A nationwide rollout plan remains undisclosed, but Swiggy’s co-founder Phani Kishan’s personal involvement in introducing the app signals strong leadership commitment. If executed well, Crew could tap into a lucrative revenue stream, positioning Swiggy as a leader in India’s premium lifestyle market.

Join the Crew Revolution

As Swiggy redefines convenience with Crew, it invites premium consumers to experience a new era of personalized service. Whether you’re planning a dream vacation or seeking curated gifts, Crew promises to elevate your lifestyle with unmatched ease. Stay tuned for updates as Swiggy rolls out this game-changing app to a wider audience.

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Swiggy , the popular food delivery and quick commerce platform, is piloting a new app called Crew. The move marks the company’s foray into the travel concierge and lifestyle management sector. The Crew app offers a personalized concierge service that takes care of a range of daily and special tasks for users.

App features Crew app can help you get an international driving license The Crew app can help users with a variety of tasks, from getting an international driving license to finding the perfect housewarming gift within a budget. It can also arrange for locksmith services, laundry for clothes and shoes, and even plan a complete vacation to Europe. Last October, Swiggy had piloted Rare Life for premium events and experiences but later discontinued it to focus on travel and lifestyle management.

Pilot launch App available on Android; has been in internal testing Swiggy co-founder Phani Kishan unveiled the Crew app in an internal announcement. The company has launched the service as an invite-only pilot and has been testing it internally for the last 15 days. The app is currently available on Android and will be rolled out to more users in the near future. Unlike Rare Life, which catered to premium users, Crew targets a wider audience in major Indian cities.

Food delivery and quick commerce platform Swiggy has entered the travel concierge and lifestyle management space with a new app called Crew, sources familiar with the development told Entrackr.

The Crew app acts as a personalized concierge service and handles a wide variety of everyday and special tasks for users. It can help secure an international driving license, find the perfect housewarming gift within a set budget, arrange for a locksmith, get clothes and shoes laundered, and even plan a full vacation to Europe.

In October last year, Swiggy piloted Rare Life which was focused on premium events and experiences. However, the company discontinued the service in close beta to focus on travel and lifestyle management.

According to sources, Swiggy’s co-founder Phani Kishan introduced the new app to a group. “The company rolled out the service as an invite-only pilot, and the team has been conducting internal trials over the past 15 days,” said one source, requesting anonymity.

Entrackr could not confirm who will lead the new division.

Like Rare Life, Crew will also target the premium segment, focusing on major Indian cities. It may adopt a subscription-based model for future revenue generation.

Swiggy did not respond to Entrackr’s queries.

Swiggy’s Crew is comparable to Indulge Global in the premium home concierge and lifestyle management space. The concierge market has seen a surge in recent times, with other prominent players including RedBeryl, CribLife, and Pinch.

MakeMyTrip’s record raise, Zuck’s AI talent grab

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Also in the letter:

MakeMyTrip raises $3.1 billion to cut Chinese firm Trip’s holding

Driving the news:

The fundraise marks the largest ever by a listed Indian internet company.

On Tuesday, MakeMyTrip disclosed in a regulatory filing that it is raising $3 billion to buy back shares from Trip.com Group.

MakeMyTrip cofounders Deep Kalra and Rajesh Magow currently hold 4.6% of the company’s voting rights.

Domestic control:

Other major raises by listed tech firms:

Paytm raised $2.5 billion during its IPO in 2021.

Through its public issue, Zomato (now Eternal) raised $1.25 billion and followed this with a $1 billion raise via a qualified institutional placement (QIP) in November 2024.

Swiggy raised $1.2 billion from the public markets in its public issue in 2024

Ola Electric raised $740 million through its IPO in August last year.

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Elevation Capital sells Ixigo shares worth Rs 97.4 crore; Schroder buys stake

Numbers game:

Elevation Capital has sold 53.9 lakh shares for Rs 97.4 crore, pricing them at Rs 180 apiece.

In parallel, global investor Schroder International Selection Fund picked up shares worth Rs 96.9 crore in the company.

This comes after Elevation sold 21.5 lakh shares in Ixigo for Rs 38.27 crore in May.

As of March 31, Elevation held a 14% stake in Ixigo. That has now come down to 12%. The early-stage investor had originally put in Rs 63.1 crore across multiple tranches.

Mark Zuckerberg made abortive attempt to buy ex-OpenAI executive Ilya Sutskever’s AI startup: Report

Driving the news:

High-stakes game:

Zuckerberg is spearheading an ambitious effort to build a “superintelligence” team focused on developing artificial general intelligence (AGI), the elusive frontier where AI not only matches but surpasses human capabilities.

Inside Meta, there is growing frustration with the sluggish progress of its current efforts, particularly the limitations of the Llama 4 models.

Eager not to be left behind, Zuckerberg is setting his sights on outpacing OpenAI and Google in the AGI race.

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Swiggy pilots travel and lifestyle concierge app Crew

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Krutrim eyes AI growth with BharatSah’AI’yak acquisition

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YouTube Shorts has hit 200 billion daily views: CEO Neal Mohan

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At the 2025 Cannes Lions Festival, Mohan added that people now watch over 1 billion hours of YouTube on their TVs every day.

In May, YouTube was the most-watched streaming platform in the US for the fourth consecutive month, topping Nielsen’s The Gauge report.

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MakeMyTrip has raised $3.1 billion in the largest fundraise by a listed Indian internet company. This and more in today’s ETtech Top 5.■ Swiggy’s latest pilot■ Krutrim’s latest acquisition■ YouTube Shorts’ monster growthDeep Kalra, chairperson, MakeMyTripOnline travel platform MakeMyTrip has raised $3.1 billion through a mix of equity and debt, its banker, Morgan Stanley, confirmed on Friday.MakeMyTrip faced criticism last month over its sizable Chinese shareholding, after EaseMyTrip founder Nishant Pitti accused the platform of risking the travel data of Indian Army personnel. Following this buyback, Trip.com’s stake will fall from 45% to around 20%. Its board representation will also shrink from five directors to two.Aloke Bajpai (R) and Rajnish Kumar (L) of IxigoVenture fund Elevation Capital has offloaded shares of Le Travenues Technology, the parent company of travel platform Ixigo, for a second time in a month, pocketing a 25x return on its investment.Mark Zuckerberg, CEO, MetaMeta’s $14.2 billion recent investment in Scale AI, and roping in its CEO Alexandr Wang, appears to be just the beginning. Mark Zuckerberg seems to be on a man on a mission : to recruit top AI talent, and reports suggest he made a move for one of the sector’s most-talked-about startups.According to CNBC, Zuckerberg tried to acquire Safe Superintelligence, the $32 billion startup founded by former OpenAI cofounder Ilya Sutskever. The talks didn’t go far, with Sutskever reportedly turning him down. Meta then shifted focus to poaching CEO Daniel Gross for its AI team.The Meta CEO is assembling a handpicked team of 50 researchers, including a new head of AI, and has held private meetings with potential hires at his homes. Alongside Gross, Meta is also bringing in former GitHub CEO Nat Friedman to under Wang.Sam Altman recently stated on a podcast that Zuckerberg had offered $100 million bonuses to attract talent, but so far, with little success.ETtech Top 5 and Morning Dispatch are must-reads for India’s tech and business leaders, including startup founders, investors, policy makers, industry insiders and employees.Interested? Reach out to us at spotlightpartner@timesinternet.in to explore sponsorship opportunities.Swiggy has ventured into a new category with the pilot launch of its travel and lifestyle concierge app, Crew.The app blends human concierges with generative AI to help users plan trips, offering more than just itinerary suggestions.Last year, ahead of its IPO, Swiggy tested a similar service, Rare Life , a personalised concierge service for exclusive experiences. That experiment was short-lived, as the company decided to focus on broader lifestyle offerings instead.Crew is part of Swiggy’s latest push beyond food delivery, dining out, and quick commerce. In January, it launched Pyng, a professional services marketplace This signals a departure from Swiggy’s earlier ‘superapp’ strategy . Instead of integrating all services under one platform, Swiggy has started offering standalone apps. Instamart, its quick commerce unit, got a dedicated app earlier this year.In May, the company shut down its parcel delivery service, Genie , opting instead to focus on Bolt, its rapid food delivery feature now available in 500 cities. As food delivery growth tapers off, Swiggy and rival Zomato are betting on 10-minute orders to regain momentum.Bhavish Aggarwal, founder, KrutrimOla’s AI division, Krutrim, has acquired BharatSah’AI’yak , an AI platform developed by governance consultancy Samagra.The move comes as Krutrim seeks to expand its presence in government-led digital initiatives through its proprietary AI stack. As part of the agreement, Krutrim has also onboarded Samagra’s core AI team.BharatSah’AI’yak has been employed in projects spanning education, agriculture, and citizen services. It will now be integrated with Krutrim’s in-house large language models (LLMs), cloud infrastructure, and agentic AI assistant platform, Kruti.In February, Ola founder Bhavish Aggarwal announced an investment of Rs 2,000 crore in Krutrim , with plans to increase it to Rs 10,000 crore by next year.Krutrim has recently faced internal turbulence , including several senior-level departures and criticism following the alleged suicide of an employee, with claims of a toxic work environment.Neal Mohan, CEO, YouTubeYouTube Shorts now commands around 200 billion daily views , according to CEO Neal Mohan.This marks a dramatic leap from March 2024, when YouTube said Shorts was attracting around 70 billion daily views. In just one year, daily viewership has surged by nearly 186%.As Shorts continues to gain traction, YouTube plans to strengthen support for creators by rolling out more tools. Mohan announced that Veo 3, the latest version of Google DeepMind’s video generation model, will launch on the platform later this summer.