 "NPCI")
Two Indian companies, the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) and Meesho, were featured on Time's list of 100 most influential companies 2023 list released on Thursday. Additionally, Polygon Labs, originally founded as Matic Network by four Indians, also found its mention in the list.
Launched in 2008 by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the Indian Bank's Association (IBA), NPCI has played a big role in adopting digital payments in the country.
"As smartphone and internet use have grown in India, the NPCI launched United Payments Interface (UPI), which allows instant money transfers via mobile apps and QR codes, and has brought digital payments to nearly 300 million users, replacing debit and credit cards and enabling e-commerce growth in a country that has long clung to cash," Time said about the company.
After domestic success, NPCI is expanding internationally with several countries, including Singapore and UAE, now accepting UPI payments.
The shopping app Meesho was launched in 2015 by Vidit Aatrey and Sanjeev Barnwal and is headquartered in Bangalore, Karnataka. The platform doesn't charge sellers a commission, which it says enables it to sell 60 per cent of its products for less than $4.
"But the path to online-shopping domination won't be smooth: while it expects to reach profitability this fiscal year, it'll have to overcome challenges like rising competition from other companies," Time said.
The list also featured Polygon Labs, formerly known as Matic Network. It was founded in 2017 by four Mumbai-based software engineers: Jaynti Kanani, Sandeep Nailwal, Anurag Arjun, and Mihailo Bjelic. It was rebranded into Polygon in February 2021.
The company aims to create a multi-chain blockchain system compatible with Ethereum. As with Ethereum, it uses a proof-of-stake consensus mechanism for processing transactions on-chain.
"Polygon Labs is pushing blockchain into the mainstream, enabling companies like Starbucks, Nike, and Meta to build more-secure applications using the distributed recordkeeping mechanism that is revolutionizing the way we keep track of what we own—from currency and investments to event tickets," Time wrote about the company.
Some of the other companies that found mention in the list were chip maker Nvidia, Elon Musk's SpaceX, Sam Altman's OpenAI, footwear company Crocs, fast food chain Taco Bell, EV maker BYD, luxury fashion brand LVMH, and defence contractor Lockheed Martin.
Tech giants like Apple, IBM, Samsung, Microsoft, and Siemens were also on the list.
