As the Indian e-commerce platform Meesho gears up for an initial public offering (IPO) valued at $5.6 billion, it has unveiled its strategic move to invest in AI-driven chatbots and voice assistants. This investment is aimed at drawing in a fresh wave of users. At the same time, the company is looking to scale up its logistics arm, Valmo, and roll out financial services, including "buy now, pay later" schemes.

In the first six months of this year, Meesho witnessed a 29.4% year-on-year surge in revenue, hitting INR 5.58 billion (roughly equivalent to $623 million), coupled with a significant 72.1% slump in losses. Despite adopting a zero-commission strategy, Meesho's overall expense ratio still hovers at a lofty 31%. Its logistics platform processes 62% of all orders and has managed to shave off 12% in costs. Nevertheless, the payment failure rate for cash-on-delivery transactions stands at a concerning 25%, posing potential threats to the company's cash flow.