Startups bet on the affluent, foray into concierge services

Personal concierge services see renewed attention from founders, large consumer platforms

- Sakshi Sadashiv

Consumer-facing startups rely on salaried concierges backed by software.

For India's affluent, convenience never sat in apps or bookings but in the privilege of things done for them—access to anything, anywhere with no friction or complexity and satisfaction guaranteed.

That was traditionally delivered by humans: house managers, executive assistants, and trusted fixers who served the everyday world to the wealthy. Now, a new set of startups is attempting to sculpt that quiet operating system into a product.

Over the past year, personal concierge services have drawn attention from founders and large consumer platforms alike. After a short stint leading Flipkart Minutes, Kabeer Biswas, founder of delivery platform Dunzo, is raising about $12 million for an AI-led personal concierge venture, The Economic Times reported last month.

Food delivery and quick commerce brand Swiggy has launched Crew, a travel and lifestyle concierge positioned as a premium extension of its core platform—signalling a category taking shape in its own right, albeit one aimed at a smaller addressable market.