Tata startup to stave off seniors’ loneliness

Good fellow: Indian industrialist Ratan Tata is credited with turning around the 168-year-old steel-to-airlines group founded by his great grandfather. He also backs has since backed more than 50 startups, including an eyewear retailer, digital payments brand, electric vehicle startup and an online stock trading platform. — AFP

NEW DELHI: Ratan Tata, the octogenarian industrialist who steered the US$128bil (RM571.7bil) Tata Group for decades, has backed a startup that connects senior citizens with young graduates for meaningful friendships.

Goodfellows, which promotes “inter-generational friendships” said on Tuesday that it received a seed investment of an undisclosed sum from Tata, the influential chairman emeritus of Tata Sons Ltd, which runs about 150 companies including some of India’s most valuable such as software outsourcer Tata Consultancy Service Ltd and the country’s largest steelmaker Tata Steel Ltd.