Unwrapped: Top Tech and Startup Stories This Week
Welcome to this edition of ETtech Unwrapped, your weekend newsletter with the week’s most significant stories.
Top Stories
Zomato CEO Deepinder Goyal on Food Delivery Growth and Quick Commerce:
Zomato is planning several initiatives to boost expansion in its primary food delivery business, according to founder and CEO Deepinder Goyal. He highlighted the need to solve systemic issues in India’s food delivery sector amid the industry’s overall slowdown.
The quick commerce sector in India is seeing a cash burn of roughly Rs 5,000 crore each quarter, with Zomato-owned Blinkit contributing 2-3% of that amount, Goyal said.
Lenskart’s Global Expansion Amid IPO Buzz:
Cofounder of Lenskart, Peyush Bansal, stated that while discussions about an initial public offering are ongoing, the company is focusing on scale and customer consistency to sustain long-term success.
Entrepreneurs Launch New Ventures:
Following a reset in the technology and venture investment landscape, more than a dozen entrepreneurs have stepped down from active roles at their startups to found new ventures.
Rajeev Misra’s Son Launches Investment Fund:
Rohan Misra, son of former SoftBank Vision Fund chief executive Rajeev Misra, has established Gravity Holdings in London, raising around $150 million to invest in Indian technology startups.
Blinkit and Zepto Increase Commissions:
To boost revenue amid intense competition, Blinkit and Zepto are increasing commissions.
Crypto Hoarding by Indian Investors:
The US President’s suggestion of creating a national crypto reserve has caused Indian investors to increase their crypto holdings.
Ola Electric Lays Off Employees:
Ola Electric Mobility has dismissed approximately 1,200 employees and contract workers over the past two months due to decreasing market share and increasing financial losses.
Startups and Funding News
Together Fund Eyes Fund-II Close:
Venture capital firm Together Fund, founded by Girish Mathrubootham and Manav Garg, is moving towards closing its $150 million Fund-II by June, and will increase its focus on AI companies.
AJVC Raises Rs 100-Crore Corpus:
Early-stage venture capital firm AJVC has successfully raised a Rs 100 crore corpus and plans to raise an additional Rs 50 crore.
Darwinbox Closes $140 Million Funding Round:
HR services SaaS startup Darwinbox has secured a $140 million funding round led by Partners Group, KKR, and others.
InsuranceDekho Raises $70 Million:
Insurance marketplace InsuranceDekho closed its $70 million round, co-led by Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG), BNP Paribas Cardif, and Beams Fintech Fund.
Fintech Updates
Public Sector Banks and Fintech Partnerships:
Large public sector banks are forming partnerships with fintech firms to increase lending to micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs).
RBI-Fintech Meeting:
A meeting between the Reserve Bank of India and fintech executives addressed expanding the digital payments market as well as fraud prevention.
Paytm Receives Show Cause Notice:
One 97 Communications (OCL), the company behind Paytm, received a show cause notice from the Directorate of Enforcement (ED) regarding alleged violations of foreign exchange rules.
Easebuzz’s Growth:
Digital payments company Easebuzz is on track to close the financial year with a net profit of Rs 25 crore.
IT and Policy
DOGE’s Spending Cuts and Indian IT:
Industry experts believe that the Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency’s (DOGE) decision to cancel federal contracts will have limited impact on Indian IT companies.
Infosys Mandates Work from Office:
Infosys has directed its technology workforce to work from the office for 10 days a month.
Proactive Deal Renewals in IT Services:
Technology service providers are seeing earlier contract renewals, driven by AI-led productivity and efficiency.
IndiaAI Compute Portal Launched:
IT minister Ashwini Vaishnaw launched the IndiaAI Compute Portal, offering 14,000 GPUs for use by startups, researchers, and developers.
