ETtech Unwrapped: Top Tech and Startup Stories This Week
Welcome to this week’s edition of ETtech Unwrapped, your weekend newsletter packed with the biggest stories.
Top Stories This Week
-
Startup Listings Face Headwinds: A slump in the stock market is making new-age companies cautious about initial public offerings (IPOs) this year, according to several industry insiders.
-
India’s AI Opportunity: Bejul Somaia of Lightspeed Venture Partners believes India’s strength in artificial intelligence (AI) lies in vertical integration, rather than competing with established leaders.
-
PhysicsWallah Raises $210 Million: Online coaching platform PhysicsWallah secured a $210 million funding round led by Hornbill Capital. This marks the largest fundraise in the struggling edtech sector.
-
Market Downturn Hurts New-Age Stocks: Nearly half of the 15 new-age companies that listed on the stock market since 2021 are trading below their IPO price. Paytm, Delhivery, and Mamaearth-parent Honasa Consumer are among the worst performers.
IT Updates
- Infosys Layoffs: The Karnataka labour department found no labour law violations in recent terminations by Infosys, according to an interim report submitted to the state government. The IT giant had also announced salary revisions for employees, offering raises between 5% and 8% based on performance.
- IT Hiring Trends for 2025: Global capability centres (GCCs) and smaller to mid-sized IT services companies are expected to drive tech hiring in 2025. Larger IT firms may slow down recruitment, according to research and recruitment service providers.
Startups and Funding News
- Blinkit Receives Funding from Zomato: India’s quick commerce platform Blinkit got a Rs 1,500 crore cash infusion from its parent company, Zomato, as per a regulatory filing.
-
Byju Raveendran Seeks Investigation: Byju Raveendran, the founder and CEO of Byju’s, is requesting an investigation into alleged collusion and fraud by the firm’s lender Glas Trust, consultancy firm EY, and former resolution professional Pankaj Srivastava.
-
NCLT Approves New Resolution Professional for Byju’s: The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) approved Shailendra Ajmera as the new resolution professional (RP) for Byju’s parent company, Think & Learn.
-
Boat Plans IPO: Wearables brand Boat has received shareholder approval to move forward with its IPO plan and is set to file the draft prospectus with market regulators. This is their second attempt to go public after withdrawing their initial bid in 2022.
Fintech Corner
- NPCI Focuses on Education Fee Payments: NPCI Bharat BillPay is targeting the digitalization of fee payments in the education sector as its next major opportunity.
-
WhatsApp for Loan Recovery: Fintech lenders are increasingly using WhatsApp to collect payments from loan defaulters.
-
Cred Updates P2P Lending Platform: Fintech platform Cred is making adjustments to its peer-to-peer (P2P) lending platform, Cred Mint, to comply with the latest regulations set by the Reserve Bank of India.
AI Updates
-
Doordarshan Archives for AI Training: The Indian government will open up archives of the national broadcaster, Doordarshan, to help companies build Indian foundational models. The goal is to train these models on diverse cultural and linguistic data.
-
Groq CEO on AI Development: Jonathan Ross, CEO of Groq, suggests India focus on improving existing AI models and developing applications rather than heavily investing in foundational models and AI chips.
-
AI’s Potential for India’s Digital Stack: Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw believes artificial intelligence (AI) can significantly boost India’s digital infrastructure, including Aadhaar, UPI, and DigiLocker.
