Country Delight raises Rs 200 crore in debt from Alteria Capital

Earlier this year, it raised around Rs 164 crore in equity funding from Singapore’s sovereign fund Temasek, giving it a valuation of $804 million as of July 31. The direct-to-consumer fresh foods brand will use the fresh funds to drive its expansion, brand marketing efforts and capacity addition.

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Catwalk goes canine in this festival season pet gala

The evolving pet parenting culture in India is driving a surge in the pet fashion market. This festive season, sales of pet fashion items like sherwanis, kurtas, lehengas, and accessories have doubled. Brands are competing for a share of this growing market, which is expected to reach Rs 500 crore in the next five years.

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Musk’s xAI seeks $40 billion valuation in new funding round

The funding discussions are early, said the person, who asked not to be identified discussing private information, and the details could still change or the talks could fall apart.

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Google ad change could affect millions of small businesses

Google Local Services ads run locally and are a big way that small businesses market their goods and services. Ads appear on the top of Google search results.

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Amazon India units post moderate growth, cut losses in FY24

While Amazon’s India marketplace unit is yet to file its audited financials with the Registrar of Companies (RoC), earnings of the three arms indicate a slowdown in Amazon’s India business amid increasing competition from rivals like Flipkart and Meesho.

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Edu-wealth startup Zinc raises $25.5 million from Nexus Venture Partners, others

The Singapore-headquartered company founded by the former PayU Credit chief Prashanth Ranganathan plans to use the funds for product innovation, expand its offerings and obtain financial licences to help families save and invest for their children's global education.

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Tatas to enter red-hot quick commerce space with ‘Neu Flash’

Joining Flipkart and Reliance Industries, salt-to-software conglomerate Tata Group is set to enter the ever-growing quick commerce sector as customer demand rages in metros. People in the know said Tata’s ecommerce venture Neu will enter the fast delivery segment branded as Neu Flash. It will be rolled out to select users offering grocery, electronics and fashion.

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AI companies need to be worried about cyber threats, model pollution

Artificial intelligence companies, including OpenAI, Microsoft, and Meta, are increasingly concerned about protecting their large language models (LLMs) from cyber threats. The focus is on protection, recovery, data portability, and data intelligence and working with other security companies to provide comprehensive solutions.

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TSMC suspended shipments to China firm after chip found on Huawei processor, sources say

This move comes amid ongoing U.S. restrictions on Huawei, which is prohibited from accessing U.S. technology. TSMC, as a major supplier to Huawei, is under scrutiny to ensure compliance with these restrictions.

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Swiggy IPO valuation at $11.2 billion; BlackRock, CPPIB, SBI MF, others subscribe to anchor book

Swiggy is gearing up for a significant IPO valued at $11.2 billion. The IPO will include a substantial secondary share sale by existing investors like Accel, Elevation Capital, and Norwest Venture Partners, alongside a primary capital raise.

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Our robot stories haven't prepared us for AI

A Florida teenager who took his own life had a particularly intense relationship with a chatbot named Dany, after Daenerys Targaryen from "Game of Thrones." He said he was in love with her, talked to her constantly, and raced to his room at night to be with her—all unbeknown to his parents and his human friends.

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Meta Platforms to use Reuters news content in AI chatbot

Meta AI, the company's chatbot, is available across its services including Facebook, Whatsapp and Instagram. The social media giant did not disclose whether it plans to use Reuters content to train its large-language model.

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Top startup and tech stories this week

Welcome to a new edition of ETtech Unwrapped – our weekend newsletter packed with the most important stories this week. Let’s take a look.

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Apple's Q3 China smartphone sales slip, Huawei's soar

Apple's iPhone sales in China fell slightly by 0.3% in Q3 2024, while Huawei surged by 42%, capturing a 15.3% market share. Apple's market share dropped to 15.6%, as Vivo led with 18.6%. Huawei's Mate 60 series and Pura 70 model intensified competition. Overall, China’s smartphone sales rose 3.2%.

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Apple supplier Jabil eyes expansion; Ixigo, Go Digit financials

Apple supplier Jabil plans to expand operations in India, one of the world's fastest-growing markets for iPhones. This and more in today’s ETtech Morning Dispatch.

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Healthify raises $20 million in round led by Khosla Ventures, LeapFrog Investments

Claypond Capital, Manipal Group chairman Ranjan Pai’s family office, also participated in funding for the health and wellness startup, formerly known as Healthifyme. To date, the company has raised $125 million in primary equity.

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NPCI curbs on unauthorised use of UPI IDs by fintech companies

NPCI has shot off a letter to banks and fintechs asking them to refrain from using the UPI system for any form of service other than payment settlements and account validation. Fintech startups use the UPI ID to find out the name of the customer, the status of the bank account, alternate UPI IDs, and also verify the mobile number of the customer.

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Uber India bets big on two and three-wheeler markets; needs push for EV fleet: India president

According to Prabhjeet Singh, given the right price points and service levels, the Indian market will see deeper adoption of shared mobility.

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Infosys to establish an AI lab in London; Wipro partners with UK’s Wealthtime

The firm said the London Living Labs and the AI Lab are housed within Infosys’ new premises spread over 25,000 square feet with a capacity for 200 employees. The office marks an important milestone in Infosys’ journey of over 25 years in the UK.

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Even Healthcare raises $30 million in funding led by Khosla Ventures

The round saw participation from other US-based investors such as Founders Fund, 8VC and Lachy Groom. The company plans to use the funds to launch hospitals in Bengaluru and scale up patient care to become a fully integrated healthcare provider.

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Avaana logs final close of $135-million climate fund

This fund aims to invest in 20-25 early-stage companies working on solutions for energy transition, supply chain, resources, industrial decarbonization, and food systems.

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Paytm receives approval from NPCI to onboard new UPI users

Paytm parent firm One 97 Communications said on October 22 that the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has given approval to the company to onboard new UPI users.

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AI startup Neysa raises $30 million in funding round led by NTTVC, others

The company's founder Sharad Sanghi, said the funds will be used for scaling up infrastructure and fuel research and development to democratise access to scalable AI solutions. The startup expects a growth of 200-300% next year, aiming to almost treble its revenue.

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Ola Electric says resolved 99% of customer complaints

The CCPA issued a show cause notice to Ola Electric last month for alleged violations of consumer rights, misleading advertisements, and unfair trade practices. The notice came amid increased customer complaints against Ola’s after-sales service, software glitches, and hardware issues with its two-wheelers.

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Dairy tech firm Stellapps raises $26 million in a mix of equity and debt

Stellapps, a dairy technology solutions startup, will use the funds for expanding Stellapps' mooMark business, which focuses on contract manufacturing and private-label dairy operations. Founded in 2011, the Bengaluru-based firm is a farm-to-consumer dairy digitisation service provider.

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India's chip industry: From stalled to successful

Despite a slow start, India’s semiconductor ambitions have seen major milestones. Now more widespread initiatives are needed for this momentum to continue.

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Boom time for spiritual apps: Diwali set for surge in user activity

Online devotional platforms see business booming this month amid burgeoning demand for new offerings launched during Navratri.

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Google granted request to pause order on Play store overhaul

San Francisco-based US District Judge James Donato made the decision on Friday as part of an antitrust lawsuit against Google brought by "Fortnite" maker Epic Games. Google argued that Donato's October 7 injunction would harm the company and introduce "serious safety, security and privacy risks into the Android ecosystem."

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Top startup and tech stories this week

Welcome to a new edition of ETtech Unwrapped – our weekend newsletter packed with the most important stories this week. Let’s take a look.

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Quick commerce’s burning brighter as players add more fuel

Zomato's decision to raise additional funds via QIP, despite holding $1.5 billion in cash, has sparked intrigue in the quick commerce sector, with some viewing it as a strategic move to overshadow Swiggy's impending IPO. The slug of capital that will be needed to sustain growth in the high-burn quick commerce sector is resembling the trajectory of ecommerce a decade ago.

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P2P startups look to overhaul biz, processes amidst RBI crackdown

Peer-to-peer lending startups are still coming to terms with the latest observations on the sector released by the RBI on August 16. At the same time, they are also dealing with regulatory action against violations. Many P2P platforms are working on restricting withdrawals and also overhauling their entire product journey to abide by stringent RBI rules on the sector.

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MeitY extends deadline for Rs 10,000 crore GPU tender to Nov 12 amid industry concerns

The tender aims to establish public AI cloud infrastructure with more than 10,000 GPUs through a public-private partnership. Some companies raised concerns about energy efficiency requirements, but the tender remains unchanged for now.

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India recognised as source of cost-effective digital applications in Global South: IT Secy

Today, in many international fora, India has been recognised as a digital power, S Krishnan, secretary at the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), said at a virtual address to the Nasscom Future Forge 2024 event held in Bengaluru.

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Eldercare startup Primus Senior Living raises $20 million from General Catalyst, others

General Catalyst brought in $7 million, while Zerodha cofounder Nikhil Kamath and investment firm Gruhas invested the remaining $13 million. Primus delivers healthcare, wellness, lifestyle, and social engagement services to elders at their homes.

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Samsung workers call off strike: TN labour dept

Under the agreements among the parties, workers would not be victimised for participating in the strike, the department said. Workers said they would cooperate with the management fully and would not do any such acts "prejudicial to the interest of the management".

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Footwear startup Yoho bags Rs 27 crore, eyes offline and international expansion

The funds will be used to support growth initiatives, research and development, marketing efforts, recruitment, and offline expansion. It last raised Rs 20 crore in October 2022. “Our core target audience is 28 to 40 years old, who like colour and style, value comfort, and don't just go for fashion,” cofounder Prateek Singhal told ET.

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Furniture rental startup Rentomojo nears Rs 200 crore FY24 operating revenue

Rentomojo reported a 60% rise in operating revenue to Rs 193 crore in FY24. Controlled rise in expenses during the year saw net profit surge more than threefold to Rs 22 crore last fiscal from Rs 6 crore in FY23.

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CCPA directs Ola to provide customers refund options

The Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) has also observed that Ola is not issuing invoices for auto rickshaw rides on its app, which it termed an unfair trade practice.

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Bits & Bytes: Tesla unveils robotaxi, pledges it ‘before 2027’

Tesla's self-driving robotaxi will be fully electric and cost under $30,000. Musk also revealed humanoid robots called 'Optimus' that could perform menial tasks and offer companionship. Meanwhile, the lawsuits allege that TikTok's addictive design features, like endless scrolling and push notifications, harm children's mental health. Meta has introduced AI tools called "Meta Movie Gen" for automatically generating, editing, and adding sound effects to videos.

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Cost, integration and scalability: Hurdles for Open RAN in India

While the technology could reshape the telecom landscape in the country, challenges related to cost, integration and scalability continue to present significant near-term hurdles.

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Zomato independent director Gunjan Soni steps down from board

Gunjan Soni, currently the chief executive of Southeast Asia focused fashion retailer Zalora Group, has formerly been a senior executive at Myntra, Jabong, Star India and McKinsey. She was appointed to Zomato's board prior to the company's July 2021 initial public offering.

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Apple accused of restricting workers' slack, social media use by US labor board

​​ This is the second time the NLRB has hit Apple with a complaint this month. Last week, the agency accused the company of requiring employees nationwide to sign illegal confidentiality, nondisclosure, and noncompete agreements and of imposing overly broad misconduct and social media policies.

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Maharashtra opens Rs 800 crore centre to fight cybercrime

The Rs 800 crore facility, located in Navi Mumbai, will house over 150 experts to protect the state's residents. The center will leverage advanced technologies like AI and blockchain to address various types of cyber threats, including malware, deepfakes, and cryptocurrency scams.

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India drives TCS growth buzz

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) reported a 5% increase in net profit for the second quarter, driven by a large deal with BSNL. Despite cautious spending from clients in key markets, TCS saw signs of improvement in financial services in North America. CEO Krithivasan expressed optimism about the future, suggesting that the second quarter of FY25 could be better as macroeconomic uncertainty eases.

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Good Glamm Group completes buyout of feminine hygiene brand Sirona for Rs 450 crore

In 2022, Good Glamm announced the purchase of a partial stake in Sirona for Rs 100 crore. The all-cash deal had faced legal scrutiny after founders and investors of Sirona issued notices to Good Glamm for not finalising the acquisition as per their original agreement.

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India's AstroSat and NASA's Space observatories capture dramatic eruptions from stellar wreckage around a massive black hole

Indian and American astronomers have observed a rare event where a massive black hole is tearing apart a star and using the debris to pummel another star or black hole. This discovery, made using NASA's space observatories and ISRO's AstroSat, provides insights into the connection between two previously separate mysteries.

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India leads AI app downloads with 21% share globally

Chatbot apps such as ChatGPT, Microsoft Copilot, Google Gemini are the most downloaded AI apps along with image/video editing and play apps. However, most Indian users use these apps for free.

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Payments firm Tonetag looks to bag $50 million from Iron Pillar, others

Tonetag is in talks with growth-stage investment firm Iron Pillar for a fresh equity round of around $50 million. Other investors are expected to join the round as well. The round will be a mix of primary and secondary capital, where some of Tonetag’s early investors will partially or fully exit the company.

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AI tech shift leading to remarkable transformation: Worldwide Amazon Stores CEO

Speaking at the 'Delivering the Future 2024' event where Amazon announced a major AI push into multiple areas of ecommerce for the US markets, Doug Herrington said AI infusion and enhancement is not just enabling lower costs and improved quality, but also leading to innovative experiences.

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Data centres are wary of sustainability push in govt’s AI mission GPU tender

As per the new clause introduced by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) in a corrigendum to the bid issued in the last week of September, a bidder must confirm that the PUE for the data centres from which AI services on cloud would be delivered is not more than 1.35.

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Legal AI company EvenUp valued at over $1 billion in latest funding round

Premji Invest, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Bessemer Venture Partners, SignalFire and B Capital Group also participated in the round, which brought the company's total fundraise to $235 million, EvenUp said.

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Fraud check: Infosys candidates need to check system for info

Infosys, India’s second-largest software services company, has stopped sending job offer letters and attachments via email. Instead, new recruits will access their job application details by logging into the company’s internal system.

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Ola Electric slapped with show cause notice over consumer complaints and service deficiencies

The central government has issued a showc ause notice to Ola Electric for multiple consumer complaints. These complaints involve service delays, misleading ads, and unfair practices. Ola Electric has been asked to respond within 15 days. The company's stock fell nearly 9 per cent today. The company reported a significant net loss despite revenue growth.

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Samsung signs MoA with some workers at Chennai facility; agrees to a slew of demands

The company has also agreed to expanding the operation of air conditioned buses by next year from only five routes currently to all 108 routes.

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Soon, you will be able to travel from Bengaluru airport to Cantt Station in 40 min: minister

Vaishnaw, who is minister for railways, information broadcasting and information technology, took the train ride from the airport to the Cantt station, where he reviewed the progress of ongoing projects and some planned ones. V Somanna, minister of state (railways) and Lok Sabha member from Tumakuru, will be leading the project that will take the railway line into the sprawling airport.

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ETSA 2024 | For startups, right talent is human capital, not just human resource: Lenskart CEO Peyush Bansal

India needs to attract and retain the right talent to be able to take its startups to the global stage, Bansal pointed out.

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Marriott to open tech accelerator in Hyderabad next year

Marriott International is setting up a tech accelerator in Hyderabad, opening in early 2025. This will be its first overseas global capability centre. The centre aims to leverage Hyderabad's technology talent, focusing on software engineering, infrastructure, operations, and cybersecurity. Marriott's expansion in India includes 153 hotels with 84 more in the pipeline.

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Conservative think tank targeting NASA employees' communications about Elon Musk, Donald Trump

The Heritage Foundation has filed numerous Freedom of Information requests with NASA to uncover internal discussions about Elon Musk and Donald Trump. This effort aims to identify civil servants opposing Trump's agenda and assess whether NASA is hindering private companies like Musk's SpaceX.

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Brazil's top court says X paid pending fines to wrong bank

Brazil's Supreme Court postponed its decision to allow social media platform X, owned by Elon Musk, to resume services in the country, as the company did not transfer pending fines to the correct bank. X has been suspended since August for failing to comply with court orders related to hate speech moderation and proper legal representation.

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Winners of The ET Startup Awards 2024 to be feted today, and other top stories this week

It’s D-day! Top entrepreneurs, policymakers, and investors will come together in Bengaluru today to honour the stars of Indian entrepreneurship at the tenth edition of The Economic Times Startup Awards (ETSA) 2024.

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ET Startup Awards 2024: The stars of startup world to shine today

​​Ashwini Vaishnaw, union minister for railways, information and broadcasting, electronics and IT, will be the guest of honour at the glittering ceremony. Winners and nominees, past and present, will be among the elite speakers. Watch out for full coverage of the event in ET's pages.

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ET Startup Awards 2024: Lenskart eyes $200 million factory as revenue run rate hits $1 billion

Omnichannel eyewear brand Lenskart, which bagged the top honours at ET Startup Awards (ETSA) 2024, is witnessing stellar online growth backed by its boost to local manufacturing and resulting speedy delivery. “We’re just getting started,” chief executive Peyush Bansal told us, detailing the company’s new manufacturing plant in south India, selling made-in-India products in international markets, and more.

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Consumer-lending fintechs steal show with surging numbers

Fintech firms in consumer lending such as Navi, Kreditbee, Moneyview, and Fibe reported strong profits and revenue growth in the last financial year, recovering from Covid-related challenges.

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AI helping companies make more money, adding up to 20% to profits: report

Generative AI is the prime mover of the current wave of technological change and companies leveraging on AI can make remarkable profits up to 20%.

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ET Startup Awards 2024: it’s an all-star cast of speakers in milestone year for ETSA

Nandan Nilekani, a digital public infrastructure (DPI) evangelist, will delve into the past decade of India's tech and startup ecosystem and look ahead at what’s in store for the new economy amid groundbreaking technological innovations and the maturing of the country’s startup ecosystem.

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Big IT expects growth momentum to continue in September quarter

India’s software service providers will report their July-September quarter results in the coming week, and analysts expect them to be better than the first quarter on the back of deal revival and an improvement in business sentiment in North America.

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Away from spotlight, healthcare throws big lifeline to IT sector

India's IT companies have found a resilient growth engine in healthcare. This contrasts with the sluggish performance of financial services, retail, and hi-tech, which have faced headwinds for nearly two years.

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IT’s fresher hiring may double in FY25 on demand rebound

After a sluggish period, the IT sector is set for a significant recovery in fresher hiring, with projections indicating a nearly 100% increase in entry-level hires this year compared to the last. Several big IT firms have already announced plans to resume campus hiring and expand their workforce.

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