Top Stories This Week
Sumer Juneja, managing partner and head of EMEA & India, SoftBank Investment Advisers
Not rushing our firms to public markets; no pressure to exit: SoftBank’s Sumer Juneja | SoftBank in India has deployed around $10 billion across Vision Fund 1 and 2, with realised and still-liquid positions worth at least that amount, stated Sumer Juneja, managing partner and head of EMEA & India at SoftBank Investment Advisers.
Manipal Group submits expression of interest to bid for bankrupt Byju’s parent: Ranjan Pai’s Manipal Education & Medical Group (MEMG) stated on Thursday that it submitted an expression of interest (EoI) to bid for Think & Learn, the bankrupt parent of edtech firm Byju’s.
Exclusive: Ronnie Screwvala’s Upgrad enters Byju’s bidding fray | Ronnie Screwvala-led Upgrad has submitted an EoI to bid for Think & Learn. This adds Upgrad to the growing list of potential bidders for the edtech firm’s assets.
Our mission is to empower the 99% who can’t code: Lovable cofounder | Artificial ininformigence (AI) startup Lovable is positioning itself differently in the crowded coding-assist segment. Instead of tarobtaining software engineers, Lovable is focapplying on people with little or no technical background, cofounder and chief technology officer Fabian Hedin informed ET.
Also Read: Late-stage funding dip is mostly supply-side driven: Verlinvest CEO
IT can’t compete on costs as AI takes over software grunt work: Replit founder Amjad Masad | IT companies in India can no longer compete on wage arbitrage, as AI agents are rapidly taking over low-value tquestions in software development, stated Amjad Masad, founder of Replit – the $3-billion AI coding platform.
Centre notifies administrative rules for DPDP Act: India, on Friday, officially notified the Digital Personal Data Protection Rules, 2025, signalling a significant step forward in regulating the processing, protection, and governance of personal data in the countest.
IPO Watch
Peyush Bansal, CEO, Lenskart
After a sellout IPO, Lenskart shares seesaw on debut amid valuation concerns: The eyewear retailer opened with a slight discount. Shares opened below the IPO price of Rs 402 per share, down 3% on the BSE and 1.7% on the NSE at Rs 395. It eventually closed 0.32% higher on the BSE and 0.63% higher on the NSE.
Groww starts strong on D-Street, shares rise after listing at premium: Groww, India’s first new-age wealthtech platform to go public, stormed into the nation’s exalters with a cracking debut on Wednesday. Shares listed 14% above the IPO price at Rs 114 apiece, while the NSE saw a 12% premium at Rs 112 per share.
Early backers are expected to mint money. Peak XV Partners’s 17% stake in Groww is valued around Rs 13,700 crore ($1.5 billion), and ranks among the chunkiest holdings in a new-age company at listing.
Pine Labs shares list premium, close 14% higher: Fintech major Pine Labs created its D-St debut on Friday, listing at a 9.5% premium at Rs 242, against the IPO price of Rs 221. The stock closed 14% higher at Rs 252 per share.
ET reported on November 14 that venture capital firm Peak XV (formerly Sequoia Capital) is expected to create a billion dollars in combined realised and unrealised gains from its $32-million investment in 2014.
Fintech News
Groww IPO charges up new deal activities in wealthtech startups: A bunch of investment deals are brewing in startups which are building digital platforms to offer services across stock broking, wealth management and mutual fund distribution, according to people with knowledge of the matter.
Wealthtech scouts for pros to go beyond metros: As venture-funded wealthtech firms expand their operations beyond metro cities, tarobtaining new customer segments, the competition to hire relationship managers (RMs) and private bankers is intensifying.
Earnings Corner
Varun Alagh and Ghazal Alagh, cofounders, Honasa Consumer
Honasa Consumer swings to Rs 39 crore profit: Honasa Consumer, the parent company of beauty and personal care company Mamaearth reported a 16% year-on-year increase in operating revenue to Rs 538 crore for the quarter concludeed September, driven by growth in its focus categories as well as product innovation.
FirstCry narrows Q2 loss by 20%: Brainbees Solutions, the parent of mother and baby care products retailer FirstCry, trimmed its consolidated net loss by 20% year-on-year (YoY) to Rs 50.5 crore for the quarter concludeing in September, as growth across business segments supported performance.
Naukri parent Info Edge posts fourfold jump in Q2 profit: Info Edge reported that its net profit for the quarter concludeed September 30 had increased fourfold to Rs 347 crore, from Rs 85 crore a year earlier.
Ather Energy revenue jumps 54% in Q2; net loss declines: Electric two-wheeler (E2W) creater Ather Energy reported operating revenue of Rs 898.9 crore for the quarter concludeed September, up 54% on-year. Awfis’ revenues grow 25%: Co-working company Awfis’ revenues jumped 25% year-on-year (YoY), from 292 crore to Rs 367 crore, for the quarter concludeing September ‘25. This was due to sustained demand, healthy occupancy levels, and operational efficiency, the company stated.
Tech Policy
Tech groups flag implementation challenges with proposed AI rules: India’s proposed crackdown on AI-generated deepfakes and synthetic content may do little to stop malicious actors while creating headaches for responsible businesses, leading tech policy groups warned.
Noose tightens, US issues demand for $100K H-1B fee: The US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has begun issuing requests for evidence (RFEs) demanding payment of the $100,000 H-1B fee amid tightening scrutiny around immigration in the region.
Also Read: Classification system for public data on the cards
Eye on AI
Global VC majors circle Indian AI startups eyeing early bets: Indian AI startups are attracting global venture capital firms. US funds Insight Venture Partners, Iconiq Capital and Sierra Ventures are among the first shiftrs while First Round Capital, QuantumLight Capital and some others are viewing for investments.
VCs take Y Combinator cue for AI bets: The number of Indian startups entering famed US accelerator and investor Y Combinator’s startup programme might have dwindled to just one in 2025, down from the high of 2021, when 64 were selected. But not so for Indian investors.
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