STARTUP
Indian VC firms back in hiring mode as deal activity rebounds
With AI roles in high demand and junior to mid-level hiring on the rise, VC firms are building leaner, smarter teams to support a wave of fresh deal activity.
STARTUP
Smaller D2C brands take a hit as India-Pakistan conflict dents consumer sentiment
Since May 7, online orders have dropped and advertising spends are no longer yielding expected returns, as consumer attention shifts from shopping to the conflict with Pakistan
BUSINESS
Heatwave hustlers: Companies promise ACs, electrolytes to brave summer scorch, gig workers say it’s just on paper
While steps like AC rest points, shift incentives and medical assistance signal an evolving commitment to worker well-being, gig worker groups caution that access to these facilities is not always consistent.
BUSINESS
QED Investors to deploy $300 million in India and Asia Pacific over next five years: Asia head Sandeep Patil
The fintech-focused venture capital firm has expanded its investment strategy beyond early-stage deals
BUSINESS
Zomato pauses 15-minute food delivery service 'Quick' four months after launch
This was Zomato’s second attempt to crack the quick food delivery market under its main app. Its earlier effort – Zomato Instant, launched in 2022 – promised 10-minute deliveries in Bengaluru and Delhi-NCR but was wound down by January 2023.
TECHNOLOGY
Restaurant body NRAI's integration plans with ONDC go cold amid top-level churn
NRAI's loss could turn out to be Rapido's gain, as the mobility platform charts plans to launch food delivery
TECHNOLOGY
Urban Company IPO: Offer size, financial report card, risk factors and other takeaways
Accel, one of Urban Company's earliest backers, is poised for a bumper payout. Its exit value is a staggering 16.7x higher than Tiger Global’s, 5.7x higher than VY Capital’s and nearly double that of Bessemer India. Elevation Capital is also looking at a windfall
TECHNOLOGY
Scooting to the bank: Ather’s IPO sparks high-voltage returns for founders, early backers
Founders Tarun Mehta and Swapnil Jain are cashing out a total of 19.6 lakh shares between them – 9.8 lakh each. With a weighted average acquisition cost of just Rs 21.09 per share, the duo is looking at over 15x returns.
TECHNOLOGY
Swiggy’s Snacc, Blue Tokai sever ties over pricing, strategy mismatch
With the move, Swiggy's Snacc will follow the strategy that its rival Zepto has implemented. The company will now partner with third-party vendors and sell their products as part of Snacc.
TECHNOLOGY
Funding spring: Late-stage cheques surge for IPO-ready, profitable startups
According to top investors and dealmakers Moneycontrol spoke to, the current funding uptick is seen as a recalibration. Capital is now flowing to a focused cohort of profitable, disciplined businesses with strong fundamentals and IPO ambition.
TECHNOLOGY
HUL-Honasa call truce: Both agree to take down disparaging ads, posts against each other
HUL and Honasa will take down online ads within 24 hours and remove hoardings within 48 hours. It has also agreed to change the colour of the packaging shown in the ads from orange to light yellow, and replace the phrase “online bestseller” with “some sellers”.
BUSINESS
Gensol crisis: BluSmart suspends cab bookings via app in parts of NCR, Mumbai and Bengaluru
The development comes just a day after SEBI’s recent findings in the Gensol Engineering probe that have cast serious doubts over the future of BluSmart.
TECHNOLOGY
From carts to cabs: With retail slowing, can ONDC ride on mobility, logistics?
A mix of factors — lack of clear differentiation, poor user experience, shrinking incentives, and mounting pressure from quick commerce rivals — has stalled ONDC’s retail momentum, according to several industry stakeholders who spoke to Moneycontrol.
TECHNOLOGY
IPO-bound Zepto appoints Airtel’s Akhil Gupta to company board
As vice chairman of Bharti Enterprises, Gupta has spearheaded the successful public listings of Bharti Airtel (2002), Bharti Infratel (2012) and Airtel Africa (2019), and is expected to lend his expertise to Zepto as the firm looks to IPO later this year.
TECHNOLOGY
Flipkart Minutes to set up 800 dark stores by 2025-end: CEO Kalyan Krishnamurthy
Speaking at Walmart’s annual Investment Community Meeting on April 9, Krishnamurthy said that Flipkart is investing heavily in artificial intelligence (AI), and making efforts to integrate the technology across all the company’s verticals.
TECHNOLOGY
Loss of a founder, loss of its biggest client and lost value – How Ecom Express landed in Delhivery’s cart
Delhivery’s acquisition of Ecom Express may trigger a wave of consolidation in India’s third-party logistics sector, say analysts.
TECHNOLOGY
New sparkle: Lab-grown diamond startups carve a niche in India’s jewellery market
As demand for lab-grown diamonds continues to rise, these startups have raised $14 million in 2025 so far, a significant 56 percent increase from the $9 million raised in the whole of 2024, as per Tracxn.
TECHNOLOGY
Zomato lets go of 600 customer support employees amid food delivery slowdown, automation push
The company had hired as many as 1,500 employees under its Zomato Associate Accelerator Program (ZAAP) a year ago in customer support roles, offering the chance to be elevated to senior positions within a year, However, a majority of these contractual workers did not get renewals at the end of their tenures.
TECHNOLOGY
Mayank Kumar's BorderPlus acquires German healthcare recruitment firm Onea Care
The company has set aside $10 million to make between five and ten acquisitions in India, Germany, and other destination markets over the next one or two years, Kumar said.
TECHNOLOGY
India's e-retail rush creates 28 crore online shoppers, toppling US to become second largest: Flipkart-Bain report
Growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 20 percent between 2019 to 2024, the market scaled to $60 billion last year, and is projected to reach $170–$190 billion by 2030, the report said.
TECHNOLOGY
Growth in India's $60 billion e-retail market halved to 10% in 2024 amid consumption woes: Flipkart-Bain report
Despite the near-term macroeconomic headwinds, the long-term prospects of this market remain strong. India’s e-retail market is expected to scale to $170–$190 billion by 2030, growing at over 18 percent annually, the report said.
TECHNOLOGY
Quick commerce accounted for over two-thirds of e-grocery orders, one-tenth of e-retail spends in 2024: Flipkart-Bain report
As per the report, the quick commerce sector reached a total gross merchandise value (GOV) of $7 billion in 2024, up from just $1.6 billion in 2022
TECHNOLOGY
Lab-grown diamond jewellery startup Aukera in talks to raise $15 million in funding from Peak XV
The fresh capital will help the company scale its operations amid increasing competitive intensity in the India’s $2.6 billion LGD market. Existing backers, including Fireside Ventures, are expected to participate in the round.
TECHNOLOGY
Amazon scraps referral fee on products below Rs 300, cuts shipping costs by 16%
Additionally, the company has reduced the weight handling fees for lightweight items under 1 kg by up to Rs 17. The revised fees come into effect from April 7, 2025.
