Breaking: U-turn? Govt asks stakeholders to return copies of controversial broadcasting bill

Hello there! We have a short, concise edition today, bringing you exclusive coverage from the recently concluded Moneycontrol Startup Conclave. We will be back with our regular edition on Tuesday (August 13)

In today’s newsletter:

• What top tech voices said at Moneycontrol Startup Conclave 
• Other top stories of the day

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• While everyone compares Swiggy with Zomato, it turns out that having a listed rival isn't all that bad. Sriharsha Majety, co-founder of Swiggy, outlines the pros and cons. On the positive side, not having to explain terms like gig workers and on-demand services is beneficial. However, a drawback is the constant comparison of growth trajectories between Swiggy and Zomato quarter after quarter, Majety noted during a panel discussion. Delhivery’s Sahil Barua and SoftBank’s Sumer Juneja were also part of the session. Dig deeper 

• As the Futures and Options (F&O) market faces scrutiny, PhonePe CEO Sameer Nigam is seeing both sides of the coin. While celebrating the explosive growth of his stock broking app Share.Market—whose daily orders have surged 30 times since the introduction of the F&O segment in April—Nigam has also sounded a note of caution. The CEO stressed that the market "needs to be tempered" to avoid overheating. Find out more
  
  
• As Swiggy prepares to list on the bourses, one of the company's early venture capital backers is confident that it would be able to generate investor interest despite a sustained surge of arch-rival Zomato's stock price. "Public investors are smart. They look at every company for what it is capable of and what it is worth. And also investors want diversification", Prashanth Prakash, partner at Accel, said. Find out more
  
  
• Why has Bengaluru, hailed as India's tech capital, seen far fewer initial public offerings (IPOs) from technology companies compared to the national capital, Delhi, in recent years? Sorin Investments founder Sanjay Nayar has an answer. Read more.
  
  
• Sumer Juneja, head of India and EMEA at SoftBank Investment Advisers and a key stakeholder in Ola Electric, praised founder Bhavish Aggarwal for driving the electric vehicle (EV) revolution. Juneja credited this as a primary factor behind the excitement surrounding Ola Electric's IPO. He also  highlighted the company's remarkable growth since SoftBank's initial investment in 2019. Ola Electric Mobility's stock surged 20% to hit an upper circuit of Rs 109.44 per share on August 12. Dig Deeper

• Freshworks founder and executive chairman Girish Mathrubootham supports founders using secondary sales of shares to address personal financial needs, which he believes helps them stay focused on building and growing their companies. The trend of founders selling shares in secondary markets has divided investors and founders, with several new-age companies like FirstCry, Mamaearth, and Swiggy experiencing this practice. Dig deeper

• Companies that are looking to go public should start thinking early on, said Aloke Bajpai, co-founder and Group CEO, Ixigo who in June had seen a stellar listing of his company's IPO. Sharing a thing or two about what it takes to list launch an IPO, Bajpai said that it is important to engage with investors early. Find out more
  
  
• The age-old battle between physical stores and online platforms is over. Retailers are now taking a new path by blending the best of both worlds. For new age consumer startups like Licious, GIVA and Curefoods, online is where the customer discovers and interacts with the brands for the first time, but offline is what helps create consumer trust and scale up in geographies beyond Tier-1. Here's what industry players had to say.
  
  
• The Reserve Bank of India could engage with fintechs more to avoid any potential destruction of value creation before issuing any circular, Siddharth Pai, founding partner of 3One4 Capital, said at the event. “The regulator needs to understand the pain that a fintech entrepreneur goes through and the effort they put in before they come up with a one-line circular that destroys their business,” Pai added. Find out more
  
  
• Karnataka government has clarified that there will be no changes to shift timings in the wake of protests from IT employees' unions about the state's proposal to extend working hours. Karnataka Information Technology- Biotechnology secretary Ekroop Caur said, “I want to clarify that the proposed changes were based on industry demands. Unfortunately, the communication has not been done well. The shift will continue to be nine hours, with no changes to the shift timings.” Dig deeper
  
  
• After large information technology companies, even their midcap peers have generated significant demand in the co-working space. Speaking at the event, coworking company IndiQube’s co-founder Rishi Das said midcap IT companies, such as Persistent Systems, have generated enough demand for the space. Even old economy companies such as Air India and Mahindra Logistics are now occupying seats in the coworking buildings in the country, Das said. Dig deeper

• Google announced today that the first of its Made-in-India Pixel 8 smartphones have started rolling off the production lines. This announcement comes just ahead of the tech giant's global Made by Google event on August 13, where it is expected to debut the next generation of Pixel smartphones—the Pixel 9 Series.

• Wipro's Chief Technology Officer Subha Tatavarti resigned on August 12, with effect from close of business hours of August 16, 2024. "Subha Tatavarti, Chief Technology Officer, resigned from the services of thecompa ny to pursue opportunities outside Wipro," the company said in an exchange filing. It also announced the expansion of its partnership with Google, integrating its generative artificial intelligence (Gen AI) tools, including Gemini models for its workforce.
  
  
• Bharti Global, the international investment arm of Bharti Enterprises, agreed to purchase a 24.5% stake worth $4 billion in BT Group Plc from Altice UK. This transaction will make Bharti Global the largest shareholder in BT Group. 
  
  
• PUBG and BGMI-maker KRAFTON plans to set up an R&D facility in India by next year to develop games suited to the Indian culture, company’s India business head Sean Hyunil Sohn said. KRAFTON India CEO Sohn said that the details of the facility are yet to be finalised, but the top location choices are Bengaluru and Pune.

• Wealth and asset management firm Neo has raised Rs 400 crore in its latest funding round led by Japan’s MUFG Bank and New York-based Euclidean Capital LLC. The company said it will use the funds to expand its wealth management division and enhance sponsor support for its growing asset management business.
  
  
• FirstCry operator Brainbees Solutions shares are expected to list with double-digit premium over the issue price of Rs 465 per share on August 13, given the decent IPO subscription numbers, though it is richly valued, according to experts. Even the grey market participants are trading FirstCry IPO shares at around 15% premium, the market observers said.
  
  
• Rural-focussed agri-fintech startup Jai Kisan has acquired a majority stake in Kushal Finnovation Capital Private Limited, a non-banking finance company (NBFC). The acquisition will allow the Mumbai-based lending startup to leverage Kushal’s licence to offer loans directly to customers alongside co-lending partnerships with other financial institutions.