One quick thing: The new fact-check amendment to the IT rules faces its first legal challenge in the Bombay High Court. What might be unusual is the petitioner: Indian comedian Kunal Kamra (with the help of the digital rights organisation Internet Freedom Foundation). 

• The court has directed MeitY to explain why the IT Rules 2023 should not be stayed and provide factual background for the amendments

In today’s newsletter:

• Coming soon! Apple store in Mumbai and Delhi
• Edtechs cough up Rs 2,250 cr on ads
• Bezos, Sequoia-backed Lummo mulls sale or shutdown

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Apple's ambitions in India are growing, a market that is becoming increasingly important for its future growth and manufacturing expansion.

Apple is set to open its first company-owned retail store, Apple BKC, in Mumbai on April 18. That's not all, the iPhone maker will be opening another outlet in Delhi just a few days later on April 20.

• Delhi and Mumbai are two of Apple's largest cities, accounting for about 11% and 10% of iPhone sales in India, respectively, as per Counterpoint Research's city level tracker

In February 2023, Apple CEO Tim Cook called India as a "major focus" market and said that they are taking various measures to increase the adoption of its flagship product, iPhone, through various financing options and trade-ins. 

• These comments come on the back of the Cupertino tech giant registering record revenue growth in terms of iPhone sales in the country across multiple quarters. 

Apple is currently the leader in India's premium smartphone market (above Rs 30,000) and the country's smartphone market in terms of shipment value in Q4 2022, according to the market research firm Counterpoint Research. It clocked record shipments of over 6.5 million in 2022, registering a 16% growth YoY.

Apple is also betting on India to become a key manufacturing hub as it seeks to diversify its production capabilities beyond China, which seems to be paying off.

• Apple captured 25% of 'Made in India' smartphone shipments in terms of value in 2022, as compared to 12% in 2021, as per Counterpoint Research.
  
  
• The company's ‘Made in India’ shipments grew by 65% YoY by volume and 162% YoY by value in 2022, it said.

P.S. We also got a first look at the Apple Store in Delhi. Check it out!

How many times have you seen the Unacademy logo during an IPL match or passed by a large upGrad billboard and been intrigued by it?

Well, good for these edtech unicorns, who spent crores just to get your attention for a few seconds.

The five edtech unicorns—Unacademy, PhysicsWallah, Vedantu, Eruditus, and upGrad—cumulatively spent more than Rs 2,250 crore on advertising, marketing, and promotions.

• While Eruditus spent the most, around Rs 1,090 crore, PhysicsWallah, the only profitable edtech unicorn, spent the least—Rs 11 crore

Overall, ad spends rose about 74% from FY21 and more than 344% over FY20.

Meanwhile, spending on employees also rose to Rs 5,465 crore, an increase of 47% from the previous year, when the five companies spent nearly Rs 3,724 crore.

• Unacademy spent the most on employees, including non-cash ESOP costs and educator payments, followed by Eruditus, while PhysicsWallah again spent the least. 

Go deeper

Another Sequoia-backed startup is caught between a rock and a hard place.

No, the default villain - a funding winter in the startup ecosystem - cannot be blamed this time.

Lummo, a SaaS startup with backers including Jeff Bezos and Tiger Global, is in hot waters after failing to achieve product-market fit after several pivots.

• The startup is weighing both a sale and a shutdown 

To date, it has raised about $140 million across rounds. But what happens to the remaining funds in the bank if Lummo decides to shut down? 

• The company would then return the funds to its investors, sources told us

This comes as several SaaS companies take precautionary measures to protect themselves from the US recession, as the country accounts for 80-90% of its revenues.

• Lummo has gone through three rounds of layoffs, according to former employees. The first one was in May and June last year, followed by a silent round between October and November, and the most recent one was at the end of March 

Go deeper

On April 11, 1976, Apple introduced its first creation, the Apple I, to the world. In terms of specifications, the Apple-1 was quite primitive. It had an 8-bit MOS 6502 microprocessor that ran at 1 MHz.

Quick Trivia: Back when it was first released, the Apple I was priced at $666.66 per unit, and the company sold around 200 of them. Interestingly, in 2014, a working Apple I was auctioned off for a staggering $905,000. (Picture credit: Wikipedia)

• Bitcoin's price has surged to heights not seen since mid-2022, with the largest cryptocurrency by market cap hitting $30,000.
  
  
• South Korean cryptocurrency exchange GDAC reported a security breach that led to the theft of digital assets worth about $13 million from its hot wallet.

Dubai has done it again, breaking yet another record!

The recent sale of a two-character car license plate at an auction by Emirates Auction LLC has fetched a staggering 55 million dirhams ($15 million or Rs 122 crore), clinching the title of the most expensive license plate in the world.

This surpassed the previous record set in 2008 by Saeed Abdul Ghaffar Khouri, a local business tycoon, who spent a whopping 52.2 million dirhams to acquire a license plate with the number 1 in Abu Dhabi.

Find out more

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