One quick thing: Festive sales from Amazon, Flipkart begin September 23, a day after GST reset  

In today’s newsletter: 

• Girish Mathrubootham logs out of Freshworks
• New investors lap up IPO-bound Urban Co shares
• QC accelerates credit card shift from offline to online

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What began as a modest dream in Chennai has come full circle as Girish Mathrubootham steps away from Freshworks.

After nearly 15 years at the helm, Mathrubootham is exiting Freshworks effective December 1, 2025, marking the end of an era for one of India’s most storied entrepreneurs.

When Mathrubootham started Freshworks in 2010 from a small apartment in Chennai, his ambition was modest: a handful of employees and $1 million in revenue. 

• Instead, he went on to build one of India’s most successful SaaS companies, culminating in Freshworks’ landmark NASDAQ listing in 2021

After stepping aside as CEO in 2024, Mathrubootham transitioned into the role of executive chairman.

• On December 1, 2025, he will officially exit Freshworks, completing a succession plan he says was "long in the works"
   
• His successor, Dennis Woodside, had been groomed for the top role well before the handover 

For Mathrubootham, Freshworks’ true legacy isn’t its billion-dollar valuation or IPO, it’s the culture.

“We created a company with an amazing culture, more than anything else. Many people told me Freshworks was the best time of their lives,” he told us in an interview.  

Today, his focus is on Together Fund, the venture capital firm he co-founded in 2021. 

“Together Fund is my startup,” he said, as he shifts focus to backing the next wave of founders while continuing to “watch Freshworks grow as a shareholder.”

Read the full interview

The Urban Company cap table just got a makeover. 

Tiger Global and Accel have offloaded shares worth Rs 498 crore in the company days ahead of its public market debut. (As reported by us a few weeks ago)

• Those shares were mopped up by State Bank of India (SBI) mutual fund (MF), Permira, Elevation and Prosus 

• SBI MF was the largest buyer, picking up Rs 250 crore worth of shares through these transactions
  
  
• Permira and Prosus bought shares worth Rs 87.6 crore and Rs 87.1 crore, respectively
  
  
• And finally, Elevation, an existing and early backer of the company, bought shares worth Rs 73.6 crore 

Interestingly, each of these transactions happened at a share price Rs 103, the upper end of the company’s share price band.

Shares changing hands at that price means several stakeholders stand to make handsome gains. 

• The value of the stake of founders Abhiraj Singh Bhal, Raghav Chandra and Varun Khaitan has soared more than 10,000 times to a little over Rs 1,000 crore each
  
  
• Accel India has seen the value of its stake rise from Rs 55 crore to nearly Rs 1,500 crore, a massive gain of over 26 times
  
  
• Bessemer India has seen its investment jump from Rs 68 crore to Rs 976 crore, or about 13 times
  
  
• Elevation Capital, formerly SAIF Partners, has seen the value of its stake increase from Rs 85.7 crore to Rs 1,638 crore, or nearly 18 times
  
  
• Tiger Global has seen the value of the stake rise from Rs 375 crore to Rs 627 crore, up 67%
  
  
• VY Capital has recorded a surge in value from Rs 275 crore to Rs 1,386 crore, a rise of 400% 

UC’s IPO, seeking to raise about Rs 1,900 crore, will open on September 10 and close on September 12.

 Dig deeper

It seems customers are keying in more than they are swiping. OTPs are replacing taps and PINs.

• Online credit card payments are set to surpass offline transactions by volume, as more customers shift from brick-and-mortar to e-commerce

Over the last couple of years, a large share of grocery, stationery, home essentials and toy sales has moved to quick-commerce platforms. 

• This has replaced purchases at local supermarkets and hypermarkets, where credit card swipes traditionally dominated

The number of credit card transactions through online platforms stood at 24.13 crore in July, against 24.32 crore at offline outlets through point of sale (PoS) devices.

The trend has been accelerated by banks issuing credit cards to new-to-job salaried individuals, a younger demographic that relies more on quick commerce than older generations.

• Interestingly, it is not for the lack of offline infrastructure

Card payment terminals have grown by 33% year-on-year to 1.2 crore point-of-sale machines.

Nothing has cannibalised debit and credit card usage like UPI, India’s most popular digital payment method. 

• Many potential offline card transactions have moved to UPI

Low-value transactions don’t earn credit card rewards, and customers are likely using UPI instead.

Card payments are not as seamless or fast as UPI. Tap-and-pay card transactions are quick, but they haven’t become mainstream yet.

• Interestingly, credit card transaction value has been much higher on online platforms for years, driven by smartphone and electronics sales moving online

In July 2025, spending at offline outlets stood at Rs 70,000 crore, compared to Rs 1.23 lakh crore online.

Dig deeper

• OpenAI has announced it is developing an AI-centered jobs platform as part of broader efforts to expand AI literacy, and as the company grows its consumer and business-facing AI applications.
  
  
• Perplexity is gearing up for a major expansion of its AI browser Comet, with CEO Aravind Srinivas confirming that the product is now available for pre-order on the Google Play Store.

Ready for some mischief and some menace this weekend?

First up, a cat-and-mouse thriller in Mumbai. 

• Inspector Zende stars Manoj Bajpayee as the relentless cop chasing Carl Bhojraj (Jim Sarbh), a fugitive modelled on Charles Sobhraj

Then it’s off to Nevermore Academy. 

• Jenna Ortega is back as Wednesday in Season 2 Part 2, cracking sinister mysteries with her deadpan wit

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