One quick thing: Sarvam begins training India’s first sovereign AI model  

 In today’s newsletter:

• India's plan B amid Foxconn hiccup 
• Startups chase Rs 20,000 crore IPO pool
• Generative AI rewires Indian IT

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Foxconn’s Chinese talent exits raise eyebrows, but India sees an opening.

Foxconn’s quiet withdrawal of over 300 Chinese mid-level engineers from its Apple factories in Chennai and Bengaluru is being viewed by the Indian government as both a challenge and an opportunity, a source close to the developments told us.

• While the exit has raised concerns over potential delays, officials believe the existing workforce, trained over the past five years, can sustain operations

The government also sees this as a chance to diversify the talent pool, tapping professionals from Vietnam, the US and other regions.

The Ministry of Electronics and IT (MeitY) had previously facilitated visas for Chinese engineers, despite broader policy restrictions.

• This gesture was made because of the strategic importance of Apple’s manufacturing operations in India

Experts say Beijing is increasingly trying to slow the outflow of skilled labour amid global efforts to de-risk from Chinese supply chains.

India, Vietnam and others are vying to fill that vacuum.

“China has been trying all ploys to thwart the success of ‘Make in India’. This attempt is another such step,” Faisal Kawoosa, founder of TechArc, had told us.

Foxconn has been steadily expanding its footprint in India, with a new iPhone plant near Bengaluru and a production line for AirPods in Hyderabad.

• The sudden repatriation of over 300 Chinese engineers has left only a few Taiwanese staff remaining on-site

Go deeper

India’s IPO pot is steaming — and startups are ladling out their DRHPs like it’s a buffet.

Twelve startups have filed, but this isn’t just a flash in the pan; it’s a full-course funding feast.

• Meesho, PhysicsWallah, Pine Labs and nine others have filed IPO papers with SEBI this year

They're eyeing nearly Rs 20,000 crore in primary capital, OFS isn’t even in the mix.

• Six have filed confidentially, buying time to stir the pot before serving

Investors want liquidity, founders want longevity — and the public markets are happy to play waiter.

• Founders aren’t chasing vanity listings — they’re chasing long-term growth and exits, say industry stakeholders

VC backers are lining up for the IPO off-ramp after years on the cap table.

• Late-stage funding isn’t biting as hard, so public markets are now the go-to cash counter

This isn’t just a fintech-foodtech-funding rerun — the 2025 plate is way more diverse.

• From Wakefit to boAt, D2C and SaaS are joining the IPO parade

The numbers aren’t just pretty, they’re profitable - FY24 revenue growth for this cohort stood at 39%, EBITDA margin was up 15.6%, as per a report by The Rainmaker Group.

• Most new filers are profitable two years ahead of the IPO 

Dig deeper

Code over coders!

India’s biggest IT firms are rewriting the rules of growth by shrinking fresher hiring and doubling down on Gen AI, automation, and reusable IP.

• The traditional pyramid model, built on mass recruitment and linear scaling, is being replaced by leaner, AI-first operations

• TCS, Infosys, and others are now chasing margins through platforms, not headcount

FY25 hiring was almost flat despite revenue growth, a clear sign that the industry’s foundations are shifting.

Companies are deploying internal AI copilots, agentic workflows, and outcome-based pricing to replace manual effort with software.

• Even HCLTech has scrapped its full-year hiring guidance for FY26

Infosys' Topaz and Wipro’s ai360 platforms are embedding AI deep into client work and internal delivery alike.

With Gen AI taking over repetitive work, firms are no longer billing for effort; they’re billing for outcomes. 

• Time-and-materials contracts, once the dominant model, now account for just 35% of revenue for top IT firms, down from 62% two decades ago

Clients are demanding accountability, automation, and value-based pricing, forcing services firms to think more like product companies.

Dig deeper

• Ilya Sutskever has taken charge of Safe Superintelligence (SSI), the AI startup he founded last year, after CEO Daniel Gross left to join Meta Platforms to lead its AI products division amid a fierce industry talent war.
  
  
• OpenAI has agreed to lease about 4.5 gigawatts of data centre power from Oracle in the US as part of its Stargate initiative.

First up, Kaalidhar Laapata on Zee5. 

• The movie stars Abhishek Bachchan as a betrayed elderly man who ditches his family and takes off on a life-changing road trip with a street-smart kid

Next up, check out Hunt: The Rajiv Gandhi Assassination Case on SonyLIV.

• The series plunges into the CBI probe after the 1991 assassination, unravelling chilling conspiracies

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