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In today’s newsletter:

• Inside Ajinkya Rahane's startup playbook
• How WazirX plans to recover $230 million loss
• India's real-money gaming industry sets ethics code

P.S.: Introducing the Tech3 Podcast, your daily dose of tech and startup insights. Monday to Friday! Check it out on Spotify or Apple Podcasts

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Ajinkya Rahane is not just scoring big on the field—he’s also hitting it out of park in the world of startups.

"I am fully focussed on cricket, but in my free time, I read about what’s happening in the startup world,” Rahane, the 36-year-old Indian cricketer and captain of the KKR franchise, told us. 

The cricketer is set to close one to two new deals—or possibly more—this year, expanding his already diverse startup portfolio. 

• The KKR skipper said he is currently drawn to AI and the energy sector

Among his current investments are Hudle, Krushak Mitra, Oatey, Proxgy, and GenePath Diagnostics.

The cricketer-turned-investor has a soft spot for agricultural technology.

• One of Rahane’s notable early investments was in Pune-based agri-tech startup MeraKisan

Rahane even drew parallels between cricket and investing. 

"Cricket is helping me a lot in this startup journey, like trusting founders as I trust my partners on the field,"Rahane said.

P.S.: Rahane also has a bit of advice for first-time investors: Pick companies committed to the firm's growth, not just the founder's

Dig deeper 

The fate of WazirX, still reeling from a significant $230 million hack, hangs in the balance. 

But amidst upset creditors and an upcoming vote, founder Nischal Shetty is offering a glimmer of hope: 

• a potential recovery of 90-145% of frozen user funds within three years. 

To be sure, this 90-145% range includes the 85% fund recovery planned in the first phase, which will be achieved through rebalanced tokens.

• Rebalanced tokens refer to the amount of tokens users will receive, adjusted to reflect 85% of their fund value as of January 17
  
  
• Shetty also noted that the rise in crypto prices since the hack has helped with the recovery plan

WazirX’s phase two of recovery involves starting a decentralised exchange and sharing 100% profit from the main exchange—until $30 million is raised over three years, after which profit-sharing will drop to 50%.

• The exchange also plans to launch a new ‘recovery’ token, which impacted users can eventually trade

Shetty, an industry veteran, applauded US president Donald Trump’s decision to create a crypto reserve in the States. 

“Because the crypto industry is growing rapidly. If it's $3 trillion now. It's no man's guess that it's going to be $10 trillion in the next three to five years,” he said.

Read the full interview

India's real-money gaming industry is coming together to establish its own code in the absence of a central regulatory framework.

India's three leading skill-gaming industry bodies - the All India Gaming Federation (AIGF), the E-Gaming Federation (EGF), and the Federation of Indian Fantasy Sports (FIFS) - have jointly signed a ‘Code of Ethics' that aims to push for safe and responsible gaming practices. 

• Nearly 200 real-money gaming companies are expected to adopt this framework, covering almost the entire industry

Based on global best practices, the framework comprises a range of product and advertising policy measures. These include:

• Age-gating, comprehensive KYC mechanisms, and ensuring no operations in restricted states
  
  
• Implementing tools to identify and protect vulnerable and at-risk players by incorporating adequate safeguards
  
  
• Providing players with accurate information to help them make informed decisions, including options to self-exclude and set spending limits

Skill gaming operators with an annual revenue of Rs 100 crore and higher will have to implement the framework within six months, while those with annual revenue below Rs 100 crore will have nine months to comply. 

• Federations will then issue a one-year certification, renewable annually after an independent third-party audit

• Failure to comply may result in actions ranging from formal warnings to expulsion in extreme cases

This initiative will likely lead to consistent standards for user safety across the industry as it navigates a turbulent period in the country.

• Industry bodies hope that such responsible gaming principles will become a mandated standard in the long term

Go deeper

• Chinese startup Monica has launched its AI agent, Manus, marking another milestone in the AI arms race just weeks after DeepSeek's DeepSeek-R1 model stirred the industry.
  
  

• ServiceNow Inc. is nearing a deal to acquire the AI firm Moveworks for nearly $3 billion, marking its largest acquisition to date.

If you’ve ever thought about going back to a former employer, you’d expect your past performance to speak for itself. 

• But for some ex-Meta employees, that’s not the case

Meta reportedly maintains a secretive “do not rehire” list—meaning that some former ex-employees will never be welcomed back, no matter how well they performed during their stint.

Find out more

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