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In today’s newsletter:

• Jumbotail eyes unicorn club with $120 mn funding
• Inside India's fake workforce crisis
• AI slashes IT deal timelines

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The race to become the first unicorn of 2025 just added another participant. 

Jumbotail, a startup that connects mom-and-pop stores (kiranas) to suppliers, is in advanced stages of raising $120 million at a valuation of $1 billion. 

• SC Ventures and Invus will be investing in the company along with other existing backers, sources tell us
  
  
• SC Ventures was a large investor in Solv, the B2B company that Jumbotail acquired on March 26, and is returning to double down on the larger entity 

A deal is expected to be announced in the coming weeks, which could make Jumbotail the first unicorn of this year. 

• Stockbroking platform Dhan and fintech provider Juspay are the other startups that are in the running to be the first unicorn of 2025, as we had reported earlier

A pre-money valuation of $900 million for Jumbotail, the larger entity (because it now includes Solv), is a significant markup from earlier.

Jumbotail was valued at around $300 million in 2021 and Solv had a valuation of $200 million a few years ago. 

“The valuation of the larger entity – Jumbotail plus Solv – is being pegged at around $900 million and a fresh capital infusion of around $120 million will take the company’s post-money valuation to just a little over $1 billion,” a source told us. 

Jumbotail was started in 2015 by Karthik Venkateswaran and Ashish Jhina, a third-generation apple farmer who went on to graduate from IIT Delhi and Stanford.

• It competes with Lightspeed-backed Udaan, SoftBank and Prosus-funded Elasticrun, Tiger Global-backed Dealshare and InfoEdge Ventures-backed Shopkirana, among others 

Dig deeper

Fraud isn’t hiding—it’s delivering your food, handling your money, and even treating patients.

Fake credentials, stolen IDs, and forged documents are infiltrating workplaces across industries. A recent report by IDfy reveals a growing employment fraud crisis:

• Consumer products (15%) and telecom (14%) were hit the hardest. In e-commerce, 20% of fraud cases involved fake job records

• Food delivery (1%) and IT (2%) had the lowest fraud rates, but credential black markets are expanding rapidly

Delivery partners are openly selling their login credentials and employee IDs for Rs 1,500–Rs 4,000, allowing unverified individuals to infiltrate the system.

Employment fraud isn’t just about lying on a resume—it’s a real security risk:

• In healthcare, 5.66% of flagged cases involved fake professionals. One man even ran a clinic for three years without a medical degree

• The FMCG sector (15.66%) struggles with fraudulent applicants, disrupting supply chain efficiency

• Chennai (9.4%) and Bengaluru (9.3%) lead in job fraud, making hiring riskier in major employment hubs

Fraudsters don’t just vanish—they move on to new jobs with fresh forged documents. The study found that:

• In the BFSI sector, 33% of fraudsters were repeat offenders. Weak tracking systems allow them to keep getting rehired

Last year, employee fraud cost businesses Rs 4.7 lakh crore globally, with legal fees, security breaches, and operational disruptions compounding losses.

Dig deeper

Ever since the AI boom, IT companies have promised to pass AI-driven productivity gains to their customers. 

• Now, customers are eager to capitalise on this promise. 

A striking shift is underway—over 60% of newly signed IT deals are now shorter-tenure projects.

Digital transformation projects that once spanned 3-5 years are now expected to be completed in just 18 months, according to Forrester Research.

• Cost-conscious clients benefit, but IT firms take a revenue hit in the short term

AI-driven efficiencies mean fewer billable hours and lower headcounts per project, squeezing margins for IT service providers.

The much-anticipated IT sector rebound may take longer than expected.

• A Crisil Ratings report projects IT services growth in India to remain sluggish at 6-8% in rupee terms for FY26—the third consecutive year of single-digit expansion.

Macroeconomic headwinds and slowing demand in the US and Europe continue to drag the industry.

India, once the global epicentre of IT services, is seeing a steep decline in new IT firms.

• Government data reveals a 90% plunge in new IT company registrations, dropping from 16,388 in FY20 to just 2,419 in FY25

 This drop is attributed to the sector’s ongoing challenges with AI disruption, a tough business environment, and industry leaders calling for an overhaul of the business model. 

Dig deeper

For decades, coding required deep knowledge of programming languages, but AI is changing the game. 

• Enter vibe coding—a term coined by OpenAI co-founder Andrej Karpathy—where developers describe ideas in plain English, and AI writes the code 

• Tools like Cursor, Replit, and Claude 3.7 Sonnet let even non-coders create apps and games

Will AI replace programmers? Not quite. 

Find out more

• OpenAI is close to finalising a $40 billion funding round led by SoftBank Group Corp. — with investors including Magnetar Capital, Coatue Management, Founders Fund and Altimeter Capital Management in talks to participate.
  
  
• Facebook parent Meta introduced new AI-enabled marketing tools that make it easier for brands to discover and partner with creators who can help increase their sales.

If ya smell… what Netflix… is cookin'

If you're an avid WWE fan, prepare for a significant change in how you watch the action. Starting April 1, Netflix will become the exclusive home for WWE shows in India, including its weekly flagship programs, RAW, NXT, and SmackDown. (So, say goodbye to cable TV!)

And let’s be real—we Indians love drama! Netflix is totally banking on that to attract more subscribers here. 

So, buckle up, grab your popcorn, and get ready - Netflix is about to layeth the streaming smackdown on your screens. 

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