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In today’s newsletter: 

• Prosus marks down Byju's valuation by 86%
• Paytm's lending ambitions face RBI test
• AMD bets big on India's tech talent

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Byju's has been dealt a fresh blow. This time, the aggressor is Prosus, one of its biggest shareholders.

As the edtech giant grapples with a series of financial and regulatory hurdles, Prosus has slashed Byju's valuation to below $3 billion. 

• This marks a staggering 86% reduction from the $22 billion valuation Byju's secured in its last round of funding

• Earlier this week, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) dragged Byju’s to a bankruptcy court over non-fulfilment of sponsorship dues 

According to Prosus' half-yearly report, portfolio companies Byju's and healthtech unicorn Pharmeasy were the primary culprits behind its disappointing performance.

• The tech investor further revealed that it has written down Pharmeasy's valuation by $118 million, as the company faces mounting debt repayments

In a post-earnings call, a Prosus executive spoke highly of Swiggy, the hyperlocal commerce unicorn in which it owns a 33% stake.

• Prosus said that Swiggy had successfully reduced its operating losses by 89% in the first half of FY24

• However, its food delivery sales of $1.4 billion trailed that of its archrival Zomato by about $400 million during the period

Prosus also said that its payments and fintech segment grew 21% to $497 million in the first half of FY24, driven majorly by its Indian arm PayU.

• The investor also revealed that its buy-now-pay-later platform in India, LazyCard, has been shut down

Paytm has been riding high on the success of its lending platform, connecting millions of users with banks and NBFCs. 

• Over the last five quarters, this strategy has fueled revenue growth and reduced losses for the company

However, recent regulatory moves by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) have raised concerns about the sustainability of Paytm's lending momentum.

Despite this success, the RBI's recent decision to increase the risk weight by 25% on consumer credit exposure for banks and NBFCs has sent ripples through the industry. 

• This move requires financial institutions to set aside more capital for lending, potentially impacting the unsecured consumer lending segment

Analysts have expressed concerns about the RBI's move affecting Paytm's growth and margins. 

• With nearly 80% of lending on Paytm being unsecured consumer loans, the central bank's caution could impact the company's trajectory

While Paytm has financial partners that might withstand the regulatory changes, the broader concern is the financial health of its consumers. 

• The company's lending business, especially in the buy now, pay later (BNPL) and personal loans (PL) segments, forms a significant part of its revenue

Find out more

India is churning out some of the world's top tech talent, which is attracting major global tech companies. The latest to join the party is AMD.

AMD recently chose India as the location for its largest global design centre due to the country's "incredible" talent pool, CTO Mark Papermaster told us in an interview. 

• The local Indian team has proven its ability to attract and recruit top talent, which is essential for developing exceptional products, he added

This facility comes at a crucial juncture in the tech industry, marked by the emergence of generative AI.

• As we rely on technology more pervasively in the future, it will require much more capable and power-efficient chip technology, Papermaster said

Papermaster said that the India team, which currently has over 7,000 employees, plays a pivotal role in the development of each and every product they create.

• Employees in the new campus will also assume an increasingly crucial role in designing the semiconductor design firm's future products, remarked AMD CEO Lisa Su

AMD plans to significantly increase its workforce in India as the government seeks to establish the country as a global semiconductor hub.

The company is investing $400 million over the next five years to expand its research, development, and engineering operations in India. 

• This includes hiring 3,000 engineers by 2028

Read about how AI is changing the way AMD is designing its chips in our story.

Esports players in India are seeing a surge in earnings, with some top players earning up to Rs 20 lakh per annum. This growth is being fueled by the increasing popularity of esports, more frequent tournaments, and higher prize pools.

• In the next 1-2 years, esports players are expected to see a 20-25% increase in their average earnings

Dig deeper

• Amazon has joined the chatbot race with Amazon Q, a workplace-focused AI assistant that aims to help employees with daily tasks.

• OpenAI, the company behind the ChatGPT chatbot, is reportedly not planning to give board seats to its investors, including Microsoft, Khosla Ventures, and Thrive Capital.
  
  
• Pika, a startup creating an AI-powered platform to edit and generate videos from captions and still images, raised $55 million in a funding round and launched its early access program.

Google's been on a bit of a housekeeping spree lately, and it's time to make sure your account isn't part of the cleaning activity. 

• Starting Friday, Google will be deleting inactive accounts that haven't been used in two years

Why? Well, it's all about security. Inactive accounts are more likely to be compromised, and Google doesn't want your precious data falling into the wrong hands.

So, if you've got an old Google account that's been gathering dust in the digital attic, it's time to give it a quick dusting off. Just sign in to your account before the end of the week, and you'll be good to go. Find out more

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