One important thing: Hyderabad’s Skyroot Aerospace, which made history last year by becoming the first Indian private company to launch a rocket into space, has successfully tested a rocket engine to be used on one of their upcoming launch vehicles.
- The company tested Dhawan II, a 3D-printed, cryogenic rocket engine that is going to be used on Vikram II, slated to launch in 2024.
In today’s newsletter:
- Sameer Nigam on why PhonePe-ZestMoney deal fell through
- Zoho CEO prioritises people over profits
- 1K Kirana lays off 40% workforce
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Top 3 stories
Sameer Nigam on why PhonePe-ZestMoney deal fell through
PhonePe recently made headlines when its deal to acquire ZestMoney fell through.
But why?
In his first official comment on the failed deal, PhonePe’s Sameer Nigam told us that they conducted a six-month-long due diligence while evaluating the ZestMoney acquisition which ‘did not meet its bar’.
When asked if walking away from the deal was done in bad faith, he clarified that they were only interested in buying two things - the assets and the people, while adding that he was fond of the latter. Find out more about the reasons why the deal fell through.
He was talking to us on the sidelines of the event to launch the company’s new ‘Pincode’ app, its punt on hyperlocal e-commerce.
More on Pincode
'Pincode' is a buyer-side application as part of the Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC).
- The app is now available in Bengaluru and will roll out to other cities in a phased manner
- Currently available categories include Grocery, Food, Pharma, Electronics, Home Decor, and Fashion
- Users will have the option to save multiple carts. One for each store
The Pincode app marks the first time that there is a dedicated app by a player for ONDC. More about their plans here.
Zoho CEO prioritises people over profits
Zoho co-founder Sridhar Vembu believes in protecting the company's most valuable asset - its employees - at all costs. To achieve this, he has implemented a "No-layoff policy" within the company.
Tell me more
In an exclusive interview with us, Vembu revealed that the company has gone to the extent of taking a cut in the profit margins to avoid layoffs.
“We will take a reduction in profit. We have been profitable and focused on reducing cost…We would have suffered more two-three years back but because we are now profitable, we can take a reduction in profit margin,” Vembu said.
Vembu also said that the company's no-layoff policy is rooted in their confidence in having positive cash flows and spending very little on marketing.
SaaS slowdown
The SaaS ecosystem is facing a challenging time, as evidenced by recent layoffs announced by companies like Salesforce, Freshworks, and Chargebee. Vembu predicts that the macroeconomic conditions that prompted these cuts will continue to impact the industry for the foreseeable future.
“We will suffer a bust in proportion to the boom. The bigger the boom, unfortunately, the bigger the bust, particularly when it’s fuelled by monetary policy. And that’s what we are suffering right now. I believe we are still in the early stages, we still have more things to come,” Vembu said.
Read the full interview
1K Kirana lays off 40% workforce
Layoffs have become a common occurrence in the startup ecosystem, with many companies struggling to stay afloat amid the economic slowdown. The latest to join this trend is Info Edge-backed 1K Kirana Bazaar which has laid off around 40% of its workforce as part of its business restructuring.
- The company will be winding up operations in certain geographies as part of the restructuring process, co-founder Kumar Sangeetesh said.
Tell me more
Upon further investigation, we discovered that the number of affected employees was slightly higher. Sources indicate that at least 60% of the workforce, or a minimum of 600 employees, were impacted.
- Most of the employees we spoke to received only 15 days to one month's salary as severance
- The layoffs affected the on-ground operations, warehouse, delivery, network operations, growth, and tech teams
Yes, but why?
The startup's financial troubles reportedly led to employee layoffs, as sources disclosed that funding rounds anticipated in October fell through.
- The startup's high burn rate and high costs made investors uneasy, especially during the funding winter
- 1K Kirana last raised around $25 million in Series B funding in May 2022, led by Alpha Wave Global, Info Edge Ventures, and Kae Capital
Go deeper
MC Special: How Elon Musk is reshaping Twitter
It's hard to believe that it has already been a year since the Elon Musk-Twitter saga began. It started out like a typical Bollywood potboiler, but it seems to be evolving into something akin to an episode of the sci-fi series Black Mirror.
Musk's swift product and policy changes, many of which were impulsive, are dramatically reshaping how the social media platform operates.
Read the full story
Today in tech history: Microsoft is born
Bill Gates and Paul Allen founded Microsoft on April 4, 1975, with the aim of developing software for the Altair 8800, an early personal computer.
Initially called Micro-Soft, a combination of microprocessors and software, the company went on to dominate the personal computer operating system market with the introduction of MS-DOS in the mid-1980s. This was followed by the development and widespread use of Windows.
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