One quick thing: Investors write to PM Modi: 28% GST on real-money gaming will lead to a $2.5 billion write-off. 

• The move will set up the "most onerous tax regime for the gaming sector" across the world, they said.

In today’s newsletter:

• The crisscrossing paths of Flipkart, PhonePe
• Dunzo’s fall from grace
• AI will replace roles, not employees: Zoho's Sridhar Vembu

Was this newsletter forwarded to you? You can sign up for Tech3 here

Flipkart and PhonePe, which have the same parent company, are increasingly going head-to-head in key areas. (Typical sibling behaviour)

For instance, Flipkart forayed into lending with Axis Bank, which was right after PhonePe launched a merchant lending platform. 

• The rivalry between the two goes beyond financial services. They also compete in areas such as travel bookings, insurance, and utility payments

Both are under pressure to grow their respective businesses. 

Flipkart is looking for new ways to expand as the e-commerce market is maturing; PhonePe is facing increasing competition from other digital payment companies.

Flipkart and PhonePe's relationship today looks like a Venn diagram where investors and consumers meet, but the organisations are charting a distinct path for themselves.

• While the addressable market remains the same, the companies are looking to grow their toplines by entering new business segments

Go deeper

Another day, another development on Dunzo. (Or is it safe to call it DoneZo now?)

As we had reported, Dunzo formally announced layoffs today. Each employee received a personalised email informing them whether they had been affected or not.

• Co-founder Dalvir Suri informed over 800 employees in a town hall that headcount reductions would begin today
  
  
• The total number of people affected is not yet known, but senior employees estimate that at least 200 people will be let go
  
  
• TDS to the government has not been paid, and Form 16 has not been issued to certain employees

In a deep dive today, we looked at matters more closely and got our hands on more information about what has been happening at the Bengaluru-based startup.

• Dunzo did not raise an equity round because valuations were not favourable, even though it was running out of money
   
• The company is likely to get a new CFO by September/October
  
  
• Anoushka Bhatia, who is in-charge of fundraise for Dunzo, is rumoured to be on her notice period as well

Find out more

Today we have some good news about artificial intelligence (AI) and its impact on jobs. SaaS major Zoho is clear that it will not replace people with AI. Instead, it will use AI to simplify tasks. 

Zoho co-founder and CEO Sridhar Vembu shared an interesting analogy on AI:

"As AI grows, it should be compared to how power looms came into existence...Weavers tapped the power loom technology to grow their business manifold, " he said. 

While Zoho is working on a number of generative AI projects, including the development of its own LLMs, the firm wants to retain its employees rather than replace them.

• This is significant because many firms are looking to automate their operations with AI, such as customer support

After achieving the milestone of crossing $1 billion in annual revenue as a bootstrapped software major, the firm is now eyeing the hardware market.

"In 10 years, I want to see Zoho as a holistic technology company with both software and hardware integrated together, along with a data centre, cloud, and everything," Vembu said.

For the first time after several years of research, Zoho shipped about 300-400 tech-enabled medical devices.

• The company now also wants to make data-centre servers, FPGAs, and other devices in-house

The US space shuttle program concluded on July 21, 2011, with the safe landing of the orbiter Atlantis at NASA's John F. Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida. This marked the end of an era, concluding a total of 135 missions. (Picture credit: NASA)

• OpenAI has updated its ChatGPT chatbot with a new feature called "Custom instructions." This feature allows users to share information that they want to be remembered for each conversation.
  
  
• AI companies, including OpenAI, Alphabet, and Meta Platforms, have voluntarily committed to implementing measures such as watermarking AI-generated content to enhance safety.

It's the Barbenheimer weekend. However, if you would like to stay indoors, we have some recommendations for you.

Are you looking for a documentary that will take you on an adventure? Look no further than Unknown: Cave of Bones, the third entry in Netflix's Unknown documentary series.

• Paleoanthropologist Lee Berger takes us to South Africa, where he discovered the world's oldest graveyard that isn't human. Stream it on Netflix

If you're craving a horror flick, then look no further than Adhura. This web series is about a slew of supernatural incidents that leave students and staff of a prestigious boarding school spooked. Watch it on Amazon Prime Video

Note: By subscribing to Tech3 you have already made the right choice. Top it up with a premium offering, the Moneycontrol Pro Panorama, a newsletter that gives you a sharp take on macros, markets, business and finance. Sign up for Pro from this link to get this newsletter in your inbox and also a host of content enjoyed by 500,000+ subscribers.