One quick thing: Pune-based SaaS firm Icertis to raise $50 million in fresh funding 

In today’s newsletter:

• UPI subsidy disappoints industry
• ONDC rides on mobility as retail slows
• Inside Google's $32bn Wiz deal for cloud edge 

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The government’s latest push for UPI has landed, but the industry isn’t impressed. 

The Union Cabinet approved a Rs 1,500 crore incentive scheme to promote BHIM-UPI transactions for the financial year 2024-25.

• The scheme incentivises small merchants by offering 0.15% per transaction on UPI payments up to Rs 2,000
  
  
• The initiative, running from April 1, 2024, to March 31, 2025, aims to increase financial inclusion and reduce cash dependency, particularly in smaller towns and rural areas

Banks will get 80% of the incentive upfront; the rest is tied to uptime and low failure rates.

While the latest allocation has come as a major boost for digital payments, it has left the industry dissatisfied. 

• They claim the allocation is too little and at least Rs 5,000 crore was needed

Vishwas Patel, chairman of the Payments Council of India, warned this could stall UPI growth and delay adding the next 300 million users.

Fintechs have been pushing for a pricing model on UPI transactions for large merchant payments. 

• They have called for a 25 bps Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) on merchants with over Rs 40 lakh turnover to ensure long-term growth
  
  
• The case was made for the same in a meeting with the RBI governor on March 5

The banking system is under pressure as UPI processes around 17 billion transactions monthly.

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ONDC is riding high on mobility growth as retail faces a slowdown.

The Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) recorded 1.5 crore transactions in February 2025, more than doubling year-on-year. 

• With experts projecting 15 crore transactions by the end of this fiscal

ONDC transactions are categorised into three verticals: mobility (ride-hailing), retail (food, grocery, fashion, and electronics), and logistics.

• February saw a 10-month low in retail orders, down to 46 lakh, compared to 65 lakh in October 2024

• Retail’s share of total transactions has dropped from 53% in May 2024 to 31% in February 2025

• Meanwhile, mobility has surged, growing from 42% to 55% over the same period

ONDC has been reducing its incentive payouts to network participants to manage costs, moving away from heavy discounting and offers. 

• A new Rs 1.5 fee per transaction, introduced in January 2025, further highlights this cost-cutting strategy

However, even as payouts decrease, ONDC's growth strategy remains focused on broad participation and gradual scaling rather than aggressive spending to capture market share.

Find out more

It’s a life-changing opportunity for cybersecurity startup Wiz CEO Assaf Rappaport and his co-founders. 

• At $32 billion, the five-year-old startup will get acquired at more than two times its previous valuation of $12 billion.

 But, what’s in it for Google?

This bet will be the largest acquisition by Google to date. Analysts said this deal gives the technology giant a competitive edge over its rivals AWS and Microsoft. 

• Interestingly, as a part of the deal, Wiz will continue servicing its existing customers including Google’s rivals AWS, Microsoft Azure, Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI)
  
  
• The Wiz team or the ‘wizards’ too will operate independently under Google

Analysts said integrating Wiz strengthens Google Cloud’s security offering, appealing to enterprises that previously relied on fragmented, point-based solutions.

•  This acquisition will particularly challenge Microsoft, which has aggressively expanded its cybersecurity offerings like Microsoft Defender for Cloud, to become a one-stop shop for clients’ security needs

Google CEO Sundar Pichai believes that this deal will position Google as a leading multi-cloud security provider.

Dig deeper

• At its annual GTC conference, Nvidia unveiled Blackwell Ultra, an upgraded AI chip, and Vera Rubin, its next-generation GPU architecture set for 2026.
  
  
• Harvested Robotics, which claims to have developed AI-driven laser weeding technology for tractors, has raised Rs 5 crore in a seed funding round led by Arali Ventures, with participation from Mahindra Group chairman Anand Mahindra and Country Delight co-founder Chakradhar Gade.

Who does the world’s richest man consider the smartest? 

• Elon Musk recently revealed his picks—three titans of tech who, in his eyes, stand above the rest 

Among them is Oracle’s Larry Ellison, a longtime ally who played a role in Musk’s biggest moves, from Tesla to Twitter to xAI. 

Find out more

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