One quick thing: Elon Musk's X opposes mandatory Sahyog Portal registration 

In today’s newsletter:

• Will AI make or break the Indian GCC? 
• Scapia, Pratilipi, Sweet Karam Coffee bag funding 
• Peyush Bansal on customer focus over channel growth

P.S.: Trump's trade war has taken a very cold turn... and the penguins are involved! Keep scrolling!

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AI won’t kill India’s GCC story, it’s taking it up the value chain, industry experts say.

While former RBI governor Raghuram Rajan raised concerns about AI-driven automation threatening the sector, industry leaders argue that AI is pushing GCCs up the value chain, not eliminating them.

• Management consulting firm Zinnov believes India’s knack for “jugaad” (creative problem-solving) positions its GCCs uniquely for AI adoption

Zinnov president Nilesh Thakker says automation will impact rule-based tasks, but GCCs will see changes such as AI governance, AI-assisted engineering, and domain-specific AI solutions.

• According to AI and analytics leaders' platform and marketplace 3AI, these advancements will lead to approximately 30–35% of GCC workforce roles—particularly mid-level positions—evolving due to AI-driven efficiency gains

For India to stay ahead, experts say it must:

• Reform its higher education system to integrate AI training
  
  
• Establish an apprentice model where students gain hands-on AI experience

Despite concerns about job losses, AI-first GCCs are proving their worth. Case in point:

• A US-based fintech GCC’s AI Centre of Excellence has already saved $6 million, with an additional $45 million projected over five years

Dig deeper

The Indian startup ecosystem is buzzing with funding news today, as three startups have secured fresh capital to propel their growth.

Scapia, the travel credit card startup started by former Flipkart executive Anil Goteti, has raised $40 million funding led by Peak XV Partners. 

• Existing investors Elevation Capital, Z47, and Flipkart co-founder Binny Bansal's 3STATE Capital also participated in the funding round. (You read about it first here!)

Scapia plans to use the funds to strengthen its product offerings, invest in AI-driven solutions, and expand its team. Acquisitions are also on the cards. 

Feeling snacky? Peak XV Partners sure is! The venture capital firm has also led a $8 million funding into a direct-to-consumer South Indian food brand Sweet Karam Coffee. Existing investor Fireside Ventures has also chipped in.

How about some reading while eating?...

Indian language digital storytelling platform Pratilipi has raised $20 million funding led by Jungle Ventures. 

• The round, which included $12 million in primary investment and $8 million in secondary investment, valued the company at $100 million, a drop from its earlier valuation of $265 million

The Bengaluru-based startup plans to use the funds for its international expansion play, starting with the United States. It also plans to foray into new storytelling formats such as animation and vertical drama shows.

• The investment, which comes after a particularly tough phase for the startup, is expected to be its last primary funding round before a potential public listing in 2026

Is omni-channel expansion necessary for consumer-facing brands to grow? Lenskart CEO and Shark Tank investor Peyush Bansal thinks otherwise.

According to Bansal, "omni-channel" has become a buzzword among consumer firms.

Instead, he suggests that brands should be more consumer-focused rather than creating a dichotomy between offline and online channels.

"The channel is not 'omni', the customer is 'omni'. The word should be omni-customer," he said while speaking at the Startup Mahakumbh 2025.

The Lenskart co-founder argued that investors are asking brands the wrong questions.

"Investors ask - how much of your business is online versus offline, and which channels are profitable? But that is the wrong question to ask," he said.

According to Bansal, investors should focus on metrics like new customer acquisition and retention rather than channel growth.

His views come at a time when consumer-focused brands, across sectors, are increasingly leveraging both online and offline channels to drive growth, as they look to cover all bases.

Find out more

• Chinese big tech companies, including ByteDance, Alibaba, and Tencent, have reportedly placed collective orders worth $16 billion for NVIDIA’s H20 GPUs.
  
  
• OpenAI chief Sam Altman is amazed by India’s rapid AI adoption. In a recent post on social media platform X, Altman lauded India’s progress in AI, stating, “What’s happening with AI adoption in India right now is amazing to watch.

The global trade war has officially gone polar. 

• US President Donald Trump's tariffs have landed on the shores of Heard and McDonald Islands, where the primary residents are penguins!

• The remote Australian territory, 80% ice-covered, has seen no human in nearly a decade

Yet, bizarrely, US imports from this icy wasteland totalled $1.4 million. What are the penguins shipping? 

Find out more 

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