Welcome to a new edition of ETtech Unwrapped – our weekend newsletter packed with the most important stories this week. Let’s take a look.
Top Stories This Week
Qcomm players dole out discounts even as cash burn, competition pinch: Even as platforms attempt to rein in cash burn, discounting in the quick commerce sector has reached record highs, driven by intensifying competition.
Curbs on ecommerce dark patterns to raise compliance costs: Government clampdown on dark patterns in ecommerce, quick commerce and ride-hailing will increase compliance burden on these companies, lawyers and industry executives said, but may not move the needle in the near-term in terms of addressing these issues.
Quick commerce players running out of delivery riders as demand shoots up: Quick commerce sector is facing difficulties in hiring and retaining delivery partners, as recruitment struggles to keep pace with surging demand for rapid deliveries.
Quick commerce industry's hygiene headache explained: Blinkit, Zepto, Instamart, Flipkart Minutes, and BigBasket have opened hundreds of dark stores to meet rapid delivery timelines. But in the rush to scale, some players are cutting corners on hygiene and food safety.
Sebi relaxes Esop norms for IPO-bound startup founders: India’s markets regulator, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi), has eased rules for startup founders on retaining their employee stock options (Esops) as they take their companies public.
Startups, VCs chase India’s micro drama content play: Investors are getting hooked on short, binge-worthy micro dramas as the next big wave in India’s entertainment space, hoping to replicate the playbook of their Chinese counterparts.
BlueStone set to enter unicorn club on road to IPO: Omnichannel jewellery retailer BlueStone is set to become India’s newest unicorn, with a secondary deal valuing the company at around $1.2 billion, ahead of its public listing.
Bike-taxi platforms halt services in Bengaluru as HC ban order takes effect: Ride-hailing platforms Rapido, Uber and Ola suspended their bike taxi operations in Bengaluru with the Karnataka High Court order banning the service coming into effect Monday.
Also Read: Karnataka's ban on bike taxis: A timeline
WhatsApp ads will not impact privacy, says Will Cathcart: WhatsApp’s monetisation efforts will not contravene user privacy, Will Cathcart, head of WhatsApp at Meta, told us in an exclusive interview.
Also Read: WhatsApp introduces first major advertising features
MakeMyTrip raises $3.1 billion to cut Chinese firm Trip’s holding: Online travel platform MakeMyTrip has raised $3.1 billion through a mix of equity and debt, its banker, Morgan Stanley, confirmed on Friday.
IT, Tech News
PE funds pick up significant stakes in fast-growing tech firms: Private equity funds are acquiring significant stakes in rapidly growing technology firms across high-growth sectors. At least four deals have been finalised since the start of 2025, according to investment bankers and industry executives.
Deeptech VCs rev up fundraising efforts: India’s deeptech-focused venture capital funds are stepping up their fundraising efforts, as the ecosystem matures with growing government backing and favourable geopolitical trends.
Chinese rare earth squeeze raises alarms at electronics makers: China’s curbs on rare earth exports have set off alarm bells across the electronics industry, with speaker, wearable, and television manufacturers warning of looming shortages of permanent magnets.
Foxconn plans to make iPhone enclosures in India: Apple’s largest supplier is setting up a unit in Oragadam, Tamil Nadu, to manufacture iPhone enclosures, as ET first reported on September 25 last year.
Fintech Updates
As fintech lenders chase secured credit options, VCs up their bets: Digital lending startups that once focused heavily on unsecured consumer credit are now transitioning towards secured lending, as the unsecured segment exhibits evident signs of a slowdown.
Groww gets into corporate bond distribution, set to apply for Sebi licence: Stockbroker Groww is planning to seek Sebi’s approval to offer trading in corporate bonds through its mobile application, according to two people in the know.
Aspora raises $93 million from Sequoia Capital, Greylock and others: Y Combinator-backed cross-border payments startup Aspora has raised $93 million over three equity funding rounds between September 2024 and May 2025, giving it a $500-million valuation, according to its founder, Parth Garg.
Behind crackdown on startup’s unauthorised use of government databases: The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) has directed several technology-led startups to cease their offline Aadhaar-based know-your-customer (KYC) services, after they were found to be accessing Aadhar data through unauthorised channels.
Also Read: ID please? MeitY verifies identity verification startups
Eye on AI
(AI)gorithm turns recruiter: Artificial intelligence (AI) has become central to how recruiters identify the right talent, with AI handling 70–80% of the initial screening process at IT firms.
We would like to be DeepSeek in the West, says Essential AI cofounder: We would like to be the ‘DeepSeek in the West’, said Essential AI’s Ashish Vaswani, referring to the Chinese AI startup which rapidly gained prominence for developing high-performing and cost-efficient large language models.
Top Stories This Week
Qcomm players dole out discounts even as cash burn, competition pinch: Even as platforms attempt to rein in cash burn, discounting in the quick commerce sector has reached record highs, driven by intensifying competition.
Curbs on ecommerce dark patterns to raise compliance costs: Government clampdown on dark patterns in ecommerce, quick commerce and ride-hailing will increase compliance burden on these companies, lawyers and industry executives said, but may not move the needle in the near-term in terms of addressing these issues.
Quick commerce players running out of delivery riders as demand shoots up: Quick commerce sector is facing difficulties in hiring and retaining delivery partners, as recruitment struggles to keep pace with surging demand for rapid deliveries.
Quick commerce industry's hygiene headache explained: Blinkit, Zepto, Instamart, Flipkart Minutes, and BigBasket have opened hundreds of dark stores to meet rapid delivery timelines. But in the rush to scale, some players are cutting corners on hygiene and food safety.
Sebi relaxes Esop norms for IPO-bound startup founders: India’s markets regulator, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi), has eased rules for startup founders on retaining their employee stock options (Esops) as they take their companies public.
Startups, VCs chase India’s micro drama content play: Investors are getting hooked on short, binge-worthy micro dramas as the next big wave in India’s entertainment space, hoping to replicate the playbook of their Chinese counterparts.
BlueStone set to enter unicorn club on road to IPO: Omnichannel jewellery retailer BlueStone is set to become India’s newest unicorn, with a secondary deal valuing the company at around $1.2 billion, ahead of its public listing.
Bike-taxi platforms halt services in Bengaluru as HC ban order takes effect: Ride-hailing platforms Rapido, Uber and Ola suspended their bike taxi operations in Bengaluru with the Karnataka High Court order banning the service coming into effect Monday.
Also Read: Karnataka's ban on bike taxis: A timeline
WhatsApp ads will not impact privacy, says Will Cathcart: WhatsApp’s monetisation efforts will not contravene user privacy, Will Cathcart, head of WhatsApp at Meta, told us in an exclusive interview.
Also Read: WhatsApp introduces first major advertising features
MakeMyTrip raises $3.1 billion to cut Chinese firm Trip’s holding: Online travel platform MakeMyTrip has raised $3.1 billion through a mix of equity and debt, its banker, Morgan Stanley, confirmed on Friday.
IT, Tech News
PE funds pick up significant stakes in fast-growing tech firms: Private equity funds are acquiring significant stakes in rapidly growing technology firms across high-growth sectors. At least four deals have been finalised since the start of 2025, according to investment bankers and industry executives.
Deeptech VCs rev up fundraising efforts: India’s deeptech-focused venture capital funds are stepping up their fundraising efforts, as the ecosystem matures with growing government backing and favourable geopolitical trends.
Chinese rare earth squeeze raises alarms at electronics makers: China’s curbs on rare earth exports have set off alarm bells across the electronics industry, with speaker, wearable, and television manufacturers warning of looming shortages of permanent magnets.
Foxconn plans to make iPhone enclosures in India: Apple’s largest supplier is setting up a unit in Oragadam, Tamil Nadu, to manufacture iPhone enclosures, as ET first reported on September 25 last year.
Fintech Updates
As fintech lenders chase secured credit options, VCs up their bets: Digital lending startups that once focused heavily on unsecured consumer credit are now transitioning towards secured lending, as the unsecured segment exhibits evident signs of a slowdown.
Groww gets into corporate bond distribution, set to apply for Sebi licence: Stockbroker Groww is planning to seek Sebi’s approval to offer trading in corporate bonds through its mobile application, according to two people in the know.
Aspora raises $93 million from Sequoia Capital, Greylock and others: Y Combinator-backed cross-border payments startup Aspora has raised $93 million over three equity funding rounds between September 2024 and May 2025, giving it a $500-million valuation, according to its founder, Parth Garg.
Behind crackdown on startup’s unauthorised use of government databases: The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) has directed several technology-led startups to cease their offline Aadhaar-based know-your-customer (KYC) services, after they were found to be accessing Aadhar data through unauthorised channels.
Also Read: ID please? MeitY verifies identity verification startups
Eye on AI
(AI)gorithm turns recruiter: Artificial intelligence (AI) has become central to how recruiters identify the right talent, with AI handling 70–80% of the initial screening process at IT firms.
We would like to be DeepSeek in the West, says Essential AI cofounder: We would like to be the ‘DeepSeek in the West’, said Essential AI’s Ashish Vaswani, referring to the Chinese AI startup which rapidly gained prominence for developing high-performing and cost-efficient large language models.
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