By Team Ys

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Drugs, trucks, and tables—the US tariff train continues to chug along, bringing in a few new items on the list to boot.

After the patented drug tariff announcement, levies are also coming for heavy-duty trucks, which will have 25% tariffs starting next week.

Additionally, the new duties will also include a 50% tariff on imported kitchen cabinets and bathroom vanities, as well as a 30% levy on upholstered furniture.

Electronics manufacturers will also have reason to be wary. The Trump administration is considering imposing tariffs on foreign electronic devices based on the number of chips in each one, Reuters reports.

According to the plan, the Commerce Department would impose a tariff equal to a percentage of the estimated value of the product’s chip content.

In other news, the gaming industry is set for one of its biggest deals: videogame publisher Electronic Arts is in advanced talks to go private at a valuation of roughly $50 billion.

A deal could be unveiled with a group of investors, including private equity firm Silver Lake, Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund and Jared Kushner’s Affinity Partners, as soon as next week.

Lastly, it’s Google’s 27th birthday!

The search giant commemorated the milestone with a special doodle, showcasing its original 1998 logo from the company’s humble beginnings as a garage research project.

In today’s newsletter, we will talk about

Decoding the Virat Kohli brand appeal
VC inflows take a macro hit
Easy-peasy guide to personal finance

Here’s your trivia for today: What sport officially banned left-handed play in 1975?

Decoding the Virat Kohli brand appeal
According to the list of top 25 celebrity brands for 2024, released by financial and risk advisory firm Kroll, celebrity cricketer Virat Kohli has once again secured the top spot with a staggering brand value of $231.1 million, well ahead of actor Ranveer Singh’s $170.7 million.

His numbers on the field in the last few years may not match up to what they were during his peak before 2020. But that hasn’t diminished his popularity or fan following. As put by business and brand-strategy expert Harish Bijoor: a brand is a thought, and Kohli is a thought that will continue to linger and last.

Lasting impressions:

Kohli isn’t just a cricketing legend, he’s also a smart entrepreneur—from co-owning popular fashion labels such as WROGN to investing in fast-growing startups such as Blue Tribe, Rage Coffee, and Slurrp Farm. This dual positioning sustains his #1 brand value, according to Kroll’s Umakanta Panigrahi.
The rising popularity of celebrities like Kohli reiterates that a valuable brand in India is one built on authenticity, mass appeal, a strong cross-platform presence and persona, aspirational storytelling, and ubiquity in people’s minds.
Other athletes are also steadily gaining ground. For example, Olympic champions Neeraj Chopra and PV Sindhu are expanding their endorsement portfolios (with about 18 and 13 brands respectively, according to Kroll estimates), reflecting a gradual broadening of India’s sports marketing landscape.

VC inflows take a macro hit
The last week of September has not been encouraging for the Indian startup ecosystem, as venture capital funding slipped back into a lower value, largely impacted by the volatile macroeconomic environment and absence of large deals.

The external environment, especially decisions like the hike in H-1B visa fees and the fresh announcement of tariffs on the pharmaceutical industry, has been a dampener for investor enthusiasm in Indian startups.

Macroeconomic pressures:

The total funding for the week came in at $155 million across 29 deals. In contrast, the previous week saw a total amount of $245 million. Last week’s rise in VC funding raised hopes of sustained funding momentum, but weekly inflows are largely back in the $100 million range.
This week, funding activity came in at a respectable 29 deals, but there were no large-value deals. In fact, the highest value transaction was just $23 million.
The amounts raised across various stages of funding have also been in the double digits, a discouraging sign for the ecosystem.

Social Media
ICYMI: Easy-peasy guide to personal finance
Considered as one of India’s first finance influencers, Neha Nagar has made an impact on millions of Indians by demystifying personal finance and financial literacy through humour, film references, and relatable storytelling.

With over two million followers on Instagram and a growing YouTube community with 388,000 followers, Nagar has become an influential voice in the digital finance space. And she’s getting noticed for it: by getting recognised by Hurun as the most followed woman finance influencer in India.

News & updates
Smart transport: Mercedes-Benz spun out a company which is working on creating a new generation of computing brains for self-driving cars, drones and other vehicles. Athos Silicon will house a group of engineers who worked at Mercedes-Benz Research & Development North America to develop the chips.
Tech revamp: Starbucks’ Chief Technology Officer Deb Hall Lefevre resigned without a permanent replacement, according to an internal memo sent to corporate staff. Lefevre’s resignation comes as Starbucks announced its second round of deep cuts in corporate roles, effective Friday.

What sport officially banned left-handed play in 1975?

Answer: Polo.

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