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Layoffs shake gaming startups; Ecomm logistics’ festive squeeze

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Happy Tuesday! The ban on real-money gaming has left over 2,000 jobless in the industry. This and more in today’s ETtech Morning Dispatch.Also in the letter:■ Applied Materials’ ISM bet■ Pine Labs gets IPO nod■ Vaishnaw on India’s tech policyBan-hit gaming companies fire 2,000 setting off a scramble for jobs India’s real-money gaming (RMG) industry is facing a challenge. Since the government’s blanket ban in August, nearly 2,000 employees have been let go, according to data collated by ET. Many are now hunting for jobs in adjacent sectors.Who’s affected: The cuts have swept across the big names — Mobile Premier League (MPL), Head Digital Works, Games24x7, Zupee, and PokerBaazi. According to staffing firm Xpheno, the top seven RMG firms employed around 6,000 people. One in four had already begun job hunting even before the axe officially fell.More cuts: Sources say Gameskraft, which suspended all RMG operations, may let go of most of its 700 employees after October 31. The firm had prepaid three months’ salary right after the government enacted the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, 2025. Exits and moonlighting: Senior executives are also weighing their options, with several exploring exits amid shutdowns or pivots. Moonlighting has spiked too, as weakened companies struggle to enforce contracts or hold back side hustles.Business fallout: The legislation has sparked a wave of exits and business model rewrites. Hike, which ran Rush, exited the Indian market entirely. Winzo shuttered its RMG business locally and is now chasing growth in the US with “micro-dramas.” MPL, Junglee Games, Dream11, Zupee, and Peak XV-backed Probo have also been forced to recalibrate.Growing logistics strain dampens ecommerce’s festive season sales vibe As India readies for its biggest online shopping season, a logistics crunch threatens to rain on the festive parade.Driving the news: With record sales expected this year, ecommerce companies are scrambling to add warehousing and last-mile delivery muscle. But demand is outpacing supply, putting severe pressure on fulfillment systems.Delivery slots at key warehouses were snapped up as early as June and July for September sale events, pointing to likely gridlocks closer to DiwaliBrands and sellers, many of whom begin prepping months in advance, are already feeling the squeeze.After years of building in-house logistics, ecommerce marketplaces are now rushing to tap third-party logistics (3PL) partners to expand capacity. But consolidation in the 3PL space has narrowed their options, executives told us.Tell me more: Last year, logistics major Delhivery added temporary capacity equivalent to 2–3% of its infrastructure. This year, that buffer will increase to 3–5%, according to a person in the know.Also Read: Festive season boost: India sees huge road freight spike as GST revamp kicks in Sector dynamics: Pressure has mounted since Delhivery acquired rival Ecom Express. In its August earnings call, Delhivery said much of Ecom Express’ network was shut post-merger, and client integration was complete.Number-wise: Festive season gross merchandise value (GMV) is forecast to hit Rs 1.2 lakh crore this year, up 26% from Rs 94,800 crore in 2024, per Datum Intelligence. That’s a sharper rise than last year’s 17%.Also Read: Analysts expect festive online sales to grow 30% after GST reliefApplied Materials looks to link up with semicon mission companies Applied Materials is in talks with semiconductor firms recently cleared under India’s semiconductor incentive scheme to offer equipment, software, and support services.In August, the government approved four companies under India Semiconductor Mission 1.0:SiCSemHeterogeneous Integrated Packaging SolutionsContinental Device IndiaAdvanced System in Package TechnologiesTell me more: Suraj Rengarajan, managing director and head of Applied’s semiconductor products group in India, sees strong potential in the Rs 4,000 crore upgrade of the government-owned Semi-Conductor Laboratory (SCL) in Mohali.Rengarajan said the company has approached the Centre about ISM 2.0, urging that the programme expand its focus beyond chip fabs to also cover suppliers of key components.Seeking talent: The company’s R&D hub in Bengaluru is set for expansion. “Everything related to software, manufacturing, design, AI, anything that we currently do, we have (in Bengaluru). As we move forward, we will need people with product and process development knowledge, customer experience, and people who understand chip design,” he said.Pine Labs gets Sebi nod for likely $1 billion IPO Amrish Rau, CEO, Pine LabsMarkets regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has greenlit the initial public offering (IPO) of full-stack payment solutions firm Pine Labs on Monday.Details:The IPO could be worth $1 billion, and the company is seeking a valuation of up to $4-5 billion.Pine Labs filed its draft IPO papers with Sebi in June to raise Rs 2,600 crore in fresh capital with secondary sale of 147.8 million shares.It plans to use the IPO proceeds to invest in overseas units, develop technology and pare down debt.Also Read: Decoding Pine Labs’ DRHP: Fintech aims to raise Rs 2,600 crore via an IPOFinancials: Per the draft red herring prospectus, Pine Labs crossed the Rs 100 crore monthly revenue run rate and turned profitable in the first nine months of 2025. It reported a net profit of Rs 26 crore on an operating revenue of Rs 1,208 crore. The company raised more than a billion dollars in venture funding.Other Top Stories By Our Reporters ‘Innovation first, regulation later’: India tends to prioritise innovation over regulation in its tech policy development, said Electronics and Information Technology Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Monday.Ad to cart: Ecommerce major Flipkart and its fashion arm Myntra’s financials for fiscal 2025 show how their rapidly growing advertising revenues are boosting overall earnings. Their combined ad revenues increased 27% to Rs 7,232 crore in FY25, according to filings with the Registrar of Companies (RoC).Ola Electric files Rs 400 crore PLI claim: Electric two-wheeler manufacturer Ola Electric has claimed incentives worth around Rs 400 crore under the government’s Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme for the automobiles and auto components sector.Global Picks We Are ReadingKaren Hao on the Empire of AI, AGI evangelists, and the cost of belief (TechCrunch)Countries are struggling to meet the rising energy demands of data centers (Rest of World)How do AI models generate videos? (MIT Tech Review)

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