Explore other editions

Top tech and startup stories this week

Want this newsletter delivered to your inbox?I agree to receive newsletters and marketing communications via e-mail

Thank you for subscribing to UnwrappedWe’ll soon meet in your inbox.

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 (L-R) Harsh Jain, Neeraj Singh, Lalit Keshre, Ishan Bansal, cofounders, GrowwFintech shifts focus to Groww in lending, wealth management space: Wealthtech startup Groww, which is preparing for an initial public offering (IPO), is looking to reduce its reliance on the dominant broking business and ramp up the focus on lending and wealth management.Indian VCs go independent amid wider churn in early-stage investing: The Indian venture capital industry has seen a rush of general partners (GPs) quitting large funds to strike out on their own, signalling a generational shift in early-stage investing.Quick commerce firms bulk up store networks: Quick commerce companies are bulking up their store networks in the run-up to the festive season, moving beyond discounts to ensure faster deliveries, industry executives and analysts said. Additionally, online retailers are grappling with logistics constraints ahead of the festive sales, which are expected to scale a fresh record this year. Capacity additions in warehousing and last-mile delivery have failed to keep pace with the rapid increase in demand.IPO News Urban Company shares list at 58% premium: Urban Company shares started trading on Indian exchanges on Wednesday, listing at a premium over their issue price of Rs 103. The scrip listed 57.52% higher at Rs 162.25 apiece on the NSE, and 56.3% higher at Rs 161 per share on the BSE. On Friday, the counter closed at Rs 185.85, up 9.22%, on the NSE, against a 0.38% decline in the Nifty 50. The listing delivered hefty returns for early and growth-stage investors, with Rs 1,422 crore worth of shares sold in the offer for sale (OFS). The at-home services platform’s Rs 1,900-crore IPO was subscribed more than 100 times. However, founder and CEO Abhiraj Singh Bhal told us in an interview that the “overwhelming” response was not a victory lap for the 11-year-old Gurugram-based startup. Urban Company was adjudged Startup of the Year at the ET Startup Awards 2025. Groww files revised IPO papers for Rs 6,000-7,000 crore issue: Online investment platform Groww has filed an updated draft prospectus with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) for a Rs 6,000-7,000 crore IPO. The offering will comprise a fresh issue of Rs 1,060 crore, and an OFS of 574 million shares worth around Rs 5,000-6,000 crore.Also Read: Groww eyes affluent investors, wealth management growth as it gears up for Rs 7,000 crore IPOPine Labs gets Sebi nod for likely $1 billion IPO: Sebi approved the IPO of fintech firm Pine Labs on Monday. The IPO could be worth $1 billion and the company, which competes with Paytm and Walmart’s PhonePe, is seeking a valuation of up to $6 billion.Also Read: Decoding Pine Labs’ DRHP: Fintech aims to raise Rs 2,600 crore via an IPOFintech Corner Ban on RMG startups hits payment aggregators: The ban on real-money gaming startups is beginning to weigh heavily on the balance sheets of payment aggregators that facilitated money movement on these platforms. While payment volumes have already taken a significant hit, industry insiders told ET that the deeper impact will be felt over the coming quarters as firms grapple with a sharp drop in revenues. Also Read: Gameskraft lays off 120 amid real-money gaming ban, CFO fraudMandatory full KYC of merchants raises costs for payments firms: Payment aggregators could be staring at a major increase in their operating expenses as the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has made a full know-your-client (KYC) mandatory for their clients. Additionally, one of their highly remunerative businesses around rent payments has come to a stop under this fresh directive.PayU raises stake in Mindgate to 70% as valuation hits $300 million: Digital payments major PayU has acquired an additional 27% in Mindgate Solutions, increasing its stake in the Mumbai-based payment processing company to a majority 70%. The acquisition valued Mindgate at around $300 million, people aware of the development said. PayU had acquired the first 43% stake in Mindgate in March.Startup Watch Ban-hit gaming companies fire 2,000, setting off a scramble for jobs: Real money gaming (RMG) companies have laid off nearly 2,000 employees following the blanket ban on the sector, according to data collated by ET. Many of these people are now seeking opportunities in adjacent industries.Infra.Market bags Rs 732 crore: Infra.Market, an online marketplace for construction materials, has raised nearly Rs 732 crore from promoters and existing shareholders, valuing the company at around $2.8 billion, as it prepares for an initial public offering. VC funds hunt for specialised talent for deeptech play: As India’s deeptech landscape widens, venture capital (VC) firms are roping in specialists with strong academic backgrounds and industry experience to assess startups across artificial intelligence (AI), spacetech, semiconductors, robotics and climate tech sectors.Also Read: Driven by AI, edtech funding rebounds with 5X surge in H1 2025IT Updates India’s IT eyes chip, electronics foray: India’s top IT firms are dipping their toes into electronics and semiconductors as a possible diversification strategy given the massive push these areas are getting in the country.IT majors edge to 5% revenue contribution from GCCs: Global capability centres (GCCs) in India have started to inch toward the 5% mark in terms of revenue contribution for the top IT service majors, despite being in competition with them for systems budgets of their parent companies.IT contracts worth $13 billion up for renewal in coming quarters: About $13 billion worth of IT deals are getting renewed in the six months to December-end, allowing homegrown companies Tata Consultancy Services Ltd (TCS), Infosys, HCLTech, Wipro to vie for a share of this lucrative market.Tech Policy DPDP rules to be released by September 28: Vaishnaw | The Centre would bring out the long-awaited administrative rules for the Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Act before September 28, electronics and information technology minister Ashwini Vaishnaw announced Thursday.Applied Materials looks to link up with Semicon Mission cos: Applied Materials is in talks with companies which recently received approvals to set up semiconductor projects in India for potential deals to supply equipment, services and software, a senior executive said.Eye On AI AI rush prompts investors to increase focus: India is seeing an increasing number of artificial intelligence-focused venture capital funds. They are betting on Indian founders building in AI and include areas such as consumer-facing apps, tooling, infrastructure and enterprise technology.Also Read: New Delhi to host India-AI Impact Summit 2026 on February 19-20Eight firms selected for incentives to develop foundational AI models: Avataar.ai, Bharatgen, Fractal Analytics, Tech Mahindra, Zeintech, Genloop Intelligence, NeuroDX, and Shodh AI have been selected as part of the second batch of Indian firms which will receive incentives to develop indigenous models, union minister Vaishnaw said.

Explore other editions

Want this newsletter delivered to your inbox?I agree to receive newsletters and marketing communications via e-mailThank you for subscribing to UnwrappedWe’ll soon meet in your inbox.