☀️ Good morning, Chai fam!

It’s Wednesday — the spicy filling in the middle of your week’s paratha 🌯. Today’s blend is steeped with mega fundraises, market milestones, policy shake-ups, and a high-stakes AI power grab that could rewrite the web browser playbook. Sip slowly, this cup packs a punch.

🫖 Chai Shots

• 🖥 Perplexity lobs $34.5B takeover bid for Google’s Chrome: AI search challenger Perplexity has stunned the tech world with an unsolicited $34.5 billion offer to buy Chrome, the world’s most-used web browser. The audacious bid comes despite Perplexity’s own $18B valuation, with the startup claiming heavyweight investors have pledged full funding. More in the Big Brew 👇

• 💳 Paytm wins RBI’s payment aggregator green light: After a prior rejection over FDI rules, Paytm Payments Services has secured in-principle RBI approval to onboard new merchants and process online payments. The catch? It must complete a cyber and system audit within six months or risk losing the licence.

• 💅 Nykaa takes full control of Nudge Wellness: Beauty and fashion marketplace Nykaa will scoop up the final 40% stake in nutrition brand Nudge Wellness for ₹15 lakh, cementing 100% ownership. Nykaa had already picked up a 60% share in 2022 for ₹3.6 crore.

• 🛒 Zepto raises ₹400 Cr from Motilal Oswal: Part of a larger ₹1,000 Cr round valuing the quick commerce firm at ~$5.4B, the deal also boosts domestic ownership ahead of a planned IPO.

📈 Market Masala

• 📉 Banks drag Sensex and Nifty into the red: The Sensex closed 368 points lower at 80,235 and the Nifty slipped 97 points to 24,487 as foreign outflows and global trade tensions weighed on sentiment. Bank heavyweights like Kotak, ICICI, HDFC, and Bajaj Finance dropped up to 3%, while auto and IT names such as Maruti, M&M, and Tech Mahindra rose around 2%.

• 🛡 NPCI pulls the plug on scam-prone UPI ‘pull’ payments: From November 1, the “collect request” feature — where the payee triggers a transaction — will be discontinued to combat rising fraud. Conmen have been sending fake payment requests that users unknowingly approve. The feature accounts for just ~3% of peer-to-peer UPI traffic, so genuine users will barely feel the pinch, but unverified merchant QR codes may be next in the firing line.

• 🏢 Gensol ex-employees could face double tax blow: About 2,200 former staff of the bankrupt Gensol Group may have to pay income tax again after the company deducted TDS from their salaries but never deposited it with the government. Indian law still holds employees liable, despite past court rulings in their favour, leaving many scrambling for legal remedies — a situation reminiscent of Kingfisher Airlines and Byju’s tax fiascos.

• 📊 Fractal Analytics files ₹4,900 Cr IPO: The AI-powered SaaS firm plans a mix of fresh shares and OFS, with proceeds for debt repayment, a new India office, R&D, and sales expansion. PE firms Apax and TPG will sell part of their stakes.

🌏 Global Masala

• 🚀 Wall Street’s record close fuels rate-cut bets: The S&P 500 and Nasdaq notched fresh all-time highs after US inflation eased slightly in July (headline CPI 2.7% vs 2.8% expected). Traders now peg the odds of a September Fed cut at 94%, with small-cap stocks rallying hardest on hopes of cheaper borrowing.

• 📊 Asia markets ride Wall Street’s wave: Japan’s Nikkei jumped over 1% after setting a record the previous day, South Korea’s Kospi gained 1.07%, and Hong Kong opened higher. Optimism came on the back of US market gains and fading inflation fears.

☕ The Big Brew — Perplexity’s audacious $34.5B Chrome takeover bid

In a move straight out of Silicon Valley’s “go big or go home” playbook, AI search challenger Perplexity has lobbed a $34.5B unsolicited bid to buy Google’s Chrome browser. The gambit comes as US antitrust regulators consider forcing Google to spin off Chrome — a product that, alongside open-source Chromium, controls the lion’s share of desktop web traffic.

Perplexity, worth $18B after a recent $100M raise, insists deep-pocketed backers will fully finance the acquisition. It’s promising a smooth handover, complete with:

• 🚀 $3B in upgrades over two years for Chrome and Chromium.

• 👩‍💻 Job offers to much of Chrome’s team to keep product stability.

• 🔍 Zero “stealth changes” to reassure advertisers and loyal users.

This isn’t the startup’s first big swing — it also tried to merge with TikTok’s US arm earlier this year before a potential ban. Meanwhile, it’s prepping its own AI-driven browser, “Comet,” aiming to blend search and productivity tools directly into browsing.

What does this mean?
If successful, the deal could mark the first time an AI-first company gains control over a dominant web browser, potentially reshaping how billions interact with the internet. But between regulatory battles, financing logistics, and Google’s willingness to part with Chrome, it’s a high-wire act with no safety net.

🚀 Startup Scoop

• 🏖 Holiday Tribe nets ₹25 Cr Pre-Series A: The travel-tech startup will enhance its AI-driven personalisation, expand its supplier base, and upgrade platforms, with a goal of ₹500 Cr GMV in under two years.

• 📈 Elever pulls in $1.1M Pre-Series A: The SEBI-registered PMS firm will scale its quantitative, factor-based strategies and deepen ties with HNIs, aiming for ₹1,000 Cr AUM within two years.

• 🏠 Pronto scores $11M Series A: The Gurugram-based home services startup will expand to Mumbai and Bengaluru and onboard 10,000 more professionals, tackling rivals like Urban Company head-on.

• 🛰 Manastu Space lands $3M for eco-friendly propulsion: The IIT Bombay-founded company will scale green satellite fuel systems, in-orbit refuelling, and debris-avoidance tech, while expanding to the US, Europe, and Asia.

🤔 Chai Break Trivia

Did you know 🥑 — avocados never ripen on the tree? They only start softening once picked, which means farmers can leave them hanging for months like nature’s storage system… until you buy one and it turns to guacamole overnight.

🔮 What’s Brewing Next

• 📆 Market pause ahead: The BSE, NSE, and commodity and currency markets will be closed this Friday, August 15, for Independence Day.

☕ That’s a wrap for today’s pour. Whether you’re team “AI eats Chrome” or “keep it in the Google family,” remember: the best brews are bold, and so are the best moves. Catch you tomorrow for more masala.