🚀 Amazon’s 10-Min Grocery Blitz Is Here

🌅 Good morning, Masala Crew!

Another Monday, another madness. But before your inbox fills up with “quick pings” and “urgent nudges,” we’ve got your weekly reset right here.

From Amazon’s ultra-speed grocery play to oil prices on edge, this edition is a reminder that even when the world runs hot, it’s the details that keep us cool. Let’s sip into the stories shaping the week — from Mumbai to Bengaluru, and Wall Street to your living room AC.

Let’s chai.👇

☕ Chai Shots

• 📦 Amazon Joins the Quick Commerce Race: Amazon has quietly launched Amazon Now, a 10–15 minute delivery service, in three Bengaluru pin codes as a pilot. The beta service promises lightning-fast delivery of groceries, fresh produce, snacks, and personal care items, targeting high-density urban zones through strategically placed dark stores. Early feedback, especially from Prime members, has been positive, and Amazon plans to expand city-wide in the coming months. More in the Big Brew 👇

• 💸 FIIs Pull Back in June: After pumping in nearly ₹20,000 crore in May, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) turned net sellers, withdrawing ₹4,892 crore from Indian equities through June 13. The shift is being attributed to global macro uncertainties and profit booking amid elevated valuations.

• 🛢️ Oil Spikes as Middle East Tensions Escalate: Brent crude surged over 7% after Israel’s airstrikes on Iran and Tehran’s retaliatory drone attacks. Investors rushed to hedge positions, driving up energy sector demand and triggering broader risk-off sentiment. Analysts fear any disruption to the Strait of Hormuz — a vital oil route — could push oil prices past $100, raising global inflation risks.

• 🧲 India’s Rare Earth Magnet Problem: Over 21 Indian auto component makers, including TVS and Bosch, are facing shipment delays as China tightens export rules on rare earth magnets. These magnets are essential for EV motors and power steering in traditional vehicles. With approvals taking up to 45 days and growing diplomatic tensions, automakers fear potential production delays starting July, just as they gear up for major EV launches.

📉 Market Masala

• 🌬️ AC Makers Cool Expectations: Despite the heatwave in June, major AC brands like Voltas and Blue Star are downgrading their 2025 growth projections to 10–15%. Unseasonal rain in April–May and high inventory levels have dented sales in what should’ve been a peak season.

• 💰 Hero FinCorp Locks in ₹260 Cr Ahead of IPO: Hero FinCorp, the NBFC arm of Hero MotoCorp, has secured nearly ₹260 crore through a pre-IPO placement, trimming its fresh issue size to ₹1,840 crore (down from ₹2,100 crore). The overall IPO size now totals ₹3,408 crore, including a ₹1,568 crore offer-for-sale from investors like AHVF II, Apis Growth II, and Link Investment Trust.

• 📅 Looking at the Week Ahead: Markets face a stormy setup with five key triggers—rising Israel-Iran tensions, the US Fed’s policy update, crude oil price spikes, ongoing FPI outflows, and a flurry of macro data including India’s WPI and global inflation cues. Monsoon progress and G7 signals could also sway investor mood.

🌎 Global Masala

• 🌍 Trump’s Trade Trifecta Looms: With US President Donald Trump’s tariff pause ending July 9, the US is weighing three paths—deal frenzy, tariff shock, or another delay. Nations may get mixed treatment, leaving global markets jittery ahead of “Liberation Day 2.0.”

• 🇹🇼 Taiwan Escalates Chip Crackdown: Taiwan added Huawei and SMIC to its export control list, effectively requiring special licenses for local companies to do business with them. This ramps up pressure on China’s semiconductor ambitions amid US sanctions.

• 🧑‍⚖️ States Sue to Halt 23andMe Data Sale: 27 U.S. states and D.C. are suing to block 23andMe from selling users’ genetic data during its bankruptcy sale. They argue that DNA, health traits, and medical records are too personal to be treated as assets. The biotech firm, now facing a $256M acquisition bid from Regeneron, claims it will honor existing privacy terms—but regulators aren’t convinced.

☕ The Big Brew 🚀 Amazon Hits “Now” on 10-Minute Delivery

Amazon India has officially jumped into the quick commerce battle with Amazon Now, its 10–15 minute delivery service, starting with three pin codes in Bengaluru.

📦 How it's structured:

• Operates through 10–15 dark stores in Bengaluru

• Offers groceries, snacks, fresh meat, personal care, and more

• Currently discount-heavy with no surge or late-night fees

🧪 From pilot to playbook:
The service, developed under project “Tez,” has been in the works since mid-2024. Amazon aims to scale to 300 dark stores across Delhi-NCR, Mumbai, and Bengaluru by year-end, going toe-to-toe with Blinkit, Zepto, and Swiggy Instamart.

💭 Strategic shift:
Amazon has long been cautious about profitability in this space. But with Flipkart, Zepto, and others scaling aggressively, Amazon’s now playing catch-up.

🛍️ Category focus:
Amazon’s quick commerce bet is on high-frequency SKUs. Unlike the everything-store model, Now is laser-focused on a few thousand daily-use items.

🤔 What does this mean?

• For consumers: More choice, better discounts, and faster access to everyday goods — especially for Prime members.

• For competitors: Blinkit and Zepto just got a big new problem.

• For Amazon: It’s a crucial test. If Now works, it could reshape how Indian urban households shop — and how Amazon India competes for your fridge, not just your wishlist.

🚀 Startup Scoop

• 💰 Artha India Ventures Nears ₹450 Cr Close: With ₹400 crore already locked in, Artha’s growth fund will make follow-on investments in Series B/C rounds — writing $2.5M cheques into breakout portfolio bets like Agnikul.

• 🤖 Krutrim Launches India-Centric AI Assistant: Bhavish Aggarwal’s AI venture Krutrim has rolled out Kruti, a voice-first, multilingual AI assistant built specifically for Indian users. Unlike global tools like ChatGPT and Gemini, Kruti can book Ola rides, pay bills, and create images—all while operating in 13 Indian languages. Touted as India’s first “agentic AI,” Kruti is part of Krutrim’s push to craft tech that understands local context better than its global counterparts.

🧠 Chai Break Trivia

🧲 Did you know  India imported 870 tonnes of rare earth magnets last year — a number that may seem small, but without even one of them, your next EV or power steering system won’t run. Small component, massive impact!

🔮 What’s Brewing Next?

• 📊 U.S. Fed rate decision this week — expect ripple effects across global markets.

Whether you’re watching oil charts, waiting for a 10-minute grocery drop, or just surviving the June heat, one thing’s clear — the world isn’t slowing down, but we can still sip it in one story at a time.

Until tomorrow, stay sharp, stay curious, and maybe double-check if your AC remote has fresh batteries 🔋

— Team Masala Chai ☕