⚡ Blinkit Delivers ACs in 10 Min. Yes, Really

Good Morning & Happy Sunday! 🌞📰

It's the last Sunday of March, and this edition is piping hot with everything from Buffett’s billion-dollar silence to Odisha’s drones flying into the US defense scene, from 10-minute AC deliveries to a luxury industry climate cleanse.

So whether you're sipping masala chai in bed, let us power up your scroll with India-first scoops, global gossip, and a dash of startup spice.

Let’s get into it. 🍵👇

☕ Chai Shots

• ❄️ AC in 10 Minutes?! Blinkit is now delivering Lloyd air conditioners in just 10 minutes across Delhi-NCR. Installation? Promised within 24 hours. Impulse cooling just became real, and yes — Twitter had thoughts.

• 🛵 70K gig workers get social security boost via eShram: Thanks to the onboarding of 10 major platforms like Zomato, Blinkit, Uber, and Swiggy, over 70,000 gig workers have now registered on the government’s eShram portal to access social security benefits. With workers from 36 states and UTs already signed up, India’s informal workforce is finally getting some much-needed policy love.

• 🍽️ Zomato sees a big sell-off as Kadensa cashes out: Kadensa Capital has offloaded its Zomato stake worth nearly ₹120 Cr in a block deal, selling over 60 lakh shares at ₹199.5 each. The buyer? Goldman Sachs (Singapore), ready to feast. Zomato’s stock has had a rough ride, slipping 12% this week and down over 27% this year.

• 🤖 Musk fuses X with xAI in mega merger: Elon Musk has merged his AI startup xAI with social platform X in an all-stock deal, valuing X at $33B and xAI at $80B. He says combining AI brains with social reach will “unlock immense potential.” With Grok AI already on X and Musk gunning for OpenAI, this move tightens his grip on the future of both tech and talk.

📊 Market Masala

• 💻 IT Stocks Take a Hit: Goldman Sachs has slashed target prices on Indian IT majors by up to 32%, citing macro uncertainty in the US and weaker discretionary spending. LTIMindtree was downgraded, while TCS still looks relatively resilient.

• 🧾 Yes Bank’s ₹2,209 Cr Tax Shock: Even without any new disallowances, Yes Bank got a surprise tax demand from the Income Tax department for FY20. The bank’s calling it baseless and plans to appeal.

• 🛰️ BonV Aero Takes Flight in the US: This Bhubaneswar-based drone startup just bagged a coveted spot in the US Department of Defense’s I2A Launchpad. It’s the only Indian firm to do so, and they’ve already broken altitude records in the Himalayas.

• 🤝 India-US Trade Pact Coming Soon: After four days of talks, sector-specific negotiations are next. The target? A Bilateral Trade Agreement by fall and $500B in trade by 2030. Tariff tensions loom, but commitment is high.

• 🧪 $1.5B German Investment Incoming: A major German chemical company is eyeing India for its next mega plant, per Commerce & Industry Minister Piyush Goyal. Land’s already been shortlisted, and the state-level deal could close in weeks — a big FDI win.

🌍 Global Masala

• 🤖 CoreWeave IPO Falls Flat: The Nvidia-backed AI cloud player raised $1.5B in the biggest tech IPO since 2021 — then ended day one exactly at its issue price of $40. With Microsoft as its largest customer (62% of revenue) and $863M in losses last year, investors weren’t ready to pop champagne just yet. More in the Big Brew!

• 🇮🇹 Poste Italiane Grabs Telecom Italia Stake: Italy’s postal service just bought 15% of TIM from Vivendi, becoming its top shareholder with 24.8% — just below the takeover threshold. The move signals big telecom consolidation ahead in Europe.

• 🏘️ Khosla Spots a Goldmine in Distressed Debt: Victor Khosla of Strategic Value Partners says this is the best market in a decade for opportunistic credit — especially in Germany’s debt-laden real estate sector. His firm is hiring big to chase this wave.

🍵 The Big Brew: CoreWeave’s AI IPO Was Big… But Didn’t Boom

Everyone’s talking about AI — and now Wall Street is too. CoreWeave, a US-based cloud company backed by Nvidia, just went public in the biggest tech IPO since 2021, raising $1.5 billion.

But here’s the twist — the stock didn’t fly. It closed flat at $40 on Day 1.

• 🤔 First, what does CoreWeave do?

  • 💻 Rents out high-end Nvidia GPUs (the kind needed to train AI like ChatGPT)

  • 🧠 Its biggest customer is Microsoft, which uses CoreWeave’s cloud to run AI

  • 🧨 Revenue exploded 7x last year (from $260M to $1.92B!)

  • 📉 But losses hit $863 million, and the company is deep in debt (₹108,000 crore!)

• 📉 So why didn’t investors get excited?

  • 🧊 The market’s nervous — inflation, tariffs, and tech stock crashes are scaring buyers

  • 🪫 CoreWeave relies too heavily on one customer (Microsoft)

  • 💸 Investors want AI companies that can make money, not just burn cash

• 🇮🇳 What does this mean for India?

  • 🌐 The AI cloud boom is real — and global demand for compute power is exploding

  • 🏭 India can’t afford to be left behind — expect a rush in data centers, chip infra, and GPU partnerships

  • 📈 For Indian startups: hype alone won’t cut it. Profits and scalability matter more than ever

TL;DR: CoreWeave’s IPO shows the AI wave is strong — but investors now want substance, not just sizzle. India has a huge opportunity to build the backend of AI… if we act fast. 🚀

🚀 Startup Scoop

• 🧼 Koparo’s Clean Sweep: The D2C home cleaning brand (of Shark Tank India fame) raised ₹14.5 crore from Saama Capital and others. Valuation? Up 90% to ₹124 crore. With over 30 SKUs, they’re scrubbing up the market.

• 💳 PayMate Picks Up $30M: The B2B payments platform secured a fresh infusion from Crimson Ventures. With its IPO on the backburner, this boost is aimed at market expansion and corporate scale-up.

• 🚖 Jugnoo Buys Back Its Future: The logistics and mobility player repurchased Paytm’s 12.75% stake for ₹3 crore and is now planning a ₹10 crore rights issue to power its growth. From auto-aggregation to global super app services, they’re keeping it busy.

• 🍸 O’Be Cocktails Closes the Bar: Despite funding from Bhavish Aggarwal and being present in 1,700+ premium outlets, the RTD cocktail brand has shut shop. Founder Nitesh Prakash called it a hard but necessary decision in a commoditized market.

🔮 What’s Brewing Next?

• 🚗 Auto Price Hikes Ahead: Get ready to shell out more for your next ride. Maruti, Tata, Kia, Renault, and even luxury names like BMW are hiking prices 2–4% starting April, blaming higher input costs and stricter compliance norms. Dealers say inventory is piling up, and buyers are holding back.

🤓 Chai Break Trivia

Did you know that the word "shampoo" comes from India? 🧴🇮🇳

It originated from the Hindi word “chāmpo”, which means to press or massage. The British took the idea (and the word) back with them — so next time you lather up, remember you’re using a little piece of desi innovation!

That’s a Wrap!

From 10 minute ACs and AI IPO fumbles to India’s solar supercharge a — today’s cup of Masala Chai had it all. Keep your inbox warm, your takes sharp, and your curiosity sharper.

Until next time, stay spicy, stay curious, and never run out of chai.
Masala Chai out. ✌️🫖