☕ Its FRIDAAAAY!

Happy Friday, chai fam! 🎉 This week’s brew is extra strong — billion-dollar IT deals, GST shake-ups, record IPO demand, and a gaming industry crash that’s sending VCs scrambling. Let’s dive in before the weekend begins.

📰 Chai Shots

• 💻 Wipro buys HARMAN’s DTS for $375M: Wipro will acquire Samsung-owned Digital Transformation Solutions (DTS) for $375M (₹3,270 crore), bringing 5,600+ employees across continents under its wing. The move bolsters Wipro’s AI-led digital engineering and device design play.

• 🎲 Dream11 to shut real-money gaming: Parliament’s Online Gaming Bill has forced Dream11 to pull the plug on its fantasy sports and money gaming biz, which made up two-thirds of revenue. The closure will mean mass layoffs. More in the Big Brew 👇

• 🚗 Luxury cars may face 40% GST: A state ministers’ panel has proposed a two-slab GST structure with 40% tax on luxury cars. The final call goes to the GST Council on Sep 18–19.

• 📉 Wall Street’s losing streak hits 5: The S&P 500 slipped for the fifth straight day, with the Dow falling 153 points and Nasdaq 0.3%, as investors nervously await Fed Chair Powell’s Jackson Hole speech.

📈 Market Masala

• 📈 Indian indices extend winning streak: The Sensex and Nifty rose for a sixth straight session, with the Sensex topping 82,000 and Nifty above 25,000. The rally added an estimated ₹12 lakh crore in investor wealth, powered by GST reform hopes and India’s credit rating upgrade.

• 🏦 RBI seeks views on inflation targeting: Ahead of its 2026 review, the RBI is rethinking its 4% inflation target (2–6% band). It’s inviting feedback on whether to focus on headline vs. core inflation, adjust the range, or switch to a more flexible model.

• 🌍 India Inc’s overseas equity bets dip 22%: Outward equity investments fell to $1.59B in July, down from $2.05B a year ago, after tighter RBI scrutiny. But overall commitments rose as corporate guarantees surged to $1.61B.

• ✈️ Air India trims losses, AI Express sinks: Air India cut losses by 23% to ₹3,890 crore in FY25 (post-Vistara merger), while low-cost arm AI Express saw losses triple to ₹5,678 crore after absorbing AIX Connect.

• 📊 Sebi eyes longer F&O contracts: With 90% of retail traders losing money in F&O, Sebi is looking to push longer-tenure derivatives and possibly ban weekly options. Stocks of BSE (-7.5%) and Angel One (-6.7%) tumbled on the news.

• 📑 GST waiver may not fully cut insurance costs: Removing 18% GST on health & life policies won’t mean premiums fall by 18%. Loss of input tax credits may force insurers to raise prices 6–10%, muting the benefit.

🌍 Global Masala

• 🌏 Asia markets mixed: The Kospi jumped 1.2%, while Japan’s Nikkei dipped 0.1% despite the Topix rising. Japan’s core inflation cooled to 3.1%, easing rice price shocks.

• ☁️ Google wins $10B Meta cloud deal: Meta inked a six-year $10B deal with Google Cloud, making it one of the biggest cloud pacts ever. It gives Meta AI muscle for its Llama models, while boosting Google’s fight against AWS and Azure.

🍵 The Big Brew: India’s Gaming Ban Hits Hard

India’s gaming industry just hit “Game Over.” Parliament has passed the Online Gaming Bill 2025, banning all money-stake games from fantasy cricket to poker. It also bans endorsements, with violations carrying 3 years’ jail and fines up to ₹1 crore — liability extends to promoters and directors too.

Here’s how the dominoes are falling:

• 🎲 Dream11 exits RMG: India’s biggest fantasy sports platform is shutting its core business that contributed two-thirds of revenue. Mass layoffs are expected as it pivots to FanCode, Sportz Drip, Cricbuzz, and Willow TV.

• 🛑 Probo & Zupee pull the plug: Probo has shut RMG after ED seizures worth ₹284 crore, while Zupee ditched paid games but kept free titles like Ludo Supreme live.

• 🎮 MPL bows out too: Gaming unicorn MPL has suspended money-based games, allowing only withdrawals.

• 💸 VCs brace for losses: With $700M+ invested in RMG startups, investors like Peak XV, Kalaari, and Alpha Wave face write-downs and exits.

• 📉 Market reaction: Listed player Nazara Tech saw its stock fall as exposure to RMG startups spooked investors.

What does this mean?
With over $3B invested and 2 lakh jobs tied to RMG, this is one of India’s sharpest regulatory shocks. It sends a message that regulatory risk is real in India’s tech ecosystem. Startups will now scramble to pivot into e-sports, social gaming, or overseas markets. For VCs, it’s a bitter lesson on betting too heavily on policy-sensitive sectors.

🚀 Startup Scoop

• 📈 Neo to raise $19M at 2.7x valuation: Wealthtech firm Neo is set to raise $19M, notching a 2.7x jump in valuation, showing fintech optimism still flows.

🤓 Chai Break Trivia

Did you know 🎮: India’s real-money gaming sector attracted over $3 billion in VC funding before the ban — employing nearly 2 lakh people across startups like Dream11, MPL, Probo, and Zupee. The Online Gaming Bill has now upended the entire industry overnight.

🔮 What’s Brewing Next

📢 RBI feedback deadline Sep 18: Stakeholders and the public have until September 18 to submit comments on the RBI’s inflation targeting framework review.

That’s all for this week! From gaming bans shaking startups to Wipro’s global buyout and Google’s mega cloud win, the week was a wild ride. 🌪️

Here’s hoping your weekend is smoother than Sensex’s six-day winning streak 🥳☕.