💰 OpenAI Buys Design Royalty for $6.5B

Good Morning, it's Friday Junior!

We’re officially on the downhill to the weekend 🛷, but markets and headlines are still playing hard to get. From OpenAI making a big hardware play to Zepto chasing a $7B valuation, here’s your full pour of today’s Masala Chai.

☕ Chai Shots

• 💸 OpenAI Buys Jony Ive’s Hardware Startup for $6.5 Billion: OpenAI has acquired LoveFrom, the design studio founded by Apple legend Jony Ive, for $6.5 billion in a major move that signals its push into hardware, likely aiming to create AI-native consumer devices with seamless design and functionality. More in the Big Brew 👇

• 📉 Vedanta Slammed by Short Seller: Viceroy Research has taken aim at Vedanta Resources, accusing it of financial mismanagement and calling its debt structure unsustainable. The damning report, which hit just before Vedanta’s AGM, tanked its stock by over 6%, with allegations ranging from debt recycling to undisclosed liabilities and pledged promoter equity.

• 🛰️ Starlink Cleared for Liftoff in India: Elon Musk’s Starlink has bagged its final regulatory approval to begin offering satellite internet in India. The green light from IN-SPACe means Starlink can now prep ground infra, secure spectrum, and prove it meets India’s data and security rules. It joins OneWeb and Jio-SES as the third major player in India’s satellite broadband race.

• 💰 Zepto Eyes $7B Valuation in New Fundraise: Zepto is reportedly raising $400–500 million from existing backers like General Catalyst and Avenir Growth, pushing its valuation to $7B, up 40% from last year, as competition from Blinkit, Instamart, and new players intensifies.

📈 Market Masala

• 📉 Markets end lower as Nifty dips below 25,500 and Sensex sheds 176 pts: After staying flat most of the day, last-hour selling dragged benchmark indices down on July 9, with Nifty closing at 25,476.10 and Sensex at 83,536.08, as metals, realty, and energy stocks slumped amid investor caution ahead of Trump’s next tariff reveal.

• 🛒 FMCG Stocks Outperform on Jefferies' Thumbs-Up: Stocks like HUL, Varun Beverages, and Asian Paints rose after Jefferies called them top contrarian picks, citing signs of recovery in demand, easing margin pressure, and undervalued stock prices after a tough few quarters.

• 🏥 Manipal Health Buys Sahyadri Hospitals for ₹6,400 Cr: IPO-bound Manipal Health has snapped up Maharashtra-based Sahyadri Hospitals from Canada’s OTPP in a ₹6,400 crore deal. With 11 hospitals and 1,300 beds, the acquisition cements Manipal’s position as India’s second-largest hospital chain—now boasting 12,000 beds nationwide. OTPP walks away with a tidy 2.6x return after just three years.

• 🎨 Asian Paints Brushes Off a Windfall: Asian Paints has exited Akzo Nobel India with a neat ₹730 crore payday—doubling its 2018 investment of ₹360 crore. The move comes as JSW Group takes control of Akzo, prompting Asian Paints to cash out at a premium of nearly 7% over the open offer price.

• 🧳 Samsung May Shift US Supply Chain to India: Amid rising US tariffs, Samsung said it could pivot exports from India instead of Vietnam or South Korea to avoid higher costs, a potential win for India’s electronics manufacturing ambitions.

🌍 Global Masala

• 🌍 Wall Street Shrugs Off Tariff Jitters, Rides AI Wave: US stock futures were flat after the S&P 500 snapped its losing streak, buoyed by AI-fueled optimism. Nvidia soared nearly 2%, briefly hitting a $4 trillion valuation.

• ☕ Starbucks China Brewing a $10 Billion Deal: Bidders have placed valuations of up to $10 billion on Starbucks' China business, according to insiders. While Starbucks is weighing the offers, it's made clear it wants to stay caffeinated in the Chinese market with a meaningful stake post-sale. The deal could reshape how the coffee giant stirs up growth in its second-biggest market.

• 📉 Amazon Prime Day Sales Crash 41% on Day 1: According to Momentum Commerce, brand sales on Amazon fell 41% compared to the start of Prime Day last year, as shoppers delay purchases during the extended 4-day sale, waiting to see if better discounts drop later in the event.

🍵 The Big Brew

OpenAI + Jony Ive = AI Gadgets Incoming?

What happens when you mix the brains behind ChatGPT with the design magic of Apple’s former design chief? We’re about to find out.

• 💰 The Deal: OpenAI has acquired Jony Ive’s firm LoveFrom in a $6.5B deal, making its first big leap into physical products and marking a shift from software-only AI ambitions to consumer hardware.

• 🎨 Why Jony Ive?: The former Apple design chief is known for iconic devices like the iPhone and iMac, and OpenAI is betting his minimalist and intuitive design style will help bring GPT-based devices into everyday use.

• 🧠 Beyond the Screen: Rumors suggest OpenAI may develop a wearable or voice-controlled device that functions as a personal assistant powered by GPT — something more immersive than a phone app.

• 🔮 Big Picture: With Apple and Google embedding AI into smartphones, OpenAI wants to own the interface itself — possibly creating the next-gen category of AI-native personal tech.

What does this mean?

OpenAI could soon launch consumer gadgets built fully around AI, breaking free from screens and apps — and potentially reshaping how we interact with machines.

🚀 Startup Scoop

• 🎥 Chai Bisket Raises $5M to Launch ‘Chai Shots’ Microdrama App: Hyderabad-based Chai Bisket secured seed funding from Info Edge Ventures and General Catalyst to launch Chai Shots, a mobile-first OTT app with bite-sized 2-minute fiction series in Telugu, later expanding to other languages with 100+ shows in the first six months.

• 🛡️ LdotR Raises Undisclosed Angel Round for Brand Security Play: Enterprise brand protection firm LdotR raised funding led by Dubai and Singapore-based investors to scale its digital brand advisory and domain security services globally, especially with ICANN’s 2026 gTLD application window on the horizon.

• 🏢 Smartworks Locks In ₹174 Cr Before IPO: Ahead of its ₹583 crore IPO opening on July 10, Smartworks Coworking bagged ₹174 crore from 13 anchor investors. Domestic biggies like Tata, Axis, Aditya Birla, and Baroda BNP scooped up nearly half the allocation. The fresh issue aims to cut debt and fund expansion as Smartworks scales its modern office campuses for corporates and startups alike.

🔮 What’s Brewing Next?

• 📦 Full Prime Day sales data will indicate whether Amazon’s 4-day gamble paid off after a weak Day 1.

• 📊 TCS is set to kick off India’s Q1 earnings season — IT sector sentiment rides on their results.

🧠 Chai Break Trivia

🧐 Did you know: Before UPI made us all payment pros, Airtel Money was one of India’s earliest mobile wallets! Launched way back in 2012, it let users pay bills, recharge phones, and go digital long before it was cool. And guess what? Airtel just gave it a fresh push by setting up a brand-new subsidiary — talk about a fintech throwback getting a glow-up! 💸📱

That’s a wrap for your Friday Junior blend of news and noise! Whether you’re riding the market waves or bingeing on microdramas, may your chai be kadak and your decisions smarter than AI-generated clickbait.

Catch you tomorrow with more brew-tiful headlines. Until then, sip back, relax, and keep brewing. ☕🫶