😬 SoftBank’s Desi Unicorn Hangover

☕ Good Morning, Masala Crew!

It’s Wednesday, May 14, and the midweek drama is brewing stronger than ever. From a tech-fueled bounce-back on Wall Street to Ola and Swiggy giving SoftBank a headache, we’ve got a piping hot blend of business, tech, and startup stories. Sip slowly, this one’s extra strong. ☕🔥

☕ Chai Shots

• 💸 Markets Tank, India Hits Back at U.S. Tariffs: After Monday’s euphoric rally, Sensex plunged nearly 1,300 points wiping out ₹1.3 lakh crore in investor wealth. Contributing to the slide were rising oil prices and U.S. Treasury yields. Meanwhile, India has challenged Trump-era steel and aluminium tariffs at the WTO in a fresh retaliatory move.

• 🛬 Goyal Heads to the U.S. for Trade Talks: Starting May 17, Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal will meet with top U.S. trade officials in D.C. The goal? Finalizing phase one of a trade pact that could take Indo-U.S. commerce to $500 billion by 2030.

• 🧟‍♂️ April Inflation Hits a 6-Year Low: India’s retail inflation eased to 3.16%, the lowest since July 2019, thanks largely to a sharp drop in vegetable prices. This gives RBI a little more breathing room on rate policy.

• 📉 SoftBank’s India Bets Take a Hit: Despite posting a $3.5B quarterly profit—its first annual gain in four years—SoftBank’s Vision Fund II took a 21.7% hit from sinking share prices of Swiggy and Ola Electric. Swiggy burned cash in quick commerce, while Ola lost ground in EVs. More in the Big Brew ☕

• 🛠️ Groww Pays ₹34L to Close SEBI Probe: A January 2024 tech failure left Groww users unable to trade. SEBI flagged failures in compliance, cybersecurity testing, and client service fallback. Groww settled the case without admitting guilt, aiming to restore trust after the mishap.

📊 Market Masala

• 📉 Sensex, Nifty Slip After Ceasefire Rally: Indian markets took a breather after Monday’s euphoric spike. Sensex dropped almost 1,300 points and Nifty lost 1.39% as investors grew cautious following PM Modi’s statement that "Operation Sindoor" is now the new normal.

• 🔫 Defence Stocks Shoot Up: While the broader market fell, defence players like Bharat Dynamics (+11%), HAL (+4%), and BEL (+4%) surged after Modi’s call for military self-reliance post-Operation Sindoor.

• 🌊 Port Traffic Up 4.3% in FY25: Major ports across India handled 855 million tonnes of cargo last fiscal, thanks to growth in container and POL (petroleum, oil, lubricants) movement. Paradip and Deendayal ports each surpassed 150 MT.

• ⚡️ Greaves Electric Gears Up for IPO: Greaves Cotton’s EV arm is headed for the bourses with plans to raise funds for R&D, battery tech, and factory upgrades. The company also aims to boost its stake in MLR Auto as part of the expansion strategy.

• 🎥 Amazon Prime Video to Serve Ads in India: Starting June 17, ad-supported streaming is coming to Prime Video unless users pay an extra ₹699/year for an ad-free experience. It’s part of Amazon’s bigger global bet on ad revenue.

🌎 Global Masala

• 🚀 Tech Titans Power U.S. Rally: Nvidia, Meta, Tesla, and Broadcom rallied on easing inflation and the 90-day U.S.-China tariff truce. Nvidia nearly rejoined the $3 trillion club with a 6% spike.

• 🚗 Chime Files for IPO: Digital bank Chime officially filed its S-1 with plans to raise $1B. With $1.67B in 2024 revenue and shrinking losses, it’s eyeing a big splash on the public markets.

• 🚨 UnitedHealth Drops 12%: The American healthcare giant suspended its 2025 guidance and announced a surprise CEO exit, dragging the Dow despite broader gains in the tech sector.

☕ The Big Brew: Ola & Swiggy Sour SoftBank's India Bet

After years in the red, Japanese tech giant SoftBank finally posted a full-year profit of $7.8 billion. But don’t pop the sake just yet. The company’s Vision Fund 2 (SVF II) took a massive hit in Q4, thanks largely to underperformance in two familiar names: Swiggy and Ola Electric.

Here’s what’s cooking:

• 📉 SVF II's public portfolio value dropped 21.7% in the March quarter. Why? Swiggy’s stock is down 40% since January, while Ola Electric slipped nearly 30% due to rising competition and after-sales service issues.

• 💳 Swiggy posted a Q4 net loss of ₹1,081 crore as it poured cash into quick commerce while battling rivals with deeper pockets. Meanwhile, IPO enthusiasm fizzled as the market cooled under global macro pressure.

• ⚡️ Ola Electric’s EV segment lost ground to TVS and Bajaj Auto. The company also reported a gross loss of $41.4—fetching just $510M in fair value compared to SoftBank’s $556M investment.

• 🤑 Meanwhile, Vision Fund I (SVF I) came to the rescue. With gains from DiDi and ByteDance, it helped offset some of the SVF II gloom.

Despite SVF II’s stumbles, SoftBank sold off $5.35B worth of assets in FY25 across both funds and hinted that it would continue investing "with boldness and prudence."

What does this mean? SoftBank is learning the hard way that backing Indian tech unicorns isn’t a guaranteed jackpot—especially as competition, regulation, and profitability challenges mount.

🚀 Startup Scoop

• 🍼 Be Clinical Raises ₹2 Cr: Backed by Titan Capital, this skincare brand is bringing anti-ageing science to Indian consumers. Funds will go toward building in-house manufacturing and expanding the product line.

• 📈 Hyperbots Lands $6.5M: This AI finance automation startup is taking its co-pilots global. With 99.8% document accuracy and clients in healthcare and manufacturing, they’re eyeing mid-market dominance.

• 🤾 Flam Grabs $14M for Mixed Reality Push: With RTP Global leading the round, Flam will now scale its immersive tech offering to U.S. markets. This takes their total funding to $22.5M.

• 🔊 Adopt AI Snaps Up $6M: With Elevation Capital backing it, the no-code agentic AI startup helps apps respond to users via natural language. Think ChatGPT, but for your workflows.

• 🍽️ Biryani Blues Gets $5M: The QSR chain will use the new funds to expand across North India, adding 100+ outlets in the next 3 years. The goal: become the go-to brand for Hyderabadi dum biryani.

• 🍩 Curefoods Takes Over Krispy Kreme India: With full national rights, Curefoods will now operate over 100 stores and kitchens for the doughnut giant—starting with 11 new outlets in NCR.

🧠 Chai Break Trivia

Did you know 🌞 Svalbard, a Norwegian archipelago in the Arctic, experiences 24/7 daylight for over four months? 🕶️ From mid-April to mid-August, the sun never sets—treating residents of Longyearbyen, its largest town, to a nonstop “midnight sun” spectacle! 🌍

🔮 What’s Brewing Next?

• 🛫 All eyes on Piyush Goyal's trade talks in Washington starting May 17

• 💰 RBI dividend bonanza could flood markets with liquidity

That’s a wrap for your midweek masala ☕
If this cup left you smarter, sassier, or just better prepared to crush the day, forward it to your office group chat or your family WhatsApp.

Until next time—stay sharp, stay spicy, and keep sipping! 🍵