👔 Swiggy Crew 🚗 Tesla Arrives 📈 Crypto Pops

🌅 Good Morning, Masala Crew!

Saturday’s here, and while most of us are thinking brunch and beach, the business world is still brewing—especially if your name is Elon, you're chasing $3 billion, or you just launched a concierge startup in a market obsessed with convenience.

This edition features AI glasses, student VCs, an insurance shake-up, and a crypto-fueled rally that’s got Trump cheering from the sidelines. Let's get into it 👇

☕ Chai Shots

• 🚗 Tesla’s India Entry Goes Full Throttle in July: Tesla will debut showrooms in Mumbai and Delhi next month with imported Model Y EVs. With prices expected north of ₹46 lakh, the company is banking on affluent buyers.

• 🧳 Swiggy Soft-Launches ‘Crew’ Concierge App: Swiggy is testing Crew—an invite-only lifestyle and travel concierge platform designed for premium users, from vacation planning to laundry pickups. More in the Big Brew!

• 🍏 Apple faces lawsuit over ‘AI exaggeration’: Apple shareholders have filed a class-action lawsuit claiming the company overstated progress on Siri’s AI capabilities, misleading investors and tanking stock prices. The suit alleges that promised AI features weren't even close to being ready for the iPhone 16.

• 💳 X to launch physical debit card for X Money: Elon Musk’s X app (formerly Twitter) is prepping a physical debit card tied to its upcoming payments platform, X Money. Code references reveal features like setting a PIN, cashback options, and partnerships with Visa, Mastercard, and Amex.

📈 Market Masala

• 🔼 Markets bounce back strong on Friday: The Sensex rocketed up 1,046 points to 82,408 and the Nifty surged 319 points to close above the 25,100 mark for the first time in six sessions. The rally was driven by strong performances in HDFC Bank, Reliance, and Bharti Airtel. Nifty Bank also rose 675 points to 56,253, while midcaps saw a solid uptick but still ended the week slightly in the red.

• 💼 Top gainers and losers: Among Nifty winners were M&M, Bharti Airtel, and Eicher Motors. On the flip side, Tata Motors and Bajaj Finance were among the top losers. Jio Financial jumped 3% on robust trading volumes, making it the day’s biggest Nifty gainer.

• ✈️ MakeMyTrip raises $3.1B to dilute Chinese stake: In India’s biggest internet company fundraise ever, MakeMyTrip has raised $3.1B to reduce Trip.com’s stake from 45% to just under 20%. The move follows data security concerns and gives MMT more control over its board.

• 🏦 RBI eases lending rules for small finance banks: In a significant shift, the Reserve Bank of India has lowered the priority sector lending requirement for small finance banks from 75% to 60%. This gives these banks more flexibility to diversify their portfolios beyond sectors like agriculture and MSMEs, potentially boosting margins and profitability.

• 📡 BSNL Joins 5G Home Internet Race: BSNL launched its SIM-less ‘Quantum’ fixed wireless broadband in Hyderabad, with expansion to six cities by September and plans starting at ₹999/month.

🌍 Global Masala

• 📉 Wall Street Wobbles on Middle East and Rate Jitters: The S&P 500 posted its third straight loss, dragged down by chip stocks and rate cut confusion. Trump hinted at possible Iran action within weeks.

• 🇪🇺 Europe Closes Red for the Week: The Stoxx 600 slipped 1.5% for the week, despite Friday’s slight rebound. UK retail sales dropped sharply, raising growth concerns.

• 💰 Crypto stocks soar after Senate passes GENIUS Act: It’s been a blockbuster week for crypto. The U.S. Senate passed the GENIUS Act, a bill establishing federal oversight for stablecoins. Circle’s stock is up over 77% this week, Coinbase climbed 25%, and tiny firm SRM Entertainment shot up 777% after announcing a pivot to become “Tron Inc.” and bringing on Justin Sun. Trump added fuel to the fire, calling it a “game-changing bill.”

• ⚖️ Purdue Pharma opioid deal heads to vote: A $7 billion+ opioid crisis settlement proposal from Purdue Pharma is now up for vote by victims and local governments. If accepted, it could become one of the largest payouts in opioid litigation history, with nearly $900 million earmarked for direct payouts to individual victims.

🧠 The Big Brew: Swiggy Wants to Be Your Butler

Swiggy is cooking up something beyond biryani.
The food delivery giant is quietly testing a new app called Crew, an all-in-one concierge platform that handles everything from travel planning to getting your laundry sorted.

Here’s what’s brewing:

• 🍽️ From food to full-service: Crew is Swiggy’s move into travel and lifestyle management. The app—currently invite-only—can handle daily errands like sending a locksmith or laundering shoes, and big stuff like planning a Europe trip or fetching an international driving license.

• 🎯 Targeting the premium set: Just like its discontinued pilot ‘Rare Life’, Crew is aimed at India’s growing base of affluent, time-starved urbanites. Think of it as your on-call assistant for the good life.

• 🧪 Still in beta: Internal trials began two weeks ago. It's being led by co-founder Phani Kishan and is expected to follow a subscription-based model. The idea: earn long-term revenue from loyal, high-LTV customers.

• 🤝 Crowded but rising space: Crew enters a growing market of concierge services where players like RedBeryl, CribLife, and Indulge Global already cater to wealthy clients. But Swiggy’s scale, tech muscle, and delivery logistics may give it an edge.

🤖 What does this mean?
This could be Swiggy’s play to diversify beyond hyper-competitive food delivery and q-commerce, where profitability is razor-thin. If Crew takes off, it could unlock a brand-new revenue stream, deepen customer engagement, and bring Swiggy closer to being a true lifestyle brand.

🚀 Startup Scoop

• 🏢 Oyo’s Innov8 valued at ₹1,000 Cr after latest stake sale: Innov8, Oyo’s coworking arm, sold a 3% stake to the Raymond family office, pushing its valuation to ₹1,000 crore. With 90%+ occupancy and profits of ₹62 crore in FY24, Innov8 plans to expand to 100 centers by year-end.

• 🧠 Meta debuts $399 Oakley AI smart glasses: In partnership with Oakley, Meta has launched smart glasses built for athletes. Features include hands-free video, built-in AI assistant (“Hey Meta”), and real-time wind speed updates. Sports celebs like Mbappé and Mahomes are fronting the campaign.

• 🛡️ Renewbuy raises $10M ahead of InsuranceDekho merger: As it waits for regulatory approval to merge with InsuranceDekho, insurtech firm Renewbuy raised $10M from existing backers Apis and 360 One to fuel operations and growth.

• 🇮🇳 Krutrim acquires BharatSah’AI’yak: Ola-backed Krutrim acquired Samagra’s AI platform focused on public sector use—think AI bots for farmers and religious events like Maha Kumbh. This expands Krutrim’s vernacular AI stack and aligns with India’s ₹10,000 crore push for AI sovereignty.

🧠 Chai Break Trivia

🧊 Did you know Antarctica is technically a desert?
Yep, despite being covered in snow and ice, Antarctica is the driest continent on Earth. ❄️ It gets only about 2 inches of precipitation a year—less than the Sahara! 🌵 That makes it a polar desert, where snow falls so rarely, it can take centuries to pile up.

🔎 What’s Brewing Next?

• 🧠 Coming Soon: Apple’s shareholder lawsuit over AI could set legal precedent on tech hype.

• 🚘 EV Watch: Keep an eye on Tata, Hyundai, and Mahindra’s next moves as Tesla lands.

🫶 Until Next Time...

From billion-dollar crypto rallies to AI-powered Oakleys and Swiggy’s luxury concierge, this week had no chill. Stay curious, stay caffeinated, and we’ll catch you Monday with another piping hot pour of India’s smartest newsletter.

— Team Masala Chai ☕️