🛵 Your Saturday Brew: Ola’s Pivot, Oil’s Spike

🌥️ Good morning, Masala Crew

It’s been a week heavy with questions, grief, and a national pause that words still struggle to fill. As the country tries to make sense of a tragedy that defies logic, we too are processing—with a slower scroll, a deeper breath, and a quieter kind of focus.

Saturdays usually bring a slower rhythm, a pause we all look forward to. But in weeks like this, the news doesn’t let us catch our breath. Headlines land heavier, and even routine numbers feel more raw. Let’s sip slowly. 👇

☕ Chai Shots

• 📉 Market Shaken by Middle East Flare-Up: Indian indices nosedived on Friday after reports of Israeli airstrikes on Iranian military targets rattled global sentiment. The Sensex shed over 570 points, while the Nifty slid beneath the 24,750 mark.

• 🛵 Karnataka Pulls the Plug on Bike Taxis: The Karnataka High Court has upheld the state’s decision to ban bike taxis, denying an interim stay for platforms like Ola, Uber, and Rapido. Operators have until June 15 to wind down services unless the state frames a policy.

• 📱 Ola Gives Cab Drivers a Bigger Slice: Ola is extending its zero-commission model to cab drivers after adopting it for autos last year. Drivers now keep 100% of fares in exchange for a fixed subscription fee—a move meant to fend off rivals like Rapido and Namma Yatri. More in the Big Brew!

• 👓 Fidelity Pumps Up Lenskart Valuation: Fidelity has revised its valuation of Lenskart to $6.1 billion—up 21% from last year—as the eyewear brand gears up for a potential $10 billion IPO. FY24 saw Lenskart double its EBITDA and slash losses by over 80%.

💸 Market Masala

• 🔻 Markets Close Red: The Sensex tanked 573 points to close at 81,118, and the Nifty dropped 169 points to settle at 24,718. Every sectoral index closed in the red—except media. FMCG, PSU banks, power, and telecom bore the brunt of the selloff.

• 🛢️ Crude spikes, dragging Indian equities: A sharp jump in global crude oil prices—triggered by Israel’s retaliatory strike on Iran—spooked investors and raised concerns about inflation and import bills. While gold and U.S. Treasuries saw haven flows, Indian equities bore the brunt. Analysts noted that the surge in oil prices could widen India’s current account deficit if tensions persist.

• 📊 Mid and Small Caps Stumble: Broader indices mirrored frontline weakness, slipping nearly 0.5%. Even recent outperformers couldn’t escape the downturn.

• 🧾 Jhunjhunwala Family Exits Nazara Tech: The estate of Rakesh Jhunjhunwala has sold off its entire stake in Nazara Technologies, raking in ₹334 crore this week alone. Nazara has been actively expanding, including a ₹247 crore acquisition of UK-based Curve Games.

• 🪙 Crypto Under the Tax Scanner: The CBDT has launched a crackdown on undisclosed crypto gains. Tax authorities are matching ITRs with TDS records from exchanges, targeting investors who failed to report income under the new VDA tax regime.

🌍 Global Masala

• 🪙 Visa & Mastercard Lose $60B in a Day: Reports of Amazon, Walmart, and Expedia exploring stablecoin-based payment systems shaved off $60 billion from Visa and Mastercard’s market cap. Analysts say it's a temporary dip, not a long-term threat—stablecoins still face trust and usability hurdles.

• 🚗 Tesla Sales Tumble: Tesla’s US registrations dropped 16% in April, mirroring earlier slumps in Europe. Demand has taken a hit amid growing EV competition and CEO Elon Musk’s controversial political stances. Chevrolet, meanwhile, saw a 215% jump in EV sales.

• 🤖 Meta Takes Over Scale AI (Almost): Its Official! Meta has poured $14.3 billion into Scale AI for a 49% stake. CEO Alexandr Wang will now join Meta to spearhead its AI initiatives, while Scale AI continues independently with a new interim chief at the helm.

🍵 The Big Brew ☕ Ola Says ‘No More Cuts’, Rolls Out Zero Commission for Cab Drivers

In a bold pivot to woo back its driver base, Ola has extended its zero commission model to cab drivers nationwide.

• 🛺 How it works: Drivers now keep 100% of their fare earnings, paying Ola a flat subscription fee instead of a cut per ride.

• 🔄 Backstory: The model was first piloted with auto drivers in 2024. Since then, rivals like Rapido and Namma Yatri have attracted drivers by offering similar setups—with lower or no platform cuts.

• 📣 Why now?: Ola’s been facing heavy backlash from unions and users over high commissions and poor service. The move is both a defensive play and a tax-optimized strategy—subscription fees attract less GST than ride commissions.

• 🍽️ Ola’s Side Hustles: Beyond cabs, Ola is also betting on grocery delivery via ONDC and even tested 10-minute delivery in Bengaluru. It’s trying to diversify fast while defending its core turf.

What does this mean?

Ride-hailing in India is being reshaped—from the Uber-era 20% cuts to a new SaaS-led model that gives drivers more control. As competition intensifies, platforms are being forced to rethink their economics—and fast.

🚀 Startup Scoop

• ♻️ Pehle Jaisa Powers On: Organic fertilizer startup Pehle Jaisa is scaling fast. After raising ₹300K in fresh capital, the firm has crossed ₹2.5 crore in FY25 revenues and is building a rural circular economy—village by village.

• 📺 Chai Shots (OTT) Gets $5M Shot of Caffeine: No, not this newsletter—the video platform. Chai Shots, known for micro-drama videos under 2 mins, has raised $5M from General Catalyst and InfoEdge. Launch is expected in a few weeks.

• 🧔‍♂️ MensXP Finds a New Home with RPSG Group: Brnd.Me (formerly Mensa Brands) has offloaded India Lifestyle Network—parent of men’s lifestyle platform MensXP—to the RPSG Group in a ~$9 million all-cash deal. The move is part of Brnd.Me’s portfolio cleanup as it shifts focus back to core consumer brand verticals.

🧠 Chai Break Trivia

🫖 Did you know the UK drinks over 100 million cups of tea every single day? 🇬🇧☕ That’s nearly 36 billion cups a year!!!

🔮 What’s Brewing Next?

• 📄 Lenskart’s IPO filing could drop this month: The company just went public—structurally, that is. A DRHP filing with SEBI could land in the coming weeks.

• 🛢️ Oil moves = market moves: With Middle East tensions high, crude prices will drive early-week sentiment.

• 💸 Crypto compliance on radar: Expect more tax scrutiny as the government turns up the heat on undeclared digital asset gains.

💬 Until Next Brew

We’ll be back tomorrow, but until then, take care of yourselves and those around you.

☕ Team Masala Chai