By Erick Last week was still the biggest week in Tech India, with the launch of the Vikram 32-bit processor. It’s going to be hard to top that week for the rest of the year.
Still, we progress. This week is not as exciting, but here’s the bit of news you need to stay informed about tech in India.
- Speaking of semiconductors (haha!) MeITy has sent a proposal to the Finance Ministry to infuse the equivalent of $20 billion dollars for India Semiconductor Mission 2.0
- Jio Financial Services announces the incorporation of a reinsurance subsidiary in partnership with Allianz.
- OpenAI is in talks with Reliance, Sify and others to bring its Stargate Project to India. The Stargate Project is a large-scale, public-private initiative focused on developing the physical and digital infrastructure needed to power next-generation artificial intelligence (AI)
- Nemetschek, a German company and a global leader in the Architecture, Engineering, Construction, and Operations (AEC/O) industry, inaugurated a new Global Capability Center (GCC) in Hyderabad. The facility will serve as a hub for advanced research, software development, a Security Operations Center (SOC), and general administrative functions, with capacity for over 250 employees. Ja.
- Oyo, the hospitality platform (stop smirking) has rebranded into PRISM. The company says that this rebrand is part of its “evolution into a diversified global travel-tech, hospitality, and living ecosystem” (again, stop smirking!).
- Honda to invest Rs 600 Cr in first Indian electric two-wheeler plant at Karnataka. The plant will produce electric scooters for domestic sales and exports, strengthening India’s electric mobility push and boosting Karnataka’s position as a hub for advanced manufacturing.
- RBI fined PhonePe for allegedly violating norms related to Prepaid Payment Instruments. The fine amount is ₹21 lakhs – not much, but symbolic, especially given that PhonePe is IPO bound. Ahead of its IPO, PhonePe initiated an ESOP (Employee Stock Ownership Plan) buy back of close to ₹800 crores.
- Speaking of IPO, the Urban Company IPO closed with 104x oversubscription. And DevX IPO closed with 64x oversubscription.
- Defunct EV ride hailer BluSmart (you may have seen this at the Bangalore airport) has its domain up for sale. I’m not going to buy it, just saying.
- The Real Money Games (RMG) ban – which I still wholly support – is still generating some news:
- Games 24×7 to layoff some 500 people after RMG ban.
- Zupee, a gaming startup, axes 170 jobs. They’re also saying they are going to pivot to short video content, somehow.
- Hike, another web 3 gaming startup, has shut down its international operations. They say that RMG was not the end goal but…. you know.
Globally, it was iPhone week. The iPhone 17 will be available in India at a price starting at ₹80,000/- plus. Made in India though. Yay?