Also in the letter:
■ Cabs, delivery apps differ on gig fund
■ Giva raises $100 million
■ Cyber risks to India’s cooling systems
Premji Invest goes big on strategic output & tech
L-R: T K Kurien, CEO and managing partner, Premji Invest and Azim Premji
Premji Invest is in talks to back two Bengaluru-based companies – defence electronics maker Sanlayan Technologies and aerospace components manufacturer Hical Technologies – as the investment firm widens its push into strategic manufacturing and deeptech.
Deal details: Premji Invest and Singularity AMC are likely to lead a $30-40 million round in Sanlayan at a valuation of around $200 million. Separately, Premji Invest is in advanced talks to lead Hical’s first institutional $30-40 million fundraise alongside TVS Capital.
Why it matters: Hical, a supplier of aerospace and defence components, is expanding into precision manufacturing for defence. Premji Invest has also invested Rs 300 crore in Bharat Forge subsidiary JS Auto Cast.
Big picture: India’s push to reduce defence imports, increase domestic procurement and expand exports is opening opportunities for private manufacturers. Premji Invest is looking to capitalise on this shift by backing indigenous defence technology developers and manufacturers of critical components.
Razorpay gets Sebi nod for Rs 5,000-6,000 crore IPO: sources
Harshil Mathur, CEO and cofounder, Razorpay
Digital payments company Razorpay has received approval from the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) for its proposed Rs 5,000-6,000 crore initial public offering (IPO) and is targeting a stock market debut as early as December, according to people aware of the matter.
IPO plans: The Bengaluru-based fintech is working towards a listing in the first quarter of calendar year 2027; however, due to volatile market conditions, the listing may get pushed to later, these people said. The final launch date of the IPO and its pricing will depend on investor demand and broader market conditions.
Valuation: ET reported on April 20 that Razorpay was preparing a confidential IPO filing to raise Rs 5,500-6,500 crore at an expected valuation of $5 billion (Rs 49,000-50,000 crore), below the $7.5 billion (around Rs 60,000 crore then) it commanded in its last major private funding round in 2021. It has since drawn interest at a lower valuation of $3 billion, according to people in the know.
Listing preparations: Razorpay completed its move from the US to India in May 2025, a key step towards its domestic listing. Axis Capital, JPMorgan, Citi and Kotak Mahindra Capital are advising on the IPO.
ETtech Explainer: Food delivery, ride-hailing firms differ on gig worker welfare levy calculation
Home delivery players and ride-hailing companies have proposed different approaches to calculating their contributions to the proposed social security fund for gig workers, reflecting differences in their underlying business models and triggering a debate on the issue.
The key difference: Food delivery and quick-commerce companies such as Zomato and Swiggy are seeking a levy based on the value of transactions facilitated through their platforms, while cab and bike-taxi aggregators such as Uber and Rapido want it to be calculated on their own turnover rather than the total value of rides facilitated.
Why the disagreement: Food delivery platforms want the levy, likely around 2%, to be calculated on the total value of orders placed through their platforms. Ride-hailing firms argue it should apply only to their own revenue, as most of the fare goes directly to drivers. A levy on the full transaction value would mean paying contributions on money they do not retain.
Eligibility: The Social Security Code, 2020, provides for social security benefits for gig and platform workers. Under its eligibility provisions, workers must complete at least 90 days of work with a single aggregator in a financial year, or 120 days cumulatively across multiple platforms, to qualify for benefits.
Giva raises over $100 million led by Multiples Alternate Asset Management
L-R: Nikita Prasad, Ishendra Agarwal, and Sachin Shetty, founders, GIVA
Fine jewellery brand Giva has raised over $100 million in a round led by private equity firm Multiples Alternate Asset Management, along with participation from existing investors including Epic Capital and Edelweiss Growth Fund.
This funding round is among the largest in the jewellery sector so far.
Details:
- The round was a mix of primary and secondary funding.
- The company’s early backers like India Quotient and Sixth Sense Ventures exited partially, founder Ishendra Agarwal told ET.
- The company did not disclose the round split.
Fund use: Giva plans to use the fresh capital to expand its retail footprint across the country, boost manufacturing capabilities, and strengthen its leadership.
Chip startup Agrani Labs looks to raise $108 million from Peak XV, Google, Samsung
Dheemanth Nagaraj, Ashok Jagannathan, Rajesh Vivekanandham and Srikanth Nimmagadda, cofounders, Agrani Labs
AI chip startup Agrani Labs is in the final stages of closing a $108-110 million round at a valuation of roughly $350 million, people aware of the matter told us. The round, in the works for several months, is expected to close within the next month.
Who is investing:
- Peak XV Partners is leading the round and is expected to put in more than half of the total amount.
- Google, Samsung Ventures, and Stargazer, the investment vehicle launched by Groww’s founders, are also expected to participate, these people said.
- ET reported in early October that Agrani was in talks to raise Rs 800-850 crore from Samsung, 360 ONE, and Peak XV.
Valuation math: The proposed $350 million valuation marks a sharp jump from the $160-200 million discussed during negotiations in September.
Other Top Stories By Our Reporters
India’s cooling systems face cyber risks: Cybersecurity safeguards for operational technology (OT) systems controlling India’s refrigeration and cold-storage infrastructure remain at an early stage, raising concerns over the sector’s exposure to cyberattacks as it becomes increasingly digitised, experts told ET.
IT firms lean on acquisitions for growth: Indian IT services companies are increasingly drawing on acquisitions to augment reported revenue growth, as businesses bought over the past year are consolidated into their accounts. In the past year, the top eight Indian IT firms spent a total of about $7.5 billion in acquisitions. That’s the most in the history of the country’s $315 billion IT industry.
Global Picks We Are Reading
■ Nvidia orders data centre clients to reduce China exposure (FT)
■ How “reverse game theory” could keep AI agents in check (MIT Technology Review)
■ AI data centres could undermine UK’s emissions goals (BBC)
