Prosus zeroes out BYJU’S stake; A spirit that transcends borders

Hello,

India is driving PayU’s growth.

The Prosus-owned financial services provider grew by 38% YoY at the group level, primarily driven by its operations in India and Turkey as well as India credit services. 

India, PayU’s largest market in the payment service provider (PSP) segment, contributed 46% to its core PSP revenue and 60% of total payment volume, growing its revenue from the market to $444 million in FY24.

Meanwhile, the demand for electric components and sub-assemblies is set to grow 5X to $240 billion by 2030, a CII report noted, advising the government to pursue free trade agreements to create export demand from India.

Electronic components and processors are in high demand given the AI boom. However, chipmaker Nvidia’s stock has been sliding since last week, opening 2.4% lower on Monday. 

This begs the question: Is Nvidia stock in a bubble?

Speaking of AI, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology is expected to roll out a tender to procure GPUs to strengthen AI computing infrastructure under IndiaAI Mission. Currently, only one data centre in India, Yotta Data Services, has AI GPUs.

Elsewhere, EV maker Ather Energy has converted into a public entity after its Board gave the go-ahead last week as it prepares for an IPO. It has also increased its authorised share capital to Rs 50 crore, from Rs 93.6 lakh. 

And lastly, we leave you with this heartwarming video of a 95-year-old lady dancing to a 1950s Tamil song in an old-age home in Chennai.

This just reminds you that ‘age is no number’.

In today’s newsletter, we will talk about 

• Prosus zeroes out BYJU’S stake
• A spirit that transcends borders
• Robotic solutions for urban water sanitation 

Here’s your trivia for today: What is the coldest place in the universe?

Investments

Prosus zeroes out BYJU’S stake

Prosus, BYJU'S' largest institutional shareholder, has written off its entire investment in the once high-flying edtech startup, which sought new funding at a 99% discounted valuation through a rights issue earlier this year.

The Netherlands-based investment conglomerate, owned by South Africa’s Naspers, has invested $578 million in BYJU'S so far, with nearly $400 million coming from its first investment round in 2018. It held an over 10% stake until mid-2022. 

Investment outlook:

• Prosus wrote off the fair value of its 9.6% effective interest in BYJU'S and recognised a fair value loss of $493 million in other comprehensive income in the current year, the company said in its annual report.
• Prosus said the write-down was primarily because it has inadequate information on BYJU’S’ financial health, liabilities, and future outlook.
• Meanwhile, the investment group maintained a strong outlook on IPO-bound food delivery platform Swiggy, citing improvement in operational leverage, and reported appreciating investments in Meesho, ElasticRun, and Urban Company.

Wine and Food

A spirit that transcends borders

There’s a new tequila brand on the block. Backed by actor-entrepreneur Rana Daggubati and musician-composer Anirudh Ravichander, along with Harsha Vadlamudi, Managing Partner of microbrewery Ironhill India, Loca Loka made its debut in select retail stores in Los Angeles, New York, and New Jersey, in the United States. 

For the trio, the name captures the essence of a spirit that transcends borders, offering a unique blend of traditions, tastes, and communal joy.

Mexico and India in a bottle:

• Loca Loka, which translates to ‘crazy world’ (derived from Spanish and Sanskrit etymologies), is distilled from 100% pure highland blue agave, a desert plant from the Jalisco region of Mexico.  
• The idea behind it, Daggubati says, was to bring out a tequila that captures the best of both worlds—the fiery spirit of Mexican festivities and the aromatic spices of Indian cuisine.
• In the American market, which is the brand’s current target, Loca Loka is trying to cater to the Indian diaspora, which comprises traditional whiskey drinkers who continue to look at tequila for shots. 

Innovation

Robotic solutions for urban water sanitation 

In his final year at IIT-Madras studying a BTech in mechanical engineering and a master’s in product design, Divanshu Kumar worked on a project to develop a robot for cleaning manholes and septic tanks.

This led to the birth of Solinas Integrity, a startup that has emerged from an IIT-Madras project to develop deep and climate-tech solutions that have sustainability at their core. 

Tech solutions:

• Cleaning septic tanks is just one of the problems in urban water sanitation management, according to Kumar. Water and sanitation are interconnected, and all its assets, from pipelines to drainage systems, are underground.
• Solinas Integrity built robotic solutions like HomeSep, India’s first septic tank and manhole cleaning robot and EndoBot—an “endoscopy” kind of robot for inspecting all kinds of pipelines. It also launched Swasth, a digital AI dashboard for assessment and data management of pipeline conditions. 
• Solinas has deployed its solutions in over 15 cities in nine states. It has also started applying to tenders to work directly with the government and has so far raised funding over seven rounds.

News & updates

• Antitrust: European Union regulators on Monday said Apple is in breach of sweeping new tech rules because it does not allow customers of its App Store to be steered to alternatives. The European Commission, the EU’s executive arm, also said it had opened a new probe into Apple over new contractual terms with developers.
• AI chips: ByteDance Ltd and Broadcom Inc have discussed a potential collaboration on an AI processor to help bolster the TikTok parent’s development of that technology. The US chip designer and Beijing-based ByteDance have talked about a 5-nanometer purpose-built chip. No deal has yet been reached between the two companies.
• Economic crisis: Sri Lankan officials and global investors are expected to hold a second round of direct talks this week to agree on the restructuring of $12 billion in defaulted bonds. A group of bondholders, known as the steering committee, went “restricted,” meaning the conversations with the government are covered by temporary trading limitations because the topics under discussion may be market sensitive.

What is the coldest place in the universe?

Answer: The Boomerang Nebula. It has a temperature of one degree Kelvin.

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