The evolution of entry-level jobs; Infra.Market gears up for $700M IPO

Hello,

Hope is the fuel of progress.

Currently, it’s also what the $115 trillion global economy is banking on, as it waits with bated breath for the US to open negotiations on its aggressive tariffs. 

Wall Street in particular is hedging its bets early, with stocks surging at their fastest pace since 2022, and bonds falling in response. 

Considering that the alternative is a trade war of attrition between two of the world’s biggest economies, anxiety among investors is apt. While China has refused to bow down to what it terms “blackmail” from the US, comments from US President Trump suggest last-minute negotiations may be possible.

Indian benchmark indices are also riding this wave of hope, lifted by bargain buying and a broader Asian rally. 

Largely, though, the trade war has done nothing to dampen the IPO enthusiasm among startups. BlueStone Jewellery and Lifestyle Ltd and lending platform Aye Finance Ltd are set to be the newest market entrants, after receiving the green light from SEBI to proceed with their IPOs.

In other news, is the dire wolf really back from extinction?

While Colossal Biosciences claims the three pups—Romulus, Remus and Khaleesi—are functional copies, independent experts believe gene-edited grey wolves do not classify as dire wolves. 

Some things are just gone for good. 

In today’s newsletter, we will talk about 

• The evolution of entry-level jobs
• Infra.Market gears up for $700M IPO
• Spinny sees more used car sales in Q1 2025

Here’s your trivia for today: What was the invention of Velcro inspired by?

In-depth

The evolution of entry-level jobs

A few years ago, getting a job as a fresher in an IT company was simpler—crack an exam, a coding test, clear the interview, and you were most likely in. Today, companies expect more—freshers should be ‘pre-packaged’ with industry-ready skills, hands-on experience, and even AI proficiency. 

If they don’t? They are simply left behind. While learning on the job still exists, its prequel—learning before the job—is now the norm, leaving many students overwhelmed by the pressure to be industry-ready before they even graduate.

Great expectations:

• “The increasing integration of AI across various sectors has led employers to prioritise candidates proficient in AI and automation,” notes Shantanu Rooj of TeamLease EdTech, adding that AI-related skills have transitioned from an added advantage to becoming essential in many entry-level roles.
• Technical skills, including cybersecurity, cloud computing, data analytics, and search engine optimisation, are essential now. Concurrently, soft skills like computational thinking, interpersonal communication, analytical reasoning, and adaptability are highly valued.
• Beyond technical skills, the ability to work across multicultural and diverse teams has become a key differentiator. Scrabble’s Naveen Tiwari notes that candidates with experience navigating dynamic work environments gain a significant edge over specialists not exposed to such settings.

Funding Alert

Startup: PARÉ Innovations

Amount: $8.5M

Round: Undisclosed

Startup: Outzidr

Amount: Rs 30 Cr

Round: Undisclosed

Startup: Cautio

Amount: Rs 11 Cr

Round: Seed

Interview

Infra.Market gears up for $700M IPO

Construction-tech company Infra.Market is gearing up for a $700-million IPO with a valuation target of $3 billion–5 billion. The Thane-headquartered, full-fledged building materials company is expected to file its draft prospectus by June.

“As platform awareness and technology adoption grow, we expect continued growth and increased project opportunities. To sustain this growth, there will be a need for higher working capital, and capital markets are an option we are considering,” says Aaditya Sharda, Co-founder, Infra.Market.  

Road to IPO:

• Currently valued at $2.7 billion, Infra.Market raised over $120 million in a pre-IPO funding round in January, bringing its total funding to $487 million from multiple investors. 
• Infra.Market claims to dispatch over 10,000 deliveries every day for infrastructure and real estate firms and individual home owners (retail customers). It has a pan-India distribution network and supplies to 7,000+ projects across the country.
• In FY24, the company’s revenue from operations grew 23% to Rs 14,530 crore from Rs 11,847 crore in FY23, while profit after tax rose to Rs 378 crore in FY24 from Rs 155 crore in FY23.

Report

Spinny sees more used car sales in Q1 2025

In Q1 2025, online purchases accounted for 77% of total sales, up from 75% in Q1 2024 and 70% in Q1 2023, Spinny, the full-stack used cars platform, said in its latest report, highlighting the consumer preference for transparent online car purchases.

Bengaluru, Hyderabad, and Delhi emerged as India’s top used car buying markets, with a whopping 84% preferring petrol vehicles, Spinny said in its Q1 2025 report on Tuesday. 

Key takeaways:

• The startup also pointed out that financing challenges were a key driver in the used car market. About 57% of Spinny vehicles were purchased through loans, and Jaipur led with 60% of these purchases, mostly driven by younger buyers aged 25-30.
• The market share for women car buyers rose from 26% in Q1 2024 to 28% in Q1 2025, reaching 30% in March. The report showed that 60% of women prefer automatic hatchbacks, while 18% favour compact SUVs.
• Nearly 78% of car deliveries happened through the Spinny Hub-based delivery model in Q1 2025, up from 74% in the same period last year. Home deliveries, on the other hand, declined from 26% in 2024 to 22% in Q1 2025.

News & updates

• New AI: Amazon debuted a new Gen AI model, Nova Sonic, capable of natively processing voice and generating natural-sounding speech. Amazon claims that Sonic’s performance is competitive with frontier voice models from OpenAI and Google on benchmarks measuring speed, speech recognition, and conversational quality.
• Safety: Meta is expanding its safety measures for teenagers on Instagram with a block on livestreaming, as it extends its under-18 safeguards to the Facebook and Messenger platforms. Under-16s will be barred from using Instagram’s Live feature unless they have parental permission. 
• Airlines: Emirates President Tim Clark warned that the aviation industry is in “uncharted territory” as the US’s sweeping tariffs and trade disputes weigh on global growth and threaten to drive up costs for airlines worldwide. China’s retaliatory tariffs on Boeing and GE Aerospace threaten to squeeze Emirates indirectly.

What was the invention of Velcro inspired by?

Answer: The invention of Velcro was inspired by the way burdock burrs (seeds covered in tiny hooks) cling to fur and fabric, observed by Swiss engineer George de Mestral after a hunting trip in the Alps.

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