Urban Company turns profitable; Bringing tech to fish farming
Urban Company reported a net profit of Rs 239.8 crore in FY25. Corel Lifecare develops advanced bio-formulations to help aquafarmers. Central Square Foundation is helping strengthen early education through systemic reform.
Hello,
Want reassurance on your job security from AI’s relentless march into workplaces? Learn plumbing.
No, really, that’s what Geoffrey Hinton, the Godfather of AI, suggests.
In a not-so-reassuring portent for the future, Hinton spoke about imminent AI-induced job loss in a number of domains, especially those centred around intellectual labour—a concern which other prominent tech leaders like Amazon’s Andy Jassy also seem to share.
AI can write your emails and summarise that 100-page document. But leaky pipes? No dice.
There are two things central to driving the global AI revolution: energy and capital. For the former, investors are betting on nuclear energy, with two companies backed by Bill Gates and Sam Altman raising more than $1 billion collectively in recent months.
The cash churn in the sector, however, is truly staggering. Case in point: Elon Musk’s startup is estimated to be burning through $1 billion a month in its race to stay ahead in model development.
Meanwhile, Meta is apparently offering OpenAI employees ludicrously high signing bonuses, as high as $100 million, with additional compensation packages, as it seeks to build its top AI team, Sam Altman claimed in a podcast.
In today’s newsletter, we will talk about
- Urban Company turns profitable
- Bringing tech to fish farming in India
- Making learning fun
Here’s your trivia for today: Before it was called the Big Mac, what names did McDonald’s signature burger go by?
Startup
Urban Company turns profitable
Home services company Urban Company recorded its first full year of profitability, posting a net profit of Rs 239.8 crore for the financial year ended March 2025, compared to a net loss of Rs 92.7 crore in FY24, driven by cost controls and a large tax credit.
Key takeaways:
- The company saw its revenue from operations grow by 38.2% year-on-year to Rs 1,144.5 crore in FY25, up from Rs 828 crore in the previous fiscal.
- The Delhi-based company, co-founded and led by CEO Abhiraj Singh Bhal, connects customers with home service providers, including cleaning, beauty, repairs and maintenance across multiple cities in India and internationally.
- It is also preparing for an IPO and converted into a public limited company in February 2025, and changed its name to Urban Company Limited.
Funding Alert
Startup: CLR Facility Services
Amount: $15M
Round: Undisclosed
Startup: Oben Electric
Amount: Rs 100 Cr
Round: Series A
Startup: Techfino
Amount: Rs 65 Cr
Round: Undisclosed
Startup
Bringing tech to fish farming in India
Corel Lifecare was founded in 2018 by Abhijeet Naohate with a mission to bring transparency, affordability, and research-driven innovation into India’s aquaculture ecosystem.
Headquartered in Navi Mumbai, the biotechnology startup is focused on democratising access to advanced bio-formulations, enhancing aquafarmers’ profitability and sustainability. It focuses on developing high-quality, research-driven products for fish and shrimp farmers.
Farming:
- Corel Lifecare’s product philosophy hinges on high-efficacy bio-formulations that are tailored to address challenges in fish and shrimp farming.
- Its flagship product, Mintamix, is a high-grade mineral mixture that supports healthy moulting and growth in shrimp.
- PondTrust is a probiotic-enzyme blend that enhances pond hygiene by breaking down organic waste and reducing ammonia buildup, which are common contributors to disease outbreaks and losses.
Inspiration
Making learning fun
In the government primary school at Dugdha village, Madhya Pradesh, students have a unique way of learning maths—through songs. Inside the classroom, they can be heard singing lessons aloud, with their teacher Babita Verma playing conductor. This is just one of the ways Verma makes foundational literacy and numeracy enjoyable and accessible.
Verma’s methods are inspired by Mission Ankur—a state-level foundational learning programme launched by the Madhya Pradesh government in 2022 and implemented by Central Square Foundation, a Delhi-based nonprofit.
From foundational learning to AI literacy, this Delhi-based Central Square Foundation is helping reimagine what inclusive, joyful, and equitable education looks like in India’s public schools.
News & updates
- AI in medicine: SandboxAQ, an AI startup spun out of Alphabet's Google and backed by NVIDIA, released a trove of data it hopes will speed up the discovery of new medical treatments by helping scientists understand how drugs stick to proteins.
- PE jitters: Private equity firms are holding an estimated $1 trillion in unrealised assets amid delayed exits and macroeconomic headwinds, according to PwC’s 2025 mid-year deal outlook. While LPs are becoming increasingly restless, industry leaders remain cautiously optimistic about a rebound in the months ahead.
- Stablecoin: The total market capitalisation of stablecoins surged to a record high on Wednesday, data showed, as the US Senate passed a bill to regulate the sector, a major step towards legitimising a once-niche but now fast-growing corner of the crypto market.
Before it was called the Big Mac, what names did McDonald’s signature burger go by?
Answer: The ‘Aristocrat’ and the ‘Blue Ribbon Burger’.
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