Meeting Zomato’s EV goals; SatLeo Labs’ bet on thermal intelligence

Hello,

For new-age companies, confidential IPOs are the way to go.

Joining the bandwagon is Shadowfax, which just pre-filed its draft red herring prospectus with India’s market regulator SEBI.

The hyperlocal logistics startup will reportedly raise Rs 2,000-2,500 crore through its IPO. Reuters reported that the company is aiming for a valuation of Rs 8,500 crore post-issue.

Meanwhile, the talent bleed at Peak XV Partners hasn’t stopped, with the latest departure of its director of human capital, Anirudh Bose Mullick. In a LinkedIn post, Mullick stated that he had set up his own firm, Founders Fellows.

In other news, Grammarly’s now looking beyond correcting your email typos. It recently signed a deal to acquire email efficiency tool Superhuman as part of a push to build an AI-powered productivity suite and diversify its business. 

Speaking of AI, the recent slew of talent poaching has had a major ripple effect on wages. Today, typical pay packages range between $3 million and $7 million—a rise of about 5o% from 2022, the Financial Times reported. 

This has also fattened the pockets of the C-suite. The median pay for CTOs rose 30.81% in 2024 from the previous year to roughly $2.4 million, according to data from executive pay analytics firm C-Suite Comp. 

Tech is a rich man’s world.

In today’s newsletter, we will talk about 

• Meeting Zomato’s EV goals
• SatLeo Labs’ big bet on thermal intelligence
• Rest lounge for gig workers

Here’s your trivia for today: In addition to the continent of Antarctica, which four countries have no native snake species?

Sustainability

Meeting Zomato’s EV goals

If you order food through the Zomato app, you may get a notification that reads, “Your food is being delivered on an EV.” This is part of Eternal’s pledge towards fully electrifying its food deliveries by 2030.  

Behind this transition is a complicated roadmap—one with many moving parts. The Zomato parent’s chief sustainability officer, Anjalli Ravi Kumar, is spearheading this movement. With prior stints at Unilever and KPMG, Kumar is not new to the sustainability ecosystem. 

Green deliveries:

• Under her leadership, Zomato has deployed around 37,000 EVs as part of its delivery fleet. Additionally, Blinkit has deployed 50,000 EVs, and 20% of all HyperPure orders are satisfied using an EV. 
• “We’re very selective about what EVs we make available to delivery partners. First, we look at the claimed range—ideally 140 km, but a minimum of 100 km is non-negotiable. Then we factor in market feedback,” Kumar says.
• “We lead with what matters most to delivery partners: fuel savings. That’s the biggest hook. The second is comfort—EVs are quieter, smoother, and often easier to handle. These two benefits consistently resonate the most,” she says, on how the company pitches EVs to delivery partners.

Funding Alert

Startup: AppsForBharat

Amount: $20M

Round: Series C

Startup: FincFriends

Amount: Rs 98.5 Cr

Round: Debt

Startup: Zango

Amount: $4.8M

Round: Seed

Startup

SatLeo Labs’ big bet on thermal intelligence

Ahmedabad-based spacetech startup SatLeo Labs uses high-resolution thermal imaging to provide actionable data that can impact agriculture, urban planning, surveillance, and energy sectors.

Founded in 2023, SatLeo Labs’ founding team includes CEO and co-founder Shravan Bhati, CTO and co-founder Ranendu Ghosh, and CSO, co-founder, and director Urmil Bakhai. With over 20 employees, the startup has two offices and a war room very close to In-SPACe Headquarters, where it is incubated. 

Key takeaways:

• SatLeo Labs is at present building its satellite, which is crucial for advanced thermal detection. The satellite is scheduled to launch in Q1 2026. 
• It is conducting thermal mapping of Tumakuru city, and a targeted monitoring of a 40-acre unmanaged waste dump there to identify urban heat islands, detect hazardous greenhouse gases like methane, sulphur dioxide and carbon dioxide. 
• Expanding on the Middle East segment, the company is in talks with Dubai Municipality and with undisclosed bodies in Saudi Arabia to solve heat island problems in the respective countries.

Social Impact

Rest lounge for gig workers

Chennai has opened a 24/7 air-conditioned rest lounge for gig workers in Anna Nagar, designed specifically for gig workers. It offers seating, drinking water, mobile charging points, and a clean unisex toilet. For Chennai’s 2.5 lakh gig workers, this has come as a welcome game-changer, offering physical relief, safety, and dignity in a workforce that is otherwise isolated in the public domain.

News & updates

• AI funding: Elon Musk’s AI company, xAI, has raised $10 billion in debt and equity. Morgan Stanley confirmed in a post on X said xAI had raised $5 billion in debt and another $5 billion in a separate strategic equity transaction. 
• Checks: Shares of Tesla were under pressure on Tuesday after US President Donald Trump said in a late-night social media post that the federal government should look into cutting subsidies for Elon Musk’s companies. Some of his ventures, including SpaceX and Starlink, are heavily reliant on government policy.
• Heatwave: Italy has banned outdoor working during the hottest parts of the day in certain parts; June temperature records have been smashed in Spain and Portugal; and schools in parts of France have been closed, as an extreme heatwave continues to grip large swathes of Europe.

In addition to the continent of Antarctica, which four countries have no native snake species?

Answer: Ireland, Iceland, Greenland, and New Zealand.

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