Paytm earns a profit, finally; What lies ahead for Milky Mist

Hello,

Oops! 

AI agents and vibe coding—the latest buzzwords in the tech industry—promise to redefine code development. However, for entrepreneur Jason Lemkin, a vibe coding session using software platform Replit ended in a nightmare when AI wiped out a key database!

“This was a catastrophic failure on my part,” the AI wrote.

Meanwhile, Amjad Masad, CEO of the vibe coding tool Replit, said on X that the incident was “unacceptable and should never be possible”. The company is also adding guardrails to make its tools safer.

Vibe code at your own risk!

Speaking of AI, the US is reportedly removing barriers to the technology. The White House intends to soon outline a plan that will call for the export of American AI technology abroad and a crackdown on state laws deemed too restrictive, Reuters reported, citing a document.

Elsewhere, Alphabet’s Google and OpenAI said their AI models won gold medals at a global mathematics competition. The development signals a breakthrough in AI models’ math capabilities in the race to build systems that can rival human intelligence.

In today’s newsletter, we will talk about 

• Paytm swings back to green
• What lies ahead for Milky Mist
• Fixing India’s frontline hiring problem

Here’s your trivia for today: Which author’s headstone includes the phrase “Quoth the Raven, Nevermore”?

Fintech

Paytm swings back to green

One 97 Communications, the parent company of Paytm, reported a consolidated net profit attributable to equity holders of Rs 122.5 crore for the quarter ended June 30, 2025 (Q1 FY26), compared with a loss of Rs 838.9 crore in the same period last year. 

Revenue from operations stood at Rs 1,917.5 crore, up 27.7% from Rs 1,501.6 crore in Q1 FY25. Its total income rose 31.7% year-on-year to Rs 2,158.9 crore from Rs 1,639.1 crore.

Key takeaways: 

• “We’re no longer focused on quarterly cost cuts,” Founder and CEO Vijay Shekhar Sharma noted during the earnings call. “We’re focused on increasing product depth, expanding internationally, and using AI across every touchpoint.”
• Net payment revenue for the quarter rose 38% year-on-year to Rs 529 crore, supported by an expanding base of subscription merchants and higher payment processing margins. GMV processed through the platform reached Rs 5.4 lakh crore.
• Paytm’s merchant payments business is now operating at break-even despite offering zero Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) on UPI transactions. “Even without MDR, we are profitable. The payment business alone will become a bottomline driver,” Sharma emphasised. 

Funding Alert

Startup: Composio

Amount: $25M

Round: Series A

Startup: Escape Plan

Amount: $5M

Round: Seed

Startup: ApClub

Amount: Rs 2 Cr

Round: Pre-seed

In-Depth

What lies ahead for Milky Mist

Milky Mist Dairy Food Ltd has for long been a household name in Tamil Nadu. Now the company is preparing to go public and raise Rs 2,035 crore through an initial public offering, including a fresh issue of Rs 1,785 crore and an offer-for-sale by the promoter family worth Rs 250 crore.

The move signals a shift for the 27-year-old company. Until now, Milky Mist has grown organically and largely off the radar of institutional investors. Its IPO not only gives it access to capital, but it also subjects it to public scrutiny.

A closer look:

• In the fiscal year ended March 2024, the company reported a revenue of Rs 1,952.7 crore, up from Rs 1,209.7 crore two years earlier. Its net profit more than doubled in that period, from Rs 78.4 crore in FY22 to Rs 167.2 crore in FY24.
• The company is betting that new capacity and brand investments will help it expand into new regions. Rs 483 crore from the IPO proceeds will be allocated for capital expenditure at the Perundurai plant. Another Rs 400 crore will go towards working capital to support national distribution.
• Milky Mist plans to use Rs 530 crore from the IPO proceeds to repay debt. As of March 2024, it had borrowings of Rs 551.3 crore. Once repaid, the company would have one of the leanest balance sheets in the sector.

Startup

Fixing India’s frontline hiring problem

India’s gig economy has taken flight, and so has the demand for delivery personnel for food delivery, quick commerce, and logistics companies. While frontline hiring is fast-paced, companies often struggle with slow and inefficient interview processes that can stretch for several rounds.  

Hunar.AI, a startup based in Gurugram and Bengaluru, is using AI to make large-scale hiring faster and more reliable. Hunar.AI’s tools automate almost every stage of the hiring pipeline—posting job ads, sourcing, screening, documentation, interview scheduling, and onboarding.

News & updates

• New carrier: Boeing has kicked off production of its newest freight carrier, the 777-8, the Seattle Times reported on Tuesday. The aircraft, which has a revenue payload of 112.3 tonnes, was first announced in  2022 at the White House.
• Music powerhouse: Universal Music Group’s (UMG)—the world’s biggest music group and owner of the record labels behind mega stars Taylor Swift, Drake and Lady Gaga—has filed to sell its shares in the US.
• Clean power: UN Secretary General António Guterres on Tuesday called on tech companies to power the build-out of data centres with 100% renewable energy by 2030, even as the industry turns to gas and coal-fired power plants to meet surging demand.

Which author’s headstone includes the phrase “Quoth the Raven, Nevermore”?

Answer: Edgar Allan Poe.

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