Swiggy dishes losses in Q1; Ola Electric July sales fumble

Hello,

The US tariff D-day is nearly here. 

The Indian rupee plunged towards a record low of 87.74 against the US dollar and equity indexes declined as there appeared to be no clear deal around the steeper-than-expected tariffs on Indian goods, with analysts warning of sustained pressure on the country's growth.

Economists are worried that the 25% tariffs could stunt India’s growth in 2025-26 by up to 40 basis points. Investors, however, seem to believe this to be a mere pressure tactic. 

Apple, for one, is seemingly nonchalant about the situation, even with India acting as a key manufacturing hub for iPhones. According to the company, it’s too early to say if recent events or future changes will alter Apple's manufacturing plans in India. 

For now, it’s a waiting game. 

Meanwhile, the country is celebrating the return of a rare set of artefacts after 127 years. 

The Piprahwa Gems of the Historical Buddha, a collection of jewels linked to Buddha's remains, is back in India after an auction planned for earlier this year drew threats of legal action from the government.

The collection, featuring 300 gems, including amethyst, topaz and pearls, dating back to the Mauryan Empire, will now be on public display in the country. 

In today’s newsletter, we will talk about 

• Swiggy dishes losses in Q1
• Ola Electric July sales fumble
• A gridless future with Quintinno Labs

Here’s your trivia for today: Which non-sport category was included in the Olympic Games between 1912 and 1948?

Foodtech

Swiggy dishes losses in Q1

Swiggy almost doubled its losses for the April-June period, even as revenue grew sharply on the back of continued momentum in its grocery delivery unit, Instamart. 

The Sriharsha Majety-led company posted an operating revenue of Rs 4,961 crore, registering a 54% annual increase. Consolidated net loss stood at Rs 1,197 crore compared with Rs 611 crore in the year-ago period. 

Key takeaways:

• Quick commerce platform, Instamart, doubled its operating revenue to Rs 806 crore. Swiggy reiterated its plan to achieve contribution margin breakeven for Instamart between December 2025 and June 2026.
• Its platform innovation segment, which houses offerings like Swiggy-Minis, Swiggy Genie, Insanely Good, and Snacc-10 min food delivery app, saw its revenue fall about 9% from the previous quarter to Rs 20 crore.
• Further, Swiggy is actively re-evaluating its investment in Rapido, amidst the cab-hailing startup’s plans to enter the food delivery segment. In its shareholder letter, it noted that the move will pose a potential conflict of interest for the company in the future.

Funding Alert

Startup: SAFE

Amount: $70M

Round: Series C

Startup: Metaforms

Amount: $9M

Round: Series A

Startup: STAN

Amount: $8.5M

Round: Undisclosed

Electric Mobility

Ola Electric July sales fumble

Ola Electric is struggling to reel in demand for its electric two-wheelers compared to last year, as the EV maker sees sales for its vehicles halve in the first seven months of this year compared to the year-ago period. 

According to Vahan data, the Bhavish Aggarwal-led company has managed to sell only 1,31,785 units year-to-date, compared to 2,70,347 units in the year-ago period. 

Rough terrains:

• The dip in sales has also weighed heavily on Ola Electric’s share price and its financials. In July, the company saw its quarterly revenue from operations fall 49.6% to Rs 828 crore, as deliveries dropped to 68,192 units, down from 1,25,198 units a year ago.
• Rivals, including newly-listed Ather Energy and legacy players Bajaj Auto and TVS Motor Company, have seen their sales increase 1.5X, 1.9X, and 1.5X, respectively, compared to the prior year period. 
• Despite the ongoing crisis, Ather Energy became the only manufacturer to have sold more electric two-wheelers in July than in the previous month. The Rizta-maker sold 15,323 units in July compared to 14,664 units in June, garnering a market share of 15.89%—inching closer to Ola Electric. 

Startups

A gridless future with Quintinno Labs

Guwahati-based Quintinno Labs is building a portable, solar-compatible battery-based power station that could fit in the trunk of your car. Founded in 2023 by physicist and grassroots innovator Divasjyoti Parashar, the startup’s flagship product, QUINT, is a compact energy unit that works as an EV power bank and a clean replacement for diesel gensets. 

Bharat ke Innovators

Redefining radiology with AI

AI platform 5C Network is revolutionising how radiology scans are interpreted and reported across hospitals and diagnostic centres. The startup combines deeptech AI, human expertise, and full-stack infrastructure to make quality radiology accessible nationwide. Its Bionic AI co-pilot enhances radiologists' performance without replacing them, creating a sustainable model for modern healthcare.

Pioneering 3D geospatial AI

Heliware, founded by Rajan Srivastav, addresses the lack of accessible 3D geospatial analytics in India. The startup combines AI, 3D visualisation, and big data to transform geospatial data into actionable insights, enabling decision-making, planning, monitoring, and predictive analysis across industries, including defense, infrastructure, agritech, energy, and retail. 

News & updates

• Scrutiny: Nvidia’s made-for-China H20 general processing units—expected to resume shipments to China following an effective ban in April—may be met with increased scrutiny. According to the Cyberspace Administration of China, Nvidia’s AI chips are reported to contain serious security vulnerabilities. 
• Cloud: Britain’s Competition and Markets Authority said that Microsoft and Amazon are hurting competition in the cloud computing industry and called for a probe into their market dominance under the country’s strict new tech rules. Market concentration and barriers to entry in the cloud services market have enabled both Microsoft and Amazon to hold “significant unilateral market power”, it said.
• Age restrict: Google is testing an ML-powered tech in the US to determine the age of users and filter content across all its products accordingly. It will consider data from Google accounts, including types of details users have searched for or categories of videos they have watched on YouTube, to determine the age.

Which non-sport category was included in the Olympic Games between 1912 and 1948?

Answer: Art. From 1912 to 1948, the Olympic Games included art competitions, where medals were awarded in categories like music, painting, sculpture, and architecture.

We would love to hear from you! To let us know what you liked and disliked about our newsletter, please mail [email protected]. 

If you don’t already get this newsletter in your inbox, sign up here. For past editions of the YourStory Buzz, you can check our Daily Capsule page here.