Ramayana-inspired gaming adventure; Journey to a Rs 190 Cr appliance brand

Hello,

Bira 91’s craft beer fairytale has turned into foam.

Earlier this week, its auditor flagged that the alcobev brand’s parent company, B9 Beverages, had accumulated losses of Rs 21,179 crore in FY24, “eroding its net worth completely”. ET reported that hundreds of employees have approached the board and top investors, demanding a change at the top, frustrated with alleged salary delays.

And now, institutional stakeholders in the beer maker are huddling over whether to remove Founder and CEO Ankur Jain, according to a Mint report.

While the brand was riding the premiumisation wave, all it took was a name change to trigger the vast and complex regulatory web of tax structures, distribution norms, and licensing requirements that vary from state to state.

Meanwhile, Zoho has become the face of India’s swadeshi tech push after over 12 lakh government employees switched to Zoho Mail and Arattai Messenger apps for internal communication. While concerns loom over privacy and national security, CEO Sridhar Vembu said that end-to-end encryption is being tested for Arattai.

And finally, after over a year of uncertainty, WazirX users may soon see their funds they lost in the $235-million crypto heist.

ICYMI: WazirX Founder and CEO Nischal Shetty on plans to resume operations.

In today’s newsletter, we will talk about 

• A Ramayana-inspired gaming adventure
• Journey to a Rs 190 Cr appliance brand
• Dissolving hierarchies via Kuchipudi

Here’s your trivia for today: Which Sikh festival is celebrated on the same day as Diwali?

Startup

A Ramayana-inspired gaming adventure

When Nouredine Abboud, a former Ubisoft producer and now CEO of Novaquark, was brainstorming potential ideas for a new game, Nicolas Granatino, President of Novaquark and Founder of Paris-based accelerator StemAI.vc, suggested looking eastward. 

The duo found the perfect collaborators in author Amish Tripathi—best known for The Shiva Trilogy and the Ram Chandra Series, and veteran actor Amitabh Bachchan. Thus, in 2024, Tara Gaming was born in Pune, with Abboud, Bachchan, and Tripathi as co-founders and Granatino as executive chairman.

Indian epics reimagined:

• Granatino says The Age of Bhaarat is envisioned as a dark fantasy action-adventure RPG (role-playing game), set in a fictionalised world inspired by ancient Indian epics.
• Tara Gaming plans to release a mobile version of The Age of Bhaarat in the future. While the alpha version for PC and consoles is scheduled for summer 2026, the final release is planned for Diwali 2027.
• Granatino says the gaming studio has raised $20 million so far, and its model is “very much in line with how other major global AAA franchises have been built—typically with budgets north of $60 million over several years, thanks to Unreal Engine”.

Funding Alert

Startup: HouseEazy

Amount: Rs 150 Cr

Round: Series B

Startup: SpeakX

Amount: $16M

Round: Pre-Series B

Startup: Two Brothers Organic Farms

Amount: Rs 110 Cr

Round: Series B

Startup

Journey to a Rs 190 Cr appliance brand

In the 1990s, when air conditioners were a luxury and limited to only a few Indian households, two brothers from Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh, decided to change that. With minimal capital and a strong focus on quality, brothers Rajeev and Sanjeev Gupta began building affordable air coolers for the masses from a small workshop.

Three decades later, that modest venture has evolved into Thermocool Home Appliances, a Rs 190 crore appliance brand, now betting on smart, energy-efficient, and solar-powered appliances, and eyeing its entry into global markets.

Energy-saving innovations:

• From its humble beginnings in 1992, Thermocool has evolved from being a regional air cooler maker into a diversified brand offering over 200 products, including washing machines, televisions, water heaters, and kitchen appliances. 
• Thermocool claims to have an 8–10% market share in the home appliance and cooling segment in its core operating markets of UP, Bihar, Jharkhand, and some parts of West Bengal.
• Looking ahead, Thermocool plans to expand aggressively within India and into select global markets such as Nepal, Bhutan, and South Africa. Over the next three years, it aims to reach Rs 300 crore in revenue, with a long-term target of Rs 500 crore within five years.

Heritage

Dissolving hierarchies via Kuchipudi

Over three decades, award-winning dancer, teacher and choreographer Arunima Kumar has brought Kuchipudi to audiences and dancers across 50 countries, inviting people from all walks of life to find their own rhythm within it.

Her company has performed more than 3,000 times, and she has trained students aged 4 to 75 across the UK, India, and Poland. This month, she brings fifteen of her young students from London to New Delhi for a unique cultural exchange at the India Habitat Centre alongside their Indian counterparts.

News & updates

• Tax blow: General Motors would take a $1.6 billion charge in the third quarter as it reshapes its electric vehicle strategy. In a filing, GM said it expects the EV adoption rate to slow after recent policy changes, including the termination of certain consumer tax incentives and reduced emissions-rule stringency.
• Cautionary note: The $305 billion stablecoin market could threaten traditional lending, hamper monetary policy and trigger a run on some of the world’s safest assets, the International Monetary Fund warned on Tuesday.
• Chip innovation: Broadcom is launching a new networking chip on Tuesday that will help companies build AI computing systems by stringing together hundreds of thousands of chips that crunch data, deepening its rivalry with Nvidia.

Which Sikh festival is celebrated on the same day as Diwali?

Answer: Bandi Chhor Divas. It commemorates the release of Guru Hargobind Sahib, along with 52 kings, from the captivity of the Mughal Emperor Jahangir in 1619.

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