OpenAI’s financial milestone; VC funding growth in Q1
OpenAI has closed its latest funding round with $122 billion in committed capital at a post-money valuation of $852 billion. In other news, VC funding in Indian startups rose 28% year-on-year during the first quarter of 2026, bolstered by a steady inflow of deals,
Hello,
India is officially counting its people.
Census 2027 kicked off in the country on Wednesday. The 16th population count in India—8th since independence—will be held in two phases. The world’s largest exercise of its kind takes a digital-first approach involving a self-enumeration portal, a mobile app, and a huge taskforce of over 30 lakh officials.
In other news, Apple has turned 50.
The company has had a huge impact on the tech industry—redefining personal computing and mobile communication, and creating a dominant brand in the process. But the iPhone maker now finds itself in a position where it has to show it’s still a tech titan in the age of AI.
Moving on, Blinkit has announced quick delivery inside the Mumbai airport.
Travellers can order from over 2,500 products on the Blinkit app, and the quick-commerce player promises to deliver them within Terminal 2 (domestic departures). Orders will be fulfilled by a dedicated team of “walkers”, said Albinder Dhindsa, CEO of Eternal, which owns Blinkit. Meanwhile, some netizens wondered if this was an April Fools’ Day prank.
Meanwhile, job openings for tech professionals in India are 8% lower in April compared to March, says a report.
ICYMI: Lastly, a personality check. Are you an eternal optimist or do you always assume the worst? Do you see only good in others or do you have a cynical view of human nature? Your instinctive reaction to situations can reveal far more than you think.
In today’s newsletter, we will talk about
- OpenAI’s financial milestone
- VC funding growth in Q1
Here’s your trivia for today: Where did the famous phrase ‘You can’t handle the truth’ originate?
Valuation
OpenAI’s financial milestone
ChatGPT maker OpenAI has closed its latest funding round with $122 billion in committed capital at a post-money valuation of $852 billion. This significant financial milestone is expected to help the company speed up the next phase of AI development.
The funding round was led by major technology firms and investment groups including Amazon, NVIDIA, and SoftBank. Long-term partner Microsoft also continued its participation. SoftBank co-led the round alongside a16z, D. E. Shaw Ventures, MGX, and TPG.
Forging ahead:
- OpenAI has been growing rapidly since its inception. The ChatGPT maker was the fastest technology platform to reach 10 million users and then 100 million users. The company says it is now on the path to 1 billion weekly active users.
- “We are now generating $2B in revenue per month. At this stage, we are growing revenue four times faster than the companies who defined the Internet and mobile eras, including Alphabet and Meta,” said OpenAI.
- OpenAI is developing a unified AI superapp which will combine ChatGPT, coding tools, and web browsing into a single experience.
Quarterly report
VC funding growth in Q1
Venture capital (VC) funding in Indian startups rose 28% year-on-year during the first quarter of 2026, bolstered by a steady inflow of deals, despite a challenging macroeconomic environment.
The total funding for the first quarter—January to March 2026—was $3.2 billion from 315 deals. The amount during the same period of 2025 was $2.5 billion from 312 deals, according to YourStory Research.
Key takeaways:
- VC funding for the first quarter of 2026 saw an increase despite the absence of many large deals.There were just seven deals with a deal value of above $50 million.
- During the first quarter, there were a sizeable number of transactions in the $30 million-90 million range. This lifted the overall momentum of VC funding during the period.
- The AI segment raised the highest amount during the quarter. Mumbai, Bengaluru, and Delhi-NCR dominated the funding scene.
News & updates
- New launch: Google has launched Veo 3.1 Lite, its most cost-effective video generation model, in paid preview through the Gemini API and Google AI Studio. The model is aimed at developers who need to make video generation faster and cheaper at scale.
- Oil supply: The oil supply crunch will worsen this month, the head of the International Energy Agency has warned. “The loss of oil in April will be twice the loss of oil in March,” said IEA Chief Fatih Birol, in a podcast.
- Job cuts: US tech company Oracle is cutting thousands of jobs globally. The development comes as the business software company boosts spending on datacentres, which are critical infrastructure for operating AI systems—in a bid to compete with rivals, including Alphabet and Amazon.
Where did the famous phrase ‘You can’t handle the truth’ originate?
Answer: The movie A Few Good Men
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