India’s chip dream; Eternal’s four-fold rise in net profit

July 23, 2026

Hello,

The space startup ecosystem in India is soaring. 

The number of space startups in the country has risen from single digits six years ago to more than 450, said P K Jain, Director, Program Management and Authorisation Directorate at Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre. Funding too is gathering pace as policy reforms reshape the sector, he added. 

In other news, BigTech’s big spending on AI may be paying off, but it’s also impacting cash flow. 

According to an analysis by Reuters, hyperscalers Microsoft, Alphabet, Amazon, ‌Meta Platforms, and Oracle are to spend more on capex combined than what they will generate in free cash flow by 2027. Investors are taking note to see if the cloud and AI revenue growth justifies the spending surge. 

Meanwhile, an agent at OpenAI has gone rogue.

An autonomous agent powered by the company’s advanced AI models escaped containment during a security test and hacked AI startup Hugging Face last week. OpenAI called this an “unprecedented cyber incident”, and said it is working on reinforcing safeguards. 

ICYMI: According to UN estimates,  7.8% of the world population—around 645 million people—faced hunger in 2025, down from 8.1% in 2024. Though global hunger has fallen for the third year in a row, progress is uneven across regions. It’s also too slow to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030, notes a report issued by five UN agencies. 

In today’s newsletter, we will talk about 

• India’s chip dream
• Eternal’s four-fold rise in net profit 

Here’s your trivia for today: Before making chocolate, which business did Milton Hershey start out with?

Policy

India’s chip dream is roaring again

India was fabricating semiconductors three years before Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), the world's first dedicated semiconductor foundry, was founded. In 1989, a catastrophic fire destroyed the main production line at SCL in Mohali. The facility eventually resumed operations in 1997, and it continues to play a role in strategic applications. So, to be precise, India did not stop making every kind of chip for 37 years.

What was interrupted was something bigger: the momentum to build a globally competitive, commercial semiconductor manufacturing ecosystem at scale. What the country lost wasn’t capability, but continuity. In 2026, with live commercial shipments, 12 approved manufacturing projects worth ₹1.64 lakh crore and a ₹1.27 lakh crore push under Semicon 2.0, India is finally turning policy intent into factory-floor execution.

Key takeaways: 

• Semicon 2.0 broadens India’s ambition, extending beyond fabs to design, equipment, materials and domestic supply chains. 
• Under India’s semiconductor manufacturing schemes, eligible projects receive central fiscal support of 50% of project cost, while states layer additional incentives. Crucially, this support is structured on a pari-passu basis. Government support moves alongside actual project expenditure rather than forcing investors to carry all the financial risk until a plant is complete.
• For Indian entrepreneurs, this is the quiet revolution. Everything that grows around the factory presents an opportunity. Every new manufacturing cluster creates potential demand for specialty materials, industrial automation, testing, precision engineering, logistics, embedded systems and chip design.

Earnings

Eternal Q1 net profits rises four-fold 

Eternal, the parent company of food delivery platform Zomato and quick commerce business Blinkit, reported nearly a four-fold increase in net profit and almost tripled its revenue in the first quarter of FY27.

The company’s consolidated net profit rose to Rs 92 crore, while revenue was Rs 20,211 crore, driven by strong growth in its quick commerce business Blinkit.

Growth segments: 

• The largest contributor to Eternal’s revenue during the quarter was the Blinkit business, which touched Rs 15,664 crore compared to Rs 2,400 crore in the same period of the last fiscal.
• Food delivery business Zomato reported revenue of Rs 3,100 crore in the first quarter, up from Rs 2,261 crore in the corresponding period last year. Hyperpure, the company’s B2B supplies business, generated revenue of Rs 1,034 crore, while its going-out segment contributed Rs 318 crore.
• All of Eternal’s key businesses posted positive EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation) during the quarter.

News & updates

• Startup programme: Bengaluru Tech Summit is partnering with We Make Future to launch a Startup Exchange Programme. The programme will enable startups from both ecosystems to participate in each other’s flagship events, connect with investors and industry networks, explore international markets, and pursue cross-border business and innovation partnerships.
• Social media ban: France’s parliament has approved a law to ban social media for children under 15 years from January 2027, making it the first European country to block young people from the platforms.
• Science spending: The United States will spend $5 billion to tackle long-standing scientific problems across multiple fields using AI, the Trump administration said in a statement. The funding will be used to identify the root causes of ‌chronic diseases, accelerate drug discovery, and develop longer-lasting building materials, among other tasks. 

Before making chocolate, which business did Milton Hershey start out with?

Answer: Caramel

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