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Billdesk, Upgrad acquisitions; Anthropic's advances: an opportunity
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Happy Thursday! Billdesk is set to acquire Worldline's India business, while Upgrad has bought a majority stake in Internshala. This and more in today's ETtech Morning Dispatch.
Also in the letter:
■ OpenAI's new Indian exec
■ Sauce VC bets big
■ India's tech gap
MN Srinivasu, cofounder, BillDesk
Billdesk will acquire Worldline’s India merchant payments business for $70 million, the French payment company announced today, marking another consolidation move in the domestic fintech market.
Driving the news:
Twist in the tale: Billdesk itself was set to be acquired by Prosus-owned PayU in a $4.7 billion transaction in 2021. The agreement collapsed in 2022 after PayU withdrew despite receiving regulatory approvals.
Zooming out: Worldline had built scale in payments through acquisitions, including Ingenico. Margin pressure in global payments has since prompted it to exit non-core assets.
Also Read: Payments processor Stripe expresses interest in PayPal
Ronnie Screwvala, founder, Upgrad
Ronnie Screwvala-led Upgrad has acquired a 90% stake in internship and job-search platform Internshala through a stock transaction. Financial terms were not disclosed, though people familiar with the matter said the deal valued Internshala at around Rs 100 crore.
Acquiring new users: The acquisition gives Upgrad access to Internshala’s internship and job listings, while opening up the platform to a wider pool of students from Upgrad's network.
Broaden its offerings: Gurgaon-based Internshala will continue to operate as an independent brand under founder and chief executive Sarvesh Agrawal. The company plans to tap Upgrad’s scale and technology infrastructure to expand its user base and services.
M&A plans: Upgrad has been evaluating multiple acquisition opportunities.
IBM shares steadied after a sharp fall, as IT experts argued that Anthropic's advances in handling COBOL code may expand the market rather than shrink it.
Why the claim? COBOL systems have evolved over five decades into tightly-women ‘spaghetti’ architectures that do not lend themselves to plug-and-play automation.
Even if the cost per line of code falls, the broader task of untangling, rewriting, and validating these systems could increase demand.
Background: On Monday, Anthropic said its Claude model can read and update COBOL, wiping nearly $30 billion off IBM’s market value. COBOL still powers ATM networks and key banking, airline and government systems.
Also Read: India not behind in AI race, must focus on deployment: IBM CEO Arvind Krishna
What else? Vasantra noted that COBOL rarely runs in isolation. It sits within layered systems built over decades, including regulatory patches and regional customisations.
He added that AI tools cannot be left to operate unattended in sensitive domains such as credit card billing. “The consequence of getting it wrong is very high,” he said.
Also Read: ETtech Explainer: Decoding Anthropic’s Claude Code update that triggered IBM selloff
Arvind KC, chief people officer, OpenAI
OpenAI has appointed Arvind KC as its new chief people officer, strengthening its leadership bench as the company scales operations.
Tell me more: Arvind will oversee hiring, onboarding, employee development and performance management across the organisation. He succeeds Julia Villagra, who stepped down in August 2025, less than six months after joining.
He joins a growing group of Indian-origin leaders at OpenAI, including Vijaye Raji, chief technology officer for applications, and Srinivas Narayanan, vice president of engineering.
Indian execs in the Valley: Indian-origin executives continue to occupy senior roles across major US technology firms.
Beyond Indian-origin CEOs at firms such as Alphabet, Microsoft and Adobe, companies are increasingly tapping senior executives from India for top operational and technical roles.
Manu Chandra, founder, Sauce VC
Consumer-focused investor Sauce VC has closed a Rs 700–750 crore opportunities fund to double down on its highest-conviction portfolio bets, its founder and managing partner Manu Chandra told us.
Where it's going: The capital will back four to five breakout brands, including Hocco, The Whole Truth, Mokobara, Innovist, XYXX and Supertails, with cheque sizes going up to Rs 250 crore. More than half the fund is already committed.
Strategy shift: This is Sauce's second opportunities vehicle, giving it firepower to support companies from seed to IPO while keeping its early-stage funds tightly sized.
Global LP mix: For the first time, a majority of capital has come from overseas institutions across the US, Europe, the Middle East and Asia.
Track record: Partial exits from The Whole Truth, Mokobara and XYXX have already returned 3.5-times of Sauce’s first Rs 60-crore fund, reinforcing investor appetite for new-age consumer brands.
Tanmaya Kala and Kanav Hasija, cofounders, MetPlan
Construction technology startup MeltPlan has secured $10 million in fresh funding, led by Bessemer Venture Partners, with backing from Europe-based venture capital firm Noa.
Tell me more: The company will use the funds to improve its technology, strengthen its vertical AI stack and expand its team. Founded in 2025 by Hasija and Tanmaya Kala, MeltPlan has now raised $14 million in total funding.
The team currently has 14 employees, mostly based in India, and plans to grow to 30. Simply put, the startup develops an AI system that helps optimise decision-making before construction work begins.
(L-R) Himanshu Uniyal and Karan Anand, cofounders, Wootzwork
Industrial manufacturing solutions company Wootzwork has secured $6.6 million in new funding, led by Z47.
Deal details:
Indian IT holds just 1% of global tech value pools: BCG study | India's technology sector contributes 7% to the national GDP ($300 billion) and commands 17% of global IT services, and yet captures only 1% of high-growth global value pools such as semiconductors, hyperscalers, AI-first firms, and deep tech, a new BCG study said.
Gap in core chip manufacturing, equipment capabilities: Industry executives: While India has traditionally excelled in chip design and application development, top semiconductor equipment makers pointed to a gap in core semiconductor manufacturing and equipment capabilities, Radhika Viswanathan, chief operating officer of semiconductor equipment manufacturer Applied Materials, said in an address.
■ Say please? The best way to talk to an AI (BBC)
■ This is the worst thing that could happen to the International Space Station (Wired)
■ Defence and AI spending sends global debt to record $348tn (FT)
Also in the letter:
■ OpenAI's new Indian exec
■ Sauce VC bets big
■ India's tech gap
Billdesk to acquire Worldline's India operations; deal values business at $70 million
Billdesk will acquire Worldline’s India merchant payments business for $70 million, the French payment company announced today, marking another consolidation move in the domestic fintech market.
Driving the news:
- The deal pushes Billdesk, one of India’s largest bill payment processors, deeper into merchant acquiring.
- Closing is expected in the second half of the current year.
Twist in the tale: Billdesk itself was set to be acquired by Prosus-owned PayU in a $4.7 billion transaction in 2021. The agreement collapsed in 2022 after PayU withdrew despite receiving regulatory approvals.
Zooming out: Worldline had built scale in payments through acquisitions, including Ingenico. Margin pressure in global payments has since prompted it to exit non-core assets.
- Worldline will continue offering its software stack to Billdesk after closing.
- Its India-based global capability centres will remain operational, supporting Western European markets.
Also Read: Payments processor Stripe expresses interest in PayPal
Edtech firm Upgrad acquires skilling firm Internshala
Ronnie Screwvala-led Upgrad has acquired a 90% stake in internship and job-search platform Internshala through a stock transaction. Financial terms were not disclosed, though people familiar with the matter said the deal valued Internshala at around Rs 100 crore.
Acquiring new users: The acquisition gives Upgrad access to Internshala’s internship and job listings, while opening up the platform to a wider pool of students from Upgrad's network.
Broaden its offerings: Gurgaon-based Internshala will continue to operate as an independent brand under founder and chief executive Sarvesh Agrawal. The company plans to tap Upgrad’s scale and technology infrastructure to expand its user base and services.
M&A plans: Upgrad has been evaluating multiple acquisition opportunities.
- It previously submitted an expression of interest to bid for Think & Learn, the insolvent parent of edtech firm Byju's, covering assets such as K-12 vertical Great Learning and coaching centre operator Aakash Educational Services.
- More recently, talks with test prep startup Unacademy were also explored, but did not progress over valuation differences.
Experts see opening for IT in Anthropic's big COBOL code jolt
IBM shares steadied after a sharp fall, as IT experts argued that Anthropic's advances in handling COBOL code may expand the market rather than shrink it.
Why the claim? COBOL systems have evolved over five decades into tightly-women ‘spaghetti’ architectures that do not lend themselves to plug-and-play automation.
Even if the cost per line of code falls, the broader task of untangling, rewriting, and validating these systems could increase demand.
- Industry estimates suggest rewriting legacy COBOL could unlock a $1.6 trillion opportunity.
- Ravi Vasantraj, Global Delivery head at Mphasis, put the broader technical debt closer to $3 trillion, with 60% tied to mainframes.
- “Even if you were to convert 10% of it, you are talking about $300 billion,” he said.
Background: On Monday, Anthropic said its Claude model can read and update COBOL, wiping nearly $30 billion off IBM’s market value. COBOL still powers ATM networks and key banking, airline and government systems.
Also Read: India not behind in AI race, must focus on deployment: IBM CEO Arvind Krishna
What else? Vasantra noted that COBOL rarely runs in isolation. It sits within layered systems built over decades, including regulatory patches and regional customisations.
He added that AI tools cannot be left to operate unattended in sensitive domains such as credit card billing. “The consequence of getting it wrong is very high,” he said.
Also Read: ETtech Explainer: Decoding Anthropic’s Claude Code update that triggered IBM selloff
OpenAI names Indian-origin executive Arvind KC as chief people officer
OpenAI has appointed Arvind KC as its new chief people officer, strengthening its leadership bench as the company scales operations.
Tell me more: Arvind will oversee hiring, onboarding, employee development and performance management across the organisation. He succeeds Julia Villagra, who stepped down in August 2025, less than six months after joining.
He joins a growing group of Indian-origin leaders at OpenAI, including Vijaye Raji, chief technology officer for applications, and Srinivas Narayanan, vice president of engineering.
Indian execs in the Valley: Indian-origin executives continue to occupy senior roles across major US technology firms.
- Uber: Balaji Krishnamurthy - chief financial officer (CFO); Praveen Naga - chief technology officer (CTO); Sachin Kansal - chief product officer (CPO)
- Anthropic: Rahul Patil - CTO
- Tesla: Vaibhav Taneja - CFO and chief accounting officer
- Apple: Sabih Khan - chief operating officer (COO)
Beyond Indian-origin CEOs at firms such as Alphabet, Microsoft and Adobe, companies are increasingly tapping senior executives from India for top operational and technical roles.
Sauce VC logs final close of Rs 750-crore opportunities fund
Consumer-focused investor Sauce VC has closed a Rs 700–750 crore opportunities fund to double down on its highest-conviction portfolio bets, its founder and managing partner Manu Chandra told us.
Where it's going: The capital will back four to five breakout brands, including Hocco, The Whole Truth, Mokobara, Innovist, XYXX and Supertails, with cheque sizes going up to Rs 250 crore. More than half the fund is already committed.
Strategy shift: This is Sauce's second opportunities vehicle, giving it firepower to support companies from seed to IPO while keeping its early-stage funds tightly sized.
Global LP mix: For the first time, a majority of capital has come from overseas institutions across the US, Europe, the Middle East and Asia.
Track record: Partial exits from The Whole Truth, Mokobara and XYXX have already returned 3.5-times of Sauce’s first Rs 60-crore fund, reinforcing investor appetite for new-age consumer brands.
MeltPlan raises $10 million
Construction technology startup MeltPlan has secured $10 million in fresh funding, led by Bessemer Venture Partners, with backing from Europe-based venture capital firm Noa.
Tell me more: The company will use the funds to improve its technology, strengthen its vertical AI stack and expand its team. Founded in 2025 by Hasija and Tanmaya Kala, MeltPlan has now raised $14 million in total funding.
The team currently has 14 employees, mostly based in India, and plans to grow to 30. Simply put, the startup develops an AI system that helps optimise decision-making before construction work begins.
Wootzwork secures $6.6 million
Industrial manufacturing solutions company Wootzwork has secured $6.6 million in new funding, led by Z47.
Deal details:
- The round also saw participation from Nexus Venture Partners, AdvantEdge Founders and Stride Ventures.
- The firm will use the fresh funds to grow its global engineering and programme management teams, support major OEM (original equipment manufacturer) programmes, and strengthen its manufacturing control and governance systems across India and Southeast Asia.
Other Top Stories By Our Reporters
Indian IT holds just 1% of global tech value pools: BCG study | India's technology sector contributes 7% to the national GDP ($300 billion) and commands 17% of global IT services, and yet captures only 1% of high-growth global value pools such as semiconductors, hyperscalers, AI-first firms, and deep tech, a new BCG study said.
Gap in core chip manufacturing, equipment capabilities: Industry executives: While India has traditionally excelled in chip design and application development, top semiconductor equipment makers pointed to a gap in core semiconductor manufacturing and equipment capabilities, Radhika Viswanathan, chief operating officer of semiconductor equipment manufacturer Applied Materials, said in an address.
Global Picks We Are Reading
■ Say please? The best way to talk to an AI (BBC)
■ This is the worst thing that could happen to the International Space Station (Wired)
■ Defence and AI spending sends global debt to record $348tn (FT)
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