CarDekho joins IPO queue; Tech’s quiet job cuts

Happy Thursday! CarDekho is finally hitting the accelerator on its long-planned IPO. This and more in today’s ETtech Morning Dispatch.

Also in the letter:
■ PayU CEO on growth roadmap
■ Zostel on Oyo’s IPO filings
■ Is Swiggy now Indian-owned?

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CarDekho parent Girnar Software is gearing up to file draft papers for an initial public offering (IPO) in the July-September quarter, aiming to raise up to Rs 3,000 crore.

Driving the news: The Jaipur-based auto-tech firm is seeking a valuation of around Rs 13,000 crore – well above its last private valuation of Rs 9,000 crore – as it returns to the public markets after putting listing plans on hold earlier.

What’s on the table:

• The issue will be largely an offer for sale by existing investors, with a fresh issue of about Rs 300 crore.
• Peak XV Partners, Hillhouse Investment and Google’s CapitalG are among those expected to sell shares.
• The IPO will bundle CarDekho’s core classifieds marketplace, financing arm Rupyy, and the mobility business.
• InsuranceDekho, now merging with RenewBuy, is expected to sit on the books as an associate investment and is preparing for a separate listing.

Profitability pitch: CarDekho is foregrounding cash generation and profitability in its pitch to investors.

• In FY25, group operating revenue rose 24% to Rs 2,795 crore, while losses narrowed to Rs 266 crore.
• The standalone business remained profitable for the second straight year, with revenue crossing Rs 1,000 crore.
• As of March 2025, the group had net cash reserves of Rs 1,177 crore.

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India’s tech and software services sector could shed up to 35,000 jobs this year as companies chase higher productivity in an intensely competitive market, according to experts.

Number-wise:

• Through May, 10,000-15,000 tech workers have lost jobs via “silent” layoffs, TeamLease says.
• It expects total cuts this year at around 25,000-35,000 roles.
• CIEL HR Services puts 2026 layoffs so far at about 12,000 and forecasts 18,000-21,000 for the full year.
• Taken together, tech job losses across 2025-26 could reach as many as 43,000.

Double click: TeamLease says 2025 was about unwinding over-hiring. This year is more about redesigning the workforce itself.

Unlike downturns, the latest cuts are less about weak demand and more about AI-driven productivity gains, skill mismatches, and organisational simplification.

Experts predict future reductions to be more surgical: targeting redundant roles, overlapping functions, and bloated management layers rather than sweeping headcount cuts.

Also Read: Jobless growth in IT: Revenue grows, headcount stagnates

Expert take: “The AI era is breaking the old workforce equation in IT and consulting,” Satish Vishwanathan, former managing director at Accenture, said. “This does not mean people are irrelevant; it means that the basis of workforce value is being redefined," he told us, adding the new workforce strategy is shifting more towards “cognitive leverage” than “labour scale”.

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Digital payments firm PayU is aiming for 25% growth in both total payment value (TPV) and lending assets under management (AUM) over the next 12-18 months, while targeting net profitability across its fintech operations, CEO Anirban Mukherjee told us.

Financial upswing:

• In 2025-26, the fintech reported total revenue of Rs 6,700 crore and Ebitda of Rs 249 crore, a sharp turnaround from a negative Ebitda the previous year.
• TPV processed is about $90 billion.
• Gross margins improved by about 700 basis points as PayU exited low‑margin payment lines and cut open‑market sourcing for its lending arm, PayU Finance.
• Lending AUM is about Rs 6,000 crore.

Growth levers: “We are focusing on building both merchant and consumer credit through embedded finance models, or ecosystem credit as it is called in industry parlance, by offering such products through the digital ecommerce ecosystem only,” Mukherjee said.

Yes, and: Parent Prosus recently said that PayU’s India business had turned profitable as it exited some operations. Mukherjee added that PayU moved out of certain payment businesses that were not delivering strong margins, without sharing specifics.

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Zostel Hospitality has urged the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) to review disclosures in Oyo parent Prism's updated draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) in light of their long-running legal dispute.

What's the issue? In a July 7 representation to Sebi, Zostel said Prism's updated DRHP does not adequately spell out the background, nature or commercial significance of its dispute with Oyo, which stems from the hotel chain's proposed acquisition of Zo Rooms in 2015.

Zostel has also written to the NSE, BSE and the book-running lead managers, asking them to independently vet the disclosures and withhold the IPO until they are convinced the offer document meets disclosure norms.

Background:

• The dispute dates back to 2015, when Oyo, then operating as Oravel Stays, proposed acquiring Zostel's business. The deal never closed.
• Zostel claims it is owed about 7% equity in Oyo, or an equivalent economic value. Oyo disputes this.
• The Supreme Court dismissed Zostel's challenge last year, but the company says the matter remains pending before the Delhi High Court under Section 37 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act.

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Is Swiggy now Indian-owned? On Tuesday, Swiggy informed the exchanges that its aggregate foreign ownership has fallen below the 50% mark as of July 6 — a significant step toward become an Indian-owned and controlled company (IOCC). But the tag is still elusive.

Dream Sports CTO steps down: Dream Sports chief technology officer Amit Sharma is stepping down after nearly a decade with the company to launch an AI venture.

Elevate Education raises funds: Higher ed-focused startup Elevate Education, formerly known as Sunstone, has raised Rs 170 crore in a new funding round from WestBridge Capital, as it looks to expand campus partnerships and its technology platform.

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