Restaurants step up food safety; UpGrad seals Unacademy deal

Happy Wednesday! India’s food safety crackdown is forcing restaurants to clean up their kitchens and supply chains. This and more in today’s ETech Morning Dispatch.

Also in the letter:
■ Byju Raveendran’s Aakash offer
■ Whatfix’s founder passes away
■ Ultrahuman bags fresh funds

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Restaurants tighten supply chains, hygiene standards amid crackdown

India’s food safety scrutiny is prompting restaurants and food delivery platforms to strengthen checks on ingredients, suppliers, hygiene and staff training to avoid regulatory action and damage to their reputation.

What’s happening? Large quick-service restaurant (QSR) chains and fine-dining outlets are asking suppliers to tighten quality checks for products such as paneer, buns, ketchup, patties, meat and fresh produce, a senior executive at an FMCG supplier to major QSR players said.

Zomato, India’s largest food delivery platform, has also warned restaurant partners of strict action, including delisting, if they are found using analogue paneer, amid growing scrutiny of food safety and adulteration.

Tell me more: Recent surprise inspections by food safety officials in Maharashtra and elsewhere, followed by action against several major outlets, are changing how restaurants manage their suppliers and kitchens.

“FSSAI (Food Safety and Standards Authority of India) standards have to be built into daily operations, not treated as an inspection-day exercise,” he said. “In food, trust is ultimately built behind the kitchen door,” said the founder of a prominent gourmet restaurant chain.

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UpGrad completes Unacademy acquisition for over $200 million

Ronnie Screwvala, founder, UpGrad and Gaurav Munjal, founder, Unacademy

Ronnie Screwvala-led UpGrad has completed its acquisition of the edtech company Unacademy for “just over $200 million”, CEO Gaurav Munjal said on Tuesday.

On July 28, ET had reported that the final value had been fixed at Rs 1,955 crore and that Unacademy investors would receive one seat on UpGrad’s board.

The numbers:

• Unacademy’s final value was over 90% below its peak valuation.
• The acquisition is a 100% share-swap transaction. Per this, Unacademy’s investors will receive UpGrad shares.
• Munjal noted that Unacademy has a topline of Rs 400 crore and Rs 900 crore in the bank.
• He added that most of its businesses were either profitable or close to profitability.

Yes, and: Munjal noted that Unacademy became a unicorn six years before the deal closed. “We raised at a peak, but sold at a fraction of that. I’m not going to dress these facts up.”

“I think there are some incredible strengths that Unacademy brings to upGrad: the savviness, the product & tech first thinking, the ability to look at a completely different target audience, the brand, and the resilience of the team that created this,” Screwvala said in a post on X.

Also Read: InsuranceDekho, RenewBuy consolidate to create platform with Rs 6,600 crore premium book

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Byju Raveendran proposes Aakash share deal to settle Qatar Holding’s claim

Byju Raveendran has proposed giving up his claimed beneficial interest in 17.89 million Aakash Educational Services shares to settle Qatar Holding’s more than $235-million arbitration claim.

The shares were acquired using $150 million financing from the Qatar Investment Authority entity in 2022.

The proposal:

• The shares are held through Singapore-based Beeaar Investco and currently represent about 5.7% of Aakash, according to company filings.
• The precise structure of the proposed settlement and the value assigned to the shares could not be ascertained.
• A person familiar with Qatar Holding’s position said it will continue pursuing repayment of the debt and enforcement of the arbitral award.

The dispute:

• Raveendran personally guaranteed Qatar Holding’s financing to Byju’s Investments. Qatar later alleged defaults and breaches, including the transfer of the Aakash shares to Beeaar.
• A Singapore arbitration tribunal last year awarded Qatar more than $235 million plus interest; another award in July directed payment of SGD 7.2 million in costs.
• The Karnataka High Court has provisionally attached Raveendran’s claimed beneficial interest in the shares, while related enforcement proceedings continue.

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Other Top Stories By Our Reporters

Khadim Batti, cofounder and CEO, Whatfix

Whatfix CEO Khadim Batti passes away: Khadim Batti, cofounder and chief executive of enterprise software startup Whatfix, passed away on Tuesday following a cardiac arrest, the company said in a statement.

Ultrahuman raises $60 million: Smart-ring maker Ultrahuman has raised about $60 million (Rs 583 crore) in a round led by Qualcomm Ventures, filings with the Registrar of Companies (RoC) showed.

UPI transaction volumes hit record high in August: India's Unified Payments Interface (UPI) processed a record 24.51 billion transactions worth Rs 29.82 lakh crore in August, as smaller-ticket payments continued to drive growth.

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Global Picks We Are Reading

■ If space data centers feel far-fetched, why not interstellar travel? (TechCrunch)

■ You know who really hates AI? Insurance claims adjusters (Wired)

■ AI safety is designed in the West, and failing users everywhere (Rest of World)