 Morning Dispatch |
Y Combinator exec on Indian founders; FMCGs qcomm cost
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Happy Tuesday! Y Combinator general partner Ankit Gupta said AI is making young Indian founders attractive to investors. This and more in today’s ETtech Morning Dispatch.
Also in the letter:
■ And now, Sarkar AI
■ ETtech Done Deals
■ India’s PCB play
Ankit Gupta, general partner, Y Combinator
The willingness to back Indian founders is stronger than ever, driven by a new generation of young people that is deeply technical and instinctively fluent in artificial intelligence (AI), said Ankit Gupta, general partner at Y Combinator.
Gupta spoke to ET from YC’s landmark office near San Francisco’s Pier 70, its home since relocating from Mountain View in 2023 after 17 years.
On building companies: “There are incredible companies to be built, and I think the best companies are still ahead. I hope many of them are founded by Indians. In fact, I think two of YC's fastest-growing companies of all time are by Indian founders--Emergent is one of them and Giga is another,” he told us.
Democratised tech: With AI tools, tech is more accessible. Those who found themselves excluded before are able to build new things and professional computer scientists and engineers have significant leverage.
“What this means is that experience does not actually carry as much of an advantage as just being an incredibly technical builder, just being someone who can try things out, show it to customers, and get feedback and keep going from there,” Gupta said.
The era of AI: “We have all basically tried to reinvent ourselves to be power users of the tools that everyone is using. YC itself, for what it's worth, has actually a pretty significant in-house software team,” Gupta, who was recently elevated as general partner, said.
Also Read: ET in the Valley: AI will be as essential as electricity in just five years: Vala Afshar
The quick commerce gold-rush for consumer goods companies is losing some of its shine. Higher profitability on rapid delivery platforms is being squeezed as advertising costs spike, industry executives told us.
Driving the news: Profit margins of large fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) companies on quick commerce have fallen to levels comparable to kirana stores and organised retail chains.
What's changed?
What else: Until recently, quick commerce offered the best margins for FMCG players, fuelled mostly by higher sales of premium products, lower distribution costs, and shorter credit cycles. That advantage is now narrowing as advertising becomes table stakes rather than an optional lever.
Quote, unquote: “Quick commerce companies are monetising through advertising. Given the increased investment on quick commerce now, the margins have become comparable with modern trade,” said Mayank Shah, vice president at Parle Products, India’s leading biscuit maker.
The government is turning to AI to improve governance. According to officials, AI is being deployed by an array of ministries across functions.
Taking up AI: Ministries are using AI for functions such as weather forecasting, disease diagnosis and translating court documents, transcribing meetings and simplifying handover notes, officials told us.
Adoption rush: The ministry of electronics and IT’s National Informatics Centre (NIC), the government's primary technology partner, is facing a rush of requests from government departments and agencies for creating AI-based software and integrating AI functionalities into existing public-facing digital systems, ET reported.
Vinod Nahar, founder, PlasmaGen Biosciences
Biopharma company PlasmaGen Biosciences raised Rs 150 crore (approximately $16.7 million) in a recent funding round, valuing it at Rs 1,500 crore.
Tell me more:
Prateek Jindal, founder, PowerUpMoney
Wealthtech startup PowerUp Money has raised $12 million as the sector draws investor attention following the successful public market debuts of Groww and Pine Labs.
Deal details:
India’s PCB play: India's domestic manufacturing of bare printed circuit boards (PCBs) is poised to expand at a compound annual growth rate of 45% through FY29, driven by demand from the electronics industry, government incentives and a shift toward high-value complex PCBs, Avendus Capital said in a report.
Rentomojo doubles net profit in FY25: Furniture and electronics rental startup Rentomojo, which is preparing to go public next year, nearly doubled its net profit to Rs 43 crore in fiscal year 2025 from Rs 22.5 crore a year earlier.
■ Inside Tencent’s deal to use Nvidia’s best AI chips in Japan (FT)
■ The LinkedIn job scam is global. The hook is local (Rest of World)
■ How Elon Musk won his no good, very bad year (Wired)
Also in the letter:
■ And now, Sarkar AI
■ ETtech Done Deals
■ India’s PCB play
Desire to fund Indian founders is higher than ever: YC general partner
The willingness to back Indian founders is stronger than ever, driven by a new generation of young people that is deeply technical and instinctively fluent in artificial intelligence (AI), said Ankit Gupta, general partner at Y Combinator.
Gupta spoke to ET from YC’s landmark office near San Francisco’s Pier 70, its home since relocating from Mountain View in 2023 after 17 years.
On building companies: “There are incredible companies to be built, and I think the best companies are still ahead. I hope many of them are founded by Indians. In fact, I think two of YC's fastest-growing companies of all time are by Indian founders--Emergent is one of them and Giga is another,” he told us.
Democratised tech: With AI tools, tech is more accessible. Those who found themselves excluded before are able to build new things and professional computer scientists and engineers have significant leverage.
“What this means is that experience does not actually carry as much of an advantage as just being an incredibly technical builder, just being someone who can try things out, show it to customers, and get feedback and keep going from there,” Gupta said.
The era of AI: “We have all basically tried to reinvent ourselves to be power users of the tools that everyone is using. YC itself, for what it's worth, has actually a pretty significant in-house software team,” Gupta, who was recently elevated as general partner, said.
Also Read: ET in the Valley: AI will be as essential as electricity in just five years: Vala Afshar
Qcomm gets costlier for FMCG as ad spends erode margins
The quick commerce gold-rush for consumer goods companies is losing some of its shine. Higher profitability on rapid delivery platforms is being squeezed as advertising costs spike, industry executives told us.
Driving the news: Profit margins of large fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) companies on quick commerce have fallen to levels comparable to kirana stores and organised retail chains.
What's changed?
- Platforms are increasingly monetising through advertising, auctioning premium listings and time slots.
- FMCG brands, industry insiders say, are spending heavily on advertising to tap impulse-led buying behaviour typical of quick commerce.
- As a result, marketing costs have doubled during peak demand windows such as 7:30-9:30 am and 5:30-7:30 pm.
What else: Until recently, quick commerce offered the best margins for FMCG players, fuelled mostly by higher sales of premium products, lower distribution costs, and shorter credit cycles. That advantage is now narrowing as advertising becomes table stakes rather than an optional lever.
Quote, unquote: “Quick commerce companies are monetising through advertising. Given the increased investment on quick commerce now, the margins have become comparable with modern trade,” said Mayank Shah, vice president at Parle Products, India’s leading biscuit maker.
India takes baby steps to Sarkar(AI)
The government is turning to AI to improve governance. According to officials, AI is being deployed by an array of ministries across functions.
Taking up AI: Ministries are using AI for functions such as weather forecasting, disease diagnosis and translating court documents, transcribing meetings and simplifying handover notes, officials told us.
- Union minister Jitendra Singh said an AI-based chatbot trained as a climate service advisor to farmers and stakeholders is being developed.
- The Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL), National Mineral Development Corporation (NMDC) and Manganese Ore India Limited (MOIL) are working with process and cost optimisation models.
- Indian Railways has directed the use of AI for handover notes for incoming officers.
Adoption rush: The ministry of electronics and IT’s National Informatics Centre (NIC), the government's primary technology partner, is facing a rush of requests from government departments and agencies for creating AI-based software and integrating AI functionalities into existing public-facing digital systems, ET reported.
Eight Roads-backed PlasmaGen Biosciences raises Rs 150 crore at Rs 1,500 crore valuation
Biopharma company PlasmaGen Biosciences raised Rs 150 crore (approximately $16.7 million) in a recent funding round, valuing it at Rs 1,500 crore.
Tell me more:
- Pharma firm ViNS Bioproducts led the raise.
- Several high-net-worth individuals (HNIs), family offices, pharma entrepreneurs, and existing investors took part in the round.
PowerUp Money bags $12 million from Peak XV Partners, existing investors
Wealthtech startup PowerUp Money has raised $12 million as the sector draws investor attention following the successful public market debuts of Groww and Pine Labs.
Deal details:
- Peak XV Partners led the round with a $7 million investment.
- Existing investors Accel, Blume Ventures and Kae Capital brought the remaining $5 million.
- This is PowerUp’s second fundraise, after a $7 million round in June.
Other Top Stories By Our Reporters
India’s PCB play: India's domestic manufacturing of bare printed circuit boards (PCBs) is poised to expand at a compound annual growth rate of 45% through FY29, driven by demand from the electronics industry, government incentives and a shift toward high-value complex PCBs, Avendus Capital said in a report.
Rentomojo doubles net profit in FY25: Furniture and electronics rental startup Rentomojo, which is preparing to go public next year, nearly doubled its net profit to Rs 43 crore in fiscal year 2025 from Rs 22.5 crore a year earlier.
Global Picks We Are Reading
■ Inside Tencent’s deal to use Nvidia’s best AI chips in Japan (FT)
■ The LinkedIn job scam is global. The hook is local (Rest of World)
■ How Elon Musk won his no good, very bad year (Wired)
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