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Apple CEO Tim Cook steps down; HCLTech Q4 report
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After 15 years at the helm of Apple, Tim Cook will step down to make way for insider John Ternus. This and more in today's ETtech Top 5.
Also in the letter:
■ Krafton, Mirae Asset launch new fund
■ Harshita Arora on her reluctant VC role
■ Betting sites prank GST dept
Tim Cook will step down as Apple CEO in September after 15 years of running one of the world’s most valuable tech companies. Apple has named long-time hardware chief John Ternus as his successor, setting up its biggest leadership transition since the Steve Jobs era.
The new CEO: Ternus joined Apple in 2001 and has been a quiet, decisive force in shaping its hardware. He helped reignite Mac sales and has been central to Apple’s device roadmap.
Now 50, Ternus most recently fronted the launch of the iPhone Air last autumn, Apple’s most significant iPhone refresh since 2017. He has also been closely involved in the rollout of iPads and AirPods.
What he walks into: Ternus takes charge as Apple faces an industry reset built around AI. He will have to answer Nvidia, which has unveiled its own personal computer, and Meta, whose AR glasses have enjoyed the breakout moment Apple wanted from Vision Pro.
Cook's next chapter: Tim Cook will move into the role of executive chairman. Recruited by Steve Jobs, he first made his mark by building Apple’s vast China-centric supply chain and turning operations into a competitive weapon.
Since Cook became CEO in August 2011, Apple’s stock has risen roughly twentyfold. He also began steering the company away from its heavy dependence on China toward India, where Apple has opened flagship stores and is rapidly deepening its manufacturing base.
Also Read: Apple's post-Cook future hinges on whether Ternus can ignite AI growth
C Vijayakumar, CEO, HCLTech
IT major HCL Technologies on Tuesday reported a 4.2% growth in its consolidated net profit for the March-ended quarter.
The company's board also declared an interim dividend of Rs 24 per equity share for FY27 and has set the record date on April 25, 2026.
Lalit Keshre, CEO, Groww
Shares of Billionbrains Garage Ventures, the parent of online brokerage Groww, jumped as much as 10% to an intraday high of Rs 216 on the BSE on Tuesday.
Groww financials: The rally followed the company’s March quarter results. The Peak XV Partners-backed firm reported operating revenue of Rs 1,505 crore in the March quarter of FY26, up 87% from Rs 801 crore a year earlier.
Source: Google Finance
Esop grant: The company has also issued a fresh lot of 24.32 lakh employee stock options (Esops) on April 20, according to a stock exchange filing.
Commerce minister Piyush Goyal with executives from Krafton, Mirae Asset and Naver Corporation
South Korean companies Krafton, Naver Corporation and Mirae Asset have launched the Rs 6,000 crore Unicorn Growth Fund to back high-growth Indian startups.
The launch coincided with South Korean President Lee Jae Myung’s visit to India and a broader push to deepen business ties between the two countries.
Details:
(L-R) Pravin Jadhav, founder, Raise Financial, Gaurav Sangle and Mohit Bhandari, founders, Stratzy
Raise Financial, the parent of trading platform Dhan, has acquired algo-based investing and trading startup Stratzy in a cash-and-stock deal valued at about $5 million to $6 million.
Tell me more: The deal deepens Raise Financial’s capital markets stack. It already runs platforms such as Dhan, Fuzz AI, Upsurge and Filter Coffee.
The company is also in talks to acquire wealthtech startup Infinyte Club for around $10 million.
About Stratzy: Stratzy offers strategy-led investment products built on data models and automated trading logic. The startup has a 20-member team across engineering, technology, algo development, product, design and analytics, all of whom will move to Raise Financial.
Also Read: AI platform NudgeBee raises $3 million in funding from Kalaari Capital
Harshita Arora, general partner, Y Combinator
At 24, Saharanpur-born Harshita Arora is now the youngest general partner at Y Combinator, even though she never set out to become a venture capitalist.
“I never actually wanted to be a VC…I thought I would try it for one batch,” she said, adding that her stint as a visiting partner gradually pulled her into the role.
From founder to YC: A school dropout and self-taught coder, Arora built a crypto portfolio tracking app that went viral and became the second most popular finance app in the US and Canada in January 2016. She later cofounded trucking fintech startup AtoB, which scaled to more than 30,000 fleets in the US before she stepped back from the company in 2024.
What changed: Working closely with founders across YC batches shifted her perspective. “By the third batch, I was deciding which companies to fund,” she said, pointing to YC’s founder-led, high-intensity model.
Bigger picture: While many founders are relocating to the US to plug into the AI ecosystem, those building for India are more often staying back, helped by deeper domestic capital pools and clearer IPO paths at home.
Illegal online betting operators have allegedly used the Ahmedabad GST portal domain to create fake pages that redirect users to their gambling sites.
How it happened: The pages were not hacks of the official website. Operators appear to have exploited a loophole to boost SEO and borrow the portal’s legitimacy.
They used the domain cgst.ahmedabadzone.gov.in to spin up additional fake pages, complete with sub-links that sent users to their own platforms.
The gaming world found the irony hard to miss as these faceless operators, banned in the country, barred from accepting money from local players, and often blocked by authorities, pulled off a prank using the name of a government GST portal.
Tech lapse: “The incident highlights a security lapse on the part of the GST Department in the maintenance and upkeep of its website. A thorough investigation and audit should be carried out to ensure such instances do not recur,” said technology and gaming lawyer Jay Sayta.
Also Read: ETtech In-depth: Banned in India, but it’s business as usual for offshore real money gaming firms
Also in the letter:
■ Krafton, Mirae Asset launch new fund
■ Harshita Arora on her reluctant VC role
■ Betting sites prank GST dept
Apple's Tim Cook to step down as CEO in September
(L-R) Tim Cook, former CEO, AppleTim Cook will step down as Apple CEO in September after 15 years of running one of the world’s most valuable tech companies. Apple has named long-time hardware chief John Ternus as his successor, setting up its biggest leadership transition since the Steve Jobs era.
The new CEO: Ternus joined Apple in 2001 and has been a quiet, decisive force in shaping its hardware. He helped reignite Mac sales and has been central to Apple’s device roadmap.
Now 50, Ternus most recently fronted the launch of the iPhone Air last autumn, Apple’s most significant iPhone refresh since 2017. He has also been closely involved in the rollout of iPads and AirPods.
What he walks into: Ternus takes charge as Apple faces an industry reset built around AI. He will have to answer Nvidia, which has unveiled its own personal computer, and Meta, whose AR glasses have enjoyed the breakout moment Apple wanted from Vision Pro.
Cook's next chapter: Tim Cook will move into the role of executive chairman. Recruited by Steve Jobs, he first made his mark by building Apple’s vast China-centric supply chain and turning operations into a competitive weapon.
Since Cook became CEO in August 2011, Apple’s stock has risen roughly twentyfold. He also began steering the company away from its heavy dependence on China toward India, where Apple has opened flagship stores and is rapidly deepening its manufacturing base.
Also Read: Apple's post-Cook future hinges on whether Ternus can ignite AI growth
HCLTech Q4 Results: Revenue rises 12%; Rs 24 per share dividend declared
IT major HCL Technologies on Tuesday reported a 4.2% growth in its consolidated net profit for the March-ended quarter.
- Net profit: Rose 4.2% to Rs 4,488 crore versus Rs 4,307 crore in the year-ago period.
- Revenue from operations: Up 12% to Rs 33,981 crore against Rs 30,246 crore posted a year earlier.
- Total Contract Value (TCV): FY26: $9.3 billion, Q4FY26: $1.94 billion
The company's board also declared an interim dividend of Rs 24 per equity share for FY27 and has set the record date on April 25, 2026.
Groww shares jump 10% after Q4 net profit soars 122%
Shares of Billionbrains Garage Ventures, the parent of online brokerage Groww, jumped as much as 10% to an intraday high of Rs 216 on the BSE on Tuesday.
Groww financials: The rally followed the company’s March quarter results. The Peak XV Partners-backed firm reported operating revenue of Rs 1,505 crore in the March quarter of FY26, up 87% from Rs 801 crore a year earlier.
Esop grant: The company has also issued a fresh lot of 24.32 lakh employee stock options (Esops) on April 20, according to a stock exchange filing.
- Each option can be converted into one fully paid-up equity share with a face value of Rs 2.
- At the current share price of about Rs 212 as of 2:50 pm today, the Esops are valued at roughly Rs 51 crore.
South Korea's Krafton, Naver, Mirae Asset launch Rs 6,000-crore India-focused fund
South Korean companies Krafton, Naver Corporation and Mirae Asset have launched the Rs 6,000 crore Unicorn Growth Fund to back high-growth Indian startups.
The launch coincided with South Korean President Lee Jae Myung’s visit to India and a broader push to deepen business ties between the two countries.
Details:
- Mirae Asset Venture India will manage the fund.
- The fund will focus on consumer internet, digital marketplaces, digitally native brands, generative and applied AI, developer tools and deeptech.
- Krafton will initially commit Rs 1,230 crore to the fund.
- The fund is expected to start with more than Rs 3,000 crore and scale to Rs 6,000 crore over time.
Dhan parent Raise Financial acquires algo-trading startup Stratzy
Raise Financial, the parent of trading platform Dhan, has acquired algo-based investing and trading startup Stratzy in a cash-and-stock deal valued at about $5 million to $6 million.
Tell me more: The deal deepens Raise Financial’s capital markets stack. It already runs platforms such as Dhan, Fuzz AI, Upsurge and Filter Coffee.
The company is also in talks to acquire wealthtech startup Infinyte Club for around $10 million.
About Stratzy: Stratzy offers strategy-led investment products built on data models and automated trading logic. The startup has a 20-member team across engineering, technology, algo development, product, design and analytics, all of whom will move to Raise Financial.
Also Read: AI platform NudgeBee raises $3 million in funding from Kalaari Capital
I never wanted to be a VC: Harshita Arora on why she joined YC as its youngest general partner
At 24, Saharanpur-born Harshita Arora is now the youngest general partner at Y Combinator, even though she never set out to become a venture capitalist.
“I never actually wanted to be a VC…I thought I would try it for one batch,” she said, adding that her stint as a visiting partner gradually pulled her into the role.
From founder to YC: A school dropout and self-taught coder, Arora built a crypto portfolio tracking app that went viral and became the second most popular finance app in the US and Canada in January 2016. She later cofounded trucking fintech startup AtoB, which scaled to more than 30,000 fleets in the US before she stepped back from the company in 2024.
What changed: Working closely with founders across YC batches shifted her perspective. “By the third batch, I was deciding which companies to fund,” she said, pointing to YC’s founder-led, high-intensity model.
Bigger picture: While many founders are relocating to the US to plug into the AI ecosystem, those building for India are more often staying back, helped by deeper domestic capital pools and clearer IPO paths at home.
Foreign betting sites pull a prank on taxman
Illegal online betting operators have allegedly used the Ahmedabad GST portal domain to create fake pages that redirect users to their gambling sites.
How it happened: The pages were not hacks of the official website. Operators appear to have exploited a loophole to boost SEO and borrow the portal’s legitimacy.
They used the domain cgst.ahmedabadzone.gov.in to spin up additional fake pages, complete with sub-links that sent users to their own platforms.
The gaming world found the irony hard to miss as these faceless operators, banned in the country, barred from accepting money from local players, and often blocked by authorities, pulled off a prank using the name of a government GST portal.
Tech lapse: “The incident highlights a security lapse on the part of the GST Department in the maintenance and upkeep of its website. A thorough investigation and audit should be carried out to ensure such instances do not recur,” said technology and gaming lawyer Jay Sayta.
Also Read: ETtech In-depth: Banned in India, but it’s business as usual for offshore real money gaming firms
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