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Meta apologises over lapses; Ola Electric shares surge
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Meta apologised for lapses on its platforms during a meeting with IT Secretary S Krishnan. This and more in today's ETtech Top 5.
Also in the letter:
■ PB Fintech's profit jump
■ OfBusiness eyes IPO revival
■ GCCs outpace IT hiring
Joel Kaplan, chief global affairs officer and Mark Zuckerberg, CEO, Meta
Meta's chief global affairs officer Joel Kaplan met information technology (IT) secretary S Krishnan on Wednesday to discuss the removal of prime minister Narendra Modi's Facebook post.
What happened? Sources told us that Kaplan conveyed Meta chief executive Mark Zuckerberg's apology for the presence of Child Sexual Exploitative and Abuse Material (CSEAM), deepfakes, and operational lapses on Facebook.
According to sources, Meta also admitted that significant amounts were spent to promote certain types of content on the platform.
Govt stance: Officials told Meta that it cannot claim protection as an "intermediary" because its algorithms decide which content is shown to users. They said the platform, therefore, cannot rely on the safe harbour provisions under the IT Act.
Yes, and? The meeting took place just as the Bombay High Court directed US social media firms to remove abusive and artificial intelligence (AI)-generated content and deepfakes targeting road transport and highways minister Nitin Gadkari. The order came after Gadkari filed a defamation suit against Meta, X Corp, Google LLC, and ‘unknown persons’ over such posts linked to the ethanol policy.
Bhavish Aggarwal, CEO, Ola Electric
Shares of Ola Electric Mobility climbed 7.5% to an intraday high of Rs 41.41 on the BSE after the company announced a battery energy storage partnership.
Why the rally?
Ola Electric's shares ended the day 7.4% higher at Rs 41.4 on the BSE.
Also Read: Ola Electric files application to settle Sebi probe over false information allegations
Elevation Capital and Peak XV Partners have sold shares worth Rs 1,949 crore in ecommerce marketplace Meesho through block deals.
Tell me more: Elevation Capital V and Peak XV Partners Investments V together sold 10.48 crore shares, representing nearly a 2.3% stake in the Bengaluru-based company, according to National Stock Exchange (NSE) data.
Meesho's shares fell more than 1% and closed at Rs 188.7 on the BSE.
Also Read: Meesho expects slower Q2 growth, to raise festive marketing spend
Alok Bansal and Yashish Dahiya, founders, PB Fintech
PB Fintech, which runs the insurance marketplace Policybazaar, reported a jump in its operating revenues for the April-June period, driven by higher new insurance premium collections, the mainstay of the group.
Financials:
Quote, unquote: “Q1 is the weakest quarter in the year and Q4 is the biggest. If you are going for efficiency, the first thing you would do is hire nobody in Q1. We hired, at a gross level, 5,000 people in Q1. That explains how much we are trying to reduce costs. We are not holding back in terms of growth,” Yashish Dahiya, cofounder and group CEO of PB Fintech said in the company’s earnings call.
Dennis Woodside, CEO, Freshworks
Software-as-a-service company Freshworks reported a profitable first quarter in fiscal ‘27, supported by continued demand for its enterprise AI products.
The numbers:
Asish Mohapatra, CEO, OfBusiness
Technology supply chain and financing platform OfBusiness is reviving plans for an initial public offering (IPO) that could raise up to $800 million, according to a report by Bloomberg.
More on this:
The report added that discussions are still underway, and the timing, size and structure of the IPO could change.
Also Read: OfBusiness converts into public limited company
Global capability centres (GCCs) are expected to hire about 200,000 employees in FY27, while information technology (IT) services firms are projected to add 115,000-135,000.
The projections highlight the widening demand gap between the two sectors. Multinational companies are continuing to expand their India GCCs, while IT firms are hiring more cautiously and prioritising specialised roles, rather than broad-based workforce expansion.
Also Read: GCCs now influence up to $55 billion of India's IT services exports: Deloitte
Also in the letter:
■ PB Fintech's profit jump
■ OfBusiness eyes IPO revival
■ GCCs outpace IT hiring
Meta officials meet IT secretary over PM Modi's post removal, apologise for platform lapses
Meta's chief global affairs officer Joel Kaplan met information technology (IT) secretary S Krishnan on Wednesday to discuss the removal of prime minister Narendra Modi's Facebook post.
What happened? Sources told us that Kaplan conveyed Meta chief executive Mark Zuckerberg's apology for the presence of Child Sexual Exploitative and Abuse Material (CSEAM), deepfakes, and operational lapses on Facebook.
According to sources, Meta also admitted that significant amounts were spent to promote certain types of content on the platform.
Govt stance: Officials told Meta that it cannot claim protection as an "intermediary" because its algorithms decide which content is shown to users. They said the platform, therefore, cannot rely on the safe harbour provisions under the IT Act.
Yes, and? The meeting took place just as the Bombay High Court directed US social media firms to remove abusive and artificial intelligence (AI)-generated content and deepfakes targeting road transport and highways minister Nitin Gadkari. The order came after Gadkari filed a defamation suit against Meta, X Corp, Google LLC, and ‘unknown persons’ over such posts linked to the ethanol policy.
Ola Electric shares rally on Axis Energy deal
Shares of Ola Electric Mobility climbed 7.5% to an intraday high of Rs 41.41 on the BSE after the company announced a battery energy storage partnership.
Why the rally?
- The company signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Axis Energy to deploy up to 20 GWh of battery energy storage systems (BESS) by 2032.
- The agreement is the first large-scale partnership for Ola Mahashakti, the company's upcoming energy storage platform for commercial, industrial, and utility applications.
- The platform is scheduled to launch on August 15.
Ola Electric's shares ended the day 7.4% higher at Rs 41.4 on the BSE.
Also Read: Ola Electric files application to settle Sebi probe over false information allegations
Elevation Capital, Peak XV Partners sell 2.3% stake in Meesho; stock falls
Elevation Capital and Peak XV Partners have sold shares worth Rs 1,949 crore in ecommerce marketplace Meesho through block deals.
Tell me more: Elevation Capital V and Peak XV Partners Investments V together sold 10.48 crore shares, representing nearly a 2.3% stake in the Bengaluru-based company, according to National Stock Exchange (NSE) data.
Meesho's shares fell more than 1% and closed at Rs 188.7 on the BSE.
Also Read: Meesho expects slower Q2 growth, to raise festive marketing spend
Policybazaar parent’s profits jump 92% in Q1FY27 driven by operating margins improvement
PB Fintech, which runs the insurance marketplace Policybazaar, reported a jump in its operating revenues for the April-June period, driven by higher new insurance premium collections, the mainstay of the group.
Financials:
- Operating revenue: Up 40% year-on-year (YoY) at Rs 1,888 crore
- Net profit: Up 92% on-year to Rs 163 crore
- Total insurance premium: Rose 41% YoY at Rs 8,372 crore
Quote, unquote: “Q1 is the weakest quarter in the year and Q4 is the biggest. If you are going for efficiency, the first thing you would do is hire nobody in Q1. We hired, at a gross level, 5,000 people in Q1. That explains how much we are trying to reduce costs. We are not holding back in terms of growth,” Yashish Dahiya, cofounder and group CEO of PB Fintech said in the company’s earnings call.
Freshworks turns profitable in Q2, revenue up 16%
Software-as-a-service company Freshworks reported a profitable first quarter in fiscal ‘27, supported by continued demand for its enterprise AI products.
The numbers:
- Revenue: Up 16% year-on-year (YoY) to $237.4 million, compared with $204.7 million a year earlier.
- Operating income: $6.1 million per US generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP), vs a loss of $8.7 million in the year-ago quarter.
- FY27 revenue outlook: Raised to $963.5-$966.5 million, from $958-$964 million earlier.
SoftBank-backed OfBusiness explores IPO revival
Technology supply chain and financing platform OfBusiness is reviving plans for an initial public offering (IPO) that could raise up to $800 million, according to a report by Bloomberg.
- SoftBank-backed OFB Tech Pvt, which operates OfBusiness, is working with Axis Capital, Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan Chase, and Citigroup on the proposed listing.
- The company plans to file its draft prospectus as early as November, the report said.
- OfBusiness had shelved an earlier IPO plan a few years ago due to weak market conditions.
- The revived issue is expected to include a fresh issue of up to $200 million, with the remaining shares to be sold by existing investors.
The report added that discussions are still underway, and the timing, size and structure of the IPO could change.
Also Read: OfBusiness converts into public limited company
GCC net hiring set to hit 200K in FY27 as IT services trail
Global capability centres (GCCs) are expected to hire about 200,000 employees in FY27, while information technology (IT) services firms are projected to add 115,000-135,000.
The projections highlight the widening demand gap between the two sectors. Multinational companies are continuing to expand their India GCCs, while IT firms are hiring more cautiously and prioritising specialised roles, rather than broad-based workforce expansion.
Also Read: GCCs now influence up to $55 billion of India's IT services exports: Deloitte
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