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OpenAI taps JioStar exec; Jio's pre-IPO moves
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JioStar top executive Kiran Mani has resigned from his role and will join OpenAI to lead its Asia Pacific operations. This and more in today's ETtech Top 5.
Also in the letter:
■ ETtech Done Deals
■ Adani's data centre push
■ India's hiring outlook
Kiran Mani, CEO-Digital, JioStar
Kiran Mani has resigned as CEO–Digital at JioStar and will join OpenAI as managing director for Asia Pacific in June, sources told us.
Driving the news: Based in Singapore, Mani will report to chief strategy officer Jason Kwon and will shape OpenAI’s playbook across a region where AI adoption is exploding.
OpenAI is scaling quickly in the region.
Also Read: OpenAI plans new offices in Mumbai and Bengaluru
JioHotstar's loss: Mani was the architect of JioStar’s digital pivot in sports and entertainment, including the 2025 merger of Disney+ Hotstar and JioCinema into JioHotstar. He previously held roles at Microsoft and IBM, and has entrepreneurial experience founding and scaling a technology startup.
Sam Altman, CEO, OpenAI
OpenAI has discontinued its AI video tool Sora and effectively scrapped a three-year, $1 billion partnership with Disney, Reuters reported.
Background: Under the now-abandoned deal, Disney was set to invest in OpenAI and licence 200+ of its characters for AI-generated video.
Mukesh Ambani, chairman, Reliance Industries
Billionaire Mukesh Ambani's Jio Platforms is in talks with global investors for small secondary share sales before filing its initial public offering (IPO) papers, which could come as early as this week, per Reuters.
What's happening?
IPO details:
Banks involved: Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Citigroup, JPMorgan, HSBC, Kotak Mahindra Capital, Axis Capital, JM Financial, and SBI Capital Markets.
Jio raised over $20.5 billion from global investors in 2020.
(L- R) Srikrishnan Ganesan, Vignesh Girishankar and Deepak Bala, cofounders, Rocketlane
Rocketlane has raised $60 million (about Rs 500 crore) from Insight Partners, taking its total funding to $105 million.
Fund use: CEO Srikrishnan Ganesan said the round will power the growth of Rocketlane’s core PSA platform and its new AI product, Nitro. Nitro aims to embed AI into professional services workflows from onboarding to project delivery.
Tell me more: The company raised $24 million in 2024 from 8VC, Matrix Partners India (now Z47), and Nexus Venture Partners. Ganesan said revenue has more than doubled in the past year, while the average deal size has grown to 4.5x versus 2023.
Quote, unquote: “The strongest traction is coming from software companies, particularly their internal implementation and professional services teams that deploy products for customers. This includes AI-native companies like Glean, Vercel, Intercom, and Notion,” Ganesan said.
Varun Khanna, CEO, Fullife Healthcare
Nutrition startup Fullife Healthcare has raised Rs 300 crore from Elev8 Venture Partners.
Fund use: The company plans to enter new segments, including digestive health, sleep support, and protein nutrition. It will also scale existing lines across hydration, metabolic health and beauty products.
(L-R) Chirag Chhajer & Ankit Gupta, cofounders, Burma Burma
Vegetarian restaurant chain Burma Burma has topped up its funding, raising about Rs 38 crore ($4 million) from existing investor Negen Capital and new backers Endurance Capital and Coheron Wealth.
The company will use the capital to enter new cities and deepen its presence in existing markets. Burma Burma currently runs 21 outlets across major Indian cities, including Delhi NCR, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Kolkata.
Gautam Adani, chariman, Adani Group
The Adani Group is in early talks with global technology companies, including Meta and Google, to back its data centre expansion, Bloomberg reported.
What's the matter?
What else?
Mark Zuckerberg, CEO, Meta
Meta Platforms has hiked compensation for senior leaders and, for the first time, added stock options to their packages.
Its goal? Retain core leadership align them with long-term AI and infrastructure bets. The move comes as Meta jostles with OpenAI, Google, nd others for senior AI and infra leadership.
Who’s covered:
Show me the money: All executives except McCormick and Mahoney, who joined in January, will also receive higher restricted stock awards, totalling $170 million at the last close, which vest quarterly.
Also Read: China bars Manus cofounders from leaving country as it reviews sale to Meta: Report
India's workforce is expected to grow by 4.7% in the first half of FY27, mainly driven by hiring in ecommerce, tech startups, healthcare, pharmaceuticals and manufacturing, according to a report by TeamLease Staffing.
Leading sectors: Ecommerce and tech startups are set to see the highest growth, with a net employment change (NEC) of 8.9%. Healthcare and pharmaceuticals follow at 7%, while manufacturing, engineering and infrastructure are projected to grow by 6.6%, the report said.
Also in the letter:
■ ETtech Done Deals
■ Adani's data centre push
■ India's hiring outlook
Kiran Mani to lead OpenAI's Asia Pacific push, exits JioStar
Kiran Mani has resigned as CEO–Digital at JioStar and will join OpenAI as managing director for Asia Pacific in June, sources told us.
Driving the news: Based in Singapore, Mani will report to chief strategy officer Jason Kwon and will shape OpenAI’s playbook across a region where AI adoption is exploding.
OpenAI is scaling quickly in the region.
- India is already ChatGPT's second-largest market by weekly users.
- Japan leads enterprise adoption outside the US.
- Developer-facing tools like Codex are seeing strong traction in India.
- Since 2024, OpenAI has opened offices in Tokyo, Singapore, Australia, Korea, and India.
Also Read: OpenAI plans new offices in Mumbai and Bengaluru
JioHotstar's loss: Mani was the architect of JioStar’s digital pivot in sports and entertainment, including the 2025 merger of Disney+ Hotstar and JioCinema into JioHotstar. He previously held roles at Microsoft and IBM, and has entrepreneurial experience founding and scaling a technology startup.
OpenAI drops AI video tool Sora, startling Disney, sources say
OpenAI has discontinued its AI video tool Sora and effectively scrapped a three-year, $1 billion partnership with Disney, Reuters reported.
Background: Under the now-abandoned deal, Disney was set to invest in OpenAI and licence 200+ of its characters for AI-generated video.
Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Jio in talks to offload individual investor stakes by 8% in upcoming IPO: Report
Billionaire Mukesh Ambani's Jio Platforms is in talks with global investors for small secondary share sales before filing its initial public offering (IPO) papers, which could come as early as this week, per Reuters.
What's happening?
- Around 13 foreign investors are exploring selling about 8% of their holdings each.
- Backers in the mix include Meta (9.99% stake), Google (7.73%), Vista Equity Partners, KKR, and Gulf sovereign funds such as the Public Investment Fund, Mubadala, and the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority.
IPO details:
- The offering is expected to be an offering for sale (with no fresh capital raised by the company).
- Total stake sale is pegged at around 2.5%–3% of Jio’s equity.
- Valuation chatter is around $180 billion, with IPO size potentially touching $4 billion.
- Jio and its bankers are said to be fine-tuning the pricing to leave upside on the table for retail investors.
Banks involved: Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Citigroup, JPMorgan, HSBC, Kotak Mahindra Capital, Axis Capital, JM Financial, and SBI Capital Markets.
Jio raised over $20.5 billion from global investors in 2020.
SaaS startup Rocketlane raises $60 million from Insight Partners for AI push
Rocketlane has raised $60 million (about Rs 500 crore) from Insight Partners, taking its total funding to $105 million.
Fund use: CEO Srikrishnan Ganesan said the round will power the growth of Rocketlane’s core PSA platform and its new AI product, Nitro. Nitro aims to embed AI into professional services workflows from onboarding to project delivery.
Tell me more: The company raised $24 million in 2024 from 8VC, Matrix Partners India (now Z47), and Nexus Venture Partners. Ganesan said revenue has more than doubled in the past year, while the average deal size has grown to 4.5x versus 2023.
Quote, unquote: “The strongest traction is coming from software companies, particularly their internal implementation and professional services teams that deploy products for customers. This includes AI-native companies like Glean, Vercel, Intercom, and Notion,” Ganesan said.
Fullife Healthcare raises Rs 300 crore from Elev8 Venture Partners
Nutrition startup Fullife Healthcare has raised Rs 300 crore from Elev8 Venture Partners.
Fund use: The company plans to enter new segments, including digestive health, sleep support, and protein nutrition. It will also scale existing lines across hydration, metabolic health and beauty products.
Burma Burma raises Rs 38 crore; valuation hits Rs 500 crore
Vegetarian restaurant chain Burma Burma has topped up its funding, raising about Rs 38 crore ($4 million) from existing investor Negen Capital and new backers Endurance Capital and Coheron Wealth.
The company will use the capital to enter new cities and deepen its presence in existing markets. Burma Burma currently runs 21 outlets across major Indian cities, including Delhi NCR, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Kolkata.
Adani eyes partnerships with Meta, Google amid data centre boom
The Adani Group is in early talks with global technology companies, including Meta and Google, to back its data centre expansion, Bloomberg reported.
What's the matter?
- Adani plans a $100 billion push into digital infrastructure, offering both land and renewable power for hyperscaler data centres.
- These facilities are critical for AI training, inference, and cloud workloads.
What else?
- Walmart-owned Flipkart is also in talks with the Adani Group.
- Adani is evaluating sites across India, though no locations have been finalised.
- Alphabet has said it has no new investments to announce for now.
Meta grants senior executives stock awards to retain talent
Meta Platforms has hiked compensation for senior leaders and, for the first time, added stock options to their packages.
Its goal? Retain core leadership align them with long-term AI and infrastructure bets. The move comes as Meta jostles with OpenAI, Google, nd others for senior AI and infra leadership.
Who’s covered:
- Susan Li (Chief Financial Officer)
- Andrew Bosworth (Chief Technology Officer)
- Chris Cos (Chief Product Officer)
- Javier Olivan (Chief Operating Officer)
- Dina Powell McCormick (President)
- Curtis Mahoney (Chief Legal Officer)
Show me the money: All executives except McCormick and Mahoney, who joined in January, will also receive higher restricted stock awards, totalling $170 million at the last close, which vest quarterly.
Also Read: China bars Manus cofounders from leaving country as it reviews sale to Meta: Report
Hiring to rise 4.7% in H1 FY27, led by ecommerce, tech startups
India's workforce is expected to grow by 4.7% in the first half of FY27, mainly driven by hiring in ecommerce, tech startups, healthcare, pharmaceuticals and manufacturing, according to a report by TeamLease Staffing.
Leading sectors: Ecommerce and tech startups are set to see the highest growth, with a net employment change (NEC) of 8.9%. Healthcare and pharmaceuticals follow at 7%, while manufacturing, engineering and infrastructure are projected to grow by 6.6%, the report said.
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