 Daily Top 5 |
Slice’s big valuation cut; Betting networks under lens
Want this newsletter delivered to your inbox?
I agree to receive newsletters and marketing communications via e-mail
Thank you for subscribing to Daily Top 5
We'll soon meet in your inbox.
Slice Small Finance Bank has raised fresh funding at less than half its previous valuation. This and more in today's ETtech Top 5.
Also in the letter:
■ Swiggy shares under pressure
■ Chips face IP hurdle
■ Tech's hiring power shift
Rajan Bajaj, founder, Slice
Slice Small Finance Bank has raised about $100 million at a valuation of $450-470 million, its first institutional funding as a bank and a steep reset from the $1.3 billion it commanded before its merger with North East Small Finance Bank.
The deal:
Why it matters:
Bhavish Aggarwal, CEO, Ola Electric
Electric two-wheeler maker Ola Electric Mobility, in a regulatory filing, said that its board will consider a fresh fundraising proposal on September 5. This comes just months after the company raised around Rs 780 crore through a QIP in June.
The Directorate General of GST Intelligence (DGGI) has recommended the mandatory recording of details of websites that direct users to make a payment, seeking to plug gaps being exploited by illegal online gaming and betting networks.
More on this: The proposed system would also require websites to disclose all bank accounts linked to their GST registration. This would help authorities map accounts tied to an entity and trace those used to receive, transfer, or layer funds.
Officials said the system could also help track transactions linked to other illegal activities and identify intermediary accounts and payment networks used to move illicit funds.
Background
Shares of food delivery and quick commerce major Swiggy fell 2% to Rs 262 on the BSE on Thursday after Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) said it would remove the company from its Global Standard Indexes over restrictions on foreign ownership.
The stock has now declined for a third straight session.
What's happening? MSCI said it will delete Swiggy from its indices under the foreign ownership limit event category, effective September 7, 2026.
The move follows Swiggy's decision to become an Indian-owned and controlled company (IOCC). Shareholders approved proposals last month to cap foreign shareholding at 49.5%.
.jpg "Eternal v Swiggy Stocks-1 (1)")
Tell me more: Swiggy was added to the National Securities Depository Limited (NSDL) red flag list on September 1 after foreign ownership came within 3 percentage points of the applicable foreign portfolio investor (FPI) limit.
If the FPI limit is breached, foreign investors must sell excess shares within five trading days of the settlement date, only to domestic investors. Swiggy therefore faces two separate pressures.
Experts welcomed the new India Semiconductor Mission (ISM) 2.0 guidelines but flagged concerns over intellectual property (IP) rules, global venture capital access, demand for Indian-designed chips and high testing costs.
Driving the news: ISM 2.0 was notified on Monday. Chip design firms welcomed the larger design-linked incentive, especially the absence of an upper limit on government support through royalty financing, industry sources told us.
However, Pranay Kotasthane, deputy director at public policy think tank Takshashila Institution, said on LinkedIn that the focus on sovereign control could complicate private investment and global expansion.
For instance: Category 1 targets mission-critical silicon for defence, telecom and critical infrastructure. Projects will be selected through competitive bidding by the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC), with IP rights co-owned by the applicant and C-DAC.
“This secures sovereign control over critical IP, mitigating risks of export-control blockades and ensuring state-funded IP cannot be liquidated overseas,” Kotasthane said. He warned that state co-ownership could conflict with global venture capital requirements.
Meet Sumsub at Global Fintech Fest 2026, Stand #JB16 at Jio World Centre, Jasmine Hall (3rd Floor), to discover how Sumsub's trust infrastructure helps businesses prevent fraud, verify real users, and stay compliant across markets. Request a meeting with us and redeem an exclusive gift on-site. Learn more from here.
Conventional tech professionals are facing growing competition from industry domain experts for senior roles at Indian IT firms and global capability centres (GCCs), as artificial intelligence (AI) reduces the need for traditional tech skills.
Industry talk:
Quote, unquote: "We hired people from Citi, Standard Chartered, HSBC, SwissRe, Google and Telenor and PWC. And we're adding to a lot of the senior-level capacity, and they, in turn, are using their networks to bring other people on board," Tech Mahindra head Mohit Joshi said.
Also in the letter:
■ Swiggy shares under pressure
■ Chips face IP hurdle
■ Tech's hiring power shift
Slice closes $100 million round as valuation more than halves to $470 million
Slice Small Finance Bank has raised about $100 million at a valuation of $450-470 million, its first institutional funding as a bank and a steep reset from the $1.3 billion it commanded before its merger with North East Small Finance Bank.
The deal:
- Moore Strategic Ventures, Peak XV-backed Neo Group, and Japan's Kado Global invested, alongside Dhan parent Raise Financial Services and backer Blume Ventures.
- Slice called for an extraordinary general meeting on September 4 to seek shareholder approval for the issuance of Rs 403.47 crore worth of compulsorily convertible debentures and Rs 81.49 crore worth of partly-paid equity shares, covering only a portion of the latest fundraise. ET first reported the fundraising talks in April.
- An early Slice investor said the bank was valued at 4.5 times book, against HDFC Bank's 1.8 times, JPMorgan's 2.7 times, and Nubank's 5.2 times.
- Slice made a profit of Rs 48.4 crore in FY26, reversing a Rs 216.7 crore loss in the year prior; it clocked a profit of Rs 50.9 crore in the June quarter.
- Its loan book has reached Rs 5,098 crore, but still far below AU's Rs 1.44 lakh crore, Equitas' Rs 47,641 crore, and Ujjivan's Rs 42,903 crore.
- Slice serves 6.7 million customers, has issued about half a million credit cards, and pays the 5.25% repo-linked savings rate daily.
Ola Electric board to meet on September 5 to consider fresh fundraise
Electric two-wheeler maker Ola Electric Mobility, in a regulatory filing, said that its board will consider a fresh fundraising proposal on September 5. This comes just months after the company raised around Rs 780 crore through a QIP in June.
DGGI wants payment trail to crack down on illegal betting networks
The Directorate General of GST Intelligence (DGGI) has recommended the mandatory recording of details of websites that direct users to make a payment, seeking to plug gaps being exploited by illegal online gaming and betting networks.
More on this: The proposed system would also require websites to disclose all bank accounts linked to their GST registration. This would help authorities map accounts tied to an entity and trace those used to receive, transfer, or layer funds.
Officials said the system could also help track transactions linked to other illegal activities and identify intermediary accounts and payment networks used to move illicit funds.
Background
- The recommendations are part of a DGGI report on its 14-month probe into illegal online gaming and betting networks. The report was submitted to the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) earlier this month.
- The investigation identified a betting ecosystem estimated at Rs 70,000 crore.
- The figure represents total transactions detected in one financial year. The networks continued operating despite the ban on online money games by routing payments through intermediary merchants.
- The official said the exact revenue loss and tax evasion have not been quantified as the investigation is still ongoing.
Swiggy shares fall 2%, down for 3rd session, as MSCI set to remove stock from Global Standard Indexes
Shares of food delivery and quick commerce major Swiggy fell 2% to Rs 262 on the BSE on Thursday after Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) said it would remove the company from its Global Standard Indexes over restrictions on foreign ownership.
The stock has now declined for a third straight session.
What's happening? MSCI said it will delete Swiggy from its indices under the foreign ownership limit event category, effective September 7, 2026.
The move follows Swiggy's decision to become an Indian-owned and controlled company (IOCC). Shareholders approved proposals last month to cap foreign shareholding at 49.5%.
Tell me more: Swiggy was added to the National Securities Depository Limited (NSDL) red flag list on September 1 after foreign ownership came within 3 percentage points of the applicable foreign portfolio investor (FPI) limit.
If the FPI limit is breached, foreign investors must sell excess shares within five trading days of the settlement date, only to domestic investors. Swiggy therefore faces two separate pressures.
ISM 2.0 paradox: Tough IP rules might leave startups starving for global cash
Experts welcomed the new India Semiconductor Mission (ISM) 2.0 guidelines but flagged concerns over intellectual property (IP) rules, global venture capital access, demand for Indian-designed chips and high testing costs.
Driving the news: ISM 2.0 was notified on Monday. Chip design firms welcomed the larger design-linked incentive, especially the absence of an upper limit on government support through royalty financing, industry sources told us.
However, Pranay Kotasthane, deputy director at public policy think tank Takshashila Institution, said on LinkedIn that the focus on sovereign control could complicate private investment and global expansion.
For instance: Category 1 targets mission-critical silicon for defence, telecom and critical infrastructure. Projects will be selected through competitive bidding by the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC), with IP rights co-owned by the applicant and C-DAC.
“This secures sovereign control over critical IP, mitigating risks of export-control blockades and ensuring state-funded IP cannot be liquidated overseas,” Kotasthane said. He warned that state co-ownership could conflict with global venture capital requirements.
Meet Sumsub at Global Fintech Fest 2026: Stop fraud, stay compliant globally
Meet Sumsub at Global Fintech Fest 2026, Stand #JB16 at Jio World Centre, Jasmine Hall (3rd Floor), to discover how Sumsub's trust infrastructure helps businesses prevent fraud, verify real users, and stay compliant across markets. Request a meeting with us and redeem an exclusive gift on-site. Learn more from here.
Domain experts edge out pure techies for plum jobs at IT, GCCs
Conventional tech professionals are facing growing competition from industry domain experts for senior roles at Indian IT firms and global capability centres (GCCs), as artificial intelligence (AI) reduces the need for traditional tech skills.
Industry talk:
- Mid-level hiring for professionals with 8-15 years of experience is increasingly looking beyond conventional technology profiles, senior executives told us.
- The shift is also reaching senior roles, as agentic AI helps domain experts bridge technology gaps faster.
- Tier 1 and 2 IT firms, including Infosys, HCLTech, Tech Mahindra and Persistent Systems, are hiring talent from other sectors to strengthen enterprise AI capabilities beyond the first layer enabled by agentic AI.
Quote, unquote: "We hired people from Citi, Standard Chartered, HSBC, SwissRe, Google and Telenor and PWC. And we're adding to a lot of the senior-level capacity, and they, in turn, are using their networks to bring other people on board," Tech Mahindra head Mohit Joshi said.
Want this newsletter delivered to your inbox?
I agree to receive newsletters and marketing communications via e-mail