Wipro’s muted quarter; UPI’s merchant fee revival

Wipro posted flat first-quarter profit despite higher revenues. This and more in today's ETtech Top 5.

Also in the letter:
■ Ather's oversubscribed QIP
■ Aakash dispute eases
■ AI hits SaaS, startups

---

Srini Pallia, CEO, Wipro

IT services major Wipro on Thursday reported a modest revenue growth and flat profit for the first quarter of FY27.

Financials:

• Net profit: Up 1% year-on-year (YoY) to Rs 3,352 crore from Rs 3,330 crore.
• Revenue: Increased 11% YoY to Rs 24,479 crore from Rs 22,135 crore.
• Dividend: The board declared an interim dividend of Rs 2 per share.

Guidance: Wipro expects IT services revenue in the September quarter to range between a 1.5% decline and a 0.5% increase in constant currency terms.

CEOSpeak: “Clients are moving beyond technology modernisation to AI-enabled operating models that improve quality, resilience, and productivity. Wipro's consulting-led, AI-powered approach helps clients embed AI at the core of their business,” said chief executive Srini Pallia.

Wipro's closing price was up 1.8% at Rs 177.7 on the NSE on Thursday. (The results came after the market close.)

Source: Google Finance

Also Read: Wipro clients moving from AI experimentation to execution: Rishad Premji


Mohit Joshi, CEO, Tech Mahindra

Tech Mahindra posted strong first-quarter growth in both profit and revenue.

The numbers:

• Net profit: Rose 28% YoY to Rs 1,465 crore from Rs 1,140.6 crore.
• Sequentially: Profit increased over 8% from Rs 1,353.8 crore in the March quarter of FY26.
• Revenue: Grew 18% YoY to Rs 15,712 crore from Rs 13,351.2 crore.

CEO's take: Chief executive and managing director Mohit Joshi said the earnings growth, along with three consecutive quarters of deal wins exceeding $1 billion, reflects the company's resilience and the increasing demand for its offerings.

Tech Mahindra's closing price was up 1.1% at Rs 1,515.6 on the NSE on Thursday. (The results came after the market close.)

Source: Google Finance


The government is likely to reintroduce the MDR (merchant discount rate) on UPI (Unified Payments Interface) transactions for large merchants, and set the same at 5-7 basis points, according to people aware of the matter.

What's happening?

• ET had reported on July 16 that the proposal is in its final stage and awaiting government approval.
• The levy is likely to apply only to merchants with an annual turnover of Rs 1-1.5 crore or more.
• Peer-to-peer (P2P) transfers and payments to small merchants will remain free.
• A parliamentary standing committee had recommended bringing back MDR earlier this year.
• At 5-7 basis points, merchants would pay Rs 5-7 on a Rs 10,000 transaction.

Why it matters: The move would mark a major change in India's digital payments policy, nearly six years after the government removed MDR on UPI and RuPay debit card transactions to boost digital payments.

The fee could give payment companies a long-awaited revenue stream. The lack of MDR has affected the sector, with PhonePe delaying its $1.3 billion initial public offering (IPO) earlier this year. Newer players have also stayed away from the UPI market, especially since PhonePe and Google Pay control over 80% of transaction volumes.

Also Read: UPI fees explained: Why the government plans to revive MDR and who will pay

---

(L-R) Swapnil Jain and Tarun Mehta, cofounders, Ather Energy

Electric two-wheeler maker Ather Energy has received strong demand for its Rs 1,300-crore qualified institutional placement (QIP), with bids crossing Rs 10,000 crore, sources told us.

More on this:

• The issue has been subscribed more than eight times.
• It opened at a floor price of Rs 1,169.70 per share, about 10% below Wednesday's closing price of Rs 1,298.
• Several domestic mutual funds and foreign institutional investors participated in the issue.
• Investors in the preferential allotment, including Hero MotoCorp and Ather's founders, are investing at around 7% above the QIP floor price.

Ather's shares ended 2.5% lower at Rs 1,264.65 on the BSE on Thursday.

What else? Along with the QIP, Ather is raising another Rs 1,200 crore through a preferential allotment, taking the total fundraising to Rs 2,500 crore.

Hero MotoCorp will invest around Rs 960 crore through convertible warrants, while the India-Japan Fund (IJF) will invest Rs 200 crore in equity shares. Cofounders Tarun Mehta and Swapnil Jain will each invest Rs 20 crore through convertible warrants

Also Read: Ather Energy quarterly revenue goes past Rs 1,000 crore in Q4, riding on family scooter Rizta

---

Think & Learn has informed the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) that its committee of creditors has approved a proposed settlement in the long-running dispute over Aakash Educational Services, the most valuable asset in the collapsed Byju's group.

Case update:

• The Bengaluru bench of the NCLT adjourned the case to August 18, giving the parties more time to complete the settlement.
• Counsel Ichchha Kalash said talks between Think & Learn, Aakash Educational Services, and Manipal Education and Medical Group are progressing, with creditors approving the proposal.
• ET had reported on June 22 that talks between Manipal Education and Medical Group and the GLAS Trust, representing Byju's US lenders, were at an advanced stage.

Competing claims:

• The settlement aims to resolve the ownership dispute over Aakash Educational Services, in which Manipal Education and Medical Group, led by Ranjan Pai, holds about 58%.
• Think & Learn held 25.75% before Aakash's rights issue, which could have cut its stake to around 5%. However, GLAS Trust and Think & Learn's resolution professional raised objections.
• Another 17,891,289 Aakash shares linked to Beeaar Investco, a Singapore-based entity connected to Byju Raveendran, are also part of the dispute because of claims by the Qatar Investment Authority.

---

Rapid advances in AI are leaving many software-as-a-service (SaaS) and AI startups struggling, with several shutting down while others fight to survive.

By the numbers:

• Tracxn data shows 16 AI-native startups shut down in 2025, up from 6 in 2024.
• In the SaaS sector, nearly 680 startups closed in 2024, while another 123 shut down in 2025.

Investor take: A Bengaluru-based investor told us, “The latest technology is disrupting startups in SaaS and AI, and many of these companies, including those that are well-established, are struggling. Our fund 1 was SaaS heavy, but we had only one such company in Fund II.”

Startups that shut down over the past year due to this include NeuroPixel, Astra AI, and Subtl.ai.

The irony: Even as such firms shut down, demand for AI talent is rising. More than 9,000 jobs in robotics, autonomous systems, and industrial AI are open in India, while global demand has crossed 80,000.