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Zetwerk IPO eyes big returns; Flipkart alumni seek Esop buyback
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Zetwerk’s early investors are poised for big gains as the platform prepares to go public. This and more in today’s ETtech Top 5.
Also in the letter:
■ ET Startup Awards special
■ TCS bets on AI
■ Online festive sales dip
(L-R) Zetwerk COO Srinath Ramakkrushnan and CEO Amrit Acharya
Early investors in business-to-business (B2B) manufacturing platform Zetwerk are sitting on as much as 38x gross returns at the upper end of its IPO (initial public offering) price band, while collectively realising about Rs 1,152 crore through the offer for sale (OFS).
IPO details: Zetwerk has set a price band of Rs 143-151 per share, valuing it at Rs 25,583 crore ($2.7 billion) at the upper end. The IPO will be worth Rs 5,012 crore at that price, comprising a Rs 2,830-crore fresh issue and a Rs 2,182-crore OFS.
Investor returns:
Fund use: Zetwerk plans to use Rs 2,160 crore, or 76% of the fresh issue, to repay borrowings of the parent and nine subsidiaries. The IPO is set to open on October 15.
Growth strategy: "Global companies invest way more in engineering than Indian companies. We are replicating that framework. It's no surprise in that sense that the largest market in the world today is the AI market," CEO Amrit Acharya told us.
Former employees and executives of the Flipkart group are mobilising thousands of ex-staffers to press parent company Walmart for an exit on their vested employee stock options (Esops), as the issue gathers momentum.
The petition: Launched on October 10, it aims to mobilise 20,000-30,000 former employees of Flipkart and group companies, including Myntra, Cleartrip, Shopsy, and ANS Commerce.
Key demands:
Verbatim: "Many of us gave some of the most formative years of our working lives to Flipkart, and we remain proud of what we helped build. We make this request not as a grievance, but in good faith and with continued goodwill towards the company. Our hope is simply that those who contributed to Flipkart’s journey are treated with the same fairness as those who continue it," the petition said.
Also Read: ET Exclusive: Flipkart’s former suites write to Walmart board, seek fair treatment and full cash out of vested ESOPs
.jpg "FASHION (1)")
(L-R) Priya Narsimhan of Indus Appstore, Archana Rajaram of River Law; Patrik Antoni of IKEA; Prateek Mehta of South Park Commons (top right) and Anurag Sinha of OneCard (bottom right).
At the 12th Economic Times Startup Awards, attendees swapped blazers for puffer vests and accessorised with trackers, making the startup uniform uniquely personal and giving off founder-casual vibes.
Style statements: Mona Gandhi of AI startup Kello was spotted in Alaïa fishnet mesh ballerina flats, while IKEA India CEO Patrik Antoni paired a Tiger of Sweden suit and a black T-shirt with Adidas Gazelles.
Indian touch: Archana Rajaram, founder and managing partner of River Law, paired custom-made contemporary pieces with Indian accents. Priya Narasimhan, chief business officer at Indus Appstore, wore a classic Mysore silk sari with a fitness watch.
Union commerce minister Piyush Goyal with ETSA winners
An intimate and candid closed-door interaction with union commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal was a surprise even for the winners of the ET Startup Awards. Then again, ETSA is where unexpected delight happens by design.
Agenda: The conversation ranged from the US’ trade shenanigans to the importance of yoga, and from India’s private sector firing rockets successfully at first attempt to why it is imperative to pump more capital into the startup ecosystem.
To nurture and nourish the next wave of startups, Goyal challenged the founders to pay it forward by reinvesting profits in emerging firms, while urging family offices to put their heft and capital behind domestic entrepreneurs.
Also Read: ETSA 2026: Over a decade on, India's startup story is only getting started
TCS CEO K Krithivasan
Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) CEO K Krithivasan said AI revenue should compensate for deflation in traditional services in the medium term, even as clients remain cautious about spending amid geopolitical uncertainty.
AI deflation: He said about 50% of AI-led deflation has already taken place, with the remaining impact likely over the next 18 months.
AI revenue: AI accounted for more than 10% of TCS’ revenue in the September quarter. The company is banking on spending on AI and technology modernisation to drive growth.
PERM impact: "The number of such applications from our side has been a handful in the last two years. Our annual applications under this programme is in single digits. We do it because sometimes customers want us to retain somebody on-site for the long term. It should not have any impact on our business model or the delivery of client projects," Krithivasan said.
HCLTech on Monday reported strong on-year growth in profit and revenue in the second quarter of FY27.
Financials:
AI push: Chairperson Roshni Nadar Malhotra said that accelerating growth in AI revenue validates the company’s business strategy, and added that the company’s partnerships and investments across the AI stack position it well as a trusted technology partner for enterprises and governments globally.
The festive season opened flat as ecommerce and online retailers clocked sales worth Rs 29,800-30,900 crore in gross merchandise value (GMV) over the first four days compared to Rs 33,200 crore in the same period last year, according to Datum Intelligence.
Also in the letter:
■ ET Startup Awards special
■ TCS bets on AI
■ Online festive sales dip
Zetwerk’s early backers stand to make up to 38x returns from IPO
Early investors in business-to-business (B2B) manufacturing platform Zetwerk are sitting on as much as 38x gross returns at the upper end of its IPO (initial public offering) price band, while collectively realising about Rs 1,152 crore through the offer for sale (OFS).
IPO details: Zetwerk has set a price band of Rs 143-151 per share, valuing it at Rs 25,583 crore ($2.7 billion) at the upper end. The IPO will be worth Rs 5,012 crore at that price, comprising a Rs 2,830-crore fresh issue and a Rs 2,182-crore OFS.
Investor returns:
- Kae Capital: Set to see 38.3-fold gross returns. It will sell 12.6 million shares for about Rs 190 crore and retain stock worth Rs 651 crore.
- Accel: Sitting on 19.3-fold returns, it will realise Rs 181 crore and retain shares valued at Rs 1,611 crore.
- Peak XV Partners: Its two funds are set to clock 3.3x-23.9x returns, depending on acquisition costs. Together, they will realise Rs 353 crore and retain shares worth Rs 2,457 crore.
- Lightspeed Venture Partners: Its three funds are sitting on returns of 2.8x-10.8x. They will earn Rs 427 crore through the OFS and retain shares valued at Rs 1,861 crore.
Fund use: Zetwerk plans to use Rs 2,160 crore, or 76% of the fresh issue, to repay borrowings of the parent and nine subsidiaries. The IPO is set to open on October 15.
Growth strategy: "Global companies invest way more in engineering than Indian companies. We are replicating that framework. It's no surprise in that sense that the largest market in the world today is the AI market," CEO Amrit Acharya told us.
Former Flipkart group employees launch petition for inclusion in $2 billion Esop buyback
Former employees and executives of the Flipkart group are mobilising thousands of ex-staffers to press parent company Walmart for an exit on their vested employee stock options (Esops), as the issue gathers momentum.
The petition: Launched on October 10, it aims to mobilise 20,000-30,000 former employees of Flipkart and group companies, including Myntra, Cleartrip, Shopsy, and ANS Commerce.
Key demands:
- Extending the exercise window for vested Esops held by former employees until the next liquidity event.
- Ensuring they are included in the upcoming buyback on terms comparable to current employees rather than being offered a token allocation.
- Appointing a point of contact to engage with a representative group of ex-staffers.
Verbatim: "Many of us gave some of the most formative years of our working lives to Flipkart, and we remain proud of what we helped build. We make this request not as a grievance, but in good faith and with continued goodwill towards the company. Our hope is simply that those who contributed to Flipkart’s journey are treated with the same fairness as those who continue it," the petition said.
Also Read: ET Exclusive: Flipkart’s former suites write to Walmart board, seek fair treatment and full cash out of vested ESOPs
ETSA 2026: Silicon Valley called. They want their wardrobe back!
At the 12th Economic Times Startup Awards, attendees swapped blazers for puffer vests and accessorised with trackers, making the startup uniform uniquely personal and giving off founder-casual vibes.
Style statements: Mona Gandhi of AI startup Kello was spotted in Alaïa fishnet mesh ballerina flats, while IKEA India CEO Patrik Antoni paired a Tiger of Sweden suit and a black T-shirt with Adidas Gazelles.
Indian touch: Archana Rajaram, founder and managing partner of River Law, paired custom-made contemporary pieces with Indian accents. Priya Narasimhan, chief business officer at Indus Appstore, wore a classic Mysore silk sari with a fitness watch.
ETSA 2026: A secret circle, cosmic sparks, and the night tech elite got goosebumps
An intimate and candid closed-door interaction with union commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal was a surprise even for the winners of the ET Startup Awards. Then again, ETSA is where unexpected delight happens by design.
Agenda: The conversation ranged from the US’ trade shenanigans to the importance of yoga, and from India’s private sector firing rockets successfully at first attempt to why it is imperative to pump more capital into the startup ecosystem.
To nurture and nourish the next wave of startups, Goyal challenged the founders to pay it forward by reinvesting profits in emerging firms, while urging family offices to put their heft and capital behind domestic entrepreneurs.
Also Read: ETSA 2026: Over a decade on, India's startup story is only getting started
AI revenue should offset traditional services deflation: TCS CEO K Krithivasan
Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) CEO K Krithivasan said AI revenue should compensate for deflation in traditional services in the medium term, even as clients remain cautious about spending amid geopolitical uncertainty.
AI deflation: He said about 50% of AI-led deflation has already taken place, with the remaining impact likely over the next 18 months.
AI revenue: AI accounted for more than 10% of TCS’ revenue in the September quarter. The company is banking on spending on AI and technology modernisation to drive growth.
PERM impact: "The number of such applications from our side has been a handful in the last two years. Our annual applications under this programme is in single digits. We do it because sometimes customers want us to retain somebody on-site for the long term. It should not have any impact on our business model or the delivery of client projects," Krithivasan said.
HCLTech Q2 Results: Profit jumps 21% YoY to Rs 5,132 crore
HCLTech on Monday reported strong on-year growth in profit and revenue in the second quarter of FY27.
Financials:
- Net profit: Rose 21% on-year to Rs 5,132 crore from Rs 4,235 crore.
- Revenue: Increased 12% on-year to Rs 35,620 crore.
- Interim dividend: Declared Rs 12 per share. October 16 is the record date, while payment is scheduled for October 26, 2026.
AI push: Chairperson Roshni Nadar Malhotra said that accelerating growth in AI revenue validates the company’s business strategy, and added that the company’s partnerships and investments across the AI stack position it well as a trusted technology partner for enterprises and governments globally.
Online festive sales start slow as smartphone demand dips; quick commerce extends shopping window
The festive season opened flat as ecommerce and online retailers clocked sales worth Rs 29,800-30,900 crore in gross merchandise value (GMV) over the first four days compared to Rs 33,200 crore in the same period last year, according to Datum Intelligence.
- Smartphone slowdown: Phones’ share of festive sales is expected to fall to 30% from 35% last year amid price hikes.
- Quick commerce push: Amazon Now delivered one in two products within minutes, while Flipkart Minutes orders ran at 3.5 times the usual daily level. Quick commerce is expected to account for 16% of festive sales.
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