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Donald Trump's return raises hopes for increased funding and tech ties in India's startup ecosystem. This and more in today's ETtech Morning Dispatch. Also in the letter: ■ Capillary revives IPO plan ■ Swiggy IPO opens ■ ETtech Done Deals Indian startups look at second Trump presidency with positivity, eye more fund flow With Donald Trump returning to the White House, the Indian startup ecosystem is looking forward to stronger fund flow and technology cooperation between India and the United States.
Major positives: Some of the things that the Indian technology ecosystem is watching out for are: Stability in policymaking with Republicans controlling the government, Senate, and Congress Technology sector support expected with JD Vance, an ex-venture capitalist, as vice president Better tax policies for corporate houses benefiting Indian startups registered in the US Increased US fund flow to India due to hardened stance towards China Some concerns: Trump's second term gives rise to some concerns too, including: Protectionist trade policies under "America First" mandate Potential negative FDI flow due to inflationary effects raising US interest rates Uncertainty about long-term policy commitment affecting investment climate Alternative to China: Largely, Indian investors are hoping that as Trump plays hardball with China, as seen during his last tenure at the Oval Office, Indian technology companies will benefit from a higher degree of fund flow. Advanced technologies like artificial intelligence (AI) and semiconductors might see some slowdown in terms of US investments in China. Govt eyeing feasibility of separate grid, nuclear plants for uninterrupted power to data centres The government is exploring the feasibility of providing dedicated, uninterrupted power to large data centre parks either through direct lines from power producers or by setting up small nuclear plants nearby, officials told us.
Driving the news: The need for uninterrupted power to be supplied through a separate source of power will be felt as more data centres with artificial intelligence (AI) servers and graphic processing units (GPUs) will be set up across India, a senior government official said. "We are studying all the options and the best possible way ahead," one of the officials told us. "Whether an option will be feasible or not – cost-wise and infrastructure-wise – and ensuring minimal power loss will be a part of our study,” he said.
Future outlook: The operational capacity of India's data centre universe is expected to more than double to 2,000-2,100 MW by 2026-27 from 950 MW in FY24 with an investment of up to Rs 55,000 crore. SaaS firm Capillary Tech revives IPO plan Aneesh Reddy, founder & MD, Capillary Technologies Capillary Technologies, which provides customer engagement and loyalty software services to companies, is reviving plans for its initial public offering (IPO) after having shelved its previous attempt in 2021, people aware of the matter said. Tell me more: The Bengaluru-based software-as-a-service (SaaS) firm has invited investment banks to submit proposals this week and will soon select underwriters for its planned public offering to potentially raise up to Rs 2,000 crore, according to a source.
"The company is aiming to file its draft papers in 2025," added another source. Recap: The company, backed by Warburg Pincus, Peak XV Partners, and the Evolvence Group, had first filed its draft prospectus with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) in December 2021, but then deferred its plan . In June 2023, the company raised $45 million in equity and debt from investors , including Avataar Ventures, Pantheon, 57Stars, and Unigestion.
This round was extended in early 2024 with secondary transactions from Warburg Pincus and American Express, bringing the total to $140 million . Swiggy IPO subscribed 12% on first day of bidding Sriharsha Majety, group CEO, Swiggy The initial public offering (IPO) of food and grocery delivery company Swiggy, which opened on Wednesday, was subscribed 12% on its first day . Details: While the employee portion was subscribed 74%, retail investors bid for 54% of the shares allocated for their category.
Qualified institutional bidders (QIBs), which typically increase their bidding activity on the last day of an issue, were largely absent on Wednesday. Tell me more: The Bengaluru-based company has set a price band of Rs 371-390 per share for the issue. It is also offering a Rs 25 per share discount for eligible employees bidding in the portion reserved for them.
Anchor investors: BlackRock, Fidelity, Nomura, BNP Paribas, and Allianz Global are among more than 75 foreign and domestic investors who subscribed to the Rs 5,085-crore anchor portion on Swiggy's IPO on 5 November. We reported on November 1 , that Swiggy's anchor book had received 25 times more bids than the shares on offer through this portion of the offering. Also Read: Swiggy IPO anchor allocation opens today: all you need to know ETtech Done Deals Pallav Bihani, founder, Boldfit Boldfit gets Rs 110 crore investment from Bessemer Venture Partners: Boldfit, a direct-to-consumer brand of fitness products and nutritional supplements, raised Rs 110 crore (about $13 million) from venture capital firm Bessemer Venture Partners.
Backpacker hostel chain The Hosteller raises Rs 48 crore: The Hosteller, a backpacker hostel chain, has raised Rs 48 crore in a funding round led by V3 Ventures in a mix of equity and debt. This includes a debt of Rs 16 crore from the venture debt platform Blacksoil. Other Top Stories By Our Reporters Lenskart’s founder and CEO Peyush Bansal at the ET Startup Awards 2024 in Bengaluru Lenskart cuts loss by 84% in FY24, revenue up 43% to Rs 5,428 crore: Eyewear retailer Lenskart made major strides towards profitability with its net loss narrowing to Rs 10 crore in fiscal 2024 from Rs 64 crore the year before , boosted by significant improvement in its operational performance.
India one of Microsoft’s fastest growing markets: Microsoft AI CEO: India is one of Microsoft’s fastest growing markets and its strongest teams worldwide are based in Bengaluru and Hyderabad, said Mustafa Suleyman, chief executive of Microsoft AI, on Wednesday in his maiden trip to India. Global Picks We Are Reading ■ Elon Musk’s gamble on Donald Trump pays off ( FT ) ■ This Indian state wants to be a tech hub. But the government keeps shutting down the internet ( Rest of World ) ■ Perplexity dove into real-time election tracking while other AI companies held back ( Wired ).
