Happy Monday! Instant house help startups collectively reached three million monthly bookings in April. This and more in today's ETtech Morning Dispatch.
Also in the letter:
■ Fintech's AI opportunity
■ Red tape stalls AI mission
■ Nasscom on IT rules
Instant house help companies' bookings top three million in April
Instant house help startups Urban Company, Snabbit and Pronto clocked more than 3 million bookings in April, signalling rapid adoption despite supply bottlenecks and labour shortages during state elections.
Who's leading: Urban Company held on to the top spot with 1.2-1.3 million orders and nearly half the market by transaction value, with Snabbit close behind. Pronto, though smaller, is scaling fast after its recent funding round.
Pricing pressure: Urban Company and Snabbit have raised prices in mature micro-markets as competition for workers heats up. Industry executives estimate the three platforms together still burned $10-12 million in April.
Demand ceiling: Even with strong growth, investors are asking how big this category can really get. Most users still see instant help as a backup or add-on, and it is unclear if households will fully swap traditional domestic staff for app-based services.
Beyond cleaning: Startups are piloting services such as cooking and car washing to deepen engagement and lift wallet share beyond core housekeeping.
Spacetech firm Agnikul eyes $50-75 million at flat $500 million value
Agnikul Cosmos is seeking to tap a fresh wave of investor enthusiasm in Indian spacetech and is in talks to raise $50-75 million at a valuation of about $500 million, sources told us.
Details: The talks come days after Skyroot Aerospace became India’s first spacetech unicorn, reinforcing investor confidence in private space ventures as they move from R&D to commercial deployment.
ET has reviewed Agnikul’s investor pitch deck, which projects more than $200 million in revenue from soft commitments and 35 launches planned between 2026 and 2028.
Large rounds: Tracxn data shows Indian spacetech startups raised $196 million across 55 deals in 2025, more than double the previous year. The momentum has continued into 2026, with satellite firm Digantara raising $50 million and reusable rocket startup Ethereal Exploration Guild securing $20 million earlier this year.
Wind blows westwards: Spacetech founders are increasingly looking west for capital, saying US funds are more comfortable backing long-gestation deeptech bets with larger cheques and higher valuations.
Also Read: Global demand will be a major revenue driver: newly minted unicorn Skyroot Aerospace CEO
Fintechs looking to AI to unlock opportunities, cost efficiencies
Listed fintech firms Paytm, PB Fintech and Groww, which ended FY26 with strong revenue growth and net profits, are ploughing capital into AI. They are using it to sharpen existing businesses and to build new engines of growth.
Driving the news:
- Paytm is betting on marketing services, wealth management and stock broking as its next growth pillars.
- For PB Fintech, new bets include payments through PB Pay, stock broking, fixed-income platforms and overseas expansion.
- For Groww, wealth management is the big next act. The company is ramping up hiring and using AI to speed up product development.
The new buzzword: where large fintechs are using AI
-
Customer onboarding: Paytm is targeting premium customers for more sustainable growth, while PB Fintech is using AI to refine policy recommendations and improve claim ratios.
-
Fraud detection: A key focus area in both payments and lending, where AI is helping all players curb losses.
-
Operating efficiency: AI is driving large gains in productivity for tech teams and customer service operations.
-
Overall results: All three fintechs are showing strong business momentum, with robust revenue growth and steady profits. For Paytm, FY26 was its first full profitable year, with a net profit of Rs 552 crore.
Also Read: Fintechs leverage AI to boost creditworthiness and reduce rejections
Other Top Stories By Our Reporters
Paperwork stalls AI mission: The Centre has yet to sign formal agreements with at least five of the 12 startups shortlisted under the IndiaAI mission to build indigenous foundational AI models, even though they were selected eight to 12 months ago.
Nasscom on IT rules: Draft IT second amendment rules cannot be used to create new substantive obligations outside the rule-making framework of the IT Act, industry body Nasscom has warned.
Global Picks We Are Reading
■ He couldn’t land a job interview. Was AI to blame? (Wired)
■ Why software firms are calling time on the SaaSpocalypse (FT)
■ Motorola's India lawsuit could make platforms police speech faster (Rest of World)
