Zepto pulls ahead of Swiggy Instamart on orders, but heavy burn continues. This and more in today's ETtech Top 5.
Also in the letter:
■ OpenAI races to Wall Street
■ Ather's fresh fundraise
■ Inside WWDC 2026
Zepto overtakes Instamart in order count, trails Blinkit in scale and profitability
Zepto's updated draft red herring prospectus (UDRHP) shows the quick commerce startup has moved ahead of Swiggy Instamart in both order value and volume, even as it continues to trail Eternal-owned Blinkit in scale and profitability.
Zepto filed the UDRHP with Sebi on Monday for a $1 billion (Rs 9,500 crore) initial public offering.
What's happening?
- In the January-March quarter of FY26, Blinkit's net order value (NOV) stood at Rs 14,386 crore.
- Zepto's NOV stood at Rs 7,591 crore.
- Instamart’s was Rs 5,674 crore, less than half of Blinkit's NOV.
Why this matters: Zepto's IPO will make it the first standalone quick-commerce company to list in India. Blinkit and Instamart sit inside already-listed parents, Eternal and Swiggy, respectively.
Zepto earnings:
- Q4 revenue: Rose 75% to Rs 7,498 crore .
- Q4 net loss: Narrowed to Rs 1,539 crore.
Meanwhile, for FY26,
- Revenue: More than doubled to Rs 22,624 crore in FY26.
- Net loss: Widened to Rs 5,905 crore.
Shareholding structure: Zepto's shareholding is spread across founder trusts, venture investors and its Esop trust. Promoters hold 18.47%, while promoter and promoter group holding stands at 19.56% on a fully diluted basis.
Legal scanner: Zepto also disclosed that cofounders Aadit Palicha and Kaivalya Vohra received summons from the Directorate of Enforcement (ED) on April 8 under the Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999.
Vohra appeared before the agency on April 17 and 22, while Palicha appeared on April 20 and May 15.
Also Read: Inside Zepto’s IPO filing — the key takeaways
AI not a threat, but opportunity for IT services: TCS chairman N Chandrasekaran
TCS chairman N Chandrasekaran sought to calm existential fears around IT in the age of AI, arguing that AI and information technology are complementary , not competing, forces.
Driving the news: At the company's 31st annual general meeting, Chandrasekaran asked investors to see AI as an “infrastructure of intelligence” that will expand overall technology spending rather than shrink it.
Job threat: He also signalled a sharp shift in how IT workforces would look. Chandrasekaran said TCS could eventually employ as many AI agents as human workers. “The day is not very far when TCS will have an equal number of agents or AI workers as their physical workers,” he said.
GCCs outpace IT services in tech hiring, driving AI & cloud talent
Global capability centres (GCCs) are pulling ahead of traditional IT services firms on net hiring and emerging as magnets for AI and cloud talent.
By the numbers: GCCs added nearly 200,000 net employees in FY26 – almost double the 110,000 net additions at IT services firms – beating them for the third straight year.
Why it matters: GCCs now account for 30–35% of all AI-related hiring in India, according to industry estimates, making them a prime destination for roles in AI and machine learning engineering, cloud architecture, and product development.
Yes, but: Even after three consecutive years of stronger net additions, GCCs’ overall tech share has barely moved – from 24% to 25%. IT services still command more than 34% of total tech headcount.
Paytm plans 10% staff increase in AI pivot, to lay off 400
Fintech major Paytm said it will hire about 4,000 people over the next nine months as it pivots to AI-driven product offerings. However, it will also lay off around 1% of its workforce, or about 400 employees, after the current performance appraisal cycle.
OpenAI files for US IPO after Anthropic as AI giants head to public markets
OpenAI, the maker of ChatGPT, has confidentially filed for a US initial public offering (IPO), joining rival Anthropic , as investors rush to gain exposure to the artificial intelligence (AI) wave.
Tell me more: OpenAI has not disclosed the size or terms of the offering and has yet to set a timeline. “It may be a while because there are things we want to do that are likely easier as a private company,” it said in a statement.
Still, media reports suggest the company could be eyeing a $1 trillion valuation, with a potential listing as early as September.
By the numbers:
- OpenAI said earlier this year that it was raising $122 billion at an $845 billion valuation from investors including SoftBank, Amazon and Nvidia.
- ChatGPT has more than 900 million weekly active users and over 50 million consumer subscribers. Sensor Towers estimates OpenAI has over 1 billion active app users .
- OpenAI has crossed annualised revenue of $25 billion, according to reports.
Also Read: Perplexity plans 2028 IPO regardless of Anthropic or OpenAI listings, CNBC reports
Ather board to consider fresh fundraise on June 12
Electric vehicle maker Ather Energy has called a board meeting on June 12 to consider raising fresh capital , it said in an exchange filing on Tuesday.
Driving the news: Ather will weigh a range of instruments, including equity shares, foreign currency convertible bonds (FCCBs), non-convertible debentures, warrants and other convertible securities. It may raise the funds via a QIP, a rights issue, a preferential allotment, or a private placement.
Next phase: The company is gearing up for its next expansion phase around its upcoming EL scooter platform , which is expected to target the mass-market electric scooter segment with prices between Rs 1 lakh and Rs 1.25 lakh.
Ather's volumes surged 66% in FY26 , while its market share jumped from around 8% to 18.6% by the March quarter.
Rival watch: The move follows rival Ola Electric's recent qualified institutional placement (QIP), through which it raised about Rs 780 crore . Ola Electric has allotted 21.76 crore shares to qualified institutional buyers at Rs 35.86 apiece. The issue price was at a 4.98% discount to the QIP floor price of Rs 37.74.
Siri AI, child safety tools & more: Top takeaways from WWDC
Apple doubled down on artificial intelligence and ecosystem tweaks at its annual developer conference in Cupertino on June 8.
Top launches:
- Siri AI: A new AI-powered personal assistant, integrated with Apple Intelligence, can understand personal context, analyse on-screen content, search the web, interpret images and complete tasks across apps. Apple plans to launch the beta version later this year.
- Apple Intelligence: A new generation of Apple Intelligence built on updated Apple Foundation Models developed in collaboration with Google’s Gemini .
- New parental controls: Enhanced child accounts that automatically switch on age-based safeguards, including restrictions on adult websites, age-appropriate media, and App Store content.
Cook's final keynote: In his final keynote before stepping down in September , Apple CEO Tim Cook said, “I truly believe the best is still ahead. At Apple, creating the best products in the world to deliver experiences that enrich people’s lives has always been our north star.” Apple will replace Cook with John Ternus , its senior vice president of hardware engineering.
For more news like this visit The Economic Times .
