Additionally within the letter:
■ Paytm’s Sebi settlement
■ Prosus’s $8.6 billion India guess
■ OpenAI’s new high rent
Social media platforms abuzz with pretend posts on Operation Sindoor
As tensions rise between India and Pakistan, social media platforms are awash with false and misleading content linked to Operation Sindoor.
What’s occurring: On Wednesday alone, hashtags corresponding to #IndiaPakistanWar, #OperationSindoor, and #IndianArmy gained important traction on X (previously Twitter), with 215,000, 885,000, and 399,000 mentions, respectively.
- On Instagram and Fb, quite a few movies displaying missile strikes and explosions went viral, many falsely attributed to Operation Sindoor.
- Truth-checking organisations have scrambled to assessment and confirm a flood of posts throughout platforms in a bid to curb the unfold of disinformation.
Common occasion: A extensively shared video claimed to point out Pakistan taking pictures down an Indian fighter jet. Nonetheless, the Press Data Bureau (PIB) clarified that the footage is from February 2025. It truly depicts the crash of an Indian Air Power Mirage 2000 throughout a routine coaching mission close to Shivpuri, Gwalior—not a fight incident.
In the meantime: Cybersecurity companies at each the central and state ranges stay on excessive alert. Authorities are making ready for a surge in cyber threats and disinformation campaigns. Consultants have already detected early indicators of elevated risk exercise concentrating on important infrastructure—particularly within the oil and fuel, energy, and telecom sectors—in border states and the nationwide capital.
Additionally Learn: Operation Sindoor: Government warns against Pakistan-sponsored social media propaganda
Porter joins unicorn membership with $200 million funding spherical; valuation hits $1.2 billion
(L-R) Pranav Goel and Uttam Digga, cofounders, Porter
On-demand logistics platform Porter has raised $200 million in a funding spherical led by non-public fairness corporations Kedaara Capital and Wellington Administration.
Deal particulars:
- The spherical, comprising each major and secondary transactions, has propelled Porter into the unicorn membership with a $1.1–$1.2 billion valuation, in line with folks accustomed to the matter.
- Early investor Peak XV Companions has totally exited as a part of the deal. Kae Capital and Lightrock have partially offered their stakes.
- Vitruvian Companions, an present backer, additionally participated.
- Roughly $140–150 million of the full got here from secondary gross sales, with shares acquired from early-stage buyers.
Valuation soar:
- Porter’s newest valuation is greater than double of $500 million at which it was valued in a 2021 spherical led by Tiger International.
- The valuation surge follows important enterprise development for the Bengaluru-based firm.
- Working income for FY25 exceeded Rs 4,000 crore, up from Rs 2,766 crore in FY24, per sources.
Paytm guardian One 97 Communications settles Esop case with Sebi
Vijay Shekhar Sharma, CEO, Paytm
One 97 Communications (OCL), the guardian firm of digital funds platform Paytm, has settled a case with the Securities and Alternate Board of India (Sebi) over inventory allocations underneath its Worker Inventory Possession Plan (Esop) involving founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma (VSS). The settlement was introduced on Might 8.
Key particulars of the settlement:
- Bar on Esops: VSS might be barred from accepting new Esops from any listed firm for the following three years.
- Fines: Sebi imposed a cumulative effective of roughly Rs 2.8 crore on three events: OCL, VSS, and his brother Ajay Shekhar Sharma (Ajay).
Cancellation of ESOPs:
- 21 million Esops granted to VSS had been cancelled.
- 222,862 Esops granted to Ajay had been additionally cancelled.
Monetary penalties:
- Rs 1.1 crore every on VSS and OCL.
- Rs 57 lakh on Ajay.
Restoration of beneficial properties: Rs 35 lakh was recovered from the sale of three,720 shares of OCL by Ajay.
OCL has confirmed that it has complied with all of the phrases imposed by Sebi.
Background and context: ET first reported on April 17 that OCL and the Sharma brothers had agreed to pay a effective of Rs 2.79 crore for violations throughout Paytm’s IPO. Forward of the itemizing, VSS reclassified himself as a ‘non-promoter’ by decreasing his stake to under 10%. Nonetheless, Sebi famous that VSS devised a scheme to retain management by transferring 30.9 million shares to a household belief whereas successfully sustaining affect over the corporate.
Additionally Learn: Paytm Q4 revenue drops 16%, losses persist: Key takeaways
Prosus has invested $8.6 billion in India, stays a key market: CEO Fabricio Bloisi
Fabricio Bloisi, CEO, Prosus
Dutch expertise funding agency Prosus has invested $8.6 billion in India and continues to view the nation as a key development market, CEO Fabricio Bloisi mentioned in a letter to shareholders on Thursday.
Current exercise:
- Swiggy, a Prosus portfolio firm, went public in November 2024. In the course of the preliminary public providing (IPO), Prosus offered a 5% stake for over $500 million, recovering over half its whole $1 billion funding.
- The agency additionally invested $30 million in bike taxi platform Rapido, which Bloisi mentioned is rising at over 100% year-on-year within the ride-hailing phase and averaging three million rides each day.
- Prosus-backed Bluestone and Urban Company are making ready to go public, whereas ecommerce platform Meesho has appointed service provider bankers for its upcoming IPO.
Future outlook:
- In an earlier interaction with ET, Bloisi reaffirmed Prosus’ dedication to backing early-to-late-stage corporations in India regardless of a $500 million write-off from Byju’s collapse.
- He mentioned Prosus is exploring alternatives in generative AI, investing in on-line marketplaces, and supporting startups concentrating on the following 300 million customers in India.
ChatGPT-maker OpenAI appoints Instacart’s Fidji Simo as CEO of functions
OpenAI has named Fidji Simo, present CEO of grocery supply platform Instacart, as its chief govt of functions.
Extra particulars: Simo will be a part of later this 12 months and report back to OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, who will proceed to supervise the corporate as a complete. In her new function, she is going to lead OpenAI’s consumer-facing merchandise, together with ChatGPT. This transfer permits Altman to shift his deal with analysis, compute, and security as the corporate advances in the direction of its objective of “superintelligence.”
Asia push: OpenAI now affords data residency in India, Japan, Singapore, and South Korea. Knowledge from customers of ChatGPT Enterprise, ChatGPT Edu, and the OpenAI API might be saved domestically, supporting companies in complying with regional information sovereignty laws when deploying AI companies or constructing new options.
Current developments: The announcement follows the launch of ‘OpenAI for Countries’, an initiative designed to assist governments develop nationwide AI infrastructure. The US authorities is among the many first companions on this world programme.
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